Valve arrangement

Abstract: A valve arrangement is described that is especially suitable for use as a non-drip valve associated with the base of the brewing chamber of a coffee-making appliance. It comprises a carriage member (4) which carries a valve head (3) designed to be removeable laterally from an aperture through which brewed coffee is intended to flow, and a trigger member (8) that can move relative to the carriage member in a predetermined manner under the constraint of a pin (7), carried by the trigger member, running in substantially V-shaped slots (6; 15,16,17) formed in side walls of the carriage member. Initially, the carriage member and the trigger member are aligned, and urged resiliently apart, along the direction of lateral movement of the valve head. In this position the valve is closed. When the brewing chamber is properly closed, a nose part (14) formed on a fixed part of the appliance, engages with the trigger member (8) and moves it relative to the carriage member, misaligning the members and enabling the arrangement to adopt a primed condition, in which the valve remains closed but the trigger member protrudes below the chamber far enough to allow it to engage with the lid of a carafe, placed below the aperture, to further shift it relative to the carriage member, realigning the two members and opening the valve.

Description: This invention relates to valve arrangements and it relates especially, though not exclusively, to such arrangements as may be used, for example, in domestic beverage-making appliances to ensure that the beverage is not released unless the intended receptacle is properly placed to receive it. Such arrangements are commonly used in domestic coffee-making appliances in which a carafe, intended to hold the brewed coffee, is positioned beneath an outlet from the coffee-brewing station anal stands upon a heated base which is intended to keep the coffee warm until it is used. Conventionally, the outlet has associated with it a valve arrangement which is biased to the closed position, being urged open only in response to interaction between a component of the valve arrangement and the lid, or the rim, of the carafe. Usually such valve arrangements include, as the closure member for the outlet, a conically-shaped resilient valve head which is urged into or withdrawn from the outlet, depending on the presence or absence of the carafe as outlined above. When the valve head is withdrawn from the outlet, however, it remains in the direct flow path of the coffee, which effectively spills over it, and in time this causes build-up of deposits on the valve head with associated reduction in the valving efficiency and in the general appearance and operation of the appliance as a whole, since the flow of coffee tends to be interfered with by the valve head and the liquid tends to dribble into areas where it causes staining. In extreme cases, the coffee can run down on to the heated base on which the carafe stands, and cause unwanted spattering and steaming or even invade the area, beneath the base, where various electrical connections exist. Furthermore, the deposits can, indeed, build up to such an extent that the valve cannot seal properly, and this can allow coffee to drip from the brewing station even when there is no carafe in place to receive it, so that direct dripping of coffee on to the heated base can occur. It is an object of this invention to provide a reliable valving arrangement which is constructed so as to reduce the risk of deleterious build-up of deposits and/or of the effects of such deposits, by arranging that the valve's closure member is withdrawn from the direct path of liquid flowing through the valved outlet when the valve is opened. EP-A-11 1969 describes a valving arrangement for appliances such as coffee makers according to the preamble of claim 1, in which a valve head is carried at the end of a cranked arm that can be tilted, in response to vertical movement of a knob that is pushed upwards by contact with a coffee pot, to open or close a valve aperture through which coffee exits to the pot. The degree to which the valve opens, and thus the exit flow rate of the coffee is controllable by means of a manually adjustable slider which mechanically limits the travel of the arm bearing the valve head. This construction requires the cranked arm to be pivotally mounted in the close vicinity of the aperture through which the coffee exits, however, and the relatively small pivoting movements made might be interfered with, over time, by coffee products and debris. The present invention seeks to avoid such problems by imparting a robust and positively acting opening and closure motion to the valve head. According to the invention there is provided a valve arrangement for controlling the flow of a fluid, comprising a reservoir for the fluid, an aperture (2) formed in an inclined portion of a base-wall (1) of the reservoir, a valve head (3) for selectively sealing the aperture (2) against flow of the fluid therethrough, a carriage member (4) bearing the valve head and capable of movement relative to the aperture, and a trigger member (8) capable of movement relative to the carriage member, said relative movement being constrained, by respective path-defining components (6,7) associated with the members (4,8), to operate between a first position, in which the head is urged by the action of resilient means (9) into the aperture, and a second position in which the valve head is withdrawn from the aperture against the action of said resilient means, thereby opening the aperture to fluid flow, the trigger member (8) being disposed, in said first position, to be engageable by part of a receptacle (19) positioned to receive fluid exiting the aperture in a flow direction, the trigger member (8) being urged, by contact with said part of the receptacle, to move relative to the carriage member (4), the arrangement being characterised by: the base-wall (1) having a predominantly flat underside across which said carriage member (4) can slide; said carriage member (4) comprising side walls formed with inclined slots (6) forming part of said path-defining means, and said trigger member (8) bearing a pin (7) adapted to run in said slots (6) and forming the co-operative part of said path-defining means; whereby movement of the trigger member (8) causes the carriage member (4) to slide along said underside of the base wall in a direction substantially transverse to said flow direction, causing the valve head (3) to open or close said aperture. Another feature typical of