Patent ID: 7681492

Claim:
A cartridge for extracting a beverage from an edible substance contained therein by means of a percolation fluid under pressure, the cartridge comprising: a main body comprising a cup portion and a lid portion, the cup portion comprising a base, a sidewall and a rim opposed to said base, the lid portion being fixedly attached to said rim of the cup portion so as to define an internal volume of said cartridge, the internal volume of said cartridge housing the edible substance, said lid portion comprising a lid port defining a first passage for said liquid under pressure and the base of said cup portion comprising a cup port defining a second passage for the extracted beverage, wherein said cup port protrudes from said base outwardly with respect to said internal volume, the cup port comprising valve means which are mounted within the cup port and which are resiliently openable under pressure of the extracted beverage during a beverage extraction phase, a safety cap which partially closes an external open end of said cup port being secured to the cup port at an external surface thereof, said cap comprises a base and a sidewall, the cap base of said cap partially closing said open end of the cup port and the cap sidewall being fixed to the external surface of the cup port, the base of said cap comprising an inner cylindrical wall which protrudes from the base of the cap and is coaxial to the cap sidewall, said inner cylindrical wall defining a first area and a second annular area of the base, the second annular area comprising at least one bottom aperture for allowing passage of the extracted beverage, the inner cylindrical wall being sized so as to abut against a support of the valve means and comprising at least one aperture for allowing passage of the extracted beverage from the inside to the outside of the volume surrounded by said inner cylindrical wall.