Patent ID: 7066080

Claim:
An automatic drip coffee maker comprising: a reservoir for holding water; a basket adapted to contain ground coffee beans, the basket having an opening disposed at a bottom thereof; a heater for heating water from the reservoir and supplying the heated water to the basket; a chamber being disposed below the opening and having a displaceable door to provide access thereto; a bowl removably disposed in the chamber below the opening at the bottom of the basket to receive coffee therefrom the bowl having an outlet disposed at a bottom of the bowl; a thermostat disposed in the chamber beneath the bowl; a heating tube disposed in the chamber beneath the bowl to maintain a temperature of coffee therein; a control device operatively disposed in the bowl to open and close the outlet of the bowl for controlling a flow of coffee from the outlet, the control device having a bifurcated body formed by a pair of parallel rod-shaped elements extending to the outlet of the bowl and being displaceable thereinto, the pair of rod-shaped elements having a valve block coupled to distal ends thereof and disposed external to the bowl, the control device being biased by a spring to close the outlet with the valve block, the control device being displaceable against the spring bias to open the outlet by displacing the valve block therefrom.