阅读说明：本技术 输送流体以进行单份冲泡或处理的装置和方法 (Apparatus and method for delivering fluid for single serving brewing or processing ) 是由 爱德华·Z·蔡 于 2019-04-27 设计创作，主要内容包括：一种用于使用含有对应的冲泡材料的囊包冷冲泡或热冲泡饮料、汤和膳食并在杯子、碗中或直接在囊包中提供冲泡品的方法和装置。冲泡催化器可以被激活以催化冷冲泡品,从而在一分钟内实现浓郁的冷冲泡品。用于刺穿囊包的针可以设置有护罩,以用于防止对儿童的伤害并用于密封待刺穿的表面。保持器可以具有可向上和向下移动的进入开口,以容纳不同地设定尺寸/成形的囊包,并且具有能量发射器,以与经由针注射到冲泡材料的内部中的热流体协作,从而从外向内和从内向外都进行烹调。可以提供位组以确定用于囊包的一组冲泡条件,并允许经由互联网对该组冲泡条件进行定制和修改。(A method and apparatus for cold or hot brewing beverages, soups and meals using pods containing corresponding brewing materials and providing the brew in a cup, bowl or directly in the pod. The brew catalyst may be activated to catalyze the cold brew to achieve a full cold brew in one minute. The needle for piercing the capsule may be provided with a shield for preventing injury to the child and for sealing the surface to be pierced. The holder may have an access opening movable upwards and downwards to accommodate differently sized/shaped capsules, and an energy emitter to cooperate with the hot fluid injected via the needles into the interior of the infusion material to cook both from the outside inwards and from the inside outwards. The set of bits may be provided to determine a set of brewing conditions for the pod and allow customization and modification of the set of brewing conditions via the internet.)

1. An apparatus for forming an infusion, the apparatus comprising: a controller; a water tank for providing water for forming an infusion; a pump in electrical communication with the controller and in fluid communication with the water tank; a holder for receiving a supply of brewing material; an infusion cover arranged to cooperate with the holder to at least partially cover the holder and to introduce water into the infusion material; and a brewing catalyst for catalyzing interaction between the brewing material and water, the brewing catalyst comprising a catalytic chamber in fluid communication with the pump and the brewing cover and a first heater in electrical communication with the controller, the catalytic chamber being constructed and arranged to cooperate with the controller and the first heater to provide water to the brewing material in at least one of a first state, a second state, and a third state, wherein the first state, the second state, and the third state are cold water, hot water, and hot steam, respectively, the brewing catalyst being configured to be activated by an amount of catalytic energy to reach an activated state, wherein the brewing catalyst in the activated state cooperates with the pump to deliver a sufficient amount of water in the first state to the brewing material in the holder and to catalyze interaction between the brewing material and water, to form a single cold brew of sufficient brew strength in about one minute.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the brewing catalyst is adapted to receive an amount of catalytic energy from an automotive cigarette lighter or battery to reach an activated state to form the single cold brew.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the predetermined amount of catalytic energy is less than 8 watt-hours.

4. The apparatus of claim 1 further comprising a second heater connected to the controller for heating water in the water tank for hot brewing, the second heater being constructed and arranged to cooperate with the controller to heat and maintain the water in the water tank at a child-safe temperature to transition the apparatus to a child-safe home or hotel room brewer, the child-safe temperature being a temperature of hot water in the water tank that is safe for a child to touch to prevent hot water burns in the event that a child accidentally spills hot water in the water tank, wherein the first heater is constructed and arranged to cooperate with the pump to heat the hot water from the child-safe temperature to a temperature for the child-safe material as the pump delivers the hot water from the brewing water tank through the catalytic chamber, thereby minimizing the waiting time for brewing the hot brew.

5. The device of claim 1, wherein the catalytic chamber has a sufficiently small heat capacity to obtain a sufficiently low temperature for the cold brew.

6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the holder is adapted to receive a pod having a container, a supply of brewing material in the container, and a lid sealing the container to form a brewing chamber for the brewing material.

7. The device of claim 1, wherein the controller is adapted to cause the brewing catalyst to provide water in the third state to preheat the brewing cover and the holder prior to forming a brew.

8. A method of producing a cold brew, the method comprising: a) providing a supply of brewing material into a holder; b) closing the brewing cover to at least partially cover the holder; c) providing a sufficient amount of catalytic energy to a brewing catalyst to activate the brewing catalyst; d) delivering a quantity of water in a cold state to and through the brewing material and the brewing catalyst in an activated state to catalyze an interaction between the brewing material and the water; and e) dispensing cold brew produced by the catalytic interaction of the brewing material and water in the cold state into a cup or other charge below the holder, wherein the sufficient amount of catalytic energy is small enough to make the resulting cold brew received in the charge sufficiently cold.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the steps of providing a quantity of water and dispensing a cold brew are completed in about one minute.

10. The method of claim 8, wherein the supply of brewing material is in the form of a sufficiently fine grind having an average grind size of less than 475 microns for at least one dimension of the sufficiently fine grind.

11. The method of claim 8, wherein the step of providing a supply of brewing material includes providing a pod having a filter, a lid, and a supply of brewing material enclosed between the filter and the lid.

12. The method of claim 8, wherein the amount of water in the step of providing the amount of water is sufficiently small to produce cold brewed espresso, the method further comprising providing a supply of steam to the brewing cover and the holder prior to the step of providing the amount of water.

13. The method of claim 8, wherein the step of providing a quantity of water comprises providing a first quantity of water to the brewing material and then providing a second quantity of water to and through the brewing material, the second quantity of water being substantially greater than the first quantity of water.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the first amount of water is provided at a substantially lower average flow rate than the second amount of water.

15. A pod for forming a cold brew in about one minute with a supply of cold water, the pod comprising: a supply of brewing material; a container defining a space having a first portion and a second portion, the container having a rim, a sidewall, and an access opening surrounded by the rim; a lid adapted to cover the access opening and create a brewing chamber to store the brewing material in the first portion of the space, the lid adapted to receive an injection of cold water from at least one flow of cold water into the first portion of the space; a filter located at least partially in the space for controlling interaction between the brewing material and the at least one flow of cold water injected into the first portion of the space to form cold brew, the filter separating the first and second portions of the space such that the cold brew produced in the first portion of the space flows through the filter to reach the second portion of the space; wherein the brewing material is in the form of grinds sufficiently fine to have an average grind size of less than 475 microns for at least one dimension of the grinds to facilitate interaction between the brewing material and the at least one stream of cold water; wherein the filter is constructed and arranged to withstand injection of the cold water under pressure sufficiently high to force a sufficient amount of cold water through the brewing material in the brewing chamber to form a single cold brew in about one minute; and wherein the filter is constructed and arranged to cooperate with the container and a supply of brewing material to prevent the at least one flow of cold water from being directed through the filter into the second portion of the space.

16. The pod of claim 15, wherein the filter is positioned sufficiently close to an impermeable wall such that the at least one flow of cold water or the pressure of the cold water can push the filter into contact with the impermeable wall to prevent the at least one flow of cold water from being directed through the filter to obtain sufficient brew strength for the cold brew.

17. A method of using the pod of claim 15, the method comprising providing a first amount of water to the brewing material, and then providing a second amount of water to and through the brewing material in the brewing chamber, the second amount of water being substantially greater than the first amount of water and being cooler than the first amount of water.

18. An apparatus for forming an infusion, the apparatus comprising: a water tank adapted to contain water for forming an infusion; a dispensing chamber adapted to be connected to the water tank; a holder adapted to receive a supply of brewing material; an infusion cover arranged to cooperate with the holder to at least partially cover the holder and to introduce water into the infusion material; a controller; a heating tank having an inlet in fluid communication with the dispensing chamber, an outlet in fluid communication with the brewing cover, and a first heater connected to the controller for heating water in the heating tank; a cold water pipe in fluid communication with the dispensing chamber and the brewing cover; a pump in electrical communication with the controller and in fluid communication with at least one of the dispense chamber and the cold water pipe; and a pathway valve for forming one of a hot brewing pathway and a cold brewing pathway, the hot brewing pathway including the pathway valve, the heating tank, and the brewing cover for allowing the pump to deliver an amount of hot water into the holder for interacting with the supply of brewing material in the holder to brew hot brew, the cold brewing pathway including the pathway valve, the cold water tube, and the brewing cover for allowing the pump to deliver an amount of cold water into the holder for interacting with the supply of brewing material in the holder to brew cold brew.

19. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein the path valve is adapted to form the hot brewing path to deliver hot water into the holder to interact with the brewing material to brew hot brew for a first length of time and to form the cold brewing path to deliver cold water into the holder to interact with the brewing material to brew cold brew for a second length of time, wherein the holder is adapted to dispense the hot brew and the cold brew into a charge below the holder, the temperature of the resulting brew being determined by the first length of time and the second length of time.

20. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein the path valve is adapted to first form the hot brewing path to interact the brewing material with hot water for a first length of time and then form the cold brewing path to interact the brewing material with cold water for a second length of time, the second length of time being long enough to form a cold brew of a sufficiently cold temperature.

21. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein the holder is adapted to receive a pod comprising a supply of brewing material, a filter, and a lid sealing the brewing material between the filter and the lid, the brewing material being coffee beans ground fine enough to have an average ground size of less than 475 microns, the filter being constructed and arranged to cooperate with the coffee beans and the lid ground fine enough to prevent hot or cold water from being directed through the filter to obtain sufficient brew strength for the hot or cold brew to meet the brew strength requirements of the golden cup standard defined by the competitive coffee association.

22. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein the controller is adapted to cause the first heater to heat the water in the heating tank to and maintain the water at an anti-convection temperature, the anti-convection temperature being selected to be the water temperature before the first heater causes significant convective flow during heating, such that the apparatus consumes little energy to maintain the water in the heating tank at the anti-convection temperature.

23. The apparatus of claim 22, wherein the holder is adapted to receive a first pod and a second pod at separate times, each of the first and second pods including a supply of brewing material, wherein the heating tank further has an inlet distributor connected to the inlet and positioned near a bottom of the heating tank, the heating tank being constructed and arranged to cooperate with the pump to introduce water from the water tank into the heating tank via the inlet distributor to force hot water at the anti-convection temperature to flow out of an outlet via the hot brewing path into the first pod held in the holder and simultaneously heat water from the water tank to the anti-convection temperature to cause the apparatus to brew ready the second pod immediately after the first pod is brewed, wherein the hot brewing path further comprises a second heater to heat hot water from the anti-convection temperature to a brewing temperature for the brewing material.

24. The apparatus of claim 18, further comprising a support base for receiving the dispensing chamber and for removably receiving the water tank, wherein the dispensing chamber is large enough to receive a water filter cartridge, the dispensing chamber being constructed and arranged so that the water filter cartridge held by the dispensing chamber is readily accessible by hand when the water tank is removed from the support base, thereby facilitating removal and replacement of the water filter cartridge.

25. The apparatus of claim 24, wherein the water filter cartridge comprises an inlet chamber adapted to removably receive the tank outlet of the water tank and form a water-tight seal with the tank outlet.

26. The apparatus of claim 18, further comprising an air-water separation chamber having an inlet port for receiving air and water from the heating tank, an air outlet, and a water return conduit having a first end connected to the separation chamber and a second end connected to the distribution chamber, the separation chamber being sufficiently large to separate air and water from the heating tank and release air via the air outlet and return water into the distribution chamber via the water return conduit.

27. The apparatus of claim 18, further comprising a flow actuator for removing air and excess water in the heating tank, the flow actuator comprising an actuation chamber, a chamber inlet connected to a vent outlet of the heating tank, a chamber outlet in fluid communication with the water tank, and a sealer movable up and down in the actuation chamber and adapted to move up and down in the actuation chamber, the sealer adapted to move up to seal the chamber outlet when water flowing into the actuation chamber becomes fast enough to balance a weight of the sealer.

28. The apparatus of claim 18, further comprising a supply tube connected to at least one device that dispenses doses to provide at least one fluid, wherein the holder comprises a fluid needle connected to the supply tube to introduce the at least one fluid from the supply tube into the brew.

29. The apparatus of claim 28, wherein the holder is adapted to receive a pod having an impermeable bottom, a lid, and a brewing chamber between the impermeable bottom and the lid to receive a supply of brewing material, wherein the fluid needle is adapted to pierce the impermeable bottom to introduce the at least one fluid into the pod.

30. The apparatus of claim 28, further comprising a sterilizing tube connected to the supply tube to provide a supply of sterilizing carbon dioxide gas to the fluid needle to sterilize the supply tube, the fluid needle, and the holder.

31. The device of claim 28, wherein the fluid needle is adapted to convert fluid from the supply tube into a fluid jet at a sufficiently high velocity and to introduce the fluid jet into a foaming chamber adapted to emulsify the fluid jet to produce a foaming fluid for the hot brew or the cold brew.

32. The apparatus of claim 28, wherein the fluid needle comprises an expandable opening to introduce the at least one fluid from the supply tube into the hot or cold brew, the expandable opening being substantially closed when there is no upstream pressure to prevent the brew or brewing material from clogging the fluid needle.

33. The apparatus of claim 18, further comprising a cooling tank located in the cold brewing path and having an inlet connected to the cold water pipe, a chiller for cooling a volume of water and maintaining chilled water in the cooling tank at a predetermined temperature, a tank outlet in fluid communication with the brewing cover.

34. The apparatus of claim 33, further comprising an air pump fluidly connected to the cooling tank and electrically connected to the controller and adapted to pressurize the cooling tank to deliver a metered volume of water in the cooling tank to the path valve, wherein the path valve is connected to the outlet of the cooling tank, the inlet of the heating tank, and a valve tube in communication with the brewing cover, the path valve being constructed and arranged to cooperate with the controller and the air pump to form a cold brewing path by connecting the outlet of the cooling tank to the valve tube to brew a metered volume of cold brewing products and to form a hot brewing path by connecting the outlet of the cooling tank to the inlet of the heating tank to brew a metered volume of hot brewing products.

35. An apparatus having a flow deflecting needle for delivering a quantity of fluid into a supply of brewing material or a pierceable object, the flow deflecting needle comprising: a needle inlet adapted to receive a fluid; a cutter adapted to pierce and penetrate into the supply of brewing material or a pierceable object; a needle outlet spaced from and positioned a predetermined distance away from the cutter for emitting a stream of fluid into an interior of the supply of brewing material or pierceable object; a fluid passage channel between the needle inlet and the needle outlet; and a connector for connecting the cutter to the needle outlet, wherein the connector is constructed and arranged to cooperate with the cutter to prevent the brewing material or pierceable object from being pushed into the needle outlet and the fluid passage channel when the cutter penetrates into the supply of brewing material or pierceable object.

36. The apparatus of claim 35, further comprising: a holder adapted to receive a supply of brewing material including at least one of sandwiches, pizza, meat, soup, bread, vegetables, pasta, oatmeal, cereal, and flour; a heater adapted to provide a supply of a hot fluid to the needle inlet, the hot fluid comprising at least one of hot steam, hot air, and hot liquid; and a brewing cover including the flow deflecting needle, wherein the brewing cover is constructed and arranged to cooperate with the holder to at least partially cover the holder and to cause the flow deflecting needle to penetrate into the supply of brewing material, wherein the needle outlet introduces the thermal fluid under pressure into an interior of the supply of brewing material and diffuses or flows the thermal fluid from the interior outward to heat and cook the brewing material from the interior outward.

37. The apparatus of claim 36, wherein the holder is adapted to receive a pod comprising a supply of brewing material.

38. The apparatus of claim 35, wherein the cutter comprises a deflecting surface to deflect or redistribute the flow of the fluid from the needle outlet to cause at least a portion of the flow of the fluid to flow in a direction different from an initial direction of the flow of the fluid.

39. The device of claim 35, wherein the cutter is positioned below a center of the needle outlet and is large enough to prevent the brewing material from being pushed into the needle outlet and the fluid passage channel when the cutter penetrates into the supply of brewing material or a pierceable object.

40. The apparatus of claim 35, wherein the fluid passage channel increases in size substantially in a direction from the needle inlet to the needle outlet to prevent clogging of the fluid passage channel.

41. The device of claim 35, further comprising a filter positioned within the fluid passage channel, the filter including at least one expandable opening adapted to expand in size by a differential pressure between upstream and downstream of the at least one expandable opening.

42. The apparatus of claim 35, wherein the flow deflecting needle further comprises an aperture small enough to convert liquid from the needle inlet into a liquid jet at a sufficiently high velocity, the aperture positioned directly above the cutter to impinge the sufficiently high velocity liquid jet on the cutter to emulsify the liquid with gas to produce a frothed liquid.

43. An apparatus for delivering a fluid, the apparatus comprising a liquid tank for holding a supply of liquid, a utilization station, and a self-refreshing filter in fluid communication with the liquid tank and the utilization station, the self-refreshing filter comprising: a filter chamber in fluid communication with the liquid tank and the utilization station; a filter base connected to the filter chamber; and first and second lips connected to the filter base and arranged to cooperate with the base to form first and second openings to control flow through the self-refresh filter, at least one of the first and second lips being movable relative to the filter base to cause at least the second opening to change in size in response to changes in pressure upstream of the self-refresh filter to regulate resistance to flow and passage of solids through the self-refresh filter.

44. The apparatus of claim 43, wherein the utilization station comprises a holder adapted to receive a pod and an infusion cover in fluid communication with the self-refreshing filter and arranged to cooperate with the holder to at least partially enclose the pod to introduce fluid into the pod.

45. The apparatus of claim 44, wherein the brewing cover has an inlet needle comprising a needle inlet in communication with the liquid tank, a needle outlet for injecting the fluid into the capsule, and a fluid passage channel between the needle inlet and the needle outlet, wherein the self-refreshing filter is located within the fluid passage channel of the inlet needle.

46. The apparatus according to claim 44, wherein said first and second lips are adapted to create a first flow resistance, wherein said capsule comprises a supply of brewing material adapted to create a second flow resistance, said first flow resistance being sufficiently higher than said second flow resistance such that said flow rate through said capsule is substantially constant as said brewing material varies.

47. The apparatus of claim 43, wherein the first lip and the second lip are sufficiently long to create a sufficiently high resistance to flow through the self-refreshing filter, thereby causing the self-refreshing filter to provide liquid to the utilization station at a substantially constant flow rate.

48. The apparatus of claim 43, wherein the first opening is located upstream of the second opening, wherein at least one of the first lip and the second lip is movable sufficiently such that the second opening becomes small enough to prevent solids from passing when a vacuum is present upstream of the self-refreshing filter and large enough to allow fluid to flush out any solids in the self-refreshing filter when a pressure is present upstream of the self-refreshing filter.

49. The apparatus of claim 48, further comprising a pump in fluid communication with the liquid tank and the self-refreshing filter, the pump adapted to generate a restoring pressure sufficiently higher than a normal operating pressure of the pump to move at least one of the first lip and the second lip farther apart, thereby causing the fluid to flush away any oversized solids in the self-refreshing filter.

50. The apparatus of claim 43, wherein the second opening is located upstream of the first opening to cause at least one of the first and second lips to move as upstream pressure increases to reduce a distance between the lips to increase the resistance to flow through the self-refreshing filter to eliminate the effect of pressure increase on the flow rate and to maintain the flow rate substantially constant.

51. The apparatus of claim 50, wherein the self-refreshing filter is adapted to allow the second opening to move between a first position in which the second opening is upstream of the first opening to achieve a substantially constant flow rate and a second position in which the second opening is downstream of the first opening to allow the second opening to expand and allow the liquid to wash away any solids trapped in the self-refreshing filter.

52. An apparatus as defined in claim 51, further comprising a movable body having a through opening for receiving the filter base and the first and second lips, the movable body being received in the filter chamber and adapted to move the second opening between the first and second positions.

53. An apparatus for forming an infusion from a pod, the apparatus comprising: a water tank adapted to contain water for forming an infusion; a holder adapted to receive a pod comprising a supply of brewing material and a lid covering and sealing the pod; a natural carbonator comprising a first natural carbonation chamber in fluid communication with the water tank and a nozzle in fluid communication with a carbon dioxide container adapted to provide a supply of carbon dioxide under pressure, the nozzle being received in the first natural carbonation chamber and having an aperture directed in the direction of the flow of water flowing in the first natural carbonation chamber, wherein the aperture is constructed and arranged to form a rapid flow of carbon dioxide within the flow of water, wherein the flow of carbon dioxide and the flow of water travel together in the first natural carbonation chamber to cause the carbon dioxide in the rapid flow of carbon dioxide to be naturally absorbed into the water in the flow of water to naturally carbonate the water to form a naturally carbonated flow of water, the first natural carbonation chamber being sufficiently long, to cause the rapid flow of carbon dioxide to become substantially smaller in size as it travels downstream within the flow of water; and an infusion cover having a fluid inlet in communication with the first natural carbonation chamber and arranged to cooperate with the holder to at least partially enclose the pod and introduce the natural carbonated water into the infusion material in the pod held by the holder, wherein the fluid inlet is configured to access the pod and fill the pod with the natural carbonated water so as to mix the natural carbonated water with the infusion material in the pod to form a carbonated infusion.

54. The apparatus of claim 53, further comprising a restrictive opening downstream of the first natural carbonation chamber, the opening being sufficiently restrictive to restrict the flow of water to cause a backpressure to form in the first natural carbonation chamber, wherein the backpressure reduces a size of the flow of carbon dioxide in the flow of water to facilitate the formation of the flow of natural carbonated water, wherein the brewing material in the pod comprises at least one of: ground fruit, ground vegetables, ground cereals, diced fruits, fruit juice concentrates, soda syrups, beer concentrates, alcohols, proteins, beverage powders, jelly beads, tea, and ground coffee for interacting with the naturally carbonated water to form a natural carbonated beverage.

55. The apparatus of claim 53, wherein the natural carbonator further comprises a second natural carbonation chamber connected to the first natural carbonation chamber to further carbonate the naturally carbonated water as the flow of naturally carbonated water from the first natural carbonation chamber and the flow of remaining carbon dioxide proceed together in the second natural carbonation chamber, at least a portion of the second natural carbonation chamber being substantially coaxial with the aperture of the nozzle to facilitate further carbonation of the naturally carbonated water.

56. The appliance of claim 53, wherein the aperture is small enough to cooperate with the first natural carbonation chamber to convert a pressure of carbon dioxide from the carbon dioxide container into heat and velocity to the flow of water in the first natural carbonation chamber to prevent the pressure from damaging seals and other components of the appliance.

57. The apparatus of claim 53, further comprising a cooling tank in fluid communication with the water tank and the first natural carbonation chamber, wherein the cooling tank is adapted to regulate the temperature of the water in the cooling tank to a predetermined temperature.

58. The appliance of claim 53, wherein the natural carbonator further comprises a carbonation valve adapted to cause the flow of carbon dioxide and the flow of water to be formed substantially simultaneously in the first natural carbonation chamber, the valve controlling a level of carbonation in the flow of natural carbonated water.

59. The appliance of claim 53, wherein the first natural carbonation chamber has a cross-sectional area or diameter that is sufficiently small such that the rapid flow of carbon dioxide draws water from the water tank into the first natural carbonation chamber to form a flow of water such that the rapid flow of carbon dioxide travels with and within the flow of water to form a flow of natural carbonated water and deliver the natural carbonated water into the pod via the fluid inlet.

60. The apparatus of claim 53, further comprising a supply tube connected to at least one means to dispense a dose, the at least one means to dispense a dose comprising a fluid container to provide at least one fluid to the natural carbonated brew, the at least one fluid being substantially different from the natural carbonated water.

61. The apparatus of claim 60, wherein the holder comprises a fluid needle connected to the supply tube and adapted to pierce the capsule to introduce the at least one fluid into the interior of the capsule.

62. The apparatus of claim 60, further comprising a sterilizing tube in fluid communication with the carbon dioxide container and the supply tube to provide a supply of sterilizing carbon dioxide gas to sterilize the supply tube and the holder.

63. A method for making a natural carbonated beverage using the system 53, the method comprising: placing the sachet into a holder; forming a stream of water; forming a stream of carbon dioxide within the stream of water; allowing the stream of carbon dioxide and the stream of water to travel together for a period of time sufficient for the carbon dioxide to be naturally absorbed into the water, thereby forming a naturally carbonated stream of water; and introducing the stream of naturally carbonated water into the pod to form a naturally carbonated beverage.

64. An apparatus for forming an infusion, the apparatus comprising: a liquid tank for containing liquid for forming an infusion; a pump in fluid communication with the liquid tank; a first holder having a first edge and a first opening bounded by the first edge and arranged to engage a pod placed in the first opening; a second holder having a second edge, a second opening bounded by the second edge and arranged to engage a pod placed in the second opening, and a bottom wall; an infusion cover in fluid communication with the pump and arranged to cooperate with the first and second holders to at least partially enclose a pod held by one of the first and second holders to introduce fluid into the pod for interaction with a supply of infusion material in the pod to form an infusion; wherein the second holder is substantially larger than the first holder and is adapted to at least partially enclose the first holder; and wherein the first opening is movable relative to the bottom wall of the second holder between a first position and a second position within a space defined by the second opening and the bottom wall of the second holder based on a size, height and/or shape of a pod held by the first holder or the second holder, the second position being substantially closer to the bottom wall of the second holder than the first position.

65. The apparatus of claim 64, wherein in the first position, the first opening is spaced sufficiently from the second opening to allow the second opening to receive a first sufficiently large pod that is too large to be received into the first opening.

66. The apparatus of claim 65, wherein in the second position, the first opening is spaced sufficiently from the second opening to allow the second opening to receive a second sufficiently large pod that is too large to be received by the first opening, the first and second sufficiently large pods being received by the second opening at separate times, the second sufficiently large pod being substantially higher than the first sufficiently large pod.

67. The apparatus of claim 66, further comprising a needle connected to the bottom wall for piercing the second sufficiently large capsule, wherein the first position is sufficiently spaced from the needle to prevent the first sufficiently large capsule from being pierced by the needle.

68. The apparatus of claim 64, wherein the first opening is adapted to be in the first and second positions to receive first and second sufficiently small pods, respectively, at separate times, the first and second pods being sufficiently small to be receivable into the first opening and having substantially different heights.

69. The apparatus of claim 64, further comprising a spring having a first end connected to the first edge of the first holder and a second end connected to the second holder.

70. The apparatus according to claim 69, wherein said spring is adapted to be sufficiently compressible to allow the weight of a large pod having a size too large to be received into said first opening to compress said spring and move said first opening away from said second opening a sufficient distance to allow said large pod to enter said second opening sufficiently deeply to prevent said large pod from falling out when said brewing cover is opened.

71. The apparatus according to claim 64, wherein the brewing cover comprises a head movable relative to a top wall of the brewing cover between a first position when a first pod of a first height is disposed into the first holder and a second position when a second pod of a second height is disposed into the first holder, thereby allowing the first holder to accept pods of different heights.

72. The apparatus of claim 64, wherein the bottom wall of the second holder is adapted to be movable relative to the second opening between a first position when a first pod of a first height is disposed into at least one of the first holder and the second holder and a second position when a second pod of a second height is disposed into one of the first holder and the second holder, thereby allowing at least one of the first holder and the second holder to accept pods of different heights.

73. The apparatus according to claim 64, wherein the second holder further comprises an emitter adapted to emit an energy beam that is substantially transparent to the bottom of the pod held in the first or second holder to prevent the pod from being damaged or melted, thereby causing the brewing material in the pod to be cooked from the outside-in.

74. The apparatus according to claim 64, wherein the brewing cover comprises an emitter adapted to emit an energy beam that is substantially transparent to the lid of the pod held in the first or second holder to prevent the lid from being damaged or melted, thereby causing the brewing material in the pod to be cooked from the outside to the inside.

75. A method for forming an infusion using the apparatus of claim 64, the method comprising: a pod that is too large to be received into the first opening of the first holder is disposed onto the first edge of the first holder and the first opening is moved toward the bottom wall of the second holder to one of the first and second positions of the first opening based on the size, height, and/or shape of the pod.

76. An apparatus for forming an infusion, the apparatus comprising: at least one heater for generating a hot fluid comprising at least one of hot steam, hot air, and hot water; a holder for receiving a supply of an infusion material including at least one of sandwiches, pizza, meat, soup, bread, vegetables, pasta, oatmeal, cereal, grounds, and ground coffee; a brewing cover having a needle comprising a needle inlet adapted to receive the hot fluid produced by the at least one heater, a needle outlet adapted to introduce the hot fluid into the brewing material, and a fluid passage channel between the needle inlet and the needle outlet, the brewing cover constructed and arranged to cooperate with the holder to at least partially enclose and isolate the brewing material in the holder to prevent energy loss; and at least one energy emitter formed in at least one of the holder and the brewing cover; wherein the needle is sufficiently long to penetrate deep enough into the interior of the supply of brewing material and is constructed and arranged to cooperate with the at least one heater and the holder to introduce the hot fluid under pressure into the interior of the brewing material and to cause the hot fluid in the interior to permeate or flow outwardly to cook or brew the supply of brewing material from the interior to the exterior for energy efficiency; wherein the at least one energy emitter is constructed and arranged to bake, broil or toast an outer surface of the supply of brewing material and cook or brew the supply of brewing material from an outer portion to an inner portion to achieve a desired flavor, color and crispness.

