Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR CARTRIDGE-BASED CARBONATION OF
BEVERAGES
This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional application
61/514,676, filed
August 3, 2011, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.
This application is
a continuation-in-part of U.S. Application 13/017,459, filed January 31, 2011,
which claims
the benefit of U.S. Provisional application 61/337,184, filed February 1,
2010.
BACKGROUND
The inventions described herein relate to dissolving gas in liquids, e.g.,
carbonation,
for use in preparing a beverage. Systems for carbonating liquids and/or mixing
liquids with a
beverage medium to form a beverage are described in a wide variety of
publications,
including U.S. Patents 4,025,655, 4,040,342; 4,636,337; 6,712,342 and
5,182,084; and PCT
Publication WO 2008/124851.
SUMMARY OF INVENTION
Aspects of the invention relate to carbonating or otherwise dissolving a gas
in a
precursor liquid, such as water, to form a beverage. In some embodiments, a
carbon dioxide
or other gas source can be provided in a cartridge which is used to generate
carbon dioxide or
other gas that is dissolved into the precursor liquid. A beverage medium, such
as a powdered
drink mix or liquid syrup, may be provided in the same, or a separate
cartridge as the gas
source and mixed with the precursor liquid (either before or after
carbonation) to form a
beverage. The use of one or more cartridges for the gas source and/or beverage
medium may
make for an easy to use and mess-free system for making carbonated or other
sparkling
beverages, e.g., in the consumer's home. (The term "carbonation" or
"carbonated" is used
herein to generically refer to beverages that have a dissolved gas, and thus
refers to a
sparkling beverage whether the dissolved gas is carbon dioxide, nitrogen,
oxygen, air or other
gas. Thus, aspects of the invention are not limited to forming beverages that
have a dissolved
carbon dioxide content, but rather may include any dissolved gas.)
In one aspect of the invention a beverage making system includes a beverage
precursor liquid supply arranged to provide a precursor liquid. The precursor
liquid supply
may include a reservoir, a pump, one or more conduits, one or more valves, one
or more
sensors (e.g., to detect a water level in the reservoir), and/or any other
suitable components to
provide water or other precursor liquid in a way suitable to form a beverage.
The system may
also include a single cartridge having first and/or second cartridge portions.
The first
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cartridge portion may contain a gas source arranged to emit gas for use in
dissolving into the
precursor liquid, e.g., for carbonating the precursor liquid, and the second
cartridge portion
may contain a beverage medium arranged to be mixed with a liquid precursor to
form a
beverage. The system may include a cartridge interface, such as a chamber that
receives and
at least partially encloses the cartridge, a connection port arranged to
fluidly couple with the
cartridge, or other arrangement. A gas dissolution device may be arranged to
dissolve gas
that is emitted from the first cartridge portion into the precursor liquid,
and may include, for
example, a membrane contactor, a chamber suitable to hold a liquid under
pressure to help
dissolve gas in the liquid, a sparger, a sprinkler arranged to introduce water
to a pressurized
gas environment, or other arrangement. The system may be arranged to mix
precursor liquid
with the beverage medium, whether before or after gas is dissolved in the
liquid, to form a
beverage. The beverage medium may be mixed with the liquid in the cartridge,
in another
portion of the system such as a mixing chamber into which beverage medium from
the
cartridge is introduced along with precursor liquid, in a user's cup, or
elsewhere.
In one aspect of the invention, a beverage making system includes a beverage
precursor liquid supply arranged to provide a precursor liquid, and a
cartridge chamber
arranged to hold first and/or second cartridge portions. The cartridge chamber
may have a
single cartridge receiving portion for receiving one or more cartridges, or
may include a
plurality of cartridge receiving portions that are separated from each other,
e.g., for receiving
two or more cartridges. If multiple receiving portions are provided, they may
be opened and
closed simultaneously or independently of each other. A first cartridge
portion may be
provided in the cartridge chamber where the first cartridge portion contains a
gas source
arranged to emit carbon dioxide or other gas for use in carbonating the
precursor liquid. In
some embodiments, the gas source may include a charged molecular sieve, such
as a zeolite
that is in solid form (e.g., pellets) and has adsorbed carbon dioxide or other
gas, that releases
gas in the presence of water. A second cartridge portion may be provided in
the cartridge
chamber where the second cartridge portion contains a beverage medium arranged
to be
mixed with a liquid precursor to form a beverage. The system may be an-anged
to carbonate
the precursor liquid using the gas emitted by the first cartridge portion and
to mix the
beverage medium of the second cartridge portion with the precursor liquid. The
precursor
liquid may be carbonated in the first cartridge portion, or in one or more
other areas (such as
a reservoir or membrane carbonator) to which gas is delivered. Mixing of the
precursor
liquid with beverage medium may occur before or after carbonation, and may
occur in the
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second cartridge portion or in another location, such as a mixing chamber
separate from the
second cartridge portion.
The system may include a gas source activating fluid supply ananged to provide
fluid
to the cartridge chamber for contact with the gas source to cause the gas
source to emit gas.
For example, the gas activating fluid supply may be arranged to control an
amount of fluid
(such as water in liquid or vapor form) provided to the cartridge chamber to
control an
amount of gas produced by the gas source. This may allow the system to control
a gas
pressure used to carbonate the precursor liquid. Thus, the cartridge chamber
may be arranged
to hold at least the first cartridge portion in the cartridge chamber under a
pressure that is
greater than an ambient pressure. Alternately, the first cartridge portion may
be an-anged to
withstand a pressure caused by gas emitted by the gas source without a
supporting structure
or other enclosure. A gas supply may be arranged to conduct gas emitted by the
gas source,
under pressure greater than the ambient pressure, to beverage precursor liquid
to carbonate
the precursor liquid. The gas may be conducted to a carbonation tank, a
membrane contactor,
or other suitable arrangement for carbonation. For example, the system may
include a
carbonator that includes a membrane that separates a liquid side from a gas
side of the
carbonator, where the gas is provided to the gas side and the beverage
precursor liquid supply
provides precursor liquid to the liquid side such that gas on the gas side is
dissolved in the
precursor liquid on the liquid side. A pump may move precursor liquid from a
reservoir
through the carbonator for subsequent discharge as a beverage, or the
precursor liquid may be
circulated back to the reservoir for one or more additional passes through the
carbonator.
In some embodiments, the system may mix the beverage medium with precursor
liquid to form a beverage such that none of the beverage contacts the gas
source. However,
in other embodiments, the precursor liquid may contact the gas source, e.g.,
where the liquid
is passed through the first cartridge portion to be carbonated. The first and
second cartridge
portions may each be part of respective first and second cartridges that are
distinct from each
other, or the cartridge portions may be part of a single cartridge. If part of
a single cartridge,
the first and second cartridge portions may be separated from each other,
e.g., by a pen-neable
element such as a filter, or an impermeable element such as a wall of the
cartridge that may
or may not be frangible, burstable (such as by suitable pressure), piercable
or otherwise
breached to allow the first and second cartridge portions to communicate with
each other. A
cartridge associated with the first and second cartridge portions may be
pierced or otherwise
arranged for fluid communication while in the cartridge chamber to allow
access to the first
and second portions. For example, if the cartridge portions are in separate
cartridges, the two
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cartridges may be pierced by closing of the cartridge chamber to allow fluid
to be provided to
and/or gas to exit from the first cartridge portion, and to allow the beverage
medium to exit
the second cartridge portion whether alone or with a mixed precursor liquid.
In some embodiments, the first and cartridge portions may each have a volume
that is
less than a volume of carbonated beverage to be formed using the cartridge
portions. This
can provide a significant advantage by allowing a user to form a relatively
large volume
beverage using a relative small volume cartridge or cartridges. For example,
the system may
be arranged to use the first and second cartridge portions over a period of
time less than about
120 seconds to form a carbonated liquid having a volume of between 100 ¨ 1000
ml and a
carbonation level of about 1 to 5 volumes. Carbonation may occur at pressures
between 20-
50 psi, or more. The cartridge portions in this embodiment may have a volume
of about 50
ml or less, reducing an amount of waste and/or adding to convenience of the
system.
In another aspect of the invention, a method for forming a beverage includes
providing first and second cartridge portions to a beverage making machine
where the first
cartridge portion contains a gas source arranged to emit gas for use in
carbonating a liquid,
and the second cartridge portion contains a beverage medium arranged to be
mixed with a
liquid precursor to form a beverage. A fluid, such as water in liquid or vapor
form, may be
provided to the cartridge chamber to cause the gas source to emit gas, and a
precursor liquid
may be carbonated by dissolving at least a portion of the gas emitted from the
gas source in
the precursor liquid. The precursor liquid may be mixed with a beverage medium
to produce
a beverage, either before or after carbonation.
As noted above, the gas source may be in solid form in the first cartridge
portion, e.g.,
including a charged zeolite. An amount of fluid provided to the first
cartridge portion may be
controlled to control gas production by the gas source, e.g., to maintain a
pressure of gas
produced by the gas source to be within a desired range above an ambient
pressure. In one
embodiment, the gas source includes a charged zeolite, and an amount of fluid
provided to
the cartridge chamber is controlled so as to cause the charged zeolite to emit
gas over a
period of at least 30 seconds or more.
Carbonation of the precursor liquid may include providing gas to a reservoir
that
contains precursor liquid, providing gas to a gas side of a membrane such that
gas on the gas
side is dissolved in the precursor liquid on a liquid side of the membrane,
spraying precursor
liquid in a gas-filled space, passing the precursor liquid through the first
cartridge portion
under pressure, and so on.
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As mentioned above, the first and second cartridge portions may each be part
of
respective first and second cartridges that are distinct from each other, or
the cartridge
portions may be part of a single cartridge. If part of a single cartridge, the
first and second
cartridge portions may be separated from each other, e.g., by a cartridge
wall. Mixing of the
precursor liquid may occur before or after carbonation, and may occur in the
second cartridge
portion or in another location, such as a mixing chamber separate from the
second cartridge
portion.
In one embodiment, the steps of providing a fluid and carbonating may be
performed
over a period of time less than about 120 seconds (e.g., about 60 seconds) and
using a gas
pressure of 20-50 psi (e.g., above ambient) to form a carbonated liquid having
a volume of
between 100 ¨ 1000 ml (e.g., about 500 ml) and a carbonation level of about 2
to 4 volumes
(or less or more, such as 1 to 5 volumes). Thus, systems and methods according
to this
aspect may produce a relatively highly carbonated beverage in a relatively
short period of
time, and without requiring high pressures.
In another aspect of the invention, a beverage making system includes a
beverage
precursor liquid supply for providing a precursor liquid, a cartridge chamber
or other
interface arranged to hold a cartridge, and a cartridge including an internal
space containing a
gas source. The gas source may be arranged to emit gas for use in carbonating
the precursor
liquid, e.g., in response to contact with a fluid, such as water or other
activating agent. A gas
activating fluid supply may be arranged to provide fluid to the cartridge
chamber for contact
with the gas source to cause the gas source to emit gas, and the activating
fluid supply may be
arranged to control an amount of fluid provided to the cartridge chamber to
control an
amount of gas emitted by the gas source, e.g., to control a pressure in the
cartridge chamber
or other area. A gas supply may be arranged to conduct gas emitted by the gas
source, under
pressure greater than the ambient pressure, to precursor liquid provided via
the beverage
precursor liquid supply to carbonate the precursor liquid. The ability to
control gas
production, and thus pressure, in a relatively simple way of controlling fluid
flow into the
cartridge chamber, may provide advantages of a simple control and system
operation.
The beverage precursor liquid supply may include a reservoir that contains
precursor
liquid, a carbonator that includes a membrane that separates a liquid side
from a gas side of
the carbonator, a pump that moves precursor liquid from the reservoir through
the carbonator
or other portion of the system, one or more filters or other liquid treatment
devices, and so on.
The cartridge chamber may be arranged to hold the cartridge in the chamber
under a pressure
that is greater than an ambient pressure, e.g., within a pressure range that
is suitable for
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carbonating the precursor liquid. In some embodiments, gas pressure used for
carbonation
may be between about 20 and 50 psi, although higher (and lower) pressures are
possible.
In another aspect of the invention, a method for forming a beverage includes
providing a cartridge having an internal space that is sealed to enclose a gas
source in the
internal space, providing fluid to the cartridge to cause the gas source to
emit gas, controlling
an amount of fluid provided to the cartridge over a period of time to control
an amount of gas
emitted by the gas source during the period of time, and carbonating a
precursor liquid by
dissolving at least a portion of the gas emitted from the gas source in the
precursor liquid.
The precursor liquid may be mixed with a beverage medium to produce a
beverage, either
before or after carbonation, whether in a cartridge or other area. In one
embodiment, the
cartridge may be pierced using a beverage making machine to provide liquid to
the cartridge,
while in other embodiments liquid may be provided to the cartridge via a
defined port or
other arrangement. As with the embodiments above, the liquid may be carbonated
in the
cartridge or other area, such as a carbonator or reservoir, the cartridge may
include a second
portion that includes the beverage medium (or a second cartridge may be used
with the
beverage medium), and so on.
In another aspect of the invention, a method for forming a carbonated beverage
includes providing a cartridge having an internal space that is sealed to
enclose a gas source
in the internal space where the gas source is in solid form, opening the
cartridge (such as by
piercing) and causing the gas source to emit gas, and carbonating a liquid by
dissolving at
least a portion of the gas emitted from the gas source in the liquid. The
liquid may be mixed
with a beverage medium by passing the liquid through a cartridge chamber that
contains the
beverage medium to produce a beverage. By mixing the liquid with beverage
medium in a
cartridge, the need for a separate mixing chamber may be avoided, and flavor
contamination
between consecutively made beverages may be reduced (because the cartridge
serves as the
mixing chamber and is used only once).
In one embodiment, the cartridge that encloses the gas source also includes
the
cartridge chamber that contains the beverage medium. For example, liquid may
be
introduced into a first portion of the cartridge where the gas source is
located for carbonation,
and pass from the first portion to a second portion where the beverage medium
is located. In
another embodiment, the cartridge chamber where liquid is mixed with beverage
medium
may be part of a second cartridge separate from the cartridge that encloses
the gas source.
Gas from the cartridge may be routed to an area where the gas is dissolved in
the
liquid, e.g., to a membrane contactor, a reservoir that holds a substantial
portion of the liquid,
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or other arrangement. A pressure of the gas may be controlled by controlling
an amount of
fluid provided to the cartridge. As with other aspects of the invention,
various embodiments
and optional features described herein may be used with this aspect of the
invention.
In another aspect of the invention, a kit for forming a beverage includes a
first
cartridge having an internal space that is sealed and contains a gas source in
the internal
space. The gas source may be in solid form, or stored in the internal space at
pressures below
100 psi, and arranged to emit gas for use in carbonating a precursor liquid.
The first cartridge
may be arranged to have an inlet through which fluid is provided to activate
the gas source
and an outlet through which gas exits the first cartridge. For example, the
first cartridge may
be pierced to form the inlet and outlet, or the first cartridge may have a
defined inlet/outlet.
A second cartridge of the kit may include an internal space that is sealed and
contains a
beverage medium for use in mixing with the precursor liquid to form a
beverage. The second
cartridge may be arranged to mix a precursor liquid with the beverage medium
in the second
cartridge, and thus may be pierceable or otherwise arranged to allow inlet of
liquid and outlet
of mixed liquid/beverage medium. The first and second cartridges may each have
a volume
that is less than a volume of beverage to be formed using the first and second
cartridges, e.g.,
the cartridge may have a volume of about 50m1 and be used to make a beverage
having a
volume of about 500 ml. The first and second cartridges may be joined
together, e.g., such
that the cartridges cannot be separated from each other, without use of tools,
without
damaging at least a portion of the first or second cartridge. In one
embodiment, the first and
second cartridges may be joined by a welded joint or by interlocking
mechanical fasteners.
In another aspect of the invention, a cartridge for forming a beverage
includes a
container having an internal space that is sealed and contains a gas source in
the internal
space. The gas source may be in solid form (such as a charged zeolite or other
molecular
sieve) and arranged to emit gas for use in carbonating a precursor liquid. In
one arrangement,
the gas or other gas source may be stored in a sealed space in the cartridge
for an extended
period at a pressure of less than about 100 psi prior to the sealed space
being opened. Thus,
the cartridge need not necessarily be capable of withstanding high pressures
to store the gas
source. The container may be arranged to have an inlet through which fluid is
provided to
activate the gas source and an outlet through which gas exits the container
for use in
carbonating the precursor liquid. In one embodiment, the container may be
pierceable by a
beverage making machine to form the inlet and to form the outlet, e.g., at the
top, bottom,
side and/or other locations of the cartridge. In one an-angement, the
container may include a
lid that is pierceable by a beverage machine to form both the inlet and
outlet. The container
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may have at least one portion that is semi-rigid or flexible, e.g., that is
not suitable to
withstand a pressure over about 80 psi inside the cartridge without physical
support. The
container may include a second chamber that contains a beverage medium for use
in
flavoring the precursor liquid to form a beverage, and the second chamber may
be isolated
from a first chamber in which the gas source is contained. The container may
have a volume
that is less than a volume of carbonated beverage to be formed using the
cartridge.
In another aspect of the invention, a beverage making system includes a
cartridge
chamber arranged to hold a cartridge under a pressure that is greater than an
ambient
pressure, and a cartridge including an internal space containing a gas source
arranged to emit
gas for use in carbonating a liquid. The cartridge may have a volume that is
less than a
volume of beverage to be created using the cartridge, e.g., a volume of 50m1
or less for use in
carbonating a volume of liquid of about 100-1000m1 to a carbonation level of
at least about 1
to 4 volumes. A beverage precursor liquid supply may provide precursor liquid
into the
internal space of the cartridge to cause the gas source to emit gas and cause
at least some of
the gas to be dissolved in the precursor liquid while in the internal space.
Carbonating the
liquid in a cartridge chamber can simplify system operation, e.g., by
eliminating the need for
carbonation tanks or other carbonators. Instead, the cartridge may function as
a carbonator,
at least in part. In one embodiment, the cartridge includes a second chamber
that contains a
beverage medium for use in mixing with the precursor liquid to form a
beverage. The second
chamber may be isolated from a fu-st chamber in which the gas source is
contained, or the
first and second chamber may communicate, e.g., liquid may be introduced into
the first
chamber to be carbonated and pass from the first chamber to the second chamber
where the
beverage medium is located.
In another aspect of the invention, a method for forming a beverage includes
providing a cartridge having an internal space that is sealed to enclose a gas
source in the
internal space where the cartridge has a volume that is less than a volume of
beverage to be
created using the cartridge. Liquid may be provided into the cartridge to
cause the gas source
to emit gas, and the liquid may be carbonated by dissolving at least a portion
of the gas
emitted from the gas source in the liquid while the liquid is in the
cartridge. The liquid may
be mixed with a beverage medium to produce a beverage, either before or after
carbonation in
the cartridge. In fact, the cartridge may include a second chamber that
contains a beverage
medium for use in mixing with the precursor liquid to form a beverage, and the
cartridge may
have a volume that is less than a beverage to be made using the cartridge. The
cartridge may
be pierced using a beverage making machine to form an inlet and an outlet.
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In another aspect of the invention, a beverage making system includes a
beverage
precursor liquid supply, a cartridge chamber or other interface an-anged to
hold a cartridge in
a chamber, and a cartridge including an internal space containing a gas source
that is in solid
form and is arranged to emit gas for use in carbonating a liquid. A gas
activating fluid supply
may provide liquid to the cartridge for contact with the gas source to cause
the gas source to
emit gas. The system may also include a carbonator that has a membrane that
separates a
liquid side from a gas side, where the gas emitted by the cartridge is
provided to the gas side
and the beverage precursor liquid supply provides precursor liquid to the
liquid side such that
gas on the gas side is dissolved in the precursor liquid on the liquid side.
The cartridge
interface may be arranged to hold the cartridge in the chamber under a
pressure that is greater
than an ambient pressure, e.g., within a pressure range used to carbonate the
liquid in the
carbonator. A gas supply may be arranged to conduct gas emitted by the gas
source, under
pressure greater than the ambient pressure, from the cartridge chamber to the
gas side of the
carbonator. The membrane of the carbonator may include a plurality of hollow
fibers where
an interior of the hollow fibers is part of the liquid side and an exterior of
the hollow fibers is
part of the gas side.
In another aspect of the invention, a method for forming a beverage includes
providing a cartridge having an internal space that is sealed to enclose a gas
source in the
internal space that is in solid form and arranged to emit gas, opening or
otherwise accessing
the cartridge (such as by piercing) and causing the cartridge to emit gas, and
carbonating the
liquid by dissolving at least a portion of the gas emitted from the gas source
in a liquid. The
gas may be located on a gas side of a membrane and the liquid being located on
a liquid side
of the membrane. The membrane may be formed by a plurality of hollow fibers
where the
liquid side is located at an interior of the fibers and the gas side is at an
exterior of the fibers.
A gas pressure at the gas side may be controlled based on controlling an
amount of liquid
provided to the cartridge.
In another embodiment, a cartridge for use by a beverage making machine in
forming
a beverage includes first and second portions that are attached together and
separated by an
impermeable barrier, such as a lid or other container part of the first and/or
second portion.
The first portion may contain a gas source for emitting a gas to be dissolved
in a beverage
precursor liquid, and the second portion may contain a beverage medium for
mixing with a
precursor liquid to form a beverage. The first and second portions may be
arranged with
respect to each other so that the cartridge has a plane where the first
portion is located below
the plane and the second portion is located above the plane. For example, the
second portion
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may be stacked on top of the first portion, e.g., with lids of the first and
second portions
located adjacent each other.
In one illustrative embodiment, a cartridge for use by a beverage making
machine in
forming a beverage includes a container with first and second portions that
are attached
together and separated by an impermeable barrier, such as a foil lid used to
close a container
part of the first and/or second portion. The first portion may contain a gas
source for emitting
a gas to be dissolved in a beverage precursor liquid, and the second portion
may contain a
beverage medium for mixing with a precursor liquid to form a beverage. The
second portion
may include a wall, such as a lid, a sidewall of a container part, a bottom of
a container part, a
wall of a bag, etc., that is movable to force beverage medium to exit the
second portion for
mixing with precursor liquid. The wall may be movable in any suitable way,
such as by air
or other gas pressure, a plunger, piston or other item contacting and moving
the wall, and so
on.
In the embodiments above, the first portion may have an inlet through which
fluid is
provided to activate the gas source (e.g., a lid or other part of the first
portion may be pierced
to form an inlet opening) and an outlet through which gas exits the first
portion for dissolving
in the precursor liquid (e.g., a lid or other part of the first portion may be
pierced to form an
outlet opening). The inlet and outlet may be located on a same side of the
first portion, such
as a top of the first portion. In one arrangement, the first portion may
include a surface
airanged to accommodate piercing to form an inlet through which fluid is
provided to activate
the gas source, and the first portion may be attached to the second portion
such that the
surface is unexposed. For example, the second portion may be attached to the
first portion so
that the piercable part of the first portion is covered by the second portion.
