Abstract:
An apparatus for making drinks such as filtered water, coffee, espresso or tea which comprise a cold water filter system for purifying water for either direct consumption or use in extracting flavor-containing materials like coffee and a hot water filter assembly located on the brew head for removing impurities originated from both water itself and the parts of the apparatus in contact with water. The cold water filter system comprises a removable water container having at its bottom a water passageway, a filter cartridge removably mounted in the water passageway, a containing chamber for receiving the filtered water, and a valve in the water passageway for closing the passageway when the container is removed from and opening the passageway when placed onto the containing chamber. The hot water filter assembly comprises a filter cartridge having a hot water inlet and an outlet, a water-tight seal formed between the brew head and cartridge inlet and encircled by an elastic sealing ring, and a fixture for removably receiving the cartridge and retaining the cartridge in position to maintain the water-tight seal during the operation of the apparatus.

Description:
This is a continuation-in-part application of Ser. No. 09/062,481, filed Apr. 17, 1998. 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF PRIOR ART 
     Water is an increasingly popular drink, and is used to brew other drinks such as coffee, tea, cappuccino and espresso. Water filtration is known to improve water taste and the taste of drinks made from the filtered water. Water filtration pitchers have been increasingly used to filter water for either direct consumption or for use with automatic drip coffee makers in preparing coffee. Water filtration has also been integrated into automatic drip coffee makers where a cavity is formed between the bottom of water reservoir and the water heater tube for receiving a water filter cartridge. In this case, the filtered water enters the water heater as soon as it exits the cartridge. Such arrangement has several drawbacks. First, it can not provide a supply of filtered water as quickly as required by apparatus like espresso/cappuccino machines and those disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,267,506. Second, it has low filtration efficiency because it can only use relatively large activated carbon particles to achieve the flow rate required by the automatic drip coffee makers. Third, none of the current coffee makers can produce cold filtered water for direct consumption. Forth, a partially clogged water filter cartridge will change the water flow rate through the water heaters of the automatic drip coffee makers, thus may cause changes in coffee temperature and taste. Fifth, the water filter cartridges provide a bed for bacteria growth and may produce foul odor. At last, the water filter cartridge in the reservoir can not remove the plastic odor and impurities resulting from contacting the plastic, rubber and metal parts of the apparatus. U.S. Pat. No. 5,393,548 discloses a device and method for filtering impurities from the water by positioning a water filtration device between the hot water drip outlet of an automatic drip coffee maker and the ground coffee in a filter. This device resolved to some degree the fourth and last drawbacks mentioned above with the existing water filter systems for automatic drip coffeemakers, but it caused additional problems, such as the overflow of unfiltered water from the top of the filter device, complexity in the device and coffee maker, and additional cleaning work required to remove the coffee grounds around the filter device. 
     Currently, none of the commercially available espresso and cappuccino machines have water filter system, although the consumers who drink espresso-based beverages like espresso, latte and cappuccino are normally more conscious to coffee quality and taste than the consumers who drink only regular coffee. There is currently no known water filtration system, which can be adapted to the existing espresso and cappuccino machines and the apparatus disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,267,506 without major inventions. There is neither known water filtration system for producing purified water for producing steam for frothing milks for making milk-containing drinks like cappuccino and latte. 
     The present invention provides apparatus having novel and improved means for making filtered water for direct consumption, for use in preparing drinks such as espresso, coffee, tea, cappuccino and Latte and for producing steam for frothing milk, and is aimed at solving the problems associated with the existing apparatus for making such drinks. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     In accordance with the present invention, there is provided a new apparatus and methods for making drinks such as filtered water, coffee, tea, cappuccino or espresso for human consumption and enjoyment. The apparatus comprises a cold water filter system for preparing purified water from a supply of water that may contain impurities for either direct consumption or use in making drinks, water heating and delivering means for heating the purified water and delivering the hot water and steam, a hot water filter assembly for filtering the impurities which are originated from the water itself or the plastic or rubber parts contacting water, a coffee filter for receiving a supply of flavor-containing material such as coffee and for allowing the extraction of the flavor-containing material by the hot water therein. 
