WO2017177368A1

WO2017177368A1 - An appliance for processing a beverage

Info

Publication number: WO2017177368A1
Application number: PCT/CN2016/079000
Authority: WO
Inventors: Weizhong Li; Yewu Zhong
Original assignee: Top Electric Appliances Industrial Ltd
Priority date: 2016-04-11
Filing date: 2016-04-11
Publication date: 2017-10-19

Abstract

An appliance(10) for ascending and descending a beverage processing member(70) of a container(50)， the appliance(10) comprising： a head portion(12) arranged above the container(50)， a driving unit(40) arranged at the head portion(12)， the driving unit(40) having an engagement member(42) being movable between a standby position and an operating position， wherein the engagement member(42) is adapted to releasably engage the beverage processing member(10)， such that the beverage processing member(10) is engaged with and driven by the driving unit(40) to move in an ascending and descending motion when the engagement member(42) is movable between the standby position and the operating position； and that the beverage processing member(10) is released from the engagement member(42) when the engagement member(42) is at the standby position. A container for use with such appliance(10)， and a system comprising the appliance(10) and one or more such containers(50).

Description

AN APPLIANCE FOR PROCESSING A BEVERAGE

The invention relates to an appliance for processing a beverage.

Traditional tea brewing involves introducing hot or boiling water into a container such as a cup or a tea pot carrying the tea leaves of a required amount, and subsequently allowing the infused tea to brew until a desired strength of the tea is achieved. The tea leaves can be separated from the liquid by means of a filter or a strainer to facilitate consumption of the beverage by the user.

To improve user experience and also the brewing quality of the beverage, different beverage processers such as tea makers or brewers have been developed. Particularly, tea pots or kettles equipped with an automatic tea strainer have been designed to automatically move the strainer in and out the liquid level within the pot so as to control the duration of brewing. Nevertheless, these kind of automatic tea pots are usually heavy and relatively bulky due to the presence of the automatic strainer-transporting module.

An object of the invention is to mitigate or obviate to some degree one or more problems associated with known beverage processing devices such as tea brewers, or at least to provide a useful alternative.

The above object is met by the combination of features of the main claims; the sub-claims disclose further advantageous embodiments of the invention.

One skilled in the art will derive from the following description other objects of the invention. Therefore, the foregoing statement of object is not exhaustive but serves merely to illustrate some of the many objects of the present invention.

In a first main aspect, the invention provides an appliance for ascending and descending a beverage processing member of a container. The appliance comprises a head portion arranged above the container, a driving unit arranged at the head portion, the driving unit having an engagement member being movable between a standby position and an operating position, wherein the engagement member is adapted to releasably engage the beverage processing member via magnetic attraction, such that the beverage processing member is engaged with and driven by the driving unit to move in an ascending and descending motion when the engagement member is movable between the standby position and the operating position; and that the beverage processing member is released from the engagement member when the engagement member is at the standby position.

In a second main aspect, the invention provides a beverage container. The beverage container comprises a processing member arranged within the container, the processing member comprising an engaging portion releasably engageable adjacent an opening of the container to an external driving unit via magnetic attraction, wherein the engaging portion is releasably engageable to and is adapted to be driven by the external driving unit such that the processing member is movable in an ascending and descending motion within the container.

In a third main aspect, the invention provides a beverage processing system. The system comprises the appliance according to the first aspect adapted to operate interchangeably with one or more beverage containers according to the second aspect.The summary of the invention does not necessarily disclose all the features essential for defining the invention; the invention may reside in a sub-combination of the disclosed features.

The foregoing and further features of the present invention will be apparent from the following description of preferred embodiments which are provided by way of example only in connection with the accompanying figures, of which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of an appliance for ascending and descending a beverage processing member of a container according to the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a side cross-sectional view showing a driving unit of the appliance of Fig. a standby position;

Fig. 3 is a side cross-sectional view showing the driving unit of the appliance of Fig. an operating position;

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the beverage container of Fig. 1 showing a strainer basket of the container;

Fig. 5 is a bottom, perspective view of the beverage container of Fig. 4.