This arrangement
may help reduce the likelihood that the surface is prematurely pierced, e.g.,
pierced by
accident prior to the cartridge being associated with a beverage making
machine. The second
portion may have an outlet through which the beverage medium exits the
container for
mixing with the precursor liquid, e.g., a part of the second portion may be
pierced to form an
opening for beverage medium exit, the second portion may have a frangible seal
or other
element that opens to release beverage medium. etc.
In one embodiment, the movable wall defines, at least in part, the first
portion of the
cartridge. For example, the first portion may be defined at least in part by a
first chamber
wall, and the second portion may be defined at least in part by a second
chamber wall that
defines a second space. The first chamber wall may be received into the second
space, e.g.,
like a plunger, and be movable relative to the second chamber wall to expel
beverage medium
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from the second portion of the cartridge. In some embodiments, the wall may
include a layer
of barrier material, such as a metal foil, a metal foil/polymer laminate, a
layer of plastic
material, etc. For example, the second portion may be defined by a capsule
formed by a layer
a metal foil material, such as a sheet aluminum. The layer of barrier material
may be
arranged to open (e.g., by bursting or piercing) and allow beverage medium to
exit the second
portion when a force is applied to the barrier material. For example, the
cartridge may
include a piercing element that opens the second portion when a force is
applied to the barrier
material. In another embodiment, the wall includes corrugations and a
frangible outlet that is
openable based on pressure inside the second portion. The wall may be pressed
so that the
corrugations collapse, e.g., in a staged or sequential fashion, to force
beverage medium
through the outlet, which may include a burstable seal formed by a weakened
portion of the
wall (e.g., by scoring, partial perforation, etc.). Like the second portion,
the first portion may
be defined by a capsule formed by a layer of barrier material, and the first
and second
portions may be attached together, e.g., by crimping rims or edges of the
barrier material
together.
The first and second portions may be sealed from an exterior environment and
the
first portion may contain a carbon dioxide source in solid form (such as a
charged zeolite)
arranged to emit carbon dioxide gas for use in mixing with a beverage
precursor liquid to
form a beverage. In one embodiment, a pressure in the first portion prior to
breaking a seal of
the first portion to expose the gas source may be relatively low, e.g., less
than 100 psi.
However, the gas source may be arranged to emit gas suitable for forming a
carbonated
beverage having a volume of between 100 ¨ 1000 ml and a carbonation level of
about 1 to 5.
These and other aspects of the invention will be apparent from the following
description and claims.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Aspects of the invention are described with reference to the following
drawings in
which like numerals reference like elements, and wherein:
FIG. 1 shows a illustrative embodiment of a beverage making system having a
removable reservoir;
FIG. 2 shows a illustrative embodiment of a beverage making system having a
contactor arranged to circulate precursor liquid;
FIG. 3 shows a illustrative embodiment of a beverage making system in which
liquid
is carbonated in a single pass through a carbonator;
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FIG. 4 shows an illustrative embodiment of a beverage making system in which a
gas
cartridge is located in a carbonation reservoir;
FIG. 5 shows an illustrative embodiment of a cartridge chamber;
FIG. 6 shows an illustrative embodiment of gas and beverage medium cartridges
joined together;
FIGs. 7 and 8 shown perspective and top views, respectively, of gas and
beverage
medium cartridges;
FIG. 9 shows an illustrative embodiment of a cartridge arranged to carbonate a
liquid
in the cartridge;
FIG. 10 shows an illustrative embodiment of a cartridge arranged to carbonate
a liquid
in the cartridge in an alternative orientation;
FIG. 11 shows an illustrative embodiment of a cartridge having isolated
chambers
containing a gas source and a beverage medium;
FIG. 12 shows a cross sectional view of a cartridge having a movable part to
configure the cartridge for use in forming a beverage;
FIG. 13 shows a cross sectional view of the FIG. 12 cartridge after movement
of the
movable part;
FIG. 14 shows an exploded view of the FIG. 12 cartridge;
FIG. 15 shows an exploded view of a cartridge having a first portion located
over a
second portion;
FIG. 16 shows a cross sectional view of the FIG. 15 cartridge;
FIG. 17 shows a perspective view of a cartridge having a planar support;
FIG. 18 shows an exploded view of the FIG. 17 cartridge;
FIG. 19 shows a cross sectional view of the FIG. 17 cartridge;
FIG. 20 shows a cross sectional view of the FIG. 17 cartridge with beverage
medium
being expelled from a second portion of the cartridge;
FIG. 21 shows a top view of a part of the support of the FIG. 17 cartridge
below the
second portion;
FIG. 22 shows a schematic view of an arrangement in which precursor liquid and
beverage media have a coaxial flow;
FIG. 23 shows a modification of the FIG. 17 cartridge in which the second
portion is
positioned over the first portion;
FIG. 24 shows an exploded view of a cartridge having a mixing chamber portion;
FIG. 25 shows an assembled perspective view of the FIG. 24 cartridge;
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FIG. 26 shows a cross sectional view of the FIG. 24 cartridge;
FIG. 27 shows a cross sectional view of the FIG. 24 cartridge with beverage
medium
expelled from the second portion;
FIG. 28 shows a perspective view of a cartridge including side-by-side gas
source and
beverage medium portions;
FIG. 29 shows an exploded view of the FIG. 28 cartridge;
FIG. 30 shows a cross sectional view of the FIG. 28 cartridge;
FIG. 31 shows a schematic view of a beverage making system employing gravity
and/or pressure feed of precursor liquid;
FIG. 32 shows a schematic view of a beverage making system with an ice
dispensing
function;
FIG. 33 shows a schematic view of a beverage making system employing heat or
other activation of a gas source;
FIG. 34 shows a schematic view of a beverage making system employing a plunger
to
supply precursor liquid;
FIG. 35 shows a schematic view of a beverage making system arranged to cycle
precursor liquid through a gas dissolution device;
FIG. 36 shows a schematic view of a cartridge having an activation fluid flow
controller;
FIGs. 37 and 38 show a schematic view of a cartridge having an activation
fluid flow
controller that interacts with a beverage making machine;
FIGs. 39 and 40 show an arrangement in which pressure in a cartridge moves the
cartridge to control activation fluid flow;
FIGs. 41 and 42 show a close up view of an activation fluid supply needle and
activator inlet of a cartridge for use in the FIGs. 39 and 40 embodiment;
FIGs. 43 and 44 show an illustrative embodiment in which pressure in a
cartridge is
detected by a beverage making machine;
FIG. 45 shows a cross sectional view of a cartridge an-anged similarly to that
in FIGs.
28-30 and arranged to allow for pinch control of fluid flow in the cartridge;
FIG. 46 shows another embodiment in which pressure in a cartridge is detected
by a
beverage making machine;
FIGs. 47 and 48 show an embodiment in which pressure in a cartridge is
detected by a
beverage making machine and activation fluid flow is controlled by a valve
actuator of the
machine;
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FIGs. 49 and 50 show a schematic diagram of a flow controller affangement for
a
cartridge for automatic gas pressure control;
FIG. 51 shows a cross sectional view of a cartridge having a filter;
FIG. 52 shows an exploded view of another embodiment of a cartridge having a
filter;
FIGs. 53 and 54 show cross sectional views of the second portion and the first
portion, respectively of the FIG. 52 embodiment;
FIG. 55 shows a cut away perspective view of an insert end of the cartridge of
FIG.
52;
FIG. 56 shows a cross sectional view of a cartridge arranged to allow a user
to define
a beverage characteristic by interacting with the cartridge;
FIG. 57 shows a perspective view of the FIG. 56 cartridge;
FIG. 58 shows an assembled view of a cartridge having first and second
portions
joined such that lid portions are adjacent each other;
FIG. 59 shows a side view of the FIG. 58 embodiment with the first and second
portions detached;
FIG. 60 shows a top view of the FIG. 59 arrangement;
FIG. 61 shows a cartridge with first and second portions joined together by a
lid
section and in a folded configuration;
FIG. 62 shows the FIG. 61 embodiment in an unfolded configuration;
FIG. 63 shows a cross sectional view of an illustrative cartridge with an
internal
piercing element;
FIG. 64 shows an exploded view of a cartridge having a portion formed as a
gusseted
bag and another portion received into the gusset cavity; and
FIG. 65 shows a cartridge with a second portion containing a beverage medium
and a
pressurized gas used to expel the beverage medium.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
It should be understood that aspects of the invention are described herein
with
reference to the figures, which show illustrative embodiments. The
illustrative embodiments
described herein are not necessarily intended to show all embodiments in
accordance with the
invention, but rather are used to describe a few illustrative embodiments.
Thus, aspects of the
invention are not intended to be construed narrowly in view of the
illustrative embodiments.
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In addition, it should be understood that aspects of the invention may be used
alone or in any
suitable combination with other aspects of the invention.
In accordance with one aspect of the invention, a fluid (such as water, water
vapor, or
other) may be provided to a carbon dioxide or other gas source in a cartridge
so as to cause
the gas source to emit gas that is used to carbonate or otherwise for
dissolution in a liquid. In
one embodiment, beverage making machine may include a gas activating fluid
supply
arranged to provide fluid to a cartridge chamber for contact with the gas
source so as to cause
the gas source to emit gas. In other arrangements, the gas source may be
caused to release
gas in other ways, such as by heating, exposing the source to microwaves or
other
electromagnetic radiation, etc. A gas supply of the machine may be an-anged to
conduct gas
emitted by the gas source, under pressure greater than the ambient pressure,
to a precursor
liquid to carbonate the precursor liquid. In some embodiments, the gas source
may be in
solid form, such as a zeolite, activated carbon or other molecular sieve that
is charged with
carbon dioxide or other gas, and the use of a cartridge may not only isolate
the gas source
from activating agents (such as water vapor in the case of a charged zeolite),
but also
potentially eliminate the need for a user to touch or otherwise directly
handle the carbon
dioxide source.
Having a gas activating fluid supply may enable the use of another aspect of
the
invention, i.e., a volume or other measure of the fluid provided to the
cartridge may be
controlled to control the rate or amount of gas that produced by the gas
source. This feature
can make the use of some gas sources, such as a charged zeolite material,
possible without
requiring gas storage or high pressure components. For example, zeolites
charged with
carbon dioxide tend to release carbon dioxide very rapidly and in relatively
large quantities
(e.g., a 30 gram mass of charged zeolite can easily produce 1-2 liters of
carbon dioxide gas at
atmospheric pressure in a few seconds in the presence of less than 30-50m1 of
water). This
rapid release can in some circumstances make the use of zeolites impractical
for producing
relatively highly carbonated liquids, such as a carbonated water that is
carbonated to a level
of 2 volumes or more. (A carbonation -volume" refers to the number of volume
measures of
carbon dioxide gas that is dissolved in a given volume measure of liquid. For
example, a 1
liter amount of "2 volume" carbonated water includes a 1 liter volume of water
that has 2
liters of carbon dioxide gas dissolved in it. Similarly, a 1 liter amount of
"4 volume"
carbonated water includes a 1 liter volume of water that has 4 liters of
carbon dioxide
dissolved in it. The gas volume measure is the gas volume that could be
released from the
carbonated liquid at atmospheric or ambient pressure and room temperature.)
That is,
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dissolution of carbon dioxide or other gases in liquids typically takes a
certain amount of
time, and the rate of dissolution can only be increased a limited amount under
less than
extreme conditions, such as pressures within about 150 psi of ambient and
temperatures
within about +/- 40 to 50 degrees C of room temperature. By controlling the
rate of carbon
dioxide (or other gas) production for a carbon dioxide (or other gas) source,
the total time
over which the carbon dioxide (or other gas) source emits carbon dioxide (or
other gas) can
be extended, allowing time for the carbon dioxide (gas) to be dissolved
without requiring
relatively high pressures. For example, when employing one illustrative
embodiment
incorporating one or more aspects of the invention, the inventors have
produced liquids
having at least up to about 3.5 volume carbonation levels in less than 60
seconds, at pressures
under about 40 psi, and at temperatures around 0 degrees Celsius. This
capability allows for
a carbonated beverage machine to operate at relatively modest temperatures and
pressures,
potentially eliminating the need for relatively expensive high pressure tanks,
conduits and
other components, as well as extensive pressure releases, containment
structures and other
safety features that might otherwise be required, particularly for a machine
to be used in the
consumer's home. Of course, as discussed above and elsewhere herein, aspects
of the
invention are not limited to use with carbon dioxide, and instead any suitable
gas may be
dissolved in a liquid in accordance with all aspects of this disclosure.
In another aspect of the invention, a portion of a precursor liquid that is
used to form a
beverage may be used to activate the gas source. This feature may help
simplify operation of
a beverage making machine, e.g., by eliminating the need for special
activation substances.
As a result, a beverage making machine, or a method of forming a sparkling
beverage, may
be made less expensively and/or without special purpose ingredients. For
example, in the
case of a machine making carbonated water, all that is needed to activate the
carbon dioxide
source may be a portion of the water used to form the beverage. It should be
understood,
however, that other aspects of the invention need not require the use of a
portion of precursor
liquid to activate a carbon dioxide source, and instead may use any suitable
activating agent,
such as a citric acid in aqueous form that is added to a bicarbonate material,
heat, microwave
or other electromagnetic radiation used to activate a zeolite source, and
others. For example,
the cartridge that includes the carbon dioxide source may include (as part of
the source), an
activating agent whose addition to another component of the carbon dioxide
source is
controlled to control carbon dioxide production.
FIG. 1 shows one illustrative embodiment that incorporates at least the
aspects of
providing a fluid to a cartridge and/or cartridge chamber to activate a gas
source, as well as
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controlling the fluid flow to control gas production, and the use of a portion
of beverage
precursor liquid to activate a gas source. The beverage making system 1 of
FIG. 1 includes a
beverage precursor liquid 2 that is contained in a reservoir 11. The beverage
precursor liquid
2 can be any suitable liquid, including water (e.g., flavored or otherwise
treated water, such
as sweetened, filtered, deionized, softened, carbonated, etc.), or any other
suitable liquid used
to form a beverage, such as milk, juice, coffee, tea, etc. (whether heated or
cooled relative to
room temperature or not). The reservoir 11 is part of a beverage precursor
supply 10, which
also includes a lid 12 that engages with the reservoir 11 to form a sealed
enclosure, a pump
13 to circulate the precursor liquid 2, and a nozzle, showerhead or other
component 14 that
serves to disperse the precursor liquid 2 in a headspace in the reservoir 11.
Of course, the
precursor supply 10 may be arranged in other ways, e.g., to include additional
or different
components. For example, the reservoir 11 and lid 12 may be replaced with a
closed tank
that has suitable inlet/outlet ports, the pump 13 and/or nozzle 14 may be
eliminated, and or
other changes.
In this embodiment, the reservoir 11 is initially provided with the precursor
liquid 2
by a user, who provides the liquid 2 in the reservoir 11, e.g., from a water
tap or other source.
The user may also provide ice or other cooling medium in the reservoir 11 as
desired, so as to
cool the ultimate beverage made. In other embodiments, the system 1 may
include a
refrigeration system or other cooling system (such as that found in
refrigerators, air
conditioning units, thermoelectric cooling units, or other devices used to
remove heat from a
material) to cool the liquid 2 whether before, during and/or after
carbonation. In some
arrangements, cooling the precursor liquid 2 may help the carbonation process,
e.g., because
cooler liquids tend to dissolve carbon dioxide or other gas more rapidly
and/or are capable of
dissolving larger amounts of gas. However, in one aspect of the invention, a
carbonated
liquid may be cooled after the carbonation process is complete, e.g., just
before discharge
using a flow through chiller. This feature may allow the system 1 to chill
only the beverage,
and not other portions of the system, such as the reservoir 11, carbonator,
pump, etc.,
reducing the heat output by the system 1. Although a user initially provides
the beverage
precursor liquid 2 in the reservoir 11, the precursor supply 10 may include
other components
to provide liquid 2 to the reservoir 11, such as a plumbed water line,
controllable valve, and
liquid level sensor to automatically fill the reservoir 11 to a desired level,
a second water
reservoir or other tank that is fluidly connected to the reservoir 11 (e.g.,
such as a removable
water tank found with some coffee making machines along with a pump and
conduit to route
water from the removable tank to the reservoir 11), and other anangements.
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The beverage making system 1 also includes a carbon dioxide activating fluid
supply
20 that provides a fluid to a cartridge 4 so as to activate a carbon dioxide
source 41 to release
carbon dioxide gas. In this embodiment, the carbon dioxide source 41 is
located in a portion
of the cartridge 4 and includes a charged adsorbent or molecular sieve, e.g.,
a zeolite material
that has adsorbed some amount of carbon dioxide gas that is released in the
presence of
water, whether in vapor or liquid form. Of course, other carbon dioxide source
materials may
be used, such as charcoal or other molecular sieve materials, carbon
nanotubes, metal organic
frameworks, covalent organic frameworks, porous polymers, or source materials
that
generate carbon dioxide by chemical means, such as sodium bicarbonate and
citric acid (with
the addition of water if the bicarbonate and acid are initially in dry form),
or others. In
addition, aspects of the invention are not necessarily limited to use with
carbon dioxide gas,
but may be used with any suitable gas, such as nitrogen, which is dissolved in
some beers or
other beverages, oxygen, air, and others. Thus, reference to "carbonation",
"carbon dioxide
source" "carbon dioxide activating fluid supply", etc., should not be
interpreted as limiting
aspects of the invention and/or any embodiments to use with carbon dioxide
only. Instead,
aspects of the invention may be used with any suitable gas. In one embodiment,
the charged
adsorbent is a zeolite such as analcime, chabazite, clinoptilolite,
heulandite, natrolite,
phillipsite, or stilbite. The zeolite may be naturally occurring or synthetic,
and may be
capable of holding up to about 20% carbon dioxide by weight or more. The
zeolite material
may be arranged in any suitable form, such as a solid block (e.g., in disc
form), particles of
spherical, cubic, irregular or other suitable shape, and others. An
arrangement that allows the
zeolite to flow or be flowable, e.g., spherical particles, may be useful for
packaging the
zeolite in individual cartridges. Such an arrangement may allow the zeolite to
flow from a
hopper into a cartridge container, for example, simplifying the manufacturing
process. The
surface area of the zeolite particles may also be arranged to help control the
rate at which the
zeolite releases carbon dioxide gas, since higher surface area measures
typically increase the
gas production rate. Generally, zeolite materials will release adsorbed carbon
dioxide in the
presence of water in liquid or vapor form, allowing the zeolite to be
activated to release
carbon dioxide gas by the addition of liquid water to the zeolite.
The carbon dioxide activating fluid supply 20 in this embodiment includes a
conduit
that is fluidly coupled to the pump 13 and a valve 21 that can be controlled
to open/close or
otherwise control the flow of precursor liquid 2 into the cartridge 4. As can
be seen,
circulation of the liquid 2 by the pump 13 can allow the activating fluid
supply 20 to divert
some (e.g., a first portion) of the precursor liquid 2 to the cartridge
chamber 3 to cause the
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creation of carbon dioxide gas, e.g., by opening the valve 21. Other
arrangements or
additions are possible for the carbon dioxide activating fluid supply 20, such
as a suitably
sized orifice in the conduit leading from the pump 13 outlet to the cartridge
4, a pressure-
reducing element in the conduit, a flow-restrictor in the conduit, a flow
meter to indicate an
amount and/or flow rate of liquid into the cartridge 4, and so on. In addition
the liquid source
20 need not use precursor liquid 2 to activate the carbon dioxide source 41,
but instead may
use a dedicated source of fluid for activation. For example, the carbon
dioxide activating
fluid supply 20 may include a syringe, piston pump or other positive
displacement device that
can meter desired amounts of liquid (whether water, citric acid or other
material) that are
delivered to the cartridge 4. In another embodiment, the activating fluid
supply 20 may
include a gravity fed liquid supply that has a controllable delivery rate,
e.g., like the drip-type
liquid supply systems used with intravenous lines for providing liquids to
hospital patients, or
may spray atomized water or other liquid to provide a water vapor or other gas
phase
activating fluid to the cartridge 4. Moreover, although FIG. 1 suggests that
the activating
fluid supply 20 provides liquid to a top of the cartridge 4, the liquid source
20 may provide
the fluid to a bottom of the cartridge 4, e.g., to flood the bottom of the
cartridge, or other
suitable location. It is also conceivable that an activating liquid can be
provided in the
cartridge with the carbon dioxide source 42, e.2., in a chamber that is
pierced to allow contact
of the liquid with the source 42.
In accordance with one embodiment, the cartridge 4 (having one or more
portions)
may be located in a cartridge chamber 3 during carbon dioxide production. As a
result, the
cartridge 4 may be made of a relatively flexible material or otherwise
constructed so that the
cartridge 4 cannot withstand a relatively high pressure gradient between the
interior and
exterior of the cartridge 4. That is, the cartridge chamber 3 may contain any
pressure
generated by the carbon dioxide source 41 and support the cartridge 4 as
necessary. In this
illustrative embodiment, the cartridge 4 is contained in a closed and sealed
chamber 3 that has
a space or gap surrounding all or most of the cartridge 4. The pressure
between the interior
space of the cartridge 4 and the exterior of the cartridge 4 is allowed to
equalize, e.g., by
allowing some of the gas emitted by the carbon dioxide source 41 to "leak"
into the space
around the cartridge 4, and so even if the cartridge 4 is made of a relatively
semi-rigid,
flexible or weak material, the cartridge 4 will not burst or collapse. In
alternate
arrangements, the cartridge 4 may be made to fit a receiving space in the
cartridge chamber 3
so that the chamber 3 supports the cartridge 4 when pressure is built up
inside the cartridge 4.
This support may be suitable to prevent the cartridge 4 from bursting or
otherwise preventing
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the cartridge 4 from functioning as desired. In yet other embodiments, the
cartridge 4 may be
made suitably robust (either in whole or in part) so as to withstand
relatively high pressures
(e.g., 1 atm or more) in the cartridge interior space. In such a case, the
cartridge chamber 3
need not function as much more than a physical support to hold the cartridge 4
in place or
otherwise establish a connection to the cartridge for gas output by the
cartridge 4 and/or
liquid supply to the cartridge 4. For example, the cartridge chamber 3 in such
an arrangement
may simply include a connection port that serves to fluidly and physically
couple the
cartridge 4 to the system 1. Thus, in some embodiments, the cartridge may be
mechanically
robust enough to withstand pressures up to 90 psig, e.g., like a conventional
carbonated soft
drink can, and be fluidly coupled to the system 1, but without receiving
physical support from
the system 1 (e.g., the cartridge may be exposed and not enclosed by walls of
a chamber) to
prevent the cartridge 4 from bursting during use.
