Beverage making machines with filter arrangement

Abstract

A beverage making machine may be configured to form a beverage using a beverage formation chamber having a holder for holding a beverage ingredient. The machine may include a filtering arrangement in which a filter is downstream from an outlet of the holder. The filter may be part of a sleeve, where the sleeve is configured to receive the holder. The filtering arrangement may help to stop particles from entering various parts of the beverage making machine.

Description

Attorney Docket No. K0502.70267WO00BEVERAGE MAKING MACHINES WITH FILTER ARRANGEMENTCROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

[0001] This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 63 / 683,195, filed August 14, 2024 and U.S. Provisional Application No. 63 / 697,750, filed September 23, 2024, which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entireties.FIELD

[0002] Aspects disclosed herein relate to beverage making machines, such as, but not limited to, coffee brewers that use a liquid to form a coffee beverage.BACKGROUND

[0003] Beverage making machines that use a liquid, such as water, to form a beverage are well known. For example, US Patent 8,094,998 and US Patent application publication 2017 / 0307252 disclose systems in which water in a heater tank is forced to flow out of the tank and to a beverage making station or dispensing location by introducing unheated water into the tank.SUMMARY

[0004] According to one aspect, a beverage making machine is provided. In some embodiments, the beverage making machine may include a holder configured to receive a beverage ingredient and to introduce liquid from a liquid supply to the beverage ingredient to form a beverage. The holder may have a holder outlet. The beverage making machine may include a filter downstream of the holder outlet, where the filter is configured to permit passage of fluid and inhibit passage of particles. The beverage making machine may include a dispensing outlet configured to permit exit of the formed beverage out of the holder for consumption by a user. The dispensing outlet may be downstream of the filter.

[0005] According to another aspect, a method of operating a beverage making machine is provided. In some embodiments, the method may include introducing a liquid to a beverage ingredient in a holder to form a beverage. The holder may have a holder outlet. The method may include inhibiting passage of particles that exit the holder outlet with a filter. The filter may be downstream of the holder outlet. The method may include removing the filter from the beverage making machine to clear out the particles.

[0006] It should be appreciated that the foregoing concepts, and additional concepts discussed below, may be arranged in any suitable combination, as the present disclosure is not limited in this respect. Further, other advantages and novel features of the present disclosure will become apparent from the following detailed description of various nonlimiting embodiments when considered in conjunction with the accompanying figures.BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0007] The accompanying drawings are not intended to be drawn to scale. In the drawings, each identical or nearly identical component that is illustrated in various figures may be represented by a like numeral. For purposes of clarity, not every component may be labeled in every drawing. In the drawings:

[0008] FIG. 1 shows an isometric view of a beverage making machine according to some embodiments;

[0009] FIG. 2A shows a side view of a beverage making machine according to some embodiments;

[0010] FIG. 2B shows a side view of a beverage making machine according to some further embodiments;

[0011] FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of an illustrative flow circuit in a beverage making machine according to some embodiments;

[0012] FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of one embodiment of a cooling unit according to some embodiments;

[0013] FIG. 5 is a cross-section view of a portion of a beverage machine showing a holder and a sleeve according to some embodiments;

[0014] FIG. 6 is a perspective cutaway view of the beverage machine portion of FIG. 5;

[0015] FIG. 7 is an exploded view of a holder, sleeve and frame;

[0016] FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a sleeve coupled to a frame;

[0017] FIG. 9 is a top view of the sleeve and frame of FIG. 8;

[0018] FIG. 10 is a perspective view of a sleeve;

[0019] FIG. 11 is a top view of the sleeve of FIG. 10; and

[0020] FIG. 12 is a cross-section view of the sleeve of FIG. 11 taken along line 12-12.12802224.1DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0021] 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. 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.

[0022] In a beverage making machine, a beverage may be formed by introducing liquid (e.g. water) to a beverage formation chamber (e.g. a brew chamber) that holds a beverage ingredient. The beverage formation chamber may include a holder that is configured to receive the beverage ingredient. In some embodiments, the formed beverage may be dispensed out of the beverage making machine into a user’s cup or other container (e.g. carafe) for consumption. In some embodiments, the formed beverage may exit the beverage formation chamber and be directed to a subassembly to perform further operation(s) on the formed beverage, e.g. cooling, heating, carbonating, etc. Examples of such subassemblies include a cooling unit, a carbonation unit, a heating unit, or any other suitable subassembly conducting a post-beverage formation operation.

[0023] The inventors have appreciated that, in beverage formation operations, particles (e.g. from beverage ingredients such as coffee grounds or other beverage powders) may inadvertently flow out of the beverage formation chamber (e.g., out of a holder) with the formed beverage. The inventors have recognized that escape of such particles with the formed beverage may be undesirable for various reasons, such as decreased beverage quality in terms of taste, appearance, mouthfeel, and / or other properties, resulting in a potentially negative user experience. The inventors have also recognized that escape of such particles may clog downstream components such as valves or tubing, which may be detrimental to operation of the beverage making machine. Use of a subassembly may require one or more valves to allow the beverage making machine to direct the formed beverage to the subassembly, or to bypass the subassembly and instead direct the formed beverage to be dispensed. Alternatively or in addition, a subassembly may include pathways and other12802224.1components that are susceptible to clogging. Beverage making machines with a subassembly may thus be negatively impacted by escape of particles from a beverage ingredient holder.

[0024] The inventors have recognized a need for an arrangement to decrease the escape of particles into unwanted areas of the beverage making machine. Aspects herein are directed to a filter arrangement that help to decrease such escape of particles.

[0025] According to some aspects, the filter arrangement comprises a filter that is positioned downstream of an outlet of a holder. In some embodiments, the filter is a mesh filter, also referred to as a screen. The mesh filter may be made of metal, plastic, or any other suitable material.

[0026] In some embodiments, the filter is configured to permit passage of fluid and inhibit passage of particles having a particle size of 200 microns or greater, 250 microns or greater, 300 microns or greater, 350 microns or greater, 400 microns or greater, 450 microns or greater, 500 microns or greater, 550 microns or greater, 600 microns or greater, 650 microns or greater, 700 microns or greater, 750 microns or greater, or 800 microns or greater. A range of filter sizes is also contemplated. In some embodiments, the filter is configured to permit passage of fluid and inhibit passage of particles having a particle size of 200 to 800 microns or greater, 250 to 800 microns or greater, 300 to 800 microns or greater, 350 to 800 microns or greater, 400 to 800 microns or greater, 500 to 700 microns or greater, 550 to 650 microns of greater, 580 to 620 microns or greater, or 590 to 610 microns or greater.

[0027] In some embodiments, the filter is a mesh filter having a mesh size of 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, or 50 where the mesh size is the number of openings in one square inch of the mesh. E.g. a 40 mesh will have 40 openings in one square inch of the filter mesh. A range of mesh sizes is also contemplated. In some embodiments, the mesh filter has a mesh size of 30 to 50, 35 to 45, 38 to 42, 38 to 41, 39 to 42, 39 to 41, 39 to 40, or 40 to 41.

[0028] In some embodiments, the filter may be attached to an outlet of the holder.

[0029] In some embodiments, the filter is part of a sleeve that is configured to receive the holder. The sleeve may surround at least the outlet of the holder so that substances exiting the holder must enter the sleeve. The filter may be positioned at an outlet of the sleeve so that particles are retained within the sleeve by the filter rather than moving into other beverage machine components or being dispensed out of the machine. The filter may12802224.1be configured to be removable from the beverage machine without damaging the filter or the beverage machine, e.g. to allow for clearing out of the particles, for replacement of the filter, or for other maintenance.

