Patent ID: 8820213
Filing Date: 2014-09-02
Classification: A47J

Abstract:
1. A machine for preparing a liquid food or beverage, comprising: a housing that contains a brewing chamber that is configured and arranged to receive a package containing a pre-portioned beverage or food ingredient for preparing the liquid food or beverage after receiving heated water; a heater module for heating water and a pump module for pumping the heated water to the package for combining with the ingredient to form the liquid food or beverage, these modules also being present in the housing; at least one outermost machine face selected from a front face, a top face and a lateral face and associated with the housing in a user viewable location thereon; means for emitting light having at least one state of light emission and a state of light non-emission; a removable receptacle removably associated with and received in the housing, operatively associated with the light emitting means, and having an apparent surface that bears or forms an illuminatable outer face on one of the at least one outermost machine face, with the illuminatable outer face being arranged to be illuminated when in the state of light emission; and a control unit connected to the light emitting means, the control unit being arranged to detect at least one condition of such machine involving a non-immediate readiness of such machine to prepare a liquid food or beverage, and to communicate the condition to a user via the illuminatable outer face by changing the state of the light emitting means; wherein the at least one illuminatable outer face of the receptacle is in illumination association with the light emitting means by or through light guides, extends in at least one direction across part of one of the at least one outermost machine face and is arranged to be illuminated when in the state of light emission, with the illuminatable outer face comprising a light conducting panel, rod or wire extending upon the at least one outermost machine face to provide the apparent surface that is illuminated.