GB2508967A

GB2508967A - Tea, coffee or like infusion apparatus

Info

Publication number: GB2508967A
Application number: GB201318487A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Yuejun Dong; Shaole Wei
Original assignee: Ningbo SMAL Electrics Co Ltd
Current assignee: Ningbo SMAL Electrics Co Ltd
Priority date: 2012-10-19
Filing date: 2013-10-18
Publication date: 2014-06-18
Anticipated expiration: 2033-10-18
Also published as: RU146062U1; DE202013104688U1; GB201318487D0; AU2013101377A4; GB2508967B

Abstract

An infusion-container lifting structure 10 used in an infuser comprises a cover body 14 placed in a top opening of an infuser, an infusion container 18 for accommodating an infusion and provided at a lower surface side of the cover body, a lifting shaft 19 configured to extend through the cover body with one end fixed to the infusion container and the other end fixed to a lifting button 11 provided at an upper surface side of the cover body such that the lifting shaft is movable under an external force and maintained at its position when the external force is released by a shaft holder. The shaft holder is preferably a spring sleeved 15 around the lifting shaft. The infuser may be a pot body 20 forming a coffee, tea or like beverage brewing device having a heating plate 30.

Description

AN iNFUSER AND AN INFUSiON-CONTAINER

LIFTING STRUCTURE THEREOF

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates to an infriser such as a teapot or a tea maker, and more particularly, to an inftiser having an infrision-container litling structure.

BACKGROUND

Conventional infusers exist in various fonns. Recently, for the convenience of a user, individual infusion containers are provided in some infusers for accommodating an infusion, such as tea, coffee, traditional Chinese medicines and the like, so that the infusion will not mix into the infused drink. Some inftisers are also designed as electric infttsers so as to directly heat the liquid therein.

Furthermore, some infrisers are designed to be transparent or translucent, for assisting the user to observe the infusion state therein, in addition to aesthetic consideration.

In the related art, there is an electric teapot comprising a glass pot body for containing liquid, an exothermic plate for heating, a handle provided on the pot body, a cover for covering a pot opening of the pot body, an infusion container (also referred to as a pot) for containing tea, and a relevant cover-opening mechanism and sealing mechanism, etc. In order to facilitate tea infusion, lifting of the infusion container of the electric teapot is achieved mainly by manual lifting and rotational positioning. yet this kind of lifting mode is not only inconvenient hi operation but also the user is unable to position as desired. Moreover, the manufficturing cost is relatively high because of the complicated configuration.

In order to solve the problem of inconvenient operation, an automatic infuser that is able to electronically control the infusion container to move up-and-down automatically inside the infuser is used. However, this infuser has a very complicated structure and is expensive.

SUMMARY

In order to solve one or more of the above-mentioned deficiencies in the related art, an objective of the disclosure is to provide an infusion-container lifting structure and an infuser with the infusion-container lifting structure, in which an rnfiision container can be moved up-and-down in the infuser and maintained at a desired position only through a manual lifting operation, which is simple and convenient in operation, simple in structure, reliable in use, and lower in cost than

the prior art.

In order to achieve the above objective, there is provided an infusion-container lifting structure used in an infuser, comprising a cover body in a top opening of the infuser, a lifting button at an upper surface side of the cover body, an infusion container for accommodating an infusion at a lower surface side of the cover body, a lifting shaft configured to extend through the cover body and have one end fixed to the infusion container and the other end fixed to the lifting button, and a shaft holder fixed to the cover body, for holding the lifting shati such that the lifting shaft is slidable up-and-down under an external force and is maintained at its position when the external force is released.

According to an embodiment of the disclosure, there is provided an infusion-container lifting structure used in an infuser comprising a cover body placed in a top opening of the infuser, a lifting button provided at an upper surface side of the cover body, an infusion container for accommodating an infusion and being provided at a lower surface side of the cover body, a lifting shaft configured to extend though the cover body and have one end fixed to the infusion container and the other end fixed to the lifting button, and a shaft holder fixed to the cover body and sleeved on the liffing shaft with an interference fit such that the lifting shaft is slidable under an external force and maintained at its position when the external force is released.

