Koninklijke Philips Corporation N.v.

Thijs De Haan

Jean Bart Bleeker

Bernardo Arnoldus Mulder

Peng Chau Quah

Simon Kaastra

Hans J Kodden

Haayo Nicolai

Thewis Minne Westra

David Johannus Theodorus Huntink

Pieter Berend Bosstad

In a coffee maker () having a boiler () and heating means () for heating a content of the boiler (), safety measures are taken to prevent breakdown of the coffee maker () in the case in which the heating means () are activated while the boiler () is empty. The coffee maker () comprises a controller () having a memory () in which a flag indicating a filled state of the boiler () can be raised, which controller () is programmed to activate the heating means () to supply reduced heating power if the memory () does not contain the flag. A situation in which the boiler () gets overheated, even if the heating means () are shut off after having been operated, is prevented thereby.

Heating process of a boiler of a coffee maker

A capacitive power supply including an input section having input terminals for connection to an AC-mains supply, and a capacitive coupling, a rectification section coupled via the capacitive coupling to the input terminals, and an output section coupled to the rectification section, the output section including output terminals, for providing an output voltage to a load, a first chain including a charge storage facility, and a second chain arranged in parallel to the first chain, and including an output voltage limiting facility, the capacitive power supply further including an inrush current limiting facility, wherein the output terminals are connected to respective terminals of the output voltage limiting facility, and the DC-conducting series impedance has a resistive component with a resistive value of at least 0.2 times a resistive value of the first chain.

Capacitive power supply

A flow-through heating system () is described, comprising: a flow tube (); a plurality of at least two heating elements (A,B,C), each heating element being connected in series with a corresponding controllable switch (A,B,C); a control unit () having control outputs (A,B,C) coupled to said controllable switches; the control unit () being designed to generate control signals (Sa, Sb, Sc) for opening and closing the controllable switches such that said heating system is operated at a required power (Pr) less than the power capacity (Ptot) of said heating system by operating precisely one of said heating elements at reduced power while the remaining heating elements are either operated at full power or at zero power.

Method of operating a flow-through heating

A beverage maker includes a boiler for containing and heating water and a normally opened thermostat having a sensing member for sensing a temperature of the water, wherein the sensing member is located at a certain distance with respect to a water inlet of the boiler. When the water is heated, and the temperature of the water exceeds a set point of the thermostat, the thermostat closes. As a result, a pumping action is started, where hot water is forced to flow out of the boiler, and where cold water is forced to flow into the boiler. When a front of the cold water reaches the sensing member of the thermostat, the thermostat is triggered to open again, and the pumping action is terminated. By means of the thermostat, the quantity of hot water that is used for the purpose of making a beverage is accurately controlled.

Method for controlling a quantity of water to be used for the purpose of obtaining a quantity of hot liquid

Water flow heater with a first heater element ( ) for supplying a fixed power, a second, controllable heater element ( ), a temperature sensor ( ) for measuring the temperature of heated water, and a control unit ( ) for controlling the heat supply from the second heater element ( ) in dependence on a temperature detected by the temperature sensor ( ). A water flowrate lying within a predetermined range is safeguarded in that a pump ( ) is provided for generating a water flow through a channel ( ), and the control unit is designed so as to activate the heater elements ( ) in dependence on activation of the pump ( ). As a result, the first heater element ( ) of fixed power can have a comparatively high power rating without the risk of water being too strongly heated thereby.

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Drachten, Netherlands

Thijs De Haan