Abstract:
A hot beverage brewer ( 10 ) having a hot water dispense system ( 12 ), a brew basket assembly ( 18 ) for holding ingredient to be mixed with the hot water to make a freshly brewed hot beverage and a controller ( 16 ) for controlling the delivery of hot water from the hot water dispenser system to the brew basket ( 18 ) with a spray distribution assembly ( 14 ) having a spray head ( 20 ) having a generally vertical passageway ( 22 ) for receipt of hot water and a spray plate ( 38 ) with a an umbrella-like body ( 34 ) with a downwardly, outwardly tapered top with radiating, outwardly, downwardly directed, upwardly facing grooves and an upwardly standing central core ( 58 ) snuggly received within the passageway ( 22 ) joined to the top of the umbrella-like member ( 34 ) with a plurality of radially, outwardly facing grooves ( 68 ) extending from the top to the bottom to form a plurality of peripheral closed channels for passing hot water to upwardly facing grooves ( 74 ) of the umbrella-like body. The umbrella-like member ( 34 ) has a surrounding outer edge that varies in radial distance from the core around a periphery of the umbrella like body to form a plurality of radially extending pedals ( 80 ) separated by a plurality of slots ( 82 ). Tooless securing means ( 32, 60 ) permits relative rotation of the core within the passageway ( 22 ) scrape clean the core and passageway of residue.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
     This application claims under 35 USC 119(e) the benefit of U.S. provisional applications Ser. No. 60/474,088, filed May 28, 2003, and Ser. No. 60/562,066, filed Apr. 14, 2004, both of which are hereby incorporated by reference. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     This invention generally relates to hot beverage brewers, such as hot coffee brewers and iced tea abstract brewers and hot tea brewers and, more particularly, to such brewers of the type that spray hot water upon ingredient contained within a brew basket to dissolve the ingredient to make the brewed beverage or brewed beverage abstract. 
     2. Discussion of the Prior Art 
     Coffee brewers and hot tea abstract brewers or hot tea brewers of the type that have a brew basket within which is contained the beverage ingredient such as ground coffee beans or tea leaves, through which hot water is passed are well know. Examples of such brewers are shown the following U.S. Pat. No. 5,000,082 issued Mar. 19, 1991 to Lassota for “Beverage Maker and Method of Making Beverage” and U.S. Pat. No. 6,148,717 issued Nov. 21, 2000 to Lassota for “Beverage Maker with Intermittent Beverage Liquid Dispenser and Apparatus and Method for Uniform Contact of Brew Ingredient with Brew”, and reference should be made to these patents and the patents cited therein for details of the construction and operation of such brewers. 
     Briefly, in most of such brewers the hot water is passed through a spray head in the form of a cup shaped container with a closed top for receipt of hot water from a hot water tank and a flat, circular bottom spray plate containing an array of spray holes. The spray plate in known brewers is made of stainless steel. The hot water passes through the array of spray holes to cumulatively create a hot water spray, or shower, that falls on the top surface of a ingredient contained within the brew basket and then seeps through and partially dissolves the ingredient to form the freshly brewed beverage. 
     Due to the presence of lime, in various mineral forms and other minerals and mineral compounds, such as iron, dissolved in the hot water and the evaporation of the hot water in contact with the top and bottom surfaces of the spray plate and the inlets, outlets and side surfaces of the spray holes, calcium oxide, calcium sulfate, magnesium sulfate, calcium silicate and magnesium silicate and other mineral deposits build up on these surfaces and over time can clog entirely or partially obstruct the spray holes. Such residue build up is referred to as “liming”. 
     Even if the spray holes are only partially obstructed, the time it takes for a given quantity of hot water to pass through the spray plate is increased as compared to when there is no obstruction. In some brewers, in which the total quantity of hot water is predetermined and simply drained or “dumped” through the spray head, the total quantity is not effected by the liming but the total length of time for dispensing the hot water is increased and thus the duration of the brew cycle is increased. 
