Beverage brewing machine clean in place apparatus, system, and methods

Abstract

A beverage brewer including a brew group for making beverage and operable to provide a vacuum force. A cleaner reservoir carried in the brewer containing cleaning liquid for use during a cleaning cycle. A cleaning liquid line coupled to the cleaner reservoir and the brew group. A controller operating the brew group during a cleaning cycle to create a vacuum on the cleaning line to draw cleaning liquid from the cleaner reservoir to the brew group. A controllable valve coupled to the cleaning liquid line being normally closed when not activated during a cleaning cycle to prevent the passage of cleaning liquid from the cleaner reservoir to the brew group. An optical sensor assembly operatively coupled to the controller and associated with a liquid path of the beverage brewer for detecting a characteristic of a liquid in the path and / or material in the liquid in the path.

Description

BEVERAGE BREWING MACHINE CLEAN IN PLACE APPARATUS, SYSTEM, AND METHODSCROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001] This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Serial No. 63 / 632,404, filed April 10, 2024, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.BACKGROUND

[0002] A variety of beverage brewing apparatus have been developed to utilize pre-ground coffee or fresh ground coffee in a beverage brewing process. Such apparatus may have a brew group or an assembly, which can receive ground coffee for use in an automated brewing process.

[0003] While pre-ground coffee may be used in some apparatus, other apparatus may have hoppers or other containers for retaining a volume of unground coffee beans, which can be ground on demand to provide a fresh ground coffee material for brewing. Such fresh ground coffee apparatus which combine a grinding assembly with a brewing assembly have been referred to as "bean to cup" coffee machines. Such coffee making apparatus provide an efficient and effective means for producing coffee on demand in a variety of volumes from a single cup to such as one-and-a-half gallons.

[0004] When brewing a single cup beverage an appropriate volume of coffee is controllably ground on demand to produce fresh ground coffee material for brewing to a particular recipe. The coffee material is delivered to the brew group which includes a brew chamber for receiving the coffee material and a controllable brewing water system for delivering water to the brew chamber for brewing. Through a series of controllable steps, the ground coffee is infused with water and transformed into a brewed beverage.

[0005] The operation of the apparatus for producing a larger volume of coffee essentially follows the same overall steps, however, producing multiple servings of coffee beverage whichare each delivered to a larger volume coffee dispenser or reservoir positioned at or otherwise coupled to the output of the brew group. Such an apparatus has been referred to as a "bean to batch" coffee machine. Once a predetermined volume is set on the machine and an appropriate dispenser placed at the machine, the machine operates for a period of time to dispense the selected number of volumes of coffee beverage to the dispenser for accumulation therein to the predetermined batch volume. Once the selected number of brew volumes have been delivered from the machine to the dispenser the machine ceases producing coffee and allows the operator to remove the dispenser for placement at a location away from the brewer.

[0006] Additionally, such an apparatus can be provided with onboard reservoirs for receiving coffee. In this manner, the machine is operated in a way that delivers multiple doses of finished ready to drink coffee to the coffee reservoirs onboard of the machine for accumulation and subsequent controlled dispensing. The subject matter of such an apparatus can be found in pending U.S. Pat. App. No. 18 / 200317, titled Bean to Batch Brewer. The subject matter and disclosure of the above referenced application is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

[0007] The apparatus as set forth in the disclosed application provides advantages such that a single apparatus can be used to grind coffee, brew coffee on demand, brew the coffee to selected volumes, dispense either individual cups of coffee on demand or brew an accumulation of multiple volumes of liquid coffee into one or more coffee holding reservoirs on demand. It can be desirable to brew coffee to the reservoir to allow for the accumulation of coffee so that multiple individual cups of coffee can be dispensed on demand without having to wait for each brew cycle to complete for an individual cup. In addition, multiple reservoirs can be provided in the machine as disclosed in the application as noted above. In this manner, different types of coffee such as the type of bean, the blend of bean, whether a flavored bean is used, can be dispensed to individual reservoirs.

[0008] As an example, an apparatus such as set forth in the referenced application and disclosed in further detail herein can be provided with three coffee reservoirs. As an example, reservoir one can designated to contain a decaf coffee, reservoir two can be designated tocontain a regular coffee (unflavored), and reservoir three can be designated to contain a flavored coffee. This offers a wide variety of customer choices to dispense from the coffee maker on demand without having to wait for individual cups to be separately produced. Such a system also provides automated management of the coffee reservoirs such as the machine when prompted to do so can produce a desired volume of coffee for dispensing to the reservoir and the reservoir can be drained on command or at a programmed time such as when a predetermined level of freshness has been exceeded.

[0009] In all these coffee apparatuses, it is required to periodically clean the components and surfaces. Such cleaning is required to prevent the accumulation of coffee materials such as ground coffee grounds, particles, and fines that may escape the coffee grinding portion of the machine. Steam produced during the brewing process might escape the brew group, which steam could include various coffee components such as oils or dissolved solids. When the steam escapes the brew group such as when it is opened at the end of a brew cycle, the steam can contact surfaces of the coffee machine with the materials carried in the steam accumulating on those surfaces. In addition, coffee can accumulate in the system such as on the brew group, brew group filter, piston surfaces, and the relatively narrow diameter tubular passages connecting various components of the brewing assembly. This can naturally occur as part of the brewing process, in which all of these surfaces are contacted by the freshly brewed coffee and the materials carried in that coffee. Furthermore, depending on the water conditions of the environment in which the machine operates lime and other mineral components might accumulate in the system or add to the accumulation of other materials throughout the system.

[0010] With the foregoing in mind, cleaning operations should be provided to help maintain the cleanliness of the brewing apparatus. In addition, periodic cleaning provides the added benefit of increasing the longevity, reliability, and operation of the components and the machine. Cleaning can also reduce, prevent, or remove materials that could affect the flavor, aroma, appearance, and possibly the mouth feel of the coffee produced. Cleaning can reduce,prevent, and remove materials that might otherwise accumulate and that might otherwise interfere with the operation of these components and the machine.

[0011] While all components and surfaces of the brewing apparatus could be manually disassembled, individually cleaned and reassembled on a periodic basis, doing so is generally impractical and requires a significant level of training, employee time, and sales downtime to do so properly. While some tasks might always be performed manually, such as periodic brushing and / or vacuuming of the interior of the cabinet and manually wiping various surfaces with an appropriate sanitary cleaning substance, it would be desirable to provide automated operations using the cleaning machine to run a "cleaning cycle" periodically. Such a cleaning cycle could be used by machine operators to help automate the system to reduce the burden on the coffee establishment employees and to help assure that periodic and consistent cleaning occurs.

[0012] Such cleaning activities include providing a dose of cleaning product. Prior systems use a solid material such as a tablet or dose of powder material, similar to automatic dishwasher chemicals. The tablet or powder is placed into some portion of a brewing apparatus for dissolving in water provided by the brewing apparatus. Such a solid material has ingredients that help to clean the surfaces to be cleaned in manner as described above. Such solid materials may help to dissolve or otherwise loosen materials such as oils and dissolved solids that might be deposited on surfaces in the brewing apparatus. Some solid material might also include ingredients that help to dissolve mineral deposits in the system. The general concept for such cleaning apparatus includes flushing the dissolved cleaning substance through the brewing apparatus and when sufficiently completed rinsing the apparatus with fresh water that does not include cleaning substance.