Preferably, the shaft holder is a spring.

Preferably, the last turn of the spring is bent to form a rectangle shape, and an inside distance between two long sides of the last turn is less than the inner diameter of the spring.

Preferably, a mount is provided on the cover body, and the spring is fixed in the mount.

Preferably, the cover body comprises an upper cover body and a lower cover body coupled with each other, and an accommodating space is formed between the upper cover body and the lower cover body.

Preferably, one end of the spring is positioned at the mount, and the other end of the spring is positioned at the lower cover body.

Preferably, the lifting shaft is provided with at least one notch, and the rectangular last turn of the spring can be embedded in or out of the notch during the sliding of the lifting shaft.

Preferably, the notch is provided annularly at the end of the lifting shaft close to the infusion container.

Preferably, a plurality of spring members and a certain number of press-fit (snap-fit) elements are provided unilbrmly in a circumferential direction within the accommodating space of the cover body, and one end of the press-fit element can project from the outer periphery of the cover body so that the cover body can be press-fitted at the top opening of the infuser.

According to another embodiment of the disclosure, there is provided an infusion-container lifting structure used in an infuser, comprising a cover body in a top opening of the infuser, a lifting button at an upper surface side of the cover body, an infusion container fur accommodating an infusion at a lower surface side of the cover body, a lifting shaft configured to extend through the cover body and have one end fixed to the infusion container and the other end fixed to the lifting button, and a clip assembly as a shaft holder arranged in the cover body, with one end fixed to the cover body and the other end pressed against the lifting shaft such that the lifting shaft is slidable under an external force and maintained at its position when the external force is released.

Preferably, a plurality of clip assemblies are distributed imiformly in a circumferential direction around the lifting shaft.

Preferably, the cover body comprises an upper cover body and a lower cover body coupled with each other, as well as a mount arranged on the upper cover body. In addition, tile clip assembly may be arranged between the upper cover body and the mount, and may comprise: a fixing frame between the upper cover body and the mount, having a through hole through both ends thereof an elastic member disposed in the through hole, having one end fixed to the mount; and a bail, with freedom to roll in the through hole and supported by the other end of the elastic member such that a portion of the ball protrudes from the through hole to press against the lifling shafi.

Preferably, a positioning groove is included on the upper cover body and another positioning groove corresponding to the positioning groove is included on the mount, for placing the fixing frame.

Preferably, a conical surface is fonned at an end portion of the through hole adjacent to the lifting shaft so as to prevent the ball from detaching from the through hole.

Preferably, the lifting shaft is provided with at least one notch, and the ball is slidable into or out of the notch during the sliding of the lifting shaft.

Preferably, the notch is an annular U-shaped groove.

Preferably, the U-shaped groove is positioned at an end of the shaft close to the infusion-container.

The disclosure also provides an inftiser, comprising: a pot body, a heating plate (for example, a heating coil) on which the pot body is placed, and an intuision-container lifting structure according to the description above, which is arranged in the pot body.

Preferably, the infuser is an electric glass teapot.

Accordingly, the infrision-container lifting structure and the infutser of the present disclosure have the following advantageous effects: the infusion container may be moved up-and-down and maintained at a desired position only through a manual lifting operation by means of the infusion-container lifting structure, such that the operation becomes simple and convenient, and will be comfortable for the user. Furthermore, in the present disclosure, it is possible to position the infusion container at any position with respect to the pot body, depending on the liquid level, so that the inftised drink is of greater quality iii terms of both taste and health benefits compared with current systems. Moreover, such a configuration is simple and convenient in assembly, reliable in use, and easy to manufacture and implement with a low cost.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF TilE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a further understanding of the disclosure and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate exemplary embodiments and together with the description serve to explain the principles of the disclosure, without intending to limit the

disclosure. Tn the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a schematic perspective view of an infriser according to the present

disclosure, embodied by an electric teapot;

