A system for making beverages comprising a brewing unit (2) and a capsule (4) containing a powdered food substance (5), the capsule (4) comprising an outer casing (6) and a recognition element (11) placed inside the outer casing (6), wherein the brewing unit (2) comprises a first piercing unit (17), a lighting device (26) associated with the first piercing unit (17) for lighting the recognition element (11), a detecting device (13) configured to detect a return light radiation from the recognition element (11), wherein the detecting device (13) has an acquiring surface (27) fixed to the first piercing unit (17), and the first piercing unit (17) has a distal portion (35) which more than the acquiring surface (27), and wherein alternatively the distal portion (35) is resting on the recognition element (11) and the acquiring surface (27) is at a distance from the recognition element (11), or the distal portion (35) is partly inserted in the recognition element (11) and the acquiring surface (27) is at a distance from the recognition element (11) or resting on the recognition element (11).

A filter for capsules for making espresso coffee by passing pressurised hot water through ground coffee powder, the filter (2) being rigid or semi-rigid, bowl-shaped and comprising a first base wall (3), a first lateral wall (4), a first upper edge (5) and a plurality of passages passing through it and which comprise an inlet section (10) facing towards an inner part (6) of the bowl and an outlet section (11) facing towards an outer part (7) of the bowl, at least the inlet sections (10) of the passages being made in parts of the filter (2) which are radially separated from the central axis by a distance equal to at least two thirds of the minimum radial distance of the first lateral wall (4) from the central axis; and a capsule comprising said filter (2) near to a second base wall (16) of it.

Provided herein is a coffee machine, comprising a main body (1) that comprises a housing (101) of the main body, a pot liner (103) disposed within the housing (101), a heating mechanism for heating liquid in the pot liner (103), and a container (106) disposed above the pot liner (103) and being in communication with the inner space of the pot liner (103); a capsule base (2) detachably connected on the bottom of the main body (1); and a power-controller holder (3) detachably connected to the outside of the housing (101), for supporting, powering and controlling the main body (1). The coffee machine as described herein has a modularized structure for ease of using the coffee machine in various settings and ease of disassembly, maintenance and cleaning of the coffee machine.

A capsule adapter (1) is described, for use in a beverage producing machine. The capsule adapter comprises: a capsule receptacle (3) for housing a capsule (C) and having an apertured bottom wall (3B); a first piercer (19) arranged in the capsule receptacle (3); a cover (5) for closing the capsule receptacle (3), the cover having at least one water-inlet port (37); a second piercer (27) arranged on the cover (5). The capsule adapter is configured for being introduced in a brewing chamber of a beverage producing machine, with a capsule housed therein.

An extraction unit of a beverage preparation machine, the extraction unit to extract an ingredient of a beverage from a capsule, the extraction unit comprising: a capsule holder operable to move between a capsule receiving position and a capsule extraction position; a capsule holder loading system operable to actuate the capsule holder between the said positions, the capsule holder loading system comprising an actuator unit and a loading mechanism, the actuator unit to actuate the loading mechanism, wherein the loading mechanism comprises a planetary gear train and a linear actuator, the actuator unit to supply a rotary motion to the planetary gear train, the planetary gear train to gear down the said rotary motion, the linear actuator to: receive the said geared down rotary motion; convert the geared down rotary motion into linear motion; couple the said linear motion to the capsule holder.

A coffee machine with a multi-cellular capsule seat having a base, a lower body and an upper body; a multi-cellular capsule seat is provided inside the upper body; at least two coffee capsules are placed side by side inside the multi-cellular capsule seat; a front inner cover is provided on the multi-cellular capsule seat; a right side of the front inner cover is provided with a front inner cover water inlet; the front inner cover water inlet is in communication with a second inlet provided at a middle part of a surface of the second coffee capsule; the second inlet is provided with a second upper piercing pin; a second piercing position seal ring is provided on the second upper piercing pin. The present invention has a simple structure and can double the working capacity, thereby increasing working efficiency.

A brewing unit (100) for a beverage producing device (900) is disclosed. The brewing unit (100) includes a main body (102) defining a cavity (200) for receiving multiple types/formats of capsules (120). Further, one or more piercing members (106) are also included in the brewing unit (100). Furthermore, the one or more piercing members (106) are actuated by an actuator (108) to pierce or not to pierce the capsule (120) when the brewing unit (100) is in at least one of corresponding piercing mode/non-piercing mode.

The present invention concerns a food capsule (100, 300) comprising a cup-shaped capsule body (101, 301) enclosing a cavity (102, 302) with an opening (105, 305) at a first end (103, 303), a second end (104, 304) comprising at least one outlet (106a, 106b, 310, 311) communicating with said cavity (102, 302); an injection wall (112, 314) closing said opening (105, 305); and at least one partition (107, 306) within said cavity (102, 302) extending from said injection wall (112, 314) to said second end (104, 304) of said capsule body (101, 301) and dividing said cavity (102, 302) into a plurality of chambers (108, 109, 308, 309); characterized in that each chamber houses a quantity of an alimentary substance (110, 111, 315, 316) and communicates with at least one outlet comprising an independently-operable closure means (106a, 106b, 310, 311) in said second end (104, 304).

The invention proposes a device for preparing a beverage from a food substance contained in a capsule (24) by injection of a liquid into the capsule (24), wherein said liquid is provided by a pump (70) of the device, said device comprising an extraction head (20) having an aperture (22) for inserting a capsule-holder (30) providing the capsule (24) to a capsule-holder receiving chamber (25) of the device, a closing mechanism (21) to selectively enclose said capsule (24) in the capsule-holder receiving chamber (25), at least one injection member (11) to supply a liquid received from the pump (70) to the inside of the capsule (24), a control unit (80) for controlling at least the pump (70) of the device, and decoding means (1) connected to the control unit (80) and designed to read information from the capsule-holder (30).

An extraction capsule which contains a substance for preparing a liquid food, includes an extraction-side base with an outlet opening and a lateral wall which adjoins the base and has a terminal flange that is aligned radially outwards, and an injection-side filling opening which is closed by a sealing film. The extraction-side base has a peripheral edge region and a circumferential joint point which adjoins a base that lies in a first position on a plane prior to being used. The base can be brought from the first position into a second position which lies closer to the film sealing the filling opening. The extraction capsule has a console which is molded on the lateral wall and directly and/or indirectly on which an extraction-side sealing film to be perforated lies, with a perforator passing through the sealing film in the second position.