coffee-makers is that they are provided with a housing which can be hinged open to permit the brewing cavity to be charged with fresh coffee and filters. It is quite important that the aforementioned valve assembly, which is commonly located at the bale of the brewing cavity's housing, remains closed until such time as the housing is properly closed. If there were no such provision, there would be a risk that the coffee maker could be started up with the housing fully or partly open, and this could result in hot liquid showering out of the appliance. It is clearly desirable therefore that the valve assembly that interacts with the carafe should also be effective to detect the open condition of the housing, and some attempts have been made in the past to achieve this. However, most such attempts have not been successful, usually because they have been too complex to render them either rugged and reliable on the one hand, or economic to manufacture on the other. It is another object of this invention to provide a valving arrangement which is capable both of detecting the presence of a receptacle and the closure of the housing and which is efficient, reliable and economic to manufacture. Preferably also the valving arrangement has a closure member which does not lie in the direct flow path of fluid when the valve is open. In order that the invention may be clearly understood and readily carried into effect, one embodiment thereof will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings of which: Figures 1(a), 1(b) and 1(c) show, in cross-section, various stages of operation of a valving arrangement, in accordance with one example of the invention, used in a coffee-making appliance, and Figure 2 shows, in cross-sectional view, the interaction of the valving arrangement of Figure 1 with a carafe intended to receive the coffee. Referring now to the drawings, Figure 1(a) shows the valving arrangement in its closed position. A part of the base of the brewing cavity is shown at 1; the valve arrangement generally shown at 1 a being secured to it. The base 1 is formed with an outlet aperture 2 which is closed by a conical, resilient valve-head 3. The head 3 is supported by a carriage member 4 of box section, the upper surface of which can slide along the flat undersurface 5 of the base 1. The side-walls of the carriage member 4 are formed with shaped slots such as 6 which form cam surfaces in which a pin 7, which is part of a trigger member 8, can slide. The pin 7 runs transversely across the trigger member 8 and protrudes through its side-walls such as 9 into the slots such as 6. The shaped slots 6 and the pin 7 constitute path-defining elements that constrain the relative motion of the trigger member 8 and the carriage member 4 to follow a predetermined path. The rear wall 10 of trigger member 8 and a front wall 11 of the carriage member 4 are urged apart by a spring 12. In Figure 1(a), where there is no external agency acting on the valve assembly, the trigger member and the carriage member are urged apart to the maximum extent provide by the construction. In this situation, the dimensioning and configuration of the various components is such that the valve head 3 is urged firmly into the aperture 2, the pin 7 rests at the rear most end 13 of the slot 6 and the trigger member 8 and carriage member 4 are axially aligned in a stable configuration. Referring now to Figure 1(b), this illustrates the situation that obtains when the housing which includes the base 1 is hinged to its properly closed position in relation to the appliance, but no carafe is in place. Here, a nose member 14, integrally formed with or secured to a fixed part of the appliance, engages with the rear wall 10 of trigger member 8 and causes this member to slide forwards relative to carriage member 4. This movement is accommodated by virtue of movement of the pin 7 down the ramp portion 15 of slot 6 and into a flat, intermediate portion 16 thereof, and causes a misalignment of the two members 8 and 4 which is critical to the operation of the valve. In this situation, the valve head 3 remains firmly urged into the aperture 2 but the trigger member adopts a primed condition in which it is ready to be actuated by engagement with part of a carafe when the latter is placed beneath the aperture. In Figure 1(c) it is assumed that a carafe is in place. A selected feature or component of the carafe is arranged to urge the trigger member 8 upwards so as to again align it with carriage member 4, the movement being permitted by virtue of movement of the pin 7 up the ramp 17 forming part of the slot 6, to an extreme end position 18. In this position, the valve head 3 is withdrawn from the outlet aperture 2, to such an extent that it does not lie in the direct flow path of coffee out of the outlet 2. It will be noted in this respect that the movement of the valve head is not, as is usual, in and out along its own axis, but rather comprises a lateral shift relative to the outlet aperture. Figure 2 shows how the lid 19 of a carafe (not shown) can be used to interact with the trigger member 8 to open the valve. The lid 19 is formed with a central aperture 20, through which the coffee is intended to enter the carafe. The aperture lies in a well 21 which allows for some build-up of brewed coffee so that spillage does not occur in the event that, temporarily, the outflow of coffee from the outlet 2 exceeds the inflow capacity of the aperture 1. It will be observed that only when the trigger member 8 is displaced laterally and vertically with regards to carriage member 4, into its primed position as shown in Figure 1(b), can the necessary interaction between the lid 19 and the trigger member 8 occur to open the valve. Thus, if the nose member 14 has not displaced the trigger member 8 as shown, the valve cannot be opened by the carafe. It will be appreciated that the characteristics of spring 12 and the shape and configuration of the slots such as 6 in the upright walls of carriage member 4 are designed to meet the criteria of any particular appliance. It will be appreciated also that the specific embodiment of the invention described with reference to the drawings is not intended to delimit the scope of the invention, either as to its construction or its application. In particular, but without limitation, a valve assembly operative only between the primed position (Figure 1(b)) and the opened position (Figure 1(c)) may be provided within the scope of the invention for applications in which the part of the operation associated with the nose 14 is not required.

