WO2010007592A1

WO2010007592A1 - Moka pot-type coffee maker with an adjustable doser

Info

Publication number: WO2010007592A1
Application number: PCT/IB2009/053109
Authority: WO
Inventors: Giampiero Novara
Original assignee: Giampiero Novara
Priority date: 2008-07-18
Filing date: 2009-07-17
Publication date: 2010-01-21
Also published as: IT1390735B1; ITVI20080172A1

Abstract

A moka pot-type coffee-maker with an adjustable doser comprises a lower boiler (2) for containing brewing water, an upper container (3) coupled to the boiler (2), a doser (6) removably insertable into the boiler (2) and having a chamber (7) for collecting and dosing the substance to be brewed, the chamber (7) being joined at its lower end to a funnel conduit (8) providing a passage for the brewing water, and having a substantially cylindrical side wall (9) with an open top and a bottom wall (10) having a plurality of holes (11). The side wall (9) is axially slidable with respect to the bottom wall (10) between an upper position (A), higher than the edge (12) of the boiler (2) to allow easy filling of the chamber (7), while avoiding the risk of come out the solid substance to be brewed, and a lower depressed position (B) substantially aligned to the edge (12) of the boiler (2).

Description

MOKA POT-TYPE COFFEE MAKER WITH AN ADJUSTABLE DOSER

Field of the invention

The present invention finds application in the field of devices for preparing hot brewing beverages, and relates to a moka pot-type coffee-maker with an adjustable doser for home preparation of infusions and hot beverages such as coffee, cappuccino and the like.

Background art

Home coffee-makers, for preparing coffee, infusions and hot beverages in general, particularly those traditionally known as "moka" pots, are known to comprise a lower boiler in which brewing water is poured and an upper container for receiving the hot infusion.

These coffee-makers further comprise a funnel doser having an upper perforated basket that defines a chamber for collecting and dosing the substance to be brewed, generally in powder or grain form, and a lower funnel conduit providing a passage for water and consequent extraction of the solid substance.

The doser is designed to be removable inserted into the boiler with the upper edge of the collection chamber flush with the upper edge of the boiler, whereas the upper container is designed to be screwed onto the boiler-doser assembly.

The amount of solid substance to be introduced into the collection and dosing chamber may change as desired by the user, with a stronger taste being obtained by introducing a volume of solid substance larger than the chamber volume. In this case, with a common doser, part of the solid substance is likely to be poured out of the collection chamber, and be thus wasted.

Furthermore, common dosers have a fixed-volume collection and dosing chamber, selected according to the boiler volume, i.e. to the volume of water that can be introduced therein.

As a result, any excess of solid substance introduced into the doser would cause an excess of pressure thereon upon screwing of the container, with the risk of brewing water being prevented from moving from the boiler to the upper container.

Conversely, if a lower content of brewed substance is desired in the beverage, a smaller amount of solid substance shall be introduced into the chamber.

However, the solid substance will not be adequately and uniformly pressed under these conditions, and no optimal extraction will occur, with the resulting beverage being of poor quality.

Disclosure of the invention

The object of this invention is to overcome the above drawbacks, by providing a moka pot-type coffee-maker with an adjustable doser that achieves high efficiency and relative cost effectiveness.

A particular object is to provide a coffee-maker that allows the doser to be easily filled with the solid substance to be brewed, while preventing it from being poured out of the doser.

A further object is to provide a coffee-maker with an adjustable-volume doser to allow introduction of adjustable amounts of solid substance, to change the concentration of the brewed substance in the beverage collected in the container, as desired by the user.

These and other objects, as more clearly explained hereafter, are fulfilled by a moka pot-type coffee-maker with an adjustable doser as defined in claim 1 , comprises a lower boiler for containing brewing water, an upper container removably coupled to said boiler for receiving the brewed beverage, said container having a lower filtering wall, a doser insertable into said boiler and having a chamber for collecting the substance to be brewed, which is joined at its bottom to a funnel conduit providing a passage for the brewing water, said collection chamber having a substantially cylindrical side wall with an open top and a bottom wall having a plurality of holes.

The coffee-maker is characterized in that the substantially cylindrical side wall is capable of axially sliding relative to said bottom wall between an upper position higher than the edge of said boiler, and a lower depressed position, substantially flush with the edge of said boiler and abutting against the lower filtering wall of said container.

As used herein, the term "axially sliding" is intended to mean that the side wall slides in a direction substantially parallel to the central axis of the cylinder defined thereby.

With this particular configuration, as the solid substance is introduced into the collection chamber, with the upper container separate from the boiler, the side wall of the doser will project out of the boiler edge.

Thus, the doser will define a retaining wall for the solid substance, thereby allowing the chamber to be easily filled by the user and avoiding the risk of come out the solid substance to be brewed.

Advantageously, the coffee-maker may have means for adjusting the minimum internal volume value of the collection chamber, for controlling the amount of solid substance to be introduced therein.

