Abstract:
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.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS  
       [0001]    This application is a divisional of application Ser. No. 12/988,492 filed Oct. 18, 2010, which is the 371 U.S. National Phase of PCT/EP2009/055377, filed May 5, 2009, which claims priority of European patent applications EP 08155851.2 filed May 8, 2008 and EP 08159707.2 filed Jul. 4, 2008. 
     
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002]    The field of the invention pertains to the setting of the level of fill in cups used with a beverage preparation devices, such as coffee machines or similar apparatus. 
       BACKGROUND ART  
       [0003]    Certain beverage preparation machines use capsules containing ingredients to be extracted or to be dissolved; for other machines, the ingredients are stored and dosed automatically in the machine or else are added at the time of preparation of the drink. 
         [0004]    Most coffee machines possess filling means that include a pump for liquid, usually water, which pumps the liquid from a source of water that is cold or indeed heated through heating means, such as a heating resistor, a thermoblock or the like. 
         [0005]    The fill of a drink in the receptacle, such as a cup or glass, is usually controlled in several different ways. 
         [0006]    In certain modes, the control of fill may be done by storing several fill programs in a controller which itself commands the time of activation of the pump and deactivates the pump via a relay. A drawback comes from the fact that depending on the state of the machine, for example the degree of limescale, the volumes actually delivered may vary significantly. As a consequence, the fill control is customarily done using a flow meter and by a control unit which counts down the number of pulses recorded on the flow meter positioned on the fluid supply circuit. However, a drawback is that it is necessary to provide a series of operating buttons depending on the number of different volumes to be delivered. For example, in a conventional coffee machine, a “ristretto” button is required for extra-short coffees (25 mL), an “espresso” button for short coffees (40 mL) and a “long” button for long coffees (110 mL). There is a real risk of confusion by the user unaccustomed to using the machine; this typically leads to the delivery of excessively strong coffees or to overspills from the cup. Another drawback arises from the lack of flexibility in respect of the user who may want an intermediate volume depending on the type of capsule or drink chosen. The flow meter may also lack accuracy or its accuracy be impaired on account of the scale which builds up on its surfaces. Another drawback arises from the fact that control by flow meter takes no account of the quantity of froth produced; this may lead to a spillover of froth for very frothy products. 
         [0007]    Another mode consists in providing manual activation and deactivation of the pump by a button, a lever or some other operating means. Stated otherwise, the user alone is responsible for halting the flow of drink into the cup. However, this raises several drawbacks. One is that the user must remain attentive during the flow of the drink; without this, the system continues to deliver liquid: the risks of spillover are therefore fairly common. Another drawback arises from the fact that manual control such as this is inaccurate. The user may then encounter difficulties in reproducing the fill that he usually desires especially when the drink may produce more or less froth; this may fool the user in the control of the filling of the cup with liquid. 
         [0008]    Another mode of control which is more complex and more expensive to implement consists of a means of recognition on a packaged portion of ingredients (for example, a capsule), such as a bar code, which transmits instructions to the machine, so as to tailor the volume to be delivered. In the same way, this system works on the activation of a pump using recorded programs and on the acquisition of data originating from a flow meter. 
         [0009]    Various systems for operating a beverage preparation device and for filling automatically a receptacle are disclosed in the patent literature, for instance in AT 410 377, DE 44 29 353, DE 20 2006 019 039, EP 1 305 040, EP 1 448 084, EP 1 676 509, FR 2 624 844, GB 2 397 510, U.S. Pat. No. 4,458,735, U.S. Pat. No. 4,767,632, U.S. Pat. No. 5,312,020, U.S. Pat. No. 5,335,705, U.S. Pat. No. 5,372,061, U.S. Pat. No. 5,375,508, U.S. Pat. No. 5,731,981, U.S. Pat. No. 5,645,230, U.S. Pat. No. 5,836,236, U.S. Pat. No. 5,959,869, U.S. Pat. No. 6,182,555, U.S. Pat. No. 6,354,341, U.S. Pat. No. 6,759,072, US 2007/0157820, WO 97/25634, WO99/50172, WO 2004/030435, WO 2004/030438, WO 2006/063645, WO 2006/090183, WO 2007/003062, WO 2007/003990 and PCT/EP08/054858. 
