EP4669170A1

EP4669170A1 - BEVERAGE MACHINE AND PROCESS

Info

Publication number: EP4669170A1
Application number: EP24759377.5A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Luke John KAVANAGH; Xiang Ren; Adam Samuel Hilliard
Original assignee: Breville Pty Ltd; Breville R&D Pty Ltd
Current assignee: Breville Pty Ltd; Breville R&D Pty Ltd
Priority date: 2023-02-23
Filing date: 2024-02-23
Publication date: 2025-12-31
Also published as: CN120981183A; AU2024224730A1; WO2024173998A1; MX2025009832A

Abstract

A beverage machine and method performed by the same. In one aspect, the method is performed by a controller of a beverage machine. The method comprises: receiving, from a flow meter associated with a hydraulic system of the beverage machine, one or more flow signals indicative of current flow indicator representing a current flow measurement of liquid through the hydraulic system; predicting, based on the current flow indicator and at least a portion of a historic flow indicator log, a future flow indicator of the beverage machine; and facilitating provision of an alert to a user based on an outcome of a comparison of the future flow indicator to a flow indicator threshold, the alert being indicative of a maintenance cycle being required within a number of future beverage making operating cycles.

Description

BEVERAGE AND METHOD RELATED APPLICATIONS [0001] The present application claims priority to Australia Provisional Application No. 2023900471, filed 23 February 2023. The content of the above-mentioned application(s) is hereby incorporated by reference in entirety. TECHNICAL FIELD [0002] The present invention relates to a beverage machine and method performed by the same. BACKGROUND [0003] Some beverage machines detect scale deposit by comparing measured flow rate/heater temperature with a threshold value. While these methods may be able to detect the presence of the scale and determine whether a descale cycle is required, these methods do not predict when the machine needs to be descaled. As such, by the time the user is informed that descaling is required, the user may not have sufficient time to purchase and use a descale kit (e.g., cleaning solution, etc). Thus, the user may continue to use the beverage machine after descaling is required which can cause the beverage machine to progress past a point where the beverage machine can be descaled effectively. [0004] Some other beverage machines count a number of operating cycles (e.g., brewing cycles for coffee making machines) that are performed. These beverage machines determine whether a maintenance cycle is required if the operating cycle count reaches a pre-set number (e.g., 50 cycles). This method may be able to provide the user a sufficient time to purchase and use a descale kit. However, this method does not accurately predict when descaling is required for the beverage machine. As such, the user may “over-clean” or “under-clean” the machine depending upon when the maintenance process was performed. SUMMARY [0005] The present invention seeks to overcome or at least ameliorate one or more of the above identified problems or at least provide a useful alternative. [0006] In one aspect there is provided a performed by a controller of a beverage machine, the method comprising: receiving, from a flow meter associated with a hydraulic system of the beverage machine, a flow signal indicative of current flow indicator representing a current flow measurement of liquid through the hydraulic system; predicting, based on the current flow indicator and at least a portion of a historic flow indicator log, a future flow indicator of the beverage machine; and facilitating provision of an alert to a user based on an outcome of a comparison of the future flow indicator to a flow indicator threshold, the alert being indicative of a maintenance cycle being required within a number of future beverage making operating cycles. [0007] In certain embodiments, the predicting of the future flow indicator is performed by forward extrapolation using the current flow indicator and at least a portion of the historic flow indicator log. [0008] In certain embodiments, the forward extrapolation comprises: performing a linear regression analysis based upon the current flow indicator and at least a portion of the historic flow indicator log to generate a flow model; and determining, using the flow model, the future flow indicator at the number of future beverage making operating cycles. [0009] In certain embodiments, the linear regression analysis is performed upon processed flow indicator data, the processed flow indicator data being generated using the current flow indicator and at least some of the historic flow indicator log. [0010] In certain embodiments, the processed flow data is generated by performing at least one of: an outlier removal process using at least some of the historic flow indicator log and the current flow indicator; and a smoothing process using at least some of the historic flow indicator log and the current flow indicator. [0011] In certain embodiments, the smoothing process is a backward moving average process. [0012] In certain embodiments, the method further comprises calculating the flow indicator threshold based on at least some of the historic flow log captured over an initial number of beverage making operating cycles performed immediately after a previously performed maintenance cycle. [0013] In