CN114617435A

CN114617435A - Beverage making machine and method of drip-filtering brewed beverages

Info

Publication number: CN114617435A
Application number: CN202111521373.XA
Authority: CN
Inventors: 赵捷; 亚当·黑尼斯; 科恩·艾丹·安布罗斯
Original assignee: Hamilton Beach Brands Inc
Current assignee: Hamilton Beach Brands Inc
Priority date: 2020-12-11
Filing date: 2021-12-13
Publication date: 2022-06-14

Abstract

A beverage making machine comprising: a housing; a fluid reservoir mounted to the housing; a first pump fluidly coupled with the water reservoir; a heating unit comprising a conduit having an upper end and a lower end, the lower end of the conduit fluidly connected to the first pump, the conduit constructed and arranged to monotonically rise from the lower end to the upper end; and a brewing station having a brewing basket with an inlet fluidly connected with the upper end of the conduit and an outlet, and a receptacle platform positioned to receive fluid from the outlet.

Description

Beverage making machine and method of drip-filtering brewed beverages

Technical Field

The present invention relates generally to small appliances, and more particularly to beverage makers.

Background

Automatic drip coffee makers are well known and widely used. They can effectively brew coffee bottles that typically contain multiple cups of liquid. Automatic drip coffee makers may also be used to brew smaller quantities (one to four cups).

A typical automatic drip coffee maker includes a brew basket (loosely placed in a bowl-like filter or "pod" type package, commonly sold under the trademark "K-Cup") that holds ground coffee. The heated water is delivered to the brew basket and released where it flows under gravity down through the coffee grounds and into a receptacle such as a bottle or pot. Exemplary automatic drip coffee makers are discussed in U.S. patent No.5,001,969 to Moore et al, U.S. patent No.7,066,080 to Hsu, and U.S. patent No.8,065,952 to Wang, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety. Some coffee machines are designed to brew coffee in different forms; for example, available from Hamilton Beach Brands Inc. (Risteman, Va.)

Coffee machines provided in the series include an insert that enables the user to select between a pod of coffee or loose ground coffee.

In addition to this, the present invention is,

another type of coffee machine provided in the series has two distinct "stations", one of which can brew a full pot or a full bottle, and the other of which brews a single serving (typically using a pod as described above). Such a coffee maker may provide the user with the flexibility to brew a single serving (if that is all that is required) or multiple servings (bottled or carafe).

It may be desirable to provide performance improvements to coffee machines via novel structures and methods.

Disclosure of Invention

As a first aspect, embodiments of the present invention contemplate a beverage making machine comprising: a housing; a fluid reservoir mounted to the housing; a first pump fluidly coupled with the water reservoir; a heating unit comprising a conduit having an upper end and a lower end, the lower end of the conduit fluidly connected to the first pump, the conduit constructed and arranged to monotonically rise from the lower end to the upper end; and a brewing station having a brewing basket with an inlet and an outlet, the inlet being fluidly connected with the upper end of the conduit, and the brewing station further having a receptacle platform positioned to receive fluid from the outlet.

As a second aspect, embodiments of the present invention contemplate a beverage making machine comprising: a housing; a fluid reservoir mounted to the housing; a first pump fluidly coupled with the water reservoir; a heating unit comprising a conduit having an upper end and a lower end, the lower end of the conduit fluidly connected with the first pump; a negative temperature coefficient temperature (NTC) sensor mounted directly adjacent to an upper end of the heating unit conduit; a brewing station having a brewing basket with an inlet and an outlet, the inlet being fluidly connected with the upper end of the conduit, and the brewing station further having a receptacle platform positioned to receive fluid from the outlet; and a controller operatively connected with the heating unit, the first pump and the NTC such that temperature data detected by the NTC is transmitted to the controller and the operating speed of the pump is adjusted by the controller based on the data from the NTC.

As a third aspect, embodiments of the present invention contemplate a beverage making machine comprising: a housing; a fluid reservoir mounted to the housing; a first pump fluidly coupled with the water reservoir; a heating unit comprising a conduit having an upper end and a lower end, the lower end of the conduit fluidly connected to the first pump, the conduit constructed and arranged to monotonically rise from the lower end to the upper end; an accumulator in fluid connection with the heating unit conduit; a second pump fluidly connected to the accumulator; a brewing station having a brewing basket with an inlet and an outlet, the inlet fluidly connected with the upper end of the conduit, and the brewing station further having a receptacle platform positioned to receive fluid from the outlet; and a controller operatively connected with the heating unit, the first pump, and the second pump.

