Patent Publication Number: US-2010112164-A1

Title: Method and apparatus for brewing beverages

Description:
BACKGROUND 
     Brewed beverages such as coffee and tea are consumed daily by millions of people all over the globe. Most prefer a freshly-brewed beverage. Many consume their beverage of choice while at work or in some location where the means to brew a beverage is limited or non-existent. While instant beverages are available, some, such as instant coffee, are widely considered to be inferior in taste to the same beverage freshly-brewed from raw beverage material. 
     Many work environments and public accommodations offer an electric device that brews a quantity of coffee in a pot. The communal coffee pot quickly develops a characteristic scorched taste and is the perennial butt of much office humor. Over time, accreted mineral and coffee residue add to the offensiveness of the brew. A pot of coffee is far too much for most drinkers to consume in a short time. Espresso machines and other electric devices for brewing small quantities are expensive and impractical to transport. A few devotees carry pre-ground coffee and a French press, but these presses are generally made of glass and have a disconcerting tendency to transform themselves into piles of shards at the bottom of a purse or briefcase. 
     A user&#39;s choice of brewing system limits the user&#39;s ability to vary the type and the potency of their brew. Coffee brewing systems are usually unsuitable for brewing tea; tea brewing systems are usually unsuitable for brewing coffee. Drip systems tend to require more beverage material to increase potency, increasing the cost of the resulting beverage. Steeping systems tend to require longer brewing duration to increase potency, often increasing the acidity of the resulting beverage. In either case, most brewing systems are too heavy and bulky to transport conveniently. 
     What is needed is a single compact, easily-carried, inexpensive, reusable system for on-the-spot brewing of beverages from fresh beverage materials. Such a system should be easily reconfigured to drip-brew or steep, as desired, and to provide control over the potency of the brew without requiring additional brewing material or brewing time. 
     SUMMARY 
     Embodiments of the invention provide means for brewing coffee, tea, and other beverages in single cup quantities. A filter is secured onto a bottom ring with a top ring. Beverage material is placed in the filter. In one embodiment the bottom ring may rest on a riser that in turn rests on a brace supported by a beverage cup. A sprinkler is placed on the top ring and fluids poured through the sprinkler pass through the beverage material into the cup, with the beverage material held above the cup by the riser. In another embodiment the bottom ring is placed directly on the rim of the cup with the filter resting at least partially within the cup, allowing a user to steep beverage material within the cup. 
     All components may be made from microwave-oven-safe material. An embodiment of the invention may comprise a kit with the brace, riser, bottom ring, top ring, sprinkler, extra filters, packages of beverage material, and a portable coffee grinder, all contained within a convenient carrying pouch. All of these features and advantages, and more, are illustrated below in the drawings and detailed description that follow. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  shows an exploded perspective view of a beverage brewing apparatus. 
         FIG. 2  shows a top plan view of a sprinkler. 
         FIG. 3  shows a top perspective view of a top ring. 
         FIG. 4  shows a top plan view of a top ring. 
         FIG. 5  shows a top plan view of a top ring with an installed sprinkler. 
         FIG. 6  shows a bottom perspective view of a top ring. 
         FIG. 7  shows a perspective view of a filter. 
         FIG. 8  shows a perspective view of a bottom ring. 
         FIG. 9  shows perspective views of a riser and a brace. 
         FIG. 10  shows a side elevation view of a brace. 
         FIG. 11  shows a perspective view of an embodiment of the invention configured to brew tea. 
         FIG. 12  shows a perspective view of an embodiment of the invention configured to brew coffee. 
         FIG. 13  shows a perspective view of the top ring, filter, bottom ring, and riser configured for storage. 
         FIG. 14  shows a perspective view of a pouch for carrying the invention as a kit. 
         FIG. 15  shows an elevation view of a pre-measured packet of beverage material. 
