Tea maker

A tea maker provides a simple structural configuration, stable and rigid structure, and low manufacturing cost, and is adapted to effectively separate the tea leaves from the brewed tea for adjustably controlling the concentration of the brewed tea. The tea maker includes a supporting frame, a tea infusing container with a container lid, a tea basket disposed in the tea infusing container, and a control circuit. A sliding arrangement includes a vertical support, a sliding frame slidably coupled at the vertical support, and a resilient element. The sliding frame includes a hanger, an actuator, and a first permanent magnet. The hanger is supported above and aligned with an electromagnet. A second permanent magnet is provided at the outer side of the surrounding wall of the tea basket and is magnetically attracted with the first permanent magnet.

BACKGROUND OF THE PRESENT INVENTION

1. Field of Invention

The present invention relates to a tea maker.

2. Description of Related Arts

There are various tea infusers in the market. For example, China Patent No. ZL200410041385.2, filed Jul. 12, 2004, disclosed an automatic tea apparatus which comprises a tea pot body, a supporting plate supported on the tea pot body, a tea cup detachably supported on the supporting plate, and a filtering mesh provided at the tea cup, wherein a thermo cup is provided below the supporting plate at a position that a water flow passage is communicating between the tea cup and the thermo cup. A water valve is provided at the water flow passage. The automatic tea apparatus is arranged to extract the tea and to separate the tea leaves by the filtering mesh (similar to the tea basket of the present invention) in order to filter the tea leaves from the extracted tea.

According to another prior art, the conventional tea apparatus provides a tea basket detachably coupled to the tea cup in order to separate the tea leaves from the extracted tea. For example, another China Patent No. CN200780045857.3, filed Oct. 24, 2007, disclosed a tea infuser which comprises a container a vertical conveyor communicatively linked to the container, and a basket which is disposed in the container and is operatively linked to the vertical conveyor. However, such tea infuser has several drawbacks including: (1) the structure is complicated that the manufacturing time of the tea infuser will be substantially increased, (2) the vertical movement of the basket is controlled by a rotational movement of a screw to lift up or drop down the basket, such that the basket will not stable, and (3) the production cost of the tea basket is relatively high.

SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT INVENTION

According to the deficiencies in the prior arts, the invention is advantageous in that it provides a tea infuser which provides a simplified structural configuration, high stability of the basket, low manufacturing cost, and can effectively separate the tea leaves from the brewed tea to adjustably control the concentration of the brewed tea.

According to the present invention, the foregoing and other objects and advantages are attained by a tea maker which comprises a supporting frame which is embodied as a vertical supporting post, a tea infusing container with a container lid supported by the supporting frame, a tea basket with a basket lid disposed in the tea infusing container, and a control circuit. The supporting frame comprises at least a vertical support. The tea maker further comprises a sliding arrangement which comprises a sliding frame slidably coupled at the vertical support, and a resilient element, wherein the resilient element, which is preferably a compression spring, is supported below the sliding frame. Therefore, resilient element is retained at a working mode that the resilient element is compressed by the sliding frame. Or, when the resilient element is supported above the sliding frame, the resilient element is retained at the working mode that the resilient element is stretched out by the sliding frame. The sliding frame comprises a hanger protruded therefrom, an actuator, and a first permanent magnet. The hanger is aligned with and positioned corresponding to an electromagnet which is located at the bottom of the vertical support, wherein the hanger is supported above and aligned with the electromagnet. The tea basket further comprises a second permanent magnet provided at the outer side of the surrounding wall of the tea basket and is magnetically attracted with the first permanent magnet.

Accordingly, the hanger can be replaced by an armature and the electromagnet can be replaced by induction coil assembly in order to adjustably control the concentration of the brewed tea.

According to the present invention, the sliding arrangement further comprises a second guiding groove vertically formed at the inner side of the surrounding wall of the tea infusing container, wherein the second permanent magnet is slidably engaged with the second guiding groove, so as to ensure the tea basket being stably slid up and down.

