Faucet assembly and dispensing appliance

1 . A faucet assembly comprising:

a faucet including a faucet body and a spout;

a fluid dispensing apparatus configured to dispense a fluid to the faucet body for output at the spout, wherein the fluid dispensing apparatus comprises a water inlet and a plurality of fluid processing components to provide a plurality of fluid characteristics to the fluid; and

a control unit operably coupled to the fluid dispensing apparatus, the control unit having a user interface comprising:

a display configured to depict temperature, status updates, alerts, or warnings;

a plurality of capacitive touch zones surrounding the display, each of the capacitive touch zones configured to be operable by a user to select a fluid characteristic from the plurality of fluid characteristics; and

a rotatable wheel operable to control a setting of the output of faucet assembly.

2 . The faucet assembly of claim 1 , wherein the fluid dispensing apparatus comprises a filter apparatus, a chiller, a heater, a carbonator, or any combination thereof, and wherein the plurality of fluid characteristics comprise filtered chilled water, filtered chilled sparkling water, filtered chilled sparkling carbonated water, filtered instant hot water, or combinations thereof.

3 . The faucet assembly of claim 2 , wherein the water inlet comprises an unfiltered cold water source, and wherein the water inlet is coupled to the filter apparatus, and the filter apparatus is coupled to at least one of the chiller, heater, and carbonator.

4 . The faucet assembly of claim 3 , wherein the fluid dispensing apparatus further comprises an unfiltered hot water source, and a valve configured to control a flow of unfiltered hot and cold water to the spout for dispensing.

5 . The faucet assembly of claim 1 , wherein the rotatable wheel is configured to be operable to control settings of the faucet assembly selected from the group consisting of water temperature, flow rate, and volume of fluid to dispense.

6 . The faucet assembly of claim 1 , wherein the control unit is in wired connection to the fluid dispensing apparatus.

7 . The faucet assembly of claim 6 , wherein the control unit is remote from the faucet body.

8 . The faucet assembly of claim 6 , wherein the faucet body is mounted to a base, and the control unit is mounted to one of the faucet body and the base.

9 . The faucet assembly of claim 3 , wherein the faucet is an auxiliary faucet.

10 . A fluid dispensing apparatus configured to deliver a fluid having a fluid characteristic to a dispensing faucet, the fluid dispensing apparatus comprising:

a plurality of fluid processing components comprising a filter apparatus, and at least one of a heater, a chiller, and a carbonator to provide a plurality of fluid characteristics to the fluid; and

a control unit operably coupled to the fluid dispensing apparatus, the control unit having a user interface comprising:

a display configured to depict temperature, status updates, alerts, or warnings;

a plurality of capacitive touch zones surrounding the display, each of the capacitive touch zones configured to be operable by a user to select a fluid characteristic from the plurality of fluid characteristics; and

a rotatable wheel operable to control a setting of the output of faucet assembly.

11 . The fluid dispensing apparatus of claim 10 , wherein the plurality of fluid characteristics comprises filtered chilled water, filtered chilled sparkling water, filtered chilled carbonated water, and filtered instant hot water.

12 . The fluid dispensing apparatus of claim 10 , wherein an unfiltered cold water source, is coupled to the filter apparatus, and the filter apparatus is coupled to at least one of the chiller, heater, and carbonator.

13 . The fluid dispensing apparatus of claim 10 , wherein the rotatable wheel is configured to be operable to control settings of the faucet assembly selected from the group consisting of water temperature, flow rate, and volume of fluid to dispense.

14 . The fluid dispensing apparatus of claim 13 , wherein the user interface is actuated by a plurality of capacitive sensors, buttons, or a combination thereof, to select the water characteristics, to select a setting of a selected water characteristic, or both.

15 . The fluid dispensing apparatus of claim 13 , wherein the puck is configured to provide haptic feedback, visual feedback, or both when the puck is manipulated between fluid characteristic settings on the user interface.

16 . A method of dispensing a fluid from a faucet, the method comprising:

providing a fluid dispensing apparatus configured to deliver a fluid having a fluid characteristic to a dispensing faucet, wherein the fluid dispensing apparatus comprises a filter apparatus, and a least one of a heater, a chiller, and a carbonator;

providing a control unit operably coupled to the fluid dispensing apparatus, the control unit having a user interface comprising:

a display configured to depict temperature, status updates, alerts, or warnings;

a plurality of capacitive touch zones surrounding the display, each of the capacitive touch zones configured to be operable to select a fluid characteristic from the plurality of fluid characteristics; and

a rotatable wheel operable to control a setting of the output of faucet assembly, the wheel rotatable with respect to the display; and

causing the fluid having the selected fluid characteristic to be processed by the fluid dispensing apparatus and dispensed from the faucet.

17 . The method of claim 16 , wherein the plurality of fluid characteristics comprises filtered chilled water, filtered chilled sparkling water, filtered chilled carbonated water, and filtered instant hot water.

18 . The faucet assembly of claim 1 , wherein the wheel is rotatable with respect to the display.

19 . The fluid dispensing apparatus of claim 10 , wherein the wheel is rotatable with respect to the display.

20 . The method of claim 16 , wherein the wheel is rotatable with respect to the display.