As a fourth aspect, embodiments of the present invention are directed to a method of drip-brewing a beverage, comprising the steps of:

a) providing a beverage making machine comprising: a housing; a fluid reservoir mounted to the housing; a first pump fluidly coupled with the water reservoir;

a heating unit comprising a conduit fluidly connected to the first pump; a second pump fluidly connected to the conduit of the heating unit; a brew chamber having an inlet fluidly connected to the second pump, an outlet, and a receptacle platform positioned to receive fluid from the outlet;

b) activating the heating unit;

c) pumping water from a water reservoir through a conduit of the heating unit by the first pump as the heating unit heats the water;

d) pumping, by the second pump, water from the second pump to the brew basket;

e) deactivating the heating unit while steps (c) and (d) are still being performed; and

f) deactivating the first pump after step (e);

wherein step (d) continues after steps (e) and (f) are performed.

As a fifth aspect, embodiments of the present invention contemplate a beverage making machine comprising: a housing; a fluid reservoir mounted to the housing; a first pump fluidly coupled with the water reservoir; a heating unit comprising a conduit fluidly connected to the first pump; a second pump in fluid connection with the conduit of the heating unit; a brewing station having a brewing basket with an inlet and an outlet, the inlet fluidly connected with the upper end of the conduit, and the brewing station further having a receptacle platform positioned to receive fluid from the outlet; and a controller operatively connected with the first pump, the second pump, and the heating unit. The controller is configured to: activating the heating unit; activating the first pump to pump water from a water reservoir through a conduit of the heating unit when the heating unit heats water; activating the second pump to pump water from the second pump to the brew basket; deactivating the heating unit when the first pump and the second pump are activated; and deactivating the first pump when the second pump is activated.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a front perspective view of a multi-function coffee maker according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a perspective cut-away view of a large service station of the coffee maker of fig. 1.

FIG. 3 is a side sectional view of the large service station of FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a side sectional view of the servlet station of the coffee maker of FIG. 1.

FIG. 5 is a partial side perspective view of the servlet station of FIG. 1 with the side wall removed.

Figure 6 is a front perspective cut-away view of the servlet station of figure 5.

FIG. 7 is an enlarged partial side perspective view of the hot water pump and accumulator of the servlet station of FIG. 5.

FIG. 8 is a side cross-sectional view of the brew basket of the servlet station of FIG. 5.

Fig. 9 is an internal partial perspective view of a multi-function coffee maker according to an alternative embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 10 is a side partial perspective view of a multi-function coffee maker according to an alternative embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 11 is a graph illustrating the operation of the small service station of fig. 5.

Fig. 12 is a graph further illustrating the operation of the servlet station of fig. 5.

Fig. 13 is a graph illustrating an alternative operation of the servlet station of fig. 5.

Detailed Description

The present invention now will be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which embodiments of the invention are shown. This invention may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein; rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art.

In the drawings, certain layers, components or features may be exaggerated for clarity, and broken lines illustrate optional features or operations, unless stated otherwise. This invention may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein; rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art.

It will be understood that, although the terms first, second, etc. may be used herein to describe various elements, components, regions, layers and/or sections, these elements, components, regions, layers and/or sections should not be limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish one element, component, region, layer or section from another region, layer or section. Thus, a first element, component, region, layer or section discussed below could be termed a second element, component, region, layer or section without departing from the teachings of the present invention. The order of operations (or steps) is not limited to the order shown in the claims or figures unless specifically indicated otherwise.

Unless otherwise defined, all terms (including technical and scientific terms) used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this invention belongs. It will be further understood that terms, such as those defined in commonly used dictionaries, should be interpreted as having a meaning that is consistent with their meaning in the context of the specification and relevant art and will not be interpreted in an idealized or overly formal sense unless expressly so defined herein. Well-known functions or constructions may not be described in detail for brevity and/or clarity.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the invention. As used herein, the singular forms "a", "an" and "the" are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms "comprises" and/or "comprising," when used in this specification, specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof as used herein, and the terms "and/or" include any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items.

