초록 ▼

An airpot beverage dispenser (10) having a composite dispense tube (40) with an exterior outlet (44) adjacent a top of a hollow body (20) and an interior inlet (110) located adjacent a bottom (16) for passing beverage (36) from adjacent the bottom (16) to the outlet when the interior of the hollow b

An airpot beverage dispenser (10) having a composite dispense tube (40) with an exterior outlet (44) adjacent a top of a hollow body (20) and an interior inlet (110) located adjacent a bottom (16) for passing beverage (36) from adjacent the bottom (16) to the outlet when the interior of the hollow body (20) is pressurized has a brew-through assembly with a cover body (24) for substantially closing the open top (18) except for a centrally located brew-through passageway (95) substantially smaller than the open top (18) and extending between an upwardly facing exterior brew-through inlet (30) and an interior outlet (102) that passes through a central passageway extending through a double-walled bellows (74) or extends past a plurality of bellows (FIG. 16, 114) that are laterally spaced from the passageway has an electronic display (48) for indicating a plurality of levels of the beverage (36) within the hollow body and a resistive (FIGS. 11-14) or capacitive (FIG. 21) electronic level sensing assembly carried by the dispense tube (40) for sensing a plurality of different levels of beverage (36) within the hollow body and electrical leads (170, 172) printed on the dispense tube to pass the sensing signals to a display controller (127). The display, controller and portable power source (123) are protectively contained within a plastic watertight compartment (126) integrally formed with the cover body (24) is vented (FIG. 20) to prevent the accumulation of moisture within the compartment (126).

대표청구항 ▼

The invention claimed is: 1. In an airpot beverage dispenser with an insulated hollow body having an interior defined by a bottom, an open top and a surrounding sidewall joining the top to the body, a dispense tube with an exterior outlet adjacent the top and an interior inlet located adjacent the

The invention claimed is: 1. In an airpot beverage dispenser with an insulated hollow body having an interior defined by a bottom, an open top and a surrounding sidewall joining the top to the body, a dispense tube with an exterior outlet adjacent the top and an interior inlet located adjacent the bottom for passing beverage from adjacent the bottom to the outlet when the interior of the hollow body is pressurized, the improvement being a brew-through assembly, comprising: a cover assembly mounted to the top and having a cover body for substantially closing the open top except for a brew-through passageway substantially smaller than the open top and extending between an upwardly facing exterior brew-through inlet and an interior outlet; and a bellows assembly carried by the cover assembly for pressurizing the interior of the insulated hollow body, said bellows assembly including a bellows body with a central opening mounted to the cover body, the brew-through passageway being substantially centrally located relative to the hollow body surrounding sidewall and passing through a central opening in the bellows body, and a bellows actuator linked to the bellows body for distorting the bellows to pressurize the interior of the hollow body. 2. The airpot beverage dispenser of claim 1 in which the bellows body is laterally spaced from the brew-through passageway. 3. The beverage dispenser of claim 1 in which the bellows body has a vertically movable top surface, and the bellows actuator includes a hollow tubular member defining the brew-through passageway mounted for sliding movement within the passageway, and a bellows engagement member laterally extending from the tubular member and in overlying relationship with the movable top surface to move the movable top surface when the tubular member is slid downwardly within the passageway. 4. In an airpot beverage dispenser with an insulated hollow body having an interior defined by a bottom, an open top and a surrounding sidewall joining the top to the body, a dispense tube with an exterior outlet adjacent the top and an interior inlet located adjacent the bottom for passing beverage from adjacent the bottom to the outlet when the interior of the hollow body is pressurized, the improvement being a brew-through assembly, comprising: a cover assembly mounted to the top and having a cover body for substantially closing the open top except for a brew-through passageway substantially smaller than the open top and extending between an upwardly facing exterior brew-through inlet and an interior outlet; and a bellows assembly carried by the cover assembly for pressurizing the interior of the insulated hollow body, said bellows assembly including a bellows body mounted to the cover body and a bellows actuator linked to the bellows body for distorting the bellows to pressurize the interior of the hollow body, and in which the bellows body has an annular, double-walled construction with an exterior wall surrounding an interior wall that surrounds the beverage brew-through passageway. 5. In an airpot beverage dispenser with an insulated hollow body having an interior defined by a bottom, an open top and a surrounding sidewall joining the top to the body, a dispense tube with an exterior outlet adjacent the top and an interior inlet located adjacent the bottom for passing beverage from adjacent the bottom to the outlet when the interior of the hollow body is pressurized, the improvement being a brew-through assembly, comprising: a cover assembly mounted to the top and having a cover body for substantially closing the open top except for a brew-through passageway substantially smaller than the open top and extending between an upwardly facing exterior brew-through inlet and an interior outlet; and a bellows assembly carried by the cover assembly for pressurizing the interior of the insulated hollow body, said bellows assembly including a bellows body mounted to the cover body and a bellows actuator linked to the bellows body for distorting the bellows to pressurize the interior of the hollow body, and in which the bellows assembly includes another bellows body that is laterally spaced from both the one bellows body and the passageway. 6. The airpot beverage dispenser of claim 5 in which the one bellows body and the other bellows body are located on opposite sides of the passageway. 