GB2579103A

GB2579103A - Gesture-Controlled liquid heating appliances and method for the gesture-control thereof

Info

Publication number: GB2579103A
Application number: GB1900502.4A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Chu Barry
Original assignee: Strix Guangzhou Ltd; Strix Ltd
Current assignee: Strix Guangzhou Ltd; Strix Ltd
Priority date: 2018-11-15
Filing date: 2019-01-14
Publication date: 2020-06-10
Also published as: GB201900502D0; CN111184437A

Abstract

A gesture controlled liquid heating appliance 100 comprises a gesture sensor 106, heating element 104, power supply circuit for the heating element and a microcontroller that controls the power supply circuit. The gesture sensor senses motion, determines a recognized gesture corresponding to the sensed motion and provides a signal corresponding to the recognized gesture to the microcontroller. The microcontroller receives the signal corresponding to the recognised gesture from the gesture sensor, identifies a command associated with the recognized gesture and regulates power supplied to the heating element according to the command. The appliance may be a cordless kettle and the gesture sensor and/or microcontroller may be in a base stand 110 or handle of the kettle. The appliance may be a heated liquid dispenser comprising a pump and flow heater, wherein the heating element heats liquid pumped through the flow heater and the microcontroller controls the pump to stop or change flow rate through the flow heater. The command may be increasing, decreasing or maintaining the temperature of the liquid. The gesture may be the movement of hands upward, downward, left, right or in the shape of an arc.

Description

Gesture-Controlled Liquid Heating Appliances and Method for the Gesture-Control thereof

Technical Field

The present invention relates to liquid heating appliances and in particular to a mechanism for assisting human control of a liquid heating appliance.

Background

Liquid heating appliances such as kettles or instant hot water dispensers are in widespread use today. These appliances are popularly used to heat or boil water by means of a heating element connected to an electrical power supply. Kettles are countertop appliances that generally avoid the need to heat water in a utensil such as a saucepan and may be cordless or corded. Hot water dispensers may also be a countertop appliance or else connected in-line with the mains water supply.

Cordless kettles comprise a receptacle for holding liquid and the receptacle is capable of being coupled to a separate base stand. The base stand may be connected to a power supply. The base stand may provide an electrical current to a heating element immersed in the receptacle or heating a base of the receptacle. Cordless kettles have the advantage that once the liquid has been heated to the required degree, the receptacle of a cordless kettle may be decoupled from the base stand and moved to a location remote from the base stand. For example, the cordless kettle may be moved from a kitchen area to a dining area and used to make beverages such as tea or coffee.

Corded kettles do not include a separate base stand and the electrical current is provided directly to the heating element rather than via a base stand. Corded kettles do not have the advantage of independent transportability of the receptacle from the base stand. To serve the heated water, a corded kettle will either need to be unplugged from the power supply or a mug (for example) for receiving the heated water will need to be brought into proximity with the kettle. However, corded kettles are still in wide use as they are generally cheaper than cordless kettles. -2 -

Instant hot water dispensers, in contrast with kettles, are designed to provide smaller quantities of liquid quickly. Rather than apply a heating element to a receptacle containing standing water, a heating element is applied to a conduit containing flowing water. This arrangement is often called a "flow heater". A pump controls the flow of water. By controlling the water flow rate, the temperature to which the water is heated may be controlled. By controlling the length of time for which the pump delivers water, a volume of liquid that is heated may also be controlled. Further structural detail of some exemplary flow heaters is provided in W02011/077135 and W02013/057506, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

Traditionally, humans control liquid heating appliances such as kettles or instant hot water dispensers by means of physical contact mechanisms that use switches, knobs or buttons. A user may need to physically touch and flip a toggle switch in order to turn the appliance on. He may need to physically contact and rotate a knob that could have several predetermined settings to select a temperature to which the user desires the liquid to be heated. He may touch a button in order to cause the appliance to keep any liquid within the appliance at a constant temperature. In the case of instant hot water dispensers, the user may be required to physically touch and rotate a knob in order to select the volume of water he wishes to heat.