         FIG. 16  shows a perspective view of a compact portable coffee grinder. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       FIG. 1  shows an invention embodiment that includes optional components that improve the performance of the invention while brewing certain beverages. An optional sprinkler  100  rests upon a top ring  110  that secures a filter  120  to a bottom ring  130 . In certain embodiments the bottom ring  130  rests upon an optional riser  140  that is in turn supported by an optional brace  150 . All components may be readily fabricated from metal, plastic, and other known material using known manufacturing techniques. Certain plastic components offer the advantage of being safe to use in a microwave oven. 
     The optional sprinkler  100  has a support plate  102  with a hemispherical reservoir  104  mounted in the center. The reservoir  104  protrudes downward with its open side  106  facing upward. A number of tubes  108  are arrayed on and pass through the lower surface of the reservoir  104 . Water poured into the reservoir  104  passes slowly through the tubes  108  and is distributed evenly over ground coffee or other beverage material beneath.  FIG. 2  shows a top plan view of a sprinkler  100 . 
       FIG. 3  shows a perspective view of the top ring  110 . In a preferred embodiment, a top ring central opening  310  is surrounded by a top ring body  312  with sufficient volume to accommodate locking hooks within. Another embodiment (not shown) may have a thinner ring body with openings to allow locking hooks to pass through the top ring body and lock against its upper surface. Grips  318  allow a user to more easily exert torque on the top ring  110  when the top ring  110  is locked onto or unlocked from the bottom ring  130 .  FIG. 4  shows a top plan view of the embodiment of  FIG. 3 . 
     Returning to the embodiment of  FIG. 3 , slots  314  in opposite sides of the top ring body  312  allow placement of the optional sprinkler  100  and a folded handle across the top ring  110 . Optional shallow recesses  316  are shaped to conform closely to the ends of the support plate  102  to prevent lateral movement of the sprinkler  100 , shown spanning the top ring central opening  310  in  FIG. 5 . 
       FIG. 6  shows a perspective view of the underside of the top ring  110  of  FIG. 3 . The flat bottom surface  610  has four slots  612  that accept locking hooks  817  shown in  FIG. 8 . In the embodiment of  FIG. 6  the slots  612  are curved to conform to curved hooks and are formed within the top ring  110 . Each slot communicates with an internal cavity  614  that engages a hook  817  when the hook  817  is inserted in the slot  612  and the top ring  110  is rotated to move the hook  817  into the internal cavity  614 . Engaging all hooks  817  with all internal cavities  614  locks the top ring  110  to the bottom ring  130 . 
       FIG. 7  shows a filter  120  with a rim  710  and a basket  714 . The rim  710  has slots  712  that align with the slots  612  in the top ring and are large enough to fit over the hooks  817 . The basket  714  may be made from a fine metal or plastic mesh or from permeable paper, all of which are well-known in the art. Embodiments of the basket  714  may be made of paper or other known materials that may be easily folded or compressed against the rim  710  without damage, greatly reducing the volume of a filter  120  when stored prior to use or discarded after use. 
     The rim  710  may be stiffened with metal, plastic, paper or other known material, either by use of a different material than is used in the basket, or a thicker layer of the same material as used in the basket, or one or more additional layers of any suitable material. The rim  710  is sized and shaped to fit between and be secured by the top ring  110  and the bottom ring  130  when the top ring  110  is locked to the bottom ring  130 . 
       FIG. 8  shows a perspective view of the bottom ring  130 . A bottom ring central opening  810  surrounds a bottom ring body  805  with an upper surface  818 , hooks  817  protruding upward from the upper surface  818 , support legs  811 ,  812  and a handle  816  mounted on a hinge  815  atop a hinge extension  814 . Although the embodiment of  FIG. 8  depicts four hooks, two or three would suffice. The upper surface  818  is sized and shaped to fit closely with the lower surface  610  of the top ring  110  when the top ring  110  is locked to the bottom ring  130 . The support legs  811 ,  812  and hinge extension  814  extend radially from the bottom ring body  805 . The hinge extension  814  raises the hinge  815  above the upper surface so that the handle  816  may be folded flat across the top ring  110  when the top ring  110  is locked to the bottom ring  130 . 
