US2885949A - Connecting and sealing means for coffee-brewing apparatus - Google Patents

Description

y 5 w. D. CURTIS ET AL 2,885,949

CONNECTING AND SEALING MEANS FOR COFFEE-BREWING APPARATUS Filed March 7, 1955 INVENTDRS WILBUR D. CURTIS RALPH LPARK By THEIR ATTORNEYS HARRIS, /1/c/-/, FosTER HARRIS United States Patent CONNECTING AND SEALING lVlEANS FOR COFFEE-BREWING APPARATUS Wilbur D. Curtis, North Hollywood, and Ralph L. Park,

Monterey Park, (Zalili, assignors to Wilbur Curtis Company, Inc., Los Angeles, Calif., a corporation of Caliorma Application March 7, 1955, Serial No. 492,681

7 Claims. (Cl. 99-292) This invention relates to coffee-making devices, and particularly to scaling and pouring structures used with that type of cofiee-making combination which employs a lower vessel in which water is to be boiled and forced up into an upper vessel containing the ground coifee, by effects of the generated steam pressure, brewing taking place in the upper vessel until condensation of the steam in the lower vessel creates a partial vacuum resulting in return of the brew to the lower vessel from which it may then be dispensed.

. The object of the present invention is primarily to provide for a metallic pouring lip or spout to be attached to a lower glass bowl in sealed relationship and to be connected with an upper bowl in temporarily sealed relationship.

a It is another object of the invention to provide an eflicient and durable seal between a metallic pouring neck of the indicated character and a depending conduit at the lower end of an upper bowl, such sealing device being applicable to upper bowls of either glass or metal.

Another object of the invention is to employ a sealing device of the indicated character which is not subject to heat changes under the conditions employed in cofieemaking, has exceptionally long life, is not brittle, does not break in use, will not leak, and is relatively easily produced from a tough durable non-brittle relatively rigid type of plastic material as distinguished from either natural in the lower vessel during coffee-making operations and of a length to have its lower extremity spaced only a short distance from the bottom of the vessel 10, approximately as indicated in Fig. 1.

The vessel 10, which characteristically is provided with a short upstanding neck 20 of reduced diameter is pro- I vided with an outer annular bead 21 which is received in clamped upon the neck in sealing relationship by means of an annular clamp band 24, preferably of spring metal and shaped in cross section to correspond with the outer contour of the gasket 22. The band 24 is split and preferably carries between its offset ends 24a an appropriate handle member 25, the ends 24a of the clamp band 24 being suitably bound upon flat side portions of the inner end portion of the handle 25, a pair of bolts 26 or other suitable means being employed to bind the ends of the band 24 upon the handle. Such binding effects adequate g compression of the gasket 22 to make a tight seal about or synthetic rubber, and which may also be employed in combination with rubber sealing elements associated therewith when required.

Other objects of the invention and various features of construction employed in a preferred form will be apparent from a consideration of the following specification together with the accompanying drawing.

. 'In the drawing:

Fig. 1 is aside elevation of an assembled coffee-making apparatus embodying one form of the present improve ment;

Fig. 2 is a vertical section taken on the line 22 of Fig. 1 and showing the sealing connection of this improvement when in operative relation with respect to a lower receiving vessel and an upper brewing vessel;

- Fig. 3 is a view like that of Fig. 2 showing a variation;

and t I a Fig. 4 is a cross section taken on the line 44 of Figs. 2 and 3.

- As illustrated, a cofiee-making combination of this inventionincludes a lower vessel or bowl, commonly of glass, and as generally indicated at 10, an upper vessel 12 which may be of glass but commonly is made of metal to avoid breakage, and a sealing mechanism between such two "essels as generally indicated at 14 and including a separable, wide, metallic supporting connector and pouring neck 15 normally carried by the lower vessel 10. As illustrated, the brewing vessel 12 is conventionally provided with a depending tubular conduit 16 connected with the uppervessel 15 by a flaring section16aand received the neck 20 of the vessel 10 and about the annular bead 21 at the top thereof.

