Power circuitry for beverage apparatus
4 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A beverage apparatus is provided for heating a liquid and is operable either by foreign or domestic voltages. The apparatus may have a heating element that couples directly to the voltage source, regardless of whether the voltage source is foreign or domestic. The apparatus also may have a power supply that couples directly to the voltage source, regardless of whether the voltage source is foreign or domestic. The power supply outputs a DC voltage that may be coupled to various other components of the apparatus either directly or after subsequent processing.
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Citations
31 Claims
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1. (canceled)
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25. (canceled)
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29. A method of heating a liquid using an apparatus that is operable by a supply voltage that is either a domestic AC voltage or a foreign AC voltage, the method comprising:
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providing a container for retaining a liquid to be heated;
providing a heating element;
coupling the heating element directly to the supply voltage regardless of whether the supply voltage is the domestic AC voltage or the foreign AC voltage;
providing a power supply capable of receiving a variety of input voltages;
coupling an input of the power supply directly to the supply voltage regardless of whether the supply voltage is the domestic AC voltage or the foreign AC voltage;
providing a DC output from the power supply;
providing a controller;
coupling the controller to the DC output from the power supply;
operating user inputs to signal the controller coupled to the DC voltage output to control the operation of the heating element to heat liquid contained in a container.
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30. A beverage apparatus that is operable over a range of AC voltages, the beverage apparatus including:
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a power supply having an input that couples to an AC voltage source, the power supply having a DC voltage output of substantially a predetermined value regardless of the AC voltage within a range of AC voltages;
a heating element coupled to an AC voltage source in parallel with the power supply; and
a controller coupled to the DC voltage output to receive power from the power supply, the controller being configured to control the operation of the heating element. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24)
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31. A beverage heating apparatus that is operable either by a domestic AC voltage or by a foreign AC voltage, the beverage heating apparatus comprising:
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a container for retaining a liquid to be heated;
a power supply having an input that coupled directly to a domestic AC voltage when the beverage heating apparatus is operated domestically and coupled directly to a foreign AC voltage when the beverage heating apparatus is operated in a foreign country, the power supply having a DC voltage output of substantially a predetermined value regardless of whether the input is coupled to a domestic AC voltage or a foreign AC voltage;
a heating element coupled directly to a domestic AC voltage when the beverage heating apparatus is operated domestically and coupled directly to a foreign AC voltage when the beverage heating apparatus is operated in a foreign country, the heating element being operable to heat the liquid retained in the container;
a controller coupled to the DC voltage output to receive power from the power supply, the controller being configured to control the operation of the heating element. - View Dependent Claims (26, 27, 28)
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Specification