77. An apparatus for forming an infusion, the apparatus comprising: a liquid tank adapted to provide liquid for forming an infusion; a pump in fluid communication with the liquid tank; a holder having a rim, an opening bounded by the rim and arranged to engage a pod placed in the opening, and a bottom wall; and a brewing cover having a fluid inlet in fluid communication with the pump and arranged to provide fluid for interaction with a supply of brewing material in a pod held by the holder to form an brew, and a sealing gasket arranged to at least partially seal the pod; wherein at least one of the brewing cover and the holder is movable relative to each other between an open position in which the holder is exposed for receiving a capsule into the opening and a closed position in which the brewing cover cooperates with the holder to form a capsule chamber between the sealing gasket and the bottom wall to at least partially enclose a capsule for forming an infusion using the capsule; wherein the pod compartment is adapted to change height to form a low pod compartment or a high pod compartment based on the size, height, and/or shape of a pod held by the holder; and wherein the holder further comprises an outlet for the infusion formed in the pod, the outlet being shared by the short pod chamber and the tall pod chamber.

78. The apparatus of claim 77, wherein the outlet comprises an outlet needle connected to the bottom wall and adapted to form an infusion opening for the infusion in the pod to discharge the infusion into the load.

79. The apparatus of claim 77, wherein said bottom wall is adapted to be movable between a first position and a second position relative to said opening to form said short pod compartment and said high pod compartment when said short pod and said high pod are respectively disposed into said holder.

80. The apparatus according to claim 79 wherein said bottom wall is adapted to be movable upwardly and downwardly relative to said opening such that the distance between said first position and said second position is substantially equal to the height difference between said short and tall pods.

81. The apparatus according to claim 79, further comprising a lock adapted to lock the position of the bottom wall when the bottom wall is in the first position for brewing a short pod, and a trigger adapted to be triggered by a tall pod to unlock the lock and allow the bottom wall to move to the second position for brewing the tall pod.

82. The apparatus according to claim 77, wherein the brewing cover further comprises a movable head adapted to be movable between first and second positions relative to a top wall of the brewing cover when a short pod and a tall pod are respectively disposed into the holder to form the short pod chamber and the tall pod chamber.

83. A device for delivering a fluid, the device comprising a needle and a shield for preventing the needle from injuring a child, the needle having one end connected to a base and the other end having a sharp tip or cutter adapted to pierce an object, the shield comprising: a shield plate for covering the sharp cutter to prevent the sharp cutter from contacting and injuring a child; a shroud spring having a first end connected to the base and a second end connected to the shroud plate; wherein the shield plate is adapted to allow at least a portion of the needle to pass through, the at least a portion of the needle comprising the sharp tip or cutter; and wherein the shield plate is adapted to move between a first position in which the shield plate covers the sharp tip or cutter of the needle, thereby preventing the sharp cutter from injuring a child, and a second position in which at least the sharp cutter of the needle is exposed to pierce an object.

84. The apparatus according to claim 83, further comprising a liquid tank for providing liquid for forming an infusion; a holder adapted to receive a pod comprising a supply of brewing material, a base, and a lid covering and sealing the pod; and an infusion cover in communication with the liquid tank and arranged to cooperate with the holder to at least partially enclose the pod and introduce fluid into the pod to interact with the infusion material to form an infusion, wherein the shroud is provided for at least one of the infusion cover and the holder.

85. The apparatus according to claim 84, wherein the shroud is adapted to move to the second position when the brewing cover and the holder are moved toward each other to a closed position in which the pod pushes the shroud plate and compresses the shroud spring to pass the at least a portion of the needle through the shroud plate to pierce at least one of the lid and the bottom of the pod; wherein the shield is adapted to return to the first position when the brewing cover and the holder are moved away from each other to an open position in which the shield spring urges the shield plate away from the base to cover the needle.

86. The apparatus according to claim 83 wherein the shield further comprises a sealer connected to the shield plate, the sealer adapted to seal to an object to be pierced by the needle.

87. The apparatus of claim 83, further comprising a lock for the shield plate, the lock having a latch that locks the shield plate in place and a trigger that releases the latch to allow the shield plate to move from the first position to the second position.

88. The apparatus of claim 83, wherein at least a portion of the shield plate is sufficiently tacky or adhesive to an object to be pierced by the needle to prevent movement of the shield plate over a surface of the object, thereby preventing the needle from breaking in the object as a result of movement of the object.

89. The apparatus according to claim 83, further comprising a pump adapted to be connected to the needle, the pump having a chamber for receiving and storing a supply of fluid and a piston for delivering at least a portion of the supply of fluid in the chamber into an object.

90. The device of claim 83 wherein the shield further comprises a finger stop adapted to allow the needle to pass through but prevent the child's fingers from passing through.

91. The device of claim 90, wherein the finger stop comprises an expandable opening sufficiently smaller than the needle such that the needle is free of material from an object to be pierced by the sharp cutter.

92. The apparatus according to claim 83 wherein the shield plate comprises a self-healing plate adapted to be pierced by the sharp cutter to form a pierced opening, the self-healing plate constructed and arranged to cooperate with the needle to substantially close the pierced opening when the needle is removed from the shield plate.

93. A method for using the apparatus of claim 83, the method comprising providing a needle having a shield to an object to be pierced by the needle; contacting the object with a shield plate of the shield to seal the shield plate to the object to restrict movement of the shield plate relative to the object; and urging the shield plate against the object to compress the shield spring and passing the needle through the shield plate to pierce the object.

94. A pod for forming an infusion, the pod comprising: a container having an interior space for receiving a supply of brewing material, a rim, a bottom, a sidewall connected to the rim and the bottom, and an access opening surrounded by the rim; a lid for closing the access opening and sealing the pod; an outlet opening formed on at least one of the lid and the bottom of the container, the outlet opening being sufficiently large to prevent clogging by the brewing material; and a regulating plate for regulating the interaction between the brewing material and the fluid, the regulating plate being constructed and arranged to cooperate with the outlet opening, the lid and the bottom and side walls of the container to form a brewing chamber for storing a supply of the brewing material, the regulating plate being movable relative to the outlet opening between a first position forming the brewing chamber and a second position forming a transient chamber; wherein at least one of the lid and the base is adapted to receive an injection of fluid into the container for interacting with the brewing material to form an brew; and wherein the transient chamber cooperates with the outlet opening to regulate interaction between the brewing material and injection of fluid into the capsule and to regulate flow of the brewing material and the brew through the outlet opening.

95. The pod of claim 94, further comprising a supply of insoluble brewing material held in the brewing chamber and adapted to be discharged through the outlet opening to form soup, the brewing material comprising at least one of: clam chow stew, diced chicken, noodles, minced meat, vegetables, grains, seafood and seaweed.

96. The pod of claim 94, further comprising a supply of insoluble brewing material stored in the brewing chamber and adapted to be discharged through the outlet opening to form a meal, the brewing material comprising at least one of: cereals, oatmeal, cereals and infant formula.

97. The pod of claim 94, further comprising a supply of insoluble brewing material held in the brewing chamber and adapted to be discharged through the outlet opening to form a healthy drink, the brewing material comprising at least one of: ground vegetables, ground fruits, jellied beans, matcha, protein, powder, turkish coffee and shaved ice.

98. The pod of claim 94, wherein the supply of brewing material comprises gel beads having at least one nutrient embedded therein with an off-flavor, the gel beads being stored in the brewing chamber and sized to be discharged through the outlet opening to form an off-flavor beverage with the at least one nutrient but without the at least one nutrient.

99. The sachet of claim 98, wherein said gel beads are sufficiently small to prevent said gel beads from being chewed, thereby further minimizing an off-taste of said at least one nutrient.

100. The pod of claim 94, further comprising a membrane and a seal between the membrane and at least one of the bottom, the lid, the side wall, and the adjustment plate, the membrane being constructed and arranged to cooperate with the adjustment plate to prevent air from entering the brew chamber through the outlet opening when the adjustment plate is in the first position and to allow the seal to rupture to form the transient chamber when the adjustment plate is moved to the second position.

101. The pod of claim 94, further comprising a membrane sealed to at least one of the bottom and the side wall of the container, wherein the adjustment plate is permanently attached to the membrane, wherein the outlet opening is larger than the adjustment plate, and wherein the adjustment plate is constructed and arranged to allow a protrusion to move the adjustment plate from the first position to the second position to form the transient chamber.

102. The pod of claim 94, wherein the adjustment plate is received in the container and positioned above the bottom, wherein the bottom is adapted to be pierced by a needle, wherein the adjustment plate is constructed and arranged to cooperate with the bottom to allow the needle that has pierced through the bottom to contact the adjustment plate and move the adjustment plate from the first position to the second position.

103. The pod of claim 94, wherein the adjustment plate seals the outlet opening to form a closed brew chamber when the adjustment plate is in the first position, wherein the adjustment plate is adapted to be pushed away from the outlet opening to move from the first position to the second position to form the transient chamber.

104. The pod of claim 94, further comprising a seal between the adjustment plate and one of the base and the cover to seal the outlet opening when the adjustment plate is in the first position, the seal being breakable to allow the adjustment plate to move from the first position to the second position.

105. The pod of claim 94, wherein the adjustment plate is substantially larger than the outlet opening, wherein the adjustment plate is constructed and arranged to cooperate with the outlet opening to prevent premature discharge of the brewing material in the brewing chamber through the outlet opening prior to injection of fluid into the receptacle, thereby preventing mess and waste of the brewing material.

106. The pod of claim 94, further comprising a sanitary tube connected to the outlet opening to dispense the infusions directly into a cup or bowl, thereby preventing contamination of the infusions with spoilage residue from a previous infusion.

107. The pod of claim 94, further comprising a pouch enclosing a supply of supplemental brewing material and connected to at least one of the lid, the rim, and the side wall, the pouch being sufficiently thin to allow a needle to pierce through both the pouch and the lid to move supplemental brewing material into the brewing chamber.

108. The pod of claim 94, further comprising a filter received in the container and a supply of extractable brewing material enclosed between the lid and the filter, the filter having a filter bottom and a filter sidewall sealed to at least one of the rim and the sidewall of the container, the filter sidewall being sufficiently tall to prevent a needle piercing the lid for injecting fluid into the container from piercing the filter bottom.

109. The pod of claim 94, wherein the adjustment plate is constructed and arranged to cooperate with the lid and the bottom of the container such that a needle pierces one of the lid and the bottom to inject fluid into the container to interact with the brewing material to form an brew, and pushes the adjustment plate away from the outlet opening to open the outlet opening to discharge both the brewing material and the brew through the outlet opening.

110. A method of brewing a soup, health drink, or meal using the pod of claim 94, the method comprising: placing a capsule comprising a supply of brewing material in a brewing chamber; moving a regulating plate away from one of the base and the cover to create a transient chamber and expose an outlet opening on one of the base and the cover; introducing a fluid into the brewing chamber; regulating the interaction of the fluid in the brewing chamber with the brewing material; regulating the flow of the brewing material and the brew formed in the brewing chamber into and through a transient chamber; discharging the brewing material and the brew through the outlet opening into a load to form a soup, a healthy drink, or a meal.

111. A stack for forming infusions, the stack comprising a plurality of pre-assembled empty sachets stacked one on top of the other to facilitate filling fresh infusion material into the pre-assembled empty sachets, the pre-assembled empty sachets comprising: a container having a rim, a bottom, a sidewall connected to the rim and the bottom, and an access opening surrounded by the rim for receiving brewing material, the rim including a first rim portion and a second rim portion, the access opening being substantially larger than the bottom to receive another pre-assembled empty pod; a lid adapted to cover the access opening and form an air-tight seal against the rim to create a brewing chamber to store a supply of brewing material therein, the lid comprising a first lid portion, a second lid portion and a third lid portion, wherein at least one of the lid and the bottom of the container is pierceable to receive an injection of fluid into the container for interacting with the brewing material to form an infusion; a flow controller for controlling interaction of the brewing material with the fluid; and a pod hinge connecting the lid to the pod, the pod hinge constructed and arranged to cooperate with the lid and the rim to prevent leakage between the lid and the rim during storage of the brewing material and during injection of the fluid into the brewing chamber, the pod hinge comprising the first lid portion, the first rim portion, and an elongated fold between the first lid portion and the second lid portion, wherein the first rim portion is at least partially sealed to the first lid portion, wherein an angle between the first lid portion and the second lid portion is less than 90 degrees.

112. The stack of claim 111, wherein the flow controller comprises an outlet opening and a regulating plate for regulating interaction between the brewing material and the fluid injected into the container, the regulating plate being constructed and arranged to cooperate with the outlet opening and the bottom, the sidewall and the lid to form the brewing chamber, the regulating plate being movable relative to the outlet opening between a first position in which the brewing chamber is formed and a second position in which the outlet opening is opened to discharge the brewed product formed in the container.

113. The stack of claim 112, wherein the outlet opening is formed on the bottom, the regulating plate being constructed and arranged to cooperate with the bottom and the outlet opening to form a transient chamber in the second position to regulate interaction between the fluid injected into the container and the brewing material and to regulate flow of the brewing material through the outlet opening.

114. The stack of claim 111, wherein the first edge portion is sufficiently short that a distance in a radial direction between a midpoint of the elongate fold and an inner perimeter of the access opening is less than fifteen percent of a maximum span for the access opening.

115. The stack of claim 111, wherein the flow controller comprises a filter having a filter bottom and a filter sidewall attached to the container and configured to receive at least a portion of another pre-assembled empty bladder packet, the filter sidewall comprising a plurality of elongate primary pleats, each of the primary pleats comprising a first primary pleat wall and a second primary pleat wall, wherein one of the first primary pleat wall and the second primary pleat wall is further pleated into a first series of pleat walls and a second series of pleat walls to form an elongate series of pleats.

116. The stack of claim 115, wherein the series of pleats is formed by inserting the another pre-assembled empty pod into the filter through the access opening, the another pre-assembled empty pod remaining in the filter for at least three days to prevent de-pleating of the series of pleats prior to removal of a pre-assembled empty pod from the stack for filling with a supply of brewing material.

117. The stack of claim 111, wherein the elongate fold is formed between first and second ends of a seal between the first lid portion and the first edge portion, at least one of the first and second ends of the seal being substantially narrower than a width of the edge to facilitate forming a leak-proof seal between the second edge portion and the second and third lid portions.

118. The stack of claim 111, wherein the elongate fold is configured such that there is a sufficiently rounded transition between the first and second lid portions to facilitate forming a leak-proof seal between the second edge portion and the second and third lid portions.

119. The stack of claim 111, wherein an angle between the first and third lid portions is substantially greater than an angle between the first and second lid portions to cause the third lid portion to contact or partially wrap the containers in the stack.

120. The stack of claim 111, wherein the container, the filter, and the lid are all made of recyclable polypropylene, wherein the lid further comprises a sealant layer for sealing to the first edge portion and the second edge portion, the sealant being one of a recyclable polypropylene copolymer and a low softening temperature polypropylene, the sealant having a softening temperature at least 20 degrees fahrenheit lower than the remainder of the lid.

121. A method of producing a sachet using the stack of claim 111, the method comprising removing a pre-assembled empty sachet from the stack; filling a predetermined amount of fresh brewing material into the pod through the access opening; moving at least one of a closer and the pod filled with the fresh brewing material to cause the closer to rotate the second and third cover portions about the elongate fold of the pod hinge to cover the access opening; and sealing the lid to the rim.

122. A pod for forming an infusion, the pod comprising: a container defining an interior space having a first portion and a second portion, the container comprising a bottom, a sidewall, a rim for the sidewall, and an access opening surrounded by the rim; a lid adapted to cover the access opening and form a brewing chamber for storing a supply of brewing material in the first portion of the interior space, the lid adapted to receive an injection of fluid of at least one fluid flow into the brewing chamber; a filter located at least partially in the interior space for controlling interaction between the brewing material and the fluid to form an brew, the filter separating the first portion and the second portion of the interior space such that the brew formed in the first portion of the interior space must flow through the filter to reach the second portion of the interior space; wherein the bottom of the container is pierceable by a needle to allow the needle to extend into the interior space; wherein the filter is positioned sufficiently close to the bottom of the container to make the second portion of the interior space sufficiently thin to allow the needle to directly contact and deform at least a portion of the filter to form a transient chamber between the deformed portion of the filter and the bottom; wherein the filter is configured to prevent the needle from piercing the filter when the needle directly contacts and deforms the filter to form the transient chamber; and wherein the transient chamber is adapted to become substantially reduced in size when the fluid in the at least one fluid flow is injected into the brewing chamber under pressure to promote interaction between the brewing material and the fluid to increase the strength and bloom of the brew.

123. The pod of claim 122, wherein the filter is positioned sufficiently close to the bottom of the container such that the at least one fluid flow can urge the filter into contact with the bottom of the container to prevent the at least one fluid flow from being directed through the filter into the second portion of the interior space.

124. The pod of claim 122, wherein the filter is made from a plastic filter web comprising filter fibers having a sufficiently low coefficient of friction measured between the fibers and the needle to allow the needle to slide along the filter as the needle contacts the filter, thereby facilitating formation of the transient chamber.

125. The pod of claim 122, wherein the filter has a filter bottom and a filter sidewall, the filter sidewall comprising a plurality of pleats, each of the plurality of pleats comprising a first pleat wall and a second pleat wall, one of the first pleat wall and the second pleat wall being further pleated into a first series of pleat walls and a second series of pleat walls to form a series of pleats to prevent the brewing material in the brewing chamber from leaking into the transient chamber as the transient chamber decreases in size to facilitate interaction between the fluid and the brewing material.

126. The pod of claim 122, wherein the filter comprises fibers that are sufficiently loosely bonded to each other such that the bonding force between the fibers is low enough to allow at least one of the fibers to be partially pushed or pulled out of the filter by the needle before at least one of the fibers breaks, thereby preventing the brewing material in the brewing chamber from leaking into the transient chamber as the chamber decreases in size to facilitate interaction between the fluid and the brewing material.

127. The pod of claim 122, wherein the filter is capable of stretching at least fifty percent before the filter ruptures at a brewing temperature for the pod to prevent the brewing material in the brewing chamber from leaking into the transient chamber as the transient chamber decreases in size to facilitate interaction between the brewing material and the fluid.

128. The pod of claim 122, wherein the filter is fabricated from one of a meltblown polypropylene nonwoven web and a spunbond polypropylene nonwoven web to prevent the infusion material in the infusion chamber from leaking into the transient chamber as the transient chamber decreases in size to facilitate interaction between the fluid and the infusion material.

129. The pod of claim 122, wherein the filter is a composite filter comprising coarse fibers and fine fibers to prevent the brewing material in the brewing chamber from leaking into the transient chamber as the transient chamber decreases in size to facilitate interaction between the fluid and the brewing material.

130. The pod of claim 122, further comprising a filter fitting located on top of the filter to prevent the brewing material in the brewing chamber from leaking into the transient chamber as the transient chamber decreases in size to facilitate interaction between the fluid and the brewing material.

131. The pod of claim 131, wherein the filter fitting comprises a sheet of permeable or impermeable material positioned directly on a bottom of the filter and sized to substantially cover the bottom of the filter.

132. A method of forming an infusion using the pod of claim 122, the method comprising providing a holder having a needle; disposing a pod into the holder, the pod comprising a lid, a filter, and a supply of brewing material enclosed in a brewing chamber between the lid and the filter; contacting the filter directly with the needle such that the needle pushes the filter directly to deform at least a portion of the filter; creating a transient chamber between the deformed portion of the filter and the retainer and the bottom of the pod; and when the fluid in the at least one fluid flow is injected into the brewing chamber under pressure, the transient chamber is substantially reduced or shrunk in size to facilitate interaction between the brewing material and the fluid.

133. A pod for forming an infusion, the pod comprising: a first container having a rim, a first bottom, a first sidewall connected to the rim and the first bottom, and an access opening surrounded by the rim; a second container at least partially located in the first container, the second container having a second bottom above the first bottom of the first container to form a first chamber between the first bottom and the second bottom; a filter at least partially located in the second container and sealed to at least one of the first container and the second container to form a second chamber between the second bottom and the filter; a lid sealed to at least one of the first and second containers to form a third chamber between the filter and the lid for storing a first supply of brewing material, the lid adapted to receive an injection of fluid into the third chamber for interacting with the brewing material in the third chamber to form an brew; at least one foaming hole formed on the second bottom for producing a foamed brew in the first chamber; wherein the filter separates the second chamber and the third chamber such that the brew formed in the third chamber must flow through the filter to reach the second chamber; wherein the first container is sealed to the second container such that the brew in the second chamber must flow through the at least one frothing hole to reach the first chamber unless the at least one frothing hole is blocked; wherein the at least one bubble forming cell is sufficiently small to emulsify and produce a fine foam for the brew formed in the third chamber as it passes through the filter and the at least one bubble forming cell into the first chamber.

134. The pod of claim 134, wherein the first bottom is pierceable to form an outlet for discharging the aphrons and infusions in the first chamber into the load.

135. The pod of claim 134, further comprising at least one backup hole small enough to emulsify and produce a fine foam for the brew formed in the third chamber as it passes through the filter and the backup hole into the first chamber, wherein the at least one backup hole is generally closed when the at least one serving hole is open and becomes open only when the at least one serving hole is blocked.

136. The pod of claim 134, further comprising a second supply of brewing material stored in the first chamber, the second supply of brewing material being different than the first supply of brewing material in the third chamber.

137. The pod of claim 134, wherein the second bottom is sufficiently flexible to expand the second chamber to facilitate interaction between the first supply of brewing material and injection of fluid received through the lid into the third chamber.

138. A pod for forming an infusion, the pod comprising: a container having a rim, an impermeable bottom, an impermeable sidewall connected to the rim and the impermeable bottom, and an access opening surrounded by the rim for receiving an infusion material; an impermeable lid closing the access opening and removably sealed to the rim, the lid cooperating with the impermeable bottom and the impermeable sidewall of the container to create a brewing chamber to hold a supply of brewing material; a pressure relief for preventing damage and explosion of the pod during use of the pod, the pressure relief configured to cooperate with the impermeable lid, the impermeable side wall, and the impermeable bottom to prevent air, moisture, and/or bacteria from entering the brew chamber, thereby preventing spoilage of the supply of brewing material in the brew chamber; wherein the pod is at least partially receivable in the holder such that the supply of brewing material is cooked in the holder; wherein the impermeable lid comprises a tab or handle to facilitate removal of the impermeable lid from the rim after cooking is complete; wherein the pressure release is constructed and arranged to release hot fluid held in the container in the holder when the supply of brewing material is cooked, thereby preventing pressure from building up in the brewing chamber during cooking and from being injured by hot fluid or pressure during removal of the impermeable lid; and wherein the container is constructed and arranged to cooperate with the brewing material to provide the brewing material in cooked form directly on the container after the impermeable lid is removed from the container via the protrusion or handle.

139. The pod of claim 139, wherein the impermeable sidewall is sufficiently short to allow a needle in an infusion cover for the holder to pierce through the impermeable lid and penetrate sufficiently deep into the supply of infusion material to deliver a hot fluid under pressure to an interior of the supply of infusion material, the infusion material comprising at least one of: meats, sandwiches, pizza, bread, pasta, soups, oatmeal, beans, cereals and vegetables, the hot fluid under pressure diffuses or flows from the inside to the outside to heat and cook the brewing material from the inside to the outside, thus enabling cooking from the inside to the outside to save energy.

140. The pod of claim 140, wherein the brew chamber is constructed and arranged to cooperate with the holder and the brewing cover to be at least partially enclosed by the holder and the brewing cover to provide the pod with an at least partially insulated enclosure that cooperates with the inside-out cooking to minimize energy losses and to energy-efficient the cooking in the pod.

141. The pod of claim 139, further comprising a brewing optimizer to determine a delivery location within the supply of brewing material for a thermal fluid, the thermal fluid comprising at least one of hot steam, hot air, and hot water, the brewing optimizer being constructed and arranged to cooperate with at least one of the impermeable cover and the impermeable bottom to accommodate injection of the thermal fluid under pressure to the delivery location, the thermal fluid diffusing or flowing under pressure out of the delivery location to heat and cook the supply of brewing material from the interior to the exterior, thereby saving energy and cooking time.

142. The pod of claim 142, wherein the brewing optimizer comprises a protrusion formed on the impermeable bottom of the container, the protrusion being constructed and arranged to contact a tip of a needle adapted to provide injection of the thermal fluid under pressure to the delivery location.

143. The pod of claim 142, wherein the brewing material comprises at least one elongated channel or cutout configured and positioned in fluid communication with the delivery location to facilitate diffusion or flow of the thermal fluid within the brewing material.

144. The pod of claim 139, wherein at least one of the impermeable cover and the container is constructed and arranged to prevent melting or damage to the at least one of the impermeable cover and the container by an energy emitter, the at least one of the impermeable cover and the container being constructed and arranged to cooperate with the energy emitter to sear or toast an outer surface of the supply of brewing material to cook the supply of brewing material from the outside to the inside to produce a desired flavor, crispness or color.

145. The sachet of claim 145, wherein at least one of said impermeable lid and said container is substantially spectrally transparent to infrared light having a wavelength shorter than 3300 nanometers.

146. The pod of claim 145, wherein at least one of the impermeable lid and the container is pierceable to accommodate a sufficiently deep injection of the thermal fluid under pressure into the interior of the supply of brewing material, wherein the thermal fluid diffuses or flows under pressure from the interior outward to heat and cook the supply of brewing material from the interior toward the exterior, thereby saving energy and cooking time.

147. The pod of claim 147, wherein the supply of brewing material is configured and arranged to cooperate with at least one of the impermeable lid and the receptacle to allow the supply of brewing material to be cooked from inside to outside and from outside to inside substantially simultaneously.

148. The pod of claim 139, wherein the pressure releaser comprises at least one channel or ridge formed on an outer surface of at least one of the impermeable cover and the impermeable bottom, wherein at least one of the impermeable cover and the impermeable bottom is pierceable by a needle to form a pierced opening, the at least one channel or ridge positioned sufficiently close to the pierced opening to form a hot fluid channel to release hot fluid or pressure in the brew chamber.

149. The pod of claim 139, wherein the pressure releaser comprises a weak seal constructed and arranged to unseal or open to form a vent to release the hot fluid in the brew chamber when the pressure in the brew chamber reaches above a predetermined value.

150. The pod of claim 139, wherein the pressure release comprises a discharge opening and a seal adapted to form a weak seal to seal the discharge opening, the weak seal being constructed and arranged to prevent outside air from entering the brew chamber and to unseal or rupture upon the generation of pressure in the brew chamber to allow the heated fluid in the brew chamber to flow out through the discharge opening.

151. The sachet of claim 139, wherein at least one of said impermeable lid and said container is pierceable by a needle to form a pierced opening, wherein said pressure relief comprises said pierced opening on at least one of said impermeable lid and said impermeable bottom.

152. The pod of claim 139, further comprising a pouch enclosing a supply of supplemental brewing material, the pouch connected to at least one of the rim, the impermeable side wall, and the impermeable lid, the pouch being sufficiently thin and configured to cooperate with the impermeable lid to allow a needle to pierce through the pouch and the lid to move the supplemental brewing material from the pouch into the brewing chamber.

153. A method of forming an infusion using a pod as claimed in claim 139, the method comprising piercing one of the impermeable cover and the container by a needle, the needle having a needle outlet and a cutter spaced from and positioned a predetermined distance from the needle outlet, inserting the needle sufficiently deep into a supply of infusion material in the container, moving the infusion material by the cutter to prevent the infusion material from being pushed into the needle outlet.

154. A method of cooking a meal using a pod of claim 139, the method comprising disposing a pod into a holder; piercing one of the impermeable cover and the container with a needle, controlling a pump to provide a fluid; controlling a heater to regulate a fluid to a predetermined state and temperature, the predetermined state including a hot steam state and a hot water state; delivering a predetermined amount of thermal fluid at the predetermined state and temperature into a supply of the brewing material held in the brewing chamber; removing the pod from the holder; removing the impermeable lid from the rim of the container via a tab or handle; providing the brewing material, now cooked by the hot fluid, directly on the container.

155. A method of cooking a meal using a pod of claim 139, the method comprising disposing a pod into a holder; a supply of brewing or cooking material in the pod held by the holder; providing a supply of air through a space between a side wall of the holder and the impermeable side wall of the pod held in the holder to cool the pod for safely removing the pod from the holder and comfortably handling the pod.

156. A method for forming an infusion using a pod comprising a container defining an interior space and a lid, the container having a rim, a bottom, a sidewall connected to the rim and the bottom, and an access opening surrounded by the rim, the lid being adapted to cover the access opening and form a closed infusion chamber for storing a supply of infusion material in the interior space, the method comprising: disposing a pod into a holder such that at least a portion of the container is received and held by the holder; forming a liquid inlet for one of the lid and the container; forming at least one opening for one of the lid and the container; delivering a first quantity of a first fluid into the brew chamber through the liquid inlet to interact with the brewing material in the brew chamber to form an brew; delivering a second amount of a second fluid, different from the first fluid, into the interior space through the at least one opening; and discharging the infusion product and the second fluid formed in the infusion chamber into the charge below the holder through the at least one opening.

157. The method of claim 157, wherein the pod further comprises an outlet opening on one of the lid and the container and a regulating plate sealing the outlet opening, wherein the step of forming at least one opening comprises the steps of forming a first opening by piercing one of the lid and the container for delivering a second quantity of a second fluid, and forming a second opening by moving the regulating plate away from the outlet opening to open the outlet opening for discharging the brew.

