US 4,056,050 AGranted

Coffeemaker with brew strength control

AssigneeGeneral Electric Company

InventorRichard N. Brown

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Abstract

A coffeemaker having a ground coffee basket, a brewing water spreader positioned on top of the ground coffee basket and a brewed coffee container positioned below the basket wherein a unique brew control cap is positioned on the spreader for controlling the amount of heated brewing water that is permitted to flow to the coffee grounds within the basket or is diverted through a by-pass passage to the brewed coffee container without extracting coffee from the ground coffee. A plurality of spaced openings are formed in a wall of the cap for selective registry with one, two or more spaced openings that are formed in a wall of the spreader so that movement of the wall of the cap with respect to the spreader will uncover one, two or more of the openings to permit more or less heated water to flow to ground coffee within the basket to thereby regulate the strength of the brewed coffee within the coffee container that is positioned below the coffee basket.

Claims9

Dependent claims

In an electric coffeemaker wherein a ground coffee basket having side wall means, bottom wall means and brewed coffee aperture means in said bottom wall means is positioned above a brewed coffee container and a heated water outlet is positioned above the ground coffee basket for providing heated brewing water to the ground coffee basket the improvement comprising:

a. by-pass passage means extending upwardly from the bottom wall means of said coffee basket for by-passing heated brewing water to said brewed coffee container;
b. a heated water spreader positioned generally above said ground coffee basket for receiving heated brewing water and for distributing heated water into the ground coffee basket;
c. said spreader including a bottom wall, an upwardly extending side wall, an aperture for said by-pass passage means, an upwardly extending heated water control wall positioned between the aperture for said by-pass passage means and the side wall of the spreader, and a plurality of heated water openings extending through the bottom wall of said spreader between the heated water control wall and the side wall of the spreader for distributing heated water into the ground coffee basket;
d. a plurality of spaced openings formed in said heated water control wall for permitting heated brewing water to flow to the heated water openings in the bottom wall of the spreader;
e. a movable slide wall in slidable engagement with said control wall positioned between said control wall and the aperture for receiving said by-pass passage means;
and
f. a plurality of spaced openings formed in said slide wall positioned for selective registry with one, or more of the spaced openings formed in said control wall so that movement of said slide wall with respect to said control wall will uncover one, or more of the openings in said control wall to permit more or less heated water to flow through said control wall and through the heated water openings in the bottom wall of the spreader to control the relative amount of water which is permitted to flow through the coffee basket and the by-pass passage means to thereby control the strength of the liquid brewed coffee in the coffee container.

4 more elements

In an electric coffeemaker wherein a ground coffee basket having side wall means, bottom wall means and brewed coffee aperture means in said bottom wall means is positioned above a brewed coffee container and a heated water outlet is positioned above the ground coffee basket for providing heated water to the ground coffee basket the improvement comprising:

a. by-pass passage means extending upwardly from the bottom wall means of said coffee basket for by-passing heated brewing water to said brewed coffee container;
b. a heated water spreader positioned generally above said ground coffee basket for receiving heated brewing water and for distributing heated brewing water into the ground coffee basket;
c. said spreader including a bottom wall, an upwardly extending side wall, an aperture for receiving said by-pass passage means, an upwardly extending heated water control wall positioned between the aperture for receiving said by-pass passage means and the side wall of the spreader, and a plurality of heated water openings extending through the bottom wall of said spreader between the heated water control wall and the side wall of the spreader for distributing heated water into the ground coffee basket;
d. a plurality of spaced openings formed in said heated water control wall for permitting heated brewing water to flow to the heated water openings in the bottom wall of the spreader;
a brew control cap having a bottom wall, an upwardly extending slide wall and an upwardly extending by-pass tube, said slide wall being in slidable engagement with said control wall and said upwardly extending by-pass tube being a portion of said by-pass passage means;
e. said heated water outlet being positioned between said slide wall and said by-pass passage means to supply heated water between said slide wall and said by-pass passage means;
and
f. a plurality of spaced openings formed in said slide wall positioned for selective registry with one or more of the spaced openings in said control wall so that movement of said slide wall with respect to said control wall will uncover one or more of the openings in said control wall to permit more or less heated water to flow through said control wall and through the heated water openings in the bottom wall of the spreader to control the relative amount of water which is permitted to flow through the coffee basket and by-pass passage means to thereby control the strength of the liquid brewed coffee in the coffee container.

5 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.