Tea brewer with movable spout

Abstract

An apparatus for brewing tea in accordance with an aspect of the invention includes a brew chamber that holds water. An infuser disposed in the chamber holds tea leaves and allows the water to contact the tea leaves. A heater heats the water in the brew chamber. A control sets a tea characteristic of the tea leaves. The tea characteristic can include one or both the tea format (loose or bagged) and tea type. The control can also set tea strength. A control circuit communicated with the heater. The control circuit controls power to the heater to heat the water to a steep temperature and then controls power to the heater to maintain the steep temperature for a steep time. The control circuit determines the steep temperature and the steep time based on the set tea characteristic or characteristics. It can further determine steep time based on the set tea strength. The tea leaves steep in the heated water until expiration of the steep time to produce a brewed tea.

Description

REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application is a continuation-in-part of co-pending application Ser. No. 11/450,730, filed Jun. 6, 2006, which is fully incorporated herein by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present disclosure generally relates to an apparatus for brewing liquids. In particular, the present disclosure is directed to an apparatus for brewing tea. More particularly, the present disclosure is directed to an apparatus for brewing tea where such apparatus has a moveable spout.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The statements of this section merely provide background information related to the present disclosure and may not constitute prior art.

Tea consumption in the United States is increasing as the public discovers the health benefits of tea drinking. The public is also discovering a diverse assortment of teas, each with a unique flavor and aroma. The diversity of teas gives rise to diverse requirements for steeping time and temperature to extract the teas' unique flavors and aromas.

Steeping times and temperatures to extract optimal flavor from each of the five principle tea types, of which each includes many varieties, are different. Additionally, tea packaged and brewed in portion-sized bags or tea bags, which can be constructed of paper, silk, nylon, and/or other materials, extracts at a different rate than tea steeped as loose leaves. Current methods require that a tea preparer be aware that differences in steeping requirements exist, remember the optimal times and temperatures for each tea type, and use thermometers and/or heating devices to achieve and maintain the proper times and temperatures to produce the best tasting cup of tea. The important parameters of time and temperature may be left to chance and leave the tea drinker with a taste experience that fails to meet his/her expectations. Known methods and devices to help the tea drinker solve the problem of steeping a particular tea at the appropriate temperature for the appropriate amount of time include published tables in books and articles, instructions printed on the tea package by a tea provisioner, trial and error, and tribal knowledge.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An apparatus and method for brewing tea in accordance with an aspect of the present invention includes a brew chamber that holds water. An infuser disposed in the chamber holds tea leaves and allows the water to contact the tea leaves. A heater heats the water in the brew chamber. A control sets a tea characteristic of the tea leaves. A control circuit, coupled to the control and the heater, controls power to the heater to heat the water to a steep temperature and then controls power to the heater to maintain the steep temperature for a steep time. The control circuit determines the steep temperature and the steep time based on the set tea characteristic. The tea leaves steep in the heated water to produce a brewed tea.

In an aspect, the tea characteristic includes one or both of a tea leaf format and a tea type. In an aspect, the tea leaf format can be loose tea leaves or bagged tea leaves. In an aspect, the tea type can include one of a plurality of tea types, such as black, oolong, green, white and herbal teas.

In an aspect, the control includes a tea format control and a tea type control and the control circuit determines the steep temperature based on the tea type set by the tea type control and the steep time based on the tea format set by the tea format control. In an aspect, the control further includes a tea strength control and the control circuit further determines the steep time based on the tea strength set by the tea strength control.

