CA1039964A - Boiling-water overflow for coffee makers and tea makers - Google Patents

Abstract

Abstract of the Disclosure It is known to have an overflow for the brewing water used in coffee and tea-making machines; the overflow comprises a closed hollow element having an entry end including an inlet, and a discharge end including an outlet. The present invention provides for an overflow including a discharge end which has one outlet for the brewing water and a second outlet for steam normally assoc-iated with the brewing water. A partition between said outlets is adapted to separate the brewing water and the steam for discharge from a respective out-let in a downward direction. The overflow provided by the invention allows for a uniform and smooth flow of hot water to a filter system for coffee or tea.

Description

The invention relates to a brewing-water overflow for filter type coffee and tea-making machines Such an overflow is in the form of a closed hollow element having an inlet for the brewing water and a bottom outlet there-for at a discharge end.
Brewing-water overflows of this kind are used to carry the hot brew- `
ing water from the heating apparatus into the filter. An inlet end is located at the highest point of the heating apparatus~ while the discharge end with the outlet aperture is located above the filter If the best possible use is to be made of the coffee or tea in the ~-filter, it is important to have the hot water flow into the filter as uniformly :, .
and smoothly as possible. Known overflows are unsatisfactory in this respect, since hot water and steam emerge mixed from a single outlet aperture~ to pass into the filter. The flow of hot water is often disturbed very considerably -by the bubbles of steam mixed therewith. The steam and the water emerge irreg-,, .
ularly, which produces much splashing when they impinge upon the surface of the filter It is the purpose of this invention to design a brewing-water over-flow of the kind in question in a manner such as to allow the filter to be -supplied with a more uniform and smoother flow of hot water.
According to the present invention there is provided a brewing-water overflow for the filter type coffee and tea-making machines, the overflow com-prising a closed hollow element with a heated brewing water inlet and a dis-charge end having one outlet for discharging water in a downwards direction, a second outlet for discharging steam in the same direction, and a partition .
separating the water and steam outlets, said partition having a steam passage in its upper end When the brewing water reaches the hollow element, it usually spreads immediately over the bottom thereof and moves towards the outlet. At this -: : .
'~! time~ the bubbles of steam separate from the water and flow in the same direc- i ~;
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tion. The partition now performs the function of separating the hot water from the steam~ since the latter is able to flow through the passage at the top of the partition, to pass down behind the said partition, and to emerge, from the ^-separate steam outlet provided~ in the same direction as the hot water Mowing do~n in front of the partition. The flow of hot water is therefore no longer disturbed by bubbles of steam. The steam flowing into the filter through the separate steam outlet assists in keeping the filtrate hot. This also prevents -any escape of steam to the outside~ wh~ch is not only unattractive but may also result in injury by scalding.
According to one preferred embodiment of the invention, the parti- `
tion provides aguide surface limiting the forward end of the hot-water outlet ~ ;
aperture and has a bottom edge tapering downwardly to a point. This guide ;
surface, with its downwardly-directed, wedge-shaped extension provides a part- -icularly compact outlet stream of hot water, allowing it to reach the coffee or tea particles in the filter with considerable force and wetting them in the most suitable manner. ~ f According to another preferred embodiment~ the partition and an end ~ -cover plate for the hollow element are joined together by means of webs to form a plug-in part having resilient attachment prongs projecting inwardly from the partition. This makes it possible to use a hollow element which is simple to cast and a plug-in part which may easily be produced by injection- ;
moulding. The resilient attachment prongs secure the plug-in part to the hol-low element to complete the overflow when the plug-in part is simply plugged in.In the accompanying drawings which illustrate an exemplary embodiment of the present invention:
Figure 1 is a schematic longitudinal section through a brewing-water overflow;
Figure 2 is a front elevation of the overflow in Figure 1;
Figure 3 is a view from below of a detail of the overflow in Figure .

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1~139964 partly cut away. ~-Referring to the drawings, the brewing-water overflow consists of a hollow element 1 having an inlet 2 for the hot water near one end. At the opposite discharge end, element 1 has a semi-circular outlet aperture 3 which ~ - ~
serves solely as an outlet for hot water from which the bubbles of steam have ~ ~ -been removed.
Hot-water outlet aperture 3 is li~ited at its forward end by a par- * ~;
tition 4 acting as a guide for the hot water. Partition 4 has a bottom edge that converges downwardly to a point in front of the outlet aperture 3, thus allowing the hot water to emerge as a compact jet. 't ~'''` . ' Partition 4 has a steam passage 5 in its upper end. Spaced forward-ly from the partition is an end cover plate 7. The partition 4 and cover ~-plate 7 define between them a steam outlet passage 6 open at its lower end. ~;
As may be gathered from Figure 1, after reaching inlet 2, the hot water spreads over the bottom of hollow eleme~lt 1 and flows towards outlet .
aperture 3. At this time, steam separates from the water and flows, above the hot water~ in the same direction. The steam then flows through passage 5 at .. . ~
the top of partition 4, down behind this partition to steam-outlet passage 6 whence it emerges in a downward direction. The steam thus emerges from a separate outlet, but flows in th0 same direction as the hot water. Thus the ; expansion of the steam no longer takes place in the brewing water~ but separ-ately therefrom and the water~ which was originally bubbling, quietens down very quickly. 1 '.,.:. .:, Partition 4 is connected to cover plate 7 by means of two webs 8 and i has a pair of laterally spaced resilient attachment prongs 9 extending rear- ; ;
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wardly from it. The outer surface of the cover plate 7 has a grip 10. The partition and cover plate thus form a unit which may simply be plugged into hollow element 1~ in which it is held by the attachment prongs. Since the ;~
front end of the hollow element is op~n, it may easily be produced by casting.

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Claims (5)

THE EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION IN WHICH AN EXCLUSIVE
PROPERTY OR PRIVILEGE IS CLAIMED ARE DEFINED AS FOLLOWS:

1. A brewing-water overflow for filter type coffee and tea-making mach-ines, the over Mow comprising a closed hollow element with a heated brewing-water inlet and a discharge end having one outlet for discharging water in a downwards direction, a second outlet for discharging steam in the same direc-tion, and a partition separating the water and steam outlets, said partition having a steam passage in its upper end.

2. An overflow according to claim 1, including an end closure plate for the discharge end of the hollow element, the closure plate being spaced for-wardly of the partition to define therewith a steam-outlet passage open at its lower end.

3. An overflow according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the partition includes a guide surface limiting the forward end of the hot-water outlet and having a bottom edge tapering downwardly to a point.

4. An overflow according to claim 2 including webs connecting the part-ition and the closure plate and attachment prongs projecting rearwardly from the partition for plug-in engagement with the hollow element.

5. An overflow according to claim 4, wherein the closure plate has an external grip on its forward face.