Beverage making cartridge
First Claim
1. A low-cost disposable beverage cartridge capable of providing a beverage having a visually appealing crema layer on top of the beverage comprising:
- a predetermined amount of flavor-containing materials which provides a beverage when interacted with pressurized water;
a containing chamber containing said flavor-containing materials, said containing chamber having a cartridge inlet for connecting to a mounting head to receive pressurized water from a pressurized water source and to allow the water to interact with said flavor-containing materials under pressure therein to produce a beverage;
a cartridge outlet opening for discharging the beverage produced in said containing chamber into a container; and
a crema generator located between said cartridge outlet opening and said containing chamber for producing a visually appealing crema for the beverage, said crema generator comprising a filter for filtering the beverage produced in said containing chamber, a collection chamber located downstream of said filter for receiving the beverage from said filter and an orifice located on said collection chamber for the beverage received therein;
wherein the filtration openings of said filter are adapted to be of sufficiently small size to prevent the solid or un-dissolved flavor-containing materials from reaching and clogging said orifice; and
wherein said orifice of said crema generator is adapted to be of sufficiently small size to generate a jet of beverage of sufficiently high speed to cause said visually appealing crema to form in the beverage before said beverage is discharged at said cartridge outlet opening.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A cartridge for use with a mounting head for the preparation of fluid comestibles comprising a cartridge inlet, a chamber connected to said cartridge inlet for containing suitable flavor-containing or particle materials, a cartridge outlet connected to said chamber and a handle enabling a user to hold the handle to attach and secure the cartridge inlet to the mounting head to allow the liquid to be delivered under pressure through the flavor-containing or particle materials in the chamber, through the cartridge outlet and directly into a receptacle such as a cup or carafe for consumption, thereby dramatically simplifying the preparation of the fluid comestibles and relieving the user from the tedious cleaning work. The handle comprising at least part of the wall of the chamber, which is sufficiently rigid. The cartridge inlet has a cross-section area significantly smaller than that for the chamber to reduce the force exerted by the liquid pressure to the cartridge inlet, thereby lowering the risk of breaking the seal between the cartridge inlet and mounting head. The cartridge outlet may have a restrictive opening such as an orifice for forming a high-speed fluid jet or stream and an arrangement to allow it to interact with air to generate a foamy head for the fluid comestible. A freshness promoter can be used to prolong the freshness of the flavor-containing materials.
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Citations
23 Claims
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1. A low-cost disposable beverage cartridge capable of providing a beverage having a visually appealing crema layer on top of the beverage comprising:
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a predetermined amount of flavor-containing materials which provides a beverage when interacted with pressurized water;
a containing chamber containing said flavor-containing materials, said containing chamber having a cartridge inlet for connecting to a mounting head to receive pressurized water from a pressurized water source and to allow the water to interact with said flavor-containing materials under pressure therein to produce a beverage;
a cartridge outlet opening for discharging the beverage produced in said containing chamber into a container; and
a crema generator located between said cartridge outlet opening and said containing chamber for producing a visually appealing crema for the beverage, said crema generator comprising a filter for filtering the beverage produced in said containing chamber, a collection chamber located downstream of said filter for receiving the beverage from said filter and an orifice located on said collection chamber for the beverage received therein;
wherein the filtration openings of said filter are adapted to be of sufficiently small size to prevent the solid or un-dissolved flavor-containing materials from reaching and clogging said orifice; and
wherein said orifice of said crema generator is adapted to be of sufficiently small size to generate a jet of beverage of sufficiently high speed to cause said visually appealing crema to form in the beverage before said beverage is discharged at said cartridge outlet opening. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A low-cost generally bulb-shaped beverage cartridge for brewing a beverage under pressure with pressurized hot water from a beverage machine having a mounting head comprising:
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a predetermined amount of flavor-containing materials which provides a beverage when mixed in pressurized hot water from a beverage machine;
a generally water- and air-impermeable chamber containing said flavor-containing materials, said impermeable chamber being adapted to have a sufficient rigidity and strength to function both as a pressurized brewing chamber for said flavor-containing materials to interact with the pressurized hot water from the beverage machine and as a handle for mounting said beverage cartridge to the mounting head without substantial deformation;
a cartridge inlet having a rigid body and a through-opening for forming a water-tight seal to the mounting head and introducing the pressurized hot aqueous medium into said impermeable chamber, the cross-section area of said cartridge inlet being adapted to be substantially smaller than that of said impermeable chamber, thereby facilitating both the mounting and seal formation of said beverage cartridge to the mounting head;
a filter for the beverage brewed in said impermeable chamber from said flavor-containing materials;
a cartridge outlet comprising a collection chamber for receiving the beverage from said filter and a discharging opening for dispensing the drink into a container, the cross-section area of said cartridge outlet being adapted to be substantially smaller than that of said impermeable chamber, thereby facilitating the dispensing of the beverage into the container through its mouth;
a crema generator located between said impermeable chamber and said discharging opening for producing a visually appealing crema for the beverage, said generator having an orifice of sufficiently small size adapted to generate a high-speed jet of beverage that is capable of causing said visually appealing crema to form in the beverage before said beverage is discharged at said discharging opening, wherein said filter is adapted to have sufficiently small filtration openings to prevent said orifice from being clogged by said flavor-containing materials; and
wherein said impermeable chamber, said cartridge inlet and said cartridge outlet are formed from a single shot or sheet of plastic material by one of blow-molding and thermal forming processes as one piece without any seal or seam between said impermeable chamber, cartridge inlet and cartridge outlet in order to make said bulb-shaped beverage cartridge a seamless cartridge, thereby significantly reducing the cost of said beverage cartridge by eliminating the normal manufacturing process of sealing or connecting said impermeable chamber, cartridge inlet and cartridge outlet together, and thereby eliminating the safety risk associated with very hot water under pressure that may forcefully eject out of a defective seam of a cartridge and cause hot-water burning to the user when brewing a beverage. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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19. A low-cost disposable beverage cartridge capable of providing a beverage having a visually appealing crema layer on top of the beverage comprising:
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a predetermined amount of flavor-containing materials which provides a beverage when interacted with pressurized water;
a containing chamber containing said flavor-containing materials, said containing chamber having a cartridge inlet for connecting to a mounting head to receive pressurized water from a pressurized water source and to allow the water to interact with said flavor-containing materials under pressure therein to produce a beverage;
a crema generator connected to said containing chamber for producing a visually appealing crema for the beverage, said crema generator comprising a filter for filtering the beverage produced in said containing chamber, a collection chamber located downstream of said filter for receiving the beverage from said filter and an orifice located on said collection chamber for the beverage received therein;
a cartridge outlet opening for discharging the beverage produced in said containing chamber into a container;
wherein the filtration openings of said filter are adapted to be of sufficiently small size to prevent the solid or un-dissolved flavor-containing materials from reaching and clogging said orifice; and
wherein said orifice of said crema generator is adapted to be of sufficiently small size to generate a jet of beverage of sufficiently high speed to cause said visually appealing crema to form in the beverage. - View Dependent Claims (20, 21, 22, 23)
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Specification