Fig.6 is a side cross-sectional view of an appliance for ascending and descending a beverage processing member of a container according to a second embodiment of the present invention;

Fig.7 is a perspective view of the beverage container of Fig.6 showing a strainer basket of the container;

Fig.8 is an exploded view showing components of the strainer basket of Fig.7;

Fig.9 is a side cross-sectional view showing an appliance for ascending and descending a beverage processing member of a container according to a third embodiment of the present invention, with a driving unit at an operating position;

Fig. 10 is a side cross-sectional view showing an appliance for ascending and descending a beverage processing member of a container according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention, with a driving unit at an operating position;

Fig. 11 is a side cross-sectional view showing an appliance for ascending and descending a beverage processing member of a container according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention, with the driving unit at a standby position;

Fig. 12 is a side cross-sectional view showing the appliance of Fig. 11 with the driving unit at an operating position;

Fig. 13 is a perspective view showing the driving unit of the appliance of Fig. 11;

Fig. is a partial, perspective view of the appliance of Fig. 11 showing a first orientation of the engaging portion of the beverage processing member;

Fig. 14b is a partial, perspective view of the appliance of Fig. 11 showing a second orientation of the engaging portion of the beverage processing member;

Fig. 15 is a partial, exploded view of the appliance of Fig. 11;

Fig. 16 is a side cross-sectional view showing an appliance for ascending and descending a beverage processing member of a container according to a sixth embodiment of the present invention, with the driving unit at a standby position;

Fig. 17is a side cross-sectional view showing the appliance of Fig. 16 with the driving unit at an operating position;

Fig. 18 is a perspective view of the beverage processing member and the container of the appliance of Fig. 16;

Fig. 19 is an exploded view showing structures of the beverage processing member of the appliance of Fig. 16;

Fig. 20 is a perspective view showing an appliance for ascending and descending a beverage processing member of a container according to a sixth embodiment of the present invention; and

Fig. 21 is a block diagram showing operations of the appliance of the present invention.

The following description is of preferred embodiments by way of example only and without limitation to the combination of features necessary for carrying the invention into effect.

Reference in this specification to "one embodiment" or "an embodiment" means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the invention. The appearances of the phrase "in one embodiment" in various places in the specification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment, nor are separate or alternative embodiments mutually exclusive of other embodiments. Moreover, various features are described which may be exhibited by some embodiments and not by others. Similarly, various requirements are described which may be requirements for some embodiments but not other embodiments.

In the claims hereof, any element expressed as a means for performing a specified function is intended to encompass any way of performing that function. The invention as defined by such claims resides in the fact that the functionalities provided by the various recited means are combined and brought together in the manner which the claims call for. It is thus regarded that any means that can provide those functionalities are equivalent to those shown herein.

Referring to Fig. 1, shown is an appliance 10 for transporting a beverage processing member 70 which may comprise a sieve, a strainer, a basket, a strainer basket or the like of a container 50 in an ascending and descending motion. The appliance 10 can be configured in the form of a beverage processing station for, for example, brewing tea, with the beverage adapted to be contained in one or more separate containers 50 adapted to operate cooperatively with the station 10. The container 50 can be provided in the form of a cup, a mug, a pot, a kettle or the like, as long as it is adapted to carry a liquid therein. In this embodiment, the container 50 comprises a body 54 for carrying the liquid. The body 54 defines a top opening 51 which may at least be partially coverable by a cover portion 49 comprising a lid 52. The container 50 may further comprise a handle 56 for gripping by the user.

As shown in Figs. 1-3, the embodied tea brewing station 10 comprises an extended head portion 12 arranged above and opposing a supporting base portion 14. The head portion 12 is spaced from and is connected to the base portion 14 via an upright stand 16. The base portion 14 supports the station 10, and comprises a stage 18 for supporting or accommodating the container 50 in use so that the container 50 can be placed at an appropriate position under the head portion 12. In one embodiment, the stage 18 can be conformed to indent slightly to define a receiving basin 19 for better accommodating the bottom portion 58 of the container 50 to avoid displacement of the container 50 in use. The stage 18 may further be arranged with one or more heating members 30 for heating the beverage within the container 50 via, for example, electric heating, infrared heating, electromagnetic induction heating and/or any known heating means applicable to the present application. A temperature sensor 20 can be provided at the stage 18 or the basin 19 for detecting and controlling the temperature of the beverage content. The base portion 14 may further be provided with a control panel 22 with keys, buttons and/or a touch screen and optionally a display 24 for displaying the operation status of the appliance 10.

The appliance 10 may further be provided with a control unit 15 and/or a PCBA 17 at, for example, the base portion 12 for controlling operation of the appliance 10. A ventilating means 21 such as a fan and/or an air hole may also be provided to allow cooling of the appliance 10 in operation.

The head portion 12 comprises a driving unit 40 which can be enclosed within the housing 13 of the head portion 12 and optionally, with the driving unit 40 being partially covered by a cover 26. Specifically, the driving unit 40 includes an engagement member 42 driven by a motor 46 so that the engagement member 42 is movable between a standby position and an operating position. The standby position and the operating position are respectively shown in Fig. 2 and Fig. 3. As shown in the figures, the engagement member 42 is accommodated within the housing 13 and/or the cover 26 when in the standby position, and is at least partially extendable from the housing 13 and/or the cover 26 when in the operating position.