     In other brewers, in which the selected quantity of hot water is measured by passing the water at a presumed uniform rate for a pre-selected dispense time period, the dispenser period will not necessarily be altered by spray hole partial or complete clogging from liming will not necessarily change the dispense time period but can result in a reduction of the total quantity of hot water dispensed and a consequential alteration in the strength of the brewed beverage. 
     In either event, the “throughput”, i.e. the total quantity of coffee that can be made over a given time period using successive brew cycles is reduced. In addition, the degree of control over the hot water dispense time period and the total quantity of hot water dispensed that is needed for production of brewed beverage of uniform and preselected characteristics is lost. Ultimately, if the spray plate is not cleaned of the liming residue, the entire array of spray holes can become so clogged that the brewer will not function. 
     This liming problem has been addressed by attempting to reduce the quantity of calcium and other minerals dissolved in the water before it is passed through the spray head by means of lime and mineral commutation systems or reduction systems. While such dissolved mineral reduction reduces the rate of liming accumulation, it also requires the extra costs of purchase, maintenance and chemical supply replenishment for operation of the mineral commutation system, and if not all the liming and mineral deposits problems are removed from the water, liming residue accumulation will be reduced but not eliminated. 
     In the absence of a lime and mineral reduction and depending upon the level of dissolved calcium and other mineral compounds in the hot water, the only other solution to the liming problem has been frequent, routine, sometimes even daily, mechanical brushing or other cleaning of the spray plate to remove the calcium deposits from within and around the spray holes. Such cleaning is labor intensive and disables the brewer from operation during the cleaning. In addition, removal of the spray plate generally requires the use of tools to disassembly the plate from the spray head body. 
     Another problem with know spray head assemblies is that the velocity of the water droplets onto the top surface of the ingredient in the brew basket is directly related to the water pressure from the hot water dispense system and may impact the surface of the ingredient with sufficiently high impact energy to disadvantageously mechanically disturb the layer of ingredient and create undesirable splatter. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     It is therefore an object of the invention to provide a brewer assembly having a spray distribution assembly that overcomes or reduces the problems noted above with respect known spray head assemblies. 
     This objective is achieved in part by providing a beverage brewer having a source of hot water, a hot water dispense system, a brew basket for holding ingredient to be mixed with the hot water to make a freshly brewed hot beverage and a controller for controlling the delivery of hot water from the hot Water dispenser system to the brew basket with a spray distribution assembly having a spray head having a generally vertical passageway connectable with the hot water dispense system for receipt of hot water; and a spray plate with a an umbrella-like body with a downwardly, outwardly tapered top with radiating, outwardly, downwardly directed, upwardly facing grooves, and an upwardly standing central core snuggly received within the passageway, said core having an upwardly facing top, a bottom joined to the top of the umbrella-like body and a plurality of radially, outwardly facing grooves extending from the top to the bottom to form a plurality of peripheral closed channels for passing hot water from the top of the core to the top surface of the umbrella-like body. 
     Preferably, the plurality of channels of the core is joined with at least one of the grooves of the umbrella-like body and at least one of the plurality of channels of the core is joined with a plurality of upwardly facing grooves. In the preferred embodiment, the umbrella-like body has a surrounding outer edge that varies in radial distance from the core around a periphery of the umbrella-like body, preferably in the form of a plurality of radially extending pedals separated by a plurality of slots. All the plurality of upwardly facing grooves of the umbrella-like body extend from an inlet at the core to a distal outlet from which water passes out of the groove, and some of the upwardly facing grooves of the umbrella-like body have a length that is different from the length of some other upwardly facing grooves. 