     The cold water filter system comprises a first containing means for receiving a supply of water which may contain impurities, a second containing means for receiving the filtered water, a water flow passageway having one end connected to the bottom portion of the first containing means and the other end extended into the second containing means, a water filter cartridge removably mounted in the water flow passageway, an automatic valve located in the water flow passageway for automatically closing the passageway when the first containing means is removed from the second containing means and opening the water flow passageway when the first containing means is placed onto the second containing means, and discharging means such as a spigot and outlet located near the bottom of the second containing means for discharging the filtered water for either drinking directly or preparing other drinks. The water filter cartridge comprises a first cylindrical chamber having one end generally open and the other end made of a porous wall, a second cylindrical chamber having one end generally open and the other end made of a porous wall, snap locking means formed at the open end of the first cylindrical chamber and the porous wall end of the second cylindrical chamber, a space formed between the porous wall of the first and second cylindrical chambers after the second cylindrical chamber is snapped into the first cylindrical chamber, and a predetermined amount of filter materials like activated carbon confined in the space. In a modified embodiment of the cold water filter system, the first containing means is permanently attached to the second containing, means and the automatic valve is replaced with venting means connected to the second containing means. The venting means releases the air trapped in the second containing means during the water filtration and admits air into the second containing means during the discharging of the filtered water. 
     The hot water filter assembly is located at the outlet of the brew head so that the impurities originated from both water itself and from the parts of the apparatus in contact with water are removed right before the hot water reaches the flavor-containing material in the coffee filter. The hot water filter assembly comprises a water filter cartridge having a cartridge inlet for receiving the hot water from the outlet of the brew head and a cartridge outlet for discharging the filtered water into the coffee filter, a water distribution chamber formed between the outlet of the brew head and the cartridge inlet and encircled by an elastomer ring member to achieve a water-tight seal between the brew head and the cartridge inlet so that all the hot water from the brew head is directed into the water filter cartridge, and a fixture for removably receiving the water filter cartridge and for retaining the cartridge in position to maintain the water-tight seal between the brew head and the cartridge inlet during the operation of the apparatus. In one embodiment of the hot water filter assembly, the fixture is a compartment attached to the brew head and comprises a substantially round support base, a support sidewall of a predetermined height perpendicular to the support base, and an opening for receiving the cartridge into the compartment. In another embodiment of the hot water filter assembly, the fixture comprises a bolt formed on the brew head and dimensioned to insert into a hole formed in the filter cartridge and a nut for locking the filter cartridge in position after the filter cartridge is inserted into the bolt. 
     It is an object of the present invention to provide an automatic drip coffee maker for making both filtered water and coffee. 
     It is a further object of the present invention to provide an apparatus which has a water filter system for making filtered water either both direct human consumption and for use in preparing other drinks like espresso, cappuccino, coffee or tea. 
     It is a still fiber object of the present invention to provide an apparatus which has a cold water filter system that can quickly provide a certain amount of filtered water either for direct human consumption or for use to prepare other drinks like espresso, cappuccino, coffee or tea. 
     It is a still further object of the present invention to provide an apparatus for making drinks like espresso, cappuccino, coffee, tea or filtered water which can allow the user to remove its water reservoir having a water filter cartridge removably attached to the its water outlet without causing water leakage. 
     It is a still further object of the present invention to provide an apparatus which has a hot water filter assembly for removing the impurities originated from both water and the parts of the apparatus in contact with the water before the hot water is brought into contact with flavor-carrying materials like coffee or tea. 
     It is a still further object of the present invention to provide an apparatus for making drinks like espresso and cappuccino which allows easy mounting and removing of the water filter cartridge to and from a water filter assembly located on the brew head. 
     These and other objectives and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following description of the preferred embodiments, taken together with the accompanying drawings. 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING 
     The accompanying drawing illustrates diagramaticaly non-limitative embodiment of the invention, as follows: 
     FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing the constitution of an apparatus for making drinks such as coffee, espresso, tea or filtered water in accordance with the present invention; 
     FIG. 2 is a sectional view for the outlet chamber of the cold water filter  11  shown in FIG. 1 taken along the line II—II; 
     FIG. 3 is a sectional view of the hot water filter shown in FIG. 1, taken along the line III—III; 
     FIG. 4 is a sectional elevation view of another embodiment of the cold water filter  11  shown in FIG. 1; 
     FIG. 5 is a sectional elevation view of another embodiment of the cold water filter  11  shown in FIG. 1; 
     FIG. 6 is a sectional view along line VI—VI of FIG. 5; 
     FIG. 7 is a sectional elevation view of another embodiment of the hot water filter  14  shown in FIG.  1 . 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     FIG. 1 shows certain parts of an apparatus  10  for making drinks such as coffee, tea, espresso, latte, cappuccino, or filtered water that embodies one form of the present invention. Only those parts of the apparatus are shown which are necessary for full understanding of the invention. For example, the housing for the apparatus  10  and the parts for connecting the energy-consuming units of the apparatus to an energy source such as an electrical outlet have been omitted for the sake of clarity and simplicity. All such parts which are not specifically shown but necessary in order to render the apparatus fully operative can be similar, analogous or identical to the corresponding parts heretofore conventionally known and used in existing apparatus such as espresso machines, automatic drip coffeemakers and water filter devices. 
