DE20104815U1 - Jug with filter device - Google Patents

Description

JUG WITH FILTER DEVICE

FIELD OF INVENTION

The present invention relates to jugs and in particular to a jug provided with a filter device with improved properties.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

A jug for making a beverage is well known. For example, in FIG. 7 a conventional jug 11 with an integrated filter device 14 is shown. The filter 14 is located in the lower part of the jug 11. At the edge of the filter 14 there is a typical sealing device to prevent the material y from getting into the beverage &khgr;. Also extending downwards in the middle is a piston 13 whose lower end passes through the lid 12 and is connected to the filter 14. To prepare a beverage, first material y is put into the jug 11. Then 0 hot water is poured into the jug 11 to completely soak the material y for a certain time and produce a beverage &khgr;. Then the piston 13 is gently pushed down to its lowest possible position, whereby the beverage &khgr; flows through the filter 14 and the material y is strained from the beverage &khgr;. To

use, the drink &khgr; is simply poured out of the jug 11. However, this conventional design had disadvantages. For example, the concentration of the drink &khgr; is not uniform. That is, the lower part of the drink &khgr; is stronger than the upper part because the material y continues to be in contact with the drink &khgr;. Therefore, the quality of the drink &khgr; produced the second time is not as good as the first time.

Another conventional jug 11 with a separate filter device 15 is shown in FIG. 8. The filter 15 has a plurality of holes 151 in the bottom. To prepare a beverage, first the filter 15 is placed on top of the jug 11. Then material y is put into the filter 15. Then hot water is poured into the jug 11 to completely soak the material y for a certain time to produce a beverage ø. Finally, the filter 15 is pulled out of the jug 11 and a lid is put on. To use, the beverage ø is simply poured out of the jug 11. The advantage is that the concentration of the beverage ø is substantially uniform. However, this conventional design still suffered from several disadvantages. For example, the filter 15 is a separate element, which is inconvenient both in use and in storage. In addition, the beverage in the filter 15 may drip from the holes 151 onto the table, for example, when the filter 15 is pulled out of the jug 11. The user must then wipe up such drops.

It is therefore desirable to provide a jug with an improved filter device to overcome the above disadvantages of the prior art.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of the present invention to provide a jug for preparing a beverage from a material, the jug comprising:

a lid,

a filter that can be moved inside the jug and consists of

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the jug can be pulled out,

on top of the filter a directional control element with a variety of directional valves,

in the middle an air duct extending downwards, with its lower end passing through the cover and the direction control element and being connected to the filter, the air duct having an inlet at the top and an outlet at the bottom,

wherein the air channel is pushed downward to cause the beverage produced in the jug to flow through the filter and the direction control member and pass the directional control valves to strain the lower material from the upper beverage, and the air channel is pulled upward to close the directional control valves and draw air from the inlet of the air channel downward through the outlet into the space left by the upwardly moving air channel.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a jug device for preparing a beverage from a material, the jug device comprising:

a lid,

an inner vessel with a seal between the can device and the inner vessel, so that the inner vessel can be moved within the can device and can be pulled out of the can device,

a filter at the bottom of the inner vessel and a directional control element with a plurality of directional valves above the filter, and

on the inside of the inner vessel an air channel with an upper inlet which is higher than the surface of the beverage in the inner vessel and an outlet at the same level as the direction control element,

wherein the inner vessel is inserted into the jug device, the inner vessel is pressed downwards to cause the beverage produced in the jug device to flow through the filter and the direction control element and pass the directional valves to strain the lower material from the upper beverage, and the inner vessel

barrel is pulled upwards to close the directional valves and suck air from the inlet of the air duct downwards through the outlet into the space between the directional control element and the filter.

The above and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a side view of a first preferred embodiment of the jug with filter according to the invention,

FIG. 2 is a partially sectioned side view of the jug of FIG. 3 with the filter pushed downwards, FIG. 3 is a view similar to FIG. 2 with the filter pushed into its lowermost position,

FIG. 4 is a view similar to FIG. 2 with the filter being pulled upward to draw in air and separate the material from the beverage,

FIG. 5 shows schematically a preferred embodiment of the direction control element,

FIG. 6 is a partially sectional side view of a second preferred embodiment of the jug with filter according to the invention,

FIG. 7 is a side view of a conventional jug with filter device and

FIG. 8 is a perspective view schematically showing another conventional jug with filter device.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS In FIG. 1 there is shown a jug with filter device, which is constructed according to the invention. In the lower part of the jug 11 there is a filter 14. On top of the filter 14 there is a direction control element 16. In the middle an air channel 13a extends downwards, the lower end of which is closed by the lid 12

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and the direction control element 16 is running and connected to the filter 14. To prepare a beverage, material y is first put into the jug 11. Then, hot water is poured into the jug 11 to completely soak the material y for a certain time and produce a beverage &khgr;.

Referring now to FIG. 2, the directional control member 16 and the air passage 13a will be described in detail. The construction material of the directional control member 16 is similar to that of the filter 14. A plurality of directional valves 17 are provided on the directional control member 16 to allow the beverage x to flow therethrough only in an upward direction. The air passage 13a has an inlet 131 at the top and an outlet 132 below the directional control member 16.

As illustrated in FIGS. 2 to 4, in operation, the air passage 13a is first gently pushed downward to its lowest possible position, causing the beverage x to flow through the filter and directional control member 16 and pass the directional valves 17 so that the lower material y is strained from the upper beverage x (FIGS. 2 and 3). The air passage 13a (together with the filter 14 and directional control member 16) is then pulled upward 0. At this point, the directional valves 17 are fully closed by the pressure of the upper beverage x and air is drawn downward from the inlet 131 of the air passage 13a through the outlet 132 into the space left by the upwardly moving air passage 13a to effectively separate the material y from the beverage y.