According to the present invention, the sliding arrangement further comprises a first guiding groove vertically formed at the outer side of the surrounding wall of the tea infusing container, wherein the first permanent magnet is slidably engaged at the first guiding groove, so as to ensure the sliding frame being stably slid up and down.

According to the present invention, the tea infusing container can configured to have a circular shape or rectangular shape. Or, the tea infusing container can configured to have a flat sidewall integrated with a curved sidewall to form an irregular surrounding wall of the tea infusing container. Or, the tea infusing container can configured to have a flat sidewall integrated with an irregular sidewall to form the irregular surrounding wall of the tea infusing container.

According to the present invention, the heater unit is provided at the bottom side of the tea infusing container, wherein the heater unit can be a heating plate or heating tube.

According to the present invention, tea maker further comprises a water tank supported above the tea infusing container, wherein an electromagnetic water valve is provided at the water outlet of the water tank to communicatively align with a first water inlet of the tea infusing container. Accordingly, the electromagnetic water valve is controlled by the control circuit to selectively open and close the electromagnetic water valve to fill the water into the tea infusing container. The supporting frame further comprises a supporting shaft. The water tank is rotatably coupled at the supporting shaft, wherein the water tank and the tea infusing container can be rotatably moved at the supporting shaft.

In accordance with another aspect of the invention, the present invention comprises a tea maker which comprises a tea infusing container with a container lid, a tea basket disposed in the tea infusing container, and a control circuit. An armature is provided at the tea basket, wherein a coil assembly is provided at the bottom side of the tea infusing container and is correspondingly aligned with the armature. The supporting frame comprises at least a vertical support upwardly extended to and slidably couple at the tea basket. At least a resilient element is coaxially coupled at the vertical support, wherein the resilient element is supported below the tea basket (the resilient element is compressed) or the resilient element is supported above the tea basket (the resilient element t is stretched out) for returning the tea basket back to its original position.

According to the present invention, the armature is provided at the surrounding wall of the tea basket, wherein the coil assembly is provided at the outer side of the surrounding wall of the tea infusing container at the bottom portion thereof.

According to the present invention, the sliding arrangement further comprises a second guiding groove vertically formed at the inner side of the surrounding wall of the tea infusing container, wherein the armature is slidably engaged with the second guiding groove, so as to ensure the tea basket being stably slid up and down.

According to the present invention, the armature is provided at the bottom side of the tea basket at a position below thereof. The coil assembly is provided at the bottom side of the tea infusing container and is correspondingly aligned with the armature.

According to the present invention, the heater unit is provided at the bottom side of the tea infusing container, wherein the heater unit can be a heating plate or heating tube.

