Patent ID: 9332874
Filing Date: 2016-05-10
CPC Classification: A47J

Claim Text:
1. A single cup pod beverage flavoring machine that utilizes a sealed beverage pod that contains beverage flavoring material surrounded by filter paper and formed in a disc-like shape for automatically flavoring a beverage one cup at a time, comprising: a beverage flavoring pod holding mechanism for receiving and retaining a beverage pod during a flavoring operation, said beverage flavoring pod including a holding mechanism forming a chamber including an upper head and a lower head with said lower head including a recess therein forming e said holding chamber for the beverage flavoring pod, said upper and lower heads being movable relative to one another to engage with one another to enclose the beverage flavoring pod within said holding chamber in a beverage flavoring engagement position and to effect a generally water tight seal between said upper and lower heads in such position and to thereafter disengage from said beverage flavoring engagement, said upper head having a water inlet on a top surface and said lower head having a liquid outlet on a bottom surface for passing water through the beverage pod within said holding chamber during a flavoring operation, a support assembly supporting said upper and lower heads within said beverage flavoring machine in desired positions during the flavoring operation, said support assembly including a mechanism for arcuately moving said lower head between pod receiving, beverage flavoring, and pod discharge positions, a control assembly operable during the course of a flavoring operation to effect movement of said lower head from said pod receiving position to said beverage flavoring position, to effect movement of said upper and lower heads relative to one another into said beverage flavoring engagement position, to effect the passage of water through the beverage flavoring pod while the upper and lower head are in said beverage engagement position, to effect disengagement of said upper and lower heads from one another, and to effect movement of said lower head from said beverage flavoring to said pod discharge position, said upper head and lower head of said machine during operation pivots about upon the same rotation axis, provided through said support assembly of said upper head; said lower head also including a pod ejector mechanism for discharging the beverage flavoring pod from said holding chamber therein, said pod ejector mechanism including a pod support disc associated with said holding chamber for contacting and acting against the beverage flavoring pod enclosed within said holding chamber and a spring loaded stem connected to said pod support disc, with the stem slidably disposed though the lower head to an actuator head, said stem and actuator head moving along a defined travel path as said lower head is moved from said beverage flavoring position to said pod discharge position, and a mechanical pod ejection controller for acting against said actuator head of said pod ejector mechanism to effect the discharge of the beverage pod from said holding chamber when the lower head is moved to said pod discharge position, and a mechanical pod ejection controller for acting against said actuator head of said pod ejector mechanism to effect the discharge of the beverage pod from said holding chamber when the lower head is moved to said pod discharge position, said pod ejection controller including a cam slide surface positioned to come into contact with said actuator head of said pod ejection mechanism and to increasingly compress the spring of said spring-loaded stem to apply increasing pressure to said pod support disc as said lower head is moved from said beverage flavoring position to said pod discharge position, said cam slide surface positioned to effect sufficient force through said spring loaded stem and said pod support disc to eject the beverage flavoring pod from said holding chamber and said lower head when said lower head reaches said pod discharge position, wherein said pod ejection controller includes a pod ejection controller bracket member having said cam slide surface formed thereon, said actuator head follows a generally arcuate path as said lower head is moved from said beverage flavoring position to said pod discharge position, and said pod ejector controller bracket includes an arcuately shaped portion along one edge thereof with said cam slide surface formed thereon.