The invention relates to an apparatus for brewing ingredients in a solvent.
The invention may be used, for example, in the field of beverage preparation.
Preparing beverages by brewing (raw) ingredients in a solvent is very popular. For example, tea is prepared by brewing (i.e. infusing) tea leaves (or tea bags) used as ingredients, in hot/boiling water used as the solvent. The same process may be used when beverages are prepared from different ingredients, such as various herbs, plant leaves or plant roots.
After a given period of time, ingredients are taken out of the solvent, and the resulting solvent corresponds to the prepared beverage. Such beverages are usually prepared using dedicated domestic appliances, such as a tea maker.
To simplify the use by end-users of such appliances regarding the time the ingredients should be allowed to infuse in the solvent, some solutions have been proposed. For example, published patent EP227200A1 describes a tea maker implementing a siphon mechanism allowing to drain the infuser after a certain period of time, without any user action. However, such a solution has some limitations, because if a higher input flow rate or a continuous input flow rate of the solvent in the infuser is used, for example to accelerate the brewing of ingredients, the infuser will easily overflow because the siphon mechanism cannot absorb such a high input flow rate of solvent, resulting in a non-optimal brewing process.
It is an object of the invention to propose an improved apparatus for preparing a beverage from a solvent and ingredients. The invention is defined by the independent claims. The dependent claims define advantageous embodiments.
To this end, the apparatus according to the invention is characterized in that it comprises:
a container for containing said solvent,
an infuser for containing said ingredients, and said infuser being placed in said container,
a system for carrying said solvent from said container into said infuser at a given flow rate,
an arrangement for carrying the solvent from said infuser into said container, and for regulating the output flow rate of said solvent to an average value corresponding to said given input inflow rate.
This apparatus not only allows the solvent to circulate from the infuser back to the container, but also regulates the output flow rate Rout of the solvent exiting the infuser and flowing back into the container. Thus, the solvent in the infuser leaves the infuser in a controllable way via the arrangement, ensuring that the solvent in the infuser will not overflow at the upper part of the infuser, even if the input flow rate of solvent into the infuser fluctuates. In other words, the arrangement AR allows the amount of solvent inside the infuser to remain constant in order to guarantee optimal brewing of the ingredients.
Detailed explanations and other aspects of the invention will be given below.
The particular aspects of the invention will now be explained with reference to the embodiments described hereinafter and considered in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which identical parts or sub-steps are designated in the same manner:
FIGS. 4A-4B-4C-4D depict different views of the setup and operation of an arrangement according to the invention,
a container CO for containing the solvent,
an infuser IF for containing the ingredients, and said infuser being placed in the container CO,
a system SYS for carrying the solvent from the container CO into the infuser IF at a given input flow rate Rin,
an arrangement AR for carrying the solvent from the infuser IF to the container CO, and for regulating the output flow rate Rout of said solvent to an average value corresponding to said given input inflow rate Rin.
The ingredients IG may correspond, for example, to any type of tea leaves, coffee, herbs, roots, fruits, or a mix of those ingredients.
The solvent may correspond, for example, to water, mineral water, tap water, salted water, alcohol, or a mix of those solvents.
Advantageously, the apparatus comprises a heating system HS placed at the bottom part of the container to heat the solvent.
If the apparatus according to the invention falls in the home-appliances category, the input flow rate Rin is typically in the range of 0 to 1.0 L/min.
The infuser IF is placed in the container CO, and is for example fixed in the top part of container CO by legs or equivalent (not shown) extending from the container's wall to the infuser. The system SYS is used to circulate the solvent S from the lower part of container CO to the upper part of the infuser IF, via a pipe PP.
The system SYS corresponds, for example, to an electrical fluid pump.
Alternatively, as depicted in
a tube TT placed in the container, the tube TT having a first extremity EX1 placed at the proximity of a bottom part BP of the container CO, and a second extremity EX2 reaching the infuser IF, and
an air pump AP for generating an air flow exiting at said bottom part BP and entering the tube at the first extremity EX1, for carrying the solvent in the tube TT from the first extremity EX1 to the second extremity EX2.