[0013] One of the problems that occurs with such use of cleaning tablets or powders is that the tablets might not completely dissolve for any variety of reasons. In addition, undissolved portions, grains, or chunks of a tablet or powder might also become lodged in various areas of the brewing apparatus or become attached through pressure or otherwise to food contact surfaces of the brewing apparatus. As an example, such particles could become lodged in theopening of a permanent filter. In this situation, these particles can affect flavor, aroma, mouth feel for the initial brewing cycles after cleaning and possibly subsequent cycles. As can be appreciated, the remnants of a partially or incompletely dissolved tablet or powder can produce an undesirable beverage if allowed to be brewed with coffee. While such material might not be harmful to the consumer, it can directly affect the flavor of the coffee produced and produce an undesirable experience for the coffee consumer. In addition, if components of solid cleaning materials are lodged in the machine, the machine must be taken out of service for additional cleaning to resolve the issue.SUMMARY

[0014] With the foregoing in mind, it would be desirable to provide a brewing apparatus that includes an automated cleaning system to controllably facilitate the cleaning of the apparatus in place without disassembly of the various components. In addition, it would be desirable to provide such a system that operates using a liquid cleaning material instead of a tablet or powder to help eliminate issues associated with solid material cleaning systems. A solid material might be used in a system of the present disclosure if it can be thoroughly dissolved to prevent undissolved particles in the system, which might be accomplished by dissolving in a container separate from the brewing apparatus such as in a container remote from the brewing apparatus. This would allow the material to dissolve and any loose particles to be detained in a pre-dissolving container so that the particles do not become entrained in the cleaning process.

[0015] In addition, the use of liquid cleaner materials in an automated brewing process will help promote more reliable use of the cleaning system by location employees and prevent issues associated with use of a solid materials helping to provide better and more reliable operating time and possibly result in more reliable machine operation due to compliance with cleaning programs.

[0016] The disclosed system includes structures and functions to facilitate thorough cleaning of a brewing apparatus using a brew group to create a vacuum to draw cleaning liquid from a cleaning liquid reservoir and promote the transportation of cleaning liquid through the entire apparatus, much as would occur with the production of coffee. The apparatus includes an onboard cleaning liquid reservoir controllably communicating with the brew group in a manner that promotes movement of cleaning liquid from the cleaning liquid reservoir during a cleaning cycle but prohibits movement of cleaning liquid from the reservoir during a brew cycle. Controllable valves in the path between the cleaning liquid reservoir and the brew group, which are default normally closed, only operate to an open condition when controlled during a cleaning cycle.

[0017] Disclosed is an optical sensing assembly including a light emitting source and a light sensing device. The light emitting source transmits light through a passage wall and into material in or flowing through the passage. Light being returned form the passage being detected by the light sensing device for identifying a characteristic of the received light from the passage. The transmission and sensing of light providing a signal indicating the characteristic of the material in the passage for identifying the material.

[0018] Also disclosed is a brewer that uses its available systems to produce beverage during a controllable brew cycle and uses the same systems as the means for moving cleaning liquid from a cleaning liquid reservoir through the brewer during a brewing cycle. The brewer includes a brew group including upper and lower pistons for controllably brewing a predetermined volume of coffee on demand. Passages extending from the brew group dispense coffee to a dispense head in the case of single couple dispensing. Alternatively, the brewed coffee can be controllably and selectively transported to one of more than one reservoirs associated with or carried in the brewer. In this regard, the same path that transports coffee to the reservoirs can be used to transport cleaning liquid to the reservoirs for cleaning surfaces within the reservoirs. Cleaning liquid used to clean the reservoirs can also be dispensed through the paths through which coffee is dispensed from the reservoirs such as the dispensing head associated with the brewer to clean those paths as well. Dispensed cleaning liquid can be flowed through a drip tray to clean the drip tray and out through an associated drain or manually removed from the drip tray by pouring it into a separate drain if the drip tray is not plumbed to a live drain line.

[0019] The system also allows for the controlled, scheduled cleaning of the apparatus on a periodic basis. The system also, alternatively, or selectively provides a cleaning cycle on a basis related to another characteristic of the brewer such as, but not limited to, brew frequency, brew infrequency, type of brew produced in relation to the type of bean used, time related to the dwell time of coffee in the reservoirs, and other factors. In this regard, the controller of the apparatus can be programmed either manually or by sensing operation of and accumulating history of the operation of the brewer. The automatic cleaning system can create a cleaning cycle that is designed in relation to the use of the brewing system. The scheduled cleaningcycle can be automatically activated based on the selected basis for cleaning at which point the brewing system is locked out to prevent unintended brewing of beverage into the reservoirs during the cleaning cycle. This background information is provided to provide some information believed by the applicant to be of possible relevance to the present disclosure. No admission is intended, nor should any admission be inferred or construed, that any of the preceding information constitutes prior art against the present disclosure. Other aims, objects, advantages, and features of the disclosure will become more apparent upon reading the following non-restrictive description of specific embodiments thereof, given by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings.BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0020] The present disclosure will be described hereafter with reference to the attached drawings which are given as a non-limiting example only, in which:

[0021] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a beverage making apparatus such as a coffee or tea brewing machine which includes in this embodiment a coffee brewing machine having several different coffee options, hoppers positioned on an upper portion of the housing for controllably feeding whole coffee beans for grinding to the apparatus, a user interface on the front of the machine, and multiple cup positions for dispensing multiple freshly brewed coffee choices from the apparatus;

[0022] FIG. 1A shows a front elevational view of the beverage making apparatus as shown in FIG. 1 including an additional substance reservoir coupled to the apparatus in a position outside of the apparatus, the additional substance reservoir being used to contain liquid ingredients for cleaning components of the apparatus without removing the components, referred to as "cleaning in place" such as by a novel and nonobvious combination of elements used in a novel and nonobvious operation with the position away from the brewer being at least one of on a countertop, under a countertop, or in a more distant location, the substance reservoir being coupled to the apparatus by use of a suitable hollow tube to convey cleaning ingredients from the substance reservoir to the apparatus under operation of the apparatus;

[0023] FIG. 2 is a perspective view similar to that as shown FIG. 1 in which a front panel carrying the user interface is displaceably pivoted upwardly away from the apparatus to reveal components of the apparatus including a series of dispense heads carried on a pivotable structure and revealing a brew group and a cleaning substance reservoir for use in the operation of the clean in place processes and including a refill hose and rigid extension associated therewith stored alongside the cleaning substance reservoir for convenient access in refilling the reservoir, and an upper piston associated with the brew group in a maximum upward position revealing a mouth of a brew chamber associated with the brew group;

[0024] FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of the brew group as shown in FIG. 2 illustrating the upper piston in a maximum downward position revealing the operation and travel of this top piston in association with the brew chamber;