However, such schemes, wherein user control is effected by means of mechanisms that require physical contact with a human hand, have drawbacks. They require the human user to be relatively proximate, that is, within hand's reach, of the appliance.

If the user were further away, for example, at the other side of the room, he would not be able to control the appliance.

Further, physical contact control mechanisms are limited in the number of potential forms an input may take. For example, a button may be pressed or not pressed. A knob may be in a limited number of angular positions, each position signifying a particular user input, the number of possible inputs being generally limited by the physical space available for the knob on the appliance. -3 -

Also, physical contact control mechanisms require a certain degree of human effort that a user may not wish to expend. It would be desirable to avoid the labour involved in physically contacting control features on an appliance.

In addition, physical contact control mechanisms are not hygienic. Germs from one human may be passed to another human if both humans physically contact the same button on a kettle, for example.

Physical or mechanical contact control mechanisms are also prone to wear and tear. Over the passage of time, such controls may become stiff, hard to use, or physically damaged. Also, such contact-based control mechanisms require the user to actually touch a part of the kitchen appliance. In the case of kettles or instant hot water dispensers, this may require the user to touch a part of the appliance that is hot or exposed to vented steam. This may lead to injury by burning or scalding.

The Applicant has recognised that if a liquid heating appliance could be controlled by a human without physical contact by the human, the above disadvantages of physical contact may be avoided.

Summary of the invention

When viewed from a first aspect, the present invention provides a gesture-controlled liquid heating appliance comprising: a gesture sensor; a heating element; a power supply circuit for the heating element; and a microcontroller unit arranged to control the power supply circuit; wherein: the gesture sensor is configured to: sense motion; determine a recognised gesture corresponding to the sensed motion; and provide to the microcontroller unit a signal corresponding to said recognised gesture; -4 -and the microcontroller unit is configured to: receive the signal corresponding to the recognised gesture from the gesture sensor; identify a command associated with the recognised gesture; and regulate power supplied to the heating element by controlling the power supply circuit according to said command.

The first aspect of the invention extends to a method for gesture-control of a liquid heating appliance, said method comprising: sensing motion proximate to the liquid heating appliance; determining a recognised gesture corresponding to the sensed motion; identifying a command associated with the recognised gesture; and regulating a power supply to a heating element of the liquid heating appliance according to said command.

Thus, it will be seen by those skilled in the art that the liquid heating appliance of the present invention can advantageously be controlled by means of gestures such as those made by a human hand. Gesture control avoids the need to be proximate to an appliance to control the appliance; reduces human effort, is more hygienic, lessens wear and tear, and is safer to use than conventional contact-controlled appliances.

In some embodiments, the appliance is a kettle. In a subset of embodiments, the appliance is a cordless kettle. The cordless kettle may comprise a liquid receptacle and a base stand that can be coupled with the liquid receptacle. The base stand may be connectable to an external power supply, and may incorporate the gesture sensor and/or the microcontroller unit. In a further subset of embodiments, the appliance is a corded kettle. The corded kettle may comprise a body that incorporates the gesture sensor and/or the microcontroller unit. In embodiments wherein the appliance is a kettle, the appliance may include a handle, and the gesture sensor and/or the microcontroller unit may be located in the handle.

Thus, the key components of the present invention, the gesture sensor and the microcontroller unit, may, without limitation, be either located in the base stand (if -5 -there is one) of the kettle, or in the handle of the kettle, or elsewhere in a body of the kettle.

In alternative embodiments, the appliance is a heated liquid dispenser comprising a pump and a flow heater. The heating element may be configured to heat flowing liquid driven by the pump through the flow heater. The microcontroller unit may be configured to control the pump to (i) stop flow of liquid through the flow heater; and/or (ii) change a liquid flow rate through the flow heater. In addition, or alternatively, the microcontroller unit may be configured to control the heating element, e.g. to stop heating and/or to adjust the heating power.

