U.S. patent application number 16/943232 was filed with the patent office on 2021-03-04 for beverage parameter setting on a beverage maker.
This patent application is currently assigned to Miele & Cie. KG. The applicant listed for this patent is Miele & Cie. KG. Invention is credited to Michael Wolbeck.
Application Number | 20210059467 16/943232 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 1000005005718 |
Filed Date | 2021-03-04 |
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United States Patent
Application |
20210059467 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Wolbeck; Michael |
March 4, 2021 |
BEVERAGE PARAMETER SETTING ON A BEVERAGE MAKER
Abstract
A method for controlling a beverage maker (1) involves the steps
of preparing (101) a first beverage having a first value of a
beverage-preparation parameter, preparing (102) a second beverage
having a second value of the beverage-preparation parameter
different than the first value, receiving a user input that selects
the first or the second beverage, and storing (105, 106) the
beverage-preparation parameter of the selected beverage as a
specification for the preparation of the beverage. A beverage maker
(1) includes a beverage-preparation device (3) with at least one
variable beverage-preparation parameter, which can assume at least
two different values, and a control device (2) configured to carry
out the method.
Inventors: |
Wolbeck; Michael;
(Gutersloh, DE) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Miele & Cie. KG |
Gutersloh |
|
DE |
|
|
Assignee: |
Miele & Cie. KG
|
Family ID: |
1000005005718 |
Appl. No.: |
16/943232 |
Filed: |
July 30, 2020 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A47J 31/5251 20180801;
A47J 31/5255 20180801; A47J 31/402 20130101; A47J 31/5253 20180801;
A47J 31/404 20130101 |
International
Class: |
A47J 31/52 20060101
A47J031/52; A47J 31/40 20060101 A47J031/40 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Aug 28, 2019 |
DE |
10 2019 123 007.1 |
Claims
1. A method for controlling a beverage maker (1), comprising the
following steps: preparing (101) of a first beverage having a first
value of a beverage-preparation parameter; preparing (102) of a
second beverage having a second value of the beverage-preparation
parameter, which value differs from the first value; receiving of a
user input that specifies the first or the second beverage as a
specified beverage; and storing (105, 106) a selected value of the
beverage-preparation parameter of the specified beverage as a
specification for the preparation of the beverage, the selected
value being the first value of the beverage-preparation parameter
upon the user input specifying the first beverage, and being the
second value of the beverage-preparation parameter upon the user
input specifying the second beverage.
2. The method according to claim 1, further comprising the step of:
displaying (103) the first and of the second beverage for a
selection via the user input; wherein the step of displaying is
carried out on a device display (4) of the beverage maker or on a
mobile terminal (10) coupled to the beverage maker is affected; and
wherein the step of receiving the user input is carried out via an
operating element (5) of the beverage maker (1) or from the coupled
mobile terminal (10).
3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the
beverage-preparation parameter can assume more than two different
values, further comprising the following steps: receiving (107) a
user input indicating a user request for further adapting the
selected value of the beverage-preparation parameter; preparing a
third beverage having a third value of the beverage-preparation
parameter; preparing a fourth beverage having a fourth value of the
beverage-preparation parameter; wherein the third value and the
fourth value differ from the stored selected value, receiving of a
user input that specifies the third or the fourth beverage; and
storing an updated selected value of the beverage-preparation
parameter of the specified beverage as a specification for the
preparation of the beverage, the updated selected value being the
third value of the beverage-preparation parameter upon the user
input specifying the third beverage, and being the fourth value of
the beverage-preparation parameter upon the user input specifying
the fourth beverage.
4. The method according to claim 3, wherein further a difference
between the stored selected value and at least one of the third
value and the fourth value of the beverage-preparation parameter is
smaller than the difference between the first value and the second
value.
5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the
beverage-preparation parameter includes one or more members of the
group consisting of: pre-brewing or no pre-brewing; brewing
temperature; amount of grounds degree of grinding; brewing
pressure; amount of water; amount of milk; amount of milk foam;
milk foam consistency; flow speed of water.
6. A beverage maker (1), comprising: a beverage-preparation device
(3) including at least one variable beverage-preparation parameter
that can assume at least two different values; and an electronic
control device (2) that is programmed to cause the beverage maker
to carry out a method comprising the following steps: preparing
(101) of a first beverage having a first value of a
beverage-preparation parameter; preparing (102) of a second
beverage having a second value of the beverage-preparation
parameter, which value differs from the first value; receiving of a
user input that specifies the first or the second beverage as a
specified beverage; and storing (105, 106) a selected value of the
beverage-preparation parameter of the specified beverage as a
specification for the preparation of the beverage, the selected
value being the first value of the beverage-preparation parameter
upon the user input specifying the first beverage, and being the
second value of the beverage-preparation parameter upon the user
input specifying the second beverage.