Fig. 2 is a schematic perspective view of the component parts of the electric teapot shown in Fig. 1 according to the disclosure; Fig. 3 is a schematic perspective view of an infusion-container lifting structure in the electric teapot shown in Figs 1 and 2; Fig. 4 is a schematic perspective view of the infusion-container lifting structure shown in Fig. 3 when the inftision container is located at a lower limit position with respect to the cover body; Fig. 5 is a schematic perspective view of the infttsion-container lifting structure shown in Fig. 3 with the tea holder lowered with respect to the cover body; Fig. 6 is a schematic perspective view of the component parts of a first embodiment of the infusion-container lifting structure shown in Fig. 3; Fig. 7 is a schematic sectional view of the first embodiment of the infusion-container lifting structure; Fig. 8 is a schematic perspective view of the lifting shaft and spring of the infusion-container lifting structure shown in Fig. 3 in an assembled state, in which die spring is positioned at the upper end of the lifting shaft; Fig. 9 is a schematic sectional view of the lifting shaft and tile spring of the inftision-container lifting structure in an assembled state, in which the spring is positioned at the lower end of the lifting shaft; Fig. 10 is a schematic perspective view of the spring; Fig. II is an end view of the spring; Fig. 12 is a schematic sectional view of the upper portion of the teapot when the infusion container is located at an upper limit position in the pot body; Fig. 13 is a schematic perspective view of the component parts of a second embodiment of the infusion container lifting structure; Fig. 14 is a perspective view of die component parts of the clip assemblies and a lifting shaft; Fig. 15 is a schematic sectional view of the second embodiment of the infusion container lifting structure shown in Fig. 3 when the infusion container is located at an upper limit position with respect to the cover body; Fig. 16 is a schematic sectional view of the second embodiment of the infusion container lifting structure shown in Fig. 3 when the infusion container is located at a lower limit position with respect to the cover body; Fig. 17 is a perspective view of the second embodiment of the infusion container lifting structure when a lifting button and a mount are removed; Fig. 18 is a sectional view of the state in which the bali slides into a U-shaped groove; Figs 19 to 21 illustrate schematic views of die infusion-container lifting structure at different positions within the pot body, respectively; wherein: 1 electric teapot; infusion-container lifting structure; 11 lifting button; 111 lifting plate; 112 projection; 113 cap; 12 mount; 123 recess; 13 cover body ornamental ring; 14 cover body; 141 upper cover body; 142 lower cover body; 143 opening; inside wall; 146 outside wall; I 5 spring; I 50 clip assembly; 151 fixing frame; 152 ball; 153 spring; 154 through hole; 16 spring member; 17 press-fit element; 1 8 tea holder; 181 first lid; I 82 second lid; 183 tea basket; 19 lifting shaft; 191 notch; pot body; 21 pot opening; 22 pot stomach; 30 heating plate;

S

31 control button; handle; S accommodating space.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

Description will now be given in detail of the exemplary embodiments of the infriser and the infrision-container lifting structure thereof according to the disclosure. Hereinafter, for convenience of illustrating the design concept of the disclosure, an electric teapot having an infusion-container lifting structure according to the disclosure is exemplified. However, the infuser of the disclosure is not limited to the electric teapot, and, hi particular, can also be applied to an electric coffee pot, an electric medicine pot or a pot without an electrical heating function.

The same components are designated by the same or similar reference numbers throughout the accompanying figures, and the detailed description thereof will not be repeated.

Reference is made to Figs I and 2, which show a schematic perspective view and a perspective view of the component parts of the electric teapot 1, respectively.

The electric teapot 1 generally comprises an infusion-container lifting structure 10, a pot body 20 for containing a liquid, a heating plate 30 and a handle 40 for gripping.

An opening, hereinafter referred to as a pot opening 21, is provided on the top of tile pot body 20, and is covered by the infusion-container lifting structure 10 which may extend into the pot opening 21 and be upwardly moved away off the pot opening 21. Tn an embodiment, the pot body 20 has a pot stomach 22 made of transparent glass. However, except for the transparent pot stomach 22, it is apparent that the pot body 20 may have a translucent or opaque pot stomach made of, for example, stainless steel, ceramic, plastic, etc. For the pot body 20, one or more visible windows, for example, in the shape of a vertical strip with a certain width, may be provided to the translucent or opaque pot stomach according to the requirements, so that the user may observe tile iiquid within tile pot body 20.

