Vent orifice and filter for beverage machine
AssigneeKeuring Green Mountain, Inc.
InventorsChoon Meng Teo, Yee Leong Pang, Kim Lai Wong, John Couture, Richard Pasquini
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A method and apparatus for venting a liquid supply of a beverage machine, e.g., by permanently open orifice and/or pressure relief valve. The orifice may always vent a heater tank, even while liquid is delivered to the tank by a liquid pump and/or while the tank is pressurized by an air pump to deliver liquid from the tank. A filter may be positioned between a heater tank and orifice and/or air pump. The pressure relief valve may be positioned between the liquid pump and the inlet side of the heater tank, e.g., so relatively cool water is released by the pressure relief valve when open.
Claims23
A beverage forming apparatus, comprising:
- a brew chamber arranged to hold a beverage ingredient, the brew chamber including a liquid inlet to provide liquid for combining with the beverage ingredient to form a beverage and a beverage outlet to allow beverage to exit the brew chamber;
- a liquid supply system arranged to provide the liquid to the liquid inlet;
- an air pump fluidly coupled to the liquid supply system and arranged to deliver air to the liquid supply system to pressurize at least a portion of the liquid supply system and move liquid in the fluid supply system;
- a permanently open orifice fluidly coupled to the liquid supply system and arranged to vent pressure from a portion of the liquid supply system;
- and
- an air filter fluidly coupled to the orifice and to the air pump such that air delivered from the air pump passes through the air filter and to the liquid supply system and such that fluid passing from the liquid supply system to the orifice passes through the air filter.
A method of forming a beverage, comprising:
- providing a beverage ingredient in a brew chamber of a beverage forming apparatus, the beverage ingredient arranged to form a beverage when combined with a liquid;
- pumping liquid to a heater tank of a liquid supply system;
- venting pressure from the heater tank during the pumping of liquid to the heater tank, pressure being vented from the heater tank via a gas line connected to the heater tank and that includes a permanently open orifice;
- and
- delivering pressurized air from an air pump to the heater tank via an air filter and the gas line such that the heater tank is pressurized and liquid is delivered to the brew chamber to combine with the beverage ingredient.
A beverage forming apparatus, comprising:
- a brew chamber arranged to hold a beverage ingredient, the brew chamber including a liquid inlet to provide liquid for combining with the beverage ingredient to form a beverage and a beverage outlet to allow beverage to exit the brew chamber;
- a liquid supply system arranged to provide the liquid to the liquid inlet;
- a permanently open orifice fluidly coupled to the liquid supply system and arranged to vent pressure from a portion of the liquid supply system;
- and
- an air filter fluidly coupled to the orifice such that fluid passing from the liquid supply system to the orifice passes through the air filter.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.