7. The beverage maker (1) according to claim 6, further comprising:
a display element (4) configured to display the first and the
second beverage for a selection via the user input; and an
operating element (5) configured to receive the user input
specifying the first or the second beverage.
8. The beverage maker (1) according to claim 6, further comprising
a wireless interface (6) configured for coupling to a mobile
terminal (10); wherein the control device (2) is configured to send
a representation of the first and of the second beverage for the
user input via the interface (6) to the mobile terminal (10), and
to receive the user input, which indicates the first or the second
beverage, from the mobile terminal (10) via the interface (6).
9. The beverage maker (1) according to claim 6, wherein the
beverage maker (1) is a fully automatic coffee machine and at least
one of the at least one variable beverage-preparation parameter is
a member the following group: pre-brewing or no pre-brewing;
brewing temperature; amount of grounds degree of grinding; brewing
pressure; amount of water; amount of milk; amount of milk foam;
milk foam consistency; flow speed of the water.
10. A system, comprising a beverage maker according to claim 8 and
a mobile terminal (10) including a display element (14) and an
operating element (15) for providing an operating- and
display-device.
11. The system according to claim 10, wherein the operating- and
display-device comprises a touchscreen
Description
TECHNICAL FIELD
[0001] The invention relates to a method for guided setting of
parameters for the preparing of beverages using a beverage maker,
as well as a corresponding beverage maker, in particular a fully
automatic coffee machine.
BACKGROUND
[0002] Many users use a fully automatic coffee machine without
setting the different parameters (amount of water, amount of
grounds, water temperature, brewing time, pressure, pre-brewing,
flow speed, amount of milk, milk foam consistency, etc.) for the
respectively used coffee beans and their individual taste. The user
often does not even know what influence the change of a certain
parameter has on properties of the prepared coffee. The user
therefore often leaves all or at least some of the predetermined
settings of the machine unchanged, in particular the ones wherein
he is not further able to estimate the effect.
[0003] In some cases, users will carry out a process in the manner
of "trial and error", wherein they prepare multiple batches of
coffee with different settings in order to find the optimal setting
for them. They will often do this without understanding at all in
which direction the change of a parameter primarily changes the
taste, for example, with respect to the brewing temperature and the
amount of bitter substances resulting therefrom. This is both
time-consuming and error-prone, in particular since parameters can
also influence one another.
[0004] The problem faced by the invention is thus to provide a
method for a beverage maker as well as a corresponding beverage
maker in order to make it possible for a user to systematically and
efficiently effect parameter settings.
SUMMARY
[0005] According to one aspect a method for controlling a beverage
maker is provided, comprising the following steps: preparing a
first beverage having a first value of a beverage-preparation
parameter; preparing a second beverage having a second value of the
beverage-preparation parameter, which value differs from the first
value; receiving a user input that indicates the first or the
second beverage; and storing the beverage-preparation parameter of
the specified beverage as a specification for the preparation of
the beverage.
[0006] With the aid of the inventive method it is made possible for
the users to set their perfect taste experience in beverages. For
this purpose, the user is offered two identical beverage types, for
example, coffee specialties, having respectively different
parameter settings. These coffee specialties preferably each
represent extremes with respect to the taste influenced by the
parameter.
[0007] For example: Coffee #1 with pre-brewing, with high brewing
temperature, larger amount of grounds, Coffee #2 without
pre-brewing, with low brewing temperature, smaller amount of
grounds. The user now decides which of the two coffees corresponds
to his preference or at least comes closest thereto. Without having
to know what influence the parameter has with respect to the taste,
the user can thus set the parameter to his personal preference
simply and purposefully. Based on the beverage specified by the
user, the associated parameter is stored in the beverage maker as a
specification.
[0008] It should be noted that the two beverages differ from each
other specifically with respect to the different
beverage-preparation parameter but must be identical in type in
order to be able to establish a meaningful comparison. Beverage
types are, for example, espresso, coffee, long coffee, or
cappuccino.
[0009] In the context of this application, the term
"beverage-preparation parameter" is to be understood such that it
includes both individual parameters and a parameter set, i.e., a
combination of two or more individual parameters. The brewing
temperature or the amount of grounds would be an example of an
individual parameter. The above-mentioned parameter set "with
pre-brewing, with high brewing temperature, large amount of
grounds" would be an example of a beverage-preparation parameter
set. The term "value of a beverage-preparation parameter" is to be
understood as corresponding to a single value, such as, for
example, 86.degree. C. or 92.degree. C., or as a value combination
such as, for example, "pre-brewing: yes, brewing temperature
90.degree. C., amount of grounds 10 g."
