HK1205661B

HK1205661B - Beverage forming device and method with beverage outlet control

Info

Publication number: HK1205661B
Application number: HK15106234.6A
Authority: HK
Inventors: G‧Y‧史密斯; S‧希瑞斯托夫; J‧E‧谢帕得
Original assignee: 库里格绿山股份有限公司
Priority date: 2012-02-09
Filing date: 2013-02-05
Publication date: 2018-06-08

Description

Beverage forming apparatus and method with beverage outlet control

Background

1. Field of the invention

The present invention relates to a beverage forming system, such as a coffee brewer that uses disposable beverage cartridges to form a coffee beverage.

2. Correlation technique

Beverage forming systems that use disposable beverage cartridges for forming beverages are well known. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 7,165,488 discloses a beverage making device that uses a cartridge for forming a coffee drink or other beverage. The device includes a cartridge receptacle movable between a forward tilted position in which a user can place or remove a cartridge into or from the receptacle and an upright position in which the receptacle can cooperate with a lid to use the cartridge to form a beverage.

Disclosure of Invention

Aspects of the present invention provide a cartridge holder movable between an open position in which the cartridge holder is in an upwardly inclined orientation to receive a cartridge and a closed position in which the cartridge holder is in a downwardly inclined orientation. This is in contrast to most, if not all, of the cartridge receptacles in which the receptacles are generally oriented in at least a slight upward orientation in both the open and closed positions, e.g., to help retain the cartridge within the receptacle.

In one aspect of the invention, a beverage forming system includes: a beverage forming chamber arranged to contain a beverage medium for forming a beverage; and a liquid source arranged to provide liquid to the beverage forming chamber to mix with the beverage medium to form a beverage. The outlet chamber may have an inlet opening to receive the beverage from the beverage forming chamber and an outlet opening to output the beverage to a user's receptacle. The outlet chamber may have a standpipe within the outlet chamber between the inlet and outlet openings such that the standpipe has a portion extending upward from a bottom of the outlet chamber and obstructs a direct flow path between the inlet and outlet openings. Thus, the standpipe may force flow between the inlet and outlet openings around and/or over the standpipe portion. In an embodiment, the upwardly extending portion comprises two flat wall members extending upwardly from the base and joined together along an edge, for example arranged at an angle to each other.

In an embodiment, the outlet chamber further comprises a secondary outlet opening adjacent to the outlet opening. Further, the standpipe may include a wall member extending upwardly from the bottom of the outlet chamber between the secondary outlet opening and the outlet opening. The wall member may force certain components of the beverage, such as foam, over the wall member to the secondary outlet, thereby controlling the amount of foam (or other characteristics of the foam) output from the chamber. In an embodiment, ribs may extend between the secondary outlet openings and the outlet openings, for example to help merge the flows discharged from the openings. In certain embodiments, the secondary outlet opening is positioned above the outlet opening, and the flow may travel down the rib toward the outlet opening flow. In certain embodiments, the outlet chamber further comprises one or more ribs extending through the outlet opening, the one or more ribs being arranged to assist in directing flow through the outlet opening.

In order to provide beverage or other liquid from the beverage forming chamber to the outlet chamber, the beverage forming chamber may comprise an outlet, and the outlet chamber may comprise a drain opening arranged to receive liquid from the beverage forming chamber outlet and to drain the liquid through the drain opening. However, other arrangements are possible, such as having a conduit leading from the piercing outlet needle to the outlet chamber.

The outlet chamber and standpipe may be arranged to control characteristics of the dispensed beverage, such as the maximum size of bubbles discharging at the outlet opening, the amount of foam discharging at the outlet opening, reducing the velocity of the beverage at the inlet opening before the beverage exits the outlet chamber, reducing splashing and directing the beverage in a single direction from the outlet opening, and/or others. Further, the outlet chamber may be removable from the beverage forming system, for example, for cleaning.

In certain embodiments, the system may use a beverage cartridge, for example, the beverage forming chamber may include a beverage cartridge containing a beverage medium. Accordingly, the beverage forming chamber may comprise a chamber arranged to receive a beverage cartridge, such as a bag, capsule or other configuration.

In another aspect of the invention, a method of forming a beverage comprises: forming a beverage having a liquid component and a foam component; directing the beverage to an outlet chamber; controlling one or more characteristics of the foam component at the outlet chamber including foam volume and foam size; and discharging a beverage having a liquid component and the foam component having the one or more controlled characteristics.

In certain embodiments, the controlling step comprises directing at least a portion of the liquid composition to a first portion of the outlet chamber for discharge from the outlet opening and directing at least a portion of the foam composition to a second portion of the outlet chamber for discharge from the auxiliary opening. The auxiliary opening may be located above the outlet opening, for example, to promote merging of the outlet flows.

In certain embodiments, the controlling step comprises passing a portion of the foam component over a wall member extending upwardly from the outlet chamber bottom before exiting the secondary opening, and/or passing the liquid and foam component around a riser portion extending upwardly from the outlet chamber bottom. Thus, the controlling step may comprise preventing the beverage from passing directly from the inlet opening of the outlet chamber into the outlet opening of the outlet chamber.

In certain embodiments, the draining step comprises providing the beverage with a draining velocity upon draining the outlet chamber, the draining velocity being lower than the beverage velocity at the inlet opening of the outlet chamber. Additionally or alternatively, the draining step may include directing beverage exiting the outlet chamber in a single direction to reduce splashing.

These and other aspects of the invention will be apparent from the following description and claims.

Drawings

Aspects of the present invention are described with reference to the drawings, wherein like reference numerals represent like elements, and wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a beverage forming system with a cartridge holder in an open position in the illustrated embodiment;

FIG. 2 is a side view of the beverage forming system of FIG. 1 with the cartridge holder in an open position;

FIG. 3 is a side view of the beverage forming system of FIG. 1 with the cartridge holder in a closed position;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the cartridge holder and cover mounting arrangement of the illustrated embodiment with the cartridge holder in an open position;

fig. 5 is a side view of the arrangement of fig. 4 with the cartridge holder in an open position;

FIG. 6 is a side view of the arrangement of FIG. 4 with the cartridge holder in an intermediate position;

FIG. 7 is a side view of the arrangement of FIG. 4 with the cartridge holder in the closed position;

FIG. 8 is a partial top view of the arrangement of FIG. 6;

FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view of the arrangement of FIG. 7;

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of an outlet chamber according to an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 11 is a bottom view of the outlet chamber of FIG. 10;

FIG. 12 is a schematic view of components of a beverage forming system in the illustrated embodiment;

FIG. 13 shows an exploded view of an illustrative beverage cartridge;

FIG. 14 is a cross-sectional view of the cartridge of FIG. 13;

FIG. 15 shows a view of the cartridge of FIG. 13 with the inlet and outlet members in communication with the cartridge; and

fig. 16 is a top view of the illustrative embodiment of fig. 1 with the cartridge holder in the closed position.

Detailed Description

It should be understood that aspects of the present invention are described herein with reference to certain illustrative embodiments and the accompanying drawings. The illustrative embodiments described herein do not necessarily show all aspects of the invention, but rather serve to describe several illustrative embodiments. Thus, aspects of the present invention are not narrowly construed in an illustrative embodiment. Further, it should be understood that aspects of the invention may be used alone or in any suitable combination with other aspects of the invention.

Fig. 1 illustrates a perspective view of a beverage forming system 100. Although the beverage forming system 100 may be used to form any suitable beverage, such as tea, coffee, other brewed-type beverages, other beverages made from liquid or powdered concentrates, soups, juices, or dry materials, or otherwise, in this illustrative embodiment, the system 100 is configured to form coffee or tea beverages. As is known in the art, a beverage cartridge 1 may be provided to the system 100 and used to form a beverage that is placed into a cup or other suitable container 2 of a user. The cartridge 1 may be manually or automatically placed within a cartridge receptacle that includes the cartridge holder 3 and lid 4 of this embodiment of the beverage forming system 100. For example, the receiving member 3 may be or comprise a circular, cup-shaped or other suitably shaped opening in which the cartridge 1 may be placed. In this embodiment, the cartridge holder 3 comprises an opening 3a arranged to receive the cartridge 1. Although in this embodiment the opening 3a is sized and shaped to mate with the upper portion of the cartridge 1, the opening 3a may be otherwise arranged, such as mating with a lower, side, bottom or other portion of the cartridge 1. When the cartridge 1 is placed in the cartridge holder 3, the handle 5 may be manually moved to move the cartridge holder 3 to the closed position. In the closed position, the lid 4 at least partially covers the opening 3a, for example to at least partially enclose the cartridge 1 within a chamber in which the beverage is formed using the cartridge. For example, with cartridge 1 held in the closed position by cartridge holder 3, water or other liquid may be provided to cartridge 1 (e.g., by injecting the liquid into the interior of the cartridge) to form a beverage that exits cartridge 1 and is provided to cup 2 or other receptacle.