The concentration of drink &khgr; is uniform because the user can determine the length of time for soaking the material y. In addition, the disadvantage of the prior art that the lower part of the drink &khgr; is stronger than the upper part is eliminated. Therefore, the quality of the drink &khgr; always remains good.

In FIG. 5, a preferred embodiment of the construction of the directional control valve 17 is shown. The directional control valve 17 comprises a ball 171 which is larger than the hole 161 on the directional control element 16 in order to prevent downward flow of the beverage x,

a vertical rod 172 leading downwards from the ball 171, and a horizontal rod 173 connected to the vertical rod 172.

It should be noted that when the air channel 13a is no longer pulled upwards, the pressure of the upper drink x is not sufficient to push the directional control element 16 and the filter 14 downwards, so that air can flow back into the air channel 13a through outlet 132. Of course, it is possible to install a simple shut-off valve in the air channel 13a, the shut-off valve being open when the air channel 13a is pulled upwards and it being closed when the air channel 13a is stopped or pushed downwards.

FIG. 6 shows a second preferred embodiment of the jug with filter according to the invention. This embodiment comprises a jug device 11 with an inner vessel 19. In detail, a ring 18 is located between the jug device 11 and the inner vessel 19 to seal off the material y. A filter 14 is located at the bottom of the inner vessel 19, and a direction control element 16 with a plurality of directional valves 17 is located above the filter 14. On the inside of the inner vessel 19 there is an air channel 13a with an inlet 131 at the top, which is higher than the surface of the beverage x contained in the inner vessel 19, and an outlet 132 at the same level as the direction control element 16. To prepare a beverage, material y is first placed in the jug device 11. Then, hot water is poured into the pot device 11 to completely soak the material y for a certain time and produce a beverage Ø. Then, the inner vessel 19 is inserted into the pot device 11 and the inner vessel 19 is then pushed down to its lowest position. Then, the inner vessel 19 is pulled up. At this time, the directional valves 17 are completely closed by the pressure of the upper beverage Ø and air is discharged from the inlet 131 of the air duct 13a downward through the outlet 132 into the space between the direction control element 16 and the filter 14.

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sucked, whereby the material y is effectively separated from the beverage &khgr;. It is also possible to install a simple shut-off valve in the air duct 13a to prevent the air from flowing back.

Although the invention has been described with reference to specific embodiments, numerous modifications and variations could be made thereto by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention as defined in the claims.

SUMMARY

A jug for preparing a beverage comprising a filter which is slidable within the jug and can be pulled out of the jug, a directional control member on top of the filter having a plurality of directional valves, an air duct extending downwardly with its lower end passing through the lid and directional control member and connected to the filter, the air duct having an inlet at the top and an outlet at the bottom. The air duct is pushed downwardly to cause the beverage produced in the jug to flow through the filter and directional control member and pass the directional valves to strain the lower material from the upper beverage. The air duct is pulled upwardly to close the directional valves and draw air from the inlet of the air duct downwardly through the outlet into the space left by the upwardly moving air duct so as to form an air space separating the upper beverage from the lower material.

Claims (6)

1. Jug ( 11 ) for preparing a beverage (x) from a material (y), the jug ( 11 ) comprising:
a lid ( 12 ),
a filter ( 14 ) which can be moved inside the jug and pulled out of the jug,
on top of the filter ( 14 ) a directional control element ( 16 ) with a plurality of directional valves ( 17 ),
in the middle an air duct ( 13a ) extending downwards, with its lower end passing through the cover and the direction control element and being connected to the filter,
the air duct has an inlet at the top and an outlet at the bottom,
wherein the air channel is depressible downwards to cause the beverage produced in the jug to flow through the filter and the direction control member and pass the directional valves to strain the lower material (y) from the upper beverage (x), and the air channel is pullable upwards to close the directional valves ( 17 ) and draw air from the inlet ( 131 ) of the air channel downwards through the outlet ( 132 ) into the space left by the upwardly moving air channel. 2. A jug according to claim 1, wherein the outlet is located below the direction control element. 3. The jug of claim 1, wherein the air passage further comprises a shut-off valve. 4. Jug device ( 11 ) for preparing a beverage (x) from a material (y), the jug device ( 11 ) comprising:
a lid ( 12 ),
an inner vessel ( 19 ) with a seal between the can device and the inner vessel, so that the inner vessel can be moved within the can device and can be pulled out of the can device,
at the bottom of the inner vessel a filter ( 14 ) and above the filter a directional control element ( 16 ) with a plurality of directional valves ( 17 ), and
on the inside of the inner vessel an air channel ( 13a ) with an upper inlet which is higher than the surface of the beverage in the inner vessel and an outlet at the same level as the direction control element,
wherein the inner vessel is insertable into the jug device, the inner vessel is depressible to cause the beverage produced in the jug device to flow through the filter and the direction control element and pass the directional valves to strain the lower material (y) from the upper beverage (x), and the inner vessel is pullable upwards to close the directional valves ( 17 ) and suck air from the inlet ( 131 ) of the air channel downwards through the outlet ( 132 ) into the space between the direction control element and the filter so as to form an air space separating the upper beverage from the lower material. 5. A can device according to claim 4, wherein the outlet is located below the direction control element. 6. The canning device of claim 4, wherein the air passage further comprises a shut-off valve.