Specifically, the engagement member 42 is adapted to releasably engage the beverage processing member 70 via magnetic attraction such that the beverage processing member 70 can be driven to move in an ascending and descending motion when the engagement member 42 is movable between the standby position and the operating position. The beverage processing member 70 can further be released from the engagement member 42 and be secured at or near the cover portion 49 of the container 50 when the engagement member 42 is restored to the standby position.

Particularly, the engagement member 42 may comprise at least one magnetic member 44a arranged at an end of the engagement member 42 distal to the head portion 12 such that the engagement member 42 is releasably engageable with a corresponding magnetic member 44b arranged at the beverage processing member 70 via magnetic attraction. In the context of this description, the term “magnetic member” generally refers to any one or more of a magnet, a metallic material attractable to a magnet, an electromagnet and a magnetisable material, as long as the magnetic member is adapted to be attracted towards another corresponding magnetic member via magnetic interaction.

As shown in Figs. 2 and 3, the driving unit 40 comprises a motor 46 adapted to drive movement of the engagement member 42 via the action of one or more screw members 48 which may comprise a screw shaft. Specifically, when the driving unit 40 is actuated, the engagement member 42 will be driven downwardly along the screw member 48, allowing the magnetic member 44a to engage and attract to the corresponding magnetic member 44b arranged at the top of the beverage processing member 70. The continual downward movement of the engagement member 42 subsequently pushes the beverage processing member 70 to descend downward into the cavity of the container 50 until a required distance is reached. Particularly, when the engagement member 42 is at the standby position as shown in Fig. 2, the beverage processing member 70 is retained at the cover portion 49 of the container 50 so that the content such as tea leaves within the processing member 70 is preferably kept above the liquid level within the container 50; whereas when the engagement member 42 is adapted to descend downwardly to the operating position as shown in Fig. 3, the beverage processing member 70 disengagesthe upper part of the container 50 such that the tea leaves within the processing member 70 will be immersed into the liquid for infusing or brewing. In one embodiment, the engagement member 42 can optionally be provided with a control means in the form of a stopping block 41 for actuating a switch 43 of the driving unit 40 when the engagement member 42 has downwardly extended for a required distance. Actuation of the switch 43 will stop the driving action of the driving unit 40 from descending the beverage processing member 70 further down into the container 50. This allows an optimal brewing position to be automatically determined and controlled within the container, and at the same time, prevents the beverage processing member 70 from hitting the bottom of the container 50 if the beverage processing member 70 is otherwise allowed to descend continuously into the container 50 by accident.

Preferably, the beverage processing member 70 comprises an engaging portion 72 connectable with a processing unit such as a strain basket 75 via a connection member 76. In one embodiment, the engaging portion 72 is releasably engageable with the processing unit via, for example, magnetic attraction. The engaging portion 72 can be arranged to cover opening of the strain basket 75 and at the same time, carried or embedded with the magnetic member 44b at its upper portion so that the beverage processing member 70 can be easily attracted to the corresponding magnetic member 44a at the engagement member 42. Preferably, the upper portion of the engaging portion 72 may comprise a substantially flat surface which facilitates a smooth contact between the engaging portion 72 and the engagement member 42. The flat surface would also allow an easy cleaning of the connecting junction between the appliance 10 and the beverage processing member 70.

More preferably, the engaging portion 72 may further be arranged to releasably engage a locating stage 74 of the cover portion 49 such as at or adjacent a lid 52 via magnetic attraction between one or more pairs of magnetic members 78a, 78b. The locating stage 74 prevents or restricts any upward movement of the beverage processing member 70 out of the container 50. The lid 52 may optionally include a collar 53 with a sealing ring 55 surrounding the collar 53 for engaging and substantially sealing the opening 51 in a water-proof manner. Specifically, when the engagement member 42 is at the standby position, the magnetic member 78b of the engaging portion 72 is allowed to connect with the magnetic member 78a of the locating stage 74 so as to secure the beverage processing member 70 at the container 50; whereas when the engagement member 42 is at the operating position and magnetically engaged with the beverage processing member 70, the downward movement of the engagement member 42 may overcome the magnetic attraction between the magnetic members 78a and 78b, thus disengaging the engaging portion 72 from the locating stage 74 to allow the beverage processing member 70 to descend downwardly into the container 50 for brewing.

When the brewing is finished, the engagement member 42 is driven by the motor 46 to raise the beverage processing member 70 preferably above the liquid level within the container 50. Magnetic attraction between the magnetic members 78b and 78a of the engaging portion 72 and the locating stage 74 will then secure the beverage processing member 70 at the cover portion 49, but further upward movement of the beverage processing member 70 out of the container 50 will be restricted by the locating stage 74. The continual upward driving action by the motor 46 will then overcome the magnetic attraction force between the magnetic members 44a and 44b, and thus release the engagement member 42 from the beverage processing member 70. The engagement member 42 will then be restored to its standby position.