A plurality of control buttoiis 31 are provided to the heating plate 30 to control the operation of the electric teapot 1. A socket connector is provided to the bottom of tile pot body 20, while a plug connector is provided to the top of the heating plate 30, or vice versa. When the electric teapot 1 is in use, the heating plate 30 is supplied with electric power to heat the liquid inside the pot body 20 after the pot body 20 is placed in the correct position on the heating plate 30. As the configuration of the heating plate 30 and the technique for heating the pot body are weil known, the description thereof is omitted.

Hereinafter, description will be made in detail to the infusion-container lifting

structure 10 according to the disclosure.

Reference is made to Figs 3 to 5, which show schematic perspective views of the inftision-container lifting structure 10 at different positions, respectively.

Reference is also made to Figs 6 and 7, which show a schematic perspective view of the component parts, and a schematic sectional view, of a first embodiment of the inftision-container lifting structure tO, respectively.

Referring to the above drawings, the first embodiment of the infusion-container lifting structure 10 according to the disclosure comprises: a cover body 14 placed at the top opening (i.e. the pot opening 21) of the eiectric teapot; a lifting button 11 provided at an upper surface side of the cover body 14; a tea holder 1 8 used as an infusion container and provided at the lower surface side of the cover body 14; a lifting shaft 19 configured to extend through the cover body 14 with one end fixed to the tea holder 1 8 and the other end fixed to the lifting button II; and a spring 15 used as a shaft holder which is fixed to the cover body and sleeved on the lifting shaft 19 with an interference fit such that the lifting shaft 19 is slidable when an external force is exerted and maintained at its position with the effect of the spring 15 when the external force is released. In an embodiment, the spring is exemphfied as the shaft holder, but it shouid be understood by a person skilled in the art that a rubber material with elasticity can be used as the shaft holder for interference fitting with the lifting shaft so as to restrict the movement of the lifting shaft and position it in place.

in use, the tea holder 18 can be moved up-and-down in the direction of the double arrow shown in Fig. 5 via the lifting shaft 19 by lifting the lifting button 11 and, if necessary, the tea holder I 8 can be located at any position with respect to the pot body.

The lifting button 11 generally constitutes a lifting plate 111 and a projection 112 provided at a middle portion of the lower side of the lifting plate Ill.

The cover body 14 is placed in the pot opening 21 of the electric teapot 1 and is composed of an upper cover body 141 and a lower cover body 142 hi a known joint maimer such as by press-fit. In Fig. 6, for example, a plurality of protrusions are provided on the lower cover body 142 and a plurality of grooves are provided on the upper cover body 141 at corresponding positions. An accommodating space S is also formed between tile upper cover body 141 and the lower cover body 142 (see Fig. 8).

The cover body 14 also includes a mount 12. The mount 12 is generally in a shape of hollow cylinder and is connected to the upper cover body 141 by means of a connection means as known, such as a bolt. A recess 123 is provided to the top surface of the mount 12 to accommodate the projection 112 of the lifting button 11 with a clearance fit, so that the lifting button 11 can be inserted into and moved away from the mount 12 smoothly. Preferably, the diameter of the lifting plate 111 of the lifting button 11 should be slightly larger than that of the top surface of the mount 12.

The centre of the top surface of the upper cover body 141 is depressed to form a recess, so that an annular space is fornied between the upper cover body 141 and the mount 12, which provides an operation space for lifting the lifting button manually. A cover body ornamental ring 13 may be provided on the outer periphery of the top surface of the upper cover body 141. The lifting shaft 19 may be passed through the cover body 14 provided with the mount 12.

