`
`
`EXHIBIT 1011
`EXHIBIT 1011
`
`
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`

`

`(19)
`
`(12)
`
`(45) Date of publication and mention
`of the grant of the patent:
`08.04.2009 Bulletin 2009/15
`
`EUROPEAN PATENT SPECIFICATION
`(51) Int Cl.:(cid:3)
`A47J31/40(2006.01)
`B65D79/02(2006.01)
`
`(cid:6)(cid:27)&(cid:11)(cid:11)(cid:12)(cid:18)(cid:19)(cid:19)(cid:20)(cid:12)(cid:17)(cid:24)(cid:12)(cid:6)
`EP 1 788 916 B1
`
`(11)
`
`A47J31/52(2006.01)
`
`(21) Application number: 05768033.2
`
`(22) Date of filing: 03.08.2005
`
`(86) International application number:
`PCT/GB2005/003043
`
`(87) International publication number:
`WO 2006/013362 (09.02.2006 Gazette 2006/06)(cid:3)
`
`(54) APPARATUS FOR DISPENSING A FLOWABLE FOODSTUFF
`
`VORRICHTUNG ZUR AUSGABE EINES FLIESSFÄHIGEN NAHRUNGSMITTELS
`
`APPAREIL DE DISTRIBUTION DE DENRÉES ALIMENTAIRES FLUIDES
`
`(84) Designated Contracting States:
`AT BE BG CH CY CZ DE DK EE ES FI FR GB GR
`HU IE IS IT LI LT LU LV MC NL PL PT RO SE SI
`SK TR
`
`• SIMMONS, Phil
`Alcester B49 6EF (GB)(cid:3)
`• HUNTER, John
`Rogers, MN 55374 (US)(cid:3)
`
`(30) Priority: 06.08.2004 GB 0417534
`
`(43) Date of publication of application:
`30.05.2007 Bulletin 2007/22
`
`(73) Proprietor: IMI VISION LIMITED
`Alcester, Warwickshire B49 6EU (GB)(cid:3)
`
`(72) Inventors:
`• WALLACE, Mark, Andrew
`South Staffordshire DY7 6DG (GB)(cid:3)
`• DAVEY, Stuart, Charles
`Warwickshire CV47 1GA (GB)(cid:3)
`
`(74) Representative: Wightman, David Alexander
`Barker Brettell LLP
`138 Hagley Road
`Edgbaston
`Birmingham
`B16 9PW (GB)(cid:3)
`
`(56) References cited:
`WO-(cid:3)A-(cid:3)01/80174
`DE-(cid:3)A1- 19 911 709
`US-(cid:3)A1- 2002 023 935
`
`WO-(cid:3)A-(cid:3)20/04024615
`DE-(cid:3)U1- 29 905 398
`US-(cid:3)A1- 2002 134 831
`
`Note: Within nine months of the publication of the mention of the grant of the European patent in the European Patent
`Bulletin, any person may give notice to the European Patent Office of opposition to that patent, in accordance with the
`Implementing Regulations. Notice of opposition shall not be deemed to have been filed until the opposition fee has been
`paid. (Art. 99(1) European Patent Convention).
`
`Printed by Jouve, 75001 PARIS (FR)
`
`EP1 788 916B1
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`EP 1 788 916 B1
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`Description
`(cid:3)[0001] This invention relates to improvements in or re-
`lating to apparatus for dispensing a flowable foodstuff as
`described in the preamble of claim 1. Such apparatus is
`mentioned in US 2002/0023935. The invention is partic-
`ularly concerned with the addition of an ingredient to a
`dispensed drink, to which the following description is
`largely directed, but it is to be understood that the inven-
`tion, including the preferred embodiments thereof de-
`scribed below, is equally applicable to other flowable
`foodstuffs such as, for example, yoghurt and cream.
`(cid:3)[0002] Soft drinks systems that produce a drink by mix-
`ing a flavour concentrate with a diluent are widely known
`in the art. Several systems exist in which, at the request
`of the customer, the machine dispenses a drink having
`an additional concentrate selected by the customer.