The gasket 22 and the clamp band 24 also assist in mounting upon the vessel 10 the detachable metal connector 15 which comprises a supporting or seating neck member and pour spout 30 and which in practice is produced from stainless steel and is tubular to receive the depending conduit or down spout 16 of the brewing vessel 12 and also to receive sealing means presently to be described and carried by the upper end of such depending conduit or down spout 16. The lower portion of the metallic neck member 30 is flared outward and downward as indicated at 31, its lowermost portion being in the form of an annular outwardly extending flange 32 which is received in an inwardly directed annular groove in the upper extremity of the gasket 22 and is retained therein by means of the clamp band 24 and an overhanging inwardly directed annular flange 34 thereof which prevents the flange 32 from being withdrawn when the v clamp band 24 is in operative position. With this structure there is provided an integral upper annular portion of the gasket 22 which acts as a cushioning means between the flanges 32 and 34 and also serves as a seal to prevent loss of the subsequent partial vacuum acting to draw down into the glass vessel 10 the brew which has been produced in the upper vessel 12. By reason of a slight bulge 35 in the upper portion of the gasket 22 opposite its integral inwardly directed flange 23 and the bead 21 of the vessel neck 20, proper retention and sealing of the parts are assured. At the upper end of the metallic spout or neck 30 there is provided an upwardly extending and outwardly flared pouring lip 40 from which the brewed coffee is readily dispensed when the vessel 12 and the sealing means carried by the down spout 16 thereof are removed. This lip may if desired be slightly enlarged at one side to be arranged opposite the handle 25 to facilitate pouring procedure, and such enlargement may be eifected, if desired, by sloping the upper edge of the lip 40 upward as indicated at 42 toward the pouring side.

It will be appreciated that, by producing the separate pouring neck 30, which in effect is a pouring spout, from metal and by employing a metallic clamp band represented by the band 24, such metallic fitting at the top of the glass vessel 10 greatly reduces breakage of the vessel 10, and certainly improves over the breakage possi- Patented May 12, 1959,

3, bilities where the pouring neck and spout are integral in a glass vessel corresponding with the vessel'10.

For the purpose of sealing the down spout 16 in the pouring neck or pour spout 30, there is employed a specially constructed annular block 45 formed from a durable, heat-resistant, non-brittle, rigid and relatively non-breakable plastic material, such as a rigid molded body of nylon. While the nylon block 45 might be sized and shaped to be received directly upon the upper portion of the integral down spout 16 of the metallic upper vessel 12, due to its rigid characteristic, installation and removal are more readily effected by employing an intervening packing ring 46 of tough but yieldable rubber or rubber-like material such as neoprene, which has a passage or bore 47 to accommodate the adjacent tubular portion of the down spout 16. In order adequately to retain the annular nylon block 45 in the packing rubber 46, the latter is externally annularly grooved to. receive the annular block 45, the fit being tight in order toavoid loss of pressure during boiling and the brewing operation and subsequent loss of partial vacuum during the return of the brew to the lower vessel 10. In the form of Fig. 2,

the packing rubber 46 provides an annular shoulder 46a hangs the annular block 45 may have a depending outer annular contact lip 49 bearing upon the top face of the sealing block 45, rather than simply the fiat face of the shoulder 46a of Fig. 2. Additionally, as illustrated in Fig. 3, the block 45 may have a depending annular rim member 50 which is provided at its lower end with an integral inwardly directed sealing and retaining flange 52 which underlies the greater portion of the lower end of the packer 46.