Features of the container 50 are further illustrated in Figs. 4 and 5, with Fig. 5 showing a bottom view of the container 50 having a bottom coating 59 to facilitate induction heating by an induction heating member 30 at the base portion 14 of the appliance 10. In this embodiment, the bottom coating 59 is arranged to cover a metal plate 57 positioned at the inner bottom surface of the container 50 for heating the liquid content via electromagnetic induction heating. In another embodiment, the heating member 30 can be provided in the form of an infrared heater arranged at the stage 18.

Fig. 6 show a further embodiment of the appliance 10 in which the heating is provided by electric heating. Particularly, a power connector 31 is provided at the stage 18. The power connector 31 is adapted to connect with and supply electric power to an electric heating member 30 of a kettle 50 when the kettle 50 is positioned on the stage 18. A key 23 can be provided at the appliance 10 such as the head portion 12 for actuating operation of the appliance 10.

Similar to the arrangement as discussed in the previous embodiments, the engagement member 42 of this embodiment is adapted to be movable between a standby position and an operating position, with the operating position as shown in Fig. 6. Particularly, the engagement member 42 is movable in a spiral, rotating motion by one or more screw members 48 driven by the motor 46 via, for example, a gear box 47. The engagement member 42 comprises at least one magnetic member 44a arranged at an end of the engagement member 42 distal to the head portion 12 such that the engagement member 42 is releasably engageable with a corresponding magnetic member 44b at the beverage processing member 70 via magnetic attraction.

As more clearly shown in Figs. 6to8, the engaging portion of the beverage processing member 70 in this specific embodiment comprises a strainer basket cover 90 and a basket support 92. The basket support 92 is connectable with the strainer basket 75 and the basket cover 90 is adapted to cover the opening of the strainer basket 75. Specifically, the basket cover 90 carries or is embedded with the magnetic member 44b such that the beverage processing member 70 can be attracted to the corresponding magnetic member 44a of the engagement member 42 of the appliance 10 when the engagement member 42 is at the operating position.

When the engagement member 42 of the appliance 10 is at the standby position and/or when brewing of the beverage at the container 50 is not required, the beverage processing member 70 is secured at the cover portion 49 of the container 50 such that content of the strainer basket 75 will stay out of the liquid level of the container 50. In this embodiment, the basket support 92 is adapted to releasably engage with a ring-shaped lid 52 of the cover portion 49 via magnetic attraction between the one or more pairs of magnetic members 78b and 78a. The magnetic attraction prevents or restricts any upward movement of the beverage processing member 70 out of the container 50.

The basket cover 90 is configured to be engageable at the hollow centre of the ring-shaped lid 52 via a circumferential lip member 73 at an outer edge of the basket cover 90. The basket cover 90 and the ring-shaped lid 52 cooperatively cover substantially the opening 51 of the container 50. The lid 52 may optionally include a collar 53 and a sealing ring 55 surrounding the collar 53 for engaging and substantially sealing the opening 51 in a water-proof manner.

Preferably, the lid 52 can be provided with one or more guide pins 80 for guiding movement of the strainer basket 75 within the container 50 and for controlling the descending distance of the strainer basket 75 into the container 50. In one embodiment, the guide pins 80 are slidably receivable by one or more apertures 81 at the basket support 92 which allows the strainer basket 75 to descend along the guide pins until further downward movement is prevented by the stopping members 82 at the end of the guide pins 80.

Referring to Fig. 9, shown is an alternative arrangement of the driving unit 40 of the appliance as embodied in the present invention. While the features of the container 50 are generally similar to those as discussed in the earlier embodiments of, for example, Figs. 2 and 3, movement of the engagement member of this embodiment is driven by air pressure instead of mechanical movement provided by, for example, the motor and the screw members. Particularly, the driving unit 40 may comprise an air compressor 84 adapted to generate a pressurised air stream from the atmospheric air received via an inlet 86 of the housing 13. The driving unit 40 may further comprise a valve member 98 for controlling the pressurised air flow or direction of the pressurised air flow at the appliance 10.

Specifically, when the appliance 10 is actuated to move the engagement member from a standby position to an operating position (with the operating position as shown in Fig. 9), the pressurised air stream will be fed into a cylinder 88 in which the engagement member, which is configured in the form of a piston 89, is located. The pressurised air will drive the piston 89 to slide downwardly along the cylinder 88 so that a magnetic member 44a, which is arranged at an end of the piston 89 distal to the head portion 12, is magnetically attracted to a corresponding magnetic member 44b arranged at the upper portion of the engaging portion 72 of the beverage processing member 70. Further downward movement of the piston 98 will then move the beverage processing member 70 to descend into the container 50 for brewing the beverage.

