Abstract:
A hot beverage maker has a stand, fresh water chamber, a brewed beverage tank, and an actuator means for dispensing brewed beverages. The tank includes a filter basket, a reservoir portion, and an outlet port. The reservoir portion is adapted to hold a brewed liquid, and the outlet port is positioned in substantially the bottom of the reservoir portion. The dispenser actuator means is connected to the outlet port and is biased to a closed position, but may be moved to an open position by a vessel for holding a hot beverage.

Description:
[0001]    This application is a continuation of U.S. Application Ser. No. 10/011,79, filed Dec. 11, 2001. 
     
    
     
         [0002]    This invention relates to a convenient hot beverage maker having a cup-actuated dispenser thereby allowing a user to dispense any amount of beverage desired.  
         BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0003]    Many types and styles of hot beverage makers, especially coffee makers, are known and have been sold for many years. The standard components in these coffee makers include a stand or tower that has a warming plate on the bottom and a filter basket at the top. The coffee maker further includes a carafe that rests on the warming plate and below the filter basket in order to receive brewed liquid from the filter basket.  
           [0004]    A problem with traditional coffee makers is the mess that results from using the coffee maker. A user must clean both the carafe and filter basket after each use. Further, if there is no automatic pause and serve feature, then a user must wait for an entire batch to run before removing the carafe to pour a cup of coffee. Even after the batch is run, there may be additional drips that would spill onto the hot warming plate once a carafe is removed for pouring. Also, if a carafe is not properly aligned under a filter basket, it could cause spillage and waste as the hot coffee does not completely flow from the filter basket and into the carafe. Inevitably, a warming plate becomes dirty with overflow or excess dripage, thereby causing an unappealing aroma.  
           [0005]    Also, the use of a carafe is an extra step in the coffee making process. It is another component to place in a dishwasher or fill storage space. While a carafe is likely desirable if a user is pouring numerous cups, it typically takes two hands to pour a single cup of coffee - - - one hand for the cup and one hand for the carafe. Also, it is possible to cause a splash or spillage simply in the removal or reinserting process of the carafe into and out of the coffee maker stand.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0006]    Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to overcome the foregoing drawbacks and provide a hot beverage maker having a cup-actuated dispenser. This way, a carafe becomes unnecessary. Also, a user can easily dispense only as much coffee into a cup or mug as the user desires by using a single hand. The clean up process is simplified. All of the potential issues and problems related to using a carafe disappear.  
           [0007]    In one embodiment, a hot beverage maker comprises a stand, a fresh water chamber, a brewed beverage tank, and actuator means for dispensing a brewed beverage. The tank comprises a filter basket, a reservoir portion, and an outlet port. The reservoir portion is adapted to hold a brewed liquid, and the outlet port is positioned at substantially the bottom of the reservoir portion. The dispenser actuator means is connected to the outlet port. The actuator means is biased to a closed position but may be moved to an open position by a vessel for holding a hot beverage. Still further, the dispenser actuator means may comprise a push-button positioned in the stand below the brewed beverage tank. Also, there may be a linkage connecting the push-button to the outlet port. In a further alternative, the brewed beverage tank is removable from the stand. Also, the fresh water chamber may comprise transparent walls that allow the user to observe the fresh water level in the chamber. Also, alternatively, the brewed beverage tank may comprise a transparent window to allow a user to observe the brewed beverage level in the tank. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0008]    [0008]FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a preferred embodiment of a coffee maker in accordance with the present invention.  
         [0009]    [0009]FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the coffee maker shown in FIG. 1 with the lid in the open position.  
         [0010]    [0010]FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the coffee maker shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 with the brew tank removed and with the lid in the open position.  
         [0011]    [0011]FIG. 4 is a side elevation, cross sectional view of the coffee maker shown in FIG. 1.  
