Patent Application
20150201792
The present invention relates to a capsule with a improved sealing element. More particularly, the invention relates to a single use, i.e. a disposable, capsule, or cartridge, for preparing beverage, such as coffee, from a dose of one or more products contained by the capsule, and to a beverage production system comprising a beverage production device (brewing device) for interacting with the capsule.
Beverage capsules, especially disposable capsule for preparing coffee, have been known from the 1930's. Beverage capsules comprise a container portion that houses a dose of at least one extractable or reconstitutable product, generally ground coffee, but also tea herbal extracts, instant i.e. powdered drinks and liquid concentrates. The capsules also comprise a portion that interacts with a brewing device to prepare the required beverage. The typical brewing device comprises water heating means, an enclosing member, or receptacle, intended to cooperate with the capsule to define a preparation chamber and a pump or similar means so that the brewing liquid, preferably hot water under pressure, can be supplied to the capsule for the extraction or reconstitution of the beverage from the dose of product contained therein.
In general, the brewing device includes a first part with a receptacle for housing at least part of the capsule and a second part that cooperates with the first part in the brewing of the beverage from the capsule, the first and/or second part are mobile to each other and the receptacle has one edge, usually positioned in the lower or upper terminal part of the second part, that enters into contact with the sealing element of the capsule to compress it against the second part of the brewing device for providing a seal tight engagement with the capsule during the beverage preparation process.
In a known beverage preparation process a capsule is fed into the receptacle of the brewing device and is injected with the brewing liquid, typically hot water. The injected hot water passes trough it and extracts the beverage from the ingredient enclosed therein. The beverage exits the capsule to reach a beverage collector and thence a cup or a container.
The receptacle encloses at least part of the capsule and cooperates with it in a seal tight engagement in order to allow the hot water to be inserted into the capsule to extract the beverage with no or with limited leakage. Leakage of the brewing liquid may negatively affect the extraction process of the beverage, thus the desired taste and quality of the beverage is not reached.
A known type of capsule has a substantially frusto-conical body and a rim flange portion extending from one of the two bases of the capsule. The brewing device comprises means to compress the receptacle against the flange so as to reach the required sealing during the brewing step. There are known capsules provided with a flange that is located in correspondence of the side of the capsule where the beverage outlet is located. The beverage leaves the capsule from the base where the flange is located. A sealing between the flange and the receptacle is requested to avoid water leaking from the receptacle.
In known brewing devices the seal tight engagement between the capsule and the receptacle is generally obtained by exerting a pressure on the rim flange; in other words, the receptacle which is cup-shaped in order to enclose the capsule, is pressed against the flange-like rim of the capsule, i.e. a rim extending from the lateral surface of the capsule, along its perimeter and against a receiving plate where means for piercing the capsule are located.
The problem exists of ensuring a seal tight engagement between the capsule and the receptacle of the brewing device. In fact, a leak of the brewing liquid outside the capsule can reduce the pressure inside the capsule and therefore reduce the extraction of the coffee flavours; in addition, water discharged to the drip-tray of the dispensing machine or even fed to the cup will be unpleasant to see. Should water reach the cup because of an inferior sealing quality and thus dilute the taste of the beverage extracted from the capsule, organoleptic characteristics and quality of the produced beverage will be affected.
Known capsules provided with a resilient material, acting as a sealing member, are not suitable to solve the above problem and other solutions have been proposed to ensure a satisfactory seal tight engagement between the capsule and a receptacle provided with irregularities. The sealing portion should ensure that the pressing portion of the receptacle does not remain stuck into the sealing portion of the capsule at the end of the brewing step, when the used capsule has to be removed from the receptacle (as it is often the case with rubber-like sealing elements).
Additionally, there is the problem of having a capsule that can be used with different types of known brewing machines: often one type of capsule cannot work, or works with difficulty, with different models of brewing machines. This is because in different types of machines, due to imprecise engineering or careful evaluation of the side effects of deliberate engineering choices, the length of the movement of the first and second parts is not exactly identical and therefore the sealing element may result to be too big in one machine (causing difficulty in closing the machine) or too small for the machine (causing a leakage of water). Also, in one same machine, repeated use may result in wear and tear causing slight changes of the travel distance of the first and second portions of the machine and possible leakages of water from the brewing chamber with time.
EP1654966 discloses capsules provided with a resilient material, acting as a gasket or sealing member, which is added in correspondence of the flange-like rim, in order to engage the pressing portion of the receptacle and to interact with the receptacle to provide the desired seal tight engagement.