As used herein, phrases such as "between X and Y" and "between about X and Y" should be interpreted to include X and Y. As used herein, phrases such as "between about X and Y" mean "between about X and about Y". As used herein, phrases such as "from about X to Y" refer to "from about X to about Y".

Referring now to the drawings, there is illustrated in FIG. 1 a multi-function coffee maker, generally designated 10. The coffee maker 10 has a large service station 12 configured to brew regular coffee from loose grounds or pods, and a small service station 14 configured to brew coffee from pods. The large and small service stations 12, 12 are enabled via a control panel 202 operatively connected to a controller 200 that may control the operation of the coffee maker 10. The coffee maker 10 has a general housing 20 covering the exterior of the device. The large service station 12 and the small service station 14 are positioned at the front of the housing 20.

Referring to FIGS. 1-3, the large service station 12 includes a separate component for brewing from the small service station 14. These include a water reservoir 22, a pump 24, a heater 26, an outlet nozzle 28, and a brew basket 30. The grounds are positioned in a brew basket 30, and water is drawn from the reservoir 22 through the pump 24, heater 26, outlet nozzle 28, and brew basket 30 into a kettle 32 or other receptacle resting at a platform 34 of the large service station 12. These components may be conventional and need not be described in detail herein; an exemplary large service station is illustrated and described, for example, in U.S. patent No.9,585,513, the disclosure of which is incorporated in its entirety. Typically, the large service station 12 may be configured to brew between about 20 and 70 ounces of beverage.

Referring now to fig. 4-8, the servlet 14 is shown. The small service station includes a water reservoir 40 mounted on an upper rear portion of the housing 20. The water reservoir 40 may be removable to facilitate filling. The water reservoir 40 may also be transparent to enable a user to discern the fill level. In some embodiments, the water reservoir 40 may include a water filter 42 (typically as a removable insert within the holder). At its lower end, the water reservoir 40 has an outlet 46 which leads to a fitting 48. Fitting 48 includes a spring-loaded seal that prevents leakage through outlet 46 when water is not being pumped through outlet 46.

Hose 52 leads from fitting 48 to cold water pump 54. The cold water pump 54 is combined with the flow meter 56 in a single unit. The flow meter 56 is used to regulate and measure the flow rate of the fluid within the servlet station 14. Typically, the flow meter 56 is capable of achieving flow rates of about 480 to 500 cc/min. Further, typically the cold water pump 54 is a relatively low pressure pump (e.g., 0.2 to 0.6 psi).

A hose 58 leads from the flow meter 56 to a heating unit 60. The heating unit 60 includes a hollow elongated conduit 62 and an adjacent heating element 64 that follows a path defined by the conduit 62. The heating unit 60 is generally V-shaped (with a large bend angle at the apex) and is generally vertically oriented such that the conduit 62 and heating element 64 are progressively higher in height from a lower end 66 (where the hose 58 is attached to the conduit 62) and an upper end 68.

The conduit 62 is typically formed of a metallic material, such as aluminum. The heating element 64 may be formed from any number of materials, including nichrome. Although shown as a single heating unit 60, in some embodiments, the conduit 62 and the heating element 64 may be present as separate and distinct components.

The hose 80 is connected to the conduit 62 at the upper end 68 of the heating unit 60. The hose 80 leads to a generally horizontal accumulator 82 having an internal cavity that serves as a reservoir for the heated water. A hose 84 leads from the accumulator 82 to a second high pressure hot water pump 86. In addition, a vent line 88 leads from the accumulator 82 to the interior space within the multi-service station 12. A line 90 (see FIG. B) runs from the hot water pump 86 to a servlet brew basket 100 (described in detail below).

Referring to fig. 5 and 6, two negative temperature coefficient thermistors (NTC)70, 71 are mounted adjacent the upper end 68 of the heating unit 60. More specifically, the NTC 71 is positioned outside the heating unit 60, and measures the temperature of the heating element 64. The NTC70 is located within the conduit 62 or hose 80 and is positioned to detect the temperature of the water as it exits the heating unit 60 and travels into the hose 80. The NTCs 70, 71 may be of conventional construction and need not be described in detail herein; an exemplary NTC is Model No. KPD-EX224-LJ19026, available from Shenzhen Kepenga Elecronics, Ltd. The NTCs 70, 71 are electrically connected to a controller 200, which in turn is connected to the chilled water pump 54. The signal from the NTC70 is used to adjust the speed of the cold water pump 54 via the controller 200.