Accordingly, the advantages of the present invention are: the present invention can accurately control the brewing time through the control circuit and can effectively separate the tea basket from the brewed tea via the resilient element, so as to separate the tea leaves from the brewed tea for adjustably controlling the concentration of the brewed tea. Comparing to the conventional tea maker, the present invention can achieve the objectives of simple structural configuration, stable and rigid structure, and low manufacturing cost.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Referring toFIG. 1of the drawings, a tea maker according to a first embodiment of the present invention is illustrated, wherein the tea maker comprises a supporting frame1which is embodied as a vertical supporting post, a tea infusing container3with a container lid31supported by the supporting frame1, a tea basket4with a basket lid41disposed in the tea infusing container3, and a control circuit. The tea infusing container3is preferably integrated with the supporting frame1. The supporting frame1comprises a vertical support12supported adjacent to an outer side of the surrounding wall of the tea infusing container3, a handle12, and a slider switch24. A lid locker310is provided on top of the handle13, wherein the lid locker310is engaged with a protrusion of the container lid31to selectively lock up the container lid31on the tea infusing container3. The tea maker further comprises a sliding arrangement which comprises a sliding frame2slidably coupled at the vertical support12, and a resilient element121, wherein the resilient element121, which is preferably a compression spring, is supported below the sliding frame2. Therefore, resilient element121is retained at a working mode that the resilient element121is compressed by the sliding frame2. (When the resilient element121is supported above the sliding frame2, the resilient element121is retained at the working mode that the resilient element121is stretched out by the sliding frame2). The sliding frame2is coupled at the vertical support12corresponding to the slider switch24which is coupled at the bottom end of the vertical support12. Therefore, when the sliding frame2is slid downwardly along the vertical support12, the sliding frame2will contact with the slider switch24. The sliding frame2comprises a hanger21, which is made of magnetic attractive material, protruded therefrom, an actuator22protruded toward the handle12, and a first permanent magnet23coupled at the sliding frame2. The hanger21is positioned corresponding to an electromagnet11which is located at the bottom portion of the vertical support12, wherein the hanger21is supported above and aligned with the electromagnet11. The actuator22is positioned offset to the handle13such that the handle13will not block the actuation of the actuator22. The sliding arrangement further comprises a first guiding groove32vertically formed at the outer side of the surrounding wall of the tea infusing container3, wherein the first permanent magnet23is slidably engaged at the first guiding groove32. The sliding arrangement further comprises a second guiding groove33vertically formed at the inner side of the surrounding wall of the tea infusing container3and aligned with the first guiding groove32. The tea basket4further comprises a second permanent magnet42provided at the outer side of the surrounding wall of the tea basket4and slidably engaged with the second guiding groove33. In addition, the first and second permanent magnets23,42are magnetically attracted with each other. The basket lid41covers a top opening of the tea basket4. The container lid31covers a top opening of the tea infusing container3. A heater unit5is provided at a bottom side of the tea infusing container3, preferably provided therewithin. The tea infusing container3further has a tea discharging outlet34provided at the bottom side of the tea infusing container3at a position opposite to the handle13. A temperature sensor is provided adjacent to the tea discharging outlet34. Accordingly, the control circuit comprises a counter for counting how many times the sliding frame2being slid downwardly.

According to the first embodiment, the working principle and the operation is shown as follow:

(1) Fill up the water: before brewing the tea, the user is able to open up the container lid31and remove the tea basket4from the tea infusing container3. Therefore, the user is able to fill a predetermined amount of water into the tea infusing container3.

(2) Place the tea leaves: the user is able to place the tea leaves in the tea basket4by opening up the basket lid41. Once the tea leaves are properly placed in the tea basket4, the user is able to close the tea basket4by the basket lid41and to dispose the tea basket4in the tea infusing container3.

(3) Heat up the water: Once the power is on, the user to able to press the “boil water” button on the control panel. Therefore, the heater unit5is automatically activated for heating up the water in the tea infusing container3. When the temperature sensor detects the water temperature reaching a preset threshold, the control circuit will activate a buzzer for generating an audio notification.

(4) Drop down the tea basket4: the user is able to set the brewing time on the control panel. The user is able to apply a downward force at the actuator22to drive the sliding frame2moving downward along the vertical support12. At the same time, the first permanent magnet23is correspondingly driven downward along the first guiding groove32. Due to the magnetically attraction, the second permanent magnet42will be slidably moved down along the second guiding groove33by the first permanent magnet23so as to drop down the tea basket4. In other words, the movement of the tea basket4is driven to move by means of magnetic means. Once the tea basket4is dropped down at the lowest position, the hanger11is magnetically attracted by the electromagnet11so as to retain the tea basket4in position.

(5) Rinse the tea leave: (a) the tea basket4is retained in the boiling water for brewing process. (b) after a predetermined of time, such as 5 seconds, the coil of the electromagnet11is de-energized, such that the compressed resilient element121will bound to its original form to generate an upward pushing force along the vertical support12. As a result, the first permanent magnet23is correspondingly driven upward along the first guiding groove32by the resilient element121. Due to the magnetically attraction, the second permanent magnet42will be slidably moved up along the second guiding groove33by the first permanent magnet23so as to lift up the tea basket4. It is worth mentioning that the tea basket4is lifted up at a position above the water level of the boiling water in the tea infusing container3. (c) The water in the tea infusing container3is drained via the tea discharging outlet34. It is worth mentioning that the user is able to actuate a “discharge” switch on the control panel to drain the water out of the tea infusing container3, wherein the water is used for rinsing the tea leaves as the tea rinsing water.

