WO2023147087A2 - Système et procédé de distribution et de mélange d'un produit alimentaire et de boisson - Google Patents

Système et procédé de distribution et de mélange d'un produit alimentaire et de boisson Download PDF

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Publication number
WO2023147087A2
WO2023147087A2 PCT/US2023/011785 US2023011785W WO2023147087A2 WO 2023147087 A2 WO2023147087 A2 WO 2023147087A2 US 2023011785 W US2023011785 W US 2023011785W WO 2023147087 A2 WO2023147087 A2 WO 2023147087A2
Authority
WO
WIPO (PCT)
Prior art keywords
pouch
seal
bottle
mixing
plant
Prior art date
Application number
PCT/US2023/011785
Other languages
English (en)
Other versions
WO2023147087A3 (fr
Inventor
William D. Suh
Daniel T. LEWIS
Joseph Camillo Savino
Lennie FRIEDMAN
Shlomo Ari TOLWIN
Original Assignee
Plant Tap, LLC
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Plant Tap, LLC filed Critical Plant Tap, LLC
Publication of WO2023147087A2 publication Critical patent/WO2023147087A2/fr
Publication of WO2023147087A3 publication Critical patent/WO2023147087A3/fr

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Classifications

    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A23—FOODS OR FOODSTUFFS; TREATMENT THEREOF, NOT COVERED BY OTHER CLASSES
    • A23L—FOODS, FOODSTUFFS, OR NON-ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES, NOT COVERED BY SUBCLASSES A21D OR A23B-A23J; THEIR PREPARATION OR TREATMENT, e.g. COOKING, MODIFICATION OF NUTRITIVE QUALITIES, PHYSICAL TREATMENT; PRESERVATION OF FOODS OR FOODSTUFFS, IN GENERAL
    • A23L2/00—Non-alcoholic beverages; Dry compositions or concentrates therefor; Their preparation
    • A23L2/52—Adding ingredients
    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A47—FURNITURE; DOMESTIC ARTICLES OR APPLIANCES; COFFEE MILLS; SPICE MILLS; SUCTION CLEANERS IN GENERAL
    • A47J—KITCHEN EQUIPMENT; COFFEE MILLS; SPICE MILLS; APPARATUS FOR MAKING BEVERAGES
    • A47J31/00—Apparatus for making beverages
    • A47J31/40—Beverage-making apparatus with dispensing means for adding a measured quantity of ingredients, e.g. coffee, water, sugar, cocoa, milk, tea
    • A47J31/407—Beverage-making apparatus with dispensing means for adding a measured quantity of ingredients, e.g. coffee, water, sugar, cocoa, milk, tea with ingredient-containing cartridges; Cartridge-perforating means
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B67—OPENING, CLOSING OR CLEANING BOTTLES, JARS OR SIMILAR CONTAINERS; LIQUID HANDLING
    • B67D—DISPENSING, DELIVERING OR TRANSFERRING LIQUIDS, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • B67D1/00—Apparatus or devices for dispensing beverages on draught
    • B67D1/0001—Apparatus or devices for dispensing beverages on draught by squeezing collapsible or flexible storage containers
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B67—OPENING, CLOSING OR CLEANING BOTTLES, JARS OR SIMILAR CONTAINERS; LIQUID HANDLING
    • B67D—DISPENSING, DELIVERING OR TRANSFERRING LIQUIDS, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • B67D1/00—Apparatus or devices for dispensing beverages on draught
    • B67D1/04—Apparatus utilising compressed air or other gas acting directly or indirectly on beverages in storage containers
    • B67D1/0462—Squeezing collapsible or flexible beverage containers, e.g. bag-in-box containers
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B67—OPENING, CLOSING OR CLEANING BOTTLES, JARS OR SIMILAR CONTAINERS; LIQUID HANDLING
    • B67D—DISPENSING, DELIVERING OR TRANSFERRING LIQUIDS, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • B67D1/00—Apparatus or devices for dispensing beverages on draught
    • B67D1/08—Details
    • B67D1/0888—Means comprising electronic circuitry (e.g. control panels, switching or controlling means)
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G07—CHECKING-DEVICES
    • G07F—COIN-FREED OR LIKE APPARATUS
    • G07F13/00—Coin-freed apparatus for controlling dispensing or fluids, semiliquids or granular material from reservoirs
    • G07F13/06—Coin-freed apparatus for controlling dispensing or fluids, semiliquids or granular material from reservoirs with selective dispensing of different fluids or materials or mixtures thereof
    • G07F13/065—Coin-freed apparatus for controlling dispensing or fluids, semiliquids or granular material from reservoirs with selective dispensing of different fluids or materials or mixtures thereof for drink preparation
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G07—CHECKING-DEVICES
    • G07F—COIN-FREED OR LIKE APPARATUS
    • G07F17/00—Coin-freed apparatus for hiring articles; Coin-freed facilities or services
    • G07F17/0064—Coin-freed apparatus for hiring articles; Coin-freed facilities or services for processing of food articles
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G07—CHECKING-DEVICES
    • G07F—COIN-FREED OR LIKE APPARATUS
    • G07F9/00—Details other than those peculiar to special kinds or types of apparatus
    • G07F9/10—Casings or parts thereof, e.g. with means for heating or cooling
    • G07F9/105—Heating or cooling means, for temperature and humidity control, for the conditioning of articles and their storage
    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A23—FOODS OR FOODSTUFFS; TREATMENT THEREOF, NOT COVERED BY OTHER CLASSES
    • A23C—DAIRY PRODUCTS, e.g. MILK, BUTTER OR CHEESE; MILK OR CHEESE SUBSTITUTES; MAKING THEREOF
    • A23C11/00—Milk substitutes, e.g. coffee whitener compositions
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B01—PHYSICAL OR CHEMICAL PROCESSES OR APPARATUS IN GENERAL
    • B01F—MIXING, e.g. DISSOLVING, EMULSIFYING OR DISPERSING
    • B01F23/00—Mixing according to the phases to be mixed, e.g. dispersing or emulsifying
    • B01F23/40—Mixing liquids with liquids; Emulsifying
    • B01F23/41—Emulsifying
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B01—PHYSICAL OR CHEMICAL PROCESSES OR APPARATUS IN GENERAL
    • B01F—MIXING, e.g. DISSOLVING, EMULSIFYING OR DISPERSING
    • B01F27/00—Mixers with rotary stirring devices in fixed receptacles; Kneaders
    • B01F27/80—Mixers with rotary stirring devices in fixed receptacles; Kneaders with stirrers rotating about a substantially vertical axis
    • B01F27/808—Mixers with rotary stirring devices in fixed receptacles; Kneaders with stirrers rotating about a substantially vertical axis with stirrers driven from the bottom of the receptacle
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B01—PHYSICAL OR CHEMICAL PROCESSES OR APPARATUS IN GENERAL
    • B01F—MIXING, e.g. DISSOLVING, EMULSIFYING OR DISPERSING
    • B01F27/00—Mixers with rotary stirring devices in fixed receptacles; Kneaders
    • B01F27/80—Mixers with rotary stirring devices in fixed receptacles; Kneaders with stirrers rotating about a substantially vertical axis
    • B01F27/88—Mixers with rotary stirring devices in fixed receptacles; Kneaders with stirrers rotating about a substantially vertical axis with a separate receptacle-stirrer unit that is adapted to be coupled to a drive mechanism
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B01—PHYSICAL OR CHEMICAL PROCESSES OR APPARATUS IN GENERAL
    • B01F—MIXING, e.g. DISSOLVING, EMULSIFYING OR DISPERSING
    • B01F33/00—Other mixers; Mixing plants; Combinations of mixers
    • B01F33/50—Movable or transportable mixing devices or plants
    • B01F33/501—Movable mixing devices, i.e. readily shifted or displaced from one place to another, e.g. portable during use
    • B01F33/5014—Movable mixing devices, i.e. readily shifted or displaced from one place to another, e.g. portable during use movable by human force, e.g. kitchen or table devices
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B67—OPENING, CLOSING OR CLEANING BOTTLES, JARS OR SIMILAR CONTAINERS; LIQUID HANDLING
    • B67D—DISPENSING, DELIVERING OR TRANSFERRING LIQUIDS, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • B67D1/00—Apparatus or devices for dispensing beverages on draught
    • B67D1/0015—Apparatus or devices for dispensing beverages on draught the beverage being prepared by mixing at least two liquid components
    • B67D1/0021—Apparatus or devices for dispensing beverages on draught the beverage being prepared by mixing at least two liquid components the components being mixed at the time of dispensing, i.e. post-mix dispensers
    • B67D1/0022—Apparatus or devices for dispensing beverages on draught the beverage being prepared by mixing at least two liquid components the components being mixed at the time of dispensing, i.e. post-mix dispensers the apparatus comprising means for automatically controlling the amount to be dispensed
    • B67D1/0027—Apparatus or devices for dispensing beverages on draught the beverage being prepared by mixing at least two liquid components the components being mixed at the time of dispensing, i.e. post-mix dispensers the apparatus comprising means for automatically controlling the amount to be dispensed control of the amount of one component, the amount of the other components(s) being dependent on that control
    • B67D1/0028—Apparatus or devices for dispensing beverages on draught the beverage being prepared by mixing at least two liquid components the components being mixed at the time of dispensing, i.e. post-mix dispensers the apparatus comprising means for automatically controlling the amount to be dispensed control of the amount of one component, the amount of the other components(s) being dependent on that control based on the timed opening of a valve
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B67—OPENING, CLOSING OR CLEANING BOTTLES, JARS OR SIMILAR CONTAINERS; LIQUID HANDLING
    • B67D—DISPENSING, DELIVERING OR TRANSFERRING LIQUIDS, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • B67D1/00—Apparatus or devices for dispensing beverages on draught
    • B67D1/0015—Apparatus or devices for dispensing beverages on draught the beverage being prepared by mixing at least two liquid components
    • B67D1/0021—Apparatus or devices for dispensing beverages on draught the beverage being prepared by mixing at least two liquid components the components being mixed at the time of dispensing, i.e. post-mix dispensers
    • B67D1/0022—Apparatus or devices for dispensing beverages on draught the beverage being prepared by mixing at least two liquid components the components being mixed at the time of dispensing, i.e. post-mix dispensers the apparatus comprising means for automatically controlling the amount to be dispensed
    • B67D1/0027—Apparatus or devices for dispensing beverages on draught the beverage being prepared by mixing at least two liquid components the components being mixed at the time of dispensing, i.e. post-mix dispensers the apparatus comprising means for automatically controlling the amount to be dispensed control of the amount of one component, the amount of the other components(s) being dependent on that control
    • B67D1/0029—Apparatus or devices for dispensing beverages on draught the beverage being prepared by mixing at least two liquid components the components being mixed at the time of dispensing, i.e. post-mix dispensers the apparatus comprising means for automatically controlling the amount to be dispensed control of the amount of one component, the amount of the other components(s) being dependent on that control based on volumetric dosing
    • B67D1/0032—Apparatus or devices for dispensing beverages on draught the beverage being prepared by mixing at least two liquid components the components being mixed at the time of dispensing, i.e. post-mix dispensers the apparatus comprising means for automatically controlling the amount to be dispensed control of the amount of one component, the amount of the other components(s) being dependent on that control based on volumetric dosing using flow-rate sensors
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B67—OPENING, CLOSING OR CLEANING BOTTLES, JARS OR SIMILAR CONTAINERS; LIQUID HANDLING
    • B67D—DISPENSING, DELIVERING OR TRANSFERRING LIQUIDS, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • B67D1/00—Apparatus or devices for dispensing beverages on draught
    • B67D1/0042—Details of specific parts of the dispensers
    • B67D1/0043—Mixing devices for liquids
    • B67D1/0044—Mixing devices for liquids for mixing inside the dispensing nozzle
    • B67D1/0046—Mixing chambers
    • B67D1/0047—Mixing chambers with movable parts, e.g. for stirring
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B67—OPENING, CLOSING OR CLEANING BOTTLES, JARS OR SIMILAR CONTAINERS; LIQUID HANDLING
    • B67D—DISPENSING, DELIVERING OR TRANSFERRING LIQUIDS, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • B67D1/00—Apparatus or devices for dispensing beverages on draught
    • B67D1/08—Details
    • B67D1/0801—Details of beverage containers, e.g. casks, kegs
    • B67D1/0804—Shape or materials
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B67—OPENING, CLOSING OR CLEANING BOTTLES, JARS OR SIMILAR CONTAINERS; LIQUID HANDLING
    • B67D—DISPENSING, DELIVERING OR TRANSFERRING LIQUIDS, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • B67D1/00—Apparatus or devices for dispensing beverages on draught
    • B67D1/08—Details
    • B67D1/0857—Cooling arrangements
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B67—OPENING, CLOSING OR CLEANING BOTTLES, JARS OR SIMILAR CONTAINERS; LIQUID HANDLING
    • B67D—DISPENSING, DELIVERING OR TRANSFERRING LIQUIDS, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • B67D1/00—Apparatus or devices for dispensing beverages on draught
    • B67D1/08—Details
    • B67D1/0889—Supports
    • B67D1/0894—Supports for the vessel to be filled
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B67—OPENING, CLOSING OR CLEANING BOTTLES, JARS OR SIMILAR CONTAINERS; LIQUID HANDLING
    • B67D—DISPENSING, DELIVERING OR TRANSFERRING LIQUIDS, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • B67D1/00—Apparatus or devices for dispensing beverages on draught
    • B67D1/08—Details
    • B67D1/12—Flow or pressure control devices or systems, e.g. valves, gas pressure control, level control in storage containers
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B67—OPENING, CLOSING OR CLEANING BOTTLES, JARS OR SIMILAR CONTAINERS; LIQUID HANDLING
    • B67D—DISPENSING, DELIVERING OR TRANSFERRING LIQUIDS, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • B67D1/00—Apparatus or devices for dispensing beverages on draught
    • B67D1/08—Details
    • B67D1/12—Flow or pressure control devices or systems, e.g. valves, gas pressure control, level control in storage containers
    • B67D1/1202—Flow control, e.g. for controlling total amount or mixture ratio of liquids to be dispensed
    • B67D1/1204—Flow control, e.g. for controlling total amount or mixture ratio of liquids to be dispensed for ratio control purposes
    • B67D1/1211—Flow rate sensor
    • B67D1/1218—Flow rate sensor modulating the opening of a valve
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B67—OPENING, CLOSING OR CLEANING BOTTLES, JARS OR SIMILAR CONTAINERS; LIQUID HANDLING
    • B67D—DISPENSING, DELIVERING OR TRANSFERRING LIQUIDS, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • B67D1/00—Apparatus or devices for dispensing beverages on draught
    • B67D2001/0091—Component storage means
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B67—OPENING, CLOSING OR CLEANING BOTTLES, JARS OR SIMILAR CONTAINERS; LIQUID HANDLING
    • B67D—DISPENSING, DELIVERING OR TRANSFERRING LIQUIDS, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • B67D1/00—Apparatus or devices for dispensing beverages on draught
    • B67D2001/0095—Constructional details
    • B67D2001/0096—Means for pressurizing liquid
    • B67D2001/0098—Means for pressurizing liquid using a gas
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B67—OPENING, CLOSING OR CLEANING BOTTLES, JARS OR SIMILAR CONTAINERS; LIQUID HANDLING
    • B67D—DISPENSING, DELIVERING OR TRANSFERRING LIQUIDS, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • B67D1/00—Apparatus or devices for dispensing beverages on draught
    • B67D1/08—Details
    • B67D1/0801—Details of beverage containers, e.g. casks, kegs
    • B67D2001/0811—Details of beverage containers, e.g. casks, kegs provided with coded information
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B67—OPENING, CLOSING OR CLEANING BOTTLES, JARS OR SIMILAR CONTAINERS; LIQUID HANDLING
    • B67D—DISPENSING, DELIVERING OR TRANSFERRING LIQUIDS, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • B67D1/00—Apparatus or devices for dispensing beverages on draught
    • B67D1/08—Details
    • B67D1/0801—Details of beverage containers, e.g. casks, kegs
    • B67D2001/0812—Bottles, cartridges or similar containers
    • B67D2001/0814—Bottles, cartridges or similar containers for upside down use
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B67—OPENING, CLOSING OR CLEANING BOTTLES, JARS OR SIMILAR CONTAINERS; LIQUID HANDLING
    • B67D—DISPENSING, DELIVERING OR TRANSFERRING LIQUIDS, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • B67D1/00—Apparatus or devices for dispensing beverages on draught
    • B67D1/08—Details
    • B67D1/0801—Details of beverage containers, e.g. casks, kegs
    • B67D2001/0827—Bags in box
    • B67D2001/0828—Bags in box in pressurised housing
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B67—OPENING, CLOSING OR CLEANING BOTTLES, JARS OR SIMILAR CONTAINERS; LIQUID HANDLING
    • B67D—DISPENSING, DELIVERING OR TRANSFERRING LIQUIDS, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • B67D2210/00—Indexing scheme relating to aspects and details of apparatus or devices for dispensing beverages on draught or for controlling flow of liquids under gravity from storage containers for dispensing purposes
    • B67D2210/00002—Purifying means
    • B67D2210/00005—Filters
    • B67D2210/0001—Filters for liquid
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B67—OPENING, CLOSING OR CLEANING BOTTLES, JARS OR SIMILAR CONTAINERS; LIQUID HANDLING
    • B67D—DISPENSING, DELIVERING OR TRANSFERRING LIQUIDS, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • B67D2210/00—Indexing scheme relating to aspects and details of apparatus or devices for dispensing beverages on draught or for controlling flow of liquids under gravity from storage containers for dispensing purposes
    • B67D2210/00028—Constructional details
    • B67D2210/00031—Housing

Definitions

  • the present disclosure relates to a system and method for dispensing and mixing a food and beverage product and, more particularly, to a system and method for dispensing and mixing a plant-based food and beverage product made from a paste of nuts and/or cereals.
  • Plant-based beverages may be derived, for example, from soy, various nuts, or grains.
  • Many retail plant-based products e.g., almond-milk, cashew-milk, etc.
