Apparatus for producing a beverage   

This patent application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/145,720, filed Jun. 6, 2005, entitled “An Apparatus For Producing A Beverage,” which claims the benefit of an earlier filing date under 35 USC 119(e) of a Provisional Patent Application, filed in the United States Patent and Trademark Office on Jan. 28, 2005 and entitled Device for making Coffee from Concentrate and being Provisional Application No. 60/648,106, the entire subject matter of these applications being incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to an apparatus for producing a beverage and, more specifically, to a apparatus for producing a beverage from a liquid concentrate.

2. Description of the Prior Art

Many beverages have been produced from concentrate including fruit juices and coffee and tea. However, the production of coffee and tea from concentrate has been limited substantially to commercial apparatus that is too expensive and cumbersome for home or office usage. An example of a beverage apparatus that produces beverages from two liquid concentrates is shown in the United States patent to Bardeau. U.S. Pat. No. 3,843,020.

Another example found in the United State patent art, is the Burke et al patent, U.S. Pat. No. 6,752,069. Burke et al adds water, either manually of automatically, to a beverage concentrate. The device, which may perform well, is large and complex and thus, at least as to the area of home appliances, is too expensive.

The Shaver patent, U.S. Pat. No. 4,579,048 initially brews a concentrate, specifically from tealeaves, to produce a concentrate. The concentrate is then diluted to an acceptable strength and temperature by the timed addition of water. Once again, what apparently is a desirable device for commercial use is economically not practical for home usage and is also far too large for home usage.

The Gorski et al patent, U.S. Pat. No. 6,149,035 uses a dry concentrate for dispensing a food or beverage. Once again an apparatus is taught which is economically unsuitable for home or office usage.

Today, liquid concentrate is economically produced and supplies of liquid coffee concentrate as well as other concentrates are available. Unfortunately, a practical apparatus for home or office use does not exist to produce coffee and tea from concentrates. Liquid concentrates provide a superior beverage and a much neater operation for the production of a beverage. When brewing coffee from liquid coffee concentrate there are no filters of used coffee grounds to clean up.

The use of a concentrate to produce coffee in a home or office from a concentrate has been recognized. The Paoloni patent, U.S. Pat. No. 3,536,496 teaches a simplified method for producing concentrate and then using such concentrate for producing coffee. The method, however, is not practical for use today and with the availability of liquid coffee concentrate, the concept is not suitable for home and office usage. What is needed is an apparatus that is of a size and cost suitable for use in the home or office and which can brew a fresh cup of coffee one cup at a time on demand.

Efforts have been made to produce a coffee maker that uses liquid concentrate for home and office use. The Triola et al patent, U.S. Pat. No. 5,740,719 describes a coffee maker using liquid coffee concentrate that is intended for home and office usage. Triola, et al continued with the concept of requiring a pump to deliver the concentrate. This feature has been universally accepted in the prior art. To eliminate an electromechanical pump, Triola et al uses a cylinder which is pressed down by hand to deliver concentrate. Controlling the amount of concentrate when pressing on the cylinder is not a simple task and too much or too little concentrate can result only too easily. The Triola et al patent exemplifies the previous inability to produce a simple apparatus for making coffee from liquid coffee that operates on a gravity fed system free of pumps, whether manual or power operated.

Vitality Foodservice, Inc. of Tampa, Fla. offers dispensers for coffee and hot beverages. The device includes a solenoid valve for controlling discharge of water from a water tank to an open channel. Disposed above the open channel is a control valve for controlling discharge of concentrate into the water in the channel. The resulting beverage is then discharged.

The objects of this invention are as follows:

1. To provide a low-cost apparatus to produce to produce a beverage from liquid concentrate.

2. To provide a simple, low-cost apparatus for producing a beverage from liquid concentrate which apparatus is sufficiently compact in size for home usage.

3. To provide an apparatus for producing a beverage from concentrate that operates by gravity and does not require any pumps.

4. To provide an apparatus for producing a beverage from a liquid concentrate that permits the selection of the strength of the beverage.

5. To provide an apparatus for producing a beverage from concentrate that is comparatively inexpensive so that the apparatus is economically suitable for use in the home and office.

6. To provide an apparatus for producing a beverage from concentrate that is dependable.

These and other objects of the present invention will become apparent upon further review of the following representations and drawings.

SUMMARY

An apparatus is provided for producing a beverage from concentrate which includes both a water tank and a concentrate tank. A mixing chamber is also included. A water conduit supplies water from the water tank to the mixing chamber by gravity and a concentrate conduit supplies concentrate from the concentrate container to the mixing tank by gravity. An electric circuit includes a means for maintaining a predetermined temperature of the water in the water tank and a dispenser assembly releases water from the water conduit and concentrate from the concentrate conduit.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a pictorial view of the apparatus for producing a beverage with the enclosure partially broken away showing the water tank, the concentrate container, the strength valve and the dispenser.

FIG. 2 is a pictorial view of the concentrate container, the connection for the water tank, the connection for the concentrate, container as well as the strength valve and the dispenser.

FIG. 3 is a side elevation of the water conduit and the concentrate conduit showing the flow paths in broken lines.

FIG. 3A is a cross sectional view along line 3A-3A showing the concentrate conduit as one channel and the water conduit as two channels.

FIG. 4 is an exploded side elevation showing the flow of both water and concentrate from their respective sources, the mixing chamber and the dispenser.

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of the electrical circuit that controls the operation of the apparatus for producing a beverage from concentrate.

NUMERAL DESCRIPTION 11 Enclosure 13 Front 15 Back 17 Two Sides 19 Base 21 Lid 23 Lip 25 Water Tank 27 Vent 29 Water Inlet 31 Supply Line 33 Fill Valve 35 Side 37 Base 39 Concentrate Container 41 Flexible Bag 43 Outlet 45 Probe 47 Lower End 49 Conduit Housing 51 Concentrate Conduit 53 Top 55 Bottom 57 Two Sides 59 Two Ends 61 Inlet End 63 Outlet End 65 Upper Portion 67 Lower Portion 69 Water Conduit 71 Channels 73 Float Valve 75 Water Outlet 77 Nipple 79 Mixing Chamber 81 Upper Section 83 Lower Section 85 Nozzle 87 Cylindrical Extension 89 Conduit Opening 91 Mixing Opening 93 Strength Valve 95 Knob 97 Retaining Ring 99

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