Foods and beverages: apparatus – Beverage – Infusors
Reexamination Certificate
2003-05-30
2004-09-21
Alexander, Reginald L. (Department: 1761)
Foods and beverages: apparatus
Beverage
Infusors
C099S323300, C099S293000, C374S141000, C374S150000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06792848
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to frothing pitchers for espresso machines. More specifically, the invention relates to thermometer and frothing pitcher combinations for espresso machines.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, the popularity of Italian-style coffee beverages has increased dramatically. Initially, such beverages were primarily available at coffee shops specializing in beverages of this type, including espresso drinks, cappuccino drinks, and café con latte drinks, using professional espresso machines. Machines of this type inject steam under high pressure through very finely ground coffee, thereby rapidly creating a concentrated coffee beverages which can be drunk alone (i.e., espesso), or mixed with hot water (café americano) or steamed milk (café con latte). In order to provide steamed milk or substitute dairy products, commercial espresso machines have one or more steaming wands which direct high pressure steam from the machine's water boiler into a frothing pitcher. A frothing pitcher is partially filled with milk or other dairy product and a barista, or other trained espresso machine operator, manipulates the frothing pitcher beneath the steaming wand to create a pitcher of frothed milk. Temperature control of the steamed milk or other dairy product is important in preparing an appropriate beverage.
A conventional prior art frothing pitcher is generally indicated at reference numeral
14
in
FIG. 2
of the various figures. The frothing pitcher has a main body
15
which is typically a stainless steel cylindrical vessel having a closed bottom and an open top. A thermally insulating handle
16
is typically connected to the main body
15
at an upper portion thereof adjacent to a perimeter of the open top. In order to assure that the temperature of the milk or other dairy product within the frothing pitcher remains within a prescribed temperature range, a dial-type thermometer
17
having an elongated shaft
20
terminating in a tip
22
at a distal end thereof is provided. The shaft
20
and tip
22
must be maintained in a spaced-apart relationship from the side wall and bottom, respectively, of the frothing pitcher
14
in order to provide an accurate temperature measurement. To maintain the requisite positioning, a spring clip
18
defining a pair of apertures
19
is typically provided. The spring clip
18
is conventionally manufactured from stainless steel sheet material and then formed into the clip configuration shown in
FIG. 4
along with the apertures
19
. As best seen in
FIG. 3
, the shaft
20
of the dial thermometer
17
is received in the apertures
19
. The apertures
19
are slightly offset with respect to one another so that the shaft
20
is received in a friction fit with the spring clip
18
. The spring clip is then received around an upper perimeter edge of the frothing pitcher
14
as shown in FIG.
2
. An experienced barista can appropriately adjust the axial position of the shaft
20
within the apertures
19
so that the thermometer
17
is only measuring the temperature of the dairy product within the pitcher and not the temperature of the bottom of the pitcher itself.
In recent years, home-style espresso machines have been made available such that customers of Italian style cafés may produce Italian-style coffee beverages at home. Unfortunately, individuals who are not trained as baristas often do not have the necessary skills to properly use the frothing pitcher
14
, clip
18
and thermometer
17
apparatus shown in
FIGS. 2 through 4
and as described above. Frequently, an inexperienced user will adjust the shaft
20
of the thermometer
17
such that the tip
22
touches the bottom of the frothing pitcher
14
, thereby providing an incorrect temperature reading. Furthermore, the stainless steel clip
18
can disadvantageously slip, move, scratch the pitcher, and get lost.
Therefore, a need exists for a frothing pitcher/thermometer combination which can easily and correctly be used by an untrained home espresso machine operator.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a frothing pitcher having means for receiving a thermometer so as to correctly position the thermometer with respect to the base and side walls of the pitcher.
It is a further object of the invention to achieve the above object with a frothing pitcher/dial thermometer combination which does not have an excessive number of parts.
The invention achieves these objects, and other objects and advantages which will become apparent from the description which follows, by providing a thermometer-holding frothing pitcher having a main body, having a circumferential side wall connected to a closed bottom which also defines an open top. The main body further has a handle connected to the main body having a cantilevered portion extending inwardly beyond the side wall of the main body into the area of the open top. The cantilevered portion further defines a bore for receiving a shaft portion of a thermometer in a spaced apart relationship from the side wall and the bottom of the main body.
In the preferred embodiment, the frothing pitcher is substantially cylindrical and the thermometer is of the dial type. The thermometer is preferably provided with a stem portion adjacent to the dial having a shaped end which closely resides in a chamfered receptacle at the top of the bore in the cantilevered portion. The thermometer shaft itself has a preselected length such that when the dial thermometer has its stem portion received in the chamfered portion, the distal end of the thermometer shaft is spaced away from the bottom of the frothing pitcher and the shaft itself is spaced away from the side wall of the frothing pitcher.
In an alternate embodiment of the invention, the bore is at an acute angle with respect to the side wall of the frothing pitcher (approximately 10 degrees) to maintain the appropriate spacing relationships described above.
REFERENCES:
patent: 2648226 (1953-08-01), Finch
patent: 6062126 (2000-05-01), Johnson et al.
US 2003/0010215; Jan. 2003; Burkholder 99/285.
Alexander Reginald L.
Black Lowe & Graham PLLC
Pacific Market, Inc.
LandOfFree
Thermometer holding frothing pitcher does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.
If you have personal experience with Thermometer holding frothing pitcher, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Thermometer holding frothing pitcher will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-3248952