Semiautomatic beverage maker and method

In a beverage maker having a supply tank for temporarily holding liquid at a preselected level to be passed via a dispenser valve through an ingredient holder removably mounted in a preselected location for safe receipt of liquid from the supply tank when the dispenser valve is in an open position, the improvement being a safety valve control assembly, comprising:

• a valve assembly including a relatively rigid bent tube with an inlet end located within the supply tank and an outlet end located outside of the supply tank for dispensing liquid to the ingredient holder;
• means for sensing the preselected water level;
• means for mounting the tube for rotation to raise and lower the inlet end above and below the preselected level of the liquid in the supply tank to respectively close and open the valve assembly;
• and
• an actuator for controlling the operation of the dispenser valve including
• a locking member connected to the bent tube to rotate therewith between
• A locked position in which removal of the ingredient holder from the preselected safe location is prevented when the dispenser valve is open and
• an unlocked position in which removal of the ingredient holder from the preselected safe position is enabled when the dispenser valve is closed.

In a beverage maker having a supply tank for temporarily holding a liquid to be selectively passed to a beverage container, the improvement being a semiautomatic dispenser valve assembly, comprising:

• a valve member;
• means including an electromagnet for manually moving a valve member from a closed position to an open position in which liquid is passed to the container;
• means for holding the valve member in the open position against automatic return thereof to the closed position;
• means for releasing the hold of the valve member by controlling the energization of an electromagnet;
• and
• means for automatically returning the valve member to the closed position in response to the hold thereon being released.

In a beverage maker having a supply tank for temporarily holding a liquid to be selectively passed to a beverage container positioned to receive liquid from the supply tank, the improvement being a semiautomatic dispenser valve assembly comprising:

• a valve member with open and closed positions;
• means for manually moving the valve member from the closed position to the open position in which liquid is passed to the container;
• means for holding the valve member in the open position against automatic return thereof to the closed position including an electromagnet;
• means for releasing hold of the valve member including
• means for automatically de-energizing the electromagnet at the end of a preselected tim period, and
• means for manually moving the valve member out of holding engagement with an electromagnet before the end of the preselected time period for holding the valve member in an open position;
• and
• means for automatically returning the valve member to the closed position in response to the hold thereon being released.

With a beverage maker having a supply yank for temporarily holding liquid, a method of controlling the passage of said liquid to a container, comprising the steps of:

• manually moving a valve member from a closed position to an open position in which liquid is passed to the container;
• holding the valve member in the open position against automatic return thereof to the closed position;
• releasing the hold of the valve member by controlling the energization of an electromagnet;
• and
• automatically returning the valve member to the closed position in response to the hold thereon being released.

With a beverage maker having a supply tank for temporarily holding liquid, a method of controlling the passage of said liquid to a container, comprising the steps of:

• manually moving a valve member from a closed position to an open position in which liquid is passed to the container;
• holding the valve member in the open position against automatic return thereof to the closed position;
• releasing the hold of the valve member by manually moving the valve member out of holding engagement with an electromagnet before the end of a preselected time period for holding the valve member in an open position has lapsed;
• and
• automatically returning the valve member to the closed position in response to the hold thereon being released.