[0025] FIGS. 4-6 show a view of the brew group brew chamber including the relationship of the upper piston and a lower piston in operation of the cleaning process in this disclosure, the illustrations providing a view through an imaginary transparent wall of the brew group used to illustrate the operational relationship of these structures in a progression from FIG. 4 through FIG. 6 showing the dispensing of cleaning product into the brew chamber by delivery through the upper piston, continued filling and accumulation of undiluted concentrate in the chamber by operation of the piston moving upwardly and downwardly to create a vacuum on the lines associated with the piston and connected to the cleaning substance reservoir to create a motive force to pull cleaning substance from the cleaning substance reservoir into the brew chamber, with FIG. 6 showing the dispensing of a volume of water upwardly through a bottom piston to combine with the cleaning substance to dilute the cleaning substance to a range of acceptable concentrations;

[0026] FIG. 7 shows a view of a portion of the apparatus in FIG. 1 to the left of the hoppers illustrating a reservoir housing structure for retaining at least one coffee reservoir which can be operatively coupled to the apparatus for receiving fresh brewed coffee produced by the apparatus, an upper portion of the reservoir housing being removed to reveal a series of controllable valves and dispensing lines communicating with the corresponding controllable valves for directing brewed beverage from the brew group of the apparatus to at least one reservoir contained in the reservoir housing, passages shown connected to the brew group and leading to the control valves for controllably directing brewed coffee to one of the selected coffee reservoirs;

[0027] FIGS. 8 and 9 show a progression of the accumulation of fluid in at least one of the coffee reservoirs during a cleaning cycle, FIG. 8 showing the initial dispensing of a more concentrated, less diluted cleaning solution being dispensed from the brew group with the addition of water, this initial dosing of cleaning liquid being allowed to dwell and assist in thecleaning of the lower surfaces of a reservoir, and FIG. 9 showing additional fluid being added to the reservoir with the operation of an air pump to infuse the cleaning liquids with air to help agitate the cleaning liquid contents of the reservoir and help to further enhance the cleaning of the surfaces within the reservoir;

[0028] FIG. 10 shows the dispensing of fluids from a coffee reservoir through a dispense head positioned on the front of the apparatus with fluid flowing from the dispense head to collect in a drip tray below the dispensing head with the passage of diluted cleaning liquid through the drip tray aiding in the cleaning of the drip tray and dispensing of these fluids through a drain line plumbed to the drip tray, alternatively a container can be placed below the dispense head to collect the liquid;

[0029] FIGS. 11-15 provide a series of progressions showing the clean in place structures and operations facilitating cleaning of a portion of the brew group including a swiper component which operates to move across an upper surface proximate the mouth of the brew chamber and a lower piston, with the swiper operating during a brew cycle to remove spent grounds from the brew chamber at the end of the cycle, as shown in FIGS. 11-15 to aid in the cleaning of this portion of the brew group, FIG. 11 illustrating the location of residue that tends to accumulates during brewing processes in the usual operation of the apparatus, FIG. 12 illustrating the movement of the swiper forwardly across the top of the mouth of the brew chamber and the top of a lower piston while diluted cleaning liquid is dispensed from the upper piston to provide a showering effect across the swiper surfaces, progressively moving the swiper forward as shown in FIG. 13 to shower additional surfaces associated with the swiper, FIG. 14 illustrating the dispensing of diluted cleaning liquid into an aperture provided in the center of the swiper body, and FIG. 15 showing the passage of the swiper in preparation for removal of residue that may have accumulated in the brew chamber during the cleaning operation for disposal in a collection bin used to collect spent coffee grounds at the end of a brew cycle;

[0030] FIG. 16 shows an exposed structure associated with the apparatus including a portion of the brew group illustrated in prior figures showing the structures associated with the rear portion of the swiper component;

[0031] FIG. 17 is a diagrammatic illustration showing the hydraulic relationships of the brew group or brew module, the onboard cleaning substance reservoir or cleaning liquid reservoir, the substance reservoir as illustrated in FIG. 1A, controllable valves associated with the cleaning substance reservoir, an optical sensor assembly associated with the cleaning liquids used in this system, a controllable cleaner injection valve, and the associated passages leading to the drip tray which may be plumbed to a drain;

[0032] FIG. 18 is a diagrammatic illustration of the optical sensor assembly shown in FIG. 17 in which an illumination source is provided to introduce light of a predetermined wavelength to a container or passage associated with the illumination source, a sensor positioned proximate illumination source for receiving reflective light from the passage or container, both the light source and sensor being coupled to a controller for receiving information in the form of a detected signal associated with the wavelength of light detected by the sensor relative to the light emitted from the illumination source after passing through the liquid and entrained materials in the passage, the controller processing information from the illumination source and sensor for use in determining characteristics associated with the liquid and entrained materials passing through the passage or retained in the container;

[0033] FIG. 19 is a representative graph showing the light wave response over a spectrum of wavelengths relative to the type of substance pass through or retained within the passage or container including water, cleaning substance, coffee, dirty water, and calibration baseline blue water;

[0034] FIG. 20 shows a perspective view of a cleaning substance reservoir removed from the beverage making apparatus to illustrate the features of the reservoir, including a tube or passage extending from a lowermost portion of the reservoir upwardly along a side of the reservoir for connection to a line that is coupled to and communicates with the brew group, afilling mouth located at the uppermost portion of the reservoir, and a grip portion formed at the uppermost portion of the reservoir, a pair of sensors attached to a side of the reservoir for detecting a liquid level within the reservoir, snap mount structures integrally formed in the side wall of the reservoir for creating a mechanical interference with the shape of the sensors to retain a sensor therein, the reservoir generally being formed of a blow molded plastic;

[0035] FIG. 21 is a cross-sectional view of the cleaning substance reservoir of FIG. 20 taken along line 21-21 in FIG. 20 showing an interior cavity of the reservoir and the relationship of interior surfaces in the cavity to the connection of the tube at the lowest location in the lower most portion of the reservoir, positioning of the sensor retaining structures, fill opening, and handle;

[0036] FIG. 22 shows an assembled optical sensor assembly for detecting in-line liquid and material flowing through a passage, the optical sensor assembly includes a housing for retaining light emitting and light sensing components, a connector receptacle, and a tube or passage that is retained within the housing proximate the light emitting and light sensing components;

[0037] FIG. 23 is a partial cross-sectional view of the optical sensor assembly take along line 23-23 in FIG. 22 illustrating the relative position of the components retained within the housing showing the position of the LED light emitter relative to the light sensor, the spacing of the distance between these components, and the relative position of these components to the tube; and

[0038] FIG. 24 is an exploded perspective view of the optical sensor assembly, illustrating an upper housing, lower housing, tube / passage, the circuit board including the LED light emitter and light sensor retained thereon and including a connector receptacle, and a gasket position between the circuit board and the upper housing portion.

