Methods for producing and dispensing chilled water

Abstract

A representative method for producing and dispensing chilled water includes: receiving, by a stand-alone apparatus, a flow of water; filtering, within the stand-alone apparatus, the flow of water to produce filtered water; producing, within the stand-alone apparatus, ice from a first portion of the filtered water; cooling, within the stand-alone apparatus, a second portion of the filtered water with the ice to form chilled water in response to a user input corresponding to a request for chilled water; and dispensing the chilled water from the stand-alone apparatus in accordance with the user input.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method for producing and dispensing chilled water comprising:
 receiving, by a stand-alone apparatus, a flow of water;   filtering, within the stand-alone apparatus, the flow of water to produce filtered water;   producing, within the stand-alone apparatus, ice from a first portion of the filtered water;   cooling, within the stand-alone apparatus, a second portion of the filtered water with the ice to form chilled water in response to a user input corresponding to a request for chilled water; and   dispensing the chilled water from the stand-alone apparatus in accordance with the user input.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the filtering comprises performing reverse osmosis on the flow of water. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein the filtering further comprises performing sediment filtering prior to the reverse osmosis. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising subjecting the first portion and the second portion of the filtered water to ultraviolet light filtering. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising selectively providing a flavoring agent to the chilled water. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the cooling comprises directing the second portion of the filtered water to an ice bin containing the ice.