[0030] In some embodiments, the sleeve may surround more than just the outlet of the holder. The sleeve and the holder may be similarly shaped so that the holder nests within the sleeve. The sleeve may thus receive a majority of the holder.

[0031] The sleeve may be configured to be removable from the beverage making machine without damaging the sleeve or the beverage making machine in order to allow a user to clear out any particles trapped by the filter. In some embodiments, to remove the sleeve, the user must first remove the holder from the sleeve, and then remove the sleeve from the beverage making machine. In other embodiments, the sleeve and holder are removable from the beverage making machine simultaneously, e.g. the sleeve and holder couple together as a single unit and can be removed from the beverage making machine as a single unit. After the sleeve and holder are removed from the beverage making machine, the sleeve and holder can then be separated from one another without damaging either the sleeve or the holder. In yet other embodiments, the sleeve and holder are integrated together into a single combined component and are not removable from one another.

[0032] According to some aspects, the sleeve may include one or more features to facilitate removal of the sleeve from the beverage making machine. In some embodiments, the sleeve may have flexure tabs that a user may squeeze radially inwardly to remove the sleeve from a frame of the beverage making machine. In some embodiments, removal of the sleeve from the frame may be one-handed.

[0033] According to some aspects, the beverage making machine may have an ability to sense when substances have accumulated on the filter, which could lead to partial or complete obstruction of flow through the filter. The machine may alert a user to clear out the accumulation on the filter. In some embodiments, the beverage making machine may sense this by detecting an overpressure that may be indicative of accumulation on the filter. Overpressure may be detected in a variety of ways, such as with a pressure sensor, flow meter, monitoring the current draw of a pump that is used to move liquid to the beverage forming chamber, or other suitable approach, and any combination of the above approaches.12802224.1

[0034] Some beverages may involve heating as a step in forming the beverage. For example, a precursor liquid such as water may be heated prior to being combined with a beverage ingredient such as coffee. In some embodiments, the beverages may be consumed while relatively hot. In other embodiments, it may be desirable to consume the beverage while the beverage is relatively cooler, e.g. in “cold brew” and / or “iced” form. Accordingly, the beverage may be cooled prior to being consumed. Cooling a beverage may include introducing cold material into the beverage (e.g., ice), however this presents the opportunity for the beverage to become diluted with the cold material. For example, ice may be added to a hot beverage to cool the beverage, heat may be transferred from the beverage to the ice, causing the ice to melt into water, which in turn mixes with and dilutes the beverage. A diluted beverage may have an undesired taste and / or texture. The inventors have recognized the desire to form cooled beverages while reducing or eliminating dilution of the beverage.

[0035] To form a cooled beverage, heat may be transferred away from the beverage. In some embodiments, a beverage making machine may include a subassembly in the form of a cooling unit that is configured to transfer heat from a beverage. The systems and methods disclosed herein may be used anywhere and for any appropriate purpose, including at home, commercially, and / or industrially (e.g., large scale production of beverages). The machine may be used to make any appropriate beverage including coffee (e.g., iced coffee), tea (e.g., iced tea), hot chocolate, mineral and / or vitamin infused drink, or any other appropriate beverage.

[0036] The inventors have recognized that a strategy for cooling a formed beverage may include transferring heat from a beverage using a cooling unit subassembly prior to dispensing the beverage. A cooling unit may enable cooling of a liquid (e.g., beverage) without diluting the liquid. A beverage may flow through a cooling unit, and the cooling unit may be configured to absorb heat from the beverage flowing through. Cooling liquid may be disposed within the cooling volume and may be in thermal communication with the beverage flowing through the cooling unit such that heat is transferred from the beverage to the cooling unit. In some embodiments, the cooling liquid may be actively cooled using a thermoelectric cooler (also referred to herein as a “TEC”). Actively cooling the cooling liquid may help to increase the amount of heat transferred from the beverage to the cooling unit without substantially increasing the volume of the cooling unit. In some embodiments, decreasing the12802224.1volume (e.g., dimensions) of the cooling unit may be beneficial in order to decrease the space occupied by the beverage making machine. For example, counter space may be limited in the kitchen or office of a user, so decreasing the beverage making machine footprint may help to decrease the amount of counter space occupied by the beverage making machine.

[0037] It should be understood that “thermoelectric cooler assembly” (also referred to as “TEC assembly”) as used herein may refer to an assembly of components including a thermoelectric cooler. For example, a thermoelectric cooler assembly may comprise an assembly including one or more of a thermoelectric cooler, heat sink, fan, and manifold.

[0038] In some embodiments, the cooling unit may include a phase change material (PCM) configured such that heat is transferred from the beverage to the PCM. For example, in some embodiments, heat may be transferred from a beverage to a cooling liquid, and in turn, heat may be transferred from the cooling liquid to the PCM. In embodiments where the cooling liquid is actively cooled (e.g., with a TEC), heat may be transferred from the PCM to the cooling liquid when the heat of the PCM exceeds the heat of the cooling liquid (e.g., when the temperature of the PCM is greater than the temperature of the cooling liquid). The cooling fluid may be cooled using a thermoelectric cooler such that heat is transferred from the cooling fluid to the thermoelectric cooler. PCM is a substance that can be used to release or absorb thermal energy at phase transition. PCMs include any substance that can be used to release or absorb thermal energy, including, but not limited to, organic, inorganic, and eutectic PCMs. Examples of organic PCMs include, but are not limited to, hydrocarbons such as alkanes (e.g., paraffins), alcohols, fatty acids, and esters. Examples of inorganic PCMs include, but are not limited to, salt hydrates, nitrates, and metallics. Eutectic PCMs include combinations of organic and inorganic PCMs in any suitable arrangement. In some embodiments, water may be used as a PCM.

[0039] In some embodiments, the cooling unit may be activated such that the cooling liquid and / or PCM of the cooling unit is cooled prior to forming and cooling the beverage. The cooling unit may be activated such that the cooling liquid is cooled some time before an anticipated use of the cooling unit.

[0040] In some embodiments, the cooling liquid may be cooled to a temperature less than or equal to approximately 20°C, 15°C, 14°C, 13°C, 12°C, 11°C, 10°C, 9°C, 8°C, 7°C, 6°C, 5°C, 4°C, 3°C, 2°C, 1°C, 0°C, and / or any other appropriate temperature. The cooling12802224.1liquid may also be cooled to a temperature greater than or equal to 0°C, 1°C, 2°C, 3°C, 4°C, 5°C, 6°C, 7°C, 8°C, 9°C, 10°C, 11°C, 12°C, 13°C, 14°C, 15°C, 20°C and / or any other temperature. Combinations of the foregoing, including temperatures between or equal to 0°C and 10°C, 0°C and 9°C, 0°C and 5°C, 2°C and 4°C are also contemplated, as well as temperatures above and below the ranges listed above, as the present disclosure is not limited by the temperature the cooling liquid is cooled to.

[0041] In some embodiments, the cooling liquid may be cooled for a time prior to an anticipated use of the cooling unit of less than or equal to approximately 12 hours, 8 hours, 7 hours, 6 hours, 5 hours, 4 hours, 3 hours, 2 hours, and / or any other appropriate time. The cooling liquid may be cooled for a time prior to an anticipated use of the cooling unit greater than or equal to 2 hours, 3 hours, 4 hours, 5 hours, 6 hours, 7 hours, 8 hours, 12 hours, and / or any other time. Combinations of the foregoing, including times between or equal to 2 hours and 12 hours are also contemplated, as well as times above and below the ranges listed above, as the present disclosure is not limited by the time the cooling liquid is cooled for before an anticipated use.

