US 5,347,916 · Granted 1994-09-20

The Cartridge Holder That Revolutionized Coffee Pod Brewing

Imagine a cone-shaped cup that holds a coffee or beverage cartridge steady while you extract the liquid from it. This patent describes the internal geometry and fin design that keeps the cartridge perfectly positioned and makes extraction smooth and reliable, so your drink comes out the same way every time.

Curated and verified by the IsItPatented Editorial team

The plain-English version

What it protects

The claim covers a hollow container with a frustoconical (cone-shaped) cavity inside that grips a beverage cartridge. What's protected is the specific arrangement of a peripheral rim at the base of that cavity, combined with multiple fins that extend inward and meet at a central point above the cartridge, plus a finger element that protrudes from that meeting point toward the rim. No one can legally manufacture an extraction device using this exact combination of cone geometry, radial fins, and central finger without licensing from Nestec.

Why it matters

This patent sits at the foundation of modern cartridge-based beverage systems. By establishing a secure, repeatable way to hold and extract material from sealed cartridges, it made single-serve coffee and other beverages practical and manufacturable at scale. Nestec (owned by Nestle) used this design to support their Nespresso and other capsule-based systems, creating an enormous market segment. The patent's elegant geometry reduces spillage, improves extraction consistency, and became a core technology moat for the company's beverage platform.

Real-world use

Every time you insert a Nespresso capsule into a machine and hear it click into place, you're experiencing the geometry this patent designed—that cone-shaped holder and the internal fins are positioning your coffee cartridge for a perfect extraction.

Original USPTO abstract

A device for assisting extraction of a material contained in a cartridge for preparation of a beverage has a wall which forms a hollowed enclosure which has an interior surface which defines a frustoconically shaped cavity for containing the cartridge. A rim intersects and extends laterally from the interior surface of the wall to form a peripheral rim base surface which intersects the wall for supporting a cartridge contained by the interior wall surface. A plurality of fins integral with the rim extend from the rim laterally, with respect to the interior wall surface, to converge and connect at an area which is centrally disposed, with respect to the interior wall surface and rim, and displaced at a distance away from a plane defined by the intersection of the interior wall and rim base surfaces so that the area of convergence is displaced away from a cartridge contained and supported by the wall and rim base surfaces. A finger is disposed centrally in the area of convergence of the fine and extends towards the plane.

Patent details

Publication number: US 5,347,916
Filing date: 1991-07-02
Grant date: 1994-09-20
Assignee: Nestec S.A.
Inventor(s): FOND; OLIVIER, PASQUALI; MARIO, PIERRE; BERNARD
CPC class: A47J31/0668

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