According to an aspect of the invention, the cartridge holder 3 is movably mounted to a frame (e.g., including a housing 6 arranged to enclose at least some components of the system 100) and arranged to hold and move the cartridge between an open position in which the opening of the cartridge holder (or the lid of the cartridge) is oriented in an upwardly inclined position to receive the cartridge and a closed position in which the opening (or the lid of the cartridge) is oriented in a downwardly inclined position. That is, when the cartridge holder 3 is in the open position, the holder may be oriented in an upwardly inclined position, for example such that the plane of the opening 3a of the holder 3 is generally upward and angled from horizontal. In one arrangement shown in fig. 2, the opening may have an axis 101 that is perpendicular to the plane of the opening 3a, with the axis 101 being arranged at an angle of about 30-50 degrees above horizontal with the cartridge holder in the open position, although other angles between 0-90 degrees are possible in certain embodiments. This arrangement may provide two features: 1) opening 3a is present in a manner that may allow for convenient placement and/or removal of cartridge 1 relative to receptacle 3, and 2) receptacle 3 may receive cartridge 1 in an open position without cartridge 1 falling out of opening 3 a. As shown in fig. 3, the opening 3a may be oriented in a downwardly inclined position when the cartridge holder 3 is in the closed position. For example, in the closed position, the axis 101 of the opening 3a in this embodiment may be disposed about 10-20 degrees below horizontal, although other angles between 0-90 degrees are possible. Orienting the cartridge 1 in this way may provide the following features, such as: 1) for cartridges having a cup-shaped container and a pierceable lid, the pierceable lid of the opening is positioned downwardly to allow the beverage within the cartridge to more completely drain from the cartridge (e.g., in the event the lid is pierced rather than the container), 2) to allow the interior of the cartridge to better pour fluid so that the fluid can fully react with the beverage medium within the cartridge, 3) to allow the contents of the cartridge 1 to "pour" out of the cartridge (e.g., in the event the lid is pierced or removed from the cartridge and a drink mix or other beverage medium is poured from the cartridge into a mixing chamber, cup 2, or other container), 4) to allow the cartridge to be more easily ejected (e.g., to allow the cartridge 1 to fall out of the receptacle 3 for ejection in the event the lid 4 is removed or other component holding the cartridge in place within the receptacle 3), and the like.

Another aspect of the invention relates to having the housing define a cavity 61 (see fig. 1), the cavity 61 being arranged to receive the cartridge holder 3 when the holder 3 is in the closed position. Thus, in the open position, the cartridge holder 3 may be positioned outside the cavity 61, but in the closed position, the holder 3 may be received within the cavity 61. This arrangement may provide a more compact system 100 when the cartridge holder 3 is in the closed position and/or help shield the cartridge holder 3 from the user during system operation, such as in the event hot water is sprayed from the cartridge during beverage formation.

In another aspect of the invention, the cartridge holder and lid are arranged such that pushing the cartridge holder down relative to the frame 6 moves the cartridge holder 3 from the open position to the closed position and causes the lid 4 to at least partially cover the opening. That is, in this illustrative embodiment, the user may simply push down on the handle 5 of the cartridge holder 3 to move the cartridge holder 3 to the closed position. (in this illustrative embodiment, handle 5 is fixed relative to cartridge holder 3, and so pushing down on handle 5 also pushes down on cartridge holder 3. other handle arrangements are possible, particularly with respect to other aspects of the invention, such as where handle 5 is rotatable relative to cartridge holder 3.) this feature provides simplicity of construction and operation of system 100 with respect to opening and closing to form a beverage. While certain embodiments according to aspects of the present invention may include linkages, motors, and other relatively complex arrangements for moving the cartridge holder 3, in this illustrative embodiment, the user need only push down on the cartridge holder 3 to move it to the closed position and lift the cartridge holder 3 to move it to the open position. This arrangement may make the system more intuitive for the user to use, for example the natural way to close an item such as a door is to push the item to move it to the closed position. As such, this aspect of the invention may make the use of the system 100 more convenient and less complex.

Although in this embodiment the user may push down on the cartridge holder 3 to close it and lift up on the cartridge holder 3 to open it, other arrangements according to this aspect of the invention are possible. For example, while a user may push down on cartridge holder 3 to move it to the closed position, such movement may require a spring loaded system and engage a latch that may hold cartridge holder 3 in the closed position until system 100 automatically releases the latch, allowing cartridge holder 3 to move up to the open position without interaction with the user. Such opening of the cartridge holder 3 may be triggered, for example, by the user pressing a button or otherwise indicating that a beverage needs to be formed. Further, although the cartridge holder 3 is pivotally moved relative to the frame 6 in this embodiment, other arrangements are possible, such as vertical movement of the cartridge holder 3 relative to the frame 6, vertical and pivotal movement relative to the frame 6, and the like.

In another aspect of the invention, the lid may at least partially cover the opening of the cartridge holder when the cartridge holder is in the closed position and be positioned away from the opening when the cartridge holder is in the open position, and the lid may be arranged to move with the cartridge holder for at least a portion of the movement of the cartridge holder between the open and closed positions. For example, the lid may move with the cartridge holder during a portion of the movement of the cartridge holder when the cartridge holder is moved from the open position to the closed position, e.g., to help ensure that the cartridge does not fall out of the cartridge holder and/or to help one or more piercing elements on the lid properly engage the cartridge. As described above, in one embodiment, the cartridge holder is movable from an open position in which the opening is oriented in an upwardly inclined position to a closed position in which the opening is oriented in a downwardly inclined position. In such a movement, the cartridge may be at risk of falling out of the opening unless certain features are provided to assist in keeping the cartridge engaged with the cartridge holder. While other arrangements are possible (such as a frictional engagement of the cartridge with the holder, retaining tabs on the holder, etc.), in one aspect of the invention, the cap may move with the cartridge holder during a portion of its movement to assist in retaining the cartridge in engagement with the holder. For example, in one embodiment, the lid may engage the cartridge and at least partially cover the opening of the receptacle before the receptacle reaches the closed position. In this way, the system can ensure that the cartridge is properly mated with the cartridge holder and lid before the holder reaches the closed position. Additionally, or alternatively, pivotal movement of the lid with the cartridge holder while the cartridge holder is pivotally moved to the closed position may allow the lid to move linearly or axially relative to the holder, e.g., to allow a piercing element on the lid to properly mate with the cartridge to allow liquid to be introduced into or beverage to be received from the cartridge. Otherwise, linear or axial movement of the cap relative to the cartridge and cartridge holder while the holder is being pivotally moved may cause a piercing member on the cap to tear a slit in the cartridge or otherwise improperly engage the cartridge.

Fig. 4 shows a perspective view of an illustrative embodiment of a cartridge receiver that may be used in the embodiments of fig. 1-3. Although the cartridge receiver incorporating aspects of the present invention may be arranged in a variety of ways, in this embodiment, the cartridge holder 3 is pivotally mounted to the frame 6 by a pivot pin 51 such that the cartridge holder 3 is pivotally movable between an open position (shown in fig. 4) and a closed position. The cover 4 is mounted to a carrier 41, which carrier 41 is movably mounted relative to the frame 6 at a pivot pin 51 and slidably mounted to the base 47. In particular, the slot 42 of the carrier 41 cooperates with the pin 51 such that the carrier 41 is pivotally and linearly movable along the slot 42 relative to the frame 6. The carrier 41 is also slidable along a slot 47a in the base 47. Like the cartridge holder 3, the base portion 47 is pivotally mounted to the frame at pivot pins 51 so that the base portion 47 can pivot relative to the frame 6. The carrier 41 has a cam groove 43 that cooperates with a cam follower 31 (e.g., a fixing pin) on the cartridge holder 3. As explained in more detail below, the cam groove 43 and the cam follower 31 cooperate the carrier 41 and the receptacle 3 (and thus the base 47 with the receptacle 3), such that movement of the receptacle 3 causes movement of the carrier 41 (and the base 47). A pair of links 44 is pivotally connected between the frame 6 and the carrier 41. The link 44 moves the carrier 41 along the slot 42 to move the cover 4 toward and away from the opening 3a of the receiving member 3. The link 44 also helps to limit the pivotal movement of the carrier 41 and base 47 in the upward direction.