         [0012]    [0012]FIGS. 5 and 6 are side elevation cross sectional views detailing the dispenser actuator mechanism in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0013]    [0013]FIG. 7 is a perspective view of another preferred embodiment of a brew tank and filter basket. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0014]    [0014]FIGS. 1 through 7 illustrate a coffee maker that is a preferred embodiment of the present invention. Naturally, a design engineer having ordinary skill with the assembly of coffee makers will be able to create a coffee maker that incorporates the teachings of the present invention, but which may look different and incorporate different, alternative parts. It is the cup-actuated dispenser that makes the unit very convenient and very different from existing coffee makers that include, for instance, a carafe and other components unnecessary in the present invention.  
         [0015]    Turning now to FIG. 1, there is shown a coffee maker  10  that is made up of a stand  11 , fresh water reservoir  12 , brewed beverage tank  13 , and a lid  14 . The stand  11  forms the base of coffee maker  10  and supports the reservoir  12  and tank  13 . The stand  11  includes a recess  20  in which is situated a push-button  21 . Adjacent to recess  20  are the electrical switches  22  that operate the coffee maker  10  and allow the user to, for instance, program a start time or set the time of the clock  23 . Of course, these electrical switches  22  may be analog or digital. Fewer or more controls may be applicable for a given model of coffee maker.  
         [0016]    The fresh water reservoir  12  has transparent sidewalls  30 . The transparent sidewalls  30  allow users to easily and immediately determine whether and how much fresh water is in the coffee maker  10 . Of course, nontransparent walls may be used, or a vertical window slot could be used. A water level indicator may also facilitate the ability of a user to accurately gauge the water volume.  
         [0017]    The fresh water reservoir  12  rests on the stand  11 . The fresh water reservoir  12  wraps partially around the brewed beverage tank  13 . The brewed beverage tank  13  also rests on the stand  11 . The brewed beverage tank  13  has a transparent window  25  which allows a user to observe very easily and quickly how much brewed beverage is contained within the tank  13 . Finally, a lid  14  is rotatably connected to back wall of the reservoir  12 . The lid  14  is adapted to cover both the fresh water reservoir  12  and the brewed beverage tank  13 .  
         [0018]    [0018]FIG. 2 is similar to FIG. 1 except that the lid  14  is rotated up to the open position in FIG. 2. With the lid  14  open, there can be seen a removable filter basket  40  that is mountable with the brewed beverage tank  13 . The showerhead  35  is connected to the lid  14  and rotates up and down with the lid. Support arm  36  is a channel connecting the showerhead  35  to the hot water tube shown in FIG. 4.  
         [0019]    [0019]FIG. 3 is a still further view of the coffee maker  10  wherein the brewed beverage tank has been removed. The stand  11  includes a platform  50  which is adapted to support the brewed beverage tank shown in the other figures. The apertures  37  on the bottom of the showerhead  35  allow for the even distribution of water into the filter basket when the showerhead/ lid is in the down position. The end of the arm portion  36  of the showerhead  35  includes an aperture  38 . When the lid  14  is rotated open, the aperture  38  rotates around and diverts the flow of hot water back into the fresh water reservoir  12 .  
         [0020]    The platform  50  includes a warmer plate  51  which is adapted to engage the bottom of the brewed beverage tank to keep a brewed beverage inside the tank warm. The platform  50  is molded in part into a recess that is adapted to receive in a mating fashion the molded male portion  110  (see FIG. 7) of the bottom of a brew tank. In this mating relationship, the tank is properly aligned and retained in position in the stand  11 . Referring briefly back to FIG. 2, hooks  42  engage the top of the fresh water tank walls  30  to work with the male portion  110  to properly position the tank  13  on the stand  11 . Finally, the platform  50  includes an aperture  53  from which protrudes a lever that makes up part of the dispenser actuator. (See FIGS.  4 - 6 ).  
         [0021]    [0021]FIG. 4 is a cross sectional view of the coffee maker  10  that provides a view of the operational components of the coffee maker. The portions of the coffee maker  10  not previously shown include the water tube  60  which carries heated water from the hot water heater element  61  up to the pipe  62  and then showerhead  35  via the arm  36 . The top of the pipe  62  is hingedably connected to the end of the arm  36 . The arm  36  includes an aperture  38  which is aligned with an opening to the pipe  62  when the showerhead  35  and lid  14  are in the down position as shown. However, when the showerhead  35 /lid  14  are swivelled upwardly, the aperture  38  is rotated around and hot water is rerouted back into the fresh water reservoir  12  to prevent any water flow out of the showerhead when it is in the up position. Although not shown, there is a further tube that is adjacent to the tube  60  that carries the fresh cold water from the fresh water reservoir  12  through the heater coil  61  to the hot water pipe  62  as shown.  
