Beverage carafe with improved liquid flow

A beverage carafe comprises a beverage reservoir and a channel for directing a flow of liquid from the reservoir when the carafe is tilted for dispensing the liquid. The channel has a floor and an elongated protrusion projecting upward from the floor. The protrusion is transverse to the flow of the liquid through the channel and has a curved distal face and curved sides.

BACKGROUND OF THE DISCLOSURE

The present disclosure relates generally to liquid-containing vessels in general, and more specifically to carafes for storing and serving beverages.

A beverage carafe may be used to store and serve beverages. A beverage carafe may be used with, for example, a beverage brewing system such as an automatic drip coffee maker.

Beverage carafe lid outlets may be closed via a flapper door to reduce steam and heat loss from the carafe. When the carafe is upright, the flapper is closed. As the user tilts the carafe to pour the beverage, the flowing beverage and gravity lift the flapper door from its seat allowing the beverage to flow out of the lid nozzle to the carafe spout. As the beverage level decreases in the carafe, the user must increase the tilt of the carafe to keep the beverage flowing. The variable tilt of the carafe leads to undesirable fluid flow mechanics resulting in splatting, splashes and/or drips, each of which can create a mess.

It has heretofore not been discovered how to create a beverage carafe that can pour a beverage with little to no splatter and drips regardless of the angle of tilt of the carafe. The beverage carafe of the following disclosure overcomes at least one of the above-described disadvantages of conventional beverage carafes.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE

A beverage carafe is disclosed herein. In one embodiment of the subject device, a beverage carafe comprises a beverage reservoir and a channel for directing a flow of liquid from the reservoir when the carafe is tilted for dispensing the liquid. The channel has a floor and an elongated protrusion projecting upward from the floor. The protrusion is transverse to the flow of the liquid through the channel and has a curved distal face and curved sides.

The beverage carafe may further comprise a pour spout, such that the channel directs the flow of the liquid from the reservoir to the pour spout.

The beverage carafe may further comprise a selectively removable lid for selectively closing off an open top end of the reservoir, such that the channel is defined in the lid.

The beverage carafe may further comprise a throat positioned such that the liquid flows from the reservoir through the throat to the channel, and a flapper that pivots between a down position in which the throat is at least partly closed off and an up position for dispensing. The flapper may have a concave bottom surface to direct the flow of the liquid toward the channel. The throat may have opposing flat side edges such that opposing vent openings are defined between the concave bottom surface of the flapper and the flat side edges of the throat when the flapper is in the down position.

In alternative embodiments of the present disclosure, a beverage carafe comprises a beverage reservoir, a channel for directing a flow of liquid from the reservoir when the carafe is tilted for dispensing the liquid, a throat positioned such that the liquid flows from the reservoir through the throat to the channel, and a flapper that pivots between a down position in which the throat is at least partly closed off and an up position for dispensing. The flapper can comprise a concave bottom surface to direct the flow of the liquid toward the channel.

The throat may have opposing flat side edges such that opposing vent openings are defined between the concave bottom surface of the flapper and the flat side edges of the throat when the flapper is in the down position.

The channel may have a floor and an elongated protrusion projecting upward from the floor. The protrusion is transverse to the flow of the liquid through the channel and has a curved distal face and curved sides.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DISCLOSURE

Certain terminology is used in the following description for convenience only and is not limiting. The words “lower,” “bottom,” “upper,” and “top” designate directions in the drawings to which reference is made. The words “inwardly,” “outwardly,” “upwardly” and “downwardly” refer to directions toward and away from, respectively, the geometric center of the device, and designated parts thereof, in accordance with the present disclosure. Unless specifically set forth herein, the terms “a,” “an” and “the” are not limited to one element, but instead should be read as meaning “at least one.” The terminology includes the words noted above, derivatives thereof and words of similar import.

