GB2330518A

GB2330518A - Tea or coffee pot

Info

Publication number: GB2330518A
Application number: GB9722554A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Trevor Thomas
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1997-10-24
Filing date: 1997-10-24
Publication date: 1999-04-28
Anticipated expiration: 2017-10-24
Also published as: GB2330518B; GB9722554D0

Abstract

The tea or coffee pot comprises an elongate member (1) which extends upwards from a base (13) at an oblique angle to the horizontal. A pot body (7) is supported on the elongate member on the upward side thereof and the upper part of the elongate member is hollow and is in fluid communication with the interior of the pot body so as to function as a spout (3). The body (7) is supported by two struts (15, 16) both of which provide such fluid communication, the elongate member (1) being plugged (4) beneath the lower strut (16). The base of the pot is a tripod formed by the end of the elongate member (1) and two legs (5), and located beneath the bottom point (9) to which the pot body (7) tapers.

Description

TEA OR COFFEE POT The present invention relates to a tea or coffee pot.

According to the present invention, there is provided a tea or coffee pot comprising: an elongate member which extends upwards from a base at an oblique angle to the horizontal; and a pot body which is supported on the elongate member on the upward side thereof; wherein the upper part of the elongate member is hollow and is in fluid communication with the interior of the pot body so as to function as a spout.

Thus the elongate member serves a multiple function of providing an elegant feature of the tea or coffee pot, together with supporting the pot body and providing a conduit for the fluid from inside the interior of the pot body to the mouth of the spout.

Preferably, the base is a tripod comprising the lower end of the elongate member and two other legs. Alternatively, the base could be generally conical with the elongate member projecting upwards therefrom, for example from adjacent to the apex of the cone.

Preferably, the pot body is supported on the elongate member via a first strut which extends therebetween, and the first strut is hollow so as to provide fluid communication between the interior of the pot body and the hollow upper part of the elongate member. Thus, the pot body appears to float above the elongate member.

The first strut could be web-like and thus elongate along the direction of the elongate member. More preferably, the pot body is also supported on the elongate member via a second strut which extends therebetween, and the second strut is hollow so as to provide fluid communication between the interior of the pot body and the hollow upper part of the elongate member. By providing first and second struts which are spaced apart along the elongate member, the struts can be relatively small, for example generally round tubes, whilst adequately supporting the pot body relative to the elongate member and still leaving the pot body to appear to float above the elongate member.

Preferably, the elongate member is sinuous and has a portion which is concave on its upward side, and the pot body has a complementary convex side which faces the concave portion of the elongate member.

In many embodiments, the elongate member is tubular and contains a plug dividing the tubular member to provide thereabove the upper part which is in fluid communication with the interior of the pot body and therebelow a lower part which is not in fluid communication with the interior of the pot body. This provides a convenient way of manufacturing the tea or coffee pot as it is a relatively simple matter to insert the plug into the elongate member at the desired position.

Preferably, at least the lower part of the pot body tapers in the downward direction. This has been found to provide a particularly pleasing visual appearance as the tapering of the pot body complements the sloping of the elongate member.

In many embodiments, the pot body tapers down to a point which is substantially vertically aligned above the apex of the base. By leaving a gap between the pot body point and the base apex, the impression is heightened of the pot body appearing to float in space.

A non-limiting embodiment of present invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings in which Fig. 1 is side elevation of a tea pot in accordance with the present invention; Fig. 2 is a front elevation of the tea pot of Fig. 1; and Fig. 3 is a cross-section of the tea pot of Fig. 1.

The tea pot is made out of clay and comprises a tubular elongate member 1 which extends all the way upwards from a surface 2 on which the tea pot is standing to a mouth 3 of the spout of the tea pot. As may be seen from Fig. 3, the elongate member 1 has an internal plug 4 positioned part of the way up along its length. Joined to the bottom of the elongate member 1 are two splayed-apart small legs 5, 6. These legs 5,6 together with the part of the elongate member 1 below the junction of that member to the legs form, between the three of them, a tripod-like arrangement which functions as a base of the tea pot.

The tea pot also comprises a pot body 7 having a lower part 8 which is of circular cross-section in the horizontal plane and which tapers downwardly to a point 9.

The pot body 7 also includes an upper part 10 which forms a generally convex cover to the lower part 8 and has a central opening therein containing a removable lid 11. A handle 12 is connected to the upper part 10 to enable the whole tea pot to be raised and the tea poured.

It may be seen that the pot body 7 is positioned generally directly above the base 13 formed by the tripod arrangement of the two legs 5, 6 in conjunction with the bottommost part of the elongate member 1. Specifically, the bottom point 9 of the pot body 7 is generally directly above the uppermost apex 14 of the base 13. The gap between the point 9 and the apex 14 gives the impression of the pot body 7 appearing to be suspended in space. The pot body 7 is supported in position by short struts 15 and 16 which extend generally upwardly from the elongate member 1 to the downwardly-facing side surface of the lower part 8 of the pot body 7. The struts 15, 16 are hollow so as to provide fluid communication between the interior of the pot body 7 and the hollow interior of the elongate member 1 above the plug 4. In this way, tea can flow out of interior of the pot body 7, through the struts 15, 16 and along the elongate member 1 to exit from the spout mouth 3.

Thus, the struts 15, 16 serve the dual purpose of supporting the pot body 7 from the side and also enabling the tea to be poured out of the tea pot.

The overall arrangement of components is such that the centre of gravity of the tea pot is within the footprint of the. base 13 on the surface 2. This requires a careful positioning of the components in view of the fact that the maximum diameter of the pot body 7 is greater than the maximum diameter of the footprint of the base 13 on the surface 2. Careless positioning of the components will result in the tea pot topplirig over.

Viewed from the front in Fig. 2, it may be seen that the teapot generally resembles an hourglass, in that it tapers to a waist between the base and the pot body.

Claims

1. A tea or coffee pot comprising: an elongate member which extends upwards from a base at an oblique angle to the horizontal; and a pot body which is supported on the elongate member on the upward side thereof; wherein the upper part of the elongate member is hollow and is in fluid communication with the interior of the pot body so as to function as a spout.

2. A tea or coffee pot according to claim 1, wherein the base is a tripod comprising the lower end of the elongate member and two other legs.

3. A tea or coffee pot according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the pot body is supported on the elongate member via a first strut which extends therebetween, and the first strut is hollow so as to provide fluid communication between the interior of the pot body and the hollow upper part of the elongate member.

4. A tea or coffee pot according to claim 3, wherein the pot body is also supported on the elongate member via a second strut which extends therebetween, and the second strut is hollow so as to provide fluid communication between the interior of the pot body and the hollow upper part of the elongate member.

5. A tea or coffee pot according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the elongate member is sinuous and has a portion which is concave on its upward side, and the pot body has a complementary convex side which faces the concave portion of the elongate member.

6. A tea or coffee pot according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the elongate member is tubular and contains a plug dividing the tubular member to provide thereabove the upper part which is in fluid communication with the interior of the pot body and therebelow a lower part which is not in fluid communication with the interior of the pot body.

7. A tea or coffee pot according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein at least the lower part of the pot body tapers in the downward direction.

8. A tea or coffee pot according to claim 7, wherein the pot body tapers down to a point which is substantially vertically aligned above the apex of the base.

9. A tea or coffee pot substantially as herein described with reference to, or with reference to and as illustrated in, the accompanying drawings.