US 7,487,712 B2
In-vehicle coffee maker
Upton Beall Bowden, Canton, Mich. (US); Jeffery N. Conley, Belleville, Mich. (US); Kurt Nuler, Canton, Mich. (US); Michael Aaron Haen, Ann Arbor, Mich. (US); and Richard R. Vaughan, Berkley, Mich. (US)
Assigned to Visteon Global Technologies, Inc., Van Buren Township, Mich. (US)
Filed on Aug. 18, 2005, as Appl. No. 11/206,480.
Prior Publication US 2007/0039477 A1, Feb. 22, 2007
Int. Cl. A47J 31/00 (2006.01)
U.S. Cl. 99—295  [99/307; 99/302 R] 10 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. An in-vehicle coffee maker, comprising:
a coffee mug;
a brewing station adapted to receive the coffee mug, the brewing station having a lid pivotally mounted thereon such that the lid can be pivoted between an open position, wherein the coffee mug can be removably placed within the brewing station, and a closed position, wherein the lid secures the coffee mug within the brewing station;
a water reservoir;
a water line extending between the water reservoir and the lid of the brewing station to deliver water from the water reservoir to the brewing station, the water line including a pump assembly for pumping the water from the water reservoir to the lid and a heating element for heating the water to a predetermined temperature;
the coffee mug including a mug portion, a drink cap removably mounted onto the mug portion, and a pod retainer removably mounted onto the drink cap;
the drink cap includes a pod chamber formed therein, the pod chamber is adapted to hold a pod of coffee grounds and the pod retainer is adapted to secure the pod of coffee grounds within the pod chamber, the pod retainer includes an inlet opening formed therein to allow water to be supplied through the pod retainer to the pod chamber, and the pod chamber includes at least one drain opening formed therein to allow water to drain from the pod chamber downward into the mug portion of the coffee mug;
the lid of the brewing station including a nozzle positioned such that when the lid is closed, the nozzle engages the inlet opening formed within the the pod retainer and water supplied from the reservoir to the lid flows through the nozzle and inlet opening into the pod chamber;
wherein, the drink cap includes a plurality of drink openings formed therein to allow steam to escape from the mug during brewing and to allow a user to drink from the coffee mug once the brewing is complete, the drink openings being spaced circumferentially apart and being positioned radially outward from the pod chamber.