| Gear-driven locking assembly for brew head assembly -> Monitor Keywords |
|
|
 
Gear-driven locking assembly for brew head assemblyRelated Patent Categories: Foods And Beverages: Apparatus, Beverage, InfusorsGear-driven locking assembly for brew head assembly description/claimsThe Patent Description & Claims data below is from USPTO Patent Application 20070017374, Gear-driven locking assembly for brew head assembly. Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims
[0001] Throughout this application, various publications are referenced. The disclosures of these publications in their entireties are hereby incorporated by reference into this application to more fully describe the state of the art to which this invention pertains. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0002] Single-serving coffee makers have become more popular in recent years. Most of these single-serving machines use a lower pressure pump for the brewing process. As a result, many different kinds of low pressure locking mechanisms designed for coffee makers have been described or are in use. Many locking mechanisms in the prior art use a slider to lock the brew head of the coffee maker. WO2004028318 describes a locking mechanism that uses a toggle joint lever system to move the slider to the open or closed position. A drawback of using such a toggle joint lever system to move the slider is that, for proper operation, the lever can only be mounted on the front center of the brew head. [0003] The gear-driven locking assembly of the present invention allows the lever to be placed or located either on the side or in the front of the brew head assembly. The construction of the present invention is more dynamic and flexible, and can be adapted for sliding or rotating the locking member or element between a locked or unlocked position. A particular advantage of the gear-driven locking assembly of the present invention is that only a small force is required to turn the lever for locking. In one embodiment, the locking assembly is capable of withstanding pressures up to 4 bars. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION [0004] The brew head assembly of the present invention comprises two main components: a gear-driven locking assembly and a sealing assembly. [0005] The gear-driven locking assembly comprises the following parts which are all operatively-linked to form the gear-driven locking assembly: a lever, a drive rod -provided with a gear or a gear-tooth surface, a drive rod clamp, a lock plate provided with a gear-tooth surface or gear disposed on its upper surface, a lock plate stopper or gear stopper, a lid mount, and a brew head bottom. In an embodiment, the parts are assembled from molded components. [0006] The sealing assembly comprises the following parts which are all operatively-linked to form the sealing assembly: a seal ring, a water spreader, a pod ejector, a metal filter, a pod holder, and a coffee collector. [0007] The operation of the locking assembly of the present invention is as follows: [0008] Initially, the locking assembly is in the closed position. Before brewing coffee, a coffee pod or coffee grounds are placed in the pod holder. The pod holder is released by unlocking the brew head. [0009] In one embodiment of the present invention, the locking or unlocking of the brew head assembly is effectuated or assisted by a plurality of cams provided on a rotating lock plate and corresponding recesses situated on the brew head assembly. In a specific embodiment, the lock plate comprises at least two cams and corresponding recesses. In a preferred embodiment, the lock plate comprises at least three cams and corresponding recesses. By rotating the lock plate about a vertical or substantially vertical axis, the locking assembly can be placed in a locked or unlocked state. [0010] When the lever is lifted upward, the drive rod, which is rotatably-mounted to the lid mount by a drive rod clamp, will rotate in the direction of the force applied by the lever. The rotation of the drive rod causes the intermeshing gears and/or gear-tooth surfaces disposed on the drive rod and on the lock plate to rotate integrally with each other, and the lock plate rotates in the direction that disengages the cams from their corresponding recesses and unlocks the brew head assembly. [0011] Conversely, when the lever is pushed downward, the drive rod will rotate in the direction of the force applied by the lever. The rotation of the drive rod in the reverse direction (relative to previous paragraph) causes the intermeshing gears and/or gear-tooth surfaces disposed on the drive rod and on the lock plate to rotate integrally with each other, and the lock plate rotates in the direction that engages the cams with their corresponding recesses and locks the brew head assembly. [0012] When the brew head assembly is open, a lock plate stopper provided on the lid mount prevents the lock plate from rotating when the lever is subsequently pulled downward to close the brew head assembly. In an embodiment, the lock plate stopper is inverse U-shaped with two prongs. In another embodiment, the spring or the like is mounted on at least one prong of the lock plate stopper, and the lock plate stopper is operatively mounted on the lid mount such when the brew head assembly is open, the spring pushes the lock plate stopper downward and through the lid mount to restrict the movement of the lock plate. When the brew head assembly is closed, the lock plate stopper is pushed upward allowing the lock plate to rotate freely. In