The air flow is illustrated by white circles in the solvent S, under the first extremity EX1. The air pump AP may be of any type, but is preferably a diaphragm air pump. Air is pumped from outside the container. It is appreciated that the tube TT preferably extends vertically, so as to facilitate the movement of the air flow and the solvent therein. However, the tube TT may also be such that its main axis departs from the vertical direction, for example by an angle between 0 and 45 degrees. Also, the tube TT is preferably cylindrical-shaped, but may also have different shapes, such as a corkscrew-shape, or a curved-shape. The tube TT advantageously has an average diameter between 5 and 7 millimeters, or an average sectional area between 19.6 and 38.5 square millimeters. Advantageously, as illustrated, the first extremity EX1 of tube TT has a funnel-shaped entrance so that an air flow generated by the air pump AP more easily enters the tube TT. If the apparatus according to the invention falls within the home-appliances category, the air pump AP advantageously generates an air flow between 1 and 2 liters per minute, and the pumping is efficient if at least 80% of this air flow enters the tube at the first extremity EX1. If the apparatus according to the invention falls within the semi-professional or professional category, the air pump AP advantageously generates an air flow between 10 and 20 liters per minute, and the pumping is efficient if at least 80% of this air flow enters the tube at the first extremity EX1. By generating an air flow by means of the air pump instead of vapor bubbles naturally generated by locally boiling water, as is the case with a conventional percolator, the solvent can reach the upper part of the tube TT while having a temperature much below the boiling temperature of the solvent, so that the temperature of the solvent can be adapted to the ingredients used in the brewing process. Preferably, if a heating system HS is installed in the bottom part of the container, the heating power of the heating element is such that the solvent is heated to a temperature in excess of 60 degrees Centigrade, so as to improve the pumping effect in the tube TT.
Alternatively, the system SYS corresponds to a pumping mechanism driven by steam (not shown) generated after heating the solvent in the container.
The solvent leaving the pipe PP, as illustrated by arrows A1, drops into infuser IF at a given input flow rate Rin. The solvent in the infuser IF then drops back into container CO via the arrangement AR at an output flow rate Rout, as illustrated by arrows A2. Circulating the solvent from the container CO into the pipe PP, then infusing the ingredients in the infuser IF in the solvent contained in the infuser, and subsequently the solvent in the infuser dropping back into the container, constitute a closed brewing cycle that is continued until the brewing process is stopped. The brewing process is stopped based on a preset duration or an end-user time preference, but as this aspect is not part of the present invention, it will not be further detailed here.
The arrangement AR not only allows the solvent to circulate from the infuser back to the container, but also regulates the output flow rate Rout of the solvent exiting the infuser and flowing back to the container, as will be further detailed in the following. Thus, the solvent in the infuser leaves the infuser in a controllable way via the arrangement AR, ensuring that the solvent in the infuser will not overflow at the upper part of the infuser, even if the input flow rate Rin of solvent in the infuser fluctuates. In other words, the arrangement AR allows the amount of solvent inside the infuser to remain constant to guarantee optimal brewing of the ingredients.
Advantageously, the tube T has a circular section, and the cap element is cylindrically shaped. Advantageously, the cap element is made of food-grade material, preferably heat-resistant.
According to a first embodiment of the first type of implementation of the arrangement AR, the cap element comprises a float F attached to its top, to allow the cap element CAP to obstruct the first opening O1 depending on the height of the solvent in the infuser IF. Alternatively, the float F can be attached to a side or other parts of the cap element (not shown).
The float is made of any material having a density lower than that of the solvent. Alternatively, the float can comprise an empty cavity (vacuumed, or filled with air or other gasses).
The cap element CAP is adapted to allow the solvent in the infuser to freely enter the inside cavity of the cap element, independently of the position of the cap element. To this end two implementations are proposed:
According to a first implementation illustrated in
According to a second implementation illustrated in
FIGS. 4A-4B-4C-4D depict different views of the setup and operation of the arrangement AR according to the invention, which will be explained based on an arrangement AR according to
In
In
In
In
According to a second embodiment of the arrangement AR according to the invention, as illustrated in
Other variations to the disclosed embodiments can be understood and effected by those skilled in the art in practicing the claimed invention, from a study of the drawings, the disclosure, and the appended claims. In the claims, the word “comprising” does not exclude other elements or steps, and the indefinite article “a” or “an” does not exclude a plurality. A single unit may fulfill the functions of several items recited in the claims. The mere fact that certain measures are recited in mutually different dependent claims does not indicate that a combination of these measures cannot be used to advantage. Any reference sign in the claims should not be construed as limiting the scope.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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PCT/CN2011/084704 | Dec 2011 | CN | national |
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
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PCT/IB2012/057120 | 12/10/2012 | WO | 00 |