`These systems allow the user to have greater control
`over the flavour of their drink. At present, these systems
`are fairly limited in that they are designed for use with
`the same concentrated ingredients already being used
`with the system. Although theoretically any additional fla-
`vours could be added, the design of the systems are such
`that the addition of extra concentrates that are not already
`a part of the system add considerably to the complexity
`and the size of the beverage dispenser and system as a
`whole. In particular, in order to control the temperature
`of the dispensed product, concentrates are often cooled
`before being mixed with a diluent, for which purpose an
`additional refrigeration capability is required.
`(cid:3)[0003]
`In the current trend of consumer choice and va-
`riety it is highly desirable to have a large flexibility in the
`additional ingredients that can be added into a beverage,
`e.g. seasonal flavours, movie promotions etc. Commonly
`the dispensers are operated and restocked by untrained
`staff and as such it is considered advantageous to have
`a system which is as simple as is possible to use and
`maintain. One problem associated with the current sys-
`tems is that if the additional flavours are frequently
`changed then unless the concentrations of all flavours is
`the same then substantive setup of the machine is re-
`quired to ensure the correct amount of additional ingre-
`dient is added as a greater or lesser amount is needed
`depending on its characteristics. This is currently over-
`come by using ingredients which are all diluted such that
`an equivalent volume of all ingredients is added. This is
`not space efficient, does not give the required flexibility
`of change and, by increasing the volume of ingredient,
`unless it is pre-(cid:3)cooled, has a greater effect on the tem-
`perature of the dispensed beverage.
`(cid:3)[0004] A further problem associated with current sys-
`tems adapted to add an additional flavour to a base drink
`is that the brand owners, where applicable, of the base
`drink(cid:3)(s), for example Coca-(cid:3)cola (registered trade mark),
`can lose control of the quality of their products. Thus, it
`would be possible for a vendor to purchase additional
`flavours from any supplier and add them to a branded
`base drink which, if the additional flavours were of inferior
`
`quality, might have an adverse impact on the reputation
`of the base drink brand.
`(cid:3)[0005] Additionally it is desirable to add other products
`besides flavours to a beverage, for example vitamin sup-
`plements or nutriceuticals. When adding such supple-
`ments it is important to control the substance that is dis-
`pensed, for example some products have a maximum
`daily allowance and some substances should not be tak-
`en together. It is important from a safety point of view
`that this is carefully controlled. It is therefore desirable to
`have a system that recognises the substance contained
`in the cartridge and have a control system which takes
`this into account.
`(cid:3)[0006] DE 29905398 U1 discloses an arrangement uti-
`lising disposable reservoirs with identification means pro-
`vided. WO 01/80174 A1 discloses the use of Radio Fre-
`quency Identification (RFID) tags on packaging.
`(cid:3)[0007] The present invention seeks to provide an im-
`proved dispense apparatus for dispensing a beverage or
`other flowable foodstuff with one or more additional, flow-
`able ingredients, for example flavour concentrates,
`whereby the consumer has an increased choice of bev-
`erage and the vendor has a high degree of flexibility for
`offering different options to the customer for promotional
`or other means with a greater protection from operator
`error for the consumer and which offers brand integrity
`for the brand owner.
`(cid:3)[0008] According to the present invention there is pro-
`vided an apparatus for dispensing a flowable foodstuff
`as defined in claim 1.
`(cid:3)[0009] Preferably the identification contains at least in-
`formation pertaining to the shelf life of the additional in-
`gredients and the apparatus contains a means for auto-
`matically reading said information and only dispensing
`the ingredient provided it is within its shelf life.
`(cid:3)[0010] By way of apparatus of the invention, therefore,
`a base foodstuff, for example a drink, may be customised
`by addition of a selected volume of additional ingredient
`in a way which reduces or eliminates the possibility of
`error of dispense and which preserves brand integrity.
`For example, the identification on the reservoir may con-
`tain information which relates to the maximum allowable
`dose of the ingredient contained therewithin and the con-
`trol system uses the information to alter its settings to
`ensure that the user can not dispense too much of the
`additional ingredient, thus ruining the taste of the dis-
`pensed product.
`(cid:3)[0011]
`In one preferred arrangement the information
`contained within the identification means is permanently
`associated with the cartridge and is read by the dispens-
`er.
`(cid:3)[0012] Preferably the identification means associated
`with each cartridge is, or contains, a radio frequency iden-
`tification (RFID) tag, and the dispenser contains a reader
`for reading the RFID tag.