158. The method of claim 157, further comprising mixing the second quantity of second fluid with the brew within the interior space of the pod.

159. The method of claim 157, wherein the step of delivering a second quantity of a second fluid comprises converting the second fluid into a jet of fluid at a sufficiently high velocity and injecting the jet of fluid into the interior space to emulsify the second fluid to produce a layer or head of foam for the brew received in the charge.

160. The method of claim 157, wherein the pod further comprises a filter located at least partially in the interior space to divide the interior space into a first portion and a second portion, wherein delivering a first quantity of a first fluid comprises controlling interaction between the brewing material and the first fluid via the filter to form an brew, and delivering the brew formed in the first portion of the interior space through the filter to the second portion of the interior space.

161. A reusable pod for a person to use his own freshly prepared brewing material to form an infusion, the reusable pod comprising: a container having an impermeable bottom, an impermeable sidewall connected to the bottom, a rim for the impermeable sidewall, and an access opening surrounded by the rim for receiving the freshly prepared brewing material; an impermeable lid closing the access opening and removably sealed to the rim to allow a person to open the lid and refill the container with the freshly prepared brewing material, the impermeable lid constructed and arranged to cooperate with the container to form an impermeable brewing chamber to store and preserve a supply of the person's own freshly prepared brewing material and to prevent air and bacteria from entering the impermeable brewing chamber to preserve the freshness of the brewing material therein for later use to form a brew; wherein at least one of the impermeable lid and the impermeable bottom is pierceable to form a pierced opening for allowing fluid to pass therethrough; wherein the impermeable brewing chamber is at least partially receivable in the holder to facilitate piercing at least one of the impermeable lid and the impermeable bottom and at least partially isolating the pod to facilitate brewing or cooking the freshly prepared brewing material in the brewing chamber; wherein at least one of the impermeable lid and the impermeable base comprises a piece of self-healing membrane constructed and arranged to be pierced to form a pierced opening, the self-healing membrane constructed and arranged to self-heal and close the pierced opening after the pod is removed from the holder, thereby allowing the formation of an impermeable infusion chamber to store and hold another supply of freshly prepared infusion material for later use to form another infusion.

162. The reusable pod of claim 162, wherein the impermeable cover comprises the piece of self-healing membrane adapted to be pierced by a needle to introduce an injection of hot pressurized fluid into the brew chamber to interact with the freshly prepared brewing material to form an brew.

163. The reusable pod of claim 163, further comprising a brewing optimizer to determine a delivery location within the interior of the supply of human own freshly prepared brewing material to which the injection of the hot pressurized fluid is delivered, wherein the pressurized thermal fluid flows or diffuses outwardly from the delivery location to heat and cook the supply of human own freshly prepared brewing material from the interior to the exterior.

164. The reusable pod of claim 162, wherein at least one of the impermeable cover and the impermeable bottom is constructed and arranged to cause an outer surface of a supply of human freshly prepared brewing material to be toasted, baked or roasted by an energy emitter directly in the pod held in the holder, thereby causing the supply of human freshly prepared brewing material to be cooked from the outside to the inside and to be prevented from being damaged or melted by the energy emitter.

165. The reusable pod of claim 162, further comprising a filter sealed to the container to form the brewing chamber between the filter and the impermeable lid for filtering a supply of human-own freshly prepared brewing material.

166. The reusable pod of claim 162, further comprising an outlet opening on at least one of the impermeable cover and the impermeable bottom and an adjustment plate operable between a first position where it seals the outlet opening and a second position where it opens the outlet opening.

167. A pod for forming an infusion, the pod comprising: a containment chamber having a rim, a bottom, and a sidewall connected to the rim and the bottom, an access opening surrounded by the rim; a lid closing the access opening to form a brewing chamber to store a supply of brewing material for forming an infusion, the brewing chamber being at least partially receivable in a holder of a brewing preparation machine and at least partially closable by a brewing cover of the machine and the holder to facilitate brewing or cooking of the brewing material in the brewing chamber; and a set of bits for determining a first set of brewing or cooking conditions for forming a cold brew or a hot brew from the supply of brewing material in the brewing chamber, the bit group includes a plurality of bits, each of the plurality of bits including an object formed at a predetermined position on at least one of the accommodation chamber and the cover, the object is in one of a plurality of states adapted to be read by an object reader of a bit group reader in at least one of the holder and the brewing cover of the machine, each of the plurality of states having a predetermined value, wherein the predetermined value and the position of the object on at least one of the receiving chamber and the lid allow the group of bits to inform and prepare the machine to provide the first set of brewing or cooking conditions for the supply of brewing material in the brewing chamber.

168. The pod of claim 168, wherein the bit set is for forming a hot coffee, the bit set being constructed and arranged to cooperate with the bit set reader of the machine to allow pods that do not contain any bit set to be accepted by the machine for forming a hot coffee.

169. The pod of claim 169, wherein the group of bits for forming a hot coffee comprises only objects adapted to not activate the object reader in the group of bits reader.

170. The pod of claim 168, wherein the pod is for forming a cold brew, wherein the group of bits comprises a cold brew bit for preventing misuse of the pod to form a hot brew in the machine, the cold brew bit adapted to activate at least one of a cold water switch and a pathway valve in the holder or the brewing cover to prevent hot water from being delivered to the brewing chamber.

171. The pod of claim 168, wherein the object reader in the bit-set reader is a switch, wherein the object in at least one of the plurality of states is adapted to open the switch.

172. The pod of claim 172, wherein the object comprises at least one of a protrusion, a recess, and an opening adapted to open or close the switch.

173. The capsule of claim 168 wherein at least one of the objects in the group of bits is adapted to activate one of the object readers in the group of bits reader.

174. The pod of claim 168, wherein each of the objects formed on at least one of the containment chamber and the lid is assigned to a predetermined one of the bit set readers.

175. The pod of claim 175, further comprising a bit surface in a predetermined spatial relationship with the bit such that when the brew chamber is received in the holder, each of the objects finds its designated predetermined object reader in the bit group reader.

176. The pod of claim 168, wherein the predetermined value is one of a binary number of 0 and 1, such that the set of bits is inherently compatible with a digital controller or processor in the brewing preparation machine, thereby making the machine readily affordable to consumers.

177. The pod of claim 168, wherein the set of bits is constructed and arranged to cooperate with a user interface of the machine to determine a second set of brewing or cooking conditions for the cold brew or hot brew.

178. The pod of claim 178, wherein the cold brew or hot brew comprises at least one of: espresso, cold brew espresso, hot coffee, cold brew coffee, carbonated drinks, juices, tea, herbs, alcoholic drinks, super foods, soups, hot oatmeal breakfast, cold cereal breakfast, bread, pasta meal, cereal meal, meat meal, vegetable meal, pizza and sandwiches, wherein the second set of brewing or cooking conditions is for forming a complimentary brew comprising at least one of: milk, creamers, flavored syrups, whipped creams, flavors, sauces, sugars and chocolate for said cold or hot brew.

179. The pod of claim 168, wherein the set of bits is adapted to allow the first set of brewing or cooking conditions to be added via the internet to a controller or processor of a brewing preparation machine already installed at home and business, thereby allowing pods developed after installation of the machine and containing the set of bits to be brewed or cooked by the machine.

180. The pod of claim 168, wherein the set of bits is adapted to allow the first set of cooking or brewing conditions to be changeable via a user interface or the internet, thereby allowing a consumer to change the first set of brewing or cooking conditions to suit a person's individual taste or seasonality.

181. A method of using the pod of claim 168, the method comprising providing a pod having a bit set comprising a plurality of bits, activating at least one of a plurality of switches in a switch set in the brewing cover or the holder of a brewing preparation machine, and determining a first set of brewing or cooking conditions for the pod based on a position or location of the at least one of the plurality of switches activated in the switch set.

182. A method of using the pod of claim 168, further comprising determining a first set of brewing or cooking conditions for the pod based on the set of bits on the pod, and changing at least one of the brewing or cooking conditions of the first set.

Technical Field

The present invention relates generally to an apparatus and method for delivering fluid for single serving brew (single serve brew) or processing.

Background

Consumers desire the convenience, speed and freshness of single serving beverages made to their liking. For coffee, this desire has been met, in part, by the following: taught by Favre in U.S. patent No. 4,136,202 toBy Sylvan et al in U.S. patent No. 5,325,765 toAnd taught by the present inventors in U.S. patent No. 6,840,158 and Knitel et al in U.S. patent No. 8,039,036 toThe nominal installation of (1).

To minimize the harsh taste of coffee caused by bitter oils and acids, schwiger in us patent No. 2,878,746, Leung et al in us patent No. 7,231,142, Neace et al in us patent No. 8,720,321 and Adam et al in us patent No. 9,629,493 disclose devices that extract coarse coffee grounds in cold water for 12 to 24 hours.

However, this slow rate has limited the popularity of cold brewing. To speed up, Remo in us patent 9,125,522 and Licare in us patent 9,357,874 disclose devices for cooling hot coffee in a cooling device; buchholz et al, in U.S. patent No. 8,635,944, disclose a device for brewing and diluting a concentrate with cold water in a dispenser. This device is complex and the resulting coffee lacks some of the qualities of a cold brew (brew) produced by the direct interaction of cold water with the ground coffee beans.

Summary of The Invention

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an improved apparatus and method to brew a cold brew in about one minute without compromising the quality and consistency of the cold brew.

Another object is to provide a portable device for quickly brewing cold brew using an automobile cigarette lighter.

Another object is to provide an improved device that is capable of brewing not only hot infusions, but also cold infusions.

Another object is to provide an improved apparatus and method that enables the use of environmentally friendly pods (pods) for brewing traditional beverages such as coffee or tea, non-traditional beverages such as soup or bubble tea with chewables, and meals such as oatmeal, pasta or sandwiches.

Another object is to provide an improved device and method that enables the use of differently sized and shaped pods for brewing beverages and meals without cross-contamination.

Another object is to provide a child-safe device to brew a single serving of drink or meal in a home or hotel room.

Finally, it is an object of the present invention to provide an improved sachet and method to allow local bakers, farmers or producers to rapidly produce single serving sachets with their perishable ingredients on demand, thereby preventing spoilage losses, and allowing consumers to enjoy the freshest beverages, soups and meals made locally. These and other objects of the present invention will be better understood with reference to the appended claims and description.

Drawings

The drawings illustrate a diagrammatically represented, non-limiting embodiment of the invention, as follows:

fig. 1 is a partly schematic and partly sectional view of an apparatus for making cold and/or hot infusions;

FIG. 1A is a partial schematic and partial cross-sectional view of a brewing station of the apparatus of FIG. 1 just prior to brewing a cold brew with a cold brew coffee pod;

FIG. 1B is a cross-sectional view of a prior art pod during brewing thereof in a prior art brewing machine;

FIG. 1C is a cross-sectional view of the pod of FIGS. 1 and 1A during brewing thereof in a prior art brewing machine;

FIG. 1D is a sectional view taken along section D-D of FIG. 1B, with the brewing material omitted for simplicity;

FIG. 1E is a sectional view taken along the horizontal cross-section E-E of FIG. 1C, with the brewing material omitted for simplicity;

FIG. 1F is a cross-sectional view of a series of pleats (tandem pleating) for a cup-shaped filter for the pod of FIG. 1;

FIG. 1G is a cross-sectional view of the in-line pleating of the cup-shaped filter of the pod of FIG. 1 according to an alternative in-line pleating process;

FIG. 1Ga is a sectional view along the horizontal cross-section a-a of FIG. 1G showing a sachet hinge;

FIG. 1H is a partial schematic view and a partial cross-sectional view of the brewing station of the apparatus of FIG. 1 when brewing high cold-brewed coffee pods;

FIG. 1I is a cross-sectional view of a pod for use with a beverage product such as soup, oatmeal, infant formula or Turkish coffee (Turkish coffee);

FIG. 1J is a partial schematic view and partial cross-sectional view of a brewing station of the apparatus of FIG. 1 when brewing the pod of FIG. 1I;

FIG. 1K is a cross-sectional view of a high pod for a beverage such as soup, breakfast or infant formula;

FIG. 1L is a partial schematic view and a partial cross-sectional view of a brewing station of the apparatus of FIG. 1 when brewing the high pod of FIG. 1K;

FIG. 1M is a cross-sectional view of an upper portion of the pod and holder of FIG. 1;

FIG. 1N is a sectional view of the pod holder taken along section N-N of FIG. 1M, with the bottom of the holder and shield omitted for simplicity;

FIG. 1O is a sectional view of the pod along the cross-section O-O of FIG. 1M, with the coffee omitted;

FIG. 1P is a partially schematic and partially cross-sectional view of a cold brew espresso pod;

FIG. 1Q is a cross-sectional view of the retainer only, taken along cross-section Q-Q of FIG. 1;

FIG. 1R is a partially schematic and partially cross-sectional view of the flow-deflecting needle or inlet of FIG. 1A, illustrating water flow during brewing;

FIG. 1S is a cross-sectional view of a flow-deflecting inlet (flow-deflecting unlet) along cross-section S-S of FIG. 1R;

FIG. 1T is a sectional view of the flow deflection inlet along section T-T of FIG. 1S;

FIG. 1U is a partially schematic and partially cross-sectional view of the needle of FIG. 1R with an embedded filter;

FIG. 1V is a partially schematic and partially cross-sectional view of an alternative to the needle of FIG. 1U;

FIG. 1W is a sectional view of the metering filter taken along section W-W of FIG. 1;

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of the steps of brewing a cold brew using the apparatus of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a partial schematic and cross-sectional view of a modified version of the cold-brew catalyst of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3A is a sectional view of the catalyst taken along section A-A of FIG. 3;

FIG. 4 is a partial schematic view and a partial cross-sectional view of the improved brewing station of FIG. 1 with a bowl-shaped pod positioned above the holder;

FIG. 4A is a sectional view of the retainer taken along section A-A of FIG. 4;

FIG. 4B is a partial schematic view and partial cross-sectional view of the improved brewing station of FIG. 4 with the bowl-shaped capsule positioned within the holder prior to brewing;

FIG. 4C is a cross-sectional view of a reusable bowl-shaped pod for use with the holder of FIG. 4;

FIG. 4D is a partial schematic view and partial cross-sectional view of the improved brewing station of FIG. 4 with tall, large pods positioned within the holder prior to brewing;

FIG. 4E is a partial schematic view and partial cross-sectional view of the improved brewing station of FIG. 4 with high and small hot or cold brew coffee pods within the holder prior to brewing;

FIG. 4F is a partial schematic view and partial cross-sectional view of the improved brewing station of FIG. 4 with short, small hot or cold brew coffee pods within the holder prior to brewing;

FIG. 4G is a partial schematic view and partial cross-sectional view of the improved brewing station of FIG. 4 with a tall capsule having a coffee filling station located within the holder prior to brewing;

FIG. 5 is a partly schematic and partly sectional view of a first modified version of the apparatus of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5A is a partial schematic view and a partial cross-sectional view of the brewing station of FIG. 5 when the brewing cover is in its closed position;

FIG. 5B is a partial schematic and cross-sectional view of an alternative embodiment of the apparatus of FIG. 5;

FIG. 6 is a schematic view of a second modified version of the apparatus of FIG. 1;

fig. 7 is a partial schematic view and a partial cross-sectional view of a third modified version of the apparatus of fig. 1.

FIG. 7A is a partial schematic and partial cross-sectional view of a flow actuator for an air outlet of a heater box of the system of FIG. 7.

Description of the preferred embodiments

Referring to fig. 1, the device 1 for brewing single portions of cold or hot brew according to the present invention comprises a water tank 3, a pump 7 connected to a controller 2 by an electric wire 7a, a cold brew catalyst 10, a self-refreshing metering filter 14, and a brewing station 300 comprising a brewing cover 20 and a holder 30. The water tank is adapted to contain a supply 4 of cold water and may be connected to a tap water system or to a refrigerator. The brewing cover has a flow deflecting needle or inlet 85 and a sealing gasket or sealer 22, and is arranged to cooperate with the holder to form a pod chamber 158 between the sealing gasket and the movable bottom wall 44 of the holder, as shown in fig. 1A, 1H, 1J, and 1L, to enclose a short or tall pod 100. Water is delivered from the water tank through the dispensing chamber 6, the tube 101, the brewing catalyst and the metering filter formed in the support base 247 to the pod 100 enclosed by the pod chamber.

The apparatus 1 is of the type described in U.S. patent nos. 6,142,063, 9,149,149, 9,295,357, 8,720,321 and 9,629,493. Various improvements have been made to reduce the brewing time of cold brew from 12 hours with prior art cold brewers to the typical 1 minute for a single-serving hot brewer. To brew a cold brew, cold water or a mixture of ice and water is added to the water tank and introduced into the pod in its cold state. To brew the hot brew, water in the water tank is heated by a heater 5 (the heater 5 is connected to the controller by an electrical wire 5 a) and introduced into the sachet in its hot state. Throughout the drawings, similar components are identified by the same reference numerals, and modified or attached components are identified by the same reference numerals with a suffix (such as-1 or P).

The retainer 30 has a rim 89, a side wall 35, a bit receiver 32, a switch block 34, a shroud 60, and a shared outlet 50 with an outlet needle 63, the rim 89 defining an opening 31 for engaging and receiving the pod 100. The shield prevents the outlet needle 63 from injuring the child and comprises a shield plate 62 supported by the shield spring 43 over the shared outlet, a finger stop 61 formed on the shield plate, and a dispenser 53 for dispensing the brew into a cup, jar or other load (receptacle). The finger stop is a restrictive opening adapted to allow the outlet needle 63 to move in and out, but prevent the fingers of a child from passing through. The shield is adapted to move between a safe, atraumatic position in which the shield plate is positioned over and covers the outlet needle (fig. 1 and 1Q) and a brewing position in which the outlet needle 63 is exposed to pierce the capsule bottom 27 (fig. 1A, 1H and 1L).

A self-healing film (self-healing film) similar to that of fig. 4C may be attached to the shield panel 62 to cover the finger stops 61 to further protect the child. The self-healing membrane is adapted to be pierced by an outlet needle and to self-heal and close the pierced opening after removal of the needle. The self-healing membrane also acts as a seal around the needle to prevent the flow of the brew through the pierced opening, resulting in all of the brew being dispensed through the dispenser 53. Alternatively, the shield plate 62 may be a self-healing shield plate made of a self-healing material. After the first use of the retainer 30 or shield 60, a substantially closed and expandable opening is formed in the self-healing plate. The substantially closed opening is a finger stop and is expandable to allow the needle to pass therethrough. It should be understood that a similar shield to that of fig. 5 and 5A may be provided for the inlet needle 85 of the brew cover 20 to prevent injury to a child.

A shroud lock 40 and pod centralizer 70 may be provided to prevent the child from manually compressing the shroud spring 43 and centering the pod. Alternatively, the shield spring may be made strong enough to prevent a child from moving the shield plate. The latch includes a latch 54 located below the shield plate 62, a trigger 55 connected to the latch via the body 41 received in the chamber 42, an opening 57 in the side wall 35 for receiving the latch, and a spring 38, the spring 38 for pushing the latch out of the opening 57 to capture the shield plate 62, thereby preventing the shield plate from being pushed down by hand (fig. 1 and 1Q). Spring 38 is loaded between body 41 and wall 39, and wall 39 is secured to side wall 35 by wall 36. When the trigger is pushed by the pod, the protrusion 37 on the wall 39 pivots the body 41 (fig. 1A). The left wall 39 and chamber 42 adopt a generally square shape when viewed from the left side of the holder in fig. 1. A pod centralizer 70 (fig. 1, 1A and 1Q) is located on the retainer sidewall 35 opposite the shroud lock 40 or further away from the shroud lock 40 for proper unlocking of the shroud lock and release of the shroud. It has a downwardly sloping surface 69, an opening 71 in the side wall 35, a spring 73 for urging the sloping surface 69 through the opening 71 and a stop wall 76 for holding the sloping surface at a predetermined position prior to insertion of the sachet. The beam 75 is received in the aperture 72 of the pod centralizer to guide movement of the inclined surface 69 in the opening 71. The beams 75 are formed on walls 77, the walls 77 being secured to the side walls 35 by walls 74. When the pod 100 is placed into the holder, the sloped surface 69 guides the pod towards the shroud lock to cause the bottom of the pod to push the trigger 55, causing the latch 54 to move away from the shield plate 62, thus unlocking the shroud 60 and enabling the shroud 60 to move downwardly. Simultaneously, trigger 55 and latch 54 are pushed into chamber 42 and bag centralizer 70 is pushed into chamber 82 by bag sidewall 29. When the pod bottom 27 pushes the shield plate 62 downward, the outlet needle 63 moves out of the finger stop 61 and pierces the pod bottom.

The shared outlet 50 enables the holder 30 to properly pierce both the short and tall bag bags with one outlet needle 63, as shown in fig. 1A, 1H, 1J and 1L, thereby preventing the use of additional outlet needles that are potentially dangerous for children in hotel rooms or homes, as taught in U.S. patent nos. 9,149,149 and 9,295,357. The shared outlet includes a base or bottom wall 44 movable upwardly and downwardly relative to the opening 31, an outlet needle 63 connected to the bottom wall, an outlet spring 46 having an upper end connected to the movable bottom wall and a lower end connected to an inward bottom edge 47 of the holder, a brew outlet 51 formed on the bottom wall 44 for receiving a dispenser 53 of the shroud 60, and an outlet lock 80 for locking the shared outlet in place. The outlet lock has a latch 66, an outlet trigger 64 connected to the latch, an opening 68 in the side wall 35 for receiving the latch and trigger, a spring 83 for pushing the latch out of the opening 68 to capture the bottom wall, and a stop wall 78 (fig. 1) for holding the latch in a predetermined position to lock the bottom wall 44. The beam 79 on wall 77 is received in the aperture 84 to guide movement of the latch and trigger in the opening 68. When no pod is disposed into the holder or a short pod is disposed into the holder, the bottom wall 44 is in its first position to form a short pod chamber 158 (fig. 1, 1A and 1J), and when a tall pod is disposed into the holder, the bottom wall 44 is moved to its second position to form a tall pod chamber (fig. 1H). The first position is locked in place by the exit lock 80 and the second position is locked in place by the inward bottom edge 47 to ensure that the capsule bottom 27 is pierced by the exit needle 63. The distance between the first position and the second position is approximately equal to the height difference between the short pod and the tall pod.

The pod 100 in fig. 1 includes an impermeable cup-shaped receptacle 88 having a pod rim 28, an impermeable pod side wall 29 and an impermeable pod bottom 27, an impermeable membrane lid 23 sealed to the pod rim, and a cup-shaped filter 87. The cup-shaped filter has a filter bottom 26 positioned sufficiently close to the pod bottom 27 to allow at least the center of the filter bottom to contact the pod bottom when water is introduced under pressure as a stream of water 93 (fig. 1C) to the supply 24a of brewing material in the brewing chamber 58 between the filter bottom 26 and the membrane cover 23. In other words, the distance between the filter bottom and the pod bottom is small enough so that the center of the filter bottom 26 can be pushed with a finger to contact the pod bottom 27. The impermeable sachet bottom 27 prevents the water flow 93 from being directed (channel) through the filter bottom and deflects the water flow 93 upwardly back into the brewing chamber 58 as an upward flow 95 to extract the brewing material therein, thus ensuring complete extraction of the brewing material to provide a thick brew.

In contrast, the cup-shaped filter 87P in the pod 100P taught by Sylvan, Beaulieu et al in U.S. patent nos. 5,325,765, 5,840,189, 6,079,315, 6,182,554, and 9,295,357 has a filter bottom 26P that is sufficiently far above the pod bottom 27 to prevent the outlet needle 63 from contacting the filter (fig. 1B). As a result, a majority of the water flow 93 is directed as a flow 94 through the brew chamber 58 and filter base 26P into the extraction chamber 59P and out the outlet needle 63 without completely contacting or extracting the material 24. This directing of the water flow 93 results at least in part in the weak coffee brewed from the prior art pod. When used, models 250 and 575 Green in brewing machineCards andthe brand prior art pod has a typical concentration of 0.6% to 0.9% as Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) as measured by a VST LAB Coffee III refractometer when brewing 8 ounces of Coffee.

In the apparatus 1 of the present invention, when 8 ounces of coffee are brewed with a cold brew coffee pod 100 of the same size as the prior art pod 100P, the cold brewed coffee has a typical strength of 1.1% to 1.3% as TDS, as measured by the same VST refractometer. While using the apparatus 1 andthe hot brew coffee pod in the brewer 100 brews 8 ounces of coffee with a typical consistency of 1.2% to 1.7% as TDS. Such different strengths of coffee brewed with the prior art pod and the pod 100 are contemplated in light of the above discussion of the guidance. It is worth mentioning that both the cold brew and the hot brew from the cold and hot brew coffee pods 100 have a consistency similar to coffee in high-grade coffee shops and meet the Golden Cup Standard (Golden Cup Standard) according to the competitive coffee Association (specialty coffee Association) having a consistency of 1.15% to 1.35% as TDS.

The primary difference between the pod 100 and the prior art pod 100P is the transient chamber 59. The pod 100P taught by Sylvan, Beaulieu et al has an extraction chamber 59P that is high enough or large enough to prevent the outlet needle 63 from contacting the filter bottom 26P (fig. 1B). In contrast, the capsule 100 of fig. 1 has an extraction chamber small enough to allow the outlet needle to contact the filter bottom 26 after the outlet needle 63 pierces the capsule bottom 27. When the outlet needle pushes a portion of the filter bottom 26 upwards, a transient chamber 59 is formed. Fig. 1A shows the transient chamber 59 just after the formation of the transient chamber 59 but before water is introduced into the brewing chamber 58. When water is introduced into the brewing chamber to brew the material 24, the transient chamber is reduced in size (fig. 1C). At the completion of brewing, the transient chamber may disappear completely, in particular when the ground coffee is fine (for example with an average ground size of 100 to 400 microns).

A first problem with the transient chamber 59 is that the outlet needle 63 tends to pierce the filter bottom 26 rather than push the filter bottom 26 upwards, hindering the formation of the transient chamber. To address the filter puncture issue, a strong and puncture resistant nylon, polypropylene filter mesh is used to form the cup filter 87. To further address the filter puncture problem, the filter fibers in the filter web are adapted to have a sufficiently low coefficient of friction, preferably below 0.3, and most preferably below 0.2, when measured between plastic and steel. It is believed that the low coefficient of friction allows the outlet needle 63 to slide easily under the filter bottom 26 when the outlet needle contacts the filter bottom, thereby facilitating the filter bottom to be pushed up by the outlet needle to form the transient chamber.

A second problem with the transition chamber is that the grounds 24a occasionally leak from the brew chamber 58 into the transition chamber and into the cup of coffee brewed with the pod, making the coffee unpalatable. The cause of this second problem or the problem of abrasive leakage is not understood. For capsules with grounds leakage problems, at the end of brewing, an opening pierced by the outlet needle 63 is observed on the filter bottom 26. However, such a pierced opening on the filter bottom may not be the cause of the abrasive leakage problem. In fact, coffee from most capsules that have produced such pierced openings after brewing is free of coffee grounds. When Coffee brewed with a sachet had no grounds, it was found that the pierced opening actually correlated positively with the brew concentration or TDS as measured by a VST LAB Coffee III refractometer. In other words, coffee brewed with a capsule that has created such pierced openings on the filter bottom is significantly stronger (rich) than coffee brewed with a capsule that does not have such pierced openings. The likelihood of grounds leakage problems appears to depend on grounds size, size distribution, nature and amount of material 24, temperature, pressure and volume of the brew, and filter design and material. The grounds leakage problem may be largely prevented by using coarse grounds in the pod, but the coarse grounds result in incomplete extraction and coffee that is not strong.

As shown in fig. 1C and 1E, the abrasive leakage problem or second problem can be solved by a plurality of series pleats 97 for the cup filter 87. The series pleats are double-pleated pleats formed in the filter sidewall by series pleating an elongated main pleat 97P (similar to the main pleat of the prior art pod 100P of fig. 1B and 1D). Each main pleat has a first elongated main pleat wall 151 and a second elongated main pleat wall 152. When one of the elongated main pleat walls, e.g. main pleat wall 151, is folded or pleated into two elongated series pleat walls 151a and 151b, an elongated series pleat 97 is formed. The series corrugated portion 97 includes one main corrugated wall 152 and two series corrugated walls 151a and 151 b. The series corrugated walls have a length similar to the length of the main corrugated wall, but only about half the width of the main corrugated wall. To produce a pod 100 having in-line pleats, a cup-shaped filter 87P having a filter bottom 26 and a plurality of elongated primary pleats 97P (similar to the primary pleats of the prior art pod 100P (fig. 1D)) is first produced and placed in a cup-shaped container (container) 88. The container has an impermeable bottom 27, an impermeable sidewall 29, a rim 28, and an access opening 198 surrounded by the rim for receiving a filter. The top end of the cup filter 87P is sealed to the top end of the container sidewall 29. The in-line crimper 86, in the shape of the container 88, is inserted into the cup-shaped filter with sufficient crimping force to crimp the main pleat wall into two in-line pleat walls to form in-line crimps 97 to form a pre-assembled empty sachet pack 100B (fig. 1F). As shown by arrow 169, clockwise rotation of series crimper 86 causes first main crimping wall 151 to preferably fold or crimp into first series crimp 151a and second series crimp 151 b. The horizontal cross-section of the pre-assembled empty sachet 100B is the same as the horizontal cross-section of sachet 100 of fig. 1E. Series crimper 86 is heated by heater 96 to a predetermined temperature to cause main crimp wall 152 and series crimp walls 151a and 151b to partially adhere or adhere to one another to prevent the series crimps from being despuned.