7. In an airpot beverage dispenser with an insulated hollow body having an interior defined by a bottom, an open top and a surrounding sidewall joining the top to the body, a dispense tube with an exterior outlet adjacent the top and an interior inlet located adjacent the bottom for passing beverage from adjacent the bottom to the outlet when the interior of the hollow body is pressurized, the improvement being a brew-through assembly, comprising: a cover assembly mounted to the top and having a cover body for substantially closing the open top except for a brew-through passageway substantially smaller than the open top and extending between an upwardly facing exterior brew-through inlet and an interior outlet; and a bellows assembly carried by the cover assembly for pressurizing the interior of the insulated hollow body, said bellows assembly including a bellows body mounted to the cover body and a bellows actuator linked to the bellows body for distorting the bellows to pressurize the interior of the hollow body, and in which the bellows assembly includes a plurality of other bellows bodies, which together with the one bellows body, are symmetrically arranged around and laterally spaced from the passageway. 8. In an airpot beverage dispenser with an insulated hollow body having an interior defined by a bottom, an open top and a surrounding sidewall joining the top to the body, a dispense tube with an exterior outlet adjacent the top and an interior inlet located adjacent the bottom for passing beverage from adjacent the bottom to the outlet when the interior of the hollow body is pressurized, the improvement being a brew-through assembly, comprising: a cover assembly mounted to the top and having a cover body for substantially closing the open top except for a brew-through passageway substantially smaller than the open top and extending between an upwardly facing exterior brew-through inlet and an interior outlet; and a bellows assembly carried by the cover assembly for pressurizing the interior of the insulated hollow body, said bellows assembly including a bellows body mounted to the cover body and a bellows actuator linked to the bellows body for distorting the bellows to pressurize the interior of the hollow body, and in which the bellows assembly includes at least another bellows body linked to the bellows actuator for distortion of the other bellows body concurrently with distortion of the one bellows body. 9. In an airpot beverage dispenser with an insulated hollow body having an interior defined by a bottom, an open top and a surrounding sidewall joining the top to the body, a dispense tube with an exterior outlet adjacent the top and an interior inlet located adjacent the bottom for passing beverage from adjacent the bottom to the outlet when the interior of the hollow body is pressurized, the improvement being a brew-through assembly, comprising: a cover assembly mounted to the top and having a cover body for substantially closing the open top except for a brew-through passageway substantially smaller than the open top and extending between an upwardly facing exterior brew-through inlet and an interior outlet; and a bellows assembly carried by the cover assembly for pressurizing the interior of the insulated hollow body, said bellows assembly including a bellows body mounted to the cover body and a bellows actuator linked to the bellows body for distorting the bellows to pressurize the interior of the hollow body, and in which the bellows has an air outlet that communicates with the interior of the hollow body and has a valve for closing the outlet except when air is passing out of the bellows though the air outlet. 10. In an airpot beverage dispenser with an insulated hollow body having an interior defined by a bottom, an open top and a surrounding sidewall joining the top to the body, a dispense tube with an exterior outlet adjacent the top and an interior inlet located adjacent the bottom for passing beverage from adjacent the bottom to the outlet when the interior of the hollow body is pressurized, the improvement being a brew-through assembly, comprising: a cover assembly mounted to the top and having a cover body for substantially closing the open top except for a brew-through passageway substantially smaller than the open top and extending between an upwardly facing exterior brew-through inlet and an interior outlet; and a bellows assembly carried by the cover assembly for pressurizing the interior of the insulated hollow body, said bellows assembly including a bellows body mounted to the cover body and a bellows actuator linked to the bellows body for distorting the bellows to pressurize the interior of the hollow body, and in which the brew-through passageway includes an interior, nonmovable interior funnel with an outlet for passing beverage into the interior of the hollow body. 11. In an airpot beverage dispenser with an insulated hollow body having an interior defined by a bottom, an open top and a surrounding sidewall joining the top to the body, a dispense tube with an exterior outlet adjacent the top and an interior inlet located adjacent the bottom for passing beverage from adjacent the bottom to the outlet when the interior of the hollow body is pressurized, the improvement being a brew-through assembly, comprising: a cover assembly mounted to the top and having a cover body for substantially closing the open top except for a brew-through passageway substantially smaller than the open top and extending between an upwardly facing exterior brew-through inlet and an interior outlet; and a bellows assembly carried by the cover assembly for pressurizing the interior of the insulated hollow body, said bellows assembly including a bellows body mounted to the cover body and a bellows actuator linked to the bellows body for distorting the bellows to pressurize the interior of the hollow body, and in which the cover assembly includes a protective housing for the bellows assembly with a bottom, a top spaced from the bottom, and a surrounding side wall, an interior beverage outlet opening in the bottom for passing beverage from the passageway into the interior, and an inlet opening in the top through which the passageway extends. 12. The airpot beverage dispenser of claim 11 in including a tubular member mounted for sliding vertical movement within the inlet opening and having an upper end defining the exterior brew-through inlet and an outlet end received within the protective housing and in fluid communication with the interior. 13. The airpot beverage dispenser of claim 12 in which the cover assembly includes a movable cover member attached to the upper end of the tubular member and surrounding the brew-through inlet. 14. The airpot beverage dispenser of claim 13 in which the cover body includes a fixed section with a fixed cover top, and the movable cover member is vertically, slidably movable between a brew through-position in which a top surface of the movable cover is substantially flush with the fixed cover top and a relatively elevated position in which the top surface of the movable top is located above the fixed cover top. 15. The airpot beverage dispenser of claim 14 in which the fixed cover top has a recess that conforms in shape with the movable cover and within which is received the movable cover member when in the brew-through position. 16. The airpot beverage dispenser of claim 14 including means for releasably locking the movable cover member in the brew position. 