Drip coffee maker with two dimensional brew selection interface

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12557938-B2
Application number	US-202217937255-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Sep 30, 2022
Priority date	Sep 30, 2022
Publication date	Feb 24, 2026
Grant date	Feb 24, 2026

Abstract

A two dimensional brew selection interface is used to configure a plurality of brewing parameters used in a drip coffee brewing operation. The two dimensional brew selection interface may include a plurality of positions distributed across first and second dimensions, with each position mapped to a set of values for multiple brewing parameters such that selection of a position in the two dimensional brew selection interface enables the mapped values for the brewing parameters corresponding to the selected position to be used in the drip coffee brewing operation. In some instances, the positions may additionally be mapped to particular flavor attributes, and in some instances, particular taste-like flavor attributes, to further simplify a user's selection of a desired position in the two dimensional brew selection interface.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1 . An apparatus comprising one or more processors and memory operably coupled with the one or more processors, wherein the memory stores instructions that, in response to execution of the instructions by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to configure a coffee brewing operation by:
presenting a two dimensional brew selection interface to a user, the two dimensional brew selection interface including a plurality of positions distributed across first and second dimensions, with each position mapped to a set of values for a plurality of brewing parameters used when performing the coffee brewing operation; overlaying a plurality of flavor attribute indicators on the two dimensional brew selection interface, wherein the plurality of flavor attribute indicators are associated with taste-alike flavor attributes; receiving user input from the user selecting a selected position in the two dimensional brew selection interface; and configuring the plurality of brewing parameters for the coffee brewing operation to use the set of values corresponding to the selected position in the two dimensional brew selection interface.

2 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the apparatus is a mobile computing device, the one or more processors present the two dimensional brew selection interface on and receive the user input from a touch screen display of the mobile computing device, and the one or more processors configure the plurality of brewing parameters for the coffee brewing operation by communicating data to a coffee maker to cause the coffee maker to use the set of values corresponding to the selected position in the two dimensional brew selection interface.

3 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the apparatus is a coffee maker including a brew basket, a heating element configured to heat water supplied to the brew basket, and a flow control device configured to control water flow through the brew basket, the one or more processors present the two dimensional brew selection interface on and receive the user input from a touch screen display of the coffee maker, and the one or more processors further configure the drip coffee brewing operation by controlling at least one of the heating element and the flow control device during the coffee brewing operation based upon at least of the values in the set of values corresponding to the selected position in the two dimensional brew selection interface.

4 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of brewing parameters includes a water temperature, a water pressure, a water flow rate, a valve position, a water amount, a coffee amount, a grind size, a bean type, a roast level, a brewing ratio, and/or a water/coffee contact time.

5 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of brewing parameters includes a coffee amount parameter, and the one or more processors are configured to calculate a value of the coffee amount parameter based at least in part on the selected position in the two dimensional brew selection interface and prompt the user to add an amount of coffee associated with the calculated value of the coffee amount parameter.

6 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of brewing parameters includes a coffee amount parameter, and the one or more processors are configured to calculate a value of the coffee amount parameter based at least in part on the selected position in the two dimensional brew selection interface and control a coffee grinder to grind an amount of coffee associated with the calculated value of the coffee amount parameter.

7 . The apparatus of claim 6 , wherein the coffee grinder is an external coffee grinder and the one or more processors are configured to control the coffee grinder by communicating with the coffee grinder over a network.

8 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the first dimension corresponds to strength and the second dimension corresponds to development, and the strength is based upon concentration of solubles and the development is based upon yield of solubles.

9 . The apparatus of claim 8 , wherein the one or more processors present the two dimensional brew selection interface further by overlaying a plurality of characteristic indicators on the two dimensional brew selection interface, the plurality of characteristic indicators including strong under-developed, strong, strong bitter, under-developed, bitter, weak under-developed, weak, and/or weak bitter indicators.

10 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the user input is first user input, and wherein the one or more processors selectively overlay the plurality of flavor attribute indicators on the two dimensional brew selection interface in response to second user input.

11 . The apparatus of claim 10 , wherein the one or more processors selectively hide the plurality of flavor attribute indicators in response to third user input.

12 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the taste-alike flavor attributes include citrus, spice, nutty, fruity, cocoa, floral, herbal, and/or honey, and each of the plurality of flavor indicators identifies a taste-alike flavor attribute from among the citrus, spice, nutty, fruity, cocoa, floral, herbal, and/or honey taste-alike flavor attributes.

13 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein a first flavor attribute indicator of the plurality of flavor attribute indicators is associated with a first position in the two dimensional brew selection interface and the user input selects the first position by selecting the first flavor attribute indicator.

14 . The apparatus of claim 13 , wherein the one or more processors are further configured to display descriptive information about a flavor attribute associated with the first flavor attribute indicator in response to the user input.

15 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the user input is first user input, and the one or more processors are further configured to zoom in the two dimensional brew selection interface in response to second user input directed to the two dimensional brew selection interface.

16 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the one or more processors are further configured to:
capture a bar code from packaged coffee beans; access a database using an identifier determined from the captured bar code to retrieve data associated with the packaged coffee beans; and configure at least one of the plurality of brewing parameters based at least in part on the retrieved data.

17 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the coffee brewing operation is a drip coffee brewing operation.

18 . An apparatus comprising one or more processors and memory operably coupled with the one or more processors, wherein the memory stores instructions that, in response to execution of the instructions by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to configure a coffee brewing operation by:
presenting a two dimensional brew selection interface to a user, the two dimensional brew selection interface including a plurality of positions distributed across first and second dimensions, with each position mapped to a set of values for a plurality of brewing parameters used when performing the coffee brewing operation; receiving user input from the user selecting a selected position in the two dimensional brew selection interface; and configuring the plurality of brewing parameters for the coffee brewing operation to use the set of values corresponding to the selected position in the two dimensional brew selection interface; wherein the user input is first user input, an

Assignees

• Midea Group Co Ltd

Inventors

• Fowler Simon
• Trice Daniel J

Classifications

• A47J31/521 Primary

  the electronic control being performed over a network, e.g. by means of a computer or a handheld device · CPC title