When the brewing is finished, the pressurised air will be released from the cylinder 88 via an outlet 96. In the absence of the driving air pressure in the cylinder 88, the piston 89 will then move upwardly to restore it to its standby position, and at the same time, the beverage processing member 70 will be raised to and connected at the cover portion 49 of the container 50.

More specifically, movement of the piston 89 along the cylinder 88 between the standby position and the operating position is assisted by the action of the air compressor 84 and the valve member 98. In one embodiment, the valve member 98 can be provided in the form of a reversing valve which is arrangeable to reverse direction of the air flow along the valve. For example, the valve member 98 may allow the pressurised air to flow in one direction to enter the cylinder 88 via the air inlet 94 to thereby pushing the piston 89 to move from the standby position to the operating position by air pressure. When the brewing is finished, the valve member 98 may reverse the direction of the air flow so that the air within the cylinder 88 is allowed to be drawn out of the cylinder 88 via the air outlet 96 under the action of the air compressor 84. The piston 89 will then be restored to the standby position.

Any further upward movement of the beverage processing member 70 out of the container 50 will be restricted by the magnetic attraction between the pair of magnetic members 78a, 78b and also the locating stage 74 which will also serve as a physical barrier to prevent further upward movement of the beverage processing member 70.

Fig. 10 shows another alternative arrangement of the driving unit of the appliance 10 of the present invention. In this embodiment, the engagement member comprises a belt member 102 arranged at or accommodated in the head portion 12 and/or the housing 13. Specifically, the belt member 102 is adapted to be driven by one or more motor driven wheel members 104 so that the belt member 102 is extendable away from and retractable into the head portion 12 and/or the housing 13 to thereby move between a standby position and an operating position (as shown in Fig. 10). Optionally, one or more guide blocks 106 can further be provided to guide or to assist movement of the belt member 102.

Specifically, one or more magnetic members 44a can be provided at one end of the belt member 102 distal to the head portion 12 to releasably engage one or more corresponding magnetic members 44b at the beverage processing member 70. The beverage processing member 70 can then be movable in an ascending and descending motion within the container 50 along with the movement of the belt member 102.

Preferably, the belt member 102 is formed of one or more stiff, inextendable and non-slip materials. For example, the belt member 102 may comprise a metal inner belt covered by a silicone outer layer, which provides the required strength to the belt member 102 and, at the same time, allows sufficient grip on the surface of the belt member 102 by the wheels 104.

Figs. 11-15 show another alternative arrangement of the driving unit 40 of the appliance 10 of the present invention. In this embodiment, the engagement member 42 comprises an extendable arm member 69 received in an extendable sleeve member such as a telescopic sleeve member 60. Specifically, the extendable arm member 69 comprises a plurality of connecting rods 61 movably connected via a plurality of linking members 62 such as, but not limited to, linking pins to form an interconnected rings structure such as a concertina extending structure. The rods 61 at the upper end of the arm member 69 are arranged to connect with two horizontal bars 63, 66, respectively, with the bars 63, 66 being positioned at the upper portion of the apparatus 10 adjacent the support 68. In use, the motor 46 is adapted to rotate the screw rod 64 which will in turn drive the bar 66 into horizontal movement. The horizontal movement of the bar 66, when cooperates with the bar 33, enables the arm member 69 to movably extend and retract between a standby position (as shown in Fig. 11) and an operating position (as shown in Fig. 12). Specifically, the ring structure expands when the arm member 69 extends, and collapses when the arm member 69 retracts.

Preferably, the telescopic sleeve member 60 comprises a plurality of sleeve units, for example, four sleeve units 60a, 60b, 60c, 60d adapted to slidably receive over one another. Specifically, the lower end of the arm member 69 is arranged to movably associate with the lowermost sleeve unit 60a, such that retraction of the arm member 69 from the operating position to the standby position simultaneously draws the telescopic sleeve member 60 to retract from the operating position to the standby position. More preferably, the sleeve units 60a, 60b, 60c, 60d of the sleeve member 60 are configured with consistent polygonal cross-sections of increasing size to thereby restrict or prevent any rotational movement of the sleeve units with respect to one another about their common central axis.

