Light-Emitting Beverage Dispenser

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to a beverage dispenser having a container that has a cavity and a pouring spout. The beverage dispenser also includes a handle connectedly engaged with the container and a switching element disposed in the handle. The switching element selectively activates a light source and the light source selectively illuminates a field of view that is anterior the pouring spout.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/971,122, filed Sep. 10, 2007, which application is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates to beverage dispensers, and more particularly, to light-emitting beverage dispensers.

BACKGROUND

Hot beverages such as coffee are often served during the morning and evening hours under low light conditions. As such beverages are often served from a carafe, the pouring of the beverage from the carafe must be accurate in order to avoid spilling the beverage.

SUMMARY

An aspect of the present disclosure relates to beverage dispenser having a container with a cavity and a pouring spout and a handle connectedly engaged with the container. A switching element is disposed in the handle. The switching element selectively activates a light source that illuminates a field of view that is anterior to the pouring spout.

A variety of additional aspects will be set forth in the description that follows. These aspects can relate to individual features and to combinations of features. It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory only and are not restrictive of the broad concepts upon which the embodiments disclosed herein are based.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a side view of a beverage dispenser having features that are examples of aspects in accordance with the principles of the present disclosure.

FIG. 2 is a front view of the beverage dispenser of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a side view of an alternate embodiment of a beverage dispenser having features that are examples of aspects in accordance with the principles of the present disclosure.

FIG. 4 is side view of the beverage dispenser of FIG. 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Reference will now be made in detail to the exemplary aspects of the present disclosure that are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Wherever possible, the same reference numbers will be used throughout the drawings to refer to the same or like structure.

Referring now to FIGS. 1 and 2, a beverage dispenser, generally designated 10, is shown. The beverage dispenser 10 includes a container, generally designated 12, and a handle, generally designated 14. The container 12 defines a cavity 16 (shown in FIG. 1 as a dotted line) suitable for containing beverages including, but not limited to, coffee, tea, lemonade, and juice. The container 12 defines an open end 18 through which beverages may be poured into or out of the cavity 16. The open end 18 is disposed in an upper end portion 20 of the container 12. In the subject embodiment, the container 12 includes a pouring spout 22 that is disposed on the upper end portion 18 of the container 12.

In the subject embodiment, the container 12 has a heat insulating construction suitable for keeping a hot drink such as coffee hot. In certain embodiments, the container can have a construction that includes glass, metal, plastic or other materials.

The handle 14 of the beverage dispenser 10 includes a lateral portion 24 and a gripping portion 26. The lateral portion 24 of the handle 14 is in connected engagement with the upper end portion 20 of the container 12. In the subject embodiment, the lateral portion 24 forms a ring that surrounds the upper end portion 20 of the container 12. It will be understood, however, that the scope of the present disclosure is not limited to the lateral portion 24 of the handle 14 forming a ring that surrounds the upper end portion 20 as the handle 14 could be integral with the container 12.

In the subject embodiment, the gripping portion 26 of the handle 14 includes a power source 28 (shown schematically in FIG. 1) such as a battery. It will be understood, however, that the scope of the present disclosure is not limited to the power source 28 being disposed in the gripping portion 26 of the handle 14. The power source 28 is in electrical communication with a tilt-activated switching element 30, such as a mercury switch, via an electrical communication path 32 (shown schematically in FIGS. 1 and 2 as a dashed line). In the subject embodiment, the tilt-activated switching element 30 is disposed in the lateral portion 24 of the handle 14. The tilt-activated switching element 30 is disposed in the lateral portion of the handle 14 such that

The tilt-activated switching element 30 is in selective electrical communication with a light source 34 via an electrical communication path 36 (shown schematically in FIGS. 1 and 2 as a dashed line). In the subject embodiment, the light source 34 is a light-emitting-diode (LED) that is mounted to the handle 14 or the container 12 so as to be an integrated component of the beverage dispenser 10. The light source 34 is positioned on the beverage dispenser 10 such that light emitted from the light source 34 illuminates a pouring area in front of the pouring spout 22, which will be described in greater detail subsequently. In the subject embodiment, the light source 34 is aligned with a central longitudinal axis 38 of the beverage dispenser 10 and disposed beneath the pouring spout 22.

Referring now to FIG. 3, an alternate embodiment of a handle, generally designated 114, is shown. The handle 114 includes a lateral portion 124 and a gripping portion 126. The lateral portion 124 of the handle 114 is in connected engagement with the upper end portion 20 of the container 12.

In the subject embodiment, the gripping portion 126 of the handle 114 includes a power source 128 (shown schematically in FIG. 3) such as a battery. The power source 128 is in electrical communication with a manually actuated switching element, generally designated 130, via an electrical communication path 132 (shown schematically in FIG. 3 as a dashed line).

The manually actuated switching element 130 includes a switch 131 such as a push button switch or a toggle switch. In the subject embodiment, the manually actuated switching element 130 is disposed on an outer surface 133 of the gripping portion 126 of the handle 114 to allow the switch 131 to be easily actuated while the beverage dispenser 10 is being held by the handle 114. The manually actuated switching element 130 is in selective electrical communication with a light source 134 via an electrical communication path 136 (shown schematically in FIG. 3 as a dashed line).

Referring now to FIG. 4, the use of the beverage dispenser 10 will be described. With the cavity 16 of the beverage dispenser 10 filled to a desired level with a beverage, the beverage dispenser 10 is grasped by the handle 14 and positioned near a beverage receptacle 200 such as a coffee cup, drinking glass, or mug. The beverage dispenser 10 is then rotated about a horizontal axis 202 (shown in FIG. 2). When the rotation of the beverage dispenser 10 exceeds a predetermined angle of rotation, the tilt-activated switching element 30 is activated thereby electrically communicating electrical power from the power source 28 to the light source 34 causing the light source 34 to illuminate.

The light source 34 illuminates a field of view 204 (shown as dotted lines in FIG. 4) which is anterior to the pouring spout 22, such that the pouring spout 22 directs the beverage into the field of view 204. In the embodiment of FIG. 4, as the beverage dispenser 10 is rotated beyond the predetermined angle of rotation, the light source 34 illuminates the field of view 204 in which the beverage receptacle 200 is positioned thereby illuminating the beverage receptacle 200 allowing the user to adequately see the beverage receptacle 200.

Various modifications and alterations of this disclosure will become apparent to those skilled in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of this disclosure, and it should be understood that the inventive scope of this disclosure is not to be unduly limited to the illustrative embodiments set forth herein.

Claims

1. A beverage dispenser, comprising:

a container having a cavity and a pouring spout;

a light source disposed on the beverage dispenser, wherein the light source selectively illuminates a field of view that is anterior to the pouring spout;

a handle connectedly engaged with the container; and

a switching element disposed on the beverage dispenser, wherein the switching element selectively activates the light source.

2. A beverage dispenser as claimed in claim 1, wherein the light source is disposed on the container.

3. A beverage dispenser as claimed in claim 1, wherein the light source is disposed on the handle such that the light source is disposed beneath the pouring spout.

4. A beverage dispenser as claimed in claim 1, wherein the switching element is disposed in the handle.

5. A beverage dispenser as claimed in claim 4, wherein the switching element is a manually actuated switch.

6. A beverage dispenser as claimed in claim 1, wherein the switching element is a tilt-activated switching element.

7. A beverage dispenser as claimed in claim 2, wherein the tilt-activated switching element is a mercury switch.