         [0010]    More specifically, U.S. Pat. No. 4,458,735 pertains to a device for automatically controlling the delivery of a drink such as a “milkshake” into a container made of translucent paper or foam. The receptacle is positioned under a source of radiation which directs a light ray against the rim of the receptacle; which ray passes through the receptacle and is detected by a radiation detector situated on the opposite side of the receptacle. The signal received by the detector is compared with a signal value level and when the attenuated signal drops below the signal value level, delivery is halted. Such a device does not allow sufficient detection accuracy, in particular, for coffee receptacles, on account of the way in which the incident signal is detected and then compared. Moreover, this device is unsuitable for translucent receptacles. Finally, the device does not make it possible to choose one&#39;s fill position. 
         [0011]    Patent application WO 97/25634 pertains to a method and a device for detecting the position of an object such as a container in a target window using the concept of triangulation of radiant energy. Such a device uses a first pair and a second pair of emitters and receivers and uses a triangulation calculation to detect the presence of the container. WO99/50172 discloses a method for detecting and control the filling of a cup with a dispensing apparatus by using a several light transmitters and receivers of light rays reflected by the cup and liquid inside the cup. 
         [0012]    Co-pending application PCT/EP08/054858 (in the name of Nestec SA) discloses a beverage preparation device having a touch screen with a virtual representation of a cup on which the user can move up and down a desired level of fill before the beverage dispensing process is initiated to fill the cup to the desired level. 
         [0013]    WO 2006/063645 (in the name of Nestec SA) discloses a beverage preparation machine with an interface for selecting the level of fill of a cup to be filled. In one embodiment, a marking means for indicating the desired level of fill on a side of the cup is provided in the form of a user-operable laser beam emitter that forms a displaceable visible spot on the inner side of the cup. The user-operable emitter cooperates with a receiver for detecting the presence of the beverage supplied to the cup when the beverage reaches the desired level of fill to interrupt the supply of the beverage. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0014]    It is therefore a preferred object of the present invention to increase the user-friendliness and the intuitiveness of the selection arrangement of the desired levels of fill in cups of various sizes used in a beverage preparation device. 
         [0015]    It is a particular object of the invention to provide a level of fill selection arrangement for various cup sizes which does not need to be preprogrammed as to the cup sizes by the user but which is immediately adaptable with any cup size used by the user. 
         [0016]    The invention thus relates to a device for filling a receptacle with a beverage. For instance, the beverage device is a coffee, tea or soup machine, in particular a machine for supplying a beverage by passing hot or cold water or another liquid through a capsule containing an ingredient of the beverage to be supplied, such as ground coffee. 
         [0017]    The beverage device comprises means for filling via an outlet a receptacle located below the outlet and a user interface for allowing a user to select a desired level of fill of beverage in the receptacle. The interface comprises a means for detecting an object below the outlet. The filling means are arranged to fill the receptacle up to the user selected level of fill. 
         [0018]    In accordance with the invention, the detecting means is arranged to detect a position of a human finger and/or a hand-held freely movable pointing instrument, which human finger or pointing instrument is/are adjacent to and pointing towards a side of the receptacle. The filling means is arranged to derive from the detected position of the finger and/or pointing instrument the user-selected level of fill and to fill the receptacle up to said level. 
         [0019]    Such pointing instrument may typically be a stylus or a kitchen utensil such as a tea or coffee spoon, or any other device freely manipulatable by the user to point at a location on a cup representative of a desired level of fill and allow acquisition of this level of fill by the machine for the subsequent filling of the cup. 
         [0020]    Being able to indicate the desired level of fill by pointing with a finger and/or pointing instrument directly to the location of the desired level on the cup to be filled, instead of having to provide this information by operating buttons, a touch screen or a laser pointing device, represents a significant increase of the user-friendliness and intuitiveness of the handling of a beverage preparation machine. 
         [0021]    To avoid overflow of the receptacle due to an improper level of fill input or to allow non selection of an amount of beverage to be supplied to the machine if the user suddenly changes its mind, the beverage device includes a detector arranged to detect the height of the receptacle, the means for filling being arranged to fill said receptacle only if the detected position of the finger and/or pointing instrument representing the user-selected level of fill is located below the detected height of the receptacle. The finger and/or pointing instrument detecting means optionally forms also this height detector so that no additional detector is needed. 