A carbon dioxide gas supply 30 may be arranged to provide carbon dioxide gas
from
the cartridge chamber 3 to an area where the gas is used to carbonate the
liquid 2. The gas
supply 30 may be arranged in any suitable way, and in this illustrative
embodiment includes a
conduit 31 that is fluidly connected between the cartridge chamber 3 and the
reservoir 11, and
a filter 32 that helps to remove materials that may contaminate the precursor
liquid 2, such as
particles from the carbon dioxide source 41. The gas supply 30 may include
other
components, such as pressure regulators, safety valves, control valves, a
compressor or pump
(e.g., to increase a pressure of the gas), an accumulator (e.g., to help
maintain a relatively
constant gas pressure and/or store gas), and so on. (The use of an accumulator
or similar gas
storage device may obviate the need to control the rate of gas output by a
cartridge. Instead,
the gas source may be permitted to emit gas in an uncontrolled manner, with
the emitted gas
being stored in an accumulator for later delivery and use in producing a
sparkling beverage.
Gas released from the accumulator could be released in a controlled manner,
e.g., at a
controlled pressure and/or flow rate.) In this embodiment, the conduit 31
extends below the
surface of the precursor liquid 2 in the reservoir 11 so that the carbon
dioxide gas is injected
into the liquid 2 for dissolution. The conduit 31 may include a sparging
nozzle or other
arrangement to aid in dissolution, e.g., by creating relatively small gas
bubbles in the liquid 2
to increase the dissolution rate. Alternately, the conduit 31 may deliver the
gas to a
headspace (if present) in the reservoir 11 rather than below the surface of
the liquid 2.
Carbonation of the precursor liquid 2 may occur via one or more mechanisms or
processes, and thus is not limited to one particular process. For example,
while carbon
dioxide gas delivered by the conduit 31 to the reservoir 11 may function to
help dissolve
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carbon dioxide in the liquid 2, other system components may further aid in the
carbonation
process. In this illustrative embodiment, the precursor supply 10 may assist
in carbonating
the liquid by circulating the liquid via the pump 13 and the nozzle 14. That
is, liquid 2 may
be drawn from the reservoir 13 via a dip tube 15 and sprayed by the nozzle 14
into a carbon
dioxide-filled headspace in the reservoir 11. As is known in the art, this
process can help the
liquid 2 to dissolve carbon dioxide gas, e.g., by increasing the surface area
of liquid 2
exposed to gas. While in this embodiment the dip tube 15 is separate from the
reservoir 11
and extends below the surface of the precursor liquid 2, the dip tube 15 may
be arranged in
other ways, such as being made integrally with the wall of the reservoir 11.
If the dip tube 15
is made integrally with the reservoir 11, connecting the reservoir 11 to the
lid 12 may
establish a fluid connection between the dip tube 15 and the pump 13. Forming
the dip tube
integrally with the reservoir 11 may allow the system 1 to accommodate
differently sized
(and thus different volume) reservoirs 11. In addition, this arrangement may
help ensure that
only suitably configured reservoirs 11 (e.g., a container arranged to
withstand system
15 pressures) is used. Alternately, the dip tube 15 could be made flexible
or otherwise
accommodate reservoirs 11 having a different height. Whether integral with the
reservoir 11
or not, the dip tube 15 may include a filter, strainer or other arrangement to
help prevent
small particles, such as ice chips, from being drawn into the pump 13. In some
embodiments, the reservoirs 11 can function as a drinking glass as well as a
reservoir 11 in
the system 1. That is, a user may provide a reservoir/drinking glass 11 to the
system 1 (e.g.,
including a desired amount of water, ice and/or beverage medium), and after
carbonation is
complete, use the reservoir/drinking glass 11 to enjoy the beverage. The
reservoir 11 may be
insulated, e.g., to help keep a beverage cold, as well as made to withstand
suitable pressures
experienced in use with the system 1.
The various components of the system 1 may be controlled by a controller 5,
which
may include a programmed general purpose computer and/or other data processing
device
along with suitable software or other operating instructions, one or more
memories (including
non-transient storage media that may store software and/or other operating
instructions), a
power supply for the controller 5 and/or other system components, temperature
and liquid
level sensors, pressure sensors, RFID interrogation devices, input/output
interfaces (e.g., to
display information to a user and/or receive input from a user), communication
buses or other
links, a display, switches, relays, triacs, motors, mechanical linkages and/or
actuators, or
other components necessary to perform desired input/output or other functions.
In this
illustrative embodiment, the controller 5 controls the operation of the valve
21 of the
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activating fluid supply 20 as well as the pump 13 of the precursor liquid
supply 10. Also
shown in FIG. 1 is a sensor 51, which may represent one or more sensors used
by the
controller 5. For example, the sensor 51 may include a temperature sensor that
detects the
temperature of the precursor liquid in the reservoir 11. This information may
be used to
control system operation, e.g., warmer precursor liquid temperatures may cause
the controller
5 to increase an amount of time allowed for carbon dioxide gas to be dissolved
in the
precursor liquid 2. In other arrangements, the temperature of the precursor
liquid 2 may be
used to determine whether the system 1 will be operated to carbonate the
liquid 2 or not. For
example, in some arrangements, the user may be required to add suitably cold
liquid 2
(and/or ice) to the reservoir 11 before the system 1 will operate. (As
discussed above,
relatively warm precursor liquid 2 temperatures may cause the liquid to be
insufficiently
carbonated in some conditions.) In another embodiment, the sensor 51 may
include a
pressure sensor used to detect a pressure in the reservoir 11. This
information may be used to
determine whether the reservoir 11 is improperly sealed to the lid 12 or
another pressure leak
is present, and/or to determine whether sufficient carbon dioxide gas is being
produced by the
cartridge 4. For example, low detected pressure may cause the controller 5 to
allow more
liquid to be delivered by the activating fluid supply 20 to the cartridge 4,
or prompt the user
to check that the reservoir 11 is properly engaged with the lid 12. Likewise,
high pressures
may cause the flow of liquid from the activating fluid supply 20 to be slowed
or stopped.
Thus, the controller 5 can control the gas pressure in the reservoir 11 and/or
other areas of the
system 1 by controlling an amount of liquid delivered to the cartridge 4
and/or the cartridge
chamber 3. The sensor 51 may alternately, or additionally, detect that the
reservoir 11 is in
place, and/or whether the reservoir 11 is properly engaged with the lid 12.
For example, a
switch may be closed when the reservoir 11 is properly seated on a seal of the
lid 12,
indicating proper engagement. In another arrangement, the reservoir 11 may
include an
RFID tag or other electronic device that is capable of communicating its
identity or other
characteristics of the reservoir 11 to the controller 5. This information may
be used to
confirm whether the reservoir 11 is suitable for use with the system 1, to
control certain
operating conditions (e.g., an operating pressure may be limited based on the
type of
reservoir used, the precursor liquid may be carbonated to a level that
corresponds to the
reservoir 11, and so on), and/or for other uses. The sensor 51 could also
detect the presence
of a cartridge 4 in the chamber 3, e.g., via RFID tag, optical recognition,
physical sensing,
etc. If no cartridge 4 is detected, or the controller 5 detects that the
cartridge 4 is spent, the
controller 5 may prompt the user to insert a new or different cartridge 4. For
example, in
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some embodiments, a single cartridge 4 may be used to carbonate multiple
volumes of
precursor liquid 2. The controller 5 may keep track of the number of times
that the cartridge
4 has been used, and once a limit has been reached (e.g., 10 drinks), prompt
the user to
replace the cartridge. Other parameters may be detected by the sensor 51, such
as a
carbonation level of the precursor liquid 2 (which may be used to control the
carbonation
process), the presence of a suitable vessel to receive a beverage discharged
from the system 1
(e.g., to prevent beverage from being spilled), the presence of water or other
precursor liquid
2 in the reservoir 11 or elsewhere in the precursor supply 10, a flow rate of
liquid in the pump
13 or associated conduit, the presence of a headspace in the reservoir 11
(e.g., if no headspace
is desired, a valve may be activated to discharge the headspace gas, or if
only carbon dioxide
is desired to be in the headspace, a snifting valve may be activated to
discharge air in the
headspace and replace the air with carbon dioxide), and so on.
The controller 5 may also be arranged to allow a user to define a level of
carbonation
(i.e., amount of dissolved gas in the beverage, whether carbon dioxide or
other). For
example, the controller 5 may include a touch screen display or other user
interface that
allows the user to define a desired carbonation level, such as by allowing the
user to select a
carbonation volume level of 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5, or selecting one of a low, medium
or high
carbonation level. All cartridges used by the system 1 may include sufficient
gas source
material to make the highest level of carbonation selectable, but the
controller 5 may control
the system to dissolve an amount of gas in the beverage that is consistent
with the selected
level. For example, while all cartridges may be arranged for use in creating a
"high"
carbonation beverage, the controller 5 may operate the system 1 to use less of
the available
gas (or cause the gas source to emit less gas than possible) in carbonating
the beverage.
Carbonation levels may be controlled based on a detected carbonation level by
a sensor 51, a
detected pressure in the reservoir or elsewhere, an amount of gas output by
the cartridge 4, or
other features. In another embodiment, the cartridge 4 may include indicia
readably by the
controller, e.g., an RFID tag, barcode, alphanumeric string, etc., that
indicates a carbonation
level to be used for the beverage. After determining the carbonation level
from the cartridge
4, the controller 5 may control the system 1 accordingly. Thus, a user need
not select the
carbonation level by interacting with the system 1, but rather a carbonation
level may be
automatically adjusted based on the beverage selected. In yet another
embodiment, a user
may be able to select a gas source cartridge 4 that matches a carbonation
level the user
desires. (Different carbonation levels may be provided in the different
cartridges by having
different amounts of gas source in the cartridge 4.) For example, cartridges
providing low,
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medium and high carbonation levels may be provided for selection by a user,
and the user
may pick the cartridge that matches the desired carbonation level, and provide
the selected
cartridge to the system 1. Thus, a gas source cartridge labeled "low" may be
chosen and used
with the system to create a low level carbonated beverage.
A user may alternately be permitted to define characteristics of a beverage to
be made
by interacting in some way with a cartridge 4 to be used by the system 1. For
example, tab,
notch or other physical feature of the cartridge may be altered or formed by
the user to
signify a desired beverage characteristic. For example, a broken tab, slider
indicator, a
covered or uncovered perforation on a portion of the cartridge, etc., that is
created by the user
may indicate a desired carbonation level, an amount of beverage medium to use
in forming
the beverage (where the system 1 is controllable to use less than all of the
beverage medium
in the cartridge to form a beverage), and so on. Features in the cartridge 4
may also be
employed by the controller 5 detect features of the cartridge, a beverage
being formed or
other components of the system 1. For example, light guides in a cartridge 4
may provide a
light path to allow the controller 5 to optically detect a level of beverage
medium in the
cartridge 4, a flow of precursor liquid in the cartridge 4, pressure in the
cartridge (e.g., where
deflection of a cartridge portion can be detected and indicates a pressure), a
position of a
piston, valve or other cartridge component, an absence of beverage medium in
the cartridge
(to signify completion of beverage formation), and so on. Other sensor
features may be
incorporated into the cartridge, such as electrical sensor contacts (e.g., to
provide
conductivity measurements representative of a carbonation level or other
properties of a
precursor liquid), an acoustic sensor (to detect gas emission, fluid flow, or
other
characteristics of the cartridge), and so on.
To cause the beverage making system 1 to create a carbonated beverage, a user
may
first provide a desired amount of precursor liquid 2 in the reservoir 11,
along with optional
ice and/or a beverage medium. Alternately, the carbonated liquid may be
flavored after
carbonation is complete either by automated or manual means. The reservoir 11
is then
engaged with the lid 12, such as by engaging a screw thread on the reservoir
11 with the lid
12, activating a clamp mechanism, or other. A cartridge 4 containing a carbon
dioxide source
41 (e.g., in solid form, such as a charged zeolite) may be placed in the
cartridge chamber 3
and the chamber 3 closed. In other embodiments, the cartridge 4 may be
otherwise fluidly
coupled to the system 1, such as by engaging a threaded portion of the
cartridge 4 with a
corresponding port of the system. The cartridge chamber 3 may operate in any
suitable way,
e.g., like that found in many cartridge-based coffee or other beverage
machines. For
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example, a manual lever may be operated to lift a lid of the chamber 3,
exposing a cartridge
receiver portion of the chamber 3. With the cartridge 4 in the chamber 3, the
lever may be
again activated to close the lid, sealing the chamber 3 closed. With the
cartridge 4 associated
with the system 1, the controller 5 may then activate the system 1 to deliver
liquid to the
chamber 3, e.g., to cause carbon dioxide to be generated. The controller 5 may
start
operation in an automated way, e.g., based on detecting the presence of a
cartridge 4 in the
chamber 3, liquid 2 in the reservoir 11 and closure of the chamber 3.
Alternately, the
controller 5 may start system operation in response to a user pressing a start
button or
otherwise providing input (e.g., by voice activation) to start beverage
preparation. The
controller 5 may start operation of the pump 13, drawing liquid from the dip
tube 15 and
discharging the liquid 2 at the nozzle 14. The valve 21 may be opened to
deliver a suitable
portion of the precursor liquid 2 to the chamber 3, and carbon dioxide gas
created may be
provided to the reservoir 11 by the gas supply 30. Operation may continue for
a preset
amount of time, or based on other conditions, such as a detected level of
carbonation, a drop
in gas production by the cartridge 4, or other parameters. During operation,
the amount of
liquid provided to the chamber 3 may be controlled to control gas output by
the cartridge 4.
Control of the liquid provided to the cartridge 4 may be made based on a
timing sequence
(e.g., the valve 21 may be opened for a period of time, followed by valve
closure for a period,
and so on), based on detected pressure (e.g., liquid supply may be stopped
when the pressure
in the chamber 3 and/or reservoir 11 exceeds a threshold, and resume when the
pressure falls
below the threshold or another value), based on a volume of activating liquid
delivered to the
chamber 3 (e.g., a specific volume of liquid may be delivered to the cartridge
4), or other
arrangements. When complete, the user may remove the beverage and reservoir 11
from the
lid 12.
FIG. 1 shows only one illustrative embodiment of a beverage making system 1,
but
other an-angements are possible, including systems that incorporate other
aspects of the
invention. For example, in one aspect of the invention, flavoring of a
sparkling beverage may
be done in an automated way, and may occur in a cartridge. This feature may
make the
beverage formation process easier and more convenient for a user, as well as
help reduce the
likelihood of cross contamination between beverages and/or the need to rinse a
mixing
chamber. That is, by mixing a beverage medium with the precursor liquid in a
cartridge
(which may be disposable), each beverage made by the system 1 may effectively
be made
using its own mixing chamber. For example, if a carbonated cherry beverage is
made using
the system 1, followed by lemon beverage, there may be a possibility that the
cherry flavor
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left behind in a mixing chamber will can-y over into the subsequent lemon
beverage. Rinsing
or other cleaning of a mixing chamber can help eliminate or reduce such flavor
cross over,
but mixing each beverage in a cartridge may eliminate the need to rinse a
mixing chamber or
other system components entirely. Mixing of the beverage medium with precursor
liquid
may occur in a dedicated mixing chamber of the cartridge(s), in a cartridge
portion that holds
a beverage medium, and/or in a cartridge portion that holds a gas source.
However, it should
be understood that a beverage medium may be mixed with a precursor liquid in
other ways,
such as by expelling the beverage medium from a cartridge directly into a
user's cup or other
container, or into a mixing chamber of the beverage making machine. Thus, the
beverage
medium could be mixed with sparkling water or other liquid directly in the
user's cup.
In another aspect of the invention, precursor liquid may be carbonated using a
contactor (a type of carbonator or gas dissolving device) that includes a
porous membrane
(e.g., that is porous at least to gas) having a gas side and a liquid side.
Precursor liquid on the
liquid side of the carbonator may be exposed to gas on the gas side of the
membrane, and
since the membrane may be arranged to increase the surface area of the liquid
exposed to gas,
dissolution of carbon dioxide or other gas into the precursor liquid may be
done more rapidly
than using other techniques. In one embodiment, the carbonator may include a
contactor with
a hollow fiber an-angement in which hollow fibers made of a hydrophobic
material, such as
polypropylene, carry the precursor liquid. The fibers are porous, having holes
that, combined
with the hydrophobicity of the material, allow for contact of gas on the
exterior of the fibers
with the liquid while preventing the liquid from exiting the fiber interior.
Membrane
contactors suitable for such use are made by Membrana of Charlotte, North
Carolina, USA.
Of course, other "membrane" arrangements may be used, such as arrangements
that prevent
bulk flow of liquid across a barrier, but allow gas to pass through the
barrier for dissolution in
the liquid. For example, a membrane having a flat, spiral wound and/or a flat,
interdigitated
arrangement could be used instead of a hollow fiber arrangement. Also, in some
arrangements the flow of gas through the contactor may be generally opposite
that of the flow
of liquid through the contactor, e.g., to help with gas exchange. However,
other flow
arrangements are possible.
In yet another aspect of the invention, a cartridge chamber of a beverage
making
system may be arranged to hold first and second cartridge portions where the
first cartridge
portion contains a carbon dioxide source arranged to emit carbon dioxide gas
for use in
carbonating the precursor liquid, and the second cartridge portion contains a
beverage
medium arranged to be mixed with a liquid precursor to form a beverage. The
cartridge
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chamber may have a single cartridge receiving portion for receiving both
cartridge portions,
or may include a plurality of cartridge receiving portions that are separate
from each other,
e.g., for receiving two or more cartridges that are each associated with a
first or second
cartridge portion. Such an arrangement may help simplify use of the system,
particularly
where the cartridge portions are arranged for only a single use, e.g.,
formation of a single
volume of beverage and discarded thereafter. For example, a user may be
enabled to place
one or two cartridges that include the first and second cartridge portions in
receiving portions
of the cartridge chamber without the need for establishing pressure-tight,
leak-proof or other
connections needed for the system to operate properly. Instead, the cartridge
portions may be
simply placed in a receiver, and the cartridge chamber closed, making the
system ready for
beverage production.
FIG. 2 shows another illustrative embodiment that incorporates the aspects of
using a
membrane contactor to carbonate the precursor liquid with a cartridge-provided
gas, mixing a
beverage medium with liquid in a cartridge, and the use of a cartridge chamber
that receives
first and second cartridge portions that respectively contain a gas source and
beverage
medium. This embodiment is similar to that in FIG. 1 in many ways, and may be
modified to
have one or more components like that in FIG. 1. However, certain alternate
arrangements
are shown in FIG. 2 to illustrate another few ways in which a beverage making
system 1 may
be modified in accordance with aspects of the invention. In this embodiment,
the reservoir
11 is a closed tank having no removable lid. Precursor liquid 2 may be
provided to the
reservoir 11 in any suitable way, such as by a plumbed water connection (not
shown), by the
pump 13 (or other pump) pumping liquid from a separate storage tank (not
shown) into the
reservoir 11, by a gravity feed of liquid from a separate storage tank through
a controllable
valve (not shown), and others. The reservoir 11 may have any suitable volume,
and is fluidly
coupled to a pump 13 that can circulate the precursor liquid 2 through a
contactor 6 and back
to the reservoir 11 via a nozzle 14. (Such a circulation feature may help in
dissolving gas in a
precursor liquid 2 and may be used in any beverage making system 1 described
herein or
otherwise contemplated within the scope of this disclosure.) As discussed
above, the
precursor liquid 2 may pass through hollow fibers in the contactor 6 to pick
up carbon
dioxide or other gas around the fibers, but this anangement could be reversed,
with gas
flowing in the fibers and the precursor liquid 2 located on the exterior of
the fibers. A filter
16 may be provided to remove materials in the precursor liquid 2 that might
clog the fibers,
pores in the fibers or otherwise interfere with the operation of the contactor
6. Alternately, or
in addition, the filter 16 may condition the liquid 2, e.g., by softening,
removing alkaline or
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other elements that tend to raise the pH of the liquid 2, by removing elements
that may
prevent the formation of a good tasting beverage, and so on. For example, the
filter 16 may
include an activated charcoal and/or other components found in commonly used
water filters.
The contactor 6 may be arranged to have a plurality of hollow fibers extending
within a
closed tube or other chamber so that the inner passages of the fibers fluidly
connects a fluid
inlet of the contactor 6 to a fluid outlet. The gas space around the fibers
may communicate
with the carbon dioxide supply 30 via one or more ports on the gas side of the
contactor 6. It
should be understood, however, that the contactor 6 may be arranged in other
ways, such as
having one or more membranes in the form of a flat sheet or other forms other
than tubular to
define a liquid side and a gas side of the contactor 6.
The activating fluid supply 20 is arranged similarly to that in FIG. 1, with a
controllable valve 21 fluidly coupled to an output of the pump 13. However, in
this
embodiment, the activating fluid supply 20 introduces liquid near a bottom of
the cartridge
chamber 3 and the cartridge 4. This arrangement may help the activating fluid
supply 20 to
better control gas release from the carbon dioxide source 41. For example,
dropping water
onto the carbon dioxide source 41 from the top may allow the water to spread
over a wide
area, allowing charged zeolites or other source materials spread over a wide
area to release
gas. By providing liquid from below, the activating fluid supply 20 may flood
the cartridge 4
and/or chamber 3, thereby allowing water to contact source materials 41
starting from the
bottom up. This may allow for closer control of the volume of source materials
41 that are
activated to release gas. In the case that the carbon dioxide source 41 can
wick or otherwise
move water upwardly (such as by capillary action), portions of the source 41
may be
separated from each other by non-wicking agents. For example, the source 41
may include a
set of stacked discs of zeolite material that are separated by a non-wicking
material, such as
metal or solid plastic separators. This may allow the fluid supply 20 to
stepwise increase the
fluid level in the cartridge 4 over a period of time to sequentially activate
individual discs.
Gas produced by the cartridge 4 is routed by the gas supply 30 (via an
optional filter
32 and conduit 31) to the gas side of the contactor 6. The conduit 31 may
include a water-
buoyant check valve or other arrangement that allows gas to pass to the
contactor 6, but
prevents liquid from exiting the cartridge chamber 3. For example, a floating
ball in the
cartridge chamber 3 may normally leave an opening of the conduit 31 free for
gas flow, but
may raise upwardly on the surface of liquid in the cartridge 4 to close the
opening, e.g., in
case that the activating fluid supply 20 provides an excess of activating
liquid. The
controller 5 may monitor the gas pressure in the chamber 3, in the conduit 31
and/or in the
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gas side of the contactor 6 to control the activating fluid supply 20 and gas
production. In
one embodiment, the activating fluid supply 20 may be controlled to provide
approximately
35-45 psi gas pressure at the gas side of the contactor 6. This pressure has
been found to
work at least adequately in carbonating about 400-500m1 of water at a
temperature of about 0
degrees C in about 30-60 seconds using a hollow fiber contactor, as described
in more detail
below in the Examples. As carbon dioxide in the contactor is dissolved into
the precursor
liquid 2, the pressure on the gas side will drop, prompting the controller 5
to supply
additional liquid 2 to the cartridge 4a to cause additional gas to be created.
