Abstract:
A brewer operates during a brew cycle to brew a beverage by infusing heated liquid with a dry beverage medium contained in a single serve disposable cartridge. During the brew cycle, the cartridge is contained in a cup-shaped housing closed by a lid. Rotation of the cartridge within the housing is resisted by locating surfaces arranged to interengage with at least one surface irregularity in the cartridge sidewall. Inlet and outlet probes pierce the cartridge and serve, respectively, to admit the heated liquid and to remove the served beverage.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application claims priority of provisional patent application Serial No. 60/283,298 filed Apr. 11, 2001, and provisional patent application Serial No. 60/283,283 filed Apr. 11, 2001. 
     The subject matter of this application is generally related to those of U.S. Pat. No. 6,079,315 (Beaulieu et al.) entitled Beverage Filter Cartridge Holder; U.S. Pat. No. 5,840,189 (Sylvan et al.) entitled Beverage Filter Cartridge; application Ser. No. 09/782,622 filed Feb. 13, 2001 (Sweeney et al.) entitled Beverage Filter Cartridge; and application Ser. No. 09/782,660 filed Feb. 13, 2001 (Lazaris et al.) entitled Disposable Single Serve Beverage Filter Cartridge, the disclosures of each of which are herein incorporated by reference. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND DISCUSSION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     This invention relates generally to brewers designed to produce single beverage servings by injecting heated liquid into disposable cartridges containing a dry beverage medium, and is concerned in particular with an improved beverage filter cartridge holder for such brewers. 
     2. Description of the Prior Art 
     Known beverage filter cartridges and cartridge holders are described in the above-referenced U.S. patents. The cartridge side walls are generally frustum-shaped and smooth and as such, do not provide a means of rotatably fixing and preferably also orienting the cartridges within the holders. This complicates and largely frustrates efforts to mark the cartridge side walls with coded indicia that can be reliably observed and interpreted by machine readers positioned within the brewers. Such indicia can be usefully processed by control systems designed, for example, to vary the amount and/or flow rate of liquid being dispensed, depending on the type of beverage medium being brewed. 
     More recently developed cartridges of the type disclosed for example in the above-referenced patent applications include side walls with surface irregularities that can be mechanically engaged to rotatably immobilize and orientate the cartridges within the holders. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The principal objective of the present invention is the provision of a cartridge holder having internal surfaces or components configured and arranged to coact in mechanical interengagement with surface irregularities in the cartridge side walls to rotatably fix the cartridges within the holder. 
     A companion objective of the present invention is to also achieve a predetermined and repeatable orientation of the cartridges within the holders. 
     The holder of the present invention is designed for use in an apparatus for brewing a beverage by infusing heated liquid with a beverage medium contained in a single serve disposable cartridge. In one embodiment of the present invention, the holder is configured for use within a cartridge having an inverted frustum-shaped side wall specially contoured to provide at least one and preferably a plurality of strategically placed surface irregularities. The cartridge is removably received in a cup-shaped housing having a side wall configured and dimensioned to surround the cartridge side wall. Locating elements are arranged to coact with the one or plural surface irregularities in the cartridge side wall to rotatably immobilize the cartridge within the housing. A lid is mounted for manipulation between an open position accommodating insertion and removal of the cartridge, and a closed position confining the cartridge within the housing. Tubular probes associated with the lid and housing are arranged to pierce the thus confined cartridge to thereby accommodate a through flow of heated liquid for infusion with the beverage medium contained in the cartridge. 
     Preferably, the plural surface irregularities coact with the locating elements to not only rotatably fix the cartridge, but also to achieve a predetermined and repeatable orientation of the cartridge within the housing. 
     In other embodiments of the present invention the interior surface of the housing is contoured to coact in mechanical interengagement with the surface irregularities in the cartridge side wall. 
