Infuser primarily intended for use in making coffee

• US 4,206,694 A
• Filed: 05/22/1978
• Issued: 06/10/1980
• Est. Priority Date: 05/22/1978
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Salton Incorporated (Spectrum Brands Holdings, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Salton Incorporated (Spectrum Brands Holdings, Inc.)
• Inventors: Rushansky, Yuliy, Moskowitz, Paul M.
• Primary Examiner(s): Christian, Leonard D.
• Application Number:
  US05/908,053
• Time in Patent Office: 750 Days
• Field of Search: 99/289 R, 99/295, 99/298, 99/300, 99/304-306, 99/323
• US Class Current: 99/295
• CPC Class Codes: A47J 31/0647 with means to adjust the brewing chamber volume to accommodate different quantities of brewing material
• CPC Class Codes: A47J 31/30 with hot water under steam pressure

Abstract

An infuser which is primarily intended for use in making coffee can be constructed utilizing a container having a bottom inlet. A filter element is located within the interior of the container in such a manner that the position of the filter element relative to the bottom of the container can be adjusted. The outlet for the container comprises a tube slidably mounted in the bottom of the container and spring biased upwardly so that the upper end of the tube is in communication with an opening through the filter at all times that the filter is in place within the interior of the container. The container preferably includes a lid which seals off the interior of the container and which carries a threaded shaft and a nut type structure for linearly moving the shaft. The shaft is secured to the filter so that as the nut is rotated the position of the filter within the container can be varied.

Claims

1. An infuser including a container having a top, a bottom, an inlet leading to the bottom of said container and an outlet leading from the interior of said container, said outlet being located above said inlet, said infuser also including a filter means positioned between said inlet and said outlet for maintaining material being infused within the interior of said container in which the improvement comprises:

said filter means being movable within the interior of said container relative to said inlet so as to be capable of holding different quantities of material to be infused in a packed condition within the interior of said container adjacent to the bottom of said container, and

said outlet having an entrance, the position of said outlet being adjustable relative to the interior of said container so as to enable the position of said entrance to be varied to correspond to the position of said filter means within said container in order to prevent liquid from accumulating within said container above said filter means,

positioning means for simultaneously adjusting the positions of said filter means and said outlet so as to hold said material and maintain said entrance of said outlet in a position corresponding to said position of said filter means.

2. An infuser as claimed in claim 1 including:

vertically extending bearing means located in the bottom of said container and wherein

said outlet comprises a hollow tube mounted in said bearing means so as to be capable of being moved in a vertically extending direction, the upper end of said tube serving as said entrance.

3. An infuser including a container having a top, a bottom, an inlet leading to the bottom of said container and an outlet leading from the interior of said container, said outlet being located above said inlet, said infuser also including a filter means positioned between said inlet and said outlet for maintaining material being infused within the interior of said container in which the improvement comprises:

said filter means being movable within the interior of said container relative to said inlet so as to be capable of holding different quantities of material to be infused in a packed condition within the interior of said container adjacent to the bottom of said container, and

said outlet having an entrance, the position of which can be adjusted relative to the interior of said container so as to correspond to the position of said filter means within said container in order to prevent liquid from accumulating within said container above said filter means,

vertically extending bearing means located in the bottom of said container and wherein

said outlet comprises a hollow tube mounted in said bearing means so as to be capable of being moved in a vertically extending direction, the upper end of said tube serving as said entrance,

said filter means has an opening formed therein, said opening being in communication with the upper end of said tube and including

positioning means for adjusting the position of said filter means within said container,

holding means for holding said filter means and said upper end of said tube together as said filter means is moved within said container so that liquid moving upward through said filter means in any position of said filter means will pass through said upper end of said tube.

4. An infuser as claimed in claim 3 wherein:

said holding means comprises spring means biasing said tube upwardly into contact with said filter means adjacent to said opening in said filter means.

5. An infuser as claimed in claim 4 including:

hollow bushing means secured to said filter means so as to extend through said opening in said filter means, said bushing means capable of fitting within and engaging said upper end of said tube.

6. An infuser as claimed in claim 5 including:

lid means for said container, and wherein

said positioning means comprises a threaded shaft attached to said filter so as to extend upwardly therefrom and rotatable nut means engaging said shaft for moving said shaft so as to adjust the position of said filter means within said container.

7. An infuser including a container having a top, a bottom, an inlet leading to the bottom of said container and an outlet leading from the interior of said container, said outlet being located above said inlet, said infuser also including a filter means positioned between said inlet and said outlet for maintaining material being infused within the interior of said container in which the improvement comprises:

said filter means being movable within the interior of said container relative to said inlet so as to be capable of holding different quantities of material to be infused in a packed condition within the interior of said container adjacent to the bottom of said container, and

said outlet having an entrance, the position of which can be adjusted relative to the interior of said container so as to correspond to the position of said filter means within said container in order to prevent liquid from accumulating within said container above said filter means,

said container has a cylindrical cup-like shape, and including

check valve means in said inlet,

a hollow tube slidably mounted in said bottom of said container, said tube serving as said outlet, the upper end of said tube serving as said entrance,

spring means engaged between said container and said tube for biasing said tube upwardly within the interior of said container,

a lid for said top of said container,

mounting means for mounting said lid on said container, said mounting means connecting said lid and said container,

rotatable nut means mounted on said lid so as to be accessible from the exterior of said lid,

threaded shaft means engaged with said nut means and extending into the interior of said container,

support means secured to said shaft within the interior of said container, said filter means being secured to said support means, said support means including a cylindrical periphery spaced from the interior of said container,

seal means mounted on the periphery of said support means and engaging the interior of said container so as to form a seal therewith,

bushing means mounted on said shaft and extending through the center of said filter means, said bushing means being capable of fitting within and engaging with the upper end of said tube and including openings leading into said bushing means from the side of said filter means closest adjacent to said lid.

8. An infuser including a container having a top, a bottom, an inlet leading to the bottom of said container and an outlet leading from the interior of said container, said outlet being located above said inlet, said infuser also including a filter means positioned between said inlet and said outlet for maintaining material being infused within the interior of said container in which the improvement comprises:

said filter means including an upper filter element and a lower filter element both upper and lower filter elements being positioned within the interior of said container, one of said upper and said lower filter elements being fixedly positioned within the interior of said container and the other of said upper and said lower filter elements being movably positioned within the interior of said container so as to be capable of holding different quantities of material to be infused in a packed condition between said upper and said lower filter elements;

said outlet having an entrance, said entrance being operatively associated with said upper filter element and capable of draining an infusion from the surface of said upper filter element after said infusion has passed upwardly through said upper filter element;

positioning means for adjusting the position of said movable element within the interior of said container so as to maintain said material in a packed position.

9. An infuser of claim 8 including:

a spring means for biasing said movable element toward said fixed element to maintain said material in said packed position.

10. The infuser of claim 9 wherein:

said outlet includes a hollow tube slidably mounted in said bottom of said container, the upper end of said tube serving as said entrance and each of said upper and said lower filter elements including an opening passing through said filter elements, said tube sealably passing through said opening in each of said upper and said lower filter elements.