`(cid:3)[0013] Preferably each position in the dispenser capa-
`ble of receiving a cartridge has a reader associated with
`it and only detects and reads information from the RFID
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`tag on the cartridge when it is in close proximity to the
`reader. Preferably the reader includes a short range
`reader circuit. Preferably the short range reader circuit
`includes an operating range limited to a few centimetres
`such that the reader does not communicate with the car-
`tridge, and therefore does not read the information con-
`tained within the tag on the cartridge, until the cartridge
`is substantially inserted into the dispenser. Preferably
`the short range reader circuit includes a single operating
`frequency said single frequency preferably being above
`13MHz thereby enabling the use of a low powered reader
`circuit.
`(cid:3)[0014] The automatic reading of the information ena-
`bles an operator to simply remove one reservoir of addi-
`tional ingredient and replace it with another and the dis-
`penser will read the identification means and automati-
`cally set its control parameters accordingly. In addition
`by having automated reading of the information an au-
`thenticity code can be incorporated within the information
`and the dispenser will only operate if it detects this au-
`thenticity code, thus protecting the brand owners from
`counterfeit and possibly lower quality ingredients than
`they would allow to be dispensed with their product. This
`is particularly relevant if the additional ingredient is a
`pharmaceutical product and where variations in the qual-
`ity or concentrations of the ingredients would have a more
`serious effect for the consumer than merely affecting the
`flavour of their drink.
`(cid:3)[0015]
`In one preferred embodiment the disposable
`containers for the additional ingredients are supplied with
`a means of identifying the product within each container,
`said identification means also incorporating a code to
`identify the product as an authorised product, and the
`apparatus include a means of reading the identification.
`(cid:3)[0016]
`In an alternative preferred arrangement the in-
`formation is stored on a bar code on the container or
`alternatively in magnetic form.
`(cid:3)[0017]
`In an alternate preferred arrangement the infor-
`mation is initially written onto identification means per-
`manently associated with the cartridge and the dispenser
`has a read / write capacity such that the dispenser can
`read the information on the cartridge and then write new
`information, or overwrite existing information back to the
`cartridge, for example the volume of ingredient remaining
`in the cartridge or the date of expiry of the active shelf
`life. Preferably the identification means is an RFID tag
`and the dispenser incorporates a RFID read writer. Al-
`ternatively the information may be stored on a read/(cid:3)write
`magnetic strip. Other means of storing data in an amend-
`able form will be clear to those in the art.
`(cid:3)[0018] Preferably the control electronics has a lock out
`function whereby it will not dispense a product if the data
`contained within the identification means does not indi-
`cate that it is an approved product within its shelf life, for
`example, a part of the information contained within the
`identification means could be an authorised product iden-
`tifier and if this identifier is not present then the product
`will not dispense. Alternatively if the product is identified
`
`as an authorised product but the shelf life has expired
`then equally the product is prevented from dispensing.
`(cid:3)[0019]
`In one preferred embodiment the apparatus is
`additionally provided with a means of disabling or de-
`stroying the means of identifying the disposable contain-
`ers once they have been inserted into, and prior to them
`being removed from, the machine. This prevents the re-
`use of the containers by refilling with an inferior product.
`(cid:3)[0020] Preferably once the control electronics has
`identified the volume of product in the reservoir, and the
`size of the doses it is dispensing, the electronics counts
`down how many doses of additional ingredient it has re-
`maining. Preferably the number of dispenses remaining
`can be displayed or alternatively a warning is made prior
`to the reservoir running out.
`(cid:3)[0021] Preferably where the dispenser contains a read
`only facility, the control electronics has a memory in which
`it stores data for each cartridge for a limited amount of
`time after it is removed from the dispenser. Such data
`stored would be, for example, a unique identifier for the
`cartridge, the number of dispenses remaining and its re-
`maining active shelf life. If a cartridge is replaced in the
`dispenser after having been removed, the dispenser rec-
`ognises it and knows how many dispenses of ingredient
`it is still containing. In addition if a cartridge part full car-
`tridge is removed from the dispenser and is replaced
`some time later and the active shelf life of the product
`has passed then the dispenser will not dispense that in-
`gredient. Once the reservoir is depleted the dispenser
`knows this and will not dispense any more from it - this
`prevents refilling of the containers for reuse in the same
`machine. Other data such as the concentration and shelf
`life can be re read every time a cartridge is replaced.