The lid 23 is partially pre-attached to the edge 28 of the pre-assembled empty sachet 100B to produce the pre-assembled empty sachet 100A shown in figure 1G. The lid is impermeable and includes a first lid portion 98, a second lid portion 167 and a third lid portion 166, respectively. The lid is sized to cover the access opening 198 and also has a sealant 99 adapted to be heat sealed to the rim 28 to form an impermeable brewing chamber 58 for storing and retaining a supply of brewing material. The third lid portion 166 is pierceable to receive an injection of fluid into the brewing chamber, and the filter 87 controls the flow and interaction of the fluid and the brewing material to form the brew. As shown in fig. 1Ga, the edge 28 includes a first edge portion 28a and second edge portions 28 b. The pre-assembled empty pod 100A also includes a pod hinge 190 for connecting the impermeable lid 23 to the container 88. The pod hinge cooperates with the rim and the impermeable lid to prevent air and fluid from leaking through the brewing chamber during storage of the brewing material and during injection of the fluid into the container. The pod hinge includes a first lid portion, a first edge portion, and an elongated fold 153 formed between the first lid portion 98 and the second lid portion 167. The first lid portion 98 is partially sealed to the first edge portion 28a by a thermal seal 154 between the dashed line and the outer perimeter of the first edge portion. An elongated fold 153 is preferably positioned and formed between first end 146 and second end 148 of heat seal 154. To prevent any air or fluid leakage between the rim 28 and the lid 23 during storage or brewing of the brewing material in the brewing chamber 58 of the pod formed from the pre-assembled empty pod 100A, the first and second ends 146, 148 of the heat seal are substantially narrower than the width of the rim 28, as shown in fig. 1 Ga.

To facilitate the filling operation of the empty sachet, as shown in fig. 1G, a plurality of pre-assembled empty sachet packs 100A are stacked on top of each other in a stack 270. The inlet opening 198 is larger than the impermeable bottom 27 to allow the cup-shaped filter 87 to receive a portion of another pre-assembled empty sachet. To prevent damage to the pod hinge 190 and leakage of air and fluid during storage or brewing of brewing material in the brew chamber 58 of a pod formed from a pre-assembled, empty pod 100A, the elongate fold 153 is sufficiently short such that the distance in the radial or horizontal direction between the middle of the elongate fold and the inner periphery 156 of the access opening 198 is less than fifteen percent, preferably less than 7 percent, of the diameter or maximum span of the access opening. For example, when the diameter of the access opening is 45mm, the distance of the fold to the inner periphery should be less than 6.75mm, preferably less than 3 mm. Also in order to prevent leakage of air and fluid during storage or brewing of the brewing material in the brewing chamber 58 of the pod formed from the pre-assembled empty pod 100A, the elongated fold 153 is thus configured such that there is a sufficiently rounded transition between the first lid portion 98 and the second lid portion 167. The radius of the rounded transition is greater than 0.15mm, preferably greater than 0.3 mm. The angle Φ between the first cover portion and the second cover portion is less than 90 degrees. The third cover portion 166 can be sufficiently flexible to bend toward and partially wrap around the edge 28 of the pre-assembled empty sachets 100A in the stack 270 such that the angle between the first cover portion 98 and the third cover portion 166 is greater than the angle between the first cover portion 98 and the second cover portion 167. In addition to saving shipping and storage space, this partial wrapping of the third lid portion 166 around the rim 26 in the stack facilitates closure of the impermeable lid 23 and improves the seal between the impermeable lid 23 and the rim 28 of the sachet formed from the pre-assembled empty sachet 100A.

The stack of pre-assembled empty-bag packs 100A with series-connected folds 97 can also be produced in the following way: 1) forming a pre-assembled empty-bag having only a primary pleat 97P by sealing the top end of the cup-shaped filter 87P to the top end of the sidewall 29 of the cup-shaped container 88 and partially pre-attaching the lid 23 to the rim 28 of the container (as described above), 2) stacking a plurality of such pre-assembled empty-bags having only a primary pleat to one another in a manner similar to fig. 1G to form a stack, and 3) applying a sufficient pleating force to the top pre-assembled empty-bag in the stack to cause the primary pleat walls 151 or 152 of the primary pleats of all the pre-assembled empty-bags below to be pleated into series pleat walls 151a and 151b or 152a and 152b, thereby forming the series 97 of pre-assembled empty-bags. In this case, the pre-assembled sachet cup-shaped container 88 serves as the in-line crimper 86 to crimp the primary crimp wall 151 into in-line crimp walls 151a and 151b, or to crimp the primary crimp wall 152 into in-line crimp walls 152a and 152 b. Without rotation of the tandem crimper, the first main crimp wall 151 and the second main crimp wall 152 have the same chance of being crimped into their respective tandem crimp walls. The in-line folds 97 of the pre-assembled sachet formed in this way tend to be de-pleated after removal from the stack. It has been found that such de-wrinkling can be prevented by holding the stack in a stacked form in a container, such as a carton, for at least 3 days after applying a sufficiently large force to the top pre-assembled empty sachet pack in the stack. Step 3 above may be performed by inserting the in-line crimper 86 at a predetermined temperature with sufficient force into the top pre-assembled empty-bag cup-shaped filter 87P in the stack. After the in-line crimper is removed from the stack, the stack is stored in a box to stabilize the in-line crimps of all the pre-assembled empty sachets for at least 3 days before the stack is used in a filling operation.

Due to the complexity of forming, pleating, and sealing the filter, it is difficult for local roasters to provide a sachet with locally roasted fresh beans. Therefore, consumers often have to drink coffee from sachets made by large companies 6 months or 12 months ago. The stack of pre-assembled empty sachet packs 100A makes it simple for a local roaster to fill the sachet with locally roasted fresh beans. After removing the pre-assembled empty sachet from the stack 270 and filling the sachet with a predetermined amount of freshly roasted and ground beans via the access opening 198, either by an automated filling machine or manually, the second and third portions 167, 166 of the lid are rotated about the elongate fold 153 of the sachet hinge 190 by a closure such as a rod or bar to cover the access opening and the lid is sealed to the second portion 28b of the rim by a heat sealer. The filled pods may be located in cavities on the conveyor such that the pod hinges 190 are approximately 0.5mm to 10mm, preferably 1mm to 5mm, below the closer, and the pod hinges 190 are adapted to meet or reach the closer before the second and third portions 167, 166 of the lid contact the closer as the conveyor moves the filled pods toward the closer.

To facilitate recycling and be eco-friendly, the cup-shaped container 88, filter 87 and lid 23 are all made of #5 recyclable polypropylene. The lid sealant 99 is made of a polypropylene copolymer or polypropylene that has a softening temperature that is substantially lower than the polypropylene used in the remainder of the lid, preferably at least 20 degrees fahrenheit lower. The sealant may be a sufficiently thick film, preferably thicker than 35 microns, laminated to the lid to achieve adequate sealing to the edge 28.

The grind leakage problem or a second problem can also be addressed by a filter mating piece (mate)145 located on top of the filter bottom 26 (fig. 1G). The filter fittings initially aim to increase the flow resistance of the water flow 93 from the inlet needle 85 through the filter bottom to reduce the directed flow 94 shown in fig. 1B. It has been found that while the sachets 100 and 100P are in the apparatus 1 andthe filter mating piece prevents the filter base of the pod 100 and prior art pod 100P from being pierced by the outlet needle 63 during brewing in the brewer. The filter fitting 145 is located above the filter bottom 26 or 26P, which is different from the teaching by Beaulieu et al in U.S. patent No. 9,271,602, which teaches a filter shroud located below the filter bottom to prevent the filter from being pierced by the outlet needle. The filter fittings may be impermeable membranes or permeable discs (disks) or sheets of filters. To prevent loss, the filter fitting may be partially attached to the filter bottom 26 to allow the filter fitting to move relative to the filter bottom portion.

The problem of grit leakage can be further addressed by using a filter mesh specifically designed for the cup filter 87. A first such specially designed filter web comprises fibers loosely bonded to each other, the bonding force between the fibers being sufficiently low to allow the fibers to be partially pushed or pulled out of the filter 87 by the exit needle 63 before the fibers break. A second such specially designed filter mesh can be stretched by more than 50%, preferably more than 75%, before the mesh breaks at the brewing temperature for the sachet 100. It should be noted that this stretching prevents the outlet needle from breaking or cutting the fibers in the filter as the transient chamber shrinks or decreases in size during the brewing process to regulate the flow and interaction of the fluid and the brewing material. A third such specially designed filter web is a meltblown polypropylene web or a spunbond polypropylene nonwoven (nonwoven). Meltblown polypropylene nonwoven and spunbond polypropylene nonwoven may also be combined in structures like spunbond nonwoven/meltblown nonwoven web/spunbond nonwoven web or meltblown nonwoven/spunbond nonwoven. The final filter web of this particular design is a composite filter made of or including fine and coarse fibers. In the composite filter, the diameter or cross-sectional area for the coarse fibers is preferably at least twice the diameter or cross-sectional area for the fine fibers. By mixing the coarse and fine fibres in the same filter web, it is noted that some of the fibres become very resistant to being broken or cut by the needles, and the ends of the coarse fibres broken by the outlet needles 63 are in fact pressed very tightly against the needles to prevent coffee grounds from passing through the broken coarse fibres.

Several of the above solutions may be incorporated into the pod 100 to ensure a grind-free brew. For example, the cup-shaped filter 87 may be made from a melt-blown polypropylene web, comprising loosely bonded fibers that are capable of being stretched by at least 75% prior to breaking, and the cup-shaped filter 87 may be serially pleated by stacking pre-assembled empty sachet packs on top of each other to form the serial pleats 97.

Fig. 1H shows the high pod 100 in the holder 30. When a tall sachet is set into the holder, it interacts with the sachet centralizer 70, the shield 60 and the outlet needle 63 and forms the transient chamber 59 in the same manner as the standard or short sachet 100 of fig. 1 and 1A. As the pod is inserted more into the holder and pushes the shield plate 62 downward, the outlet needle pushes the filter bottom 26 upward even more to expand the transient chamber. As the shroud plate moves downwardly, it pushes against the inclined surface 67 of the trigger 64 and causes the trigger and latch 66 to move into the chamber 82, thereby unlocking the movable bottom wall 44 of the shared outlet 50. This allows the compressed shroud spring 43 to compress the spring 46 sharing the outlet 50 and move the movable bottom wall 44 and needle 63 downward. As a result, the transient chamber 59 contracts and then expands as the pod continues to be pushed down to its final position (fig. 1H). During brewing, the transient chamber 59 shrinks or shrinks significantly in size. At the end of brewing, the transient chamber may become substantially eliminated and invisible, as shown in fig. 1C. When the brew cover 20 is opened, the springs 43 and 46 push the movable bottom wall 44, the shield plate 62 and the used sachet 100 upwards, causing the latch 66 to relock the movable bottom wall and the latch 54 to relock the shield plate. It has been found that the tall pod 100 operates and forms a transient chamber 59 to regulate the interaction between the ground coffee 24a and the water in the brew chamber 58 even with the pod bottom 27 and side wall 29 removed. In this case, the holder side wall 35 becomes the side wall 27 of the sachet and the shield panel 62 becomes the sachet bottom 27 of the sachet, i.e. a portion of the holder 30 becomes a portion of the sachet 100.

Fig. 1I shows a dwarf pod 100 containing a supply of brewing material required to brew a cup or bowl of soup, a healthy drink, or meal, including soluble brewing material 24 and insoluble brewing material 24 a. It is more convenient and uses less packaging than the sachet taught by Estabrook et al in U.S. patent No. 8,834,948, and is therefore more eco-friendly. The insoluble brewing material 24a may be: 1) clam chowder for soup (cam chower), diced chicken, noodles, meat, vegetables, spices, garlic, seafood, seaweed, etc., 2) oatmeal for breakfast or baby meal, infant formula milk, cereal (cereal), grain (grain), etc., and 3) ground and cut vegetables, ground and cut fruits, chaga, super food (super food), matcha, syrup, concentrate, jelly-forming material, gel beans, turkish coffee, etc., for health drinks. The soluble brewing material 24 may be any material that can be dissolved, such as soluble sugar, salt, and beverage powder. The insoluble brewing material 24a may be any material that does not dissolve completely and includes extractable materials such as tea and coffee grounds.

Certain nutrients (such as vitamins) have an undesirable taste that, if present in sufficient quantities, can make soda, sparkling fruit juices, tea, coffee and other beverages unpalatable. Such nutrients may be embedded or infused into the gel beans or gel beads 24a, and the embedded gel beads may be provided in infant formula, soda water, sparkling juice, tea, and coffee to prevent undesirable flavors from being perceived by the person's tongue or nose. Gel beads embedded with nutrients or vitamins can be made small enough to prevent a person from being able to chew the gel beads, thereby further minimizing the undesirable taste of such nutrients or vitamins. The gel beads may be positioned in an upper portion of the brew chamber 58 and adapted to be rapidly expanded in size by hot steam or water from the inlet needle 85. The expanded embedded gel beads are then dispensed through outlet opening 49 along with a predetermined amount of infant formula, sparkling juice, tea, coffee or soda brewed in the brewing chamber, as will be described below.

The pod 100 has a cup-shaped receptacle 88, the cup-shaped receptacle 88 including an impermeable bottom 27, an impermeable side wall 29 extending upwardly from the impermeable bottom, a rim 28 near an upper end of the impermeable side wall, and an opening 159, the opening 159 being surrounded and bounded by the rim for receiving the soluble brewing material 24 and the insoluble brewing material 24 a. An impermeable, pierceable membrane lid 23 closes the opening 159 and is joined to the rim in sealed relation to form an impermeable sachet in cooperation with the container. The outlet opening 49 is preformed on the impermeable bottom 27 of the container for discharging the infusions comprising the insoluble brewing material 24a formed in the sachet, and the outlet opening 49 is large enough to prevent clogging by the insoluble brewing material. A regulating plate 48 is received in the container and positioned over the impermeable bottom to cover the outlet opening. A flexible impermeable membrane 140 is disposed over the adjustment plate and a peripheral region of the membrane is sealed or joined to the pod bottom 27 or sidewall 29 to form a peripheral seal or join 141. As shown in fig. 1J, the junction between the impermeable base and the flexible membrane is breakable to allow at least a portion of the regulating plate to be pushed upward relative to the outlet opening 49 and moved away from the base by the outlet needle 63.

The adjustment plate 48 is movable relative to the outlet opening 49 between a first position as shown in fig. 1I and 1K, in which the adjustment plate 48 forms an impermeable brewing chamber 58 in cooperation with the impermeable bottom 27, the side wall 29 and the lid 23 for storing and preserving the soluble brewing material 24 and the insoluble brewing material 24a, and a second position as shown in fig. 1J, 1L and 4D, in which the adjustment plate 48 forms a transient chamber 59 above the pod bottom 27 and adjusts or controls the inflow of the insoluble brewing material 24a and the brew formed in the chamber 58 into the transient chamber when liquid is introduced into the brewing chamber via the inlet needle 85 to interact with the brewing materials 24 and 24a therein. In the same manner as the capsule 100 of fig. 1, the lid 23 is pierced by the inlet needle 85 and the bottom 27 is pierced by the outlet needle 63. After piercing the bottom, the outlet needle pushes the adjustment plate 48 upwards and causes a portion of the peripheral bond 141 to rupture. The adjustment plate is sufficiently rigid to facilitate rupture of the joint or seal 141. The unbroken portion of the perimeter seal acts as a hinge for rotation of the conditioning plate 48 when the outlet needle pushes the conditioning plate upward to form the transient chamber 59 and the chamber inlet 155, which are large enough to allow the insoluble brewing material 24a to pass through. The adjustment plate is large enough to prevent premature discharge of the brewing material in the brewing chamber 58 prior to brewing and contacts an outlet needle 63, which outlet needle 63 pierces the bottom 27 at any of a plurality of positions on the bottom. The transient chamber is adapted to be large enough to receive the insoluble brewing material 24a from the brewing chamber 58 via the chamber inlet 155. When the brewing end capsule is removed from the holder, the adjustment plate falls to the capsule bottom 27 to close the outlet opening 49 and eliminate the transient chamber 59.

By controlling the dimensions of the chamber inlet 155 and the transient chamber 59, the regulating plate 48 regulates how both the brew and the insoluble brewing material 24a flow into the transient chamber 59 and how the brewing material interacts with the fluid from the inlet needle 85 in the brewing chamber 58 for a particular given holder and capsule size. The outlet opening 49 becomes the outlet of the transient chamber and discharges the brew and insoluble brewing material 24a to the dispenser 53 or directly into a cup or charge. The outlet opening may have a smaller size, e.g. 0.2 inches or 0.5 inches in diameter, when the brewing material comprises gel beads embedded with nutrients, turkish coffee, infant formula, matcha, syrup, fruit juice concentrate, ground fruit or vegetables, or powder, but may have a much larger size, e.g. 1 inch or 1.5 inches in diameter, to prevent clogging, when the brewing material comprises large items such as meatballs, noodles, chicken nuggets and vegetables.

For oversized insoluble brewing material, the outlet opening 49 may be larger than the regulating plate 48 and covered and sealed by an impermeable flexible membrane 140 instead of the regulating plate. The adjustment plates are permanently attached to either side of the flexible membrane to allow the outlet needle 63 to directly push and move the adjustment plates to their second position to form the transient chamber 59 without contacting or piercing the capsule bottom 27. In this case, the adjustment plate may be moved by a beam, pin or any protrusion on the holder 30 that is capable of acting on the adjustment plate and moving the adjustment plate from the first position to the second position, thereby avoiding the use of a sharp needle that is harmful to children.

It should be understood that impermeable membrane 140 may be heat sealed to the lower surface of base 27 to seal outlet opening 49, and may be attached to the lower surface of adjustment plate 48 through the outlet opening to limit movement of the adjustment plate on the base. When the outlet needle 63 pushes the adjustment plate away from the bottom 27, the flexible membrane directly below the outlet opening may break. The flexible membrane 140 may also be adapted to be weak enough to be ruptured by the pressure in the brewing chamber, thereby ensuring that the outlet opening 49 is not blocked by the membrane.

It should also be understood that the outlet opening 49 may be formed in the lid 23 instead of the bottom 27 of the container 88. In this case, the adjustment plate 48 may be connected to the lid by a flexible membrane 140 in one of the ways described above, or may be directly sealed to the lid by a heat seal or adhesive seal in a manner similar to that of fig. 1K. The outlet opening 49 and the conditioning plate 48 may be positioned or arranged to allow the inlet needle 85 to push the conditioning plate away from the outlet opening to form the transient chamber 59 between the conditioning plate and the lid 23 when the inlet needle pierces the lid to introduce fluid into the brew chamber 58 to form an brew, thereby preventing the need for the outlet needle 63 and saving costs and risks associated with the outlet needle. Alternatively, the bottom 27 of the container 88 may be arranged to be pierced by the inlet needle 85 to introduce fluid into the brewing chamber 58 to form the brew, and the lid 23 is arranged to be pierced by the outlet needle 63 to push the regulating plate to form the transient chamber. In other words, the pod 100 may be used in the holder 30 in an upside-down (upside-down) manner.

Fig. 1K shows a high pod 100 containing soluble brewing material 24 and insoluble brewing material 24a for use in brewing soup, breakfast oat flour, infant formula, peeled natural juice, and the like. An adhesive or heat seal 143 is formed around the outlet opening 49 between the adjustment plate 48 and the bottom 27 of the pod. An adjustment opening 144 may be formed on the adjustment plate to facilitate the flow of insoluble brewing material 24a in the brewing chamber 58 into the transient chamber 59 and to facilitate the discharge of the insoluble brewing material through the outlet opening 49 into a bowl or cup below the holder. It has been found that if the regulator opening 144 is not present, the lump or viscous brewing material 24a tends to clog the chamber inlet 155, making a regulator opening necessary for these capsules containing insoluble brewing material 24a that is difficult to discharge from the capsule. The conditioning opening is at least 20%, preferably at least 50%, larger than the insoluble brewing material and is positioned at a location away from the outlet opening 49 and inaccessible to the needle 63 after the needle penetrates the capsule bottom 27. A skirt (skirt) or sidewall may be formed at the perimeter of the adjustment plate to adjust the interaction of the brewing material with the fluid from the needle 85.

The sanitary tube 142 is connected to the outlet opening 49 and can be accommodated in the dispenser 53 to prevent soup, infant formula and other drinkable substances brewed in the brewing chamber 58 from contacting the holder 30, thereby preventing cross contamination of the brewed infant formula and other drinkable substances with beverages like coffee and improving food safety. The sanitary tube 142 also prevents the possibility of dispensing any spoiled brew that was left in the pod holder a few days ago into a human beverage by dispensing the brew from the transient chamber 59 of the pod 100 directly into a load such as a cup or bowl. It will be appreciated that the sanitary tube may be added to other pods, including soda pods, coffee pods, or tea pods.

The bag 220 is attached to the membrane cover 23 and is adapted to be pierced by the inlet needle 85. The pouch includes a barrier film 201 sealed to a film lid to form a pouch compartment 199 below or above the film lid 23 for containing a second batch of brewing material 202, such as oil, sauce, flavor, or other requisite for brewing materials 24 and 24 a. The pocket 199 must be thin enough to allow the cutter 21 of the inlet needle 85 to pierce both the membrane cover and the barrier membrane 201, and the lower membrane of the pocket must be sufficiently distant from the outlet port 172 of the needle 85 to allow the material 202 in the pocket to be carried by the water from the outlet port of the needle. To facilitate production, a peripheral region of the barrier film 201 may be sealed to the rim 28 or sidewall 29, rather than to the film lid 23, to form a pocket 199 in an upper portion of the brewing chamber 58 after the insoluble brewing material and/or the soluble brewing material is filled into the brewing chamber. The second batch of brewing material 202 is then filled into the pocket 199. The sachet is finally sealed around the rim by a lidding film. The brewing chamber of fig. 1I and 1K may be filled with a supply of viscous liquid (such as concentrate or syrup) to brew the fruit beverage and soda. It should be understood that a permeable filter (rather than barrier film 201) may be sealed to the rim 28 or sidewall 29 to form the filter pocket 199, and at least the center of the bottom of the filter is sufficiently deep to prevent an access needle from piercing the filter. A supply of extractable brewing material (such as ground coffee and cocoa beans) may be placed into the filter pocket, and the capsule then covered and sealed with a cover film.

For viscous, oily or other brewing materials 202 that are difficult to carry out of the pocket 199 by water from the inlet needle 85, the pouch 200 may be attached to the upper surface of the membrane lid 23. This positioning allows the brew cover 20 to press the viscous brewing material 202 out of the pocket and into the brew chamber 58 as the brew cover is lowered to the holder 30, such that the inlet needle pierces the pocket and membrane lid. To enable such a sachet to be manufactured correctly, a supply of viscous brewing material 202 is first sealed between two sheets of barrier film 201 to form a pouch 220. The resulting bag is then sealed or attached to the sachet above the film lid 23.

For local farmers and small producers filling and selling the sachets of figures 1I and 1K with locally grown or produced fresh ingredients, pre-assembled empty sachet stacks, similar to 1G, can be used. Each pre-assembled empty sachet has an adjustment plate 48 pre-sealed to the impermeable bottom 27 of the container 88 to cover the outlet opening 49 and a lid 23 partially pre-attached to the rim 28 in a manner similar to that of figure 1G. A plurality of such pre-assembled empty sachet packs can be stacked on top of each other for convenient filling operations and space-saving storage. When a local farmer or producer receives a purchase order or wishes to sell a quantity of fresh juice or soup sachets, he or she can quickly fill the desired number of pre-assembled empty sachets with a suitable brewing material, such as fresh ground fruit, vegetables or meat. Since the production of the sachets is so quick and easy due to the stack of pre-assembled empty sachets, the farmers or producers do not need to keep any stock for the various types of sachets they sell. Thus, they can produce fresh perishable sachets of vegetables, fruits and meats as needed not only to prevent spoilage losses, but also to deliver the freshest sachets to consumers for use in brewing juices, soups and meals.

When the high bag of fig. 1K is disposed into the bag holder 30, it interacts with the bag centralizer 70, the shroud 60, the outlet needle 63, and the shared outlet 50 to form the transient chamber 59 in a manner similar or identical to the bag 100 of fig. 1J and the high bag 100 of fig. 1H. After piercing the bottom 27 of the capsule, the outlet needle pushes the adjustment plate 48 upwards and causes the seal 143 to rupture. As the needle 63 pierces the capsule and moves further into the capsule, the adjustment plate 48 rotates upwardly about its distal edge 168 and expands the transient chamber 59 (fig. 1L). It will be appreciated that as the adjustment plate 48 is rotated upwardly, the distal edge 168 may move over the bottom of the pod until it is stopped by the pod side wall 29. The adjustment plate should be large enough to maintain contact with the outlet needle during rotation of the adjustment plate about the distal edge. As the adjustment plate moves, it may cause some of the brewing material to fall through the adjustment opening 144 into the transient chamber 59. As a result, the adjustment opening should be positioned sufficiently far from the outlet opening 49 to prevent premature dispensing of the raw or un-brewed material 24 or 24 a.

To facilitate the return of the shroud 60 to its safe, injury-preventing position, the shroud panel 62 may include a vertical peripheral wall having a height of 1mm to 20mm, preferably 2mm to 10mm, above and around at least a portion of its perimeter to receive the pod bottom 27, thus preventing the exit lock 80 from contacting and catching the lower end of the pod 100. The shield plate may also have a sufficiently small size or recessed portion adjacent the exit lock 80 to prevent the edge of the shield plate from contacting the exit lock during the return of the shield 60 to its safe position. It should be appreciated that the latch 54 may be moved away from the shield plate 62 by a trigger that can be activated by downward movement of the brew cover 20.

Different brewing conditions require that different sachets be properly brewed. Incorrect brewing conditions for beverages, infant formula, soups, meals and dessert sachets to be brewed in the device 1 of fig. 7 may result in e.g. a brew that is too hot or too cold to drink. Bar code, RFID or spectroscopy systems taught in U.S. patent No. 9,320,385 and U.S. patent publication No. 20170027374 may be used to partially satisfy this need. However, such systems require expensive scanning and processing hardware, which makes some consumers unable to afford a single-serving brewer.

Fig. 1M shows the cold brew coffee pod 100 and the top portion of the holder 30 of fig. 1 to focus on the bit group 90, the bit receiver 32, and the bit group reader 34 that are critical to proper brewing of the pod. In this exemplary embodiment, the group of bits includes three bits. Each bit may be in one of two states, e.g., an "up" state and a "down" state. Bits that are in the "up" state or the "down" state are referred to as "up" or "down", respectively. The upward position is an upper point or protrusion 90-0 formed on the side wall 29 of the pod and the downward position is a lower point or protrusion 90-1 formed on the side wall 29 of the pod. The lower point 90-1 is located lower on the side wall of the sachet than the upper point 90-0. Upper and lower points may also be formed on the rim 28 or the cover 23 as shown in fig. 4E. The upper bit may be assigned a digital value of "0" and the lower bit may be assigned a value of "1". The bit group 90 is therefore inherently compatible with the controller 2, which includes a digital processor or CPU, to prevent the need for expensive scanning and sensing hardware and to make the device 1 affordable to a larger number of consumers.

The bit group reader 34 may include a scanner or a plurality of object readers 34a, 34b, and 34 c. Each object reader is adapted to read one bit of the group of bits and provide each bit with a value "1" or "0" depending on the state of the bit. To avoid complexity, the bit group reader may be a simple switch group comprising a plurality of mini or micro electrical switches 34a, 34b and 34c in the holder 30 (fig. 1M and 1N) or the brew cover 20 (fig. 4 and 4E). Each particular bit in the group of bits 90 for a particular pod 100 is designated as a particular switch in the group of contact switches 34. When a sachet is provided into the holder 30 and the brewing cover 20 is closed, the downward position 90-1 in the group of bits may be adapted to be close enough to its designated switch to press or activate the switch and provide a value of 1 to the controller 2 via the electrical wire 33a, 33b or 33 c. The up bit 90-0 in the bit group may be adapted to be far enough away from its designated switch to prevent it from pressing or activating the switch and provide a value of 0 to the controller. The value and position of each of the bits in the group of bits for the exemplary cold brew coffee pod of fig. 1 is 011, which is referred to as the switching state of the group of bits, and is associated with a predetermined set of brewing conditions stored in the controller 2.