     Preferably, the umbrella-like body has an upwardly facing surface that has a downwardly, outwardly curved surface with a downward taper that is greater at a distance spaced from the core than that adjacent to the core, and the spray head has a downwardly, outwardly extending wall with a peripheral edge joinable to the periphery of an open top of a brew basket and surrounding the umbrella-like body in spaced relationship. The spray head has a downwardly, outwardly extending wall with a periphery having a width that may be on the order of two times that of a widest dimension of the umbrella-like body. 
     In keeping with one aspect of the invention spray head and the spray plate respectively carry mating connector means for releasable tooless securing of the central core within the passageway. Such connector means may include a magnetic material for magnetically securing together the spray head and the spray plate. The outwardly facing grooves of the core have edges and the passageway has a relatively smooth, cylindrical surface. The tooless securing means permits relative rotation of the core within the passageway, and in order to clean the core and passageway of residue all that is required is to rotate the core back and forth within the passageway to scrape the edges of the outwardly facing grooves against the interior surface of the passageway to remove liming residue without removal of the core from within the passageway. 
     The spray head has a wall surrounding an inlet to the passageway to define a water cavity and means for permanently connecting the hot water dispenser system to the water cavity to provide fill the cavity with water and means for selectively closing the inlet. The passageway has an inlet and the spray head has means for attachment of a solenoid-controlled valve with a movable closure member for selectively closing and opening the inlet to the passageway. The passageway has a sidewall surrounding the passageway and a water inlet in the sidewall for receipt of water from the hot water dispense system into the water cavity. 
     The objective is also obtained in part by provision a method of spray distribution for use in a beverage brewer having a source of hot water, a hot water dispense system, a brew basket for holding ingredient to be mixed with the hot water to make a freshly brewed hot beverage and a controller for controlling the delivery of hot water from the hot water dispenser system to the brew basket by performance of the steps of connecting a spray head having a passageway connected with the hot water dispense system for receipt of hot water and having an interior surface, and passing the received hot water to a spray plate with an umbrella-like body having an upwardly, inwardly tapered top with radiating, upwardly facing grooves through a plurality of radially, outwardly facing grooves formed in an upwardly standing central core, said central core being snuggly received within the passageway to form water channels defined by the outwardly facing and the interior surface of the passageway, said core having an upwardly facing top, a bottom joined to the top of the umbrella-like body and the plurality of radially, outwardly facing grooves extend from the top to the bottom to form a plurality of peripheral closed channels for passing hot water from the top of the core to the top surface of the umbrella-like body. 
     Additionally the objective is achieved by provision of a method of distributing hot water onto a layer of beverage ingredient within a brew basket by performance of the steps of passing hot water to a water distribution plate through passageways that are formed of two parts that may be separated for purposes of cleaning interiors, passing hot water passed to the water distribution plate onto a beverage ingredient within a brew basket along at least one of one of (a) open, upwardly facing channels, (b) closed passageways that are formed of two parts that may be separated for purposes of cleaning; (c) contours of a surface that is downwardly, outwardly tapered, (d) contours of a surface that is convex, (e) contours of a surface that tapers downwardly at an increasing taper as the distance from a central location increases, (f) a segmented surface with elongate segments separated by relatively shorter segments that are joined to and between the elongate segments, and (g) grooves on a surface that terminate at different radial distances from a central core. 
     The object of the invention is also acquired by providing a method of cleaning beverage making beverage making residue from a hot water spray distribution assembly of a hot beverage brewer by performing the steps of rotatably mounting one spray distribution member to another, complementary spray distribution member, and rotating the one spray distribution member relative to the other spray distribution member to scrape residue off of at least one of the one distribution member and the other distribution member. The spray distribution member has a plurality of edges that scrape against the other distribution member during relative rotation, and preferably edges are the edges of elongate water-carrying channels. 
