Beverage preparation machine

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9232874-B2
Application number	US-201113994021-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 13, 2011
Priority date	Dec 13, 2010
Publication date	Jan 12, 2016
Grant date	Jan 12, 2016

Abstract

The present invention concerns a beverage preparation machine ( 1 ) having a tank ( 2 ) for containing a food-grade fluid, said tank comprising: (i) a reservoir body with side, bottom and top walls, (ii) at least one filling opening, (iii) at least one dispensing opening comprising a dispensing valve for establishing a fluid connecting between said machine and said tank, said tank having a weight WE when less than 5% of its total volume is filled, and a weight WF when at least 5% of its total volume is filled with fluid, said valve being reciprocally movable between a first position where the tank has a weight WE and the valve is open and a second position where the tank has a weight WF and the valve is closed characterized in that said machine comprises a switch disposed in the vicinity of at least one wall of the tank ( 2 ), so that: —when the tank has a weight WF said tank is in a first position so that it contacts said switch, and —when the tank has a weight WE said tank is in a second position, away from said switch, said machine further comprising a user warning means that is actuated when the switch does not contact the tank wall so as to warn the user that the tank needs a refill.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A beverage preparation machine comprising:
a tank for containing a food-grade fluid, the tank comprising: a reservoir body with side, bottom and top walls, at least one dispensing opening comprising a spring-mounted poppet valve for establishing a fluid connection between the machine and the tank, the spring-mounted poppet valve comprising a stem head, a valve stem resting onto a surface of the machine, and a spring that is in contact at one end with the valve stem and on the other end with the reservoir, the tank having a weight W E when less than 5% of its total volume is filled, and a weight W F when at least 5% of its total volume is filled with fluid, the valve being reciprocally movable between a first position where the tank has a weight W E and the valve is closed by the spring pushing the reservoir body into contact with the stem head, and a second position where the tank has a weight W F and the valve is opened by the reservoir body compressing the spring and moving out of contact with the stem head;
a switch located in the vicinity of at least one wall of the tank, so that: when the tank has a weight W F the tank is in a first position so that the tank wall contacts the switch, and when the tank has a weight W E the tank is in a second position, away from the switch; and
a user warning device that is actuated when the switch does not contact the tank wall so as to warn the user that the tank needs a refill.

2. A beverage preparation machine according to claim 1 , wherein the tank is removable from the machine.

3. A beverage preparation machine according to claim 1 comprising a pump, an extraction head for accommodating a capsule, and a fluid injection system configured to inject a fluid under pressure into the capsule, wherein the food-grade fluid is pumped by the machine from the tank, to prepare a beverage by dissolving, infusing, and/or extracting at least one beverage precursor ingredient present in the machine.

4. A beverage preparation machine according to claim 3 , wherein the at least one beverage precursor ingredient is contained in a container selected from the group consisting of: soft pods, soft pads, soft sachets, rigid and semi-rigid capsules.

5. A beverage preparation machine according to claim 3 , wherein the beverage precursor ingredient is selected from the group consisting of: gas, liquids, gels, granulates, agglomerated or non-agglomerated powder, herbal extracts such plant leaves and/or stems, ground beans, and combinations thereof.

6. A beverage preparation machine according to claim 1 , wherein the tank has a filling volume of between 0.5 and 5 liters.

7. A beverage preparation machine according to claim 1 , wherein when the tank is located away from the switch, the switch actuates a display system in the machine that warns the user about the empty state of the tank.

8. A beverage preparation machine according to claim 7 , wherein the display is selected from the group consisting of a LED lamp, a synthetic voice message, a screen which displays a written message to the user, or a combination thereof.

9. A beverage preparation machine according to claim 1 , which comprises a fluid connection to the house water network, and a pump linked to the connection, the pump being actuated by detection of the empty state of the tank actuates the pump, so as to pump fresh water from the house water network, into the tank.

10. A beverage preparation machine according to claim 1 comprising at least one filing opening.

Assignees

• Vestreli Anders
• Talon Christian
• Nestec Sa

Inventors

• Vestreli Anders
• Talon Christian

Classifications

• A47J31/461

  Valves, e.g. drain valves · CPC title

• A47J31/58

  Safety devices · CPC title

• A47J31/4457

  Water-level indicators · CPC title

• B67D1/1247

  Means for detecting the presence or absence of liquid · CPC title

• A47J31/44 Primary

  Parts or details {or accessories} of beverage-making apparatus (filters or strainers A47J31/06) · CPC title