Brief description of the drawings

Further characteristics and advantages of the invention will be more apparent from the detailed description of a preferred, non-exclusive embodiment of a coffee-maker of the invention, which is described as a non-limiting example with the help of the annexed drawings, in which: FIG. 1 is a broken away side view of a coffee-maker of the invention during assembly;

FIG. 2 is a broken away side view of the coffee-maker of Fig. 1 , when assembled and ready for use;

FIG. 3 is a side view of a first detail of a doser that is part of a coffee- maker of the invention;

FIG. 4 is a top view of the detail of Fig. 3;

FIG. 5 is a top view of a detail of Fig. 3 with certain elements being omitted;

FIG. 6 is an exploded front view of a second detail of the doser of Fig. 3;

FIG. 7 is a bottom view of an element of the detail of Fig. 6.

Detailed description of a preferred embodiment

Referring to the above figures, the coffee-maker of the invention, generally designated by numeral 1 , may be a moka pot-type coffee-maker or the like and may be used for preparing beverages or infusions such as coffee, cappuccino or the like.

As shown in Fig. 1 and Fig. 2, a coffee-maker of the invention comprises a lower boiler 2 for containing brewing water and an upper container 3 removably coupled to the boiler 2 and designed to receive the brewed beverage.

The container 3 has a lower filtering wall 4 and may contain, as is known in the art, a conduit 5 providing passage for the water containing the brewed substance, possibly associated with valve means, not shown, for adjusting beverage delivery pressure.

The coffee-maker 1 further has a doser 6 removably insertable into said boiler 2 and having a chamber 7 for collecting and dosing the substance to be brewed, as schematically outlined by broken lines in Fig. 2, which is joined at its lower end to a funnel conduit 8 providing a passage for the brewing water.

The collection and dosing chamber 7 is delimited by a substantially cylindrical side wall 9 having an open top and a bottom wall 10 with a plurality of holes or microholes, generally designated by numeral 11 , which are formed with the typical arrangement of coffee-maker dosers.

According to a peculiar characteristic of the present invention, the substantially cylindrical side wall 9 of the doser is capable of axially sliding with respect to the bottom wall 10 between an upper position A, higher than the edge 12 of the boiler 2, as shown in Fig. 1 , and a depressed lower position B, substantially flush with the edge 12 of the boiler 2, as shown in Fig. 2.

At the latter position, the side wall 9 is designed to abut against the lower filtering wall 4 of the container 3 mounted to the boiler 2.

Thus, when the doser 6 is inserted in the boiler 2 and the container 3 is separate therefrom, the side wall 9 of the doser 6 will partially project out of the boiler 2 to define a collection chamber 7 whose internal volume has a starting maximum value higher than the final minimum value corresponding to the condition in which the container 3 is screwed onto the boiler 2 and side wall 9 of the chamber 7 in the lower depressed position B.

Therefore, the user may easily fill the collection and dosing chamber 7 with an amount of solid substance defining a volume that can be higher than the final volume of the chamber 7, while avoiding the risk of come out the solid substance to be brewed.

According to a preferred, non limiting embodiment of the invention, elastic return means 13 may be provided, operating on the cylindrical side wall 9 of the doser 6 to force it into the upper position A.

As shown in the accompanying examples, the elastic means 13 may include a spring 14, such as a helical spring, which operates in the axial direction and has its upper end 15 associated with the side wall 9 of the doser 6 and its lower end 16 operating on the bottom 17 of the boiler 2.

Furthermore, the side wall 9 may have an abutment ring 19 at its bottom edge 18, as more clearly shown in Fig. 5, which is integral with the wall 9 and will be acted upon by the upper end 15 of the spring 14.

However, it shall be understood that the spiral spring 14 may be replaced by any other known elastic element, such as a leaf spring or the like, without limitation to the present invention.

According to an advantageous embodiment of the present invention, the coffee-maker 1 may have means 20 for adjusting the minimum internal volume value of the collection chamber 7, for controlling the amount of solid substance to be introduced therein.

As shown in Figs. 6 and 7, the adjustment means 20 may include an intermediate tubular element 21 integral with the bottom wall 10 of the doser 6 and projecting downwards therefrom at the periphery of the funnel conduit 8.

The tubular element 21 may be coupled to a base member 22 which is designed to rest on the bottom 17 of the boiler 2 and can have its height adjusted relative to the bottom 22, to change the minimum value of the collection and dosing chamber 7.

The bottom 22 may have a substantially cylindrical shape, with an open top and possibly a closed bottom, i.e. a bottom wall 23 designed to act as an abutment for the lower end 16 of the spring 14.

The intermediate tubular element 21 may have one or more substantially axial slots, one of which is only visible in Fig. 6 and designated by numeral 24, for providing a passage for brewing water towards the funnel conduit 8.

In order that the side wall 9 of the doser 6 and the intermediate tubular element 21 can axially slide relative to each other, the abutment spring 19 may have an exterior diameter Φ_e smaller than the interior diameter Φ, of the side wall 9, to define an annular passage 25 for the tubular element 21.

Here, the abutment ring 19 may be fixed to the side wall 9 by means of one or more substantially radial extensions 26, 26' freely running through respective slots 24 of the intermediate tubular member 21.

