Portable beverage brewing device

• US 5,440,972 A
• Filed: 06/14/1994
• Issued: 08/15/1995
• Est. Priority Date: 08/01/1991
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Philip H. English
• Original Assignee: Philip H. English
• Inventors: English, Philip H.
• Primary Examiner(s): Scherbel, David A.
• Assistant Examiner(s): ALEXANDER, REGINALD
• Application Number:
  US08/259,960
• Time in Patent Office: 427 Days
• Field of Search: 99/280, 99/281, 99/282, 99/283, 99/307, 99/279, 99/295, 99/306, 99/304, 99/305, 99/312, 99/316
• US Class Current: 99/282
• CPC Class Codes: A47J 31/005 Portable or compact beverage making apparatus, e.g. for travelling, for use in automotive vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: A47J 31/5253 of temperature
• CPC Class Codes: A47J 31/545 Control or safety devices
• CPC Class Codes: A47J 45/02 for fastening kitchen utensils to tables, walls, or the like
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 3/16 of cooking or boiling devices

Abstract

A portable beverage brewing device for brewing a single cup or other individual portion of a beverage in an automobile, boat, van, or other vehicle without distracting attention from driving or operating responsibilities. An anchored mounting base, a leveling plate and a clamp together support a coffee maker body in level position. The body includes a water reservoir, a brewing chamber, a drinking cup, and a drip cup or cupholder. A brewing chamber holds a prepackaged filter containing beverage precursor particles. A water reservoir is removable and resealable. A positive displacement pump, driven by a permanent magnet motor pumps water from the water reservoir through an electric heater to the brewing chamber. Operation of the motor and the pump commences only when water has been heated to a predetermined brewing temperature. An encoder counts the number of revolutions of the motor and shuts off the device when a predetermined number of revolutions have been counted and correspondingly a predetermined volume of water corresponding to an individual portion of brewed beverage has been pumped.

Claims

1. A portable beverage brewing assembly of the type having a coffee maker containing a base, a body portion comprising a top, a bottom, and a centerpiece, the body portion being removably connected to the base;

a liquid reservoir removable from the body portion;

a heater communicating with the reservoir for receiving from the reservoir and heating said liquid;

a brewing chamber communicating with the heater for admixture of a heated liquid with a prepackaged filter containing beverage precursor particles;

a drinking cup positioned below the brewing chamber to receive the brewed beverage;

a power circuit to control power supply to the coffee maker, and a thermostatically controlled shut-off means;

the beverage brewing assembly further comprising;

a motor means connected on the power circuit;

a pumping means actuated by the motor means and communicating with the heater; and

means for shutting down said pumping means and heater means when a predetermined volume of liquid has been pumped.

2. A portable beverage brewing assembly of the type having a coffee maker containing a base, a body portion comprising a top, bottom, and a centerpiece having a surface, the body portion removably connected to the base;

a liquid reservoir removable from the body portion;

a heater means communicating with the reservoir for receiving liquid from the reservoir and heating said liquid;

a brewing chamber communicating with the heater means for admixture of a heated liquid with a prepackaged filter containing beverage precursor particles;

a drinking cup positioned below the brewing chamber to receive the brewed beverage;

a power circuit including control switches in series to control power supply to the coffee maker, and a thermostatically controlled shut-off means;

the beverage brewing assembly further comprising;

a permanent magnet motor connected on the power circuit; and

a pumping means actuated by the motor and communicating with the heater means.

3. A portable beverage brewing assembly of the type having a coffee maker containing a base, body portion comprising a top, bottom, and a centerpiece, the body portion being removably connected to the base;

a liquid reservoir removable from the body portion;

a heater communicating with the reservoir for receiving liquid from the reservoir and heating said liquid;

a brewing chamber communicating with the heater means for admixture of a heated liquid with a prepackaged filter containing beverage precursor particles;

a drinking cup positioned below the brewing chamber to receive the brewed beverage;

a power circuit to control power supply to the coffee maker, and a thermostatically controlled shut-off means;

the beverage brewing assembly further comprising;

a motor means connected on the power circuit;

a pumping means actuated by the motor means and communicating with the heater means;

an eccentric cam rotatably mounted on the motor means for rotation thereby; and

a connecting rod having first and second ends, the first end being mounted on the cam.

4. The brewing assembly of claim 3, wherein the pumping means comprises a pump with first and second ends and a pump cavity having a volume;

the pump adapted for expansion and contraction;

the first pump end articulating with the second end of the connecting rod;

an elastic diaphragm positioned at the second end of the pump;

the diaphragm effectively expanding and contracting pump volume by back and forth movement of the diaphragm reciprocating with movement of the rod on the eccentric cam.

