Patent FR-2960407-A1 (FR)
Title: Domestic and commercial model machine for preparing different varieties of tea infusion, comprises water tank, space kettle with thermostat and heat resistant teapot, numeric keypad with red/green light, and interchangeable filter
Inventor: AGUIE PAUL
IPC: A23F3/00
Filed: 2010-05-26
Abstract: The domestic and commercial model machine comprises a water tank, a space kettle with a thermostat (25) and a heat resistant teapot, a numeric keypad with a red/green light to enter a symbol consisting of a number and a letter for brewing temperature and duration of brewing, an interchangeable filter installed between a crude water cell and a cell for receiving water filtered from the water tank to reduce the content of calcium carbonate, chlorine, lead and pesticides from waste water, and a float level controller (23) and a waste-weir (22) installed in the kettle. The domestic and commercial model machine comprises a water tank, a space kettle with a thermostat (25) and a heat resistant teapot, a numeric keypad with a red/green light to enter a symbol consisting of a number and a letter for brewing temperature and duration of brewing, an interchangeable filter installed between a crude water cell and a cell for receiving water filtered from the water tank to reduce the content of calcium carbonate, chlorine, lead and pesticides from waste water, a float level controller (23) and a waste-weir (22) installed in the kettle for maintaining the brewing water volume in constant regardless of the variety of tea, an element of teapot for holding tea filter in which the weight of the tea is identical, a magnetic valve, stations for simultaneously preparing same or different tea by brewing, a start-up pump located at a base of the filtered water tank, an emergency stopper, an overflow system installed in the teapot, a drawer located in a base of the machine, a timer, a rectangular parallelepiped element constituted of a covering and located above a floor, a steel bead (26), a locking ring made of PVC, a hopper placed in a lower part of the kettle, U-shaped rails for supporting the tea filters after introduction and preventing the filters from moving or floating in the infusion, a cantilever placed outside the filter, a cylindrical casing, an overflow pipe with a grid fitted above the drawer to collect spillage, and a frame. The intake of crude water is preformed manually by an operator. The element of teapot is made of porcelain, glass, polyvinyl chloride (PVC), or other non-porous and/or non-ferrous materials. An opening of the valve is controlled by the timer at the end of brewing time to ensure physical separation of the brewed tea and tea leaves. The filter located between two cells of the water tank is enclosed in a removable cartridge made of PVC and equipped with slots. The cartridge changes regularly depending on the utilization of the machine, and is placed in a horizontal partition between two cells by a groove. The filter composed of activated carbon or other materials has the same effect locked in a non-woven geotextile bag or other materials filtering the fine particles. The bag is enclosed in the cartridge. The start-up is controlled by entering the symbol on the numeric keypad disposed on the middle of the tea filter lid. The emergency stopper is controlled by a float located in the filtered water tank. A normal shutdown of the pump after the discharge of a volume of filtered water, which is equal to a fixed volume of infusion, in the kettle is controlled by the float installed in the kettle. The float installed in the kettle controls the stopping of the pump and the power supply of a heater (24). The thermostat of the kettle records a temperature equal to the limit temperature, cuts the power supply of the heating resistor, and controls the power supply to the magnetic loop of the valve. The timer counts the recorded brewing time, controls the electric supply to the valve of teapot at the end of the brewing time, and releases a door opening of teapot by withdrawal of an electromagnetic latch. The base of the machine fits into the floor so that there is a flushing between the floor and an upper part of the base. The cover and the base are connected together by the vertical stops of parallelepiped L section. The steel bead is covered with rubber or PVC that clogs a circular hole provided in the base by gravity, and is present between the stops. The base is welded to a PVC ring with thread that crosses the floor. The locking ring is located below the floor containing the magnetic loop that is screwed on upper ring, and allows to fasten the valve by screwing on the floor. The tank is placed on the pedestal and fitted into an outer envelope of the machine, and is easily removable after disconnection of the pump and its discharge. The hopper has the same dimensions as the teapot, and supports the kettle through the groove formed at the top of the vertical walls. The door is equipped with a conventional lever lock having a hook that is lockable by a key of which a closing mechanism is an arm operated by an electromagnet. An upper floor is pierced with holes to accommodate the pump of the tank. An independent claim is included for a polyvinyl chloride filter pod.