ALEXANDRIA, Va., Oct. 8 -- United States Patent no. 12,433,444, issued on Oct. 7, was assigned to Starbucks Corp. (Seattle).
"Apparatus for foaming a beverage" was invented by Izaak Koller (Seattle), Joshua Kruger (Seattle) and Timothy Hurd (Sumner, Wash.).
According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "Various automated and semi-automated beverage preparation systems and methods are shown. The beverage preparation system can include a container assembly configured to receive beverage, such as a milk. The container assembly can be configured to receive a flow of steam, air, or additional gasses and vapors to heat and/or aerate the beverage residing therein. The container assembly can include a temperature sens...