Abstract:
A hot beverage maker is provided with a removable pump for cleaning a brewing needle. The pump fits into a brewing chamber which normally receives a pod of an infusible beverage material. A pod receptacle and a lid pivotally connected to the housing form the brewing chamber, After a brewing cycle or when cleaning of the brewing needle is desired, an interior chamber of the pump is filled with cleaning fluid and the pump inserted into the pod receptacle. When the lid is closed, the brewing needle is inserted into the interior chamber. The lid is closed and released repeatedly to operate the pump. This creates a pumping action of the cleaning fluid through the brewing needle to dislodge a buildup of minerals or residual deposits. The used cleaning fluid and dislodged deposits are discarded after the cleaning operation is completed.

Description:
RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application claims priority to U.S. provisional patent application No. 61/826,113 filed on May 22, 2013. 
    
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to hot beverage makers, and more particularly, to an apparatus for cleaning hot beverage makers and a related method of cleaning. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Hot beverages makers for home use such as those for brewing coffee have become very popular. Many of the current hot beverage makers of this type use a disposable pod of pre-packaged beverage material inserted into the brewing chamber prior to a brewing operation. A brewing needle is typically forced into the pod to infuse hot water into the beverage material. The result is a brewed beverage that is further directed through an outlet port to a dispensing spout, and further to a drinking vessel such as a cup or mug. Unfortunately, with repeated use the brewing needle can become partially or tally obstructed by deposits leached out of the hot water flowing therethrough or residues from the beverage material created during the infusion process. in order to maintain the efficiency of the hot beverage maker, the brewing needle should be periodically flushed of accumulated deposits and residues. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     In an embodiment, there is provided a hot beverage maker including a housing, a brewing chamber collectively formed from a pod receptacle and a lid pivotally connected to the housing, a brewing needle configured to brew a hot beverage through an infusible beverage material contained in a pod disposed in the pod receptacle, and a pump shaped and sized to fit within the pod receptacle. The pump is filled with cleaning fluid prior to being inserted into the pod receptacle and the pump is operated by repeatedly pressing and releasing the lid causing the cleaning fluid to be forced through the cleaning needle to release accumulated deposits. 
     In an embodiment, there is provided a hot beverage brewer including a housing, a brewing chamber collectively formed from a fixed cartridge receptacle and a lid pivotally connected to the housing, a brewing needle configured to infuse hot water with a beverage material contained in a cartridge disposed in the cartridge receptacle, and a bulb syringe pump shaped and sized to fit within the cartridge receptacle. The pump is filled with water prior to being inserted into the pod receptacle and the pump is operated by repeatedly pressing and releasing the lid causing the cleaning fluid to be forced through the cleaning needle to release accumulated deposits within the brewing needle. 
     In an embodiment, there is provided a pump including a body portion sized and shaped to fit within a pod receptacle of a beverage maker, a plurality of bellows forming the sidewall of the body portion, and an annular opening at a top end of the body portion leading into an interior chamber. 
     In an embodiment, there is provided a method of cleaning a hot beverage maker including the steps of filling an interior chamber of a pump with cleaning fluid, inserting the pump in a brewing chamber of the hot beverage maker, partially closing a lid of the hot beverage maker such that a brewing needle of the hot beverage maker is inserted into the interior chamber of the pump, and repeatedly closing and releasing the lid such that the pump is alternately compressed and decompressed causing a pumping action of the cleaning fluid through the brewing needle. 
    
    
     
       DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view of an embodiment of a hot beverage maker with a pump for cleaning installed in a beverage brewing chamber shown in dashed lines; 
         FIG. 2  is another perspective view of the hot beverage maker of  FIG. 1  with a lid for a beverage brewing head in an open configuration and the pump removed from the beverage brewing chamber; 
         FIG. 3  is an enlarged exploded view of a pump and an associated annular support ring for supporting the pump within the beverage maker of  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 4  is a partially cutaway cross-sectional view of the brew head of the hot beverage maker of  FIG. 1  with the pump installed in the beverage brewing chamber and the lid in the open configuration; 
         FIG. 5  is a partially cutaway cross-sectional view of the brew head of the hot beverage maker of  FIG. 1  with the pump installed in the beverage brewing chamber and the lid in a closed configuration; and 
         FIG. 6  is a partially cutaway cross-sectional view of the brew head of the beverage maker of  FIG. 1  with the pump installed in the beverage brewing chamber and the lid again in the open configuration; and 
         FIG. 7  is a flowchart of a method of cleaning the hot beverage maker of  FIG. 1 . 
     
