Patent ID: 8618448

Claim:
An actively heated and cooled mug or travel mug, comprising: a body having a receiving portion for receiving and holding a liquid; and a heating and cooling system, comprising three or more thermoelectric heating and cooling elements electrically isolated from each other and configured to actively heat and cool at least a portion of the receiving portion of the body, one or more power storage elements, a wireless power receiver configured to wirelessly receive power from a power source, control circuitry electrically connected to the wireless power receiver, the control circuitry configured to charge the one or more power storage elements and to control the delivery of electricity from the one or more power storage elements to the heating and cooling elements, and one or more temperature sensors configured to sense a temperature of the liquid in the receiving portion, wherein the control circuitry is configured to operate each of the of heating and cooling elements independently of each other to actively decrease the temperature of the liquid if said temperature is greater than a predetermined drinking temperature, and configured to operate the heating and cooling elements to actively increase the temperature of the liquid if said temperature is lower than the predetermined drinking temperature.