Patent Application
20170042363
The present Application for Patent claims priority to Provisional Application No. 62/202,955 entitled “REPLACEMENT SINGLE-USE COFFEE FILTER” filed Aug. 10, 2015, and assigned to the Assignee hereof, the entire contents of which are hereby expressly incorporated by reference herein.
Field
The present invention relates to improvements in filters for coffee or drink machines.
Background
Single-serve coffee machines and associated single-serve filters have become very popular in households and offices alike.
Two types of single-serve filters are currently available. The first of these is typically referred to as a “pod”. Pods are generally plastic cups with metallic lids sealed thereon, and are stored and delivered with coffee or other drink mixtures inside. When put in use, the coffee machine will pierce the pod, to allow water to filter through, thereby producing the drink. Each time a user prepares a cup of coffee (or tea or hot chocolate, etc.), he or she will use and discard a new pod, resulting in significant damage to the environment.
A second single-serve filter is also currently available. The second of these provides a reusable filter. The reusable filter may be filled to the users' preferred drink strength, and/or with the user's preferred drink, and has the advantage of significantly reducing the environmental impact of single-serve machines. However, the reusable filter is provided with a wire mesh that must be handled/cleaned between each use. This wire mesh, if touched too quickly after brewing, may burn the user's hand. Moreover, the cleaning process requires the use of a significant amount of time and water, thereby negating the positive environmental effects of moving away from a single use plastic pod. There remains a need in the industry for a filter system that is usable with a single-serve machine that does not have the adverse environmental impacts described above, reduces the likelihood of injury or discomfort for a user, and/or provides other new and innovative features.
In one example, a drink filter system is disclosed. The system may have a disposable drink filter having a filter portion, a first flange coupled to the filter portion, and a handle. The system may also have a reusable cartridge having a cartridge housing and a cartridge lid positioned on the housing. At least one of the housing or the lid may have a second flange. The first flange may be shaped and configured to align the filter relative to the cartridge. The handle may be shaped and configured to enable removal of the filter from the cartridge. The second flange may be shaped and configured to align the lid relative to the housing.
In another example, a method of filtering a drink is disclosed. The method may include placing a disposable drink filter in a housing of a reusable cartridge, the filter having a filter portion, a first flange coupled to the filter portion, and a handle. The exemplary method may also include moving the handle between a first position and a second position wherein at least a portion of the handle does not contact the first flange. The method may also include aligning a lid of the reusable cartridge to the housing.
In another example, a disposable drink filter for a drink filter system is disclosed. The disposable drink filter may have a filter portion, a first flange coupled to the filter portion, and a handle. The first flange may be shaped and configured to align the filter relative to a cartridge in the drink filter system. The handle may be shaped and configured to enable removal of the filter from the cartridge.
Before describing various examples and embodiments in detail, a broad overview is first provided. In some examples, a modified drink filter and single serve system are disclosed. The single serve system may include a disposable drink filter and a reusable coffee cartridge. Importantly, the system 100 may reduce the amount of plastic placed in landfills through the use of single serve coffee machines, while simultaneously eliminating the requirement that a user empty and/or wash a metal mesh filter between uses. The system 100 may also reduce the chances of a user burning his or her hands on a reusable metal mesh filter as is currently the case in reusable drink filters, such as the Keurig reusable coffee filters known in the art.
Referring now to
With reference to
In some embodiments, the housing 102 may have a bottom with a passage 114 for releasing coffee that has been filtered through the system 100 (see e.g.
In some embodiments, the housing 102 may have a flange 112 shaped and configured to engage a portion of the lid 104 such as a side wall 109. In some embodiments, the flange 112 may be threaded, such as having a male thread, and may engage a threaded portion of the wall 109, which may have a female thread. Those skilled in the art will recognize that the flange 112 and wall 109 may be interchanged. In some embodiments, the housing 102 is substantially in the form of a truncated cone, and/or adapted to be placed in a single-serve coffee machine.
With reference now to
The filter 116 may have one or more handles 120 coupled to an upper region of the filter portion 118. For example, one or more handles 120 may be coupled to the flange 122. The one or more handles 120 may be movable relative to the flange 122 between a first position and a second position. In the first position, the handle(s) 120 may be positioned against the flange 122, as illustrated in
With continued reference to
As previously stated herein, the system 100 may be configured for use with a single-serve coffee machine. In some embodiments, the system 100 may be configured to hold a maximum of 6 teaspoons of ground coffee, tea, cocoa mix, or any other ground or powdered ingredient for a heated drink preparation. In some embodiments, the system 100 may be configured to hold a maximum of 4 teaspoons of ground coffee, tea, cocoa mix, or any other ground or powdered ingredient for a heated drink preparation. In some embodiments, the system 100 may be configured to hold a maximum of 2 teaspoons of ground coffee, tea, cocoa mix, or any other ground or powdered ingredient for a heated drink preparation.
With continued reference to
In some embodiments, the filter 116 is substantially in the form of a truncated cone, and/or adapted to be placed in a single-serve coffee machine or in a cartridge 106 having a truncated cone shape.
In some embodiments, and as most clearly illustrated in
Turning now to
Each of the various elements disclosed herein may be achieved in a variety of manners.
This disclosure should be understood to encompass each such variation, be it a variation of an embodiment of any apparatus embodiment, a method or process embodiment, or even merely a variation of any element of these. Particularly, it should be understood that the words for each element may be expressed by equivalent apparatus terms or method terms—even if only the function or result is the same. Such equivalent, broader, or even more generic terms should be considered to be encompassed in the description of each element or action. Such terms can be substituted where desired to make explicit the implicitly broad coverage to which this invention is entitled.
As but one example, it should be understood that all action may be expressed as a means for taking that action or as an element which causes that action. Similarly, each physical element disclosed should be understood to encompass a disclosure of the action which that physical element facilitates. Regarding this last aspect, by way of example only, the disclosure of a “filter” should be understood to encompass disclosure of the act of “filtering”—whether explicitly discussed or not—and, conversely, were there only disclosure of the act of “filtering”, such a disclosure should be understood to encompass disclosure of a “filtering mechanism”. Such changes and alternative terms are to be understood to be explicitly included in the description.
The previous description of the disclosed embodiments and examples is provided to enable any person skilled in the art to make or use the present invention as defined by the claims. Thus, the present invention is not intended to be limited to the examples disclosed herein. Various modifications to these embodiments will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the generic principles defined herein may be applied to other embodiments without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention as claimed.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 62202955 | Aug 2015 | US |