     These and other objectives, features and advantages of the present invention will now be described in greater detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein: 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a brewing chamber for a single serve beverage brewer embodying a cartridge holder in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention; 
     FIGS. 2A-2D are side views of the cartridge holder at successive stages during the brewing cycle; 
     FIG. 3 is an exploded view of some of the basic components of the cartridge holder; 
     FIG. 4 is a top plan view of the cartridge holder housing; 
     FIG. 5 is an isometric view of the housing portion of the cartridge holder; 
     FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective view of an alternative embodiment of a cartridge holder in accordance with the present invention; 
     FIG. 7 is a side elevational view of a beverage filter cartridge having surface irregularities in its side wall; 
     FIG. 8A is a sectional view taken along line  8 A— 8 A of FIG. 7; 
     FIGS. 8B and 8C are sectional views similar to FIG. 8A showing different cartridge side wall configurations; 
     FIG. 9 is an exploded perspective view of still another embodiment of a cartridge holder in accordance with the present invention; 
     FIG. 10 is a top plan view of the cartridge holder shown in FIG. 9; and 
     FIG. 11 is a sectional view taken along line  11 — 11  of FIG.  10 . 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     With reference initially to FIG. 1, a brewing chamber for a single serve beverage brewer is shown at  20 . The brewing chamber  20  includes a slidable drawer  22  comprising side panels  24 ,  26  that each include a mounting hole (not shown), which serve to pivotally mount the housing  28  of a beverage filter cartridge holder in the slidable drawer  22 . The drawer  22  slides horizontally along track assembles  32 ,  34 . 
     The cartridge holder also includes a vertically moveable lid  40  that is manipulated by a linkage yoke  38  (partially shown), driven by an electric motor  37  through a pinion driven rack  39 . The lid  40  is guided along vertical tracks  42 ,  44  between a raised ready position and a lowered beverage brewing position coacting with the housing. In the ready position, the lid  40  is positioned above and separated from the housing  28 , assuming of course that the slidable drawer  22  is in the closed position. The housing  28  defines a chamber  36 , and includes cartridge ejection arms  46 ,  48  that support and position a beverage cartridge within the holder. 
     A typical beverage filter cartridge is depicted ay  50  in FIGS. 7 and 8A. The cartridge includes a cup-shaped base  51  having an inverted frustum-shaped side wall interrupted by surface irregularities indicated typically at  52  and comprising circumferentially spaced grooves. The cup-shaped base is closed by a lid  53 . As herein employed, the term “surface irregularity” is intended to broadly encompass any deviation from a smooth surface than can mechanically interengage with adjacent components or surfaces of the housing  28 . Non limiting examples of such surface irregularities may comprise a uniform array of grooves as shown in FIG. 8A, or pairs of oppositely disposed grooves  52   a  in the side wall of a cartridge  50   a  as shown in FIG. 8B, or a single surface irregularity such as the outwardly projecting rib  54   b  in the side wall of cartridge  50   b  as shown in FIG.  8 C. 
     With reference to FIG. 3, it will be seen that the housing  28  has a circular bottom  80  through which protrudes an upwardly extending hollow exit probe  84 . A slidable cartridge platform  86  has a bore  88  aligned with the upwardly extending probe  84 . The cartridge ejection arms  46 ,  48  project upwardly from and are formed integrally with the cartridge platform  86 . 
     A spring  92  is interposed between the housing bottom  80  and the slidable cartridge platform  86 . Depending latch members  94  on to the slidable cartridge platform  86  pass through the spring  92  and through an opening  96  centered in the housing bottom  80 . The latch members  94  include radially projecting teeth  98  which interengage with the edge of opening  96  to thereby limit vertical axial movement of the cartridge platform  86  with respect to the housing bottom. 
     The housing  28  has a side wall  100  extending upwardly from the bottom  80  to define chamber  36 . The side wall  100  is configured and dimensioned to closely surround the side wall of a beverage filter cartridge  50  received in the chamber  36 . The sidewall  100  includes first and second guide channels  104 ,  105  configured and arranged to receive the cartridge ejection arms  46 ,  48  respectively, allowing the slidable cartridge platform  86  to move vertically within the chamber  36 . The cartridge ejection arms  46 ,  48  include first ends  106 ,  107  integrally joined to the slidable cartridge platform  86 , and second end surfaces  108 ,  110  that are arranged to contact and support a radially outwardly protruding lip  53 ′ of the cartridge  50 . The cartridge ejection arms  46 ,  48  also include inwardly protruding locking ribs  300 ,  301  respectively that mate and interengage with the surface irregularities  52  in the side wall of the beverage filter cartridge. This feature limits rotational movement of the beverage filter cartridge within the holder, and to a limited extent, also serves to orient the cartridge within the holder. It will be seem from FIG. 8B that the cartridge side wall may alternatively be provided with only two oppositely disposed grooves  52   a , each being configured to coact with a respective one of the locking ribs  300 ,  301  to further limit the orientation of the cartridge within the holder. 