  • retail products can have upto 20 ingredients such as gums, thickeners, vitamin packs, and preservatives that are added to this perishable liquid product to achieve an appealing taste, texture, color, etc., and to maintain that for commercially acceptable shelf life.
  • Plant-based milk (e.g., almond milk) can be made in different ways.
  • plant-based milk can be produced by mixing plant-based powder (i.e., ground nuts) with other desired ingredients, such as water, spices, other flavorings, sweeteners, etc.
  • Plant-based milk can alternatively be produced by mixing predetermined quantities of plant-based paste with other desired ingredients.
  • Each technique for producing plant-based milk poses distinct challenges owing, in part, to the physical differences between plant-based powder and plant-based paste.
  • plant-based paste typically has a more fluidlike or pasty consistency caused by the release of natural oils from plantbased material during pulverization. These natural oils can "separate" from the more solid constituents of the plant-based paste over time, resulting in the formation of separate layers of different constituent materials in a packaged plant-based paste.
  • the present disclosure solves the problems related to forming plant-based milk by mixing water and a plant-based paste.
  • the invention mixes water with plant- based paste to make fresh plant-based milk on demand (i.e., the product is made fresh right in front of the customer), which negates the need for transporting refrigerated beverages (that can be up to
  • Embodiments consistent with the present disclosure provide systems and methods for creating a plant-based milk mixture from a plant-based paste contained in a flexible pouch.
  • a mixing bottle for mixing a plant-based milk may comprise a bottle body configured to contain the plant-based milk, a bottle adapter configured to connect an emulsifier unit to the bottle body, and the emulsifier unit connected to the bottle adapter, wherein the emulsifier unit may comprise: an emulsifier adapter to connect the emulsifier unit to the bottle adapter, a drive pawl configured to operate a rotor, an idler pawl configured to control a rotation of the rotor, a shaft for connecting the rotor to the drive pawl and the idler pawl, the rotor with a plurality of mixing blades configured to mix a plant -based paste with water or other liquids, and a stator with a stator feature.
  • a stator feature may be a stator top plate.
  • the plurality of mixing blades and the stator feature may be concave in shape.
  • the stator feature may include parallel cutouts, angled cutouts, or parallel side slots.
  • the bottle adapter may include a friction fit adapter, a snap base adapter, or a threaded adapter.
  • the bottle adapter may comprise any portion of the bottle.
  • the bottle adapter may comprise the top, middle, or bottom of the bottle to allow the emulsifier unit to operate within the bottle body for mixing.
  • the bottle adapter may comprise a bottom half of the bottle or the top half of the bottle.
  • the concave stator feature may include a post at a center point of the concave stator feature.
  • the emulsifier adapter may be connected to the bottle adapter by a threaded connection, or the emulsifier adapter may be permanently connected to the bottle adapter.
  • a gap between the rotor and the stator may be between 0.25mm and 10mm.
  • a flexible pouch for containing a flowable product
  • the flexible pouch may comprise an enclosure for containing the flowable product, an opening region for evacuating the flowable product out of the flexible pouch, the opening region having a lock seal, a zip seal located above the lock seal in the opening region, and wherein: the lock seal may be configured to lock the flowable product within the enclosure, and the zip seal may be configured to lock the flowable product within the flexible pouch when the lock seal is removed from the flexible pouch.
  • the lock seal may be configured to be removed by tearing the lock seal along a tear line.
  • the zip seal may comprise zipper closure tracks, or the zip seal may comprise a solid material strip that differs from a material of the flexible pouch.
  • the zip seal may be configured to open at the opening region when the lock seal is removed and a pressure is applied to the flexible pouch.
  • the flexible pouch may comprise a plurality of side inserts located within a permanent seal around the opening region, wherein the plurality of side inserts are configured to reinforce the opening region.
  • FIG. 1 A block diagram illustrating an exemplary gusseted pouch with a flowable product
  • the method may comprise filling the gusseted pouch with the flowable product through a top opening in the gusseted pouch and sealing the top opening of the filled gusseted pouch with a seal bar
  • the seal bar comprises a seal bar cavity configured to imprint a nozzle shape in the filled gusseted pouch.
  • the seal bar cavity may be a raised shape on the seal bar, configured to seal the top opening with the raised shape of the seal bar cavity.
  • FIG. 1 Another exemplary embodiment discloses a system for extracting a paste from a flexible pouch having a sealed opening region, wherein the system may comprise a front press plate and a rear press plate adjacent to the flexible pouch, wherein the flexible pouch is between the front press plate and the rear plate, the front press plate and the rear press plate configured to exert pressure on the pouch, an air spring configured to push the rear press plate towards the front press plate as the air spring inflates, and a control system for controlling an amount of pressure applied by the air spring to the rear press plate.
  • the amount of pressure applied by the air spring to the rear press plate may increase over a period of time.
  • the amount of pressure applied by the air spring to the rear press plate may comprise a cyclical pattern, wherein the cyclical pattern includes a pattern of increasing the amount of pressure over a first period of time and decreasing the amount of pressure over a second period of time.
  • the control system may determine the amount of pressure to apply by the air spring based on a type of flexible pouch.
  • Fig. 1 A is an illustrative system for forming a dispensing a plant-based milk, including mixing of the plant-based milk, consistent with disclosed embodiments.
  • Fig. IB is an illustrative water supply system, consistent with disclosed embodiments.
  • Fig. 1C is an illustrative mixing bottle assembly, consistent with disclosed embodiments.
  • Fig. ID shows various views of an example mixing bottle, consistent with disclosed [0020] embodiments.
  • Fig. IE is another view of an illustrative system for forming a dispensing a plantbased milk, consistent with disclosed embodiments.
  • Fig. IF shows an example chamber for holding a pouch for plant-based paste, consistent with disclosed embodiments.
  • FIG. 1G shows several views of an illustrative system for forming a dispensing a plant-based milk, consistent with disclosed embodiments.
  • Fig. 2 is another illustrative system for forming a dispensing a plant-based milk, including mixing of the plant-based milk, consistent with disclosed embodiments.
  • FIGs. 3A-3E are illustrative systems having chambers for holding a pouch for plantbased paste, consistent with disclosed embodiments.
  • Figs. 4A-4C are illustrative chambers for holding a pouch for plant-based paste, consistent with disclosed embodiments.
  • Fig. 4D is a compressor for providing pressure for squeezing a pouch for plantbased paste, consistent with disclosed embodiments.
  • Fig. 4E is an illustrative seal for preventing air from escaping a chamber, consistent with disclosed embodiments.
  • Fig. 4F shows an example embodiment of a pouch, consistent with disclosed embodiments.
  • Fig. 4G shows an example embodiment of a chamber for holding a pouch, consistent with disclosed embodiments.
  • Figs. 5A-5B show example mechanisms for squeezing a pouch for plant -based paste, consistent with disclosed embodiments.
  • Fig. 5C shows an example configuration of a chamber for holding more than one pouch, where a first pouch is inserted within a second pouch, consistent with disclosed embodiments.
  • Fig. 5D shows an example embodiment of a chamber for holding multiple pouches, consistent with disclosed embodiments.
  • Fig. 5E shows electrical components of system 101, consistent with disclosed embodiments.
  • Figs. 6A-6C show other examples of mechanisms for squeezing a pouch for plantbased paste, consistent with disclosed embodiments.
  • Fig. 7 shows an example mechanism for squeezing a pouch using flexible inflatable chambers, consistent with disclosed embodiments.
  • Fig. 8 shows an example shape for a pouch for plant -based paste, consistent with disclosed embodiments.
  • Fig. 9 shows example pressure graphs as a function of time, consistent with disclosed embodiments.
  • Fig. 10 shows an example process for extracting base from a pouch, consistent with disclosed embodiments.
  • Figs. 11A and 1 IB show example pouches, consistent with disclosed embodiments.
  • Figs. 12A and 12B show other example pouches, consistent with disclosed embodiments.
  • Fig. 13 shows an example process for extracting base from a pouch, consistent with disclosed embodiments.
  • Fig. 14 shows an example chamber for extracting base from a pouch, consistent with disclosed embodiments.
  • FIGs. 15A-15C show other example chambers extracting base from a pouch, consistent with disclosed embodiments.
  • Fig. 16 shows a pouch positioned such that a nozzle is off-center of the bottle, consistent with disclosed embodiments.
  • Fig. 17 shows a pouch fitting into a cradle and apart for squeezing the pouch, consistent with disclosed embodiments.
  • Fig. 18 shows an example system for dispensing paste and an additive for a plantbased beverage, consistent with disclosed embodiments.
  • Fig. 19 shows an example system for dispensing paste having parts with non-flat surfaces, consistent with disclosed embodiments.
  • Fig. 20 shows an example system for dispensing paste having rotating parts with non-flat surfaces, consistent with disclosed embodiments.
  • Fig. 21 A shows an example pouch for plant -based paste, consistent with disclosed embodiments.
  • Fig. 2 IB shows details of a nozzle for a pouch for plant-based paste, consistent with disclosed embodiments.
  • Fig. 22 shows a plot of a seal strength as a function of seal bar temperature, consistent with disclosed embodiments.
  • Fig. 23 shows pouch geometry, consistent with disclosed embodiments.
  • Fig. 24 shows a process of combining a prefabricated nozzle with a pouch, consistent with disclosed embodiments.
  • Fig. 25 shows a structure of a layer of material for fabricating a pouch, consistent with disclosed embodiments.
  • Figs. 26A-26B show an example of a cam mechanism for exerting a mechanical action on a plate, consistent with disclosed embodiments.
  • Figs. 26C-26I show example embodiments of a chamber for extracting plant-based paste from a pouch, consistent with disclosed embodiments.
  • Fig. 27 shows an example distribution of pressure over a surface of pouch 111 as a function of pouch height (h).
  • Fig. 28 shows an example configuration of a cam mechanism and plates for extracting base from a pouch, consistent with disclosed embodiments.
  • Fig. 29 shows another view of a cam mechanism, consistent with disclosed embodiments.
  • Fig. 30A-30C shows possible cam mechanism shapes, consistent with disclosed embodiments.
  • Fig. 31 A-3 IB show examples of pouches with burstable seals, consistent with disclosed embodiments.
  • Fig. 32A shows an example of a flexible pouch, consistent with disclosed embodiments.
  • Fig. 32B-32E shows an example of a flexible pouch and a chamber for extracting plant-based paste, consistent with disclosed embodiments.
  • Fig 32F-32G shows example embodiments of a flexible pouch, consistent with disclosed embodiments.
  • Fig. 33 shows example steps for unsealing a flexible pouch and extracting plantbased paste, consistent with disclosed embodiments.
  • Fig. 34A shows an exemplary flexible pouch with a zip seal, consistent with disclosed embodiments.
  • Fig. 34B shows an exemplary flexible pouch with a zip seal and side inserts, consistent with disclosed embodiments.
  • Fig. 34C shows a side view of an exemplary flexible pouch without side inserts, consistent with disclosed embodiments.
  • Fig. 34D shows a side view of an exemplary flexible pouch with side inserts, consistent with disclosed embodiments.
  • Fig. 34E shows exemplary steps for unsealing a flexible pouch with a zip seal and extracting plant -based paste, consistent with disclosed embodiments.
  • Fig. 34F shows an exemplary process for sealing a flexible pouch using a seal bar, consistent with disclosed embodiments.
  • Fig. 34G and Fig, 34H show an exemplary seal bar, consistent with disclosed embodiments.
  • Fig. 35 shows an exemplary system for extracting a plant-based paste from a flexible pouch, consistent with disclosed embodiments.
  • Fig. 36A and Fig. 36B show an exemplary air spring mechanism for extracting a plant-based paste from a flexible pouch, consistent with disclosed embodiments.
  • FIG. 37A and Fig. 37B show an exemplary mixing bottle for mixing a plant-based milk, consistent with disclosed embodiments.
  • Fig. 38A shows an exemplary section cut of a mixing bottle with a friction fit bottle adapter, consistent with disclosed embodiments.
  • Fig. 38B shows an exemplary section cut of a mixing bottle with a snap base bottle adapter, consistent with disclosed embodiments.
  • FIG. 38C, Fig. 38D, and Fig. 38E show exemplary bottle adapters for connecting mixing elements with a bottle body, consistent with disclosed embodiments.
  • Fig. 38F depicts an exemplary mixing bottle with a two-piece body, consistent with disclosed embodiments.
  • Fig. 39A and Fig. 39B show an exemplary double wall mixing bottle, consistent with disclosed embodiments.
  • Fig. 40A shows an exemplary emulsifier unit, consistent with disclosed embodiments.
  • Fig. 40B shows a section cut of an exemplary emulsifier unit, consistent with disclosed embodiments.
  • Fig. 41A, Fig. 41B, and Fig 41C show an exemplary stator with a concave stator feature, consistent with disclosed embodiments.
  • Fig. 42A, Fig. 42B, Fig. 42C, and Fig. 42D show exemplary rotors, consistent with disclosed embodiments.
  • Fig. 42E shows an exemplary gap between an exemplary rotor and exemplary stator, consistent with disclosed embodiments.
  • Fig. 43 shows an exemplary flow path of mixture through a concave stator feature, consistent with disclosed embodiments.
  • Fig. 44A shows an exemplary flat stator feature, consistent with disclosed embodiments.
  • Fig. 44B shows an exemplary flat rotor, consistent with disclosed embodiments.
  • Fig. 44C shows an exemplary flow path of a mixture through a flat stator feature, consistent with disclosed embodiments.
  • Fig. 45 A shows an exemplary convex stator feature with parallel cutouts, consistent with disclosed embodiments.
  • Fig. 45B shows an exemplary convex stator feature with angled cutouts, consistent with disclosed embodiments.
  • Fig. 45C shows an exemplary convex rotor, consistent with disclosed embodiments.
  • Fig. 45D shows an exemplary convex rotor, consistent with disclosed embodiments.
  • Fig. 45E shows an exemplary convex rotor, consistent with disclosed embodiments.
  • Fig. 45F shows an exemplary convex stator feature, consistent with disclosed embodiments.
  • Fig. 45G shows an exemplary flow path of a mixture through a convex stator feature, consistent with disclosed embodiments.
  • the disclosed embodiments are related to systems and methods for forming a plant-based milk.
  • the system may include a tabletop machine designed to extract a plant-base paste (herein, also referred to as a base) from a pouch.
  • a plant-base paste herein, also referred to as a base
  • the base may be a nut- based or grain-based food and beverage product.
  • the base may be formed from soy, various nuts (e.g., almonds, walnuts, cashew, peanuts, and the like), or grains (e.g., oats, barley, and the like).
  • Other plant- based products for forming base may include quinoa, kamut, wheat, spelt, rye, oats, wild rice, fonio, teff, coconut, almond, brazil nut, cashew, pine nut, hazelnut, and the like.
  • Fig. 1A shows an example system for forming a dispensing a plant-based milk, including mixing of the plant-based milk, consistent with disclosed embodiments.
  • the system may be a tabletop system 101.
  • System 101 may include a water supply 113, and a chamber 110 that may contain a flexible pouch 111.
  • Chamber 110 may be configured to squeeze flexible pouch 111, resulting in a plant-based paste (i.e., base) flowing into a bottle 115.
  • pouch 111 may be made from any suitable flexible material (e.g., plastic, paper, biodegradable plastic, fabric, a composite material having multiple layers of various flexible materials, and the like).
  • pouch 111 may be formed from plastic or cardboard with a suitable lining.
  • pouch 111 may be made from material with antimicrobial properties (e.g., material that includes Ti02, and the like).
  • pouch 111 may be made from a material containing aluminum foil (or any other suitable foil).
  • Pouch 111 may be waterproof and/or not dissolvable in water.
  • System 101 may be configured to require a few seconds (1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 30, 60 seconds) to extract base from pouch 111 using the pressurized chamber.
  • a process of preparing plant-based milk may include steps of placing pouch 111 into chamber 110, closing chamber 110, waiting for a few (or a few tens) seconds for extracting base from pouch 111, and waiting for a few (or a few tens) of seconds for mixing extracted base and water.
  • system 101 may be configured to discard pouch 111 once the base is extracted from pouch 111.
  • pouch 111 may be pressed such that at least some of the base may remain within pouch 111 (i.e., pouch 111 may only be partially emptied).
  • a first portion of the base (first base portion) may be extracted from pouch 111, and the first base portion may be mixed with the first portion of water (first water portion) to yield the first portion of a plant-based beverage.
  • a second base portion may be extracted from pouch 111, and the second base portion may be mixed with the first portion of the plant-based beverage.
  • a second water portion may be added to the plant-based beverage.
  • system 101 may be configured to extract base from flexible pouch 111 into bottle 115 and mix the base with an appropriate amount of water to result in a plant-based milk.
  • the mixing may happen within bottle 115.
  • bottle 115 may include a mixing element 117 that may, for example, be activated by motor 118.
  • mixing element 117 may include a magnetic element that may be activated by a magnetic field created by motor 118.
  • FIG. 1A shows that a first embodiment of system 101 containing chamber system
  • Chamber system 112A may use pressure created by compressor 114 to squeeze (i.e., apply pressure onto) flexible pouch 111
  • chamber system 112B may use mechanical elements (e.g., rollers) to apply pressure onto flexible pouch 111.
  • a non-exclusive list of possible approaches for applying pressure on pouch 111 includes any suitable mechanical devices (e.g., rollers, CAM elements, a press, such as an arbor press, apiston, and the like), or any suitable ways for applying the pressure of a fluid (e.g., the gas pressure of liquid pressure) over surfaces of pouch 111.
  • a fluid e.g., the gas pressure of liquid pressure
  • Fig. IB shows further details of water supply 113, which may include tubings 127,
  • valves such as check valve 128, a solenoid valve 122, and an inlet valve 126.
  • inlet valve 126 may be configured to supply water
  • check valve to 128 may be configured to allow a one-way flow of water into filter cartridge 129
  • solenoid valve 122 may be an electrically activated valve for controlling the flow of water via dispense nozzle 123 into a bottle 132 for mixing plant-based milk.