Similar to the
system in FIG. 1, this process may be performed based on any criteria, such as
the passage of
a specific amount of time, the detection of a specified level of carbonation
of the liquid 2,
exhaustion of the carbon dioxide source 41, a volume of liquid delivered to
the cartridge 4a,
etc., so that a pressure of the carbon dioxide gas can be maintained within a
desired range
above ambient pressure.
Once carbonation of the precursor liquid 2 is complete, the controller 5 may
direct the
liquid 2 to a beverage medium cartridge 4b in the cartridge chamber 3. While
the precursor
liquid 2 may be caused to flow from the reservoir 11 in any suitable way (such
as by gravity,
a pump, etc.), in this embodiment, the controller 5 activates an air pump 7
which pressurizes
the reservoir 11 such that the precursor liquid 2 is forced to flow via a
conduit to the cartridge
chamber 3 and the beverage medium cartridge 4b. In other embodiments, gas
pressure
created by the carbon dioxide source 41 may be used to pressurize the
reservoir 11 and drive
the flow of the precursor liquid to the beverage medium cartridge 4b. For
example, when
carbonation is complete, gas from the cartridge 4a may be routed directly into
the reservoir
11 instead of to the contactor 6 so as to pressurize the reservoir 11.
Although no valve is
shown in the conduit that fluidly couples the reservoir 11 and the cartridge
4b, a controllable
valve, pump or other suitable component may be added to control flow as
desired. The use of
air or other gas to move liquid 2 through the cartridge 4b (or to expel
beverage medium from
the cartridge 4b) may allow the system 1 to "blow down" the cartridge 4b at or
near the end
of the beverage process, e.g., to remove any remaining material from the
cartridge 4b. This
may be useful in making the cartridge 4b less messy to handle (e.g., by
reducing the
likelihood that the cartridge 4b will drip when removed from the chamber 3. A
similar
process may be used to blow down the cartridge 4a, e.g., using an air pump or
gas produced
by the source 41.
Flow of the precursor liquid 2 through the beverage medium cartridge 4b may
cause
the liquid 2 to mix with the beverage medium 42 before being discharged, e.g.,
to a waiting
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cup 8 or other container. The beverage medium cartridge 4b may include any
suitable
beverage making materials (beverage medium), such as concentrated syrups,
ground coffee
or liquid coffee extract, tea leaves, dry herbal tea, powdered beverage
concentrate, dried fruit
extract or powder, natural and/or artificial flavors or colors, acids, aromas,
viscosity
modifiers, clouding agents, antioxidants, powdered or liquid concentrated
bouillon or other
soup, powdered or liquid medicinal materials (such as powdered vitamins,
minerals, bioactive
ingredients, drugs or other pharmaceuticals, nutriceuticals, etc.), powdered
or liquid milk or
other creamers, sweeteners, thickeners, and so on. (As used herein, "mixing"
of a liquid with
a beverage medium includes a variety of mechanisms, such as the dissolving of
substances in
the beverage medium in the liquid, the extraction of substances from the
beverage medium,
and/or the liquid otherwise receiving some material from the beverage medium.)
The liquid
2 may be introduced into the cartridge 4b in any suitable way, and/or the
cartridge 4b may be
arranged in any suitable way to aid in mixing of the liquid 2 with the
beverage medium 42.
For example, the precursor liquid 2 may be introduced into the cartridge 4b so
as to cause a
spiral or other flow pattern, the cartridge 4b may include a labyrinth or
other tortuous flow
path to cause turbulence in the flow to aid in mixing, and so on. One
potential advantage of
mixing the precursor liquid 2 in a beverage medium cartridge 4b is that cross
contamination
of beverage medium that may occur with the use of a mixing chamber that is
used to mix
beverage medium and liquid 2 for every beverage made by the system 1 may be
avoided.
However, the system 1 could be modified to employ a reused mixing chamber,
e.g., a space
where beverage medium 42 that is provided from a cartridge 4b and precursor
liquid 2 are
mixed together in much the same way that fountain drinks are formed by
commercial drink
machines. For example, the beverage medium 42 could be driven from the
cartridge 4b (e.g.,
by air pressure, carbon dioxide gas pressure created by the cartridge 4a, by
gravity, by suction
created by an adductor pump, venturi or other arrangement, etc.) into a mixing
chamber or
the user's cup where the precursor liquid 2 is also introduced. Rinsing of the
mixing chamber
may or may not be necessary, e.g., to help prevent cross contamination between
beverages.
In some an-angements, the entire volume of beverage medium 42 may be
discharged into the
mixing chamber, causing initial amounts of flavored precursor liquid 2 exiting
the mixing
chamber to have a high beverage medium concentration. However, as the beverage
medium
42 is swept from the mixing chamber by the precursor liquid 2, the precursor
liquid itself may
effectively rinse the mixing chamber. In arrangements where the beverage
medium 42 is a
dry material, such as a powder, some precursor liquid may be introduced into
the cartridge to
pre-wet the medium 42 or otherwise improve an ability to mix the medium 42
with precursor
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liquid 2. The wetted medium 42 may be mixed with additional precursor liquid 2
in the
cartridge, or the wetted medium 42 may be expelled from the cartridge, e.g.,
by air pressure, a
plunger, etc., to a mixing chamber or other location for additional mixing
with precursor
liquid 2. Liquid 2 may be introduced into a mixing chamber using multiple
streams, e.g., to
enhance a mixing rate using low flow speeds so as to reduce loss of dissolved
gas.
The embodiment of FIG. 2 could be modified so that flow of precursor liquid 2
exiting the contactor 6 is routed directly to the beverage medium cartridge 4b
or to another
mixing chamber where beverage medium 42 is mixed with the carbonated precursor
liquid 2,
e.g., like that shown in FIG. 3. That is, in this illustrative embodiment,
carbonated precursor
liquid 2 does not circulate from the reservoir 11, through the contactor 6 and
back to the
reservoir 11, but instead precursor liquid 2 makes a single pass through the
contactor 6 and
then proceeds to mixing with the beverage medium 42 in a mixing chamber 9 and
discharge
to a cup 8. However, the arrangement of FIG. 3 could also include a
circulation circuit to
allow liquid 2 to be circulated from the reservoir 11 or other tank, through
the contactor 6,
and back to the reservoir 11 or other tank. The mixing chamber 9 may take any
suitable
form, e.g., may cause the precursor liquid 2 and beverage medium 42 to move in
a spiral,
swirl or other fashion to enhance mixing, may have one or more motor driven
blades,
impellers or other elements to mix contents in the chamber 9, and so on. While
the mixing
chamber 9 may be separate from the cartridge 4, the mixing chamber 9 could be
incorporated
into a cartridge 4 if desired. The mixing chamber 9 may be cooled as well,
e.g., by a
refrigeration system, to help cool the beverage provided to the cup 8.
Alternately, the
precursor liquid 2 may be cooled in the reservoir 11 and/or any other
locations in the system
1. In the case where the carbonated liquid 2 is not flavored or where the
liquid 2 is mixed
with the beverage medium 42 before passing through the carbonator 6, the
mixing chamber 9
may be eliminated or arranged to mix the precursor liquid 2 and beverage
medium 42
upstream of the contactor 6. Alternately, the precursor liquid supply 10 may
be arranged to
mix the precursor liquid 2 with the beverage medium 42 in the cartridge 4b
prior to routing
the liquid 2 to the contactor 6. In this embodiment, the beverage medium 42
may be
delivered to the mixing chamber 9 by any suitable means, such as air or other
gas pressure
(e.g., as supplied by an air pump, the gas source 41 or other), by gravity
feed (e.g., by the
opening of a valve or door), by introducing all or part of the precursor
liquid 2 used to make
the beverage into the second cartridge 4b, by compressing the cartridge 4b to
force the
medium 42 to flow to the mixing chamber 9, and others. The controller 5 may
detect the gas
pressure on the gas side of the contactor 6, and control fluid supply to the
cartridge 4a
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accordingly, e.g., to maintain a suitable gas pressure in the contactor 6. The
reservoir 11 may
be a water storage tank that is not pressurized in this embodiment, and may be
removable
from the system 1, e.g., to make filling by a user easier. The user may add
ice and/or
beverage medium to the precursor liquid 2 in the reservoir 11, if desired.
Alternately, the
reservoir 11 and pump 13 may be replaced by a plumbed connection to a
pressurized water
supply and an optional control valve and/or pressure reducer. Of course, as
with other
embodiments, the system 1 may be suitably enclosed in a housing having a
visible display,
user input buttons, knobs, or touch screen, user-operated devices for
opening/closing a
cartridge chamber, and other features found in beverage making machines.
Other arrangements for a beverage forming system 1 are possible, such as that
shown
in FIG. 4. In this illustrative embodiment, the cartridge chamber 3 is
combined with the
reservoir 11 such that the cartridge 4a having a carbon dioxide source 41 is
located in the
reservoir 11. The cartridge 4a may be placed in the reservoir 11/cartridge
chamber 3 by
removing the lid 12 from the reservoir 11. Liquid may be provided to the
cartridge 4a by any
suitable activating fluid supply 20, such as an arrangement like that in FIG.
1, a syringe or
piston pump that delivers a metered amount of liquid to the cartridge 4a, and
others. In this
embodiment, the carbon dioxide supply 30 is combined with the reservoir 11
such that a
portion of the reservoir functions to deliver carbon dioxide gas to the
precursor liquid 2. The
pump 13 may aid the carbonation process by circulating the liquid 2 and
spraying the liquid 2
into a carbon dioxide-filled headspace in the reservoir 11. In another
embodiment, a
contactor 6 may be provided in the reservoir 11 (e.g., at the location of the
nozzle 14) so that
the liquid 2 flows through hollow fibers extending downwardly from the lid 12
while carbon
dioxide in the headspace is absorbed by the liquid while passing through the
fibers. In yet
another arrangement, the membrane portion of a contactor 6 may be at least
partially
submerged in the precursor liquid 2, and gas from the source 41 may be passed
through
hollow fibers of the contactor 6. As a result, the liquid 2 on the outside of
the fibers may pick
up carbon dioxide from the gas passing through the fibers. In such an
arrangement, the fibers
of the contactor 6 may be located in the reservoir 11 or other tank as shown,
or could be
located in the user's cup 8. In this way, liquid 2 could be carbonated or
otherwise have gas
dissolved while in the cup 8.
While the cartridge chamber 3 may be arranged in any suitable way. FIG. 5
shows
one illustrative arrangement in which both a carbon dioxide source cartridge
4a and a
beverage medium cartridge 4b can be received by the same cartridge chamber 3.
In this
embodiment, the cartridges 4a, 4b (which respectively have a portion that
contains a gas
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source 41 and beverage medium 42) are received in separate cartridge receivers
33, and each
cartridge receiver 33 may include a piercing element 34 at a bottom of the
cartridge receiver
33. The piercing element 34, which may include a hollow needle, spike, blade,
knife or other
arrangement, may form an opening in the respective cartridge 4. Alternately,
the cartridges 4
may have defined openings, e.g., one or more ports, that include a septum or
other valve-type
element that permits flow into and/or out of the cartridge 4. Similarly, the
lid 12 may include
piercing element 35 that form an opening in the top of the respective
cartridge 4, e.g., when
the lid 12 is closed. When closed, the lid 12 may fonn a sealed chamber in
which the
cartridges 4a, 4b are located and isolated from each other. The openings
formed in the
cartridges 4a, 4b may allow for communication with the interior space of the
cartridges 4a, 4b
as outlined in FIG. 5. For example, an opening at the top of the cartridge 4a
may allow
carbon dioxide or other gas to exit the cartridge chamber 3, while the opening
at the bottom
of the cartridge 4a may allow for water or other activating fluid to enter the
cartridge 4a. Of
course, the openings may be formed in other locations, such as an opening for
allowing fluid
input to occur at the top or side of the cartridge. Likewise, gas may exit the
cartridge through
a bottom, side or otherwise located opening. As mentioned above, gas may be
permitted to
leak from the cartridge 4a into the space in the cartridge chamber 3 around
the cartridge 4a,
e.g., through the opening in the cartridge 4a, through a hole or other opening
in the piercing
element 35, etc. This may allow the pressure around the cartridge to equalize
with the
pressure inside the cartridge during gas production, helping to prevent
bursting of the
cartridge 4a. Alternately, the cartridge 4a may fit closely into the cartridge
receiver 33 so that
the cartridge chamber 3 can support the cartridge 4a (if necessary). The
opening in the top of
the beverage medium cartridge 4b may allow for precursor liquid 2 to be
introduced into the
cartridge 4b (e.g., for mixing with the beverage medium), or for pressurized
air or other gas
to enter the cartridge (e.g., for forcing the beverage medium 42 from the
cartridge 4b and into
a mixing chamber or cup). The opening at the bottom of the cartridge 4b may
allow for
beverage to exit to a waiting cup or other container, or for the beverage
medium to travel to a
mixing chamber or cup. As with the cartridge 4a, opening in the beverage
medium cartridge
42 may be arranged in any suitable location or locations.
The cartridge chamber 3 may open and close in any suitable way to allow
cartridges 4
to be placed in and/or removed from the chamber 3. In the FIG. 5 embodiment,
the lid 12 is
pivotally mounted to the receiver portion of the chamber 3, and may be opened
and closed
manually, such as by a handle and linkage arrangement, or automatically, such
as by a motor
drive, to close the cartridge receivers 33. In other embodiments, the lid 12
may have two or
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more sections that are each associated with a respective cartridge receiver
33. Thus, the lid
sections can be moved independently of each other to open/close the cartridge
receivers 33.
Of course, the lid 12 may be arranged in other ways, such as being engaged
with the receivers
33 by a threaded connection (like a screw cap), by the receivers 33 moving
away and toward
the lid 12 while the lid 12 remains stationary, by both the lid and receiver
portion moving,
and so on. In addition, a cartridge chamber 3 need not necessarily have a lid
and receiver
arrangement like that shown in FIG. 5, but instead may have any suitable
member or
members that cooperate to open/close and support a cartridge. For example, a
pair of
clamshell members may be movable relative to each other to allow receipt of a
cartridge and
physical support of the cartridge. Some other illustrative cartridge chamber
arrangements are
shown, for example, in U.S. Patents 6,142,063; 6,606,938; 6,644,173; and
7,165,488. As
mentioned above, the cartridge chamber 3 may allow a user to place one or more
cartridges in
the chamber 3 without the need for the user to take special steps to establish
a pressure-tight,
leak-proof or other specialized connection between the cartridge and other
portions of the
system 1. Instead, in some embodiments, the user may be able to simply place
the cartridge
in a receiving space, and close the cartridge chamber.
The cartridges 4 used in various embodiments may be arranged in any suitable
way,
such as a relatively simple frustoconical cup-shaped container having a lid
attached to the top
of the container, e.g., like that in some beverage cartridges sold by Keurig,
Incorporated of
Reading, Mass. and shown in U.S. Patent 5,840,189, for example. In one
embodiment, a
cartridge having a frustoconical cup-shaped container and lid may have an
approximate
diameter of about 30-50mm, a height of about 30-50mm, an internal volume of
about 30-60
ml, and a burst resistance of about 80 psi (i.e., a resistance to cartridge
bursting in the
presence of a pressure gradient of about 80 psi from the inside to outside of
the cartridge in
the absence of any physical support for the cartridge). However, as used
herein, a "cartridge"
may take any suitable form, such as a pod (e.g., opposed layers of filter
paper encapsulating a
material), capsule, sachet, package, or any other arrangement. The cartridge
may have a
defined shape, or may have no defined shape (as is the case with some sachets
or other
packages made entirely of flexible material. The cartridge may be impervious
to air and/or
liquid, or may allow water and/or air to pass into the cartridge. The
cartridge may include a
filter or other arrangement, e.g., in the beverage medium cartridge 4b to help
prevent some
portions of the beverage medium from being provided with the formed beverage,
and/or in
the gas cartridge 4a to help prevent carbon dioxide source material from being
introduced
into the beverage or other system components.
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In one aspect of the invention, the cartridge or cartridges used to form a
beverage
using the beverage making system may have a volume that is less, and in some
cases
substantially less, than a beverage to be made using the cartridge(s). For
example, if carbon
dioxide and beverage medium cartridges 4 are used, the cartridges may each
have a volume
that is about 50 ml or less, and be used to form a beverage having a volume of
about 200-500
ml or more. The inventors have found (as shown in some of the Examples below)
that an
amount of charged carbon dioxide adsorbent (e.g., a charged zeolite) of about
30 grams
(which has a volume of less than 30m1) can be used to produce about 400-500 ml
of
carbonated water having a carbonation level of up to about 3.5 volumes.
Moreover, it is well
known that beverage-making syrups or powders having a volume of less than
about 50m1, or
less than about 100m1, can be used to make a suitably flavored beverage having
a volume of
about 400-500 ml. Thus, relatively small volume cartridges (or a single
cartridge in some
arrangements) having a volume of about 100 ml to about 250m1 or less may be
used to form a
carbonated beverage having a volume of about 100 to 1000 ml, and a carbonation
level of at
least about 1.5 to 4 volumes in less than 120 seconds, e.g., about 60 seconds,
and using
pressures under 50 psi.
While the carbon dioxide and beverage medium cartridges 4 can be provided
separately, in one embodiment, the cartridges 4 may be joined together, like
that shown in
FIG. 6. The cartridges 4a, 4b may be connected together by any suitable
arrangement, such
as tabs 43 that extend from respective cartridges 4a, 4b and are attached
together, e.g., by
thermal welding, adhesive, interlocking mechanical fasteners such as snaps or
clips, etc. This
arrangement may allow the cartridges 4a, 4b to be made separately in the
manufacturing
setting, e.g., because the cartridges require very different processes for
manufacturing. For
example, the beverage medium cartridge 4b may require a highly sterile
environment,
whereas the gas cartridges 4a need not be made in such an environment. In
contrast, the gas
cartridges 4a may need to be manufactured in a water vapor-free environment,
whereas the
beverage medium cartridge 4b may not be subject to such requirements. After
manufacture
of the cartridges 4a, 4b, the cartridges may be attached together in a way
that prevents their
separation without the use of tools (such as a scissor) and/or damage to one
or both of the
cartridges. The cartridge chamber 3 may be arranged to accommodate the
attached
cartridges, allowing a user to place a single item in the chamber 3 to form a
beverage. In
addition, the cartridges 4 and/or the way in which the cartridges are
attached, together with
the arrangement of the cartridge chamber 3 may help ensure that the gas
cartridge 4a and
beverage medium cartridge 4b are placed in the proper cartridge receiver 33.
For example,
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the cartridges 4 may have different sizes, shapes or other configurations so
that the combined
cartridges 4 cannot be placed into the chamber 3 in the wrong orientation.
Alternately, the
controller 5 may detect that the cartridges have been improperly placed (e.g.,
by
communicating with an RFID tag on one or both of the cartridges, by optically
or otherwise
identifying the cartridges, etc.), and prompt the user to make a change as
necessary.
FIGs. 7 and 8 show another embodiment in which a pair of cartridges are joined
together in a way that helps prevent improper placement of the cartridges in a
chamber and/or
enables the cartridges to operate in other orientations. As shown in FIG. 7,
the cartridges 4a
and 4b are attached by a connection 43 such that with the cartridge 4a
arranged in an upright
orientation with the container bottom 44 facing downward and the lid 45
covering the top of
the container facing upward, the cartridge 4b is on its side with the lid 45
facing to the side.
FIG. 8 shows a top view of the embodiment, with the lid 45 of the cartridge 4a
facing the
viewer and the lid 45 of the cartridge 4b facing downwardly. This arrangement
may be
useful in embodiments where the cartridges 4 are pierced only at the lid area,
e.g., are not
pierced in the bottom 44 or other portions of the container. That is, the gas
cartridge 4a may
be pierced at the lid 45 to allow liquid to be introduced into the cartridge
4a, and to allow gas
to exit. In some embodiments, the inlet for introduction of activating fluid
(liquid and/or gas)
may be the same opening as the outlet for gas emitted by the gas source. For
example, a
single hole may be pierced in the lid 45 through which water is introduced,
and through
which gas emitted by the gas source exits. Similarly, the lid 45 of the
cartridge 4b may be
pierced to allow liquid to be introduced into the cartridge 4b for mixing with
the beverage
medium 42 and to allow a flavored beverage to exit the cartridge 4b. Avoiding
piercing of
the container may be useful in arrangements where the container is made of a
relatively thick
and/or rigid material (e.g., to withstand operating pressures for the
cartridge 4).
In another aspect of the invention, a single cartridge may be used to provide
a
carbonating gas as well as a beverage medium. In fact, in some embodiments,
the precursor
liquid can be both carbonated and flavored in the same cartridge. For example,
FIG. 9 shows
a cross sectional view of a cartridge 4 that includes both a gas source 41
(e.g., a zeolite
carbon dioxide source) and a beverage medium 42. In this embodiment, the
cartridge 4
includes first and second chambers (or portions) 46, 47 that respectively
contain the gas
source 41 and the beverage medium 42. The first and second chambers (or
portions) 46, 47
may be separated from each other by a permeable element, such as a filter, or
an impermeable
element, such as a wall molded with the cartridge container. In this
embodiment, the first and
second chambers (or portions) 46, 47 are separated by a filter 48 that is
attached to the lid 45,
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but could be arranged in other ways. Precursor liquid and/or an activating
liquid may be
introduced into the first chamber 46 by a piercing element 35 or other
arrangement, such as a
port formed as part of the cartridge 4. The interior space of the cartridge 4
may be
maintained under pressure, e.g., 30-150 psi above ambient or greater, so that
dissolution of
carbon dioxide gas released by the source 41 occurs more rapidly than would
occur at lower
pressures. In addition, the system 1 arranged to use such cartridges may
include a
backpressure valve or other arrangement that helps to maintain a suitable
pressure in the
cartridge 4, e.g., as an aid to carbonation. As mentioned above, a cartridge
chamber 3 that
holds the cartridge 4 may be arranged to closely fit the cartridge 4 as needed
to support the
cartridge and prevent the cartridge from bursting. Alternately, pressure in
the cartridge 4 may
be allowed to leak into a space around the cartridge 4 to equalize the
pressures inside and
outside of the cartridge, or the cartridge may be made to withstand operating
pressures
without physical or other support. Carbonated precursor liquid 2 and/or a
liquid/gas bubble
mixture may pass through the filter 48 into the second chamber 47 for mixing
with the
beverage medium 42. Thereafter, the precursor liquid 2 and beverage medium 42
mixture
may exit the cartridge 4, e.g., through a piercing element 34 at the container
bottom 44.
Dissolution of carbon dioxide into the precursor liquid 2, as well as mixing
of the beverage
medium 42 with the liquid 2, may continue after the materials exit the
cartridge 4. For
example, a mixing chamber may be located downstream of the cartridge 4 to help
more
thoroughly mix the beverage medium and liquid if needed. Also, a conduit
downstream of
the cartridge may help continue dissolution of gas, e.g., by maintaining
pressure in the liquid.