certain embodiments, the calculating of the flow indicator threshold comprises: determining an initial flow indicator based on an average of a plurality of flow indicators of the historic flow log captured over the initial number of beverage making operating cycles; and determining the flow indicator threshold as a fraction of the initial flow measurement. [0014] In certain embodiments, the method further comprises appending the current flow indicator to the historic flow log. [0015] In certain embodiments, the beverage making operating cycle is a coffee making operating cycle, and wherein the current flow indicator is measured during a purge phase of the coffee making operating cycle. [0016] In one aspect, there is provided a beverage machine comprising: a hydraulic system; a flow meter associated with the hydraulic system; and a controller, in communication with the flow meter, configured to: receive, from the flow meter, a flow signal indicative of current flow indicator representing a current flow measurement of liquid through the hydraulic system; predict, based on the current flow indicator and at least a portion of a historic flow indicator log, a future flow indicator of the beverage machine; and facilitate provision of an alert to a user based on an outcome of a comparison of the future flow indicator to a flow indicator threshold, the alert being indicative of a maintenance cycle being required within a number of future beverage making operating cycles. [0017] In certain embodiments, to predict the future flow indicator, the controller is configured to perform forward extrapolation using the current flow indicator and at least some of the historic flow indicator log. [0018] In certain embodiments, to perform the forward extrapolation, the controller is configured to: perform a linear regression analysis based upon the current flow indicator and at least a portion of the historic flow indicator log to generate a flow model; and determine, using the flow model, the future flow indicator at the number of future beverage making operating cycles. [0019] In certain embodiments, the is configured to perform the linear regression analysis upon processed flow indicator data, the processed flow indicator data being generated using the current flow indicator and at least some of the historic flow indicator log. [0020] In certain embodiments, to generate the processed flow indicator data, the controller is configured to perform at least one of: an outlier removal process using at least some of the historic flow indicator data and the current flow indicator; and a smoothing process using at least some of the historic flow indicator data and the current flow indicator. [0021] In certain embodiments, the smoothing process is a backward moving average process. [0022] In certain embodiments, the controller is further configured to calculate the flow indicator threshold based on at least some of the historic flow indicator log captured over an initial number of beverage making operating cycles performed immediately after a previously performed maintenance cycle. [0023] In certain embodiments, to calculate the flow indicator threshold, the controller is configured to: determine an initial flow indicator based on an average of flow indicators of the historic flow indicator log captured over the initial number of beverage making operating cycles; and determine the flow measurement threshold as a fraction of the initial flow indicator. [0024] In certain embodiments, the controller is further configured to append the current flow indicator to the historic flow indicator log. [0025] In certain embodiments, the beverage making operating cycle is a coffee making operating cycle, and wherein the current flow indicator is measured during a purge phase of the coffee making operating cycle. [0026] Other aspects and embodiments will be appreciated throughout the detailed description. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES [0027] The invention is described, by of non-limiting example only, by reference to the accompanying figures. [0028] Figure 1 is functional block diagram of an example beverage machine. [0029] Figure 2 is method performed by a controller of the beverage machine of Figure 1. [0030] Figures 3A and 3B are a flowchart representing a further method performed by the control system of Figure 1. [0031] Figure 4 is a graph showing flow measurements captured on a plurality of beverage making operating cycles and a plurality of estimated future flow measurements. [0032] Figure 5 is a schematic of an example of a beverage machine with a removable milk jug. [0033] Figure 6 is a plumbing and control schematic of the beverage machine of Figure 5. DETAILED DESCRIPTION [0034] The following modes, given by way of example only, are described to provide a more precise understanding of the subject matter of a preferred embodiment or embodiments. In the figures, incorporated to illustrate features of an example embodiment, like reference numerals are used to identify like parts throughout the figures. [0035] Referring to Figure 1 there is shown a functional block diagram representing components of a beverage machine 5. The beverage machine 5 comprises a hydraulic system 22, a flow meter 20 associated with the hydraulic system 22, and a controller 10, in communication with the flow meter 20. In a preferred form, the beverage machine 5 is a coffee making