`Another benefit of this memory facility is that it will enable
`part used cartridges to be removed for servicing or clean-
`ing of the dispenser and then enable the same half full
`cartridges to be replaced in the dispenser.
`(cid:3)[0022] When nutraceuticals and other health products
`are being dispensed, for example vitamin supplements
`or heath beneficiary products (for example glucosamine)
`then there is generally a recommended allowable dose
`and consumers may want to have a varying amount up
`to this dose. In dispensing such products it is important
`not to dispense more that the recommended dose in one
`drink, thus it is a further advantage of the ingredient iden-
`tification system that the system knows what is in each
`reservoir. In such uses the data contained within the in-
`gredient recognition system may include the recom-
`mended maximum dispense and allowable increments
`thereof. In addition there are some supplements which
`are not recommended to be taken together, for example
`where possible side effects may combine. Preferably the
`control system can read information pertinent to non-
`compatibility of ingredients and prevent the dispense of
`two non compatible substances within the same bever-
`age.
`(cid:3)[0023] Preferably, the addition of the additional ingre-
`dient(cid:3)(s) is carried out in a selected one of a number of
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`modes. These include, for example, adding the ingredi-
`ent throughout the pour of the drink, injecting the ingre-
`dient into the bottom or top of the drink to achieve a lay-
`ered effect or to have a ramp profile whereby a higher
`concentration is added to the top or bottom of the drink
`so as to achieve a gradient of ingredient concentration
`throughout the drink.
`(cid:3)[0024] Preferably, the cartridge also contains a means
`of monitoring the temperature, and recording if it rises
`above, or falls below, a set point. Preferably this is part
`of the identification means and rising above, or falling
`below, a set point will influence the signal received when
`the dispenser reads the identification means when the
`cartridge is inserted into the dispenser. Preferably this is
`achieved by means of a small dedicated circuit containing
`a thermal fuse within the identification means or alterna-
`tively by way of selection of material composition within
`the identification means, for example if the identification
`means are magnetic, a magnetic material could lose a
`part of its magnetic coding above or below a certain tem-
`perature. Other methods will be apparent to those in the
`art.
`(cid:3)[0025]
`In a preferred embodiment, the apparatus com-
`prises means for supplying a base flowable foodstuff,
`means for receiving one or more disposable cartridges
`easily connectable and removable from the apparatus,
`the or each cartridge comprising a reservoir of an addi-
`tional flowable ingredient and, integrated with the car-
`tridge, dosing means for dosing, during dispense of the
`base foodstuff, a selected amount, e.g. up to 2ml, of the
`additional ingredient from the reservoir, a conduit through
`which the additional ingredient passes into the flow of
`base foodstuff via a non-(cid:3)return valve, the non-(cid:3)return
`valve preventing the flow of base foodstuff up the conduit
`towards the cartridge, means for inputting a signal to dis-
`pense the base foodstuff, means for optionally selecting
`one or more additional ingredients to be dispensed, a
`nozzle through which the base drink and any additional
`ingredient(cid:3)(s) flow and mix together before issuing from
`the apparatus for consumption and a control circuit to
`control the dispense of any additional ingredient which
`either forms part, or is associated with, a main control
`circuit for controlling dispense of the base flowable food-
`stuff.
`(cid:3)[0026]
`In one preferred arrangement, the dosing
`means is a syringe pump, the plunger of which, when
`retracted, draws ingredient from the reservoir, through a
`small non-(cid:3)return inlet valve, into the body of the syringe,
`the volume of ingredient drawn, and dispensed, being
`dependant on the amount the plunger of the syringe
`pump is retracted. The plunger is then driven forwards
`expelling the ingredient from the body of the syringe and
`forcing it down a flexible conduit to a non-(cid:3)return valve,
`through which it passes to mix with the base drink. Pref-
`erably, the means of driving the syringe pump is a stepper
`motor with an associated gear to translate the motion to
`linear motion. Alternatively, the means of driving the sy-
`ringe pump may be a linear motor or other linear motion
`
`device (e.g. rotor plus cam). Preferably the stepper motor
`always drives the piston of the syringe pump against a
`stop in one direction such that displacement always starts
`from a known position thereby overcoming problems of
`accurate volumetric displacement due to cumulative ef-
`fects of missed steps of the stepper motor. Preferably
`this fixed stop is in the piston out position (i.e. pump is
`primed) so that the system is always ready to operate
`thereby removing the necessity to have a time delay to
`first prime the pump before dispensing the ingredient.