[0039] The exemplification set out herein illustrates embodiments of the disclosure that are not to be construed as limiting the scope of the disclosure in any manner. Additional features of the present disclosure will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon consideration of the following detailed description of illustrative embodiments exemplifying the best mode of carrying out the disclosure as presently perceived.DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0040] While the present disclosure may be susceptible to embodiment in different forms, there is shown in the drawings, and herein will be described in detail, embodiments with the understanding that the present description is to be considered an exemplification of the principles of the disclosure. The disclosure is not limited in its application to the details of structure, function, construction, or the arrangement of components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the drawings. The disclosure is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced or of being carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology used herein is for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting. The use of various phrases and terms is meant to encompass the items or functions identified and equivalents thereof as well as additional items or functions. Unless limited otherwise, various phrases, terms, and variations thereof herein are used broadly and encompass all variations of such phrases and terms. Furthermore, and as described in subsequent paragraphs, the specific configurations illustrated in the drawings are intended to exemplify embodiments of the disclosure. However, other alternative structures, functions, and configurations are possible which are considered to be within the teachings of the present disclosure. Furthermore, unless otherwise indicated, the term "or" is to be considered inclusive.

[0041] Terms including beverage, brewed, brewing, brewing substance, brewed liquid, and brewed beverage as may be used herein are intended to be broadly defined as including, but not limited to, the brewing by infusion or mixing and not fermentation of coffee, tea and any other beverages. This broad interpretation is also intended to include, but is not limited to any process of dispensing, infusing, steeping, reconstituting, diluting, dissolving, saturating or passing a liquid through or otherwise mixing or combining a beverage substance with a liquid such as water without limitation to the temperature of such liquid unless specified. This broad interpretation is also intended to include but is not limited to beverage substances such as ground coffee, tea, liquid beverage concentrate, powdered beverage concentrate, flaked,granular, freeze dried or other forms of materials including liquid, gel, crystal or other forms of beverage or food materials to obtain a desired beverage or other food product.

[0042] Beverage ingredients material, or substance will be described in the present application and will be generally referred to as "coffee" for convenience in the discussion of this disclosure. However, it should be understood that the term beverage ingredient should be broadly interpreted regardless of reference to a specific beverage ingredient or coffee. Also, the characteristics or form of the beverage ingredient can be any variety of ingredients which are currently known or hereafter developed. The form of the beverage ingredient may include powder, liquid, gel, crystal, flake, freeze-dried and any other form or state regardless of temperature, phase or other characteristics. Reference to beverage dispensing includes reconstituting, brewing, steeping or any other form of combining a dilution ingredient with a beverage ingredient.

[0043] Moreover, while "beverage" is referred to, it is envisioned that any variety of food ingredients could be placed in an ingredient container to reconstitute a desired food. In this regard, the food could take the form of juice, coffee, tea, other flavored beverages, as well as other foods. Furthermore, use of a dilution ingredient is to be broadly interpreted. While "water" is referred to for convenience in the discussion of this disclosure it should be understood that any variety of dilution ingredients could be used with the present application.

[0044] The foregoing terms as well as other terms should be broadly interpreted throughout this application to include all known as well as all hereafter discovered versions, equivalents, variations and other forms of the abovementioned terms as well as other terms. The present disclosure is intended to be broadly interpreted and not limited.

[0045] As shown in FIG. 1, a beverage making apparatus 30 is shown. The beverage making apparatus 30 is of a type that is generally automated in production of a brewed beverage. As described above, the term "coffee" will be used throughout this description for clarity of description. As shown in FIG. 1, a series of hoppers 32 are provided to provide fresh coffee beans for use in a beverage brewing process or brew cycle that controllably combines freshground coffee with a controllable measure of water to produce brewed beverage. The apparatus 30 has a housing 34 including a front panel 36 providing a user interface 38 in the form of a touch control screen. As will be appreciated, a variety of user interfaces 38 could be used in place of the touch control screen such as discreet buttons, voice control, a handheld device with an appropriate connection to the apparatus or any other user interface currently known or hereafter created. A series of dispensing heads 40 are provided below the user interface 38 for dispensing beverage from the apparatus 30 to a cup, which could be positioned in a cup location 44 below a corresponding dispensing head 40. An additional side portion 46 of the housing 34 provides storage for a series of reservoirs (see FIGs. 8 and 9), which can receive coffee from a brewing mechanism portion of the apparatus for accumulation within the reservoir instead of dispensing to an individual cup at the cup receiving position 44.

[0046] As shown in FIG. 2, the front panel 36 has been pivoted upwardly away from the housing 34 to reveal internal portions and systems of the apparatus such as a brew group 50, internal cleaning substance reservoir or cleaner reservoir 52, and the dispense heads 40 carried on a pivotable panel 53. The internal cleaner reservoir 52 can be filled with a cleaning liquid either manually by removing a cover 56 from the reservoir and depositing cleaning liquid into the cleaner reservoir 52. Alternatively, with reference to FIG. 1A, a larger volume refill substance reservoir 60 can be positioned outside the apparatus and connected using a tube 62 which, when connected, transports cleaning liquid from the substance reservoir 60 to the cleaner reservoir 52 inside of the apparatus. In this regard, the tube 62 is generally flexible and a rigid hollow shaft or straw 63 at the end of the flexible tube 62 is provided for use in transporting liquid cleaning substance from the substance reservoir 60 to the cleaner reservoir 62. Alternatively, the substance reservoir 60 external to the apparatus 30 can also be used as a primary reservoir if a reservoir cannot be contained within the housing of such an apparatus.

[0047] As shown in FIG. 3, a brew group or brew module 50 is illustrated generally defining a brew chamber cavity 70, a displaceable upper piston 72, an upper drive mechanism 75 to help move the upper piston 72, and an inlet / output line 74 attached to the piston 72 for feeding water to the brew chamber of the brew group 50 and dispensing coffee from the brew group50. Further description of the operation of the brew group 50 will be provided in further detail below.

[0048] One of the features of the present disclosure is that the brew group 50 is used as a pumping mechanism to draw liquid cleaning substance from the cleaning substance source, either the cleaner reservoir 52 onboard inside the housing 34 of the apparatus 30 or the external substance reservoir 60 outside of the apparatus 30 (see FIG. 1A). The brew group 50 can be selectively, controllably operated as a pump to create a vacuum to draw the cleaning substance out of the reservoir since the upper piston can be driven upwardly and downwardly through the brew chamber 70. This upward and downward movement, in combination with selected operation of valves in the various lines, creates a vacuum on the line 74 connected to and communicating with the cleaner reservoir 52 to controllably draw a measured volume of cleaning liquid from the reservoir 52 during a cleaning cycle.

[0049] With further reference to series of progressions shown in FIGs. 4-6, the operation of the brew group 50 as a pump is illustrated. The views in FIGs. 4-6 are in a form that uses a brew chamber 70 that has an imaginary transparent wall for purpose of describing the structures and functions of the apparatus, system, and method. The imaginary transparent wall helps illustrate the structures, relationships, and operation of the upper piston 72 and a lower piston 78 relative to each other and in relation to the brew chamber 70 in which they operate. As shown in FIG. 4, upward movement 79 of the upper piston 72 with all other passages connected to the chamber 70 being closed, by closing all of the connect valves except a controllable valve on the line connecting the cleaner reservoir, creates a vacuum force in a cavity 80 defined within the brew chamber 70. Tubes and passages connect the upper piston 72 to the cleaner reservoir 52. These tubes and passages are opened with the vacuum creating a draw on cleaning liquid 82 in in the cleaner reservoir 52. This vacuum draws the liquid 82 thought ports in the upper piston and into the cavity 80.