[0010] According to one embodiment the method further comprises the
following step: displaying a representation of the first and of the
second beverage for the user input; wherein the step of displaying
is carried out on a device display of the beverage maker or a
mobile terminal coupled to the beverage maker; and the step of
receiving the user input is carried out via an operating element of
the beverage maker or from the coupled mobile terminal.
[0011] A simple and intuitive possibility for the user to specify
which beverage tastes better is thereby offered by a display of the
respective beverage to the user. For example, this can be affected
via a touchscreen including a unique graphical illustration,
wherein the touchscreen includes a touchscreen integrated in the
beverage maker or of a mobile terminal such as smartphone or tablet
or the like. Due to the intuitive input possibility the user need
not have any prior knowledge about the relationships of
beverage-preparation parameters and the resulting beverage.
[0012] According to one embodiment, the method further comprises,
wherein the beverage-preparation parameter can assume more than two
different values: receiving a user input that indicates the user
request after a further adaptation of the beverage-preparation
parameter; preparing a third beverage having a third value of the
beverage-preparation parameter; preparing a fourth beverage having
a fourth value of the beverage-preparation parameter; wherein the
third and the fourth value differ from the stored value, wherein
the difference is smaller than the difference between the first and
the second value; receiving a user input that indicates the third
or the fourth beverage; and storing the beverage-preparation
parameter of the specified beverage as a specification for the
preparation of the beverage.
[0013] The user can thereby further optimize a beverage-preparation
parameter in an iterative manner, which beverage-preparation
parameter can assume a value range or at least more than two
values, provided the final satisfactory beverage has not yet been
prepared in the first or preceding pass. In contrast thereto, a
beverage-preparation parameter that can only assume two values, for
example "with pre-brewing" and "without pre-brewing," cannot be
further optimized.
[0014] According to one embodiment the beverage-preparation
parameter includes one or more from the group consisting of:
pre-brewing or no pre-brewing; brewing temperature; amount of
grounds; brewing pressure; amount of water; and amount of milk.
[0015] According to a further aspect a beverage maker is provided,
comprising: a beverage-preparation device including at least one
variable beverage-preparation parameter that can assume at least
two different values; and a control device that is configured to
carry out a method as described above.
[0016] The beverage maker can in particular be a fully automatic
coffee machine, and the beverage-preparation device can in
particular be a brewing unit of the fully automatic coffee machine.
Furthermore, the beverage-preparation device can also include
further functions, such as, for example, the producing of heated or
foamed milk for beverages such as cappuccino, etc.
[0017] According to one embodiment the beverage maker further
comprises: a display element that is configured to display the
first and the second beverage for a selection via the user input;
and an operating element that is configured to receive a user input
that indicates the first or the second beverage.
[0018] The display- and operating-elements can be embodied
separately, but can also formed by a combined
display-/operating-element. The display element can consist, for
example, of corresponding LEDs, and the operating element or
elements from sensor keys separate therefrom or combined therewith.
In one preferred embodiment a touchscreen can form a combined
display/operating element.
[0019] According to one embodiment the beverage maker further
comprises a wireless interface that is configured for coupling to a
mobile terminal; wherein the control device is configured to send a
representation of the first and of the second beverage for the user
input via the interface to the mobile terminal, and to receive a
user input, which indicates the first or the second beverage, from
the mobile terminal via the interface.
[0020] In one preferred embodiment the beverage maker comprises a
wireless interface, via which a connection to a mobile terminal of
the user can be produced. This includes both direct wireless
connections between beverage maker and terminal and indirect
connections via a router, a cloud, etc. For this purpose, in
principle all known wireless connection technologies can be used,
such as Bluetooth, ZigBee, 802.11 (WLAN), RFID, NFC, infrared.
[0021] It is thus possible to carry out the process of parameter
setting using the display- and input-elements of the mobile
terminal of the user, which can be more comfortable than those on
the beverage maker itself. Conversely it is thereby possible to
optionally provide only a simplified or reduced user interface on
the beverage maker itself.
[0022] In one preferred embodiment the beverage maker is a fully
automatic coffee machine, and the beverage-preparation parameter
includes one or more from the group comprising: pre-brewing or no
pre-brewing; brewing temperature; amount of grounds; degree of
grinding; brewing pressure; amount of water; amount of milk; amount
of milk foam; milk foam consistency; flow speed of the water.
[0023] The invention further relates to a system comprising a
beverage maker as embodied above and a mobile terminal including a
display element and an operating element for providing an
operating- and display-device, preferably as a touch screen.