WO 2009/115474 discloses a brewing device where the pressing portion of the receptacle, i.e. the edge of the receptacle which is brought into contact with the capsule, is provided with irregularities, indentations, and/or gaps. According to the description of WO'474, the gaps are obtained in the edge of the receptacle in order to provide it with a flow directing means to control leakage if the device is operated without inserting a capsule. Nevertheless using this device with certain capsules compatible with such receptacle, results in water leaks from the receptacle into the cup where coffee is being collected, providing a negative effect both visually and as far as taste is concerned, not to mention the possible drawback of rapidly filling with excess water the drip tray container.
Capsules are already known having one or more projecting elements, made of the same material of the capsule, and extending from its external surface, and in particular form its flange-like rim, in order to provide the sealing engagement with the receptacle.
WO2010/084475, in the name of Ethical Coffee Company, describes several embodiments of a capsule having projecting elements on its external surface, and in particular on the upper surface of the flange-like rim.
WO2010/137946, to Sara Lee, discloses a capsule having at least one projection for providing a sealing engagement with the receptacle. The proposed projecting elements disclosed in WO2010/084475 and WO2010/137946 are not suitable to solve the above mentioned problem of ensuring a satisfactory seal tight engagement between the capsule and a receptacle of different types of brewing machines. In fact, projecting portions of known capsules cause difficulty in closing the machine and/or leakage of water, depending on the machine where the capsule is used.
It is an aim of the present invention to solve the above problems and to provide a capsule that can be used with different shapes and profiles of the pressing portion of the receptacle, and with different closing mechanisms without affecting negatively the operation of the dispensing unit i.e. creating no problem while closing the machine or inserting/extracting the capsule into/from the receptacle.
Another aim of the present invention is to provide a capsule which is easy to produce and wherein the sealing element is made integral with the capsule body, without the need of adding resilient sealing material on its external surface for providing sealing compensation for the irregularities provided on the receptacle due to wear and tear, imprecise engineering or altogether different closing mechanisms.
These and other aims are achieved by means of the capsule of the present invention, that is a disposable capsule for the preparation of a beverage from a dose of a product, according to claim 1. The capsule is insertable into a beverage production device (also called a dispensing unit, or brewing device) comprising a receptacle for enclosing at least part of the capsule. The capsule is provided with a lateral wall, an upper wall and a lower wall forming a hollow body where said product is contained. The capsule further comprises a flange-like rim having an upper side and a lower side, the flange laterally extending from the capsule, and at least one sealing element in the form of a protrusion or projection from the flange-like rim, or in the form of an increased thickness of the flange rim, for providing a seal tight engagement with the pressing portion of the receptacle of the beverage production device when in use, i.e. when the receptacle is pressed against the flange rim of the capsule, e.g. during the brewing step. Thus, the protruding portion is extending from the flange-like rim towards the receptacle. The capsule also comprises a lid that forms the outlet wall of the capsule and that is in part attached to the flange rim of the capsule body.
According to the invention, the capsule comprises a hollow body including an inlet wall, a lateral wall and a flange rim, the rim has an upper side and a lower side and a sealing element is located on the upper side of the flange rim, the lower side of the flange comprises at least two portions that are at different levels with respect to the capsule axis (A-A) to provide a cavity on said lower side of the flange rim. In other words, the capsule comprises a hollow body including an inlet wall, a lateral wall and a flange rim, the rim has an upper side and a lower side and a sealing element is located on the upper side of the flange rim, the lower side of the flange comprises at least two portions that lie on two or more planes that are at different levels with respect to the capsule axis (A-A), i.e. the planes meet the said axis of the capsule at different levels. In greater detail, one of the planes, preferably including at least part of the sealing element area, is higher than the other plane, so as to provide a space to receive a portion of the flange rim when the sealing element is compressed during the brewing step by the brewing device. The planes may be parallel to each other or may be not parallel, i.e. they cross, as shown in
With “higher” it is meant that with respect to the capsule axis (A-A), one of the planes is closer to the inlet wall (the top wall in the figures) than the other plane(s) of the lower side of the flange rim. In general, in the following description and claims the words “lower” and “upper” or “higher”, “downwards” and “upwards” are referred to the position of parts of the capsule with respect to the capsule axis A-A and the attached drawings, assuming that the inlet wall is located at the highest position of the capsule.
The space (i.e. a kind of cavity) under the flange rim preferably is located at least in part under at least part of the sealing element and preferably also in a portion adjacent to the sealing element; alternatively, the space or cavity is located only adjacent to the sealing element, on the opposite side of the flange rim, i.e. on the lower side of the flange.
The capsule is generally also comprising a lid to close the capsule body, said lid is extending along the flange rim to provide at least one layer of lid material under at least part of the flange rim. In an exemplary embodiment, the flange rim of the capsule body is vertically spaced from the layer formed by the lid at least in the area where the sealing element is located, so as to provide a space to receive a portion of the flange rim when the sealing element is compressed in the brewing device.