The bit receiver 32 includes bit openings 32a, 32b and 32c, the bit surfaces 192 on the pod 100 and counter-bit surfaces 195 on the holder side wall 35, the bit openings 32a, 32b and 32c for assigning the bits in the bit group 90 to their pre-designated switches in the switch group 34, the counter surfaces 195 being adapted to automatically rotate the pod to find the best match between the bit surfaces and the counter surfaces. Both the seating and the inverted surfaces should be large enough to facilitate automatic rotation and to find the best match between the two surfaces. The bit group 90 has a fixed, predetermined spatial relationship with the bit surface 192 such that when the bit surface 192 finds its best match position with the bit-reversal surface 195 in the holder, each bit in the bit group finds its pre-designated switch in the switch group 34. To prevent any need to reposition the pod, a switch set 34 may be provided in the holder 30, and multiple identical sets of bits may be formed on the pod (fig. 1M and 1O). Alternatively, a plurality of switch sets 34 may be provided on the holder and a set of bits may be provided on the pod.

When the pod is set into the holder and the lid 20 is closed (fig. 1A), the set of bits 90 on the cold brew coffee pod of fig. 1 presses the set of switches 34 on the holder 30 and provides a 011 switching state to the controller 2. Similarly, the group of bits for the short and large meal sachet of fig. 4 or the tall and large soup sachet of fig. 4D presses the switch group and provides the controller with a switching state of 110 or 010, respectively. Each group of bits or its switching state is associated with a group of brewing or cooking conditions, as will be described in fig. 4 to 7. Conditions include the amount of catalytic energy, the temperature of the water or steam, pump time, and pump pressure. The pump 7 may be an electric pump or any device capable of delivering a liquid, and the pressure through the pump 7 may be adjusted by adjusting the voltage or current applied to the pump. The hot and cold brew espresso pods to be described in fig. 1P require higher pumping pressures than other pods.

For devices already installed in the home, office or other location, the bit set 90 allows a person to add or upload a new set of brewing conditions for a new type of pod to the device (which has a predetermined empty space or slot in its controller 2) via the internet by entering the switching state of the bit set. This enables consumers with the old device 1 to enjoy new drinks and meals from a new type of sachet developed after they purchase the device. The bit set also allows changing the brewing conditions for existing pods (e.g. coffee, soup or hamburger pods) via the internet by entering the switching state. Thus, in the cold winter season, a person may change the set of brewing conditions for his coffee, soup or sandwich pod to the winter version, so that a hotter cup of coffee, bowl of soup or sandwich is brewed. In the hot summer, one can change the set of brewing conditions to the summer version to brew cooler drinks and meals. It should be understood that brewing conditions for existing types of sachets may improve over time or may be customized by the beverage or meal manufacturer for a particular city, state or country of consumers. In order to allow a consumer with the old device 1 to enjoy such an improvement or customization, the group of bits or its switching state allows the consumer to change the set of brewing conditions online or via the internet after the consumer receives a notification for such an improvement or customization. The notification may be sent online to the screen of the device.

Bit group 90 may have 4, 5, 6, or more or fewer bits in addition to the 3-bit group for capsule 100. For example, a group of 5-bit bits for a cold-brewed coffee pod, i.e., a group of bits having 5 bits, may be represented by three upper points and two lower points 90-0, 90-1, and 90-1 on the pod, and have a switching state of 00011. In addition to being dots or protrusions, the bits in the bit group 90 may also be beams, openings, recesses, spots, printing, or any other objects formed on the side wall 29, edge 28, or cover 23 of the pod, so long as the objects may be variously positioned, sized, shaped, colored, magnetized, composed, or differentiated in any other way to have two different states to provide two different values, such as 1 and 0, or on and off. The group of bit readers or switches 34 includes a plurality of object readers or switches that are capable of distinguishing between two states for such objects on a pod. It should be understood that the assignment of groups of bits to a certain capsule is for the purpose of describing the present invention and that different groups of bits may be assigned in commercial products. It should also be understood that a value of 0 is arbitrarily assigned to the up bit and a value of 1 is arbitrarily assigned to the down bit. It is apparent that the upper bits may be assigned a 1 and the lower bits may be assigned a 0. It should also be understood that each bit in bit group 90 may be in one of three states (e.g., up, middle, and down), and may be provided with one of three values (e.g., 0, 1/2, and 1) that are readable by bit group reader or switch group 34.

Fig. 1P shows a cold brew espresso pod including a bit set 90, a first container 88, and a second container 256, the bit set 90 having two upward positions 90-0 in the first two positions of the bit set formed on the pod side wall 27 and one downward position 90-1 in the third position, the first container 88 having a first impermeable bottom 27, a first impermeable side wall 29 connected to the bottom, a rim 28 for the side wall, and an access opening surrounded by the rim, the second container 256 having a second impermeable bottom 259 and a second impermeable side wall 255, the second impermeable side wall 255 sealed to the rim or side wall of the first container 88 to form a first chamber or blister chamber 258 between the first bottom 27 and the second bottom 259. The sachet also includes a cup-shaped filter 87 having a filter bottom 26 and a plurality of series pleats 97 sealed to the sidewall 29 and/or sidewall 255 to form a thin second chamber 257 between the filter 87 and the second bottom 259. The capsule further comprises an impermeable lid 23 sealed to the rim 28 to form a third chamber or brew chamber 58 between the cup-shaped filter 87 and the lid for storing a supply of coffee grounds for the espresso. The lid may be pierced by the inlet needle 85 to receive an injection of fluid into the brew chamber 58 for interaction with the brewing material to form an brew. The filter separates the second chamber and the third chamber such that the brew formed in the brew chamber has to flow through the filter to reach the second chamber 257. A blister pocket 269 is formed on second floor 259 for forming a foamed brew in the first chamber. The second container 256 is sealed to the first container 88 such that the brew in the second chamber 257 must flow through the blister hole to reach the first chamber 258 unless the blister hole fails or is blocked. The second bottom 259 is sufficiently flexible so that when the inlet needle 85 injects hot water through the lid into the third chamber or brew chamber, the second chamber 257 expands sufficiently to receive the brew from the third chamber 58. The foaming aperture is small enough to emulsify the brew and create a fine foam for the brew as it passes through the filter, the second chamber and the foaming aperture into the first chamber. The first bottom portion 27 may be pierced to form an outlet to discharge the brew and fine foam in the foaming chamber 258 into a charge or cup.

The espresso pod also includes a backup hole 277 that is small enough to emulsify the brew formed in the third chamber and create foam for the brew formed in the third chamber as it passes through the filter, the second chamber, and the backup hole into the first chamber. The backup holes are often sealed or closed by an impermeable membrane 279 heat sealed to the bottom 259. When the blister holes 269 fail or clog, the membrane 279 becomes ruptured or the heat seal is unsealed to open the backup hole. The pod may also include a second supply of brewing material (e.g., milk or chocolate concentrate or powder) in the first chamber. Milk or chocolate significantly improves the foaming of espresso at low pump pressures and allows latte, cappuccino, mocha or similar drinks with a thick foam head (foam head) to be brewed with a low pressure pump 7, which low pressure pump 7 can only generate pressures of 1 to 3 bar or 15 to 45psi to increase the safety of the device. In order to prevent the contents of the frothing chamber, in particular the liquid, from reaching the coffee grounds in the brewing chamber 58, the frothing opening 269 can be a weakened area on the second impermeable bottom wall 259 or covered by a membrane similar to the membrane 279. When a sufficient amount of espresso brew is delivered into second chamber 257 to expand the chamber, the weakened area is pushed away to form a foaming opening 269. It will be appreciated that the first chamber 258 may also be used to froth milk from the milk container 299, as will be described in fig. 7.

Fig. 1R, together with fig. 1 and 1A, shows a flow deflecting into the port needle 85, which includes a hinge 191 connected to a handle (not shown) of the brewing cover to retract the needle into the brewing cover when the cover is open and to extend the cover to pierce the cover 23 when the cover is closed. It further comprises a needle inlet 132 connected to the metering filter 14 via the inlet tube 18, a needle outlet 172 for emitting a water flow 93, a fluid passing channel 173 between the needle inlet and the needle outlet, a cutter, such as a spike or spear 21, positioned at a predetermined distance from the needle outlet 172 and adapted to pierce a cap to introduce fluid into the supply of brewing material 24, and a connector 25 connecting the cutter to the needle outlet. The cutter has a deflecting surface or deflector 171 to deflect and redistribute the water stream 93 into an upward stream 91 and a downward stream 92. As a result, for the prior art brewer shown in FIG. 1B, the cutter 21 prevents the guide of the needle 85P therethrough. The upward flow 91 causes any brewing material floating in the brewing chamber 58 to be completely dissolved or extracted, thereby further increasing the brew strength and reducing waste. By positioning the cutter 21 directly below the center of the needle outlet 172, the cutter also prevents infusion material (such as coffee grounds, bread or pasta) from being pushed into the needle outlet 172 and the fluid passing channel 173 during insertion of the needle into the infusion material. The needle outlet is centered on the axis 207 for fluid passage through the channel.

The needle outlet 172 of the inlet needle 85 may have a diameter larger than the diameter of the needle inlet and the tube 18 connecting the inlet needle to the metering filter to prevent the brewing materials 24 and 24a from clogging the fluid passing channel 173 between the tube 18 and the needle inlet. To prevent the inlet needle itself from becoming clogged with the brewing material, the needle outlet is substantially larger than the needle inlet 132. The distance between needle outlet 172 and cutter 21 or the length of connector 25 is long enough, for example 2mm to 16mm, preferably 4mm to 10mm long, to prevent clogging of needle outlet 172. Such a long or tall connector 25 is also critical to pierce the bag 220 of fig. 1K and allow water from the needle outlet to carry the brewing material 202 out of the bag chamber 199. If the connector 25 is long enough so that a portion of the connector remains in the brew cover 20 after the lid is closed, the lower opening of the sealing gasket 22 on the brew cover essentially becomes the outlet 172 for the inlet needle 85.

In addition to introducing various liquid or gaseous fluids into the supply of brewing material, the flow deflecting pin 85 may also be used to introduce fluids into various soft objects. Brewing materials include sandwiches, meats, breads and pizza, coffee grinds, baby formula, syrups, beverage mixes, soup mixes, cereals, oatmeal, cereals, desserts, and pasta. Flexible objects include animal skin, human skin, plants, soil and any other flexible object that can be cut, penetrated or inserted by the cutter 21. Due to its high tolerance to solids, the flow deflecting needle can deliver a fluid containing suspended solids or very viscous or gelatinous into the infusion material of a soft object.

In fig. 1, 1U, 1V and 1W, the self-refreshing filter 14 is positioned upstream of the inlet needle 85 and is intended to address the teachings of U.S. Pat. nos. 6,142,063, 6,079,315, 9,149,149, 9,295,357 and 9,307,860Andthe short life of the nominal prior art brewer is a problem. After each brewing, the tea is brewedAs the machine cools, grounds are drawn into the inlet needle, pump, and other parts of the brewer by the vacuum created in the brew path, which may cause life problems. The self-refreshing filter 14 of fig. 1 and 1W comprises a filter chamber 17 in fluid communication with the water tank 3 and the brewing cover 20, a filter base 15 fixed to the filter chamber and located therein, a movable lip 16 connected to the filter base, and an elongated expandable opening 19. Also seen in fig. 1U and 1V are two opposing lips 16 adapted to form a first opening 271 in the filter base 15, and a second opening 19 located generally away from the filter base. The first opening is substantially fixed in size and the second opening is a rectangular opening. The second opening 19 may also take the form of a rounded, oval or other suitable shape and may be formed in the elastomeric sheet. The movable lip 16 may be made of metal, ceramic, plastic or elastomer.

The second opening 19 is substantially smaller than the first opening in its normal state and is adapted to change in size in response to changes in the pressure differential acting on the movable lip 16 to adjust the resistance to flow and passage of solids through the self-refreshing filter 14. Thus, the second opening is also referred to as an expandable opening. When a vacuum is created upstream of the filter after brewing, a pressure differential acts on the movable lips of the expandable opening 19 and causes the lips to move toward each other to close the expandable opening and significantly increase the flow resistance, thereby preventing solids 24 in the holder 30 from passing through the filter 14 into the brewer and protecting the brewer. When the pump 7 is turned on, the pressure upstream of the filter pushes the two opposing movable lips apart to expand the expandable opening, thereby significantly reducing the flow resistance, allowing the water from the pump to flush any grounds or solids on or near the filter and refresh the filter. It has been found that the expandable opening 19 of the filter 14 remains functional when only one of the two opposing lips 16 of the filter 14 is movable and the other is fixed or secured in place.

Fig. 1U shows the self-refreshing metering filter 14 embedded in the fluid passage channel 173 near the needle inlet 132 of the inlet needle 85. The filter base 15 is secured to a needle access which becomes a filter chamber 17. For fitting into the inlet needle, only one expandable opening 19 is formed on the filter base by two opposing movable lips 16. The illustrated expandable opening is normally closed when there is no upstream pressure. When the pump 7 delivers water to the inlet needle, the upstream pressure pushes the lip and expands the expandable opening 19 to inject water into the fluid passing channel 173. Water from the expandable opening splashes onto the side walls of the fluid passing channel and then changes flow direction to flush away any brewing material in the channel, such as bread, ground or meat.

In fig. 1V, the self-refreshing filter 14 is located inside the fluid passage 173, directly above the deflecting surface or deflector 171 of the cutter 21, so that water is ejected from the expandable opening 19 in the form of a fast jet, impinging and splashing on the deflector. This arrangement significantly improves the brewing quality and when the speed of the jet is sufficiently high, it is noted that this arrangement emulsifies the fluid. The expandable opening is positioned close enough to the needle outlet 172 to prevent any significant accumulation of brewing material in the fluid passage channel 173, but is positioned far enough away from the needle outlet to prevent any damage to the expandable opening 19 or lip 16. A cylindrical sleeve 194 is positioned below the filter base 15 to prevent pumping pressure from pushing the filter out of the fluid passage 173. When brewing a sandwich or meal, the fast jet from the expandable opening is efficient in flushing the brewing material (including difficult to remove breads and noodles if present) out of the fluid through channel (fig. 4-7).

It should be understood that inlet needle 85, outlet needle 63, and fluid needle 261, which will be described in fig. 7, may be any suitable solid object having a sharp or pointed tip (tip) at its end capable of piercing into or through another object. The needle may even have a blunt tip at its end to make it safe for handling. The fluid passage channel 173 may be replaced by a plurality of channels, notches, indentations or other irregularities formed on the outer surface of the needle. It should also be understood that the expandable opening 19 in the fluid passage 173 may be replaced by other suitable expandable openings.

When using different types of sachets containing different brewing materials, it is also noted that the self-refreshing filter 14 of fig. 1U and 1V results in an almost constant brewing speed. This metering effect of the self-refreshing filter is even more pronounced when the expandable opening 19 remains sufficiently small in its expanded state and the lip 16 is sufficiently strong to resist pumping pressure. This enables the device 1 of the invention to obtain a metered brewing volume equal to the brewing speed times the brewing time. As a result, the self-refreshing filter 14 has provided a simpler alternative to metering the brew volume than the devices taught by street, Beaulieu et al in U.S. patent nos. 7,523,695, 7,398,726, 6,142,063 and 6,082,247.

The self-refreshing filter 14 is also referred to as a self-refreshing metering filter or metering filter in view of its unique ability to meter the brew volume. In a preferred embodiment, the metering filter 14 includes two opposing movable lips 16 to form an elongated expandable opening 19 similar to the opening 19 in FIG. 1W. In its non-expanded state, the elongated opening has an opening width of 0 to 1 (millimeters or mm), preferably 0 to 0.5 (millimeters or mm), and an opening length of 1mm to 15mm, preferably 2mm to 7mm, to obtain a flow rate suitable for brewing. Larger openings may be used for expandable openings of metering filters to be used in industrial applications. When the pump 7 is turned on to generate upstream pressure, the expandable opening 19 (which expandable opening 19 in its unexpanded state is, for example, 0.1mm wide and 2.5mm long) can expand to larger dimensions, for example, 0.5mm wide and 2.7mm long, depending on the pump pressure. When a vacuum is created upstream, the opening 19 is reduced in size or even closed.

The degree of expansion or size of the opening 19 in its expanded state, which determines the flow rate or brewing speed, may be controlled by the strength, stiffness and size of the lips 16 or by the force applied to one or both lips 16 of the expandable opening with a spring or resilient plate (not shown). For brewing, different flow rates may be achieved, such as 2 millimeters or ml, 3 millimeters or ml, 5 millimeters or ml, or 12 millimeters or ml per second. In order to obtain a flow rate of the metering filter that is substantially independent of the brewing material, the flow resistance of the fluid flowing in its expanded state through the expandable opening 19 is adapted to be substantially higher than the flow resistance of the fluid flowing through the brewing material in the holder, preferably at least 50% higher, most preferably at least 75% higher. In order to obtain a high flow resistance and a long service life, which will be described below, the lip 16 may be made sufficiently long, for example 15mm or 25mm, and the average lip distance is sufficiently small, for example 0.5mm or 1 mm. When the opening is in its non-expanded state, the average lip distance is half of the sum of the two distances between the lips at the base 15 and at the expandable opening 19.

Although hard scale formed during heating of the water can pass through the expandable openings 19 and be captured by the encapsulated filter 87, the metering filter 14 can still become clogged after prolonged use. To obtain an acceptable service life, for example 3 years, the expandable opening 19 is adapted to expand to a sufficiently large size, between 3 and 20 square millimetres, preferably between 5 and 10 square millimetres, at the normal operating pressure of the metering filter 14. For a rectangular or oval shaped opening 19 for brewing, the length of the opening may be 1mm to 10 mm, preferably 2 mm to 7 mm, and the width of the opening may be 0.3 mm to 4 mm, preferably 0.5mm to 2 mm, when the opening is in its expanded state or under normal operating pressure. It will be appreciated that the controller 2 may cause the pump 7 to generate a restoring pressure sufficiently higher than the normal operating pressure to push the opposing lips 16 of the expandable opening 19 further away than at the normal operating pressure, thereby allowing the fluid to flush away any oversized solids trapped in the dosing filter 14 during normal operation, thereby restoring the viability of the apparatus 1. The restoring pressure may be generated by applying a higher voltage or current to the pump than that used during normal operation. It will also be appreciated that the controller 2 may comprise a dedicated controller for one or more components of the apparatus, which may be a chip, a CPU or simply a manual switch.

When the metering filter 14 in fig. 1 is installed in the opposite direction, i.e. the metering filter is installed such that the expandable opening 19 is positioned upstream of the first opening 271, it becomes a constant flow valve. Substantially the same flow rate can be achieved when the pressure upstream of the pump varies by 30% or more. When the average lip distance between two opposing lips 16 is sufficiently small (e.g. 1 mm) and the lips are sufficiently long (e.g. 20 mm), the flow rate becomes substantially constant. In this reverse mounted position, as the upstream pump pressure increases, the distance between the two lips of the expandable opening 19 decreases, as the increased pressure differential acting on the outer surfaces of the two lips 16 pushes the lips closer to each other. The reduced distance between the lips 16 increases the flow resistance to balance the effect of increased pumping pressure so that the flow rate remains constant. When the expandable opening 19 is blocked, the flow through the metering filter 14 may be reversed to flush out solids and clean the metering filter. Alternatively, the base 15 containing the two opposing lips 16 may be fitted in the through opening or cylindrical opening by a movable body (such as a ball) adapted to fit into the filter chamber 17 and rotated by a knob to switch the position of the first and second openings 271, 19 therein. The through opening is coaxial with the filter chamber. During normal operation of the metering filter, the second opening 19 is upstream of the first opening 271. For cleaning, the ball is rotated 180 degrees within filter chamber 17 by a knob to move second opening 19 downstream of the first opening, allowing upstream pump pressure to expand the second opening to flush out any solids.

In addition to the use of the metering filter 14 in the brewing station 300, the metering filter 14 may also be used in other applications, such as delivering liquid or gaseous fluids to utilization stations in chemical and pharmaceutical processing, aquaria, mining, water treatment, swimming pools, home, salt water, and semiconductor industries. When the tank 3 is connected to a water pipe (plumbig) system or a piping system, the tank 3 may be a chamber adapted to receive fluid from the water pipe system and allow the pump 7 to deliver the fluid therein to a brewing station or other utilization station. The tank 3 may also be a fluidly sealed chamber or tube section to allow the pressure of the water line system to deliver fluid through the metering filter 14 to a brewing station or other fluid utilization station.

A cold brew catalyst 10 is provided in the apparatus of fig. 1 for brewing cold brew within one minute with the cold brew coffee pod 100. The word "catalyst" means that the brewing catalyst greatly enhances the speed of cold brewing and may not imply a chemical reaction. The brewing catalyst comprises a catalyst chamber 12 and a heater 9, the catalyst chamber 12 being fluidly connected to the water tank 3 and the brewing cover 20, the heater 9 being electrically connected to the controller 2 via an electrical wire 9 a. The catalytic chamber has a sufficiently low heat capacity, typically between 5 and 100 calories per degree celsius, preferably between 5 and 50 calories per degree celsius, to ensure that the cold brew received in the serving cup is below ambient or room temperature and that the catalyst 10 can be properly activated. To activate the brewing catalyst, the controller 2 causes a small amount of catalytic energy, typically 1 to 8, preferably 2 to 4, watt-hours, to be supplied to the catalyst prior to brewing the coffee grounds in the pod. The energy required to activate the catalyst is so low that the device can brew cold brew products of 8 ounces to 12 ounces, i.e., 200ml to 360ml, using an automobile cigarette lighter, laptop computer, or other low wattage power source.

An adapter such as a USB connector is provided for plugging into a laptop computer or cigarette lighter. The cold brew coffee pod 100 of FIG. 1 (which has and does not have a coffee cup)Sachets of the same size and containing 13.5 grams of light, medium or deep toast) are provided into the holder 30. Unlike prior art cold brew machines that require coarse grind having an average grind size of 1000 microns or greater, the cold brew packet 100 requires sufficiently fine grind having an average grind size of less than 475 microns, preferably less than 300 microns for at least one dimension of the fine grind to facilitate interaction with water in the cold state to achieve the proper cold brew concentration. When the cover 20 is closed (fig. 1A), the bit set 90 depresses the switch set 34, thereby causing the controller 2 to select a cold brewing condition according to the switching state 011 and charge the catalyst with a small amount of catalytic energy, e.g., 2.4 watt-hours, through the cigarette lighter or laptop.When the start button is pressed, the controller causes the pump and catalyst to provide 8 ounces of water in its first or cold state from the tank 3 to the brew chamber 58 of the pod. Approximately 8 ounces of cold brew coffee was dispensed into the cup below the holder in one minute.

The resulting temperature of the 8 ounces of cold brew is 15 degrees celsius to 30 degrees celsius depending on the temperature of the cold water in the tank 3. The concentration of an 8 ounce cold brew, measured by a VST LAB Coffee III refractometer, was 1.14% as total dissolved solids or TDS. The cold brew almost meets the gold cup standard of 1.15 to 1.35 as TDS defined by the fine coffee association and is comparable to the standardThe 8 ounces of hot coffee brewed by the pod is much stronger with a typical brew strength as measured by the same refractometer, as measured by TDS, of 0.6 to 0.9.

Thus, the catalyst allows a cup of fresh brew to be brewed with a cigarette lighter during a person's camping or driving trip or with a laptop computer on an airplane. Although it is not yet clear how the brewing catalyst catalyzes cold brewing, it was found that a portion of the catalytic energy is transferred to the cold water delivered to the cold brewing pod 100, which increases the temperature of the resulting cold brewed product by 7 to 10 degrees celsius. It has also been found that the thermal capacity of the catalyst chamber 12 should be low enough to achieve proper activation of the cold-brew catalyst and to prevent the resulting cold-brew article from being at a temperature significantly above ambient or room temperature.

Fig. 2 shows a method of brewing a cold brew when the device 1 is plugged into an electrical outlet in a home, office or shop. Two cups of cold or ice water are added to tank 3. The tank may be connected to a tap water system, refrigerator or other storage tank. After placing the cold brew coffee pod 100 containing suitably ground beans as described above into the holder and closing the brew cover (as shown in fig. 1A), the bit set presses the switch set 34 in the holder and causes the cold brew catalyst 10 to be charged with a small amount of catalytic energy, e.g., 3 watt-hours, within a few seconds. After pressing the start button, the controller causes the pump and catalyst to provide a first amount of water (e.g., 50ml) and a second amount of water (e.g., 170ml) in their first or cold water states through the ground coffee to interact with the ground coffee in the pod. Part of the catalytic energy may be transferred to ice water or cold water, which may raise the temperature of the resulting cold brew by about 8 to 11 degrees celsius. If most of the catalytic energy is transferred to a first amount (e.g. 50ml) of ice water or cold water, the temperature may be increased by about 50 degrees celsius for the first 50 ml. In this case, the second quantity of water delivered through the coffee grounds to interact with the coffee grounds is at the temperature of ice water or cold water and has a much larger volume than the first quantity of water, for example 170 ml. The first quantity and the second quantity may be conveyed through the ground coffee in a continuous flow or in two separate flows to interact with the ground coffee.

Within about 60 seconds, 8 ounces of cold brew formed as a result of interaction between the coffee grounds and the cold water in the brew chamber are dispensed into a cup below the holder. The resulting cold brew has a temperature of 15 degrees celsius to 20 degrees celsius and a concentration of 1.15% to 1.27% brew as measured by VST LAB Coffee III refractometer as total dissolved solids or TDS. The cold brew almost meets the gold cup standard of 1.15 to 1.35 on TDS and is better than the standardThe 8 ounces of hot coffee brewed by the pod is much stronger with a typical brew strength as measured by the same refractometer, as measured by TDS, of 0.6 to 0.9. For faster or fuller brewing, the controller may cause the average flow rate of the second quantity of water (which is the second quantity divided by the remaining time of the second quantity of water in the brewing chamber 58) to be higher than the average flow rate of the first quantity of water (which is the first quantity divided by the remaining time of the first quantity in the brewing chamber).

To brew one hot cup of coffee, two cups of water are added to the tank 3. It takes about 4 minutes to heat the water to an optimal brewing temperature of 195 degrees fahrenheit to 205 degrees fahrenheit, and it takes about 1 minute to pump a cup of water in its second or hot water state through the hot brewing pod in the holder to brew a hot cup of coffee. Thus, the waiting time for the hot coffee for this cup is 5 minutes. To reduce the waiting time, the controller 2 is adapted to cause the heater 5 to heat only the water in the water tank to the anti-convection temperature within 2 minutes, which will be described below. The controller then causes the pump 7 to pump a cup of water at the anti-convection temperature and causes the catalyst heater 9 to heat the water from the anti-convection temperature to its second state or hot water state at the optimal brewing temperature in a minute, pumping the water through the pod. The waiting time is now reduced to 3 minutes. The waiting time for brewing a cup of hot coffee is further reduced to only the pumping time or one minute if the controller is adapted to cause the heater 5 to pre-heat the water in the tank 3 and to keep the water therein at an anti-convection temperature.

The anti-convection temperature refers to the temperature of the water just before the heater causes a flow of significant convection of the water around the heater during heating. The water temperature is typically between 100 degrees fahrenheit to 170 degrees fahrenheit, preferably between 120 degrees fahrenheit to 150 degrees fahrenheit, depending on the surface condition, wattage, location, area, and shape of the heater in the tank, impurities and additives in the water, and the water pressure. Due in part to the lack of convective flow, it was found that 300% to 1000% less energy was required to maintain the water in the tank 3 at an anti-convective temperature than to maintain the water at an optimal brew temperature of 195 degrees Fahrenheit to 205 degrees Fahrenheit. By keeping the water in the tank 3 at an energy-saving, anti-convection temperature, the device can be always ready to brew a cup of hot coffee and wait for only one minute. Other advantages of the convection prevention temperature will be discussed in fig. 5-7.

In order to make the apparatus 1 safe for children in hotel rooms and homes, the controller 2 is adapted to cause the heater 5 to maintain the water in the tank 3 at a child-safe temperature below 138 degrees Fahrenheit (preferably below 128 degrees Fahrenheit) which is in the range of anti-convection temperatures to save energy. The controller also causes the heater 9 of the brewing catalyst 10 to heat water from the child-safe temperature to the optimal brewing temperature to provide water in its second or hot water state to the pod to rapidly brew a cup of hot brew in one minute. The hot water is relatively safe for children if they accidentally turn the child-safe brewing machine over or are spilled by the hot water in the tank 3 which is kept at a child-safe temperature.

Fig. 3 shows an alternative catalyst 10 having an elongated chamber 149 in the tube 147 downstream of the catalytic chamber 12 to extend the use of the cold-blown catalyst to other uses, as will be described below. The catalyst chamber has an inlet 150 connected to the pump via a pipe 8. The elongated chamber 149 is connected to the metering filter 14 via a tube 11. The catalyst chamber may contain a volume of water to reduce the temperature of the catalyst when charged with a predetermined amount of catalytic energy for catalyzing cold brewing. However, the volume of the catalytic chamber should be small enough, e.g. 1 to 50ml, preferably 1 to 10ml, to prevent deactivation of the catalyst.

In addition to catalyzing cold brewing and providing water in its second or hot water state to reduce latency, the brewing catalyst 10 may also provide water in its third or steam state to cook meals, improve espresso quality, and dry used pods, as will be described in fig. 4-7. To provide water in its third state, the controller 2 causes the catalyst to be heated to a steam-generating temperature (steam-generating temperature) above 220 degrees Fahrenheit and causes the pump to deliver water from the steam unit (steam unit) to the catalyst chamber at a flow rate of 0.25 milliliters per second to 0.75 milliliters per second that is sufficiently low to ensure dry steam. One steam unit is approximately equal to the volume of the catalyst chamber 12. When more steam is needed, another steam unit is delivered to the catalyst. In order to accurately control the flow rate for steam generation, a second metering filter similar to the metering filter 14 of fig. 1 may be provided between the catalyst 10 and the pump 7.

