Coffee making apparatus
First Claim
1. Apparatus for brewing beverages including a housing and means for supplying a liquid to an infusible material under pressure thereby to produce a beverage, said apparatus comprising:
- A) infusion chamber means supported by said housing including a side wall, an open top and a perforated bottom for receiving the infusible material, B) piston means supported by said housing for being displaced into said infusion chamber means, said piston means including means for directing the liquid from the liquid supply means to the infusible material, C) active sealing means mounted on said piston means intermediate said piston means and side wall means, said active sealing means including a seal, means for displacing said seal into an expanded state wherein said seal contacts said side wall when said piston means compacts the infusible material whereby said piston means and infusion chamber means form a brewing chamber in which the material is infused.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
A brewing apparatus for infusing compacted ground coffee in a grounds cup at a brewing station with heated water under pressure. At a brewing station, a piston head with an active seal that is spaced from the grounds cup wall during motion, extends into the grounds cup. When the piston head begins to compact the ground coffee it activates the seal to form a sealed upper end of a brewing chamber. Hot water is admitted to the brewing chamber to produce the coffee. When the brewing cycle is completed, the piston head displaces further to force additional coffee from the grounds. Then the piston head retracts to allow the infusion chamber assembly to be removed for cleaning.
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Citations
36 Claims
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1. Apparatus for brewing beverages including a housing and means for supplying a liquid to an infusible material under pressure thereby to produce a beverage, said apparatus comprising:
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A) infusion chamber means supported by said housing including a side wall, an open top and a perforated bottom for receiving the infusible material, B) piston means supported by said housing for being displaced into said infusion chamber means, said piston means including means for directing the liquid from the liquid supply means to the infusible material, C) active sealing means mounted on said piston means intermediate said piston means and side wall means, said active sealing means including a seal, means for displacing said seal into an expanded state wherein said seal contacts said side wall when said piston means compacts the infusible material whereby said piston means and infusion chamber means form a brewing chamber in which the material is infused. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 25, 26)
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15. Apparatus for brewing coffee by infusing ground coffee with hot water under pressure comprising:
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A) a housing, B) means for defining a brewing station in said housing, C) a infusion chamber assembly for being inserted into said housing at said brewing station, said infusion chamber assembly carrying the ground coffee and having dispensing port means for dispensing brewed coffee, D) piston means mounted to said housing proximate said brewing station for compressing the ground coffee in said infusion chamber assembly in an extended state. E) active sealing means formed with said piston means, said piston means including means for moving said active sealing means between a radially contracted state wherein said sealing means is spaced from said infusion chamber assembly and a radially expanded state wherein said sealing means forms a seal between said piston means and said infusion chamber assembly, and D) means for supplying hot water under pressure to said infusion chamber assembly when the sealing means is in the radially expanded state and said piston means has compressed the ground coffee. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24)
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27. In a beverage brewing apparatus including an infusion chamber with a cylindrical side wall and a piston head movable within said infusion chamber to a brewing position, an active seal for generating a seal between said piston head and said side wall, said piston head comprising:
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A) a first disk, B) a second disk, C) a peripheral seal having a central body portion and first and second means for attachment to said first and second disks, respectively, whereby said peripheral seal acts as a flexible coupling between said first and second disks, said peripheral seal having a third portion for engaging said cylindrical side wall when said first and second disks are compressed thereby to form a seal with the infusion chamber. - View Dependent Claims (28, 29, 30)
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31. Apparatus for brewing beverages including means for supplying a liquid to an infusible material under pressure thereby to produce a beverage, said apparatus comprising:
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A) a housing with support means at a brewing station, B) removable reusable infusion chamber means slidably supported by said housing including a side wall, an open top, and a perforated bottom for receiving the infusible material and engagement means for interacting with said support means whereby said infusion chamber means can be inserted and withdrawn from said brewing station, and C) piston means supported by said housing for being displaced into said infusion chamber means, said piston means including;
i) means for directing the liquid from the liquid supply means to the infusible material, and ii) sealing means intermediate said piston means and side wall means for contacting, said sealing means including a seal, wherein said seal contacts said side wall when said piston means enters said infusion chamber compacts the infusible material whereby said piston means and infusion chamber means thereby to form a brewing chamber in which the material is infused. - View Dependent Claims (32, 33, 34, 35, 36)
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Specification