5. The brewing assembly of claim 4, wherein the heater comprises a heater element formed of at least one metallic piece with at least one enclosed heating cavity for passage of the liquid therethrough;

and,

a resistance wire associated with each said at least one cavity of the element for heating the liquid in the at least one cavity.

6. The brewing assembly of claim 5, wherein the heater element is formed of copper.

7. The brewing assembly of claim 6, wherein the copper forming the heater element is furnace brazed copper.

8. The brewing assembly of claim 7, wherein the resistance wire is a nickel chromium alloy.

9. The brewing assembly of claim 5, further comprising an insulator and said resistance wire is wrapped within the insulator.

10. The brewing assembly of claim 9, wherein the insulator comprises a mica strip.

11. The brewing assembly of claim 9, further comprising narrowed tubing portions formed within each at least one metallic piece forming the heating element, the tubing portions making at least one pass through the element for rapid heating of the liquid in the element.

12. The brewing assembly of claim 11, wherein the insulator and the enclosed resistance wire is positioned within each said at least one cavity of the heater element.

13. The brewing .assembly of claim 12, wherein the heater element is mounted in said centerpiece in elevated position relative to the bottom of said body portion.

14. The brewing assembly of claim 3, further comprising a means for controlling a volume of liquid to be brewed.

15. The brewing assembly of claim 14, wherein means for controlling the volume brewed comprises an encoder.

16. The brewing assembly of claim 15, wherein the encoder comprises a flattened disc rotatably mounted on the motor means, coaxial with said cam, for rotation thereby, the disc having first and second sides and at least one aperture therein;

a light emitter means mounted near the first side of the disc and positioned to emit light through said at least one aperture;

a light detector means mounted near the second side of the disc and positioned to detect the light emitted through said at least one aperture;

said light emitter means and light detector means adapted for counting revolutions of the disc, concomitant strokes of the connecting rod, and consequent volume of water pumped.

17. The brewing assembly of claim 15, further comprising a means for controlling temperature of the heater element, said means for controlling temperature being associated with the heater element.

18. The beverage assembly of claim 17, wherein the means for controlling temperature is an electronic temperature sensor positioned to sense liquid temperature output from the heater element, the means for controlling adapted to increase motor speed, and consequent pump speed, for bringing more liquid to the heater element when said liquid temperature exceeds a predetermined temperature.

19. The beverage assembly of claim 18, wherein the temperature sensor is a thermistor.

20. The brewing assembly of claim 4, wherein the pumping means is a positive displacement pump.

21. The brewing assembly of claim 20, further comprising check valves associated with the pump.

22. The brewing assembly of claim 21, wherein said check valves are adapted to open and close automatically for admitting and ejecting liquid from the pump concomitant with back and forth movement of the diaphragm.

23. The brewing assembly of claim 22, further comprising a liquid connector for conveying liquid from said reservoir to said pump;

and,

a reservoir valve positioned at the bottom of the reservoir to sealingly receive the liquid connector.

24. The brewing assembly of claim 5, further comprising:

a means for removably anchoring the base in a motor vehicle;

the coffee maker bottom having interior and exterior surfaces and adapted for removal from the base;

a grooved section formed on the exterior surface of the coffee maker bottom;

a leveling plate pivotally mounted on said base for pivoting said plate in relation to the base to a level position;

said plate adapted to slidably interfit into said grooved section of the bottom;

a means for releasably securing said leveling plate on the base in said level position;

a means for removably fastening said coffee maker bottom to said leveling plate for removal and use of the coffee maker independent of said holder or base; and

,

a means for preventing inadvertent actuation of the coffee maker.

25. The brewing assembly of claim 24, wherein said means for removably anchoring the base comprises a plurality of carpet anchors interconnecting said base with a carpeted portion of a motor vehicle.

26. The brewing assembly of claim 25, further comprising:

said base having a plurality of apertures on the periphery thereof;

each of said plurality of carpet anchors having an L-shape, with a threaded leg portion suitable for insertion in said apertures and a pointed foot portion for insertion through carpeting of a motor vehicle;

a plurality of thumb nuts adapted for securing said threaded leg portion of each of the plurality of carpet anchors tightly to the base.

27. The brewing assembly of claim 24, wherein said means for releasably securing said holder on the base in said level position, comprises:

said base having a raised section toward a central portion of the base and a spherically shaped depression within the raised section, and a centralized aperture located in the depression, said spherically shaped depression being adapted to interfit with a corresponding hemispheric shaped portion of the leveling plate having a corresponding centrally located aperture in said holder; and

, a clamp insertable through said corresponding apertures to frictionally tighten the holder against the base when the coffee maker is pivoted to a level position.