Movement of cartridge holder 3, lid 4 and carrier 41, and base 47 between the open and closed positions is described with reference to fig. 5-7. Fig. 5 shows a side view of the assembly of fig. 4 with the cartridge holder 3 in an open position and the opening 3a positioned upwardly away from the lid 4 and carrier 41 in an upwardly inclined position in preparation for receiving the cartridge 1 or removing the cartridge 1 from the holder 3. The carrier 41 is moved forward relative to the base 47 (along the groove 47a) and the frame 6 (along the slot 42) so that the pin 51 is located at the leftmost (rear) end of the slot 42. Further, the cam follower 31 of the accommodating member 3 is located at the upper end of the cam groove 43, and thus the carrier 41 and the base 47 are located at the uppermost position with respect to the frame 6. From the state shown in fig. 5, the cartridge holder 3 can be moved downward, for example pivoted about the pin 51 relative to the frame 6 towards the carrier 41 and the base 47. During this initial portion of the movement towards the closed position, the cam follower 31 slides along the cam groove 43, the cam groove 43 being shaped so that the carrier 41 and the base 47 remain substantially stationary with respect to the frame 6.

In an intermediate position between the open and closed positions shown in fig. 6, the cartridge holder 3 is pivoted downward and received in the space of the carrier 41 such that the opening 3a is opposed to the cover 4. This intermediate position may be reached when the axis 101 is near horizontal, such as at an angle in the range of about 0-10 degrees of horizontal. At this point, the shape of the cam slot 42 changes such that further movement of the receptacle 3 downward toward the closed position also moves the carrier 41 (and cover 4) and base 47 downward. (the base 47 and carrier 41 move together with respect to the pivotal movement of the pin 51. however, the carrier 41 is arranged to slide back/forth relative to the base 47 as described above.) in this embodiment, the cam slot 42 is shaped such that the carrier 41 and lid 4 move with the cartridge holder 3 towards the closed position. Then, when the cover 4, the carrier 41, the base 47, and the container 3 are moved downward and pivotally with respect to the frame 6 to the closed position, the cover 4 will remain opposed to the opening 3 a. This downward movement of the carrier 41 also causes movement of the link 44, the link 44 pushing the carrier 41 rearward (leftward in the drawing) relative to the base 47 and the frame 6. That is, downward movement of the carrier 41 causes the link 44 to move counterclockwise about its connection point to the frame, which pushes the carrier 41 to the left as viewed in fig. 6, such that the slot 42 slides along the pin 51 and the carrier 41 slides along the groove 47a of the base 47. This movement moves the cover 4 toward the opening 3 a. The cap 4 may then be engaged with the cartridge 1 within the receptacle 3 or moved towards engagement with the cartridge 1, for example to help hold the cartridge 1 in place. Thus, the cap 4 may act as a retainer to help hold the cartridge 1 in place within the receptacle 3. Thus, even if cartridge holder 3 is movable such that opening 3a approaches a downwardly inclined position, lid 4 may help to hold cartridge 1 in place within holder 3. Furthermore, although not required, the cap 4 in this embodiment comprises piercing elements 45, 46, the piercing elements 45, 46 being arranged to pierce the cartridge 1 when the cap 4 is moved towards the opening 3 a. As described in more detail below, the piercing of the cartridge by the elements 45, 46 may allow liquid to be delivered to the cartridge 1 and/or beverage to be received from the cartridge 1, but such piercing elements are not required.

Fig. 7 shows the cartridge holder 3 in the closed position. In this position, the carrier 41 is slid back to the left along the slot 42 so the pin 51 is located near the front end of the slot 42 and brings the cartridge holder 3 down into contact with at least part of the base 47. As the carrier 41 moves backwards, the lid 4 is arranged to at least partially cover the opening 3a, for example to contact the cartridge 1 and hold it in place. The lid 4 may cooperate with the cartridge and/or the receptacle 3 to form a seal (with the cartridge, the receptacle 3, or both) so that a leak-free connection may be formed between the lid and the cartridge or receptacle 3. As will be appreciated, the arrangement of the link 44 in close alignment with the slot 42 and the pin 51 allows the link 44 to provide good mechanical advantage to the movement of the cover 4 towards the receptacle 3, allowing the cover 4 to mate with the cartridge 1 or receptacle 3 with a strong clamping force. Thus, the lid 4 can be held tightly against the cartridge and/or the receptacle 3 due to the relatively modest downward force exerted by the user on the receptacle 3. This clamping arrangement can be used to form a leak-free connection that helps prevent liquid and/or beverage from leaking from the cartridge or holder 3 at the junction with the lid 4.

The movement of the cartridge holder 3 from the closed position to the open position is the reverse of the relative movement from the open position to the closed position. That is, when the cartridge holder 3 is lifted from the closed position, the carrier 41 and the lid 4 (and the base 47) move rotationally with the cartridge holder 3 about the pin 51, and the link 44 moves the carrier 41 and the lid 4 forward, so that the lid 4 moves away from the opening 3 a. In the intermediate position of fig. 6, the carrier 41 and the lid 4 (and base 47) stop moving upward (at least in part by the action of the link 44 and cam slot 43 and follower 31), and the cartridge holder 4 alone moves upward to the open position. Since the piercing elements 45, 46 are disengaged from the cartridge 1 in the intermediate position, the cartridge and cartridge holder 3 are free to move upward and away from the cap 4 without interference.

Of course, such as other embodiments wherein the cap 4 does not include piercing elements 45, 46, but rather includes inlet and/or outlet ports that are flush with the cap surface facing the cartridge 1, the cap 4 need not move with the cartridge holder 3 at any part of the movement of the cartridge holder 3. Instead, the cover may remain fixed and stationary relative to the frame 6, while the cartridge holder 3 may be moved separately, e.g. the cartridge holder 3 may be pivoted from an upper position to a lower position in which the opening 3a is opposite the fixed cover 4. Thereafter, the receiving member 3 may be moved radially or linearly such that the cover 4 at least partially covers the opening 3 a.

In another aspect of the invention, the cartridge holder may be arranged to hold the cartridge within the cartridge holder opening during at least a portion of the movement of the cartridge holder from the open to the closed position. For example, in embodiments in which the cartridge holder is arranged to move between an open position in which the opening of the cartridge holder is oriented in an upwardly inclined position to receive a cartridge and a closed position in which the opening is oriented in a horizontal or downwardly inclined position, it is possible for a cartridge to fall out of the opening. The cartridge holder may include a mating portion, such as one or more fingers that mate with a top surface of the cartridge, which helps hold the cartridge in place within the cartridge receiver opening. By engaging the cartridge retainer with the top surface of the cartridge to help hold the cartridge in place, the user may be allowed to place the cartridge into the opening of the cartridge holder with a slight loose fit without having to pay attention to the fact that the cartridge will fall out of the opening when the cartridge holder is moved. That is, although in some embodiments the cartridge may be held in place within the cartridge holder by a friction fit or other similar arrangement (such an arrangement between the cartridge and the cartridge holder may make it difficult to place the cartridge into or remove it from the cartridge holder). This may hinder, for example, manual or automatic ejection or other removal of the cartridge after use. Conversely, a cartridge holder that does not rely on a frictional fit of the cartridge with the cartridge holder may make cartridge placement/removal easier, yet still help ensure that the cartridge is properly associated with the holder, such as when the cartridge holder is moved between open and closed positions.

As can be seen, for example, in fig. 4-6, the system 100 may include a cartridge holder 8 positioned adjacent the cartridge holder opening 3a during a portion of the movement of the cartridge holder 3 between the open and closed positions. In this embodiment, the cartridge holder 8 includes an engaging portion positioned adjacent to the opening 3a at about the time when the accommodating member 3 reaches the intermediate position shown in fig. 6 or slightly earlier. Thus, the cartridge holder 8 may be positioned to inhibit movement of the cartridge 1 from the opening 3a when the cartridge holder approaches or reaches a near horizontal position (such that the axis 101 is near horizontal) or other position. In this embodiment, cartridge holder 8 is mounted to carrier 41 for sliding movement relative to cover 4 and cartridge holder 3. Then, when the cartridge holder 3 is in the open position, the cartridge holder 8 is positioned away from the cartridge holder 3. This may make placement of the cartridge in the receptacle 3 or removal of the cartridge easier. In this embodiment, the cartridge holder 8 includes a mating portion 81 and a resilient member 82 (such as a spring, rubber band, or other component), the mating portion 81 being arranged to move within a slot or other channel of the carrier 4, the resilient member 82 biasing the mating portion 81 to move away from the cover 4, although other suitable arrangements may be used. Other possible arrangements include having the cartridge holder 8 mounted to the cover 4, having the cartridge holder mounted to the frame 6, and others. In another embodiment, the cartridge holder 8 may comprise an arm mounted to the cartridge holder 3 and arranged such that the holder 3 pivots away from the opening 3a when in the open position and pivots towards the opening 3a when the holder is moved towards the closed position. This pivoting movement can be driven in one direction by a spring and in the other direction by contact with a part of the frame 6, for example when the receiving member 3 is moved relative to the frame 6.

