A single cup brewer includes a steeping cup and a drain plug. The steeping cup includes a sidewall extending from a base to form a contained space. The steeping cup also includes a tapered drain extending from the base and away from the contained space. The tapered drain has a tapered drain hole tap
A single cup brewer includes a steeping cup and a drain plug. The steeping cup includes a sidewall extending from a base to form a contained space. The steeping cup also includes a tapered drain extending from the base and away from the contained space. The tapered drain has a tapered drain hole tapering from a top diameter to a bottom diameter through the base of the steeping cup. The drain plug includes a stem and a tip extending from the stem. The tip has a truncated spherical shape, which is a sphere truncated substantially perpendicular to an axis of the stem on the top surface and the bottom surface of the tip. The truncated spherical shape has a tip diameter greater than a width of the stem, greater than the bottom diameter of the drain hole, and less than the top diameter of the drain hole.
대표청구항▼
1. A single cup brewer comprising: a steeping cup comprising a sidewall extending from a base to form a contained space, and a thin-walled tapered drain formed from an elastic material extending from the base and away from the contained space, the tapered drain having a tapered drain hole enclosed b
1. A single cup brewer comprising: a steeping cup comprising a sidewall extending from a base to form a contained space, and a thin-walled tapered drain formed from an elastic material extending from the base and away from the contained space, the tapered drain having a tapered drain hole enclosed by walls tapering at an angle in the range of 1°-3° from a top diameter to a bottom diameter through the base of the steeping cup; anda drain plug comprising a stem and a tip extending from a first end of the stem and having a diameter greater than a width of the stem, greater than the bottom diameter of the drain hole, and less than the top diameter of the drain hole, wherein the tip is spherical at least in a contact area where the tip of the drain plug makes contact with the walls of the tapered drain when the tip is inserted into the tapered drain;such that when the tip of the drain plug is seated in the tapered drain with the stem of the drain plug in contact with the sidewall of the steeping cup, the spherical contact area of the tip of the drain plug forms a circle of contact with the elastic material of the thin-walled material forming the tapered drain, permitting the drain plug to seal the tapered drain in the base of the steeping cup against leakage of liquid while a beverage is steeping in the steeping cup. 2. The single cup brewer of claim 1, wherein the steeping cup and the drain plug are formed of plastic by injection molding. 3. The single cup brewer of claim 2, wherein the plastic is polypropylene. 4. The single cup brewer of claim 1, wherein the steeping cup further comprises a plurality of ribs extending from the base into the contained space. 5. The single cup brewer of claim 1, wherein the steeping cup further comprises a rim around an edge of the sidewall, wherein the rim extends into a lip having a through-hole through the lip. 6. The single cup brewer of claim 1, wherein the steeping cup further comprises an inner ring and an outer ring extending from the base away from the contained space. 7. The single cup brewer of claim 1, wherein the stem has a substantially cylindrical shape. 8. The single cup brewer of claim 1, wherein the drain plug further comprises a handle extending from a second end of the stem opposite the first end. 9. The single cup brewer of claim 1, wherein the tip is a sphere which is truncated substantially perpendicular to an axis of the stem on a top surface of the tip above the spherical contact area and is truncated substantially perpendicular to an axis of the stem on a bottom surface of the tip below the spherical contact area and opposite the top surface. 10. The single cup brewer of claim 9, wherein the tip has a tip thickness from the top surface to the bottom surface selected to provide a seal between the tip and the tapered drain up to a predetermined maximum tilt angle of the stem with respect to vertical. 11. The single cup brewer of claim 9, wherein the predetermined maximum tilt angle is in the range of eight to sixteen degrees. 12. The single cup brewer of claim 9, wherein the tip thickness includes a first height (H1) from the top surface to a centerline running through the center of the sphere parallel to the top surface and the bottom surface of the tip and a second height (H2) from the bottom surface to the centerline, wherein the first height and the second height in inches are selected such that: H1=r sin(A2−A1)+0.01″; andH2=r sin(A2+A1)+0.01″;wherein r is the radius of the sphere in inches, A1 is a taper angle of the tapered drain hole, and A2 is the predetermined maximum tilt angle. 13. A method of brewing a single cup of a beverage comprising: a) sealing a thin-walled tapered drain of a steeping cup with a tip of a drain plug, wherein the steeping cup comprises a sidewall extending from a base to form a contained space, and the tapered drain is formed of an elastic material extending from the base away from the contained space, the tapered drain having a tapered drain hole enclosed by walls tapering at an angle in the range of 1°-3° from a top diameter to a bottom diameter through the base of the steeping cup, and wherein the drain plug comprises a stem and the tip extending from a first end of the stem and having a diameter greater than a width of the stem, greater than the bottom diameter of the drain hoe, and less than the top diameter of the drain hole, wherein the tip is spherical at least in a contact area when the tip is inserted into the tapered drain, such that when the tip of the drain plug is seated in the tapered drain with the stem of the drain plug in contact with the sidewall of the steeping cup, the spherical contact area of the tip of the drain plug forms a circle of contact with the elastic material of the thin-walled material forming the tapered drain, permitting the drain plug to seal the tapered drain in the base of the steeping cup against leakage of liquid while the beverage is steeping in the steeping cup;b) placing the steeping cup on a hot beverage container;c) placing a filter in the contained space;d) placing a predetermined amount of ground coffee or tea leaves in the filter;e) placing a predetermined amount of hot water in the contained space;f) allowing the ground coffee or tea leaves to steep in the contained space for a predetermined period of time; andg) unsealing the tapered drain and allowing filtered coffee or filtered tea to flow by gravity through the tapered drain and into the hot beverage container. 14. The method of claim 13, wherein the step of sealing comprises rotating the drain plug by about 90 degrees with the tip in the tapered drain hole and tilting the drain plug such that the stem of the drain plug contacts the sidewall of the steeping cup.
연구과제 타임라인
LOADING...
LOADING...
LOADING...
LOADING...
LOADING...
이 특허에 인용된 특허 (7)
Malmquist Neil A. (14 Kinsman La. Topsfield MA 01983), Automatic low volume beverage brewing system.
※ AI-Helper는 부적절한 답변을 할 수 있습니다.