(6) Fill up the water again: the user is able to open up the container lid31and remove the tea basket4from the tea infusing container3. Therefore, the user is able to fill a predetermined amount of water into the tea infusing container3. Once the tea basket4is disposed in the tea infusing container3, the user is able to cover the top opening of the tea basket4by the basket lid41.

(7) Boil the water: the user is able to select which type of tea leave to brew the tea by selectively pressing a corresponding “tea type” button on the control panel. Once the “tea type” button is pressed, the brewing time and temperature will be automatically set to brew the tea. The heater unit5is also automatically activated for heating up the water in the tea infusing container3.

(8) Drop down the tea basket4: when the water temperature reaches the preset threshold, the control circuit will activate the buzzer for generating an audio notification. The user is able to apply the downward force at the actuator22to drive the sliding frame2moving downward along the vertical support12. At the same time, the first permanent magnet23is correspondingly driven downward along the first guiding groove32. Due to the magnetically attraction, the second permanent magnet42will be slidably moved down along the second guiding groove33by the first permanent magnet23so as to drop down the tea basket4. In other words, the movement of the tea basket4is driven to move by means of magnetic means. Once the tea basket4is dropped down at the lowest position, the hanger11is magnetically attracted by the electromagnet11so as to retain the tea basket4in position.

(9) Drew the tea: the tea basket4is retained in the boiling water and the brewing time is started to brew the tea.

(10) Lift up the tea basket4: when the brewing time is finished, the coil of the electromagnet11is automatically de-energized, such that the compressed resilient element121will bound to its original form to generate the upward pushing force along the vertical support12. As a result, the first permanent magnet23is correspondingly driven upward along the first guiding groove32by the resilient element121. Due to the magnetically attraction, the second permanent magnet42will be slidably moved up along the second guiding groove33by the first permanent magnet23so as to lift up the tea basket4. It is worth mentioning that the tea basket4is lifted up at a position above the water level of the boiling water in the tea infusing container3.

(11) Discharge the brewed tea: when the user wants a cup of tea, the user is able to actuate the “discharge” switch on the control panel to discharge the brewed water out of the tea infusing container3via the tea discharging outlet34.

(12) Heat preservation: when the temperature sensor detects the water temperature below a preset threshold, the heater unit5is automatically activated for heating up the water in the tea infusing container3so as to retain the brewed tea therein at a predetermined temperature.

When replacing the tea leaves, the lid switch310is actuated once corresponding to the container lid31. The control circuit will initialize the counter as zero corresponding to the counting number of the sliding frame2being slid downwardly. Every time when the sliding frame is slid downwardly, the slider switch24will be contacted once to add the counting number of the sliding frame2being slid downwardly.

According to the first embodiment, the hanger21can be replaced by an armature112and the electromagnet11can be replaced by induction coil assembly111.

As shown inFIG. 2, a tea maker according to a second embodiment illustrates an alternative mode of the first embodiment, wherein the tea maker further comprises a water tank10supported above the tea infusing container3. The supporting frame1further comprises a supporting shaft100. The water tank10is rotatably coupled at the supporting shaft100, wherein the water tank10and the tea infusing container3can be rotatably moved at the supporting shaft100. The tea infusing container3further comprises a first water inlet36which is provided at the top side thereof and is aligned with a water outlet of the water tank10. In particular, an electromagnetic water valve102is provided at the water outlet of the water tank10, wherein the water outlet of the water tank10is provided at the bottom side thereof. The water tank10further comprises a second water inlet103provided at the top side of the water tank10. An alignment unit104is provided between the water tank10and the tea infusing container3to ensure the correct alignment between the first water inlet36of the tea infusing container3and the electromagnetic water valve102at the water inlet of the water tank10when the water tank10and the tea infusing container3are rotated about the supporting shaft100.