Fig. 8 shows a top view of the carrier 41, cartridge holder 3 and cover 4 in the intermediate position shown in fig. 6. This view shows how the fingers of the mating portion 81 are positioned adjacent the opening 3a, for example between the opening 3a and the lid 4, to help inhibit movement of the cartridge 1 from the receptacle 3. When the cartridge holder 3 is further moved toward the closed position (see fig. 7), the cover 4 and the fitting portion 81 will be moved toward the cartridge holder 3 by the link 44 sliding the carrier 41 rearward. At some point, the mating portion 81 will contact the top surface of the cartridge 1 before the cartridge holder 3 reaches the closed position and the lid 4 is positioned over the opening 3 a. This may help the mating portions 81 to hold the cartridge 1 in place within the holder 3 and, in fact, as the carrier 41 slides further rearwardly, the resilient members 82 may provide a force on each mating portion 81 that resiliently clamps the cartridge 1 in place until the cartridge holder 3 reaches the closed position and the lid 4 is pressed against the top surface of the cartridge.

Of course, since the cartridge holder 8 in this embodiment is mounted to the carrier 41, the cartridge holder 8 is arranged to move with the cartridge holder 3 during at least a portion of the movement of the cartridge holder 3 between the open and closed positions. This movement with cartridge holder 3 may help cartridge holder 8 to operate better to help hold cartridge 1 in place. For example, the cartridge holder 8 may be arranged to move with the cartridge holder 3 in a portion of the movement where the cartridge is most likely to fall out of the holder 3, such as when the axis 101 of the opening 3a approaches or falls below horizontally. However, since the holder 8 moves with the receptacle 3 only during a portion of the movement of the receptacle 3, the holder 8 may be positioned away from the receptacle 3 (or at least away from the opening 3a, like the cover 4) to allow access to the opening 3 a. Other arrangements such as the above-described retaining member 8 comprising an arm mounted to the receiving member 3 may involve the retaining member 8 always moving with the receiving member 3, only still having the retaining member 8 serve to restrain the cartridge within the receiving member 3 for a portion of the movement of the receiving member.

The cartridge holder 8 may also provide a feature to disengage the cartridge 1 from the lid 4 (as desired) as the cartridge holder moves from the closed position toward the open position. For example, in embodiments where the cap 4 includes inlet and/or outlet piercing elements 45, 46 or other inlet/outlet probes, the cartridge 1 may be bonded to the piercing elements 45, 46 or otherwise tend to remain engaged with the cap 4. However, cartridge holder 8 may push cartridge 1 away from cover 4, pulling piercing elements 45, 46 out of cartridge 1 or otherwise assisting in holding the cartridge in engagement with opening 3a of cartridge holder 3. The retaining member 8 may exert a bias on the cartridge 1 under the force of the resilient member 82 to assist in disengaging the cartridge and retaining the cartridge 1 within the opening 3a of the receiving member 3. Of course, as the cartridge holder 3 moves through the intermediate position and toward the open position, the cartridge holder 3 will move away from the cartridge holder 8 and the cover 4. However, the risk of cartridge 1 falling out of containing element 3 can be reduced, for example because opening 3a of containing element 3 may be inclined upwards.

An aspect of the invention included in this illustrative embodiment is that the cartridge holder may be mounted for movement with the cover relative to the cartridge holder. That is, although the cartridge holder may be arranged to assist in holding the cartridge in position relative to the cartridge holder, the holder may actually be arranged to move with the lid. This feature may help ensure that the cartridge holder is positioned away from the cartridge holder when in the open position so that the holder does not interfere with placement of the cartridge within the holder or removal of the cartridge from the holder.

In another aspect of the present invention, the cartridge holder may have an engagement portion positioned between the cartridge holder and the lid when the cartridge holder is in the closed position. This arrangement may allow for a simpler cartridge holder arrangement, e.g., fingers or other components in contact with the cartridge top surface need not be retracted or otherwise removed from the space between the cartridge holder and the cover. Although in this embodiment the portions of the fingers of the mating portion 81 that are positioned between the cartridge holder 3 and the lid 4 do not interfere with the formation of a proper seal (between the cartridge and the cartridge holder or between the cartridge and the lid if a cartridge is present, and/or between the microphone holder and the lid if a cartridge is not present), it is possible to adapt to ensure that a proper seal is formed, such as by having a portion of the mating portion received within a groove or other feature of the lid and/or arranging the cartridge to deform to accommodate the mating portion.

Another aspect of the invention, which is included in the embodiments described above, is that the cartridge holder, the wall member and the lid are operable together to form a chamber in which the cartridge can be enclosed. For example, the wall member may be mounted to the frame (fixed or movable) and define a first portion of the chamber, the cartridge holder may define a second portion of the chamber, and the lid may define a third portion of the chamber. As discussed above, the cartridge holder and the lid may be made movable relative to the frame or to each other, but when the cartridge holder is in the closed position and the lid covers the opening of the cartridge holder, the wall member, and the lid may define a chamber in a closed state enclosing a cartridge held by the cartridge holder. Having a chamber that may enclose the cartridge formed of three separate portions may provide advantages such as allowing for automatic cartridge ejection, easier cleaning of the cartridge holder or other portions of the chamber, and/or easier manufacturing of the system. For example, the cartridge holder may define a top wall, side walls and a rear wall of the chamber, while the wall member defines a bottom wall of the chamber and the lid defines a front wall of the chamber. Thus, the cartridge holder may have a fully open side (bottom), allowing easier access to the cartridge holder interior for cleaning, allowing the cartridge to be released from the holder to fall through the open bottom (e.g., for automatic ejection), and/or allowing the cartridge holder to be molded as a single part without the need for overly complicated or expensive tooling. Furthermore, by defining a closed chamber even if no cartridge is present within the receptacle, the chamber can be cleaned by introducing a liquid into the chamber when the cartridge receptacle is in the closed position, for example by injecting hot water into one or both piercing elements 45, 46.

Fig. 9 shows a cross-sectional view of the cartridge holder 3, carrier 42 (and lid 4), and base 47, with the cartridge holder 3 in the closed position. In this state, the cartridge holder 3 is positioned in contact with the wall member 48 of the base 47, the wall member 48 forming a bottom wall of the beverage forming chamber 49. Further, the cover 4 is positioned to cover the opening 3a of the cartridge holder 3, and thus to enclose the chamber 49. In certain embodiments, chamber 49 may be substantially water-tight, such that any liquid introduced into the chamber (such as through piercing elements 45, 46 or leaking cartridge 1) does not exit chamber 49, or exits chamber 49 only through defined outlet 48 a. In this embodiment, the wall member 48 is arranged such that in the closed position any liquid on the wall member 48 is expelled forwardly to the outlet 48a, the outlet 48a forming a channel or groove within the wall member 48. The outlet 48a may direct liquid to the outlet chamber 7, the outlet chamber 7 also being arranged to receive beverage from the outlet piercing element 45 and associated tubing (together may form an outlet arranged to interfere with the cartridge to receive beverage from the cartridge). Although in this embodiment the piercing element 45 is shown as being included with the beverage outlet, the outlet need not pierce the cartridge, but may be arranged to receive the beverage, for example via a non-piercing port or other arrangement. For example, the outlet may comprise an opening in the lid 4 arranged to receive beverage from an opening or other port on the cartridge. Alternatively, the beverage may exit the cartridge and pass into chamber 49 to exit via outlet 48 a.

Although in this illustrative embodiment the chamber is formed by three separable parts, all movable relative to the frame and to each other, alternative arrangements are possible. For example, the wall member may be fixed to the frame and arranged to cooperate with the cartridge holder when the holder is moved to the closed position. Similarly, the cartridge receiver may be made fixed to the frame and the cover and wall member may move relative to the receiver to form the chamber, or the cover may be made fixed relative to the frame and the wall member and receiver may move.

In another aspect of the invention, an outlet that interferes with the cartridge or the beverage forming chamber to receive the beverage may be arranged to be fluidly coupled to the outlet chamber only when the cartridge holder is in the closed position. This arrangement may allow the outlet to be associated with a movable lid or other portion of the cartridge chamber, yet eliminate the need for a flexible conduit or other connection between the outlet and the outlet chamber or other arrangement for delivering the beverage to a user's cup or other receptacle. Instead, the fluid connection between the outlet or other part of the lid may be broken when the cartridge chamber is open and reconnected when the cartridge chamber is closed, i.e. when the system is ready to make a beverage.