     Obtainment of the objective, in part is also obtained by providing a method of distributing hot water onto a layer of beverage ingredient within a brew basket by performing the steps of filling a water cavity with hot water from a hot water dispensing system, selectively opening an inlet to a passageway to pass hot water from the water cavity through the passageway, receiving the hot water onto a central portion of a downwardly, outwardly tapered, top surface of a plate, and passing the hot water downwardly and outwardly along the top surface to a peripheral edge of the top surface. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The foregoing objects and advantageous features of the invention will be described below and other advantageous features will be made apparent from a detailed description of a preferred embodiment of the invention in which: 
         FIG. 1  is a functional block diagram of a brewer constructed in accordance with the invention; 
         FIG. 2  is a sectional side view of a preferred embodiment of the spray distribution assembly of  FIG. 1  in which the spray distribution member is assembled in operative relationship with the spray head to which it is releasably mounted; 
         FIG. 3  is a sectional side view similar to that of  FIG. 2  but in which the spray distribution member is separated from the spray head for purposes of cleaning; 
         FIG. 4  is a side elevation view of the spray distribution member of  FIGS. 2 and 3 ; 
         FIG. 5  is a plan view of the spray distribution member of  FIG. 4 ; 
         FIG. 6  is a bottom view of the spray distribution member of  FIGS. 4 and 5 ; 
         FIG. 7  is a sectional side view similar to that of  FIG. 2  but illustrating connection to the water dispense system and to a solenoid controlled valve with the valve in a closed position; 
         FIG. 8  is a sectional side view similar to that of  FIG. 2  but illustrating connection to the water dispense system and to a solenoid controlled valve with the valve in an open position; 
         FIG. 9  is a schematic plan view of a hub like that of  FIG. 2  but illustrating an alternative pattern for the vertical channels formed in the hub that may be used in lieu of the groove pattern illustrated in  FIG. 2 ; 
         FIG. 10  is a schematic view of a hub like that of  FIG. 2  but illustrating an alternative pattern for the vertical channels formed in the hub that may be used in lieu of the groove patterns of  FIGS. 2 and 8  when a relatively larger volume of water is being distributed; and 
         FIG. 11  is a schematic view of a hub like that of  FIG. 2  but illustrating an alternative pattern for the vertical channels formed in the hub that may be used in lieu of the groove patterns of  FIGS. 2 and 8  when a relatively larger volume of water is being distributed; 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Referring to  FIG. 1 , a preferred embodiment of the hot beverage brewer  10  of the present invention seen to have a hot water dispense system  12  that selectively passes hot water from a hot water tank to a spray distribution assembly  14  under control of a controller  16 . The hot water is passed from the spray distribution assembly  14  to the brew basket assembly  18 . The brew basket assembly  18  has an internal filter holder that contains the beverage ingredient while hot water is passed through the ingredient to brew the hot beverage, such as hot coffee or tea, or hot tea extract used to make iced tea. The hot beverage or extract is then passed through a drain hole at the bottom of the brew basket  14  into a suitable beverage container. In the case of an iced tea brewer, cold water is also added to the beverage container and mixes with the abstract. 
     The hot water dispense system  12 , the controller  16  and the brew basket assembly are well know in their structures and functions and may be conventional. If further information is desired, examples of brewers may be seen in U.S. Pat. No. 5,000,082 issued Mar. 19, 1991 to Lassota for “Beverage Maker and Method of Making Beverage”; U.S. Pat. No. 6,148,717 issued Nov. 21, 2000 to Lassota for “Beverage Maker with Intermittent Beverage Liquid Dispenser and Apparatus and Method for Uniform Contact of Brew Ingredient with Brew”; and U.S. Pat. No. 6,571,685 issued Mar. 30, 2004 to Lassota for “Oxygenated Tea Maker and Method”; and patents cited therein, all of which are hereby incorporated by reference. 