       FIG. 9  shows perspective views of a riser  140  and a brace  150 . In the embodiment of  FIG. 9  the riser  140  is a hollow, inverted conical frustum made of plastic, metal, water-resistant paper, or other known rigid or semi-rigid materials. The brace  150  embodied in  FIGS. 9 and 10  is a metal or plastic frame with an inner ring  1010  and an outer ring  1020  concentrically disposed and joined by radial rods  1030 . As shown in  FIG. 10 , the inner ring  1010  may be raised with respect to the outer ring  1020 . The diameter of the inner ring  1010  is greater than the diameter of the lower rim  910  of the riser  140  but less than the diameter of the upper rim  905 , so that the riser  140  will wedge into a secure position when inserted through the inner ring  1010  of the brace  150 . 
     Depending on configuration, the invention may be advantageously used to steep beverage material directly in hot or cold water or to allow water to seep gradually through the beverage material and collect in a container below. In either case the top ring  110 , filter  120 , and bottom ring  130  are first assembled in the order shown in  FIG. 1 . The handle  816  of the bottom ring  130  ( FIG. 8 ) is extended. The slots  712  in the rim  710  of the filter  120  ( FIG. 7 ) are aligned with and pressed down over the hooks  817  of the bottom ring  130  ( FIG. 8 ) until the rim  710  is seated on the upper surface  818  of the bottom ring  130 . 
     With the bottom surface  610  of the top ring  110  ( FIG. 6 ) turned downward and the slots  612  in the top ring  110  aligned with the hooks  817  in the bottom ring  130 , the top ring  110  is pressed down onto the hooks  817  until it contacts the rim  710 . The top ring  110  is then rotated until the hooks  817  engage the internal cavities  614  and the top ring  110  is secured to the bottom ring  130 . Grips  318  ( FIG. 3 ) allow the user to more easily apply torque to the top ring  110  while locking the top ring  110  to or unlocking the top ring  110  from the bottom ring  130 . 
     A beverage that is brewed by steeping beverage material in a fluid may then be created by placing beverage material in the basket  714  and inserting the basket  714  directly into a cup  1100  until the support legs  811 ,  812  and hinge extension  814  rest on the rim  1110  of the cup as shown in  FIG. 11 . Hot water or another desired fluid may be present in the cup prior to insertion of the basket  714  or may be poured through the central openings  310 ,  810  into the basket  714  to collect in the cup  1100 . 
     In an embodiment made from microwave-oven-safe material, cold water may be placed in the cup  1100 , the apparatus assembled, filled with beverage material, and inserted in the cup, and the whole assembly heated in a microwave oven. A cup that is transparent or has a vertical transparent band  1120  from base  1130  to rim  1100  can simplify addition of the correct amount of water. The basket  714  and beverage material within may be left immersed for the desired period of time, then the user may grasp the handle and remove the entire assembly from the cup  1100 . 
     When the user prefers to trickle fluids slowly through the beverage material without allowing the beverage material to sit in the fluids collected in the cup, the riser  140  may be inserted into the inner ring  915  of the brace  150  in the manner shown in  FIG. 12 . The assembled brace  150  and riser  140  are placed upon the rim  1210  of a cup  1200 . The top ring  110 , filter  120 , and bottom ring  120  are assembled as described above and the handle  816  is extended. The basket  714  is inserted into the riser  140  until the bottom ring  130  rests upon the upper edge  905  of the riser  140 . Beverage material may be placed in the basket before or after the basket is inserted into the riser  140 . Hot water or another desired fluid may be poured through the central openings  310 ,  810  into the basket  714  to filter through the beverage material and collect in the cup  1200 . 
     Since the bottom ring and/or basket/riser assembly may cover the mouth of a cup, a cup that is transparent or has a vertical transparent band from base to rim can simplify addition of the correct amount of fluids for any method in which fluids are added after the brewing apparatus is in or on the cup. A transparent vertical band allows the user to use a cup with a desired opaque exterior color or other decoration while easily determining the fluid level in the cup. 