machine, an example which is shown in Figure 5 which is to be discussed in more detail below. [0036] As shown in Figure 1, the controller 18 can include a processor 10, a memory 12, and an input/output (i/o) interface 14 coupled together via a bus 16. The flow meter is coupled to the i/o interface 14. In a form, the beverage machine includes a display element 24. [0037] Referring to Figure 2 there is shown a flowchart representing a method 200 performed by the controller 18. At step 210, the method 200 includes the controller 18 receiving, from the flow meter 29, a flow signal indicative of current flow indicator representing a current flow measurement of fluid through the hydraulic system 22. [0038] At step 220, the method 200 includes the controller 18 predicting, based on the current flow indicator and at least a portion of a historic flow indicator log, a future flow measurement of the beverage machine 5. Preferably, the historic flow indicator log is stored in the memory 12 of the controller 18. [0039] At step 230, the method 200 includes the controller 18 facilitating provision of an alert to a user based on an outcome of a comparison of the future flow measurement to a flow measurement threshold. The alert is indicative of a maintenance cycle being required within a number of future beverage making operating cycles. In one form, the alert may be presented via the display element 24. In one form, the maintenance cycle may be a descaling cycle that uses a descale kit. [0040] Advantageously, the future flow indicator is predicted based on the current flow indicator and at least some of the historic flow indicator log to provide an accurate and timely alert to the user regarding the performance of a maintenance cycle in the future for the beverage machine 5. This configuration seeks to address or alleviate accuracy problems associated with providing an alert after an arbitrary number of operating cycles have been performed. Additionally or alternatively, this configuration seeks to address or alleviate timeliness problems associated with providing a purely reactive alert once the flow indicator drops below a particular threshold. [0041] The current flow indicator is preferably an impellor revolution indicator indicative of a number of revolutions undertaken by an impeller of the flow meter 20 during a portion of a beverage making operating cycle which is a set time period each instance a beverage is made. As such, the revolutions performed by the impellor of the flow meter is indicative of the flow of liquid through the hydraulic system 22. In a preferable form, the number of the revolutions performed by impeller are measured during a purge phase of the beverage making cycle. In the instance that the machine is a coffee machine, the purge phase occurs whilst steam and/or water is purged from a steam wand for frothing milk for a coffee beverage. As the purge phase is performed for a set period of time, the amount of liquid (e.g., water) that flows through the hydraulic system can be monitored over time to determine whether cleaning of the hydraulic system is required, due to limescale build-up, etc. The historic flow indicator log is preferably a log of flow indicators captured over time. [0042] To predict the future flow measurement, the controller 18 is preferably configured to perform forward extrapolation using the current flow indicator and at least some of the historic flow indicator log. In one form, to perform forward extrapolation, the controller 18 is configured to perform a linear regression analysis based upon the current flow indicator and at least a portion of the historic flow indicator log to generate a flow model. The controller 18 is then configured to determine, using the flow model, the future flow indicator at the number of future beverage making operating cycles. [0043] The controller 18 can be configured to perform the linear regression analysis upon processed flow indicator data. The processed flow indicator data is generated using the current flow indicator and at least some of the historic flow indicator log. To generate the processed flow indicator data, the controller 18 is configured to perform at least one of an outlier removal process using at least some of the historic flow data and the current flow indicator, and a smoothing process using at least some of the historic flow indicator log data and the current flow indicator. The smoothing process can be a backward moving average process. [0044] The controller 18 is further configured to calculate the flow indicator threshold based on at least some of the historic flow indicator log captured over an initial number of beverage making operating cycles performed immediately after a previously performed maintenance cycle. To calculate the flow indicator threshold, the controller 18 is configured to determine an initial flow indicator based on an average of flow indicators of the historic flow indicator log captured over the initial number of beverage making operating cycles, and determine the flow indicator threshold as a fraction of the initial flow measurement. [0045] The controller 18 is configured to append the current flow measurement to the historic flow indicator log. As described in further detail below with respect to Figures 3A and 3B, the controller may store in memory one more arrays, wherein one of the arrays store the historic flow indicator log. [0046] Referring