17. The airpot beverage dispenser of claim 16 including means for automatically moving the movable cover member to the relatively elevated position when the movable cover is not locked in the brew-through position to increase the bellows body to a relatively larger volume than the reduced volume. 18. The airpot beverage dispenser of claim 11 in which the cover assembly has a movable member linked to the bellows actuator including means for releasably locking the movable cover in the brew position. 19. The airpot beverage dispenser of claim 18 including means for automatically moving the movable cover assembly to the relatively elevated position when the movable cover is not locked in the brew-through position to increase the bellows body to a relatively larger volume than the reduced volume. 20. The airpot beverage dispenser of claim 18 in which the movable cover member carries the bellows actuator and movement of the movable cover member to the brew position moves the bellows actuator to diminish the bellows body to a relatively reduced volume. 21. In an airpot beverage dispenser with an insulated hollow body having an interior defined by a bottom, an open top and a surrounding sidewall joining the top to the body, a dispense tube with an exterior outlet adjacent the top and an interior inlet located adjacent the bottom for passing beverage from adjacent the bottom to the outlet when the interior of the hollow body is pressurized, the improvement being a brew-through assembly, comprising: a cover assembly mounted to the top and having a cover body for substantially closing the open top except for a brew-through passageway substantially smaller than the open top and extending between an upwardly facing exterior brew-through inlet and an interior outlet; and a bellows assembly carried by the cover assembly for pressurizing the interior of the insulated hollow body, said bellows assembly including a bellows body mounted to the cover body and a bellows actuator linked to the bellows body for distorting the bellows to pressurize the interior of the hollow body, and in which the cover assembly has a top surface with the exterior brew-through inlet through which the passageway extends and includes an upwardly extending collar surrounding the brew-through inlet opening, said collar extending upwardly from the top surface for mating relationship with a beverage dispense opening of a brewer to guide freshly brewed beverage into the brew-through opening. 22. The airpot beverage dispenser of claim 21 in which the cover assembly has a movable section and the top surface in which the brew-through inlet is formed is a top surface of the movable section and including means for mounting the movable cover section between a brew position in which the brew-though opening is facing substantially upwardly for direct receipt of freshly brewed beverage when the insulated body is located at a direct brew-through position of a brewer, and a plurality of pumping positions spaced from the direct brew position, said bellows actuation member being attached to the movable cover section to translate movement between said plurality of pumping positions to pumping movement of the bellows to pump air into the insulated body. 23. In an airpot beverage dispenser with an insulated hollow body having an interior defined by a bottom, an open top and a surrounding sidewall joining the top to the body, a dispense tube with an exterior outlet adjacent the top and an interior inlet located adjacent the bottom for passing beverage from adjacent the bottom to the outlet when the interior of the hollow body is pressurized, the improvement being a brew-through assembly, comprising: a cover assembly with a cover carrying the bellows and a bellows actuator; an electronic display for indicating a plurality of levels of the beverage within the hollow body; an electronic level sensing assembly with a level sensing probe with multiple level sensing locations at a plurality of different levels for sensing a plurality of different levels of beverage within the hollow body, respectively; and means for communicating level sensing information from the electronic level sensing assembly to the electronic level display for selective display of the plurality of different levels of beverage within the hollow body. 24. The airpot beverage dispenser of claim 23 in which the electronic sensing assembly is attached to a vertical portion of the dispense tube and includes one (a) a capacitive sensor, and (b) a resistive sensor. 25. The airpot beverage dispenser of claim 23 in which the dispense tube is made of stainless steel with an insulated coating on which electronic level sensing circuitry is formed. 26. The airpot beverage dispenser of claim 23 in which the dispense tube has a tubular body with a surrounding wall formed from an inner layer of relatively low resistance material covered by an outer layer of relatively high resistance material except at a plurality of gaps through which electrical connection may be made between beverage within the interior and the relatively low resistance gap. 27. The airpot beverage dispenser of claim 26 in which the tubular body includes another inner layer of relatively high resistance material substantially continuously covering an interior side of the inner layer of relatively low resistance material. 28. The airpot beverage dispenser of claim 27 including another interior layer of relatively rigid, stainless material that is substantially continuously covered by the other inner layer of relatively high resistance material. 29. The airpot beverage dispenser of claim 28 in which the other interior layer of relatively rigid, stainless material is stainless steel and provides most of the structural strength of the dispense tube. 30. The airpot beverage dispenser of claim 28 in which the material of relatively high resistance material and the other inner layer of relatively high resistance material is one of (a) ceramic, and (b) material having ceramic-like electrical and non-corrosive characteristics. 31. The airpot beverage dispenser of claim 30 in which the material of the inner layer of relatively low resistance material is one of (a) stainless steel, (b) another metal, (c) a composite material having metal-like electrical conductivity characteristics. 32. The airpot beverage dispenser of claim 26 in which the relatively high resistance material of the outer layer is one of (a) ceramic, and (b) material having ceramic-like electrical and non-corrosive characteristics. 33. The airpot beverage dispenser of claim 32 in which the material of the inner layer of relatively low resistance material is one of (a) stainless steel, (b) another metal, (c) a composite material having metal-like electrical conductivity characteristics. 34. The airpot beverage dispenser of claim 26 in which the material of the inner layer of relatively low resistance material is one of (a) stainless steel, (b) another metal, (c) a composite material having metal-like electrical conductivity characteristics. 