According to the second embodiment, the working principle and the operation is similar to that of the first embodiment, wherein the following shows the differences between the first and second embodiments:

(1) Fill up the water: (a) the user is able to directly fill up the water in the tea infusing container3by rotatably moving either the tea infusing container3or the water tank10to fill the water into the tea infusing container3via the first water inlet36. Alternatively, the user is able to open up the container lid31to fill a predetermined amount of water into the tea infusing container3. After filling up the water, the tea infusing container3or the water tank10can be rotated back to its original position to align the first water inlet36of the tea infusing container3with the electromagnetic water valve102at the water inlet of the water tank10. (b) the user is also able to fill up the water in the tea infusing container3from the water tank10. The user is able to fill the water in the water tank10via the second water inlet103thereof. After filling the water in the water tank10, the water can be guided to fill into the tea infusing container3from the water tank10via the first water inlet36of the tea infusing container3. In particular, the user is able to press a button on the control panel to activate the electromagnetic water valve102through the control circuit so as to open the electromagnetic water valve102for allowing the water in the water tank10filling into the tea infusing container3.

(6) Fill up the water again: the user is able to fill the water into the tea infusing container3by any one of the filling methods in the above step (1).

According to the second embodiment, the tea maker of the present invention provides the water tank10to enhance the practice use of the tea maker for easily filling up water into the tea infusing container3.

As shown inFIG. 3, a tea maker according to a third embodiment illustrates another alternative mode of the first embodiment, wherein the tea maker comprises a tea infusing container3with a container lid31, a control circuit, and a tea basket4with a basket lid41disposed in the tea infusing container3. A handle35is provided at the tea infusing container3, wherein the control circuit and the coil assembly111are provided at the bottom of the handle35. The armature112is provided at the outer side of the surrounding wall of the tea basket4and is correspondingly aligned with the coil assembly111. The first guiding groove32is provided at the inner side of the surrounding wall of the tea infusing container3, wherein the armature112is slidably engaged with the first guiding groove32. A through slot of the container lid31is coaxially aligned with a through slot of the basket lid41to form a sliding channel, wherein a presser6is slidably extended through the through slots of the container lid31and the basket lid41along the sliding channel. Accordingly, the presser6, which is a tubular member, has a bottom portion of the presser6is extended into the tea infusing container3to press the tea basket6toward the bottom side of the tea infusing container3. The vertical support12is extended from the bottom side of the tea infusing container3into the tea basket4and is coaxially and slidably inserted into the presser6through the tea basket4, so as to guide the presser6being slid at the vertical support12. The resilient element121is coaxially coupled at the vertical support12, wherein the upper end of the resilient element121is biased against the bottom of the tea basket4and the bottom end of the resilient element121is biased against the bottom side of the tea infusing container3. The heater unit5and temperature sensor are provided at the bottom side of the tea infusing container3.

According to the third embodiment, the working principle and the operation is shown as follow:

(1) Fill up the water: before brewing the tea, the user is able to open up the container lid31and remove the tea basket4from the tea infusing container3by lifting up the presser6. Therefore, the user is able to fill a predetermined amount of water into the tea infusing container3.

(2) Place the tea leaves: the user is able to place the tea leaves in the tea basket4by opening up the basket lid41. Once the tea leaves are properly placed in the tea basket4, the user is able to close the tea basket4by the basket lid41and to dispose the tea basket4in the tea infusing container3. Then, the user is able to close the tea infusing container3by the container lid31.

(3) Heat up the water: Once the power is on, the user to able to press the “boil water” button on the control panel. Therefore, the heater unit5is automatically activated for heating up the water in the tea infusing container3.

(4) Drop down the tea basket4: When the temperature sensor detects the water temperature reaching a preset threshold or when the water heating time reaches the preset time, the control circuit will activate the buzzer for generating an audio notification. The user is able to apply a downward force at the presser6to drive the tea basket4moving downwardly along the vertical support12. At the same time, the armature112is correspondingly driven downward along the first guiding groove32. Once the tea basket4is dropped down at the preset position, the armature112is magnetically attracted to the coil assembly111so as to retain the tea basket4in position.

(5) Rinse the tea leave: (a) the tea basket4is retained in the boiling water for brewing process. (b) after a predetermined of time, such as 5 seconds, the coil of the coil assembly111is de-energized to magnetically disengage with the armature112, such that the compressed resilient element121will bound to its original form to generate an upward pushing force along the vertical support12. As a result, the armature112is correspondingly driven upward along the first guiding groove32by the resilient element121. (c) The user is able to drain out the water in the tea infusing container3as the tea rinsing water.