to Figures 3A and 3B, there is shown a more specific flowchart representing an exemplary method 300 performed by the controller of the beverage machine 5 of Figures 1 and 5. [0047] In particular, at step 320, the method 300 includes the processor 10 of the controller 18 setting an index, n, to 1. [0048] At step 304, the method 300 includes the processor 10 of the controller 18 receiving a new flow indicator, y_n. The flow indicator y_n is received by the controller 18 via the i/o interface 14. The controller 18 may receive a plurality of flow signals, wherein each flow signal is indicative of a single revolution of the impeller of the flow meter 20. The processor 10 of the controller 18 is configured to increment a counter in the memory 12 by one in response to each flow signal received during a purge phase of the beverage making operating cycle such that the counter stores the value of the current flow indicator y_n. [0049] At step 306, the method 300 includes the processor 10 of the controller 18 determining whether the index n is greater than a smoothing window size. The smoothing window size is stored in the memory 12 that defines a size of a window of the most recent flow indicators to be used for later analysis. If the index n is less than the smoothing window size, the method 300 proceeds to step 308, otherwise the method 300 proceeds to step 312. [0050] At step 308, the method 300 includes the processor 10 of the controller 18 storing in memory 12 the flow indicator y_n in a historical flow indicator log. In one form, the historical flow indicator log is stored in the memory 12 as a data structure such as an array, herein referred to as a raw array. The flow indicator y_n is appended to the end of the raw array. The raw array can be stored in a non-volatile manner in the memory 12. [0051] At step 310, the method 300 includes the processor 10 of the controller 18 storing in the memory 12 the flow indicator y_n in a smoothed data structure. In particular, the smoothed data structure is provided in the form of a further array, herein referred to as a smoothed array. Whilst the flow indicator y_n captured in step 304 is stored in the smoothed array without smoothing, this step is initially performed until a sufficient number of flow indicators y_n have been received. The number of flow indicators y_n required for smoothing to be performed is defined by the size of the smoothing window. The flow indicator y_n is appended to the end of the smoothed array. In a similar manner to step 304, the smoothed array can be stored in a non-volatile manner in the memory 12 [0052] At step 311, the processor 10 of the controller 18 increments the index by one. The method 300 then returns to step 304 awaiting the next flow indicator y_n+1 to be received by the controller 18 from the flow meter 20. [0053] As discussed in relation to step 306, if the index is greater than or equal to the smoothing window size, the method 300 proceeds to step 312. At step 312, the method 300 includes the processor 10 of the controller 18 determining if the current flow indicator y_n is an outlier. In one form, the method 300 includes comparing the current flow indicator y_n to the most recently stored flow indicator y_n-1. If the current flow indicator y_n is greater than the most recent flow indicator y_n-1, the processor 10 of the controller 18 determines that the current flow indicator y_n is an outlier, otherwise the current flow indicator y_n is not considered an outlier. If the flow indicator y_n is determined to be an outlier, the method 300 proceeds to step 314, otherwise the method 300 proceeds to step 316. [0054] At step 314, the method 300 includes the processor 10 of the controller 18 setting the current flow indicator y_n to equal the most recent current flow indicator y_n-1 so that the effect of the outlier is reduced. Effectively, step 314 provides a filtering process. [0055] At step 316, the method 300 includes the controller 18 storing the current flow indicator y_n in the historical flow indicator log in the form of the raw array. As will be appreciated, if step 314 is performed prior to step 316, the current flow indicator y_n that is being stored is also the most recently stored flow indicator y_n-1 stored in the raw array. [0056] At step 318, the method 300 includes the controller 18 determining a smoothed current flow indicator s_n. The smoothed current flow indicator s_n is a mean of the flow indicators of the raw array stored within the smoothed window. For example, if the smoothed window has a size of 30, the smoothed current flow indicator s_n is calculated as (y_n-1 + y_n-2 … + y_n-30) / 30. As the current flow indicator is smoothed over a predetermined number of captured flow indicators, the effect of noise is reduced. A more general equation for the processor 10 of the controller 12 to smoothed current flow indicator is expressed as by Equation X below: 1^ିி ^{^^} _^ ^ൌ ^_{^ ^} ^{^^} _^ - Equation 1 where: s_n is the smoothed current flow indicator y is the raw array n is the current index F is the smoothing window size [0057] At step 320, the method 300 includes the processor 10 of the controller 18 storing the smoothed current flow indicator s_n in the smoothed array. In particular, the smoothed current flow indicator s_n is appended to the end of the smoothed array. [0058] At step 322, the method 300 includes the processor 10 of the controller 18 