Referring now to FIG. 8, the brew basket 100 of the servlet station 14 is shown. Brew basket 100 depends from a base 136 and is mounted below pivot rod 134. The stem 134 has an outer cover 138 and an inner cover 140 that form a hollow cavity. The fitting 142 is mounted in the inner lid 140; the fitting 142 is in fluid communication with the line 90 at one end and with a hollow needle 144 at an opposite end that extends into and serves as an inlet for the brew basket 100. The outlet 146 extends from a bottom surface of the brew basket 100. The receptor platform 148 is positioned below the outlet 146 of the brew basket 130 (see fig. 4).

Notably, the brew basket 100 may be configured as a "dual brew," meaning that it may receive loose grinds of coffee (either in a filter pack or in a filter) or coffee pods. If a coffee pod is to be used, a pod insert or adapter is typically positioned within the brew basket 100, with the pod placed in the brew basket. The insert or adapter typically includes structure, such as a hollow needle at its base that can pierce or puncture the capsule at or near its lower end to provide its outlet. If loose grounds are to be brewed, another adapter configured to brew loose grounds or a package containing the loose grounds may be positioned in brew basket 100. Such adapters typically include a porous "strainer" portion that allows water to drain therefrom while retaining coffee in the brew basket 100. In either case, the adapter and the inner lid 140 form a brewing chamber. An exemplary dual brewing arrangement of this type is discussed in U.S. patent publication No.2014/0208952 to Starr et al, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein in its entirety.

In operation, a user fills the water reservoir 40 with water. When the lever 134 is pivoted to the raised position, the user inserts loose grounds (typically within a filter or packet, and in many cases with an additional adapter, such as one of the adapters described above) or a pod (typically with another of the adapters described above) into the brew basket 132. Lever 134 is then pivoted to the lowered position; if a sachet is used, the lowering of the rod 134 causes the needle 144 to pierce the upper surface of the sachet and the aforementioned blade on the adapter pierces the lower front edge of the sachet. The user also places a cup or other receptacle on the receptacle platform 148.

The user then presses one of the buttons on the control panel 202 to begin brewing. Pressing the button signals the controller 200 to activate the heating element 64 of the heating unit 60. Depression of the button also activates the cold water pump 54, although activation of the cold water pump 54 may lag operation of the heating unit 60 by a short period of time (which will be discussed in more detail below). Water is drawn from the water reservoir 40 through the fitting 48 and hose 52 into the cold water pump 54 and flow meter 56. The water exits the flow meter 56 at a desired flow rate and flows through the hose 58 into the conduit 62 of the heating unit 60.

As the water travels through the conduit 62, it is heated by the heating element 64. The water is heated to a desired temperature (e.g., 190-. The heated water exits the conduit 62 and enters the lower end of the hose 80. When the water passes through the NTC70, the NTC70 detects the temperature of the water and sends a signal to the controller 200. Based on the temperature detected by the NTC70, the controller 200 may increase or decrease the speed of the cold water pump 54 in order to ensure that the water exiting the heating unit 60 is at the desired temperature.

Notably, the configuration and orientation of the heating unit 60 may improve the accuracy of the temperature measurements taken by the NTC70, which NTC70 measures the temperature of the water exiting the heating unit 60. More specifically, when water traveling through the conduit 62 of the heating unit 60 is heated by the heating element 64, some of the water has a tendency to convert into steam, particularly if bubbles are present in the water. If this conversion to steam occurs and the fluid passing through the NTC70 is a mixture of water and steam, the signal sent by the NTC70 to the controller 200 may be inaccurate. In other words, when the NTC70 is submerged by water, the measurement value of the NTC70 is most accurate, and when steam is present together with water, the measurement value of the NTC70 is less accurate. In fact, the presence of steam may cause the NTC70 to provide a signal to the controller 200 indicating that the temperature is below the actual temperature and therefore signal the cold water pump 54 to reduce its speed. The lower pump speed results in the water remaining in the heating unit 60 for a longer time, which in turn results in the water being heated more uniformly. Therefore, it may be advantageous to prevent the conversion of water into steam in the heating unit.