In this specific embodiment, the engaging portion 72 of the beverage processing member 70 comprises a movable member 91positioned at the upper surface of the engaging portion 72 adjacent the magnetic member 78b, and preferably, located at a plane slightly above the upper surface of the engaging portion 72. The movable member 91 is arranged to be in a slidable contact with an inclined surface of at least one inclined block 93 positioned below the movable member 91. The inclined block 93 further comprises a pin 71 directing outwardly to the peripheral edge of the beverage processing member 70. In use, the inclined block 93 is radially movable towards the peripheral edge from the central axis of the engaging portion 72 under the action of a resilient spring member 79a due to its sliding association with the movable member 91. Particularly, the pin 71 is adapted to resiliently engage a corresponding receiving slot 77 at an inner edge of the lid 52 of the container 50 when the engaging portion 72 is in one orientation to thereby secure the engaging portion 72 at the lid 52.

Specifically, the movable member 91 is movable in an up-and-down and also angular motion upon an external manipulation such as, by the action of the engaging member 42 of the driving unit 40. For example, when brewing is desired, the sleeve member 60 and the extendable arm member 69 will extend downwardly from the standby position such that the sleeve unit 60a is allowed to engage the upper surface of the engaging portion 72. Once the sleeve unit 60a engages the movable member 91 at the upper surface of the engaging portion 72, the magnetic members 44a (located at the distal end of the extendable arm member 69) and 44b (located underneath the movable member 91 at the engaging portion 72) attach via magnetic interaction, and further downward extension of the extendable arm member 69/the sleeve member 60 forces the movable member 91 to press upon the inclined block 93. The slidable cooperation between the movable member 91 and the inclined block 93 renders the inclined block 93 in moving away from the peripheral edge of the beverage processing member 70, such that the pin 71 is made to retract from protruding out from the peripheral edge of the engaging portion 72. Consequently, the pin 71 disengages the receiving slot 77 at the lid 52 to unlock the engaging portion 72 from the lid 52 of the container 50. Further extension of the engaging member 42 will then be allowed to descend the beverage processing member 70 into the container 50 for brewing.

Optionally, the lid 52 may further comprise a baffle member 78 to prevent the pin 71 from engaging the lid 52 when the engaging portion 72 is at an “unlock” orientation relative to the container 50.

It is important to note that, when the magnetic members 44a and 44b are aligned and attracted to each other via magnetic force, magnetic members 78a (located at the lid 52) and 78b (located at the engaging portion 72 adjacent the movable member 91) are positioned to misalign so as to allow the beverage processing member 70 to unlock from the lid 52 and to descend into the container 50.

When the brewing is finished, the sleeve member 60 and the extendable arm member 69 are retracted upward such that the liquid processing member 70 and thus, the engaging portion 72 approaches the lid 52. When the engaging portion 72 is adjacent the lid 52, the misaligned magnetic pairs 78a, 78b are getting sufficiently close to subject to the increasing magnetic strength therebetween. At the same time, the movable member 91 is allowed to restore to its original, uncompressed position due to the absence of the downward pushing force from the engaging member 42. This increases the distance between the magnetic members pair 44a, 44b and thus weakens the attraction. Eventually, the increasing magnetic attraction between the magnetic pairs 78a, 78b will overcome the attraction between the magnetic pairs 44a, 44b, allowing the engaging portion 72 to rotate and to align the magnetic pairs 78a, 78b.

With the movable member 91 being restored to the uncompressed position, the pin 71 protrudes under the resilient action of the spring member 79a to engage the receiving slot 77 to thereby lock the engaging portion 72 at the lid 52. The sleeve unit 60a thus separates from the engaging portion 72 and continues to retract towards the standby position.

In one embodiment, the movable member 91 may be manually depressed by the user followed with a twisting action to unlock the beverage processing member 70 from the container 50 to facilitate cleaning or refilling and/or replacing of tea leaves.

In another embodiment, the temperature sensor 20 provided at the stage 18 or the basin 19 of the appliance 10 can be configured with a spring member 150 such that, when the container 50 is placed at the stage 18 or the basin 19, the temperature sensor 20 will be resiliently compressed by the bottom of the container 50 into the stage 18 or the basin 19. This compression will subsequently actuate a safety switch within the base portion 14 to power the appliance 10. This is to avoid displacement of the container 50 in use and to ensure a correct alignment between the container 50 and the engaging member 42 of the appliance 10.

Referring to Figs 16-19, shown is a further embodiment of the present invention. Similar to the previous embodiment as shown in Figs. 11 and 12, the appliance 10 may comprise an extendable arm member 69 receivable in an extendable sleeve member 60, and that the beverage processing member 70 may comprise a movable member 91 at an upper portion of the engaging portion 72. In this embodiment, the movable member 91 is arranged above and is in resilient contact, for example, via a resilient spring means 79b, with a movable block 95. Specifically, the movable block 95 comprises the magnetic member 44b, and is arranged to slidablyassociate with an inclined surface 93a of at least one inclined block 93 positioned below the movable block 95. The inclined block 93 comprises a pin 71 directing outwardly to the peripheral edge of the beverage processing member 70 for engaging a corresponding receiving slot 77 to secure the engaging portion 72 at the lid 52. More specifically, the pin 71 is positioned distal to the inclined surface 93a of the inclined block 93, with the pin 71 and the inclined surface 93a being movable relative to and connecting with each other via the actions of a set of spring means such as, a torsion spring 79c and a coil spring 79a. Particularly, when the inclined surface 93a is arranged to resiliently move towards the pin 71 under the biasing action of the coil spring 79a, an arm of the torsion spring 79c is adapted to move between a first locking position and a second locking position to thereby retract and extend the inclined block 93, respectively.