[0042] As described herein, one or more thermoelectric coolers (TEC) may be used to transfer heat associated with the beverage making machine and / or cooling unit. TECs (sometimes referred to as Peltier coolers, solid state refrigerators, or thermoelectric heat pumps) serve to transfer heat using the Peltier effect. In some embodiments, a TEC may comprise two sides and may be configured to have current (e.g., DC electric current) flow through the device, wherein the flow of current transfers heat from one side to the other. Accordingly, upon activating the device (e.g., flowing current through the device) the side configured to lose heat gets cooler and the side configured to gain heat gets hotter, creating a “cold” side and a “hot” side. In some embodiments, the hot side may be coupled to a heat sink including any appropriate heat transferring elements, including, but not limited to, one or more radiators and / or fans. In some embodiments, the direction and quantity of heat transferred from the cold side to the hot side may be selectively changed by controlling the direction and quantity of current applied to the TEC. In some embodiments, the cold side may be coupled to a manifold through which the cooling liquid flows, and the TEC may be configured to cool the manifold. For example, the cooling liquid passageway may be fluidly coupled to an inlet and an outlet of the manifold and cooling liquid may enter the inlet of the12802224.1manifold and exit the outlet of the manifold. As such, the TEC may be configured to transfer heat from the manifold, and the manifold may be configured to transfer heat from the cooling liquid passageway and / or cooling liquid inside the cooling liquid passageway. The inventors have recognized cooling a manifold with the TEC may offer advantages in thermal and electric efficiencies, thereby improving performance and / or saving cost. In some embodiments, the beverage making machine avoids the use of vapor-compression (e.g., refrigeration) cycles and compressors for cooling. However, in other embodiments, a vaporcompression cycle may be utilized.

[0043] Sensors may be used to sense parameters associated with one or more liquids associated with a beverage making machine. For example, a sensor may sense a temperature, pressure, volume, level, flow rate, conductivity, salinity, turbidity, and / or any other appropriate parameter associated with a liquid. Accordingly, any appropriate sensors may be used herein. For example, the beverage making machine may include any appropriate combination of temperature sensors, pressure sensors, volume sensors, level sensors, flow rate sensors, and / or any other appropriate type of sensor. In some embodiments, a conductive probe may be arranged to contact liquid in a liquid supply line, tank, valve, or any other appropriate element e.g., to detect a presence or absence of liquid.

[0044] In some embodiments, a sensor component may include at least one conductive element that contacts a liquid to detect the presence or absence of liquid, and a temperature component to detect temperature, and may be arranged in different ways and / or to detect other physical characteristics of the liquid. For example, a sensor can include a sensor arrangement to detect pressure, conductivity, salinity, turbidity and / or other characteristic of the liquid, etc. In some embodiments, the sensor can detect three or more characteristics of the liquid, such as temperature, conductivity, and presence / absence.

[0045] In some embodiments, a beverage making machine may be used to form a beverage by combining a beverage precursor liquid with a beverage ingredient. The beverage making machine may allow a user to prepare a small quantity of a beverage such as a single serving or a small batch of beverage. Multiple users can use the same machine to prepare different beverages, such as individual servings of different beverage types or beverage flavors quickly and without wasting unconsumed beverage.12802224.1

[0046] In some embodiments, the beverage making machine may be used with a beverage pod to form a beverage such as tea, coffee, espresso, cocoa or other infusion type beverages. The beverage pod may include beverage ingredients such as suitably prepared coffee beans, tea leaves, etc. The beverage making machine may form such beverages using a beverage precursor liquid, such as water, that may be combined with the beverage ingredients of the beverage pod under suitable conditions to form the beverage.

[0047] In some embodiments, the beverage machine may be used with package-less beverage pods. The package-less beverage pod may be able to hold its own shape, and thus may not require individual packaging to prevent dispersing of the beverage ingredients prior to use in forming a beverage. Such beverage pods may, for example, be in the form of a compacted tablet or a capsule (which may or may not be made of compacted materials). The beverage ingredients may be contained without separate, removable packaging. In some embodiments, the beverage ingredients of the package-less beverage pod have been compacted. In some embodiments, the package-less beverage pod may be bound together with a food-grade binder or with another beverage ingredient that promotes formation of the beverage tablet into a cohesive structure. However, it should be appreciated that in other embodiments, a package-less beverage pod need not include binder or other beverage ingredient for cohesion. Some package-less beverage pods may be formed through processing alone, such as by compacting, heating, or drying into the desired form.

[0048] In some embodiments, the package-less beverage pod may include a shell, such as a coating, disposed along the outer surface at the periphery of the pod. In some embodiments, the shell may bind the beverage ingredients within the interior of the pod. The beverage ingredients within the pod may be loose, such as loose ground coffee, or compacted. The shell may be a food grade binder, an alginate, edible, soluble, non-soluble, or any other suitable material. In some embodiments, the shell may serve as a barrier to reduce infiltration of oxygen and / or moisture such as to maintain freshness of the beverage ingredients. In some embodiments, the shell is configured to be insoluble in water, whereas in other embodiments, the shell may be configured to dissolve in water. Material of the package-less beverage pod, including a shell of the pod if one is present, may directly contact some portion of the beverage machine, such as the beverage formation chamber, before brewing the beverage, without intervening packaging in-between.12802224.1

[0049] The package-less beverage pod may be configured to break into pieces during brewing or it may be configured to remain intact during brewing. In some embodiments, the package-less beverage pod is configured to be insoluble in water, whereas in other embodiments, the package-less beverage pod may be configured to at least partially or completely dissolve. In some embodiments, the package-less beverage pod may contain roasted coffee grounds (e.g. that remain behind after forming a beverage), soluble coffee, soluble materials, binders or other materials, and any combination of the above. The package-less beverage pod may be any suitable shape, such as a cylinder, a sphere, an ellipsoid, an elliptical prism, a teardrop shape, a frustrum of a cone, a cone or other shape.

[0050] In other embodiments, however, the beverage pod may be an individually packaged serving of beverage ingredients, such as, but not limited to a K-CUP pod, and other similar types of beverage pods. The individual package of beverage ingredients may be removed from the beverage making machine and discarded after the beverage has been prepared. In some embodiments, at least a portion of or the entire packaging may be made of a biodegradable, recyclable and / or compostable (e.g. home compostable and / or industrially compostable) material, or any combination thereof.

[0051] Turning to the figures, specific non-limiting embodiments are described in further detail. It should be understood that the various systems, components, features, and methods described relative to these embodiments may be used either individually and / or in any desired combination as the disclosure is not limited to only the specific embodiments described herein.

[0052] FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of a beverage making machine 100, e.g., a beverage making machine, that incorporates various features of the disclosure. Although the beverage making machine 100 may be used to form any suitable beverage, such as tea, coffee, other infusion-type beverages, beverages formed from a liquid or powdered concentrate, soups, juices or other beverages made from dried materials, carbonated or uncarbonated beverages, or other, in this illustrative embodiment, the machine 100 is arranged to form coffee beverages. In some embodiments, a beverage pod 1 may be provided to the machine 100 and used to form a beverage that is dispensed into a user’s cup or other suitable container 2 for consumption. The pod 1 may be manually or automatically placed in a beverage formation chamber 15 (e.g. a brew chamber) that can include a body portion 3 and12802224.1a cover 4. For example, the body portion 3 may include a holder that is a cup-shaped or otherwise suitably shaped opening in which the pod 1 may be placed. With a pod 1 placed in the holder, a handle 5 may be moved (e.g., downwardly) so as to move the cover 4 to a closed position (as shown in FIG. 1). In the closed position, the cover 4 may at least partially cover the pod 1, e.g., so the pod is at least partially enclosed in the beverage formation chamber 15. Water or other liquid may be provided to the pod 1 (e.g., by injecting the liquid into the pod interior) to form a beverage that exits the pod 1 and is provided via a beverage outlet to a cup 2 or other container for consumption. As can be seen in FIGS. 1 and 3 for example, liquid may be provided to a beverage formation chamber 15 or other dispensing station from a reservoir 7. In some embodiments, the reservoir 7 may be manually filled by a user, e.g. by a user introducing water into the reservoir 7. In some embodiments, the reservoir 7 may be removable from the beverage machine to facilitate introduction of water into the reservoir. For example, the beverage machine may include a reservoir base 17, and the reservoir 7 may be removable from the reservoir base 17.

