Abstract:
A method of making coffee, comprising placing ground coffee beans in a basket; in a vessel having an interior wall and a bottom portion, providing a cover adapted to be positioned on the vessel and a shaft extending though a passageway of the cover, the basket being mounted to the shaft such as to allow the basket to be raised and lowered within the vessel through action of the shaft, the basket having a lip engaging the interior wall of the vessel; keeping a space between an underside of the basket and the bottom portion of the vessel; pouring liquid into the cover in such a way as to soak the ground coffee beans while retaining air in the space between the underside of the basket and the bottom portion of the vessel; moving the basket towards the bottom portion of the vessel so as to cause at least part of the air retained in the space between the underside of the basket and the bottom portion of the vessel to displace infused ground coffee beans while the air rises within the vessel; and raising the basket towards the cover.

Description:
[0001]     The present patent application is a divisional application of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/445,644 filed on May 27, 2003. The contents of this previous application are incorporated herein by reference. 
     
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002]     The present invention relates a method of making coffee.  
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0003]     Infused beverages are highly popular in many parts of the world. In particular, tea and coffee are enjoyed by millions of people on a regular basis. In order to produce a satisfactory cup of tea or coffee, it is typically required to steep a flavoring substance, e.g., ground coffee beans or tea leaves, in hot water. The beans or leaves remain in the brew for a period of time that depends upon the desired strength of the infused beverage, upon which they must be removed lest the infused beverage turn bitter and insipid.  
         [0004]     To satisfy avid consumers of infused beverages, the market has seen the emergence of various devices which allow a cup of brewed (as opposed to instant) coffee to be made without the need for electricity or a pressurized source of water. One such device is marketed under the trademark BODUM. This device includes a perforated disk which is attached to a stem at the end of which is a handle. In order to make an infused beverage, a flavoring substance is placed in the bottom of the vessel. Water is then poured into the vessel, following which the disk is inserted into the vessel. In the case of coffee, brewing thus takes place while the coffee grains are in contact with the bottom of the vessel. Once brewing has reached a desired level of completion, the handle is pushed down, bringing the disk towards the bottom of the vessel, hence capturing the coffee grains between the disk and the bottom of the vessel. In order to pour the brewed coffee, the vessel is tilted and the filter helps to block the spent coffee grains.  
         [0005]     However, because the coffee grains remain in the vessel at all times, infusion can only be arrested by the act of pouring the coffee out of the vessel into a mug or cup. This is highly inconvenient if a mug or cup is not available. Also, the flavor of the coffee is dramatically altered if the coffee which remains in the vessel is reheated at a later time for delayed consumption. Moreover, for improved flavor, it is recommended that the disk be removed during the infusion process and the coffee grains stirred manually so as to disperse the grains throughout the infused beverage. This results in a loss of heat, with the additional problem of messiness, during the infusion process.  
         [0006]     Clearly, therefore, there is a need in the industry for an improved system for making infused beverages.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0007]     As embodied and broadly described herein, the invention provides a method of making coffee, comprising: (a) placing ground coffee beans in a basket; (b) in a vessel having an interior wall and a bottom portion, providing a cover adapted to be positioned on the vessel and a shaft extending though a passageway of the cover, the basket being mounted to the shaft such as to allow the basket to be raised and lowered within the vessel through action of the shaft, the basket having a lip engaging the interior wall of the vessel; (c) keeping a space between an underside of the basket and the bottom portion of the vessel; (d) pouring liquid into the cover in such a way as to soak the ground coffee beans while retaining air in the space between the underside of the basket and the bottom portion of the vessel; (e) moving the basket towards the bottom portion of the vessel so as to cause at least part of the air retained in the space between the underside of the basket and the bottom portion of the vessel to displace infused ground coffee beans while the air rises within the vessel; and (d) raising the basket towards the cover.  
         [0008]     The invention further provides a method of making coffee, comprising: (a) placing ground coffee beans in a basket; (b) in a vessel having an interior wall and a bottom portion, providing a cover adapted to be positioned on the vessel and a shaft extending though a passageway of the cover, the basket being mounted to the shaft such as to allow the basket to be raised and lowered within the vessel through action of the shaft, the basket having a lip for creating a fluid-tight engagement with the interior wall of the vessel; (c) keeping a space between an underside of the basket and the bottom portion of the vessel; (d) pouring liquid into the cover in such a way as to soak the ground coffee beans while retaining air in the space between the underside of the basket and the bottom portion of the vessel; (e) moving the basket towards the bottom portion of the vessel so as to cause at least part of the air retained in the space between the underside of the basket and the bottom portion of the vessel to displace infused ground coffee beans while the air rises within the vessel; (d) raising the basket up to an undersurface of the cover; and (f) locking the basket such that it is retained proximate to the undersurface of the cover.  
