Nestec S.a.

Societe Des Produits Nestle S.a.

Rio Tinto Alcan International Limited

Frank Schnyder

Vittorio De Nora

Alfred Yoakim

Antoine Cahen

Alexandre Kollep

Peter Möri

Gilles Gavillet

Thinh Trong Nguyen

Renzo Moser

Peter Moeri

A device for filling a receptacle with a beverage and a user interface for allowing a user to select a desired level of fill of beverage in the receptacle. The interface includes a mechanism for detecting an object below the outlet, such that the receptacle can be filled with the beverage up to the user selected level of fill, wherein the detection mechanism is arranged to detect a position of a human finger or a hand-held freely movable pointing instrument, which human finger or pointing instrument is adjacent to and pointing towards a side of the receptacle, so that the level of fill of the receptacle is determined from the detected position of the finger or pointing instrument the user-selected level of fill and the beverage is dispensed to fill the receptacle up to that level. The device is useful in coffee or other beverage dispensing machines.

Setting the level of fill in a cup used with a beverage dispenser

A machine for preparing a beverage having a main body containing a brewing unit and a handle movable relative to the main body, so as to act on the brewing unit to open the brewing unit for introduction or removal of an ingredient into and from the unit, and act to close the brewing unit for extraction of such ingredient within the unit. The movable handle has a gripping part and is arranged to be drivable by a human hand. The main body and the movable handle are so connected and configured that the gripping part has a carrying position in which the gripping part is seizable by the human hand for safe lifting and single-handed displacing of the machine.

Beverage machine with carrying handle and configurable appearance and side functions

A cell for electrowinning a metal, in particular aluminium, from a compound thereof dissolved in an electrolyte () comprises an anode () and a cathode () that contact the electrolyte (), the cathode () being during use at a cathodic potential for reducing thereon species of the metal to be produced from the dissolved compound. The electrolyte () further contains species of at least one element that is liable to contaminate the product metal () and that has a cathodic reduction potential which is less negative than the cathodic potential of the metal to be produced. The cell further comprises a collector () for removing species of such element (s) from the electrolyte (). During use the collector () is at a potential that is: less negative than the cathodic potential of the produced metal () to inhibit reduction thereon of species of the metal to be produced; and at or more negative than the reduction potential of the species of said element(s) to allow reduction thereof on the collector (). The cell is so arranged that species of said element(s) are reduced on the collector () rather than on the cathode () so as to inhibit contamination of the product metal () by said element(s).

Metal electrowinning cell with electrolyte purifier

Growing community of inventors

Mont-Pèlerin, Switzerland

Frank Schnyder