[0050] As shown in FIG. 5, after operation of the upper piston 72 in this pumping process, the cleaning liquid 82 starts to accumulate forming a volume of undiluted accumulated and accumulating cleaning liquid 83 within the lower section of the brew chamber 70. After apredetermined volume of accumulated cleaning liquid 83 has flowed into the chamber 70, a valve (as described in FIG. 17) is depowered to return it to its default normally closed condition to close the path form the reservoir to the brew chamber, ceasing the flow of cleaning liquid into the chamber.

[0051] FIG. 6 shows the use of a water inlet line 90 coupled to and communicating with a controllable water system to controllably dispense water to the cavity 80 of the chamber 70 through the lower piston 78. The dispensing of water to the chamber 70 through inlet line 90, mixes water and undiluted cleaner liquid to dilute the accumulated cleaning liquid 83. An accumulation of diluted cleaning solution 92 helps to clean a lower filter 94 and an upper filter 96. In addition, the action of the cleaning liquid through the upper filter 96 as shown in FIG. 4 helps to clean the openings of the filter 96 and remove coffee materials from the surfaces of the filter 96. Further, soaking of the cleaning liquid on the lower filter 94 while it accumulates in the chamber and action of the inlet water line 90 through the lower filter 94 also helps to clean the filter surfaces and remove coffee materials therefrom.

[0052] The initial dispensing of the undiluted cleaner liquid into the chamber 70 present the strongest dose of cleaner liquid to what might be the surfaces that need the most intense cleaning. As an example, at the start of a brew cycle the freshly ground coffee is dispensed into the cavity 80 of the chamber 70 and initially is deposited onto the lower filter of the lower piston in the bottom of the chamber 70. As a result, the smallest fines in the ground coffee and freshly exposed coffee oils resulting from the grinding process directly contact the surfaces of the filter. Since the surface of the filter has a significant source area, considering all the openings in the filter, a significant area could tend to accumulate oils and particles. Then the initial dose of water and the chemical reaction with the freshly ground coffee occurs in this area and the dame ingredients are exposed to and contact the upper filter on the upper piston.

[0053] When in a cleaning mode, the cleaning liquid accumulates in the brew chamber 70 and is diluted with water through the water line 90 as shown and described with reference to FIGs. 4-6. Continuing with the cleaning process, once an appropriate dilution concentration ofmixed cleaning liquid and water is produced in the brew chamber it is transported from the brew chamber to reservoirs contained in the reservoir housing 46.

[0054] With reference to FIGs. 7-9, cleaning liquid 99 is transported to each of the three reservoirs provided in the housing 46. During normal brew production individual reservoirs 100, 102, 104, are used to hold batches of coffee. Multiple reservoirs can be provided in the apparatus 30 to hold different types of coffee beverages for on demand dispensing. As an example, coffee reservoir 100 can be used to contain a decaf coffee, coffee reservoir 102 can be used to contain a regular, unflavored coffee, and coffee reservoir 104 can be used to contain a flavored coffee. Of course, various permutations of the uses of these reservoirs can be used and the reservoirs are not solely assigned to the examples provided herein.

[0055] As shown in FIGs. 7-9, dispensing lines 106, 108, and 110 are associated with and communicate with each of the corresponding reservoirs 100, 102, 104, respectively. During a brewing mode, the brew group 50 controllably produces beverage and transports it to each of the reservoirs. During a cleaning cycle, a similar operation occurs with the brew group transporting diluted cleaning liquid to each of the reservoirs. A cleaning cycle may include transporting cleaning liquid each of the reservoirs, individually, in series. In this regard, as an example, reservoir 100 might be cleaned first with the dispensing line 106 delivering cleaning liquid to the reservoir. An initial dose of cleaning liquid may be dispensed in a predetermined concentration to the reservoir and allowed to sit or dwell for a period of time to try to help remove the coffee substances and dissolved solids from an internal base 101 of the reservoir 100. The internal base 101 could require more cleaning attention since some of the materials in the coffee retained in the reservoir might settle out of suspension or precipitate out as the coffee is held in the reservoir and possibly as a result of the coffee cooling. The internal side walls of the reservoirs might not have as much material accumulation due to the generally vertical orientation of the walls. As such, this more concentrated cleaner liquid might be used to help thoroughly clean the bottom internal surfaces, such as the base 101 on which coffee might accumulate as a result of settling out of the brewed beverage.

[0056] With reference to FIG. 9, additional water 103 can be added to the reservoir 100 to provide additional cleaning of the interior surfaces. In addition, air can be controllably infused through the bottom of the reservoir 100 (see representative bubbles 120) to help agitate the liquid 103 in the reservoir 100. This is intended to help enhance the cleaning operation and provide agitation of the cleaning liquid in the reservoir and against the internal surfaces of the reservoir 100.

[0057] At a predetermined time, the reservoir drain can be controlled to an open position whereby fluid is drained from the reservoir. In addition, the dispensing components 40 in the apparatus can be used to dispense cleaning liquid from each reservoir to the corresponding dispensing heads 40. As shown in FIG. 10, cleaning liquid is dispensed from a cleaning head 40 to clean the passages between the reservoirs and the cleaning heads as well as the components, passages, tubing, and surfaces of the cleaning heads. When dispensing cleaning liquid through the dispensing heads a container may be placed in a drip tray area 130 or the liquid may be allowed to be dispensed into the drip tray area 130 to clean the surfaces associated with the drip tray 130 and allowed to drain through a drainage system 196 associated with the drip tray 130.

[0058] As will be appreciated, the internal surfaces of controllable solenoid valves 132, 134, 136, and 140 will be cleaned with the passage of cleaning liquid through the dispense lines 106, 108, 110 on the way to the respective reservoirs 100, 102, 104. Cleaning of all the components through the flow passages from the brew group 50 through the dispense heads 40 results in cleaning operations which provide thorough cleaning of the surfaces and components. This not only provides benefits to maintaining the integrity of the flavor of the coffee brewed, it also provides the benefits of removing substances that might otherwise create less sanitary conditions. In addition, cleaning all these surfaces and components also enhances the operation and reliability of the components and surfaces and reduces wear on and servicing of these components.

[0059] Areas and surfaces of the brew group 50 tend to accumulate some debris as a result of the dispensing of ground coffee through and / or along a path from the hoppers 32, includinga coffee chute 141 which delivers ground coffee from the grinder assembly communicating with the hoppers and is positioned above the brew group. The ground coffee flows from the chute 141 through a mouth 142 of the brew chamber 70 for infusion with heated water dispensed through the upper piston 72 during a brewing cycle. Since ground coffee can contain chafe and small particles, they can be entrained in air within the housing and may be deposited on surfaces on or near the brew group. As such, it is important to provide means for cleaning of the surfaces, preferably in an automated manner. While some surfaces within housing may need to be brushed or cleaned with a cleaning cloth from time to time, many of these surfaces can be cleaned using the automated cleaning system of the present disclosure.