35. The airpot beverage dispenser of claim 26 including a plurality of plugs filling the plurality of gaps made of one of (a) gold, (b) aluminum, (c) stainless steel, and (d) any other material of relatively low resistance material. 36. The airpot beverage dispenser of claim 23 in which the dispenser tube is made of metal and the communicating means includes an electronic level sensing controller and a nonmetalic coating upon which is printed at least one relatively conductive lead interconnecting a plurality of level sensing elements carried by the dispense tube and the controller. 37. The airpot beverage dispenser of claim 26 in which the electronic level sensing assembly includes a plurality of capacitive sensor plates carried in spaced relationship along the dispense tube to sense the presence of beverage at a plurality of levels, respectively. 38. The airpot beverage dispenser of claim 37 including an elongate watertight compartment attached along the dispense tube within which the capacitor sensor plates are protectively enclosed. 39. The airpot beverage dispenser of claim 38 in which the elongate water tight compartment has a wall with an exterior surface exposed to the beverage and an interior surface located opposite the exterior surface and the capacitor sensing plates are in contact with the interior surface. 40. The airpot beverage dispenser of claim 39 including means for resiliently pressing the capacitor sensor plates against the interior surface. 41. The airpot beverage dispenser of claim 39 in which the resilient pressing means includes a single circuit board, means for mounting the capacitive sensor plates to one side of a circuit board and means for mounting the resiliently pressing means an opposite side of the circuit board to press the one side of the circuit board and the capacitive sensor plates against the interior surface. 42. The airpot beverage dispenser of claim 41 in which the elongate watertight housing has another interior surface spaced oppositely from the one interior surface and the resiliently pressing means presses against and away from the other interior surface to press the capacitive elements against the one interior surface. 43. The airpot beverage dispenser of claim 42 in which the other interior surface is tapered upwardly and away from the one interior surface of the watertight compartment and the resilient pressing means includes a plurality of resilient members of varying lengths and at different levels to accommodate varying spacing of the interior surfaces at the different levels. 44. The airpot beverage dispenser of claim 41 in which the resilient pressing means includes a plurality of springs located along the dispense tube on a side of the circuit board opposite the side to which the capacitor sensor plates are mounted. 45. The airpot beverage dispenser of claim 23 in which the cover assembly includes a brew-through opening to enable beverage to be brewed directly into the interior of the hollow body without first moving the cover assembly away from the open top. 46. The airpot beverage dispenser of claim 45 in which the cover assembly includes a protective housing containing between a top and a bottom a bellows for pressurizing the interior of the hollow body and carrying an actuator with a manually engagable exterior member for moving the bellows. 47. The airpot beverage dispenser of claim 46 including a brew-through passageway passing through the protective housing from an inlet at the top and an outlet at the bottom. 48. The airpot beverage dispenser of claim 46 in which the cover assembly includes a watertight electronics compartment for protectively mounting an electronic display controller and a portable power supply, and means for carrying the electronic level sensing assembly in level sensing relationship within the interior of the hollow body. 49. The airpot beverage dispenser of claim 48 in which the elongate member is a tube for dispensing beverage out of the interior of the hollow body. 50. The airpot beverage dispenser of claim 49 in which the elongate member has a generally horizontal section carrying conductors for connecting the level sensing assembly with the communicating means and means carried by the cover assembly for mounting the horizontal section near the water tight compartment to make connection between the conductors and the communicating means. 51. The airpot beverage dispenser of claim 49 in which the watertight compartment includes means for mounting the electronic display and electrical connections between the display and the communicating means. 52. The airpot beverage dispenser of claim 51 in which the communicating means includes a microcomputer based controller interconnected between the electronic level sensing assembly conductors and the electronic display. 53. The airpot beverage dispenser of claim 23 in which the communicating means includes a microprocessor programmed to interpret signals from the electronic level sensing assembly to control the electronic display to display one of a plurality of different quantities of beverage corresponding to the level sensed by the multiple level sensing locations at the plurality of different levels of the electronic level sensing assembly. 54. In an airpot beverage dispenser with an insulated hollow body having an interior defined by a bottom, an open top and a surrounding sidewall joining the top to the body, a dispense tube with an exterior outlet adjacent the top and an interior inlet located adjacent the bottom for passing beverage from adjacent the bottom to the outlet when the interior of the hollow body is pressurized, the improvement being a brew-through assembly, comprising: a cover assembly with a cover carrying the bellows and a bellows actuator; an electronic display for indicating a plurality of levels of the beverage within the hollow body, the electronic level sensing assembly including a battery powered electronic circuit for operating the electronic display, and a water tight electronics compartment defined by part of the cover for protectively housing the battery powered electronic operating circuit; an electronic level sensing assembly for sensing a plurality of different levels of beverage within the hollow body; and means for communicating level sensing information from the electronic level sensing assembly to the electronic level display. 55. The airpot beverage dispenser of claim 54 in which the digital display is mounted to an outside front of the cover adjacent the watertight electronics compartment and faces laterally forwardly for reading from in front of the hollow body. 56. In an airpot beverage dispenser with an insulated hollow body having an interior defined by a bottom, an open top and a surrounding sidewall joining the top to the body, a dispense tube with an exterior outlet adjacent the top and an interior inlet located adjacent the bottom for passing beverage from adjacent the bottom to the outlet when the interior of the hollow body is pressurized, the improvement being a brew-through assembly, comprising: a cover assembly with a cover carrying the bellows and a bellows actuator; an electronic display for indicating a plurality of levels of the beverage within the hollow body; an electronic level sensing assembly for sensing a plurality of different levels of beverage within the hollow body including an elongate member mounted to and extending downwardly into the interior of the hollow body to a plurality of levels, and means carried along the length of the elongate member for sensing the plurality of levels; and means for communicating level sensing information from the electronic level sensing assembly to the electronic level display. 