IPC분류정보
국가/구분 |
United States(US) Patent
등록
|
국제특허분류(IPC7판) |
|
출원번호 |
US-0074990
(2002-02-13)
|
우선권정보 |
GB-0103658(2001-02-14) |
발명자
/ 주소 |
- Scott,Michael James
- Ashton,Steven
- Johnston,Simon Richard
|
출원인 / 주소 |
|
대리인 / 주소 |
|
인용정보 |
피인용 횟수 :
1 인용 특허 :
8 |
초록
▼
An electric beverage maker includes a lower, water boiling vessel, a funnel extending into the lower vessel and having an upper compartment for receiving a beverage, and an upper vessel mounted over the funnel to receive water which has passed up the funnel through the compartment, and from which th
An electric beverage maker includes a lower, water boiling vessel, a funnel extending into the lower vessel and having an upper compartment for receiving a beverage, and an upper vessel mounted over the funnel to receive water which has passed up the funnel through the compartment, and from which the beverage is dispensed. The lower vessel is formed with an opening in its lower region, which is closed by a thick film electric heater. The heater is controlled by a control which operates to disable the heater until such time as the control is reset manually by a user.
대표청구항
▼
What is claimed is: 1. An electric beverage maker comprising a lower, water boiling vessel, a funnel extending into the lower vessel and having an upper compartment for receiving a beverage and an upper vessel mounted over said funnel to receive water which has passed up said funnel through said co
What is claimed is: 1. An electric beverage maker comprising a lower, water boiling vessel, a funnel extending into the lower vessel and having an upper compartment for receiving a beverage and an upper vessel mounted over said funnel to receive water which has passed up said funnel through said compartment, and from which the beverage is dispensed, said lower vessel being formed with an opening in its lower region, and an electric heater being mounted to close said opening thereby forming a heating base for the lower vessel, wherein said heater comprises an unheated region arranged directly below said funnel. 2. A beverage maker as claimed in claim 1 wherein the lower vessel is made of plastics. 3. A beverage maker as claimed in claim 2 wherein the lower vessel has side walls which extend down below the opening so as to form a skirt. 4. A beverage maker as claimed in claim 1 wherein the upper vessel is molded plastics. 5. A beverage maker as claimed in claim 1 wherein the heater, which is arranged in the base of the lower vessel, is a planar heater having heating means provided in or on its underside. 6. A beverage maker as claimed in claim 5 wherein the heater is provided with a peripheral flange which is urged upwardly to secure the heater in place. 7. A beverage maker as claimed in claim 6 wherein said flange is urged upwardly by the housing of a control for the beverage maker. 8. A beverage maker as claimed in claim 1 further comprising a thermally sensitive control operable to disconnect the power supply to the heater when at least a part of said lower vessel boils dry. 9. A beverage maker as claimed in claim 8 wherein the control is arranged such that it disconnects the power to the heater until the control is reset by a user. 10. A beverage maker as claimed in claim 9 wherein said control comprises a thermally sensitive actuator operable to open a set of contacts when the liquid in at least a part of said lower vessel has been boiled away, and further comprises means for maintaining those contacts open until such time as reset by a user of the appliance. 11. A beverage maker as claimed in claim 10 wherein said actuator is a thermally sensitive bimetallic actuator of the type which has a reset temperature which is significantly below normal ambient temperatures whereby it may only be reset by a user in normal use. 12. A beverage maker as claimed in claim 10 wherein a movable contact is mounted on a bi-stable contact arm which, once it has been moved to its open position, can only be returned to its closed position by a manual reset mechanism. 13. A beverage maker as claimed in claim 10 further comprising a latch for latching a movable contact in an open condition after operation of the bimetallic actuator, and a manual latch release mechanism. 14. A beverage maker as claimed in claim 13 wherein the latch comprises a catch and a resilient latch member which engages the catch to latch the contact open. 15. A beverage maker as claimed in claim 14 wherein said latch release mechanism comprises a release member for deflecting said resilient latch member out of engagement with said catch. 16. A beverage maker as claimed in claim 14 wherein the catch is associated with the movable contact. 17. A beverage maker as claimed in claim 16 wherein said latch release mechanism comprises a release member for deflecting said resilient latch member out of engagement with said catch. 18. A beverage maker as claimed in claim 16 wherein said resilient latch member comprises an elongate leaf or wire spring. 19. A beverage maker as claimed in claim 18 wherein said latch release mechanism comprises a release member for deflecting said resilient latch member out of engagement with said catch. 20. A beverage maker as claimed in claim 1 comprising a lamp or other indicator which is illuminated either while the liquid is heating, or after the control has operated, thereby indicating that the beverage is ready. 