A cartridge may comprise a container, a filter, a lid, and a substance. The container may comprise a pierceable bottom portion structurally configured to be pierceable by a first machine piercing element. The filter may be disposed inside the container. The filter may comprise a pre-shaped concave center portion, attachment portions and an opening. The pre-shaped concave center portion may be disposed above the pierceable bottom portion. The attachment portion(s) may be along a periphery of the pre-shaped concave center portion and fastened to the container bottom. The filter opening may contact a sidewall of the container. The lid may be attached to an opening of the container and may comprise a pierceable lid portion structurally configured to be pierceable by a second machine piercing element. The substance may be disposed in an interior space of the filter.

Single-serving beverage pods can include a first chamber operable to contain a dry beverage material and a second chamber operable to contain a second beverage material. A seal layer is disposed between the first chamber and the second chamber to prevent fluid communication between the first chamber and the second chamber. The seal layer can be operable to be breached by a brewing pin such that the brewing pin is received in the second chamber. The second beverage material can then be removed from the beverage pod via the brewing pin.

A capsule for producing a liquid food item includes a cover and two chambers for holding two substances. On the capsule, a flange is provided for peripherally supporting the cover, and a shoulder is provided for peripherally supporting a divider for separating the two chambers.

An apparatus comprises a cup, a lid, an injection zone, an evacuation zone, an upper barrier, and a lower barrier. The cup comprises a base and a sidewall rising from the base. The lid may be attached to a top of the sidewall. The injection zone is structurally configured to be pierceable by an injection needle. The injection zone is disposed in at least one of the sidewall and the lid. The evacuation zone is structurally configured to be pierceable by an evacuation needle. The evacuation zone is disposed in at least one of the sidewall and the base. The lower barrier comprises a pre-shaped portion surrounding the evacuation zone. The lower barrier comprises a periphery surrounding the pre-shaped portion. One or more attachment portions along the periphery are fastened to the cup. The upper barrier is positioned above the lower barrier and below the injection zone.

A filter-bag for liquid infusion products including a thermoformed body with filtration properties having an inner volume defined by a bottom, a mouth delimited on the perimeter by an upper flat edge, and a connecting wall between the bottom and the upper edge; the wall being provided with at least one rib extending from the bottom towards the upper edge in such a way as to define at least two chambers for containing corresponding infusion products separate from each other and included in the internal volume of the thermoformed body; a flat piece of non-thermoformable filter material, having transparency characteristics, and associated with the upper edge of the body for covering the opening and separating the chambers obtained in this way.

A cartridge may comprise a container, a filter, a lid, and a substance. The container may comprise a pierceable bottom portion structurally configured to be pierceable by a first machine piercing element. The filter may be disposed inside the container. The filter may comprise a pre-shaped concave center portion, attachment portions and an opening. The pre-shaped concave center portion may be disposed above the pierceable bottom portion. The attachment portion(s) may be along a periphery of the pre-shaped concave center portion and fastened to the container bottom. The filter opening may contact a sidewall of the container. The lid may be attached to an opening of the container and may comprise a pierceable lid portion structurally configured to be pierceable by a second machine piercing element. The substance may be disposed in an interior space of the filter.

Various beverage preparation machines having a multi-chambered basket unit are shown. The basket unit can be configured to accept multiple cartridge configurations. For example, some embodiments are configured to receive a first cartridge configuration in a first chamber of the basket unit and a second configuration in a second chamber of the basket unit. In various embodiments, the basket unit can rotate to allow selective accessibility of the first and second chambers. This can facilitate loading the cartridges into the appropriate chamber, such as loading the first cartridge configuration into the first chamber and the second cartridge configuration into the second chamber.

A solution mixing cartridge comprises a container, a filter, a lid, and a substance. The container includes a bottom, a sidewall and an interior space. The bottom has a pierceable bottom portion configured to be pierced by a first piercing element. The filter is disposed inside the container. The filter includes a concave center portion disposed above the pierceable bottom portion. The filter is fastened to the container bottom along a bottom periphery. The filter sidewall extends upwardly from the filter bottom and contacts the container sidewall. A substance is disposed in the filter. The lid is attached to the container opening. The lid has a pierceable lid portion configured to be pierced by a second machine piercing element.

Provided are methods for manufacturing a multi-ingredient beverage filter cartridge comprising the steps of: adding an amount of a first soluble beverage medium to the container having an internal bottom end, sidewall, and an access opening opposite the internal bottom end; leveling at least a portion of a top surface of the added first soluble beverage medium so that such top surface is substantially in the range of 1 mm to 11 mm from the internal bottom end; adhering a filter medium to the sidewall such that the filter medium does not contact the first soluble beverage medium, top surface; adding an amount of a second soluble beverage medium to the container such that the second soluble beverage medium forms a layer on top of the filter medium; and enclosing the container with a sealed lid.

The invention relates to a portioning container (1) made of biodegradable fiber material (11), to a molded fiber system (100), and to a method (200) for manufacturing such portioning containers (1), comprising a receptacle (2) for holding a consumable (G, G) and a cover (6) for closing the receptacle to produce a sealed volume (V) within the portioning container (1), wherein at least the receptacle (2), preferably also the cover (6), is manufactured from biodegradable fiber material (11) using a molded fiber system (100) by means of a molded fiber process, from a pulp (7, 7a, 7b) as a liquid solution containing the biodegradable fiber material (11), wherein at least the receptacle (2), preferably also the cover (6), is provided with a barrier layer system (8) which has a barrier effect at least against penetration of moisture, water, aromatic substances, flavoring agents, odorants, and/or non-food-grade substances.