In order to effect, ineach of the forms of Figs. 2 and 3, the required scaling function between the annular sealing block 45 and the inner wall of the metallic pouring spout 30, the annular block 45, including the depending rim portion 50 of Fig; 3, is integrally provided with a series of radially and outwardly extending spaced thin horizontal fins 54 which provide between them correspondingly shallow annular grooves constituting air pockets. In practice, moisture may accumulate in these annular grooves or pockets, inasmuch as an absolutely hermetic seal between the peripheral edges of the fins 54 and the adjacent inner wall of the neck or spout 30 may not always occur because of slight irregularities. Such moisture results in producing a complete seal. The peripheral edges of the fins 54 are uniformly aligned to fit the adjacent inner wall of the pouring neck or spout 30 when in engagement therewith in the seating position illustrated in Fig; 2. In order to insure a proper seating with relative ease, the intermediate or body portion of the pouring spout 30 is tapered slightly, for example around 4 or 5' from the vertical, or within a range possibly between about 2 and about 6, and the finishing'of the peripheral edges of the fins 54 is effected at the same angle as the angle of themetal spout member 30. With such arrangement, the friction sealing block 45 is readily moved to and from sealing position in the corresponding seat in the inner tapered wall of the metallic spout 30. Also, since the tough packer 46 will be of an internal dimension to snugly fit the outer wall of the down spout 16 of the vessel 12, there will be no loss of pressure or partial vacuum along the outer wall of the down spout 16. Similarly, by reason of the described interfitting of the packer 46 and the friction-sealing block 45, there will be no loss of steam pressure or partial vacuum during the various operations.

The metal pouring spout 30 is preferably produced from stainless steel which is readily rolled to the indicated shape and configuration, and the metallic clamp band 24 may be produced from similar material. As previously indicated, the gasket 22 may be produced from a comparatively soft rubber, although other appropriate sealing material such as any desirable, heat-resistant elastomer may be used. Also, the yieldingbutrelatively rigid, tough rubber or neoprene of thepacker 46 may be replaced with similar plasticmaterial capable of seal ing the joints indicated and of performing the required functions. In view of these seals, the upper vessel 12 which as previously indicated, is preferably of metaLand the sealing units 45, 46 are readily removed fromtheir seated sealing positions illustrated in Fig. 2 when required, and are readily returned. to such a friction-seal condition.

As to the plastic material employed for the sealing block 45 and its integral portions 50 and 52 and its integral contacting fins 54, a material thus far found' extremely suitable is a molded nylon. This material isadequately rigid, is highly resistant to all heat conditions encountered in the brewing of coffee, andespecially resistant to temperatures at the boiling point of water and well above; itis not brittle nor frangible, and as a consequence the fins 54 neither crack nor break away'at' their bases from the body' portion 45 nor bend unduly when being introduced into sealing position or with--' drawn therefrom. However, any other appropriate heatresistant synthetic plastic material, or equivalent material may. be used, it being necessary, however, that the block 45 and its fins 54 be of adequate rigidity so as to yield only insignificantly, not crack or break off under the operating conditions and not soften or yield substantially under the heat conditions encountered. As above indicated, they most satisfactory material appears to be molded nylon. The particular nylon used for the finned; block 45 may be that known as nylon 8-8, indicating 8 carbons in the chains. Such material should have a hardness of about Shore 60 Or somewhat harder. A nylon used for this structure is that of DuPont Corporation, as it is often known, or more accurately E. I. du Pontde Nemours & Co.,v of Wilmington, Delaware, identified in the trade as #1001 having a Rockwell hardness read"- ing of R118. The hardness apparently may vary a few points either way. Other materials which might be used in place of the indicated nylon are beta irradiated polyethylene, polytetrafluoroethylene (Teflon), and polytrifluorochloroethylene. Such materials have high tensile strength, and may be processed readily to yield the thin slightly spaced fins 54. In addition to its high resistance to heat, such material also has great impact strength which increases with rise in temperature, this being a desirable characteristic when it comes to removing the sealing means from the stainless steel pouring spout 3.0 while still hot from the coffee/brewing operation.

From the foregoing it is apparent that we have. produced a highly efficient, exceptionally durable seal for quick removal from a pouring spout such as that indicated at 30, especially when of metal, and that we have also produced a very desirable, eflicient, durable. connection between a lower glass vessel and an upper vessel, suchas a metallic vessel, employed in the brewing of coffee. With these means the upper vessel 12, which may be of metal, with the packer 46 and nylon frictionseal' 45' mounted thereon as described, may be inserted into the stainless steel pouring spout 30, and sealed following the filling of the lower vessel 10 with water as required. CoflFee as required is introduced into the vessel 12', and the water boiled to produce steam which raises the water intov the, vessel 12 for steeping of ground coffee contained therein. Steam pressure is readily developed inasmuch as the lower end of the pouring spout 30 is sealed at the neck of the vessel 10 through the gasket 22 and theband clamp 2.4.. Similarly,steepinghavingbeen completed and condensation being permitted in the vessel 10, the coffee brew is drawn down into the vessel through a conventional filter at the top of the down spout 16.

