GB2455514A

GB2455514A - A kitchen appliance

Info

Publication number: GB2455514A
Application number: GB0724111A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Jukka-Pekka Mattila; Kari Wahlroos
Original assignee: MYCAFE INTERNAT PLC
Current assignee: MYCAFE INTERNAT PLC
Priority date: 2007-12-10
Filing date: 2007-12-10
Publication date: 2009-06-17
Also published as: GB0724111D0

Abstract

A kitchen appliance 10 comprising at least one light source 14 and at least one part 12 configured to transform between non-transparency and transparency depending on lighting from the at least one light source, the at least one part is visible to the users of the kitchen appliance, a visual effect element is also provided, the element being configured to provide at least one visual effect illustrative of the operation of the kitchen appliance through the at least one part when the at least one light source is illuminated. Preferably the appliance is a toaster or coffee maker. Optionally the visual effect may be provided by a computer program and provide bubbles, a swirl, a flow or the glow of a heating resistor 15.

Description

A KITCHEN APPLIANCE

The present invention relates to a kitchen appliance, and in particular to a kitchen appliance wherein at least one part thereof can be made transparent to enable visual inspection of the interior of the appliance.

A kitchen appliance is understood as being a kitchen item such as a toaster, a coffee maker or any other kitchen accessory or utensil. In addition to the basic function of assisting in preparing, for example, a breakfast or a meal, coffee and so, kitchen appliances may also have a decorative function. That is, one of the selling points of a kitchen appliance is the way it looks. Anything that adds to the visual impact and/or decorative character of a kitchen appliance may make it more desirable in the eyes of a consumer.

Typically a kitchen appliance or accessory is made from steal and/or plastic. An appliance can be provided with parts which are transparent so that the user can see through what is inside and parts which are non-transparent. An example of a transparent part is a water container of a coffee maker. The transparency may be desired so that the user can see the amount of water in the container and/or if there is any water in the container. Internal functional components such as wiring, resistors, connectors and other electrical components, water conduits and so on are typically hidden behind the non-transparent parts. The non-transparent parts may, for example have appearance of stainless steel or be painted e.g. in black, white, silver of any other colour.

There are occasions when a user might wish to inspect or for other reason see within an accessory while the internal parts should not be visible all the time.

Also, an accessory where certain parts would be non-transparent, for example giving an impression of a painted part, when not in use and transparent when in use, could add to the decorative value and give some wow factor for the accessory.

On the other hand, even if the internal parts, components and contents become visible when the device is in use, this may not offer enough excitement for the viewer. For example, in a coffee maker the user would still only see the water level lowering but nothing else. That is, even if the water container is made transparent such that the interior thereof is visible, the simple effect of the level of the water going down might not give enough wow factor.

Embodiments of the present invention aim to address one or several of the above shortcomings.

According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a kitchen appliance comprising: at least one light source; at least one part configured to transform between non-transparency and transparency depending on lighting from the at least one light source, said at least one part being visible to the users of the kitchen appliance; and a visual effect element configured to provide at least one visual effect illustrative of the operation of the kitchen appliance through the at least one part when the at least one light source is illuminated.

According to another aspect of the present invention there is provided a method for providing a visual effect in association with a kitchen appliance, the method comprising: switching on at least one light source provided to illuminate at least partially the interior of the kitchen appliance; in response the level of lighting within the interior of the kitchen exceeding a threshold, changing the appearance of at least one part of the kitchen appliance from non-transparency to transparency thereby making the illuminated interior part visible to users of the kitchen appliance; and providing at least one visual effect illustrative of the operation of the kitchen appliance and visible through the at least one part when the at least one light source is switched on.

The visual effect element may comprises at least one of a bubble generator, a swirl generator, a flow generator and a heating resistor. The visual effect element may be configured to provide an imitation of at least one of a rotating water and boiling water.

The at least one part may comprise a transparent component and a coating component, the coating component being adapted to allow visibility to the interior of the kitchen appliance only when the at least one light source is illuminated.

The kitchen appliance may comprise a switch for switching the at least one light source on. The switch may be provided by a switch for operating the kitchen appliance. The switch may also be operated separately from a switch for operating the kitchen appliance.

The kitchen appliance may comprise a delay element for delaying the start of operation of the visual effect element.

