Patent Document:

turning now to the figures , the portable appliance 2 of this invention comprises an external housing 1 encapsulating a water tank system 38 , a water delivery system 39 , and a brewing system 40 . the electronics 14 are also enclosed within the external housing 1 and a user interface 32 is located on an exterior surface of the external housing 1 . internal support frame 78 is located under the external housing 1 to provide support and protection to the external housing 1 of the appliance 2 . a protective frame 75 surrounds the user interface 32 , water tank system door 42 , and brewing system door 44 . this protective frame 75 rises above the user interface 32 , the water tank system door 42 and brewing system door 44 so that those parts are recessed below the protective frame 75 . the water tank system 38 is joined to a water delivery system 39 and the water delivery system 39 is joined to a brewing system 40 . the water tank system 38 comprises resistant removable water tank 3 having a cap 6 , and a water system valve 8 . the water delivery system 39 comprises tubing 10 , a flow meter 16 , pump 18 , heater 20 and flow valve 22 . the water delivery system 39 is controlled by electronics 14 that can receive commands from the user interface 32 and send commands to the water delivery system 39 for operation of the portable appliance 2 . the water tank system 38 is joined to the water delivery system by tubing 10 and the water delivery system 39 is linked to the brewing system by tubing 10 . when called , water flows through the tubing 10 from the water tank system 38 to the water delivery system 39 and into the brewing system 40 . the water tank 3 resides within the water tank compartment 4 of the appliance 2 . this water tank 3 is removable as seen in fig4 and 9 . the water tank further comprises a water tank cap 6 . this cap 6 is detailed in fig1 . the cap 6 is removable and replaceable and further comprises a seal 7 . the seal provides a barrier to ensure that water does not escape the air hole 9 . a small air hole 9 is included within the cap to provide for air entry when water is being drawn out of the water tank 6 . to fill the water tank 3 with water , a user must remove the cap 6 . after the water tank 4 is filled , the cap 6 is replaced to close the water tank 6 . as seen in fig1 and 11 , a tube 13 resides within the water tank 3 and is connected to the water system valve 8 . a water filter 12 may also be connected between the tube 13 and water system valve 8 . the water system valve 8 provides the exit point for water when it is called for brewing . the water system valve 8 comprises a cap 21 having two seals 17 , 19 and a spring 15 . seal 19 covers the opening to the tube 13 and is placed over a spring 15 . when tubing 10 a is joined to the one - way valve 8 at the seal 19 , it presses down on the spring 15 allowing water to exit . seal 17 further provides a barrier to prevent water leakage . the portion of the tubing 10 a that joins the water system valve 8 is housed within the water system door 42 as seen in fig3 and 4 . one skilled in the art will recognize that the water system door 42 is depicted as opening on a hinge 65 . tubing 10 a exits water tank system door 42 thru joint 60 a into the central portion of the appliance . since the tubing 10 , 10 a runs through the door and only attaches to the water system 38 when the water system door 42 is closed , the tubing 10 , 10 a must be protected by a joint 60 a . when the water system door 42 closes and the tubing 10 a is connected to the water system valve 8 , it causes the tubing 10 a to press into seal 19 which in turn presses into spring 15 allowing water to flow from tube 13 to tubing 10 a . water can only flow out of the water tank 3 through the water system valve 8 into the tubing 10 a when it is called creating a sealed system that is leak - proof . to operate this appliance 2 , a user selects the desired function on the user interface 32 . this action sends a signal to the electronics 14 which controls the action of the mechanical system 39 . the electronics 14 and water delivery system 39 are shock resistant and the water delivery system is located on a chassis 41 further comprising shock absorbers 62 to further insulate the mechanical system from shocks that could disrupt the appliance &# 39 ; s operation . to draw water from the water tank 3 , the pump 18 pumps water from the water tank 3 out of the water system valve 8 into the tubing 10 . the water runs through the tubing 10 and is measured by the flow meter 16 . the flow meter 16 controls how much water is to be drawn from the water tank 3 . the water is then pumped through the heater 20 by the pump 18 . after the water is heated , it is routed from the flow valve 22 either to be brewed as a beverage or to be dispensed as hot water . the routing directs water to either a water line 10 c that dispenses hot water or a beverage line 10 b that dispenses the beverage . if a user desires hot water , the water simply flows from the flow valve 22 through water line 10 c into the water nozzle 30 and into a waiting cup 50 that may be located on a stand 36 . the water nozzle 30 is separate from the beverage nozzle 28 so that a user can ensure that clean water is dispensed . when a beverage is to be brewed , water flows from the flow valve 22 through the beverage line 10 b to the brewing system 40 . when a user desires to operate the appliance and brew a beverage , a command is pressed on the user interface 32 . the brewing system 40 comprises a brewing chamber 48 , at least one nozzle 28 and piercing needles 24 . a beverage capsule 26 is placed into the brewing system 40 at the brewing chamber 48 . the brewing chamber 48 is anticipated to be operable in the closed position so to access the chamber 48 , it must be opened at a brewer system door 44 . the action closing of brewing system door 44 pushes the beverage capsule 26 down to pierce onto output needle 49 at the bottom of brewing chamber 48 . this point where the output needle 49 punctures the beverage capsule 26 provides an output hole at which brewed beverage can exit the beverage capsule 26 . the brewing chamber 26 also comprises an input needle 24 located in the brewer system door 44 . this input needle 24 can pierce the top of a beverage capsule 26 creating an input hole to allow to flow into the capsule 26 from the flow valve 22 . this input needle 24 is covered by movable needle cover 46 seen in fig7 a and 7b . movable needle cover 46 is moved by actuator 70 . the brewing system door 44 has an open and closed position . the needle cover 46 covers the needle 24 when the brewing system door 44 is in the open position as seen in fig7 a . when the door 44 rotates to the closed position the actuator 70 moves the needle cover 46 into a retracted position and exposes needle 24 to pierce the beverage capsule 26 . once the beverage capsule is in place within the brewing chamber 48 , a beverage can be brewed within the brewing chamber 48 as water flows into the capsule 26 . heated water flows from the flow valve 22 , through tubing 10 , through needle 24 , into beverage capsule 26 . the beverage is brewed within the capsule 26 and flows out of the capsule 26 through the output hole into the beverage nozzle 28 . brewed beverage then flows from the beverage nozzle 28 into the cup 50 located on stand 36 . turning to fig5 a and 5b , the stand 36 folds into and out of the appliance 2 . the stand 36 is also removable as seen in fig6 . fig1 depicts a view of the appliance 2 where the stand 36 is removed and the cup 50 overhangs the appliance &# 39 ; s support surface 76 . the appliance is equipped with a safety sensor 58 . this sensor senses whether or not a user opens the brewing chamber while a hot beverage is being brewed . if the brewing system door 44 is opened while hot water or residual steam is being pumped from the flow valve 22 into the brewing system 40 , this safety sensor 58 triggers the water to stop flowing and switches the flow valve to direct the water to instead flow into the water line 10 c and out water nozzle 30 away from a user . throughout the specification and claims the word “ comprise ” and its derivatives are intended to have an inclusive rather than exclusive meaning unless the contrary is expressly stated or the context requires otherwise . that is , the word “ comprise ” and its derivatives will be taken to indicate the inclusion of not only the listed components , steps or features that it directly references , but also other components , steps or features not specifically listed , unless the contrary is expressly stated or the context requires otherwise . it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that many modifications and variations may be made to the methods of the invention described herein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention .

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