[0053] Alternatively or in addition, in some embodiments, the reservoir 7 may be provided with liquid from a mains water connection which allows the machine 100 to be connected to a plumbed water source.

[0054] The machine 100 shown in FIGS. 1-2B is only one example of a beverage making machine that can incorporate inventive features described herein. Thus, inventive features may be employed with any suitably arranged machine 100, including drip-type coffee brewers, espresso-type coffee machines, carbonated beverage making machines, and other systems that dispense a beverage. Such systems need not necessarily use a beverage pod, but instead the beverage formation chamber or other dispensing station may accept ground coffee (e.g., in loose form) or other beverage material in other ways to make a beverage. Also, the beverage formation chamber 15 need not necessarily include a pod holder and a cover. For example, the beverage formation chamber may include a filter basket or other receptacle arranged to receive beverage material and to combine the beverage material with water or other liquid to form a beverage. In some embodiments, the beverage formation chamber need not be user accessible, but instead beverage material may be automatically provided to, and / or removed from, the beverage formation chamber.12802224.1Accordingly, a wide variety of different types and configurations of beverage making machines may be employed with inventive features.

[0055] In some embodiments, the beverage making machine 100 may include a subassembly 200, which may be, for example, a cooling unit. In some embodiments, the cooling unit 200 may be disposed inside of the beverage making machine housing 10, such as the depicted embodiment shown in FIG. 2A. In further embodiments, the cooling unit 200 may be disposed outside of the beverage making machine housing 10, such as the depicted embodiment of FIG. 2B. The cooling unit 200 may be, in some embodiments, positioned on a housing base 400 of the beverage making machine housing 10, as shown in FIG. 2B. Any of the systems (e.g., beverage makers) and methods as described herein may include a cooling unit 200 disposed inside, partially inside, partially outside, or outside of the beverage making machine housing 10 as the disclosure is not so limited.

[0056] In some embodiments, during a beverage cooling operation, a beverage formed from the beverage formation chamber 15 may be directed through a cooling unit 200 to cool the beverage. The beverage may flow through a beverage passageway through the cooling unit.

[0057] FIG. 3 shows a schematic diagram of a liquid supply and other components of an illustrative beverage making machine 100 for forming a beverage. As noted above, the liquid supply of the machine 100 may include a reservoir 7. A level sensor 83 may be included to detect a liquid level in the reservoir 7.

[0058] In some embodiments, the reservoir 7 may be configured to be manually filled by a user. In other embodiments, however, the machine 100 may include a mains water connection having a connector to fluidly connect to mains water, a mains valve that controls flow to the reservoir. The mains valve can be controlled by a controller or control circuitry 11 based on information from the liquid level sensor 83, e.g., the mains valve can be operated to establish a desired water level in the reservoir 7. It should be appreciated, however, that in some embodiments, the machine 100 is not configured to connect to a plumbed water source. In some embodiments, the machine does not include a mains water connection, connector, and / or mains valve.

[0059] A valve 9 can selectively couple the reservoir 7 to the beverage formation chamber 15 or other dispensing station for delivery of liquid. Beverage parameters may be12802224.1set by default by the controller 11, by a user interacting with a user interface, and / or by reading a machine readable feature on a pod 1 and using corresponding parameters.

[0060] A pump 12 may deliver liquid from the valve 9 to a heater 13 or other liquid conditioning device, e.g., to heat, carbonate, or otherwise condition water or other liquid for forming a beverage. Employing a pump 12 may allow the machine 100 to vary a flow rate and / or pressure of the liquid as desired, e.g., to form espresso-type or other beverages using higher pressure liquid as well as drip-type coffee or other beverages made using lower pressure liquid. In some embodiments, pumping of water or other liquid into the heater 13 causes heated liquid to flow to the beverage formation chamber 15 for mixing with a beverage medium (or not) and for dispensing as a beverage.

[0061] In some embodiments, the heater comprises any appropriate type of heater, boiler, or heat exchanger. For example, in some embodiments, the heater may be a flowthrough heater that has a relatively small volume, e.g., a tube with associated heating element to heat liquid in the tube. Examples of flow-through heaters include a flat flow through heater, a spiral flow through heater, a U-shaped flow through heater, or any other type of heater. In some embodiments, the heater may be a heating element that heats a heater tank. The heater may be in thermal communication with the heater tank, e.g. inside the heater tank in direct contact with the water or other precursor liquid inside the tank, or in a non-contact arrangement in which the heater is provided outside the tank or embedded within the tank wall. The heater may be in electrical communication with a controller and / or a user interface. Liquid may enter the heater tank and remain within the heater tank for some period of time, during which the liquid is heated.

[0062] In some embodiments, the heater tank may include a sensor configured to sense the temperature of the liquid within the heater tank. In some embodiments, liquid may exit the heater tank after a period of time has lapsed, and / or after a sensed temperature of the liquid is above a temperature threshold.

[0063] The beverage making machine 100 may include a distribution valve that may be moveable between different configurations to direct flow of fluid. In a first configuration (e.g. a subassembly configuration), the valve 250 may be configured to direct beverage from the beverage formation chamber 15 to a subassembly 200 such as a cooling unit or other suitable unit. In a second configuration (e.g. a dispensing configuration), the valve 250 may be12802224.1configured to dispense the beverage from the beverage formation chamber 15 and out of the beverage making machine 100 through a dispensing outlet 301, thereby bypassing the subassembly, e.g. to form a non-cooled beverage such as, but not limited to, a hot or room temperature beverage. The valve 250 may be operatively coupled to the controller 11 and the controller 11 may be configured to control the valve 250 to maintain or change configurations. In some embodiments, the beverage making machine 100 may include a user interface (not shown) which may be configured to receive an input from a user. In some embodiments, the input from the user may move the valve 250 from the first configuration to the second configuration and / or from the second configuration to the first configuration. As such, input from the user may determine whether beverage is directed to the cooling unit 200 (or other subassembly) to be further treated (e.g. cooled) or dispensed from the beverage making machine 100.

[0064] A cooling unit 200 (or other subassembly) may be fluidly coupled to the beverage formation chamber 15 and the dispensing outlet 301 via the valve 250 as shown in FIG. 3. In some embodiments, a beverage inlet 406 of the cooling unit 200 may be configured to receive beverage (e.g., brewed beverage) from the beverage formation chamber 15. The beverage may move (e.g., flow) through the cooling unit housing 402 to be cooled, and then exit the cooling unit through a beverage outlet 408 and may move towards the dispensing outlet 301 to be dispensed. In some embodiments, an exit conduit 405 downstream of the cooling unit housing 402 may lead beverage towards the dispensing outlet 301, e.g. by feeding into the dispensing pathway 260.