  • water supply 113 may include a suitable filter (e.g., filter cartridge 129) for filtering water, as well as a flow meter 121 for measuring the flow of water.
  • Filter cartridge 129 may include a suitable filter head 130 for connecting tubing 125B via a suitable adapter 131 (e.g., a national pipe thread (NPT) adapter).
  • a suitable adapter 131 e.g., a national pipe thread (NPT) adapter.
  • tubing 125A may be connected to filter cartridge 129 via elbow fitting 124.
  • Tygon tubing may be used to connect inlet valve 126 with check valve 128. It should be appreciated that any suitable valves, tubing, filters, and pumps may be used to deliver a prescribed amount of water to the mixing bottle.
  • the water can be supplied from any suitable plumbing system to a reservoir system (e.g., water supply 113) using a suitable water reserve such as 1, 2, 5, 10, or 20-gallon jugs, or as a system in which the user simply fills a mixing bottle 132, as shown in Fig. IB, to the appropriate level of water.
  • a suitable water reserve such as 1, 2, 5, 10, or 20-gallon jugs, or as a system in which the user simply fills a mixing bottle 132, as shown in Fig. IB, to the appropriate level of water.
  • mixing bottle assembly 140 may have a bottle body 149 for containing plant-base beverage product and a detachable base 143.
  • the detachable base may include a rotor 145 for mixing.
  • Rotor 145 may be connected to detachable base 143 via a shaft 144.
  • Rotor 145 may utilize bearings (or busing) 146 for reducing the friction of rotating rotor 145.
  • Shaft 144 may connect rotor 145 to idler pawl 142 and a drive pawl 141.
  • the rotor may include a stator 148 and atop plate 147, as shown in Fig. 1C.
  • Stator 148 may be used to reduce the amount of foam due to mixing by rotating rotor 148, and top plate 147 may be used to further control mixing by reducing a vortex resulting from a mixing process.
  • Base 143 may be attached from the body of the mixing bottle via a thread of a thread adapter 151.
  • a mixing element such as rotor 145
  • mixing bottle assembly 140 may include various combinations of rotor 145 and stator 148.
  • rotor 145 may include a flat top, a cone shape top, or any other suitable top.
  • An example stator may have various shaped cutouts such as slots, circles, angles, stars, or others.
  • the mixing elements can be made from a wide range of materials such as stainless steel and food-grade plastics.
  • a rotating rotor such as rotor 145
  • a vortex mixer or a vortexer
  • the vortex mixer may be connected to an electric motor with a drive shaft oriented vertically and attached to a cupped rubber piece mounted slightly off-center. As the motor runs, the rubber piece may oscillate rapidly in a circular motion.
  • a bottom of a mixing bottle 150 (mixing bottle 150 is shown, for example, in Fig.
  • the vortex mixer may be designed to have a variable speed setting ranging from 100 to 3,200 rpm and can be set to run continuously or to run only when downward pressure is applied to the rubber piece.
  • Other approaches for mixing the base and water to obtain a plant-based beverage may include systems that contain no mixing elements. Such systems may use a motor to spin a mixing bottle along an offset axis (orbital motion), to move the mixing bottle from one side to another, or up and down (linear motion), or move the mixing bottle in a rocking motion along a center axis. As mentioned, such systems may mix the base and water without the use of internal mixing elements. Further, these systems may be used with both specialized bottles as well as some off-the-shelf bottles. In these systems, the shape of the mixing bottle may have an impact on the mixing.
  • the mixing bottles may include internal structures to aid in the mixing of the plant-based beverage.
  • internal structures may include internal ribs or fins for mixing the plant-based beverage while the mixing bottle is being moved, rocked, shacked, or span.
  • Fig. ID shows various views of example mixing bottle body 149 (also herein simply referred to as bottle 149), consistent with disclosed embodiments.
  • Fig. ID view 1
  • Bottle 149 is shown with a removable base 143 (removable base is shown next to mixing bottle 150).
  • Fig ID, view 2 shows mixing bottle 149 placed such that the bottom side points upwards (as indicated in Fig. ID, view 2).
  • Fig. ID, base view shows details of base 143.
  • base 143 may include rotor 145 and stator 148.
  • system 101 may be configured to accept mixing bottles of various sizes and shapes. For instance, system 101 may accept tall mixing bottles, short mixing bottles, narrow mixing bottles, wide mixing bottles, or combinations thereof. In some cases, some mixing bottles may be configured for a single serving of a plant-based beverage, while other mixing bottles may be configured for more than one serving.
  • Fig. IE shows a side view and a front view of system 101 for dispensing plantbased milk, consistent with disclosed embodiments.
  • System 101 may include chamber 110 containing pouch 111.
  • chamber 110 may include a lever 156 that may be used to extract plant-based paste from pouch 111.
  • Fig. IF shows views of chamber 110 with lever 156 configured to press on pouch 111 with plate 161.
  • lever 156 is lowered (as shown by arrow 158 depicted in Fig. IE)
  • plate 161 may move towards pouch 111 and exert a force on pouch 111, resulting in the extraction of plant-base paste through a nozzle 160 of pouch 111 (as shown in Fig. IF).
  • the lowering of lever 156 may create pressure within pouch 111 sufficient to rupture a seal closing pouch 111.
  • the pressure in pouch 111 created due to pressure from plate 161 may be used to extract plant-base paste from pouch 111.
  • Fig. 1G shows various views, such as side view, angle view, and front view of system 101.
  • bottle assembly 140 may be placed in a front portion of system 101.
  • Chamber 110 may be positioned above bottle assembly 140, and body 170 of system 101 may contain various elements of system 101, such as, for example, water supply 113, compressor 114 (as shown in Fig. 1A), motor 118, or any other suitable element needed for the operation of system 101.
  • Fig. 2 shows further details of system 101 (also referred to herein as system 101).
  • system 101 may include a power supply 213 that may be any suitable power supply (e.g., battery, rechargeable battery, AC power supply, DC power supply, and the like), a control printed circuit assembly (PCA) module 212, a system for squeezing a pouch containing the base (e.g., rolls 211), circuit breakers 216 for preventing circuit malfunction, power surge, and the like, power receptacle 217, mixing motor 215 for activating a mixing element (e.g., rotor 145 as shown in Fig. 1C, located within mixing bottle assembly 140), a small pulley 221 connected to motor 215, and a large pulley 223 that may be connected to drive pawl 141, as shown in Fig. 1C. Large pulley 223 may be connected to small pulley 221 via drive belt 218.
  • a power supply 213 may be any suitable power supply (e.g., battery, rechargeable battery, AC power supply, DC power supply, and the like)
  • PCA printed
  • Figs. 3A-3E are illustrative machines 101 (herein also referred to as systems 101) having chambers for holding a pouch for plant-based paste, consistent with disclosed embodiments.
  • a chamber may have a door 310, which may be configured to open in various ways (e.g., open chamber doors 31 IB-31 ID are shown in Figs 3B-3D chamber doors).
  • Fig.3E shows an example embodiment of a chamber 110 for holding pouch 111.
  • chamber 110 is designed to receive pouch 111 (e.g., system 101 may be configured to have a user place pouch 111 into chamber 111) and have a mechanism for extracting base from pouch 111 (e.g., by squeezing pouch 111).
  • chamber 110 may contain removable features, such as removable inserts to enable cleaning of chamber 110 if a spill of the base occurs.
  • removable insert may include a silicone or a plastic insert configured to be removable for cleaning.
  • an entire chamber 110 may be configured to be removable for cleaning.
  • Example embodiments of chambers 110 are further illustrated in Figs. 4A-4C. Fig.
  • FIG. 4A shows an example of a closed chamber 110
  • Fig. 4B shows open chamber 110
  • chamber 110 may hold pouch 111, which may have a nozzle 411. Pouch 111 may be placed such that nozzle 411 is inserted into an opening 417.
  • opening 417 may include an airtight seal 418 around nozzle 411, as further illustrated in Fig. 4E.
  • Chamber 110 may be configured to be airtight when closed and have air being pumped into a chamber via a compressor (as shown in Fig. 4D).
  • the air pressure within chamber 110 may be configured to apply pressure on pouch 111 and squeeze base from pouch 111.
  • pouch 111 may be made from any suitable flexible material (e.g., plastic, paper, and the like) that can be easily deformable due to pressure applied over pouch 111.
  • nozzle 411 may include a seal that can be broken when pressure is applied to pouch 111, allowing the base to flow from pouch 111.
  • Fig. 4E shows an example of seal 418 for chamber 110 to prevent air from leaking through chamber 110 when it is being pressurized.
  • seal 418 may have a cross- sectional shape 418A, with nozzle 411 inserted through the seal.
  • the seal may be formed from any suitable material (e.g., rubber, plastic, and the like). Under the application of air pressure (shown by arrows), a seal may change shape as shown by cross-sectional area 418B tightly connecting with nozzle 411 and preventing air from escaping chamber 110.
  • Fig. 4F shows an example embodiment of pouch 111 that may be used for chamber 110, as shown in Fig. 4B.
  • pouch 111 may be designed to start collapsing from a top portion 435A of pouch 111 as pressure (indicated by arrows 430) is applied to pouch 111.
  • Pouch 111 may finish collapsing at the bottom portion 435B of pouch 111.
  • pouch 111 may be configured to be more readily collapsible in the proximity of portion 435A and less readily collapsible in the proximity of portion 435B.
  • pouch 111 may include softer flexible material (e.g., a softer plastic or paper material) in portion 435 A and harder flexible material in portion 435B.
  • a material forming pouch 111 in portion 435A may be thinner than a material forming pouch 111 in portion 435B.
  • internal structures e.g., plastic trusses, or any other pressure resisting elements, as schematically indicated by elements 432A and 432B, may be incorporated in region 435B to prevent pouch 111 from collapsing in that region prior to pouch 111 collapsing in region 435 A.
  • pressure resisting element 431 A may also be incorporated in region 435A, and element 431 A may be less resistant to pressure than elements 432A or 432B.
  • a single pressure resisting element may be incorporated into pouch 111 with pressure resisting properties varying along a height h of pouch 111 (height coordinate h for pouch 111 is shown in Fig. 4F).
  • curve PR(h) may be a pressure resisting curve for pouch 111 indicating how well pouch 111 resists to pressure at different values of height h. For instance, as shown in Fig. 4F, PR h) for high values of h may be smaller thanPR(A for lower values of h.
  • PR h may be a monotonically increasing function ash decreases.
  • PR(hpop) may be a few or a few tens of percent higher than PR(h B onoM), where h T op and ⁇ .BOTTOM are as shown in Fig. 4F.
  • a pouch with a nozzle and some form of a check valve, a duck bill valve, or other feature within the nozzle may be used to prevent the base from dripping before it is intended to.
  • chamber 110 may be configured to provide higher pressure over atop portion (e.g., over region 435A) of pouch 111 than over a bottom portion (e.g., over region 435B) of pouch 111.
  • Such a distribution of pressure is indicated by unevenly sized arrows 430 with longer arrows corresponding to a higher pressure.
  • pressure distribution may be achieved by requiring chamber 110 to have multiple sections fluidly disconnected from one another as, schematically indicated in Fig. 4G, by regions 441-444.
  • regions 441-444 may support corresponding pressures Pi — P4, wherein Pi > P2 > P3 > P4.
  • Regions 441-444 may be fluidly disconnected, such that each region is capable of maintaining an independent pressure (herein, the pressure may be caused by compressor 114 pressurizing regions 441-444 using compressed gas such as air).
  • a passage for gas (air) may be allowed between regions 441-444 with the flow of gas controlled between these regions (e.g., the flow of gas may be controlled using valves, such as check valves (e.g., Schrader or Presta valves)).
  • valves such as check valves (e.g., Schrader or Presta valves)
  • a roller assembly 501 may include rollers 513, as shown in Figs. 5A and 5B, for extracting base. Rollers 513 may be rotated by appropriate drive motor 519 having suitable elements, such as 516 pulleys and bearings, a flexible coupling 520, guide rails 521, and a drive shaft 522 for engaging moving rollers 513 in a vertical direction.
  • an encoder 518 may be configured to receive electrical signals from a processor to drive motor 519.
  • Roller assembly 501 may include a drive belt 514 configured to move guide block(s) 515 (in an embodiment, guide block may contain bearings) along guide rails 521, as shown in Fig. 5A. Further, roller assembly 501 may include a roller motor 511 for spinning rollers 513, as indicated by arrow 523. In an example embodiment, roller motor 511 may be configured to spin both rollers 513 (or, in some cases, only one roller may be configured to spin). Optical sensors 512 may be used to determine the vertical position of rollers 513 as well as the speed of revolution of one or more rollers 513. In various embodiment, assembly 501 may include additional motor 519 and 511 controllers, as well as means for rollers 513 to travel along athree- dimensional trajectory.
  • the three-dimensional trajectory may be achieved by moving rollers 513 both vertically and laterally.
  • rollers 513 may have a degree of freedom indicated by arrow 524, allowing rollers 513 to move in a horizontal (i.e., lateral direction).
  • Fig. 5B shows an example placement of pouch 111 between rollers 513 for extracting base 510 from pouch 111 to a bottle via a connector 525.
  • Rollers 513 may be configured to move in a direction from the top of pouch 111 towards the bottom of pouch 111, allowing for squeezing the base out of pouch 111. In some cases, rollers 513 may move from the top of pouch 111 to the bottom of pouch 111 several times to squeeze the appropriate amount of base.
  • roller motor 511 which may have appropriate gears and one or more belts.
  • the separation distance may be controlled via an optical sensor 512.
  • Rollers 513 may be configured to slide down and up using guide rails 521, as shown in Fig. 5A.
  • the sliding motion for rollers 513 may be accomplished via drive motor 519 connected to drive shaft 522 using flexible coupling 520.
  • Drive shaft 522 may be connected to pulleys 516 and drive belt 514, as shown in Fig. 5A.
  • encoder 518 may communicate control signals that determine the motion of rollers 513 (e.g., the vertical motion of rollers 513, the rotational speed of rollers 513, and separation for rollers 513).
  • various parameters for the rollers may be controlled simultaneously (e.g., rollers may move down and have a separation between the rollers decreasing as the rollers move).
  • Fig. 5C shows apouch 555 that may be located within another pouch 565, and base
  • pouch 570 may be squeezed from pouch 555 by establishing pressure in pouch 565.
  • the pressure within pouch 565 may be established by pumping gas (e.g., air) into pouch 565 via valve 542 of connection 552.
  • valve 542 may be a one-way valve allowing air to enter pouch 565 but not exit pouch 565.
  • pouch 565 may have a release valve 543 for releasing air from pouch 565 when necessary.
  • pouch 555 may be configured to be cooled to prevent or inhibit the separation of constituent components of the material in pouch 555 (e.g., of plant-based paste). Pouch 555 may be configured to receive or contact a cooling agent to cause the contents of the chamber to be cooled. Cooling agents may include materials that may facilitate heat transfer to cause the material in pouch 555 to be cooled, such as air, water, a refrigerant, a gas, or a cooling substance (e.g., a cooled gas, liquid, or solid material). In some embodiments, pouch 555 may be combined with, connected to, or located in proximity to a cooling device or component.
  • pouch 555 may be surrounded by a component or container (e.g., a cooling jacket) configured to allow a cooling agent to surround and contact pouch 555 for cooling the contents of pouch 555.
  • space surrounding pouch 555 may be cooled (e.g., using a refrigeration system) to allow pouch 555 to be positioned in a cooled environment for causing the contents of the chamber to be cooled.
  • at least a portion of pouch 565 may contain a cooling liquid (e.g., water, water with ice, and the like) configured to cool pouch 555.
  • a cooling liquid e.g., water, water with ice, and the like
  • Pouch 560 may be located between pouch 555 and 565 (such that pouch 555 is inserted within pouch 560, and pouch 560 is inserted within pouch 565).
  • Pouch 560 may include a cooling fluid, such as, for example, water. The water may be circulated in pouch 560 via connector 561, as shown in Fig. 5D.
  • Fig. 5E shows electrical components of system 101.
  • system 101 may include apower supply 571 (e.g., abattery, or an AC or DC power supply connected to an electrical grid, a mechanically generated power (e.g., generated by a user via a generator), and the like.
  • apower supply 571 e.g., abattery, or an AC or DC power supply connected to an electrical grid
  • a mechanically generated power e.g., generated by a user via a generator
  • power supply 571 may be connected to an electrical grid via apower receptacle 579.
  • System 101 may include circuit breakers 580 (e.g., circuit breakers 580 may prevent power surges, circuit shorts, and the like). Electrical power from power supply 571 may be used to activate mixing motor 575 (motor 575 may be the same as motor 118, as shown in Fig. IA) for operating drive pawl 141 (as shown in Fig. IC).
  • Drive pawl 141 in turn, may operate rotor 145 for mixing contents of mix bottle assembly 140.
  • mixing motor 575 may be connected to a large pulley 576 via a drive belt 577 and a small pulley 578. Large pulley 576 may be connected to drive pawl 141.
  • control module 572 may be used to control various aspects of the operation of system 101.
  • control module 572 may control an amount of water used for making plant-based milk, pumps for pumping water from water supply 113 (as shown in Fig. IA) to mixing bottle 115, operation of a compressor 114 (e.g., a pressure created by compressor within chamber 110 for extracting base from pouch 111), operation of motor 118 for mixing base and water in mixing bottle 115, operations of motors of roller assembly 501, or any other operations of system 101.
  • control module 572 may include a memory unit (e.g., a non-transitory memory) for storing instructions used to operate various components of system 101.
  • control module 572 may be configured to send electrical signals to various components of system 101 to activate those components.
  • control module 572 may receive information from various sensors available to system 101 (e.g., sensors of system 101 may include pressure sensors in chamber 110, temperature sensors for water supply 113, temperature sensors in chamber 110, and the like), and based on the received information, may adjust the operation of one or more components of system 101. For example, if a pressure sensor within chamber 110 determines that there is insufficient pressure in chamber 110, module 572 may, via compressor 118, increase the pressure in chamber 110.