Although examples of a cordless kettle, a corded kettle and a heated liquid dispenser have been put forth, a skilled person will realise that the principles of the present invention may be applied to any liquid heating appliance for heating comestible liquid, including (but not limited to): water, milk and beverages such as tea or coffee.

In a set of embodiments, some of the commands that the human user may issue to the liquid heating appliance via gestures may be to (i) increase the desired temperature of the liquid; (ii) decrease the desired temperature of the liquid or (iii) maintain the temperature of the liquid at a desired level. In embodiments wherein the liquid heating appliance is a heated liquid dispenser, the command may be to set a desired volume of liquid to be heated by the flow heater, in addition or alternatively.

Some examples of gestures that are performable by one or more human hands and which may be detectable by the gesture sensor include: upward movement; downward movement; movement towards the left; movement towards the right; and movement in the shape of an arc. In some embodiments movement of only one hand is sensed. In an overlapping set of embodiments, movement of two hands may be sensed.

The gesture sensor and microcontroller unit may have functional components to achieve the recognition of gestures and the inferring of issued commands. In particular, the gesture sensor may comprise a motion sensor and a gesture -6 -database. The gesture sensor may be configured to determine said recognised gesture by comparing the sensed motion to stored gestures in the gesture database. The microcontroller unit may comprise a command database and the microcontroller unit may be configured to identify said command by means of the command database. Each stored gesture may be associated with at least one stored command in the command database.

In some embodiments, the appliance comprises an audio/visual output for the liquid heating appliance. The audio/visual output may provide information to a user. In a subset of embodiments, the audio/visual output may be a Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) for displaying one or more of (i) a desired temperature of the liquid; and (ii) an actual temperature of the liquid. At least in embodiments wherein the liquid heating appliance is a heated liquid dispenser, the LCD may optionally display a desired volume of liquid to be heated. Furthermore, in one or more potentially overlapping embodiments, the LCD may optionally display status information, for example, relating to a heating mode, or a heating time, and/or confirming an operational status of the appliance

Brief description of Drawings

Certain preferred embodiments of the invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Fig. 1A shows a side view of a cordless kettle with a base stand comprising a gesture sensor in accordance with a first embodiment of the present invention; Fig. 1B shows a plan view of the cordless kettle shown in Fig. 1A; Fig. 1C shows a side view of the base stand of the cordless kettle shown in Fig. 1A.

Fig. 1D shows a plan view of the base stand shown in Fig. 1C.

Fig. 2A shows a side view of a corded kettle comprising a gesture sensor in accordance with a second embodiment of the present invention; Fig. 2B shows a plan view of the corded kettle shown in Fig. 2A; Fig. 3 shows a schematic diagram of an instant hot water dispenser with a gesture sensor in accordance with a third embodiment of the present invention; Figs. 4A-4F illustrate different kinds of gestures that may be used to control a liquid heating appliance; -7 -Fig. 5 is a block diagram showing various components of the gesture-controlled liquid heating appliance in accordance with some embodiments; and Fig. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a method of controlling a liquid heating appliance by means of human hand gestures.

Detailed description

Fig. 1A illustrates a cordless kettle 100 controllable by human hand gestures, in accordance with a first embodiment of the present invention. The cordless kettle 100 comprises a receptacle 102 to receive comestible liquid such as water. A heating element 104 is located in a cavity just below the receptacle 102, in order to heat the water. In other embodiments, the heating element 104 may be located within the receptacle 102.

