Foods and beverages: apparatus – Beverage – Infusors
Reexamination Certificate
2002-04-24
2004-05-04
Alexander, Reginald L. (Department: 1761)
Foods and beverages: apparatus
Beverage
Infusors
C099S28900D, C099S307000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06729226
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a multiple beverage preparation device that is designed to dispense many different types of beverages from a single magazine tray.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The invention relates to a device for the preparation of multiple beverages. The device comprises a housing containing a primary reservoir for holding a liquid that is used to make a beverage. Disposed within the housing is a rotatable tray. The rotatable tray contains a plurality of receptacles. These receptacles are for receiving a concentrate solution used for flavoring the liquid. In addition, disposed within the housing is a conduit for transporting the liquid from the reservoir to the rotatable tray. In this case, the conduit allows the reservoir to be in fluid connection with the tray.
In addition, disposed within this tray is a heater for heating the liquid within the housing. This allows the device to make hot beverages after the liquid has been poured into the reservoir. There is also least one additional reservoir disposed within the housing adjacent to the primary reservoir. This additional reservoir is designed to receive liquid or preferably water from the primary reservoir and measure the amount of liquid using a liquid position sensor disposed within the additional reservoir. For example when the liquid is below the liquid position sensor within the additional housing, a valve connecting the primary reservoir to the additional reservoir is open, allowing liquid to flow from the primary reservoir to the additional reservoir. However, when liquid reaches or surpasses the liquid position sensor within the additional housing, the valve is closed, stopping the flow of liquid from the primary reservoir to the additional reservoir.
There is also a pump disposed within the housing for pumping the liquid from the additional reservoir through the conduit and into the rotatable tray. This pump pulls liquid from the additional housing and pushes it through the conduit into the tray so that this liquid contacts the concentrate disposed within the receptacle to create the desired beverage. The concentrate is loaded into each receptacle using a reusable filter that is designed to receive a concentrated solution for flavoring. Thus, a user can take this reusable filter and insert any type of concentrated solution such as caffeinated or decaffeinated coffee grounds, hot chocolate powder, a tea bag, or any other form of concentrate solution designed to make a flavored beverage.
The housing also contains a spout adjacent to the rotatable tray wherein this spout is designed to funnel the liquid into a stream after said liquid has left the rotatable tray. This stream then pours into a cup or pot to store the flavored beverage. The housing also contains a drainage tray designed to receive excess beverage so that if the flavored beverages overflows the cup or pot, the beverage simply flows into the drainage tray.
The rotatable tray also contains a series of label plates so that there is at least one label plate disposed adjacent to each of the receptacles. In this way, a user can mark a label plate adjacent to a particular receptacle so that the user knows the type of concentrated solution disposed within each receptacle. These label plates can contain indicia such as color codes or letters or numbers so that a user can keep track of the types of flavored crystals placed in the receptacles.
There is also a motor disposed within the housing. The motor is for driving the tray around so that the receptacles line up with the conduit dispensing the water or other type fluid.
REFERENCES:
patent: 4421014 (1983-12-01), Vicker
patent: 4941399 (1990-07-01), Zucchetti
patent: 4944217 (1990-07-01), Watanabe
patent: 5134924 (1992-08-01), Vicker
patent: 5490447 (1996-02-01), Giuliano
patent: 6360650 (2002-03-01), Mangiapane
patent: 3935384 (1991-05-01), None
Alexander Reginald L.
Collard & Roe P.C.
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