  • module 572 may be configured to adjust the operation of one or more components of system 101 to ensure that parameters of system 101 have values within nominal operational ranges.
  • module 572 may include a user interface (the user interface may include a touch screen, buttons, and the like) for receiving commands from a user and for reporting operational conditions to the user (e.g., the operational conditions may include data from sensors, or a current step performed by system 101 for making a plant-based beverage).
  • a user interface may include a software application installed on a user device (e.g., a smartphone communicated with system 101 wirelessly via any suitable wireless network (e.g., Bluetooth, and the like).
  • Figs. 6A-6C show various approaches for squeezing an example pouch, including a roller (Fig. 6A), a flat block (Fig. 6B), or inflatable balloons (Fig. 6C).
  • a perspective drawing including inflatable balloons (or flexible chambers 711) is shown in Fig. 7.
  • the chambers are inflated via channel 713.
  • flexible chambers 711 may have multiple sections (e.g., section 716A and 716B connected by a valve 715).
  • the shape and size of pouch 111 may be optimized to control a flow rate of a base from pouch 111.
  • the cross-sectional area of pouch 111 may change (as indicated by arrows Al, A2, and A3, and the shape of nozzle NI, as shown in Fig.
  • pressure in chamber 111 may be varied as a function of time, as shown in Fig. 9.
  • pressure may be constant (plot 910), may increase as a function of time (plot 911), or may increase to rapture pouch 111 and then decrease (plots 913).
  • Pressure may increase after being decreased (plot 913).
  • a pressure may be in a range of 4-20 psi with a possible pressure of about nine psi.
  • the pressure is selected to rapture the seal. After rapturing the seal, the pressure may be decreased.
  • Fig. 9 shows a point in time to at which pressure is being applied.
  • plot 913 shows that pressure is increased until time ti at which a nozzle of a pouch (e.g., pouch 111) ruptures.
  • Fig. 10 shows an example process 1001 for extracting a base from pouch 111, consistent with disclosed embodiments.
  • pressure may be applied to pouch 111 via a pressurized chamber or via an inflatable flexible chamber 711, as shown in Fig. 7.
  • system 101 may be configured to measure a flow rate of the base from pouch 111, and at step 1015, determine if the flow rate is in a target rate range. If the flow rate is in the target rate range (step 1015, Yes), process 1001 may proceed to step 1017 and determine if the base extraction needs to be stopped.
  • process 1001 may be terminated. If the extraction needs to be continued (step 1017, No), process 1001 may proceed to step 1011, as described above. If the flow rate is not in a target rate range (step 1015, No) process, 1001 may proceed to step 1019 and recalibrate the applied pressure to pouch 111.
  • the recalibration may use a linear controller (e.g., if the flow rate is too slow, the pressure may be increased by a predetermined amount, and if the flow rate is too fast, the pressure may be decreased by a predetermined amount).
  • the predetermined amount by which the pressure may be increased or decreased may be established via experimentation, computational simulations, or analytical calculations.
  • Figs. 11A and 1 IB show example pouches 1111 A and 111 IB, consistent with disclosed embodiments.
  • a pouch as shown in Fig. 11A, may be in the form of a "house," and a pouch in Fig. 1 IB may be a rectangle.
  • atypical width of a pouch may be few inches (e.g., 3-5 inches), and atypical height of a pouch may be in the range of 2-7 inches.
  • a pouch seal (as shown in Figs 11A-1 IB) may be a fraction of an inch (e.g., 3/16 of an inch, few tenths of an inch, and the like).
  • a seal-bursting force for a nozzle seal as shown in Figs. 11 A-l IB is configured to be smaller than a seal -bursting force for a pouch seal.
  • nozzle seal may be made using different approaches (e.g., heat sealing, foil sealing, sealing using glue, and the like).
  • Figs. 12A and 12B show another example of pouch 1211, consistent with disclosed embodiments.
  • the pressure applied to the walls of pouch 1211 may open a nozzle seal 1213.
  • Fig. 13 shows an example process 1301 for extracting base from a pouch, consistent with disclosed embodiments.
  • a first pressure may be applied to burst a pouch at step 1311, and at step 1110, a target flow rate of air may be maintained to inflate flexible chambers (e.g., chambers 711) to create suitable pressure for extracting base from the pouch.
  • the airflow rate may be used to calculate the volume flow rate of the base by combining a gas law and equation describing the flowing of the base from the nozzle.
  • y is a flow rate of gas into a chamber (in units of moles per time) and is a control parameter, for convenience denoted by y.
  • Unknowns in the above equation are U(?) and P(t).
  • the equation describing the flowing of the base from the nozzle may be used to eliminate pressure P(t).
  • Fig. 14 shows an example chamber for extracting base from a pouch, consistent with disclosed embodiments.
  • the chamber may utilize both gas and liquid for extracting base from pouch 111.
  • Pouch 111 may be adjacent to a flexible chamber 1411 that may contain gas (e.g., air) and a liquid (e.g., water).
  • Pressure in chamber 1411 may be first increased by pumping air into chamber 1411 via channel 1413. Since chamber 1411 is configured to be flexible, it is configured to exert pressure on pouch 111. At a threshold pressure in chamber 1411, the nozzle seal of pouch 111 may rupture, leading to the extraction of the base from pouch 111.
  • Figs. 15A-15C show other example chambers extracting base from a pouch, consistent with disclosed embodiments.
  • Fig. 15A shows an air balloon 1515 that may be configured to push plate 1511 towards pouch 111 and plate 1513 while being inflated via a connection 1518.
  • Plate 1511 and 1513 may be connected by springs 1520 for securing the motion of the plates.
  • Air balloon 1515 may be made for a suitable rubber material capable of stretching when air is pumped into balloon 1515. Air balloon 1515 may be of any suitable shape and size for providing a required pressure (as well as the pressure distribution) over plate 1511. Plates 1511 and 1513 may be made from any suitable material such as metal, plastic, and the like.
  • Fig. 15B shows plates 1521 and 1523 that are similar to plates 1511 and 1513 but may have optimized shapes to create higher pressure at the top of pouch 111 and lower pressure at the bottom of pouch 111.
  • Fig. 15C further includes a plate motion sensor 1529, which may include a laserbased light motion sensor 1525, a laser beam 1524, and amoving bar 1526. Plane motion sensor 1529 may be used to determine the motion of plate 1521.
  • laser beam 1524 may be directed towards light sensor 1525.
  • laser beam 1524 may be interrupted by moving bar 1526 containing a set of holes 1522 through which laser beam 1524 may reach light sensor 1525.
  • Sensor 1525 may be configured to detect through which one of holes 1522 laser beam 1524 is passed (e.g., by counting the interruptions for laser beam 1524), thus, determining the motion of plate 1521.
  • Fig. 16 shows an example embodiment of the system where pouch 111 may be positioned such that a nozzle of the pouch is off-center from the central axis of the bottle (axis 1605, as shown in Fig. 16).
  • pouch 1604 may be designed such that nozzle 1611 may be off-center from the pouch center axis 1607.
  • nozzle 16011 may be positioned such that paste 1613 may enter bottle 1621 and clear top plate 1617. Such an off-center position for nozzle 1611 may allow paste 1613 to reach rotor 1619 without being deposited over atop surface of top plate 1617.
  • the position of the nozzle may not change during the squeezing of pouch
  • FIG. 17 shows an embodiment system 101, in which pouch 1713 is inserted in a cradle
  • Cradle 1711 (also referred to as a chamber). Cradle 1711 may be similar to chamber 110, as shown in Fig. 4B.
  • part 1715 may be configured to be inserted into cradle 1711 such that it squeezes pouch 1713 and ensures that pouch 1713 releases all (or almost all) of the paste.
  • cradle 1711 and part 1715 may be designed to extract paste from pouch 1713 such that no paste is wasted (i.e., all the paste is used for preparing a plant-based beverage).
  • cradle 1711 (or system 110, as shown in Fig. 4B) may be configured to be removable and washable.
  • System 101 may be configured to provide means for filling the mixing bottle with water.
  • system 101 may include a nozzle (not shown) for filling the mixing bottle with a required amount of water.
  • the mixing bottle e.g., bottle 1621, as shown in Fig. 16
  • the bottle may be first filled with water prior to the addition of the plant-based paste.
  • the bottle may be filled with water manually by a user. For example, a user may fill the bottle with water up to a certain level.
  • system 101 may include various sensors for ensuring the correct operation of system 101.
  • system 101 may include a pressure sensor for sensing the presence of the bottle.
  • the pressure sensor may sense the amount of water in the bottle and notify a user if more or less water needs to be added.
  • the amount of base dispensed into the bottle may depend on the amount of water present in the bottle to maintain the correct bottle/paste ratio.
  • Various other sensors may be present. For example, a sensor may determine if a pouch is present in chamber 110 (chamber 110 is shown in Fig. 4B).
  • a pressure sensor may ensure that pressure within chamber 110 does not exceed maximum pressure levels (e.g., the pressure within chamber 110 may be required to be less than 20 psi).
  • a sensor may be present for determining that chamber 110 is closed.
  • system 101 may include a sensor for detecting if the paste is flowing from a pouch and a timer for determining the duration of time for dispensing the paste. [00138] In various embodiments, system 101 may be configured to determine what type of pouch is used for the machine.
  • different pouches may be of different weights, different colors, or may have a code (e.g., a barcode, a QR code, Universal Product Code, and the like) that may be read by system 101 and determine various parameters for extracting a paste (e.g., some pastes may require more pressure to be extracted, as these pastes may have higher viscosity).
  • Other parameters that may be pouch dependent may include an initial pressure needed to break a seal of the pouch, a time duration for applying the pressure, a location (or area) over which to apply the pressure, or any other suitable parameters that may control how a paste may be dispensed from a pouch.
  • system 101 may include a wireless or wired connection for communicating with electronic devices (e.g., smartphones, computers, and the like).
  • electronic devices e.g., smartphones, computers, and the like.
  • such connection may be used to update system 101 firmware, to obtain usage data for the machine, to upload instructions for system 101.
  • instructions may be used to determine a procedure for preparing a plant-base beverage having a corresponding pouch.
  • the instructions may include a time needed for dispensing paste from a pouch, the pressure needed for dispensing the paste, time needed for mixing the beverage, and the like.
  • instructions may further include an amount of an additive that can be added to the beverage.
  • system 101 may have sealed pouches for one or more additives that can be admixed to a plant-based beverage.
  • Fig. 18 shows an example system for extracting paste from pouch 111 and for extracting an additive from a pouch 1815 (e.g., the additive may be maple syrup, a shot of Baileys Irish Cream, a chocolate syrup, and the like).
  • the additive may be maple syrup, a shot of Baileys Irish Cream, a chocolate syrup, and the like.
  • both the base and the additive may be extracted into a bottle 1820. As shown in Fig.
  • a first mechanism e.g., a movable part 1811
  • a second mechanism e.g., a rotatable and/or movable part 1813
  • part 1813 may be rotated around axis 1817.
  • part 1813 may be placed in a vertical position providing a space for placing pouch 1815 and then may be rotated into a horizontal position and pressed against the pouch to dispense additive from the pouch.
  • Mechanisms 1811 and 1813 are only some of the possible examples, and any other approaches (e.g., using the pressure of a pressurized chamber that may contain both pouch 111 and 1815) as discussed herein may be used to dispense the paste and the additive from their respective pouches.
  • Fig. 19 shows another example embodiment of a system for extracting paste from pouch 111 into bottle 1820 using a movable part 1911 and a part 1923 that may be, for example, a fixed part.
  • Part 1911 may be similar to part 1811, as shown in Fig. 18, with the difference that part 1911 may have a non- flat surface (e.g., a wavy surface, as shown in Fig. 19).
  • Part 1923 may be similar to part 1823, with the difference that part 1921 may have a non-flat surface (e.g., a wavy surface, as shown in Fig. 19).
  • the surfaces of parts 1911 and 1923 may have any suitable smooth protrusions resulting in a generally wavy surface (e.g., the size, the height H, the width W, and/or the shape of protrusions can be selected for optimal extraction of paste from pouch 111).
  • protrusions of part 1911 are positioned to be offset from protrusions of part 1923.
  • protrusion 1931 may be positioned so that it is aligned with vacancy 1933, as shown in Fig. 19.
  • part 1923 may be movable as well.
  • both parts 1911 and 1923 may be movable relative to pouch 111.
  • parts 1911 and 1923 may move relative to each other.
  • part 1911 may move relative to part 1923.
  • Parts 1911 and 1923 may move in a horizontal direction (i.e., direction indicated by arrow 1942). Additionally, or alternatively, parts 1911 and 1923 may move in a vertical direction (i.e., the direction indicated by arrows 1941). In some cases, parts 1911 and 1923 may move in a vertical direction, while pouch 111 may be stationary.
  • Fig. 20 shows another embodiment of the system for extracting paste from pouch 111 using movable parts 2011 and 2023. These parts may be designed to be similar to rotating gears (rotation is indicated by arrows 2031 and 2032) spaced such that pouch I l l is placed between these parts. Parts 2011 and 2023 may be rotated and move relative to pouch 111, resulting in squeezing pouch 111 and dispensing paste from pouch 111 into bottle 1820.
  • Fig. 21 A shows a cross-section of an example pouch 111 for plant -based paste, consistent with disclosed embodiments.
  • the pouch may be made from laminated material, as further discussed herein. Pouch 111 may have an outside shape 2117 that may be different from an inside shape 2119.
  • outside shape 2117 may be substantially rectangular, and inside shape 2119 may be a tapered rectangular shape, as shown in Fig. 21 A.
  • pouch 111 may include notches, such as notches 2121 A and 212 IB for aligning pouch 111 with various elements (e.g., plate 141) of chamber 130, in which pouch 111 may be inserted, as shown in Fig. IF.
  • chamber 130 may include protrusions, which may be inserted in notches 2121A and 2121B to align pouch 111 relative to elements of chamber 130. As shown in Fig.
  • pouch 111 may have vertical dimensions hl-h3, external width wl, internal width w2, nozzle diameters dl and d2, a nozzle seal 2113 for a nozzle 2114.
  • the difference between wl and w2 may be in a range of a fraction of an inch (e.g., a fifth of an inch, a quarter of an inch, a half of an inch, and the like) and a region 2111 may be used to seal sides of pouch 111.
  • pouch 111 may have a front side and a back side. The front side may be joined together with the back side via sealed regions such as region 2111.
  • dimension hl may be a few inches (e.g., 3, 4, 4.5, 5 inches, and the like)
  • dimension h2 may be a fraction of an inch larger than h2 (e.g., hl may be 0.2, 0.5, 0.8, 0.9, 1, 1.2, 1.3 inches larger than hl)
  • dimension h3 may be slightly larger than h2 (e.g., may be larger by a few tenths of an inch than h2).
  • wl may be about as large as hl (e.g., 4 or 5 inches, and the like).
  • nozzle 2114 may be located at the bottom portion of pouch 111 in the center of the pouch.
  • An example inner diameter d2 of nozzle 2114 may be a few tenths of an inch (e.g., 0.4, 0.5, 0.6, 0.7, 0.8 inches, and the like).
  • an outer diameter dl may be slightly less (e.g., by a tenth of an inch or less) than inner diameter d2.
  • inside shape 2119 of pouch 111 may include tapered internal side 2120 having a tapering angle B. Tapering angle B is selected to provide a sufficient back pressure (the back pressure may be exerted by a paste located in pouch 111 when pouch 111 is squeezed) on a back side 2132 (as shown in Fig. 2 IB) of nozzle 2114.
  • Such back pressure is used to open (also referred to herein as pop) nozzle seal 2113.
  • back side 2130 of nozzle seal 2113 may be curved to provide a target force distribution over back side 2130 due to the back pressure.
  • pouch 111 may be sealed by heating material that forms pouch 111 along a line 2131.
  • a heating temperature for heating pouch-forming material along line 2131 may be non- uniform (or uniform). In some cases, the temperature may be selected based on the desired strength of a seal.
  • Fig. 22 shows aplot of a curve 2201 describing a seal strength as a function of seal bar temperature, consistent with disclosed embodiments. For instance, the higher is the seal temperature, the higher may be the seal strength.
  • seal strength may be uniform over line 2131. Alternatively, around nozzle 2114, seal strength may be decreased (which may be achieved by reducing a heating temperature when sealing pouch 111 in the proximity of nozzle 2114).
  • Fig. 2 IB shows details of nozzle 2114 for pouch 111, consistent with disclosed embodiments.
  • a shape of nozzle 2114 characterized by a profile curve 2134 may be selected to reduce the force needed for popping nozzle seal 2113.
  • a configuration of nozzle 2114 may be selected, such that seal 2113 can be easily opened (popped) due to the back pressure (as described above), but at the same time, the configuration of nozzle 2114 may be selected such that the back pressure is sufficiently high, in order to prevent accidental rupture of seal 2113 due to handling of pouch 111.
  • Nozzle 2114 parameters may include inside diameter dl, an outside diameter d2, a height h5, and nozzle profile curve 2134.
  • Nozzle seal 2113 may be of any suitable shape, as shown in Fig. 21B.
  • seal 2113 may have a curved back surface 2130, with the curvature of surface 2130 selected to improve rupture of seal 2113 when pressured by contents of pouch 111.
  • seal 2113 may be made from a different material than the walls of pouch 111.
  • seal 2113 may be made from the same material as the walls of pouch 111 but may be sealed a via low-temperature heating.
  • the temperature in a range of 200-260° Fahrenheit may be used for low- temperature heating.
  • low -temperature heating may be used for seal 2113
  • a relatively high- temperature heating may be used to seal pouch 111.
  • the temperature in a range of 280- 350° Fahrenheit may be used for high-temperature heating.
  • the temperature distribution during the heating process may be selected to provide a particular shape for seal 2113.
  • a high temperature gradient may be established between a region containing seal 2113 and other sealed regions (e.g., region 2116, as shown in Fig. 21A).
  • the temperature gradient may be 10 degrees Fahrenheit per few millimeters, 20 degrees Fahrenheit per few millimeters, and the like. Such high temperature gradients may result in seal popping without affecting the structure of pouch 111.