Fig. 4 and 4A show an improved brewing station 300 for the device 1 of fig. 1. The improved brewing station comprises a first holder 30 and a second holder 30A adapted to receive capsules of different heights, sizes and shapes, and a brewing cover 20 having a movable head 200 adapted to move into and out of the brewing cover. The sachet may be cup-shaped, bowl-shaped, disc-shaped or bag-shaped. The head 200 includes a second switch set 234 having switches 234a, 234b and 234c (the switches 234a, 234b and 234c are connected to the controller 2 via electrical wires 233a, 233b and 233c for contacting the bit set 90 (fig. 4E and 4F) on the edge of the pod), a retractable flow deflection needle 85 having a cutter 21 for piercing the membrane lid 23, a sealing gasket 22 for sealing the membrane lid around the pierced opening, a first energy emitter 225 for cooking the brewing material in the pod, and a loading spring 228 between the head of the brewing cover and the top wall 232. The loading spring is adapted to allow the head to move relative to the top wall 232 so that the first and second holders 30, 30A can accept sachets of different heights. The brewing cover is movable relative to the first and second holders between an open position in which the holders are exposed to receive the pods and a closed position in which the brewing cover is arranged to cooperate with the first and second holders to form a short or tall pod chamber 158 between the sealing gasket 22 and the bottom wall 197 of the second holder to enclose the short or tall pod 100, respectively, as shown in fig. 4E and 4F.

First holder 30 includes a first edge 186, a first opening 175 defined by the first edge for receiving and engaging a sachet, and first side wall 170 including a support spring 185, support spring 185 having an upper spring end 227 connected to the first edge and a lower spring end 229 connected to bottom wall 197. The support ring may be compressed by the brew cover 20 or the pod 100. When the pod is small enough to be received in the first opening 175, the first opening is movable upwardly and downwardly relative to the bottom wall 197 between a first position, as shown in fig. 4E, in which the sufficiently small pod 100 is tall and received by the first opening, as shown in fig. 4F, and a second position, in which the sufficiently small pod is short and received by the first opening. The second position is closer to the bottom wall 197 than the first position or lower than the first position. The first opening 175 has a generally square cross-section with sufficiently rounded corners (fig. 4A) to enable the first holder 30 to receive both square and dome shaped pods. When the pod has a similarly square cross-section, the first opening 175 enables precise positioning of the bit set 90 to properly press the second switch set 234 against the brewing cover 20. When a short and small capsule is placed in first holder 30, loading spring 228 is adapted to compress the support spring and cause outlet needle 63 to pierce the capsule bottom.

The second holder 30A includes a second edge 89, a second opening 31 defined by the second edge for receiving and engaging the big bag 100, a switch set 34 similar to the switch set of fig. 1M, a second sidewall 35 between the second edge and the bottom wall 197 for enclosing the first holder 30, and a second energy emitter 230 at the bottom wall. The first opening 175 is positioned within the second opening 31 and is movable to different positions to provide different height pod compartments between the first and second openings to accept different height pods that are too large to be received by the first opening. When the pod is large enough to prevent it from being received into the first opening, the first opening is movable between a first position, as shown in fig. 4B, in which the large enough pod is short and on the first edge 186, as shown in fig. 4D, and a second position, in which the large enough pod is tall and on the first edge. Likewise, the second position is closer to the bottom wall than the first position or lower than the first position, although in both the first and second positions the first opening 175 is spaced significantly from the first opening 31 or below the first opening 31 to allow the second opening to accept a sufficiently large, short and tall sachet.

The first and second energy emitters work together to bake, toast or toast brewing materials, such as sandwiches, pizzas and meats, from the top and bottom surfaces of the pod to cause cooking from the exterior to the interior. This outside-in cooking is coordinated with inside-out cooking by the hot fluid from the brew catalyst to achieve fine cooking, as will be described below. The emitter may be an infrared or microwave emitter, an electric heater, a gas heater, or other suitable heating device for the pod and the brewing station 300. To prevent safety issues caused by the large heat cooked pod falling off when the brewing cover 20 is opened, the first opening 175 may be positioned a predetermined distance below the second opening, or the support spring 185 may be sufficiently compressible so that the weight of the pod moves the first opening downward a predetermined distance so that the second opening at least partially constrains the large cooked pod when the cover is opened.

The first holder 30 and the second holder 30A share the shield 60 and the shield lock 40. The shroud is similar to that of figure 1 and includes a shroud plate 62, a finger stop 61 and a dispenser 53. The shield lock includes a latch 54, a trigger 55, an upper trigger 182 adapted to move up and down relative to the shield plate and act on the sloped surface 56 of the trigger 55, and a first beam 183 connected to the shield plate 62 and received in the opening 174 in the trigger 55. The first beam has a ball end 184 to prevent the trigger 55 from separating from the shroud plate. The shroud lock also has a second beam 178, the second beam 178 adapted to urge the latch 54 into a locked position above the step 179 above the latch opening 180 at the bottom 197. The second beam is urged towards the latch by a compression spring 176, the compression spring 176 being held in place by a cap 177.

The first and second holders also share an inlet needle 85 for piercing the membrane cover 23 to provide an inlet for introducing fluid into the capsule and an outlet needle 63 on the bottom wall 197 for possibly piercing the capsule bottom 27 to provide an outlet for the brew. The inlet and outlet needles are similar to those of fig. 1. Outlet needle 63 may be positioned over shared outlet 50 (similar to the shared outlet of fig. 1) to allow the same outlet needle to properly pierce both the short and tall pods. To provide more space for the second emitter 230, the lower spring end 229 may be made large enough to attach to the second sidewall 35 rather than to the bottom wall 197. The first opening 175 and the rim 186 may be supported by a plurality of mini springs, rather than by the support springs 185, or by a plurality of elastomeric members, such as beams or strips adapted to allow the first opening to move up and down relative to the bottom wall 197. Although the first and second openings are shown in fig. 4A as having a square shape, a pentagonal, hexagonal, heptagonal, elliptical, or other polygonal shape may be used for the openings to achieve proper positioning of the group of bits 90 with the groups of switches 34 and 234.

Fig. 4 also shows a short, large sachet 100 comprising an impermeable bowl-shaped container 88 having an impermeable sachet bottom 27, sachet side wall 29 and sachet rim 28, an insoluble brewing material 24a (such as pasta, sandwich, pizza, cereal or herb), a soluble brewing material 24 (such as salt, sugar or sauce) and a membrane lid 23, the membrane lid 23 being sealed to the sachet rim to form the brewing chamber 58 to store the brewing material and prevent air, moisture and bacteria from entering the brewing chamber and spoiling the material. The pod bottom is larger than the first opening 173 of the first holder 30 so that the pod can rest on the first edge 186. A weakened seal 188 is formed between the membrane cover 23 and the sachet edge 28. When the brew cover 20 is moved to the holders 30 and 30A to close the pod and the needle is moved out of the brew cover, the membrane lid is pierced by the inlet needle 85 to introduce hot steam or hot water into the container. When the brewing chamber is filled with hot steam or under sufficient pressure, the weak seal 188 unseals to form a safety opening or pressure relief 188a to relieve the hot steam or pressure in the brewing chamber, thereby preventing damage and potential explosion of the pod (fig. 4B). The pressure relief also makes it safe to remove or peel off the membrane lid to supply the cooked brewing material or food in the container. It should be understood that a pierced opening made by an entry needle on the cap may also be used as the pressure relief 188 a. A plurality of channels or ridges in the radial direction of the lid may be formed around the pierced opening to prevent the sealing gasket 23 from sealing the pierced opening and forming a through channel for hot steam or air. A check valve that allows vapor to flow out of the pod but prevents air from entering the pod can also be formed on the lid as a pressure relief. The check valve may include a vent port on the diaphragm cover and a diaphragm disc (diaphragm disc) over the vent port. The membrane disc forms a weak seal against the membrane lid to prevent outside air from entering the brewing chamber, but can be pushed away from the membrane lid by the pressure in the brewing chamber to break the weak seal and thereby open the discharge opening. The membrane lid has a tab or handle 187 to facilitate removal of the lid from the container 88 after cooking is complete, thereby providing a cooked sandwich, pasta or the like directly in the container.

The pod sidewall 29 is sufficiently short to allow the inlet needle 85 to pierce and insert the brewing material 24a (such as a sandwich, meat, bread, pasta or other food) in the brewing chamber 58 deep enough to deliver a hot fluid (e.g., hot steam, hot water, hot air, or any combination thereof) into the interior or middle of the brewing material (fig. 4B). The low pod side wall also prevents the outlet needle 63 from piercing the pod bottom 27. The hot fluid may be injected under pressure into the interior of the brewing material and diffuse or flow from the interior of the brewing material to the outer surface of the brewing material to heat and cook the brewing material or food from the interior to the exterior, thereby achieving inside-out cooking. A hot air generator including an air pump or fan and an air heater may be connected to the inlet needle 85 to provide hot air. Cooking from the inside outwards is significantly more uniform and efficient than conventional cooking, in which steam or heat is applied to the outside of the food, thereby saving cooking time and improving taste. Energy losses are minimized because cooking is confined within the small, sealed brew chamber 58 in the pod. The thermal insulation due to the closure of the sachet by the holder and the brewing cover 20 further minimizes energy losses and makes the inside-out cooking energy efficient.

For optimal inside-out cooking, the optimal delivery position to which the hot fluid is delivered or injected is about one quarter to three quarters of the total thickness of the infusion material below the surface of the infusion material, depending on the nature of the food in the pod. In other words, the inlet needle 85 should penetrate approximately one-quarter to three-quarters of the brewing material to achieve optimal inside-out cooking. A brewing optimizer 107 is provided on the pod 100 to determine the delivery location of the brewing material or thermal fluid within the food interior. In this exemplary embodiment of the invention, the brewing optimizer is a simple protrusion formed on the bottom 27 of the pod to contact the cutter or tip 21 of the inlet needle 85 and prevent the inlet needle from moving or inserting further down into the brewing material. The delivery position of the thermal fluid may also be controlled by the delivery position in the group of bits 90 formed on the pod. The position bits may be positioned within or spaced apart from the remaining bits in the group of bits to mechanically or electrically control a depth adjuster (not shown) in the brewing cover 20 to move the inlet needle 85 out of the brewing cover a predetermined distance depending on the height of the pod side wall 29 and the nature of the brewing material. The depth adjuster may comprise a linear actuator, such as a stepper motor or a solenoid.

Multiple channels or cuts may be formed or preformed in advance within the brewing material (such as meats, sandwiches, breads, and pizzas) to flow the hot fluid from the inlet needle 85 from a delivery location in the interior through the channels or cuts in the brewing material. Each channel or cut-out may have one end connected to a delivery position where the inlet needle 85 penetrates into the brewing material and another end located near the outer surface of the brewing material. The channel or cut-out may be formed on the surface of a pierced site of meat or bread, and a plurality of such pierced sites may be stacked on top of each other in the brew chamber 58. When the needle 85 is pushed or pierced into the brewing material, the deflector 171 of the cutter 21 prevents the brewing material from being pushed into the fluid passing channel 173, thereby preventing the needle from becoming clogged with meat, bread, soup, pasta and other brewing material. The self-refreshing filter 14 may be provided in the inlet needle 85, similar to the filter of fig. 1U or fig. 1V, to improve the reliability of the device in cooking.

To achieve outside-in cooking in the pod, the first emitter 225 and the second emitter 230 are turned on to cook, bake or toast the dietary material 24 and 24a, such as a sandwich or meat, through both the membrane cover 23 and the pod bottom 27 of the pod. For speed cooking, the first and second emitters are adapted to emit an infrared light beam having a peak spectral power density at a wavelength shorter than 3000 nm, preferably shorter than 1500 nm. The membrane cover and the bottom of the pod are made of a spectrally transparent material, such as polypropylene or polyethylene terephthalate, which does not absorb infrared light beams having wavelengths less than 3000 nanometers or 1500 nanometers to prevent the bottom of the pod and the membrane cover from being melted by heat. Cooking from the inside-out and from the outside-in can be performed simultaneously to further reduce cooking time and achieve desired flavor, aroma, color and crispness. By precisely controlling the temperature, duration and amount of hot fluid delivered to the interior of the food by the brewing catalyst 10 and the pump 7, and by precisely controlling the concentration and duration of the infrared heat applied by the first emitter 225 and the second emitter 230 to the outer surface of the meat or food in the sachet, a fine cooking of sandwiches, pizza, meat, pasta, soup and other foods is achieved.

Fig. 4B shows the use of a short and large bowl-shaped pod in the brewing station 300. The pod is too large to fit into the first opening 175 and therefore it is actually located on the first edge 186 of the first holder 30. The weight of the pod may compress the support spring 185 to partially enter the pod into the second holder 30A. When the brew cover 20 is lowered, the inlet needle 85 moves out of the head 200 to pierce the membrane lid 23 and the bottom of the pod pushes the upper trigger 182 downward. The upper trigger in turn pushes on the ramped surface 56 to rotate the trigger 55 about the ball end 184 to move the latch 54 out of the step 179 into the latch opening 180 to unlock the shield plate 62. When the sachet edge 28 reaches the second edge 89, further movement of the sachet is prevented, thereby preventing the outlet needle 63 from piercing the sachet bottom 27. As the brewer cover is further lowered, the movable head 200 is pushed into the brewer cover 20 by the membrane cover 23 and the pod rim 28, and the bit set 90 presses the switch set 34 to provide the switch state 110 to the controller 2. The controller selects a set of cooking conditions according to the switching state and instructs the various parts of the apparatus to prepare and provide the set of cooking conditions, which may include 1) steaming for 1 minute to soften the meat and noodles, 2) emitting for 1 minute to create a thin, crisp skin on the meat, 3) brewing with a small amount (e.g., 50ml or 100ml) of hot water for 15 seconds to cause the noodles in the sachet to develop flavor, and 4) cooling the sachet by introducing a supply of ambient temperature air flowing between the sachet side wall 29 and the side wall 35 of the second holder 30A. Air may be introduced into the holder by a fan or an air pump. The steam temperature is predetermined for each type of sachet and may be 225 degrees fahrenheit to 450 degrees fahrenheit.

To prepare for the steaming step, the controller 2 switches on the power to the catalyst so that the elongated chamber 149 and the catalytic chamber 12 (fig. 3) are heated to the steam generating temperature. After the brew start button is pressed, the controller causes the pump 7 to deliver water from the tank to the catalyst 10 at a flow rate low enough while the heater 9 is turned on to generate and deliver steam via the inlet needle 85 into a delivery position in the interior of the brewing material to soften the meat and noodles for 1 minute. Meanwhile, the first emitter 225 emits infrared heat for 1 minute to produce a thin and crisp skin on the meat. Then, the controller causes the pump to rapidly deliver 50ml of hot water to the mixture of meat, spices and noodles for brewing for 15 seconds, thereby allowing the noodles to emit flavor. When the brewing cover is opened, the support spring 185 moves the cooked pod upward and partially out of the holder 30, and cold air is blown onto the outer surface of the pod to make the pod comfortable to hold for easy and safe removal. The film lid is then peeled off from the sachet via the protrusion 187, allowing a person to enjoy the savoury noodle meal with crispy meat directly from the bowl-shaped sachet.

Fig. 4C shows a reusable bowl sachet 100R having an impermeable bowl-shaped container 88R and a reusable lid 23R for a person to fill and seal the bowl with fresh ingredients 24 and 24a just prior to cooking. The bowl 88R includes an impermeable bottom 27, an impermeable sidewall 29, a rim 28, a brew chamber 58 formed by the bottom 27, sidewall 29 and lid 23R, and a plurality of bit sets 90 having bits 90-1, 90-1 and 90-0. The reusable lid 23R includes a skirt or sidewall 189 around the perimeter of the lid for receiving the rim 28, an inlet opening 222 sealed by a self-healing membrane 221, a vent seal 188, a stop wall 224 adapted to prevent the lid from opening by pressure in the brew chamber, and a handle 197 for facilitating removal of the reusable lid from the bowl. The venting seal is adapted to move away from the edge 28 to allow steam to escape when the pressure in the brewing chamber reaches above a predetermined value. The self-healing membrane may be pierced by the inlet needle 85 and is sufficiently thick to self-heal itself to close the opening pierced by the inlet needle. In a preferred embodiment, the self-healing membrane is an elastomeric membrane made of silicone rubber, butyl rubber or polyurethane, and has a thickness of 0.2 to 6 mm, preferably 0.5 to 3 mm. The reusable pod 100R may be cooked in the same manner as the pod 100 of fig. 4B.

Fig. 4D shows a tall and large soup sachet 100 received in the first holder 30 and sealed by the brewing cover 20. The tall soup sachet comprises a plurality of groups of bits 90, a deep impermeable bowl-shaped container 88 having an impermeable bottom 27 larger than a first opening 175, an impermeable side wall 29 and a rim 28, a membrane lid 23 sealing the rim 28 to form a brewing chamber 58 for soluble material 24 and insoluble material 24a, a sanitary tube 142 connected to the outlet opening 49, and a regulating plate 48 sealed to the bottom 27 by an adhesive or heat seal 143 around the outlet opening 49. The capsule sidewall 29 is high enough to enable the outlet needle 63 to pierce the capsule bottom 27. The sanitary tube and adjustment plate are the same as both in the pod of fig. 1K. Each bit group of the plurality of bit groups has the same bits 90-0, 90-1, and 90-0. The bits in each of the plurality of bit groups are positioned such that each bit group will have the same switching state 010 regardless of how the capsule is set into the second holder 30A.

Since a tall and large soup sachet may not be received in the first opening 175, the sachet sits on the first edge 185 and its weight compresses the support spring 185 to partially enter the sachet into the second holder 30A. When the brewing cover 20 is lowered, the inlet needle 85 moves out of the head 200 to pierce the membrane cap 23, the head 200 pushes the capsule further into the second holder, and the capsule bottom pushes the upper trigger 182 downward. The upper trigger in turn pushes on the ramped surface 56 to rotate the trigger 55 about the ball end 184, moving the latch 54 out of the stop step 179 and into the latch opening 180, unlocking the shield 60 and exposing the stylet 63 to pierce the capsule bottom 27. The outlet needle breaks the seal 143 and pushes the adjustment plate 48 upwards to create the transient chamber 59 (fig. 4D). The regulating plate prevents the raw brewing material from being discharged into a load (such as a cup or bowl) prior to brewing. When the brewing cover is further lowered, the head 200 is pushed into the brewing cover by the membrane cover 23, the first holder 30 and the shield 60 are pushed to the bottom wall 197, and the bit set 90 presses the switch set 34 to cause the controller to select a set of brewing conditions associated with the bit set. Cooking includes 1) steaming the materials 24 and 24a for 30 seconds, 2) delivering a quantity (e.g., 300ml) of water and heating the water from an anti-convection temperature to a soup brewing temperature by the catalyst 10, 3) delivering water through the brew chamber 58 and the transient chamber 59 to brew both the materials 24 and 24a and carry them out of the sanitary tube 142, and 4) delivering a rapid supply of steam to dry the sachet.

To prepare for the steaming and brewing step, the controller 2 turns on the heater 5 to preheat the water 4 in the tank 3 to an anti-convection temperature, and turns on the heater 9 to heat the catalyst 10 (fig. 1) to a sufficiently high temperature to generate steam. After pressing the start button, the controller causes the pump 7 to deliver hot water to the catalyst at a flow rate low enough to generate steam to evaporate the material in the chamber for 30 seconds. It then causes the pump to deliver 300ml of hot water into the brewing chamber, where the steamed brewing material is mixed with the hot water and conditioned into the transient chamber through the conditioning opening 144 and within 20 seconds is discharged directly into the load (such as a bowl or cup) below the holder through the sanitary tube 142. Finally, the controller causes a sufficiently large amount of heat to be supplied to the heater 9 in a few seconds to evaporate a portion of the water in the catalytic chamber into a third or vapor state, thereby drying the sachet 100. When the brew cover 20 is opened, the shield spring 43 pushes the shield plate 62 over the outlet needle 63, which causes the transient chamber 59 to disappear and the adjustment plate 48 to descend to close the sanitary tube 142. The spring 176 and the second beam 178 push the latch 54 onto the stop step 179 to lock the shroud 60. At the same time, the support spring 185 moves the used capsule upwards and partially out of the second holder 30A for easy removal of the capsule.

Fig. 4E shows a tall, small cup-shaped sachet received in the first holder 30 and covered by the brewing cover. This sachet is identical to the tall sachet of fig. 1H, except that the bit set 90 is formed on the rim 28, adapted to press the second switch set 234 in the movable head 200. The tall, small pod may be received in the first opening 175 of the first holder 30. When the brewing cover is moved toward the holder, the inlet needle 85 moves out of the head 200 to pierce the membrane cover 23 and the head pushes the pod and pod bottom 27 against the upper trigger 182. The upper trigger in turn pushes on the ramped surface 56 to rotate the trigger 55 about the ball end 184, moving the latch 54 away from the step 179 and into the latch opening 180, unlocking the shield 60 to allow the bottom of the pod to push the shield plate 62 down to expose the stylet 63 to pierce the bottom of the pod.

After piercing the bottom of the capsule, the outlet needle pushes the filter bottom 26 upwards to create a transient chamber 59. The movable brewing head 200 is then pushed into the brewing cover by the capsule rim. Once the switch state for the bit set 90 is obtained, the controller selects a set of brewing conditions for the pod that includes 1) delivering a quantity (e.g., 12 ounces) of hot water, 2) supplying a predetermined power to the heater 9 to heat the hot water from its anti-convection temperature to 197 degrees fahrenheit, and 3) delivering a quick supply of steam to dry the pod. To prepare for the step of delivering, the controller 2 turns on the heater 5 to preheat the water in the tank 3 to the anti-convection temperature (fig. 1). Upon pressing the start button, the controller 2 causes the pump 7 to deliver a predetermined amount of hot water and the heater 9 to heat the hot water from its anti-convection temperature to 197 degrees Fahrenheit. At the end of the brewing, the controller 2 causes a sufficient amount of heat to be supplied to the heater 9 within a few seconds to evaporate at least a portion of the water in the chamber 12 to its third or vapor state, thereby drying the used sachet.

During brewing, the transient chamber 59 shrinks or shrinks significantly in size and becomes substantially absent and appears like in fig. 1C at the end of brewing. When the brewing cover is open, the shield spring 43 pushes the shield plate 62 over the outlet needle 63, thereby moving the needle out of the pod and the pod partially out of the first holder 30 for easy removal. At the same time, the spring 176 and the second beam 178 push the latch 54 onto the step 179 to relock the shroud 60.

Like the bowl-shaped pod of fig. 4B and the reusable bowl of fig. 4C, the high pod 100 of fig. 4E may be converted into a reusable filter cup 100R having a cup-shaped filter. The membrane lid 23 is replaced by a reusable lid having a central opening sealed by a self-healing membrane, similar to the lid of fig. 4C, but without the vent seal 188, to allow the user to fill the pod with their own fresh ground coffee beans in advance and keep the coffee fresh. A similar self-healing membrane may be formed on or sealed to the pod bottom 27. The self-healing membrane may be pierced by the outlet needle 63 and adapted to automatically heal itself to close the opening pierced by the needle. A coffee filling station similar to the filling station 250 and to be shown in fig. 4G may be provided at the top end of the reusable filter cup 100R to receive freshly ground coffee beans directly from the coffee grinder and prevent coffee grounds from spilling out.

Fig. 4F shows a short, small sachet received in the first opening 175 and sealed by the gasket 22 of the cover 20. The lower portion of the sachet and holder is the same as the lower portion of the sachet and holder of fig. 4E and is therefore omitted for simplicity. The short and small sachet is the same as the tall and small sachet of fig. 4E, except for the height of the sachet. The use of a short pod is also the same as the tall pod of fig. 4E, except that after the brewing cover is closed, the movable head 200 remains outside of the brewing cover and the first edge 186 of the first holder 30 is pushed downward a predetermined distance into the second holder 30A by the movable head. The predetermined distance is the difference between the effective depth of the second holder 30A and the height of a short, small pod. The effective depth is the internal depth of the second retainer when the shield spring 43 is fully compressed minus the height of the shield 60 above the bottom wall 197. The first holder 30 is able to accept sachets as tall as the effective depth of the second holder or as short as the effective depth minus the movable distance of the movable head.

Fig. 4G shows a bolt head pod (bolt-head pod) having an elongated portion similar to the lower portion of the tall pod of fig. 4E and receivable into the first opening 175, and a coffee filling station 250 adapted to be located on the first edge 186. The lower portion of the sachet and holder is the same as the lower portion of the sachet and holder of fig. 4E and is therefore omitted for simplicity. The bolt head pod also has a pod edge 28, a membrane cover 23 sealed to the pod edge, and a set of bits 90 formed on the pod side wall adapted to press the switch set 34 on the second retainer 30A. The coffee filling station 250 has a central wall 268 on the second edge 89 and an opening 251, the opening 251 being large enough to receive a scoop that can hold a sufficient quantity of coffee grounds to brew a cup of coffee, or the opening 251 being large enough to receive a dispensing spout of a coffee grinder to allow roasted beans to be freshly ground and dispensed directly into the pod.

The method of use for the bolt head sachet is the same as the tall sachet of fig. 4E, except that the sachet edge 28 is supported by the second edge 89 and the first edge 186 is pushed down by the coffee filling station 250. An advantage of the bolt head pod 100 is its ability to accept freshly ground coffee directly from the coffee grinder, allowing a coffee shop or home to newly fill the bolt head pod with their coffee grinder just prior to brewing. The bolt head pod may be provided with a reusable cap with a self-healing membrane similar to the caps used for the bowl-shaped reusable pod of fig. 4C and the reusable filter cup described above for the tall pod of fig. 4E.

Fig. 5 shows a first modified variant of the device 1 of fig. 1. The first modified version has a cooling tank 110 and a heating tank 120 below the water tank 3 to minimize waiting time and to be able to switch easily between hot and cold brew. The dispensing chamber 6 is located in a support base 247 of the apparatus 1 and is large enough to receive a water filter cartridge 248, the water filter cartridge 248 having an inlet chamber 218, the inlet chamber 218 being adapted to removably receive the outlet 217 of the water tank 3 and to seal to the outlet 217 of the water tank 3. The support base has a substantially flat upper surface and is large enough to support the tank. The filter cartridge removes chlorine and other chemicals from the water in the water tank. When the water tank is removed from the support base 247 for refilling with water, the dispensing chamber 6 and the filter cartridge 248 therein become easily accessible by hand, facilitating replacement of the used water filter cartridge with a new one.

The heating tank 120 has a heater 125 connected to the controller 2 via an electric wire 125a and adapted to heat the water only to the convection-proof temperature and to keep the water in the heating tank at that temperature to save energy. The heating cabinet further comprises an inlet distributor 124 positioned near the bottom of the cabinet and connected to the distribution chamber 6 by an inlet pipe 121, an outlet distributor 123 positioned near the top of the cabinet and connected to the routing valve 108 by an outlet pipe 127, and a second air outlet 122 at the upper end of the cabinet. The cooling tank 110 includes a refrigerator 115 connected to the controller 2 via an electric wire 115a for cooling water therein to a predetermined temperature, an inlet distributor 114 located in a top portion of the tank and connected to the distribution chamber 6 through a cold water pipe 111, an outlet distributor 113 located in a lower portion of the cooling tank and connected to the routing valve through the cold water pipe 111a, and a first air outlet 112 at a top end of the tank. The above positioning of the outlet distributors 113, 123 and the inlet distributors 114 and 124 in the heating and cooling boxes prevents water of an inappropriate temperature from being delivered to the sachets. The chiller 115 is positioned close enough to the top of the cooling tank and the heater 125 is positioned close enough to the bottom of the heating tank to achieve uniform cooling and heating. The openings 113a and 114a for the distributors in the cooling box face downward. The openings 123a and 124a for the dispenser in the heating box face upwards to prevent water at an inappropriate temperature from being delivered to the sachet. Temperature probes (not shown) are provided to the tanks 110 and 120 to control the tank temperature.

An air-water separation chamber 140 large enough to separate air and water and a vent actuator 240 for breaking any air pockets (air pockets) in the vent tube 241 are provided to facilitate filling of the cooling and heating tanks. The separation chamber has an inlet 249 connected to the ventilation actuator (which is connected to the first and second air outlets 112, 122 via the ventilation tube 241) via a tube 242, a third air outlet 245 at or near the top of the chamber, and a return tube 243 having one end connected to the bottom of the chamber and the other end connected to the distribution chamber 6. The venting actuator may be a fluid moving device, such as a fan or pump, which is connected to the controller 2 via electrical line 240a and may be open for a number of seconds when the water tank is refilled or after brewing to move the mixture of air and water from the tanks 110 and 120 into the separation chamber where the air is expelled via the third air outlet 245 and the water is returned to the dispensing chamber 6 via the return conduit 243. By returning the water to the distribution chamber instead of the tank 3, the tank can be more conveniently removed from the support base 247 of the appliance and replaced on the support base 247.