determining if the flow indicator threshold has been set. In one form, a flow indicator threshold flag can be stored in the memory 12 to indicate whether the flow indicator threshold has been set. If the flow indicator threshold has not been set, the method 300 proceeds to step 324, otherwise the method 300 proceeds to step 328. [0059] At step 324, the method 300 includes the processor 10 of the controller 18 determining an initial flow indicator and a flow indicator threshold. The initial flow indicator is determined as a mean of the initial window size of flow indicators of the raw array, e.g., (y_n-1 + y_n-2 … + y_n-A) / A, where A is the initial window size. The flow indicator threshold is then determined by the processor 10 of the controller 18 as a fraction of the initial flow indicator. For example, a flow indicator threshold fraction G may be stored in the memory 12 as a percentage, such as 0.50. The controller 18 then multiplies the flow indicator threshold fraction G against the initial flow indicator y_INIT to obtain the flow indicator threshold y_THRESH. [0060] A more general equation for the processor 10 of the controller 18 to calculate the initial flow indicator is expressed as by Equation 2 below: ^{- Equation 2} where: y_INIT is the initial flow indicator y is the raw array A is the initial window size [0061] A more general equation for the processor 10 of the controller 18 to calculate the flow indicator threshold is expressed as by Equation 3 below: ^^_{்ுோாௌு} ൌ ^^ ∗ ^^_ூேூ் - Equation 3 where: y_THRESH is the flow indicator threshold y_INIT is the initial flow indicator G is the flow indicator threshold fraction [0062] At step 326, the method 300 includes the processor 10 of the controller 18 storing the initial flow indicator yINIT and the flow indicator threshold yTHRESH in the memory 12. [0063] After step 326, the method 300 proceeds to step 311 which has been described above. [0064] As discussed above, if the flow indicator threshold has been set, the method 300 proceeds to step 328. At step 328, the method 300 includes the processor 10 of the controller 18 performing a linear regression analysis on the smoothed array to generate a flow model. In this example, the flow model will be a first order polynomial (i.e., linear) equation (e.g., y = mx + b). It will be appreciated that other flow models could be generated using the smoothed flow indicators. [0065] At step 330, the method 300 includes the processor of the controller 18 predicting a flow indicator into the future (herein referred to as a future flow indicator) using the flow model. The future flow indicator is predicted a certain number of beverage making operating cycles into the future with respect to the flow indicator that has just been received. For example, using the current index n and a future operating cycle offset, stored in the memory 12, can be summed to generate an input variable x which is used as input for the flow model to determine the future flow indicator. In this specific example, the future operating cycle offset is set to 30, thus the future flow indicator for 30 beverage operating cycles into the future from the current index n can be calculated by the processor 10 of the controller 18 using the flow model. [0066] At step 332, the method 300 includes the processor 10 of the controller 18 determining if the future flow indicator is less than or equal to the flow indicator threshold. If the future flow indicator is less than or equal to the flow indicator threshold, the method 300 proceeds to step 334, otherwise the method 300 proceeds to step 311 where the index n is incremented by one as previously described above, and then the method 300 proceeds back to step 304 to await the next flow indicator. [0067] As just discussed, if the future flow indicator is less than or equal to the flow indicator threshold, the method 300 proceeds to step 334. At step 334, the method 300 includes the processor 10 of the controller 18 facilitating provision of an alert to the user. In one form, the processor 10 of the controller 18 controls the display element 24 via the i/o interface 14 to trigger a warning to the user. The alert may be a visual indicator that is presented via a user interface. The alert may additionally or alternatively include an audio cue to indicate that the beverage machine 5 is expected to require a maintenance cycle a certain number of beverage making operating cycles into the future. In one variation, the beverage machine 5 may include a wireless communication interface, utilising a communication protocol such as a Wi-Fi or Bluetooth protocol, which is coupled to the i/o interface 14 which can communicate the alert to a user device, such as a mobile communication device, computing device, or the like. In either configuration, the alert can optionally include a visual interface allowing the user to place an order to purchase a maintenance cycle kit. If the user wishes to purchase the kit, the user can interact with the user interface, such as by selecting various input elements 664 (see Figure 6) of the user interface 22 to submit order data which is transferred, via a communication network, to a server processing system to place the order. [0068] Once the alert has been to the user, the method 300 proceeds to step 311. At step 311, the current index n is incremented, and the method 300 proceeds back to step 304 to await receiving the next flow