     As shown in FIG. 8C, orientation can be still further limited by providing the cartridge side wall with a single surface irregularity, e.g., one outwardly projecting rib  52   b  arranged to coact with only a single complimentary groove  300 ′ in one of the ejection arms, This arrangement limits the manner in which the cartridge may be inserted to a single repeatable orientation. 
     The holder also includes shock absorbing members  112 ,  114  (e.g., made of rubber) that rest on a ledge  116  of the sidewall  100  and support a compliance ring  117 . The shock absorbing members  112 ,  114  have a height dimension  118  that positions the upper rim of the compliance ring slightly above the upper rim of housing  28  when no downward force is being applied to the ring. The function of the shock absorbing members  112 ,  115  and the compliance ring  117  shall be discussed hereinafter. 
     The housing  28  has a pair of radially outwardly extending trunnions  120 ,  122  that pivotally support the housing within the slidable drawer  22 , and pawls  124 ,  125  that are used to manipulate the housing about the axis of the trunnions. 
     FIGS. 4 and 5 are top plan and isometric views, respectively, showing the above described components assembled within the housing  28 . 
     A typical brewing cycle is illustrated in FIGS. 2A-2D. Beginning with FIG. 2A, the lid  40  is elevated above the housing  28 , and a cartridge  50  is received in the housing chamber  36 . The lip  53 ′ of the cartridge lid  53  is supported in the upper surfaces  108 ,  110  of the cartridge ejection arms  46 ,  48 . An inlet probe  126  carried by the lid  40  is located over the cartridge lid  53 . 
     In FIG. 2B, the lid  40  has been lowered, resulting in the cartridge  50  and the cartridge platform  86  being forced downwardly against the action of spring  92 . As a result, the cartridge lid and base are pierced respectively by the inlet and outlet probes  126 ,  84 , thus accommodating a flow of heated liquid through the cartridge. The heated liquid infuses a beverage medium (not shown) contained in the cartridge to thereby produce a beverage which exits the cartridge via the outlet probe  84 . 
     As shown in FIG. 2C, at the conclusion of the brewing cycle, the lid  40  is raised, and hooks  160  on legs  130  depending from the lid engage the pawls  125 , causing the housing  28  to rotate to a discharge position at which the spent cartridge is ejected. Cartridge ejection is assisted by the spring loaded ejection arms  46 ,  48 . The housing  28  is then returned to its original “ready” position as shown in FIG.  2 D. 
     FIG. 6 illustrates an alternative embodiment of a cartridge holder in which the side wall of the housing  28  is provided with internal grooves  300 ″ configured and arranged to slidably receive and coact in mechanical interengagement with externally projecting ribs  52   c  in the side wall of cartridge  50   c    
     Still another embodiment of a cartridge holder is illustrated in FIGS. 9-11. The cartridge  50   d  is of the type described in the above-referenced patent application Ser. No. 09/782,660, with generally flat side walls diverging upwardly from a bottom to a top opening closed by a lid  53   a . Oppositely facing side walls are provided with surface irregularities in the form of protruding somewhat triangular-shaped bosses  52   d.    
     The housing  28  is similarly configured, with oppositely facing side walls provided with internal triangular-shaped recesses  301 . When the cartridge  50   d  is received in the housing  28 , and the lid  40  is closed as shown in FIG. 11, the cartridge is pushed downwardly against the biasing action of spring  92  resulting in the cartridge bottom and lid being pierced, respectively, by inlet and outlet probes  126 ,  84 . 
     The recesses  301  in the housing side walls coact with the bosses  52   d  in the cartridge side wall to orientate the cartridge within the housing in one of two possible positions. 
     It is contemplated that the housings may be mounted such that they do not pivot to automatically eject the cartridges at the end of the brewing cycle, thus requiring users to manually remove the used cartridges. The holder may also employ multiple inlet probes to increase liquid distribution within the cartridge. The inlet probes also may have different heights to improve saturation of the beverage medium within the cartridge. It is also contemplated that the brewer may include a control system for automatically determining the type of cartridge (e.g., the beverage medium within the cartridge) and adjust the brewing cycle accordingly. This may include providing machine readable data such as bar codes, data matrixes, dielectric encoding, etc, on a portion of the cartridge exterior accessible to a corresponding reader in the brewer. 
     Although the present invention has been shown and described with respect to several preferred embodiments thereof, various changes, omissions and additions to the form and detail thereof, may be made therein, without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.