In the illustrative embodiment shown in fig. 9, outlet piercing element 45 comprises a conduit extending downwardly from lid 4 and is arranged to mate with inlet opening 71 of outlet chamber 7 when cartridge holder 3 is in the closed position. The conduit may be arranged to form a suitable seal with the inlet opening 71, for example by having a portion of the conduit pass into the inlet opening 71, and a flange or other seal on the conduit cooperates with the outlet chamber 7 housing. The conduit itself may be made of a resilient material, such as silicone rubber, to help form a proper seal with the inlet opening 71 and/or to accommodate minor misalignments or movements between the conduit and the inlet opening 71. Of course, other arrangements are possible and the conduit need not form a seal with the inlet opening 71 but may simply discharge the beverage to the opening 71. As described above, the opening of the cartridge holder 3 moves the cover 4 upwardly relative to the outlet chamber 7 and thus moves the outlet piercing element 45 and its conduit upwardly away from the inlet opening 71. The conduit will then only be arranged in fluid communication with the inlet opening 71, the lid 4 and/or the cartridge holder 3 being in the closed position and ready to form a beverage.

As discussed above, the outlet for the beverage formed in the chamber 49 does not necessarily have to pass through the piercing element 45 and the associated duct. For example, the beverage may simply drain from the cartridge 1 to the chamber 49 and to the wall member 48. As can also be seen in fig. 9, beverage or other liquid within the chamber 49 may drain to the outlet 48a of the wall member 48, which outlet 48a directs the liquid to the drain opening 72 of the outlet chamber 7. Although in this embodiment the discharge opening 72 is separate from the outlet opening 73 through which the beverage is discharged from the piercing element 45 out of the outlet chamber 7, the two openings 72, 73 may be combined into one if desired.

In another aspect of the invention, the outlet chamber that outputs the beverage to a user's cup or other container may be arranged to control bubble size, bubble volume, bubble to liquid ratio, beverage flow rate or other velocity, and/or other characteristics of the beverage foam that may be produced when the beverage is formed. That is, in the formation of certain beverages, foam or other bubbles may be generated. The manner in which the foam is formed may vary, such as by introducing air, steam, liquid, and/or combinations of these materials into the cartridge 1, whipping the beverage using a mechanical whipper to introduce air bubbles, passing the beverage through a venturi structure configured to inject air into the flowing beverage stream, etc., and in some cases, it may be desirable to control the amount of foam of the beverage liquid produced, the maximum size of the bubbles formed, and other characteristics of the foam. The inventors have appreciated that the characteristics of the generated foam may be adjusted by using a suitably configured chamber through which the beverage and/or foam passes into the user's cup. In an illustrative embodiment further shown in fig. 10 and 11, a standpipe 74 fluidly disposed between the inlet opening 71 and the outlet opening 73 of the outlet chamber 7 may help control the properties of the foam. Furthermore, aspects of the invention that are incorporated into the outlet chamber 7 provide for foam regulation regardless of the volume of beverage formed and passing through the outlet chamber 7. (note that the top perspective view of FIG. 10 does not include an upper portion of outlet chamber 7 defining inlet opening 71. this upper portion has been removed for clarity, but it should be understood that outlet chamber 7 defines a substantially enclosed space between inlet opening 71 and outlet opening 73/secondary outlet opening 76.) standpipe 74 may extend upwardly from the bottom of outlet chamber 7 and may partially surround outlet opening 73 and/or secondary outlet opening 76. For example, a portion 74a of the standpipe 74 may be positioned between the inlet opening 71 and the outlet opening 73, and another portion 74b may be positioned between the outlet opening 73 and the auxiliary outlet opening 76. The first portion 74a of the standpipe 74 can be used to block the direct path from the inlet opening 71 to the outlet opening 73 and thus delay the discharge of bubbles from the chamber 7. This time delay may reduce the size of the bubbles within the beverage, for example, because larger bubbles may tend to collapse in a shorter time than smaller bubbles, or have other desirable effects on regulating the size of the bubbles. In addition, the standpipe 74 can force bubbles through the relatively narrow space between the first and second portions 74a, 74b to the outlet opening 73, collapsing or preventing larger bubbles from exiting. In an embodiment, a first portion 74a of the standpipe 74 between the inlet opening 71 and the outlet opening 73 is formed by two flat vertical walls extending upwardly from the bottom of the chamber 7 and joined together at an angle relative to each other.

The second portion 74b of the stand pipe 74 may be separate from the first portion 74a and may comprise a wall member extending upwardly from the bottom of the chamber 7 and completely surrounding the auxiliary outlet opening 76, such that liquid and/or foam exiting the opening 76 needs to pass over the wall member. The second portion 74b may facilitate the discharge of foam from the outlet chamber 7 by helping to inhibit the passage of liquid to the secondary opening 76. For example, since foam tends to be lighter than liquid, and the outlet opening 73 is positioned at the bottom of the chamber 7, liquid will tend to exit the chamber 7 before any foam, leaving foam behind to accumulate. However, because the secondary opening 76 is positioned above the opening 73 and inhibits liquid from passing into the secondary opening 76 (e.g., through the second portion 74b of the standpipe), foam may be discharged through the secondary opening 76 at the same time that liquid is discharged out of the opening 73. This may help to ensure that foam lighter than the liquid beverage is not trapped within the outlet chamber 7 but is expelled via the secondary opening 76. The foam may not compete with much liquid beverage to drain at the secondary opening 76 because the walls of the second portion 74b prevent liquid from moving to the secondary opening 76 without passing over the walls. Furthermore, the auxiliary outlet openings 76 may provide a beverage discharge channel if the outlet openings 73 are clogged, whether by particulate matter, foam pieces or otherwise. One or more ribs 75 may extend downwardly from the secondary opening 76 to the outlet opening 73, thereby directing fluid flow from the opening 76 to the outlet opening 73. In this way, the foam, liquid or other material exiting the auxiliary opening 76 may combine with the material exiting the outlet opening 73. Other arrangements for assisting the discharge and adjustment of foam are also possible, such as having auxiliary openings 76 formed in the side walls of the chamber 7. This arrangement may allow for preferential drainage of foam while eliminating any need for wall portions in the illustrated embodiment. Additionally, or alternatively, the arrangement of portions of the standpipe and/or other aspects of the outlet chamber may help to reduce the velocity of the beverage at the outlet opening before the beverage exits the outlet chamber. That is, the velocity of the beverage at the outlet opening 73 and the auxiliary opening 76 may be lower than the velocity of the beverage entering the inlet opening 71. This may help to reduce spraying and/or splashing when discharging the outlet chamber and transitioning to the user's cup 2 or other location. The outlet chamber may act as a reservoir or container that reduces surges or other variations in the flow of beverage from the outlet chamber and has the overall effect of reducing the beverage flow rate.

Another feature of the outlet chamber 7 (shown in fig. 11) is that the outlet opening 73 includes one or more ribs 75 extending vertically through the opening 73 and below the opening 73. These ribs 75 may help direct the flow of liquid in a desired direction, such as downward in a generally vertical direction (or other single direction) to help reduce splashing. These ribs 75 may also help to guide the formation of any bubbles at the opening 73, for example, to help reduce the likelihood of bubble formation and, if any, to help limit the bubble size and/or area of bubble formation. Thus, for example, these ribs 75 may puncture larger bubbles and/or help direct bubble formation (if any) to remain located around the outlet opening 73.

In an embodiment, the outlet chamber 7 may be made removable from the system 100, e.g. for replacement, cleaning and/or interchange with a different outlet chamber 7. For example, an outlet chamber 7 may be specifically designed for the discharge of certain beverages, such as chocolate, and for appropriate foam conditioning required for these beverages, while another outlet chamber 7 may be designed for other beverages, such as tea, and for appropriate foam conditioning (e.g. foam removal) of these beverages. By replacing the outlet chamber 7, a user can configure the system 100 to form a beverage having desired characteristics.