indicator. [0069] In one form, after each operating cycle, the alert may be presented to the user. The processor 10 of the controller can update the estimate after each beverage making operating cycle which is likely to become increasingly more accurate. [0070] The user can interact with the user interface 22 and specifically the one or more input element 664 to control the beverage machine to perform the maintenance cycle. At the completion of the maintenance cycle, the processor 10 of the controller 18 can update/reset various data stored in the memory 12. In particular, the processor 10 of the controller 18 can reset the index, the flow indicator threshold, the initial flow indicator, the flow indicator threshold, the flow indicator threshold, the raw array, and the smoothed array. In some embodiments, a new raw array and a new smoothed array may be stored in the memory 12 by the processor 10 of the controller 18, thus maintaining a backup of the flow indicator data should it be necessary for future analysis. Therefore, the method 300 ends once a maintenance cycle is performed, and the method 300 restarts once the maintenance cycle has been completed. [0071] Referring to Figure 4, there is shown a graph showing a visual representation of flow indicators captured for a plurality of beverage making operating cycles and a plurality of estimated future flow indicators for the beverage machine. In particular, the vertical axis of the graph represents the flow indicator value (i.e., revolutions of the impeller per beverage making operating cycle), and the horizontal axis represents a beverage operating cycle number. Line 410 is the unsmoothed flow indicator data (i.e., the raw array) and line 420 represents the smoothed flow indicator data (i.e., the smoothed array). Flow indicator predictions 430 represented by tangential lines extending from the smoothed flow indicator data are the forward extrapolations (i.e., the flow model) after the operating cycles. Broken line 440 represents the initial flow indicator. Broken line 450 represents the flow indicator threshold. As is visually represented, after a first operating cycle 470, the forward extrapolation intersects the flow indicator threshold at the second operating cycle in the future. In response to this intersection, the processor 10 of the controller 18 is configured to provide the alert to the user. [0072] Referring to Figures 5, there is a schematic of an example beverage machine 5 provided in the form of a coffee machine as disclosed in PCT/AU2022/050507 filed 26 May 2022 which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety. The coffee machine 5 includes an extraction module 526 and a steam module 530. A single water tank 528 supplies both the extraction module 526 and the steam module 530. Likewise, a single drip tray assembly 514 collects spillage from the coffee extraction and the milk frothing (also referred to ‘milk texturing’) processes. It will be appreciated that in other embodiments, the extraction module 526 may be a standalone device supplied with the water tank 528 and the drip tray assembly 514. Likewise, the steam module 530 may be a standalone device supplied with the water tank 528 and the drip tray assembly 514. [0073] In the depicted embodiment of Figure 5, the coffee machine 5 shown is a capsule or pod machine that uses sealed capsules of ground coffee to extract a dose of espresso coffee. However, this embodiment is not limited to capsule machines and may be applied to other types of coffee machines where a purge phase of the machine 5 has a substantially constant temporal length. [0074] The user opens a removable top 536 on the extraction module 526 and inserts a capsule of ground coffee. Normally, a range of capsules are available for use with capsule machines to provide a variety of different espresso doses. The coffee and the capsules may have differing coffee bean blends, grinds (degree of fineness or coarseness or compaction) and different amounts of coffee to provide the different styles of extracted coffee. More sophisticated capsule machines identify the capsule inserted and optimum extraction settings are automatically used. [0075] The extraction module 526 has a dispensing spout 532 for dispensing the dose of coffee, and a supporting body to position the dispensing spout 532 at an elevated position above the benchtop to accommodate cups and receptacles (such as a carafe) of various heights. [0076] Adjacent the extraction device 526 is the steam module 530 (also referred to as the milk texturing module) that draws water from the tank 528 to generate steam for injection into the milk via the steam wand 512. In the depicted embodiment, the steam wand 512 is rotatably connected at its upper end to rotate between a raised position where the milk jug 510 can be removed from the drip tray 514 using the jug handle 544, and a lowered position where the milk may be textured by the of steam through the wand 512. A user interface 22 is provided for operative control of the extraction and milk texturing processes. Encircling the base of the milk jug 510 is a peripheral raised portion 518 that extends upward from the apertured support surface 520 to provide a user indication of the correct jug location on the drip tray 514. The peripheral raised portion 518 extends around a recessed portion 538 to locate the milk jug 510. [0077] Referring to Figure 6, there is shown an example