(6) Fill up the water again: the user is able to open up the container lid31. Therefore, the user is able to fill a predetermined amount of water into the tea infusing container3.

(7) Boil the water: the user is able to select which type of tea leave to brew the tea by selectively pressing a corresponding “tea type” button on the control panel. Once the “tea type” button is pressed, the brewing time and temperature will be automatically set to brew the tea. Then, the user is able to press the “brew” button, such that the heater unit5is also automatically activated by the control circuit for heating up the water in the tea infusing container3.

(8) Drop down the tea basket4: when the water temperature reaches the preset threshold or when the water heating time reaches the preset time, the control circuit will activate the buzzer for generating an audio notification. The user is able to apply the downward force at the presser6to drive the tea basket4moving downward along the vertical support12. At the same time, the armature112is correspondingly driven downward along the first guiding groove32. Once the tea basket4is dropped down at the preset position, the armature112is magnetically attracted to the electrified coil assembly111so as to retain the tea basket4in position.

(9) Drew the tea: the tea basket4is retained in the boiling water and the brewing time is started to brew the tea.

(10) Lift up the tea basket4: when the brewing time is finished, the coil of the coil assembly111is automatically de-energized to magnetically disengage with the armature112, such that the compressed resilient element121will bound to its original form to generate the upward pushing force along the vertical support12. As a result, the armature112is correspondingly driven upward along the first guiding groove32by the resilient element121.

(11) Discharge the brewed tea: when the user wants a cup of tea, the user is able to discharge the brewed water out of the tea infusing container3.

(12) Heat preservation: when the temperature sensor detects the water temperature below a preset threshold, the heater unit5is automatically activated for heating up the water in the tea infusing container3so as to retain the brewed tea therein at a predetermined temperature.

According to the third embodiment, the vertical movement of the tea basket4is controlled by the presser6that the tea basket4can be moved up and down along the vertical support12. In addition, the brewing time for the tea basket4within the tea infusing container3is adjustably controlled that when the brewing time is up, the tea basket4is automatically lifted above the water level in the tea infusing container3so as to adjustably control the concentration of the brewed tea. Through the heat preservation process, the brewed tea in the tea infusing container3will be kept at a predetermined temperature to ensure the hot brewed tea being served for the user.

As shown inFIG. 4, a tea maker according to a fourth embodiment illustrates an alternative mode of the third embodiment, wherein the tea maker comprises a tea infusing container3with a container lid31, a control circuit, and a tea basket4with a basket lid41disposed in the tea infusing container3. A handle35is provided at the tea infusing container3, wherein the armature112is provided at the bottom side of the tea basket4, i.e. underneath the tea basket4. The coil assembly111is provided at the bottom side of the tea infusing container3and is correspondingly aligned with the armature112. A through slot of the container lid31is coaxially aligned with a through slot of the basket lid41to form a sliding channel, wherein a presser6is slidably extended through the through slots of the container lid31and the basket lid41along the sliding channel. Accordingly, the presser6, which is a tubular member, has a bottom portion of the presser6is extended into the tea infusing container3and is pressed against the bottom side of the tea basket4. Two vertical supports12are spacedly extended from the bottom side of the tea infusing container3to slidably extend through the bottom side of with the tea basket4. In particular, the tea basket4has two tubular sleeves122extended from the bottom side of the tea basket4, wherein the vertical supports12are slidably extended through the tubular sleeves122respectively to enable the tea basket4being slid up and down along the vertical supports12. Two resilient elements122are coaxially coupled at the vertical supports12respectively, wherein the upper end of each resilient element121is biased against the bottom of the tea basket4and the bottom end of each resilient element121is biased against the bottom side of the tea infusing container3. The heater unit5and temperature sensor are provided at the bottom side of the tea infusing container3.

According to the fourth embodiment, the working principle and the operation is shown as follow:

(1) Fill up the water: before brewing the tea, the user is able to open up the container lid31and remove the tea basket4from the tea infusing container3by lifting up the presser6. Therefore, the user is able to fill a predetermined amount of water into the tea infusing container3.