The latter may have internal threads near its lower edge 27, designed for engagement with external threads 29 formed on the side wall 30 of the base member 22 for adjustable height coupling.

The lower wall 23 of the base member 22 may have one or more holes, generally designated by numeral 31 , having any size and arrangement, to facilitate the passage of brewing water to the funnel conduit 8. Advantageously, the lower wall 23 of the base member 22 may have an axial projection 32 which extends downwards, preferably at the center, to abut against the bottom 17 of the boiler 2 and to maintain the lower wall 23 of the base member 22 raised with respect to the latter.

This will prevent the holes 31 of the lower wall 23 from being obstructed by the bottom 17 of the boiler 2.

Therefore, the brewing water may still reach the funnel conduit 8, even when the slots 24 of the intermediate tubular element 21 are obstructed by the side wall 30 of the base member 22, with the tubular element 21 fully screwed thereon.

Furthermore, one or more notches, generally designated by numeral 34, may be formed on the outer surface 33 of the intermediate tubular element 21 , at its axial slots 24, which define a graded scale adapted to provide final indications concerning the internal volume of the collection chamber 7.

The above description clearly shows that the invention fulfils the intended objects and particularly meets the requirement of providing a moka pot-type coffee-maker that affords easy filling of the solid substance to be brewed into the doser, while preventing the latter from being poured out of the doser.

With the particular configuration of the means 20 for adjusting the volume of the collection chamber 7, the user may select the amount of solid material to be introduced into the doser to obtain a beverage with a higher or lower concentration of brewed substance, while always obtaining proper and uniform pressing of the substance, without affecting the quality of the beverage being delivered.

The coffee-maker of this invention is susceptible of a number of changes and variants, within the inventive principle disclosed in the appended claims. All the details thereof may be replaced by other technically equivalent parts, and the materials may vary depending on different needs, without departure from the scope of the invention.

While the coffee-maker has been described with particular reference to the accompanying figures, the numerals referred to in the disclosure and claims are only used for the sake of a better intelligibility of the invention and shall not be intended to limit the claimed scope in any manner.

Claims

1. A moka pot-type coffee-maker with an adjustable doser, comprising: a lower boiler (2) for containing brewing water; - an upper container (3) coupled to said boiler (2) to collect the brewed beverage, said container (3) having a lower filtering wall (4), a doser (6) removably insertable into said boiler (2) and having a chamber (7) for collecting and dosing the substance to be brewed, said chamber (7) being joined at its lower end to a funnel conduit (8) providing a passage for the brewing water; said chamber (7) having a substantially cylindrical side wall (9) with a top opening and a bottom wall (10) provided with a plurality of holes (11); characterized in that said substantially cylindrical side wall (9) is axially slidable with respect to said bottom wall (10) between an upper position (A), higher than the edge (12) of said boiler (2) to allow said chamber (7) to be easily filled by the user avoiding the risk that the solid substance to be brewed is come out, and a lower position (B) substantially aligned to the edge (12) of said boiler (2) and abutting against said filtering wall (4) of said container (3).

2. Coffee-maker as claimed in claim 1 , characterized by comprising elastic return means (13) acting on said substantially cylindrical wall (9) of said doser (6) to force it toward said upper position (A).

3. Coffee-maker as claimed in claim 2, characterized in that said side wall (9) has, at its lower edge (18), an abutment ring (19) and in that said elastic return means (13) comprise a spring (14) having an upper end (15) acting on said abutment ring (19).

4. Coffee-maker as any of the preceding claims, characterized by comprising adjustment means (20) for adjusting the minimum value of the internal volume of said collecting chamber (7) to allow the setting of the amount of solid substance to be introduced into said collecting chamber (7).

5. Coffee-maker as claimed in claim 4, characterized in that said adjustment means (20) comprise an intermediate tubular member (21) fixed to said bottom wall (10) and located periferally of said funnel conduit (8), said tubular member (21) being coupled to and height adjustable with respect to a base member (22) designed to lean against the bottom (17) of said boiler (2) to adjust the minimum volume of said collecting chamber (7).

6. Coffee-maker as claimed in claim 5, characterized in that said intermediate tubular member (21) has one or more substantially axial slots (24) to allow the brewing water to flow toward said funnel conduit (8).

7. Coffee-maker as claimed in claim 6, characterized in that said ring (19) is fixed to said side wall (9) by means of one or more substantially radial extensions (26, 26') freely running through said slots (24) of said intermediate tubular member (21).

8. Coffee-maker as claimed in any of the preceding claims, characterized in that said intermediate tubular member (21) has, near to its lower edge

(27), an internal thread (28) engageable in an external thread (29) of said base member (22) to provide an height adjustable coupling therewith.

9. Coffee-maker as claimed in claim 8, characterized in that said base member (22) comprises a lower wall (23) having holes (31) and designed to provide a stop for the lower end (16) of said spring (14).

10. Coffee-maker as claimed in claim 9, characterized in that said lower wall (23) of said base member (22) has an axial projection (32) which extends downward to abut against the bottom (17) of said boiler (2) and to maintain said lower wall (23) raised with respect to this latter.