Referring to the drawings in detail, wherein like numerals indicate like elements throughout,FIGS. 1-12illustrate a beverage carafe10in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present disclosure. Such a beverage carafe may be used with, for example, a beverage brewing system such as an automatic drip coffee maker. The beverage carafe10ofFIGS. 1-12comprises a vessel portion12within which a beverage reservoir or chamber14is defined for receiving and holding a beverage. A handle16enables a user to lift and tilt the carafe10to dispense the beverage from the beverage reservoir14. The beverage carafe10typically comprises a selectively removable lid30for selectively closing off an open top end of the reservoir14. A through hole32may be defined in the lid30for receiving a beverage being dispensed into the beverage carafe10from, e.g., an automatic drip coffee maker. One or more partial threads22or complete threads (not illustrated) may be present for selectively securing the lid30to the vessel portion12. A pour spout18may project outward from the vessel portion12for directing the dispensing beverage into a cup or the like. One or more vertical ribs20(one is shown) may project upward from the concave surface of the pour spout18.

As seen inFIG. 3, the lid30may comprise a top portion34and a collar portion40(which would typically not be separable by a user, but are shown separated for clarity). A through hole42in the collar portion40is aligned with the through hole32in the top portion34such that the beverage being dispensed into the beverage carafe10may flow through the lid30into the beverage reservoir14. A channel44is defined in the collar portion40of the lid30. The channel44directs a flow of liquid from the reservoir14to the pour spout18when the carafe10is tilted for dispensing the beverage. The channel has a generally rectangular or trapezoidal cross-section (as best seen inFIG. 5). Advantageously, an elongated protrusion46projects upward from the floor of the channel44. The protrusion46is transverse to the flow of the beverage through the channel44. The protrusion46has a curved distal face (i.e., the face distal from the reservoir along the flow path of the dispensed beverage) (as best seen inFIG. 6, in which the flow path of the dispensed beverage is shown as a dashed line arrow) and curved opposing sides (as best seen inFIG. 5).

As the dispensed beverage flows over the protrusion46, a low-pressure zone is created on the distal face to draw the liquid back to the bottom surface or floor of the channel44, thereby reducing or preventing splashing of the beverage. The size and shape of the protrusion may vary depending on the specific design of the carafe (e.g., the size and shape of the channel, the amount of beverage flow, etc.). Generally, the protrusion should be small enough that the protrusion does not block the outlet flow of the beverage, but large enough to influence the flow and create the desired low-pressure zone. The opposing sides and distal wall are smoothly curved, as abrupt changes in the beverage flow (which may occur if the protrusion is not smooth (especially the distal wall) and/or the protrusion is too tall) may cause separation of the flow and eddy currents that would be counter-productive to reducing splashing. In one exemplary embodiment, the protrusion has a height H1of about 1 millimeter (mm), a width W1of about 11 mm (which is about one-half the width W2of the channel opening), and a depth D1of about 4 mm (which is about the same as the height H2of the outlet flow above the protrusion). In at least some embodiments of the present disclosure, it is preferable to have the width W1of the protrusion equal to about one-half the width W2of the channel opening and to have the depth D1of the protrusion equal to about the height H2of the outlet flow above the protrusion.

A throat48(seen inFIGS. 7-10) is defined in the collar portion40of the lid30. The throat48is positioned such that the beverage flows from the reservoir14through the throat48to the channel44. A flapper60pivots between a down position (seen inFIGS. 7, 8 and 10) in which the throat48is at least partly closed off and an up position (seen inFIG. 9) for dispensing. The flapper60has a hinge end62and an opposing curved front end64that matches the curvature of the adjacent inner wall of the collar portion40. The flapper60may have a vertical rib72that helps to ensure proper installation. The flapper60may have a small weight70(shown positioned on a vertical post68) to help bias the flapper closed. The weight70may comprise a small piece of metal (e.g., stainless steel) that weights about two grams.

Advantageously, the flapper60has a concave bottom surface66to direct the flow of the liquid from the reservoir14toward the channel44. As seen in the figures, the curvature is in the direction of the flow of liquid (in other words, the central axis of the curvature is transverse to the flow of liquid) to provide the desired direction of flow. Because the surrounding edges of the throat48are flat, the curvature of the bottom surface66of the flapper60creates opposing vents78(only one is visible inFIG. 10) between the concave bottom surface66of the flapper60and the flat edges of the throat48when the flapper60is in the down position (seen inFIG. 10). The vents78allow air to vent around the sides of the flapper60to help prevent the flapper60from “burping” during the brew cycle due to pressure caused by the inlet flow of the beverage into the reservoir14.