(2) Place the tea leaves: the user is able to place the tea leaves in the tea basket4by opening up the basket lid41. Once the tea leaves are properly placed in the tea basket4, the user is able to close the tea basket4by the basket lid41and to dispose the tea basket4in the tea infusing container3. Then, the user is able to close the tea infusing container3by the container lid31.

(3) Heat up the water: Once the power is on, the user to able to select the setting of heating time or heating temperature on the control panel. Therefore, the heater unit5is automatically activated for heating up the water in the tea infusing container3.

(4) Drop down the tea basket4: When the temperature sensor detects the water temperature reaching a preset threshold or when the water heating time reaches the preset time, the control circuit will activate the buzzer for generating an audio notification. The user is able to apply a downward force at the presser6to drive the tea basket4moving downwardly along the vertical support12. At the same time, the armature112is correspondingly driven downward along the first guiding groove32. Once the tea basket4is dropped down at the preset position, the armature112is magnetically attracted to the coil assembly111so as to retain the tea basket4in position.

(5) Rinse the tea leave: (a) the tea basket4is retained in the boiling water for brewing process. (b) after a predetermined of brewing time, the coil of the coil assembly111is de-energized to magnetically disengage with the armature112, such that the compressed resilient elements121will bound to the original form to generate an upward pushing force along the vertical support12. (c) The user is able to drain out the water in the tea infusing container3as the tea rinsing water.

(6) Fill up the water again: the user is able to open up the container lid31. Therefore, the user is able to fill a predetermined amount of water into the tea infusing container3.

(7) Boil the water: the user is able to select which type of tea leave to brew the tea by selectively pressing a corresponding “tea type” button on the control panel. Once the “tea type” button is pressed, the brewing time and temperature will be automatically set to brew the tea. Then, the user is able to press the “brew” button, such that the heater unit5is also automatically activated by the control circuit for heating up the water in the tea infusing container3.

(8) Drop down the tea basket4: when the water temperature reaches the preset threshold or when the water heating time reaches the preset time, the control circuit will activate the buzzer for generating an audio notification. The user is able to apply the downward force at the presser6to drive the tea basket4moving downward along the vertical supports12. Once the tea basket4is dropped down at the preset position, the armature112is magnetically attracted to the electrified coil assembly111so as to retain the tea basket4in position.

(9) Drew the tea: the tea basket4is retained in the boiling water and the brewing time is started to brew the tea.

(10) Lift up the tea basket4: when the brewing time is finished, the coil of the coil assembly111is automatically de-energized to magnetically disengage with the armature112, such that the compressed resilient elements121will bound to the original form to generate the upward pushing force along the vertical supports12. As a result, the armature112is correspondingly driven upward by the resilient element121.

(11) Discharge the brewed tea: when the user wants a cup of tea, the user is able to discharge the brewed water out of the tea infusing container3.

(12) Heat preservation: when the temperature sensor detects the water temperature below a preset threshold, the heater unit5is automatically activated for heating up the water in the tea infusing container3so as to retain the brewed tea therein at a predetermined temperature.

According to the fourth embodiment, the vertical movement of the tea basket4is controlled by the presser6that the tea basket4can be moved up and down along the vertical support12. In addition, the brewing time for the tea basket4within the tea infusing container3is adjustably controlled that when the brewing time is up, the tea basket4is automatically lifted above the water level in the tea infusing container3so as to adjustably control the concentration of the brewed tea. Through the heat preservation process, the brewed tea in the tea infusing container3will be kept at a predetermined temperature to ensure the hot brewed tea being served for the user.

According to the present invention, the heater unit5can be a heating plate or heating tube.

According to the present invention, the tea infusing container3can configured to have a circular shape or rectangular shape. Or, the tea infusing container3can configured to have a flat sidewall integrated with a curved sidewall to form an irregular surrounding wall of the tea infusing container3.

According to the present invention, when less amount of water is used for brewing tea, i.e. below the top of the tea basket4, the basket lid41can be omitted to cover at the tea basket4.