A dispensing assembly for a machine for preparing a liquid food product by means of capsules including a casing having an inlet passage, suitable for enabling insertion of a capsule into the dispensing assembly, and an outlet passage, suitable for enabling discharge of the capsule from the dispensing assembly, an infusion chamber which comprises two chamber parts, at least one of which defines a housing for at least partially receiving the capsule, retention elements, for keeping the capsule in a retaining position, essentially coaxial to the two chamber parts, the retention elements being within the casing in an intermediate position between the inlet and outlet passages, to be operative between the two chamber parts when they are in a spaced-apart position, an actuation system, operable for causing relative movements between the two chamber parts according to an actuation axis, between the spaced-apart position and a close position, a guide member mounted at the inlet passage to be displaceable between an inoperative position and an operative position, in which access to the inlet passage is allowed or prevented, respectively, a longitudinally extended pusher member engaged in a respective guide of the guide member, to be displaceable according to a respective sliding axis between a first position and a second position, the sliding axis being generally transverse to the actuation axis when the guide member is in the operative position.

With the guide member in the operative position and with the first chamber part and the second chamber part in the spaced-apart position, a displacement of the pusher member from the first position to the second position causes a thrust on the capsule towards the outlet passage, in order to free the capsule from the retention means.

A beverage system for making a beverage, including: a single-serve capsule including: a base element with a cavity, in which a raw beverage material is provided; a flange extending outwardly from the base element, the flange comprising a top side and an opposing bottom side; and a cover that is fastened to the top side of the flange to close the cavity, the cover is made of a different material than the base element; the single- serve capsule is free of a filter; the capsule has an identifier, which makes it possible to individualize the respective single-serve capsule, the identifier comprises a barcode that is provided on the bottom side of the flange; and a beverage machine including: a sensor/detector configured to read the barcode, a media chute configured to receive and support the single-serve capsule, and a pump controlled to supply water into the single-serve capsule.

A beverage or foodstuff preparation system (2) comprising: a base unit (74); a removable component (76) having a beverage or foodstuff component processing system (4); a power coupling (78) adapted for inductive power transfer of electrical energy between the base unit and the removable component when the removable component (76) is coupled with the base unit (74).

A beverage preparation machine for brewed beverages includes a housing having a housing wall that surrounds an inner space and has an opening; a brewing device arranged in the inner space for brewing a quantity of a solid material accommodated by the brewing device, wherein the quantity of the solid material can be output from the brewing device; a movable container for receiving a quantity of the solid material output from the brewing device, which container can be brought into the inner space through the opening; a movable cover plate for covering the opening, which cover plate in a first position covers at least one region of the opening, and which in a second position uncovers the opening. The cover plate is connected to the housing via a pivoting device so that the cover plate is movable between the first and second positions by pivoting about a pivot axis.

A beverage system for making a beverage based on ingredients in a capsule has a conveying carriage with a capsule carrier, a threaded spindle extending inside a housing of the beverage system and having a drive nut connected to the capsule carrier. A stop element is arranged on the threaded spindle at an ejection position for blocking movement of the drive nut along the threaded spindle. A motor rotates the threaded spindle in a first direction of rotation, in order to move the capsule carrier to a processing position, where a beverage is made based on the ingredients in a capsule; in order to move the capsule carrier further along the threaded spindle to an ejection position; and in order to rotate the capsule carrier at the ejection position about the threaded spindle to eject the capsule from the capsule carrier.

A used capsule moving assembly includes a capsule blocking device leaving a capsule opening accessible, a used capsule moving device supporting the capsule blocking device and moving the capsule blocking device by taking it in front of a cutting device to partially open a capsule lid, in front of an emptying device to empty a used or extracted or exhausted substance, including used ground coffee, from a capsule body without breaking or destroying the capsule body, and in front of a capsule collection device to collect the capsule body emptied of the used or extracted or exhausted substance. The used capsule moving device displaces the capsule blocking device along a linear path at least when the capsule blocking device is placed so as to take the capsule body with the longitudinal capsule axis thereof in front of each of the cutting, emptying, and collection devices.

A beverage system for making a beverage that includes a single-serve capsule and a beverage machine. The capsule has a flange and a barcode on a bottom side of the flange. The beverage machine includes: a sensor/detector to read the barcode; a brewing chamber to receive the capsule; and a pump controlled to supply water into the capsule. The machine includes: a mandrel to pierce the cover in a region that is offset from the central axis; a seal that seals against the cover in a region between a peripheral edge of the flange and the region of the cover that is pierced by the mandrel; a pair of holding arms for engaging the capsule; and a dropping box for the capsule to fall into. The pump is controlled to push the water into the capsule only upon a determination that the read barcode agrees with a stored reference.

A capsule processing machine (1) for preparing a beverage from a capsule (5) having a body (50) containing an ingredient. The machine (1) has a holder (10) with a cavity (11) having an upwardly oriented mouth (12) and a cover (20) cooperating with the holder (10). The cover (20) and the holder (10) are relatively movable along a movement path (14) from: an open position for inserting the capsule (5) inbetween the holder (10) and cover (20) into the cavity (11) and/or for removing the capsule (5) therefrom; to a closed position for extracting the capsule (5) in the cavity (11). The machine (1) includes a capsule transfer device (30) having a capsule guide (31) for guiding the capsule (5) from the holder (10) to a used-capsule evacuation area (40). The capsule guide (31) extends along an evacuation direction (31′) and is configured to seize the capsule (5) and hold the capsule (5) above the holder (10) and to guide the capsule (5) towards the evacuation area (40) along the evacuation direction (31′). The movement path (14) and the evacuation direction (31′) are at an angle (α1,α2,α3,α4) favouring a movement of the capsule (5) under the effect of gravity along the capsule guide (31) towards the evacuation area (40). The capsule guide (31) is tillable during the relative movement of the holder (10) and the cover (20) from the closed position to the open position to reduce the angle (α1,α2,α3,α4) so as to increase the effect of gravity for moving the capsule (5).

A method of making a coffee beverage that includes steps of: inserting a portion capsule into a coffee machine that includes: a pump and an optical detector; the portion capsule having: a base element that has a cavity in which a beverage material is provided, the cavity is free of a filter in the cavity; a flange extending outwardly from the base element; a cover attached to a top side of the flange; an optically detectable identifier provided on a bottom side of the flange, the bottom side of the flange opposes the top side of the flange; detecting the optically detectable identifier with the optical detector and comparing the detected optically detectable identifier to a stored reference; operating the pump and/or the coffee machine to supply the water to the portion capsule only after the optically detectable identifier coincides with the stored reference.

A portion capsule base body defines a directed axis and is fillable with an extraction material. The base body has a bottom region, a circumferential side wall adjoining the bottom region and having an outer surface, an a circumferential collar region adjoining the side wall, and through which an opening is defined. The axis is centrally extending through the bottom region and through the opening, and defines an axial direction pointing from the bottom region through the opening. A distance measured perpendicular to the axis is referred to as the axial distance, and the side wall has at least one ramp element by which at least one ramp region is defined in which the axial distance of the outer surface is increasing along the axial direction.