         [0022]    The beverage device may also include a detector arranged to detect the presence of the receptacle under the outlet of the filling means during a beverage filling cycle. In such a case, the filling means can be arranged to stop the filling when the receptacle is moved away from under the outlet. Optionally, the finger and/or pointing instrument detecting means forms also the presence detector to avoid an additional detector. 
         [0023]    To determine which level of fill is selected by the user, for example when the user is hesitating and moves his pointing finger and/or pointing instrument up and down along the cup, the detecting means can be arranged to detect a withdrawal motion of the pointing finger and/or pointing instrument from adjacent said receptacle, the filling means being arranged to fill the receptacle to a level corresponding to the position of the pointing finger and/or pointing instrument immediately before its withdrawal. In other words, in this embodiment, it is the position of the pointing finger and/or pointing instrument at withdrawal that is decisive for setting the desired level of fill within the receptacle. 
         [0024]    Furthermore, the beverage device may also comprise a detector of a beverage level in the receptacle during filling so as to accurately monitor the progress of filling in the receptacle. Optionally, the finger detecting means forms also this level detector. 
         [0025]    To even further increase the intuitive handling of the beverage preparation device, a user-interface may be incorporated to provide a feed-back arrangement to the user as to the position of the finger and/or pointing instrument relative to said receptacle and/or as to the level of beverage in said receptacle. Such a user-interface optionally includes a screen or a touch screen. A suitable feed-back arrangement may comprise a means, such as an laser or LED, for generating a user-visible light spot on an inner wall of the receptacle preferably at a level in the receptacle corresponding to the user-selected level of fill and the level to which the receptacle will be filled by the beverage device. 
         [0026]    Still in the view of increasing the intuitiveness and user-friendliness of the beverage preparation device, the user-interface can be arranged to provide a graphical representation of a receptacle and at least one representation of a level in the receptacle. At least one level representation may follow any vertical motion of the pointing finger and/or pointing instrument along and adjacent a side of this virtual receptacle. This level representation optionally includes a representation of a finger and/or pointing instrument, for example a hand with a pointing finger or a stylus, against the representation of the receptacle. At least one level representation indicative of the level of beverage during filling in this virtual receptacle can be arranged to rise in accordance with the filling of the beverage in the real receptacle. In this case, the level representation may simply be a horizontal line or bar that moves upwards in the representation of the receptacle. 
         [0027]    The finger and/or pointing instrument detecting means may include any suitable detector of objects known to the skilled person, in particular in the references set out in the above discussion on the prior art. The finger and/or pointing instrument detecting means may include a light detector, such as one or more cameras, and optionally a light emitter. For instance, the finger and/or pointing instrument detecting means includes a series of photo-emitters for emitting visible or non visible light beams and a corresponding series of photo-receivers for detecting the presence (or absence) and location of the light beams emitted by the emitters. When the machine is intended to be used with a pointing instrument, the detecting means may be specially arranged to detect the position of such an instrument nearby a cup, for instance by radio frequency or more generally magnetically, especially when the pointing instrument is made of or includes an electromagnetic part or even an RFID module. 
         [0028]    To even further increase the intuitiveness and user-friendliness, the filling means may be arranged so that the selected level of fill may be changed by a user during the filling of the receptacle, in particular via the finger and/or pointing instrument detector means, or even via another interface such as a switch. 
         [0029]    The finger and/or pointing instrument detecting means can be arranged to detect a vertical position of the pointing finger indicative of the user-selected level of fill and optionally a horizontal position of the pointing finger and/or pointing instrument indicative of another parameter of a beverage to be filled in the receptacle, such as a temperature, strength or mixing ratio of the beverage. The finger and/or pointing instrument detecting means can be arranged to detect this horizontal position of the pointing finger and/or pointing instrument in a peripheral space outside and adjacent the receptacle. In the case of a coffee machine, the machine may acquire the level of fill from the vertical position of the pointing finger and/or pointing instrument and the strength of the coffee from the horizontal position around the receptacle. For instance, if the user points with his finger and/or pointing instrument towards the left of the cup, a weaker coffee will be served, whereas if he points towards the right of the cup, a stronger coffee will be served. In the same manner, the user may select the proportions of milk or coffee in a milk coffee or cappuccino. 