[0024] An exemplary embodiment of the invention is depicted purely
schematically in the drawings and described in more detail
below.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0025] In the drawings,
[0026] FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of an inventive beverage maker;
and
[0027] FIG. 2 shows a flow diagram of an embodiment of the
inventive method.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0028] In FIG. 1 an inventive beverage maker 1, here a fully
automatic coffee machine, is shown. The beverage maker 1 includes a
beverage-preparation device 3 that has variable
beverage-preparation parameters. These beverage-preparation
parameters can comprise one or any combination of pre-brewing
yes/no, brewing temperature, brewing pressure, amount of grounds,
amount of water, amount of milk.
[0029] The beverage maker 1 further includes a control device 2,
which is configured to prepare a first beverage and a second
beverage of the same type. Possible beverage types are, for
example, espresso, coffee, long coffee, or cappuccino. However, the
two beverages differ in at least one beverage-preparation
parameter, optionally also in multiple beverage-preparation
parameters, so that differently tasting beverages of the same type
can be prepared. For example, the first beverage is prepared at a
low brewing temperature, and the second beverage at a high brewing
temperature. Therefore beverages having different amounts of bitter
substances arise. The user can now select the beverage tasting
better and thus intuitively set the respective beverage type to
this preference.
[0030] For this purpose, in a first embodiment, the beverage maker
1 includes a display element 4 in order to display the first and
the second beverage to the user for a selection. Furthermore, it
includes an operating element 5 in order to receive a user input
that indicates the first or the second beverage. The display- and
operating-elements 4, 5 shown here as separate units can also be
combined in other embodiments, for example in the form of a
touchscreen.
[0031] In FIG. 1 a second preferred embodiment is also shown, which
can alternatively be provided on the beverage maker 1 instead of or
also in addition to a display- and operating-element. For this
purpose, the beverage maker 1 includes a wireless interface 6 in
order to be coupled to a mobile terminal 10 of the user. For
example, the wireless interface 6 can be a WLAN module.
[0032] The beverage maker 1 sends a representation of the first and
of the second beverage to the mobile terminal 10 via the wireless
WLAN connection (which generally runs over a WLAN router not shown
here). On the mobile terminal 10, the user can now make his
selection that is then sent back to the beverage maker 1 via the
WLAN connection. The mobile terminal 10 comprises a touchscreen for
providing the input element 15 and the display element 14. Contact
surfaces are provided as input elements 15, which in the event of
contact detect the corresponding beverage selection of the user,
here, for example, beverage #1.
[0033] Regardless of the way in which the beverage maker 1 has
received the selection, it can now store the parameter setting
corresponding to the selected beverage type as a specification for
the respective beverage type. In the future the user receives the
beverage set according to his preference in the event of selection
of the beverage type.
[0034] FIG. 2 is a flow diagram of an embodiment of the inventive
method that is embodied in a beverage maker. In step 101 a first
beverage is prepared having a first value of a beverage-preparation
parameter. In step 102 a second beverage is prepared having a
second value of a beverage-preparation parameter. Both beverages
are an identical beverage type such as, for example, espresso,
coffee, coffee, long coffee, or cappuccino. Both beverages differ
in at least one parameter relevant to the preparation, such as
pre-brewing or no pre-brewing, brewing temperature, amount of
grinding, brewing pressure, amount of water, or amount of milk.
However, it is also possible that multiple or even all parameters
differ in the two beverages.
[0035] In step 103 the first and of the second beverage are
displayed in order to make possible a selection by a user. This can
be affected either on a display of the beverage maker itself and/or
on a mobile terminal coupled wirelessly to the beverage maker. In
step 104 a user input is received, either directly using an
operating element of the beverage maker or via the wireless
coupling from the mobile terminal, which user input indicates the
first or the second beverage.
[0036] Depending on the selection, in step 105 for the respective
beverage type the parameter setting corresponding to the first
selected beverage is stored as a setting for this beverage type, or
in step 106 the parameter setting corresponding to the second
selected beverage is stored.
[0037] In step 107 a query to the user can optionally occur whether
he would like to end the optimization of the parameter setting or
continue with it. If the user thus accepts the setting and does not
want further optimization, the method ends in step 108. Otherwise
if the user is not completely satisfied with the setting with
respect to the beverage type, the method is repeated starting with
step 101. Here for the further changing of the beverage-preparation
parameter the previously achieved state, i.e., the
beverage-preparation parameter corresponding to the selected
beverage, is taken into account in the further optimization.
[0038] While the above description constitutes the preferred
embodiments of the present invention, the invention is susceptible
to modification, variation and change without departing from the
proper scope and fair meaning of the accompanying claims.
* * * * *