The cordless kettle 100 further comprises a base stand 110 that is capable of being coupled and decoupled with the receptacle 102. The base stand 110 receives electrical power from a cord 112 that may be connected to a power supply (not shown). When the base stand 110 is coupled with the receptacle 102, the base stand 110 is capable of transmitting electrical power from the power supply to the heating element 104. The base stand 110 may be coupled with the receptacle 102 by means of a cordless electrical connector 114 (shown in Figs. 1C and 1D). The cordless electrical connector 114 may be configured to provide electrical power from the base stand 110 to the heating element 104 of the receptacle 102. Once the water is heated, the receptacle 102 can be removed from the base stand 110 and moved to a location remote from the base stand 110; for example, the receptacle 102 may be moved away from the base stand 110 located in a kitchen area to a dining area for using the water to make beverages such as tea or coffee.

The base stand 110 further comprises a gesture sensor 106 for sensing human hand gestures. Some examples of such gestures are illustrated in Fig. 4A-4F. Fig. 4A shows upward movement of a hand. Fig. 4B shows downward movement. Fig. 4C shows movement to the left. Fig. 4D shows movement to the right. Fig. 4E shows movement in the shape of an arc. Fig. 4F shows two hands moving, each in the shape of an arc. It is to be understood that the hand gesture examples -8 -illustrated in Figs. 4A-4F are not exhaustive and other kinds of recognisable gestures would be readily known or apparent to the skilled person in the art.

The gesture sensor 106 is capable of sensing a gesture and categorising a gesture.

Each category of gesture may be associated with a unique command. As an example, a first command may be a command to start boiling water and a second command may be a command to stop boiling water. An upward movement of a hand may correspond to the first command while a downward movement of a hand may correspond to the second command.

When the cordless kettle 100 is connected to the power supply, the gesture sensor 106 may be active. Staying with the present example, if a human being approaches the cordless kettle 100 and waves his hand upwards, the gesture sensor 106 categorizes the gesture and determines that a command to start boiling water has been made. The gesture sensor 106 then sends an appropriate signal to a microcontroller unit (not shown in Figs. 1A-1D) embedded in the base stand 110 of the cordless kettle 100. The microcontroller unit then regulates the power supplied to the heating element 104 in order to carry out the command. In this case, as the command is to start boiling the water, the microcontroller unit regulates the power supply so that the heating element 104 is provided with a maximum power.

The commands to start boiling water or to stop boiling water are merely examples and there is no limit to the number of types of commands that the gesture sensor 106 is capable of sensing, or that the microcontroller unit is capable of implementing. For example, a temperature set command may be made to either increase the desired temperature of the liquid or to decrease the desired temperature of the liquid. In this case, rather than either commanding boiled water or commanding the cordless kettle 100 to not heat the water, finer control of the temperature of the water is possible. Once receiving a temperature set command, if the microcontroller unit senses that the water is below the desired temperature, it would energise the heating element 104 to heat the liquid; if on the other hand the microcontroller unit senses that the water is above the desired temperature, it will de-energise the heating element 104. -9 -

A further command that may be issued to the cordless kettle 100 by means of the gesture sensor 106 and the microcontroller unit may be to maintain the temperature of any liquid in the receptacle 102 at a desired level. When this command is issued, the microcontroller unit may alternatingly energise and de-energise the heating element 104. The microcontroller unit may energise the heating element 104 when the temperature of the liquid falls below the desired level. The microcontroller unit may de-energise the heating element 104 when the temperature of the liquid rises above the desired level. In this way, the microcontroller unit can maintain the temperature of the liquid at the desired level.

Such a "keep warm" operation is well known in the art.

The base stand 110 illustrated in Figs. 1A-1D may also comprise an audio/visual output 108. In some embodiments, the audio/visual output 108 may be an LCD display. In an overlapping set of embodiments, the audio/visual output 108 may be a loudspeaker. The LCD display or loudspeaker may provide information to the human user such as the current temperature of the liquid, or the desired temperature of the liquid, or an operational state of the cordless kettle 100.

Thus, the cordless kettle 100 of the first embodiment shown in Figs. 1A-1D is capable of sensing a gesture by a human hand and subsequently determining a command associated with the gesture. A microcontroller unit then regulates the power supplied to the heating element 104 in order to carry out the command In this way, a gesture-controlled kettle is provided in accordance with the first embodiment.