`(cid:3)[0027]
`In another preferred arrangement the dosing
`means comprises a small dosing pump comprising a hol-
`low plunger with an aperture therein, the plunger movable
`against a spring to pass through a seal such that the
`aperture passes from outside of the sealed chamber of
`the device to inside of the sealed chamber of the device
`opening a flowpath from the sealed chamber of the device
`through the hollow plunger, the plunger and seal element
`through which it passes then moveable in the chamber
`to reduce the volume of the camber, the fluid held therein
`being expelled via the aperture through the hollow plung-
`er delivering a metered dose of ingredient. When the de-
`vice is relaxed, springs move the plunger so the aperture
`passes though the seal and then the seal and plunger
`move together under the influence of a spring to draw
`fluid into the chamber via an inlet and a check valve. An
`example of such a dosing pump is part VP7/50 available
`from Valois. The dosing pump is driven by moving the
`end from which the fluid is expelled in relation to the body
`of the pump. Preferably this is achieved by placing the
`hollow plunger in a manifold such that it is located se-
`curely and the end of the plunger is in the base beverage
`flow path and the dosing pump is actuated by depressing
`the body of the dosing pump around the hollow plunger.
`In a preferred arrangement the actuation is done by
`means of an armature of a solenoid acting on the body
`of the pump. Preferably the conduit extends from the dos-
`ing pump to the reservoir.
`(cid:3)[0028]
`In another preferred arrangement the dosing
`means is comprises a pump cavity defined by a rigid side
`and a flexible side, the flexible side being depressible in
`the direction of the rigid side to expel the ingredient con-
`tained within the cavity through a non return valve and
`the diaphragm which when released recovers elastically
`to its natural position, the elastic recovery drawing more
`ingredient from the reservoir into the cavity via a non
`return inlet valve such that it is then ready to dispense
`again. The non return valves are orientated such that the
`ingredient can only flow in the direction from the reservoir
`to mix with the base drink and not in the opposite direc-
`tion. The pump cavity contains a fixed volume of ingre-
`dient which may be the volume of ingredient required for
`a beverage but which preferably is a smaller volume and
`a number of such volumes are dispensed into a bever-
`age. The flexible side of the pump cavity is depressed
`by a reciprocating drive means which forms a part of the
`non-(cid:3)disposable part of the dispenser. Preferably the drive
`means is a reciprocating electro mechanical device, for
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`example a solenoid, but may equally be any other means
`of providing a reciprocating means, for example a rotating
`element and cam. Preferably when the ingredient is de-
`pleted the flexible side of the pump chamber does not
`have sufficient flexural rigidity to overcome atmospheric
`pressure and return to its natural position. Preferably this
`can be sensed and be used to indicate when the reservoir
`is empty and needs replacing.
`(cid:3)[0029]
`In another preferred arrangement the dosing
`means comprise a pump cavity defined by bellows which
`can be compressed, by a non disposable drive system,
`to reduce its internal volume and to expel an amount of
`ingredient through a conduit and non return valve into
`the base beverage and which, when released by the drive
`mechanism, recovers to substantially its original volume
`drawing in ingredient from the reservoir via a check valve.
`In a preferred arrangement the drive system is a solenoid
`which acts against the end of the bellows. Preferably the
`solenoid has a means of limiting the displacement of its
`armature to ensure the same displacement of the bellows
`occurs every time. In a preferred arrangement the bel-
`lows is aided in its return to its original position by means
`of a spring.
`(cid:3)[0030]
`In another preferred arrangement, the dosing
`means comprises a small positive displacement pump,
`preferably a peristaltic type pump whereby the number
`of cycles of the pump determines the volume of ingredient
`dispensed, driving the additional ingredient from the res-
`ervoir down a flexible tube, forming one part of the pump,
`towards and out of a non-(cid:3)return valve through which it
`passes to mix with the base drink.
`(cid:3)[0031] Preferably, the non-(cid:3)return valve between the
`pumping means and the base beverage is a tip valve
`made of moulded silicone rubber (or other food-(cid:3)compat-
`ible material) which in addition to functioning as a non-
`return valve to prevent the backflow of base drink towards
`the cartridge, also has a positive crack pressure to pre-
`vent the contents of the cartridge leaking out under grav-
`ity. Preferably, the end of the tip valve protrudes slightly
`into the flow (during dispense) of base drink such that
`the flow over it flushes the tip and thereby prevents cross-
`contamination of additional ingredient between drinks.