57. The airpot beverage dispenser of claim 56 in which the elongate member is a tube for dispensing beverage out of the interior of the hollow body and has a horizontal section. 58. The airpot beverage dispenser of claim 57 including means for passing the horizontal section near the watertight electronics compartment to pass electrical connections from the electronic level sensing assembly into the electronics compartment. 59. In an airpot beverage dispenser with an insulated hollow body having an interior defined by a bottom, an open top and a surrounding sidewall joining the top to the body, a dispense tube with an exterior outlet adjacent the top and an interior inlet located adjacent the bottom for passing beverage from adjacent the bottom to the outlet when the interior of the hollow body is pressurized, the improvement being a brew-through assembly, comprising: a cover assembly with a cover carrying the bellows and a bellows actuator; an electronic display for indicating a plurality of levels of the beverage within the hollow body; an electronic level sensing assembly for sensing a plurality of different levels of beverage within the hollow body; and means for communicating level sensing information from the electronic level sensing assembly to the electronic level display, the communicating means including means for radio wave transmitting information from the electronic level sensing assembly to the electronic display. 60. In an airpot beverage dispenser with an insulated hollow body having an interior defined by a bottom, an open top and a surrounding sidewall joining the top to the body, a dispense tube with an exterior outlet adjacent the top and an interior inlet located adjacent the bottom for passing beverage from adjacent the bottom to the outlet when the interior of the hollow body is pressurized, the improvement being a brew-through assembly, comprising: a cover assembly with a cover carrying the bellows and a bellows actuator, the cover including an electronics compartment made of plastic and means for venting the plastic compartment to atmosphere; an electronic display for indicating a plurality of levels of the beverage within the hollow body; an electronic level sensing assembly for sensing a plurality of different levels of beverage within the hollow body; and means for communicating level sensing information from the electronic level sensing assembly to the electronic level display. 61. In an airpot beverage dispenser with an insulated hollow body having an interior defined by a bottom, an open top and a surrounding sidewall joining the top to the body, a dispense tube with an exterior outlet adjacent the top and an interior inlet located adjacent the bottom for passing beverage from adjacent the bottom to the outlet when the interior of the hollow body is pressurized, the improvement being a brew-through cover assembly, comprising: a cover fitted to the open top with a housing protectively enclosing means to pressurize the interior of the hollow body, an electronic beverage level display, a display controller responsive to an electronic level sensor for controlling the electronic display and a portable source of electrical power for the display and the controller; a direct-brew passageway passing through the housing with an exterior inlet located at a top surface of the housing and an interior outlet at a bottom surface of the housing and in fluid communication with the interior of the hollow body; and means carried by the cover for manually actuating the pressurizing means. 62. The airpot beverage dispenser of claim 61 including means for electronically sensing the quantity of beverage within the interior of the hollow body, and means for mounting the electronic sensing means to the cover. 63. The airpot beverage dispenser of claim 61 in which the cover has a top surface and the electronic display has a face that is directed in a lateral direction to enable viewing from a position beneath the top surface. 64. The airpot beverage dispenser of claim 61 in which the direct brew passageway is defined by a tubular member mounted for vertical movement within a mating mounting hole in the top of the cover. 65. The airpot beverage dispenser of claim 61 in which the brew-through cover assembly includes means for releasably detaching the cover from the open top to enable cleaning of the interior of the hollow body. 66. The airpot beverage dispenser of claim 61 in which the pressurizing means includes a bellows mounted within the housing and manually engagable through an engagement member mounted to the cover for movement relative to the cover. 67. The airpot beverage dispenser of claim 61 including means for mounting the dispense tube to the cover for removal from the interior of the hollow body with removal of the cover from the open top. 68. The airpot beverage dispenser of claim 61 in which the electronic level sensor is mounted to the cover and includes one of (a) a capacitive sensor, and (b) a resistive sensor. 69. In an airpot beverage dispenser with an insulated hollow body having an interior defined by a bottom, an open top and a surrounding sidewall joining the top to the body, a dispense tube with an exterior outlet adjacent the top and an interior inlet located adjacent the bottom for passing beverage from adjacent the bottom to the outlet when the interior of the hollow body is pressurized, the improvement being a brew-through cover assembly, comprising: a cover fitted to the open top with a housing protectively enclosing means to pressurize the interior of the hollow body, an electronic beverage level display, a display controller responsive to an electronic level sensor for controlling the electronic display and a portable source of electrical power for the display and the controller; a direct-brew passageway passing through the housing with an exterior inlet located at a top surface of the housing, and an interior outlet at a bottom surface of the housing and in fluid communication with the interior of the hollow body, the direct brew passageway being defined by a tubular member mounted for vertical movement within a mating mounting hole in the top of the cover, an inlet end of the tubular member being attached to a movable cover member in which the brew-through beverage inlet is formed, and said cover having a recess within which the movable cover member is received when the movable cover is moved to a brew position; and means carried by the cover for manually actuating the pressurizing means. 