A coffee machine makes use of a valve arrangement for controlling the coupling of a water heater outlet selectively to one of two or more outlets, such as a steam delivery nozzle and a brew chamber. The valve arrangement comprises an active valve between the inlet channel and a first one of the outlets and a passive valve downstream of the active valve from the water heater outlet, coupled to a second one of the outlets. A cam surface controls the active valve, wherein the angular position of the cam surface controls the coupling of the inlet channel to the first one of the outlets. The rotation may be driven by rotational coupling to a brew chamber motor. This coffee machine design makes use of a single valve arrangement to provide the flow control from the water heater. This provides a compact arrangement with a low component count and simple control mechanism. It also enables all valve mechanisms to be outside the water or steam flow.

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 beverage preparation machine comprising: a beverage preparation module comprising an extraction unit to extract an ingredient of a beverage from capsule supplied thereto or an ingredient container which is part thereof; a fluid supply comprising the components a fluid heater, a fluid pump, optionally a fluid reservoir; a first module movably connected to the beverage preparation module; wherein the beverage preparation machine further comprises a second module movably connected to the first module, the first module comprising the fluid pump and/or the fluid heater, the second module comprising the said components of the fluid supply different to those of the first module, the components comprising at least one of the fluid pump or fluid heater or fluid reservoir.

The present invention relates to a machine (1) for preparing aromatic beverages by means of extraction of a respective substance, such as espresso coffee and similar, that is characterized in that it comprises at least one extraction device (3) adapted for extracting an single dose of said substance provided in a package (2), for example in the form of a substantially rigid capsule or substantially flexible pod, and a previous opening disposition (5) disposed upstream of said extraction device (3) and adapted to provide passageways (53) in said single dose packages (2) before the latter are supplied to said extraction device (3).

The present invention further discloses a process for preparing beverages with anticipated opening of a package (2) by means of said previous opening disposition (5) disposed upstream of said extraction device (3).

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 machine (1) for preparing a beverage comprises: a mixing unit (10) for receiving a capsule (5) containing a pre-portioned flavoring ingredient; a liquid circuit (20) for circulating a liquid from a liquid reservoir (25) into the mixing unit for mixing said flavoring ingredient and said liquid to form the beverage (6); a beverage outlet (30) for dispensing such beverage upon formation to a beverage dispensing area (35) for supporting a user-cup or a user-mug (100); and a carrying handle (50) for seizing and carrying such machine single-handed. The carrying handle (50), in particular when seized single-handed during such carrying: extends over and above said beverage dispensing area (35); and/or has a seizure surface (51) forming a loop (52) in cross-section around the mixing unit (10) and/or the beverage outlet (30), the seizure surface being seizable by a single human hand (2) over a predominant part of the cross-sectional loop (52).

A machine (1) and process for preparing aromatic beverages by means of extraction, such as espresso coffee and similar, and adapted to supply a support (21) of single portions, comprising a plurality of single dose portions (22), to at least one extraction device (3) by means of an actuation device (6) disposed upstream of the extraction device (3) and comprising an actuation element (61) provided so that it can move the support (21) of single portions by means of rotation. In particular, the actuation device (6) further comprises a back-pressure element (62) that exerts a back-pressure upon the support (21) of single portions in the direction of the perimeter actuation surface (63), thereby providing greater operation reliability in the supply of the single dose portions (22) to an extraction device (3).

The brewing system disclosed herein includes a moving inlet nozzle for use in intermixing hot water and coffee in a coffee cartridge. The inlet nozzle may include one or more flow ports that inject hot water into an inner chamber of the coffee cartridge at select angles, locations and pressures to create the desired fluidized mixture of hot water and beverage medium.

Disclosed is a system for producing a beverage, in particular a cold beverage, comprising a cartridge that has a reservoir filled with a beverage substance, a beverage preparation unit with a cartridge receptacle into which the cartridge can be reversibly inserted, and a cartridge discharge device which causes at least partial transfer of the beverage substance from the reservoir into a mixing chamber; furthermore, the beverage preparation unit comprises a fluid supply which opens into the mixing chamber, or the system includes a movable plunger which is placed inside the reservoir and can be transferred from a starting position into a final position by means of the cartridge discharge device.

A beverage preparation capsule containing a beverage preparation ingredient, having a body with side walls formed from one or more substantially air- and liquid-impermeable sheet materials defining a chamber containing a beverage preparation ingredient and further defining an outlet channel having an upstream end in fluid communication with the chamber for escape of beverage from the chamber. At least a region of the outlet channel is filled by a filtration material for filtering the beverage escaping from the chamber. Also provided is a clamp assembly for preparing a beverage from such a capsule, the clamp assembly comprising two or more clamp members, wherein an inner wall of at least one of the clamp members comprises a concave base surface for receiving the capsule and one or more pressure pads projecting from the concave base surface for selectively constricting a region of the capsule.