In an aspect, the control circuit includes a memory in which data for steep times and steep temperatures for different tea types and formats are stored. In an aspect, the data further includes steep times for different tea strengths.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The organization and manner of the structure and function of the present invention, together with further aspects and advantages thereof, may be understood by reference to the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference numerals identify like elements, corresponding part and/or features and in which:

FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of a tea-brewing appliance and accessories in accordance with an aspect of the invention;

FIG. 2 shows a side view of the tea making appliance and accessories of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 shows a top view of the tea-brewing appliance and accessories of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 shows an exploded view of the tea-making appliance and accessories of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 shows an electrical diagram of the tea-making appliance of FIG. 1;

FIG. 6A shows a method for steeping teas in accordance with an aspect of the invention;

FIG. 6B shows look-up tables for the method of FIG. 6A;

FIG. 7 shows a cross-section view of the apparatus of FIGS. 1 through 3 along line A-A with the spout in its stored non-dispensing configuration; and

FIG. 8 shows a cross-section view of the apparatus of FIGS. 1 through 3 along line A-A with the spout in its dispensing configuration and interacting with an opening in the carafe.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

While the present invention may be susceptible to embodiment in different forms, there are shown in the drawings, and herein will be described in detail, embodiments with the understanding that the present description is to be considered an exemplification of the principles of the invention and is not intended to limit the invention to that as illustrated and described herein. Instead, it is envisioned that those skilled in the art may devise various modifications and equivalents without departing from the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

Referring now to FIG. 1, a tea-making appliance 10 in accordance with an aspect of the present invention is shown with accessories such as cups 12, a tea pot or carafe 14, and a tray 16. Tray 16 includes an hourglass-shaped recess including a first region 24 and a second region 26. First region 24 receives a base of carafe 14. Second region 26 receives a base of appliance 10 or cups 12. Appliance 10 includes a concave portion for receiving a side portion of carafe 14. When carafe 14 and appliance 10 are positioned in first region 24 and second region 26, respectively of tray 16, the concave portion of appliance 10 receives and positions one of the openings 22-1 and 22-2 in carafe 14 under a dispensing spout 27 (FIGS. 7 and 8) of appliance 10. Openings 22 can be formed in a lid 29 of carafe 14. The spout 27 is located in an overhanging portion 27 of appliance 10 and a valve 25 controls the flow of brewed tea through the spout 27. Further, spout 27 cooperatively and securely interfaces with an associated one of openings 22 by partial insertion of a portion of the spout 27 into the carafe 14 so as to maintain the carafe 14 in its interrelated position throughout the entirety of the tea dispensing process. Appliance 10 includes an indicator 28, such as a buzzer, lamp, and/light-emitting diode (LED) that signals when the tea is brewing and/or ready. After appliance 10 dispenses the brewed tea into carafe 14, appliance 10 may be removed from tray 16 and replaced with one or more cups 12. Here again the first and second regions 24 and 26 of tray 16 serve to provide a user guidance in the positioning of the accessories with the carafe 14 remaining in the first region 24 and the cups 12 positioned in the second region 26 of the hourglass-shaped recess (best seen in FIGS. 1 and 3).

Appliance 10 includes a tea strength control switch 18-1 for selecting brewed tea strength, a tea format control switch 18-2 for selecting a tea leaf format, and a tea type control switch 18-3 for selecting a tea type. In this regard, as used herein, the tea leaf format and tea type are characteristics of the tea to be brewed, whereas the tea strength is a user preference. Examples of tea leaf formats include loose tea leaves and bagged tea leaves. Examples of tea types include black, oolong, green, white, and herbal teas. Appliance 10 also includes an on/off or power control switch 18-4 (shown in FIG. 2). Tea strength control switch 18-1, tea format control switch 18-2, tea type control switch 18-3, and power control switch 18-4 are collectively referred to as controls 18. Tea strength control switch 18-1 and tea type control switch 18-3 may illustratively be multi-position selector type switches and tea format control switch 18-2 and power control switch 18-4 may illustratively be on/off type switches. Each may be referred to herein as a switch. It should be understood that controls 18 could be devices other than switches. For example, tea strength control switch 18-1 and tea type control switch 18-3 could be potentiometers.

As best seen in FIG. 2, appliance 10 also includes a brew chamber 20 that rests upon a base 40. Base 40 houses a control circuit 100 (FIG. 5) that controls various aspects of appliance 10. Appliance 10 dispenses the brewed tea into carafe 14 through one of openings 22-1 and 22-2 depending on an orientation of carafe 14.