[0060] As shown in FIGs. 11-16, a series of steps can be performed to help clean the brew chamber 70 as well as a swiper 144 used with the brew group 50. The swiper 144 is a controllably movable structure including a blade-type structure 145 that is used primarily to remove coffee from a head surface 147 of the lower piston 78 (see FIG. 15). At the end of a brewing process the spent coffee grounds are compressed briefly between the upper piston 72 and the lower piston 78. The lower piston 78 can move upwardly through the brew chamber 70 to deliver a puck of spent grounds at a level generally equal to an upper surface 146 of the brew chamber 70 at which point the swiper 144 is advanced forwardly across the lower piston to displace the puck of spent coffee into a puck accumulation bin 151 (see FIG. 16) within the housing. The swiper 144 is then retracted away from the brew chamber 70 to a ready position as shown in FIG. 11. Some debris 150 can accumulate at a leading edge of the swiper 144 since the somewhat drained yet slightly moist spent grounds may shed some debris as they are swiped across the surface 147 of the lower piston 78.

[0061] As shown in FIG. 11, the brew group including the swiper 144 is positioned in a ready position during a cleaning operation. In FIG. 12, cleaning liquid 153 is dispensed through the upper piston 72 for delivery to surfaces associated with the swiper 144 and upper surface 146 of the brew group 50. The swiper 144 is advanced while cleaning liquid 153 is dispensed from the upper piston as shown in FIG. 13. This helps to clean all these surfaces that are exposed to the dispensing of grounds as discussed above, as well as the final steps of a brewing operation.Moist debris is moved across the upwardly positioned lower piston for dispensing to the puck bin 151.

[0062] As shown in FIG. 14, the swiper 144 is briefly positioned for a dwell time to allow cleaning of surfaces associated with the swiper 144. The dispensing of cleaning liquid 153 and subsequently rinse water is ceased and the swiper is returned to a ready position allowing the mouth 142 of the brew chamber 70 to receive the next dose of ground coffee.

[0063] As shown in FIG. 16, a rear view of the swiper 144 is shown in its ready position retracted from over the brew chamber 70. In this regard, the surfaces of structures have been designed to prevent the accumulation of ground coffee which is dispensed through the coffee chute 141. As an example, a structural rod 160 is provided between vertical supports 162, 164 to provide structural support between these lower portions without providing a horizontal surface on which materials might otherwise accumulate requiring additional cleaning.

[0064] A diagrammatic illustration of a schematic of the clean in place cleaning system used with the apparatus 30 is shown. As shown in FIG. 17, the cleaning substance reservoir or cleaner reservoir 52 is shown including a first line 180 coupled to and communicating with a selectively controllable reservoir valve 182. Similarly, the substance reservoir 60 is coupled to and communicates with a second line 184 to a selectively controllable refill valve 186. An inline optical sensor assembly 190 is provided in the system as will be described. A line 192 is coupled to and communicates with the selectively controllable valve 186 for delivery of liquid to the drip tray assembly 130. Similarly, a cleaner injection valve 188 communicating with the optical sensor assembly 190 includes a fourth line 194 communicating with the drip tray assembly 130. The drip tray assembly may be in the form of a manually removable tray assembly which, after an accumulation of fluids, may be removed to a sink or other drain for disposal. In addition, a plumbed line connection 196 may be provided communicating with the drip tray to drain fluids accumulating in the drip tray directly to a plumbed drain line. The selectively controllable valves 182, 186, 188 are configured and set to a normally closed condition when not positively activated to provide control to prevent cleaning liquid from being introduced into the brewing process.

[0065] As shown in FIG. 17, the apparatus 30 includes a control board or controller 300 including lines coupled to and communicating with the selectively controllable valves and vents. In this regard, a control line 302 connects to the cleaner injection valve 188. A control line 304 is coupled to the controllable chamber vent valve 306. A control line 308 is coupled to the color sensor assembly 190. A line 310 is coupled to and communicates with the cleaner refill valve 186 and a line 312 is coupled to and communicates with the internal reservoir valve 182. In addition, the onboard cleaner reservoir 52 is associated with a pair of sensors, namely, an upper level or full sensor 320 and a lower level or empty sensor 322. The sensors may be described as upper level or full (320) or lower level or empty (322), however, any number of positions may be attributed to the sensors depending on the desired characteristics to be sensed relative to the reservoir 52 and the contents thereof. These sensors 320, 322 are coupled to and communicate with the controller 300 by corresponding lines 330, 332, respectively. Another control line 334 is coupled to and communicates with the brew module 350 to selectively and controllably operate the brew module. The controller 300 is contained on the apparatus 30 and controls additional functions in controllable components thereof.

[0066] FIG. 20 shows a perspective view of a cleaning substance reservoir 52 removed from the beverage making apparatus to illustrate the features of the reservoir, including a hollow tube or passage 400 extending from a lowermost portion 402 of the reservoir. The hollow tube 402 extends upwardly along a narrow side 404 of the reservoir 52 for connection to a line 74 that is coupled to and communicates with the brew group 50. A filling mouth 406 located at the uppermost portion 408 of the reservoir. A grip portion or handle 410 is formed at the uppermost portion 408 of the reservoir. A pair of sensors 320, 322 are attached to a side 412 of the reservoir for detecting a liquid level within the reservoir. Snap mount structures 414 integrally formed in the side wall 412 of the reservoir for creating a mechanical interference with the shape of the sensors 320, 322 to retain a sensor 320, 322 therein. Each of the snap mount structures 414 include a pair of opposed fingers 420, 420 having a space dimension between the fingers being formed slightly smaller than the corresponding dimension of the sensor 322 retained therein. The reservoir is formed using a blow molding process to form the reservoir and all of its structures. The plastic used to blow mold the reservoir and thedimensions between the fingers allows the finger to me slightly deformed when attaching the sensors thereto.

[0067] The optical sensor assembly 190 is shown in more detail in the diagrammatic illustration in FIG. 18. Reference will be made to FIG. 19 regarding the operation of this optical sensor assembly 190. As shown in FIG. 18, the assembly 190 includes an emitter / sensor assembly 200 coupled over line 202 to and communicating with an optical assembly controller 206. The controller 206 provides control to the emitter / sensor assembly 200 and receives information from the emitter / sensor assembly 200 used to process signals detected and associate such signals with the type of substance in tube 204. If a predetermined condition is detected by the sensor assembly 190 the material will be allowed to pass beyond the sensor assembly 190 for use in cleaning the overall system. The emitter / sensor assembly 200 includes a light emitter 220 such as an LED having a known or adjustable wavelength of light and a light sensor 222. The light emitter 220 is activated under operation of the controller 206 to emit light to and through the tube or passage such as line 204.

[0068] The light emitter 220 is controlled, set, or tuned to emit a predetermined wavelength of light 226 into the passage 204. The light sensor 222 then detects the returned light 240 and can detect various wavelengths of the detected returned light 240. The information collected about the detected light is used to determine the type of material in the passage 204. Different materials absorb or reflect different wavelengths of light and the detected light is correlated to different materials by the controller 206. As shown in FIG. 19, a range of responses can occur based on the wavelength of light emitted and the returned light detected. Several curves associated with different materials including water, cleaner, coffee, dirty water and blue water (test control or calibration water) are provided.