  • Fig. 23 shows pouch geometry, consistent with disclosed embodiments.
  • Pouch 111 may be cut out from a single sheet of material and have a layout 2311, as shown in Fig. 23.
  • Pouch 111 may be formed from layout 2311 by folding layout 2311, as shown by arrows 2315A and 2315B.
  • a part of layout 2311 may be used to form a front side of pouch 111
  • a part of layout 2311 may be used to form a back side of pouch 111
  • sides may be used for sealing pouch 111
  • middle portion 2313 of layout 2311 may be atop portion of pouch 111.
  • Dimensions h2, h3, wl, and d2 of layout 2311 may be the same as the same numbered dimensions, shown in Fig. 21 A.
  • angle 9 may be determined by selecting dimensions hll and gll of the layout.
  • dimension hl 1 may be a fraction of an inch (e.g., 0.5 inches) about an inch or about a few inches. Similar dimension gll may be on the same order of magnitude (but slightly larger) than dimension hl l.
  • nozzle 2114 may be prefabricated and combined with pouch 111 during the sealing of layout 2311.
  • Fig. 24 shows a process of combining prefabricated nozzle 2114 (that may already be sealed by seal 2113) with a nozzle portion 2413 of layout 2311.
  • nozzle 2114 may be sealed to layout 2311 at region 2411 (e.g., a bottom side of region 2411 may be sealed with a front side of layout 2311, and atop side of region 2411 may be sealed with a back side of layout 2311.
  • the back side of layout 2311 may be folded over the front side of layout 2311 using a folding line 2415.
  • layers of the material may be made from paper, plastic, or composite material (e.g., paper-plastic composites).
  • layer 2511 may be a coated polyester (PET)
  • layer 2513 may be a low-density polyethylene (LDPE)
  • layer 2515 may be an aluminum foil
  • layer 2517 may be ethylene acrylic acid (EAA) copolymer
  • layer 2519 may be a variable heat seal strength film (frangible sealant film).
  • layers may have thicknesses in a range of 0.1 to a few millimeters (e.g., frangible sealant film may be a few millimeters, while aluminum foil layer 2515 may be a fraction of a millimeter).
  • frangible sealant film may be a few millimeters
  • aluminum foil layer 2515 may be a fraction of a millimeter.
  • Fig. 26A shows an example system 2601 for extracting abase from apouch (e.g., for squeezing a paste from a pouch (e.g., pouch 111)), consistent with disclosed embodiments.
  • system 2601 may include a cam mechanism 2611 (also referred to as a cam 2611) for exerting pressure on a plate 2613 via mechanical action.
  • pouch 111 is placed between plate 2613 and plate 2614.
  • cam 2611 exerts pressure on plate 2613
  • plate 2613 executes a lateral motion as shown by arrow 2610 and pushes against pouch 111, thus, squeezing pouch 111.
  • plate 2614 may be a fixed plate.
  • Cam 2611 may be configured to rotate using axis 2615 with an angular rotation co)' t), which may depend on time.
  • cam 2611 may be solidly connected to axis 2615, and axis 2615 may be rotated using an appropriate rotating device (e.g., an electric motor, a lever, and the like).
  • an appropriate rotating device e.g., an electric motor, a lever, and the like.
  • cam 2611 may have an extended portion 2617 configured to push against a face 2621 of plate 2613.
  • Fig. 26B shows another view of cam 2611 configured to rotate around axis 2615 in a direction as shown by arrow 2621.
  • Cam 2611 may push on plate 2613, which in return, may be configured to move laterally, as shown by arrow 2610 towards pouch 111.
  • plate 2613 may be inclined relative to the horizontal direction at an angle 0y, as shown in Fig. 26A.
  • Such a configuration for plate 2613 may allow plate 2613 first to engage with pouch 111 at a top portion of pouch 111 and then (after traveling at least some horizontal distance relative to pouch 111) to engage at a bottom portion of pouch 111.
  • plate 2614 may also be inclined at a corresponding angle 0 2 , as shown in Fig. 26B.
  • Angles 91 and 9 2 may be selected to result in a target pressure distribution over a surface of pouch 111 as a function of time.
  • a plate (plate 1521 shown in Fig. 15B may correspond to plate 2613 shown in Fig. 26B) may have a curved surface adjacent to pouch 111 (e.g., a surface of plate 1521 adjacent to pouch 111, as shown in Fig. 15B).
  • plate 2614 may also include a curved surface adjacent to pouch 111 (e.g., plate 2614 may be similar to plate 1523, as shown in Fig. 15B, which includes a curved surface adjacent to pouch 111).
  • Figs 26C-I show system 101, including chamber 110 that utilizes cam 2611.
  • Fig. 26C shows an example of system 101 in a position when chamber 110 is closed and contains no pouch 111.
  • lever 2631 which may be used in controlling the opening or closing of chamber 110, may be in the first position.
  • the first position is indicated by lever 2631 pointing down, but any other preferred position may be selected (e.g., lever 2631 pointing up, left, right, or being horizontal).
  • Fig 26D shows that by changing the position of lever 2631 (e.g., placing lever 2631 in a horizontal position), chamber 110 may be opened.
  • lever 2631 may be connected to any suitable set of gears or mechanical devices that can translate the rotational motion of lever 2631 (lever 2631 is configured to rotate around axis 2633) to a motion of a door of chamber 110 opening or closing.
  • the door of chamber 110 comprises an enclosure configured to hold pouch 110, as shown in the following figures.
  • Fig. 26E shows that pouch 111 may be placed in an open portion of chamber 110, and a mixing bottle assembly 140 may be inserted for collecting of a beverage product.
  • Fig. 26F shows that by lowering lever 2631, chamber 110 may be closed.
  • cam 2611 may be engaged to provide pressure on plate 2613 to provide a required pressure for squeezing plant-based paste from pouch 111.
  • the motion of cam 2611 may be activated by pressing a start button, and in other cases, the motion of cam 2611 may be activated by determining that chamber 110 is closed and is containing an unused pouch 111.
  • the state of pouch 111 being used/unused may be determined by pouch size, shape, and the like.
  • system 101 may determine whether pouch 111 was used/unused based on whether a pouch seal was ruptured. Additionally, or alternatively, system 101 may determine whether pouch 111 was used/not used based on whether the motion of cam 2611 was executed/not executed for that particular pouch 111.
  • Figs 26G-26I shows further details of chamber 110.
  • Fig. 26G shows chamber 110 with chamber door 2640 being open.
  • Chamber door 2640 may include one or more elements (e.g., elements 2641A and 2641B) for holding pouch 111.
  • Fig. 26H shows an example embodiment of pouch 111 being inserted into chamber 110 such that elements 2641A and 2641B are engaged with pouch 111 through suitable openings in pouch 111 (e.g., such openings HA and HB are shown in Fig. 32A as further discussed below).
  • suitable openings in pouch 111 e.g., such openings HA and HB are shown in Fig. 32A as further discussed below.
  • chamber 110 may be closed, as shown in Fig. 261.
  • Fig. 27 shows an example distribution of pressure over a surface of pouch 111 as a function of pouch height (h).
  • pressure distribution may be characterized by a plot 2711, which may have a peak pressure Pi in a Top region of pouch 111
  • pressure distribution may be characterized by a plot 2712, which may have a peak pressure Pi in a Middle region of pouch 111
  • pressure distribution may be characterized by a plot 2713, which may have a peak pressure P3 in a Bottom region of pouch 111.
  • arrow 2710 shows a direction of movement of peak pressure as a function of time.
  • peak pressure may move along height h of pouch 111 at a velocity V (t, h) which may be a function of co(t) (herein, co(t) is an angular revolution of cam 2611, as described above and shown in Fig. 26B).
  • co(t) is selected based on atarget flow rate Q t) of paste from pouch 111.
  • target flow rate Q(t) may be related to V(t, h max ) as Q(t)
  • A(h max ) is a cross-sectional area of a pouch at height h max
  • hmax is a height at which pressure has a maximum
  • V(t, h max ) is a velocity at a height h max and time t.
  • V(t) may be related to a lateral velocity V P (t) of atop point of plate 2613 towards pouch 111, as further described below.
  • Fig. 28 shows an example plate 2613 that is suspended from an axis 2815.
  • axis 2815 can undergo lateral motions as indicated by arrow 2811.
  • the lateral motion of axis 2815 may be at a velocity v p (t).
  • velocity v p (t) may depend on a>(t). Specific dependence is related to a particular shape of cam 2611.
  • curve 2820 determines the dependence between rotational angular velocity o t) and a lateral velocity V p (t).
  • V(t) v p (t) +o p (t) ⁇ h.
  • Fig. 29 shows another view of a cam 2611, consistent with disclosed embodiments.
  • Cam 2611 may be rotated using device 2913 (e.g., an electric motor, lever, and the like).
  • Device 2913 may be configured to translate rotational motion via a set of gears 2915A and 2915B.
  • Fig. 30A shows various examples of cam 2611 shapes, such as (round, eccentric, oval, elliptical, heart, hexagonal, star, and snail) shapes that can be used. Other shapes can be used as well.
  • cam 2611 is configured to have an increasing "thickness" along a line connecting axis 2615 of cam 2611 and plate 2613, as cam 2611 rotates, as further described below in relation to Fig 30B. Such a configuration for cam 2611 can be used to continuously push plate 2613 towards pouch 111.
  • cam 2611 An example of cam 2611 is shown in Fig. 30B. Lines of length Z( , ) through /((At) are drawn from the center of axis 2615 to the rim of cam 2611 and correspond to a thickness of cam 2611. An angle ⁇ X> may be measured, as shown in Fig. 30B, and correspond to the angle over which cam 2611 has turned during the rotation. The lengths Z( ⁇ 7 i) through Z( ⁇ Z>4), corresponds to separation distances of axis 2615 and plate 2613.
  • length of lines, 1(D), are measured from the center of axis 2615 to rim of cam 2611, and / ( ⁇ Z ) may be a monotonically increasing function as a function of angle ⁇ .
  • An example of such a function is shown in Fig. 30C.
  • 1( ⁇ P) may first increase rapidly, as shown by plot 3020, indicating the profile of cam 2611. Such a rapid increase in 1( ⁇ P) may provide a large pressure on plate 2613, and may be used to induce sufficient pressure onto pouch 111 to result in an intentional rupture of pouch 111.
  • 1( ⁇ P) may increase more slowly, as shown by plot 3020, indicating a slower squeezing action for pouch 111 than initial squeezing action (i.e., indicating that an overall speed of plate 2613 towards pouch 111 (e.g., V (t), as discussed above) is decreasing with time, and as a function of revolution of cam 2611).
  • the cam design described herein solves various problems associated with evacuating ingredients/pastes from the pouch (including pouch 111). For example, it is preferable to control the pressure distribution applied to the pouch that causes the evacuation of the ingredients/paste inside the pouch. If there is no such control, the pouch could burst at an undesired location.
  • the cam-driven press design described herein solves this problem by evacuating the pouch ingredients/paste from the top down (i.e., the cam-driven press applies the initial pressure to the pouch at the end opposite the nozzle and progressively applies pressure down towards the nozzle).
  • the top of the pouch i.e., the part of the pouch opposite the nozzle
  • the cam drives the press such that pressure is progressively applied down the pouch and toward the nozzle.
  • the rotational speed of the cam can be controlled, which, in turn, controls the amount of pressure applied to the pouch, which, in turn, controls the rate at which the ingredient/paste dispenses from the nozzle or frangible seal. This is how the dispense rate of the ingredient/paste in the pouch is controlled.
  • the ingredient/paste is properly dispensed at the correct rate, more paste gets emulsified into the final liquid and there is minimal un- emulsified paste, if any, which means the mixing bottle is easier to clean and ingredient/paste is not wasted.
  • Another problem associated with evacuating ingredients from pouches involves the fact that different pouches may contain different ingredients with different viscosities, so not all ingredients will not evacuate the same way or at the same rate from the pouch. Ingredients/pastes with lower viscosities evacuate faster and more fully than ingredients/pastes with higher viscosities, such as chocolate oat paste. For high-viscosity ingredients/pastes, the pouch may need to be pressed multiple times to have full evacuation of the ingredients/paste.
  • the cam described in the present invention solves these problems because it can rotate in the forward and backward direction and drive the press over the same pouch multiple times. Moreover, the cam can rotate at different speeds, and the system can be programmed such that the ideal rotation rate can be used given viscosity associated with the ingredient/paste in the pouch.
  • the pouch chamber in the present invention is designed to hold and maintain the pouch in the proper position before, during, and after the evacuation process. This enables consistent loading and unloading of the pouch in the machines described herein, and unwanted movement of the pouch while in those machines.
  • Figs 31A shows an example embodiment of pouch 111 containing a burstable seal
  • seal 3110 may include regions formed from a tear-proof flexible material 3112, and regions 3114 made from tear-prone material (e.g., thin foil, paper, and the like).
  • regions 3114 may form a cross pattern, with a circular region 3116 at the center of the cross pattern).
  • the base within pouch 111 may be configured to press on seal 3110, resulting in the breaking of seal 3110 at regions 3114, as shown in Fig. 31. While a cross pattern is shown in Fig. 31, it should be appreciated that any other suitable pattern may be used to allow for seal 3110 to be broken when being under pressure.
  • pouch 3131 (as shown in Fig. 3 IB) may have a different shape than pouch 111 in Fig. 31A.
  • pouch 3131 may have a flatter shape and may be configured to be placed over a support 3145 (e.g., support 3145 may be part of chamber 110) such that seal 3110 is aligned to face puncturing device 3150.
  • puncturing device 315 may have a sharp edge 3152 for puncturing seal 3145 at atearing region 3114. Puncturing device 3150 may be atube through which base 3160 from pouch 3131 may be flown to bottle 1820.
  • system 101 may include a pouch identification system
  • the PIDS may be used for identifying the appropriate type of pouch 111 to be used with system 101.
  • different pouches may contain a different type of plant-based paste and may include different pouch identifiers such as labels, colors, shapes, sizes, weights, radio frequency identifiers, and the like.
  • the PIS may determine a particular type of pouch 111 based on one of (or several) pouch identifiers and may be configured to transmit information about the type of pouch to a suitable controller for system 101 (e.g., control module 572, as shown in Fig.
  • control module 572 may be configured to adjust various operational parameters for system 101, such as a pressure needed for extracting base from pouch 111, a time needed for extracting the base from pouch 111, a pressure distribution over pouch 111, a time dependency of pressure distribution over pouch 111, a particular operation of a mechanical device (e.g., rollers, CAM elements, and the like) for extracting the base from pouch 111, a time for mixing the base and water in a mixing bottle, an amplitude of agitation for the mixing of the base and the water, or any other suitable parameters for optimizing the extraction of the base from pouch 111 and for optimizing mixing of the base and the water.
  • a mechanical device e.g., rollers, CAM elements, and the like
  • the PIDS may utilize Near Field Communication such as High Frequency (HF) or
  • system 101 may utilize a bottle identification system (BIDS) for determining what type of bottle is used for system 101.
  • BIDS may determine the height of a bottle, the width of the bottle, the volume of the bottle, the weight of the bottle, and the like.
  • BIDS may utilize visible sensors (e.g., a camera, a laser, a photodiode, and the like) as well as weight sensors.
  • various operational parameters for system 101 may be adjusted. Additionally, the operational parameters may be adjusted based on user inputs (e.g., the user may input additional parameters, such as an amount of creaminess for the plant-based beverage, via an interface for system 101).
  • a flexible pouch having more than one seal may have a first seal (herein referred to as a lock seal or a security seal) and a second seal (herein referred to as a frangible seal).
  • the lock seal may be configured to withstand high pressures (herein, high pressures are referred to as pressures above a few pounds per square inch or a few tens of pounds per square inch, such as, for example, l-50psi).
  • the lock seal may be configured to withstand a force of a few tens to a few hundred pounds (e.g., 100 pounds, 200 pounds, 220 pounds, 250 pounds, and the like) when such a force is exerted on the side of the flexible pouch.
  • the lock seal may be configured to be removable by tearing off the lock seal along a tear line, as further described below.
  • the lock seal is not configured to be burstable under normal handling of a flexible pouch (e.g., during shipment of flexible pouches, loading flexible pouches into chambers for holding pouches, and the like).
  • the frangible seal of the flexible pouch is configured to be burstable when a sufficiently high target pressure is applied to the flexible pouch.
  • the frangible seal when a pressure of a few tens of psi is applied to the flexible pouch, the frangible seal is configured to be burstable.
  • the frangible seal may be burstable for pressures of 5psi, lOpsi, 15psi, 20psi, 25psi, or similar pressures.
  • a frangible seal is configured to be burstable for pressures in a range of l-20psi.
  • a frangible seal may be fabricated to be burst at a target pressure Pf having an allowable pressure variation of 5/ ⁇
  • P/ may be a few psi
  • 8P may range from a fraction of one psi to as much as a few tens of percent of Pf.
  • the frangible seal may be configured to withstand a force of a few to a few tens of pounds (e.g., 1 pound, 5 pounds 10 pounds, 20 pounds, 50 pounds, 55 pounds, 60 pounds, 70 pounds, and the like), when such a force is exerted on the side of the flexible pouch.
  • the frangible seal is configured to be burst such that the material used for forming the frangible seal is not impeding a flow of base from the flexible pouch, as further described below.
  • the frangible seal when applying the target pressure Pf the frangible seal is configured to burst within afraction of a second or within afew seconds (e.g., within 0.1- 10 seconds).
  • An example of a flexible pouch 3200 is shown in Fig. 32A.
  • a frangible seal FS is configured to be burst when a given target pressure (e.g., pressure Pf) is applied to flexible pouch 3200.
  • frangible seal FS is burst, a plant-based paste located within flexible pouch 3200 (herein, as above, also referred to as a base) is configured to flow out of nozzle N of flexible pouch 3200.
  • Frangible seal FS may not be strong enough to withstand typical pressures or forces used for handling of flexible pouch 3200 (e.g., handling by the customers).