A plurality of spring members 16 and the corresponding press-fit elements 17 are provided uniformly within the accommodating space S of the cover body 14 hi the circumferential direction. Each spring member 16 is contractible in the radial direction, and has one end pressed against the inner side of the inside wail 145 of die accommodating space S of the cover body 14 and the other end pressed against one end of the press-fit element 17. A stopper is provided at a middle portion of the press-fit element I 7. and is pressed against the inner side of the outside wall 146 of the acconimodating space S by the elasticity of the spring member 16 such that the other end of the press-fit element 17 is projected from the outer periphery of the cover body 14 through the corresponding opening 143 of the upper cover body 141.

To this end, the press-fit element 17 may be stretched resiliently in the opening 143 by virtue of the cooperation of the external force and the spring member 16. It is to be noted that, the number of the press-fit elements 17 and the spring members 16 may be three, four, five, and so on, but it can be changed as required.

Furthermore, the other end of the press-fit element 17 may be formed as an inclined surface, and when the cover body 14 is put into die pot opening 21 of die pot body 20, the press-fit elements 17 contact with the pot opening 21 firstly and then die spring members 16 are compressed to move into the accommodating space S by virtue of the press effect, so that the elastic restoring force of the spring members 16 react upon the press-fit elements 17 and thus block the press-fit elements 17 between the spring members 16 and the pot opening 21. In such a way, the cover body 14 can be stably placed in the pot body 20. If needed, the mount 12 may be pulled up directly to move the cover body 14 out of the pot opening 21. It is to be noted that the placement of the cover body 14 is not limited to the embodiments as described above, and can be placed in die pot opening via any other way such as threaded connection, press-fit, etc. The tea holder I 8 is generally in the shape of a cylinder and die inflision is disposed therein. One end of the lifting shaft 19 is fixed to the tea holder 18, in particular to the upper cover of the tea holder 1 8, which can be detached from the tea holder 18 to take in and out the infusion; the other end of the liffing shaft 19 extends through the cover body 14 and is fixed to the projection 112 of the lifting button 11, for example, as shown in Fig. 8, and both ends of the lifting shaft 19 are provided with thread, so that the sliafi 19 may be fixed to the lifling button 11 and tea holder 18 by means of the fasteners, respectively. Accordingly, the lifting button 11, die lifting shaft 19 and die tea holder 1 8 are integrated as one piece. The spring 15 may be sleeved on the lifting shaft 19 with an interference fit, and both ends of the spring IS are positioned at the mount 12 and the lower cover body 142, respectively.

For the specific configuration and the arrangement of the spring IS, reference is made to Figs 8 to 11. Fig. 8 is a scheniatic perspective view of the spring 15 and lifting shaft 19 of the infusion-container lifting stmcture in an assembled state, wherein the spring 15 is positioned at the upper end of the lifting shaft 19. Fig. 9 is a schematic sectional view of the spring 15 and the lifting shaft 19 of the inflision-container lifting structure in an assembled state, wherein the spring 1 5 is positioned at the lower end of the lifting shaft 19. Figs 8 and 9 show that the lifting shaft 19 may be moved within the spring 15 and positioned in place.

Hereinafter, description is made to the spring 15 in detail.

Figs 10 and 1 I show a schematic perspective view and an end view of the spring 15, respectively. According to the disclosure, the spring 15 may be a general coil spring, and mutually maintaining and positioning the spring 1 5 and the lifting shaft 19 are achieved by virtue of the interference fit of the spring 15 and the lifting shaft 19, so that the spring 15 can maintain the infusion-container lifting structure at ally position in the pot body 20 as desired.

Preferably, the bottom of the spring 15, i.e. the last turn of the spring 15, is fornied as a general rectangle shape, wherein die inside distance between the two long sides thereof is slightly less than the diameter of the inner hole of the spring 15 so as to clamp the lifting shaft 19 more tightly.

Preferably, the lifting shaft 19 is provided with a notch 191, and preferably, an annular notch is provided at the lower end of the lifting shaft 19. The notch 191 serves as a stopper. When the tea holder 1 8 moves to the highest position, the rectangular last turn of the spring 15 may be easily blocked into the notch 191 of the lifting shaft 19 to position the tea holder 18 at the upper limit position so as to prevent the tea holder 1 8 from moving upwards continuously, while keeping the tea holder 1 8 at the upper limit position to prevent it from moving up-and-down.