     In accordance with the present invention the spray distribution assembly  14  is provided with novel advantageous features that overcomes the disadvantages of known spray heads or spray head assemblies. Referring to  FIGS. 2 and 3 , the spray distribution assembly, or spray cutter,  14  includes a cover section, or spray heads assembly,  20  with a central, cylindrical passageway  22  that is connectable to the hot water dispense system  12 . The passageway  22  is surrounded by a multi-walled, upstanding annular collar  24  for connection with an interior, upstanding cylindrical wall  21  with a tapered top that ends in a circular, relatively narrow bead  23 . The bead  23  is mated with a vertically movably mounted solenoid controlled closure member  108  described below with reference to  FIGS. 7 and 8  to selectively close an inlet  28  of the passageway  22 . The upstanding collar  24  is surrounded by a cylindrical wall  27  to provide an interior water cavity  29 . The interior of the water cavity  29  is filled with hot water via a hot water inlet  31  extending through the cylindrical wall  27  and permanently connected with the hot water dispense system  12 . When the closure member  108  is lifted off the bead  23 , the inlet  28  is open and hot water flows from the hot water inlet  31 , through the cavity  29  and downwardly through the passageway  22 . When the closure member  108  is lowered down into watertight mating engagement with the bead  23  surrounding the inlet  28 , the inlet is closed and the flow of hot water through the passageway  28  is terminated. 
     In addition, surrounding the base of the annular collar  24  is an annular channel  30  with a bottom to which one or more magnetic connection members  32  are mounted. The connection members  32  may be a single annular piece that snuggly fits within the annular channel  30  and may be made of either permanent magnetic material or made of ferromagnetic material. 
     Surrounding the annular channel  30  is an umbrella-like member ( 34 ) defining a downwardly facing cavity  36  within which a unique spray plate  38  is mounted. The umbrella  34  has a relatively narrow, annular section  40  joined to a conical section  42  that extends outwardly and downwardly away from the annular section  40  horizontal section to a cylindrical skirt section  44 . These sections have relatively smooth continuous interior surfaces that face downwardly and deflect downwardly any upwardly directed splashes of hot water or steam. The circular downwardly facing opening defined by the cylindrical skirt section  44  is coextensive with the upwardly facing opening of the brew basket assembly  18  and abuts against the top edge  46  of the brew basket housing  48  of the brew basket assembly  18 . Accordingly, any water striking or steam condensing on the interior surfaces of the umbrella  34  will drop down into the brew basket housing  48 . 
     The passageway  22  has an outlet end  50  that opens into a somewhat wider cylindrical mounting cavity  52 . The cylindrical mounting cavity  52  has a downwardly facing opening  54  formed in a downwardly facing wall  56  that is aligned with the annular horizontal section. A central upstanding inlet core  58  of the spray plate is slideably received through the opening  54  and releasably held in a fully inserted position by magnetic attraction of the magnetic connector member  32  with magnetic connector members  60  mounted at the tops of a pair of hollow, upstanding, cylindrical mounting posts  62  of the spray plate  38 . If both the magnetic connector member  32  and the magnetic connector member  60  are permanent magnets then they are mounted so that their opposite poles, either positive and negative or negative and positive, are located adjacent each other in mutual attractive relationship. Otherwise, one of the magnetic connector members  32  and  60  is a permanent magnet and the other one of the magnetic connector members  32  and  60  is a ferromagnetic material that is magnetically attracted to the permanent magnet. Because the magnetic connector members  32  are annular magnetic attraction occurs independently of the relative angular relationship of the upper section  20  and the distribution plate  38 . No effort is needed to align the magnetic connector members  62  with the magnetic connector members  32 . 
     In any event, once the splash plate  38  is located in the operative position relative to the upper section  20  with the central inlet core fully inserted within the cylindrical mounting cavity  52  and the top of upstanding annular post  62  abutting the bottom of the annular channel  30 , as shown in  FIG. 2 , the mutual magnetic attraction of the magnetic connector members  32  and  60  releasably holds the splash plate in the operative position, as shown. As seen in  FIG. 3 , when it is desired to separate the splash plate  38  from the upper section  20 , all that need be done is to separate them from one another until the central core  58  has been slid out of the cavity  52  and the magnetic connectors  32  and  60  moved sufficiently apart to break the mutual magnetic attraction. Advantageously, such separation that is needed for purposes of cleaning, repair or replacement is achievable manually without the need for any tools. 