When brewing is desired, the sleeve member 60 and the extendable arm member 69 will extend downwardly from the standby position such that the sleeve unit 60a is allowed to engage the upper surface of the engaging portion 72. Once the sleeve unit 60a engages the movable member 91 at the upper portion of the engaging portion 72 and thus the movable member 91, the magnetic members 44a (located at the distal end of the extendable arm member 69) and 44b (located at the movable block 95) attach via magnetic interaction, which compresses the spring means 79b therebetween.

Upward movement of the movable block 95 then allows the pin 71 to retract inwardly, i.e. towards the inclined surface 93a, due to the resilient force of the torsion spring 79c at the inclined block 93 and compresses the coil spring 79a. The arm of the torsion spring 79c is then arranged at the first locking position to lock the inclined block 93 at its retracted position. In this retracted position, the pin 71 is retracted and thus prevented from extending out of the peripheral edge of the beverage processing member 70 and therefore, is made to disengage with the slot 77. Further downward movement of the sleeve member 60 and the extendable arm member 69 then overcome the magnetic attraction between the aligned magnetic members 78a, 78b to allow the beverage processing member 70 to descend into the container 50 for brewing.

When the brewing is finished, the sleeve member 60 and the extendable arm member 69 are retracted upward such that the liquid processing member 70 and thus, the engaging portion 72 approaches the lid 52. When the engaging portion 72 is adjacent the lid 52, the magnetic pairs 78a, 78b align and attach to position the engaging portion 70 at the lid 52. The sleeve member 60 and the extendable arm member 69 then continue to move upward and eventually, disengage the engaging portion 72. The magnetic pairs 44a, 44b detach.

After the magnetic pairs 44a, 44 are detached, the spring means 79b between the movable member 91 and the movable block 95 is allowed to resiliently restore and extend which bias the movable block 95 to move downward to press onto the inclined surface 93a of the inclined block 93. The slidable contact between the movable block 95 and the inclined surface 93a render the inclined surface 93a in moving outwardly, i.e. towards the pin 71. This outward movement of the inclined surface 93a unlock the arm of the torsion spring 79c from the first locking position, and at the same time, due to the restoring action of the coil spring 79a, the inclined surface 93a is resiliently moved away from the pin 71 to thereby allow the arm of the torsion spring 79c to lock at the second locking position. The inclined block 93 is then locked at its extended state, with the pin 71 protrudes out of the peripheral edge of the beverage processing member 70 for engaging with the receiving slot 77 at the lid 52.

Therefore, downward movement of the movable member 91 actuates the locking and unlocking of the arm of the torsion spring 79c between the first and the second locking positions of the inclined block 93, thereby locking the inclined block 93 between a retracted state and an extended state. In the retracted state, the pin 71 retracts to disengage the engaging portion 72 from the lid 52; whereas in the extended state, the pin 71 protrudes to secure the engaging portion 72 at the lid 52. Similar to the previous embodiment, the movable member 91 may also be manually depressed by the user to actuate locking and unlocking of the beverage processing member 70 from the container 50. In one further embodiment, the appliance 10 may further comprise a projector unit such as a projecting lamp 108 adapted to project one or more optical images or patterns 109 onto the body surface of the container 50 and/or an external surface of the appliance 10, as shown in Fig. 20. The images or patterns 109 may comprise one or more shapes, symbols, logos, words and/or sentences indicating one or more operating statuses and/or warning signals of the appliance 10. The images or patterns 109 may further comprise decorative elements such as movable or variable decorating features to the container 50 and/or the appliance 10.

Referring to Fig. 21, shown is a further embodiment of the appliance 10 of the present invention. Specifically, the control unit 15 of the appliance 10 is adapted to control one or more functions of at least one of the following units: the key 23, the display 24, the projecting lamp 108, the switch 43, the driving unit 40, the heating member 30 and a communication module 110. Particularly, the communication module 110 is adapted communicate via wire and/or wirelessly with a local and/or remote network 100. The network 100 may further be connectable with a database 120 and/or a server 130 for information exchange. The present invention further relates to a beverage processing system which comprises the appliance 10 in the form of a brewing station adapted to work cooperatively and interchangeably with one or more containers 50 as discussed. The system allows the flexibility for the user to simultaneously brew more than one beverage at a time, for example, a number of different teas with different tea leaves, without the need for the user to replace one beverage with another by using the same container.

