Abstract:
A brewer system is adapted to brew a beverage utilizing a cartridge packed with beverage grind such as coffee, tea, milk, and the like to make one cup of beverage, and multiple cups of beverage utilizing a refillable cup utilizing the same brewer system.

Description:
RELATED APPLICATION 
       [0001]    This application claims priority to two U.S. provisional application numbers: (1) 61/967,140 filed Mar. 11, 2014; and (2) 61/995,321 filed Apr. 08, 2014, which are all hereby incorporated by reference. 
     
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    1. Field of the Invention 
         [0003]    This invention is directed a beverage brewing system capable of brewing one cup of beverage or multiple cups of bever into a carafe. 
         [0004]    2. Background 
         [0005]    Brewing coffee through a single-serve cartridge has become popular for its convenience and a variety of coffee flavors that are offered. Single-serve cartridges are packed with pre-measured coffee grind that can be inserted into a brewer to inject heated water into the cartridge to brew a cup of coffee. While single-serve cartridges are convenient to brew one cup of coffee quickly, it can be inconvenient and time consuming to brew multiple cups of coffee one after another during those occasions when there is a family gathering or with multiple house guests desiring a cup of coffee. In such occasions, brewing a pot of coffee or multiple cups of coffee into a carafe would be more convenient, but to do so, a separate traditional drip brewer may be needed. Having a single-serve brewing system and a traditional drip coffee brewer can take up extra kitchen counter space, which may be undesirable for some homeowners. Accordingly, there is a need to brew a one cup as well as several cups of coffee with one brewing system. 
       INVENTION SUMMARY 
       [0006]    A brewing system is adapted to brew a beverage utilizing a cartridge packed with beverage grind such as coffee, tea, milk, and the like to make one cup of beverage, and multiple cups of beverage utilizing a refillable cup with the same brewer. The brewing system includes a brewer having a well adapted to receive a holder and a refillable cup. The holder is adapted to pierce a hole through a single-serve beverage cartridge packed with premeasured amount of beverage grind to brew one cup of beverage. The holder can be removed for cleaning 
         [0007]    The refillable cup includes a cap and a container. With the cap removed, the container can be packed with substantially more beverage grind, such as at least 200% more, than the beverage grind packed into a single-serve beverage cartridge to brew multiple cups of beverage. The holder can be removed, and the refillable cup can be inserted into the well. The refillable cup is configured to substantially fill the well to maximize the internal spacing to pack as much beverage grind as possible. The cap may have a guard to prevent outer debris from entering the container once the cap is closed to the container. The cap may also have an elongated porous cone to provide a path for heated water to pass deep into the beverage grind inside the container to evenly extract the beverage from the grind in the bottom. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0008]    The invention can be better understood with reference to the following drawings and description. The components in the figures are not necessarily to scale, emphasis instead being placed upon illustrating the principles of the invention. Moreover, in the figures, like referenced numerals designate corresponding parts throughout the different views. 
           [0009]      FIG. 1  shows a perspective view of an internal main frame of a brewer adapted to receive a holder. 
           [0010]      FIG. 2  is a cross-sectional view of the main frame along the line  2 - 2  show in  FIG. 1 . 
           [0011]      FIG. 3  shows the main frame of  FIG. 3  with the holder removed. 
           [0012]      FIG. 4  shows another perspective view of the main frame. 
           [0013]      FIG. 5  shows a perspective view of a refillable cup. 
           [0014]      FIG. 6  shows the refillable cup without the mesh shown in  FIG. 5 . 
           [0015]      FIG. 7  shows a perspective view of the cap. 
           [0016]      FIG. 8  shows the cap with an elongated porous cone. 
           [0017]      FIG. 9  shows a perspective view of the refillable cup without the mesh. 
           [0018]      FIG. 10  shows a cross sectional view of the refillable cup inserted into the brewer. 