While FIGS. 9 and 10 show an arrangement in which the gas source 41 and the
beverage medium 42 are separated by a filter 48, in other arrangements the gas
source 41 and
beverage medium 42 may be mixed together, e.g., so that a precursor liquid 2
is both mixed
with beverage medium 42 and exposed to gas from the gas source 41 at a same
time. ln some
cases, gas that is not dissolved into the liquid 2 may be routed to another
location, such as a
contactor 6, for exposure to and dissolution into the liquid 2 at an upstream
or downstream
location, e.g., to increase a level of dissolved gas. In one embodiment,
particles of gas source
material 41 may be coated with a beverage medium 42.
In the embodiments above, the cartridge 4 has been described to have a defined
bottom and top with the cartridge operating in an upright configuration.
However, as
suggested in connection with FIGs. 7 and 8, a cartridge may be operated in any
suitable
orientation. For example, FIG. 10 shows an embodiment in which a cartridge
configured like
that in FIG. 9 is used while the cartridge 4 is on its side. (Note that the
cartridge 4b in FIGs.
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7 and 8 may be used in a similar way to that shown in FIG. 10.) Precursor
liquid may be
introduced into the first chamber (or portion) 46 (e.g., via the piercing
element 35), causing
the gas source 41 to emit gas and at least partially flooding the cartridge 4
interior space. As
with the FIG. 9 embodiment, the liquid may be carbonated and mix with the
beverage
medium 42 before exiting the cartridge, e.g., via the piercing element 34.
As also mentioned above, a single cartridge 4 may be arranged to have first
and
second chambers 46, 47 that are isolated or separated from each other. FIG. 11
shows one
such embodiment in which first and second chambers (or portions) 46, 47 are
separated by a
wall 49. A cartridge like that shown in FIG. 11 may be used, for example, in a
system 1 like
that shown in FIG. 2, although the cartridge chamber 3 may need to be modified
to
accommodate the single cartridge 4. As shown in FIG. 11, in one embodiment,
activating
liquid may be provided via a piercing element 35 at a top of the first chamber
(or portion) 46,
and gas may exit via the same or a different opening. Alternately, activating
liquid may be
introduced via the piercing element 34 at the bottom of the first chamber (or
portion) 46, and
gas may exit via the piercing element 35 at the top. In yet another
embodiment, precursor
liquid may be introduced at the top piercing element 35 and carbonated liquid
may exit via
the bottom piercing element 34. The first chamber (or portion) 46 may include
a filter or
other suitable components, e.g., to help prevent the gas source 41 from
exiting the chamber
(or portion) 46. Regarding the second chamber (or portion) 47, air or other
gas may be
introduced via the piercing element 35 at a top of the second chamber (or
portion) 47, causing
beverage medium 42 to be moved out of the piercing element 34 at the bottom of
the second
chamber (or portion) 47, e.g., to a mixing chamber or user's cup. Alternately,
precursor
liquid may be introduced via the piercing element 35 at a top of the second
chamber 47, may
mix with the beverage medium 42 and exit the cartridge 4 out of the piercing
element 34. As
discussed above, the piercing element 34, 35 arrangement in this illustrative
embodiment
should not be interpreted as limiting aspects of the invention in any way.
That is, piercing
elements need not be used, but instead flow into/out of the cartridge 4 may
occur through
defined ports or other openings in the cartridge 4. Also, flow ports or other
openings in the
cartridge need not necessarily be located at the top, bottom or other specific
location.
The cartridge(s) may be made of any suitable materials, and are not limited to
the
container and lid constructions shown herein. For example, the cartridge(s)
may be made of,
or otherwise include, materials that provide a barrier to moisture and/or
gases, such as
oxygen, water vapor, etc. In one embodiment, the cartridge(s) may be made of a
polymer
laminate, e.g., formed from a sheet including a layer of polystyrene or
polypropylene and a
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layer of EVOH and/or other barrier material, such as a metallic foil.
Moreover, the
cartridge(s) materials and/or construction may vary according to the materials
contained in
the cartridge. For example, a gas cartridge 4a may require a robust moisture
barrier, whereas
a beverage medium cartridge 4b may not require such a high moisture
resistance. Thus, the
cartridges may be made of different materials and/or in different ways. In
addition, the
cartridge interior may be differently constructed according to a desired
function. For
example, a beverage medium cartridge 4b may include baffles or other
structures that cause
the liquid/beverage medium to follow a tortuous path so as to encourage
mixing. The gas
cartridge 4a may be arranged to hold the gas source 41 in a particular
location or other
arrangement in the interior space, e.g., to help control wetting of the source
41 with activating
liquid.
A cartridge may also be arranged to provide a visual or other detectable
indication
regarding the cartridge's fitness for use in forming a beverage. For example,
the cartridge
may include a pop-up indicator, color indicator or other feature to show that
the gas source
has been at least partially activated. Upon viewing this indication, a user
may determine that
the cartridge is not fit for use in a beverage making machine. In another
embodiment, an
RFID tag may be associated with a sensor that detects gas source activation
(e.g., via pressure
increase), beverage medium spoilage(e.g., via temperature increase), or other
characteristic of
the cartridge, which may be transmitted to a reader of a beverage making
machine. The
machine may display the condition to a user and/or prevent activation of the
machine to use
the cartridge to form a beverage.
In another aspect of the invention, a cartridge may include a gas source
portion, a
beverage medium portion and a mixing chamber portion (also referred to as
first, second and
third portions, respectively) that are separated from each other. Thus, as
discussed above, a
cartridge may include a mixing chamber that is separate from a portion that is
used to hold a
beverage medium prior to use of the cartridge. The first portion may contain a
gas source for
emitting a gas to be dissolved in a beverage precursor liquid, the second
portion may contain
a beverage medium for use in mixing with a beverage precursor liquid to form a
beverage,
and the third portion may be at-ranged to receive beverage medium from the
second portion
and receive precursor liquid to mix the precursor liquid with the beverage
medium. The
precursor liquid may enter the third portion with the beverage medium and/or
enter the third
portion via a separate flow path. Thus, the cartridge may be capable of mixing
a precursor
liquid (e.g., whether carbonated or not) with beverage medium and outputting a
mixed
beverage (e.g., for later carbonation). This may help avoid the need to clean
a mixing
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chamber, e.g., because the cartridge may be made disposable so that each
beverage is made
using its own mixing chamber. FIGs. 12, 13 and 14 show a cross sectional view
of a
cartridge 4 having first, second and third portions prior to configuration
ready to make a
beverage, a cross sectional view of the cartridge 4 after being configured to
make a beverage,
and an exploded perspective view of the cartridge, respectively. In this
embodiment, the
cartridge 4 includes a first portion 46 that partially sunounds a second
portion 47 and a third
portion 62, e.g., the first portion 46 has parts positioned around the second
and third portions
47, 62 in at least one plane. Also, the third portion 62 partially surrounds
the second portion
47. However, this concentric arrangement of the first, second and third
portions 46, 47, 62 is
not required, as these portions may be an-anged in any suitable way with
respect to each
other. A top end of the first, second and third portions 46, 47, 62 is sealed
closed by a lid 45,
e.g., a foil laminate that is part of the cartridge container. (In one
embodiment, the lid 45
may include two or more separate portions, such as a first part that covers
the second portion
47 after beverage medium is placed, and a second part that covers the first
portion 46 (and
possibly the second portion 47 as well) after the gas source 41 is placed.
This may make
filling of the first and second portions 46, 47 easier during manufacturing.)
As a result, the
first portion 46 may be isolated from an external environment, e.g., to help
resist contact of
the gas source 41 with moisture or other materials. By virtue of a closure at
the beverage
medium outlet 47b of the second portion, e.g., a burstable or frangible
membrane, septum,
etc., the second portion 47 is likewise isolated from an exterior environment,
so as to help
prevent spoilage of the beverage medium 42, as necessary. While a top region
of the third
portion 62 is closed by the lid 45, a bottom region of the third portion 62
may be left open, or
may be covered by another element, such as a second lid or other cover.
This embodiment incorporates another aspect of the invention, i.e., that a
cartridge
may include a movable part arranged to move so as to configure the cartridge
useable for
making a beverage. For example, the movable part may move relative to the
cartridge
container to open the gas source portion and/or the beverage medium portion,
e.g., as shown
in FIG. 13. In the illustrative embodiment of FIG. 12, the movable part 61
includes a
plurality of piercing elements 34, 35 ananged to form one or more openings in
the lid 45.
although other arrangements are possible. For example, a movable part 61 may
move to open
a valve so as to open an inlet or outlet of the cartridge 4, to break off a
tab or other frangible
element to open an inlet or outlet, couple a pair of conduits together, and so
on. In this
embodiment, the movable part 61 includes a piercing element 35 to form an
activator inlet
46a into the first portion 46, e.g., to allow the introduction of fluid
(liquid water or water
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vapor) to activate the gas source 41. The movable part 61 also includes a
piercing element 34
to form a gas outlet 46b into the first portion 46, allowing for gas emitted
by the gas source
41 to exit the cartridge 4, e.g., for dissolving into a precursor liquid and
forming of a
beverage. It is also possible that a single piercing element 34/35 may
function to form the
inlet 46a and the outlet 46b, e.g., where a same hole in the lid 45 serves to
admit activating
fluid and emit gas. A piercing element 35 is also included to form a precursor
liquid inlet 47a
into the second portion 47 to allow the introduction of precursor liquid
(whether having a
substantial amount of dissolved gas or not) for mixing with the beverage
medium 42 and
helping to move the beverage medium 42 from the second portion 47 and into the
third
portion 62. Precursor liquid may also be introduced into the third portion 62
by one or more
piercing elements 35 for mixing with the beverage medium 42. Thus, in
accordance with an
aspect of the invention, the cartridge 4 may be arranged to direct a portion
of precursor liquid
used to make a beverage through a beverage medium portion, and bypass or
otherwise direct
a remaining portion of the precursor liquid into a mixing chamber portion of
the cartridge. In
one embodiment, approximately 10-40% of the precursor liquid used to form a
beverage may
be introduced into the second portion 47 and about 60-90% of the precursor
liquid may be
introduced into the third portion 62. Of course, other relative amounts may be
used, as
suitable. Precursor liquid may be introduced into the third portion 62 to
creating a swirling
action, turbulence or other motion to help mix the precursor liquid and the
beverage medium.
The portion of precursor liquid introduced into the second portion 47 may help
wet the
beverage medium 42, e.g., where the beverage medium 42 is a powdered material,
which
may help with mixing.
In accordance with an aspect of the invention, the cartridge 4 may include a
lock
element that prevents movement of a movable part, e.g., which is movable to
configure the
cartridge suitable to form a beverage, and the lock element may be releasable
by a user. As
shown in FIG. 12, the cartridge container or the movable part 61 may include a
lock ring 71
that prevents the movable part 61 from moving relative to the container, e.g.,
to pierce the lid
45. The lock ring 71 may be removable or otherwise releasable by a user, e.g.,
by pulling on
a tab that causes the lock ring 71 to separate from the container at a
perforation or other line
of weakness. The lock element may take other arrangements, such as one or more
break-off
fins or tabs, a removable plug, or other structure. In another arrangement,
the lock element
may be removed or otherwise released by the beverage making machine, e.g.,
after the
cartridge 4 is associated with the machine and a door closed.
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Another aspect of the invention incorporated into the cartridge of FIG. 12 is
that the
gas source portion at least partially surrounds the beverage medium portion
and/or the mixing
chamber portion. This feature may help enlarge the volume of the gas source
portion without
unnecessarily enlarging the cartridge, e.g., to help the gas source portion
store gas emitted by
the gas source without experiencing large pressure changes that might be
present in a smaller
volume chamber. That is, a somewhat larger gas source chamber volume may
provide the
gas source chamber with an ability to store gas emitted by the gas source
while smoothing
pressure variations. Thus, the gas source portion may be arranged to function
as a kind of
accumulator that stores gas emitted by the gas source.
While in this embodiment the cartridge 4 includes a movable part 61 with
piercing
elements, the cartfidge 4 need not include a movable part 61 that moves to
configure the
cartridge for forming a beverage. Instead, the cartridge 4 may be arranged
without the
movable part 61, and a beverage machine that uses the cartridge may include a
suitable set of
piercing elements or other components arranged to interact with the cartridge
to communicate
with inlets and/or outlets of the cartridge as suitable.
In another aspect of the invention, a cartridge may include an activation
fluid inlet
that directs an activation fluid to a bottom of the gas source portion. This
arrangement may
allow for improved control of gas release, e.g., because a gas source may be
exposed to
activation fluid from a bottom to a top. Thus, if the activation fluid is
water, a lower part of
the gas source portion may be flooded with water, causing a lower layer of the
gas source to
be activated. However, higher layers of gas source may remain unactivated
because the
activation water does not reach above a lower part of the gas source. To
activate upper
players of the gas source, more water may be provided to the gas source
portion, raising the
top level of the activation fluid in the gas source portion. Flooding of the
gas source portion
may be continued at a controlled rate, thereby controlling gas emission of the
gas source.
This arrangement may help avoid wetting a gas source from a top surface of the
source, such
as by sprinkling water on the top surface of a charge of zeolite material.
This sprinkling may
cause uncontrolled wetting, and thus activation, of the source, causing the
gas source to emit
gas in a less controlled way.
FIGs. 15 and 16 show an exploded view and a cross sectional view,
respectively, of
an illustrative embodiment of a cartridge 4 that includes an activation fluid
inlet that provides
activation fluid to a bottom of the gas source portion. In this illustrative
embodiment, the
first portion 46 includes a gas source 41 and an activator inlet 46a with a
conduit that extends
from near a top of the first portion 46 to near a bottom of the first portion
46. Thus, for
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example, a beverage making machine may pierce a lid 45 that seals the first
portion 46 and
the activator inlet 46a closed, and introduce water into the activator inlet
46a. The water may
flow down the conduit of the inlet 46a and into the bottom of the first
portion 46, wetting a
lower layer of gas source and causing the gas source to emit gas. Of course,
other activation
fluids may be used, such as citric acid, water vapor, etc. Also, while in this
embodiment the
activator inlet 46a includes a conduit that is molded into the sidewall of the
container body,
the activator inlet 46a may be arranged in other ways, such as by a conduit
that extends from
a bottom wall of the first portion 46, a conduit that extends downwardly from
a piercing
element, and so on. Emitted gas may exit via another opening in the first
portion 46 (such as
a molded port or pierced opening) or may exit via the activator inlet 46a
(e.g., via small holes
in the inlet 46a near a top of the conduit that allow gas to pass but resist
the passage of liquid
water, or via a trap such as an "S" shaped conduit that resists liquid water
flow).
Other ways of controlling gas release may be used in a cartridge, such as
encapsulating gas source material 41 in a structure that bursts, dissolves or
otherwise
degrades to expose the interior gas source to activating fluid. For example,
capsules
containing gas source 41 may be arranged to dissolve at different rates,
thereby releasing gas
source material for activation in a time-release fashion. Other arrangements
are possible as
well, such as a first portion 46 that has multiple steps or platforms on which
gas source 41 is
located. As the first portion 46 is flooded with water or other activator, the
gas source 46 at
each step may be exposed one after the other, thereby causing a staged
emission of gas.
Another aspect of the invention incorporated into the embodiment of FIGs. 15
and 16
is a spiral-shaped, helical, zig-zag or other tortuous flowpath channel that
holds beverage
medium and helps precursor liquid flowing in the spiral-shaped channel to mix
with the
beverage medium. For example, the cartridge 4 includes a precursor liquid
inlet 47a that
directs precursor liquid into an outer region of a spiral-shaped channel (in
this case, via a
downwardly extending conduit that extends from a top of the first portion 46
to the second
portion 47). Beverage medium 42 is arranged in the spiral-shaped channel to
partially fill the
depth of the channel so that precursor liquid may flow over and/or in the
beverage medium.
As the precursor liquid flows through the spiral-shaped channel, beverage
medium may mix
with the liquid, forming the beverage. The spiral-shaped channel may be
arranged to provide
for laminar flow, e.g., to help reduce loss of carbonation or other dissolved
gases in the
precursor liquid, if present. Alternately, the spiral shaped or other tortuous
channel may be
arranged to provide turbulent flow, potentially helping to mix the precursor
liquid and
beverage medium. Mixed beverage medium and precursor liquid exiting the
cartridge near a
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center of the spiral shaped channel may pass directly into a user's cup or may
enter a mixing
chamber, whether part of the cartridge or the beverage making machine. Flow
channel
shapes other than spiral may be used, e.g., a helical, zig-zag, and/or
serpentine pathway may
be arranged to provide laminar or other flow characteristics. Thus, a
cartridge second portion
that contains beverage medium may include any suitable flow arrangements to
help mix a
precursor liquid with beverage medium.
The embodiment of FIGs. 15 and 16 also includes a feature that an outlet of
the
second portion 47 may include a closure (e.g., a cap) that is arranged to be
broken off,
pierced, removed or otherwise opened by a user and/or by a beverage making
machine.
Thus, the outlet need not necessarily be opened by a presence of pressure in
the second
portion 47. Also, the first and second portions 46, 47 in this embodiment are
made of
separate parts that are held together by a sleeve 75 that wraps around the
portions 46, 47.
The sleeve 75 may also function to seal the side of the precursor inlet 47a,
and/or the
activator inlet 46a. However, it should be understood that the first and
second portions 46, 47
may be made as a single, unitary piece, and configured to eliminate any need
for a sleeve 75.
In accordance with another aspect of the invention, a beverage medium portion
of a
cartridge may include a wall that is movable to expel beverage medium from the
beverage
medium portion. For example, the beverage medium portion may be defined by a
barrier
layer (e.g., a foil laminate) that is arranged to surround a beverage medium.
The barrier layer
may be flexible so that the second portion of the cartridge can be squeezed,
pressed or
otherwise have a force exerted on it so as to reduce the volume of the second
portion to force
the beverage medium from the second portion. For example, the barrier layer
may form a
pouch that contains beverage medium, and the pouch may be squeezed to force
the beverage
medium to exit, e.g., into a user's cup, a mixing chamber of the cartridge, or
other location
where the beverage medium is mixed with a liquid precursor. In another
illustrative
arrangement, the second portion may include a syringe-type arrangement where a
plunger is
moved in the second portion to force beverage medium from the second portion.
Other
arrangements are possible, as discussed more below.
FIGs. 17-20 show a perspective view, an exploded view, a cross-sectional view
during gas output and a cross-sectional view during beverage medium mixing of
an
illustrative embodiment having a movable element to expel beverage medium from
the
cartridge. In this embodiment, the cartridge container includes a planar
support 72 that
supports a first portion 46, located below the support 72, and a second
portion 47 located
above the support 72. The first portion 46 is formed integrally with the
support 72, e.g., is
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molded as a unitary part with the support 72, but could be formed in other
ways, such as by a
separate part that is attached to the support 72. The first portion 46 has a
hemispherical shape
with an activator inlet 46a near a bottom of the first portion 46 and a gas
outlet 46b on a top
side of the planar support 72. (As with all embodiments described herein,
relative terms
"top", "bottom", etc., are used for ease of description and understanding, and
should not be
understood as limiting the cartridge arrangements, their orientation during
use, or other
features of the cartridge.) Thus, water or other activation fluid may be
introduced near a
bottom of the first portion 46, e.g., to controllably flood the first portion
46, with gas emitted
by the gas source 41 exiting via a port on the support 72. The activator inlet
46a and gas
outlet 46b may be opened by a piercing element, physical action to remove a
break off tab,
removal of a peel off foil, etc.
The second portion 47 in this embodiment includes a blister pouch that is
formed by a
layer of barrier material, such as a foil laminate. The second portion 47 may
have any shape
or size, but in this embodiment has a generally disc-like shape with a dome-
like upper
surface. A lower part of the blister pouch includes a layer of barrier
material that covers a
substantial part of the top surface of the support 72, e.g., to seal the first
portion 46 closed as
well as form a bottom of the second portion 47, but may be arranged in other
ways. The
blister pouch overlies a spike 73 on the support 72 so that if the blister
pouch is urged toward
the support 72, e.g., as shown in FIG. 20, the spike 73 may pierce the second
portion 47,
releasing the beverage medium. Accordingly, movement of a wall (e.g., an upper
part of the
blister pouch) of the second portion 47 may cause beverage medium to exit the
second
portion 47. Movement of the wall may be caused by a plunger of the beverage
making
machine pressing down on the second portion 47 (as shown in FIG. 20), or in
other ways.
For example, gas pressure generated by the gas source 41 may be routed to a
suitable location
(such as into the second portion 47, a pneumatic bladder, or to the plunger of
the beverage
making machine) to force beverage medium from the second portion 47.
In accordance with another aspect of the invention, beverage medium exiting
the
second portion 47 may be directed to a precursor liquid inlet 47a, e.g., where
carbonated
water is introduced into the cartridge. In this embodiment, the cartridge
includes four
precursor inlet ports, though other numbers of ports may be used. Also, an
upper surface of
the support 72 around the spike 73 is arranged to provide flow paths for the
beverage medium
so as to direct the beverage medium to areas near the precursor liquid inlets
47a. For
example, FIG. 21 shows a top view of a portion of the support 72 that
underlies the second
portion 47. In this embodiment, the support 72 defines four flow paths for the
beverage
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medium 42 to travel from near the spike 73 to each of the precursor liquid
inlets 47a. As a
result, when the second portion 47 is pierced by the spike 73 and beverage
medium is
released, the beverage medium may flow outwardly to the inlets 47a. (Flow of
beverage
medium 42 may occur with both liquid and solid (e.g., powdered) beverage
media.) Thus,
beverage medium may be encouraged to dissolve more rapidly and/or completely,
e.g.,
because the beverage medium may be divided into relatively small portions to
increase its
surface area and contact with precursor liquid. It should be understood that
other
arrangements may be used to route beverage medium movement to a precursor
liquid inlet
47a. For example, four spikes 73 may be provided on the support 72, with one
spike 73
located near a respective inlet 47a. Thus, the second portion 47 may be
pierced in locations
adjacent each inlet 47a, causing beverage medium to be released from the
second portion 47
directly into the inlets 47a. In another embodiment, the spikes 73 may each
include a flow
channel (e.g., include a hollow piercing needle) so that beverage medium 42 is
caused to flow
through the spike 73 to a desired location adjacent an inlet 47a. Other
configurations will
occur to those of skill in the art.
One feature of the arrangement shown in FIG. 21 is that beverage medium may be
introduced to precursor liquid in a direction transverse to the flow of the
precursor liquid,
which may help break the flow of beverage medium up into smaller particles and
increase a
dissolution rate. For example, beverage medium 42 introduced at each of the
inlets 47a may
flow generally perpendicularly to the flow of precursor liquid into the inlets
47a. Alternately,
beverage medium may be directed into a flow of precursor liquid in a coaxial
fashion, e.g., a
central flow of beverage medium may be surrounded by a coaxial flow of
precursor liquid.