Referring now to FIG. 4, an exploded view is shown of appliance 10 and the accessories. Prior to operation, carafe 14 and base 40 are positioned-.on tray 16. Brew chamber 20 is then filled with a predetermined amount of water based on the amount of tea to be brewed. Brew chamber 20 is then placed on base 40. Base 40 can include a shroud 41 that helps prevent a user from touching brew chamber 20 while appliance 10 is operating. In some embodiments brew chamber 20 and/or shroud 41 can be made of a translucent material.

A tea infuser assembly 42 includes a perforated lid 44 that fits onto a tea basket 46. The bottom of basket 46 includes a valve 48 that opens above a predetermined temperature. In some embodiments valve 48 includes a bimetal valve. Valve 48 prevents the water in the brew chamber 20 from entering infuser assembly 42 until the water is heated to a predetermined temperature to brew the tea. In some embodiments, the predetermined temperature is about 65° C.

To brew tea, tea leaves (not shown) are placed in the basket 46 and lid 44 is then placed upon the basket 46. Infuser assembly 42 is then lowered into brew chamber 20. A lid 50 is positioned on top of brew chamber 20 and tea strength control switch 18-1, tea format control switch 18-2, and tea type control switch 18-3 are set accordingly. Power control switch 18-4 is then switched to an on position to start appliance 10 brewing tea as described in more detail below.

Referring to FIG. 5, electrical circuit 100 of appliance 10 is shown. Circuit 100 includes components attached to one or more printed circuit boards (PCB) 120. PCBs 120 facilitate mounting circuit 100 within base 40. Circuit 100 receives power through a secondary winding of a transformer 108. A primary winding of transformer 108 connects to a wall plug 106. A motor 114 drives both the dispense valve 25 and the dispensing spout 27 that are located in base 40. In some embodiments motor 114 is associated with a position feedback circuit that indicates a rotational position of motor 114, dispense valve 25, and/or dispensing spout 27. A heating element 102 heats the water in brew chamber 20. A temperature sensor 116 generates an electrical temperature signal based on the water temperature in brew chamber 20. In some embodiments the temperature sensor 116 includes a resistive thermal device (RTD).

A central processing unit (CPU) 110 communicates with an associated memory 112. Memory 112 includes program instructions that are executed by CPU 110 to control appliance 10, such as in accordance with a control method 200 that is described below.

Referring now to FIG. 6A, control method 200 that CPU 110 executes in controlling appliance 10 is described. Control method 200 begins at block 202 and immediately proceeds to block 204. In block 204 a timer, illustratively implemented in CPU 110, is reset and it is assured that motor 114 has closed dispense valve 25. In some embodiments of the present invention, the movement of the dispensing spout 27 between the stored and dispensing positions are coordinated with the closed and open positions of the dispense valve 25, respectively. Signals from tea strength control switch 18-1, tea format control switch 18-2, and tea type control switch 18-3 are read at blocks 206, 208, and 210. At decision block 212, on/off power control switch 18-4 is checked. If on/off power control switch 18-4 is off then control returns to block 206 and repeats blocks 206-210. If on/off power control switch 18-4 is on then control branches to block 214 where heater 102 is turned on and indicator 28 is activated. Control then proceeds to block 216 to execute water heating mode.

In the water heating mode, CPU 110 repeatedly compares the temperature signal to a set-point temperature, referred to herein as steep temperature. In an aspect, the steep temperature is determined by CPU 110 based on the tea type set by tea type control switch 18-3. In another aspect, CPU 110 could further determine the steep temperature based on the tea format set by tea format control switch 18-2. In an aspect, CPU 110 obtains the steep temperature from steep temperature data in tables 218-1 and 218-2, which are shown in FIG. 6B. Tables 218-1 and 218-2 are stored in memory 112 and read by CPU 110. Tea type control switch 18-3 and/or tea format control switch 18-2 is also monitored to determine if they changed from their settings read in block 206. If the tea format control switch 18-2 and/or tea type control switch 18-3 settings change, the set-point temperature is updated based on the new settings.