[0065] One illustrative embodiment of a cooling unit 200 is shown in FIG. 4. The beverage may move through a beverage passageway 404 disposed within a cooling volume 410 of the cooling unit 200. The beverage passageway 404 may be fluidly coupled to the beverage inlet 406 and a beverage outlet 408 of the cooling unit 200. The cooled beverage may move through the beverage outlet 408 to the beverage formation chamber 15 and may be dispensed. The cooling unit housing 402 may contain a cooling liquid (e.g. water, or other suitable liquid) which may be configured to transfer (e.g., absorb) heat from beverage flowing through or otherwise disposed in the beverage passageway 404. Accordingly, as the beverage flows through the cooling unit housing 402, heat may be transferred from the beverage to the cooling liquid and as such the beverage may be cooled. In some12802224.1embodiments, the beverage passageway 404 may be formed in any appropriate geometry including a helix (e.g. cylindrical helix, conical helix), clover leaf, or any other appropriate geometry. The beverage may exit the cooling unit housing 402 through a beverage outlet 408 and may move towards the dispensing outlet 301 to be dispensed. In some embodiments, an exit conduit 405 downstream of the cooling unit housing 402 may lead beverage towards the dispensing outlet 301. In some embodiments, the cooling unit housing 402 may be formed as a tower (e.g., a cooling tower) which may be disposed internal or external to the housing of the beverage making machine. The cooling unit housing 402 and corresponding cooling volume 410 may be formed in any appropriate geometry, including a cylinder, oval, rectangular prism, and any other appropriate shape or geometry as the disclosure is not limited in this fashion. The cooling house may be insulated using air, plastic insulation, or any other appropriate material according to some embodiments.

[0066] The beverage passageway as described herein may be formed of any appropriate material, including aluminum, copper, plastic, rubber, or any combination thereof, or any other appropriate material as the disclosure is not limited to the material of the beverage passageway. In some embodiments, the beverage passageway may be formed out of a non- corrosive material such as aluminum. In some embodiments, the beverage passageway may be formed out of a material having a high thermal conductivity. In some embodiments, the beverage passageway may be formed out of a food safe material.

[0067] In some embodiments, the cooling liquid disposed in the cooling volume 410 may be cooled with a TEC assembly 412. In some embodiments, at least a portion of the beverage passageway 404 may be substantially submerged in (e.g., surrounded by) the cooling liquid. For example, a majority of the cooling volume 410 may be filled with the cooling liquid such that most or all of the beverage passageway 404 is submerged in the cooling liquid. In some embodiments, the cooling liquid is water. A user may, in some embodiments, be able to empty out the cooling unit housing of cooling liquid and introduce new cooling liquid in the cooling volume. For example, in some embodiments, the cooling unit housing 402 may be removable from the beverage machine, and a user may pour out the cooling liquid. For example, in the case of water as a cooling liquid, a user may pour out water from the cooling unit housing 402 into a sink, and fill the cooling unit housing 402 with new water. In other embodiments, the cooling liquid is another substance other than water.12802224.1

[0068] In some embodiments, the cooling liquid may enter the cooling unit housing 402 through a cooling liquid inlet 416 and exit the cooling unit housing 402 through a cooling liquid outlet 418. In some embodiments, the cooling liquid may be directed to the TEC assembly to be cooled via a cooling liquid passageway 413 using one or more pumps 414.

[0069] In some embodiments, such as the depicted embodiment of FIG. 3, the cooling liquid passageway 413 may be disposed external to the cooling unit housing 402. The cooling liquid may exit the cooling unit housing 402 through the cooling liquid outlet 418 in order to enter the cooling liquid passageway 413. Cooling liquid flowing through the cooling liquid passageway 413 may be cooled by the TEC assembly, and then enter the cooling unit housing 402 through the cooling liquid inlet 416.

[0070] As shown in the depicted embodiment of FIG. 4, the TEC assembly 412 and / or the one or more pumps 414 may be operatively coupled to the controller 11. The controller 11 may be configured to control one or both of the TEC assembly 412 and the one or more pumps 414 according to some embodiments. As such, the controller 11 may activate and deactivate the TEC assembly 412.

[0071] In some embodiments, the cooling liquid may be circulated within the cooling volume 410. Circulating the cooling liquid may help to form a more uniform temperature distribution within the cooling volume 410. Uniform temperature / heat distributions within the cooling volume 410 may help to more uniformly cool the beverage within the beverage passageway 404. For example, circulating the cooling liquid may help to prevent any portion of the cooling volume from becoming too hot or too cold resulting from stagnant cooling liquid. The cooling liquid may be continuously circulated in some embodiments. In further embodiments, the cooling liquid may be intermittently circulated. Regardless, the circulation of the cooling liquid through the cooling volume 410 and the cooling liquid passageway 413 may be controlled via the pump 414, which may be controlled using the controller 11 according to some embodiments. Circulating the cooling liquid may also form a crossflow between the flow of the cooling liquid and the flow of the beverage in the cooling volume 410, which may help to increase the cooling of the beverage.

[0072] The quantity of heat transferred from the fluid may be selectively controlled by the controller 11 according to some embodiments. For example, in some embodiments, the temperature of the beverage exiting the cooling unit 200 could be a cold beverage (e.g., 32° F12802224.1to 50° F), or an ambient temperature beverage (e.g., 60° F to 80° F). It should be appreciated that the TEC may be controlled such that the temperature of the beverage may be of any appropriate range as the disclosure is not so limited. In some embodiments, the beverage machine 100 may achieve both cold temperature beverages and ambient temperature beverages, depending on a desired outcome. The desired outcome may depend on, e.g., user preferences, user inputs, a sensed beverage pod type and associated brew recipe, etc. In other embodiments, the beverage machine 100 may be capable of producing only either a cold temperature beverage or an ambient temperature beverage.

[0073] In some embodiments, a user may selectively determine how much cooling fluid is disposed in the cooling volume 410. For example, the user may manually fill the cooling volume 410 with a desired amount of cooling fluid. In some embodiments, the cooling housing may include a user- accessible opening (not shown) configured to permit the user to add and / or remove cooling liquid from the cooling unit housing 402. In some embodiments, the user may add cooling liquid into the cooling housing through the user-accessible opening. The user accessible opening may take any appropriate form, including a moveable and / or removable lid, latch, cover, drain, valve, any combination thereof, and any other appropriate user accessible opening configured to permit adding and / or removing of cooling liquid by the user. Further, in some embodiments, the user may optionally add material such as ice or any other appropriate material configured to cool the cooling volume via the user- accessible opening. In some embodiments, the user-accessible opening may be configured to allow the user to clean the cooling volume. In some embodiments, the cooling unit 200 may include more than one user accessible opening, as the disclosure is not so limited. For example, the cooling unit may include a removable cover configured to permit the user to add cooling fluid to the cooling unit housing 402 and may also include a drain configured to permit the user to remove the cooling liquid from the cooling unit housing 402.

[0074] As previously discussed, the cooling unit 200 may include a cooling liquid passageway 413 fluidly coupled to a pump 414. The pump 414 may move a cooling liquid, such as water, or any other appropriate type of fluid, through the cooling liquid passageway 413. Also previously discussed, the cooling unit 200 may also include a TEC assembly 412 configured such that heat is transferred from the cooling liquid disposed in and / or flowing through the cooling liquid passageway 413 to the TEC assembly 412. Heat may be12802224.1transferred from the cooling liquid in the cooling liquid passageway 413 to the TEC assembly upon activating the TEC assembly. As previously described, activating the TEC assembly may involve flowing current through the TEC of the TEC assembly. It should be appreciated that the beverage passageway 404 and the cooling liquid passageway 413 may be formed in any appropriate arrangement, pattern, or layout. For example, the depicted beverage passageway 404 may include one or more conduits, such as tubing, pipes, etc., inside of which the beverage travels, and the conduit(s) may be arranged in any appropriate manner as the disclosure is not so limited. In the depicted embodiments of FIG. 4, the beverage passageway 404 forms a plurality of coils (also referred to as a helix) within the cooling volume 410. However, the beverage passageway 404 need not form coils as the disclosure is not so limited. In some embodiments, the cooling liquid passageway 413 may include one or more conduits that convey the cooling liquid out of the cooling unit housing 402, to the TEC assembly 412, and back into the cooling unit housing 402. In some embodiments, once inside the cooling unit housing 402, the cooling liquid may exit the conduit(s) of the cooling liquid passageway 413 and may freely move inside the cooling volume 410 of the cooling unit housing 402. In other words, in some embodiments, the cooling liquid passageway 413 may be mostly external to the cooling unit housing 402. In some embodiments, the cooling liquid passageway may be mounted to one or more interior and / or exterior walls of the cooling unit housing 402.