For example, FIG. 22 shows an illustrative embodiment in which the support 72
includes
flow channels to direct precursor liquid 2 to multiple locations where
beverage medium 42 is
released from the second portion 27, e.g., by multiple spikes 73 on the
support 72. The
regions where the precursor liquid 2 and beverage medium 42 meet may be
configured so
that the liquid 2 generally surrounds the beverage medium 42, e.g., in a
coaxial flow. The
flow rates of the respective flows may be adjusted to help enhance mixing or
other
characteristics of beverage production, such as foam production, air
entrainment, and so on.
For example, faster flowing precursor liquid 2 may help to draw and thin the
beverage
medium 42 flow, thereby helping to increase the surface area of the beverage
medium
exposed to the liquid. A mixing chamber may be arranged to help enhance this
effect, e.g.,
by providing progressively elongated flow. In addition to potentially aiding
mixing,
providing a coaxial flow of precursor liquid and beverage medium may also help
prevent
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contact of the beverage medium (which may be relatively more viscous) with a
wall of a
mixing chamber or other conduit, helping to reduce the chance of the beverage
medium
sticking to the wall. In fact, less viscous material (precursor liquid) may be
directed to the
walls of a mixing chamber or other conduit with more viscous material
(beverage medium)
located away from the walls. In addition, or alternately, a less viscous
material may be
introduced into a mixing chamber to wet the walls of the mixing chamber prior
to
introduction of beverage medium, e.g., to help prevent sticking of beverage
medium to the
chamber wall.
The embodiment of FIGs. 17-20 also includes a third portion 62, located below
the
second portion 47 and the support 72. Precursor liquid introduced via the
precursor liquid
inlet 47a and beverage medium 42 forced from the second portion 47 may enter
into the third
portion 62, e.g., for thorough mixing, foam production, or other processing to
create a
beverage. In this embodiment, the third portion 62 includes a funnel shape,
e.g., to induce a
swirling motion of the precursor liquid and beverage medium to help with
mixing, but could
be arranged in other ways. For example, the third portion 62 may include an
eductor (e.g., to
entrain air, liquid or other materials in a beverage), a jet (e.g., to
increase the speed of
beverage medium flow and/or contact with surrounding air), a flow straightener
(e.g., to help
output the beverage from the cartridge in a predictable and desired way), and
others. Like the
first portion 46, the third portion 62 may be formed unitarily with the
support 72 or may be
made as a separate component and joined to the support 72. Of course, the
third portion 62 is
not required for the cartridge, e.g., where a beverage making machine that
uses the cartridge
4 includes a mixing chamber or other feature.
While FIGs. 17-20 show an arrangement in which the first and second portions
46, 47
are offset from each other, other configurations are possible. For example,
FIG. 23 shows a
cross sectional view of a cartridge similar to that in FIGs. 17-20, but with
the first chamber
46 located directly below the second portion 47. In addition, the first
portion 46 may be
arranged around a portion of a third chamber 62, e.g., to help make the
cartridge more
compact. Thus, the cartridge in FIG. 23 may incorporate aspects of the
invention regarding
having a second portion 47 above a plane and a first portion 46 below the
plane, as well as
having the first portion 46 surround a part of the third portion 62. As with
the cartridge of
FIGs. 17-20, the cartridge in FIG. 23 may include a sidewall that extends
around the
periphery of the cartridge 4, e.g., to make the cartridge 4 easier to handle
by a user, to help
protect portions of the cartridge 4 from damage, and/or help orient the
cartridge 4 properly
when associated with a beverage making machine. The arrangements of FIGs. 17-
23 may
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include other physical features, such as features that help ensure proper
orientation and
placement of the cartridge 4 when associated with a beverage making machine.
For example,
the cartridge of FIGs. 17-23 may include a vertical sidewall that extends
around the support
72, e.g., forming a wall around the other cartridge 4 portions. The
configuration may help
protect cartridge components from damage (e.g., accidental piercing of the
second portion
47), help make handling of the cartridge easier (e.g., allow the cartridge to
be placed on a
table without rolling), and/or help properly orient the cartridge with respect
to a beverage
machine.
In another aspect of the invention, a second portion of a cartridge may
include two or
more sub-portions that each hold a corresponding volume of beverage medium 42.
The
cartridge may operate so that a controllable number of the sub-portions is
caused to deliver its
corresponding charge of beverage medium, e.g., to allow for different amounts
of beverage
medium to be used in making a beverage, to provide for staged release of
different beverage
media (e.g., flavoring beverage medium may be released prior to a foaming
medium so that
the resulting beverage has a foam provided on the top of the beverage), to
accommodate the
separation of incompatible components (e.g., components that do not mix well
with each
other or react together in an undesirable way prior to beverage formation), or
others. For
example, the second portion 47 in the FIG. 23 embodiment may include two or
more pouches
formed inside of the second chamber 47, e.g., that are separated from each
other by a
frangible impermeable membrane. Thus, a plunger of the beverage making machine
may
depress the second portion 47 a corresponding amount to cause delivery of a
suitable number
of the sub-portions. For example, the sub-portions may be stacked and
separated by
respective membranes like layers of a cake. Initial depression of the second
portion 47 may
cause a lowermost sub-portion to open and deliver its contents. Further
depression by the
plunger may cause a next sub-portion to open and deliver its contents and so
on. In this way,
any desired number of sub-portions may be deployed, or not, as optionally set
by a user of the
machine itself. By having separated sub-portions, less than all of the
beverage medium in a
cartridge may be used to form a beverage while minimizing leakage of the
unused beverage
medium when the cartridge is removed from the beverage making machine.
In another aspect of the invention, a first portion of a cartridge may move
relative to a
second portion to force beverage medium to exit from the second portion. For
example,
FIGs. 24-27 show an exploded view, a perspective view, a cross-sectional view
with a
beverage medium in a second portion, and a cross-sectional view with beverage
medium
expelled from the second portion of a cartridge, respectively, in which a
first portion may act
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as a plunger to drive beverage medium from a second portion of the cartridge.
The first
portion 46 may be defined at least in part by a first chamber wall, e.g., a
cup-shaped element
that is received into the second portion 47. The second portion may be defined
at least in part
by a second chamber wall that defines a second space, e.g., where beverage
medium is
located. The first chamber wall of the first portion 46 may be received into
the second space
and be movable relative to the second chamber wall to expel beverage medium
from the
second portion of the cartridge. For example, FIGs. 26 and 27 show how the
first portion 46
may be moved downwardly relative to the second portion 47 so that the first
portion is further
received into the second portion to force beverage medium from the second
portion. In
essence, the first portion 46 may function as a plunger in the second space of
the second
portion 47 to force beverage medium 42 to the outlet of the second portion.
Movement of the
first portion 46 relative to the second portion 47 may be caused in any way,
such as by a
beverage making machine including a motor drive that moves the first portion
46, introducing
gas pressure (e.g., created by the gas source 41) into a bladder that expands
to cause
movement of the first portion 46, moving the second portion 47 upwardly
relative to the first
portion 46 (which may remain stationary relative to the machine), and so on.
Also, the
cartridge 4 may include a lock element that prevents relative movement of the
first and
second portions 46, 47 until released by a user and/or a beverage making
machine. The
second portion 47 may include an outlet closure at the beverage medium outlet
47b that
opens in response to increased pressure in the second portion 47, in response
to piercing,
mechanical fracture, etc. Thus the outlet 47b of the second portion 47 may
open in any
suitable way to allow for beverage medium 42 to exit the second portion 47.
Another aspect of the invention incorporated into this embodiment is that a
mixing
chamber portion of the cartridge (a third portion) may partially sun-ound the
first and second
portions 46, 47. Such an arrangement may help to make the cartridge 4 more
compact, as
well as provide a larger space in which precursor liquid and beverage medium
can move to
help with mixing. In addition, when coupled with an arrangement in which the
first portion is
received in the second portion, the overall size of the cartridge may be
reduced, particularly
after use of the cartridge. It is also possible to make the third portion
reusable, e.g., a user
could remove and clean the third portion as needed, and replace the first and
second portions
for each new beverage to be made. This feature may help reduce waste, yet
provide the user
with the ability to replace a third portion used with the cartridge only as
needed. In this
embodiment, the third portion 62 is an-anged with vanes, fins or other
features to help induce
movement of precursor liquid and beverage medium, e.g., to help with mixing.
However,
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other an-angements are possible. (As with any features described herein, the
use of vanes,
fins or other features to help induce mixing may be used with any suitable
cartridge
configuration.) Moreover, different arrangements for the third portion 62 may
be provided
for different beverages. For example, highly carbonated beverages made with
readily
dissolvable beverage media may have the third portion arranged to induce
little movement,
e.g., to help reduce loss of carbonation due to turbulent motion of the
liquid. However, with
other beverages, such as hot chocolate, more turbulent motion may be induced
in the third
chamber to help with mixing, and with no concern for loss of carbonation
(since the beverage
is not carbonated). Thus, a beverage making machine may be configured to make
a wide
variety of hot, cold, carbonated, still and other beverages by, at least in
part, providing
different cartridge arrangements.
Close proximity of the gas source 41 and the beverage medium 42 in a cartridge
4
may provide the cartridge 4 with the ability to control or use heat generated
by the gas source
41. For example, heat emitted by a zeolite gas source material during gas
release may be
absorbed by a beverage medium 42. In the case where the beverage medium 42 is
a relative
viscous liquid at lower temperatures, heating of the beverage medium 42 by the
gas source 41
may reduce the viscosity of the beverage medium and enhance its dissolution
into precursor
liquid. In addition, or alternately, receipt of heat by the beverage medium 42
or other portion
of the cartridge 4 from the gas source 41 may help prevent or otherwise resist
excessive heat
buildup in the cartridge 4. This may help reduce the risk of heat damage to
the cartridge
and/or help the gas source 41 emit gas more efficiently, e.g., where high heat
levels may
inhibit gas release.
In another aspect of the invention, a cartridge may be arranged to have a gas
outlet
and a beverage medium outlet on a same side of the cartridge container. In
some
embodiments, the cartridge may further have an activator inlet through which
fluid is
provided to activate a gas source and/or a precursor liquid inlet through
which precursor
liquid is introduced into the container for mixing with the beverage medium on
a same side of
the container as the gas outlet and the beverage medium outlet. Such an
arrangement may
make for a conveniently handled and used cartridge. For example, by providing
inlet(s) and
outlet(s) on a same side of the cartridge, an interface between the beverage
making machine
and the cartridge may be simplified. For example, in some cases, a cartridge
may be simply
plugged into or otherwise associated with the beverage making machine in a
simple way with
needed connections made in one local area on a single side of the cartridge.
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FIGs. 28-30 show an illustrative embodiment of a cartridge that includes a gas
outlet,
beverage medium outlet, activator inlet and precursor liquid inlet all located
on a same side of
the container. While a cartridge having these features may be arranged in
other ways, in this
embodiment, first and second portions 46, 47 of the cartridge container are
formed by a pair
of layers of ban-ier material 79, e.g., a foil laminate, that are joined
together to form a pair of
pouches for the first and second portions 46, 47. Of course, the container
could be arranged
otherwise, e.g., by a molded plastic body that defines the first and second
portions 46, 47
with a shape like that shown in FIG. 28. The layers of barrier material 79 are
bonded
together to form the first and second portions 46, 47, and are also joined to
an insert 74 that
defines, at least in part, the gas outlet 46b, activator inlet 46a, precursor
liquid inlet 47a and
beverage medium outlet 47b. The insert 74 in this embodiment includes a pair
of molded
plastic parts arranged to not only define the inlets/outlets, but also to
enhance bonding of the
barrier layers to the insert 74. For example, an inner part of the insert 74
may be bonded to
the barrier material 79, allowing the cartridge 4 to be provided with gas
source 41 and
beverage medium 42, and then the outer part of the insert 47 (which may define
the
inlet/outlet interfaces to the beverage making machine) to be engaged, closing
the first and
second portions 46, 47. However, other arrangements are possible, such as one
in which the
insert 74 is eliminated and the layers of barrier material 79 are pierced to
form the
inlets/outlets as needed, or a single piece insert 74. In this embodiment, the
insert 74 is
arranged to close the inlets/outlets, e.g., by a foil lid, and require
piercing at each of the
inlets/outlets to open the inlets/outlets. Alternately, one or more of the
inlets/outlets may
include a closure that can be opened by breaking off a tab, peeling a foil
cover from the
inlet/outlet, exposing the inlet/outlet to a suitable pressure threshold to
cause the closure to
burst or otherwise open, and so on.
By forming the first and second portions 46, 47 in a side-by-side an-angements
like
that in FIGs. 28-30, a surface area between the first and second portions 46,
47 may be
reduced and/or have its moisture permeability reduced so as to reduce
migration of moisture
from the beverage medium 42 in the second portion 47 into the first portion
46. That is, if the
beverage medium includes moisture (such as with some concentrated syrups),
water may
migrate from the beverage medium 42 and into the first portion 46, which may
cause partial
activation of a gas source 41 (if the gas source 41 is activatable by water).
This may cause
problems where a wall or other element separating the beverage medium 42 from
the gas
source 41 is relatively permeable. However, a side-by-side arrangement like
that in FIGs. 28-
30 may allow for adjustment of the width of the barrier layer seal between the
portions 46,
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47, thereby controlling the permeability of the joint. Other arrangements may
be used to
reduce moisture migration between the first and second portions 46, 47 (or
other cartridge
portions), such as through a choice of materials, relative positions of the
first and second
portions 46. 47 (e.g., moisture is very unlikely to travel from the beverage
medium 42 to the
gas source in the embodiments of FIGs. 12 and 17, for example, because of the
physical
separation of the portions), and so on.
Another aspect of the invention incorporated into this embodiment is that the
gas
outlet 46b includes a conduit 46d that extends from the gas outlet, through
the gas source part
of the first portion (i.e., where the gas source 41 is located), through a
filter 46c, and into the
gas outlet part of the first portion. While in this embodiment the conduit 46d
is formed by a
tube, the conduit 46d could be formed by the barrier layers themselves, e.g.,
by joining the
banier layers in a way to form a conduit 46d. In accordance with another
aspect of the
invention and as can be seen in FIGs. 28-30, the barrier layers are joined
together in a pattern
to form a filter 46c that helps to keep gas source materials 41 in a gas
source part of the first
portion and permits primarily gas to pass through the filter 46c to a gas
outlet part of the first
portion where the gas can enter the conduit 46d and pass to the gas outlet
46b. While the
pattern in which the barrier layers 79 may be joined together to form the
filter 46c can vary,
in this embodiment, the barrier layers are joined at locations having a
circular (or other
suitable) shape that are separated from each other by a suitable distance and
configuration to
help prevent gas source materials 41 from passing between the joined areas.
Other
arrangements are possible for the filter 46c however, such as a piece of
filter paper, a
hydrophobic non-woven material that permits gas to pass, but resists liquid
passage, or other
element that permits gas to move toward the conduit 46d, but resists movement
of gas source
material and/or liquid. In addition or alternately to the filter 46c, the
conduit 46d may include
a filter element, such as a filter plug in the conduit 46d, to help further
resist movement of gas
source materials 41 from the gas outlet 46b. In accordance with another aspect
of the
invention, a conduit of the gas outlet 46b may extend from a bottom of the
first portion 46 to
a top of the first portion 46 without the presence of a filter 46c. Instead,
gravity may be
relied on to maintain gas source material 41 from traveling toward a top of
the first portion 46
and entering the conduit 46d. Alternately, a filter in the conduit 46d (such
as a plug
mentioned above) may function to resist entry of gas source material into the
conduit 46d.
Thus, the distal end of the conduit at the upper end of the first portion 46
may receive emitted
gas and conduct the gas to the gas outlet 46b.
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The way in which the barrier layers 79 are joined together to form the first
chamber
46, e.g., including the filter 46c, may help to hold the gas source material
41 in a fixed bed
arrangement. That is, the gas source 41 may be held relatively firmly, so that
the gas source
41 does not freely move in the first portion 46. This may help with controlled
wetting of the
gas source 41, since the distribution of the gas source in the first portion
46 may be known,
and the interaction of activating fluid with the gas source predictable and
repeatable. The gas
source 41 may be arranged to allow for free movement of gas through the fixed
bed of
materials, e.g., by sizing and shaping particles of gas source material so as
to prevent
extremely close packing. In another embodiment, rather than have the cartridge
ananged to
exert a force on the gas source 41 so as to form a fixed bed of material, an
external force may
be exerted on the first portion 46 to provide a fixed bed of material. For
example, the air
bladder arrangement discussed above may be used to squeeze the gas source 41
in the first
portion 46, thereby preventing flowing of the gas source 41 in the first
portion 46. In other
cartridge embodiments, such as that in FIG. 24, for example, the first portion
46 may include
a component, such as a resilient sponge material or a permeable membrane that
is positioned
at the top of the gas source 41 and is attached to the wall of the first
portion 46, to help keep
the gas source 41 in a fixed bed arrangement.
Another aspect of the invention incorporated into this embodiment is that the
precursor liquid inlet 47a may include a conduit extending into the second
portion 47 that is
arranged to introduce precursor liquid into the second portion at multiple
locations along the
conduit. Such an arrangement, e.g., as can be seen in FIG. 30, may help to
better distribute
the liquid in the second portion and mix the precursor liquid with the
beverage medium
which exits the second portion 47 via the beverage medium outlet 47b. Features
may be
provided to help prevent entry of beverage medium 42 into the conduit and its
perforations or
other openings, e.g., to help ensure even and predictable flow of precursor
liquid into the
second portion 47. For example, a perforated conduit may be sheathed in a
frangible cover
that separates the conduit from the beverage medium 42 prior to use, but
breaks, dissolves or
otherwise opens to permit entry of precursor liquid into the second portion
47. In another
embodiment, the conduit may include a plug, filter or other component to help
prevent
ingress of beverage medium into the conduit and/or its perforations. As with
the gas outlet
conduit, the precursor liquid inlet conduit could be formed by the barrier
layers, e.g., which
may be joined to form a flow path extending along the length of the second
portion 47, as
well as to have multiple outlets along its length to help distribute fluid
into the second portion
47. Such outlets may be formed to be closed prior to cartridge use, but may
burst or
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otherwise open with the introduction of precursor liquid into the second
portion 47. This
aiTangement may also provide the additional feature of allowing the second
portion 47 to be
squeezed flat to expel beverage medium. In yet another embodiment, the
precursor inlet 47a
may include a trouser valve, e.g., a flat, relatively flexible tube, that may
be folded or rolled
in the second portion prior to use of the cartridge. With introduction of
precursor liquid into
the inlet 47a, the trouser valve may unroll/unfold, allowing precursor liquid
to enter the
second portion 47. However, the rolled/folded configuration of the valve prior
to deployment
may help prevent the ingress of beverage medium into the precursor liquid
inlet 47a.
Another aspect of the invention relates to the arrangement that allows the
second
portion 47 to be squeezed or otherwise manipulated by an external force to
cause beverage
medium to be expelled from the beverage medium outlet 47b. This feature may be
used
whether or not precursor liquid is introduced into the second portion 47. For
example, the
cartridge may be modified to eliminate the precursor liquid inlet 47a, and
instead, the second
portion 47 may be squeezed to force the beverage medium 42 to exit via the
beverage
medium outlet 47b, e.g., for mixing with precursor liquid outside of the
cartridge 4.
Alternately, the second portion 47 may be squeezed after precursor liquid has
been
introduced into the second portion 47, e.g., to help remove liquid from the
second portion and
reduce dripping of the cartridge when removed from the beverage making
machine. In yet
another arrangement, a cartridge holder of a beverage making machine may apply
a force to
the cartridge that tends to squeeze the second portion 47 and expel beverage
medium 42, but
with a force or pressure that is less than a pressure of precursor liquid
introduced into the
second portion 47. Thus, the second portion 47 may expand to receive precursor
liquid 2, but
when precursor liquid 2 stops, the cartridge holder may squeeze the second
portion 47 to
substantially evacuate its contents. The cartridge holder may apply the
squeezing force in
any of a variety of ways, such as by employing an air bladder to which a
suitable air pressure
is applied to squeeze the cartridge in the cartridge holder. The force of the
air bladder or
other component may vary during use of the cartridge, e.g., to help with
mixing and/or
expulsion of beverage medium from the second portion 47. For example, a
pressure applied
to the bladder may be relatively high during an initial portion of the
beverage making cycle to
expel beverage medium from the second portion 47 and reduce the volume of the
second
portion 47. Thereafter, the pressure of the bladder may be released or
otherwise reduced,
allowing precursor liquid to be introduced into the second portion 47,
enlarging its volume.
Again, the pressure of the bladder may be increased to expel mixed liquid and
beverage
medium from the second portion 47, and reducing the volume of the second
portion 47. This
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cycling of the bladder pressure may be repeated to effect better mixing in the
second portion
47 and/or complete expulsion of beverage medium 42. Again, an air bladder is
not required
to perform this function, as other arrangements, such as a motor driven wall,
plunger, roller,
etc., may be used. In short, the cartridge may be manipulated by an external
force prior to,
during or after introduction of precursor liquid to help with mixing,
expulsion of beverage
medium, and/or reducing dripping of the cartridge after use.
As mentioned above, the system schematics shown in FIGs. 1-4 are only a few of
the
possible arrangements regarding a beverage making system 1. For example, FIG.
31 shows
another schematic diagram of a beverage making system 1 that may use any of
the cartridge
arrangements discussed herein or an alternate cartridge arrangement. In this
embodiment, a
reservoir 11 is arranged to provide precursor liquid 2 to a contactor 6 by
gravity feed and/or
gas pressure. Of course, other arrangements are possible for moving liquid
from the reservoir
11 to the contactor 6, such as the use of a pump. Also, although a contactor 6
is shown in this
illustrative embodiment and others discussed below, other carbonation or gas
dissolving
devices may be used instead, such as a carbonation tank. The system 1 of FIG.
31 may
operate as follows: valves V1 and V2 may be opened, allowing delivery of
liquid 2 to the
first portion 46 of a cartridge 4 by gravity feed via the contactor 6. The
liquid 2 may activate
a gas source 41, which emits gas that is directed to the contactor 6. Some of
the gas
introduced into the contactor 6 may be dissolved in liquid 2 in the contactor
6, while another
portion of the gas may be directed to the reservoir 11. Gas provided to the
reservoir 11 may
increase a pressure in the reservoir 11, forcing liquid 2 to flow toward the
contactor 6.