70. The airpot beverage dispenser of claim 69 in which the pressurizing means includes a bellows within the housing and in which the tubular member carries an engagement member for pressing against the bellows when the tubular member is moved downwardly. 71. In an airpot beverage dispenser with an insulated hollow body having an interior defined by a bottom, an open top and a surrounding sidewall joining the top to the body, a dispense tube with an exterior outlet adjacent the top and an interior inlet located adjacent the bottom for passing beverage from adjacent the bottom to the outlet when the interior of the hollow body is pressurized, the improvement being a brew-through cover assembly, comprising: a cover fitted to the open top with a housing protectively enclosing means to pressurize the interior of the hollow body, an electronic beverage level display, a display controller responsive to an electronic level sensor for controlling the electronic display and a portable source of electrical power for the display and the controller; a direct-brew passageway passing through the housing with an exterior inlet located at a top surface of the housing and an interior outlet at a bottom surface of the housing and in fluid communication with the interior of the hollow body; means carried by the cover for manually actuating the pressurizing means, and an upwardly standing collar surrounding the exterior inlet for guiding beverage from a brewer directly into the beverage inlet. 72. The airpot beverage dispenser of claim 71 including a cap releasably attached to the collar to selectively close the brew-through inlet after the end of a brew cycle. 73. In an airpot beverage dispenser with an insulated hollow body having an interior defined by a bottom, an open top and a surrounding sidewall joining the top to the body, a dispense tube with an exterior outlet adjacent the top and an interior inlet located adjacent the bottom for passing beverage from adjacent the bottom to the outlet when the interior of the hollow body is pressurized, the improvement being a brew-through cover assembly, comprising: a cover fitted to the open top with a housing protectively enclosing means to pressurize the interior of the hollow body, an electronic beverage level display, a display controller responsive to an electronic level sensor for controlling the electronic display and a portable source of electrical power for the display and the controller, the electronic level sensor being mounted to the dispense tube; a direct-brew passageway passing through the housing with an exterior inlet located at a top surface of the housing and an interior outlet at a bottom surface of the housing and in fluid communication with the interior of the hollow body; and means carried by the cover for manually actuating the pressurizing means, means for mounting the dispense tube to the cover for removal from the interior of the hollow body with removal of the cover from the open top. 74. In an airpot beverage dispenser with an insulated hollow body having, a bottom, an open top and a surrounding sidewall joining the open top to the bottom, a laterally extending, downwardly facing spout outside of the hollow body and a dispense tube with an outlet connected to the spout and an inlet within the hollow body and located adjacent the bottom for passing beverage from adjacent the bottom to the spout, the improvement, comprising: a cover assembly mounted to the open top of the hollow body and including an upwardly facing, centrally located brew-through beverage inlet passageway passing through the cover and having a centrally located, upwardly facing, beverage inlet substantially smaller than that of the open top of the hollow body, and means for mounting the dispense tube and the spout at a location laterally spaced from the centrally located brew-through beverage inlet passageway; and means for mounting the cover assembly to top of the hollow body. 75. The airpot of claim 74 including an electronic display, a sensor of an actual condition of the beverage within the hollow body located within the hollow body including a plurality of different levels of beverage, and means for controlling the electronic display in response to the sensor to show an indication of the actual condition sensed by sensor including a plurality of different levels. 76. The airpot of claim 75 in which the actual condition of the beverage sensed by the sensor and shown on the display is both the temperature and the plurality of different levels of the beverage. 77. A method of serving freshly brewed beverage from an airpot, comprising the steps of: locating the airpot at a brew position with a brew-through inlet opening in an upper most surface of a closed cover assembly of the airpot positioned adjacent to and aligned with a beverage outlet of the brewer to directly receive freshly brewed beverage into the airpot; passing beverage from the beverage outlet directly into a hollow body of the airpot through the brew-through inlet and a brew-through passageway defining the brew-through inlet and slidably mounted to the cover assembly while the cover is closed; and serving beverage at the serving location from a spout located outside of the hollow body and connected with a dispense tube within the hollow body by actuating a bellows by manually sliding the brew-through passageway against the bellows to relatively pressurize the hollow body; closing the brew-through inlet before moving the airpot to a serving location and after the step of passing has been completed by the steps of manually moving a closure cap movably mounted to the cover between a closed position in which the brew-through inlet is blocked by the cap, and an open brew-through position in which the inlet is unblocked. 78. The method of claim 77 including the step of closing communication of the brew-through inlet with the hollow body after the beverage has been passed into the hollow body. 79. The method of claim 77 including the step of closing the brew-through inlet before moving the airpot to a serving location and after the step of passing has been completed. 80. The method of claim 77 in which the bellows body is annular with a central passageway, and the step of passing includes the step of passing beverage through the central passageway and past and through the bellows. 81. The method of claim 77 including the steps of electronically measuring the amount of beverage in the hollow body at the serving location, and displaying the amount of beverage on an electronic display. 