  • a flexible pouch 3200 may use a strong lock seal to ensure that flexible pouch 3200 withstands hundreds of pounds of force, thus, compensating for any incidental event during shipping and handling of flexible pouch 3200 by carriers and users.
  • frangible seal FS is utilized such that it is easy to evacuate pouch 3200 by applying relatively light pressure (e.g., a few psi) due to hands of a user or via pressure generated by various press mechanisms of chamber 110, as described above.
  • relatively light pressure e.g., a few psi
  • the pressure for rupturing flexible pouch 3200 and for evacuating a plant -based paste from flexible pouch 3200 may not be constant in time.
  • a first pressure (e.g., a few psi to a few tens of psi) may be applied to rupture a frangible seal FS of flexible pouch 3200, while a higher (or in some cases, a lower) pressure may be applied to flexible pouch 3200 to subsequently evacuate the plant-based paste from flexible pouch 3200.
  • a pressure slightly larger than a rupturing pressure (e.g., the pressure that is about 20-60% larger than the rupturing pressure) may be used to evacuate the plant-based paste from flexible pouch 3200.
  • Fig. 32A shows an example of a flexible pouch 3200.
  • Flexible pouch 3200 is configured to have width WP1, which may be on the order of a few inches (e.g., 3- 8 inches).
  • the width WP1, height HP1, height HP2, and width WP2 are selected to make flexible pouch 3200 to be easily insertable into a chamber (e.g., chamber 110, as shown, for example, in Fig. 4A).
  • Fig. 32B shows flexible pouch 3200 being inserted into a receiving portion 3211 of chamber 110.
  • receiving portion 3211 and flexible pouch 3200 are configured such that when pouch 3200 is placed (e.g., by dropping flexible pouch 3200) into receiving portion 3211 of chamber 110, pouch 3200 is configured to slide into a correct position, as shown by Fig. 32C.
  • the lower portion of pouch 3200 has a truncated triangular shape (e.g., shape 3205 as shown by a dotted line in Fig. 32A), facilitating pouch 3200 to slide into receiving portion 3211 of chamber 110.
  • Receiving portion 3211 may have an element 3220 (herein referred to as a restrictor 3220) configured to restrict nozzle N of pouch 3200 from bending in a direction as indicated by arrow 3217), thus, resulting in the plant-based paste extracted from flexible pouch 3200 in a substantially vertical direction.
  • restrictor 3220 may be one of the surfaces of receiving portion 3211.
  • Fig. 32D shows a side view of receiving portion 3211 with pouch 3200 located within receiving portion 3211.
  • receiving portion 3211 includes elements 3220 (e.g., being surfaces of receiving portion 3211) restricting a movement of nozzle N of flexible pouch 3200.
  • element 3220 may include one or more wires or thin metal strips restricting the movement of nozzle N in a direction indicated by arrow 3217.
  • receiving portion may be configured to have a curved shape (e.g., curved shape is indicated by lines 3215A-3215C and 3216A-3216C, as shown in Fig. 32B) to further facilitate guiding pouch 3200 into receiving portion 3211.
  • Fig. 32E shows atop view (the top view is indicated by an arrow in Fig. 32C) of flexible pouch 3200 as it is inserted in receiving portion 3211.
  • pouch 3200 when using flexible pouch 3200 with chamber 110 (e.g., when inserting pouch 3200 into chamber 110, pouch 3200 is configured to be oriented such that nozzle N points straight downward within 10 degrees and is not blocked by any surrounding physical parts.
  • flexible pouch 3200 is configured such that frangible seal FS opens within a few seconds (e.g., within 1-5 seconds) when atarget pressure (e.g., the pressure of about 1-15 psi) is applied to flexible pouch 3200.
  • frangible seal FS should not open (i.e., burst) when pressure is below the target pressure.
  • opening resulted from bursting frangible seal FS should make the ingredients of flexible pouch 3200 (i.e., plant-based paste) flow downward within a few degrees (or a few tens of degrees) from the vertical direction.
  • flexible pouch 3200 may have dimension HP1 in a range of a few inches (e.g., 1-5 inches and dimension HP2 may be similar to dimension HP1 (e.g., HP2 may range between 1-5 inches).
  • HP2 may be smaller than HPI.
  • HP2 may be larger than HPI.
  • the combined dimension HPI +HP2 may be on the order of 4-8 inches.
  • Flexible pouch 3200 includes a lock seal LS configured to withstand relatively high pressures (in tens of psi, as described above).
  • lock seal LS may be separated from flexible pouch 3200 via tearing along a tear line TL, as shown in Fig. 32A.
  • pouch 3200 may include notches TA and TB for facilitating tearing lock seal LS along tear line TL.
  • tear line TL may be prepared (e.g., using laser treatment such as laser scoring or perforation) for ease of tearing along tear line TL.
  • a nozzle N (the nozzle may contain gas, such as air) may be exposed to ambient, and the content of flexible pouch 3200 (e.g., the base contained in pouch 3200) may be further evacuated via nozzle N after a frangible seal is broken.
  • gas such as air
  • frangible seal FS prevents the base in pouch 3200 from leaking from pouch 3200 until sufficient pressure is applied to pouch 3200 to burst frangible seal FS.
  • frangible seal FS may be formed using any suitable approach known in the art for forming frangible seals.
  • frangible seal FS may be formed by heat-sealing together the inner surfaces of pouch 3200.
  • pouch 3200 may include material in the vicinity of frangible seal FS (e.g., multilayer film), which undergoes interfacial sealing when heat is applied to such a material.
  • such materials may be resins and may include blends of one or more polyolefins such as polyethylene including metallocene polyethylene with polybutylene or polypropylene including homopolymer or copolymers thereof (collectively: PE/PB blends; PE/PP blends); polypropylene with polybutylene (PP/PB blends); polypropylene with ethylene methacrylic acid copolymer (PP/EMAA blends); or polypropylene with styrene-ethylene/butylene-styrene block terpolymer (PP/SEBS blends).
  • polyolefins such as polyethylene including metallocene polyethylene with polybutylene or polypropylene including homopolymer or copolymers thereof (collectively: PE/PB blends; PE/PP blends); polypropylene with polybutylene (PP/PB blends); polypropylene with ethylene methacrylic acid copolymer (PP/EMAA blends); or polypropylene with styren
  • the frangible seal can also be produced by zone coating the innermost layer in the region of the seal with a sealant or by heat sealing two dissimilar sealing surfaces such as an ionomer and ethylene copolymer.
  • Blends of an ionomer based on partial neutralization of an ethylene acrylic acid copolymer or ethylene methacrylic acid copolymer with a polypropylene a-olefin copolymer ethylene/acrylic acid copolymer or EMAA ionomer blended with a PP/PB copolymer
  • EMAA ionomer blended with a PP/PB copolymer
  • Frangible seal FS may be of any suitable thickness, wherein the thickness is selected to result in desired properties of frangible seal FS (e.g., the thickness of frangible seal FS is selected such that frangible seal burst at a few tens of psi).
  • frangible seal FS may have a thickness df, as shown in Fig. 32A. The thickness and its profile along its length can be chosen for a desired burst strength. The thicker the frangible seal is, the harder it will be to burst the seal. And the thinner the frangible seal is, the easier it will be to burst the seal.
  • df may be in the range of a few hundredths to a few tenths of inches. For instance, df may range from 0.03 to 0.5 inches.
  • thickness df may not have a constant value along the length of frangible seal FS (herein, such thickness df is referred to as a non-uniform thickness).
  • thickness df may be larger near the edges of frangible seal FS (e.g., around region EF, as shown in Fig. 32A) and may be thinner towards the middle of frangible seal FS.
  • df near the edges of frangible seal FS may be 110-200 percent of a thickness of frangible seal FS in the middle portion of frangible seal FS.
  • thickness df is configured to change along the length of frangible seal FS in the substantially continuous matter (i.e., without having large jumps in the value along the length of frangible seal FS).
  • substantially continuous matter refers to having thickness df to have gradients that are below a target threshold value.
  • a target threshold value for the gradient may be, for example, 10-50 percent of thickness change per inch of the length of frangible seal FS and the like.
  • the frangible seal can also be designed to have different strengths by using certain temperatures and/or pressures during the heat forming process of the frangible seal. The higher the temperature is during the heat forming process (within a limit), the stronger the strength of the seal. This is advantageous because the seal can be designed with different strengths without changing the geometry or material of the pouch.
  • athicker paste e.g., a chocolate -oat paste
  • a paste made with almonds is more fluidic in nature and has a viscosity of around 1000 centipoise.
  • the combination of design parameters that generates an optimal burst and dispensing conditions and for a lower viscosity paste may not generate the same outcome for a higher viscosity paste. It is, therefore, advantageous to understand and select parameters for the frangible seal that allow for optical pouch evacuation. For instance, a longer frangible seal length will be easier to burst because it has more area to experience the applied pressure along its length.
  • the length of the frangible seal can be also increased by having a convex or concave shape as shown in Fig.
  • frangible seal thickness df 635mm
  • 7mm LFS length 245°
  • 250 F sealing temperature 245°
  • HPF 5mm
  • the permanent lock seal can be generated with an applied temperature of 300F and above, for example. This temperature disparity between the lock seal setting and frangible seal setting allows for varying seal strengths between these two seals.
  • seal parameters including those described above, can be used to optimize the seals for a particular viscosity, dispense speed, and shipping conditions.
  • frangible seal FS may be placed at an entrance to nozzle N, where LFS is equal to dn in Fig. 32A or at some distance HPF before nozzle N.
  • Fig. 32A shows that a length LFS of frangible seal FS is larger than width dn of a nozzle.
  • HPF may be a fraction of an inch, such as a few hundredths of an inch or a few tenths of an inch (e.g., 0.05 inches, 0.1 inches, 0.15 inches, 0.2 inches, and the like).
  • distance HPF is sufficiently large such that the material forming frangible seal FS does not obstruct a flow of the base from pouch 3200 when frangible seal FS is broken.
  • nozzle N length HPN is selected to be sufficiently small to ensure that possible bending of nozzle N does not obstruct the flow of the base from pouch 3200.
  • length HPN may be on the order of a fraction of an inch (e.g., 0.1-1 inches).
  • pouch 3200 are selected to improve the flow of base from pouch
  • a diameter dn of nozzle N is selected such that the base is evacuated from pouch 3200 under a target pressure (e.g., the target pressure may be a few tens of psi) for a desired duration.
  • a target pressure e.g., the target pressure may be a few tens of psi
  • diameter dn may be a few tenths of an inch to about an inch.
  • diameter dn may be in the range of 0.1-1 inches.
  • the width WP2 for flexible pouch 3200 is selected to provide a suitable shape of flexible pouch 3200.
  • width WP2 may be a few tenths of an inch to about one or two inches.
  • a choice of WP2 and HP2 is selected to result in an angle Os being above hundred ninety degrees.
  • angle 0 s may be 200 degrees, 210 degrees, 212 degrees, 215 degrees, and the like.
  • angle 0 s may range between 190-240 degrees.
  • flexible pouch 3200 may include holes HA and HB.
  • the holes may be used to secure pouch 3200 within chamber 110 (e.g., chamber 110 may include protrusions such as protrusions 3311A and 331IB in the form of hooks, are shown in Fig. 33) that may penetrate holes HA and HB to secure pouch 3200 within chamber 110.
  • chamber 110 may include protrusions such as protrusions 3311A and 331IB in the form of hooks, are shown in Fig. 33
  • protrusions 3311A and 331IB in the form of hooks, are shown in Fig. 33
  • pouch 3200 may have sealed walls with a thickness dw, as shown in Fig. 32A.
  • thickness dw, and a strength of a seal for the walls of pouch 3200 may be selected to allow flexible pouch 3200 to withstand high pressures of at least several tens of psi (e.g., 20 psi, 30 psi, 50 psi, and the like).
  • the seal for the walls of pouch 3200 is selected to withstand a force of a few tens to a few hundred pounds (e.g., 100 pounds, 200 pounds, 220 pounds, 250 pounds, and the like) when such a force is exerted on the side of flexible pouch 3200.
  • thickness dw may be in a range of a few tenths of an inch to about an inch.
  • thickness dw may be in the range of 0.1-1 inch.
  • thickness dw may be about the same as thickness df of frangible seal FS, and in other cases, thickness dw may be 200-500 percent larger than thickness df.
  • flexible pouch 3200 may have an internal enclosure (i.e., an internal cavity containing a plant-based paste) of any suitable shape
  • flexible pouch 3200 may be configured not to include sharp comers for the internal enclosure to ensure smooth distribution of tension forces on the walls of the internal enclosure).
  • corners CA and CB of internal enclosure (as shown in Fig. 32A) may be characterized by a radius RP which may be about a fraction of an inch.
  • Fig. 32F shows an example embodiment of a portion of flexible pouch 3200 in the vicinity of lock seal LS. While Fig. 32A shows flexible pouch 3200 with two notches TA and TB, an example embodiment of flexible pouch 3200, as shown in Fig. 32F has only one notch TB.
  • the simplest form of the notch is just a slit made from a cutting blade or other cutting mechanism.
  • notch TB may also have a shape configured to improve tearing of lock seal LS along tear line TL.
  • notch TB may include a sharp angle r.
  • notch TB may be oriented such that a bisector BL of angle r forms an angle 8 with a horizontal line HL, as shown in Fig. 32F.
  • angle 8 is about zero degrees.
  • angle 8 may have positive or negative values (herein, the negative value of angle 8 indicates that BL points above horizontal line HL.
  • tear line TL points downwards away from frangible seal FS, resulting in tearing of LS in a downward direction (i.e., away from frangible seal FS).
  • Such direction of tear line TL may be preferred to avoid tearing towards frangible seal FS.
  • tear line TL is configured to be oriented such that, when tearing lock seal LS, frangible seal FS (or area in close proximity of frangible seal FS) is not affected by the tear (i.e., boundary resulting from tearing lock seal LS is not in close proximity to frangible seal FS).
  • the boundary resulting from tearing lock seal LS is at least a tenth of an inch away from frangible seal FS at the closest location with frangible seal FS.
  • Fig. 32G shows example boundaries TLI and TL2 resulting from tearing lock seal LS.
  • TLI is pointing down away from frangible seal FS, while TL2 is in closer proximity to frangible seal FS. Nevertheless, in an example embodiment, even TL2 is at least a few tenths of inches away from the frangible seal at the closest location (e.g., TL2 is a distance dtl2 away from frangible seal FS at the closest location).
  • Fig. 33 illustrates a process of using flexible pouch 3200 for extracting the plant-based paste using chamber 110.
  • alock seal LS is removed by auser (e.g., user tears off the lock seal)
  • flexible pouch 3200 is slid into chamber 110.
  • pouch 3200 is secured within chamber 110 via protrusions (e.g., posts or hooks) 3311A and 331IB using holes HA and HB.
  • protrusions e.g., posts or hooks
  • flexible pouch 3200 is being pressed within chamber 110 using any suitable approaches (as described above), resulting in a rupture of frangible seal FS and extraction of paste from flexible pouch 3200.
  • width dn is defined by a geometry of nozzle N and by various details of frangible seal FS.
  • frangible seal FS is configured to be wider than width dn (i.e., the length LFS is larger than dn), located further within flexible pouch 3200, and is configured not to be a bottleneck when extracting a plant-based paste from flexible pouch 3200.
  • length LFS is larger than dn by at least five percent.
  • the geometry of frangible seal FS can be straight as shown, or concave or convex in shape with different curvatures as shown in Fig 32A. Such shapes can make the frangible seal stronger or weaker. It is advantageous to have frangible seals of varying strengths because the pouches can have different pastes and thus different burst strengths, even when the press mechanism is the same.
  • Fig. 34A illustrates another example of a flexible pouch 3400.
  • a zip seal ZS is configured to burst open when a given target pressure (e.g., pressure P/) is applied to flexible pouch 3400.
  • a plant -based paste located within flexible pouch 3400 (herein, as above, also referred to as a base) is configured to flow out of opening OP of flexible pouch 3400.
  • Zip seal ZS may not be strong enough to withstand typical pressures or forces used for handling of flexible pouch 3400 (e.g., handling by the customers).
  • flexible pouch 3400 may use a strong lock seal LS located next to zip seal ZS to ensure that flexible pouch 3400 withstands up to hundreds of pounds of force, thus, compensating for any incidental event during shipping and handling of flexible pouch 3400 by carriers and users.
  • zip seal ZS is utilized such that it is easy to evacuate pouch 3400 by applying relatively light pressure (e.g., a few psi) due to hands of a user or via pressure generated by various press mechanisms of chamber 110, as described herein.
  • relatively light pressure e.g., a few psi
  • Fig. 34A shows an example of a flexible pouch 3400.
  • Flexible pouch 3400 may have width WP1, height HP1, height HP2, and width WP2.
  • Width WP1, height HP1, height HP2, and width WP2 of flexible pouch 3400 may correspond to width WP1, height HP1, height HP2, and width WP2 of flexible pouch 3200, respectively, as disclosed herein with respect to Fig. 32A.
  • Flexible pouch 3400 may also include a lock seal LS which may be configured to withstand relatively high pressures (in tens of psi, as described above).
  • lock seal LS may be separated from flexible pouch 3400 by tearing along tear line TL.
  • Lock seal LS and tear line TL of flexible pouch 3400 may correspond to lock seal LS and tear line TL of flexible pouch 3200, respectively, as disclosed herein with respect to Fig. 32A.
  • Lock seal LS may be placed in close proximity to zip seal ZS, such that zip seal ZS may not be broken with application of pressure to flexible pouch 3400 while lock seal LS is in place. After removing lock seal LS, zip seal ZS may be exposed to ambient environment, and the contents of flexible pouch 3400 (e.g., the base contained in pouch 3400) may be further evacuated via opening OP after zip seal ZS is broken.
  • zip seal ZS may prevent the plant-based paste contained in flexible pouch 3400 from leaking from flexible pouch 3400 until sufficient pressure is applied to flexible pouch 3400 to burst zip seal ZS.
  • Zip seal ZS may be formed using any suitable approach known in the art for forming zip seals.
  • zip seal ZS may be formed using zipper closure tracks in which a first track locks into a second track.