Pressure in the reservoir 11 may help to increase the overall carbonation
level of the
precursor liquid, e.g., by pre-carbonating the water as the reservoir 11 acts
as a carbonation
tank. Increased acidity of the liquid 2 in the reservoir 11 may also help
reduce scale build up
and/or bacterial growth in the reservoir. The pressure in the reservoir 11 may
be controlled
by controlling a valve V3 to control an amount of gas admitted into the
reservoir 11. In
addition, the valve V2 may be controlled to control the amount of liquid 2
that enters the first
portion 46, thereby controlling activation of the gas source 41. The valve V2
may be
operated to pass liquid 2 having a suitable amount of dissolved gas (e.g.,
carbonated liquid 2)
to the second portion 47 of the cartridge 4 for mixing with beverage medium
42. Another
valve may be provided to vent gas from the gas dissolution device (e.g.,
contactor 6) in this
and other embodiments, if desired. An optional valve V4 may be opened to allow
the formed
beverage to flow to a waiting cup or other holder 8, and an optional valve may
be opened to
vent gas pressure from the gas side of the contactor 6. By feeding gas emitted
by the gas
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source 41 to the reservoir 11, the system may be flushed of liquid, e.g., by
the gas pushing
liquid out of the reservoir 11, the contactor 6 and the second portion 47 of
the cartridge 4.
This may help prevent dripping of the cartridge 4 when it is removed from the
system 1,
and/or help prevent liquid from stagnating in the system 1 between uses. A
volume of liquid
used to fon-n the beverage may be controlled by a user, e.g., by providing a
desired amount of
liquid into the reservoir 11, or by the system 1 itself, such as by a fill
level sensor that
operates to fill the reservoir 11 to a suitable level, by a flow meter that
detects a volume of
water delivered to the second portion 47, and so on.
FIG. 32 shows a schematic diagram of another beverage making system 1, which
again, can be used with any suitable cartridge arrangement. In this
embodiment, a reservoir
11 provides precursor liquid 2 to a contactor 6 under the control of a valve
V4. Liquid 2 may
flow into the contactor 6 by gravity, pump, gas pressure, etc., although in
this embodiment
gravity is employed. Liquid provided to the gas source 41 to activate the gas
source 41 is
controlled by a valve V1, which may control flow based on any suitable
characteristic, such
as elapsed time, a sensed gas pressure, a detected volume in the cartridge 4,
etc. With
suitable gas emitted by the gas source 41 and routed to the contactor 6, the
valve V4 may be
opened to permit now carbonated liquid or other liquid having dissolved gas to
flow into the
second portion 47 of the cartridge 4 for mixing with the beverage medium 42.
Again, the
liquid need not be routed to the second portion 47, but instead may be routed
to a mixing
chamber portion of the cartridge or other area where beverage medium is mixed
with the
liquid 2. Alternately, the liquid 2 may pass directly to the cup 8 where the
liquid is mixed
with a beverage medium. A valve V3 may be opened to allow beverage to flow
from the
cartridge 4 to the cup 8. At a suitable timing, e.g., before, during or after
beverage formation,
a valve V5 may open to allow ice 2a to pass into the cup 8. The ice 2a may
additionally serve
to help cool the precursor liquid 2 in the reservoir 11 before passing to the
cup 8. A filter or
other separator may be employed in the reservoir 11 between the ice and the
precursor liquid
2, e.g., to help reduce bacterial contamination of the precursor liquid 2 by
the ice 2a. That is,
ice 2a may be stored in the reservoir 11 in a compartment separate from the
liquid 2, e.g., by
a permeable or impermeable barrier, and delivered to the cup 8 upon opening of
the valve V5.
It should also be noted that any gas pressure in the contactor 6 may be vented
by a valve or
other suitable arrangement before, during or after beverage formation.
FIG. 33 shows another schematic diagram of a beverage forming system 1 that,
like
others, may be used with any suitable number and/or combination of aspects of
the invention
or other features. In this embodiment, the reservoir 11 may hold a volume of
precursor liquid
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2 equal to several beverages. Thus, the system I may make multiple beverages
without
requiring the addition of liquid to the reservoir 11. A pump 13 and valve V1
control the flow
of liquid through a contactor 6 and to the second portion 47 of a cartridge 4.
The gas source
41 may be activated in any suitable way to emit gas that is routed to the gas
side of the
contactor 6 under the control of a valve V2. For example, the gas source 41
may emit gas in
response to being exposed to microwave energy, thermal heat energy, other
electromagnetic
radiation, liquid water or water vapor, etc. Gas emitted by the gas source 41
may be
dissolved in the liquid 2 in the contactor 6, which may then be mixed with
beverage medium
42 in the cartridge 4 or elsewhere. A valve V3 may control the flow of
beverage from the
system 1, e.g., through a nozzle which may be incorporated into the cartridge
and may help to
further mix the liquid and beverage medium, may help direct the beverage into
a cup 8, may
help to aerate or form a foam in the beverage, etc.
Although FIGs. 31-33 are described as involving the direction of all or
substantially
all of the precursor liquid 2 used to form a beverage through the cartridge 4,
other
arrangements are possible. For example, as discussed above, only a portion of
the liquid 2
may be routed through the cartridge 4, e.g., to expel beverage medium 42 from
the cartridge
to the cup 8 (or other mixing chamber), while a remaining portion of the
liquid 2 is routed
directly to the cup 8 (or other mixing chamber). Also, a chiller circuit,
e.g., including a
thermoelectric device, refrigeration device, heat exchanger that employs user-
supplied ice, or
other an-angement, may be included in the system 1 to chill the precursor
liquid 2 before,
during and/or after gas dissolution, and/or before, during and/or after mixing
of beverage
medium with the precursor liquid.
FIG. 34 shows another illustrative embodiment of a beverage making system 1.
In
this embodiment, a reservoir 11 includes three portions, i.e., a main
reservoir portion Ila, a
gas source activating portion llb and a pre-mix portion 11c. Initially the
main reservoir
portion 11 a may be tilled to a desired level, and the gas source activating
portion llb and the
pre-mix portion 11c may be empty. At the start of a beverage for-nation cycle,
a plunger lld
may be lowered into the main reservoir portion 11 a, which causes a controlled
amount of
precursor liquid 2 to spill or otherwise be directed into the gas source
activating portion 1 lb
and the pre-mix portion 11c. Thereafter, as the plunger 1 ld is inserted
further into the main
reservoir portion I la, the plunger lld may form a seal with the main
reservoir portion 11a,
preventing any further amounts of liquid 2 from being passed into the gas
source activating
portion llb and the pre-mix portion 11c. Further lowering of the plunger 1 ld
(and with
opening of the valve V1) may cause liquid 2 to pass from the main reservoir
portion I la
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through the contactor 6. In addition, liquid 2 in the gas source activating
portion 1 lb may be
forced through the (open) valve V2 and into the first portion 46 of the
cartridge to activate the
gas source 41. The valve V2 may control an amount of liquid passed to the
first portion 46,
e.g., to control an amount and/or pressure of gas emitted, provided that with
the valve V2
closed, liquid in the portion llb is permitted to exit with movement of the
plunger lld so as
not to resist its movement. A pressure of gas emitted by the gas source that
is passed to the
contactor 6 may be additionally, or alternately, controlled by a pressure
regulating valve V4.
Thus, a desired gas pressure may be maintained in the gas side of the
contactor 6. Liquid 2 in
the pre-mix portion Ilc may also be forced to flow into the second portion 47
of the cartridge
4 to mix with beverage medium 42. Mixing of the liquid and medium may be
complemented
by physical disturbance of the materials in the second portion 47, such as by
kneading of the
second portion 47 (e.g., by a roller or other element), stirring, shaking,
etc. This may help to
pre-mix the beverage medium 42, and make later mixing with additional
precursor liquid 2
more effective. With valve V3 open, pre-mixed beverage medium 42 may pass into
a mixing
nozzle or other chamber (e.g., which may be part of a third portion 62 of the
cartridge 4 or a
part of the beverage making machine), while liquid 2 having dissolved gas from
the contactor
6 may also be introduced into the mixing nozzle. (Note that the valve V3 in
this and other
embodiments may include a valve that is incorporated into the cartridge 4,
such as a burst
valve, duckbill valve, split septum, or other. The mixed precursor liquid 2
and beverage
medium 42 may then be routed to a waiting cup 8 or other container.
FIG. 35 shows another illustrative embodiment of a beverage making system 1
that,
like those embodiments discussed above, incorporates one or more aspects of
the invention.
This illustrative embodiment includes a pair of syringe pumps 13a, 13b that
are arranged to
cause precursor liquid 2 to flow from one pump 13, through the contactor 6 and
into the other
pump 13, and vice versa. In this way, the system 1 can pass precursor liquid 2
through the
contactor 6 one or more times, e.g., to increase an amount of dissolved gas in
the precursor
liquid 2, as desired. Of course, the system I could achieve multiple passes
through a
contactor or other gas dissolving device in other ways, such as by a single
pump that directs
liquid to flow from a reservoir 11, through a contactor 6 and back to the
reservoir 11.
However, in this embodiment, the syringe pump 12a is arranged to draw
precursor liquid 2
from a cup 8 or other container through a valve Vl. Thus, a user may place a
cup 8
containing a desired volume or type of precursor liquid 2 in association with
the system 1,
and the system 1 may use the precursor liquid 2 in the cup 8 to form a
beverage. A filter at
the valve V1 or elsewhere may help reduce a number of bacteria or other
organisms that enter
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the system 1, helping to reduce potential system contamination. Also, the
syringe pump 13 or
other pump arrangement may be configured to aspirate a suitable volume of
liquid 2 from the
cup 8, e.g., by controlling a stroke length of the syringe piston, by
detecting flow with a flow
meter, by detecting a liquid level in the pump or other reservoir, etc.
With the precursor liquid 2 aspirated into the first syringe pump 13a, the
valve V1
may be closed, and the valve V2 opened to so that the pump 13a can force the
liquid 2 into
the contactor 6. (While FIG. 35 shows there may be gas as well as liquid 2 in
the pump 13a,
it may be the case that no gas is present in the pump 13a.) Meanwhile, the
valve V2 (or
another valve) may allow some liquid 2 to flow into the first portion 46 of a
cartridge 4 to
activate a gas source 41. Thus, liquid may dissolve gas emitted by the gas
source 41 as the
liquid 2 passes through the contactor 6. The valve V3 may be arranged to allow
the liquid 2
flowing from the contactor 6 to enter the second syringe pump 13b for
temporary storage
therein. With a desired amount of liquid transferred from the first syringe
pump 13a to the
second syringe pump 13b via the contactor 6, flow may be reversed with the
second syringe
pump 13b causing flow through the contactor 6 and to the first syringe pump
13a. This
cycling may be repeated a desired number of times, e.g., based on the output
of a carbonation
detector, to achieve a desired level of carbonation of the liquid 2. With
carbonation or other
gas dissolving complete, the valve V3 may be arranged to pass liquid 2 to the
second portion
47 of the cartridge, e.g., for mixing with beverage medium 42 and transfer of
beverage (via
open valve V4) to the cup 8. A system like that in FIG. 33 may allow a user to
define a
carbonation or other dissolved gas level for a beverage, and may operate to
dissolve gas into
the precursor liquid 2 up to the set level, whether before or after mixing
beverage medium
with the precursor liquid 2.
In another aspect of the invention, a cartridge may be arranged to control a
flow of
activation fluid into the cartridge to activate a gas source. As discussed
above, one option is
to have a beverage making machine control flow of activation fluid into the
cartridge.
However, the cartridge itself may also help to control activation of the gas
source. Such an
arrangement may allow the cartridge itself to define a carbonation or other
gas dissolution
level, allowing different cartridges to define different gas dissolution
levels without requiring
a change in system operation. For example, FIG. 36 shows a schematic view of a
first
portion 46 of a cartridge 4 that includes a flow controller 76 in the form of
a valve (such as a
pressure regulator or pressure activated valve). Activation fluid (e.g.,
water) may be
provided at the activator inlet 46a under a set pressure. When a pressure in
the first portion
46 is suitably low, the flow controller 76 may open to allow water to enter
the first portion
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46, which causes activation of the gas source 41. However, once pressure in
the first portion
46 reaches a threshold level, the flow controller 76 may close, stopping flow
of water into the
first portion 46. This stop in flow will tend to lower the pressure in the
first portion 46 as gas
is routed to a contactor or other gas dissolution device or vented, and when
the pressure again
drops suitably, the flow controller 76 may again open. In this embodiment, the
flow
controller 76 is shown to include a spring that urges a valve gate to close,
where the force of
the spring is set to provide suitable gas pressure control in the first
portion 46. However,
other arrangements are possible, such as those found in pressure regulator
valves, an
arrangement in which high pressure in the first portion 46 tends to expand a
part of the
cartridge to pinch (and thereby close) a flow path from the activator inlet
46a, and so on.
FIGs. 37 and 38 show another illustrative embodiment in which a cartridge 4
includes a flow
controller 76 similar to that in FIG. 36. However, in this embodiment, the
flow controller 76
(specifically an upstanding strut functioning as a spring element) interacts
with a part of the
beverage making machine. Thus, when the cartridge 4 in this embodiment is
properly
associated with the beverage making machine, the flow controller 76 may be
caused to
operate to control activation fluid flow into the cartridge. Other
arrangements similar to that
in FIGs. 37 and 38 are possible, including arrangements in which the beverage
making
machine may control the opening and closing of a flow controller 76 of the
cartridge 4. For
example, the arrangement in FIGs. 37 and 38 may be modified so that the
beverage making
machine moves the strut or other portion of the flow controller 76 (such as a
valve gate) to
cause the flow controller 76 to open and close. Other flow controller
arrangements are
possible in such an embodiment, such as a membrane valve, flapper valve,
plunger valve,
etc., which may be manipulated and controlled by the beverage making machine.
FIGs. 39-42 show another illustrative embodiment of an arrangement for
controlling
activation fluid flow into a cartridge. In this embodiment, the cartridge 4
has an arrangement
similar to that in FIGs. 38-30. The cartridge is shown in FIGs. 39 and 40 in a
mounted
orientation in a beverage making machine. An activation fluid inlet needle or
other port
extends into an activator inlet 46a of the cartridge and remains stationary
during beverage
formation. In addition, a part of the cartridge 4 near an upper end is held
fixed relative to the
fluid inlet needle. When a pressure in the cartridge 4 is relatively low, a
distal end of the inlet
needle is positioned relative to the activator inlet 46a of the cartridge 4 so
that activation fluid
is delivered to the cartridge 4. However, when a pressure in the cartridge
increases, the
cartridge expands, pulling the activator inlet 46a away from the inlet needle.
This movement
stops flow of activation fluid, which does not resume until pressure drops in
the cartridge and
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the cartridge moves to the orientation shown in FIG. 39. FIGs. 41 and 42 show
one
arrangement of the fluid inlet needle and the activator inlet 46a for this
embodiment. The
inlet needle has an opening on its side so that when the needle extends into
the cartridge 4,
the activation fluid flow path is open. However, withdrawal of the inlet
needle into the
activator inlet 46a blocks the flowpath, stopping activation fluid flow. Other
arrangements
for opening and closing an activation fluid flowpath based on cartridge
movement are
possible, such as a valve in the activator inlet 46a that opens and closes
based on cartridge
movement or pressure change, and others.
FIGs. 43 and 44 show another arrangement for controlling activation fluid
control. In
this embodiment, the cartridge again has an arrangement similar to that in
FIGs. 28-30.
When activation fluid is provided to the cartridge and the gas source is
activated (as shown in
FIG. 43), the cartridge will generate gas, which causes a pressure build up
and enlargement of
the cartridge 4 (as shown in FIG. 44). An increase in size of the cartridge in
at least one
portion may activate a switch or other sensor 51, which causes the system
controller 5 to stop
activation fluid flow to the cartridge 4. When the pressure reduces, the
cartridge may reduce
in size and the switch or other sensor 51 will be deactivated, allowing
activation fluid flow to
resume, if appropriate.
FIG. 45 shows yet another embodiment, again with an arrangement similar to
that in
FIGs. 28-30. However, in this embodiment, the gas outlet conduit 46d and the
precursor inlet
47a conduit are both formed by suitable weld lines joining the layers of
barrier material 79.
That is, the conduits for gas outlet and precursor inlet into the first and
second portions 46,
47, respectively, are formed by the barrier layers 79 only, and do not include
a tube or other
structure. As a result, flow of activation fluid and/or precursor liquid into
the cartridge may
be controlled by pinching the cartridge 4 so as to close one or both of the
inlets 46a, 47a. It
should be understood that the outlet of gas and/or beverage medium from the
cartridge may
be similarly controlled. Flow control may be based on any suitable criterion,
such as a
detected gas pressure, an elapsed timer, detected movement of the cartridge or
portions of the
cartridge (e.g., caused by a pressure increase in the cartridge), and so on.
FIG. 46 shows yet another illustrative embodiment regarding control of flow of
activation fluid into a cartridge. In this embodiment, the cartridge 4 has an
arrangement like
that in FIG. 23, and has a flexible wall or other part at the first portion 46
of the cartridge. As
a result, when pressure in the first portion 46 increases to or beyond a
threshold level, the
flexible wall may expand outwardly. Movement of the cartridge wall or other
part may be
detected by the beverage making system 1, such as by a switch or other sensor
51. In
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response, the controller 5 may stop flow of activation fluid into the
cartridge 4 until pressure
in the first portion 46 is reduced, and the movable part of the cartridge
retracts or otherwise
moves to indicate a suitable drop in pressure. While in this embodiment, the
movable part
that indicates pressure in the first portion includes a flexible wall, other
configurations are
possible, such as a movable piston or plunger, etc.
FIGs. 47 and 48 show yet another embodiment regarding control of activation
fluid in
a cartridge. In this embodiment, the cartridge includes a flow controller 76
in the form of a
valve that may be pinched closed by a valve actuator 81 of the beverage making
system 1. In
this embodiment, a pressure in the cartridge may be sensed by a sensor 51 that
detects a
pressure in a line leading from the first portion 46. If a suitably high
pressure is detected, the
system 1 may cause the valve actuator 81 to move so as to pinch the valve of
the flow
controller 76 closed. With a pressure at or below a threshold detected, the
valve actuator 81
may allow the valve to open. While in this embodiment the valve of the flow
controller 76 is
a relatively simple structure in which a portion of the cartridge 4 may be
moved to close a
flow path (e.g., as in the embodiment of FIG. 45), other arrangements are
possible, such as
valves with movable valve gates, plungers, or other structures that may be
actuated by a valve
actuator. For example, the flow controller 76 may include a membrane valve in
which an
impermeable membrane may be moved toward and away from a port so as to control
flow
into the first portion 46.
FIGs. 49 and 50 show an illustrative embodiment in which a cartridge may
control
flow of activation fluid into the cartridge 4 independent of a beverage making
machine, e.g.,
like that in FIG. 36. In this embodiment, the cartridge includes a flow
controller 76 that
includes a valve that can be opened and closed by pressure in the first
portion 46. Thus, the
flow controller 76 may include a pressure regulator-type valve that
autonomously controls
pressure in the first portion 46 to be within a desired pressure range. In
FIG. 49, pressure in
the first portion is within or below the desired pressure range, and so the
valve is open to
allow the inflow of activation fluid into the first portion 46. In FIG. 50,
the pressure in the
first portion 46 has risen above the desired pressure range, and as such,
pressure on the right
side of the valve (which is fluidly connected to the first portion 46) causes
the valve to move
to the left, stopping flow of activation fluid. In some embodiments, the
pressure in the first
portion as controlled by the flow controller 76 can vary depending on the
pressure of
incoming activation fluid. That is, the flow controller 76 could be arranged
so that the
pressure of the activation fluid influences the operation of the valve, e.g.,
in one case, so that
the pressure in the first portion 46 must exceed the pressure of the incoming
activation fluid
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to allow the flow controller valve to close and stop flow. This arrangement
may allow the
system 1 to operate different cartridges at different gas pressures in the
first portion 46, e.g.,
by adjusting a pressure of the incoming activation fluid. However, in other
embodiments, the
flow controller 76 operation may be made independent of the pressure of the
activation fluid
so that variations in activation fluid pressure have no effect on the
controlled pressure in the
first portion 46. Such an arrangement may be useful, for example, where a pump
delivering
activation water has a variable pressure, and/or where pressure control in the
cartridge is
desirably influenced by ambient pressures, such as where operation of the
system 1 at sea
level requires higher gas pressures, but operation at high elevation requires
lower pressures.
Possible valve configurations for the flow controller 76 are generally known
in the art, and
are not described in detail herein. Also, the flow controller 76 may operate
in a binary
fashion (on/off) or may provide for variable flow rates.
In another aspect of the invention, a cartridge may include a filter in the
first and/or
second portion to separate an inlet from an outlet of the first and/or second
portion. For
example, a filter may be provided in a first portion of a cartridge to help
resist exit of gas
source materials from the first portion. A filter may be provided in a second
portion of a
cartridge to help prevent relatively large, undissolved particles from
clogging the outlet, help
prevent bacterial contamination of a beverage (e.g., where the precursor
liquid includes
organisms that can be filtered from the precursor liquid prior to being
supplied as a
beverage), and/or help distribute precursor liquid in the second portion
(e.g., to help with
dissolution).
FIG. 51 shows a cartridge with an arrangement similar to that in FIG. 45, but
this
embodiment includes a filter 46c in the first portion, and a filter 77 in the
second portion 47.
While in this embodiment the filter 46c and 77 are fonned by a single filter
element that
spans the first and second portions 46, 47, other arrangements are possible,
such as individual
filter elements for each portion. The filter 46c may operate to restrain the
passage of gas
source materials to the gas outlet 46b, while the filter 77 may help reduce
microbial
contamination of the beverage medium and beverage, and/or help spread the flow
of
precursor liquid over a larger surface area of the beverage medium. FIGs. 52-
54 show
another illustrative arrangement of a filter used in a cartridge like that of
FIG. 51. In this
embodiment, a layer of perforated or otherwise suitably permeable material is
interposed
between the layers of barrier material 79 so that the activator inlet 46a is
separated from the
gas outlet 46b by the permeable material (which forms a filter 46c in the
first portion 46), and
the precursor liquid inlet 47a is separated from the beverage medium outlet
47b by the
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permeable material (which forms a filter 77 in the second portion 47). Again,
the filters 46c
and 77 could be fortned in other ways, as this is just one of several possible
embodiments.
FIGs. 53 and 54 show how the filters 46c and 77 separate the inlets and
outlets of the
respective first and second portions 46, 47. In FIG. 53, it can be seen how
the filter 77
provides a space into which precursor liquid may enter the second portion 47
and permeate
through the filter 77 and uniformly wet the beverage medium 42. In FIG. 54, it
can be seen
how the filter 46c provides a relatively large surface area for emitted gas to
pass through the
filter 46c and to the gas outlet 46b.
FIG. 55 shows a perspective view of how a single piece of permeable material
can
form the filters 46c and 77 in a cartridge like that in FIGs. 52-54. As can be
seen, the
permeable material can traverse a zig-zag path relative to the inlet 46a, 47a
and outlets 46b,
47b of the first and second portions 46, 47. To maintain the permeable
material in the
position shown in FIG. 55, the permeable material may be bonded to the insert
74 and/or the
barrier material 79 to keep the inlets/outlets clear.