     Apparatus  10  comprises a cold water filter  11 , a water heating and delivering system  12  connected to the cold water filter through conduit  13 , a hot water filter  14  connected to the water heating and delivering system through a hot water conduit  15 , a hot water faucet  16  attached to the hot water conduit  15 , a flavor extraction system  18  having a coffee filter  19  for receiving a supply of flavor-carrying material  20  and a filter holder  17 , and a receptacle  21  for receiving the brewed water from the filter holder. The water heating and delivering system  12  can be, but not limited to, the water heater and pump used in pump espresso machines, the water heating and steam pressure generation system in steam espresso machines, the water heating and delivering system used in automatic drip coffeemakers, and the water heating and delivering system disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,267,506. The flavor extraction system  18  can be, but not limited to, the coffee filter assembly in espresso machines and automatic drip coffeemakers. 
     Cold water filter  11  comprises a first container  22  for receiving unfiltered water  23 , a second container  24  on which the first container is removably mounted for receiving the filtered water  25 , a water flow passageway chamber  27  having one end connected to the bottom portion of the first container  22  and another end extended into the second container  24 , a water filter cartridge  28  removably mounted in the passageway chamber  27  for filtering the water in the first container, a valve  29  located at bottom  30  of the passageway chamber  27  for automatically shutting off the water flow through the passageway chamber  27  when the first container is removed from the second container and opening the water flow when the first container is mounted on the second container, a spigot  31  located near the bottom  32  of the second container for dispensing the filtered water to a container such as a cup for direct consumption, and an outlet  33  located at bottom  32  for introducing the filtered water to the water heating and delivery system  12 . The first container  22  is dimensioned to loosely fit into the second container  24  so that there is a gap between the two containers venting the air in the second container during the filtering of the water  23  and discharging of the filtered water  25 . The first container  22  has a handle  34  for easy handling of the container  22  and an o-ring  35  located at the upper end of the passageway chamber  27  for providing a water-tight seal between the chamber  27  and filter cartridge  28 . 
     The valve  29  comprises an opening  36  formed on the bottom  30  of the passageway chamber  27 , a sealing disc  37  for sealing the opening  36  when the first container  22  is removed from the second container  24 , a retaining disc  38  for retaining the sealing disc in position, a connection stem  39  for connecting the sealing disc and retaining disc, prevention stems  40  (FIG. 2) formed on the inner peripheral of the opening  36  for preventing the retaining disc  38  from being pushed out of opening  36 , and a protrusion  41  formed at the bottom  32  of the second container  24 . The sealing disc  37 , retaining disc  38  and connection stem  39  may be one integral part made of elastomer material. The lower end of the retaining disc  38  can be smaller than the upper end to facilitate the insertion of the retaining disc into the opening  36  during assembly. A spring (not shown) may be placed between the retaining disc  38  and the prevention stems  40  to improve the seal between the sealing disc  37  and the bottom  30  of the passageway chamber  27 . The valve  29  automatically shuts off the water flow through the passageway chamber  27  when the first container  22  is removed from the second container  24 , which causes the sealing disc  37  to cover the opening  36  due to the weight of the retaining disc  38 , sealing disc  37  and connection stem  39 , and automatically opens the water flow when the first container is mounted on the second container, which causes the sealing disc  37  to be pushed away from opening  36  by the protrusion  41 . 
