US 4,389,925 · Granted 1983-06-28

Beverage extracting and dispensing machine

A beverage extracting and dispensing machine for use with flattened round cartridges, which contain a brewable product, such as ground coffee, freeze-dried coffee, tea, broth and the like. The cartridges have permeable upper and lower walls and a substantially cylindrical sidewall. A cartridge may be slid to a brewing station in which it is laterally embraced by opposite clamping jaws. During its movement to the brewing station a new cartridge spreads the jaws apart and pushes an old cartridge away from the brewing station. The spreading apart of the jaws starts an automatic brewing cycle at the beginning of which a presser plate is lowered onto the cartridge and presses it with a tight seal on an underlying fixed support while the cartridge is laterally clamped by the jaws. Then a predetermined amount of hot water under pressure is flowed into the cartridge from a passage in the presser plate and the beverage is dispensed from the cartridge through a passage in the support to fill an underlying cup or similar container.

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