[0075] In some embodiments, the controller may control the TEC of the TEC assembly to alter the amount of heat transfer. For example, the controller 11 may cause an increased amount of current flow through the TEC to increase the amount of heat transferred from the cooling fluid to the TEC, in turn increasing the amount of heat transferred from the beverage to the cooling fluid, which may result in a colder beverage. In some embodiments, the current which flows through the TEC may be positively correlated with a wattage of the TEC. Alternatively or additionally, in some embodiments, the controller may control the flow rate of the beverage through the beverage passageway 404 depending on the degree of heat transfer desired. For example, the controller may decrease the flow rate if more heat transfer is desired (e.g. a colder beverage), or may increase the flow rate if less heat transfer is desired (e.g. a warmer beverage). In some embodiments, flow rate may be controlled by controlling a pump that moves the beverage through the beverage passageway 404. In some embodiments,12802224.1the pump 12 (see FIG. 3) that moves precursor liquid into the beverage formation chamber 15 may also serve to move brewed beverage through the beverage passageway 404. However, in other embodiments, a distinct, dedicated pump may be used to move the beverage through the beverage passageway.

[0076] In some embodiments, the cooling liquid may be configured to be directed through the cooling housing in a direction opposite to a direction of the beverage directed through the cooling housing. This may increase the heat transferred from the beverage to the cooling liquid according to some embodiments. The cooling unit 200 may include the pump 414 configured to move the cooling liquid through the cooling unit housing 402 in a flow direction opposite to a flow direction of the beverage passageway 404 through the cooling unit housing 402. For example, in the depicted embodiments of FIG. 4, the beverage flows generally downwardly through the cooling unit housing 402, entering through the beverage inlet 406 at an upper portion of the cooling unit housing 402, flowing downwardly through the beverage passageway 404, and exiting through the beverage outlet 408 at a lower portion of the cooling unit housing 402. In contrast, the cooling liquid flows generally upwardly through the cooling unit housing 402, entering through the cooling liquid outlet 418 at a lower portion of the cooling housing, flowing upwardly through the cooling volume 410, and exiting through the cooling liquid inlet 416 at an upper portion of the cooling unit housing 402. As such, the beverage and the cooling liquid may flow in generally opposite directions through the cooling volume 410. It should be appreciated that, in some embodiments, the flow directions of the beverage and the cooling liquid may be swapped, e.g. such that the beverage flows generally upwardly and the cooling liquid flows generally downwardly through the cooling volume 410. It should be appreciated that other flow directions, e.g. left / right, can be implemented alternatively or in addition. In other embodiments, the beverage and the cooling liquid may flow in generally the same direction.

[0077] The entry conduit 403 may be in fluid communication with the beverage passageway 404. In some embodiments, the entry conduit 403, beverage passageway 404, and exit conduit 405 are a single continuous conduit. In other embodiments, however, the entry conduit 403, beverage passageway 404, and exit conduit 405 may be separate conduits that are connected together. For example, in some embodiments, the entry conduit 40312802224.1and / or the exit conduit are two separate tubings, and the beverage passageway 404 may be a metal conduit such as a coil- shaped conduit.

[0078] In some embodiments, the entry conduit 403, beverage passageway 404, and exit conduit 405 may form the subassembly pathway (e.g. a cooling pathway) of the beverage machine.

[0079] As discussed above, some aspects herein relate to a filtering arrangement for decreasing the undesired escape of particles from a beverage forming chamber into various beverage machine components, including into one or more subassemblies of the beverage machine, and / or into a dispensing outlet.

[0080] An illustrative embodiment of a filter arrangement for a beverage chamber is shown in FIG. 5, which is a cross-section view of a portion of a beverage formation chamber 15 and in FIG. 6, which is a perspective section view. The beverage formation chamber 15 includes a holder 300 configured to receive and hold a beverage ingredient. Formed beverage may flow out of the holder through a holder outlet 310.

[0081] In some embodiments, the holder 300 may be configured to receive a beverage pod. The holder 300 may include an outlet piercing needle 385 to pierce a beverage pod. Formed beverage may flow out of the beverage pod through the outlet piercing needle 385 and out of the holder outlet 310.

[0082] In some embodiments, the beverage making machine may include one or more inlet piercing needles to pierce a beverage pod. Liquid may be introduced to the beverage pod through the one or more needles.

[0083] The filter arrangement may include a filter 510 that is downstream of the holder outlet 310 to help prevent particles exiting the holder from moving to other components of the beverage making machine. In some embodiments, the filter 510 is part of a sleeve 500. The filter 510 may be positioned at an outlet 512 of the sleeve. The sleeve may surround at least the holder outlet 310 to help prevent substances leaving the holder from bypassing the sleeve. In the illustrative embodiment shown in FIGS. 5-6, the sleeve 500 is configured to receive the holder 300. A majority of the holder may be received within the sleeve. In other embodiments, however, less than a majority of the holder may be received within the sleeve. In the embodiment of FIGS. 5-6, the sleeve 500 and the holder 300 may be similarly shaped12802224.1so that the holder nests within the sleeve. In alternative embodiments, however, instead of having a sleeve, the filter may be attached to the outlet of the holder.

[0084] In some embodiments, as seen in FIGS. 5 and 7 (FIG. 7 shows an exploded view of the holder 300, sleeve 500, and frame 600), the holder 300 may have a holder cup body 320 and a holder outlet projection 330 extending from the holder cup body 320. The holder outlet 310 may be at the end of the holder outlet projection 330. The sleeve 500 may similarly have a sleeve cup body 520 and a sleeve projection 530 extending from the sleeve cup body 520. The filter 510 may be at the end of the sleeve projection 530. The sleeve projection 530, in combination with the filter 510, may form an enclosed space that surrounds the holder outlet 310 to help prevent substances from bypassing the filter 510. In some embodiments, the beverage making machine may further include a sealing gasket 591 between the holder 300 and the sleeve 500 to help create a fluid-tight seal between the holder300 and the sleeve 500. In some embodiments, the sealing gasket 591 may be located between the holder outlet projection 330 and the sleeve projection 530.

[0085] In some embodiments, a filter arrangement may include a one-way valve 570 to help decrease backflow of substances back into the holder 300. As seen in FIG. 6, one example of a one-way valve 570 is a duckbill valve. However, it should be appreciated that any suitable one-way valve may be used. The one-way valve 570 may include a valve sleeve 572 that is attached to the holder outlet 310 to hold the valve 570 in place. The one-way valve 570 may be between the holder outlet 310 and the sleeve outlet 512.

[0086] After passing through the filter 510, beverage may then flow into an outlet conduit 220, which leads to other components of the beverage making machine. In some embodiments, the outlet conduit 220 leads a distribution valve 250 (see FIG. 3) that directs beverage either to a subassembly or to a dispensing pathway 260, which leads to a dispensing outlet. An illustrative embodiment of the dispensing pathway 260 and the dispensing outlet301 are shown in FIG. 6.

