Abstract: A beverage is prepared employing a package containing at least one beverage ingredient, e.g. roast and ground coffee. The package (10;200) is located at a brewing station, the package is pierced by a tool (49;248) to form an outlet opening (38;202) in the package, an aqueous medium, e.g. hot water, is introduced into the package, the aqueous medium is allowed to commingle with the beverage ingredient, and the beverage so formed is collected through the outlet formed in the package. The piercing tool is employed both to form the outlet opening, and to fold the material (117;204) surrounding the opening out of the path of the beverage which subsequently emerges through the outlet opening.

Abstract: A mechanical coin-freed dispensing mechanism which is operated by the energy of the falling coins. Entering coins are sorted into at least two coin sizes that are respectively stacked edge-on-edge in two accumulator columns. The sorting is performed by pairs of rails, one pair for each coin size, along which the coins travel and which allow undersize coins to fall through while oversize coins will not fit between them. When either of two packet-vending drawers is pulled, pairs of fingers are operated that sense whether the correct totals of coins have accumulated in the columns by feeling for the top coin in each column. If either coin total is not correct, a sear or sears operatively connected with the fingers prevent the drawer from being pulled out. When a drawer is pulled out an interlock bar is cammed laterally to lock the other drawer and also swing aside deflector flaps supporting the columns of coins to allow them to fall into cash boxes.

Abstract: A beverage is prepared employing a package (10) having a compartment (111) containing at least one beverage ingredient, e.g. roast and ground coffee. The package is located at a brewing station, an aqueous medium, e.g. hot water, is introduced into the package, the aqueous medium is allowed to commingle with the beverage ingredient, and the beverage so formed is collected through an outlet (38) formed in the package. The compartment of the package is sealed by a covering material (119) which determines one dimension of at least one opening (115) acting to filter the beverage passing out of the compartment to the outlet of the package. The package is also clamped at the brewing station prior to the introduction of the aqueous medium in a manner which maintains said one dimension during the subsequent formation and collection of the beverage.

Abstract: A sealed beverage package containing one or more beverage preparation ingredients and being formed from substantially air- and water-impermeable materials has an outlet nozzle with an outlet aperture sealed by a rupturable seal and a bore formed therein, the width or diameter of the outlet aperture, D, and the length of the bore of the nozzle, L, being related by the equation:L.gtoreq.

Abstract: A beverage is prepared employing a package (10) having a compartment (111) containing at least one beverage ingredient, e.g. roast and ground coffee. The package is located at a brewing station, an aqueous medium, e.g. hot water, is introduced into the package, the aqueous medium is allowed to commingle with the beverage ingredient, and the beverage so formed is collected through an outlet (38) formed in the package. The compartment of the package is sealed by a covering material (119) which determines one dimension of at least one opening (115) acting to filter the beverage passing out of the compartment to the outlet of the package. The package is also clamped at the brewing station prior to the introduction of the aqueous medium in a manner which maintains said one dimension during the subsequent formation and collection of the beverage.

Abstract: A beverage is prepared employing a package containing at least one beverage ingredient, e.g. roast and ground coffee. The package (10;200) is located at a brewing station, the package is pierced by a tool (49;248) to form an outlet opening (38;202) in the package, an aqueous medium, e.g. hot water, is introduced into the package, the aqueous medium is allowed to commingle with the beverage ingredient, and the beverage so formed is collected through the outlet formed in the package. The piercing tool is employed both to form the outlet opening, and to fold the material (117;204) surrounding the opening out of the path of the beverage which subsequently emerges through the outlet opening.

Abstract: The invention is concerned with a machine for preparing a beverage employing a package (10;200) containing at least one beverage ingredient, e.g. roast and ground coffee. The machine has a point of entry (16;209) for the package into the machine, a brewing station within the machine at which the package is supplied with an aqueous medium to produce the required beverage, and drive means (24;217, 221, 222) which engage the package at the point of entry and convey the package to the brewing station. The drive means includes a coupling between a drive part (243;226) and a part (30;252) associated with the package, the coupling enabling the drive to the package to be engaged and disengaged and allowing the part associated with the package to move independently of the drive part.

Abstract: A combinational weighing system including a plurality of weighing machines each comprising a weighing hopper (20) and an associated hopper module (22) arranged to provide a measurement of the weight of the contents of the associated hopper (20); a plurality of channels (14) via which articles are respectively fed from a common source (17) directly into each of the hoppers (20); a central control (76) for utilizing the weight measurements provided by the hopper modules (22) to select from the hoppers (20) a number of hoppers (20) whose contents have a total weight substantially equal to a target weight; and the selected number of hoppers (20) discharging into a collection chute (24) to feed a batch of articles of substantially the target weight to a collection point.

Abstract: A sealed beverage package containing one or more beverage ingredients and being formed from substantially air- and water-impermeable materials, the said package comprising a body portion having a compartment containing the beverage ingredients and a beverage outlet channel formed therein, the beverage outlet channel and the compartment of the body portion containing the beverage ingredients communicating in such a manner that, in use, the said compartment and the outlet channel co-operate to act as a filter during the preparation of a beverage from the package.

Abstract: A weighing hopper (20) comprising: a body portion for containing articles; a port in the body portion; a door (21) pivotally connected to the body portion for rotation about a first axis (A) between a first position in which the port is closed by the door (21) to retain articles in the body portion and a second position in which articles contained in the hopper (20) can be discharged through the port; and a mechanism (23) for moving the door (21) between its first and second positions comprising a first member (58) rigidly connected to the door (21); a second member (60) pivotally connected to the first member (58) for rotation about a second axis (E) parallel to and spaced from the first axis (A); and a third member (62) pivotally connected to the second member (60) for rotation about a third axis (B) parallel to and spaced from the second axis (E), and pivotally connected to the body portion for rotation about a fourth axis (C) parallel to and fixedly spaced from the first axis (A) so that rotation of the t