  • Zip seal ZS may include a single zipper closure track, multiple zipper closure tracks, a C-shaped closure track, a J-shaped closure track, or any other form of closure track suitable for forming a zip seal.
  • Zip seal ZS may be made from plastics, such as high-density polyethylene, low-density polyethylene, polypropylene, or any other plastic material suitable for forming a zip seal ZS.
  • ZS may be of length dz. Length dz may vary to achieve varying flow rates of the contents of flexible pouch 3400 during the press cycle.
  • zip seal ZS may be the weakest point in flexible pouch 3400, causing flexible pouch 3400 to break open at opening OP.
  • zip seal ZS may be formed by placing a solid material strip, without a closure track, between sealed walls of flexible pouch 3400 at opening OP. Sealed walls of flexible pouch 3400 may have a thickness, dw.
  • Thickness dw of flexible pouch 3400 may correspond to thickness dw of flexible pouch 3200, as disclosed herein with respect to Fig. 32A.
  • Sealed walls may extend around the entire perimeter of flexible pouch 3400, and in such an embodiment, a material strip may be placed between sealed walls at opening OP.
  • the material strip may be made from any material that is different from the material forming flexible pouch 3400, including, but not limited to PLA plastic, high-density polyethylene, low-density polyethylene, polypropylene, or any other suitable material that differs from the material forming flexible pouch 3400.
  • PLA plastic high-density polyethylene, low-density polyethylene, polypropylene, or any other suitable material that differs from the material forming flexible pouch 3400.
  • Fig. 34B depicts another exemplary embodiment of flexible pouch 3400 with zip seal
  • zip seal ZS may be located in opening OP and may not be fully surrounded by permanent seal 3410.
  • each end of zip seal ZS may be held in place in opening OP through connection to permanent seal 3410, but the sides of zip seal ZS may not be surrounded by permanent seal 3410.
  • Permanent seal 3410 may extend around the perimeter of flexible pouch 3400 and lock seal LS, but may not extend around opening OP and zip seal ZS.
  • Permanent seal 3410 may be formed by heat-sealing the inner perimeter of flexible pouch 3400.
  • flexible pouch 3400 may include material around its perimeter that may undergo interfacial sealing when heat is applied. Such materials may be resins and may include blends of one or more polyolefins.
  • permanent seal 3410 may be formed by zone coating the inner layer of the perimeter of flexible pouch 3400 with a sealant or by heat sealing two dissimilar sealing surfaces such as an ionomer and ethylene copolymer.
  • Flexible pouch may also comprise enclosure 3402 for containing the plantbased paste.
  • Enclosure 3402 may comprise an unsealed area within permanent seal 3410 of flexible pouch 3400 that may contain plant-based paste.
  • Side inserts 3405 may be located within permanent seal 3410 around the perimeter of flexible pouch 3400 near opening OP to provide reinforcement to flexible pouch 3400. Side inserts 3405 may be configured to provide stiffening reinforcement around opening OP to prevent bending of flexible pouch 3400 around opening OP and to direct plant-based paste directly down and out of opening OP when pressure is applied to flexible pouch 3400.
  • Fig. 34C depicts a side view of flexible pouch 3400 without side inserts 3405. As shown in Fig. 34C, without side inserts 3405, opening OP may bend when plant-based paste is evacuated from flexible pouch 3400, such that plant-based paste may be evacuated at angles from flexible pouch 3400.
  • Fig. 34D depicts a side view of flexible pouch 3400 with side inserts 3405.
  • side inserts 3405 provide reinforcement around opening OP such that plant-based paste may be evacuated vertically from opening OP when pressure is applied to flexible pouch 3400.
  • side inserts 3405 may be located at the curved perimeter adjacent to opening OP.
  • Side inserts 3405 may be made from the same material as zip seal ZS or may be made from different materials than zip seal ZS.
  • side inserts 3405 may be made from plastics, such as high-density polyethylene, low-density polyethylene, polypropylene, or any other plastic material suitable for forming side inserts 3405.
  • Side inserts 3405 may be integrated into flexible pouch 3400 at the same time that flexible pouch 3400 is heat pressed to create permanent seal 3410.
  • Side inserts 3405 may be located within permanent seal 3410 such that side inserts 3405 do not create a weak point in the perimeter of flexible pouch 3400.
  • zip seal ZS may still be the weakest point in flexible pouch 3400 such that zip seal ZS may burst at opening OP when pressure is applied to flexible pouch 3400, and flexible pouch 3400 may not burst open at side inserts 3405.
  • Fig. 34E illustrates a process of using flexible pouch 3400 for extracting plant-based paste using chamber 110.
  • flexible pouch 3400 may be selected, wherein flexible pouch 3400 includes a lock strip LS and a zip seal ZS for containing a plant-based paste.
  • lock seal LS may be removed from flexible pouch 3400.
  • zip seal ZS may still remain closed to prevent plant-based paste from leaking from flexible pouch 3400.
  • flexible pouch 3400 may be placed in chamber 110.
  • flexible pouch 3400 may be pressed within chamber 110 using any suitable approaches as described herein.
  • Applying pressure to flexible pouch 3400 may cause zip seal ZS to burst open and plant-based paste to be extracted from flexible pouch 3400.
  • Plant-based paste may be extracted from flexible pouch 3400 into a mixing bottle or other container placed below opening OP of flexible pouch 3400.
  • Side inserts 3405 may reinforce opening OP, such that flexible pouch does not bend during the pressing cycle of step 3435 and the plant-based paste is evacuated directly downward into the mixing bottle or other container.
  • Fig. 34F illustrates an exemplary process 3440 for filling and sealing an exemplary gusseted pouch 3450. Such process may allow for a quicker and more cost-effective method of filling gusseted pouch 3450.
  • Gusseted pouch 3450 may comprise gusset 3466. Gusset 3466 may add space and flexibility to flexible pouch 3400 by allowing the space within pouch cavity 3464 to expand when plant-based paste or other flowable products are added. Gusset 3466 may allow for more volume within pouch cavity 3464 while using less material to form gusseted pouch 3450. Gusseted pouch 3450 may have permanent seal 3462 around the perimeter of pouch cavity 3464.
  • Permanent seal 3462 may correspond to permanent seal 3410, as disclosed herein with respect to Fig. 34B.
  • Pouch cavity 3464 may comprise an unsealed area of gusseted pouch 3450 which may be filled with plant-based paste or other flowable products.
  • Gusseted pouch 3450 may also contain a tear strip 3454 to allow gusseted pouch 3450 to be easily opened. Tear strip 3454 may correspond to tear line TL, as disclosed herein with respect to Fig. 34A.
  • Gusseted pouch 3450 may have a top opening 3463 which may be an unsealed side of gusseted pouch 3450 to allow pouch cavity 3464 to be filled with plant -based paste or other flowable products.
  • Opening 3463 may be approximately the same length as pouch cavity 3464 to allow pouch cavity 3464 to be quickly filled with plant-based paste or other flowable products.
  • a premade, unfilled gusseted pouch 3450 may be filled with a plant-based paste or other flowable products. Gusseted pouch 3450 may be filled with plant-based material through opening
  • gusseted pouch 3450 may be filled more quickly with plant-based paste or other flowable products during this step.
  • filled gusseted pouch 3450 may be sealed using seal bar 3460.
  • Seal bar 3460 may be used to seal opening 3463 of gusseted pouch 3450 by applying a high temperature to opening 3463.
  • Opening 3463 may include material around its perimeter that may undergo interfacial sealing when heat is applied using seal bar 3460. Such materials may be resins and may include blends of one or more polyolefins.
  • opening 3463 may be sealed using seal bar 3460 to heat seal two dissimilar sealing surfaces such as an ionomer and ethylene copolymer. Seal bar 3460 may comprise a seal bar cavity 3468.
  • Seal bar cavity 3468 may be a raised shape on seal bar 3460, such that opening 3463 is sealed with the shape of seal bar cavity 3468 in step 2. Seal bar cavity 3468 may create a specific internal shape within gusseted pouch 3450 when sealing opening 3463.
  • the internal shape within gusseted pouch 3450 caused by seal bar cavity 3468 may be used to achieve a fluid flow path when evacuating a plant-based paste from gusseted pouch 3450 during a press cycle.
  • the fluid flow path created by the shape of seal bar cavity 3468 may cause sufficient surface tension in the plant -based paste to prevent the plant-based paste from dripping from gusseted pouch 3450 when gusseted pouch 3450 is open and upside down.
  • seal bar cavity 3468 may vary based on the type of material being sealed in gusseted pouch 3450. As shown in Fig. 34G, seal bar cavity 3468 may incorporate hard angles to allow for tolerance when seal bar 3460 is used to seal opening 3463. In other embodiments, as shown in Fig. 34H, seal bar cavity 3468 may have rounded edges. The shape of seal bar cavity 3468 in seal bar 3460 may vary based on the type of material being sealed in gusseted pouch 3450 to create specific fluid flow paths when gusseted pouch 3450 is opened.
  • gusseted pouch 3450 may be filled with plant-based paste or other flowable products and sealed with the shape of seal bar cavity 3468.
  • the filled and sealed gusseted pouch 3450 may include nozzle 3452, wherein nozzle 3452 is configured to prevent dripping of plant -based paste from gusseted pouch 3450 when gusseted pouch 3450 is open and upside down.
  • the size and shape of nozzle 3452 may create surface tension in the plant-based paste contained in gusseted pouch 3450 which may prevent the plant -based paste from dripping when gusseted pouch 3450 is open and upside down.
  • plant-based paste may be evacuated from gusseted pouch 3450 through nozzle
  • Nozzle 3452 may be narrower than cavity 3464 to control the flow of plant-based paste during evacuation from gusseted pouch 3450.
  • Nozzle 3452 may be a variety of shapes and sizes based on the material sealed within gusseted pouch 3450. For example, nozzle 3452 may be narrower if a more viscous fluid is sealed within gusseted pouch 3450 and nozzle 3452 may be wider if a less viscous fluid is sealed within gusseted pouch 3450.
  • Fig. 35 illustrates an exemplary system 3500 for extracting a base from a flexible pouch.
  • System 3500 may include chamber 110.
  • a flexible pouch may be inserted into chamber 110 through door 3505 for extraction of paste from the flexible pouch through system 3500.
  • User interface buttons 3510 may be displayed on the front of chamber 110.
  • a user of system 3500 may press user interface buttons 3510 to control the type of plant -based milk produced by system 3500.
  • user interface buttons 3510 may allow users to select a type of plant-based ingredient, an amount of water to be added, a mixing duration, a size of a bottle, a consistency of the final mixture, a mixing cycle, or any other selection that may determine a final plant-based milk product produced by system 3500.
  • While two user interface buttons 3510 are depicted in Fig. 35, more or fewer user interface buttons 3510 may be included on system 3500.
  • a user may be able to select a variety of options to determine the final plant-based milk product produced by system 3500.
  • system 3500 may automatically produce a final plant-based milk product without additional input from a user.
  • System status indicator 3515 may display a status of system 3500. A color of system status indicator 3515 may automatically change throughout the process of making a final plant-based milk product.
  • a color or blinking of the light may change when a bottle is placed in system 3500, when door 3505 is opened or closed, when a user interface button 3510 has been pressed, when bottle capper 3520 is lowered over a bottle, when a plant -based milk product is being extracted from a pouch by system 3500, when a plant-based milk product has been completed by system 3500, or any other status indicator related to the operation of system 3500.
  • Bottle capper 3520 may be used to lower a flexible pouch within chamber 110 for paste extraction into a bottle by system 3500.
  • Bottle capper 3520 may be in a raised position, as depicted in Fig. 35, when system 3500 is not in use.
  • Bottle capper 3520 may be automatically lowered by system 3500, when a bottle is placed below bottle capper.
  • Bottle capper 3520 may encompass the top of a bottle placed in system 3500 when system 3500 is in use.
  • Bottle capper 3520 may be used to raise and lower a flexible pouch into and out of chamber 110, and to direct a flow of plant-based paste from a flexible pouch in chamber 110 into a bottle.
  • Bottle capper 3520 may be made of any suitable material, such as metal or plastic.
  • Fig. 36A and Fig. 36B illustrate an exemplary air spring system for extracting plantbased paste from a flexible pouch.
  • Flexible pouch 3635 may be placed within chamber 110 between front press plate 3605 and rear press plate 3610.
  • Front press plate 3605 and rear press plate 3610 may be flat plates configured to evenly distribute pressure from air spring 3615 to flexible pouch 3635 to cause the extraction of plant -based paste from flexible pouch 3635.
  • Front press plate 3605 and rear press plate 3610 may be made from plastic, metal, rubber, or any other material suitable for providing an even pressure distribution to flexible pouch 3635.
  • the width of front press plate 3605 and rear press plate 3610 may vary to allow for varying sized pouches to be placed in chamber 110.
  • a front press plate 3605 and rear press plate 3610 with a thinner width may be used in chamber 110 to allow for a thicker flexible pouch to fit in chamber 110.
  • a front press plate 3605 and rear press plate 3610 with a wider width may be used in chamber 110 to allow for a thinner flexible pouch to fit in chamber 110.
  • Front press plate 3605 may rest on bottle capper 3520 to direct the flow of paste from flexible pouch 3635 directly downward into a bottle.
  • Front press plate 3605 and bottle capper 3520 may guide flexible pouch 3635 as flexible pouch 3635 is lowered into chamber 110, such that flexible pouch 3635 is maintained in a vertical position for compression between front press plate 3605 and rear press plate 3610.
  • Front press plate 3605 and rear press plate 3610 may be removeable from chamber 110 through door 3505, as depicted in Fig. 35, when bottle capper 3520 is in a raised position. Front press plate 3605 and rear press plate 3610 may be removed from chamber 110 for cleaning or to change the press plates to a different size for application to different types of flexible pouches. Water tubing 3625 may be placed outside the air spring system to prevent compression of water tubing 3625.
  • Air spring 3615 may provide pressure on flexible pouch 3635 to extract paste from flexible pouch 3635.
  • Air spring 3615 may be configured to push air spring plate 3630 and rear press plate 3610 towards flexible pouch 3635 and front press plate 3605 while being inflated.
  • Air spring 3615 may be made from any suitable rubber material capable of stretching when air is pumped into air spring 3615.
  • Air spring 3615 may be made of any suitable shape and size for providing a required pressure and pressure distribution over air spring plate 3630 and rear press plate 3610.
  • the pressure applied by air spring 3615 to air spring plate 3630 and rear press plate 3610 may be controlled by a control system, such as control module 572. Control module 572 may control the cycle of force applied to flexible pouch 3635 by air spring 3615.
  • control module 572 may cause air spring 3615 to apply pressure to flexible pouch 3635 through a plurality of cycles.
  • air spring 3615 may go through a cycle of inflating to apply pressure to flexible pouch 3635 over a period of time and deflating to release pressure from flexible pouch 3635 over a period of time, as shown in Fig. 9.
  • the amount of pressure, the period of time in which pressure is applied, and the cycle of applying and removing pressure may be varied by control module 572 to extract plant -based paste from a variety of pouches containing a variety of ingredients.
  • Fig. 37A illustrates an exemplary mixing bottle for mixing a plant-based milk.
  • Bottle body 149 depicts bottle body 149 with one or more fill lines 3705 connected to bottle adapter 3715.
  • Bottle body 149 may be made from materials such as stainless steel, glass, plastic, bamboo, or any other material suitable for bottle construction.
  • Bottle body 149 may be shaped in a curved open tubular shape as depicted in Fig 37A.
  • Bottle body 149 may also be shaped in a tubular shape with a constant diameter, a tubular shape with a wider bottom and narrower top, or any other shape suitable for a bottle.
  • Bottle body 149 may include one or more fill lines 3705 on the exterior surface of bottle body 149 which may indicate, for example, volume levels or maximum-fill levels.
  • Bottle adapter 3715 may be used to detachably connect the mixing elements (e.g., rotor 145, stator 148, shaft 144, top plate 147, bearings 146, base 143, drive pawl 141, idler pawl 142, etc.) to bottle body 149.
  • the bottle adapter may comprise any portion of the bottle.
  • the bottle adapter may comprise the top, middle, or bottom of the bottle to allow the emulsifier unit to operate within the bottle body for mixing.
  • the bottle adapter may comprise a bottom half of the bottle or the top half of the bottle.
  • a diameter of bottle adapter 3715 may correspond to a diameter of bottle body 149 to allow a connection of the mixing elements in bottle adapter 3715 to bottle body 149.
  • Bottle adapter 3715 may allow for the removal of the mixing elements from bottle body 149 for cleaning or replacement.
  • Fig. 37B illustrates exemplary mixing elements within exemplary mixing bottle 149.
  • Bottle adapter 3715 may be made from metal, plastic, wood, or any material suitable for connecting mixing elements to bottle body 149.
  • Bottle adapter 3715 may be made from the same material as or different material from bottle body 149.
  • Bottle adapter 3715 may be a friction fit adapter, a snap-fit adapter, a screw adapter, a threaded adapter, or any other adapter suitable for connecting bottle adapter 3715 to bottle body 149.
  • Seal 3720 may be placed between bottle adapter 3715 and bottle body 149. Seal 3720 may prevent the plant-based milk mixture from leaking through bottle adapter 3715.
  • Seal 3720 may be made from an elastomer, plastic, rubber, or any other material suitable for sealing a bottle.
  • Rotor 145 may be connected to bottle adapter 3715 for mixing.
  • Stator 148 may be used to control the amount of foam in the plant-based milk mixture caused by rotating rotor 145.
  • Concave stator feature 3710 may be used to further control mixing by reducing a vortex resulting from a mixing process.
  • Concave stator feature may comprise a stator top plate that is concave in shape.
  • An example stator 148 may have various shaped cutouts such as slots, circles, angles, stars, or others as disclosed herein.
  • Rotor 145 and stator 148 may be made from stainless steel, food -grade plastics, or any other material suitable for mixing food -based elements.
  • Fig. 38A depicts a section cut of bottle body 149 connected to friction fit bottle adapter 3805.
