Koninklijke Philips Corporation N.V.

Versuni Holding B.v.

Tim Gerard Tibbe

Peter Rijskamp

Joeke Noordhuis

Bart-Jan Zwart

Klaas Kooijker

Anke Gerda Sinnema

Britt Roumen

Gertrude Riëtte Bakker-Van Der Kamp

Ede Szabo

Hendrik Klaas Louwsma

Jan Buffinga

Pieter Herman Klokman

Peter Tjeerdsma

Andrea Pecci

Mérijn Stam

Vittorio Perazzolo

Oliver Fecko

Peter Aljosja Kot

Douwe Wijtsma

Gabriel Costa Eufrasio

Gertrude Riëtte Bakker-van Der Kamp

Kasper Roelof Loopstra

Massimiliano Sceusa

Gerben De Roode

Ruth Anna Elisabeth Schlecht

A coffee machine is for brewing coffee in a brewing chamber and has a waste bin for collecting coffee grinds after brewing and a drip tray for collecting waste water. A sensor system is provided for detecting manual removal of the waste bin and/or the drip tray and a count is made of the number of brews since the last removal of the waste bin and/or drip tray. Information is then displayed showing the number of brews, or the fraction of brews compared to a nominal maximum number of brews, since the last removal.

Coffee machine

A coffee machine is for preparing an espresso coffee drink, but it also enables filtered coffee to be produced. An external water delivery nozzle is provided, and it provides water to a coffee jug comprising a filter holder for holding a coffee filter and contained coffee grinds. The coffee jug and the external water delivery nozzle can be coupled and decoupled.

A coffee machine makes use of a valve arrangement for controlling the coupling of a water heater outlet selectively to one of two or more outlets, such as a steam delivery nozzle and a brew chamber. The valve arrangement comprises an active valve between the inlet channel and a first one of the outlets and a passive valve downstream of the active valve from the water heater outlet, coupled to a second one of the outlets. A cam surface controls the active valve, wherein the angular position of the cam surface controls the coupling of the inlet channel to the first one of the outlets. The rotation may be driven by rotational coupling to a brew chamber motor. This coffee machine design makes use of a single valve arrangement to provide the flow control from the water heater. This provides a compact arrangement with a low component count and simple control mechanism. It also enables all valve mechanisms to be outside the water or steam flow.

Coffee machine with integrated steam and hot water generation

The invention provides a mixing apparatus having a first port for receiving milk, a second port for receiving steam, an air intake channel for receiving air, and a mixing chamber for mixing milk, steam and air. A barrier element is provided at an output of the mixing chamber, wherein the barrier element is adjustable to define different degrees of frothing.

Mixing apparatus

A drinks machine has an output nozzle for delivering hot water or steam, Steam is used by a milk frothing unit whereas hot water is delivered by the output nozzle directly to the exterior of the drinks machine for collection in a drinks vessel. A single nozzle is thus provided for steam or hot water delivery and there is no need for any accessory when delivering hot water. This means that there is reduced cost, fewer components to lose, and simplified cleaning, in that only per-use cleaning of the milk frothing unit is required, not the fixed parts of the appliance associated with the milk frothing unit.

Drinks machine with hot water and steam delivery and a method of use

The mixing apparatus includes a first container, wherein the first container comprises: a first port; and a mixing chamber. The mixing apparatus further includes a second container where the second container is adapted to receive the first container, and a seal disposed between the first container and the second container. In addition, the mixing apparatus includes a channel between the first port and the mixing chamber, where the channel is defined by the seal and the first container. In some examples, the seal includes: a first seal portion; and a transition seal portion, the transition portion includes a seal split; and an air intake channel.

Mixing apparatus having a seal

A mixing apparatus is described. The mixing apparatus has a first port for receiving milk, a second port for receiving steam, and a mixing chamber for mixing the milk, the steam, and air. A channel arrangement connects the first port and the second port, and defines an air intake channel which leads to a frothing section. The mixing apparatus is designed such that, in use, the frothing section fills sufficiently with steamed milk that has a direct path from the second port to the mixing chamber is interrupted by the steamed milk. This provides a noise reduction during use of the mixing apparatus. A flow reducing means, such as a barrier, may be used for this purpose.

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Eindhoven, Netherlands

Tim Gerard Tibbe