         [0030]    Of course, to increase the user-friendliness, the beverage device may be fitted with a screen that provides the relevant input instruction or feed-back so as to guide and/or reassure the user on the proper handling of the beverage preparation device and avoid unnecessary stress or insecurity for the user. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0031]    The invention will now be described with reference to the schematic drawings, wherein: 
           [0032]      FIG. 1  shows part of a beverage preparation device according to the invention while a level of fill is being selected by a user pointing at a cup with his finger; 
           [0033]      FIG. 2  shows the beverage preparation device of  FIG. 1  while a beverage is being dispensed; and 
           [0034]      FIG. 3  shows part of a beverage preparation device according to the invention while a level of fill is being selected by a user pointing at a cup with a stylus. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0035]      FIGS. 1 and 2  show a beverage preparation device  1  in accordance with the invention, such as a coffee machine for the extraction of coffee from a capsule containing ground coffee,  FIG. 1  illustrating a user-selection of a certain amount of beverage to be dispensed by device  1 ,  FIG. 2  showing the dispensing of beverage to fill the cup up to the user-selected amount of beverage. 
         [0036]    Device  1  has a liquid circulation system with a beverage filling means including a water reservoir, pump, heater and extraction chamber connected through a water conduit for guiding water form the reservoir to the chamber via pump and heater (not shown). The extraction chamber is arranged to supply beverage prepared therein to an outlet  8  which is located above a drip tray covered with a grid  15  for supporting a cup  18  under outlet  8 . The beverage filling means further includes a controller (not shown) for controlling various parameters of device  1 , including parameters for the beverage preparation process, such as the control of the pump and the heater. 
         [0037]    Moreover, device  1  has a user interface  30   c , 30   d  for allowing a user to select a desired level of fill of beverage in cup  18 , level of fill being indicated by dashed line  25  in  FIG. 1 . Interface  30   c , 30   d  comprises a first column of emitters  30   c  of light rays  30 ′, 30 ″, e.g. a column of LEDs, facing a second column of light ray detectors  30   d , e.g. a column of photo-detectors. Emitter  30   c  and detector  30   d  are located in the front and on each side of outlet  8  and cup  18 . 
         [0038]    This interface  30   c , 30   d  is arranged to detect the vertical position of an object, in the present case a human finger  5  pointing on a side of cup  18 . To select a level of fill  25 , the user sticks his finer  5  into a space containing cup  18  which space is located below the outlet  8  and delimited by columns  30   c , 30   d . Emitter column  30   c  emits a series of light beams  30 ′, 30 ″ towards detector column  30   d  which may then detect which of the rays  30 ′, 30 ″ are received and which are interrupted at a certain height by the presence of the pointing finger  5 . The interrupted rays  30 ″ of the series or rays  30 ′, 30 ″ indicate the height of the interrupting pointing finger  5 . The filling means&#39; controller is arranged to control the liquid circulation system so as to prepare and supply an amount of beverage  23 , 24  up to the user-selected level of fill  25 . 
         [0039]    The controller of device  1  may be so arranged that the beverage preparation cycle and supply starts automatically with the acquisition of level of fill  25 , or the controller may be arranged to expect a confirmation by the user before starting the beverage preparation and supply cycle. 
         [0040]    Device  1  further has a pair of combined light emitters and cameras  30   a , 30   b  arranged to detect the height of the rim  18   a  of cup  18  to be filled via deflected ray  30 ″″, for instance by a triangulation system or image recognition system of the type known in the art. Alternatively, the device may comprise a second pair of columns, e.g. similar to columns  30   c , 30   d , arranged on opposite sides of cup  18  to measure its height. The controller of the filling means is arranged to initiate the filling process of cup  18  only if the detected finger level  25  via interrupted ray  30 ″ is located below rim  18   a  of cup  18 , the finger detecting means forming optionally the height detector of cup  18 , for instance when the finger detector is a camera with an image recognition system. Thus, if the user selects by mistake a level of fill that exceeds the cup&#39;s capacity, the beverage preparation device will not start a beverage preparation cycle. 
         [0041]    As mentioned, the vertical and optionally horizontal position of finger  5  may also be measured with light emitters and cameras  30   a , 30   b  (or just cameras) and an image recognition system. 