A threshold where the state of transparency changes may be set at a level where lighting inside the kitchen appliance becomes stronger than what is the lighting outside the kitchen appliance.

The embodiments of the invention may provide a kitchen appliance that provides an attractive visual effect and has added decorative value. In certain embodiments the user is enabled to follow the progress in preparing editable products, for example when toasting a bread, and to prevent overdoing or overheating the food product.

For better understanding of the present invention, reference will now be made by way of example to the accompanying drawings in which: Figures la and lb show an embodiment of the present invention; Figure 2 shows another embodiment; Figure 3 shows a cross section of a possible cover element providing transparent and non-transparent properties depending lighting conditions; Figures 4a and 4b show yet another embodiment of the present invention; and Figure 5 is a flowchart illustrating operation in accordance with of one embodiment.

Reference is first made to Figures 1 a and b showing an embodiment of the present invention. More particularly, Figure la shows a toaster 10 in accordance with an embodiment. The operation and basic components of a toaster are known, and are therefore not explained in any great detail herein. It is sufficient to note that a toaster typically has a cover part 12 of some description for enclosing the internal components of the toaster, and for preventing the user from burning him/herself. Typically on top, or in some models on the side, of the toaster there is at least one slit or opening 13 for receiving the toast. A lever 11 or other actuator arrangement is also typically provided to lower or otherwise insert the toast inside the toaster. In a typical toaster the manual lowering of the lever switches heating resistors on so as to provide the toasting effect.

In Figure Ia the toaster is not in use, i.e. not toasting anything. The cover portion 12 is in an opaque state where the internal components are not visible for the users. For example, the cover 12 may appear as silver, white, red or any other appropriate colour.

Figure lb shows the toaster 10 of this embodiment in an operational state where a piece of bread 18 has been inserted therein and the lever 11 is in its lower position. The front cover 12 of the toaster 10 is now transparent. That is, the c front cover 12 has been changed from appearing as translucent i.e. transparent from appearing opaque i.e. non-transparent, as shown in Figure la.

The transformation is caused by illumination of lights 14a and 14b provided inside the toaster. The lights can be provided by any appropriate lighting element, for example by means of a light emitting diode (LED), an appropriate lamp or any other illuminating / light emitting device.

An example for cover element providing the capability of appearing transparent and non-transparent depending on the level of lighting on the sides thereof will be described in more detail later with reference to Figure 3.

When the lights 14a and 14b have been switched on, the internal sections of the toaster 10 become visible from outside. Because of this the user can see the bread 18 toasting, and also the resistance wiring 15 typically used in toasters for heating the bread. Thus the user can now visually follow the toasting process.

The user can, for example, switch the toaster off when the bread appears to have reached a desired toasting and before it burns. Also, the visual effect provided by the glowing resistance wires and the bread becoming toasted can add to the visual attractiveness of the toaster.

The resistors alone, or the combination of the glowing resistors and toasting bread may provide a desirable visual effect. The visual effect can also be enhanced e.g. by means of appropriately coloured lights, for example LED lights, which change during the toasting cycle. For example, the toasting may starting with blue, meaning cold, and change to orange and end with red, meaning hot.

The lights 14a and b can be switched on in response to lowering the lever 11 into the toasting position. The lights would then be switched off either when the toasting process is stopped, i.e. the bread is released manually or in response to automatic stop of the toasting cycle.

According to an alternative the lights are only selectively switched on in a response to a special command by the user. For example, the toaster may be provided by a push button by means of which the lighting elements 14a and b can be illuminated for the time the button is pushed or for a predefined period following the push. The button may also provide a toggle. According to a possibility a touch sensitive sensor may be used instead of a push button or similar mechanical switch.

The lighting element(s) may even be left on even when the toaster is not in use, to provide a purely decorative element.

The lighting of the interior of the toaster can be controlled by a microprocessor or other logic, and/or various timer arrangements.

Figure 2 shows a variant of the embodiment of Figure 1. In Figure 2 embodiment only a portion 17 of the front cover 12 is provided by material or component which can transform between non-transparent and transparent states in response to switching on a lighting element inside the toaster. The advantage of the arrangement of Figure 2 is that any such component of the toaster that is considered as not being desirable to be seen can be hidden behind the non-transparent portions 16 of the cover 12 and only the desired and visible attractive parts of the interior of the toaster can be made visible.