an embodiment, the lock plate stopper is pushed upward by the top surface of the brew head bottom when the brew head assembly is closed. [0013] In another embodiment of the present invention, the locking and unlocking of the brew head assembly is effectuated or assisted by a plurality of cams provided on a sliding lock plate and corresponding recesses provided on the brew head assembly. In a specific embodiment, the lock plate comprises at least two cams and corresponding recesses. In a preferred embodiment, the lock plate comprises at least three cams and corresponding recesses. By moving the sliding lock plate, the locking assembly can be placed in a locked or unlocked state. [0014] When the lever is lifted upward, the drive rod, which is rotatably-mounted to the lid mount by a drive rod clamp, will rotate in the direction of the force applied by the lever. The rotation of the drive rod causes the intermeshing gears and/or gear tooth surfaces disposed on the drive rod and on the slide lock plate to move integrally with each other and the slide lock plate slides in the direction which disengages the cams from their corresponding recesses and unlocks the brew head assembly. [0015] Conversely, when the lever is pushed downward, the drive rod will rotate in the direction of the force applied by the lever. The rotation of the drive rod in the reverse (relative to the previous paragraph) direction causes the intermeshing gears and/or gear tooth surfaces disposed on the drive rod and on the slide lock plate to move integrally with each other and the slide lock plate slides in the direction which engages the cams with their corresponding recesses and locks the brew head assembly. [0016] When the brew head assembly is open, a gear stopper provided on the lid mount meshes with or engages the gear-tooth surface of the drive rod and prevents the lock plate from sliding when the lever is subsequently pulled downward to close the brew head assembly. In an embodiment, the gear stopper is inverse L-shaped with an upper horizontal member and a vertical member. In another embodiment, the upper horizontal member comprises a hook-like member or an appropriately shaped protrusion for engaging the gear or gear-tooth surface. In another embodiment, a spring or the like is mounted on the vertical member of the gear stopper, and the gear stopper is mounted on the lid mount such that when the lid mount is open, the spring pushes the gear stopper downward to restrict the movement of the lock plate. When the brew head assembly is closed, the gear stopper rises upward to allow the lock plate to move freely. In an embodiment, the top surface of the brew head bottom pushes the gear stopper upward when the brew head assembly is closed. [0017] In one embodiment, the cams and corresponding recesses are situated and dimensioned in a way such that the cams can only engage the recesses when the lid frame or upper brew head closes off the brew head bottom of the brew head assembly completely. In a preferred embodiment, the cams and corresponding recesses are wedge-shaped to facilitate the mating of the cams with the corresponding recesses. [0018] The position of the cams and corresponding recesses can vary. For example, the cams and corresponding recesses can be placed in a circular or linear arrangement. Furthermore, the cams can be evenly spaced on the lock plate, and the corresponding recesses can be evenly spaced along the periphery of the brew head bottom. [0019] This invention provides a gear-driven locking assembly for a brew head assembly, comprising: lever, drive rod, drive rod clamp, rotating lock plate, lid mount, and brew head bottom, all operatively linked to form the gear-driven locking assembly. [0020] This invention provides a gear-driven locking assembly for a brew head assembly, comprising: lever, drive rod, drive rod clamp, sliding lock plate, lid mount, and brew head bottom, all operatively linked to form the gear-driven locking assembly. [0021] This invention provides a brew head assembly, comprising: a gear-driven locking assembly; and a sealing assembly, where the locking assembly and sealing assembly are operatively linked to sustain pressure up to four (4) bars. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES Continue reading about Gear-driven locking assembly for brew head assembly... Full patent description for Gear-driven locking assembly for brew head assembly Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims Click on the above for other options relating to this Gear-driven locking assembly for brew head assembly patent application. ###  How KEYWORD MONITOR works... a FREE service from FreshPatents1. Sign up (takes 30 seconds). 2. Fill in the keywords to be monitored. 3. Each week you receive an email with patent applications related to your keywords. Start now! - Receive info on patent apps like Gear-driven locking assembly for brew head assembly or other areas of interest. ### Previous Patent Application: Coffee automat having a vertically adjustable and lockable outflow unit Next Patent Application: Gear-driven locking assembly for brew head assembly Industry Class: Foods and beverages: apparatus ### FreshPatents.com Support Thank you for viewing the Gear-driven locking assembly for brew head assembly patent info. IP-related news and info Results in 0.75384 seconds Other interesting Feshpatents.com categories: Computers: Graphics , I/O , Processors , Dyn. Storage , Static Storage , Printers 174 |
 * Protect your Inventions * US Patent Office filing 
PATENT INFO |
|
