Foods and beverages: apparatus – Beverage – Infusors
Reexamination Certificate
2000-05-19
2001-06-05
Alexander, Reginald L. (Department: 1761)
Foods and beverages: apparatus
Beverage
Infusors
C099S279000, C099S280000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06240831
ABSTRACT:
TECHNICAL FIELD
The present invention relates to indicators in general. More specifically to an indicator for a commercial coffee brewer to verify when it is safe to remove the brew cone containing a filter and coffee grounds.
BACKGROUND ART
Previously, many types of indicators have been used in endeavoring to provide visual indication of a particular process used with coffee brewing apparatus. The prior art located by the inventor was silent relative to the premature removal of the brewing cone or filter basket before it has had time to cool down to a reasonable temperature.
A search of the prior art did not disclose any patents that read directly on the claims of the instant invention, however the following U.S. patents are considered related:
U.S. Pat. No.
Inventor
Issue Date
5,875,703
Rolfes
Mar. 2. 1999
5,836,236
Rolfes et al.
Nov. 17, 1998
5,404,794
Patel et al.
Apr. 11, 1995
5,063,836
Patel
Nov. 12, 1991
Rolfes own U.S. Pat. No. 5,875,703 teaches an improvement on a coffee brewer and hot water dispenser which permits larger capacity by the use of a bypass hot water cycle adding a predetermined volume of water to the container and supplementing the control by expanding its capabilities using multiple sequencing of the brew cycle for increasing the volume of brewed coffee. No brewing completion indication is taught in this prior art.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,836,236 issued to Rolfes et al., in which the first named inventor is the present inventor, discloses a coffee brewer and hot water dispenser which brews both coffee and also dispensed hot water from a separate system. The invention discloses a brewer with a solid state electronic control that includes all of the necessary functions to brew coffee however when the brewing is completed the system de-energizes and a green ready light is illuminated with no further indication made.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,404,794 of Patel et al. discloses a coffee making machine having a reservoir connected to an external water supply via a valve which divides the water into separate hot and cold water tanks. Heated water from a boiler is fed into an expansion chamber and then discharged into the ground coffee through a spray head at the end of an expansion chamber. The enclosure is made of a pair of laterally spaced rectangular arms forming a base with a column located at one end which basically houses most of the operating parts of the coffee-making machine. Nothing specific is taught about any delay after the brewing cycle is completed.
Patel in U.S. Pat. No. 5,063,836 teaches a coffee making machine of the type adapted to be connected to city water supply. The device includes a reservoir having a level sensor controlling a water refill valve to the reservoir and a heating element which heats the water therein. A level sensor functions to permit automatic refill of the reservoir at the appropriate level for subsequent brewing of a full pot of coffee irrespective of the water pressure and the previous route of the water. A solid state circuit board controls the operational sequence and functions of the machine. The device includes a base with a warming plate on which a coffee pot may rest and columns upon which most of the operating components are mounted. This patent is also void of any mentioning any further delay in time after the brewing cycle is completed.
DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION
In the past commercial coffee brewers are designed to have some type of brewing cycle automatically programmed in an integral solid state controller system or it has the necessary relays and thermostats in an electro-mechanical type brewer. At any rate the brewers that are in common use today usually indicate, in some manner, that the brewing cycle has been completed and the coffee is ready. The problem that has arisen is that although the cycle is actually finished the hot water and steam that have been introduced into the brew cone, or filter basket, may still contain the residual heat of the water and steam in the grounds and filter. It is even possible that sometimes the water is still passing through the coffee grounds and there is nothing to warn the user that it may not be safe to remove the cone until the final procedure is fully completed. It is therefore a primary object of the invention to add to a brewing completion indicator that visually or audiably indicates that although the brewing cycle is actually finished it is not safe to handle or remove the brew cone until indicated. The preferred embodiment of the invention operates by energizing a light emitting diode (LED) during the extended period and when it is turned off it signals the user that the cycle is now totally completed.
Another object of the invention is that the indication may not only be a signal light but an audible sound such as a horn or buzzer or some other physical manifestation. In actuality the signal may be almost any type of indication that is known in the art and available to the public.
An important object of the invention is that the apparatus may be incorporated into existing equipment or it may be a separate device that is added to an existing brewer as a detached element that is installed at a later time. If the invention is built in it to the brewer it may share the same electronic circuit and even the same indicator lights. As an example if the apparatus is incorporated into the inventors previous commercial coffee brewer that is protected by U.S. Pat. No. 5,836,236, the solid state circuit may be incorporated on the same printed circuit board also share the same power supply and indicating lights.
Still another object of the invention is that the brewing completion indicator includes a method of easily adjusting the delay time. This feature is important as each style of coffee brewer has a different time interval characteristic which is governed by the amount or volume of coffee being brewed and the actual type of coffee. As an example in a brewer handling say 50 fluid ounces (1.5 liters) of water, when conventional coffee is used the normal amount of grounds required is around 1 ounce (28.3 grams) which requires some 15 to 20 seconds to cool down whereas, in the same brewer, when the so called specialty coffee is used the amount of grounds may be increased as much as 2½ times which obviously has an effect on the amount of time required to cool which may be over a minute. Some very large brewers may take even as much as 2 to 3 minutes to cool down therefore the system must be easily adjustable. The invention does just that as a manually adjustable potentiometer is mounted on a printed circuit board and the adjusting wheel is easily accessible with clockwise rotation increasing the time and counterclockwise rotation providing just the opposite action. It should be noted that when the invention is built into the brewer by the original equipment manufacturer the timing is pre-set to the optimum time duration at the factory for standard type coffee.
These and other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the subsequent detailed description of the preferred embodiment and the appended claims taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
REFERENCES:
patent: 4412487 (1983-11-01), Oota et al.
patent: 4857758 (1989-08-01), Rigazio et al.
patent: 5063836 (1991-11-01), Patel
patent: 5404794 (1995-04-01), Patel et al.
patent: 5549035 (1996-08-01), Wing-Chung
patent: 5836236 (1998-11-01), Rolfes et al.
patent: 5875703 (1999-03-01), Rolfes
Alexander Reginald L.
Anderson Gordon K.
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