In accordance with an embodiment the Figure 2 toaster looks exactly like that of Figure la when the internal lights are not switched on, i.e. the user cannot see the difference between the sections 17 and 16 on the cover.

According to an embodiment the areas look different even when the lighting elements are not switched on while neither the area 16 nor area 17 is transparent.

Figure 3 shows a cross section of an element that is configured to transform between non-transparent i.e. opaque and transparent states in response to appropriate light from a light source 14. In this embodiment transparent material 31, for example a glass plate or other transparent substrate, is coated with coating material 32 providing either non-transparent or transparent properties depending on the light coming from the light source. The transparent substrate may comprise, for example glass, cast glass or transparent plastic.

The coating material 32 can be selected such that it allows transparency whenever the lighting is brighter on the side of the light source 14 than on the side of the viewer 33.

The threshold for becoming translucent can be when the strength or level of lighting inside the appliance becomes the same or higher than is the strength of lighting outside the appliance. The level of lighting can be expressed by means of a luminance factor. In response to exceeding the threshold the interior of the kitchen accessory becomes visible. Appropriate substrates and coating materials as such are commercially available.

The element may also be provided with properties that only allow transparency when enough light of a predefined wavelength or predefined range of wavelengths is provided. This can be provided based on optical technologies such as diffraction and/or refraction.

Because of this phenomenon switching on a light positioned within the accessory and adapted to produce enough luminance inside, for example, a toaster the interior thereof becomes visible.

The heating resistance wires 15 of Figures 1 or 2 may be selected such that they do not produce enough luminance to make the part 17 transparent, and therefore in such case the toaster 10 would look like a normal toaster, unless the lighting elements are switched on. According to a possibility the heating resistors of the toaster are selected such that enough light is produced to make the cover transparent.

Figures 4a and 4b show a further embodiment of the invention. More particularly, Figure 4a shows a coffee maker 20 comprising a water container 22. In Figure 4a the coffee maker 20 is in state where the interior of the water container 22 is not visible. Figure 4b shows a situation when the user has switched the coffee maker 20 on by actuating a switch 21. One or more light sources 24 inside the water container 22 are illuminated in response to the actuation of the switch 21 and therefore part 26 of the water container 22 becomes transparent.

The water may not be heated within the container 22. Instead, a conventional heating tube arrangement 27 connected to the bottom of the water container and on top of a coffee filter at the other end may be used. The heating pipe 27 may be hidden away from the viewer behind a non-transparent portion 23 of the coffee maker 20.

The light source 24 can be a LED light pipe that is formed to imitate a water heating resistor. This can be provided to give an impression that the water is heated by a resistor within the water container. Thus, although in reality the water is directed through and heated in the pipe 27 in conventional manner, the viewer sees a glowing element 24 that looks like a heating resistor and thus gets the impression that the water is heated by the resistor in the container 22.

The coffee maker can further comprise a bubble generator 25. The bubble generator 25 van also be made responsive to the switch 21. The bubble generator can be switched is on either immediately after illumination of the light source 24 or after a small delay. The delay can be provided by means of appropriate timer arrangement, such as a delay component. The bubble generator 25 generates bubbles 26 to the water in the container 22 thus creating an impression of boiling water.

Q

Because the generator is located below the illuminating element 24 imitating a resistor, the user gets an impression of a heating resistor in operation making the water boil. In reality, the water can be heated in the conventional way by means of the heating pipe 27. Because of the delay, the heating operation looks even more realistic.

Instead of or in addition to the bubble generator other types of effect creation means could be provided to provide the illusion of animated water. For example, a flow or swirl of water could be generated to make the boiling operation look more realistic or even dramatic. Also, various effects can be provided into the water based on pumps and so on. The operation of the effect generating means may be controlled by an appropriate circuit logic or microprocessor.

In explained in the context of the toasters, the visual effect can also be enhanced by means of appropriately coloured lights, for example LED lights, which change during the coffee making cycle. For example, at the beginning the lighting may be with blue, then change to orange and the cycle may end with red lighting.