Fig. 2A and Fig. 2B illustrate a corded kettle 200 controllable by human hand gestures, in accordance with a second embodiment of the present invention. The corded kettle 200 comprises a receptacle 202 to receive comestible liquid such as water. A heating element 204 is located in a cavity just below the receptacle 202, in order to heat the water. In other embodiments, the heating element 204 may be immersed within the receptacle 202.

In the second embodiment, the corded kettle 200 does not comprise a base stand. The heating element 204 is directly connected to power supply via a cord 212.

Without a base stand, the receptacle 202 of the corded kettle 200 cannot be -10 -transported away from the power supply as long as the cord 212 is plugged in to the power supply, meaning that the heated water may need to be served whilst the corded kettle 200 remains proximate to the power supply.

The corded kettle 200 of the second embodiment also comprises a gesture sensor 206 for sensing human hand gestures as described above in relation to gesture sensor 106 of the first embodiment, the description of which also applies to gesture sensor 206. However, in this embodiment, the gesture sensor 206 is located on or embedded in a handle 214 of the corded kettle 200, rather than in a base stand as in the case of the cordless kettle 100.

In the second embodiment, instead of locating the audio/visual output 108 in the base stand 110 as in the first embodiment, the audio/visual output 208 is located on or embedded in the handle 214. The description above of the audio/visual output 108 of the first embodiment also applies to the second embodiment.

Thus, the corded kettle 200 of the second embodiment as shown in Figs. 2A-2B is largely the same as the cordless kettle 100 of the first embodiment, except that the corded kettle 200 of the second embodiment does not have a base stand and the gesture sensor 206 and audio/visual output 208 of the corded kettle 200 are located on or embedded in the handle 214.

It is to be understood that the first and second embodiments are not limiting, and the invention comprehends cordless kettles which incorporate one or more of the gesture sensor and audio/visual output in the kettle handle.

Fig. 3 schematically illustrates an instant hot water dispenser 300 controllable by human hand gestures, in accordance with a third embodiment of the present invention. In contrast with a kettle that heats standing water, the instant hot water dispenser 300 heats water or liquid flowing through a conduit. The rate of flow of water and the volume of water heated are controllable. As discussed above, such devices for heating flowing liquid are termed "flow heaters".

The instant hot water dispenser 300 of Fig. 3 comprises a tank 302 containing water to be heated. A conduit or pipe 324 transports the water from the tank 302 to a dispensing outlet 326, shown here above a hand-held receptacle, such as mug 350. A pump 322 is located between the tank 302 and the dispensing outlet 326 of the conduit 324. The pump 322 is configured to be able to (i) stop or start the flow of water between the tank 302 and the dispensing outlet 326; and/or (ii) increase or decrease the rate of flow of water within the conduit 324 between the tank 302 and the dispensing outlet 326 A heating element 304 is arranged in good thermal contact with the conduit 324.

Upon supply of electric power from a power supply (not shown), the heating element 304 may heat water flowing within the conduit 324. In use, a human user may specify a volume of water to be heated up, and the temperature to which he desires the water to be heated.

The instant hot water dispenser 300 includes a microcontroller unit (MCU) 320 that is configured to control the pump 322. The MCU 320 may control the volume of liquid dispensed at the outlet 326 into the mug 350 by controlling the pump 322. In particular, the MCU 320 may control the pump 322 to start the flow of water. When a desired amount of water has been dispensed, the MCU 320 controls the pump 322 to stop the flow of water.

In order to change the temperature to which the water is heated, the MCU 320 may control the pump 322 in order to set the rate of flow of water in the conduit 324. The faster the water flows in the conduit 324, the less time the water spends adjacent the heating element 304. Thus, faster flow means that the water has less time to be heated up, reducing the temperature to which the water is heated.