The present invention provides an appliance and a container which allows automatic brewing of a beverage, i.e. automatically ascending and descending a beverage processing member such as a strainer basket between a brewing position and a non-brewing position. Specifically, the driving unit provided at the appliance (not the container) is adapted to operate separately and substantially independently from the container concerned, with no direct, mechanical engagement between the appliance and the container being required. Since the driving unit is provided externally to the container, the size and weight of the container can be made much lighter and/or smaller with a less complicated structure, and thus more portable and user friendly. It is also advantageous in that, since no driving components such as motor, wheels or screws are arranged within the container, cleaning of the container by the user can be made much easier. It also helps avoid any potential accumulation of dirt or dried beverage residuals at and among the driving components which may contaminate the beverage carried by the container. Furthermore, the magnetic engagement between two substantially flat surfaces of the engagement member and the beverage processing member is beneficial in allowing a quick, easy and clean connection between the appliance and the container.

Claims

An appliance for ascending and descending a beverage processing member of a container, the appliance comprising:
a head portion arranged above the container,
a driving unit arranged at the head portion, the driving unit having an engagement member being movable between a standby position and an operating position,
wherein the engagement member is adapted to releasably engage the beverage processing member via magnetic attraction, such that the beverage processing member is engaged with and driven by the driving unit to move in an ascending and descending motion when the engagement member is movable between the standby position and the operating position; and that the beverage processing member is released from the engagement member when the engagement member is at the standby position.
The appliance according to claim 1, wherein the engagement member comprises at least one magnetic member arranged at an end distal to the head portion.
The appliance according to claim 1, wherein the engagement member is movable by at least one screw member.
The appliance according to claim 1, wherein the engagement member is movable by air pressure.
The appliance according to claim 1, wherein the engagement member comprises a belt movable by at least one wheel member.
The appliance according to claim 2, wherein the at least one magnetic member comprises at least one of a magnet, a metallic material, and a magnetisable material.
The appliance according to claim 1, further comprising a base portion opposing the head portion for supporting the container.
The appliance according to claim 7, wherein the base portion comprises a heating member for heating a beverage in the container.
The appliance according to claim 8, wherein the heating comprises at least one of an electric heating, induction heating and infrared heating.
The appliance according to claim 1, wherein the engagement member comprises an extendable arm receivable in a sleeve member.
The appliance according to claim 10, wherein the extendable arm comprises an interconnected rings structure having a plurality of connecting rods movably connected via a plurality of linking members.
The appliance according to claim 10, wherein the sleeve member comprises a plurality of telescopic sleeves.
The appliance according to claim 10, wherein the beverage processing member comprises an engaging portion releasably engageable with the engaging member of the driving unit, the engaging portion having a movable member actuatable by the engaging member to disengage the beverage processing member from the container.
A beverage container, comprising:
a processing member arranged within the container, the processing member comprising an engaging portion releasably engageable adjacent an opening of the container to an external driving unit via magnetic attraction,
wherein the engaging portion is releasably engageable to and is adapted to be driven by the external driving unit such that the processing member is movable in an ascending and descending motion within the container.
The beverage container according to claim 14, wherein the engaging portion comprises at least one first magnetic member adapted to magnetically attract to at least one corresponding magnetic member at the external driving unit.
The beverage container according to claim 14, further comprising a locating member arranged adjacent the opening of the container, wherein the locating member is releasably engageable with the engaging portion such that movement of the processing member out of the container via the opening is restricted.
The beverage container according to claim 16, wherein the engaging portion comprises at least one second magnetic member adapted to magnetically attract to at least one corresponding magnetic member arranged at the locating member.
The beverage container according to claim 16, wherein the locating member is arranged at a cover portion of the container covering at least partially the opening.
The beverage container according to claim 14, further comprising a control member adapted to control a descending distance of the processing member into the container.
The beverage container according to claim 19, wherein the control member comprises at least one guide pin for guiding movement of the processing member.
The beverage container according to claim 14, further comprising a heating member for heating a beverage in the container.
The beverage container according to claim 14, wherein the processing member comprises a processing unit releasably engageable with the engaging portion.
The beverage container according to claim 22, wherein the processing unit and the engaging portion are releasably engageable via magnetic attraction.
The beverage container according to claim 22, wherein the processing unit comprises at least one of a sieve, a strainer, a basket and a strainer basket.
A beverage processing system, comprising:
the appliance according to any one of claims 1 to 13 adapted to operate interchangeably with one or more beverage containers according to any one of claim 14 to 24.