The lid is typically selected from a plastic lid and a foil element, but could be made of other materials; a typical foil element is comprising aluminium layer(s) coupled with plastic layers, or appropriate plastic or bio-plastic layers, either thermo-formed or thermo-injected, to provide sealing qualities, flexibility and gas barrier properties, including—at times—oxygen barrier properties.
In particular in the case of a plastic lid, flange and lid wall are usually welded together at a location that is between the edge of the flange rim and the sealing element. When the lid is made of a foil member, the foil can also be welded to a portion of the lower side of the capsule that is between the sealing element and the bottom part of the lateral wall of the capsule (included). In another embodiment, the foil is welded to the portion of the plane that is higher (i.e. closer to the inlet wall); in this case the difference in height, i.e. the distance between the two planes of the lower side of the flange rim, is still sufficient to allow a downwards movement of the corresponding portion of the flange when it is compressed by the brewing device.
A further object of the invention is a system for preparing a beverage characterized according to claim 16. This system comprises a capsule according to the invention and a brewing device including a first part with a receptacle for housing at least part of the capsule and a second part that cooperates with the first part in the brewing of the beverage from said capsule; the first and/or second part are mobile, at least with respect to each other and the receptacle of the first part has a lower edge that enters into contact with the sealing element to compress it against the second part for providing a seal tight engagement with the capsule during the process of preparing a beverage from the ingredients in the capsule.
According to an exemplary embodiment of the invention, the space between the flange rim and the lid is extending from at least part of the sealing element to the wall of the capsule body; in another embodiment of the invention, this space is connected to the inside of the capsule, e.g. by grooves.
In a preferred embodiment the sealing element has a cross-section that is in the shape of a triangle or of a truncated triangle, where the sides of said triangle are extending from the flange rim, directly or through the lateral wall of the capsule, i.e. the triangle is protruding from the flange in a substantially vertical way.
In other words, in this embodiment the sealing element comprises a portion having a substantially triangular cross-section with two sides lying on two straight lines that extend from said upper surface of the flange rim and preferably define an angle (α) within the range 35°-120.
The distance of the sealing element from the lateral wall might be enough to allow the pressing element of the receptacle of the brewing device to be housed in the space between said lateral wall and said sealing element, as shown in
A further object of the invention is a lid for a capsule for preparing beverages, said capsule comprising a hollow body including an inlet wall, a lateral wall and a flange rim, said lid comprising a central portion that closes the hollow body of the capsule and a peripheral portion that cooperates with the flange rim of the capsule body, characterized in that said lid comprises outlet means in the form of a plurality of self-perforating elements that are projecting outwardly from said lid and that are defined by grooves and in that said grooves form a pattern that includes a plurality of acute angles.
The self-perforating elements are breakable under the action of the mechanical force exerted by at least one part of the brewing device and/or by the force exerted by the water fed into the capsule.
In a preferred embodiment, the peripheral portion of the lid has an edge that extends vertically along the edge of the capsule flange rim to provide a more rigid assembly of lid and flange rim. In another embodiment, wherein the lid is made of a foil sealed to the flange rim of the capsule, the flange itself has a reinforcing ridge at its edge; the ridge can extend upwards (from the upper side of the flange towards the inlet wall) or downwards (from the lower side of the flange, away from the inlet wall of the capsule).
Another object of the invention is a process, as per claim 18, of preparing a beverage from a capsule as above disclosed in the previously discussed brewing device, wherein said capsule comprising a hollow body including an inlet wall, a lateral wall and a flange rim, said flange rim having an upper side and a lower side and a sealing element located on the upper side of said flange rim, said brewing device comprising a first part and a second part mobile with respect to each other, wherein the sealing element is compressed and is moved by said first part towards the second part of the device together with a portion of the flange rim of the capsule.
The invention provides several advantages with respect to the prior art.
In fact, the space under the flange rim, namely the space under the sealing element or adjacent to it, provides a “spring” effect that results in an improved sealing of the capsule, that can therefore be used in different types or models of machines where the length of the movement of the first and second part—and therefore the distance between first and second part in a closed condition—is not, by design or coincidence, exactly identical. Also, the spring effect can compensate for the changes in length of the movement of the mobile parts of the brewing machine that could occur as an effect of wear and tear.
The invention will be further disclosed with reference to the enclosed drawings that refer to exemplary and non-limiting embodiments, wherein:
a and 3b are an enlarged sectional view of a sealing area according to two alternative embodiments of the invention;
As visible in
In
The sealing element 12 can have different shapes, preferably it is formed by at least one, possibly also a plurality, protruding element(s) that is (are) circumferential to the capsule body; in the shown embodiment the sealing element 12 has a cross-section that is in the shape of a truncated triangle, the sides of said triangle extending from flange rim 6. Preferably, the sealing element is spaced from lateral wall 5 of the capsule to provide a seat for element 2A.