plumbing and control schematic for the beverage machine of Figure 5. [0078] In particular, the beverage machine 5 is preferably an espresso making machine which includes a boiler 620, pressure transducer 654 and milk temperature sensor 605 (e.g., using a negative temperature coefficient “NTC” sensor element) associated with base of the espresso making machine 5. [0079] The espresso making machine 5 includes the water source 528 for providing water, typically through a filter cartridge 612, which is conveyed by a pump 614 to a boiler 620. Located between the filter cartridge 612 and the pump 614 is the flow meter 20. The flow meter is in electrical communication with the controller 18 via the i/o interface 14 to provide the flow indicator signals. The flow line 115 leading to the boiler 620 has an overpressure valve 616 that leads to an overflow path 117 to the drip tray 118. The boiler 620 also has a vacuum breather valve 619 that is in fluid flow communication with the drip tray 514. [0080] The processor 10 of the controller 18 monitors operation of the boiler 620 through a level sensor 621 and/or a pressure sensor 622 (for example a Piezoresistive strain gauge pressure transducer) and/or a thermal fuse 623 and/or a thermostat 624. The water tank 528 can further include a water level sensor 613, coupled to the controller 18, for monitoring water availability. [0081] A solenoid 640 controls release of steam flow to a steam wand 512 via an air injector module 644 and an optional static mixer 649. The air injector module 644 includes a primary steam flow path 645, an air injection path 646 and an outflow 647. By way of example, the air injection module 644 can incorporate a venturi. The air injection flow path 646 can receive pressured air delivered by an air pump 650 typically through a one-way valve 652. A pressure sensor 654 is the air ingress flow path 646. The pressure sensor 654 provides pressure measurements to the processor module 18. [0082] With the air pump 650 turned off (disabled), the pressure sensor can monitor a base level pressure provided by the injection module 644 caused by the steam air flow and any back pressure provided by the steam wand 512. With the air pump 650 activated to varying power levels (0%-100%), the pressure sensor monitors the pressure in the air ingress flow path, allowing for control of the pump. With the air pump activated (power could be from 0%-100%), if the measured pressure is greater than the background pressure measured with the air pump off, then air will be injected into the steam flow path, then mixed and delivered to the steam wand. [0083] The controller is coupled to a user interface 22 comprising an output device 24 including a display element 634 and a plurality of user input elements 664. [0084] A descale valve 670 can be provided to enable direct flow from the boiler 620 to the drip tray 514. [0085] The espresso making machine 5 is configured to selectively or automatically initiate a purge phase after a milk frothing process of the beverage making cycle. A cleaning steam pulse can be applied when the steam wand 512 is returned to a home position (e.g., automatically using a spring loaded and dampened mechanism). Cleaning can be automated by the processor 10 of the controller 18 using the biased steam wand and a cleaning steam pulse. Sensor feedback, provided by sensor 690, indicative of the wand position and/or previous cycle data, stored in the memory 18, may also be used as input data to the cleaning process (i.e., cleaning may not be required if the milk is not heated). More specifically, after a milk frothing process has been performed, and whilst the heater is not powered, the processor 10 of the controller 18 is configured to control the water pump 614 to pulse (e.g., 4 times-0.5 second on, 0.5 second off) to thereby perform a cleaning purge cycle. [0086] It will be appreciated that stored in memory 12 of the controller 18 is executable or interpretable instructions for causing the processor 10 of the controller 18 to perform the steps of the method(s) described above. The executable or interpretable instructions can be provided in the form of one or more executable computer programs. [0087] It will be appreciated that the order which steps are performed for the method(s) described herein can altered unless otherwise specified. [0088] Throughout this specification and the claims which follow, unless the context requires otherwise, the word "comprise", and variations such as "comprises" and "comprising", will be understood to imply the inclusion of a stated integer or step or group of integers or steps but not the exclusion of any other integer or step or group of integers or steps. [0089] The reference in this specification to any known matter or any prior publication is not, and should not be taken to be, an acknowledgment or admission or suggestion that the known matter or prior art publication forms part of the common general knowledge in the field to which this specification relates. [0090] While specific examples of the invention have been described, it will be understood that the invention extends to alternative combinations of the features disclosed or evident from the disclosure provided herein. [0091] Many and various modifications will be apparent to those skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the invention disclosed or evident from the disclosure provided herein.