The water temperature reaches the opening temperature of valve 48 at some time during water heating mode. Upon reaching some predetermined temperature less than steep temperature, valve 48 opens, allowing the heated water to enter infuser assembly 42 (FIG. 1) and begin to soak the tea leaves. The infuser assembly 42 slowly sinks towards the bottom of the brew chamber 20 as the infuser assembly 42 fills with the water in the brew chamber 20 soaking/steeping the tea leaves.

The soaking/steeping mode begins in block 224 when the water temperature in brew chamber 20 reaches the predetermined temperature which triggers the opening of valve 48. During the soaking/stepping mode CPU 110 cycles heater 102 on and off to maintain the water at steep temperature. The soaking/steeping mode continues for a steep time that is determined by CPU 110 based on one or more of tea type, tea format, and tea strength. In an aspect, CPU determines the steep time based on the settings of tea type control switch 18-3, tea format control switch 18-2, and tea strength control switch 18-1. The appropriate steep time is obtained from steep time data from tables 218-1 and 218-2. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 6B, tea strength control switch 18-1 can be set to provide three tea strengths for each tea type and tables 218-1 and 218-2 include data of each of the tea strengths. It should be understood, however, that more or less than three tea strengths for each tea type can be provided. In which case, tea strength data, such as steep time, is provided in tables 218-1 and 218-2 for the tea strengths that can be set with tea strength control switch 18-1. The settings of tea strength control switch 18-1, tea format control switch 18-2 and tea type control switch 18-3 are also monitored to determine if any of them have changed from their settings in blocks 206-210. If any of their settings change, then the steep time is updated accordingly. In an aspect, steep time begins when the temperature of the water in brew chamber 20 reaches the steep temperature.

At this time, appliance 10 is physically configured as shown in FIG. 7 in which the dispensing spout 27 is in its stored configuration and the dispensing valve 25 is closed. The brewed tea is ready when the steep time expires. Heater 102 is turned off in accordance with block 230. In block 234, motor 114 rotates a cam 131. As it rotates, the cam's shape causes it to mechanically engage a stroke shaft 133 forcing it to extend upward such that it interacts with the underside of the distal end of a valve pointer arm 135.

As best seen in FIGS. 7 and 8, the dispensing spout 27 and the valve pointer arm 135 have at their distal ends a co-linear axis of rotation 137. The stroke shaft 133 upon impinging on the underside of the valve pointer arm 135 forces the axis of rotation 137 to translate upward such that the valve pointer arm 135 engages the dispensing valve 25. Further, the upward translation of the axis of rotation 137 is sufficient to allow the proximal end of the dispensing spout 27 to lower into an engaged position with a properly placed receiving vessel or carafe 14. Brewed tea is drains from the brewing chamber 20 through dispensing valve 25 into a receiving tray 139 located at the proximal end of the dispensing spout 27. Opening 141 located at the bottom of the extreme proximal end of dispensing spout 27 inside the receiving tray 139 allows the draining tea to be dispensed into an associated receiving vessel 14.

After a predetermined period of time (a dispense time) sufficient to allow appliance 10 to dispense the brewed tea into carafe 14, motor 114 rotates cam 131 such that stroke shaft 133 reverses thus allowing rotational axis 137 to return to its beginning position. Such process disengages valve pointer arm 135 from dispense valve 25 allowing it to close and causes axis of rotation 137 to translate back to its original position effectively retracting dispensing spout 27 from its dispense configuration the stored configuration depicted in FIG. 7. The timer is reset at block 240. Indicator 28 is then turned off at block 242.

Those skilled in the art can now appreciate from the foregoing description that the broad teachings of the disclosure can be implemented in a variety of forms. Therefore, while this disclosure includes particular examples, the true scope of the disclosure should not be so limited since other modifications will become apparent to the skilled practitioner upon a study of the drawings, the specification and the following claims.