Claims: A valve arrangement for controlling the flow of a fluid, comprising a reservoir for the fluid, an aperture (2) formed in an inclined portion of a base-wall (1) of the reservoir, a valve head (3) for selectively sealing the aperture (2) against flow of the fluid therethrough, a carriage member (4) bearing the valve head and capable of movement relative to the aperture, and a trigger member (8) capable of movement relative to the carriage member, said relative movement being constrained, by respective path-defining components (6,7) associated with the members (4,8), to operate between a first position, in which the head is urged by the action of resilient means (9) into the aperture, and a second position in which the valve head is withdrawn from the aperture against the action of said resilient means, thereby opening the aperture to fluid flow, the trigger member (8) being disposed, in said first position, to be engageable by part of a receptacle (19) positioned to receive fluid exiting the aperture in a flow direction, the trigger member (8) being urged. by contact with said part of the receptacle, to move relative to the carriage member (4), the arrangement being characterised by: the base-wall (1) having a predominantly flat underside across which said carriage member (4) can slide; said carriage member (4) comprising side walls formed with inclined slots (6) forming part of said path-defining means, and said trigger member (8) bearing a pin (7) adapted to run in said slots (6) and forming the co-operative part of said path-defining means; whereby movement of the trigger member (8) causes the carriage member (4) to slide along said underside of the base wall in a direction substantially transverse to said flow direction, causing the valve head (3) to open or close said aperture. An arrangement according to Claim 1, characterised in that said carriage member (4) is provided with a leading edge wall substantially parallel to said inclined wall portion and in that said valve head (3) comprises a conically shaped member carried by said leading edge wall and disposed with its axis substantially normal thereto. An arrangement according to claim 1 or claim 2, characterised in that said resilient means (9) comprises a spring adapted to urge said carriage member (4) and said trigger member (8) apart along the direction of movement of the carriage member (4). A coffee-maker including a valve arrangement according to any preceding claim, characterised by the valve arrangement (1(a)) being mounted to the base (1) of a coffee brewing station and the trigger member (8) being adapted for engagement with part of the lid (19) of a carafe intended to receive brewed coffee through said aperture (2). A coffee maker according to claim 4 characterised in that the brewing station is openable and the trigger member (8) is adapted for engagement with a nose part (14), carried by a fixed part of the coffee maker, to cause the valve arrangement to adopt said first position. A coffee maker according to claim 5 characterised in that the path-defining components in said carriage member (4) comprise substantially V-shaped slots including a downwardly inclined ramp portion (15), a flat, intermediate portion (16),and an upwardly inclined ramp portion (17) formed in respective side-walls thereof and in that said trigger member (8) carries a pin (7) to run in said slots; the flat, intermediate portions (16) of said slots accommodating the pin (7) when the valve arrangement is in said first position. A coffee maker according to Claim 6 characterised in that, prior to its engagement by the nose part (14) the trigger member (8) is substantially aligned with the carriage member (4) with the pin (7) at the top of the downwardly-inclined ramp (15); engagement with the nose part (14) causing the pin to move down the ramp and to latch at the first position with the trigger member misaligned with and protruding downwardly below, the carriage member (4), thereby priming the trigger member for actuation by engagement with said part of said receptacle (19). A coffee maker according to Claim 7 characterised in that the trigger member (8) and the carriage member (4) are again in substantial alignment when the valve arrangement assumes the second position, in which said aperture (2) is opened.

Inventors: HARDING JOHN PHILIP, HARDING, JOHN PHILIP
Applicants: KENWOOD MARKS LTD, KENWOOD MARKS LIMITED
Application year: 1998
Main classification: A47J31
IPC codes: A47J31