Parts list Beverage machine 5 Processor 10 Memory 12 I/O interface 14 Bus 16 Controller 18 Flow meter 20 Hydraulic system 22 Output device 24 Flow indicator data 410 Smoothed flow indicator data 420 Flow model prediction 430 Initial flow indicator 440 Flow indicator threshold 450 Intersection of flow model prediction and flow indicator threshold 460 Operating cycle where future flow indicator is equal or less than flow indicator threshold 470 Predicted future operating cycle having future flow indicator equal or less than flow indicator threshold 480 Milk jug 510 Steam wand 512 Drip tray assembly 514 Peripheral raised portion 518 Apertured support surface 520 Extraction module 526 Water tank 528 Steam module 530 Dispensing spout 532 Removable top 536 Recess 538 Jug handle 544 Milk temperature sensor 605 Filter cartridge 612 Water level sensor 613 Pump 614 Overpressure valve 616 Vacuum breather valve 619 Boiler 620 Level sensor 621 Pressure sensor 622 Thermal fuse 623 Thermostat 624 Display element 634 Solenoid 640 Injector module 644 Primary steam flow path 645 Air injection path 646 Outflow 647 Static mixer 649 Air pump 650 One-way valve 652 Pressure transducer 654 Input element 664 Descale valve 670

Claims

CLAIMS 1. A method performed by a controller of a beverage machine, the method comprising: receiving, from a flow meter associated with a hydraulic system of the beverage machine, one or more flow signals indicative of current flow indicator representing a current flow measurement of liquid through the hydraulic system; predicting, based on the current flow indicator and at least a portion of a historic flow indicator log, a future flow indicator of the beverage machine; and facilitating provision of an alert to a user based on an outcome of a comparison of the future flow indicator to a flow indicator threshold, the alert being indicative of a maintenance cycle being required within a number of future beverage making operating cycles. 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the predicting of the future flow indicator is performed by forward extrapolation using the current flow indicator and at least a portion of the historic flow indicator log. 3. The method of claim 2, wherein the forward extrapolation comprises: performing a linear regression analysis based upon the current flow indicator and at least a portion of the historic flow indicator log to generate a flow model; and determining, using the flow model, the future flow indicator at the number of future beverage making operating cycles. 4. The method of claim 3, wherein the linear regression analysis is performed upon processed flow indicator data, the processed flow indicator data being generated using the current flow indicator and at least some of the historic flow indicator log. 5. The method of claim 4, wherein the processed flow data is generated by performing at least one of: an outlier removal process using at some of the historic flow indicator log and the current flow indicator; and a smoothing process using at least some of the historic flow indicator log and the current flow indicator. 6. The method of claim 5, wherein the smoothing process is a backward moving average process. 7. The method of any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the method further comprises calculating the flow indicator threshold based on at least some of the historic flow log captured over an initial number of beverage making operating cycles performed immediately after a previously performed maintenance cycle. 8. The method of claim 7, wherein the calculating of the flow indicator threshold comprises: determining an initial flow indicator based on an average of a plurality of flow indicators of the historic flow log captured over the initial number of beverage making operating cycles; and determining the flow indicator threshold as a fraction of the initial flow measurement. 9. The method of any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the method further comprises appending the current flow indicator to the historic flow log. 10. The method of any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the beverage making operating cycle is a coffee making operating cycle, and wherein the current flow indicator is measured during a purge phase of the coffee making operating cycle. 11. A beverage machine comprising: a hydraulic system; a flow meter associated with the system; and a controller, in communication with the flow meter, configured to: receive, from the flow meter, one or more flow signals indicative of current flow indicator representing a current flow measurement of liquid through the hydraulic system; predict, based on the current flow indicator and at least a portion of a historic flow indicator log, a future flow indicator of the beverage machine; and facilitate provision of an alert to a user based on an outcome of a comparison of the future flow indicator to a flow indicator threshold, the alert being indicative of a maintenance cycle being required within a number of future beverage making operating cycles. 12. The beverage machine of claim 11, wherein to predict the future flow indicator, the controller is configured to perform forward extrapolation using the current flow indicator and at least some of the historic flow indicator log. 13. The beverage machine of claim 12, wherein to perform the forward extrapolation, the controller is configured to: perform a linear regression analysis based upon the current flow indicator and at least a portion of the historic flow indicator log to generate a flow model; and determine, using the flow model, the future flow indicator at the number of future beverage making operating cycles. 14. The beverage machine of claim 13, wherein the controller is configured to perform the linear regression analysis upon processed flow indicator data, the processed flow indicator data being generated using the current flow indicator and at least some of the historic flow indicator log. 15. The beverage machine of claim 14, wherein to generate the processed flow indicator data, the controller is configured to perform at least one of: an outlier removal process using at some of the historic flow indicator data and the current flow indicator; and a smoothing process using at least some of the historic flow indicator data and the current flow indicator. 16. The beverage machine of claim 15, wherein the smoothing process is a backward moving average process. 17. The beverage machine of any one of claims 11 to 16, wherein the controller is further configured to calculate the flow indicator threshold based on at least some of the historic flow indicator log captured over an initial number of beverage making operating cycles performed immediately after a previously performed maintenance cycle. 18. The beverage machine of claim 17, wherein to calculate the flow indicator threshold, the controller is configured to: determine an initial flow indicator based on an average of flow indicators of the historic flow indicator log captured over the initial number of beverage making operating cycles; and determine the flow measurement threshold as a fraction of the initial flow indicator. 19. The beverage machine of any one of claims 11 to 18, wherein the controller is further configured to append the current flow indicator to the historic flow indicator log. 20. The beverage machine of any one of claims 11 to 19, wherein the beverage making operating cycle is a coffee making operating cycle, and wherein the current flow indicator is measured during a purge phase of the coffee making operating cycle.