Moreover, when the lifting shaft 19 is pressed downwards, the rectangular last turn can still easily move away from the notch 19 I and be moved downwards, for example, by a relatively stronger external force, Of course, similar notches can be arranged at other portions of the lifting shaft 19, such as the centre of the lifting shaft. Also, a plurality of notches can be arranged to ensure a niore stable positioning.

Reference is made to Fig. 12, which is a schematic sectional view of the upper portion of the teapot when the tea holder 18 is at an upper limit position in the pot body 20.

Hereinafter, a second embodiment of the infusion container lifting structure 10 will be described in detail.

Reference is made to Fig. 13, which is a schematic perspective view of the component parts of the second embodiment of the infusion container lifting structure 10. As shown in Fig. 13, the infusion container lifting structure 10 according to the second embodiment is substantially similar to the first embodiment except for a clip assembly 150 as the shaft holder. Therefore, description of the common features between both embodiments will not be repeated.

The infusion container lifting structure 10 may include a plurality of clip assemblies 150, which are fixed in the cover body 14 and distributed evenly in the circumferential direction around the lifting shaft 19, such that the lifting shaft 19 can be maintained at any required position by means of the clip assemblies I 50. Tt should be noted, as an example, the present embodiment illustrates three clip assemblies; however, the number of the clip assemblies may be designed as two, four or more.

In practice, it is appreciated by those skilled hi the art that the number of clip assemblies 150 is not limited to the above examples. In addition, any number of clip assemblies 150 may be arranged around the circumference, provided the clip assemblies enable the lifting shaft 19 to be held at any required position steadily and to be slidable up-and-down when a sufficient acting force is applied to the lifting button!!.

Preferably, a protection cap 113 may be positioned above the lifting button 11, as shown in Fig. 13.

Tn the present embodiment, the tea holder 18 comprises a top lid consisting of a first lid 18! and a second lid!82, as well as a tea basket 183. The first lid!81 and the second lid 182 may be made from different materials, 1kw example, the first lid 181 is made of metal and the second lid 182 is made of plastic. The top lid of the tea holder 18 is detachable from the the tea basket 183 such that the infusion may be put into or removed from the tea holder 18.

Hereinafter, description of the clip assembly 150 will be given in detail with reference to the accompanying figures.

Fig. 14 is a perspective view of the component parts of the clip assemblies and the lifting shaft. Fig. 15 is a schematic sectional view of the second embodiment of the infusion container lifting structure when the infusion container is located at an upper limit position with respect to the cover body. Fig. 16 is a schematic sectional view of the second embodiment of the infusion container lifting structure when the infusion container is located at a lower limit position with respect to the cover body. Fig. 17 is a perspective view of the second embodiment of the infUsion container lifting structure after the lifting button and the mount is removed.

In particular, as shown in Fig. 14, three clip assemblies 150 are distributed evenly in the circumlèrential direction around the lifting shaft 19 and pressed against the lifting shaft 19 in the radial direction. Each clip assembly 150 includes a fixing flume 151, a ball 152 and a spring 153. The fixing flume 151 has a through hole 154 (see Fig. !6) through the both ends thereof The diameter of the through hole 154 is slightly larger than that of the ball!52 and a generally conical surface is formed at the end portion of the through hole 154 adjacent to the lifting shaft 19, such that this end portion of the through hole 154 forms a conical hole tapering to the terminal of the through hole adjacent to the lifting shaft, and the ball 152 inside the through hole 154 may roll in the through hole 154, protrude from the through hole 154, but not exit the through hole 154. The spring 153 is also positioned in the through hole 1 54, and the inner diameter of the spring 1 53 is slightly smaller than the diameter of the ball 152. One end of the spring 153 is fixed to the mount 12 and the other end thereof bears the baIl 152, so that the ball 152 protrudes from the through hole 154 under the effect of the elasticity force and presses against the litling shaft 19. As an example, the present embodiment of the disclosure illustrates the spring 153 for supporting the ball 152; however, a rubber element and other elastic member with elasticity are applicable.