As discussed above, a cartridge may be configured to allow a user to interact
with the
cartridge to define one or more characteristics of a beverage to be made. For
example, a user
may interact with a cartridge to define a carbonation level, a sweetness of
the beverage, an
amount of beverage medium to use in making the beverage, and so on. FIGs. 56
and 57 show
an arrangement of a cartridge that is similar to that in FIG. 45 but includes
a clip 78 that can
be engaged with the cartridge 4 so as to limit an amount of beverage medium 42
that can be
used to form a beverage. The clip 78 may be movable relative to the cartridge
to provide a
continuously adjustable amount of beverage medium that can be used. A similar
feature
could be used to define an amount of carbonation, e.g., by limiting what
portion of the gas
source is exposed to activating fluid. Of course, a clip 78 is only one
example of how a user
could interact with a cartridge to define beverage characteristics. For
example, the cartridge
may have one or more removable tabs, adjustable sliders, holes or other
features that can be
removed or covered, etc., that could be adjusted by a user. The system
controller 5 may
recognize the adjusted feature and control the system I accordingly.
Alternately, the adjusted
cartridge feature may itself directly control operation of the system. For
example, a broken
off tab of the cartridge may trigger a switch that disables delivery of
activating fluid to the
cartridge, thereby forcing the machine to make a non-sparkling (or still)
beverage.
In another aspect of the invention, a cartridge may include a beverage outlet
that
extends from the cartridge, e.g., towards or to a user's cup or other
container. Such an
extending outlet may help deliver a beverage to a cup in splash-free way, may
help reduce
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loss of carbonation or other dissolved gases, and/or may help reduce contact
of the beverage
with a beverage making machine. In one illustrative embodiment, the cartridge
may include
a trouser valve that includes two flat, elongated membranes sealed at opposing
edges of the
membranes along their length. The trouser valve may be folded or rolled up
such that the
folds or contact pressures in the rolled position close the valve, if
necessary. In one
embodiment, a relatively lightweight film can be used, e.g., to help the valve
form a suitable
seal when rolled or folded. When pressure is applied to the inner end of the
trouser valve, the
structure may unfold/unroll and expand into an elongated form. The extension
of the trouser
valve into a dispensing configuration may open any seal formed by the valve in
its folded
state and allow beverage to flow along the valve. The valve may be arranged to
provide for
smooth flow of the beverage through a tapered passageway, potentially reducing
the risk of
turbulence and loss of carbonation before dispensing. In other embodiments, a
cartridge may
include a more rigid outlet conduit that extends from the cartridge to conduct
beverage
toward a user's cup. For example, a retractable tube in the cartridge may
extend under
pressure built up in the cartridge. If desired, additional mixing action can
be included in the
beverage outlet flow path, e.g., by shaping the welds of a trouser valve to
make the flow path
serpentine or to include obstacles to enhance mixing of. Also, since a trouser
valve may
assume a flat condition after delivery of beverage, e.g., due to resilience of
material used to
make the valve that causes the valve to fold, the beverage outlet may retain
little or no
residual beverage, at least as compared to a cylindrical conduit of equivalent
length. This
may reduce leakage from the cartridge after use, reducing mess.
In another aspect of the invention, a cartridge (such as a mixing chamber
portion) may
include a mixer or other movable part that interacts with beverage medium
and/or precursor
liquid to enhance mixing of the beverage. For example, the movable part may be
actuated by
interaction with flow of the beverage medium or precursor liquid, such as a
vibrating reed,
rotating blade, or other element. In another embodiment, the movable part may
be actuated
by an external drive, such as a direct drive shaft of a motor associated with
a beverage
making machine, a magnetic coupling that provides contact-free movement of the
mixer or
other movable part, a pneumatic or hydraulic drive that provides moving fluid
to the cartridge
to drive the mixer, and others.
FIGs. 58-60 show assembled, side and top views of another illustrative
embodiment
of a cartridge 4 that incorporates one or more aspects of the invention. As
can be seen in
FIG. 58, the cartridge 4 in this embodiment includes a container with a first
portion 46 and a
second portion 47 that can be assembled so that the lids 45a, 45b of the
portions 46. 47 are
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adjacent each other. For example, the first portion 46 may be arranged so that
a part of the
lid 45a is recessed below an upper edge of a rim 462 of a first container part
461 of the first
portion 46. The rim 472 of the second container part 471 of the second portion
47 may be
arranged to fit within the recess and engage with the rim 462 so as to hold
the first and
second portions 46, 47 together. For example, the rim 462 may include a groove
that
receives the rim 472 to releaseably hold the first and second portions 46, 47
together by a
friction or interference fit, e.g., so that a user may pull the first and
second portions 46, 47
apart by hand and without tools. Alternately, the first and second portions
46, 47 may be
held together in an assembled position shown in FIG. 58 by an adhesive, an
overwrap film, a
band of shrink-wrapped material at the junction between first and second
portions 46, 47, a
piece of tape or band that extends from the first portion 46 to the second
portion 47, etc.
Thus, in accordance with an aspect of the invention, the first and second
portions 46,
47 may be arranged so that the cartridge has a plane where the first portion
46 is located
below the plane and the second portion 47 is located above the plane. In this
case, the plane
of the cartridge may be parallel to, and defined by, a portion of the lid 45a,
45b, or may be
parallel to a planar portion of a part of the lid 45a or 45b. The first and
second portions 46,
47 may be used with a beverage making machine in the assembled condition, or
may be
moved relative to each other, e.g., separated from each other, for use with a
beverage making
machine. As discussed above, the first and second portions 46, 47 may be
oriented in
different ways for interacting with a beverage making machine, such as in a
side-by-side
configuration shown in FIG. 59. In this embodiment, the first and second
portions 46, 47 are
not connected in FIG. 59, but the first and second portions 46, 47 may be
connected by a
tether or other structure, e.g., like that shown in FIGs. 6-8. Such a
connection may help
properly orient the portions 46, 47 for interaction with the beverage making
system.
In accordance with another aspect of the invention, the first and second
portions 46,
47 are separated by an impermeable barrier, e.g., the lid 45a or the lid 45b,
which in this
embodiment are both impermeable (although both need not necessarily be so).
Also, as
shown in FIG. 60, the lids 45a, 45b of the first and second portions 46, 47
may be arranged to
accommodate a piercing element for inlet and/or outlet of gas or other fluids.
For example,
the lid 45a may have an inlet region 451 arranged to accommodate piercing by a
piercing
element (e.g., a needle, blade, etc.) to admit activating water, water vapor
or other fluid into
the first portion 46 to cause the gas source 41 to release carbon dioxide or
other gas. The lid
45a may also have an outlet region 452 arranged to accommodate piercing to
allow gas or
other fluid to exit the first portion 46. However, as mentioned above, the lid
45a may be
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pierced in the same location for fluid inlet/outlet, or may not be pierced at
all, e.g., where the
lid 45a includes a defined port for inlet/outlet, or other portions of the
first container part 461
are pierced at the bottom, sidewall or elsewhere.
The lid 45b may have an inlet region 451 airanged to accommodate piercing to
admit
activating water, gas or other fluid, whether for mixing with the beverage
medium 42, or to
push the medium 42 to exit the second portion 47, e.g., through a pierced hole
in the bottom
of the second portion 47 for mixing with a precursor liquid in a user's cup, a
mixing chamber,
etc. The second portion 47 may also include a filter component 48b to help
keep beverage
medium 42 from contacting a piercing element that pierces the lid 45b. The
filter component
48b may include a hydrophobic membrane, a piece of filter paper, or other
suitable
component, and may be attached to the lid 45b or other portion of the second
container part
471. By avoiding contact of beverage medium 42 with a piercing element,
unwanted
contamination of the piercing element may be reduced or eliminated.
Alternately, or in
addition, a piercing element (whether used to pierce an inlet and/or outlet
opening of a first or
second portion 46, 47) may be arranged to be removable from a beverage making
machine
(e.g., for cleaning and replacement in the machine). Another possibility is to
airange the
second portion 47 so that it can be squeezed, crushed or otherwise have a wall
(such as the lid
45b or container part 471 sidewall) moved to urge beverage medium 42 to exit
the second
portion 47, e.g., through a burstable or otherwise frangible outlet or pierced
hole. For
example, the lid 45b may be pressed downwardly in the orientation shown in
FIG. 59 so that
beverage medium 42 is forced out of the second portion 47, e.g., through an
opening in a
bottom part of the second portion 47. Such pressing may be accomplished by a
plunger or
piston of a beverage making machine that presses downwardly on the lid 45b,
crushing the
second portion 47 and expelling the beverage medium.
The lid 45a (or the lid 45b) may have a pull tab (e.g., as shown in Fig. 60)
to aid a
user in removing the lid 45a for recycling or other purposes. For example, a
user may wish to
remove the lid 45a from the first container part 461 to remove the gas source
41 after use.
The gas source 41 may be contained in a permeable bag or other holder, such as
a plastic
mesh bag, filter paper pouch, etc. This bag may help prevent gas source 41
particles from
exiting the fn-st portion 46 and/or make removal and disposal/recycling of the
gas source 41
materials in the first portion 46 easier. The bag may also help orient or
otherwise position the
gas source 41 in the first portion 46, e.g., to keep the gas source 41 away
from the lid 45a
(such as to avoid contact with a piercing element), to arrange the gas source
41 for optimal or
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other desired receipt of activating liquid (e.g., arrange the gas source 41 in
layers or
compartments for selective wetting), and so on.
FIGs. 61 and 62 show another illustrative embodiment of a cartridge 4 that
incorporates one or more aspects of the invention. In this illustrative
embodiment, similar to
that of FIG. 58, the first and second portions 46, 47 may be arranged on
opposite sides of a
plane, such as a plane that is parallel to, and positioned at or between, the
lids 45a, 45b of the
first and second portions 46, 47. As noted above, "above" and "below" are
terms used for
ease of reference, and since the cartridge 4 may be inverted from the position
shown in FIG.
61, the second portion 47 may be said to be "above" the plane and the first
portion 46 may be
said to be "below" the plane in the inverted orientation. The first and second
portions 46, 47
may be connected together by a portion of the lids 45a, 45b, i.e., connector
45c, or another
element. Thus, the first and second portions 46, 47 may be moved relative to
each other from
the position in FIG. 61 to an orientation like that in FIG. 62, e.g., for
introduction into and
interaction with a beverage making machine. The connector 45c or other portion
of the lid 45
(or of the cartridge 4) may carry an identifier, such as a barcode, RFID tag
or other device
that can be read by a beverage making system and used to control system
operation, e.g., to
control a carbonation level, beverage volume. etc. Similar to the FIGs. 58-60
embodiment,
the first portion 46 may have the lid 45a pierced in one or more locations to
admit activating
fluid and/or release gas for carbonation or other purposes. Of course, the
first portion 46 may
operate to activate a gas source 41 and release gas in any suitable way as
discussed herein,
such as receiving activating fluid and/or releasing gas through a part of the
first portion 46
opposite the lid 45a (e.g., the bottom of the first portion 46 as oriented in
Fig. 62). As with
other embodiments, the first portion 46 may be made of any suitable material
or combination
of materials, such as a metal foil (e.g., aluminum) capsule.
Similarly, the second portion 47 may be arranged in a variety of different
ways, but in
this embodiment is arranged so that a wall 47a of the second portion 47 can be
moved so that
beverage medium 42 is caused to exit the second portion 47. For example, the
wall 47a may
include a corrugated sheet of material (such as a sheet of aluminum foil that
has a set of steps
arranged as concentric annular rings) that can be pressed from the bottom (as
shown by the
arrows 200 in FIG. 61) so that the wall 47a is collapsed toward the lid 45b
(the lid 45b and
upper rim of the wall 47a would be suitably supported by a beverage making
machine
chamber, for example). Movement of the wall 47a could cause a rise in pressure
in the
second portion 47, e.g., so that a burstable seal opens to release beverage
medium 42 along
the arrow 202. Of course, the wall 47a could be pierced to form an opening to
allow
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beverage medium 42 to exit, rather than having a burstable or otherwise
frangible seal open.
In another illustrative embodiment shown in FIG. 63, the second portion 47 may
include an
internal piercing element 203 arranged to pierce the wall 47a to form an
outlet opening for
beverage medium 42. For example, the piercing element 203 may be arranged so
that with
force applied to the lid 45a along the direction of the arrow 204, the
piercing element 203
may be moved downwardly to pierce the wall 47a. In this action, the lid 45a
may or may not
be pierced. In one arrangement where the lid 45a is pierced, gas, precursor
liquid or other
fluid may be introduced into the second portion 47 to urge the beverage medium
42 out of the
opening formed in the wall 47a. It should also be understood that an internal
piercing
element may be used with other embodiments described herein, such as in FIGs.
58-60, and
may be used in a first portion 46 of a cartridge 4.
The wall 47a may be arranged so that when pushed in the direction of the
arrows 200
in FIG. 61, the radially outer portions of the wall 47a may collapse first,
with radially inner
portions of the wall 47a collapsing subsequently in a step-wise fashion toward
a center of the
wall 47a. This may help urge beverage medium 42 to move radially inwardly and
out of the
outlet. In other embodiments, the wall 47a may be arranged without
corrugations, or
otherwise without concern for how the wall 47a collapses. Instead, the wall
47a may be
simply moved toward the lid 45b and the beverage medium 42 forced from the
second
portion 47 without control of flow in the second portion 47. If the wall 47a
is moved very
closely adjacent to the lid 45b, most or all of the beverage medium 42 may be
forced from the
second portion 47.
FIG. 64 shows another illustrative embodiment in which a second portion 47 of
the
cartridge 4 is formed as an end-gusseted bag, e.g., formed from a sheet
aluminum foil or
other metal or plastic material. Such bags are well known in the food
packaging art, and the
second portion 47 in this embodiment is shown with the gusseted portion facing
upwardly.
An outlet nozzle 47b is arranged at a side of the bag (the bottom) opposite
the gusset, and
may include a burstable septum or other outlet arrangement that opens when the
second
portion 47 is squeezed or otherwise experiences an increase in pressure in the
compartment
where the beverage medium 42 is held. In one embodiment, the second portion 47
may be
squeezed by air or other gas pressure that is introduced into a closed chamber
in which the
second portion 47 is held. The gas pressure may be provided by an air pump,
compressed gas
source, gas produced by the first portion 46, or other arrangement into a
closed compartment
that causes pressure to be exerted on the exterior of the second portion 47.
Thus, the second
portion 47 may have a wall, e.g., a part of the bag forming the second portion
47, that is
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moved to urge beverage medium to exit the second portion 47. The nozzle 47b
may be
located outside of the chamber in which pressure is introduced, e.g., so that
beverage medium
42 forced from the nozzle 47b may enter a mixing chamber, a user's cup, etc.
The nozzle
47b may include atomizing orifices or other features that help form small
droplets or streams
of beverage medium 42, e.g., as an aid to mixing.
In accordance with an aspect of the invention, at least a part of the first
portion 46
may be received into the gusset of the second portion 47. For example, the
gusset may form
a partial ellipsoid shaped cavity into which the first portion 46, which may
have a
complementary shape, can fit. In one embodiment, the first portion 46 may fit
entirely within
the gusset such that the first portion 46 can form a surface or base of the
cartridge 4 such that
the cartridge can stand upright on a flat surface with the first portion 46
supporting the
cartridge. For example, the lid 45a of the first portion 46 may provide a flat
surface at the top
of the cartridge 4 when the first portion 46 is received into the gusset
cavity of the second
portion 47, allowing the cartridge 4 to be inverted and stood on a table top
with the first
portion 46 resting on the table. However, this is not necessary, and the first
portion 46 may
protrude from the gusset cavity of the second portion 47, e.g., with a domed
top surface.
With the first portion 46 at least partially received in the gusset cavity, a
rim 462 of the first
portion 46 may be crimped or otherwise attached to a rim 472 of the second
portion 47 to
engage the first and second portions 46, 47 together. As in other embodiments,
the first
portion 46 may include inlet and/or outlet regions 451, 452 arranged to
accommodate
piercing for inlet and/or outlet flows.
As mentioned above, the second portion 47 may be squeezed or otherwise
collapsed
to release beverage medium 42. During this process, the first portion 46 may
be subjected to
the squeezing force, such as air pressure, opposed chamber walls moved toward
each other
with the second portion 47 located between the chamber walls, etc., or may be
at least
partially isolated from the squeezing force. For example, a rim 462 of the
first portion 46
may be clamped in a cartridge receiver of a beverage making machine so that a
sealed
chamber located below the rim 462 can be formed around the second portion 47.
This
arrangement may help reduce or eliminate squeezing force on the first portion
46.
FIG. 65 shows another illustrative embodiment of a cartridge. In this
embodiment,
the cartridge 4 includes a cylindrical container with a first portion 46
located on one side (an
upper region as shown) of the container, and a second portion 47 located on an
opposite side
(a lower region). The first and second portions 46, 47 may be separated by a
wall, e.g., that
establishes an air tight space in which beverage medium 42 is located. The
first portion 46
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may be piercable to admit activating liquid into, and/or allow gas to exit the
first portion 46,
or may be arranged in other ways as discussed above. However, in this
embodiment, the
second portion 47 is arranged to initially hold a gas under pressure in the
air tight space with
the beverage medium 42 so that when an outlet valve 47b is opened (e.g., by
moving a part of
the valve relative to the second portion 47), the pressurized gas expands and
forces the
beverage medium 42 to pass through the valve 47b and out of the second portion
47. Thus, a
beverage making machine using the cartridge 4 would not be required to
introduce gas, liquid
or other fluid into the second portion 47 to expel the beverage medium 42.
Instead, opening
of the valve 47b, which could be done automatically by the machine or by a
user, could cause
the beverage medium 42 to be dispensed. In an alternate embodiment, the
pressurized gas in
the second portion 47 could be received from the first portion 46, e.g., a
wall separating the
first and second portions 46, 47 could be permeable, at least with the first
portion 46 under
suitable pressure, so that gas generated by the gas source 41 can flow into
the second portion
47, thus pressurizing the second portion 47 for dispensing of the beverage
medium 42.
Alternately, pressurized gas could be introduced into the second portion 47 by
a beverage
forming machine, e.g., via a piercing needle, port or other mechanism.
Example 1
The release properties of a carbon dioxide adsorbent were measured in the
following
way: 8 x 12 beads of sodium zeolite 13X (such as are commercially available
from UOP
MOLSIV Adsorbents) were obtained. The beads were placed in a ceramic dish and
fired in a
Vulcan D550 furnace manufactured by Ceramco. The temperature in the furnace
containing
the beads was raised to 550 C at a rate of 3 C/min and was held at 550 C
for 5 hours for
firing and preparation of the beads for charging with carbon dioxide.
The beads were removed from the furnace and immediately transferred to a metal
container equipped with a tightly fitted lid and entrance and exit ports
permitting circulation
of gas. With the beads sealed in the container, the container was flooded with
carbon dioxide
gas and pressurized to 15 psig. (Note, however, that experiments have been
performed
between 5-32 psig.) The chamber was held at the set pressure for 1 hour.
During this hold
period the chamber was bled every 15 min. At the end of this period a quantity
of gas had
adsorbed to the beads.
A 30g sample of charged 13X zeolite was measured, and a beaker filled with
250m1
of water at room temperature of 22 C. The beaker and water was placed on a
balance and the
balance zeroed. The 30g of charged zeolite was then added to the beaker and
the change in
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weight versus time was measured. It was shown that the change in weight became
approximately steady after a period of 50 seconds, and that the beads lost
about 4.2 g (14
wt%) of weight attributed to the release of carbon dioxide. Of course, some
carbon dioxide
may have been dissolved into the water.
Time (sec) Weight (grams)
0 30
25 26.7
50 25.8
75 25.6
100 25.5
Example 2
Charged zeolite 13X was prepared as in Example 1. A 30 g sample of the charged
zeolites was then placed in metal chamber with a water inlet port at the
bottom and a gas
outlet port at the top. The chamber that held the zeolites was 34 x 34 mm in
cross section and
had 2 metal filter discs with 64 1/16" diameter holes to retain the zeolite
material. Tap water
was then flooded into the bottom of the chamber perpendicular to the cross-
section at an
average flow rate of 60 ml/min. Gas evolved through the top outlet port.
The pressure of the gas in the chamber was measured with a pressure gauge and
controlled using a needle valve attached to the exit port of the gas chamber.
The needle valve
was set to maintain the chamber at a pressure of 35 psig by manually adjusting
the valve over
the course of exposing charged zeolites in the chamber to water. Once the
valve was set to an
operating pressure, the system would perform repeatably with zeolite samples
charged in the
same manner.
Example 3
Charged zeolite 13X was prepared as in Example 1. A 30 g sample of the charged
zeolites was then placed in a semi rigid 50 ml polystyrene-polyethylene-EVOH
laminate cup
container and then-nally sealed with a foil lid. The sealed zeolite cartridges
were then placed
into a sealed, metal cartridge chamber and pierced on the top and bottom.
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Tap water was introduced at the bottom of the cartridge with the flow
controlled by a
solenoid valve. The solenoid valve was actuated via a pressure switch
connected to the top
gas outlet of the cartridge chamber. During three different tests, the
pressure switch was set
to three different operating pressures of 5, 22, and 35 psig. The resulting
gas at the set
pressures was then introduced into the shellside of a hydrophobic membrane
contactor (1x5.5
Minimodule from Liquicel, of Charlotte, North Carolina). The other shellside
port was
plugged to prevent gas from escaping. Water from a reservoir containing 400m1
of water and
approximately 50 g of ice was circulated from the reservoir, through the
contactor, and back
to the reservoir (e.g., like that shown in FIG. 2) using an Ulka (Milan,
Italy) type EAX 5
vibratory pump through the lumenside of the membrane contactor. The pressure
of the
reservoir and contactor was maintained at the same pressure as the gas was
produced. The
system produced gas and circulated the water for approximately 60 seconds
before being
stopped.
The resulting carbonated water was then tested for carbonation levels using a
CarboQC from Anton-Paar of Ashland, Virginia. The results for are shown in the
table
below:
System Pressure (psig) Average Carbonation Level
(Volumes C07 dissolved)
10 1.35
22 2.53
35 3.46
Thus, the gas was shown to evolve from the zeolites in the cartridges at a
controllable
rate (based on water delivery to the cartridge chamber) and then dissolved
into water to
produce a carbonated beverage. In addition, this illustrates the concept that
by controlling
system pressures one can control the level of carbonation of the finished
beverage. It is
expected that higher system pressures, e.g., of about 40-50 psi above ambient,
would produce
a 4 volume carbonated beverage (having a liquid volume of about 500 ml) in
about 60
seconds or less.
Having thus described several aspects of at least one embodiment of this
invention, it
is to be appreciated that various alterations, modifications, and improvements
will readily
occur to those skilled in the art. Such alterations, modifications, and
improvements are
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intended to be part of this disclosure, and are intended to be within the
spirit and scope of the
invention. Accordingly, the foregoing description and drawings are by way of
example only.
CA 3007252 2018-06-04