     The water filter cartridge  28  comprises a first cylindrical chamber  42  having a lower end  43  with numerous small openings  44  and a generally open upper end, a second cylindrical chamber  46  insertable into the first cylindrical chamber  42  having a lower end  47  with numerous small openings  48  and a generally open upper end, a space is formed between the lower end  43  of the first cylindrical chamber  42  and the lower end  47  of the second cylindrical chamber  46  to enclose filter materials  49  such as activated carbon contained. The openings  44  and  48  are small enough to prevent the filter materials  49  from leaking out. A tapered internal shoulder  50  is formed on the upper end of the first cylindrical chamber  42  and a tapered external shoulder  51  is formed on the upper end of the second cylindrical chamber  46 . Shoulders  50  and  51  are so dimensioned that the second cylindrical chamber  46  can be snapped into the first chamber  42  to form a locking snap fit. The upper portion of the first cylindrical chamber  42  is slightly enlarged to ensure that the water filter cartridge  28  will not be pushed too much into the passageway chamber  27 . Side water inlet  52  is formed on the peripheral walls of both the first and second cylindrical chambers to allow the water below the upper end of water filter cartridge  22  in the first container  22  to enter the cartridge. The first and second cylindrical chambers are so dimensioned that the second cylindrical chamber  46  fits tightly into the first cylindrical chamber  42  so that the filter materials  49  can not leak out from the space between the inner side wall of the second cylindrical chamber and the outer side wall of the first cylindrical chamber. 
     A first important advantage of the cold water filter  11  is that it enables the apparatus to produce both cold and hot filtered water either for direct consumption or for use in making other drinks such as coffee, espresso, cappuccino and/or tea. A second important advantage of the cold water filter is that it stores the filtered water  25  in the second container  24  that communicates with atmosphere through the gap between the first and second containers, which makes it possible to discharge a predetermined amount of filtered water at a rate quick enough for pump espresso machines and the apparatus disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,267,506. A third important advantage of the cold water filter is that it allows the users to take only the first container  22  with the filter cartridge attached to a water faucet for refilling rather than to take the whole apparatus. It is appreciated that the cold water filter  11  can be constructed either as an independent apparatus for making filtered water or as an accessory attached to another apparatus which requires the use of water for making drinks such as espresso, coffee, cappuccino and latte. It is also appreciated that refrigeration means  95  can be included in the apparatus to make the temperature of the filtered water lower than that of the surrounding environments. 
     FIG. 4 shows a modified embodiment  11 A of the cold water filter  11  of FIG. 1, wherein the valve  29  is part of the water filter cartridge  28   a  rather than part of the passageway chamber  27   a  of the first container  22 . The water filter cartridge  28   a  is mounted to the modified passageway chamber  27   a  through the O-ring  35 . In this modified embodiment  11 A, water filter cartridge  28   a  comprises a first cylindrical containing chamber  54  having an upper end wall  55  with multiple openings  56 , a generally closed side wall  57  and a lower end wall  58  having multiple openings  59 , the filter materials  49  enclosed by the upper end wall  55 , the side wall  57  and the lower end wall  58  of the first cylindrical containing chamber, a second cylindrical containing chamber  60  having a generally open upper end as the inlet for receiving the filtered water from the multiple openings  59  of the lower end wall of, a generally closed side wall  62  and the valve  29  located at the outlet for controlling the flow of the filtered water into and out of the containing chamber  60 , and snap attachment details  61  formed at the lower end of the first cylindrical containing chamber  54  and the generally open upper end of the second cylindrical chamber  57  for attaching the two chambers in a snapping manner. The lower end wall  58  of first cylindrical containing chamber  54  is fixed in position by the generally open upper end of the second cylindrical containing chamber  60  and the filter materials  49  in the first cylindrical containing chamber  54 . 
     It is appreciated that besides having all the advantages of the cold water filter  11  of FIG. 1, cold water filter  11 A can avoid the dripping of water when replacing the filter cartridge. It is also appreciated that the water passageway chamber  27   a  of cold water filter  11 A and the first cylindrical chamber  54  can be modified to allow the filter cartridge  28   a  to be mounted inside the water passageway chamber  27   a  as in the cold water filter  11  of FIG.  1 . 
     Another modified embodiment  11 B of the cold water filter  11  of FIG. 1 is specified, which, as illustrated in FIGS. 5 and 6, combines the first containing chamber  22  and the second containing chamber  24  by the water passageway chamber  27 . The unfiltered water in the first containing chamber  22  passes through the water filter cartridge  22  in the passageway chamber  27  and the filtered water is stored in the relatively small second containing chamber  24 . The filtered water  25  reaches the spigot  31  through channel  62  . The second containing chamber  24  communicates with atmosphere through vent conduit  63  for releasing the air in the second containing chamber to make space for the filtered water  25  and for admitting air into the second containing chamber to replace filtered water discharged through the spigot  31 . The second containing chamber  24  is sufficiently large to hold at least one cup of filtered water  25 . 