         [0009]     These and other aspects and features of the present invention will now become apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art upon review of the following description of specific embodiments of the invention in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0010]     In the accompanying drawings:  
         [0011]      FIG. 1  is an elevational view of a system for making an infused beverage, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;  
         [0012]      FIG. 2  is an exploded perspective view of the system of  FIG. 1 ;  
         [0013]      FIGS. 3 and 4  are a perspective and sectional view, respectively, of a basket forming part of the system of  FIGS. 1 and 2 ; and  
         [0014]      FIGS. 5 through 10  are sectional elevational views of the system of  FIGS. 1 and 2  at different stages of infusion.  
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS  
       [0015]     With reference to  FIGS. 1 and 2 , there is shown a system for making an infused beverage such as coffee. The system includes an infusion control device  10  mounted on a rim  12  of a vessel  14 , which typically has a wide mouth  16  and a spout  18  for facilitating the pouring out of the infused beverage once infusion is complete. A grip  58  is also provided in order to allow a user to manipulate the vessel  14 . The grip  58  can be of any standard shape or it can be of the type illustrated, where, by virtue of meeting an exterior surface of the vessel  14 , the grip  58  serves the added function of protecting a potential user from being burned by heat from the infused beverage that is exchanged through the exterior surface of the vessel  14 . To this end, the grip  58  may be designed to meet the exterior surface of the vessel  14  along a height extending at least the width of four adult fingers.  
         [0016]     The device  10  has several main parts that are identifiable in  FIGS. 1 and 2 . In particular, the device  10  includes a cover  20  which rests atop the rim  12  of the vessel  14 . The cover  20  can be suitably dimensioned for use with a variety of glass beakers or containers having standard sizes, or it can be specifically designed for use with a custom-made vessel. The cover  20  may be made from a thermally insulating material to minimize the loss of heat through the cover  20 . The cover  20  has a basin-like or trough-like upper surface facing away from the interior wall of the vessel and an opposite undersurface facing toward the interior wall of the vessel and includes a distribution system that allows fluid communication between the upper surface and the undersurface of the cover  20 . The upper surface therefore comprises a plurality of apertures  22  for allowing liquid poured onto the upper surface to emerge from the undersurface and soak the ground coffee beans without significantly agitating them. The sizes and locations of the apertures  22  may allow the liquid to emerge from the undersurface of the cover  20  as a fine shower. Moreover, the upper surface of the cover  20  may define a basin for temporarily storing a limited quantity of liquid prior to its entering the vessel.  
         [0017]     Also part of the device  10  is a shaft  26  which passes through the cover  20  in a transverse manner thereto, i.e., an axis  27  of the shaft  26  is perpendicular to the rim  12  when the vessel  14  is placed on a flat surface. The shaft  26  can be made of stainless steel or other durable, washable material. The shaft  26  passes through a passage in the cover  20 . The passage can be in the center of the cover  20 . As can best be seen in  FIGS. 2 and 5 - 10 , at one end  30  of the shaft  26  there is provided a handle  32  having an ergonomic design and made from a thermally insulating material to prevent the user from feeling the heat transferred by the shaft  26 .  
         [0018]     The device  10  further includes a basket  36  mounted to the shaft  26 . The basket  36  is intended to hold a flavoring substance e.g., ground beans, tea leaves, ginger root, herbs, flowers, etc., used to make the infused beverage. As seen most clearly in  FIGS. 3 and 4 , the basket  36  is chiefly composed of a frame  37  which supports a cup-shaped filter or screen  40  that can be made of stainless steel or other durable, washable material. A nylon screen  40  is also envisaged. The screen  40  has a mesh of perforations  42  that are sufficiently small to prevent the flavoring substance from falling through the screen  40  towards a bottom  24  of the vessel  14 . Surrounding the frame  37  is a lip  44 , which can be made of neoprene, thermoplastic or other rubber or any other suitable material. In a specific embodiment, the lip  44  can be overmolded with respect to the frame  37  so as to eliminate the presence of joints in which the flavoring substance is liable to get caught. The shape and/or material of the lip  44  can be selected such that a fluid-tight engagement is maintained between the lip  44  and the interior wall of the vessel  14 .  