Conversely, the slower the water flows in the conduit 324, the more time the water spends adjacent the heating element 304. Thus, slower flow means that the water has more time to be heated up, increasing the temperature to which the water is heated.

The MCU 320 may also control the power supplied to the heating element 304 in order to adjust the temperature to which the water in the conduit 324 is heated. To do this, the MCU 320 may switch the power to the heating element 304 on or off, or may reduce or increase the voltage supplied to the heating element 304 to reduce or increase the temperature to which it is heated.

-12 -The instant hot water dispenser 300 further comprises a gesture sensor 306 for sensing human hand gestures. Some examples of such gestures are illustrated in Fig. 4A-4F which have been described above. The gesture sensor 306 works in the same way as the gesture sensor 106 or 206 described above in relation to Figs. 1A- 1D and Figs. 2A-29.

As in the first and second embodiments, the gesture sensor 306 of the third embodiment is capable of categorising sensed gestures. Each category of gesture may be associated with a unique command. As an example, a first command may be a command to increase the quantity of desired hot water, and a second command may be a command to decrease the quantity of desired hot water. An upward movement of a hand may correspond to the first command while a downward movement of a hand may correspond to the second command.

Embodiments wherein the appliance is a kettle may not have commands for setting the quantity of hot water to be heated. This is because, in kettles, the volume of heated water is usually controlled manually by a human user pouring water into the kettle receptacle.

Staying with the present example, if a human being approaches the instant hot water dispenser 300 and waves his hand upwards, the gesture sensor 306 categorizes the gesture as an upward movement of a hand. The gesture sensor 306 then sends an appropriate signal to the MCU 320, the signal representing the category of the sensed gesture. The MCU 320 then determines that the command associated with the upward movement gesture is to increase the quantity of desired water. The MCU 320 then controls the pump 322 and the heating element 304 so that the desired amount of water is dispensed into the mug 350 at the desired temperature.

Thus, for example, a gesture may correspond to commands to (i) fill a mug 350 to the brim (the MCU 320 may be programmed to fill a typical mug with about 300m1 of water) (ii) start dispensing water or OD stop dispensing water. If a gesture to fill a mug is made, a single gesture can cause the instant hot water dispenser 300 to fill -13 -a mug to the brim. If a gesture to start dispensing is made, a different gesture will need to be made to cause the instant hot water dispenser 300 to stop dispensing.

As in previous embodiments, there is no limit to the number of gesture types that the gesture sensor can sense and categorise, and there is no limit to the number of command types associated with each gesture type which the MCU can execute The instant hot water dispenser 300 may also have an LCD display 308 which may, for example, display the current desired water temperature and the current actual water temperature, as in previous embodiments, or which may display a desired dispense volume, or an operational status. In general, the instant hot water dispenser 300 may be equipped with any number of audio/visual output components (such as, for example, a loudspeaker) to communicate with a human user.

Thus, the third embodiment comprises an instant hot water dispenser 300 that may be controlled by human hand gestures.

The cordless kettle 100 of the first embodiment, the corded kettle 200 of the second embodiment, and the instant hot water dispenser 300 of the third embodiment are merely examples. The appliance of the present invention may be any appliance capable of heating any liquid, for example, comestible liquid.

Fig. 5 illustrates the structure of a general gesture-controlled liquid heating appliance in accordance with embodiments of the present invention. Fig. 6 shows a flowchart of a general method of controlling a liquid heating appliance by means of gestures. These two figures will now be described together.

The liquid heating appliance 500 comprises a gesture sensor 502 that includes a motion sensor 504 and a gesture database 506. The liquid heating appliance 500 further comprises an MCU 510 connected to an output 508 of the gesture sensor 502, and wherein the MCU 510 includes a command database 512. The MCU 510 is configured to control a heating element power supply circuit 514 and an audio/visual output 516.