21. An electric beverage maker comprising a lower, water boiling, vessel, a funnel extending into the lower vessel and having an upper compartment for receiving a beverage, an upper vessel mounted over said funnel to receive water which has passed up said funnel through said compartment and from which the beverage is dispensed, and electric heating means associated with said lower vessel for heating water in said lower vessel, said beverage maker further comprising a thermally sensitive control for disconnecting the electrical supply to said heater when the water in said lower vessel substantially boils away, and means for manually resetting said control to allow said heater to be re-energized, wherein said heater comprises an unheated region arranged directly below said funnel. 22. A beverage maker as claimed in claim 21 wherein said control comprises a thermally sensitive actuator operable to open a set of contacts when the liquid in at least a part of said lower vessel has been boiled away, and further comprises means for maintaining those contacts open until such time as reset by a user of the appliance. 23. A beverage maker as claimed in claim 22 wherein said actuator is a thermally sensitive bimetallic actuator of the type which has a reset temperature which is significantly below normal ambient temperatures whereby it may only be reset by a user in normal use. 24. A beverage maker as claimed in claim 22 wherein a movable contact is mounted on a bi-stable contact arm which, once it has been moved to its open position, can only be returned to its closed position by a manual reset mechanism. 25. A beverage maker as claimed in claim 22 further comprising a latch for latching a movable contact in an open condition after operation of the bimetallic actuator, and a manual latch release mechanism. 26. A beverage maker as claimed in claim 25 wherein the latch comprises a catch and a resilient latch member which engages the catch to latch the contact open. 27. A beverage maker as claimed in claim 26 wherein the catch is associated with the movable contact. 28. A beverage maker as claimed in claim 27 wherein said resilient latch member comprises an elongate leaf or wire spring. 29. An electric beverage maker comprising a lower, water boiling vessel, a funnel extending into the lower vessel and having an upper compartment for receiving a beverage and an upper vessel mounted over said funnel to receive water which has passed up said funnel through said compartment, and from which the beverage is dispensed, characterized in that said lower vessel is formed with an opening in its lower region, and in that opening an electric heater is mounted to close said opening thereby forming a heating base for the lower vessel, and wherein the heating base of the lower vessel is arranged to slope and the actuator of a control is arranged at an upper part of the base. 30. A thermally sensitive control for an electric beverage maker comprising a lower, water boiling, vessel, a funnel extending into the lower vessel and having an upper compartment for receiving a beverage, an upper vessel mounted over said funnel to receive water which has passed up said funnel through said compartment and from which the beverage is dispensed, and electric heating means associated with said lower vessel for heating water in said lower vessel, wherein said lower vessel comprises an unheated region arranged directly below said funnel, said control comprising a thermally sensitive actuator operable to open a set of contacts when the liquid in at least a part of said lower vessel has been boiled away, a latch for latching a movable contact in an open condition after operation of the bimetallic actuator, and a manual latch release mechanism. 31. A control as claimed in claim 30 wherein the latch comprises a catch and a resilient latch member which engages the catch to latch the contact open. 32. A control as claimed in claim 31 wherein said latch release mechanism comprises a release member for deflecting said resilient latch member out of engagement with said catch. 33. A control as claimed in claim 31 wherein the catch is associated with the movable contact. 34. A control as claimed in claim 33 wherein said latch release mechanism comprises a release member for deflecting said resilient latch member out of engagement with said catch. 35. A control as claimed in claim 31 wherein said resilient latch member comprises an elongate leaf or wire spring. 36. A control as claimed in claim 35 wherein said latch release mechanism comprises a release member for deflecting said resilient latch member out of engagement with said catch. 37. An electric beverage maker comprising a liquid heating vessel, a funnel extending into the vessel, and an electric heater for heating liquid in the vessel, wherein the funnel includes a first open end and a second open end, and the second open end is smaller in cross-sectional area than the first open end, and wherein the electric heater includes a stainless steel plate and a heating element disposed only around the periphery of the plate, and wherein the electric heater has a first portion disposed within the periphery of the plate, directly below all of the second open end of the funnel, and the first portion of the electric heater is unheated. 38. The electric beverage maker of claim 37, wherein the heating element is a thick film heating element. 39. The electric beverage maker of claim 37, wherein the heating element is a sheathed electric heating element.
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