Fig. 12 shows a schematic block diagram of components that may be included in a beverage forming apparatus 100, in an illustrative embodiment. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the beverage forming apparatus 100 may be configured in a variety of different ways, and thus, aspects of the present invention should not be construed narrowly as relating to only one type of beverage forming apparatus. Water and other liquids from the storage tank 110 may be supplied via a supply conduit 111 to a pump 112 (such as a centrifugal pump, piston pump, solenoid pump, diaphragm pump, etc.) which the pump 12 pumps the liquid to a heating tank or chamber 118 via a pump conduit 115. Operation of water pump 112 and other components of apparatus 100 may be controlled by controller 130, controller 30 including, for example, a programmed processor and/or other data processing device along with appropriate software or other operating instructions, one or more memories (including non-transitory storage media that may store software and/or other operating instructions), temperature and level sensors, pressure sensors, input/output interfaces, communication buses or other links, displays, switches, relays, triacs, or other components necessary to perform the required input/output or other functions. The heating tank 118 may be filled with the required amount of liquid by any suitable technique, such as running the pump 112 for a predetermined period of time, sensing the water level within the heating tank 118 using a conductive probe sensor or capacitive sensor, detecting a pressure rise within the heating tank 118 as liquid fills the tank, or using any other feasible technique. For example, the controller 130 may detect that the heating tank 118 is full when the pressure sensor detects a pressure increase indicating that water has reached the top of the heating tank 118. Alternatively, the control 130 may not detect whether the heating tank 118 is full, and only assume that the heating tank 118 is full once the first filling operation is completed.

If desired, the tank may be heated by heating element 123, and the operation of heating element 23 may be controlled by controller 130 using input from a temperature sensor or other suitable input device. The water within the heater box 118 may be distributed to the cartridge chamber 49 or other beverage forming location through the heater box conduit 119. Although in this embodiment the conduit 119 is shown extending below the top of the heating tank 118, the conduit 119 may be arranged in any manner, such as merely being connected to the top of the heating tank 118 and not extending into the heating tank at all. The cartridge chamber 49 may include any beverage forming ingredient, such as ground coffee, tea, flavored drink mixes, or other substances, which may be contained within the cartridge 1, for example. Liquid may be discharged from the heater tank 118 by pressurizing the meter tank with air provided by an air pump 121, the air pump 121 causing the liquid discharge tube 117 to discharge into the heater tank conduit 119. Completion of dispensing from the heating tank 118 may be detected in any suitable manner, such as by detecting a pressure drop within the heating tank 118, by detecting a water level change within the heating tank 118 using a flow meter, or using any other feasible technique. Or may be drained from the heating tank 118 by operation of the pump 112 to force additional liquid into the heating tank 118, thereby causing water to move out of the heating tank 118 and into the brew chamber. A flow sensor or other suitable device may be used to determine the amount of liquid delivered to the tank 118, and thus to the brew chamber. Alternatively, the pump 12 may be a piston-type, diaphragm-type, or other pump such that a known amount of liquid may be delivered from the pump 112 to the heating tank 118, thus causing a likewise known amount to be delivered to the cartridge chamber 49. Thus, a specific amount of liquid may be delivered to the cartridge chamber 49 by operating the pump 112 to deliver a specific amount of liquid to the heating tank 118. The liquid may be introduced into the cartridge 1 at any suitable pressure, for example a pressure of 1-2psi or higher. Once delivery of liquid by pump 112 is complete, air pump 121 is operated to force air into the top of heating tank 118 and/or into conduit 119 to at least some degree purge conduit 119 and/or cartridge 1 of liquid.

Although in the illustrated embodiment, the liquid supply system arranged to provide liquid to the beverage forming chamber (cartridge chamber 49) may include the heating tank 118, the pump 112, the storage tank 110, and other components, these components are not required. Rather, any suitable arrangement for providing liquid to the chamber, whether using gravity, a pump, air pressure, or other motive force to move the liquid, may be employed. Furthermore, it is not necessary to heat the liquid before it is arranged to be mixed with the beverage medium. Rather, the liquid may be provided to form a beverage at any suitable temperature.

Once the cartridge is located within the cartridge chamber 49 in the closed position, the beverage forming system 100 may use the cartridge 1 to form a beverage. For example, one or more inlet needles 46 associated with the cap 4 may pierce the cartridge 1 to inject hot water or other liquid into the cartridge 1. The injected liquid may form the desired beverage or beverage precursor. The cartridge 1 may take any suitable form such as a bag, bag mesh, pouch, container or other generally known, as is known in the art. For example, the cartridge 1 may comprise an impermeable outer casing within which is contained a beverage medium, such as roast and ground coffee or other substance. The cartridge 1 may also include a filter so that the beverage formed by the interaction of the liquid and the beverage medium passes through the filter before being dispensed into the receptacle 2. As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, cartridges in the form of a bag web (e.g., having opposing layers of permeable filter paper enclosing a beverage medium) may use the exterior of the cartridge 1 to filter the formed beverage. The lid 4 may also include one or more outlet needles 45 or other means to pierce or puncture the cartridge 1 on the outlet side (as desired) to allow the formed beverage to exit the cartridge 1. Other arrangements for beverage outlet are possible, for example the cartridge may have a permeable portion and others which allow beverage to enter the chamber 49 and then exit via the outlet passage 48a to the outlet chamber 7. Further, the inlet and/or outlet is not required to pierce the cartridge to provide liquid to the cartridge or to receive beverage from the cartridge. Rather, communication with the cartridge may be made using any suitable port or other feature.

Although in the above described embodiments the cartridge holder and other movable parts are manually driven, other arrangements are envisaged for aspects of the invention. For example, a motorized actuator may be used to move the cartridge holder instead of a manually operated handle. The motorized actuator may cause relative movement of the components in response to button manipulation, a complete beverage forming cycle or other input or adjustment. Furthermore, to the extent that the different movable parts are connected together in some manner, such connection is not limited to cooperation via a cam and cam follower or other configuration as described above. Other arrangements are possible, such as a pair of gears or a rack and pinion arrangement (including straight or curved rack configurations).

Figures 13 and 14 show an exploded view and a side sectional view of a cartridge 1 that can be used in the above described embodiments. While aspects of the invention may be used with any suitable cartridge, or no cartridge at all, the illustrative embodiments shown may provide features that enhance the operation of the beverage forming system 100. The cartridge 1 in this example may be used in a beverage machine to form any suitable beverage, such as tea, coffee or other brewed beverages, beverages formed from liquid or powdered concentrates, and the like. Accordingly, the cartridge 1 may contain any suitable beverage medium 20, such as coffee powder, tea leaves, dry herbal tea, powdered beverage concentrates, dry fruit extracts or powders, powdered or liquid concentrated broths or other soups, powdered or liquid medicinal materials (such as powdered vitamins, pharmaceuticals or other pharmaceuticals, nutrients, etc.), and/or other beverage forming materials (such as milk or other creams, sweeteners, thickeners, flavorings, etc.). In an illustrative embodiment, the cartridge 1 contains a beverage medium 20 and is configured for use in a machine for forming coffee and/or tea beverages, although aspects of the invention are not limited in this respect.

In this illustrative embodiment, the cartridge 1 includes a container 12, the container 12 including an interior space having a first chamber 14a and a second chamber 14b separated by a filter 30. However, it should be understood that other additional chambers and/or sub-portions or regions of the first and second chambers within the interior space may be provided in other embodiments. For example, the cartridge may have three spaces separated by two filters (e.g., a first filter separates two portions of a first chamber, and a second filter separates the first and second chambers), etc. In another embodiment, the first chamber or the second chamber may be divided into two parts by a venturi tube or other structure that introduces air into the beverage. Thus, the first and/or second chambers may be divided or otherwise divided into two or more sections or regions by filters, walls, partitions, channels, and other structures.

In this embodiment, the container 12 may have a frustoconical cup shape with a sidewall 17 and an opening 13. However, in other embodiments, the container 12 may have a trough, conical, or cylindrical shape, may be in the form of a square or rectangular cup, a domed cup, a sphere or hemisphere, or other suitable form, may have side walls that are trough, corrugated, or other shapes, and the like. Furthermore, the container 12 need not have a defined shape, as is the case with certain beverage pouches and cartridges. For example, while in this embodiment the container 12 has a relatively rigid and/or resilient structure such that the container 12 tends to maintain its shape, the container 12 may be made to have a more compliant and/or deformable structure, such as, for example, a pouch-like container made from a deformable sheet of material. Thus, the interior space defined by the container 12 may be formed only after the container material is formed around the beverage medium, filter, and/or other cartridge components, similar to when two layers of filter paper (container material) are joined together around the ground coffee sweetener to form a cartridge or other cartridge form.

If the container 12 includes an opening 13, the opening 13 may be closed by a lid 38, such as a foil and polymer laminate material, attached to the rim 19 of the container 12. (although in this embodiment rim 19 is arranged as an annular flange-like member, rim 19 may be arranged in other ways as well-for example, rim 19 may be the top edge of sidewall 17 without any flange members.) container 12 and/or lid 38 may provide a barrier for moisture and/or gases such as oxygen. For example, the container 12 may be made from a polymer laminate formed, for example, from a sheet material including a layer of polystyrene or polypropylene and a layer of EVOH and/or other barrier materials such as metal foil. Such a configuration may provide suitable protection for the beverage medium 20, for example from undesired exposure to moisture, oxygen, and/or other materials. However, it should be understood that the container 12 and/or the lid 38 may be made of other materials or combinations of materials, such as biopolymers, synthesizable polymers, paper, foil, and the like.