    
    
     It should be understood that the present drawings are not necessarily to scale and that the embodiments disclosed herein are sometimes illustrated by fragmentary views. In certain instances, details which are not necessary for an understanding of the present invention or which render other details difficult to perceive may have been omitted. It should also be understood that the invention is not necessarily limited to the particular embodiments illustrated herein. Like numbers utilized throughout the various figures designate like or similar parts or structure. 
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     With reference initially to  FIGS. 1-2 , a hot beverage maker is shown at  10  having a housing  12  with a forwardly protruding shelf  14  arranged to support a cup or mug (not shown) for receiving a hot beverage, and in particular brewed coffee, espresso, cappuccino, latte, tea, hot water and the like, brewed by and dispensed from the hot beverage maker  10 . In the illustrated embodiment, the beverage maker  10  is designed to brew a single serving of a brewed beverage using a disposable or reusable beverage pod (not shown) of a pre-packaged dosed amount of infusible beverage material such as coffee. Water under pressure or by gravity is directed to the beverage pod in the brewing chamber to brew a het beverage through the beverage material for further dispensing. In another embodiment of the invention, the beverage maker  10  may be designed to brew a single serving of a brewed beverage of varying brew strength or multiple servings of a brewed beverage of varying brew strength by using a beverage pod containing an infusible beverage material of a different dosage necessary for the single serving of varying brew strength or the multiple servings of the brewed beverage of varying brew strength. 
     The housing  12  contains components conventionally included in hot beverage makers of this type, including, inter alia, a brew head  15 , water tank, heater, pump, electronic controls (on/off switch, timer, clock, LCD display), etc. These are well known to those skilled in the art, and thus not all of them have been illustrated, nor have all of them been described further in this specification. Suffice it to say that these components coact in response to the user&#39;s command to deliver a metered amount of heated water to a brewing chamber containing a pod packed with a dosed amount of infusible beverage material. 
     The brew head  15  includes a lower head portion  18  having a pod receptacle  20  and a lid  22 , which collectively form the brewing chamber. The pod receptacle  20  has an open top configured and dimensioned to receive a beverage pod (not shown) containing a dosed amount of an infusible beverage material. The beverage pod (not shown) is preferably of the type disclosed, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,840,189, the description of which is herein incorporated by reference. The beverage pod (not shown) may include an impermeable piercable container internally subdivided by a filter element into two compartments, one of Which contains the infusible beverage material. However, this is not meant to be limiting as there may be other types of beverage pods or cartridges that may be used containing an infusible beverage material. 
     The lower head portion  18  containing the pod receptacle  20  is supported by the housing  12  in a fixed position. The lid  22  is pivotally connected to the housing  12  for pivotal movement about a lowered closed position, shown in  FIGS. 1 and 5 , and a raised open position. as shown in  FIGS. 2, 4 and 6 . The raised lid  22  allows access to the pod receptacle  20  for convenient insertion and removal of the beverage pod (not shown). The lowered lid  22  closes and cooperates with the pod receptacle  20  to enclose the beverage pod (not shown) during the brew cycle. As shown in  FIGS. 4-6 , the lid  22  carries a brewing needle  28  and the base of the pod receptacle  20  includes an outlet probe  30 , The brewing needle  28  and the outlet probe  30  pierce the beverage pod (not shown) as the lid  22  is lowered to its closed position, thus accommodating a through flow of heated water into the beverage pod (not shown) via the brewing needle  28  for infusion with the beverage material contained in the beverage pod (not shown). The resulting brewed beverage exits via the outlet probe  30  for further delivery to the underlying cup or vessel (not shown) via a spout  35 . The brewing needle  28  is fluidly connected to a conduit  29  that provides hot water from a hot water heater and pump assembly (not shown) controlled by electronic controls (not shown) disposed within the housing  12 . 