[0069] With further reference to FIGs. 22-24, a component version of the optical sensor assembly 190 is shown. This embodiment illustrates the relative position of the light emitter 220 and the light sensor 222 comprising the emitter / sensor assembly 200. As shown in FIG. 24, the assembly 190 includes a lower housing 500, an upper housing 502, the emitter / sensor assembly 200, and a gasket 504 retained between the upper housing 502 and a circuit board506 of the emitter / sensor assembly 200. The upper housing 502 includes a tube retaining portion 508 including an aperture 510 for receiving the tube 204 therethrough. The tube retaining portion 508 helps retain the tube on the upper housing 502 for proper positioning and alignment relative to the emitter / sensor assembly 200.

[0070] As shown in FIG. 24, the emitter / sensor assembly 200 includes the circuit board 506 to provide a structure to retain the components. As illustrated, the circuit board 506 includes a position for mounting the light emitting source 220, light sensor 222, and a connector receptacle 512. The receptacle 512 provides a contact point for the line 202 to connect to the controller 206.

[0071] This assembly 190 might also be used in other applications in addition to cleaning the apparatus 30 such as detecting material presence and / or accumulation in a container, other vessel, or other passageway. With regard to the present application, light 226 is transmitted by the light emitter 220 into the passageway 204. In this regard, at least a portion of the surface 228 proximate to the light emitter 220 must be light transmissive to allow light 226 to pass through. Once in the passage 204 the light will encounter whatever substance is in the passage. As an example, the light could contact air, if the passage is empty; water, if water is being moved through the passage; coffee; dirty water; or a test / calibration water referred to as "blue water" depending on what is moving through the passage. Depending on the material or substance in the passage 204 the light sensor 222 will detect various wavelengths of light. This is because of the material in the passage 204 absorbing some portion of the spectrum of light transmitted by the light emitter 220 through the transmissive area 228 to the passage 204. The sensor 222 transmits information it detects about the characteristics of the wavelength detected to the controller 204 over line 202 for use in providing information for identifying the type of substance in the passage 204.

[0072] The ability to detect the presence of the materials flowing through the machine and the relative concentration of such ingredients helps ensure proper performance of the machine. This is important for the owner who owns multiple brewers and wishes to monitor the activity of their brewers from a remote location.

[0073] In use, the cleaner reservoir 52 is designed to fit within open spaces available within the housing 34 of the apparatus 30. Additional level detecting sensors 320, 322 are provided external to the cleaner reservoir 52 to detect a full condition, an empty condition, and conditions in between. The sensors 320, 322 are coupled to the controller 300 to provide information to the apparatus 30 for display on the user interface 38 during a cleaning cycle. The cleaner reservoir 52 is sized for a volume of cleaning liquid in an undiluted form to provide numerous cycles without having to refill.

[0074] Cleaning liquid is moved from the cleaner reservoir 52 to the brew chamber 70 using the brew group 50 as a pump. Use of this pumping action not only provides an efficient way to move the fluids, but it also provides cleaning of the components associated with the pumping assembly. In this regard, this is a significant improvement over the prior art which typically has a separate cleaning system in addition to the brewing system. The present disclosure reduces these additional components, and issues associated with having a separate cleaning system. Actuation of the upper piston 72 by operation of the machine control software in combination with the valving assembly already existent in the machine provides a pump at no additional cost. When operating through the brew chamber, the upper piston is initially moved to the lowest possible position at which time all controllable valves not connected to the cleaning substance are closed. As the piston 72 is moved upwardly, it acts as a syringe type motion to draw cleaning liquid from the cleaner reservoir 52. The valves in the plumbing of the apparatus are actuated by the controller to open a path from the cleaner reservoir 52 to the brew chamber. Simultaneously, the other valves associated with the brew group are closed by the controller to prevent exit from the brew chamber. The motion of the upper piston from the lower most position upwardly through the chamber reduces the pressure in the chamber creating a vacuum causing liquid cleaner to flow from the reservoir to the brew chamber. A vent valve on the reservoir allows air to replace the cleaner displaced from the reservoir. Multiple actuations of the upper piston in this manner may be used to draw predetermined volumes of liquid cleaner into the brew chamber.T1

[0075] The upper piston is also used to push cleaner out of the brew chamber and move it to other areas of the apparatus. In addition to eliminating the need for a separate cleaner pump, use of the brew group in this manner is beneficial because it can be precisely operated and controlled to draw precise volumes of cleaning liquid from the cleaner reservoir 52. This adds predictability of the dosing of cleaning liquid in the cleaning cycle.

[0076] In addition to using the brew group as a pump to move cleaning liquid through the apparatus, it can also be used to automate the cleaning refill process. Use of the flexible tube 62 and rigid tube 63 provides a path from an external reservoir 60 (see FIG. 1A) to help refill the cleaner reservoir 52. By operation of control valves in the flow path between the reservoir 60 and the cleaner reservoir 52 liquid can be drawn out of the container 60. In addition to using liquid cleaner, a tablet or powder type of solid cleaning product can be dispensed into the contain reservoir 60 for dissolving and use in the present system. The reconstituted cleaner is used in the same manner as the liquid cleaner. However, a filter or screen on the intake end of the tube 63 placed in the container 60 can be used to prevent the passage of any undissolved solid components into the cleaning system. Use of the container 60 external to the housing and using the brew group to pump cleaning liquid from the container 60 to the onboard cleaner reservoir 52 eliminates the potential for spilling cleaning liquid inside of the housing.

[0077] Use of the sensors 320, 322 associated with the cleaner reservoir 52 helps to identify when the cleaner reservoir 52 is sufficiently filled thereby providing a control signal to the controller 300 to cease operation of the brew group 50 to refill the cleaner reservoir 52 and thus preventing overflowing.

[0078] Use of the onboard cleaner reservoir 52 also reduces the exposure of employees to the cleaning substances and use of the refill process as described reduces potential for contact between employees and the cleaning products. As previously indicated, redundant valves 182, 186, 188 provide additional confirmation that cleaning fluid cannot flow to the brew chamber unless operated by the controller. Further, if any of these valves did not properly seat, or if they were to leak, the leakage would flow to the drip tray 130 and be accumulated there or drained196.

[0079] The optical sensor assembly 190 helps assure that the proper cleaning liquid is used in the proper concentration to provide an efficient and effective cleaning process. If the employee does not use the correct cleaning liquid or no liquid at all, such as using water, the machine will not be properly cleaned. Improper cleaning can result in the accumulation of undesirable flavors as well as reduced reliability of machine component operations. In addition, if an incorrect liquid is used, it could interfere with the operation of components such as gaskets and surfaces of the brewing apparatus. As such, use of the optical sensor assembly provides additional reassurance that the proper cleaning liquid is being used, a proper cleaning cycle is being performed and helps maximize the reliability and life of the apparatus and its components. A lock out may be provided it he proper cleaning liquid is not detected in the proper concentration.