Reference is made to Figs 15 and 16. The ball 152 is located between the lifting shaft 19 and the spring 153. The spring 153 is hi a retracted state, such that the ball 152 partially protrudes from the end portion of the through hole 154 with a conical surface and continuously presses against the lifting shati 19 in the radial direction under the effect of the spring, and thereby the lifting shaft 19 is maintained at the desired position by means of the clip assemblies 150. When au external force exerted along the axial direction of the litling shaft 19 is sufficient to overcome the friction between the lifting shaft 19 and the ball 152, it enables the lifting shaft 19 to move up-and-down, while the ball 152 rolls as the lifting shaft moves. When the movement of the lifting shaft 19 is stopped, the ball 152 stops rolling and the lifting 19 is maintained at its position by virtue of the effect of the spring 153.

The clip assembly I 50 is arranged between the mount 12 and the upper cover body 141. A plurality of positioning grooves are distributed on the upper cover body 141 and a plurality of corresponding positioning grooves are distributed on the mount 12, for placing a plurality of fixing frames 151 between the mount 12 and the upper cover body 141. Fig. 17 shows that there are positioning grooves on the upper cover body 141. The clip assembly 150 hi the second embodiment of the infusion container lifting structure has a simple structure and a long lifetime, as well as being easy to manufacture.

Fig. 18 is a sectional view of the configuration in which the ball slides into a U-shaped groove. The lifting sliafi 19 is provided with a notch 191 such as a U-shaped groove at the lower end thereof The U-shaped groove serves as a stopper. Preferably, the depth of the U-shaped groove is smaller than the radius of the ball I 52. When the tea holder 1 8 moves to the highest possible position, shown s in Fig. 15, the ball protrudes from the fixing frame 151 and slides into the U-shaped groove of the lifting shaft 19 to position the tea holder 1 8 at the upper limit position so as to prevent the tea holder I 8 from moving up-and-down; when the lifting shaft 19 is pressed to move downwards, the ball 152 may escape from the U-shaped groove easily and roll downwards. Of course, alternative grooves the same as or similar to the U-shaped groove can be designed at other portions of the lifting shaft 19, such as the middle portion of the lifting shaft 19 and so forth to ensure a more stable positioning.

Reference is made to Figs 19 to 21, which illustrate schematic views of the inftision-container lifting structure 10 in different positions in the pot body, respectively. The tea holder 18 shown hi Fig. 19 is at the lowest position, i.e. a lower limit position in the pot body 20, the tea holder 18 shown in Fig. 20 is at an intermediate position in the pot body 20, and the tea holder 18 shown hi Fig. 21 is at the highest position, i.e. an upper limit position in the pot body 20.

In the use of the electric teapot 1, for example, the tea holder 1 8 containing tea may be lifted up to the upper limit position by means of the lifting button 11 before the water in the pot body 20 is boiled. After the water hi the pot body 20 is boiled, the lifting button 11 may be pressed downwards, such that the tea holder I 8 is immersed into the boiling water. Subsequently, the user niay observe the colour of the water and determine the time that the tea holder 1 8 is inmiersed in the boiling water according to personal preference. The lifting button 11 may then be lifted to take the tea holder 1 8 out of the water, and the drink is ready for consumption.

Although the infuser with the infusion-container lifting structure according to the disclosure is disclosed by an example of an electric teapot, the disclosure is not limited thereto. With the disclosure, the user can operate manually the infusion container to hold at any position in the pot body according to the liquid level, so that the quality of the infused drink can be improved and the user will feel comfortable when manually lifting and lowering the inifision container in use.

Moreover, such a configuration is simple and convenient in assembly, reliable in use, easy to manufacture and implemented inexpensively.

The above disclosure illustrates only the preferable embodiments of the disclosure, which are not intended to limit the protection scope of the application.