     Referring now to  FIGS. 4 ,  5  and  6 , the upstanding central hub  58  of the spray plate, or spray cutter is seen to have a flat, circular top  64 , a generally cylindrical side wall  66  and outwardly, downwardly extending truncated generally conical section  66  joining the cylindrical side wall  66  to the top  64 . The sidewall  66  has vertical grooves, or passageways,  68  that are parallel to the central axis of symmetry  70  and have inlet ends  72  facing upwardly to receive water that cascades down the side of the conical section  66  that is received in the top of the cavity  52 . 
     Each of these downwardly extending twelve grooves  68  communicates with one of twelve radially outwardly extending mating grooves, or passageways,  74  formed in a truncated, generally conical distribution plate  76 . While the distribution plate may be perfectly conical, preferably it is slightly outwardly curved. The distribution plate  76  extends radially outwardly and downwardly from the hub  58  to the outer periphery  78  of the distribution plate. As best seen in  FIG. 6 , the outer periphery  78  is not circular but has a flower pedal like shape with four pedals  80  separated by gaps  82  that extend inwardly from the outermost part  84  of the periphery  78  to an inner location  86  spaced from the hub  58  intermediate the hub  58  and the outermost part  84 . Each of the four gaps  82  has an inner relatively narrow portion adjacent the inner location  86  joined to the distal outlet end of one of four relatively shorter ones  75  of twelve grooves  74 . The gaps  82  are all the same size and are equally spaced around the hub  58 . The gaps  82  have symmetrical opposite tapered sides  88  that are tapered outwardly from each other and merged with outwardly curved sections  90 . The outwardly curved sections  90  merge with and join the outermost part  84  of the pedals  80  on opposite sides of the gap  82  with the tapered sides  88 . 
     Each gap  82  has one associated shorter one  75  of the groves  74 , and each of the pedals  80  has two relatively longer ones  73  of the grooves  74  located adjacent opposite sides  92  of the pedals  80 . Each of the longer grooves terminates relatively flat undercut bottom  94  that creates a downwardly facing groove outlet  94 . 
     Referring to  FIGS. 5 and 2 , a handle  96  extends downwardly from the top of the hub  58  to the level of the flat bottom  94  and extends diametrically across the generally conical distribution plate  76  between the centers of two of the opposite pedals  80 . This divides the interior underside of the distribution plate  38  into two equal parts and enhances the structural rigidity of the generally conical distribution plate  38 . The handle  96  also function as a dividing wall prevents water from the relatively short grooves  75  from passing from one side of the dividing wall  96  to the other side of the dividing wall  96 . 
     The handle  96  may be manually grasped to pull the distribution plate  76  downwardly from the releasable connection with the upper section  20  or to move it upwardly into the operative position shown in  FIG. 2 . Advantageously, the handle being aligned with the center of the distribution plate  38  has at least a central section that is inside of and spaced from the main streams of hot water being distributed. Accordingly, the maximum temperature of the handle  95  is relatively reduced so that it does not become too hot to handle. 