[0080] As an additional matter, the substance reservoir 60 is shown remote in FIG. 1A. This remote location can be either on a countertop next to the apparatus 30, in a cabinet or space below the apparatus 30 or in a location positioned further away from the apparatus. The operation of the brew group as a pump allows for effective draw through the tube 62 over relatively long distances. This provides external storage of cleaner liquid without additional cost or increasing the size of the housing to accommodate such additional volumes.

[0081] The swiper 144 as disclosed herein also has been refined so that it has eliminated pockets or small passages to prevent the accumulation of coffee debris.

[0082] While the present disclosure describes various exemplary embodiments, the disclosure is not so limited. To the contrary, the disclosure is intended to cover various modifications, uses, adaptations, and equivalent arrangements based on the principles disclosed. Further, this application is intended to cover such departures from the present disclosure as come within at least the known or customary practice within the art to which it pertains. It is envisioned that those skilled in the art may devise various modifications and equivalent structures and functions without departing from the spirit and scope of the disclosure as recited in the following claims. The scope of the following claims is to be accordedthe broadest interpretation to encompass all such modifications and equivalent structures and functions.

Claims

CLAIMS1. A beverage brewer comprising: a brew group for producing a brewed beverage, the brew group being controllably operable to produce a vacuum force in at least one motive operation of the brew group; a dispense line couple to and communicating with the brew group for controllably dispensing brewed beverage from the brew group during a brewing cycle; a cleaner reservoir for containing a volume of cleaning liquid for controllably dispensing cleaning liquid retained in the cleaner reservoir to the brew group for use in cleaning the interior surfaces of the brew group as well as passages leading to and from the brew group, a cleaning liquid line coupled to and communicating the cleaner reservoir and the brew group, a controllable valve communicating with the cleaning liquid line, where in the control valve is in a normally closed position when not activated during a cleaning cycle to prevent the passage of cleaning liquid from the cleaner reservoir to the brew group; wherein the valve is controllable to an open position when the apparatus is operating in a cleaning cycle to dispense cleaning liquid from the cleaner reservoir to the brew group, and a controller communicating with and coupled to a water delivery system, brew group, and control valve for controllably operating the brew group to create a vacuum to draw cleaning liquid from the cleaner reservoir through the cleaning liquid line while the control valve is operated into the open position during a cleaning cycle, the controller deactivating the control valve to the normally closed position when the brewer is not in a cleaning cycle to block the passage of cleaning liquid from the reservoir to the brew group.

2. The beverage brewer of claim 1, further comprising at least one level detector associated with the cleaner reservoir to detect at least one level of cleaning liquid within the reservoir, the at least one level detector providing a signal to the controller for identifying a volume of liquidwithin the reservoir, the controller preventing a cleaning cycle if the level of cleaning liquid within the reservoir is not sufficient to complete a cleaning cycle .

3. The beverage brewer of claim 1, wherein the cleaning liquid line defines an elongated passage extending from the cleaner reservoir to the control valve, the elongated passage having a cross-sectional area that is substantially smaller than the cross-sectional area of the smallest portion of the cleaner reservoir, the differential in cross-sectional area promoting passage of cleaning liquid from the cleaner reservoir to the brew group upon activation of a cleaning cycle and creation of a vacuum by the brew group to draw cleaning liquid from the cleaner reservoir, through the cleaning liquid line, and into the brew group.

4. The beverage brewer of claim 3, wherein in the elongated passage communicates with a cavity of the cleaner reservoir at a lower most portion of the cleaner reservoir to promote full draining and maximum head pressure of the cleaner liquid in the reservoir.

5. The beverage brewer of claim 1, further comprising an optical sensor assembly operatively coupled to the controller and operatively associated with a liquid path of the beverage brewer, the liquid path providing the flow of liquid through the path during operation of at least one of a brew cycle and a cleaning cycle, the optical sensor assembly detecting a characteristic of at least one of a liquid in the path and material in the liquid in the path.

6. The beverage brewer of claim 1, further comprising a beverage reservoir associated with the beverage brewer, the beverage reservoir selectively couplable to and communicating with the brew group for receiving and accumulating brewed beverage produced by the brew group during one or more brew cycles, wherein the brew group controllably communicates with at least one beverage reservoir for dispensing cleaning liquid the cleaner reservoir through the brew group and to the beverage reservoir during a cleaning cycle, the brew group controllably dispensing cleaning liquid from the brew group and through a passage communicating with the beverage reservoir for transferring cleaning fluid from the brew group to the beverage reservoirfor cleaning interior surfaces of the beverage reservoir, means associated with each reservoir for removing diluted cleaning liquid from the reservoir at the conclusion of a cleaning cycle, the water control system controllably operating to dispense water through the brew group and through the passage to the beverage reservoir for rinsing cleaning liquid from the beverage reservoir.

7. The beverage brewer of claim 6, wherein the means associated with the beverage reservoir for removing diluted cleaning liquid includes at least one of a controllable drain operatively associated with and communicating with the cavity of the beverage reservoir for draining the cleaning liquid and water from the beverage reservoir, a controllable dispenser valve operatively communicating with the beverage reservoir for dispensing liquids retained in the reservoir including cleaning liquid and water which also has the effect of cleaning surfaces in the line between the beverage reservoir and the dispense head, and manual removal of the beverage reservoir from the beverage brewer for manually draining and rinsing the interior surfaces of the beverage reservoir to empty the contents there of.

8. A system for use in cleaning a brewing apparatus, the system comprising: a brew group of the brewing apparatus used for receiving brewing substance and an infusion liquid to controllably prepare and dispense a brewed beverage during a brewing cycle, the brew group providing a pumping action during a cleaning cycle; an infusion liquid delivery system for controllably delivering infusion liquid to the brew group during one of a brewing cycle and a cleaning cycle; a cleaner reservoir for retaining a volume of cleaning liquid, a passage communicating with the cleaner reservoir and communicating with controllable valves for controllably delivering cleaning liquid to the brew group; a brewing cycle during which the brewing apparatus is controllably operated to combine beverage making substance and infusion liquid to produce a brewed beverage, a cleaning cycle during which the brew group is controllably operated to introduce and move cleaning liquid though the brewing apparatus to clean components and surfaces of thebrewing apparatus contacted by at least one of beverage making substance, infusion liquid, and brewed beverage during the brewing cycle for cleaning the brewing apparatus, controllably operating the dispensing of cleaning liquid from the cleaner reservoir to the brew group, a passage coupled to and communicating the cleaner reservoir and the brew group, controllably operating the brew group during a cleaning cycle to create a vacuum force to draw liquid from the cleaner reservoir through the passage and into the brew group; operating the brew group to agitate the cleaning liquid within the brew group to clean the internal surfaces of the brew group; operating the brew group to dispense used cleaning liquid from the brew group; controllably dispensing water from the water system to the brew group to rinse residual cleaning liquid from the brew group.

9. The system for use in cleaning a brewing apparatus of claim 7, further comprising: liquid contained in the cleaning liquid reservoir being provided in a concentrated condition; controllably operating the brew group during a cleaning cycle to controllably dispense water into the brew group for diluting and accumulating a mixture of water and concentrated cleaning liquid to create a diluted cleaning liquid within the brew group.

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