Brewing cartridge

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10258186-B2
Application number	US-201414531729-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Nov 3, 2014
Priority date	Feb 1, 2013
Publication date	Apr 16, 2019
Grant date	Apr 16, 2019

Abstract

A single serving brewing cartridge adapter fits into known single serving horizontal coffee makers and allows use of a common single serving cartridge made for a vertical coffee maker. The cartridge adapter includes a fixed extraction needle in the base of cartridge adapter and defines walls rising from the base to guide a cartridge into position. The extraction needle pierces a single use cartridge to release brewed beverage into the cartridge adapter. An injection needle in the horizontal coffee maker lid punctures a foil cover of single use cartridges and passes through a permanent opening in a lid of the cartridge adapter and an extraction needle in the horizontal coffee maker cooperates with the cartridge adapter to carry brewed drink from the cartridge adapter. Reusable cartridges including permanent openings to receive the injection needle and to release brewed beverage may also be used with the cartridge adapter.

First claim

I claim:

1. A reusable single serving brewing cartridge for use in a coffee maker, the brewing cartridge comprising:
a base made from plastic and defining an interior and an exterior and comprising:
a floor under the interior;
walls reaching up from the floor and surrounding the interior; and
a top edge of the walls above the interior;

a passage wall outside the walls and forming an extraction passage, the passage wall closed at a bottom and reaching up to a permanently open outlet port proximal to the top edge of the walls;
an entry port between the extraction passage and the interior, the extraction passage in fluid communication with the interior through the entry port allowing brewed drink to escape from the interior into the extraction passage, and in fluid communication with the coffee maker through the outlet port, and at least a portion of the extraction passage separated from the interior by the base walls at the top edge of the base walls; and
a plane P defined by a top edge of the walls, the outlet port residing in the plane P, wherein the base is configured to allow an injection needle to come into fluid communication with the interior through the plane P for injection of liquid into the interior and into the brewing material, and to allow a coffee maker extraction needle to come into fluid communication with the interior through the plane P and through the permanently open outlet port to receive brewed drink from the interior through the extraction passage.

2. The reusable single serving brewing cartridge of claim 1 , further including an adapter extraction needle residing in the floor of the base in fluid communication with the extraction passage, offset to a side, and pointing up and away from the floor the extraction needle including a side passage below the disposable cartridge placing an interior of the extraction needle in fluid communication with the extraction passage.

3. The reusable single serving brewing cartridge of claim 1 , wherein the base is configured to receive a single use disposable brewing cartridge with a top diameter of about 1.8 inches, a height of about 1¾ inches, and a bottom diameter of about 1.45 inches.

4. The reusable single serving brewing cartridge of claim 1 , wherein:
the base includes a shelf at the wall top configured to support a rim of the disposable brewing cartridge; and
the adapter extraction needle is configured to puncture the disposable brewing cartridge residing in the base.

5. The reusable single serving brewing cartridge of claim 1 , wherein the walls are frustoconical in shape.

6. The reusable single serving brewing cartridge of claim 1 , further including a lid, the attachable to the base and detachable from the base.

7. The reusable single serving brewing cartridge of claim 6 , wherein the lid is disposable.

8. The reusable single serving brewing cartridge of claim 6 , wherein the disposable lid is attached to the base by an adhesive.

9. The reusable single serving brewing cartridge of claim 6 , wherein the lid is reusable.

10. The reusable single serving brewing cartridge of claim 9 , wherein the reusable lid is attached to the base by mechanical cooperation of the lid and base.

11. The reusable single serving brewing cartridge of claim 10 , wherein the mechanical cooperation of the lid and base comprises a cylindrical portion of the lid inserted into the base and pressing outward against the wall.

12. The reusable single serving brewing cartridge of claim 10 , further including a cup made from filter paper and containing brewing material and having a rim, the rim captured between the lid and the base.

13. The reusable single serving brewing cartridge of claim 6 , further including a tamping pad in the interior of the base and supported by a tamping spring connected to the base floor.

14. A reusable single serving brewing cartridge for use in a coffee maker, the brewing cartridge comprising:
a base made from plastic and defining an interior and an exterior and comprising:
a floor under the interior;
walls reaching up from the floor and surrounding the interior; and
a top edge of the walls above the interior, the top edge having a greater perimeter than the floor;

a passage wall outside the walls, the passage wall closed at a bottom and reaching up to a permanently open outlet port proximal to the top edge of the walls;
a passage between the passage wall and the interior, the passage in fluid communication with the interior allowing brewed drink to escape from the interior, and in fluid communication with the coffee maker through the outlet port;
a plane P defined by a top edge of the walls, the outlet port residing in the plane P, wherein the base is configured to allow an injection needle to come into fluid communication with the interior through the plane P for injection of liquid into the interior and into the brewing material, and to allow a coffee maker extraction needle to come into fluid communication with the interior through the plane P and the outlet port to receive brewed drink from the interior through the passage;
the base configured to receive a single use disposable brewing cartridge with a top diameter of about 1.8 inches, a height of about 1¾ inches, and a bottom diameter of about 1.45 inches; and
an adapter extraction needle residing in the floor of the base in fluid communication with the passage, offset to a side, and pointing up way from the floor, the extraction needle including a side passage below the disposable cartridge placing an interior of the extraction needle in fluid communication with the passage.

15. A reusable single serving brewing cartridge for use in a coffee maker, the brewing cartridge comprising:
a detached lid having a center permanent opening and an offset permanent opening;
a base made from plastic and defining an interior having a generally round cross-section and an exterior and comprising:
a floor under the interior;
base walls having a generally round cross-section reaching up from the floor and surrounding the interior;
a top edge of the base walls above the interior;
a passage wall outside the generally round cross-section of the base walls forming an extraction passage, the passage wall closed at a bottom and reaching up to a permanently open outlet port of the base proximal to the top edge of the base walls, the outlet port aligned with the offset permanent opening in the lid when the lid is attached to the base and aligned with the permanently open in the outlet port, and at least a portion of the extraction passage separated from the interior by the base walls at the top edge of the base walls;
the extraction passage in fluid communication with the interior allowing brewed drink to escape from the interior into the extraction passage, and in fluid communication with the coffee maker through the outlet port and the offset permanent opening in the lid; and
a plane P defined by the top edge of the base walls, the outlet port residing in the plane P, wherein the base is configured to allow an injection needle to come into fluid communication with the interior through the plane P for injection of liquid into the interior and into the brewing material, and to allow a coffee maker extraction needle to come into fluid communication with the interior through the plane P and the outlet port to receive brewed drink from the interior through the passage; and

the lid is attached to the base by a full circle of overlapping mechanical cooperation of the lid and base.

16. The reusable single serving brewing cartridge of claim 1 , further including an adapter extractio

Assignees

• Rivera Adrian

Inventors

• Rivera Adrian

Classifications

• A47J31/02 Primary

  Coffee-making machines with removable extraction cups, to be placed on top of drinking-vessels {i.e. coffee-makers with removable brewing vessels, to be placed on top of beverage containers, into which hot water is poured}, e.g. cafe filter (filters A47J31/06) · CPC title

• B65D2565/385

  especially suited for or with means facilitating recycling · CPC title

• A47J31/0689

  Reusable cartridges suitable to be opened for being filled with brewing material and to be closed to envelope the brewing material therein · CPC title

• B65D85/8043

  Packages adapted to allow liquid to pass through the contents (B65D85/808 takes precedence; filters or reusable cartridges for coffee or tea makers, not used as packages A47J31/06) · CPC title

• Y02W30/807

  Cross-Sectional Technologies · mapped topic