-14 -In use, the gesture sensor 502 monitors (step 602 of Fig. 6) for movement proximate to the appliance 500 by means of the motion sensor 504. When motion is sensed (step 604), the gesture sensor 502 compares (step 606) the sensed motion to a library of stored gestures in gesture database 506. If the sensed motion corresponds to one of the pre-recorded gestures, the gesture sensor 502 recognises (step 608) that a particular gesture has been made. The gesture sensor 502 then outputs a signal to the MCU corresponding to the gesture that has been recognised.

The MCU 510 receives the signal from the gesture sensor 502 and compares (step 610) the recognised gesture to a library of commands in command database 512. If the recognised gesture corresponds to one of the commands in the database, the MCU identifies (step 612) a particular command that has been made. The MCU 510 then controls (step 614) the heating element power supply circuit 514 and/or the audio/visual output 516 accordingly.

Thus, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that embodiments of the present invention provide a liquid heating appliance that may be controlled by human hand gestures. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the specific embodiments described herein are merely exemplary and that many variants within the scope of the invention are envisaged.

Claims

-15 -CLAIMSA gesture-controlled liquid heating appliance comprising: a gesture sensor; a heating element; a power supply circuit for the heating element; and a microcontroller unit arranged to control the power supply circuit; wherein: the gesture sensor is configured to: sense motion; determine a recognised gesture corresponding to the sensed motion; and provide to the microcontroller unit a signal corresponding to said recognised gesture; and the microcontroller unit is configured to: receive the signal corresponding to the recognised gesture from the gesture sensor; identify a command associated with the recognised gesture; and regulate power supplied to the heating element by controlling the power supply circuit according to said command.
2. The appliance of claim 1 wherein said appliance is a kettle.
3. The appliance of claim 2 wherein the kettle is a cordless kettle which comprises: a liquid receptacle; and a base stand that can be coupled with the liquid receptacle; wherein said base stand is connectable to an external power supply; and the gesture sensor and/or the microcontroller unit is/are located in the base stand.
The appliance of claim 2 or 3 wherein the kettle includes a handle, wherein: the gesture sensor and/or the microcontroller unit is/are located in the handle.
-16 - 5. The appliance of claim 1 wherein said appliance is a heated liquid dispenser comprising a pump and a flow heater wherein: the heating element is configured to heat flowing liquid driven by the pump through the flow heater; and the microcontroller unit is configured to control the pump to: (i) stop flow of liquid through the flow heater; and/or (ii) change a liquid flow rate through the flow heater.
6. The appliance of any one of claims 1-3 and 5 wherein said command is one or more of: increasing the desired temperature of the liquid; decreasing the desired temperature of the liquid; and maintaining the temperature of the liquid at a desired level.
7. The appliance of claim 5 wherein said command comprises setting a desired volume of liquid to be heated by the flow heater.
8. The appliance of any one of claims 1-3 and 5 wherein said gesture sensor is configured to sense one or more of the following gestures performable by one or more human hands: upward movement; downward movement; movement towards the left; movement towards the right; and movement in the shape of an arc.
9. The appliance of any one of claims 1-3 and 5, wherein: said gesture sensor comprises a motion sensor and a gesture database, and the gesture sensor is configured to determine said recognised gesture by comparing the sensed motion to stored gestures in the gesture database; and said microcontroller unit comprises a command database and the microcontroller unit is configured to identify said command by means of the command database, each stored gesture being associated with at least one stored command in the command database.
-17 - 10. The appliance of any one of claims 1-3 and 5 further comprising an audio/visual output for the liquid heating appliance to provide information to a user.
11. The appliance of claim 10 wherein said audio/visual output comprises a Liquid Crystal Display for displaying one or more of: a desired temperature of the liquid; an actual temperature of the liquid; and a desired volume of liquid to be heated.
12. A method for gesture-control of a liquid heating appliance, said method comprising: sensing motion proximate to the liquid heating appliance; determining a recognised gesture corresponding to the sensed motion; identifying a command associated with the recognised gesture; and regulating a power supply to a heating element of the liquid heating appliance according to said command.