82. The method of claim 77 including the steps of electronically measuring the amount of beverage in the hollow body with one of (a) a temperature sensor, and (b) a capacitive sensor, and displaying the amount on an electronic display attached to the hollow body. 83. A method of serving freshly brewed beverage from an airpot, comprising the steps of: locating the airpot at a brew position with a brew-through inlet opening in an upper most surface of a closed cover assembly of the airpot positioned adjacent to and aligned with a beverage outlet of the brewer to directly receive freshly brewed beverage into the airpot; passing beverage from the beverage outlet directly into a hollow body of the airpot through the brew-through inlet opening in the closed cover while the cover is closed; moving a closure cap between a closed position in which the brew-through inlet is blocked by the cap, and a brew through position in which the inlet is unblocked; and serving beverage at the serving location from a spout located outside of the hollow body and connected with a dispense tube within the hollow body by actuating a bellows to relatively pressurize the hollow body. 84. The method of claim 83 in which the closure member is movably mounted to the cover assembly. 85. A method of serving freshly brewed beverage from an airpot, comprising the steps of: locating the airpot at a brew position with a brew-through inlet opening in an upper most surface of a closed cover assembly of the airpot positioned adjacent to and aligned with a beverage outlet of the brewer to directly receive freshly brewed beverage into the airpot; passing beverage from the beverage outlet directly into a hollow body of the airpot through the brew-through inlet opening in the closed cover while the cover is closed; and serving beverage at the serving location from a spout located outside of the hollow body and connected with a dispense tube within the hollow body by actuating a bellows to relatively pressurize the hollow body, and in which the hollow body has an open top, and the closed cover assembly is fixedly mounted to the hollow body to maintain a fixed position relative to the hollow body to permanently close the open top except for the brew-through inlet when open. 86. A method of serving freshly brewed beverage from an airpot, comprising the steps of: locating the airpot at a brew position with a brew-through inlet opening in an upper most surface of a closed cover assembly of the airpot positioned adjacent to and aligned with a beverage outlet of the brewer to directly receive freshly brewed beverage into the airpot; passing beverage from the beverage outlet directly into a hollow body of the airpot through the brew-through inlet opening in the closed cover while the cover is closed; and serving beverage at the serving location from a spout located outside of the hollow body and connected with a dispense tube within the hollow body by actuating a bellows to relatively pressurize the hollow body, and in which the bellows has a double-wall construction with a central passageway, and the step of passing includes the step of passing beverage from the brew-through inlet and into and through the central passageway and into the hollow body. 87. A method of serving freshly brewed beverage from an airpot, comprising the steps of: locating the airpot at a brew position with a brew-through inlet opening in an upper most surface of a closed cover assembly of the airpot positioned adjacent to and aligned with a beverage outlet of the brewer to directly receive freshly brewed beverage into the airpot; passing beverage from the beverage outlet directly into a hollow body of the airpot through the brew-through inlet opening in the closed cover while the cover is closed; and serving beverage at the serving location from a spout located outside of the hollow body and connected with a dispense tube within the hollow body by actuating a bellows to relatively pressurize the hollow body, and in which the step of passing includes the step of passing the beverage through a gap between the one bellows and another bellows spaced from the one bellows. 88. In an airpot beverage dispenser with an insulated hollow body having a bottom, a top and a surrounding sidewall joining the top to the body, a spout and an elongate feed tube extending downwardly into the hollow body with an outlet connected to the spout within the insulated body and an inlet located adjacent the bottom for passing beverage from adjacent the bottom to the spout, the improvement being a method of electronically displaying an actual condition of the beverage within the hollow body, comprising the steps of: closing the open top of the hollow body assembly with a cover assembly carrying a bellows and a bellows actuator; indicating with an electronic display the level of the beverage within the hollow body; sensing with an electronic level sensing assembly a plurality of different levels of beverage within the hollow body; and linking the electronic level sensing assembly to the electronic level display. 89. In an airpot beverage dispenser with an insulated hollow body having a bottom, a top and a surrounding sidewall joining the top to the body, a spout and an elongate feed tube extending downwardly into the hollow body with an outlet connected to the spout within the insulated body and an inlet located adjacent the bottom for passing beverage from adjacent the bottom to the spout, the improvement being a method of electronically displaying an actual condition of the beverage within the hollow body, comprising the steps of: closing the open top of the hollow body assembly with a cover assembly carrying a bellows and a bellows actuator; indicating with an electronic display the level of the beverage within the hollow body; sensing with an electronic level sensing assembly a plurality of different levels of beverage within the hollow body; and linking the electronic level sensing assembly to the electronic level display, and in which the electronic level sensing assembly includes a battery powered electronic circuit for operating the electronic display, and including the step of protectively housing the battery powered electronic operating circuit in a water tight electronics compartment defined by part of the cover. 90. In an airpot beverage dispenser with an insulated hollow body having a bottom, a top and a surrounding sidewall joining the top to the body, a spout and an elongate feed tube extending downwardly into the hollow body with an outlet connected to the spout within the insulated body and an inlet located adjacent the bottom for passing beverage from adjacent the bottom to the spout, the improvement being a method of electronically displaying an actual condition of the beverage within the hollow body, comprising the steps of: closing the open top of the hollow body assembly with a cover assembly carrying a bellows and a bellows actuator; indicating with an electronic display the level of the beverage within the hollow body; sensing with an electronic level sensing assembly a plurality of different levels of beverage within the hollow body; and linking the electronic level sensing assembly to the electronic level display, and which the digital display is mounted to an outside front of the cover adjacent the watertight electronics compartment and faces laterally forwardly for reading from in front of the hollow body. 91. In an