  • Friction fit bottle adapter 3805 may be connected to bottle body 149 to form a tight- fitting connection that produces a joint held together by friction.
  • a diameter of friction fit bottle adapter 3805 may correspond to a diameter of bottle body 149 to create a friction fit connection between friction fit bottle adapter 3805 and bottle body 149.
  • Friction fit bottle adapter 3805 may be pressed into bottle body 149 with force to provide the friction fit connection to hold the mixing elements in connection with bottle body 149.
  • Seal 3720 may be placed between friction seal bottle adapter 3805 and bottle body 149. Seal 3720 may prevent the plant-based milk mixture from leaking out of bottle body 149 during the mixing process and may keep the friction seal connection between friction seal bottle adapter 3805 and bottle body 149 clean from plant-based milk mixture.
  • Fig. 38B shows a section view of bottle body 149 with a connected snap base bottle adapter 3810 and emulsifier adapter 3800.
  • Snap base bottle adapter 3810 may be used to form a snap fit connection with bottle body 149 to hold the mixing elements in place during use.
  • Snap base bottle adapter 3810 may be connected to bottle body 149 through external snap connection 3815 by pushing bottle body 149 into the external snap connection 3815 of snap base bottle adapter 3810.
  • External snap connection 3815 may comprise an annular snap fit, a cantilever snap fit, a torsional snap fit, or any other form of snap connection to interconnect snap base bottle adapter 3810 to bottle body 149.
  • Emulsifier adapter 3800 may be connected to snap base bottle adapter 3810 through a threaded connection. External threads on emulsifier adapter 3800 may be used to connect emulsifier adapter 3800 to internal threads of snap base bottle adapter 3810. Seal 3720 may be placed between emulsifier adapter 3800 and snap base bottle adapter 3810. Seal 3720 may be placed above the external threads of emulsifier adapter 3800. Seal 3720 may prevent the mixture being mixed in bottle body 149 from leaking out through the connection between emulsifier adapter 3800 and snap base bottle adapter 3810.
  • mixture in bottle body 149 may be prevented from contacting the threaded connection between emulsifier adapter 3800 and snap base bottle adapter 3810, which may keep the threaded connection free from a buildup of plant-based milk mixture in the connection area.
  • Fig. 38C, Fig. 38D, and Fig. 38E show exemplary bottle adapters for use in connecting mixing elements to a bottle body.
  • bushing 146 may be permanently integrated into a bottle adapter.
  • Fig. 38C depicts bushing 146 permanently integrated into friction fit bottle body adapter 3805.
  • bushing 146 may be permanently integrated into any type of bottle adapter. In such an embodiment, bushing 146 may not be detachably removeable from the bottle body adapter.
  • bushing 146 may be removable from bottle body adapter through emulsifier adapter 3800.
  • Emulsifier adapter 3800 may be connected to the bottle body adapter through a friction fit connection, a snap-fit connection, threads, a screw connection, or any other method suitable for connecting emulsifier adapter 3800 to friction fit bottle body adapter 3805.
  • Fig. 38E depicts a section cut of a bottle adapter with emulsifier adapter 3800 removed. As shown in Fig. 38E, the bottle body adapter may contain internal threads 3820 for connection to emulsifier adapter 3800.
  • Fig. 38E depicts snap base bottle adapter 3810 with internal threads 3820 for connecting to emulsifier adapter 3800, however any type of bottle body adapter may have internal threads 3820 for connecting to emulsifier adapter 3800.
  • Fig. 38F depicts an exemplary mixing bottle in which the bottle comprises two pieces.
  • the two pieces of the exemplary mixing bottle may be bottle body 149 and bottle base 3825.
  • Bottle base 3825 may be one integrated piece in which bottle base 3825 is permanently connected to drive pawl 141, idler pawl 142, shaft 144, and rotor 145.
  • Stator 148 may be detachably connected to bottle base 3825 to allow for changing of the type of stator being used to mix different ingredients and to allow for cleaning of stator 148.
  • bottle base 3825 may be connected to bottle body 149 through a threaded connection.
  • Bottle body 149 may contain internal threads and bottle base
  • connection of bottle base 3825 to bottle body 149 may comprise a friction fit connection, a snap fit connection, or any other connection method suitable for connecting two pieces of a bottle together.
  • Seal 3835 may be placed between the connection of bottle body 149 and bottle base 3825 to prevent the plant-based milk mixture from leaking from bottle body 149. Seal 3835 may correspond to seal 3720, as disclosed herein with respect to Fig. 37B. In some embodiments, as depicted in Fig. 38F, bottle body
  • bottle base 3825 may additionally or alternatively be made from a transparent material to allow viewing of the mixing process within the bottle.
  • Fig. 39A and Fig. 39B displays an exemplary double-wall mixing bottle 3900.
  • Double-wall mixing bottle 3900 may be used to contain hot ingredients, such as hot coffee or hot tea, that may be mixed with a plant-based milk. Double wall mixing bottle 3900 may maintain the temperature of the hot ingredients while allowing for mixing of a plant -based milk. Rotor 145 may be permanently integrated into double wall mixing bottle 3900. In such an embodiment, rotor 145 may not be removeable from within double-wall bottle body 149.
  • Fig. 39B shows a section cut of exemplary double-wall mixing bottle 3900. As shown in Fig. 39B, double wall mixing bottle 3900 may comprise an external wall 3905 and an internal wall 3910. External wall 3905 and internal wall 3910 may increase insulation of the hot ingredients contained in double-wall mixing bottle 3900. As shown in Fig.
  • double wall mixing bottle 3900 may not include a stator, as depicted in Fig. 39A and Fig. 39B.
  • double wall mixing bottle 3900 may also include a stator, which may be detachably connected to double wall mixing bottle 3900 or permanently integrated with double wall mixing bottle 3900.
  • Double wall mixing bottle 3900 may allow for mixing of plant-based milk products and for a functional bottle that may be used to carry and drink the product.
  • FIG 40A illustrates an exemplary emulsifier unit 4000.
  • Emulsifier unit 4000 may be used to mix plant-based paste with water to create a plant-based milk mixture.
  • rotor 145 may be a concave shape to rotate below concave stator feature 3710.
  • Rotor 145 may be connected to emulsifier adapter 3800 by shaft 144.
  • Stator 148 may be used to reduce the amount of foam caused by mixing with rotating rotor 145.
  • Concave stator feature 3710 may be used to further control mixing by reducing a vortex resulting from mixing the plant-based milk paste with water.
  • Concave stator feature 3710 may be a concave shape, which may prevent accumulation of ingredients on concave stator feature 3710 and reduce the vortex resulting from the mixing of ingredients.
  • Concave stator feature 3710 may include cutouts of various shapes including slots, circles, angles, or any other shape that is suitable for allowing mixing of the ingredients.
  • the concave shape of concave stator feature 3710 may direct the plant-based milk mixture to flow through cutouts of concave stator feature 3710. The flow path can be directed either toward the surface of concave stator feature 3710 or away from the surface of concave stator feature 3710.
  • concave stator feature 3710 By directing the flow of the plant-based milk mixture towards or away from the surface of concave stator feature 3710, an accumulation of ingredients on concave stator feature 3710 are washed away which may keep concave stator feature 3710 clean from a build-up of sticky ingredients. This self-cleaning aspect of stator design may reduce the amount of cleaning needed for emulsifier unit 4000.
  • Fig. 40B illustrates a section cut of exemplary emulsifier unit 4000.
  • Rotor 145 may be connected to emulsifier adapter 3800 via shaft 144.
  • Bearing 146 may be used to reduce the friction of rotating rotor 145 during the mixing process.
  • Stator 148 may be used to reduce the amount of foam caused by mixing with rotating rotor 145.
  • Rotor 145 may be a concave shape to allow rotor 145 to rotate below concave stator feature 3710.
  • Concave stator feature 3710 may reduce the vortex caused by the rotation of rotor 145 during the mixing process and may direct water towards concave stator feature 3710 to prevent mixture build up.
  • Concave stator feature 3710 may also contain post 4010.
  • Post 4010 may be made from the same material as concave stator feature 3710 and may be permanently integrated into concave stator feature 3710 at the lowest point of concave stator feature 3710. The location of post 4010 is such that post 4010 covers the lowest point of concave stator feature 3710 where ingredient accumulation may happen before and after the mixing cycle. Post 4010 experiences the high-speed flow in and out of the stator which in turn washes away any accumulation of ingredients. Post 4010 may further reduce the vortex caused by mixing a plant -based milk mixture. [00213] Fig. 41A, Fig. 41B, and Fig. 41C show an exemplary stator 148 with concave stator feature 3710. Fig.
  • stator 148 and concave stator feature 3710 with parallel cutouts 4110 depicts stator 148 and concave stator feature 3710 with parallel cutouts 4110 to allow for suitable mixing of ingredients while reducing the vortex and preventing mixture build-up resulting from the mixing process.
  • the plant-based milk mixture may flow through parallel cutouts 4110 of concave stator feature 3710 which may prevent the plant-based milk mixture from accumulating on concave stator feature 3710.
  • Figure 41B shows another exemplary embodiment of stator 148 and concave stator feature 3710 with angled cutouts 4120.
  • the plant -based milk mixture may flow through angled cutouts 4120 of concave stator feature 3710 which may prevent the plant-based milk mixture from accumulating on concave stator feature 3710.
  • Parallel side slots 4125 may comprise parallel slots that extend through the edges of concave stator feature 3710.
  • the plant-based milk mixture may flow through parallel side slots 4125 of concave stator feature 3710 which may prevent the plant-based milk mixture from accumulating on concave stator feature 3710.
  • Parallel cutouts 4110, angled cutouts 4120, and parallel side slots 4125 may be of varying widths to allow larger or smaller amounts of mixture to flow through concave stator feature 3710.
  • the amount of foam produced in the mixing process and the thickness of the final mixture may correspond to the number, size, shape, and orientation of parallel cutouts 4110, angled cutouts 4120, and parallel side slots 4125.
  • a wider width of parallel cutouts 4110, angled cutouts 4120, or parallel side slots 4125 may produce a mixture with more foam and a thicker consistency than narrower parallel cutouts 4110, angled cutouts 4120, or parallel side slots 4125.
  • a width of cutouts in concave stator feature 3710 may range from 0.25mm to 5mm depending on the amount of shear stress that may be required to emulsify the ingredients.
  • stator diameter SD may range from 10mm to 70mm.
  • stator diameter SD may range from 10% to 70% of the diameter of the bottle body that stator 148 is placed in.
  • Stator height SH may vary based on a height of the rotor paired with stator 148, as disclosed herein.
  • Fig. 42A, Fig. 42B, and Fig. 42C depict exemplary shapes of rotor 145.
  • rotor 145 may have four rotor blades 4205 and rotor blade thickness RBT may vary.
  • rotor blade thickness RBT may range from 2mm to 30mm.
  • a thicker rotor blade thickness RBT may generate larger interaction surface areas of high pressure and high shear with a stator.
  • the interaction surface area may be defined as the surface area of the rotor blade top surface 4210 and the surface area of rotor blade side surface 4215, as depicted in Fig. 42A.
  • the interaction surface area may range from 286 mm 2 to 1138 mm 2 .
  • a plant-based milk mixture with creamier texture may be generated by rotor 145 with a larger interaction surface area (as shown in Fig. 42C), compared to rotor 145 with a smaller interaction surface area (as shown in Fig. 42A).
  • a larger interaction surface area between rotor 145 and a stator may increase fluid pressure and fluid shear stress during the mixing process which may result in higher levels of emulsification of plant-based ingredients and water.
  • rotor 145 may comprise more than four rotor blades 4205 and rotor blades 4205 may be offset vertically along the shaft of rotor 145.
  • Fig. 42E depicts a cross sectional view of an exemplary combination of rotor 145 and stator 148.
  • Rotor height RH and rotor diameter RD may vary to create differing mixing performance when mixing a plant-based milk.
  • the gap RSG between rotor 145 and stator 148 may vary from 0.25mm to 10mm.
  • Rotor height RH and rotor diameter RD as depicted in Fig. 42E may be determined based on stator height SH and stator diameter SD, as depicted in Fig 41C.
  • mixing performance may vary based on gap RSG which may be the difference between rotor heigh RH and stator height SH and rotor diameter RD and stator diameter SD.
  • the rotational speed of rotor 145 and stator 148 may create higher pressure and higher shear stress of the plant-based mixture during the mixing process.
  • the rotational speed of rotor 145 may also affect the mixing performance.
  • the rotational speed of rotor 145 may range from 3000 rpm to 30000 rpm.
  • the vortex created during the mixing process may be increased, causing more foam to form in the plant-based mixture.
  • aforementioned parameters are adjusted to promote or minimize the vortex based on the mixing need of the ingredients.
  • FIG 43 shows an exemplary flow pattern of ingredients when utilizing concave stator feature 3710.
  • water and ingredients may flow below stator 148, be mixed through rotating rotor 145, and exit through slots in concave stator feature 3710.
  • the flow of the plant-based milk mixture may be directed towards the opposite surface of concave stator feature 3710.
  • the accumulation of plant -based milk mixture on concave stator feature 3710 may be reduced and a vortex caused by the rotation of rotor 145 may be minimized.
  • the direction can be reversed for a similar effect.
  • the flow pattern becomes more complex. This high turbulent pattern can also be utilized to mix faster.
  • FIG 44A shows an exemplary stator 148 with a flat stator feature 4405 with parallel cutouts 4410.
  • flat stator feature may comprise a stator top plate that is flat in shape.
  • Flat stator feature 4405 may have parallel cutouts 4410.
  • Flat stator feature 4405 may also include cutouts of various shapes including slots, circles, angles, or any other shape that is suitable for allowing mixing of the ingredients.
  • rotor 145 may be flat as shown in Figure 44B. Rotor 145 may be shaped such that it is not offset at any angle and lies flat for rotation beneath flat stator feature 4405.
  • Figure 44C shows an exemplary flow pattern of ingredients when using flat stator feature 4405 and rotor 145. Following the directional arrows, water and ingredients may flow beneath stator 148, be mixed through rotating rotor 145, and exit through slots in flat stator feature4405.
  • Fig. 45 A, Fig. 45B, and Fig. 45F depict an exemplary stator 148 with a convex stator feature 4505.
  • convex stator feature may be a stator top plate that is convex in shape.
  • convex stator feature 4505 may have parallel cutouts 4510, as depicted in Fig. 45A.
  • convex stator feature 4505 may have angled cutouts 4515, as depicted in Fig. 45B.
  • convex stator feature 4505 may not have cutouts and the mixed plant-based mixture may exit the convex stator feature 4505 through atop of convex stator feature 4505, as depicted in Fig. 45F.
  • Convex stator feature 4505 may also include cutouts of various shapes including slots, circles, angles, or any other shape that is suitable for allowing mixing of the ingredients.
  • rotor 148 may be convex in shape, as depicted in Fig. 45C, Fig. 45D, and Fig. 45E such that rotor 148 may rotate beneath convex stator feature 4505.
  • 45G depicts an exemplary flow pattern of ingredients when using convex stator feature 4505 and rotor 145.
  • Water and plant-based paste may flow beneath stator 148, be mixed through rotating rotor 145, and exit through the top of convex stator feature 4505.
  • the plant -based paste may exit through cutouts in convex stator feature 4505. This may cause water and plant-based paste to be mixed together into a plant-based beverage while reducing the vortex during the mixing process and minimizing a build-up of ingredients on convex stator feature 4505.
  • Stator feature and rotor may be a variety of shapes.
  • stator feature and rotor may be concave, flat, curved, convex, or any other shape that may be suitable for mixing ingredients.
  • rotor and stator feature may have the same geometries to generate a high pressure and high shear stress of the fluids during the mixing process.
  • a concave stator feature may be paired with a concave rotor
  • a convex stator feature may be paired with a convex rotor
  • a flat stator feature may be paired with a flat rotor
  • a curved stator feature may be paired with a curved rotor.
  • Generating the necessary pressure and shear stress to mix any given type of ingredients may be controlled by the size of the interaction surface area, the speed of the rotor, the size of the gap between the rotor and the stator, the number and size of cutouts in the stator feature, among other factors. Further, matching the geometry of the rotor and the stator may control and minimize a vortex caused during the mixing process to generate an emulsified fluid and prevent overflow of the bottle during mixing. [00220]
  • the term “set” means one or more (i.e., at least one), and the phrase “any solution” means any now known or later developed solution.
  • any solution means any now known or later developed solution.

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  • Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • General Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • Life Sciences & Earth Sciences (AREA)
  • Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
  • Nutrition Science (AREA)
  • Chemical & Material Sciences (AREA)
  • Polymers & Plastics (AREA)
  • Non-Alcoholic Beverages (AREA)
  • Containers And Packaging Bodies Having A Special Means To Remove Contents (AREA)

Abstract

L'invention concerne un appareil et un système permettant de distribuer un produit alimentaire et une boisson dans lequel un produit fluide est extrait d'une poche souple, et dans lequel une ouverture existe à travers laquelle le produit fluide est évacué de la poche souple. L'ouverture comporte un joint de verrouillage qui bloque le produit fluide à l'intérieur de la poche souple lorsqu'une pression est appliquée à la poche souple. Il y a également un joint à glissière situé dans l'ouverture qui est configuré pour bloquer le produit fluide à l'intérieur de la poche souple après que le joint de verrouillage a été retiré lorsqu'une pression est appliquée à la poche souple.
PCT/US2023/011785 2022-01-29 2023-01-27 Système et procédé de distribution et de mélange d'un produit alimentaire et de boisson WO2023147087A2 (fr)

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US20100054636A1 (en) * 2008-08-27 2010-03-04 Cryovac, Inc. Metering pouch for dispensing flowable product
US10092139B2 (en) * 2014-04-28 2018-10-09 Whirlpool Corporation Low profile motor for portable appliances
AU2015287746A1 (en) * 2014-07-09 2017-02-02 Gorm Bressner Blender blade assembly
US10736465B2 (en) * 2016-01-27 2020-08-11 Ideya Labs, LLC Blending apparatus and methods
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