`(cid:3)[0032]
`In a preferred arrangement the reservoir, inlet
`valve, dosing means, ingredient conduit and non-(cid:3)return
`valve form a single integrated disposable unit thus en-
`suring a sanitary system which dispenses with the need
`to regularly clean the ingredient side of the system as
`the latter is simply replaced each time the cartridge is
`replaced.
`(cid:3)[0033]
`In an alternative preferred arrangement the inlet
`valve, dosing means, ingredient conduit and non return
`valve are supplied as one unitary piece and the reservoir
`is supplied as a second piece, the two parts connectable
`by a means of a one use connection, that is to say once
`the two parts have been connected they cannot be readily
`disconnected. This prevents reuse of parts of the system.
`Preferably the reservoir has a film or foil seal covering
`an outlet and the unitary piece containing the dosing
`
`means has an inlet tube extending therefrom for insertion
`into the reservoir through the film or foil, piercing it as it
`passes therethrough. Either within the reservoir outlet or
`on the inlet tube is a seal such that when the inlet tube
`is inserted into the reservoir outlet a fluid tight seal is
`made. Preferably this seal is an o-(cid:3)ring placed around the
`inlet tube. Preferably the inlet tube has a means of en-
`gaging with the reservoir outlet, for example a barbed
`ring, when it is inserted therein. In an alternative arrange-
`ment the means of engaging, for example the barbed
`ring, forms a seal with the reservoir outlet, removing the
`necessity for a separate seal. Preferably the action of
`inserting the inlet tube into the reservoir inlet will force
`ingredient into the dosing means and conduit substan-
`tially filling this area and priming the system ready for
`use with minimum wastage. This is achieved by careful
`matching of the swept volume of the inlet tube with the
`internal volume of the dosing means and conduit.
`(cid:3)[0034] Apparatus of the invention may be designed to
`be easily applied to any of a number of the methods of
`producing a pre-(cid:3)mix or post-(cid:3)mix drink and such that the
`addition of the ingredient cartridges does not interfere
`with the valves and controls already associated with such
`systems. Preferably, located in a point of sale dispenser
`constructed in accordance with the invention, is an area
`capable of receiving a number of disposable cartridges,
`each cartridge having means for easily attaching and de-
`taching it. Preferably, such means comprises a small cam
`lever that secures the cartridge in place upon insertion
`of the cartridge but which can be manually manipulated
`to permit removal of the cartridge. Preferably, means for
`identifying if each cartridge is present is provided, for
`example a small microswitch associated with each said
`cartridge which sends an electrical signal to the control
`circuit. Preferably, if an additional ingredient requested
`by the user is not available then a message to that effect
`is sent back to the user either visually or by use of sound
`or other sensory means.
`(cid:3)[0035]
`In a preferred arrangement, an array of cartridg-
`es sits on a base plate which contains the means of iden-
`tifying the presence and/or contents of the cartridge, the
`latching mechanisms to secure the cartridges in place
`and also means for operating the syringe pumps. Pref-
`erably this base plate is hinged or easily detachable such
`that it can easily be moved out of the way for purpose of
`servicing the apparatus.
`(cid:3)[0036] While this apparatus is largely directed to the
`addition of additional ingredients to beverages it is equal-
`ly applicable to other flowable foodstuffs, for example
`yoghurts or sauces.
`(cid:3)[0037] Embodiments of the invention will now be de-
`scribed, by way of example only, with reference to the
`following drawings in which:(cid:3)
`
`Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of an apparatus of
`the invention;
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`Figure 2 is a diagram of an ingredient cartridge suit-
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`EP 1 788 916 B1
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`able for use in apparatus of the invention with a piston
`type;
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`Figure 3 shows a flexible bag contained in the car-
`tridge of Fig 2;
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`Figure 4 is a diagram of an alternative design of
`ingredient cartridge;
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`Figure 5 is a perspective view of an apparatus of
`the invention; and
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`Figure 6 is an internal view of part of the apparatus
`shown in Figure 5.