     It is appreciated that cold water filter  11 B reduces the bacteria growth by maintaining the majority of the water unfiltered in the first containing chamber, which still contains the disinfecting agent like chlorine for inhibiting bacteria growth. This modified cold water system also has all the advantages of the cold water filters  11  except that the first containing chamber  22  can not be removed from the second containing chamber  24 . It is appreciated that cold water filter  11 B can be constructed either as an independent apparatus for making filtered water or as an accessory connected to another apparatus which uses filtered water to make drinks. 
     Refer now to the hot water filter  14  as illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 3, the hot water filter comprises a brew head member  66 , a hot water inlet  67  connected to hot water conduit  15 , a hot water filter cartridge  68  having multiple hot water inlet holes  69  and filtered water outlet holes  70  formed on the generally flat upper and lower end walls  71  and  72  of the cartridge, respectively, a compartment  73  for receiving the hot water filter cartridge, and a water distribution chamber  74  enclosed by the a sealing O-ring  79  received in a circular slot  80  on brew head member  66  and the brew head member  66  and the generally flat surface  71  of the cartridge  68  . A watertight seal is formed between the  0 -ring  79  and the upper surface  71  of the hot water filter cartridge  68  after it is inserted into the compartment  73 . The compartment  73  comprising a substantially round support base  75  with multiple openings  76 , a side support wall  77 . The compartment  73  is attached to the brew head member  66  by attachment means  78 . 
     The water filter cartridge comprises a first member  81  having a substantially cylindrical side wall  82 , a tapered internal shoulder  83  formed at the generally open lower end of the first member and the generally flat upper end wall  71  on which the multiple hot water inlet holes  69  are formed, a second member  84  having a substantially cylindrical side wall  85 , a tapered external shoulder  86 , the generally flat lower end wall  72  on which the multiple filtered water outlet holes  70  are formed and a generally open upper end, and a predetermined amount of filter materials  87  such as activated carbon and ion-exchange resins confined between the generally flat upper and lower end walls  71  and  72 . A handle  88  for the hot water filter cartridge  68  is located on the side wall  82  of the first member  81  for assisting in mounting and removing the hot water filter cartridge into and out of the compartment  73 . 
     The multiple hot water inlet holes  69  on the generally flat upper end wall  71  are small enough to prevent the filter materials  87  from leaking out of the cartridge  68 . These outlet holes  69  are all located a certain distance away from the side wall  82  so that no holes are present outside the sealing O-ring  135  after the filter cartridge  68  is inserted into the compartment  73 . The filtered water outlet holes  70  on the lower end wall  72  of the second member  84  are also small enough to prevent the filter materials  87  from leaking out of the hot water filter cartridge  68 . 
     The tapered internal shoulder  83  of the first member  81  and the tapered external shoulder  86  of the second member  84  are so constructed that the second member  84  can be snapped into the first member  81 . The cylindrical side wall  85  of the second member  84  is located a certain distance away from the tapered external shoulder  86  and is sufficiently tall so that it can cause certain tension between the internal shoulder  83  and the external shoulder  86  after the cartridge  68  is assembled. The tension between the internal and external shoulders provides a watertight seal between the first member  81  and second member  84 . 
     It is appreciated that the hot water filter assembly can be slightly modified by removing the circular slot  80  and the sealing O-ring  79  from the brew head member  66  and placing them near the edge of the upper end wall  71  of the first member  81  (not shown). It is also appreciated that the compartment  73  can be formed as an integral part of the brew head member  66  (not shown). 
     A modified embodiment  14 A of the hot water filter  14  of FIG. 1 is shown in FIG.  7 . Unlike the filter  14  which uses the compartment  73  to receive and retain the hot water filter cartridge  68  in place, the hot water filter  14 A uses a bolt  90  formed on the brew head member  66  and a nut  91  to receive and retain the hot water filter cartridge  68 A in place. The cartridge  68 A has a cylindrical central hole  92 , which is formed by the center cylindrical wall  93  attached to the generally flat upper end wall  71  of the first member  81  and by the central hole formed on the generally flat second member  72 , for receiving the bolt  90 . To mount the cartridge  68 A onto the brew head member  66 , one simply pushes the cartridge upwards so that bolt  90  is received in the central hole  92  and then tightens the nut  91  into bolt  90 . 
     The scope of the invention is obviously not restricted to the embodiments described by way of examples and depicted in the drawings, there being numerous changes, modifications, additions, and applications thereof imaginable within the purview of the claims.