Figure 5 shows a flow chart in accordance with an embodiment. In the beginning the user switches on the kitchen accessory or appliance, for example a coffee maker. A light source provided within the kitchen appliance may then be switched on either as direct response to the switching of the kitchen appliance on or after a delay to switching the kitchen appliance on or by means of a separate switch. The interior, or at least a part thereof, of the kitchen appliance is then illuminated by the at least one light source, see step 100. In response to the illumination, if the luminance value of the light generated within the kitchen appliance is greater than the luminance value of outside the kitchen appliance, at least a part of the kitchen appliance becomes transparent. For example, in the above example the water container of the coffee maker can be made transparent. This is illustrated by step 102 in Figure 5. At step 104 a visual effect illustrative of the operation of the appliance is provided. For example, bubbles or flows may be introduced into the water in the container to provide an illusion of boiling water. Because at least a part of the container wall is now transparent, the user can see this as water boiling in the container at step 106 as long as the at least one light source is illuminated.

The lighting arrangement and/or state of transparency of the at least one part can be controlled, for example switched on and off, by an appropriate data processing arrangement, for example a processor chip or a logic circuit. An appropriately adapted computer program code product may be used controlling various controllable entities, when loaded to a computing device such as a processor. The required data processing functions may be provided by means of one or more data processor entities. All required processing may be provided in a controller, such as a controller 29 of Figure 4b. Appropriately adapted computer program code product may be used for implementing the embodiments, when loaded to a computer, for example for computations required when monitoring if switching or and/or off at least light is required. The program code product for providing the operation may be stored on and provided by means of a carrier medium such as a carrier disc, card or tape. A possibility is to download the program code product via a data network.

Implementation may be provided with appropriate software in a server.

It should be appreciated that whilst embodiments of the present invention have been described in relation to accessories such as toasters and coffee makers, embodiments of the present invention are applicable to any other suitable type of kitchen accessories.

It is also noted herein that while the above describes exemplifying embodiments of the invention, there are several variations and modifications which may be made to the disclosed solution without departing from the scope of the present invention as defined in the appended claims. A KITCHEN APPLIANCE

Q

Implementation may be provided with appropriate software in a server.

It is also noted herein that while the above describes exemplifying embodiments of the invention, there are several variations and modifications which may be made to the disclosed solution without departing from the scope of the present invention as defined in the appended claims.

Claims

Claims 1. A kitchen appliance comprising: at least one light source; at least one part configured to transform between non- transparency and transparency depending on lighting from the at least one light source, said at least one part being visible to the users of the kitchen appliance; and a visual effect element configured to provide at least one visual effect illustrative of the operation of the kitchen appliance through the at least one part when the at least one light source is illuminated.
2. A kitchen appliance as claimed in claim 1, wherein the visual effect element comprises at least one of a bubble generator, a swirl generator, a flow generator and a heating resistor.
3. A kitchen appliance as claimed in claim 2, wherein the visual effect element is configured to provide an imitation of at least one of a rotating water and boiling water.
4. A kitchen appliance as claimed in claim 1, comprising a toaster.
5. A kitchen appliance as claimed in claim 4, wherein the at least one part is configured to enclose at least a portion of a side of the toaster such that the internal components are visible when the light source is illuminated.
6. A kitchen appliance as claimed in claim 4 or 5, configured to show the progress in toasting when the light source is illuminated.
7. A kitchen appliance as claimed in any of claims I to 3, comprising a coffee maker.
8. A kitchen appliance as claimed in claim 4, wherein the at least one part is configured to enclose at least a part of a water container.
9. A kitchen appliance as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the at least one part comprises a transparent component and a coating component, the coating component being adapted to allow visibility to the interior of the kitchen appliance only when the at least one light source is illuminated.
10. A kitchen appliance as claimed in any preceding claim, comprising a switch for switching the at least one light source on.
11. A kitchen appliance as claimed in claim 10, wherein the switch is provided by a switch for operating the kitchen appliance.
12. A kitchen appliance as claimed in claim 10 or 11, comprising a delay element for delaying the start of operation of the visual effect element.
13. A kitchen appliance as claimed in claim 10, wherein the switch is operated separately from a switch for operating the kitchen appliance.
14. A kitchen appliance as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the at least one part comprises at least one of glass, cast glass and transparent plastic.
15. A method for providing a visual effect in association with a kitchen appliance, the method comprising: switching on at least one light source provided to illuminate at least partially the interior of the kitchen appliance; in response the level of lighting within the interior of the kitchen exceeding a threshold, changing the appearance of at least one part of the kitchen appliance from non-transparency to transparency thereby making the illuminated interior part visible to users of the kitchen appliance; and providing at least one visual effect illustrative of the operation of the kitchen appliance and visible through the at least one part when the at least one light source is switched on.
16. A method as claimed in claim 15, wherein the providing at least one visual effect comprises providing at least one of bubbles, a swirl, a flow, and a glow of a heating resistor.
17. A method as claimed in claim 15 or 16, wherein the switching comprises switching the at least one light source on in response to an event.
18. A method as claimed in claim 17, wherein the event comprises at least one of switching he kitchen appliance on, switching the at least one light source on independently from switching the kitchen appliance, expiry of a timer function, and start or a step in an operation cycle.
19. A method as claimed in any of claims 15 to 18, wherein the threshold is the level where the lighting inside the kitchen appliance becomes stronger than is the lighting outside the kitchen appliance.
20. A computer program comprising program code means adapted to cause the steps of any of claims 16 to 19 when the program is run on a processor.
21. A kitchen appliance constructed and arranged substantially as described with reference to and as shown in the accompanying drawings.

