DESC:FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to the field of carafe. More specifically it relates to the field of a double walled vacuum insulated carafe with pouring control.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
A carafe is a container with a flared lip used for serving liquids, especially wine and coffee. It is usually constructed from glass, but metal and wood carafes are also used. Personal beverage bottles are becoming ever more popular and have moved beyond the common beverage bottle packed with a school lunch or in a lunch box. Gyms are filled with members exercising, and many members bring their own beverage bottles for hydration. Hikers, bikers, walkers, commuters, tourists and many others carry beverage bottles as they go on their way. Some conventional beverage bottles are configured to brew tea. These conventional beverage bottles require a first lid for infusing the tea and a second lid to replace the first lid when the tea is finished brewing to allow the user to drink the tea contained within the beverage bottle.
Some containers include screwed on caps or stoppers and require that a set of channels align when the stopper is rotated some degree of a turn permitting liquid to flow from the container. The difficulty with such an arrangement is that it may be difficult to properly align the channels in order to allow an adequate flow of liquid.
There are several other patents that have developed a carafe. A patent no. US4718566A tilted “Insulated carafe” disclose about the carafe comprising of a glass inner container, an insulating layer, and an outer shell surrounding the latter made of elastic plastic material, by virtue of the fact that the upper part of the outer shell comprises a circumferential collar that fits over the edge of the glass inner container, the inner edge of said collar abutting the inside of the glass container edge in a sealing manner all the way around without any additional sealing means with elastic pretensioning. It has been found that the elastic pretensioning of the inner edge of the collar produced by elastic deformation of the above-mentioned collar edge ensures the required seal. Because of the elastic deformability of the collar and its inner edge, dimensional variations in the glass containing amounting to several millimeters in both the radial and axial directions can readily be compensated. The reliability of the seal can be even further increased according to the invention by virtue of the fact that the inside edge of the collar comprises a sealing labyrinth made of circumferential sealing lips.
Another patent no. US3844450A tilted “Vacuum insulated carafe” discloses a carafe consisting of a body housing an evacuated container for thermally insulating liquids held in the carafe which container is supported at its bottom by the base of the housing. A collar from which depends a plastic liner fitting into the container is threaded onto the housing. The collar is provided with a pouring spout and an integrally formed diametrically opposed handle. A hollow closure fits into the opening of the plastic liner to provide insulating means at that opening and a cap covers the closure and is threaded onto the collar. The cap is provided with a pouring opening which is in alignment with the pouring spout and the handle when the closure is threaded onto the collar so that by tilting the carafe by use of the handle the liquid held therein may pour freely from the carafe.
The current carafe in market is mainly used to serving or transfer hot and cold liquids, usually made of glass but due to the limitation of glass material it cannot retain the liquid inside to be either hot or cold.
Many jugs are available in metal insulated and even few available with pouring control features. Some carafes even possess sawtooth threading to provide better flow rate control, but that threading method is not fool proof and results in clumsy outpour sometimes.
The model InstaCuppa Thermos Flask with Stainless Steel Mug and Twist Pour Stopper Screw Lid, has a twist and pour lid type, wherein the lid needs to be opened completely to get maximum outflow, whereas in our present invention, the lid need not be removed for the maximum outflow of the beverage contained inside. The Nalgene Wide Mouth 1 liter BPA Free Water Bottle model has a semi-buttress threaded lid that provides leakproof closure of the bottle, but has a separate hole with another sealed covering for pourability.
Hence in the existing models, the functionality is obtained with additional strain and a greater number of loose parts and mechanism involved which result in difficulties in sourcing spare during repair or damages.
Hence, there is a need of double walled vacuum insulated carafe for both hot and cold beverages to retain the temperature well with a convenient, fool-proof flow rate control, ease of manufacture and handling and also it should be inexpensive.
OBJECTIVE OF THE INVENTION
The main objective of our system is to provide a rigid metal carafe for serving hot and cold beverages with a convenient flow rate control.
Another objective of the invention is to retain temperature of the hot and cold liquids stored inside the carafe by means of making carafe body and lid with insulation.
Further objective of the present invention is to create a lid with pouring flow rate control which is in simple construction.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The following summary is provided to facilitate a clear understanding of the new features in the disclosed embodiment and it is not intended to be a full, detailed description. A detailed description of all the aspects of the disclosed invention can be understood by reviewing the full specification, the drawing and the claims and the abstract, as a whole.
In one aspect of the present invention, an insulated carafe with double metal shell joined with vacuum there in between and with metallic foil disposed therein between.
In another aspect of the present invention, the outer shell is designed with long neck flared lip attached providing a better grip while pouring and an insulated lid with intermittent lock thread.