Accordingly, all the equivalent variations or modifications made in view of the protection scope of the application are still embraced within the scope of the application.

Claims

WIIAT IS CLAIMED IS: 1. An inftision-container lifting structure used in an inftiser, characterized in that the inftision-container lifting structure comprises: a cover body in a top opening of the infuser; a lifting button at an upper surface side of the cover body; an inifision container for accornniodating the inifision at a lower surface side of the cover body; a lifting shaft configured to extend through the cover body and have one end fixed to the inftision container and the other end fixed to the lifting button; and a shaft holder fixed in the cover body, for holding the lifting shaft such that the lifting shaft is slidable up-and-down under an external force and is maintained at its position after the external force is released.
2. The infusion-container lifting structure according to claim 1, characterized in that the shaft holder is a spring sleeved on the lifting shaft with an interference fit.
3. The infusion-container lifting structure according to claim 2, characterized in that the last turn of the spring is bent to form a rectangle shape, and an inside distance between two long sides of the last turn is less than the inner diameter of the spring.
4. The infusion-container lifting structure according to claim 3. characterized in that the cover body comprises an upper cover body and a lower cover body coupled with each other as well as a niount arranged on the upper cover body, and the spring is fixed in the mount.
5. The infusion-container lifting structure according to claim 4, characterized in that an accommodating space is formed between the upper cover body and the lower cover body.
6. The infusion-container lifting structure according to claim 5, characterized in that one end of the spring is positioned at the mount, and the other end of the spring is positioned at the lower cover body.
7. The infusion-container lifling structure according to claim 3, characterized in that the lifting shaft is provided with at least one notch, and the rectangular last turn of die spring can be embedded in or out of the notch during die sliding of the lifting shaft.
8. The inftision-container lifting structure according to claim 7, characterized in that the notch is provided annularly at one end of the lifting shaft close to the inftision container.
9. The infttsion-container lifting structure according to claim 5. characterized in that a plurality of spring members and a corresponding number of press-fit elements are provided uniformly in a circumferential direction in the accommodating space of the cover body, and one end of the press-fit element projects from the outer periphery of the cover body so that the cover body is press-fitted to die top opening of die inftiser.
10. The infrision-container lifting structure according to claim 1, characterized in that the shaft holder is a clip assembly arranged in the cover body, and the clip assembly has one end fixed to the cover body and the other end pressed against the lifting shaft.
11. The infttsion-container lifting structure according to claim 10, characterized in that a plurality of clip assemblies are disposed unifonnly in a circumferential direction around the lifting shaft.
12. The infusion-container lifting structure according to claim 10 or 11, characterized in that the cover body comprises an upper cover body and a lower cover body coupled with each other as well as a mount arranged on the upper cover body, the clip assembly is arranged between the upper cover body and the mount and comprises: a fixing frame between the upper cover body and the mount, having a through hole through both ends thereof; an elastic member disposed in the through hole, having one end fixed to the mount; and a ball rollably disposed in the though hole and supported by the other end of the elastic member such that the ball protrudes from the through hole to press against the lifting shaft..
13. The infusion-container lifting structure according to claim 12, characterized in that a positioning groove is included on the upper cover body and a corresponding positioning groove is included on the mount, for placing the fixing frame.
14. The infusion-container lifting structure according to claim 12, characterized in that a conical surface is formed at the end portion of the through hole adjacent to the lifting shaft so as to prevent the ball from detaching the through hole.
15. The inibsion-container lifting structure according to claim 12, characterized in that the lifting shaft is provided with at least one notch, and the ball is slidable into or out of the notch during the sliding of the lifting shaft
16. The infusion-container lifting structure according to claim 15, characterized in that the notch is an annular U-shaped groove.
17. The infusion-container lifting structure according to claim 16, characterized in that the U-shaped groove is disposed at an end of the shaft close to the infusion-container.
18. An infUser, comprising: apot body; a heating plate, on which the pot body is placed; and an infusion-container lifting structure according to any one of claims 1-17 in the pot body.
19. The infuser according to claim 18, characterized in that the infuser is an electric glass teapot.