         [0022]    The brewed beverage tank  13  is made up of the filter basket  40  that has an aperture  41  at the bottom of the filter basket to allow the infused water to drip into the reservoir portion  45  of the brewed beverage tank  13 . An outlet port  70  is the aperture through which the brewed beverage may be allowed to exit the brewed beverage tank  13 . The filter basket  40  is conventional in structure and dimension in order to be easily usable. As is also evident from FIG. 4, the bottom of the reservoir portion  45  slopes generally from the back of the coffeemaker(i.e., the fresh water reservoir  12 ) to the front where the port  70  is fixed. This configuration allows full drainage out of the bottom towards the front of the tank  13  where a user&#39;s cup may be easily placed for dispensing.  
         [0023]    Turning now to FIGS. 5 and 6, there is shown one embodiment of a dispenser actuator mechanism in accordance with the present invention. FIGS. 5 and 6 demonstrate the mechanism in the biased closed position (FIG. 5) and in the open position as when a cup  100  is pressing against the push button  21  (FIG. 6).  
         [0024]    Push button  21  is connected to one end of lever  80 . Lever  80  has a pivot point  81  that is a hinge mounted behind the front face  82  of the stand  11 . The opposite end  83  of the lever  80  protrudes through aperture  53  (see FIG. 3) that makes up a portion of the platform  50  of the stand  11 . A second lever  90  is mounted onto the bottom  76  of the brew tank  13 . The lever  90  has a first end  91  and a second end  93  that are on opposite ends with a pivot  92  mounted on the bottom portion  76 . Further, a spring  95  biases the first end  91  of the lever  90  downwardly so that the second end  93  is biased in a downward position. Plug  94  is adapted to seal the outlet port  70  of the brew tank  13 . The plug  94  is connected to second end  93  and is urged upwardly or downwardly based on the movement of the second end  93  of the second lever  90 . In the closed position shown in FIG. 5, the spring  95  urges the first end  91  downwardly so that the second end  93  is urged downwardly. Accordingly, the plug  94  is securely sealed to the outlet port  70 . Alternatively, as demonstrated in FIG. 6, end  83  of the first lever  80  urges the first end  91  of the second lever  90  against the bias of the spring  95 . This moves the second end  93  of the second lever  90  upwardly to thereby open the outlet port  70  and allow brewed beverage to flow out of the brew tank  13 .  
         [0025]    While the “two-piece” actuator illustrated in FIGS. 4, 5 and  6  is one type of cup-actuated dispensing means, there are, of course, alternative types of dispenser actuators. There are numerous types of electronic dispensers that are well known in the refrigerator door ice and water dispensers. Similarly, other types of mechanical dispensers may be designed to accommodate the specific engineering needs of a given coffee maker structure.  
         [0026]    [0026]FIG. 7 displays further embodiments of the brew tank  113  and filter basket  140 . The filter basket  140  is different from the earlier described filter basket  40  in that it includes a handle  141  for making removal very simple. Similarly, the alternative brew tank  113  includes a handle  111  to facilitate handling. The brew tank  113  also has a transparent window  125  allowing a user to observe the brewed beverage volume inside. A spout  112  improves the use of the brew tank as a fresh water bucket to transfer fresh water from a sink or other source and pour it into the fresh water reservoir  12 . Finally, lip  114  is merely a design variation of the hooks  140  which allow the brew tank  113  to engage the top of the fresh water reservoir walls  30  to secure the brew tank  113  in place once it is mounted on the platform  50 . The male portion  110  is the molded piece of the bottom of the brew tank  113  which is received in the platform  50 .  
         [0027]    While the invention has been described with reference to specific embodiments thereof, it will be understood that numerous variations, modifications and additional embodiments are possible, and all such variations, modifications, and embodiments are to be regarded as being within the spirit and scope of the invention.