US11950725 (B2)
Dispenser for portioned beverage items.
[0001] The invention relates to a portion dispenser (2) for dispensing beverage items (8) from an exchangeable cartridge (3) comprising: a frame (4) with a receiving portion (5) for receiving the exchangeable cartridge, a discharge opening (6) next to the receiving portion (5) and sized for allowing a beverage item to be individually discharged by gravity from the 5 exchangeable cartridge, a moving means assembly (16) comprising a moving means (19) and a moving means housing (20) in which the moving means are arranged for moving therein, wherein the moving means (19) are arranged for providing a discharge chamber (23) for discharge of at least one beverage item therein and for transporting to a dispensing area (17) and wherein the moving means assembly (16) is arranged for sealingly 10 connecting with the exchangeable cartridge (3) and comprises means for opening the exchangeable cartridge to allow the discharge of the beverage item in the discharge chamber and for re-closing the exchangeable cartridge.
- Publication
- US11950725 (B2)
- Publication date
- 2024-04-09
- Priority date
- 2017-12-22
- Inventors
- CROZIER ETIENNE [CH]; ROMAND DAMIEN [FR]; MAGATTI MARCO [CH]
- Applicants
- NESTLE SA [CH]
- Classification
- Classification: - internationale A47J31/40; B65D83/04 - coopérative A47J31/3642 (EP, KR); A47J31/407 (US); B65D83/0409 (US); G07F11/04 (EP, KR)
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Description
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] The present application is a National Stage of International Application No. PCT/EP2018/085715, filed on Dec. 19, 2018, which claims priority to European Patent Application No. 17210546.2, filed on Dec. 22, 2017, the entire contents of which are being incorporated herein by reference. FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0002] The invention relates to the storing and dispensing of portioned beverage items for the preparation of beverages using such portioned beverage items in a beverage preparation device such as a coffee machine for in-home or professional use. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0003] It is known that coffee is sold in airtight packages to protect it from contact with air that would cause quick oxidation and loss of aromas. The field of beverage sealed capsules has developed tremendously essentially because each coffee portion can be well protected against oxidation by a suitable gastight, functional package until coffee is extracted in a dedicated coffee machine.
[0004] For example, EP0512468 and EP0512470 provide respectively a beverage sealed capsule and a process for extracting a beverage from such capsule.
[0005] U.S. Pat. Nos. 8,178,139 8,210,097 provide respectively a spherical capsule comprising compacted aggregate of substance to be infused and a packaging envelope impermeable to air and water and a machine for automatically preparing and dispensing a beverage from such sealed capsule by puncturing the packaging envelope. In particular, the capsules are stacked in a reservoir above the infusion chamber and selected individually by a rear yoke forming part of the infusion chamber.
[0006] FR2879175 provides a coffee dose for automatic beverage and dispensing machines comprising an infusion chamber and a tamping position for a determined quantity of ground coffee in the infusion chamber. The coffee dose can be compacted from roast and ground coffee to a rolling external shape, a substantially spherical ball. The coffee dose further comprises an envelope of at least one layer or film of porous material imprisoning the coffee aggregate.
[0007] In general, the portioned package solutions which are designed to well preserve the coffee ingredient against oxidation provide many advantages such as freshness, coffee quality by perfect dosing and controlled extraction. However, they are expensive to produce, are generally package material consuming and may require a sophisticated packaging recycling chain.
Claims
- 1. The invention claimed is:
- 1. A portion dispenser system comprising a portion dispenser and at least one exchangeable cartridge, the portion dispenser configured for dispensing beverage items from the at least one exchangeable cartridge, the portion dispenser comprising: a frame with a receiving portion configured to receive the at least one exchangeable cartridge;a discharge opening next to the receiving portion and sized for allowing a beverage item to be individually discharged by gravity from the at least one exchangeable cartridge;a moving member assembly comprising a moving member and a moving member housing in which the moving member is configured to move therein;wherein the moving member is configured to provide a discharge chamber for discharge of the beverage item therein and to transport the beverage item to a dispensing area;wherein the moving member assembly is configured to connect with the at least one exchangeable cartridge, the moving member assembly comprising a member configured to open the at least one exchangeable cartridge to allow the discharge of the beverage item in the discharge chamber and configured to re-close the at least one exchangeable cartridge, wherein a closure cap is removably attached to a tubular storage member of the at least one exchangeable cartridge;wherein the moving member is axially or laterally arranged relative to the discharge opening and inside the moving member housing to move between an extended position in which the moving member comes at or next to the discharge opening to support the beverage item and a retracted position in which the discharge chamber is defined as a function of the retraction distance of the moving member relative to the discharge opening to receive the beverage item discharged from the at least one exchangeable cartridge; andwherein the moving member comprises a terminal portion configured to connect to the closure cap removably attached to the tubular storage member of the at least one exchangeable cartridge, and wherein the closure cap of the tubular storage member is configured to move with the terminal portion of the moving member between the retracted position and the extended position.
- 2. The portion dispenser system according to claim 1, wherein the at least one exchangeable cartridge comprises: the tubular storage member comprising an interior for accommodating a plurality of the beverage items, the tubular storage member comprising a closed end and an open end comprising an exit opening, wherein the tubular storage member comprises an attachment portion at or next to the exit opening and connectable to at least one tubular surface of the receiving portion; andthe closure cap configured to connect to the tubular storage member at the open end of the tubular storage member in a removable and sealable manner through a removable complementary connection of the tubular storage member and the closure cap.