We claim as our invention:

1. In a coffee maker: a lower, receiving bowl having a neck; an annular metal pouring spout having its lower end received on said neck and secured thereto with cushioning and insulating material therebetween; an upper brewing bowl having a down spout to be received in said neck; a tough yieldable rubber-like cushion sleeve upon an upper portion of said down spout and having an outer annular groove; and a rigid friction member having a flange seating in said groove and provided with a plurality of spaced radial fins frictionally engaging the inner wall of said pouring spout and supporting said down spout and upper bowl therein.

2. A coffee maker as in claim 1 wherein said rigid friction member is non-metallic and its fins are slightly flexible and non-brittle and have a softening point above the boiling point of water.

3. A coffee maker as in claim 1 wherein said friction member is a nylon block and said fins are integral therewith.

4. In a coffee-brewing apparatus: an annular metal pouring spout having an upper pouring edge and having means at its lower end for connection with a receiving bowl, the inner surface of such spout providing a downwardly tapering seat; an annular rigid friction member provided with a plurality of spaced radial fins frictionally engaging said seat, said friction member being nonmetallic, and said fins being slightly flexible and nonbrittle and having a softening point above the boiling point of water; and a cushion sleeve externally grooved and receiving said friction member in said groove, said cushion sleeve being of yieldable rubber-like material to receive a down spout of an upper brewing bowl in airtight frictional relationship.

5. A coffee-brewing apparatus as in claim 4 wherein said friction member is a nylon block and said fins are integral with such block.

6. A sealing device for a coffee maker including: a tough yieldable rubber-like cushion sleeve having a bore therethrough to seal upon the down spout of an upper brewing bowl, said sleeve having an outer annular groove; and an annular rigid friction member having a portion received in and positioned by said groove in sealing relation, said friction member having a plurality of integral axially spaced radial friction fins for individually engaging the inner wall of a pouring spout in sealing relationship, said rigid friction member being non-metallic, its fins being slightly flexible and non-brittle and having a softening point above the boiling point of water.

7. A sealing device as in claim 6 wherein said rigid friction member is a nylon block carrying said integral fins.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 214,551 Carey et al. Apr. 22, 1879 729,835 Barnes et a1. June 2, 1903 1,068,992 Eddins July 29, 1913 1,494,691 Loggie et al May 20, 1924 1,773,475 Casey Aug. 19, 1930 2,069,939 Browning Feb. 9, 1937 2,175,440 Masin Oct. 10, 1939 2,265,615 Stalter Dec. 9, 1941 2,321,411 Morse June 8, 1943 2,376,410 Wolper May 22, 1945 2,405,751 McMenarnin Aug. 13, 1946 2,582,721 Rothkind Jan. 15, 1952 2,587,344 Livingstone Feb. 26, 1952 2,657,817 Alvear Nov. 3, 1953 2,663,451 Yarnall Dec. 22, 1953 2,664,811 Jepson Jan. 5, 1954 2,696,319 Menefee Dec. 7, 1954 2,698,272 Clapp et a1 Dec. 28, 1954 2,749,193 Traub June 5, 1956 FOREIGN PATENTS 426,018 Great Britain Mar. 26, 1935 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION of the above numbered patent requiring Patent should read as corrected below.

.Golumn 2', line 51, after "prevent". under boiling conditions and to prevent fie,

vSigned and sealed this 22nd day of September 1959;

(semi Attest:

KARL AXLINE Attesting Ofliccr may 1.2, 1955-? s in the-printed specification correction and that the said Letters insert m the loss of pressure ROBERT C. WATSON Commissioner of Patents

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