[0087] As seen in FIGS. 5 and 6, in some embodiments, the filtering arrangement may include an outlet receptacle 210 downstream of the filter 510. The outlet receptacle 210 may be sized and shaped to receive at least a portion of the sleeve projection 530. The outlet receptacle 210 may connect the sleeve 500 to the outlet conduit 220. A sealing gasket 592 may be included between the sleeve 500 and the outlet receptacle 210 to create a fluid-tight12802224.1seal between the sleeve 500 and the outlet receptacle 210. The outlet receptacle 210 may allow for the sleeve 500 to be removable from the beverage making machine, while providing for a fluid-tight arrangement when the sleeve 500 is inserted back into place within the outlet receptacle 210. The sealing gasket 592 may be located on an outside surface of the sleeve projection 530 or on an inside surface of the outlet receptacle 210. In some embodiments, a first sealing gasket may be located on an outside surface of the sleeve projection while a second sealing gasket may be located on an inside surface of the outlet receptacle.

[0088] As seen in FIGS. 5 and 6, in some embodiments, the holder 300 may include a bypass outlet 315 that may allow liquid to bypass holder outlet 310 and flow into the dispensing outlet 301 to be dispensed out of the beverage machine. In the case where a user wishes to dispense water (e.g. hot water), for example, a user may not insert any beverage pod or other beverage ingredient into the holder 300, and thus the bypass outlet 315 may be exposed, thereby permitting liquid to exit. When a user inserts a beverage pod into the holder 300, however, the bypass outlet 315 would be covered up by the beverage pod and thus beverage would flow through the holder outlet 310 rather than the bypass outlet 315. In some embodiments, the sleeve 500 may have an opening 515 to accommodate the bypass outlet 315 of the holder. The opening 515 may be sized and positioned to allow the bypass outlet 315 to extend through the opening 515 when the holder 300 and the sleeve 500 are nested together.

[0089] According to one aspect, the sleeve is configured to be removable from the beverage making machine in order to allow a user to clean out any particles accumulated on the filter. As seen in the exploded view of FIG. 7, the sleeve 500 may removably couple to a frame 600 of a beverage machine. The frame 600 may include an opening 620 through which a portion of the sleeve 500 is inserted. The sleeve may include one or more ledges 540 that abut against a top surface 610 of the frame 600 when the sleeve 500 is seated in place within the opening 620 (see FIG. 8, which is a perspective view of the sleeve coupled to the frame). As seen in FIGS. 5 and 6, the sleeve 500 may include one or more stops 556 in the form of protrusions that may prevent removal of the sleeve from the frame by abutting against a frame underside surface 630 if the sleeve is moved upwardly. In some embodiments, as seen in FIG. 10 (perspective view of the sleeve) and FIG. 12 (cross-section view of the sleeve), the stops 556 are positioned on flexure tabs 550 of the sleeve. To remove12802224.1the sleeve 500 from the frame 600, a user may disengage the stops 556 from the frame underside surface 630 by moving the flexure tabs 550 radially inwardly, thereby allowing the stops 556 to clear the frame underside surface 630 and pass through the opening 620 of the frame. In some embodiments, such an action may be a one-handed operation in which a user uses a single hand to first squeeze the flexure tabs 550 radially inwardly and then to pull up on the sleeve 500 to remove the sleeve from the frame 600. In some embodiments, the flexure tabs 550 may include one or more surface features to assist in removal of the sleeve 500. For example, as shown in FIG. 10 and FIG. 11 (FIG. 11 is a top view of the sleeve), the flexure tabs 550 may include protruding ribs 552 that provide an enhanced grip on the flexure tabs as the user squeezes the tabs and pulls upward. Alternatively or in addition to ribs, the surface features may be of any size and shape, such as one or more raised circles, squares, triangles, etc.

[0090] In some embodiments, the stops 556 may have a slanted surface to help the stops 556 to slide downwardly through the opening 620 of the frame when the sleeve is inserted into the opening 620 to couple the sleeve to the frame.

[0091] In some embodiments, the sleeve 500 may have one or more indexing features to facilitate proper rotational orientation of the sleeve relative to the frame 600. As seen in FIGS. 7 and FIG. 9 (FIG. 9 is a top view of the sleeve coupled to the frame), in some embodiments, the opening 620 of the frame 600 may include one or more indentations 690. To match the position of these indentations 690, the sleeve may have one or more sleeve protrusions 590. In order to insert the sleeve 500 through the opening 620, a user aligns the sleeve protrusions 590 with the indentations 690, thereby orientating the sleeve 500 in the proper orientation. This may help to properly align the sleeve projection 530 with the outlet receptacle 210, for example. While the figures show the indentations on the opening of the frame and the protrusions on the sleeve, it should be appreciated that in other embodiments, the position of the components may be swapped so that the indentations are on the sleeve, and the protrusions are on the frame.

[0092] In some embodiments, the holder must first be removed from the sleeve before the sleeve can be removed from the beverage making machine (e.g. from the frame). In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 5-7, the holder 300 has a rim 580 that covers at least a portion of the sleeve 500. For example, the rim 580 may cover the ribs 552 of the flexure tabs12802224.1flexure tabs 550 so that a user cannot access the flexure tabs 550 to remove the sleeve until after the holder 300 has been removed.

[0093] In some embodiments, the holder 300 may have one or more indexing features to facilitate proper rotational orientation of the holder 300 relative to the frame 600. As seen in FIG. 7, the holder 300 may include one or more holder protrusions 390 sized and positioned to fit within the indentations 690 of the opening 620 of the frame 600. In some embodiments, the indexing features of the holder 300 and the sleeve 500 may both be received by the same indentations 690 of the frame 700. However, in other embodiments, each of the holder and sleeve may interact with different alignment indentations and / or protrusions on the frame.

[0094] As seen in FIGS. 5 and 7, the holder protrusions 390 may include catches 391 that may abut against the frame underside surface 630 to prevent inadvertent removal of the holder 300 from the frame 600. In some embodiments, to remove the holder 300 from the frame 600, a user may squeeze opposite ends of the rim 580 radially inwardly to flex the holder protrusions 390 and free the one or more catches 391 from the frame underside surface 630. A user may, for example, squeeze radially inwardly on surface 340 with a thumb and put one or more opposing fingers on the opposite side of the rim.

[0095] In some embodiments, an underside of the rim 580 may fit snugly over the ledges 540 of the sleeve such that there is a slight interference fit between the rim 580 and the ledges 540.

[0096] In some embodiments, the holder 300 must first be removed from the beverage making machine before the sleeve 500 can be removed. In other embodiments, however, the holder and sleeve may be configured to be removed simultaneously from the frame as a single unit.

[0097] The various methods disclosed above may be implemented by one or more controllers including at least one processor operatively coupled to the various controllable portions of a beverage making machine as disclosed herein. Alternatively or additionally, in some embodiments, the disclosed methods may be performed at least in part, and in some instances completely, on a computing device that is separate and removed from the disclosed beverage making machine. In either case, the disclosed methods may be embodied as computer readable instructions stored on non-transitory computer readable memory associated with the at least one processor such that when executed by the at least one12802224.1processor the associated system, which may be a beverage making machine in some embodiments, may perform any of the actions related to the methods disclosed herein. Additionally, it should be understood that the disclosed order of the steps is exemplary and that the disclosed steps may be performed in a different order, simultaneously, and / or may include one or more additional intermediate steps not shown as the disclosure is not so limited.