           [0019]      FIG. 11  shows a pouch packed with premeasured amount of beverage that can be sealed within a bag. 
           [0020]      FIG. 12  shows a carafe placed underneath the refillable cup to hold large amount of beverage. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0021]      FIG. 1  shows a perspective view of an internal main frame  10  of a brewer adapted to receive a holder  12 . The holder  12  may be adapted to receive different size single-serve cups in a manner generally described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/925,595 and Ser. No. 13/925,604, both of which were filed on Jun. 24, 2014, which are both hereby incorporated by references. The different size single-serve cups may be adapted to pack up to about 20 grams of grind coffee depending the roast. By way of background, as coffee beans are roasted or backed for a longer period of time, the coffee beans loose more moisture and becomes darker and weigh less, and vice versa. With about 20 grams of coffee, it may be enough to brew 14 oz to 18 oz cup of coffee but not much more without making the coffee taste too weak. 
         [0022]      FIG. 2  is a cross-sectional view of the main frame  10  along the line  2 - 2  show in  FIG. 1 . The main frame  10  may have a well  14  adapted to receive the holder  12 . The holder  12  may be sized such that a gap  16  may be formed between the well  14  and the holder  12 . The holder may be removed from the well for cleaning The well may have an opening  18  to allow the funnel  20  of the holder  12  to protrude therethrough to allow the beverage to drain from the funnel  20  and into a mug. 
         [0023]      FIG. 3  shows the main frame  10  of  FIG. 3  with the holder removed. The well  14  may have a side wall  22  in the shape of a round bore with the opening  18  at the bottom for draining the beverage, as also shown in the perspective view of  FIG. 4 . 
         [0024]      FIG. 5  shows a perspective view of a refillable cup  22  adapted to insert into the well  14  of the main frame  10 . The refillable cup  22  may have a cap  24  and a container  26  adapted to couple with the cap  24 . The cap  24  may have an opening  28  adapted to receive the inlet needle from the brewer to inject heated water into the refillable cup  22 . The container  26  may have a frame  30  coupled to one or more meshes sized to substantially hold the beverage grind within the container yet allow the liquid beverage to pass therethrough. The frame  30  may have ribs  34  that provide structural support to the mesh  32  and divide the mesh  32  into several portions  36 . The pore size of the mesh may be varied depending on the application such as whether coffee or tea is being brewed with the refillable cup. The mesh may be made from a variety of materials such as metal, paper, synthetic fiber and any other materials known to one skilled in the art. The porous openings may be also formed into the container. 
         [0025]      FIG. 6  shows the frame  30  without the mesh  32  shown in  FIG. 5 . The frame  30  may be divided into a serval portions such as a first portion  38  and a second portion  40 . The first portion  38  may be generally defined by a space between an upper rim  42  and an intermediate ring  44 , and the second portion  40  may be generally defined by a space between the intermediate ring  44  and a base  46 . The first portion  38  may be formed of solid side wall so that it is impermeable to liquid. The second portion  40  may have several windows  48  defined by the ribs  34  extending between the intermediate ring  44  and the base  46 . As discussed above in reference to  FIG. 5 , the mesh  32  may be integrated or coupled to the second portion  40  of the frame to retain the beverage grind within the container yet allow the liquid beverage to pass therethrough. 
         [0026]    The base  46  of the frame  30  may have smaller windows  50  adapted to couple with mesh as well to allow the beverage to pass therethrough while holding the beverage grind within the container. The base  46  may have a tip  52  adapted to drain the beverage more smoothly with nominal splattering. The upper rim  42  of the frame  30  may have one or more extending tabs  54  adapted to engage with the cap  24  to removably seal the cap to the container  22 . 
         [0027]      FIG. 7  shows a perspective view of the cap  24  having a guard  56  extending from the opening  28  to substantially prevent outer debris from passing through the opening  28  and into the container  22 . The guard  56  may have slotted openings  58  adapted to release the heated water from the inlet needle and into the container  22 . The cap  24  may have a protruding tabs  59  adapted to engage with the extending tabs  54  from the frame  30  to releaseaby seal the cap  24  onto the container  22 . 
