US 2,017,367,524 · Filed 2017-05-19

The Patent That Makes Your Coffee Smell Amazing Before You Drink It

Imagine a coffee maker that blows the aroma of your coffee straight toward your nose while you're pouring—a separate air stream that carries the smell right to you before you even take a sip. This patent locks down that exact trick: using a fan to push coffee vapors out in your direction, separate from the actual liquid coffee flowing out.

Curated and verified by the IsItPatented Editorial team

The plain-English version

What it protects

The claim covers a coffee apparatus with a chamber that receives prepared coffee, an air generator (like a fan or pump) that creates airflow through that chamber, and a separate opening specifically designed to dispense coffee aroma into the air toward the user—distinct from the opening where liquid coffee exits. What's protected is the combination of these parts working together: the aerosol dispersal of coffee scent as a separate flow from the beverage itself.

Why it matters

Coffee culture is driven by ritual and sensory experience. By patenting the mechanism that delivers aroma directly to the consumer during the pour, Koninklijke Douwe Egberts (a major coffee brand) creates a defensible product feature that competitors can't copy without infringing. This transforms the preparation moment into a branded multisensory experience—the smell hits before the taste does.

Real-world use

When you use a specialty coffee machine that releases an aromatic mist toward your face as you dispense your cup, you're experiencing the technology this patent protects.

Original USPTO abstract

An apparatus for preparing a coffee beverage. The apparatus comprises a holder for receiving a coffee container. The holder comprising at least one outlet opening having at least one orifice for generating a coffee beverage flow when coffee beverage is fed to the outlet opening. A liquid flow path extends between the orifice and at least one outflow opening for discharging coffee beverage from the apparatus, a coffee outlet chamber being included in the liquid flow path. The apparatus further comprises an air flow generator for during operation- generating a flow of air in the coffee outlet chamber for entraining in the flow of air an aroma of the coffee beverage; said coffee outlet chamber comprising at least one dispenser opening for dispensing coffee beverage aroma in a direction away from the apparatus, in particular into the direction of the user. The at least one dispenser opening is separate from the at least one outflow opening. A method for preparing coffee beverage comprises the step of generating a flow of air in the coffee outlet chamber.

Patent details

Publication number: US 2,017,367,524
Filing date: 2017-05-19
Grant date: Application — not yet granted
Assignee: Koninklijke Douwe Egberts B.V.
Inventor(s): DE GRAAFF GERBRAND KRISTIAAN, BROUWER GUSTAAF FRANS, NIEUWLAAT JOHANNES CORNELIS
CPC class: A47J31/4496

View original record on Google Patents →

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