[0098] The above-described embodiments of the technology described herein can be implemented in any of numerous ways. For example, the embodiments may be implemented using hardware, software or a combination thereof. When implemented in software, the software code can be executed on any suitable processor or collection of processors, whether provided in a single computing device or distributed among multiple computing devices. Such processors may be implemented as integrated circuits, with one or more processors in an integrated circuit component, including commercially available integrated circuit components known in the art by names such as CPU chips, GPU chips, microprocessor, microcontroller, or co-processor. Alternatively, a processor may be implemented in custom circuitry, such as an ASIC, or semi-custom circuitry resulting from configuring a programmable logic device. As yet a further alternative, a processor may be a portion of a larger circuit or semiconductor device, whether commercially available, semi-custom or custom. As a specific example, some commercially available microprocessors have multiple cores such that one or a subset of those cores may constitute a processor. Though, a processor may be implemented using circuitry in any suitable format.

[0099] Also, a computing device may have one or more input and output devices. These devices can be used, among other things, to present a user interface. Examples of output devices that can be used to provide a user interface include display screens for visual presentation of output and speakers or other sound generating devices for audible presentation of output. Examples of input devices that can be used for a user interface include keyboards, individual buttons, and pointing devices, such as mice, touch pads, and digitizing tablets. As another example, a computing device may receive input information through speech recognition or in other audible format.

[0100] The various methods or processes outlined herein may be implemented in any suitable hardware. Additionally, the various methods or processes outlined herein may be12802224.1implemented in a combination of hardware and of software executable on one or more processors that employ any one of a variety of operating systems or platforms. Examples of such approaches are described above. However, any suitable combination of hardware and software may be employed to realize any of the embodiments discussed herein.

[0101] Also, the various methods or processes outlined herein may be coded as software that is executable on one or more processors that employ any one of a variety of operating systems or platforms. Additionally, such software may be written using any of a number of suitable programming languages and / or programming or scripting tools, and also may be compiled as executable machine language code or intermediate code that is executed on a framework or virtual machine.

[0102] In this respect, various inventive concepts may be embodied as at least one non- transitory computer readable storage medium (e.g., a computer memory, one or more floppy discs, compact discs, optical discs, magnetic tapes, flash memories, circuit configurations in Field Programmable Gate Arrays or other semiconductor devices, etc.) encoded with one or more programs that, when executed on one or more computers or other processors, implement the various embodiments of the present disclosure. The non-transitory computer- readable medium or media may be transportable, such that the program or programs stored thereon may be loaded onto any computer resource to implement various aspects of the present disclosure as discussed above.

[0103] The terms “program” or “software” are used herein in a generic sense to refer to any type of computer code or set of computer-executable instructions that can be employed to program a computer or other processor to implement various aspects of embodiments as discussed above. Additionally, it should be appreciated that according to one aspect, one or more computer programs that when executed perform methods of the present disclosure need not reside on a single computer or processor, but may be distributed in a modular fashion among different computers or processors to implement various aspects of the present disclosure.

[0104] Computer-executable instructions may be in many forms, such as program modules, executed by one or more computers or other devices. Generally, program modules include routines, programs, objects, components, data structures, etc. that perform particular12802224.1tasks or implement particular abstract data types. Typically, the functionality of the program modules may be combined or distributed as desired in various embodiments.

[0105] The embodiments described herein may be embodied as a method, of which an example has been provided. The acts performed as part of the method may be ordered in any suitable way. Accordingly, embodiments may be constructed in which acts are performed in an order different than illustrated, which may include performing some acts simultaneously, even though shown as sequential acts in illustrative embodiments.

[0106] Further, some actions are described as taken by a “user.” It should be appreciated that a “user” need not be a single individual, and that in some embodiments, actions attributable to a “user” may be performed by a team of individuals and / or an individual in combination with computer-assisted tools or other mechanisms.

[0107] While the present teachings have been described in conjunction with various embodiments and examples, it is not intended that the present teachings be limited to such embodiments or examples. On the contrary, the present teachings encompass various alternatives, modifications, and equivalents, as will be appreciated by those of skill in the art. Accordingly, the foregoing description and drawings are by way of example only.12802224.1

Claims

What is claimed is:CLAIMS1. A beverage making machine comprising: a holder configured to receive a beverage ingredient and to introduce liquid from a liquid supply to the beverage ingredient to form a beverage, the holder having a holder outlet; a filter downstream of the holder outlet, wherein the filter is configured to permit passage of fluid and inhibit passage of particles; and a dispensing outlet configured to permit exit of formed beverage out of the beverage making machine for consumption by a user, the dispensing outlet being downstream of the filter.

2. The beverage making machine of claim 1, further comprising a distribution valve having a subassembly configuration and a dispensing configuration, wherein in the subassembly configuration, liquid is directed into a subassembly pathway, and wherein in the dispensing configuration, liquid is dispensed out of the beverage making machine through the dispensing outlet.

3. The beverage making machine of claim 2, further comprising a cooling unit, wherein the subassembly configuration comprises a cooling configuration and the subassembly pathway comprises a cooling pathway, wherein when the distribution valve is in the cooling configuration, liquid is directed to the cooling unit to be cooled.

4. The beverage making machine of claim 1, further comprising a sleeve configured to receive the holder such that the sleeve surrounds the holder outlet, wherein the filter is coupled to the sleeve.

5. The beverage making machine of claim 4, wherein the holder comprises a holder cup body and a holder outlet projection extending from the holder cup body, the holder outlet being part of the holder outlet projection, and wherein the sleeve surrounds at least a portion of the holder outlet projection.12802224.

16. The beverage making machine of claim 5, further comprising a sealing gasket between the holder outlet projection and the sleeve.

7. The beverage making machine of claim 5, wherein the sleeve further comprises a sleeve cup body and a sleeve projection extending from the sleeve cup body, wherein the sleeve projection is configured to receive and surround the holder outlet projection, and wherein the filter is connected to the sleeve projection.

8. The beverage making machine of claim 1, wherein the filter comprises mesh filter.

9. The beverage making machine of claim 8, wherein the mesh filter is a 38 to 42 size mesh.

10. The beverage making machine of claim 1, further comprising a one-way valve between the holder outlet and the filter.

11. The beverage making machine of claim 1, wherein the holder further comprises an outlet piercing needle configured to pierce a beverage pod, wherein the outlet piercing needle is in fluid communication with the holder outlet.

12. The beverage making machine of claim 4, further comprising a frame configured to receive and support the holder, the frame having an opening sized and shaped to receive the sleeve.

13. The beverage making machine of claim 12, wherein the sleeve comprises one or more ledges that abut against the frame when the sleeve is received within the opening of the frame.

14. The beverage making machine of claim 12, wherein the sleeve comprises one or more flexure tabs that flex radially inwardly to facilitate removal of the sleeve from the frame.12802224.

115. The beverage making machine of claim 14, further comprising a protrusion on each of the one or more flexure tabs, wherein the protrusion prevents removal of the sleeve from the frame by abutting against an underside surface of the frame if the sleeve is moved upwardly away from the frame.

16. The beverage making machine of claim 12, wherein the sleeve includes a sleeve protrusion, and the opening includes an indentation sized and positioned to receive the sleeve protrusion.

17. The beverage making machine of claim 16, wherein the holder includes a holder protrusion, and the indentation of the opening is sized and positioned to receive both the sleeve protrusion and the holder protrusion.

18. A method of operating a beverage making machine, the method comprising: introducing a liquid to a beverage ingredient in a holder to form a beverage, the holder having a holder outlet; inhibiting passage of particles that exit the holder outlet with a filter, the filter being downstream of the holder outlet; and removing the filter from the beverage making machine to clear out the particles.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein the filter is part of a sleeve that receives and surrounds at least a portion of the holder, and wherein the step of removing the filter comprises removing the sleeve from the beverage making machine.

20. The method of claim 19, further comprising removing the holder from the beverage making machine.

21. The method of claim 20, further comprising first removing the holder from the beverage making machine to permit access to the sleeve, and then removing the sleeve.12802224.1

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