A delivery head for a beverage preparation machine including: an upwardly directed inlet for supplying water to a cartridge received in the delivery head; a downwardly directed outlet for outflow of beverage; a barcode reader having a barcode reader window through which signals may be transmitted; wherein the inlet, the outlet and the barcode reader window are arranged in a line with the outlet being intermediate the inlet and the barcode reader window.

The document describes an assembly of a capsule (5) and brew chamber (3) for a beverage preparation machine. The brew chamber (3) has a first brew chamber part (7) including a cavity (10) for the capsule (5), and knives (11) for piercing the capsule (5). The aluminum capsule body (15) is frusto conical shaped and has a bottom (20), a side wall (21), a flange (22) and a lid (17) for closing the capsule (5). The flange (22) is configured to be held between the first and a second brew chamber parts (7, 8), to provide a seal (30) cooperating with a rim of the brew chamber parts (7, 8). The bottom (20) includes a slanted wall portion (35) under an angle with a longitudinal axis through the capsule (5), and configured for cooperating with the knives (11) which engage therewith upon closing of the brew chamber (3). This enables centering of the capsule (5) relative to the central axis of the brew chamber (3) prior to piercing of the capsule.

An apparatus for preparing a beverage from capsules, including a liquid supply system comprising a water reservoir and a pump, an extraction block comprising an injection block including an injector head and a housing, and an extraction mechanism comprising a capsule holder configured to receive a capsule. The injector head comprises an injection plate having plurality of inlet injectors with internal liquid channels configured to pierce through a lid of a capsule. The injector head comprises a water inlet connected to the water reservoir and an actuating mechanism configured to displace the injector head between an open position whereby the capsule can be inserted or removed from the extraction block to a closed position whereby the injector head is sealingly closed against the capsule holder.

A beverage dispensing system that can dispense both cold and hot drinks from either cold drink capsules or hot drink capsules. The cold or hot drink capsule is inserted into the system, and the lid is manually closed. if a cold drink capsule has been inserted, a mechanism cracks the capsule along a predetermined seam, injects cold mixing fluid into the capsule, and then rotates the capsule to pour out or further flush out the cold drink into a cup. If a hot drink capsule has been inserted, the lid is closed, and a rotating needle pierces the top of the capsule. The capsule is then punctured from the bottom. Hot water can then be injected into the top of the capsule, and the hot drink can be removed from the bottom into a cup.

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 system for the preparation of beverages with the use of capsules including an infusion assembly (1) and a capsule (C). The infusion assembly includes a capsule-holder (2) and a cooperating body (3), adapted to assume an open configuration for positioning a capsule (C) therebetween, and a closed configuration for preparing a beverage through the capsule (C) clamped in a liquid-tight manner therebetween. In the capsule-holder (2) there is defined a recess (4) adapted to receive the capsule (C) with the bottom wall (20a, 20f) facing the interior of the capsule-holder (2) and wherein is provided a first piercing member (8) provided with at least a piercing point (9) adapted to penetrate through the bottom wall (20a) of said capsule (C). The capsule-holder (2) is adapted to supply a flow of fluid introduced into the capsule (C) through the tear created in its bottom wall (20a) from the at least one point (9). In the cooperating body (3) a dispensing conduit (13) is defined for the beverage and a second piercing member (14) is provided, having at least one point (16) adapted to penetrate through the cover (21) of the capsule (C) to allow the outflow of the beverage from the capsule (C) towards said dispensing conduit (13). In the capsule-holder (2) there are provided fluid communication passages (8c; 8d; 11), which put into communication a region upstream of the first piercing member (8) such that, during the preparation of a beverage, the fluid introduced into the recess (4) of the capsule-holder (2) exerts on the first piercing member (8) a force lower than a predetermined value towards the capsule (C), the first piercing member (8) being mounted in the recess (4) of the capsule-holder (2) such as to be movable under the action of a spring (10) tending to displace it towards the cooperating body (3).

A system for the preparation of a liquid product comprises a disposable cartridge filled with a single serve portion of a liquid ingredient to be combined with a base liquid for the preparation of a liquid product. Further the system comprises a dispensing apparatus with a pressurized gas source, wherein the apparatus is adapted to bring said pressurized gas source in direct communication with the reservoir of the disposable cartridge so as to allow said liquid ingredient therein to be pressurized by said gas thereby assisting the dispensing thereof from the reservoir via said one or more dispensing passages. The system is adapted to create one or more openings in said portion of the sealing film that covers the reservoir. The dispensing apparatus further comprises a pressurization dome member having a peripheral gas seal adapted to sealingly engage the disposable cartridge around a location where said one or more openings are created in said sealing film and the pressurized gas source is connected to said dome member and is adapted to feed pressurized gas beneath said dome member within the contour of the peripheral gas seal sealingly engaging the disposable cartridge, so as to allow said liquid ingredient in said reservoir to be pressurized by said gas via the one or more openings in said sealing film, thereby assisting the dispensing of the liquid ingredient from the reservoir via said one or more dispensing passages.

The invention relates to capsule for preparing a beverage comprisinga substantially rigid capsule body having a circumferential sidewall extending around an inner space of the capsule, said inner space being at least partially filled with a beverage ingredient suitable for preparing the beverage, a rigid base wall, integral with the capsule body, the base wall covering the inner space at a first end of the sidewall, a flange arranged circumferentially around an open side of the capsule at a second end of the sidewall of the base body opposite the base wall, a lid covering the inner space and the open side of the capsule at a second end of the sidewall opposite the base wall and tightly closing the capsule, the lid being removably attached to the flange for use of the capsule in a beverage preparation device, anda filter element positioned in the inner space of the capsule between the beverage ingredient and the lid; and a carrier disk provided in the inner space of the capsule. According to the invention the carrier disk is positioned in the inner space of the capsule between the lid and the filter, said carrier disk comprising multiple preformed outlet openings suitable for draining the prepared beverage from the inner space towards the outside of the capsule when the capsule is used in the beverage preparation device; and the carrier disk comprises between 50 and 150 outlet openings and the open surface ratio of the carrier disk is higher than 4%. The invention also relates to a system comprising said capsule and to the use of said capsule and system.

A capsule containing a substance for the preparation of a potable beverage. The capsule comprises an aluminum capsule body having a side wall and an outwardly extending flange and a sealing member at the outwardly extending flange for providing a fluid sealing contact with an enclosing member of a beverage preparation device. The beverage preparation device comprises an annular element having a free contact end. The sealing member is integral with the outwardly extending flange and comprises at least one projection projecting from the outwardly extending flange. The projection comprising a projection top and is configured such that its projection top exerts a radial force on the free contact end of the annular element if the capsule is positioned in the enclosing member of the beverage preparation device and the enclosing member is closed using a closing member of the beverage preparation device.

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.