The filter 30 may be attached to the lid 38 at a perimeter 32 spaced inwardly from the rim 19. Further, the filter 30 may extend from the perimeter 32 at least partially into the interior space 14. As described above, the filter 30 can be disposed between the first chamber 14a and the second chamber 14b of the interior space 14 such that liquid within the first chamber 14a of the interior space (e.g., liquid that interacts with the beverage medium 20) flows through the filter 30 and toward the second chamber 14b of the interior space 14, and then out of the container 12. The filter 30 may be used to remove material from the liquid that exceeds a certain size, for example coffee grounds may be removed from the liquid in the first chamber 14a, allowing the coffee beverage to pass through the filter 30 to the second chamber 14 b. For example, the filter may include a piece of filter paper arranged to allow liquid and sized dissolved and/or suspended materials to pass through, while preventing relatively large particles from flowing through the filter. Of course, the filter 30 may have multiple levels, such as a coarse filter portion that filters out relatively large particles followed by a fine filter portion that filters out relatively small particles, and so forth. Further, the filter 30 may include one or more portions for filtering liquid passing through the filter 30, as well as portions that are impermeable or otherwise restrict flow. Thus, the filter 30 may comprise two or more separate components, if desired. For example, the filter 30 may include a rigid impermeable plastic sleeve attached to the lid 38 at the perimeter 32. A porous filter paper may be attached to the sleeve at a location remote from the lid 38. Thus, not all parts of the filter need to be permeable to liquid. The filter 30 may also have regions of different permeability, for example, to help direct flow toward one or more regions of the filter 30. For example, the area of the filter 30 in fig. 1 near the cover 38 may have a relatively low permeability compared to areas further away from the cover 38. This may help encourage the flow of the beverage medium 20 toward the lower region of the filter 30, possibly enhancing the dissolution of the material within the medium 20 within the liquid.

The filter 30 may also or alternatively be used to help prevent material from moving from the second chamber 14b to the first chamber 14 a. For example, the cartridge 1 may include the beverage medium 20 in the second chamber 14b and no beverage medium 20 in the first chamber 14 a. In this case, the filter 30 may help prevent the beverage medium 20 from coming into contact with a needle or other liquid inlet that pierces the lid 38 to introduce water or other liquid into the cartridge 1. For example, certain beverage media 20, such as powdered beverage mixes, may clog or otherwise foul the inlet needle if contact with the needle is allowed. The filter 30 can help prevent such contact, helping to maintain proper operation of the cartridge and preparing the beverage.

In certain embodiments, the filter 30 may be the only component within the interior space 14 and separates the first chamber 14a from the second chamber 14b (as shown in the embodiment of fig. 1-3). In other constructions, other components, such as walls, ribs, or other structures, in addition to the filter 30, may actually separate two or more portions of the interior space 14 from one another. However, regardless of the filter arrangement, the permeable portion of the filter 30 may be the only component that separates or separates two or more portions of the interior space 14 in a flow sense, e.g., liquid may need to flow through the permeable portion of the filter 30 to pass from the first chamber 14a to the second chamber 14 b.

In an illustrative embodiment, the filter 30 may have a generally frustoconical shape with fluted or pleated sidewalls and a generally flat bottom, as shown. However, the filter 30 may have any suitable shape, such as a cylindrical shape, a square cup shape, a dome shape, a flat sheet, or other shapes. Filter 30 may be attached to cover 38 in any suitable manner, such as by adhesive, thermal welding, ultrasonic welding, chemical bonding, crimping or other mechanical bonding, and the like. As will be appreciated, the shape of the perimeter 32 may depend at least on the shape of the filter at least at the upper end of the filter 30. In this embodiment, the perimeter 32 has a circular shape, but oval, rectangular, triangular, irregular, or other shapes are also possible. In this illustrative embodiment, the filter 30 may comprise a permeable filter paper made from a combination of polypropylene and cellulosic materials and may be attached to the lid 38 at the upper portion of the filter 30 by heat welding. As seen in fig. 1-3, the upper portion of filter 30 attached to cover 38 may have an annular or gasket-like shape extending radially outward (or inward in other embodiments) from perimeter 32, although such radial extension is not necessarily required. In certain embodiments, the portion of the filter attached to the lid 38 may extend radially outward from the perimeter to the rim 19 and above the rim 19 such that a portion of the filter 30 is sandwiched between the lid 38 and the rim 19.

When the cartridge 1 is used to form a beverage, the lid 38 and/or container may be pierced to introduce liquid into the cartridge and receive the beverage from the cartridge. (As used herein, "beverage" refers to a liquid substance formed for consumption when the liquid interacts with a beverage medium. thus, beverage refers to a liquid ready for consumption, e.g., a liquid that is dispensed into a cup and ready for consumption, as well as subjected to other processes or treatments prior to consumption, such as filtering or adding flavorings, creams, sweeteners, other beverages, etc..) in order to introduce liquid into the cartridge, for example, as shown in FIG. 14, a portion of the lid 38 generally surrounded by the perimeter 32 may be pierced by an inlet piercing member 46 (e.g., a needle) so that water or other liquid may be sprayed into the cartridge 1. Other inlet piercing structures are also possible, such as multiple needles, jets, non-hollow needles, cones, pyramids, knives, blades, and the like. A beverage machine using a cartridge may include multiple piercing members of the same type or different types, although the invention is not limited in this respect. In other constructions, the beverage machine may include a piercing member (such as a spike) that forms an opening, and thereafter a second inlet member (such as a tube) may be passed through the formed aperture to introduce liquid into the container (or to direct liquid out of the container). In other embodiments, the cap 38 may be pierced or otherwise effectively opened to flow by introducing pressure outside the cap 38. For example, the water inlet may be pressed into and sealed to the cap 38, where water pressure is introduced from the outside. The water pressure may cause the cap 38 to puncture or otherwise open to allow flow into the cartridge 1. In other arrangements, the cover 38 may include a valve, conduit, or other structure that opens when exposed to an appropriate pressure and/or when mated with a water inlet tube or other structure.

The cartridge 1 may also be pierced by an outlet piercing member 45 (e.g., a needle) at a second portion of the lid 38 outside the perimeter 32 and separate from the inlet opening. As with the inlet piercing structure, the outlet piercing structure may also vary in any suitable manner. Thus, outlet piercing member 45 may comprise one or more hollow or solid needles, knives, blades, tubes, or the like. Alternatively, the cartridge 1 may include a valve, diaphragm or other member that opens when liquid is introduced into the cartridge to allow beverage to drain but otherwise remains closed (e.g., to protect the beverage medium from external conditions such as oxygen, moisture or others). In this case, although it may be used, it is not necessary to have a piercing member for forming the outlet opening, for example to allow the valve or other member to open. Further, in this illustrative embodiment, the piercing member 45 remains in place to receive the beverage as it exits the opening formed in the container 12 or lid 38. However, in other embodiments, the piercing member 45 may be withdrawn after the opening is formed, allowing the beverage to be expelled out of the opening and received without the piercing member 45 extending into the cartridge 1.

The cartridge 1 may comprise means to assist in distributing liquid introduced into the cartridge to the beverage medium and/or to assist in preventing the fluid inlet from coming into contact with the beverage medium. In the illustrative embodiment shown in fig. 13-14, the cartridge includes a flow distributor 33 positioned between the inlet 46 and the beverage medium 20. In this embodiment, the flow distributor 33 is used to help the incoming water or other liquid more evenly wet the beverage medium 20 and to help prevent the inlet 46 from coming into contact with the beverage medium. Of course, it is not required that both functions be performed, for example the flow distributor 33 may influence the flow of liquid into the cartridge, but not prevent beverage medium from coming into contact with the inlet. More uniform wetting or other flow control of the beverage medium 20 may help the cartridge form the desired beverage, for example, by more completely dissolving material within the beverage medium 20, by improving extraction of soluble or insoluble substances from the beverage medium 20, by increasing the flow rate of the beverage through a filter, and the like. Reducing contact of the beverage medium 20 with the inlet 46 may help reduce the likelihood of inlet blockage and/or leave a portion of the beverage medium on the inlet 46 (which may affect the taste of the next beverage formed when the inlet 46 pierces a different cartridge having a different type of beverage medium).