21. A kitchen appliance constructed and arranged substantially as described with reference to and as shown in the accompanying drawings.

Claims 1. A kitchen appliance comprising: at least one light source; at least one part configured to transform between non- transparency and transparency depending on lighting from the at least one light source, said at least one part being visible to the users of the kitchen appliance; and a visual effect element configured to provide at least one visual effect illustrative of the operation of the kitchen appliance through the at least one part when the at least one light source is illuminated.

2. A kitchen appliance as claimed in claim 1, wherein the visual effect element comprises at least one of a bubble generator, a swirl generator, a flow generator and a heating resistor.

3. A kitchen appliance as claimed in claim 2, wherein the visual effect element is configured to provide an imitation of at least one of a rotating water and boiling water.

4. A kitchen appliance as claimed in claim 1, comprising a toaster.

5. A kitchen appliance as claimed in claim 4, wherein the at least one part is configured to enclose at least a portion of a side of the toaster such that the internal components are visible when the light source is illuminated.

6. A kitchen appliance as claimed in claim 4 or 5, configured to show the progress in toasting when the light source is illuminated.

7. A kitchen appliance as claimed in any of claims I to 3, comprising a coffee maker.

8. A kitchen appliance as claimed in claim 4, wherein the at least one part is configured to enclose at least a part of a water container.

9. A kitchen appliance as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the at least one part comprises a transparent component and a coating component, the coating component being adapted to allow visibility to the interior of the kitchen appliance only when the at least one light source is illuminated.

10. A kitchen appliance as claimed in any preceding claim, comprising a switch for switching the at least one light source on.

11. A kitchen appliance as claimed in claim 10, wherein the switch is provided by a switch for operating the kitchen appliance.

12. A kitchen appliance as claimed in claim 10 or 11, comprising a delay element for delaying the start of operation of the visual effect element.

13. A kitchen appliance as claimed in claim 10, wherein the switch is operated separately from a switch for operating the kitchen appliance.

14. A kitchen appliance as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the at least one part comprises at least one of glass, cast glass and transparent plastic.

15. A method for providing a visual effect in association with a kitchen appliance, the method comprising: switching on at least one light source provided to illuminate at least partially the interior of the kitchen appliance; in response the level of lighting within the interior of the kitchen exceeding a threshold, changing the appearance of at least one part of the kitchen appliance from non-transparency to transparency thereby making the illuminated interior part visible to users of the kitchen appliance; and providing at least one visual effect illustrative of the operation of the kitchen appliance and visible through the at least one part when the at least one light source is switched on.

16. A method as claimed in claim 15, wherein the providing at least one visual effect comprises providing at least one of bubbles, a swirl, a flow, and a glow of a heating resistor.

17. A method as claimed in claim 15 or 16, wherein the switching comprises switching the at least one light source on in response to an event.

18. A method as claimed in claim 17, wherein the event comprises at least one of switching he kitchen appliance on, switching the at least one light source on independently from switching the kitchen appliance, expiry of a timer function, and start or a step in an operation cycle.

19. A method as claimed in any of claims 15 to 18, wherein the threshold is the level where the lighting inside the kitchen appliance becomes stronger than is the lighting outside the kitchen appliance.

20. A computer program comprising program code means adapted to cause the steps of any of claims 16 to 19 when the program is run on a processor.