The pathway valve 108 is adapted to form a hot brewing pathway and a cold brewing pathway when a hot brewing sachet and a cold brewing sachet, respectively, are disposed into the holder 30. The pathway valve may be a three-way valve, a valve assembly having a first valve for controlling flow out of the cooling tank 110 via the cold water pipe 111a and a second valve for controlling flow out of the heating tank 120 via the pipe 127, or other suitable valve capable of forming a hot or cold brewing pathway for the pod. The routing valve may be switched by an electrical actuator, such as a solenoid, connected to the controller 2 via electrical line 108a, or by a manual knob for those who prefer manual operation and control.

Fig. 5 also shows a shield 60 for preventing an inlet needle 85P in the brewing cover from injuring a child in a hotel room with a child or in the home. The needle has one end connected to the base 157 of the brewing cover 20, a fluid passage channel 173P, a needle outlet 172P, and a sharp tip or cutter 21P at the free end of the needle for piercing the membrane cap 23 or other object. The shield 60 includes a shield plate 62, a finger stop 61, a sealing gasket 22 connected to the shield plate and adapted to form a water-tight seal to both the lid 23 of the pod 100 and the base 157 of the brew cover 20, and a shield spring 43 having an upper or first end connected to the brew cover and a lower or second end connected to the shield plate. The first end of the shroud spring is smaller than the second end to facilitate the formation of a water-tight seal of the sealing gasket against the base 157. The finger stop includes an expandable opening adapted to be expanded by the needle to allow the needle to pass through, but small enough to prevent the child's finger from passing through.

It should be noted that by making the expandable opening sufficiently smaller than the needle 85P, the needle is cleaned by the shield so that there is no brewing material from the pod 100. Certain brewing materials (like proteins or fats) that stick to the needle may become rancid and subsequently be introduced into the next sachet and brew, which may lead to health or safety issues. As shown in fig. 5, when the brew cover is in its open position, the shield 60 is normally in its first or safe, injury-preventing position in which the shield plate 62 is below the inlet needle 85P and covers the inlet needle 85P. The shield 60 is moved to its second or brewing position in which the shield plate is pushed up by the lid 23, pod or holder 30A to the base 157 of the brewing cover 20 to expose the inlet needle 85P to pierce the lid (fig. 5A). When the brewing cover is moved to its closed position towards the holder, the lid or pod pushes the shield plate 62 upwards and compresses the shield spring 43, the needle 85P passes through the finger stop 61 and pierces the membrane lid, and finally the sealing gasket 22 seals to the base 157 and lid 23 of the brewing cover. When the brewing cover is moved again away from the holder to its open position, the shield spring pushes the shield plate to a lower position and covers the inlet needle, thereby moving the shield to its first or safe position.

The shield plate 62 may be a self-healing plate made of an elastomer similar to the self-healing film of fig. 4C. The finger stop may not be present until the shield is first used. After the first use, the pierced opening is completed by the needle 85P. After the needle is removed from the shield plate, the pierced opening self-heals and becomes substantially closed, and the substantially closed opening becomes the finger stop 61. It will be appreciated that the sealing plate 62 prevents movement of the system or needle 85P over the object to be pierced, thereby preventing potential breakage of the needle in the object due to sudden movement of the object. The sealing washer 22 further prevents the needle from moving on the object. The lower surface of the shield plate may be tacky or adhesive to the surface of the object to be pierced by the needle. It will be appreciated that needles with shields 60 may also be used to deliver medication and to deliver and receive liquid and gaseous fluids into and out of objects in locations where child safety is a concern.

When a cold brew pod, such as cold brew pod 100, is placed into the holder of the device of fig. 5, the bit set 90 depresses the switch set 34 (fig. 1 and 1M) or 234 (fig. 4). The controller instructs the routing valve 108 to connect the pump 7 to the cold water outlet distributor 113 and the pipe 111a, thereby forming a cold brewing path comprising the tank 3, the distribution chamber 6, the pump 7, the cooling tank 110, the routing valve 108, the cold brewing catalyst 10, the metering filter 14, the inlet needle 85P and the sachet 100. According to a set of brewing conditions associated with the switching state 011 for the group of bits on the cold brew coffee pod, the controller 2 supplies a predetermined amount of catalytic energy, for example 2.5 watt-hours, to the catalyst and instructs the pump 7 to deliver the water in the cooling tank through the outlet distributor 113, the path valve, the catalyst, the cover and the pod. Within one minute, a full cup of cold brewed coffee or tea is brewed into the cup below the holder 30A.

When a hot brew pod 100 (e.g., a hot brew coffee, soup, oatmeal, or sandwich pod) is placed into the holder, the bit set 90 on the pod depresses the switch set 34 or 234, and the controller 2 instructs the path valve 108 to connect the pump 7 to the hot water outlet dispenser 123 and tube 127, thereby forming a hot brew path that includes the tank 3, the dispensing chamber 6, the heater tank 120, the path valve 108, the pump 7, the catalyst 10, the metering filter 14, the cover 20, and the pod 10. According to a set of brewing conditions associated with the switching state for the group of bits on the pod, the controller 2 instructs the various parts of the device 1 to make a hot brew, such as a cup of hot coffee, a bowl of hot soup, a bowl of hot meal or a serving of baked sandwiches, in approximately one minute.

To conserve energy, the water in the heating tank 120 is maintained at a sufficiently low anti-convection temperature of only 100 to 170 degrees Fahrenheit, preferably 120 to 150 degrees Fahrenheit, rather than at an optimal temperature for brewing coffee of 195 to 205 degrees Fahrenheit. It has been found that keeping the water at 120 to 150 degrees fahrenheit saves up to 1000% of the power than keeping it at a temperature close to boiling. To brew hot coffee, the controller 2 turns on the pump 7 to deliver water held at an anti-convection temperature (e.g., 140 degrees fahrenheit) from the tank 120 to the catalyst 10 and supplies sufficient power to the catalyst to heat the water therein to an optimal brewing temperature for the hot coffee pod. Alternatively, the controller may cause the heater 125 to heat the water in the heating tank 120 from the anti-convection temperature to the optimal brewing temperature, and then turn on the pump 7 to deliver the water at the optimal temperature through the pod. However, alternative methods may double the amount of time required to brew a cup of hot coffee. The method of cooking the meal and the infusion soup from the respective sachet 100 and drying the wet used sachet is the same as described in figures 4 to 4G, except that here the pump 7 draws hot water from the heating tank 120 instead of directly from the water tank 3.

In an alternative method of brewing cold brewing pods, the controller 2 may cause the path valve 108 to form a hot brewing path for a first length of time (t)₁) To deliver a first or small amount (e.g., 30 mm) of hot water from the heating tank 120Into the brewing chamber 58 to interact with the brewing material 24, 24a and/or 202 to promote or activate dissolution or extraction of the brewing material. The controller 2 then causes the path valve to form the cold brewing path for a second length of time (t)₂) To deliver a second or large amount (e.g., 270 millimeters) of cold water from the cooling tank 110 into the brew chamber 58 to interact with the brewing material 24, 24a and/or 202 to form a cold beverage therein. Certain brewing materials in cold-brewing sachets (such as honey, thick syrup, and fat or protein containing drink powder) may be difficult to dissolve or extract into cold water. The small amount of hot water from the hot brewing path makes it possible to include such a difficult to dissolve brewing material in the cold brewing sachet. In this alternative method, the heating cabinet 120, the vent actuator 240 and the pathway valve 108 together act as a cold brew catalyst 10, although when the pod is a cold brew coffee pod, the brew catalyst was found to produce a significantly stronger cold brew.

Similarly, in an alternative method of brewing a hot brewing pod, the controller 2 may cause the path valve to form a cold brewing path for a first length of time (t)₁) To deliver a first or small amount of cold water and form a hot brewing path for a second length of time (t)₂) To deliver a second or large quantity of hot water into the brew chamber 58 to interact with the brewing material 24, 24a and/or 202 to form a hot beverage of desired taste and temperature. The temperature of the resulting hot brew is determined by the first length of time and the second length of time and may be calculated using equations similar to equations 1 and 2 for calculating the temperature of the infant formula brewed with the modified version of the apparatus of fig. 7.

Fig. 5B shows a simplified alternative to the system of fig. 5, in which the storage tank 3 is directly connected to the syringe pump 7 via a tube 101. The syringe pump comprises a metering chamber 210, a check valve 102, an outlet tube 214, a check valve 105, a piston 216, a knob 212 and a pump spring 215, the check valve 102 allowing fluid 4 in the tank 3 to flow into the metering chamber via the tube 101 but preventing any backflow into the tank, the outlet tube 214 being adapted to be connected to a needle assembly 850, the check valve 105 allowing fluid in the metering chamber to flow to the assembly via the outlet tube but preventing any backflow into the metering chamber, the piston 216 being received in the metering chamber in a sealed relationship with the inner surface of the metering chamber and being adapted to move up and down in the chamber, the knob 212 being connected to the piston via a rod 213 and being adapted to squeeze and deliver fluid in the metering chamber to the assembly, the pump spring 215 being located between the metering chamber 210 and the knob 212. After the fluid in the metering chamber is delivered, the pump spring pushes the piston up until the knob hits the calibrated stop 211 to automatically draw a certain amount of fluid from the tank into the metering chamber through the check valve 102. The stopper may be manually moved up or down to increase or decrease the amount of fluid to be drawn into the metering chamber.

The needle assembly 850 includes a needle 85P having one end connected to the base 157, the other end having a sharp tip or cutter 21P adapted to pierce an object such as skin or a membrane, and a fluid passing channel 173P adapted to communicate with the outlet tube 214 of the syringe pump 7. The assembly also includes a shield 60 for preventing the sharp tip 21P from injuring the child. The shroud comprises a shroud plate 62 for covering the sharp cutter 21P and a shroud spring 43, the shroud spring 43 having a top end connected to the base 157 and a bottom end connected to a plate edge 203 of the shroud plate. The shield plate may be pierced by sharp tip 21P to allow the needle to pass through, thereby piercing the object. The shield plate may be sufficiently tacky or adhesive to the object to be pierced by the needle to prevent movement of the shield plate over the surface of the object, thereby preventing the needle from being broken into the object as a result of movement of the object. For use, a person moves the shield panel 62 to contact and adhere to a surface of an object, thereby restricting movement of the shield panel relative to the object. The person then presses the knob 212 to push the shield plate 62 against the object, thereby compressing the shield spring 43 and causing the sharp cutter 21P to pierce the shield plate and the object. Finally, the person presses the knob with great force to compress the pump spring 215, thereby pushing the piston 216 downward to deliver the fluid, possibly containing a drug or a nutrient, in the metering chamber 210 to the object through the check valve 105, the outlet tube 214 and the fluid through the passage 173P. The pump spring is sufficiently stronger than the shroud spring such that the knob compresses the shroud spring to cause the sharp cutter to pierce the shroud plate and object before it can compress the pump spring. After releasing the knob, the pump spring 215 pushes the knob 212 and the piston 216 upwards to refill the metering chamber 210 with a predetermined amount of fluid from the tank 3, and the shroud spring 43 pushes the base 157 away from the shroud plate 62, thereby pulling the cutter 21P and needle out of the object to its safe position that can be covered by the shroud plate 62 and is to be covered by the shroud plate 62.

It should be understood that the shield sheet 62 may be provided with a removable cover to cover its bottom adhesive surface. It should also be understood that the shield plate may be a self-healing plate adapted to self-heal and close the pierced opening created by the needle once the needle is removed from the shield plate. It should also be understood that a lock may be provided to prevent movement of the shield plate. The lock may have a latch that locks the shield plate in place and a trigger that releases the latch to allow the shield plate to move relative to the base 157. It will also be appreciated that an elastomeric stopper, such as a rubber disc, may be provided at the bottom end of outlet tube 214, and a second needle may be provided above base 157. The elastomeric stopper may be pierced by the second needle, and the second needle is in fluid communication with the fluid passage 173P of the needle 85P to allow fluid in the metering chamber 210 to be delivered into an object via the outlet tube 214, the fluid passage 173P, and the needle outlet 172P. It will also be appreciated that the syringe pump 7 may be located inside the tank 3 to make the apparatus 1 more compact and portable.

Fig. 6 shows a second modified variant of the system 1 of fig. 1, in which the cooling tank 110 and the heating tank 120 of fig. 5 are positioned downstream of the pump 7 to prevent convective heating of the water in the water tank 3 by the hot water in the heating tank, thereby further saving energy. Instead of using the metering filter 14 of fig. 5, metering for the apparatus 1 of fig. 6 is accomplished by a low water level sensor 118 and a high water level sensor 119, which are sensors of the type taught by stretter et al in U.S. patent nos. 7,523,695 and 7,398,726. The cooling tank 110 is typically filled with water from the pump 7 to the low water level sensor 118. An air pump 116 is connected to the controller 2 and the top of the cooling tank 110 to pressurize the tank and deliver the volume of water out of the tank between the outlet dispenser 113 and the sensor 118 or 119 to achieve metering.

The air outlets 112 and 122 may be connected to the same vent tube 241, vent actuator 240 and air-water separation chamber 140 (not shown) as the components of fig. 5, except that the vent actuator here may be an electrical or mechanical valve adapted to close the vent tube when the air pump is on and open the vent tube when the air pump is off. The path valve 108 is provided to switch and connect the cold water pipe 111a to the valve pipe 128 or the inlet pipe 121 for the heating tank to form a cold brewing path or a hot brewing path, respectively. It will be appreciated that the water level sensors 118 and 119 may be replaced by a plurality of outlet pipes having outlet ports located at different heights in the tank 110 and a plurality of solenoid valves for the outlet pipes, of the type taught by Beaulieu et al in U.S. patent nos. 6,082,247 and 6,142,063.

When a cold brew coffee pod, such as cold brew coffee pod 100, is placed into the holder, the set of bits 90 on the pod depresses the switch set 34 (fig. 1 and 1M) or 234 (fig. 4). The controller instructs the routing valve 108 to connect the cold water pipe 111a to the valve pipe 128, thereby forming a cold brewing path including the tank 3, the dispensing chamber 6, the pump 7, the cooling tank 110, the routing valve 108, the cold brewing catalyst 10, the metering filter 14, the brewing cover 20, and the pod 100. The controller 2 supplies a predetermined amount of catalytic energy (e.g., 2.5 watt-hours) to the catalyst and turns on the air pump 116 to deliver water in the cooling tank through the cold brew path. Within one minute, the cold brew is brewed into a cup beneath the holder. If the volume of water available in the cooling tank 110 is less than the volume required for a set of brewing conditions associated with the group of bits 90 on the pod, or less than the volume selected by the user via the user interface connected to the controller 2, the controller turns on the pump 7 to deliver cold water from the water tank 3 and the dispensing chamber 6 to the cooling tank until the water reaches the high water level sensor 119 just after the cold brewing path is formed.

When a hot brew pod 100 (e.g., a hot brew coffee, soup, oatmeal, or sandwich pod) is provided, the bank of bits on the pod depresses the switch bank 34 or 234, and the controller causes the routing valve 108 to connect the cold water tube 111a to the tube 121 of the heating tank 120 and the inlet distributor 124, thereby forming a hot brew path including the tank 3, the dispensing chamber 6, the pump 7, the cooling tank 110, the routing valve 108, the heating tank 120, the catalyst 10, the cover 20, and the pod 100. The controller then instructs the various parts of the device 1 to operate according to a set of brewing conditions associated with the groups of bits on the pod. When the pod is a hot brew coffee pod, the controller 2 turns on the air pump 116 to pressurize the cooling tank 110, thereby delivering cold water in the tank through the pathway valve and inlet dispenser 124 into the heating tank 120 where the cold water pushes hot water held at a convection-resistant temperature (e.g., 140 degrees fahrenheit) up the outlet dispenser 123 and catalyst 10. At the same time, the controller supplies sufficient power to the catalyst to heat the water flowing through the catalyst from the anti-convection temperature to an optimal brew temperature of 195 degrees Fahrenheit to 205 degrees Fahrenheit before the water is delivered to the hot coffee pod. A cup of hot, strong coffee is brewed in one minute. If the brewing condition associated with the group of bits 90 on the hot coffee pod requires a certain brewing volume, or if the user selects a brewing volume that is greater than the volume of water currently available in the cooling tank 110, the controller 2 turns on the pump 7 to fill more water from the dispensing chamber 6 to the cooling tank before the controller 2 turns on the air pump until the water reaches the high water level sensor 119 so that a larger cup of hot coffee can be delivered.

Fig. 7 shows a third modified version of the system 1 of fig. 1 and modifies fig. 6 to minimize energy usage by replacing the energy consuming cooling tank 110 of fig. 6 with a simple cold water pipe 111. This variant is particularly useful for households where space and load capacity are respected and chilled water is available for the tank 3. The metering filter 14 is added back in place of the air pump 116 and level sensors 118 and 119 of fig. 6 for faster metering of water and steam. A pathway valve 108 is located upstream of the cold water pipe 111 and the pipe 121 of the inlet distributor 124 for the heating tank 120 to rapidly form a cold brewing path and a hot brewing path. The cold brew path includes the tank 3, the dispensing chamber 6, the pump 7, the path valve 108, the cold water tube 111, the cold brew catalyst 10, the first and second natural carbonation chambers 283, 282, the metering filter 14, the brew cover 20, and the pod 100. The hot brewing path is the same as the cold brewing path except that the cold water pipe 111 is replaced by a heating tank 120. By rapidly switching between the cold brewing path and the hot brewing path and supplying catalytic energy to the brewing catalyst 10 with the controller 2, one or more rapid jets of hot water, cold water and/or hot steam can be delivered precisely to the pod 100 to emit the desired aroma, flavor and/or mouthfeel for fine brewing or cooking. To minimize energy losses, the heating tank 120 is maintained at an anti-convection temperature of 110 to 160 degrees Fahrenheit, which is significantly below the near-boiling temperature of the hot water used for maintenance in prior art brewers, to minimize energy losses.

To remove air and excess water from the heating tank 120, the air outlet 122 is connected to a flow actuator 240 (shown in fig. 7A) or solenoid valve via a vent tube 241. The flow actuator comprises a hemispherical actuation chamber 246 having an outlet 244 and a hemispherical seal 237 adapted to move up and down in the actuation chamber, the outlet 244 being connected to the separation chamber 140 via a tube 242, the separation chamber 140 not being shown but being identical to the separation chamber of fig. 5. The sealer has a cavity 239 and a vent passage 238 and is adapted to move upwardly to seal the outlet 244 and close the vent tube 241 when the water flow rate into the actuation chamber is fast enough to counterbalance the weight of the sealer. To facilitate the removal of air and excess water from the heating tank, the seal 237 has a density that is substantially higher (preferably at least 2% higher) than the density of the water. The expandable opening 19 of the metering filter 14 is substantially closed so that the hot water in the heating tank 120 first flows through the vent tube 241 at or above a sufficiently fast flow rate to cause the sealer to quickly close the outlet 244 and then direct the hot water toward the pod 100 when the pump 7 is turned on to deliver water to the brewing station 300. By having the opening 19 substantially closed, water dripping at the brewing station is also prevented.

A natural carbonator 280 is disposed in the cold brewing path and comprises a first natural carbonation chamber 283 and a second natural carbonation chamber 282 connected to the tube 11 and the metering filter 14, a nozzle 281, a carbonation valve 285 connected to the controller 2 by an electrical line 285a and to the nozzle by a tube 284, and a container 287 connected to the valve 285 by a tube 286 for providing a supply of pressurized carbon dioxide. The nozzle is received in the first natural carbonation chamber and has an aperture 289 directed in the direction of the water flow flowing in the first natural carbonation chamber to generate a rapid stream or jet of carbon dioxide within the water flow. When the flow of carbon dioxide and the flow of water travel together in the first natural carbonation chamber, the carbon dioxide in the flow of carbon dioxide is silently and naturally absorbed into the water in the flow of water, resulting in natural carbonation or natural carbonation of the water. As natural carbonation continues, the rapid flow of carbon dioxide becomes smaller in size or diameter. The first natural carbonation chamber is long enough that the rapid flow of carbon dioxide becomes significantly smaller in size or disappears as the flow travels downstream to the outlet or right end of the chamber. In order to accelerate or promote natural carbonation, the second opening 19 of the dosing filter is made small enough and restricts the flow of water to create sufficient back pressure to the carbonation chamber. The orifice 289 of the nozzle is sufficiently small, preferably less than 1 mm or 0.5 mm in diameter, to work with the first natural carbonation chamber to convert the high pressure of carbon dioxide from the reservoir 287, which could cause damage and damage to the seals, connections, tubing, sensors and other components of the equipment, into heat and a gentle and safe water flow rate to those components. It has been found that in the absence of natural carbonation, carbon dioxide gas can flow in opposite directions into the cooling tank 110 and the heating tank 120 to fill the tanks with gas and damage seals and tubes. Two or more apertures 289 may be formed on the nozzle 281 to accelerate the natural carbonation in the first natural carbonation chamber.

The second natural carbonation chamber 282 may be smaller than the first natural carbonation chamber and allow the residual carbon dioxide gas in the rapid stream of carbon dioxide to be naturally absorbed into the water stream to complete the natural carbonation. The second natural carbonation chamber 282 is connected to the first natural carbonation chamber and at least a portion of the second chamber adjacent the first natural carbonation chamber is coaxial or shares an axis with the bore 289, as shown at dashed line 278, to facilitate natural carbonation and prevent potential out-gassing of carbonated water. The first and second natural carbonation chambers are long enough to allow sufficient time for the carbon dioxide gas in the rapid flow of carbon dioxide from the bore 289 to be naturally absorbed into the water flow therein. The resulting carbonated water is mixed or brewed with an infusion material, such as syrup, juice concentrate, beverage powder, or even ground coffee or tea, in the pod 100 to form soda, sparkling juice, or other carbonated drinks. A person can select the type of beverage by selecting the type of pod. The volume of drink is selected by controlling the brewing time via the controller 2 and the metering filter 14. The carbonation level or carbon dioxide concentration in the beverage is controlled via carbonation valve 285 and controller 2.

If the apparatus 1 is used only for brewing carbonated cold beverages, the pump 7 and the heating chamber 120 may be removed. The first natural carbonation chamber cooperates with the nozzle 281 to act as a pump to draw cold water from the dispensing chamber 6 into the carbonation chamber through the cold water tube 111 and deliver the naturally carbonated water through the metering filter 14 to the pod 100 to form carbonated water or other sparkling drink. The position of the metering filter may be reversed such that the second or expandable opening 19 is positioned upstream of the first opening 271 to improve the consistency of the brew volume metered by the metering filter. The cross-sectional area or diameter of the first natural carbonation chamber 283 should be small enough, i.e., less than 0.8 inches in diameter or less than 0.5 square inches in area, and long enough, i.e., longer than 2 inches or 4 inches, so that the rapid flow of carbon dioxide from the orifice 19 draws water from the water tank 2 into the first natural carbonation chamber where it is naturally carbonated and delivers the naturally carbonated water to the pod 100 in the brewing station 300 to form a carbonated beverage.

The holder 30 and cover 20 are similar to those of fig. 4-4G, except that the holder has a syringe 260 connected to a supply tube 296. The supply tube is connected to at least one dosing device (portioner)290 to provide at least one fluid, such as milk, flavored syrup or whipped cream, to the injector. The device for dispensing a dose comprises a metering pump 297 which is electrically connected to the controller 2 via an electrical line 297a and is fluidly connected to a fluid container 299 via a tube 298. The syringe comprises a body 262 removably received in a receiver 263 and a fluid needle 261 for piercing the bottom 27 of the capsule to form a pierced opening to introduce fluid from the supply tube into the interior space of the capsule. The fluid is distinct from the brew to provide a different flavor or nutrient to the brew, and may mix with the brew within the pod, or with the brew received in a cup, bowl, or other charge below the holder. By providing the pod with a sanitary tube 142 similar to that of fig. 1K and 4D, both the infusions formed in the pod and the fluid introduced into the pod via the needle 261 are dispensed into the load without contacting the holder 30 and the device, thereby preventing cross-contamination, allergies and safety issues associated with making various infusions with one device.

The supply tube is connected to the sterilizing tube 288 and is controlled by the carbonation valve 285 to provide a supply of sterilizing carbon dioxide from the container 287 to the syringe 260 to sterilize and dry the supply tube 296, syringe 260, bubbling chamber, and holder 30. Since the container 299 and the metering pump 297 cannot be sterilized by the sterilizing carbon dioxide, they are stored in a freezer or refrigerator together with the sterilizing tube 288 and a portion of the supply tube 296 adjacent to the metering pump to prevent fluid spoilage. It should be appreciated that the fluid needle 261 may be adapted to create a sufficiently large opening on the pod bottom 27 to discharge the brew and fluid, thereby avoiding the need for an outlet needle 63. It should also be understood that the outlet needle in fig. 1-7 may be provided with a fluid through passage and connected to a supply tube 296 to introduce a fluid, such as milk or flavored syrup, into the sachet.

To produce a frothed fluid, such as frothed milk for espresso, the fluid needle 261 may have a sufficiently small outlet hole adapted to convert the fluid from the supply tube 296 into a fluid jet at a sufficiently high velocity and to inject the fluid jet into the frothing chamber to emulsify the fluid with a volume of air available in the frothing chamber. As shown in fig. 1P, the blister chamber may be part of the holder 30 (not shown) or part of the pod. In the latter case, the fluid needle pierces the bottom 27 of the capsule to form a pierced opening and at least one air passage is formed between the pierced opening and the fluid needle. The air passage is sufficiently close to the bore of the fluid needle so that when the fluid jet is ejected into the bubbling chamber, the fluid jet draws air into the bubbling chamber 258 (fig. 1P). The frothed fluid may be combined with the brew from the brew chamber 58 in a cup below the holder 30 or in the frothing chamber. The holder may also have an outlet needle 63 for piercing the bottom of the capsule in a manner similar to that of fig. 1A, 1B, 1C, 1J, 1L and 4E to discharge the brew and fluid. To prevent clogging, the fluid needle 261 can be made similar to the flow deflecting needle 85 of fig. 1V. The hole for the fluid needle may be normally closed to prevent the infusion material 2 from entering the needle and may be opened by pressure expansion to create a fluid jet.

To improve the quality of the espresso, the brewing catalyst is adapted to preheat the brewing cover, the pod and the holder prior to brewing. To preheat, the controller 2 heats the catalyst 10 to a steam generation temperature and delivers a predetermined amount of water to the catalyst to generate a predetermined amount of hot steam. Hot steam flows into the brewing cover and the pod 100 under steam pressure and condenses to release its powerful heat to heat the lid, pod and holder so that the brewing station and pod are ready to brew espresso. The predetermined amount of hot steam is 0.5 to 7 grams, preferably 1 to 3 grams, for optimal espresso brewing.

The apparatus of fig. 7 can brew a wide variety of cold brew beverages, such as cold brew coffee, espresso, soda, sparkling fruit juice, beer, chewable drinks, infant formula, or breakfast cereals. When the pod 100 is set into the holder, the set of bits 90 on the pod depresses the switch set 34 or 234 (fig. 1M or fig. 4). Upon receiving the switching state, the controller 2 causes the cold brewing path including the tank 3, the dispensing chamber 6, the pump 7, the path valve 108, the cold water pipe 111, the cold brewing catalyst 10, the first and second natural carbonation chambers 281, 282, the dosing filter 14, the brewing cover 20 and the pod 100 to be immediately formed. For use outside the home, the cold water pipe 111 and the resulting cold brewing path in the apparatus 1 may be replaced by the cooling tank 110 of fig. 5 to improve the cold brewing result. Exemplary brewing for several cold infusions is described below.

1) Cold brewing coffee

A cold brew coffee pod 100 similar to the pod of fig. 1 or 1A is provided into the holder 30 in a manner similar to fig. 4E or 4F. The controller selects a set of brewing conditions based on the set of bits on the pod such that a cold brewing path is formed, supplies a small amount of catalytic energy (e.g., 2.4 watt-hours or 2 kilocalories) to the cold brewing catalyst 10, and instructs the pump 7 to deliver a predetermined amount (e.g., 8 ounces) of cold water through the cold brewing path. Within one minute, 8 ounces of cold brew having a temperature of 60 degrees fahrenheit to 70 degrees fahrenheit is received into a cup under the holder.

2) Cold brewing espresso

The cold brew espresso pod 100 of fig. 1P is placed into the holder in a manner similar to that of fig. 4F or 4E. The fluid needle 261 and the outlet needle 63 pierce the capsule bottom 27. The controller 2 selects a set of brewing conditions according to the set of bits on the pod and causes a cold brewing path to be formed, the brewing station 300 is preheated by 2 grams of hot steam generated by the catalyst 10, a predetermined amount of catalytic energy (e.g., 2.4 watt-hours) is input to the catalyst 10 to catalyze the brewing of cold espresso, and a predetermined amount (e.g., 2 ounces) of cold water is delivered through the cold brewing path by the pump 7. The cold brew espresso was dispensed into a 2 ounce cup below the holder in 30 seconds.

