Packs for preparing beverages

Abstract

The invention concerns a pack ( 1 ) with an inner volume ( 2 ) in which a food or beverage ingredient ( 7 ) is stored and in which a beverage is produced when water is introduced inside, said inner volume ( 2 ) being defined by sheets of material ( 10 ) joined to one another at their edges and said inner volume ( 2 ) presenting a generally plane shape defining a plane (P) vertically oriented during beverage production, said pack comprising at least one inlet ( 3 ) for introducing water in the inner volume and at least one outlet ( 4 ) for delivering the beverage from said inner volume, said water inlet and said beverage outlet being positioned at the bottom of the pack and being at least partially positioned between two joined edges of the sheets of material ( 10 ), the external end (xx) of the water inlet ( 3 ) being oriented essentially perpendicularly to the plane (P) defined by the inner volume ( 2 ), and wherein the internal design of the beverage outlet is configured for controlling the properties of the beverage.

1 . A pack with an inner volume in which a food or beverage ingredient is stored and in which a beverage is produced when water is introduced inside,
 the inner volume being defined by sheets of material joined to one another at their edges and the inner volume presenting a generally plane shape defining a plane vertically oriented during beverage production,   the pack comprising at least one inlet for introducing water in the inner volume and at least one outlet for delivering the beverage from the inner volume, the water inlet and the beverage outlet being positioned at the bottom of the pack and being at least partially positioned between two joined edges of the sheets of material, and   the external end of the water inlet being oriented essentially perpendicularly to the plane defined by the inner volume,   the beverage outlet being a tube extending essentially vertically from the inner volume, and   wherein the internal design of the beverage outlet is configured for controlling the properties of the beverage.   
     
     
         2 . A pack according to  claim 1  wherein the pack comprises one single insert including the water inlet and the beverage outlet, the single insert being positioned at the bottom of the pack and being partially positioned between two joined edges of the sheets of material. 
     
     
         3 . A pack according to  claim 1  wherein the internal design of the beverage outlet is configured for limiting the presence of bubbles in the beverage. 
     
     
         4 . A pack according to  claim 1  wherein the internal conduit of the beverage outlet comprises at least one transverse plate with at least two holes, the hole having a design configured for breaking bubbles while the beverage flows through. 
     
     
         5 . A pack according to  claim 1  wherein the holes in the transverse plate present a design such that at least a part of the outline of each hole is rectilinear. 
     
     
         6 . A pack according to  claim 1 , wherein the internal design of the beverage outlet is configured for adjusting the size of the bubbles in the beverage. 
     
     
         7 . A pack according to  claim 1  wherein the internal design of the beverage outlet can be configured for dividing the flow of beverage entering in the internal conduit in several separated sub-flows of beverage at the end of the internal conduit of the beverage outlet. 
     
     
         8 . A pack according to  claim 1  wherein the internal design of the beverage outlet is configured for improving mixing of the beverage ingredient and water before dispensing. 
     
     
         9 . A pack according to  claim 8  wherein the beverage outlet comprises a static mixer in order to increase flow turbulence inside the internal conduit of the beverage outlet and/or to increase the path of the beverage flow in the internal conduit of the beverage outlet. 
     
     
         10 . A pack according to  claim 1  wherein the pack comprises at least two beverage outlets, the outlets differing by their internal design. 
     
     
         11 . System for producing a range of single inserts comprising at least one water inlet and at least one beverage outlet for a pack, the pack having an inner volume in which a food or beverage ingredient is stored and in which a beverage is produced when water is introduced inside, the inner volume being defined by sheets of material joined to one another at their edges and the inner volume presenting a generally plane shape defining a plane vertically oriented during beverage production, the pack comprising at least one inlet for introducing water in the inner volume and at least one outlet for delivering the beverage from the inner volume, the water inlet and the beverage outlet being positioned at the bottom of the pack and being at least partially positioned between two joined edges of the sheets of material, and the external end of the water inlet being oriented essentially perpendicularly to the plane defined by the inner volume, the beverage outlet being a tube extending essentially vertically from the inner volume, and wherein the internal design of the beverage outlet is configured for controlling the properties of the beverage, the system comprising:
 one single insert body comprising the at least one water inlet and at least one hollowed out part for receiving one design adaptor defining the internal design of the beverage outlet,   and   at least two different design adaptors defining different internal designs of the beverage outlet and configured to cooperate with the hollowed out part of the single insert body.   
     
     
         12 . System according to  claim 11  wherein in the single insert body the end of hollowed out part is closed by a plug, the plug comprising a bond attached to the single insert body. 
     
     
         13 . System according to  claim 11  wherein design adaptors are tubes presenting different internal designs. 
     
     
         14 . System according to  claim 11  wherein design adaptors are mixing blades. 
     
     
         15 . System according to  claim 11  wherein the single insert body comprises two hollowed out parts each being configured for receiving one design adaptor defining the internal design of the beverage outlet. 
     
     
         16 . (canceled) 
     
     
         17 . A method for the preparation of a food or beverage comprising the steps of:
 providing a pack with an inner volume in which a food or beverage ingredient is stored and in which a beverage is produced when water is introduced inside, the inner volume being defined by sheets of material joined to one another at their edges and the inner volume presenting a generally plane shape defining a plane vertically oriented during beverage production, the pack comprising at least one inlet for introducing water in the inner volume and at least one outlet for delivering the beverage from the inner volume, the water inlet and the beverage outlet being positioned at the bottom of the pack and being at least partially positioned between two joined edges of the sheets of material, and the external end of the water inlet being oriented essentially perpendicularly to the plane defined by the inner volume, the beverage outlet being a tube extending essentially vertically from the inner volume, and wherein the internal design of the beverage outlet is configured for controlling the properties of the beverage and positioning the pack with the inlet and the outlet positioned downwardly;   injecting water into the pack to mix with the food or beverage ingredient; and   allowing the prepared beverage to escape through the outlet into a receptacle.   
     
     
         18 . A method according to  claim 17 , wherein the pack is not pressurized during the beverage preparation.