US 12,419,458 B2
Apparatus and method for frothing milk
Robert Grassia, Summer Hill (AU); Nicholas McColl, Randwick (AU); and Daniel Robert Corkin, Panania (AU)
Assigned to BREVILLE PTY LTD, Alexandria (AU)
Filed by BREVILLE PTY LTD, Alexandria (AU)
Filed on Jul. 26, 2023, as Appl. No. 18/226,349.
Application 18/226,349 is a continuation of application No. 16/739,043, filed on Jan. 9, 2020, granted, now 11,751,717.
Application 16/739,043 is a continuation of application No. 15/025,890, abandoned, previously published as PCT/AU2014/000947, filed on Sep. 30, 2014.
Claims priority of application No. 2013903770 (AU), filed on Sep. 30, 2013; application No. 2014900665 (AU), filed on Feb. 28, 2014; and application No. 2014903059 (AU), filed on Aug. 7, 2014.
Prior Publication US 2024/0016334 A1, Jan. 18, 2024
Int. Cl. A47J 31/44 (2006.01)
CPC A47J 31/4489 (2013.01) 11 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A frothing apparatus adapted to cooperate with a jug for heating a liquid in the jug, the frothing apparatus comprising:
a steam heater, a steam nozzle and a steam path providing fluid communication from the steam heater to the steam nozzle for delivering heating steam to the jug;
a steam wand comprising the steam nozzle;
wherein the steam wand is movable between a raised configuration and a lowered configuration, and the steam wand is biased to the lowered configuration;
a switch operatively associated with the steam wand; and
a processor module, the switch being configured to provide a signal to the processor module indicative of the steam wand being in the raised or lowered configuration,
wherein engagement of the jug with the steam wand causes the steam wand to be moved to the raised configuration, thereby enabling the switch to provide a signal to the processor module that the steam wand is in the raised configuration, and
wherein the steam wand is semi-automatically movable to the lowered configuration once the processor module receives the signal that the steam wand is in the raised configuration.