BEVERAGE-MAKING MACHINE BASE UNIT

This invention concerns a base unit for a beverage-making machine which doubles as a storage and organisational space for the requisite beverage- making materials and consumables. Base units for beverage-making machines that also function simultaneously as storage spaces for beverage-making materials are well known.

After opening the packaging of various marketed beverage products and the consumables for making the beverages, the user places these in the drawer(s), which may contain dividers and are built into the machine's base unit, one at a time.

If the products and consumables fit in the drawer(s) (i.e, quantity is of an equivalent or corresponding capacity), the user discards the empty packaging, whereas if there are left-over materials, the package with the left-over materials is stored in a separate storage area away from the base unit to be used for future refilling when there is room in the base unit’s respective drawer. It is therefore clear that the existing machine base units require significant time and effort on the part of the user to fill them with the requisite beverage- making materials and consumables, while causing a problem for the user, who needs to have separate storage area for the storage of left-over materials. In addition, these drawers cannot be used for the simultaneous collection and grouping of recycling waste. An advantage of this invention is that the user needs to exert minimal time and effort, to fill the base unit's storage spaces; it eliminates the need of storing left-over materials in another storage area and can also be used to easily collect the beverage-making materials to dispose of them at recycling points. Another advantage is the simplicity of the invention's construction.

According to this invention, the beverage machine base unit is characterised by the fact that it does not have drawers for the organisation and storage of the requisite materials and consumables and uses the packaging of the marketed beverage-making materials and consumables as organisational and storage spaces.

The beverage machine's base unit can be made of any material, take any form, and be of any dimensions, both with concern to the base unit and the opening or openings for placing the packages of the materials and consumables.

Once the packages are opened, or the top is taken off, access to the mate- rials and consumables is possible. Each opened package is inserted into the appropriate opening of the machine's base unit and can now function as a drawer.

At this point, the maximal speed by which the storage spaces are filled with materials and consumables is made clear, while it is self-evident that, there cannot be any left-over or excess materials or consumables that do not fit, in the drawer, since the packaging of the materials and consumables itself functions as the drawer.

After making the beverage, the user can choose to replace the used material in the original package, so that the used materials can be grouped and ready to be transferred to recycling points.

A preferred example of execution of the present invention is described below based on the figures. They indicatively but not restrictively show: FIG. 1 shows the beverage-making machine base unit; FIG. 2 shows a package of beverage-making material, FIG. 3 shows a package of beverage consumables; and FIG. 4 shows the fully deployed invention.

In FIG. 1 the beverage-making machine base unit is shown. In FIG. 1, (1) indicates the surface on which the beverage-making machine is mounted, i.e., a coffee-making machine, indicatively and not restrictively.

(2) shows the opening for placing various packages which, indicatively and not restrictively, contain coffee pods for making a coffee beverage. (3) and (4) show the openings for placing the packages of coffee consumables, such as individual sugar packets and beverage stirrers, respectively. The contents of the packages are only indicative and not restrictive. In FIG. 2 the packaging of the beverage material is shown. In FIG. 2, (5) shows the sealed beverage material package, which indicatively and not re- strictively contains coffee pods. In FIG. 2, (6) shows the opening of the packaging which, indicatively and not restrictively, contains coffee pods. In FIG. 2, (7) shows the top part of the packaging which is removed to reveal the beverage materials which, indicatively and not restrictively, are coffee pods. In FIG. 2, (8) shows the open package which, indicatively and not re- strictively, contains coffee pods that are ready to be placed into the suitable opening of the beverage making machine's base unit.

In FIG. 3 the packaging of the beverage consumables is shown. In FIG. 3, (9) indicatively and not restrictively shows the sealed package of the beverage consumables. In FIG. 3, (10) shows the open package of beverage consum- ables.

In FIG. 4, indicatively and not restrictively, the fully deployed invention is shown. In FIG. 4, (11) shows the surface on which the beverage making ma- chine is mounted, indicatively and not restrictively, a coffee machine. In FIG. 4, (12) shows the packages that are placed in the appropriate opening of the beverage-making machine base unit which, indicatively and not restrictively, contain coffee pods. In FIG. 4, (13) shows the position of the package from where the user can take the material, indicatively and not restrictively, a coffee pod, in order to place it into the beverage-making machine. The user can also place the used coffee pods in the same position, in order to collect them for recycling.