         [0028]      FIG. 8  shows that the cap  24  may also include an elongated cone  60  adapted to penetrate into the space defined by the second space  40  to deliver heated water deep into the beverage grind located in the second portion  40  of container to evenly wash or extract the flavors from the beverage grind located in the first and second portions  38  and  40 . The elongated cone  60  may have a base  62  adapted to enclose the guard  56  and couple to the cap  24 . The elongated con  60  may have a plurality of porous holes  64  to allow the heated water from the inlet needle to pass through the porous holes  64  along the longitudinal axis of the elongated cone  60 . 
         [0029]      FIG. 9  shows a perspective view of the refillable cup  22  without the mesh  32 . With the cap  24  releaseably coupled to the container  22 , the elongated cone  60  may penetrate deep into the second portion  40  of the frame  30  so that heated water may be delivered to the beverage grind located deep inside the second portion  40  to extract the flavors from such grinds. The refillable cup  22  may brew a variety of beverages such as coffee and tea. For coffee, depending on the darkness of the roast, the refillable cup may be packed with coffee grind slightly above the intermediate ring  44 , which may be between 20 to 30 grams of coffee, which may be enough to brew one cup of 12 to 20 oz cup of coffee depending on how strong or mild the coffee drinker desires to drink. To brew multiple cups at once, coffee grind may be filled up to the upper rim  42 , which may be between 25 to 45 grams of coffee, which may be enough to fill a carafe holding 24 oz to 35 oz of coffee depending on how strong or mild the coffee drinker desires to drink. For instance, the refillable cup may be configured to hold at least 25 grams of grind coffee; or at least 30 grams of grind coffee; or at least 35 grams of grind coffee; or at least 40 grams of grind coffee. 
         [0030]      FIG. 10  shows a cross sectional view of the refillable cup  22  inserted into the well  14 . The frame  30  of the refillable cup  22  may be sized to substantially fill the space within the well  14  such that a nominal gap  66  may be formed between the refillable cup  22  and the side wall  22  of the well to allow the beverage to drain down to the bottom opening  18 . The nominal gap may be less than 3.0 mm. Heated water as indicated by the direction arrow  68  may be injected through the inlet needle  70  such that the heated water passes through the guard  56  and the elongated cone  60  through the porous holes  64 . As the heated water passes through the beverage grind  72  as represented as dark dots, the beverage is formed, as represented by the direction arrows  74 , and passes through the mesh and drains down the gap  66  and further down through the opening  18 . With the refillable cup  22  substantially filling the well  14 , the amount of beverage grind that can be packed into the refillable cup  22  may be maximized to brew stronger and bigger pot of coffee. With the refillable cup  22 , a coffee drinker may grind his or her favorite coffee and brew enough coffee to fill a carafe capable of holding 24 to 35 oz of coffee, for example, utilizing the same brewer capable of brewing single-serve capsules by removing the holder  12  and inserting the refillable cup  22  in its place. 
         [0031]      FIG. 11  shows a pouch  76  packed with premeasured amount of beverage grind such as coffee grind where the pouch  76  may be sized to fit inside the container  22 . The pouch  76  may be sealed air tight into a sealed bag  78 . This way, a coffee drinker may remove the pouch  76  from the sealed bag  78  and insert the pouch into the container  22  for convenience instead of having to grind the coffee. 
         [0032]      FIG. 12  shows a carafe  80  placed underneath the opening  18  of the well  14  to hold the beverage draining from the refillable cup  22 . 
         [0033]    While various embodiments of the invention have been described, it will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art that many more embodiments and implementations are possible within the scope of this invention. Accordingly, the invention is not to be restricted except in light of the attached claims and their equivalents.