Drain for beverage forming machine
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A beverage forming system comprising:
- a housing;
a tank attached to the housing for holding a beverage precursor liquid;
a beverage forming station fluidically connected to the tank, the beverage forming station attached to the housing and configured to form a beverage in part by using the beverage precursor liquid;
a supply system configured to provide beverage precursor liquid from the tank to the beverage forming station for forming the beverage;
a drain system configured to substantially empty the tank of beverage precursor liquid during a drain operation; and
a controller adapted to control the supply system in a beverage forming mode to provide beverage precursor liquid from the tank to the beverage forming station for forming the beverage, and is adapted to control the drain system in a drain mode to automatically perform the drain operation.
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Abstract
A method and apparatus for draining a component of a beverage forming system such as a coffee brewer. A tank used for holding and/or heating a beverage precursor liquid may be automatically drained. A beverage forming machine including a drain system may be self-contained in that the liquid drained from the tank is held by another tank that is part of the beverage forming machine. The tank into which the drained liquid is deposited may be removable from the beverage forming machine.
100 Citations
34 Claims
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1. A beverage forming system comprising:
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a housing;
a tank attached to the housing for holding a beverage precursor liquid;
a beverage forming station fluidically connected to the tank, the beverage forming station attached to the housing and configured to form a beverage in part by using the beverage precursor liquid;
a supply system configured to provide beverage precursor liquid from the tank to the beverage forming station for forming the beverage;
a drain system configured to substantially empty the tank of beverage precursor liquid during a drain operation; and
a controller adapted to control the supply system in a beverage forming mode to provide beverage precursor liquid from the tank to the beverage forming station for forming the beverage, and is adapted to control the drain system in a drain mode to automatically perform the drain operation. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. A beverage forming apparatus comprising:
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a housing;
a beverage forming station attached to the housing and configured to form a beverage in part using a beverage precursor liquid;
a tank attached to the housing and configured to supply the beverage precursor liquid to the beverage forming station;
a reservoir supported by the housing; and
a drain system configured to substantially empty the beverage precursor liquid from the tank into the reservoir. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27)
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28. A method for draining the contents of a tank used in a beverage forming machine, comprising:
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providing a beverage forming machine including a tank, a reservoir arranged to supply beverage precursor liquid to the tank, and a beverage forming station fluidically connected to the tank;
providing a volume of a beverage precursor liquid to the tank; and
substantially emptying the tank of the beverage precursor liquid by removing the beverage precursor liquid from the tank and depositing the beverage precursor liquid in the reservoir. - View Dependent Claims (29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34)
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Specification