Because the conduit 62 of the heating unit 60 is oriented such that it is monotonic (i.e., it increases in height as it travels from its lower end, with no decrease in height during this travel), the tendency of water therein to bubble and thus become vapor is reduced (if not eliminated altogether). Thus, the temperature measurements taken by the NTC70 may be more accurate, which results in better feedback to the cold water pump 54 (and thus more efficient operation).

Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the heater unit 60 may take other forms in which the water path increases substantially continuously in height. For example, the conduit may take the form of a coil or helix, a serpentine, a straight line, or other shape.

Furthermore, it is noted that the NTC70 is located directly adjacent to the outlet of the heater unit 60. Such positioning may provide particularly accurate information about the temperature of the water as it leaves the heater unit 60. In some embodiments, the NTC70 may be positioned between about 0 to 1 inch from the end of the heater unit 60, and in particular may be positioned between about 0 to 0.5 inch from the end of the heater unit 60.

Water exiting the heater unit 60 flows in a hose 80 to an accumulator 82. From there, the water is drawn by the hot water pump 86 and through the pump 86 and then into the line 90 through which the water travels to the brew basket 100. The water flows through the line 90 into the needle 144 and through the needle 144 into the brew basket 132. Brewed coffee drains from the brew basket 100 through the outlet 146 into a cup or other receptacle on the receptacle platform 148.

In some embodiments, the hot water pump 86 may continue to operate after the water has stopped flowing. This action may help dry grounds still present in the brew basket 100 (either in the pod or as loose grounds), which may help prevent dripping from the outlet 146 after brewing.

The vent line 88 from the accumulator 82 may prevent over-pressurization of the system (e.g., if the needle 144 becomes clogged with coffee grounds). The vent line 88 can also prevent any back pressure from drawing the coffee grounds back through the needle 146 and into the system, which could occur if the user interrupts the brewing cycle by opening the brewing chamber before closing the unit.

Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the coffee maker 10 may take other forms. For example, the servlet 14 may take different forms; for example, rather than being configured to receive and process a sachet or loose grounds, it may be configured to receive and process only one or the other. Furthermore, the servlet station 14 may have different mechanisms for holding and/or piercing the pods. Other variations are also suitable for use herein.

Fig. 11 and 12 show the timing characteristics of the brewing cycle. More specifically, activation of the coffee maker 10 turns on the heater element 64. Typically, residual water from the previous brew remains in the conduit 62 and is heated during this period. After a short duration of time (e.g., 15 seconds) to allow the heating element 64 to warm up, the cold water pump 54 is activated and delivers water from the reservoir 40 through the heating unit 60 where it is heated and into the accumulator 82. The NTC70 provides feedback (via the controller 200) to the cold water pump 54 regarding the temperature of the water, adjusting its speed to produce water at the desired temperature.

After another short duration (e.g., 0-5 seconds), the hot water pump 86 is also activated and begins to deliver heated water from the accumulator 82 to the hot water pump 86 itself and then to the brew basket 100. The

pumps

54, 86 continue to operate for a longer duration (e.g., 30-80 seconds) with the speed of the cold pump 54 controlled by feedback from the NTC 70. As water flows through the pump 54, a flow meter 56 monitors the flow therethrough.

When the flow meter 56 measures that a certain predetermined volume has been delivered, the flow meter 56 sends a signal to the controller 200 to deactivate the heating unit 60. During a short duration (e.g., 10-15 seconds), the

pumps

54, 86 continue to operate. During this period, the temperature of the water passing through the heating unit 60 is slightly reduced (this can be seen in the water temperature diagrams in fig. 11 and 12, typically the reduction in temperature is between about 2 to 25 degrees celsius). When the flow meter 56 detects that the target volume of water for the selected service specification has passed the flow meter 56, the cold water pump 54 is deactivated. However, the hot water pump 86 continues to operate and even after all of the water required for brewing has passed through the hot water pump 86, in order to dry the wet grounds in the brew basket 100. When the available water is exhausted, the pumping of the water may cause some of the water to heat up and convert to steam. Pumping pressurized steam from the hot water pump 86 may be undesirable for a variety of reasons. Thus, by deactivating the heating unit 60 to reduce the temperature of the water before deactivating the cold water pump 54, the tendency of the water from the hot water pump 86 to be pumped to the brew basket 100 for conversion to steam is reduced or eliminated.

