Foods and beverages: apparatus – Beverage – Infusors
Reexamination Certificate
2000-02-22
2001-10-02
Alexander, Reginald L. (Department: 1761)
Foods and beverages: apparatus
Beverage
Infusors
C099S287000, C150S901000, C220S495040
Reexamination Certificate
active
06295920
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The invention pertains to insulated containers for beverages and more particularly to insulated coffee makers and insulating accessories for use with insulated and non-insulated coffee makers.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The French Press or Coffee Press (referred hereinafter as a coffee press) has become a preferred way of brewing coffee among professional coffee tasters and the coffee drinking public in general. The coffee press is a relatively simple device comprising a pitcher (typically made of glass), a lid with a central hole, and a plunger fitted with a fine mesh screen or filter which is operated through the hole in the lid. In use, the ground coffee is placed in the pitcher and boiling water is added. The top is placed on the pitcher with the plunger withdrawn so that the filter is above the grounds and the water, allowing the coffee to brew. After about five minutes, the plunger is pushed down towards the bottom of the pitcher, so that the coffee grounds are separated from the liquid. While the coffee press has the ability to make superior coffee, it has the drawback of allowing the coffee to cool rapidly, thus losing the desired taste and temperature.
The prior art includes a number of inventions directed towards insulating beverage and other liquid containers. U.S. Pat. No. 1,116,932 issued to Schwartz et al. in 1914 provided for an insulating cover for a hot water bottle, the cover serving both to protect the user from burns and to retain the heat within the bottle. U.S. Pat. No. 1,346,485 issued to Arrigunaga in 1920 describes a device for the preparation of coffee or like beverages incorporating an insulated container with removable insulated cover. The cover of the device includes a plunger device with a screen at the lower end to separate coffee grounds or tea leaves from the brewing liquid. This device is designed to brew a single glass or serving of coffee or similar beverage with the beverage being drunk from the container directly.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,154,772 issued to Rathemacher in 1937 illustrates a bottle holder and protector for maintaining a wine bottle in a chilled condition. The invention is basically an insulating cloth that wraps around the bottle with the neck projecting through a hole in the cloth. U.S. Pat. No. 2,482,322 issued to Cortese in 1947 describes an insulating jacket for a baby bottle that zips or snaps over the feeding bottle. Likewise, U.S. Pat. No. 2,522,381 issued to Kramer in 1948 illustrates a baby bottle-insulating bag with a drawstring enclosure.
Of a slightly different nature, U.S. Pat. No. 2,740,544 issued to Vaughan in 1950 relates to a protective cover designed to minimized breakage of glass coffee pots typically used with commercial drip type coffee makers. U.S. Pat. No. 4,197,890 issued to Simko in 1980 describes an insulating jacket for bottles that has a bottom zipper enclosure. Finally, U.S. Pat. No. 5,415,305 issued to Drake-Tipton et al. in 1995 illustrates an insulating sleeve for a beverage pitcher.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,809,867 issued to the present inventors in September 1998, describes an insulating jacket for a press-type coffee maker incorporating a magnetically sealed spout cover and hinged bottom cover.
It is an objective of this invention to provide a means for maintaining beverages brewed in a coffee press at a desirable drinking temperature. It is a further objective of the invention to provide a coffee press that can be easily used and easily cleaned. It is yet a further objective of the invention to provide a means for insulating the lid and spout of the coffee press. It is a still further objective of the invention to provide a means to determine the level of beverage remaining within the coffee press. It is yet a further objective of the invention to provide a means of determining the temperature or relative temperature of the coffee within the coffee press. It is still another objective of the invention to provide accessories for maintaining the temperature of coffee brewed in non-insulated coffee presses.
While many of the desired features of an insulated coffee press or insulating accessories for a press-type coffee maker may be found in the prior art, no invention previously known incorporates all of the desired features in an insulated coffee press or related accessories which is easy and inexpensive to manufacture and effective and simple to use.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The invention is an insulated press-type coffee maker (coffee press) and accessories. An insulated coffee press may be constructed from the following components. An insulated cylindrical brewing container, formed of heat resistant material is provided. The insulated cylindrical brewing container has a closed bottom, an open top, a top edge and an integral spout formed at the top edge. The insulated cylindrical brewing container includes an outer, closed bottom cylinder and a smaller inner closed bottom cylinder. The outer cylinder has a first upper edge and the smaller inner cylinder has an inner surface, an outer surface and a second upper edge. The inner cylinder is located within the outer cylinder.
The first upper edge of the outer cylinder is sealably joined to the upper edge of the inner cylinder to form the top edge of the cylindrical brewing container, thereby forming an enclosed and sealed space between the outer and inner cylinders.
A cylindrical lid is provided. The lid has an inner diameter and an outer diameter and is sized and shaped to removably attach to the inner surface of the inner cylinder at the top edge of the container. The cylindrical lid includes a centrally located circular orifice.
A circular fine mesh screen is provided. The screen is sized and shaped to fit slidably within the inner cylinder. A plunger rod is provided. The plunger rod has a first end and a second end and is removably attached at its first end to the center of the screen. The rod is sized and shaped to fit slidably through the orifice in the lid.
A plunger handle is affixed to the second end of the plunger rod and a handle and frame assembly is attached to the cylindrical brewing container.
In a variation on the insulated coffee press, the enclosed and sealed space between the inner cylinder and the outer cylinder of the insulated container is evacuated to form a vacuum within the space.
In another variant of the present invention, an insulated coffee press further includes an insulating lid insert. The insulating lid insert is sized and shaped to fit within the lid and has an outer diameter slightly smaller than the inner diameter of the lid. The insulating lid insert has a central orifice sized and located to permit the plunger rod to pass through it. A means for removing or inserting the insulating lid insert into the lid is provided.
Yet another variant on the insulated coffee press includes a temperature sensing means that displays a visible change in response to a temperature change. The sensing means is affixed to the outer surface of the inner cylinder so as to be visible from the outside of the cylindrical container.
In yet a further variant of the invention, an insulating jacket for a coffee press is provided. The coffee press includes a heat resistant cylindrical brewing container with a cylindrical inner surface, a closed base, a spout with an upper edge. The coffee press further includes a handle and frame assembly, a lid fitting the cylindrical brewing container and a plunger having a fine mesh screen at the bottom end and a handle at the top end. The plunger rod passes through an orifice in the lid and the screen separates brewed coffee from coffee grounds at the base of the cylindrical brewing container.
The jacket includes a fitted sleeve formed of insulating material. The sleeve is shaped to conform roughly to the exterior shape of the cylindrical brewing container. The sleeve has an open top, a closed bottom, a top edge, an inner surface, an outer surface and openings to accommodate the handle and the spout of the cylindrical brewing container. The handle opening has a first side and a second side. A
Barden Elliot
Turner Sheila S.
Alexander Reginald L.
Beehler & Pavitt
Belasco David A.
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