Claims

1. An apparatus for brewing tea, comprising:

a brew chamber that holds water;

an infuser disposed-in the brew chamber that holds tea leaves to be brewed in the water, wherein the infuser includes a temperature sensitive valve that prevents flow of the water into the infuser until said water reaches a predetermined temperature;

a control that sets a tea characteristic of the tea leaves; and

a control circuit in communication with the control and wherein the control circuit is suited to determine a steep temperature and a steep time based on the set tea characteristic.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the temperature sensitive valve is a bimetal valve and the predetermined temperature is lower than a steep temperature.

3. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the settable tea characteristic includes at least one of a tea type, tea format, or tea strength.

4. The apparatus of claim 3 wherein the settable tea characteristic is a tea type and includes at least two of a black, oolong, green, white, or herbal tea.

5. The apparatus of claim 3 wherein the settable tea characteristic is a tea format and includes bagged or loose tea.

6. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein control circuit includes a memory in which data is stored for steep times and steep temperatures for each settable tea characteristic, the control circuit determining the steep time and steep temperature from the data stored in the memory based on the set tea characteristic.

7. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein control circuit includes a memory in which data is stored for steep times and steep temperatures for each settable tea characteristic, the control circuit determining the steep time and steep temperature from the data stored in the memory based on the set tea characteristic.

8. A tea brewing and serving system, comprising:

a brewing apparatus;

a carafe suited for receiving brewed tea;

at least one serving cup; and

a tray.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein the tray has an hourglass-shaped recess for positioning of the brewing apparatus and carafe in an interactive relationship.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein the hourglass-shaped recess includes a first region for receipt of the brewing apparatus and a second region for receipt of the carafe, wherein the brewing apparatus and carafe are shaped so as to fit together such that the brewing apparatus upon completion of a brewing cycle can dispense the brewed tea into the carafe.

11. The system of claim 10 wherein after dispensing the brewed tea, the tray can function as a serving tray by removal of the brewing apparatus from said first region of the hourglass-shaped recess and the insertion of said at least one serving cup therein.

12. An apparatus for brewing tea, comprising:

a brew chamber that holds water;

an infuser disposed within the brew chamber that holds tea leaves;

a base for supporting said brew chamber, wherein said base includes a dispensing spout, a valve in fluid communication with the brew chamber, and a control circuit, said control circuit in communication with both the valve and the dispensing spout; and

wherein the control circuit signals the dispensing spout to cooperatively interface with a receiving vessel for dispensing the brewed tea and signals the valve to open such that the tea is dispensed.

13. The apparatus of claim 12 wherein said dispensing spout is rotated between stored and dispensing positions by a motor in the base controlled by said control circuit.

14. The apparatus of claim 12 wherein the cooperative interface between the dispensing spout and the receiving vessel includes the partial insertion of an end portion of the dispensing spout into a corresponding opening in the receiving vessel to prevent relative movement between the base and the receiving vessel during dispensation of the brewed tea.

15. The apparatus of claim 12 wherein the infuser further comprises a temperature dependent valve that allows the water in the brew chamber into the infuser upon reaching a predetermined temperature.

16. The apparatus of claim 15 wherein the temperature dependent valve is a bimetal valve and the predetermined temperature is less than a steep temperature.

17. An apparatus for brewing tea, comprising:

a brew chamber having a dispensing valve, said brew chamber operative to receive water;

an infuser disposed within said brew chamber for holding tea leaves; and

a base for supporting said brew chamber, wherein said base includes at least two user operable control switches and a control circuit, wherein said control circuit operates to open the dispensing valve after a predetermined time.

18. The apparatus of claim 17, further comprising a carafe for receiving the brewed tea.

19. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein said base aides in aligning the brew chamber and the carafe to ensure dispensation of the brewed tea into the carafe.

20. A tea brewing apparatus, comprising a dispensing spout for automatic selective physical engagement with a vessel suited for receipt of brewed tea.