     Addition of the optional sprinkler  100  slows the introduction of the fluid and improves distribution of fluid over the beverage material, improving the performance of the apparatus when used to make coffee. The sprinkler  100  may be placed upon the top ring  110  as shown in  FIG. 5  after assembly of the top ring  110 , filter  120 , and bottom ring  130  and introduction of beverage material into the filter. Water or another fluid may then be poured through the sprinkler into the beverage material as described above. With or without the sprinkler, the entire assembly may be removed from the cup once the fluid has ceased to drip from the basket. 
     After use, the apparatus may be disassembled in reverse order of assembly. The top ring may be detached from the bottom ring and the filter either cleaned or replaced. The apparatus may be conveniently stored in the manner shown in  FIG. 13  by inserting the filter or filters into the riser  140 , reassembling the top  110  and bottom  130  rings, and folding the handle  816  across the sprinkler and the top ring  110 . 
     The invention&#39;s ability to function as both a drip system and by steeping beverage material affords additional control over the potency of the resulting brew. For example, stronger coffee may be brewed by steeping coffee grounds instead by drip brewing, reducing or eliminating the need to use extra coffee to make a stronger beverage. Conversely, weaker tea may be brewed with a drip system, eliminating the acidity that may develop when tea is steeped too long. 
     In a simple embodiment the user may employ only the top ring  110 , filter  120 , and bottom ring  130  to brew a beverage. When a filter  120  utilizing an easily folded or compressed basket  714  material is chosen for this embodiment, the stored components form a thin, flat, lightweight package that may be easily shipped, distributed, or carried in a pocket or purse. 
     The apparatus may also be stored, carried, and used as a kit comprising the top ring  110 , one or more reusable or disposable filters  120 , a bottom ring  130 , one or more pre-measured packets of beverage material  1500  as shown in  FIG. 15 , all stored and carried in a pouch.  FIG. 14  shows a fabric pouch  1400  with a carry bag  1410 , a handle  1420 , and an access zipper  1430 . Such a pouch may also be equipped with a shoulder strap as is known in the art. The pouch  1400  may vary in size and shape according to the intended contents, mode of transportation, and anticipated circumstances of use. A pouch for a beverage-brewing kit may have internal hook-and-loop or elastic straps to hold kit components in convenient locations. Many versions of suitable storage pouches and premeasured beverage packets, such as coffee packets or tea bags, are well-known in the art. 
     A more versatile kit could include with the items already described a sprinkler  100 , a riser  140 , a brace  150 , a portable coffee grinder  1600  as shown in  FIG. 16 , a beverage container such as a cup  1200  or mug, and a portable beverage heater. Compact portable coffee grinders and cups, mugs, and other suitable containers are well-known in the art. Known coil-type, one-cup beverage heaters are often provided by hotels and motels, and may be purchased from vendors of travel gear. The drawings referenced in this specification are not to scale, with the pouch  1400  being large enough to contain all of the items described in this and the preceding paragraph. 
     A person using the fully equipped kit to brew fresh coffee could remove the contents of the pouch, assemble the brewing apparatus as described above, grind fresh coffee beans with the portable grinder or open a pre-measured packet of ground coffee, place the coffee in the filter, place the sprinkler atop the top ring, place the assembled brewing apparatus on a cup or mug, pour hot water through the sprinkler, wait for the water to pass through the filter, remove the apparatus from the cup or mug, and enjoy a fresh cup of hot coffee. The apparatus may then be disassembled in reverse order of assembly and kit components stored within the pouch. A kit with a beverage heater would allow the user to either pre-heat water for a steeped beverage in the brewing cup or pre-heat water for a non-steeped beverage in a separate cup to be poured into a brewing cup. 
     The principles, embodiments, and modes of operation of the invention have been set forth in the foregoing specification. The embodiments disclosed herein should be interpreted as illustrating the invention and not as restricting it. The foregoing disclosure is not intended to limit the range of equivalent structure available to a person of ordinary skill in the art in any way, but rather to expand the range of equivalent structures in ways not previously contemplated. Numerous variations and changes can be made to the foregoing illustrative embodiments without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention.