Foods and beverages: apparatus – Beverage – Infusors
Reexamination Certificate
2000-02-18
2001-11-20
Alexander, Reginald L. (Department: 1761)
Foods and beverages: apparatus
Beverage
Infusors
C099S318000, C099S299000, C099S28900D, C099S279000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06318244
ABSTRACT:
The invention concerns a device for encasing flavoring solids, in particular tea material or coffee, that are put into a liquid, in particular water.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
Up to now, such device s were designed in particular as filter elements and as a rule were reusable. With known filter elements of this type there exists, however, the disadvantage that the filter element must be removed from the container after the steeping time has elapsed. That is, if the steeping time is exceeded, then the taste of the drink can be adversely affected through an excessive release of flavoring substances, for example so-called bitter constituents, from the filter sludge, for example tea material, located in the filter element. The preparation of the drink can thus be properly completed only through the removal of the filter element from the container.
DESCRIPTION OF RELATED ART
The ease of use of a reusable filter element of the type specified at the beginning would increase if it could remain in the container after the steeping time has elapsed. Therefore, the task forming the basis of the invention is to improve a filter element of the type named at the beginning in such a manner that the contact of the filter sludge located within the filter casing with the liquid in the container can be intentionally ended through the intervention of the user, without necessitating the removal of the filter insert.
According to the invention, this task is accomplished by the fact that provision is made for a slide that is situated so as to be movable between an initial and a final position, which slide in its final position bounds a space that holds the flavoring solids and is designed as a rotatable vane that is mounted so as to turn around a rotational axis.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The device according to the invention permits an intentional ending of the steeping process of the flavoring solids through the intervention of the user, by his or her rotating of the rotatable vane from its initial position into its final position. For this, the flavoring solids, for example tea material, are first put into the liquid, so that they achieve contact with the liquid and release the corresponding flavoring substance into the latter. In this, the rotatable vane is arranged in its initial position. After the elapsing of the steeping time, according to the invention the rotatable vane is turned, whereby it is brought from its initial position into its final position and in the process takes up the flavoring solids into a space that is bound by the rotatable vane in its final position. When, through the turning of the rotatable vane, the flavoring solids have been completely taken up in that space, there no longer exists any contact with surrounding liquid, whereby the steeping process of the flavoring solids in the liquid is intentionally ended. Since the rotatable vane in its final position now bounds the space that takes up the flavoring solids, the flavoring substances are prevented from leaving that space again in an undesired manner and coming into contact again with the liquid surround that space. Therefore, the flavoring solids need not be removed from the liquid immediately upon the completion of the steeping process.
The advantage of the device according to the invention consists, first of all, in the fact that the user can intentionally end the steeping process without needing to immediately remove the flavoring solids from the liquid, whereby the ease of use is clearly increased. The rotatable mounting of the slide, in accordance with the invention, permits here a simple and reliable operation, whereby in particular the development of an undesired tipping moment is prevented, which in conventional coffee presses with vertically movable slides could lead to a tipping over and thus to a damaging of the barrel that takes up the liquid. Beyond that, by means of the construction according to the invention, in contrast with conventional filter elements, even with low filling levels the full filtering function of the device is maintained without perforations in the lower section and/or bottom region. Finally, the invention leads to a simple construction, which positively affects the production costs; for example, the entire device with all of its stationary and moving parts can be made of plastic.
Advantageously, provision is made for a housing.
In a preferred implementation, the device is designed for use in a container, in particular a teapot, which displays a housing, specifically a housing formed as a rotating body; in this case of the housing the device is formed by the housing of the container. This results in an especially simple and thus cost-effective structure. Since in operation the rotatable vane is immersed into the liquid, the rotatable vane should advantageously display a liquid-permeable section, which ensures that the displacement of the liquid does not hinder the rotatable vane in its turning movement. Preferably, therefore, the liquid-permeable section should be designed on the upper section of the rotatable vane and/or should be perforated.
A further implementation that is preferred at present is designed as a filter element for containers, in particular teapots, with a filter housing, formed in particular as a rotating body, for taking up the flavoring solids, which housing displays a liquid-permeable first section and a liquid-impermeable second section, which forms the space that takes up the flavoring solids and is bound by the rotatable vane in its final position; the rotatable vane in its movement from the initial into the final position brings the flavoring solids into the second section, and the first section and the second section are arranged next to each other essentially in the direction of rotation of the slide.
This implementation allows an intentional ending of the steeping process of the flavoring solids in the container through the intervention of the user, without requiring that the filter element be removed. This happens by virtue of the fact that the flavoring solids are first filled into the filter housing and make contact there with the liquid in the container, releasing the corresponding flavoring substances into it, and after the elapsing of the steeping time the rotatable vane is turned and thereby brings the filter sludge, now consisting of the flavoring solids, into the liquid-impermeable second section. When the filter sludge, through rotation of the rotatable vane, has been brought completely into the liquid-impermeable second section, there no longer exists any contact with the surrounding liquid, whereby the steeping process is intentionally ended. In this, the rotatable vane is turned into a position such that it separates the filter sludge, now located in the liquid-impermeable second section of the filter housing, from the remaining part of the filter housing, and in particular from the liquid-permeable first section. Thus, in this position the rotatable vane bounds a space formed by the liquid-impermeable second section of the filter housing, whereby the filter sludge is prevented from again leaving the liquid-impermeable second section of the filter housing in an undesired manner and from again coming into contact with the liquid surrounding the second section. Since the filter sludge in the liquid-impermeable second section is separated from the “surroundings” and thus no further contact with the surrounding liquid exists, the filter element can remain in the container and in the liquid without any further influencing of the surrounding liquid by the filter sludge. Accordingly, the filter element according to the invention need not be removed from the container and thus from the liquid even after the completion of the steeping process.
Advantageously, the first section of the filter housing displays at least one wall that is at least partially perforated, and/or at least one open region that is covered with a mesh screen.
Finally, a part of the bottom belonging to the liquid-permeable first section can likewise be liquid-permeable. Such a half-open
Alexander Reginald L.
Altera Law Group LLC
Riensch & Held (GmbH & Co.)
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