Referring now to fig. 13, the operation for producing an "apparent" brew is illustrated. For "overt" brewing, rather than operating at approximately the same speed, the hot water pump 86 operates in a "pulsed" mode in which the pressure is repeatedly increased and then decreased (this is shown in fig. 13, where the "hot water pump" line indicates repeated increases and decreases in pressure of the hot water pump 86). This pulsing pattern may have the effect of releasing more flavor from the coffee grounds, thereby producing a beverage having a "more pronounced" flavor. Nevertheless, for "overt" brewing, the sequence of activation and deactivation remains the same as described above: when the cold water pump 54 and the hot water pump 86 continue to operate, the heating unit 60 is deactivated (this is shown by the double-arrowed line in fig. 13), and when the hot water pump 86 continues to operate, the cold water pump 54 is deactivated.

Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the coffee maker 10 may take other forms. For example, a coffee maker may have only the components of a small service station 14, and no large service station at all. In addition, the servlet station 14 may be configured to brew a serving that is higher or lower than the volume shown.

Furthermore, the coffee maker 10 may include different ways of venting air from the hot water pump 86. For example, a pressure relief valve may be used. Furthermore, in some embodiments, the coffee maker 10 may rely solely on the cold water pump 54 to deliver water to the brew basket 100, and be completely free of the accumulator 82 and the hot water pump 86.

As a further alternative, the coffee maker 10 may employ a temperature sensor other than the

NTCs

70, 71 described above. Furthermore, in some embodiments, the NTC 71 (which detects the temperature of the heating unit) may be omitted.

Furthermore, the coffee maker 10 may employ different means for activating and deactivating components during a brew cycle. For example, deactivation of the heating unit 60 may be adjusted based on a predetermined time or based on the fluid level in the reservoir rather than based on flow meter readings. Similarly, deactivation of the cold water pump 54 and/or the hot water pump 86 may be regulated by time or temperature level detected by the NTC70, and/or deactivation of the cold water pump 54 may be regulated by flow meter readings. Other possibilities will be clear to the person skilled in the art.

As a further alternative, a coffee maker 10' is shown in fig. 9 and 10. The coffee maker 10 'is similar to the coffee maker 10, except that the hose 80' exiting the heating unit 60 travels to a hose 81, the hose 81 itself traveling to an accumulator 82. The hose 80' and the hose 81 form a conduit 83 which follows a path that rises from the heating unit 60 to a height approximately equal to or exceeding the fill line F of the water reservoir 40 (see fig. 9 and 10) and then descends to enter the accumulator 82 from above.

The inclusion of the conduit 83 may provide an operation assurance feature for the coffee maker 10'. In the configuration of the coffee maker 10, if there is a leak in the cold water pump 54 when the coffee maker 10 is not in use, water may leak through the cold water pump 54, through the heating unit 60, through the hose 80, and into the accumulator 82. This action will drive the head generated by the water in the water reservoir 40 under the influence of gravity; the leaking cold water pump 54 will allow cold water to travel into the accumulator until the water level reaches the level in the water reservoir 40. Thus, when the coffee maker 10 is turned on again, the accumulator 82 will fill with cold water that will be used to brew the next coffee. Thus, as an example, if a user fills the water reservoir 40 with water and lets the water reservoir 40 be filled without operating the coffee maker for a long period of time (e.g., overnight), the first coffee that is prepared when the coffee maker is next operated will contain a large amount of cold water. The configuration of the coffee maker 10' solves this potential problem. If the cold water pump 54 leaks, the water will only travel through the conduit 83 to a level equal to the level of the water level in the water reservoir 40, since at that level the head of water in the water reservoir 40 and the conduit 83 will be the same. Thus, even if the water reservoir is filled to fill line F, cold water does not reach the accumulator 82 because the highest level of the conduit 83 is above the fill line F. When the coffee maker is used next, only a small amount of water in the heating unit 60 and in the "rising" part of the conduit 83 will be cold and this amount will be insignificant compared to the total amount of water in a serving. Thus, conduit 83 functions as a check valve for the system.

As noted above, this configuration may also help prevent any water from being converted to steam.

Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the effect of the conduit 83 may take other forms. As one example, the hose 80' and the hose 81 may be combined into a single hose that serves as the conduit 83. As another example, the hose 52 from the fitting 48 to the cold water pump 54 may travel to have a maximum height approximately equal to or exceeding the fill line of the water reservoir 40; this configuration will achieve the same effect of preventing cold water leaking through the cold water pump 54 from reaching the accumulator 82 (in this case, cold water does not reach the cold water pump 54 at all). Other configurations are also contemplated.

Finally, it will be appreciated that although the device is designated as a coffee maker 10, 10', the device may also be used to brew other beverages, such as tea.

The foregoing is illustrative of the present invention and is not to be construed as limiting thereof. Although exemplary embodiments of this invention have been described, those skilled in the art will readily appreciate that many modifications are possible in the exemplary embodiments without materially departing from the novel teachings and advantages of this invention. Accordingly, all such modifications are intended to be included within the scope of this invention as defined in the claims. The invention is defined by the following claims, with equivalents of the claims to be included therein.

Claims

1. A beverage making machine comprising:

a housing;

a fluid reservoir mounted to the housing;

a first pump fluidly coupled with the water reservoir;

a heating unit comprising a conduit having an upper end and a lower end, the lower end of the conduit fluidly connected to the first pump, the conduit constructed and arranged to monotonically rise from the lower end to the upper end; and

a brewing station having a brewing basket with an inlet and an outlet, the inlet fluidly connected with the upper end of the conduit, and a receptacle platform positioned to receive fluid from the outlet.

2. The beverage making machine of claim 1, further comprising a flow meter fluidly connected with the first pump and heating unit.

3. The beverage making machine of claim 1, further comprising a temperature sensor adjacent an upper end of the conduit, the temperature sensor operatively connected to the first pump via a controller, the temperature sensor providing a temperature signal to the controller, and the controller controlling operation of the first pump based on the temperature signal.

4. A beverage making machine according to claim 3, wherein said temperature sensor is a Negative Temperature Coefficient (NTC) sensor.

5. The beverage making machine according to claim 3, further comprising an accumulator fluidly connected to the heating unit conduit and a second pump fluidly connected between the accumulator and the brew basket, the second pump operatively connected to the controller.

6. The beverage making machine of claim 5, wherein the second pump is configured to operate at a higher volumetric flow rate than the first pump.

7. A beverage making machine according to claim 6, wherein said heating unit duct is substantially V-shaped.

8. The beverage making machine according to claim 1, wherein the brew basket is configured to receive a pod.

9. The beverage making machine of claim 1, wherein the brew chamber is a first brew chamber, and wherein a second brew chamber with a second inlet and a second outlet is mounted to the housing.

10. A beverage making machine comprising:

a housing;

a fluid reservoir mounted to the housing;

a first pump fluidly coupled with the water reservoir;

a heating unit comprising a conduit having an upper end and a lower end, the lower end of the conduit fluidly connected with the first pump;

a negative temperature coefficient temperature (NTC) sensor mounted directly adjacent an upper end of the heating unit conduit;

a brewing station having a brewing basket with an inlet and an outlet, the inlet fluidly connected with the upper end of the conduit, and the brewing station further having a receptacle platform positioned to receive fluid from the outlet; and

a controller operatively connected with the heating unit, the first pump, and the NTC such that temperature data detected by the NTC is transmitted to the controller and the operating speed of the pump is adjusted by the controller based on data from the NTC.

11. The beverage making machine of claim 10, further comprising a flow meter fluidly connected with the first pump and heating unit.

12. The beverage making machine according to claim 11, further comprising an accumulator fluidly connected to the heating unit conduit and a second pump fluidly connected between the accumulator and a brew basket, the second pump operatively connected to the controller.

13. The beverage making machine of claim 12, wherein the second pump is configured to operate at a higher volumetric flow rate than the first pump.

14. A beverage making machine according to claim 13, wherein said heating unit duct is substantially V-shaped.

15. The beverage making machine according to claim 10, wherein the brew basket is configured to receive a pod.

16. The beverage making machine of claim 10, wherein the brewing chamber is a first brewing station, and wherein a second brewing station with a second inlet and a second outlet is mounted to the housing.