         [0042]    The controller and detector for measuring the position of the pointing finger  5  on cup  18  may be arranged to detect a withdrawal motion of finger  5  from adjacent cup  18 , the filling means being arranged to fill cup  18  to a level  25  corresponding to the position of pointing finger  5  immediately before its withdrawal. In such a way, the user is allowed to move his finger up and down cup  18  to make up his mind before acquisition by the controller of the desired level of fill  25 . 
         [0043]    Moreover, device  1  includes a detector, which in the present case is formed by the above light emitters and cameras  30   a  and  30   b , for detecting when the rising level of beverage  24  in cup  18  reaches, during a beverage preparation cycle, level of fill  25  selected by a user with its finger  5  on cup  18 , for example as taught in the abovementioned WO 2006/063645. 
         [0044]    Detector  30   a , 30   b  for measuring the height of rim  18   a  of cup  18  or detector  30   c , 30   d  for measuring the position of finger  5  can also be used to detect any attempt to remove cup  18  from underneath outlet  8  during a beverage filling cycle and interrupt this cycle. 
         [0045]    To increase the user-friendliness and intuitive handling of device  1 , an intuitive feed-back arrangement  4 , 30   a  for comforting the user is provided. 
         [0046]    As shown, in  FIGS. 1 and 2 , the feed back arrangement may including a ray emitter  30   a  emitting a ray  30 ′″ that forms a visible light spot inside cup  18  indicative of the user-selected level  25  and at the same level in cup  18 . Hence, emitter  30   a  may be arranged to follow vertical movements of finger  5 , direct ray  30 ′″ and thus the resulting light spot on the inner wall of cup  18  accordingly, until the desired height of level fill  25  has been acquired for dispensing the beverage  23 . 
         [0047]    Moreover, the feed-back arrangement may also include a screen, in particular a touch screen,  4  that provides a graphic representation of a cup  19  to be filled and the representation of the level of beverage and/or the level of fill  20  in cup  19  during the filling process of cup  18 . Cup  19  may be associated with an indication of the level of fill, on its side, in the form of a graphic representation of an arrow, a pointing finger or a similar graphical representation  20   a  on a side of cup  19 , for representing the position of the user&#39;s finger  5  on cup  18 , that may possibly be moving up and down along the side of cup  18  with corresponding movements of finger  5 , which movements are thus represented on screen  4 . The same may provided for the virtual level of fill  20 . 
         [0048]    Also indicate on screen  4  is the cup&#39;s rim  19   a  and a maximum level of fill  20 ′, above which device  1  will refuse to dispense a beverage. The dimensions, in particular the height, of virtual cup  19  with respect to level of fill  20  correspond in proportions to those of cup  18  with respect to its rim  18   a  and its user-selected level of fill  25 . 
         [0049]    Furthermore, during the filling cycle, the virtual representation of cup  19  may include not only the representation of the intended level of fill  20  but also a representation of the beverage  22  with its rising level  21  that is being supplied to the virtual cup  19  in line with the progress of beverage supply  23  to cup  18  and the rising level of beverage  24  therein. 
         [0050]    Screen  4  may also include further features. In particular, when the finger detector is not only arranged to detect the height of a finger to set the amount of beverage but also the horizontal location of the finger around the cup to set another parameter of the beverage preparation, e.g. temperature, strength, concentration, etc. . . . , this parameter may also be indicated on the feed-back screen, for instance with a virtual cursor on an horizontal scale. Moreover, the screen may also conceived to accept user data input regarding parameters as to the beverage preparation or as to service processes, etc. . . . , for instance as disclosed in the abovementioned PCT/EP08/054858. 
         [0051]    In a variation, emitters and receivers  30   a , 30   b  are used to detect the position of the pointing finger  5 , for instance by an automatic image recognition. As mentioned above, it may be possible to detect not only the height of the pointing finger but also its horizontal location around cup  18 , e.g. more or less on the left, at the front or on the right of the cup. 
         [0052]      FIG. 3 , in which the same numeric references designate the same elements, illustrates how a user may set the desired level of fill in a cup by pointing at a cup with a freely movable pointing instrument such as a stylus  5 ′. The user may also use another instrument such as tea or coffee spoon. 
         [0053]    As shown in  FIG. 3 , the detecting system of machine  1  is similar to the one shown above. However, for detecting such a pointing instrument or device it is possible to use dedicated systems, in particular base on a magnetic field or radio frequency as discussed above.