     In accordance with one aspect of the invention, the handle  96  is used for another important cleaning function that does not require separation of distribution plate  38  from the upper section. Instead, any lime encrustation or crystallized coffee oils or the like that may form at the sides of the vertical grooves  68  and on the interior surface of the mounting cavity  52  may be removed by simply manually rotating the distribution plate  38  while the hub  58  remains mounted in the operative position snuggly received within and abutting the interior surface of the mounting cavity  52 . Such rotation is preferably achieved by grasping the handle and using it to manually effect the rotation. Preferably, the rotation is performed with a vigorous, but relatively short-stroke, “back and forth” motion in which the direction of rotation is repeatedly reversed. Such back and forth movement scrapes the lagging ones of the outermost side edges of the grooves  68  against the interior surface and thereby scrapes the lime deposits, etc. off of the interior surface to fall out of the mounting cavity  52  and out through the bottom outlets of the grooves and down the upper surface of the distribution plate  38  to fall of the edge of the distribution plate. Alternatively, the rotation is only in one direction but is trough a sufficient radial angle to insure that at least one lagging edge has scrapped over a lime deposit location. In addition to scrapping, the rotary movement also breaks any mechanical bond that may have been formed by deposits joining side edge of the grooves  68  to the interior surface of the cavity  52  which will causes pieces of deposits to break off and thereby weaken the structural integrity of any deposits still remaining. Importantly, this relative rotary movement while still assembled is enabled by the magnetic mounting that employs an annular magnetic element  32  and a magnetic connection that permits such relative rotary movement. 
     During operation, water under generally uniform pressure is passed through the passageway and into the cylindrical mounting cavity in the space above the top  64  of the hub connection cavity  52 . This water is channeled downwardly through the vertical grooves  68  and into the mating radially extending grooves  74 . Unlike the grooves  68  within the cylindrical cavity  52  that are closed by the snug fit with the interior surface of the ace of the cavity  52 , the upwardly facing grooves  74  are not closed and may overflow the banks of the grooves  74 , particularly the relatively long grooves  73 , in which case the water may flow down the curved, generally conical upper surface  98  of the pedals between the relatively long grooves  73  to the peripheral edge  78  and may also overflow from the relatively long grooves  73  and off the sides  88  and  90  of the gaps  82 . Water that does not overflow remains in the grooves and exits at the groove outlets  94  or, in the case of the relatively short grooves  75 , flows off the innermost edge of the gaps  82 . 
     It has been found that this spray distribution assembly has numerous advantages over known spray heads. First, the water is more evenly distributed for once the passes from the vertical grooves the water is no longer under pressure and the velocity and flow of the water is more controlled by gravity and the shape and configuration of the rounded but generally conical surface of the distribution plate  38 . Accordingly, the speed and kinetic energy of each of the water droplets as they impact the top surface of the beverage ingredient within the brew basket assembly  18  to reduce agitation of the ingredient and resultant splatter. While there are some small streams created, the overall effect is to create beneath the distribution plate  38  a generally distributed “cloud” of water droplets. 
     Importantly, unlike spray heads that rely upon a spray plate with a plurality of relatively small holes are highly susceptible to clogging due to calcification liming or other mineral deposits, the top surface of the distribution plate  38  including the grooves  74  and the open outlet ends of the grooves  74  and the gaps  82  are not relatively subject to clogging due to deposits. As noted above, clogging of the vertical grooves  68  in the hub is eliminated by the relative rotary cleaning movement of the distribution plate  38  while still mounted in operative position. 
     Generally, because of the rounded conical shape of the distribution plate  38  any lime or the like is simply washed off the relatively wide and open surfaces so that the distribution plate is generally self-cleaning. However, should the distribution plate  38  or the upper section  20  require cleaning, they may be easily separated for cleaning and the cleaning may be effected easily due to the lack of any small holes or other surfaces difficult to access for cleaning purposes. In keeping with an important aspect of the invention, unlike known spray heads that require tools for separation, separation may also be easily made for purposes of repair or replacement as noted above with respect to use of the handle  96 . 
