Patent ID: 11889943
Assignee: BUNN-O-MATIC CORPORATION
Field: Furniture, games (Other fields)
Classification: CPC A | IPC A

Claim 1:
2. A method for operating a beverage brewing machine including an apparatus for brewing beverage within the machine comprising the following steps:
providing a brewing chamber;
providing a controllably moveable upper piston moveable into and out of the brewing chamber;
providing a drive mechanism coupled to the upper piston and coupled to a controller for controllably operating the upward and downward movement of the upper piston;
providing a heated water delivery system coupled to the controller for controllably delivering heated water to the brew chamber;
a vent valve coupled to and controllably communicating with the brew chamber and coupled to the controller for providing a path between the inside of the brew chamber and ambient atmosphere;
providing a controllable dispense valve coupled to and controllably communicating with the brew chamber and coupled to the controller for controllably dispensing brewed beverage from the chamber;
a brew chamber fill valve coupled to and controllably communicating with the brew chamber and coupled to the controller for controllably delivering water from the heated water delivery system to the brewed chamber;
providing a filter portion of the upper piston for filtering brewed beverage from brewing substance retained in the brewing chamber for extracting brewed beverage during a brewing cycle;
a lower piston coupled to the controller and controllably moveable through the brew chamber for facilitating movement of at least beverage brewing substance during the brewing cycle;
a brewing substance delivery assembly coupled to the controller and at least selectively communicating with the brew chamber for delivering brewing substance to the brew chamber for use in a brewing cycle;
initiating a brewing cycle using the controller and simultaneously operating the controllable brew chamber fill valve to introduce heated water into the brewing chamber while using the brewing substance delivery assembly to dispense beverage brewing substance into the brewing chamber;
simultaneously ceasing dispensing of brewing substance into the brewing chamber and operating the upper piston to move into the brewing chamber and seal the brewing chamber while controllably retaining the vent valve in an open condition;
moving the upper piston into the brewing chamber to a predetermined level while simultaneously controllably introducing water into the brewing chamber;
controllably operating the vent valve to close the brewing chamber communication with ambient atmosphere;
continuing the controllable dispensing of heated water into the brewing chamber and controllably operating the dispense valve for dispensing brewed beverage from the brewing chamber through a dispense line;
dispensing brewed beverage to a container;
providing a controllable drain valve coupled to the controller and communicating with the brew chamber;
controllably maintaining the drain valve in a closed position during the brewing cycle;
after a predetermined volume of water has been dispensed through the brewing chamber for combination with the brewing substance, operating the fill valve to a closed position to cease dispensing water into the brewing chamber;
during the process of saturating the brewing substance with water, while maintaining the vent valve closed for at least momentarily stopping the flow of water into the brewing chamber by operating the fill valve to a closed position, controllably operating the piston upwardly in the brewing chamber to draw a vacuum within the brewing chamber to facilitate extraction of flavor and other characteristics from the brewing substance into the heated water to enhance the brewing process;
after a predetermined time during which the vacuum is imposed on the brewing chamber and its contents, controllably opening the controllable dispense valve and at least driving the piston downwardly into the chamber to extract brewed beverage from the combination of brewing substance and heated water;
at the end of a predetermined volume of water dispensed through the brewing chamber, driving the upper piston downwardly to compress the contents of the brewing chamber against a lower piston to extract additional brewed beverage therefrom;
controllably operating the controllable dispense valve to a closed position and operating the upper piston and lower piston upwardly to move the used brewing substance from the brewing cycle to a position where it can be removed from the brewing chamber;
providing an ejection assembly for moving the spent brewing substance away from the brewing chamber; and
after removing the spent brewing substance returning the upper piston to a position clear of the path through which brewing substance is dispensed into the brewing chamber for receiving brewing substance into the brewing chamber for the next brewing cycle.