Device and method for bagging a consumable product for steeping

Abstract

A product bagging device and method are disclosed for providing a ready-made custom bag of fresh, high-quality tea or other beverage. The device allows users to select from a wide variety of fresh, quality teas or other products. The device then bags the product at the time of selection to ensure freshness, and dispenses the bag into a cup together with a quantity of liquid so that it may be quickly and conveniently carried away, for example from a point-of-sale location or at a user's home.

We claim: 
     
         1 . A device for forming a bag containing a consumable product, the bag being made from a supply of bag stock, the device comprising:
 a processing device for receiving a plurality of requests in succession from consumers requesting a plurality of different mixtures containing different consumable products;   a bag forming assembly for forming a plurality of bags from the bag stock in succession for the plurality of different mixtures contemporaneously with the processing device receiving the plurality of requests for the different mixtures; and   a product dispensing assembly for dispensing the different consumable product into at-least partially formed bags contemporaneously with the processing device receiving the plurality of requests for the different mixtures.   
     
     
         2 . The device of  claim 1 , further comprising a liquid dispensing assembly for dispensing liquid into a receptacle into which one of the plurality of bags is dispatched. 
     
     
         3 . The device of  claim 1 , wherein at least one of the consumable products is tea. 
     
     
         4 . The device of  claim 1 , wherein at least one of the consumable products is from a group consisting of herbs, spices, coffee, fruit and vegetables. 
     
     
         5 . The device of  claim 1 , wherein the product dispensing assembly dispenses a first quantity of a first consumable product into a feed pipe when a first bag is at least partially completed, and wherein the product dispensing assembly dispenses a second quantity of a second consumable product into the feed pipe when the second bag is at least partially completed. 
     
     
         6 . The device of  claim 5 , wherein the bag forming assembly forms the first and second bags with different widths than each other. 
     
     
         7 . The device of  claim 5 , wherein the bag forming assembly forms the first and second bags with different lengths than each other. 
     
     
         8 . The device of  claim 5 , wherein the first and second quantities have a different volume than each other. 
     
     
         9 . The device of  claim 5 , wherein the first and second quantities have a different mass than each other. 
     
     
         10 . A device for forming a bag containing a consumable product, the bag being made from a supply of bag stock, the device comprising:
 a product dispensing assembly for dispensing a product from a feed pipe into an at-least partially formed bag;   a bag feeding assembly for feeding the bag stock around the feed pipe;   a bag forming assembly for forming a bag including an edge seam along an edge of the bag stock fed around the feed pipe, and first and second end seams transverse to the edge seam, the second end seam being formed after the product dispensing assembly dispenses the product into the at-least partially formed bag;   a cutting mechanism for severing the bag for receipt into a receptacle; and   a liquid dispensing mechanism for dispensing a quantity of liquid into the receptacle to steep the bag.   
     
     
         11 . The device of  claim 10 , further comprising a processing device for receiving a request for a mixture containing the consumable product 
     
     
         12 . The device of  claim 10 , wherein the receptacle is a to-go cup which is ready to be carried away after receiving the bag and the quantity of liquid. 
     
     
         13 . The device of  claim 10 , wherein the liquid dispensing assembly dispenses a first amount of liquid into a first receptacle into which a first bag is dispatched and the liquid dispensing assembly dispenses a second amount of liquid into a second receptacle into which a second bag is dispatched. 
     
     
         14 . The device of  claim 11 , wherein the first and second amounts of liquid are different than each other. 
     
     
         15 . The device of  claim 11 , wherein the first and second amounts of liquid have different temperatures from each other. 
     
     
         16 . A device for forming a plurality of bags containing different consumable products and different amounts of consumable products, the plurality of bags being made from a supply of bag stock, the device comprising:
 a product dispensing assembly for dispensing consumable product from a feed pipe into an at-least partially formed bag;   a bag forming assembly for forming the plurality of bags each including an edge seam along an edge of the bag stock fed around the feed pipe, and first and second end seams transverse to the edge seam, the second end seam being formed after the product dispensing assembly dispenses consumable product into an at-least partially formed bag;   a cutting mechanism for severing a bag of the plurality of bags for receipt into a receptacle; and   a liquid dispensing mechanism for dispensing a quantity of liquid into the receptacle to steep the bag,   wherein the device is portable.   
     
     
         17 . The device of  claim 16 , wherein the device runs off of a 120 volt AC current. 
     
     
         18 . A system for forming a bag containing a consumable product, the bag being made from a supply of bag stock, the system comprising:
 a memory for storing a plurality of user identities and user preferences defined by the plurality of users regarding beverages including a steeped consumable product; and   a device, comprising:
 a processing device with access to the memory, the processing device receiving a user identity and retrieving stored user preferences for that user regarding a beverage including the steeped consumable product; and 
 a bag forming assembly for forming the bag from the bag stock in accordance with the user preferences retrieved by the processing device. 
   
     
     
         19 . The system of  claim 18 , further comprising a liquid dispensing assembly for dispensing a liquid in accordance with the user preferences retrieved by the processing device. 
     
     
         20 . The system of  claim 18 , further comprising product dispensing assembly for dispensing the consumable product into an at-least partially formed bag in accordance with the user preferences retrieved by the processing device. 
     
     
         21 . The system of  claim 18 , wherein the memory is part of the device. 
     
     
         22 . The system of  claim 18 , wherein the memory is part of a central server connected to the device by a network.