         [0019]     In use, particulate flavoring substance (ground coffee beans) is placed into the basket  36  so as to cover the screen  40 , typically forming a mound of flavoring substance. Due to the relatively small size of the apertures  42  of the screen  40 , most of the ground coffee beans will not fall through the screen  40  and hence will be retained in the basket  36 . Through action of the shaft  26 , the basket  36  containing the ground coffee beans is lowered into the vessel  14 , which should be substantially empty prior to use. The basket  36  is then lowered to a position that allows for further lowering of the basket  36  within the vessel  14 . Of course, the basket  36  should also not remain too high within the vessel  14 , or it might not be possible to introduce a sufficient amount of liquid into the vessel  14  for infusion. It is expected that individual users will be capable of easily determining a suitable level to which the basket  36  should be lowered within the vessel  14 . In a non-limiting example scenario, the user may position the basket  36  at a point that is about three-quarters of the way towards the bottom  24  of the vessel  14 .  
         [0020]     It is noted that because of the engagement between the lip  44  and the interior wall  46  of the vessel  14 , and because of the coverage of the apertures  42  of the screen  40  by the particulate flavoring substance, a pocket of air is effectively created in a space  70  located between the underside of the basket  36  and the bottom  24  of the vessel.  
         [0021]     In order to commence infusion, hot water is poured into the vessel with the intent of soaking the ground coffee beans in the basket  36 . The liquid is poured onto the cover  20  and makes its way into the vessel  14  through the distribution system. This stage of the process is shown in  FIG. 5 . Until all the liquid has been poured and infusion has begun, a pocket of air trapped underneath the basket  36  is created. The ground coffee beans are soaked (and infused) without causing exposure of the mesh of the screen  40 . One way of achieving this effect is through appropriate design of the distribution system (shape of the upper surface of the cover  20  and/or sizes and locations of the apertures  22 ).  
         [0022]     Those skilled in the art will find it within their ability to select suitable sizes and locations for the apertures  22  so as to achieve the effect of a fine shower of liquid emerging from a substantial portion of the undersurface of the cover  20  such that the ground coffee beans in the basket  36  are soaked without significantly agitating them as it is being soaked (and infused). Since the ground coffee beans are unlikely to pass through the screen  40 , the apertures  42  of the screen  40  will remain covered by them during the infusing process and hence air in the region  70  underneath the basket  36  will be prevented from escaping while liquid is being poured into the vessel  14 .  
         [0023]     As the remainder of the liquid enters the vessel  14  through the cover  20 , the ground coffee beans will continue to cover the screen  40 , with the effect of causing the pocket of air to remain trapped in the region  70 . Hence, there results the situation in  FIG. 6 , which remains the case until action is taken by the user to release the pocket of air. In a specific scenario, shown in  FIG. 7 , the user pushes the handle  32  towards the cover  20 , which causes the basket  36  to move towards the bottom  24  of the vessel  14 . (It is recalled that the basket  36  was previously positioned in such a way as to allow further downward travel within the vessel  14 .) As a result of this motion, the pocket of air trapped in the region  70  is forced upwards and passes through the apertures  42  in the screen  40  by displacing the ground coffee beans.  
         [0024]     In doing so, some of the ground coffee beans which had remained “stuck” to the bottom of the screen  40  or which were buried deep within the ground coffee beans are released and caused to be exposed to the liquid (coffee) undergoing infusion. This leads to more efficient usage of the ground coffee beans. Moreover, as the ground coffee beans are displaced, they are dispersed throughout a greater portion of the volume of the vessel  14 , resulting in improved contact of the ground coffee beans with the liquid (coffee).  
         [0025]     It is noted that some residual air may still remain trapped below the basket  36 , even when the latter has been maximally lowered within the vessel  14 . Thus, by agitating the basket  36  through up-and-down action of the handle  32 , the remainder of the trapped air can be expunged.  
         [0026]     During infusion, it may be desirable to limit heat loss that occurs through the cover. To this end, the handle  32  may be configured so that the apertures  22  in the cover  20  are occluded when the handle  32  is positioned directly atop the cover  20 . This advantageously prevents heat from escaping the vessel  14  through the apertures  22 . If the apertures  22  are uniformly radially disposed about the cover  20 , and if the shaft  26  passes through the center of the cover  20 , then it is possible to design the handle  32  so that mere lowering of the handle  32  to the top surface of the cover  20  will cause all the apertures  22  to be occluded. Alternatively, in the design illustrated in the drawings, slight rotation of the handle  32  may be required to align the handle  32  with the apertures  22 . Moreover, as shown in  FIG. 2 , the handle  32  may be equipped with plugs  34  for engaging a subset (or all) of the apertures  22  so as to prevent rotation of the handle  32  with respect to the cover  20  while the apertures  22  are covered, i.e., during the infusion process.  