airpot beverage dispenser with an insulated hollow body having a bottom, a top and a surrounding sidewall joining the top to the body, a spout and an elongate feed tube extending downwardly into the hollow body with an outlet connected to the spout within the insulated body and an inlet located adjacent the bottom for passing beverage from adjacent the bottom to the spout, the improvement being a method of electronically displaying an actual condition of the beverage within the hollow body, comprising the steps of: closing the open top of the hollow body assembly with a cover assembly carrying a bellows and a bellows actuator; indicating with an electronic display the level of the beverage within the hollow body; sensing with an electronic level sensing assembly a plurality of different levels of beverage within the hollow body; and linking the electronic level sensing assembly to the electronic level display, and in which the step of sensing includes the step of electronically sensing with one of (a) a capacitive sensor, and (b) a resistive sensor attached to a vertical portion of the feed-tube. 92. In an airpot beverage dispenser with an insulated hollow body having a bottom, a top and a surrounding sidewall joining the top to the body, a spout and an elongate feed tube extending downwardly into the hollow body with an outlet connected to the spout within the insulated body and an inlet located adjacent the bottom for passing beverage from adjacent the bottom to the spout, the improvement being a method of electronically displaying an actual condition of the beverage within the hollow body, comprising the steps of: closing the open top of the hollow body assembly with a cover assembly carrying a bellows and a bellows actuator; indicating with an electronic display the level of the beverage within the hollow body; sensing with an electronic level sensing assembly a plurality of different levels of beverage within the hollow body; and linking the electronic level sensing assembly to the electronic level display, and in which the feed-tube is made of stainless steel with an insulated coating on which the electronic level sensing circuitry is printed. 93. In an airpot beverage dispenser with an insulated hollow body having, a bottom, a top and a surrounding sidewall joining the top to the body, a spout and a feed tube with an outlet connected to the spout within the insulated body and an inlet located adjacent the bottom for passing beverage from adjacent the bottom to the spout, the improvement being a method of serving freshly brewed beverage, comprising the steps of: keeping the open top of the hollow body substantially closed with a cover assembly mounted to the top and having a cover carrying a bellows; and moving a bellows actuation member lever with a brew-through inlet opening for direct passage of freshly brewed beverage directly into the hollow insulated body to a brew position in which the brew-though opening is facing substantially upwardly for direct receipt of freshly brewed beverage from a beverage outlet of a brewer; passing freshly brewed beverage from the beverage brewer through the brew-through inlet opening when the actuation member is in the brew position; after the step of passing, serving beverage out of the spout by moving the actuation member between the direct brew position and at least one pumping position to pressurize the insulated hollow body to force beverage upwardly through the feed-tube and out of the spout. 94. The method of claim 93 including the step of keeping the inlet opening closed prior to, and after, the step of serving with the inlet closure cap. 95. In an airpot beverage dispenser with an insulated hollow body having, a bottom, a top and a surrounding sidewall joining the top to the body, a spout and a feed tube with an outlet connected to the spout within the insulated body and an inlet located adjacent the bottom for passing beverage from adjacent the bottom to the spout, the improvement being a method of serving freshly brewed beverage, comprising the steps of: keeping the open top of the hollow body substantially closed with a cover assembly mounted to the top and having a cover carrying a bellows; and moving a bellows actuation member lever with a brew-through inlet opening for direct passage of freshly brewed beverage directly into the hollow insulated body to a brew position in which the brew-though opening is facing substantially upwardly for direct receipt of freshly brewed beverage from a beverage outlet of a brewer; passing freshly brewed beverage from the beverage brewer through the brew-through inlet opening when the actuation member is in the brew position; after the step of passing, serving beverage out of the spout by moving the actuation member between the direct brew position and at least one pumping position to pressurize the insulated hollow body to force beverage upwardly through the feed-tube and out of the spout, and in which the bellows has a bellows body with a double-walled construction, and a beverage passageway with an inlet located in aligned relationship with the brew-through inlet opening and extending through the bellows body, and including the step of passing beverage received from the flow-through inlet through the beverage passageway extending through the bellows body and into the insulated hollow body. 96. In an airpot beverage dispenser with an insulated hollow body having, a bottom, a top and a surrounding sidewall joining the top to the body, a spout and a feed tube with an outlet connected to the spout within the insulated body and an inlet located adjacent the bottom for passing beverage from adjacent the bottom to the spout, the improvement being a method of serving freshly brewed beverage, comprising the steps of: keeping the open top of the hollow body substantially closed with a cover assembly mounted to the top and having a cover carrying a bellows; and moving a bellows actuation member lever with a brew-through inlet opening for direct passage of freshly brewed beverage directly into the hollow insulated body to a brew position in which the brew-though opening is facing substantially upwardly for direct receipt of freshly brewed beverage from a beverage outlet of a brewer; passing freshly brewed beverage from the beverage brewer through the brew-through inlet opening when the actuation member is in the brew position; after the step of passing, serving beverage out of the spout by moving the actuation member between the direct brew position and at least one pumping position to pressurize the insulated hollow body to force beverage upwardly through the feed-tube and out of the spout, and including another bellows linked to the bellows actuation member and spaced from the one bellows to provide a passageway between the one bellows and the other bellows that is aligned with the brew-through inlet opening, and including the step of passing beverage from the brew-through inlet opening past the one bellows and the other bellows and into hollow insulated body.