In yet another aspect of the present invention, the intermittent locking thread provides control in different flow rates without detaching the lid from the unit.
In one aspect of the present invention, a vacuum insulated carafe is comprising of an inner shell, outer shell, metallic foil, getter material, lid top, insulation material, lid threaded part, silicone seal and bottom plate with TPU PAD.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The manner in which the proposed system works is given a more particular description below, briefly summarized above, may be had by reference to the components, some of which is illustrated in the appended drawing It is to be noted; however, that the appended drawing illustrates only typical embodiments of this system and are therefore should not be considered limiting of its scope, for the system may admit to other equally effective embodiments.
Throughout the drawings, the same drawing reference numerals will be understood to refer to the same elements and features.
The features and advantages of the present proposed system will become more apparent from the following detailed description along with the accompanying figures, which forms a part of this application and in which:
Fig 1 (A, B, C, D, E and F) illustrates the various components involved in the assembly of vacuum insulated carafe of the present invention.
Fig 2 is a view showing the outer shell, outer shell bottom cup and shell assembly of vacuum insulated carafe.
Fig 3 illustrates the glass bead and vacuum pulling operation of bottom plate and bottom pad of carafe body assembly.
Fig 4 (A, B, C, D and E) demonstrates parts of lid top part, foam, lid threaded part, silicone seal and final carafe lid assembly.
Fig 5 shows the final product of vacuum insulated carafe assembly.
Fig 6 is showing a section view with welding description of vacuum insulated carafe.
Fig 7 is showing the side view of the working of the vacuum insulated carafe when the intermittent threaded lid is unscrewed for one rotation.
REFERENCE NUMERALS
100 – Lid top
101 – carafe inner body wall
102 – bottom part
103 – carafe inner body
104 – carafe outer body
105 – carafe
200 – silicone rubber sealant
201 –bottom layer
301 – anti-slip layer
400 – lid top
401 – plastic lid part
402 – intermittent threaded lid part
403 – silicone seal
404 – complete lid
600 – ultrasonic welding
601 – laser welding
700 – intermittent threaded lid unscrewed for one rotation
701 – beverage outpour with flow control
702 – carafe body with lid attached
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
The principles of operation, design configurations and evaluation values in these non-limiting examples can be varied and are merely cited to illustrate at least one embodiment of the invention, without limiting the scope thereof.
The embodiments disclosed herein can be expressed in different forms and should not be considered as limited to the listed embodiments in the disclosed invention. The various embodiments outlined in the subsequent sections are constructed such that it provides a complete and a thorough understanding of the disclosed invention, by clearly describing the scope of the invention, for those skilled in the art.
Fig.1 depicts the present invention embodiment of an insulated carafe comprising of a double walled vacuum insulated shell is designed for carrying hot and cold beverages. Insulation is provided by the metallic shell by itself and not by additional jackets which is placed or covered on it. The current embodiment of our present invention carafe doesn’t not have handle and separate closing lid.
The major component of the present invention insulated carafe (105) are the inner shell (103), outer shell (104), metallic foil, getter material and bottom plate (102) which are all made up of metal parts. The plastic parts are lid top (100), insulation material and lid threaded part (401). The rubber parts are silicone seal and bottom TPU pad (200).
The carafe shape is brought out in metal without compromising the holding feel. It also acts as an aesthetic element and provides user a unique grip while using this product. The two metallic shells as shown in the figure 1 and 2 are laser welded (601) at their necks to make dual walled container so that welded shells are then placed in a vacuuming machine to remove the air between the walls of the shells and is sealed by a glass sealant at high temperature.
A metallic foil such as aluminum or copper is placed in between the inner shell as shown in the figure 1B and outer shell as shown in the fig 2 which decrease the radioactive heat loss to the lower temperature sides. A temperature active getter material as shown in the fig 3 is also welded on to one side of the metal shell which absorbs any remaining air after the vacuum process.
The inner shell as shown in the fig 1 (101) is designed to provide the user the visual clues to prevent them from over filling, this feature kept at a distance from the sealing position as a buffer. The bottom pad (300) as shown in the fig 3 is for anti-skid purpose which is attached to the bottom of the outer shell bottom cup (201) as showing in the fig 2.
The carafe lid construction comprises of lid top part (400) and lid threaded part (402) both are joined by the ultrasonic welding (600) by encapsulating the foam in between as shown in the fig 4. The bottom of the lid which is attached to a silicone gel (403) as shown in the figure 4 which provides the 100% leak proof assurance when lid is in closed condition. The plastic lid as shown in the fig 4 which covers the metallic vacuum insulated container which can maintain hot or cold beverage’s temperatures of the contents for pro longer periods of time. This is accomplished by introducing a hermetically sealed insulation in a lid cavity made out of plastic. The said hermetically sealed insulation provides thermal resistance to the flow of temperature to the ambient surrounding which leads prolonged thermal performance of the product. The insulation materials in various embodiments are not limited to expanded or extruded polystrene, cork wood or void of air etc.
