Brewing Material Container For A Beverage Brewer
Patent No. US12396588 (titled "Brewing Material Container For A Beverage Brewer") was filed by Adrian Rivera Maynez Enterprises Inc on Nov 22, 2024.
What is this patent about?
’588 is related to the field of beverage brewing, specifically accessories for single-serve beverage brewers. These brewers typically use disposable cartridges or pods, leading to waste and limiting users to pre-packaged beverage options. The patent addresses the need for a reusable container that allows users to brew beverages from loose grounds or off-brand pods in machines designed for specific cartridges, such as K-Cups.
The underlying idea behind ’588 is to create a reusable brewing material container that can be placed in the brewing chamber of a single-serve beverage brewer. This container has a base and sidewall to hold the brewing material, a lid with openings to receive the brewer's injection nozzles, and a keying element to ensure proper alignment. Crucially, the base is raised to accommodate the brewer's outflow nozzle, preventing it from interfering with the brewing process.
The claims of ’588 focus on a brewing material container designed for beverage brewers. The container includes a receptacle with a base and sidewall, a lid with through-holes for injection nozzles, and a keying element to align the container within the brewing chamber. The base is raised to accommodate the brewer's outflow nozzle, ensuring it doesn't obstruct the brewing process. Claim 11 specifies the keying element as an ear with a curved portion on the lid.
In practice, the user fills the container with loose grounds or a pod, closes the lid, and places the container in the brewer's chamber. The keying element ensures the lid openings align with the injection nozzles. Hot water is injected through the lid openings, brewing the beverage. The raised base and sidewall openings allow the brewed beverage to flow out, bypassing the brewer's outflow nozzle. This design allows users to use their preferred brewing material in a machine otherwise limited to specific cartridges.
This approach differs from prior solutions by providing a reusable container that works with existing single-serve brewers. Unlike disposable cartridges, this container reduces waste and allows for greater flexibility in beverage selection. The raised base and keying element are critical for ensuring compatibility and proper function within the brewer. The various embodiments, including those with valves or plugs for unused nozzle openings, further enhance the container's versatility and prevent splashing.
How does this patent fit in bigger picture?
Technical landscape at the time
In the late 2000s when ’588 was filed, single-serve beverage brewers were gaining popularity, at a time when such brewers typically relied on disposable cartridges. These systems commonly relied on a brewing chamber configured to receive a specific cartridge type, and hardware constraints made it non-trivial to adapt a single brewer to accommodate different cartridge formats or loose grounds.
Novelty and Inventive Step
The examiner approved the application because the prior art of record, Sasena et al. and Demiglio et al., did not disclose or suggest, in combination with other claim limitations, a base arranged in a raised position above a lower end of the sidewall to accommodate an outflow nozzle of the beverage brewer below the base. The prior art also did not disclose or suggest a clearance area below the base providing space for an extraction nozzle of the beverage brewer.
Claims
This patent includes 25 claims, with independent claims 1, 11, and 16. The independent claims generally focus on a brewing material container or holder with a receptacle/container, a lid with through-holes, and a keying element for alignment within a beverage brewer. The dependent claims generally elaborate on specific features, arrangements, and configurations of the elements described in the independent claims.
Key Claim Terms New
Definitions of key terms used in the patent claims.
Patent Family
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Date
Description
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US12396588
- Application Number
- US18956392
- Filing Date
- Nov 22, 2024
- Status
- Granted
- Expiry Date
- Jul 13, 2027
- External Links
- Slate, USPTO, Google Patents