     After every completed brewing cycle or after a selected number of brewing cycles, or as when needed, the brewing needle  28  may be cleaned using a manually operated bulb syringe pump  50  to remove accumulated deposits of minerals, mold, etc. from the hot water flowing therethrough during brewing or residues of infused beverage material that may backflow through the brewing needle  28  during brewing, The accumulated deposits of minerals and residues of beverage material may affect brewing performance by partially restricting or completely blocking the flow of the heated water during subsequent brewing cycles. In the illustrated embodiment, the pump  50  is a bulb syringe type pump specially sized and shaped to fit within the pod receptacle  20 . However, this not meant to be limiting as other types of pumps may be used. The pump  50  and its operation for cleaning the brewing needle  28  is described more fully hereinbelow. 
     In an embodiment and with particular reference to  FIG. 3 , the pump  50  is comprised of an annular shaped body portion  51  having sidewalls formed of a plurality of bellows  54 . An annular opening  52  is formed at the top of the body portion  51  leading to an interior chamber  53  where cleaning fluid such as water for cleaning is directed before a cleaning operation of the brewing needle  28  is performed. It should be appreciated that any suitable cleaning fluid may be used including but not limited to water, vinegar, baking soda solutions, sanitizers, scale removers, etc. 
     The body portion  51  and the sidewall formed of the bellows  54  are comprised of a suitable elastomeric material including but not limited to plastic, rubber, silicone, etc. such that the body portion  51  and bellows  54  may be compressed and released to generate a pumping action of cleaning fluid disposed within the interior chamber  53 . Any cleaning fluid that may be within the interior chamber  53  is ejected when the body portion  51  and bellows  54  are compressed. Alternately, when the body portion  51  and bellows  54  are released a suction is created within the interior chamber  53  and fluids may be drawn therewithin. An annular support ring or cover  55  made of a similar material such as an elastomer may be fitted around the bellows  54  to facilitate installation of the body portion  51  within the pod receptacle  20 . The annular ring  55  is seated on a lip  21  of the pod receptacle  20 . In use, the brewing needle  28  is inserted into the annular opening  52  leading into the interior chamber  53  so that as the body portion  51  and bellows  54  are compressed and released with the opening and closing of the lid  22  cleaning fluid is forced back and forth through the brewing needle  28  to dislodge accumulated deposits and residues. 
     In an embodiment, the brewing needle  28  may be cleaned using the pump  50  by the following method  400 : 
     In step  410 , the method  400  commences; 
     in step  420 , filling the interior chamber  53  of the pump  50  with water or other cleaning fluid; 
     In step  430 , moving lid  22  in the direction of arrow  400  to provide access to the pod receptacle  20  (see also  FIG. 2 ); 
     In step  440 , inserting the pump  50  into the pod receptacle  20  ( FIG. 4 ) of the brewing chamber; 
     In step  450 , moving the lid  22  in the direction of arrow  410  to a partially closed position ( FIG. 4 ) such that a brewing needle  28  of the hot beverage maker  10  is inserted into the interior chamber  53  of the pump  50 ; 
     In step  460 , moving the lid  22  in the direction of arrow  410  to a fully closed position to compress the pump  50  ( FIG. 5 ), followed by releasing the lid  22  in the direction of arrow  400  to decompress the pump  50  ( FIG. 6 ) in a number of repetitive cycles to pump water from within the interior of chamber  53  of the pump  50  ( FIG. 4 ) through the brewing needle  28  into the conduit  29  to dislodge accumulated deposits ( FIG. 5 ), and back through the brewing needle  28  into the interior chamber  53 ; 
     In step  470 , opening the lid  22  fully in the direction of arrow  400  and removing the pump  50  from the pod receptacle  20 ; 
     In step  480 , discarding from the pump  50  the cleaning fluid used to clean the brewing needle  28  along with the released mineral and beverage deposits dislodged from within the brewing needle  28 ; and 
     In step  490 , the method  400  ends. 
     Thus, there has been shown and described a hot beverage brewer using a pump for cleaning accumulated mineral and residual deposits of beverage material in the beverage brewing needle to maintain brewing performance, a pump and a related method. As is evident from the foregoing description, certain aspects of the present invention are not limited by the particular details of the examples illustrated herein, and it is therefore contemplated that other modifications and applications, or equivalents thereof, will occur to those skilled in the art. The terms “having” and “including” and similar terms as used in the foregoing specification are used. in the sense of “optional” or “may include” and not as “required”. Many changes, modifications, variations and other uses and applications of the present invention will, however, become apparent to those skilled in the art after considering the specification and the accompanying drawings. All such changes, modifications, variations and other uses and applications which do not depart from the spirit and scope of the invention are deemed to he covered by the invention which is limited only by the claims which follow.