Patent ID: 8091735

Claim:
An appliance including a dispenser for a liquid, comprising: a dispensing housing with a cartridge receiving opening in the dispensing housing; an electromagnetic dispensing actuator located in the dispensing housing around the cartridge receiving opening; a concentrate/extract cartridge removably insertable into the cartridge receiving opening in a position to be actuated by the dispensing actuator, the concentrate/extract cartridge adapted to hold a fluid to be dispensed via the dispensing housing, the concentrate/extract container comprising: a hollow body; a dispensing tube connected to the hollow body; a piston located in the dispensing tube and comprising spaced apart internal webs with a ring connecting the webs and an external ferromagnetic material sleeve located around the external ring; and a valve having a valve stem that passes through a port of a valve seat connected to the dispensing tube, the port defining a flow passage through the dispensing tube, and a valve body located at a second end of the valve stem in removable contact with the valve seat, for alternately opening and closing the port the, valve stem is connected to the piston at a first end of the valve stem, the piston includes a membrane configured to permit a flow of fluid into the dispensing tube when the valve body is in contact with the valve seat and to forcibly express the fluid from the dispensing tube when the piston is moved downwardly and the valve body is moved from a contact position with the valve seat; and a controller located in the appliance to control the actuator to discharge concentrate/extract from the cartridge.