More generally, the sealing element 12 comprises a portion having a substantially triangular cross-section with two sides lying on two straight lines that extend from the upper surface of the flange rim 6 and define an angle α (
According to the invention as shown in particular in
In an exemplary embodiment, the upper side of the flange is preferably in a single plane, i.e. portions of flange 6 on either side of the sealing element 12 are preferably coplanar. In another embodiment, see
As mentioned, the planes are at different levels with respect to axis A-A of the capsule and plane P is higher, i.e. it is closer to the inlet wall 4 of the capsule, and vice versa for plane Q, that is the lower plane (closer to outlet wall 7).
The result of having different planes is that the flange rim 6 of the capsule body is spaced from the layer formed by outlet wall 7 extending along flange rim 6, so as to provide a space, or cavity, 20 to receive a portion of the flange rim 6 when the sealing element 12 is compressed in the brewing device.
There can be several different configurations of the portions 13 and 14 and of the corresponding planes Q, P; in
In the shown embodiments, the spacing is provided on the lower side of the flange rim 6, but the same effect can be obtained with a spacing located in the upper side of the outlet wall, or with a combination of the two, on the lower side of the flange and on the upper side of the outlet wall. Clearly, although not directly relevant to the invention, also the indent for conveying the ultrasound energy can alternatively be placed with the female part on the lower side of the rim, as well as on the upper side of the lid.
a and 3b refer to other possible embodiments of the present invention. In
b shows another embodiment, in which the sealing element 24 is a double cuspid, roughly shaped as an “M”, and the upper side of the outlet wall 7 is provided with a groove 23 large enough to house, if necessary, the central part of the M-shaped sealing element when this part is compressed downwards.
It has to be noted that the edge 9 of the receptacle 2A of the brewing device can be brought in contact at least partially with the inner lateral surface 12A of the sealing member. According to a possible embodiment, see e.g.
The embodiment shown in
As visible in
In another embodiment, upper side 10 of the flange rim 6 is provided with a flat surface shown by dotted line L; in this embodiment, as in the embodiment of
In this embodiment, the presence of the cavity or space 20 will allow a deformation of the sealing element 12 towards the end of the flange, if necessary, when compressed by the receptacle 2A, especially when the compression is lateral. In other words, when the receptacle compresses the sealing element the space 20 is suitable to “receive” the part of flange 6 that is pushed against part 2B of the brewing device; in particular when the compression path of receptacle 2A is greater than the standard compression path for which the sealing element is designed, space 20 can accommodate, i.e. receive, a deformed portion of the capsule flange so as to compensate the excess of compression on the sealing element 12.
A similar effect occurs also in the embodiment of
The embodiments shown are provided with a wall 7 that is formed by a lid (see e.g.
This type of self-perforating elements is described in detail in the patent application WO2007/063411, in the name of the Applicant.
Another type of outlet means has a corresponding plurality of protruding elements 8, but the groove at the periphery of the rib is replaced by a very thin cut, where wall 7 is not present, i.e. with a pre-cut area, a hinge portion being still present; additionally, in this exemplary embodiment the ribs can protrude both outwardly and inwardly with respect to wall 7.
It has to be noted that the above mentioned outlet elements can be opened, or its pre-cut openings widened to provide the desired free passage, under the action of the mechanical force, or by means of the brewing liquid pressure, or as a result of the combined action of the brewing liquid pressure with the mechanical force exerted by the brewing device.
One preferred embodiment of lid (shown in
Instead of a lid, the outlet wall 7 can be in the form of a foil or membrane 7′, in particular a foil that is a laminate providing a barrier at least to oxygen. The opening of the foil is obtained in a known way against part 2B that e.g. will have a plurality of protruding members 7A for lacerating the foil. Preferably, the foil is secured, e.g. welded, to at least portion 13 of the lower side of flange 6, but it can be secured to the whole of the lower side of the flange. In this case, the portion of part 2B of the brewing device that will contact with the foil in correspondence to the capsule's flange rim 6, is preferably plane to help in obtaining the required sealing effect, or it will have raised portions to ensure proper opening of the foil.
In an exemplary embodiment of the invention, shown in
Finally, in order to increase the rigidity of flange rim 6, the peripheral portion of outlet wall 7, when this is a lid, has an edge 25 that that extends vertically along the edge 22 of the capsule flange rim, so as to partially house and support it and to double the thickness of flange edge 22.
Finally, it is reiterated that the present improved sealing element 12 can be used with any type of capsule that requires a sealing effect between capsule and one or more elements of the brewing device. The capsule shown in
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 12005215.4 | Jul 2012 | EP | regional |
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/EP2013/063858 | 7/1/2013 | WO | 00 |