The lid has a special type of threaded part as shown in fig 4 which has an intermittent thread arrangement (402). The lid is tightened by a screw action on the metallic portion of the container. The purpose of the intermittent thread arrangement is to obtain a flow of liquid on turning the lid open and the bottle is tilted. With continuous thread arrangement, it is not possible to ensure proper flow of the beverage. To ensure the falling of the lid under tilting condition, the continuous thread is provided in the adjacent metal part as shown in the fig 1(101) inner shell. The pouring variations can be obtained and maintained through the stepped rotation motion of the threads. The 1st quarter rotation kick starts provides the initial pouring with less flow rate. Then the further rotaion enhances the flow rate of hot or cold beverages. The main feature of the invention resides at the operation, where the lid does not supposed to fall even at maximum flow condition of beverages.
This construction provides physical strength and creates the visual impression which for some users is esthetically and psychologically desirable. The vacuum insulated carafe is one which the individual elements thereof are fabricated or any other appropriate process may be easily assembled. Likewise, its disassembly for repair or replacement of damaged parts is easy.
The current invention presents ease of cleaning as the parts are completely separable and required only cleaning with warm soapy water with no bleach or chlorine added. There are only two separate parts, the bottle and the lid. The bottle is completely self-contained and includes a bottom TPU pad. The inside of the bottle is seamless and easy to clean with a brush as the open top is sufficiently large to provide access inside.
Also the carafe of the present invention is thermally insulated, double wall, stainless steel and features a unique injection-molded stopper that allows easy pouring without removal.
The purpose of the present invention is to provide a carafe of maximum economy in manufacture with a distinctly effective pourable lid, use and of maximum attractiveness in appearance.
In another embodiment of our present invention, the carafe has a smooth stainless-steel body with double walls that are thermally insulated. The injection molded stopper lid allows easy pourability and flow control without the need for removing the lid. As seen from figure 7, the first rotation of the lid results in moderate flow (700), while another rotation of the lid moves the threading to one notch above resulting in greater flow (701), while another rotation results in maximum flow, while the lid is still locked into the threads and hence will not fall off from the body (702).
Throughout this specification various indications have been given as to preferred and alternative embodiments of the invention. It should be understood that it is the appended claims, including all equivalents that are intended to define the spirit and scope of this invention.

,CLAIMS:I/We claim:
1. A vacuum insulated carafe with flow control (105), which comprises of:
a. the inner shell (103),
b. outer shell (104),
c. metallic foil,
d. getter material and
e. bottom plate (102)
f. a lid with lid top (100), insulation material and lid threaded part (401)
g. silicone seal and
h. bottom TPU pad (200)
wherein the two metallic shells (103, 104) are laser welded (601) at their necks to make dual walled container which is closed with a pourable lid which contains a special type of threaded part which has an intermittent thread arrangement (402), wherein the lid is tightened by a screw action on the metallic portion of the container.
2. The vacuum insulated carafe with flow control, as claimed in claim 1, wherein the metallic foil is placed in between the inner shell (103) and outer shell (104) of the carafe body.
3. The vacuum insulated carafe with pourable lid, as claimed in claim 1, wherein the bottom of the lid which is attached to a silicone gel (403) and includes a bottom TPU pad.
4. The vacuum insulated carafe with flow control, as claimed in claim 1, wherein the bottle is completely self-contained and possesses a seamless inside and shaped to provide better grip and better liquid flow on the outside.
5. The vacuum insulated carafe with flow control, as claimed in claim 1, wherein the carafe lid construction comprises of lid top part (400) and lid threaded part (402) both which are joined by the ultrasonic welding (600) by encapsulating the foam thereby creating a hermetically sealed insulation in the lid cavity.
6. The vacuum insulated carafe with flow control, as claimed in claim 1, wherein the two metallic shells (figure 1 and 2) are laser welded (601) at their necks to make dual walled container, wherein the welded shells are then placed in a vacuuming machine to remove the air between the shell walls and sealed by a glass sealant at high temperature.
7. The vacuum insulated carafe with flow control, as claimed in claim 1, wherein
a. the carafe body inner shell (103), outer shell (104), metallic foil, getter material and bottom plate (102) are made up of metallic material including stainless steel, aluminum, copper and other metallic derivatives
b. the lid top (100), insulation material and lid threaded part (401) are made of plastic/ plastic derivatives, including BPA free plastic materials
c. the silicone seal and bottom TPU pad (200) are made of rubber/ rubber derivatives