3) Cold-brewed latte, mocha and other espresso-based beverages

To brew a cold brewed espresso-based beverage, such as cold brew latte or mocha, cold brew espresso may be brewed as described above, but into a 12 ounce glass instead of a 2 ounce cup. The controller then causes the metering pump 297 to deliver a predetermined amount (e.g., 6 ounces) of cold milk from the container 299 to the injector 260. The milk is converted to frothed milk in the frothing chamber 258 within the pod and dispensed via the outlet needle 63 into a 12 ounce cup to combine with the cold brew espresso therein to form a latte or mocha. To better illustrate the espresso, the controller may cause the step of delivering a predetermined amount of cold milk to be performed before the step of delivering a predetermined amount of cold water through the cold brewing path, such that the foamed milk is first dispensed into a 12 ounce glass.

4) Carbonated beverage such as soda, sparkling fruit juices and beer

A cold brew soda, bubble cider or beer pod 100 is provided into the holder in a manner similar to that of fig. 4F or 4E. The sachet comprises a supply of soda syrup, apple juice or beer concentrate 24 contained in an impermeable cup-shaped container 88 sealed by a membrane lid 23 and is similar to the sachet of figure 4F or figure 4E except that it does not have a cup-shaped filter 87. The controller selects a set of brewing conditions according to the group of bits such that a cold brewing path is formed, such that the pump 7 delivers a predetermined amount (e.g., 16 ounces) of cold water, and such that the natural carbonator 280 naturally carbonates the cold water in the cold brewing path. Carbonated water is introduced into the pod by the inlet needle 85 to mix with the syrup or concentrate and the resulting soda, sparkling apple juice or beer is dispensed into a 16 ounce cup below the holder within 30 seconds.

5) Chewable beverage such as ground vegetables, fruits and bubble tea

A cold-brewed chewable beverage pod, such as bubble tea, ground vegetable or fruit pod 100, is disposed into the holder 30A in a manner similar to that of fig. 4D. The pod may include a supply of insoluble brewing material 24a (such as ground vegetables, fruits, jelly beads, and/or fruit slices) and have a design similar to that of fig. 1I, 1K, or 4D. The controller selects a set of brewing conditions according to the group of bits and causes a cold brewing path to be formed. According to the set of brewing conditions, a predetermined amount (e.g., 12 ounces) of cold water is delivered by the pump 7 via the inlet needle 85 into the brewing chamber 58 to mix with the brewing material therein. The mixture is adjusted via the adjusting plate 48 into the transient chamber 59 and subsequently dispensed into a cup within one minute.

6) Infant formula, shaved ice (frappe) and yogurt

A cold brew infant formula, shaved ice, or yogurt sachet 100 is provided into the holder 30 in a manner similar to that of fig. 4D, the sachet 100 including a supply of infant formula, shaved ice, or yogurt mix 24a in the brew chamber 58, and similar to the sachet of fig. 1I, 1K, or 4D. The mixture may comprise nutrient-embedded gel beads and fruit. The controller selects a set of brewing conditions according to the set of bits 90 on the pod and causes a cold brewing path to be formed. A small amount of catalytic energy (e.g., 2.4 watt-hours) is supplied to the cold brewing catalyst 10 and the pump 7 is turned on to deliver a predetermined amount (e.g., 6 ounces) of cold water into the brewing chamber via the inlet needle 85 to mix with the formula powder or yogurt mix 24a and form a viscous gel-like fluid in the brewing chamber. The viscous fluid or gel is conditioned by the conditioning plate 48 into the transient chamber and dispensed in one minute into a 6 ounce or 8 ounce baby bottle or cup beneath the holder. The catalytic energy was found to catalyze gel formation and allow a bottle or cup of uniform gel-like fluid to be formed over a period of 1 minute.

According to an alternative set of brewing conditions for the pod, the controller 2 turns on the pump 7 and causes the pathway valve 108 to form a hot brewing pathway for a first length of time to deliver a hot water flow or pulse of water and a cold brewing pathway for a second length of time to deliver a cold water flow or pulse of water through the pod. The volume of water in the heat or cold pulse is equal to the product of the first or second length of time and the flow rate determined by the metering filter 14. The first length of time and the second length of time are selected such that the temperature of the combined hot and cold water pulses is 95 degrees fahrenheit recommended for infants. For example, if the predetermined or desired volume of formula powder to be brewed with the sachet is 180 milliliters, the heating cabinet 120 is maintained at an anti-convection temperature of 140 degrees, the cabinet 3 (or cooling cabinet 110) is 70 degrees Fahrenheit, and the flow rate is 4.5 milliliters per second for a first length of time (i.e., t)₁) And a second length of time (i.e., t)₂) Determined by the following two equations:

4.5*(t₁+t₂)＝180 (1)

4.5*t₁*140+4.5*t₂*70＝180*95 (2)

the solution of the above equation is for hot waterT of the pulse₁14.3 seconds and t for cold water pulse₂25.7 seconds. To achieve a uniform infant formula temperature in the bottle, a plurality of short alternating hot and cold water pulses (e.g., 7.15 second heat pulse plus 12.85 second cold pulse plus 7.15 second heat pulse plus 12.85 second cold pulse) may be delivered to the infant formula sachet. Such alternating hot and cold pulses through the hot and cold brewing paths may be used to obtain other brewing temperatures for other beverage or food pods.

7) Cereal food

The cold brew cereal pod 100 is placed into the holder in a manner similar to that of fig. 4B. The sachet has a supply of cereal 24a sealed in the bowl-shaped container 88 by the membrane lid 23 and is similar to the sachet of fig. 4 except that it also includes a supply of milk, milk concentrate or milk powder 202 in a bag 220 (similar to the bag of fig. 1K). The controller 2 selects a set of brewing conditions based on the set of bits 90 on the pod, creates a cold brewing path, and causes the pump 7 to deliver a predetermined amount (e.g., 8 ounces) of cold water through the cold brewing path. Milk, milk concentrate or milk powder 202 is carried by the cold water to the cereal 24a in the bowl 88 within 15 seconds. The controller then causes natural carbonator 280 to deliver a burst of carbon dioxide into bag 220 via tube 284 to dry the bag and sterilize inlet needle 85 and brewing station 300. Alternatively, the controller may supply a predetermined amount of heat to the heater 9 to generate and deliver a supply of steam to dry the bag and sterilize the inlet needle and the brewing station. After the brewing cover is opened, the support spring 185 pushes the pod for easy removal. The film cover 23 is removed together with the bag 220 by pulling the protrusion 187 to allow a person to enjoy the cereal in the bowl-shaped container 88.

8) Breakfast

The cold brew breakfast sachet 100 is placed into the holder in a manner similar to that of figure 4D. The pod has a supply of breakfast mixture 24a in the brew chamber 58 and is similar to the pod of figure 1D. The outlet needle 63 and the fluid needle 261 of the holder pierce the capsule bottom 27. The outlet needle is adapted to push the adjustment plate 48 upwards in a manner similar to 4D, thereby forming a transient chamber 59 in the sachet. The fluid needle is adapted to slide into the brew chamber through the adjustment opening 144 of the adjuster 48. The controller selects a set of brewing conditions according to each group of bits on the pod, such that a cold brewing path is formed, and such that the metering pump 297 of the device 290 that dispenses a dose delivers a predetermined amount (e.g., 12 ounces) of milk from the fluid container 299 into the brewing chamber via the fluid needle 261. The fluid needle atomizes the milk to create froth, facilitating the flow of the breakfast mixture 24a in the brew chamber through the regulating plate 48 into the transient chamber 59. The frothed milk-breakfast mixture in the transient chamber is dispensed through the outlet opening 49 and the sanitary tube 142 into a load such as a bowl within 30 seconds. The controller then causes the pump 7 to deliver a predetermined amount (e.g., 4 ounces) of cold water through the cold brew path to purge any residual milk and mix from the pod, and causes the valve 285 to open and release a burst of carbon dioxide sterilizing gas into the pod via the sterilizing tube 288 and the fluid needle 261 to sterilize the system.

The apparatus of fig. 7 can also brew a wide variety of hot brew products, such as hot coffee, soup, oatmeal, pasta, pizza, sandwiches, desserts, super foods, herbal medicines, or espresso drinks. When the hot brewing pod 100 is provided into the holder and the brewing cover 20 is closed, the set of bits 90 on the pod depresses the set of switches 34 or 234 (fig. 1M or fig. 4), and the switching state is communicated to the controller 2. The controller causes the formation of a hot brewing path comprising the tank 3, the dispensing chamber 6, the pump 7, the path valve 108, the heater tank 120, the catalyst 10, the metering filter 14, the brewing cover 20 and the sachet. Exemplary brewing for several hot infusions is described below.

1) Hot brewing coffee

The hot-brew coffee pod is disposed into the holder 30 in a manner similar to that of fig. 4E. The controller selects a set of brewing conditions to form a hot brewing path based on the set of bits on the pod, causes the pump 7 to deliver a predetermined amount (e.g., 8 ounces) of hot water at the anti-convection temperature through the catalyst 10, and supplies a predetermined power to the catalyst to heat the hot water from the anti-convection temperature to an optimal brewing temperature of 195 degrees Fahrenheit to 205 degrees Fahrenheit before the hot water is delivered to the pod. Within one minute, 8 ounces of hot coffee were brewed into a cup below the holder.

2) Chicken noodles and clam mixed thick soup

Hot-brew chicken noodles, clam chow soup or miso soup sachet was set into the holder in a manner similar to that of figure 4D. The pod includes a supply of insoluble brewing material 24a (e.g., chicken and noodles, clam and potato, or onion and seaweed) in the brewing chamber 58 and is similar to the pod of fig. 1I, 1K, and 4D. The controller 2 causes the brewing catalyst 10 to generate and deliver a supply of hot steam, e.g., 10 grams of hot steam, to the pod for speed cooking and infusion of moisture into the infusible brewing material 24a within 30 seconds, causes the pump 7 to deliver a predetermined amount (e.g., 15 ounces) of hot water at its anti-convection temperature through the hot brewing path, and supplies a predetermined power to the brewing catalyst to heat the hot water from the anti-convection temperature to a predetermined brewing temperature for the soup according to the set of bits 90. Brewing water is injected into the brewing chamber 58 to blend the soluble brewing material 24 and the insoluble brewing material 24a therein. The resulting blend is adjusted into the transient chamber 59 via the adjustment plate 48 and dispensed into the one-part bowl under the holder via the outlet opening 49 and the sanitary tube 142 within 30 seconds.

3) Hot oatmeal

A hot brew oatmeal sachet 100 is provided into the holder in a manner similar to that of fig. 4B, the sachet 100 comprising a supply of raisins and oats 24a and brown sugar 24 in a bowl-shaped container 88, and similar to the sachet of fig. 4. The controller 2 selects a set of brewing conditions according to the bit set 90 to form a hot brewing path, causes the brewing catalyst 10 to generate and deliver a supply of hot steam, e.g., 7 grams of hot steam, to the pod for speed cooking and infusion of moisture into the oats and raisins 24a within 20 seconds, causes the pump 7 to deliver a predetermined amount (e.g., 12 ounces) of hot water through the hot brewing path, and supplies a predetermined power to the brewing catalyst according to the bit set to heat the hot water from its anti-convection temperature to a predetermined brewing temperature. The brewing water is injected into the bowl via needle 85 to blend the brown sugar and the steamed oats and raisins for 15 seconds. The pressure release 188 opens and releases the pressure in the pod. When the brewing cover 20 is opened, the support spring 185 pushes the pod upwards for easy removal. The controller 2 may turn on a fan or air pump (not shown) to supply ambient air that flows through the space between the retainer 30A and the pod sidewall 29 to cool the pod sidewall prior to pod removal. The membrane lid 23 is removed via the protrusion 187 to enjoy the cooked oatmeal in the bowl-shaped container.

4) Hot breakfast

A hot-brew breakfast sachet having an insoluble brewing material 24a such as oats, cereal and/or protein in a brewing chamber similar to that of figure 4D is provided into the holder in a manner similar to that of figure 4D. The outlet needle 63 and the fluid needle 261 of the holder pierce the capsule bottom 27. The outlet needle is adapted to push the adjustment plate 48 upwards to form a transient chamber 59. The fluid needle is adapted to slide into the adjustment opening 144 of the adjuster 48 into the brew chamber. The controller selects a set of brewing conditions according to the set of bits on the pod such that a hot brewing path is formed and the brewing catalyst 10 generates and delivers a supply of hot steam (e.g., 7 grams of hot steam) into the brewing chamber via the inlet needle 85 for speed cooking and infusion of moisture into the infusible brewing material for 20 seconds.

The controller 2 then causes the pump 297 of the dosing device 290 to deliver a predetermined amount (e.g., 12 ounces) of cold milk from the fluid container 299 to the fluid needle 261, and the fluid needle 261 converts the cold milk into a high-velocity fluid jet to atomize and foam the fluid in the brew chamber. At the same time, the controller causes the brewing catalyst 10 and the pump 7 to generate hot steam and deliver the hot steam via the inlet needle 85 into the brewing chamber 58 to heat the atomized milk to produce hot frothed milk in the brewing chamber. The hot frothed milk, which has a greater carrying capacity than the non-frothed milk, blends with the moisture infused brewing material 24a in the brewing chamber and carries the brewing material through the adjustment opening 144, the transient chamber 59, the outlet opening 49 and the sanitary tube 142 into the cup or bowl below the holder in about 30 seconds. At the end of brewing, the controller switches the valve 285 to open the sterilizing tube 288 for one second to emit a burst of carbon dioxide sterilizing gas into the pod via the injector 260 to dry and sterilize the supply tube, injector and brewing station.

5) Pasta meal

When hot-brew pasta meal sachets, such as shrimp and tarragon, Mexican taco-bowl, or mushroom and chicory sachets 100, are set into the holder in a manner similar to that of fig. 4B, the controller 2 selects a set of brewing conditions according to the set of bits 90 on the sachet. The meal sachet is similar to the sachet of fig. 4 and includes a supply of meal material 24 and 24a, a disc or bowl shaped container 88, a membrane lid 23 for sealing the material in the container, and a group of bits for controlling cooking conditions to prevent damage by the energy emitter. The controller causes the brewing catalyst 10 to generate, deliver and inject a supply of hot steam (e.g., 24 grams of hot steam) deep into the food material through the flow deflecting pin 85 for speed cooking and water infusion into the pasta for one or two minutes. The controller then causes the first energy emitter 225 to emit 450 watts of infrared light (having a peak spectral power density around a wavelength of 1500 nanometers) to rapidly bake the meal material, thereby creating a flavor for 15 seconds, and causes the pump 7 and flow deflecting needle 85 to inject approximately 4 ounces of hot water at the anti-convection temperature deep inside the meal material to create a soup mouthfeel and slightly cool the meal.

The film cover is adapted to be substantially transparent to infrared light in the wavelength range of 1000 to 3000 nanometers to prevent thermal damage, and is preferably made from a green and easily recycled PP or PET film cover. Steaming and baking can occur simultaneously to save time. The brewing cover 20 is then opened to cause the support spring 185 to push the now cooked and hot disc-shaped meal sachet upwardly for easy removal. The controller may cause a fan or air pump to introduce air to cool the side walls 29 of the pod for more comfortable handling prior to removal of the side walls. The membrane cover 23 is removed by pulling the protrusion 187 to peel the membrane of the container 88 to allow permeation of the fragrance. The pasta meal is ready.

6) Thermal sandwich

Hot sandwich buns, such as roast chicken, hamburger, or roast beef sandwich buns, are similar to pasta meal buns and are also similarly cooked. The sandwich bun includes a grilled chicken fillet, hamburger patty or beef sandwiched between two slices of bread 24a, a dish-shaped container 88 having an impermeable bun base 27 for receiving the sandwich and a bun rim 28 adapted to rest on a rim 89 of the holder 30, a membrane lid 23 sealing the sandwich to the container, and a bit set 90 for controlling cooking conditions to prevent damage by the energy emitter. The controller 2 causes the brew catalyst 10 to generate, deliver and inject a supply of steam (e.g., 9 grams of steam) into the space between the two slices of bread via the flow deflecting pin 85 to heat and cook the meat therein for one minute. The controller then causes the first energy emitter 225 in the brew cover 20 and the second emitter 230 in the second holder 30A to emit infrared light (which has a peak spectral power density around a wavelength of 1400 nanometers) to toast the top and bottom slices of bread, respectively, for approximately 30 seconds until a crispy golden brown crust is formed on both slices of bread.

Both the disc-shaped container 88 and the film cover 23 are substantially transparent to infrared light in the wavelength range of 1000 nm to 3000 nm to prevent thermal damage, and are preferably made of recycled polypropylene or polyethylene terephthalate. For optimal cooking, steaming of meat between two slices of bread by catalyst 10 with hot steam from inlet needle 85 and grilling of top and bottom slices of bread by first and second infrared emitters 225 and 230 may be performed simultaneously. When the brewing cover is opened, the support spring 185 pushes the cooked sandwich pod upward for easy removal. The membrane lid is removed via the tab 187 to allow the aroma to permeate into the sandwich and to color out the pod.

7) Hot pizza

Hot-brewed pizza packages such as pepperoni, mexican corn rolls (D's taco), vegetables (veggie), breakfast, or the ca pizza are similar to sandwich packages and are also similarly cooked. The pizza crust includes a pizza or pizza slice 24a, a bag or dish-shaped container 88 having an impermeable crust base 27 for receiving the pizza and a crust rim 28 adapted to sit on the rim 89 of the second holder 30A, a membrane lid 23 for sealing the pizza in the container, and a set of bits 90 for controlling cooking conditions to prevent damage by the energy emitter. The controller 2 causes the brewing catalyst 10 to generate, deliver and inject a supply of hot steam (e.g., 5 grams of hot steam) into the pizza via the flow deflecting pin 85 to heat and moisturize the pizza for 15 seconds. At the same time, it causes both the first energy emitter and the second energy emitter to emit infrared light (which has a peak spectral power density around a wavelength of 1400 nanometers) to cook both the top and bottom surfaces of the pizza for approximately 45 seconds to emit a flavor and form a crispy light brown or medium brown crust on both surfaces of the pizza.

Both the container 88 and the film cover 23 are substantially transparent to infrared light in the wavelength range of 1000 to 3000 nanometers to prevent thermal damage, and are preferably made of recycled PP or PET. The brewing cover is opened so that the support spring 185 pushes the pizza package upwards for easy removal. The membrane lid is removed from the container 88 via the protrusion 187 to allow the fragrance to permeate and color out.

8) Hot dessert

A hot-brewed dessert pouch 100, such as a caramel pudding pouch, is also cooked in a manner similar to that used for a sandwich pouch. The caramel pudding sachet is similar to the sachet of fig. 4 and comprises a bowl or small mould-shaped (ramekin-shaped) container 88, a supply of caramel pudding 24a, a sugar layer which is at least partially skinned to prevent build-up on the caramel pudding, a membrane cover 23 for sealing the caramel pudding in the container, and a group of bits 90 for controlling cooking conditions to prevent damage to the membrane cover. The controller 2 causes the first energy emitter 225 to emit infrared light (which has its peak spectral power density around a wavelength of 1400 nanometers) sufficiently intense to melt or at least cause the sugar layer on top of the caramel pudding to become crunchy and to emit its characteristic aroma in about one minute. The film cover is transparent to infrared light in a wavelength range of 1000 nm to 3000 nm to prevent thermal damage by the first emitter. The brew cover is then opened to cause the support springs 185 to push the dessert pouch upward for easy removal. Prior to opening the cover 20, the controller may cause the valve 285 to open to introduce a supply of cold carbon dioxide or cold air into the holder to cool the outer surface of the hot brewing pod for a more comfortable touch. The membrane cover is removed via the protrusions 187 to allow the aroma to permeate and brown sugar to color out.

9) Hot super food and herbal medicine

A hot brewed super food or herbal sachet, identical to the cold brewed coffee sachet of fig. 1, is provided into the holder in a manner similar to that of fig. 1A. Traditionally, chinese herbal medicines and super foods (like chaga) are brewed for several hours at temperatures close to boiling. By grinding the chaga or other super food to an ultra fine particle size having an average particle size between 150 and 350 microns, and by grinding the different components of the herbal mixture to their respective ultra fine particle sizes also having an average particle size between 100 and 300 microns, the herbal and super food sachet is capable of brewing within 1 to 5 minutes while being almost completely extracted. The controller 2 selects a set of brewing conditions according to the set of bits on the pod. The controller 2 then causes a hot brew path to be formed through the path valve 108, creates an extraction aperture in the chinese herbal medicine or super-food particles through a supply of hot steam (e.g., 10 grams of hot steam) generated by the brew catalyst 10, delivers a first predetermined amount (e.g., 8 ounces) of hot water through the hot brew path for a predetermined time (e.g., 2 minutes) through the pump 7, and supplies sufficient power to the catalyst 10 to heat the hot water from its anti-convection temperature to an optimal brew temperature for the chinese herbal medicine or super-food. The controller 2 may also control the pathway valve 108 to deliver a second predetermined amount (e.g., 1 ounce) of cold water through the cold brew pathway to mix with the first predetermined amount of brew to achieve a desired strength and drinking temperature for the herbal medicine or super-food.

10) Hot espresso

A hot brew espresso pod 100 is provided into the holder in a manner similar to that of fig. 4E, the pod 100 being identical to the cold brew espresso pod of fig. 1P except for its bit set 90. The controller 2 selects a set of brewing conditions according to the set of bits on the pod. The controller 2 then causes a hot brewing path to be formed through the path valve 108, the brewing station 300 to be pre-heated by a supply of hot steam (e.g., 2 grams of hot steam) generated by the brewing catalyst 10, a predetermined amount (e.g., 2 ounces) of water to be delivered through the hot brewing path by the pump 7, and sufficient power to the catalyst 10 to heat the water from its anti-convection temperature to an optimal hot brewing temperature of 195 degrees fahrenheit to 205 degrees fahrenheit. The space 257 between the filter 87 and the second receptacle 256 is converted into a transient chamber for collecting the espresso brewed in the brewing chamber 58. The foaming opening 269 converts the collected espresso into a fast espresso jet that becomes foamed in the foaming chamber 258 and is dispensed via the outlet needle 63 into a 2 or 4 ounce cup beneath the holder. The foam rises in the cup to form a golden crema layer on top of the hot brewed espresso.

11) Iron oxide, mocha and other espresso-based beverages

To brew a hot espresso-based beverage, espresso is brewed according to method 10, but dispensed into a 10 ounce or 12 ounce mug. The capsule bottom 27 is pierced by both the fluid needle 261 and the outlet needle 63. The controller 2 causes the pump 297 to deliver a predetermined amount (e.g., 6 ounces) of milk from the container 299 through the injector 260. At the same time, the controller 2 causes the pump 7 and the brew catalyst 10 to generate and deliver hot steam through the inlet needle 85, the brew chamber 58, and the brew opening 269 into the brew chamber 258. The milk is atomized or emulsified by the fluid needle to promote heating by the hot steam and frothing in the frothing chamber. The heated frothed milk is dispensed via the outlet needle 63 into a mug to combine with hot espresso in the cup to make latte or mocha. Finally, the controller causes the valve 285 to open the sterilizing tube 288 for a few seconds to emit a burst of carbon dioxide into the bubbling chamber 258 via the injector to sterilize and dry the supply tube 296, the injector 260, and the brewing station 300.

In order to enable a hot-brew espresso pod to brew a variety of hot espresso-based beverages with a variety of flavors, the set of bits 90 on the pod is adapted to determine a set of brewing conditions for brewing the hot espresso, as described above. Such a bit group may be referred to as a parent bit group. The set of bits is also adapted to cooperate with a user interface, such as a screen and/or buttons, connected to the controller 2 to determine another set of brewing conditions for forming one or more complimentary infusions of hot espresso coffee, such as frothed milk and frothed flavoring syrup. The hot brew espresso pod, which has the same design as the cold brew espresso pod of fig. 1P, is connected via the injector 260 and supply tube 296 (fig. 7) to a plurality of containers 299, the plurality of containers 299 containing whole milk, skim milk, chocolate milk, vanilla flavored syrup, hazelnut flavored syrup, and the like. For example, if a person selects low-fat vanilla flavored latte on the screen, the second set of brewing conditions may include delivering 6 ounces of low-fat milk from the skim milk container 299 through the supply tube 296 and the injector 260 into the foaming chamber 258; simultaneously delivering hot steam from the brewing optimizer 10 through the inlet needle 85, the brewing chamber 58 and the second chamber 257 into the frothing chamber to heat the frothed milk; delivering a stream of vanilla flavored syrup through syringe 260 into the foaming chamber; and dispensing the hot foamed milk and the foamed vanilla syrup as two complimentary infusions of hot espresso.

Also, various cold-brewed espresso-based beverages may be brewed with cold-brew espresso pods. The father group 90 determines a set of brewing conditions for the cold brew espresso and cooperates with the screen of the controller 2 to determine another set of brewing conditions for one or more complimentary infusions that form the cold brew espresso. Various soda-based drinks, oatmeal-based breakfast, cereal-based breakfast, soup-based meal, pasta-based meal, pizza-based meal and sandwich-based meal may also be infused with the respective sachets. Their respective parent bit set determines a set of brewing conditions for the base drink or meal, and this bit set cooperates with the screen to determine another set of brewing conditions for forming a complimentary brew of the base drink or meal. Thus, the parent group allows a person to purchase only the base sachet to brew various related infusions, thereby significantly reducing the need to purchase and store a large variety of sachets to minimize waste and increase sachet freshness.

To prevent cold brewing of the sachet (such as while hot)A pod of infant formula in a brewing machine) that may brew a bottle of infant formula that is too hot for the infant, the bit surface 192 or at least one bit of the bit set 90 on the cold brewing pod is made large enough to prevent the cold brewing pod from being fully inserted into such a cold brewing pod In the holder of the brewing machine. To prevent potential misuse of the cold brew pod in the device 1 of the present invention, the cold brew pod may include a cold brew site that may be positioned within or separate from the remaining sites in the bit set to prevent hot water delivery through the cold brew pod or to prevent the formation of a hot brew path. The cold brew station either mechanically controls the pathway valve 108 or a cold water switch (not shown) located in the brew cover or holder, or electrically controls the pathway valve to prevent hot water from being delivered to the cold brew pod. To provide final control to the user, the device 1 of fig. 1-7 may also include a manual switch, such as a button or knob, suitable for a person to control whether a particular pod should be brewed using the cold water or cold brewing path.

On the other hand, the consumer may wish to brew in the device 1 of fig. 1 to 7, possibly without any group of bitsAnd other hot coffee pods. Such a hot coffee pod has no bits down or up and can be read by the bit group reader 34 to provide a value or switching status 000 to the controller 2. In order to allow device 1 to operate both with and without bit group 90The group of bits for a hot brew coffee pod should consist of only the up bit and the like, which have a value or toggle state of 000 if the up bit is given a value of 0, when receiving a hot coffee pod. Furthermore, as shown in fig. 1N and 1Q, the holder 30 is adapted to have sufficiently rounded corners 193 to allow the holder to accept not only sachets having a square cross-section (similar to that of fig. 1O), but also capsules having a rounded cross-section (similar to that used in the prior art) Dome-shaped cross section of fig. 1D of the sachet).

To allow the device of fig. 7 to brew a first hot brewing pod immediately after brewing another hot brewing pod, the heating tank 120 is adapted to supply hot water at an anti-convection temperature towards the pod and simultaneously generate new hot water at an anti-convection temperature. This solves the problem of cup-to-cup wait time for prior art brewers, such as those taught by Beaulieu and streeater et al in U.S. patent nos. 6,082,247, 6,142,063, 7,523,695 and 7,398,726AndMCD brand brewing machines. This elimination of the waiting time from cup to cup is possible because the anti-convection temperature prevents heat-induced convective mixing of the water when the heating tank 120 generates new hot water by heating cold water introduced into the heating tank to the anti-convection temperature with the heater 125 during brewing of the first cup. The inlet and outlet distributors 124 and 123 minimize flow induced mixing during the delivery of cold water into and hot water out of the heating tank. To further prevent flow induced mixing, a thin vertical plate 129 is provided between the inlet and outlet distributors as shown in fig. 7.

As used herein, "brew" refers to any solid or liquid substance in a cup, bowl, tray, or container that is formed when a liquid, vapor, gas, heat, and/or energy beam interacts with a solid material and/or a supply of liquid material in a sachet or with any component of a sachet. The solid and/or liquid substance in the sachet is referred to as the brewing material. The device 1 is used to form various infusions by this interaction. Terms such as brewing, cooking, extracting, dissolving, filtering, transporting, or mixing may be used interchangeably in the description and claims of the present invention to describe the interaction of the brewing material or other components of the pod with the liquid, vapor, gas, heat, and/or energy beam from the device. While some pods may include features that enhance the operation of the apparatus 1, the pods may be single-use or reusable pods, and may take any suitable form, such as cups, bowls, trays, pouches, bags, boxes, capsules, containers, or otherwise, as is commonly known. Certain brewing materials may be disposed in the sachet to react with each other or with the liquid to form new materials.

Having thus described several aspects of various embodiments of the present invention, it is to be appreciated various alterations, modifications, and improvements will readily occur to those skilled in the art. Such alterations, modifications, and improvements are intended to be part of this disclosure, including any accompanying claims, abstract, and drawings, and are intended to be within the spirit and scope of the invention. Any element in the claims that does not explicitly recite "an apparatus for. Specifically, the use of step "of". No. in the claims herein is intended to refer to the provisions of 35 u.s.c. § 112, paragraph 6. Accordingly, the foregoing description and drawings are by way of example only.