In the illustrative embodiment, the flow distributor 33 is formed from a permeable material, such as filter paper, that may be attached to the lid 38 at a location within the perimeter 32. Thus, the flow distributor 33 may help prevent the flow of incoming liquid in a single direction (or two or more particular directions), which may "pass" the liquid through the beverage medium 20. This "breakthrough" can result in a short circuit where the liquid does not sufficiently interact with the beverage medium 20, resulting in an unacceptably poor product quality. However, the flow distributor 33 may take other forms, such as a perforated disk that prevents passage over the beverage medium 20, a piece of filter paper that prevents passage over the beverage medium 20, and other forms.

As discussed above and shown in fig. 15, the cartridge may be used to form a beverage while the cartridge is positioned with the lid 38 below the container 12. While cartridge 1 may position lid 38 (e.g., a portion of the lid) along a horizontal plane or a vertical plane when in use, certain of the cartridge holder arrangements described above position lid 38 in a plane transverse to the horizontal plane, e.g., in a plane at an angle θ of about 70 to 80 degrees relative to the horizontal plane (e.g., so axis 101 of cartridge holder opening 3a is about 0-20 degrees below horizontal). This orientation may provide several advantages, including enabling more complete wetting of the beverage medium and/or more complete draining of the beverage from the cartridge. The orientation shown in fig. 5 may allow liquid introduced into the cartridge to better wet the beverage medium 20 or otherwise interact with the beverage medium 20, as liquid may be able to "flood" the interior space of the cartridge 1, e.g., filling at least a portion of the first and second chambers 14a, 14b with liquid, such that all or most of the beverage medium 20 is saturated with liquid. The cartridge 1 may be provided with a vent separate from the beverage outlet, which allows gas to be released from the cartridge when the cartridge is filled with liquid. The vent may be provided by a one-way valve (e.g., a septum, duckbill valve, or other valve) attached to the cap 38 or container and opening in response to increased pressure within the cartridge 1, by a piercing member 54 that pierces the cap 38 (as shown in fig. 15) or container 12 to allow gas and/or liquid to escape, and by other mechanisms. (although member 54 is described as providing a vent for cartridge 1, member 54 may also or instead provide other functions in addition to venting the cartridge 1. for example member 54 may provide alternate fluid flow in and/or out paths, and/or may be used to introduce air pressure into the cartridge 1, e.g., to help force any residual beverage out of the cartridge 1 at the end of a beverage forming cycle. further, although member 54 is shown as a single piercing needle, member 54 may be otherwise arranged like inlet member 46 and outlet member 45. for example, member 54 may include one or more blades, tubes, knives, solid or hollow needles, etc. to provide venting, liquid inlet and outlet, and/or pushing functions.)

Having the lid 38 in a plane transverse to the horizontal direction may also allow better draining of the beverage from the cartridge 1. That is, as the cartridge 1 is tilted so that one side of the cartridge is lower than the other, the beverage may tend to drain to the lower side of the cartridge. Furthermore, a beverage outlet opening may be formed at or near the lower side, so that all or most of any beverage in the cartridge 1 may be taken out. This configuration may provide at least two advantages, including reducing dripping or undesirable leakage of liquid when a user removes the cartridge from the beverage machine and/or more complete and efficient use of the beverage medium, as little or no beverage may be left in the cartridge.

Another aspect of the present invention shown in fig. 16 is that a user actuatable button 62 or other interface for the system 100 to initiate a beverage forming process is located on the cartridge holder 3. In this embodiment, the trigger button 62 is located adjacent the handle 5. This feature may make the system 100 more convenient and intuitive for the user to operate. For example, a user may find it simpler and more intuitive to interact with a single component of the system 100 (cartridge holder 3) to open and close, place and remove a cartridge, and trigger the start of a beverage forming process than having to interact with several different, separate components of the system 100. Some systems 100 require a user to interact with a handle that is separate from the cartridge holder to open and close the cartridge holder for cartridge placement/removal. In some instances, a user may find the opening and closing operation of the cartridge holder to be confused, in part, because the handle is physically separated from the cartridge holder. Once the cartridge is positioned to form a beverage, some systems may require the user to interact with a further physically separated member at a distance to initiate the brewing process. For users who are unfamiliar with such systems, the operation may be difficult to achieve successfully. However, the user experience is facilitated by having a relatively simple and physically compact construction in which the cartridge holder, handle and trigger button 62 are all located together. In the various embodiments described herein, the user may simply lift the handle 5 and cartridge holder 3 to expose the opening 3a, place the cartridge into the holder 3, press the handle 5 to close the chamber 3, and then press the trigger button 62 located relatively close to the handle 5. Ease of operation may be particularly advantageous where the system 100 is employed in a public setting, such as an office or a beverage vending environment, where a user regularly or frequently interacts with the system 100. The button 62 may take any suitable form, such as a tactable switch having an element arranged to be pressed by a user's finger, a touch screen interface, an element that senses the presence of a user's finger through capacitance, resistance, voltage, etc., and others.

Having described several aspects of at least one embodiment of this invention, it is to be appreciated various alterations, modifications, and improvements will readily occur to those skilled in the art. Such alterations, modifications, and improvements are intended to be part of this disclosure, and are intended to be within the spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, the foregoing description and drawings are by way of example only.

Claims

1. A beverage forming system, comprising:

a beverage forming chamber arranged to contain a beverage medium for forming a beverage;

a liquid source arranged to provide liquid to the beverage forming chamber to mix with the beverage medium to form a beverage; and

an outlet chamber having an inlet opening to receive beverage from the beverage forming chamber and an outlet opening to output beverage to a user's receptacle, the outlet chamber including a standpipe within the outlet chamber between the inlet and outlet openings, the standpipe having a portion extending upwardly from a bottom of the outlet chamber, and the upwardly extending portion preventing a direct flow path between the inlet and outlet openings to force flow between the inlet and outlet openings around and/or over the standpipe;

the outlet chamber also includes a secondary outlet opening adjacent to and positioned above the outlet opening, and wherein the standpipe includes a wall member extending upwardly from the bottom of the outlet chamber between the secondary outlet opening and the outlet opening.

2. The system of claim 1, further comprising: a rib extending between the secondary outlet opening and the outlet opening.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the beverage forming chamber comprises a beverage cartridge.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the beverage forming chamber comprises a chamber arranged to receive a beverage cartridge.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the outlet chamber further comprises one or more ribs extending through the outlet opening, the one or more ribs arranged to assist in directing flow through the outlet opening.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the upwardly extending portion comprises two flat wall members extending upwardly from the bottom and joined together along an edge.

7. The system of claim 6, wherein the planar wall members are arranged at an angle relative to each other.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein the beverage forming chamber includes an outlet and the outlet chamber includes a drain opening arranged to receive liquid from the beverage forming chamber outlet and to drain the liquid through the drain opening.

9. The system of claim 1, wherein the outlet chamber and the standpipe are arranged to control a maximum size of bubbles discharged at the outlet opening.

10. The system of claim 1, wherein the outlet chamber and the standpipe are arranged to control an amount of foam discharged at the outlet opening.

11. The system of claim 1, wherein the outlet chamber is removable from the beverage forming system for cleaning.

12. The system of claim 1, wherein the standpipe is arranged to reduce the velocity of the beverage at the inlet opening before the beverage exits the outlet chamber.

13. The system of claim 1, wherein the outlet opening is arranged to reduce splashing and direct beverage from the outlet opening in a single direction.

14. A method of forming a beverage comprising:

forming a beverage having a liquid component and a foam component;

directing the beverage to an outlet chamber;

controlling one or more properties of the foam component, including foam volume or foam size, at the outlet chamber by directing at least a portion of the liquid component to a first portion of the outlet chamber for discharge from an outlet opening and directing at least a portion of the foam component to a second portion of the outlet chamber for discharge from a secondary opening, the secondary opening being located above the outlet opening; and

discharging a beverage having a liquid component and the foam component having the one or more controlled characteristics.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the controlling step includes passing a portion of the foam component over a wall member extending upwardly from the outlet chamber bottom before exiting the secondary opening.

16. The method of claim 14, wherein the controlling step comprises bypassing the liquid and foam components around a riser portion extending upwardly from a bottom of the outlet chamber.

17. The method of claim 14, wherein the controlling step comprises preventing the beverage from passing directly from an inlet opening of the outlet chamber through an outlet opening of the outlet chamber.

18. The method of claim 14, wherein the draining step includes providing the beverage with a drain velocity upon draining the outlet chamber that is lower than a velocity of the beverage at the inlet opening of the outlet chamber.

19. The method of claim 14, wherein the draining step includes directing beverage exiting the outlet chamber in a single direction to reduce splashing.