17. A beverage making machine comprising:

a housing;

a fluid reservoir mounted to the housing;

a first pump fluidly coupled with the water reservoir;

a heating unit comprising a conduit having an upper end and a lower end, the lower end of the conduit fluidly connected to the first pump, the conduit constructed and arranged to monotonically rise from the lower end to the upper end;

an accumulator in fluid connection with the heating unit conduit;

a second pump fluidly connected to the accumulator;

a controller operatively connected with the heating unit, the first pump, and the second pump.

18. A beverage making machine according to claim 17, wherein a fluid flow path between said water reservoir and an accumulator reaches a height above said accumulator.

19. A beverage making machine according to claim 18, wherein said fluid flow path reaches a height approximately equal to or above a fill line on said fluid reservoir.

20. A method of drip filtering a brewed beverage, the method comprising the steps of:

(a) providing a beverage making machine comprising: a housing; a fluid reservoir mounted to the housing; a first pump fluidly coupled with the water reservoir; a heating unit comprising a conduit fluidly connected to the first pump; a second pump fluidly connected to the conduit of the heating unit; a brew chamber having an inlet fluidly connected to the second pump, an outlet, and a receptacle platform positioned to receive fluid from the outlet;

(b) activating the heating unit;

(c) while the heating unit is heating water, pumping water from the water reservoir through the conduit of the heating unit by the first pump;

(d) pumping, by the second pump, water from the second pump to the brew basket;

(e) deactivating the heating unit while steps (c) and (d) are still being performed; and

(f) deactivating the first pump after step (e);

wherein step (d) continues after steps (e) and (f) are performed.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein the beverage making machine further comprises an accumulator fluidly connected between the heating unit conduit and the second pump.

22. The method of claim 20, wherein step (b) is performed before step (c).

23. The method of claim 20, wherein step (c) is performed before step (d).

24. The method of claim 20, wherein the beverage making machine further comprises a controller operatively connected with the heating unit, the first pump, and the second pump, and wherein the controller controls the performance of steps (b) - (f).

25. The method of claim 20, wherein the beverage making machine further comprises a flow meter fluidly connected between the water reservoir and the heating unit.

26. The method of claim 25, wherein the controller signals initiation of step (e) when the flow meter detects that a predetermined flow volume has passed from the flow meter.

27. The method of claim 20, wherein step (c) comprises pumping fluid at a lower volumetric flow rate than step (d).

28. The method of claim 20, wherein step (d) is performed sufficiently prior to step (e) that the temperature of the water flowing from the heating conduit to the second pump is reduced by about 2 to 25 ℃.

29. The method of claim 20, wherein step (c) is performed in a pulsed manner.

30. The method of claim 24, wherein the beverage making machine further comprises a temperature sensor associated with the heating unit, the temperature sensor being operatively connected with the controller, and wherein the controller controls the operating speed of the first pump in step (c) based on a signal from the temperature sensor.

31. A beverage making machine comprising:

a housing;

a fluid reservoir mounted to the housing;

a first pump fluidly coupled with the water reservoir;

a heating unit comprising a conduit fluidly connected to the first pump;

a second pump fluidly connected to the conduit of the heating unit;

a controller operatively connected with the first pump, the second pump, and the heating unit, the controller configured to:

activating the heating unit;

activating the first pump to pump water from the water reservoir through the conduit of the heating unit when the heating unit heats water;

activating the second pump to pump water from the second pump to the brew basket;

deactivating the heating unit when the first pump and the second pump are activated; and

deactivating the first pump when the second pump is activated.

32. The beverage making machine of claim 31, further comprising an accumulator fluidly connected between the heating unit conduit and the second pump.

33. The beverage making machine of claim 31, wherein the controller is configured to activate the heating unit before activating the first pump.

34. A beverage making machine according to claim 31, wherein the controller is configured to activate the first pump before activating the second pump.

35. A beverage making machine according to claim 31, further comprising a flow meter fluidly connected between said water reservoir and said heating unit.

36. A beverage making machine according to claim 35, wherein said controller signals deactivation of said heating unit when said flow meter detects that a predetermined flow volume has passed from said flow meter.

37. The beverage making machine of claim 35, wherein the first pump is configured to operate at a lower volumetric flow rate than the second pump.

38. The beverage making machine of claim 35, wherein the controller is configured to deactivate the heating unit sufficiently before deactivating the first pump such that the temperature of the water from the heating conduit to the second pump is reduced by about 2 to 25 ℃.