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`Figures 7 to 12 are diagrams of an alternative car-
`tridge design in accordance with the invention;
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`Figure 13 is a diagram of an alternative design of
`ingredient cartridge;
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`Figure 14 is a perspective view of the invention; and
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`Figure 15 is a partially cut away view of the pumping
`mechanism shown in Figure 14.
`(cid:3)[0038] Referring to Figure 1, a system for the produc-
`tion of a beverage with the option to add extra ingredients
`to a base drink is shown in which a manifold 1 is supplied
`with a source of carbonated water and a source of un-
`carbonated water, via conduits 2 and 3, the flow of which
`is measured by flow measurement devices 4 and 5 and
`controlled by valves 6 and 7, and two sources of flavoured
`concentrate, via conduits 8 and 9, the flow of which is
`measured by flow measurement devices 10 and 11 and
`controlled by valves 12 and 13. Attached to the manifold
`1 is a nozzle 14 through which the dispensed beverage
`flows into the cup. The nozzle contains internal detail as
`known in the art to promote mixture of the water and
`concentrate. A control unit 15 selectively actuates the
`valves 6, 7, 12, 13 in response to an input from the cus-
`tomer interface 16 and signals from flow measurement
`devices 4, 5, 10, 11 to create a drink of controlled pro-
`portional mix of concentrate and diluent. This makes up
`the base mix for the drink and this part of the system is
`widely known in the art. In addition, two removable dis-
`posable cartridges 17, 18 are provided, each consisting
`of an ingredient reservoir 19, 20 connecting via a non
`return valve 21, 22 to a syringe measurement element
`23, 24 and a flexible ingredient conduit 25, 26 leading
`from the syringe measurement element 23, 24 to a tip
`valve 27, 28, the tip valves 27, 28 interfacing with the
`manifold 1. Linear stepper motors 29, 30 are selectively
`movable in response to a signal from the control unit 15
`on input of a command to the customer interface, spec-
`ifying an additional ingredient be added to the beverage.
`The stepper motors 29, 30 may draw into, and pump
`from, the syringe measurement element 23, 24 a varying
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`amount of ingredient, dependant on the concentration of
`the ingredient and the amount required by the customer.
`The control unit knows of the presence of a cartridge 17,
`18 by means of a signal from microswitch 31, 32 which
`forms part of the unit (not cartridge) and is activated when
`the cartridge is fully inserted. The cartridges 17 and 18
`have identification means (not shown) and the dispenser
`has means (not shown) of reading said identification
`means and the controller 15 uses said information in the
`dispense of the ingredient.
`(cid:3)[0039] Referring to Figure 2 a disposable ingredient
`cartridge is shown, comprising a moulded plastic two-
`piece shell 33a, 33b an ingredient reservoir 34 with a one
`way valve 35 leading into it for filling the reservoir with
`ingredient. Two non return valves 36, 37 lead into and
`out of a variable chamber 38, the size of the chamber
`being varied by movement of the pump piston 39 at-
`tached to a drive member 40 connectable to an external
`drive (not shown), via the piston shaft 41, such that when
`the drive member 40 is driven in one direction the piston
`39 moves drawing ingredient from the reservoir 34
`through non return valve 36 and into chamber 38, and
`when the drive member 40 is driven in the other direction
`the piston 39 pushes the ingredient out of chamber 38,
`through non return valve 37, down the flexible tube 42
`and out of tip valve 43. The tip valve 43 is attached to a
`mounting piece 44 receivable by the apparatus (not
`shown) such that the tip valve will be in the diluent flow.
`The cartridge has a RFID tag 43a contained within it
`which contains coded information relating to the fluid con-
`tained within the reservoir 34, for example the fluid type
`and, its concentration.
`(cid:3)[0040] Referring to Figure 3 an element of a cartridge
`is shown in which the plastic housing (33a, 33b of Figure
`2) have a contained removable element consisting of a
`flexible bag 45 containing a small valve 35 for filling the
`bag with ingredient, a plastic moulding 46 connected to
`the bag 45 which contains non return valves (36, 37 of
`Figure 2) comprising of ball elements 47, 48 and springs
`49, 50. The moulding 46 forms a chamber 38 in which
`the piston (not shown) slides drawing ingredient into and
`expelling ingredient from the chamber 38.
`(cid:3)[0041] Referring to Figure 4 a cartridge is shown con-
`sisting of a moulded two piece sh