Liquid purification or separation – Flow – fluid pressure or material level – responsive – Discharge of treated material
Reexamination Certificate
2001-10-15
2004-09-28
Cecil, Terry K. (Department: 1723)
Liquid purification or separation
Flow, fluid pressure or material level, responsive
Discharge of treated material
C210S241000, C210S471000, C099S28900D, C099S30200C, C099S323000, C099S297000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06797160
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1) Field of the Invention
The present invention of a percolating steeper is another invention of the inventor's previous claim of “Pot with Filter Arrangement” of U.S. Pat. No. 09,705,827.
The present invention of a percolating steeper, aiming to address the shortcomings and improve the design of a general percolating steeper structure used for steeping the tea leaves, the herb tea, the fruit tea and the coffee, in terms of not being able to control the concentration of the infusion and using too many utensils, is invented as the design of a second percolating steeper using a single utensil to achieve the separation between the fluid and the substance as well as to control the concentration of the infusion.
2) Description of the Prior Art
Accordingly, the oriental art of steeping the tea has been very popular in the world and tea drinking has become a part of the life for most people. In addition to steeping the tea leaves, other kinds of most frequently used substance for steeping and infusing a beverage include the fruit tea, the Chinese herb tea such as the chrysanthemum tea regarded as a daily cool and or warm tonic beverage, the ginseng infusion and the hot brewed coffee. The utensils used for steeping usually come in two styles, one for directly steeping and infusing the fluid with the substance to be infused, the other for separating the infused liquid from the infused substance for drinking. The method of directly infusing the fluid and the infused substance together for drinking can't control the concentration of the beverage because the substance is continuously infused in the infusion. That means, the longer the infusing time is, the stronger and bitterer the infusion will be. For example, the correct taste of the tea leaves, after being infused for a longer time, will lose and become bitter as well as astringent; as the same, the longer the fruit tea is infused, the sweeter and stronger the infusion will be; therefore, if the infusion is not consumed right away, the infused substance can't generate the right taste; the carafe and the filter cup of another kind of structure need to be separated from each other in order to separate the infusion from the infused substance; therefore, when the filter cup is removed from the carafe, the water of the infused substance in the filter cup may easily drip from the filter hole and stain the table top; furthermore, since the utensil are used separately, it is not convenient to store or use them.
In view of the mentioned reasons, although the design of the inventor's previous claim of “Pot with Filter Arrangement” of U.S. Pat. No. 09,705,827 is capable of being used as a single utensil of a percolating steeper to separate the infusion and the substance, the phenomenon of air isolation generated during the separation of the infusion and the substance is influenced by the necessary exchange with the outside air and that fails to meet the sanitary requirement.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The primary object of the present invention of a percolating steeper is to have an isolating layer disposed on the filter layer, with a free moving non-return unit and a passive non-return unit disposed thereon for providing the water to go in and out; every unit has a valve hole penetrating through the isolating layer; the position of a tight unit on the circumferential rim of the isolating layer contacting a carafe is higher than the lowest feed water surface of the isolating layer; in addition to having the free moving and passive non-return units to control the feeding and dispensing of the liquid, the elevation difference formed by the tight unit and the lowest water feed surface of the isolating layer generate a visual effect of air isolation.
The second object of the present invention of a percolating steeper is to have a cover body situated on the isolating layer of both the free moving non-return unit and the passive non-return unit, a valve body and a valve door situated inside the cover body, a valve hole disposed at the said valve door and penetrated through the isolating layer, thereby, feeding and dispensing the liquid from different directions can be achieved by using the result of different non-return direction.
The third object of the present invention of a percolating steeper is to dispose a protruding body at the lowest end of the isolating layer to make the lowest feed water surface situate at the lower end of the protruding body.
The fourth object of the present invention of a percolating steeper is to directly dispose the filter layer at the lowest feed water area or in the lower aspect of the isolating layer to keep a distance from the valve hole for not interfering the feeding of the infusion.
The fifth object of the present invention of a percolating steeper is to design the said protruding body to combine with the isolating layer for having a protruding body of simplified structure, being convenient for mounting, dismounting, cleaning and being replaced by other protruding bodies with different heights.
REFERENCES:
patent: 1962493 (1934-06-01), Ferris
patent: 2053021 (1936-09-01), Cassol
patent: 5544566 (1996-08-01), Bersten
patent: 5725765 (1998-03-01), Shen
patent: 5943946 (1999-08-01), Chen
Cecil Terry K.
Troxell Law Office PLLC
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