Throughflow heater for coffee making apparatus

Claim 1

A coffee making apparatus comprising a hollow housing, a transparent water reservoir supported on said housing and having a tubular central support and a recessed central float chamber in its base, a throughflow heater having heating element means for heating water to be passed to a coffee filter, said throughflow heater being included in a water throughflow path extending from said water reservoir to an outlet pipe extending over said coffee filter, said throughflow heater having a relatively wide lower tubular portion located within said hollow housing and a relatively narrower upper tubular portion extending through the float chamber and transparent central support and the transparent water reservoir, and a transition between said narrower upper portion and said wide lower portion, a removable closure cap on the bottom of said throughflow heater, said heating element means being disposed on said closure cap and in said lower portion, said relatively narrower upper portion extending through the transparent water reservoir, the narrower upper portion of said throughflow heater being made of transparent material and the heating element means thereof including at least one heating element of the submersible type extending within the wider portion substantially up to the transition between the wider portion and the narrower portion, said transparent upper tubular portion being visible through said transparent reservoir.