         [0027]     Once infusion is complete, the handle  32  is pulled upwards (see  FIG. 8 ), causing the basket  36  to correspondingly rise towards the cover  20 . In doing so, the screen  40  collects the majority of the coffee particles in the coffee, while the lip  44  picks up the remainder due to wiping action against the interior wall  46  of the vessel  14 . It is therefore possible to design the periphery of the lip  44  at an upward angle so as to cause the coffee particles being swept from the interior wall  46  of the vessel  14  to be directed into an area of the screen  40  closer to the center of the basket  36 . The resulting “squeegee” effect thus wipes clean the interior wall  46  of the vessel  14  as the basket  36  is moved upwards through the coffee.  
         [0028]     By continuing to pull on the handle  32 , the basket  36  (travelling on its way to the cover  20 ) will eventually be raised beyond the level of the infused beverage (coffee), at which point another advantageous effect is produced. Specifically, with reference to  FIG. 9 , as the basket  36  is pulled upwards, a space  72  is created intermediate the underside of the basket  36  and the upper surface of the coffee. This space, which gradually increases as the handle  32  continues to be pulled, must be replaced by ambient air, which can only enter via the screen  40  and/or via the space between the lip  44  and the interior wall  46  of the vessel  14 . Assuming that the lip  44  tightly contacts the interior wall  46  of the vessel, it follows that ambient air will be forced to enter the intermediate space  72  through the screen  40 , causing a vacuum drying effect and resulting in the formation of a compressed cake of spent flavoring substance in the basket  36 . This resulting cake is usually so dry that the infused ground coffee beans will not drip back into the coffee, which has advantages in terms of improved flavor. In addition, this results in a device  10  that causes little mess and is easy to clean.  
         [0029]     By providing an optional locking mechanism, the basket  36  can be locked to the undersurface of the cover  20 , as shown in  FIG. 10 . It should be expressly noted that the locking mechanism, which is optional, is not limited solely to the example realization described hereinafter in detail. Rather, any type of mechanical lock that can secure the basket  36  within the cover  20  is envisaged.  
         [0030]     The locking mechanism is capable of acquiring a locked state in which the basket  36  is secured to the cover  20  and an unlocked state in which the basket  36  is free to move with respect to the cover  20 . Accordingly, the locking mechanism includes a portion on the cover  20  and a cooperating portion on the basket  36 . In one non-limiting example embodiment, the cover portion of the locking mechanism includes a channel  52 A carved in a projection  52 B underneath the cover  20 . The basket portion of the locking mechanism includes a set of one or more protrusions  52 D biased towards the axis  27  of the shaft  26  and capable of fitting within the channel  52 A. Biasing of the protrusions  52 D towards the axis  27  of the shaft  26  may be achieved by a biasing element  50 , such as a rubber O-ring, an elastic or an open-ended stainless steel ring having an arc length greater than 360 degrees. Alternatively, biasing may be achieved inherently through formation of the protrusions  52 D as leaf springs. Of course, other biasing elements will be known to those of ordinary skill in the art.  
         [0031]     In order to cause the locking mechanism to acquire its locked state, the basket  36  is pressed against the undersurface of the cover  20  until the protrusions  52 D enter the channel  52 A. This is achieved by pulling (upwards) on the handle  32 , which causes the basket  36  to meet the projection  52 B. Since the projection  52 B is tapered, pulling on the handle  32  will have caused the protrusions  52 D to separate until they fall into the channel  52 A. It is recalled that the protrusions  52 D are biased towards the axis  27  of the shaft  26 . Also, the protrusions  52 D can have curved portions which assist in retaining the protrusions  52 D in the channel  52 A until forced out under an external influence.  
         [0032]     In an alternative embodiment of the locking mechanism, the locked state is acquired through rotation of the basket  36  and the handle  32  in a first direction (e.g., clockwise) such that mating portions of the basket  36  and the cover  20  engage with one another to hold the basket  36  underneath the cover  20 . Once it is desired to remove the basket  36  from the cover  20  (e.g., for cleaning purposes), rotational motion is applied in the opposite direction so that the mating portions of the basket  36  and the cover  20  disengage from one another. This allows the basket retaining mechanism to acquire its unlocked state in which the basket  36  is again free to move with respect to the cover  20 .  