     The approximate width of the spray plate is three inches and the width of the grooves  74  is approximately one-tenth inch. It is preferably made from a molded plastic having a non-adhesive characteristics or metal such as stainless steel coated with a material having such a non-adhesive characteristics. Any such coating or material should be approved by the FDA to be safe for use in contact with food for human consumption. Preferably, the material used for the outer surface coating has a coefficient of friction less than that of the stainless steel. Preferably, the material of the outer surface coating  68  is a synthetic, non-corrosive material, such as a fluoropolymer that is approved for contact with human food can be readily painted or applied as a strong adhering coating to stainless steel and which will maintain integrity at near boiling temperatures while in contact with water. Preferably, the coating is made of TECHNOLOGY TEFLON® self-priming, one-coat blend of fluoropolymer (420-104 Gray) with other resins of the type used on coffee plate warmers, assorted food-processing utensils, clothes-iron, sole plates and portable sandwich makers, or the like, and having a cure temperature of approximately 752-degrees Fahrenheit and a service temperature of approximately 500-degrees Fahrenheit made by DuPont™. The thickness  70 ,  FIG. 6 , of the outer surface coating is approximately 0.001-inch although thinner coating may still function well but can be more easily scratched away from the outer surface of the base. 
     Referring to  FIGS. 7 and 8 , preferably the water enters into the passageway  22  from a closed cavity  100  that is fed water via a radially extending nipple  102  connected to a drain hose from the hot water tank of the hot water dispense system. The top of the cavity  100  is closed by a mounting plate  104  of a solenoid-controlled valve  106 . The solenoid-controlled valve is controlled by the controller  16  to selectively close and open the inlet  28  to the passageway  22 . As seen in  FIG. 7 , when the solenoid controlled valve is open, a plunger with a closure member  108  at the distal end is moved into a closed position in which the closure member  108  is pressed against the inlet  28  to block water from entering into the passageway  22  from the cavity  100 . As seen in  FIG. 8 , when the solenoid is open, the closure member  108  is raised away from the inlet  28  to a position spaced from the inlet  28  to open the passageway  22  for entry and passage of water entered into the cavity  100  through the nipple  102 . With this side water entry arrangement, the cylindrical  112  is located in advantageously positioned directly opposite the nipple opening  114  to deflect and reduce the momentum of the stream of hot water being introduced to the cavity  100  so that the rate water enters into the inlet  28  is based on the water pressure alone and not on the speed of the inlet flow. 
     Referring now to  FIG. 9 , different patterns and sizes of the vertical grooves may successfully employed. In the pattern shown in  FIG. 9 , there are only eight groves and two grooves are assigned to each petal  80 . In  FIG. 10 , there are four relatively large vertical grooves  116  that are branched into two relatively long grooves  73  on each petal  80  and four relatively small vertical grooves  118  are matched to fee four short grooves  75 . In  FIG. 11 , there are only four large groves  116  and each one feeds two long grooves  73  on a petal and one short groove feeding a relatively short groove  75 . The patterns of  FIGS. 10 and 11  may be more suitable for higher rates of flow than the rates best employed with the patterns of  FIGS. 2 and 9 . 
     While a particular embodiment of the invention has been disclosed in detail, it should be appreciated that many variation may be made without departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims. For example, while the distribution plate has been shown with only four petals  80 ; it is believed that a similar distributions plate with more, such a eight, and perhaps fewer, such as three, could also be successfully employed. Also; while magnetic elements are preferably used to releasably secure the spray distributor member in operative relationship with the spray head for tooless attachment and removal, other means may be used for such tooless, releasable attachment such as the use of frictional mounting tabs or other friction enhancing member to provide a releasable frictional attachment such as shown and described in U.S. provisional patent application 60/474,088 filed May 28, 2004, which is hereby incorporated by reference. Also, for instance, the central hub  58  could be externally threaded to screw into the cylindrical mounting cavity provided with matching internal screw threads or they could be attached by other manually operable fasteners that do no require the use of tools or any other tooless fastening means. Also, while the preferred form of the splash plate has the pedal-like configuration as shown a configuration in which the edge of the plate extends to a circular circumference while the radiating channels terminated in large openings at different radial distances, as shown in the aforementioned provisional patent that is incorporated herein. Reference should therefore be made to the appended claims and obvious functional equivalents of the various elements and features of the invention.