         [0033]     Once the basket  36  and the lip  44  have traveled all the way up to the undersurface of the cover  20 , such that the basket  36  is locked to the undersurface of the cover  20 , the lip  44  contacts a second seal  56  that surrounds the periphery of the cover  20 . The combination of the lip  44  and the seal  56  results in the formation of a chamber that contains the infused ground coffee beans.  
         [0034]     Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the coffee made by the system and method of the present invention can remain in the vessel  14  for a desired amount of time prior to being consumed or poured. The aging of the coffee in the vessel  14  is not subject to flavor degradation that could be due to leaving coffee particles in the coffee, since the infused ground coffee beans will be retained in the screen  40  and thus will remain out of contact with the coffee.  
         [0035]     In addition, the coffee lends itself to being reheated. In particular, the entire system may be placed on a heating element (e.g., a mug warmer). The device  10  may thus remain mounted on the vessel  14  during this operation. Because of a lack of large coffee particles in the coffee, the unpleasant taste of burnt coffee beans is avoided, with the end result being that the reheated coffee is likely to have a taste that the user will find satisfactory.  
         [0036]     In order to pour the coffee out of the vessel  14  and into a cup or mug, the vessel  14  is simply tilted towards the spout  18 . Advantageously, the basket  36  will have a profile that leaves sufficient room between it and the spout  18  to allow a flow of the coffee to take place without contacting the screen  40 . To this end, it may be advantageous to specially design the spout  18  with this objective in mind, although it will be understood that most ordinary spouts provide the added space for allowing the coffee to stream out of the vessel  14  with very little, if any, contact with the infused ground coffee beans. Also, it is noted that contact between the coffee and the lip  44  (and/or the seal  56 ) is permitted since it has no effect on the flavor of the coffee that is being poured out of the vessel  14 .  
         [0037]     Moreover, it may be advantageous to move the handle  32  and the shaft  26  out of the way when the coffee is poured out of the vessel  14 . This can be done in myriad ways. For example, once the handle  32  has been pulled all the way up, the shaft and the handle  32  can simply be removed, e.g., by depressing a release button or by performing an unscrewing motion. In other embodiments, the extended shaft  26  may be bent or pivoted back on itself, when bent, the shaft  26  and the handle  32  may join a portion of the exterior surface of the vessel  14  (e.g., the grip  58 ) and thus become an integral part thereof.  
         [0038]     In still other embodiments, the locking mechanism (which secures the basket  36  to the undersurface of the cover  20 ) may be configured to cooperate with a second mechanism whereby the handle  32  can now be pushed back down towards the bottom  24  of the vessel  14  while the basket  36  remains secured to the undersurface of the cover  20 . For example, in the illustrated embodiment, entry of the protrusions  52 D into the channel  52 A causes a set of fingers  48 D to disengage from a groove  48 B in the shaft  26 . This facilitates movement of the end  30  of the shaft  26  relative to the basket  36 . Accordingly, the handle  32  can be pushed towards the cover  20  and the shaft  26  moved out of the way. Other embodiments envisage a shaft equipped with a telescoping mechanism whereby the frictional forces of the telescoping mechanism are overcome as soon as the basket  36  is locked to the undersurface of the cover  20 , allowing the handle  32  to be brought back down in proximity to the upper surface of the cover  20 .  
         [0039]     For cleaning purposes, the locking mechanism should acquire its unlocked state. In one specific embodiment, this is achieved by pulling the basket  36  away from the cover  20  towards the end  38  of the shaft  26 . This step is normally required only once the infused beverage is ready to be served. Clearly, applying a sufficient pulling force on the basket  36  itself will cause the protrusions  52 D (due to their curved surfaces) to slide out of the channel  52 A. To facilitate this procedure, an enlargement  54  can be provided proximate the bottom of the basket  36 . The enlargement  54  allows a user to easily disengage the basket  36  from the projection  52 B of the cover  20 .  
         [0040]     In the illustrated embodiment, if the basket  36  is brought all the way back to the end  38  of the shaft  26 , then the set of fingers  48 D will re-engage the groove  48 B in the shaft  26 , which prevents movement of the end  30  of the shaft  26  relative to the basket  36 . The enlargement  54  will then appear at the end  38  of the shaft  26  where the knob  48 A is located. By designing the enlargement  54  to have a flat surface, the device  10  in its entirety can be supported once removed from the vessel and placed upon a surface such as on a saucer or in a sink prior to cleaning. It may also be advantageous to design the knob  48 A so that it is flush with the enlargement  54 .  
         [0041]     While specific embodiments of the present invention have been described and illustrated, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that numerous modifications and variations can be made without departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.