Patent Application
20080026121
Further characteristics and advantages of the invention will become better apparent from the description of preferred but not exclusive embodiments thereof, illustrated by way of non-limiting example in the accompanying drawings, wherein:
In the following description, identical reference numerals designate elements which are identical or have an equivalent technical function.
With reference to
The box-like body 2, 3 contains a substance in powder form 4, preferably ground coffee, which is suitable to allow the extraction of a beverage, for example espresso coffee, by means of water under pressure. The substance in powder form 4 can be comprised between two filtering elements 5a and 5b, which are adapted to retain the solid fractions, for example the granular coffee residues, within the capsule.
The box-like body of the capsule has a base 6 provided with an output port 7 for the out-flow of the extracted beverage. The base comprises preferably a plurality of ridges 61, which are adapted to define a narrow channel between the base and the lower filter 5a in order to convey the extracted beverage toward the output port 7.
The output port 7, arranged preferably in a central region of the base 6 and surrounded by a rim 8, is substantially closed by an elastic crema forming septum 9 which can open under pressure.
The septum 9 preferably comprises an elastic membrane made of elastomeric or rubber-like material, for example a TPE such as SEBS (a styrene-ethylene-butylene-styrene block copolymer) or Laprene® (based on SEBS and polyolefins).
The elastic membrane can comprise a through orifice 10, which is adapted to keep normally closed the septum 9 and therefore the beverage output port 7 when the capsule 1 is not used and is adapted to allow the beverage to pass when the pressure inside the capsule exceeds a certain value, for example 6 bars, causing a deformation and therefore a widening of the orifice 10.
As an alternative to the through orifice 10, the elastic membrane can comprise a blind orifice 110, which can be opened by breaking when the pressure in the capsule reaches a certain threshold, as discussed hereinafter with reference to
The elastic septum 9 can be co-molded together with the box-like body 2, 3 of the capsule 1, which is preferably made of polypropylene, so as to eliminate intermediate mechanical operations for fixing the septum 9 to the rim 8 of the output port 7.
As an alternative, the elastic membrane can be co-molded together with a rigid supporting ring 9a , such as the one shown in cross-section in
The capsule 1 further comprises a safety lid 11, which is mounted on the box-like body at the base 6 so as to increase the axial dimension of the box-like body. More specifically, the lid 11 is fixed to the box-like body of the capsule so as to protrude substantially from the base 6 substantially in the direction of the axis of symmetry of the capsule along the direction of the stream of water.
The lid 11 is preferably fixed mechanically to a peripheral rim 15 of the base 6, for example by snap action, so as to allow its quick fitting to the box-like body of the capsule 1.
The safety lid 11 is provided with a shoulder 12 which is engaged on the septum 9 and is adapted to retain the septum 9 against the output port 7 provided in the base 6, so as to prevent the septum from being accidentally expelled from the capsule due to the high pressures reached during beverage extraction. In the second embodiment of the capsule, shown in
The shoulder 12 can have at least a passage 14 in order to allow the beverage to exit from the capsule 1 by passing through the safety lid 11. For this purpose, the lid 11 comprises at least an output opening 13, which in the particular embodiment of
The passage 14 on the shoulder 12 and the output opening 13 of the lid 11 are arranged advantageously on opposite sides with respect to the central axis of the output port 7, thus forming a winding path for the extracted beverage, which reduces its speed.
Optionally, the lid 11 can be provided with a second closed cylindrical wall 16, which surrounds the shoulder 12 and can be interlocked within an appropriately provided circular seat 17 which is defined on the base 6 around the output port 7. The walls 12 and 16 thus define a cylindrical ring in which the beverage that exits from the orifice 10 of the septum 9 flows before reaching the output opening 13 provided in the safety lid 11.
As an alternative, as shown in
The annular opening 113 is defined in a through hole of the lid 111 between the rim of the through hole and an ogive-shaped element 115, which is supported by the lid 111 by means of supporting arms 120 and is arranged in the through hole.
The ogive-shaped element is provided with a shoulder 112 which is similar to the shoulder 12 of
As can be seen, the advantageous combination of a safety lid which is mounted so as to increase the axial dimension of the box-like body and of the shoulder in order to lock in its seat the elastic septum allows to ensure on the one hand the provision of a tool which is convenient and quick for the safety locking of the elastic septum within the capsule and on the other hand prevents the capsule from being used to extract a beverage if the safety means for retaining the septum within the capsule, i.e., the safety lid 11 or 111, is not present.
If the capsule 1 is in fact accidentally mounted without the safety lid 11 or 111 in a filter basket holder of a machine for extracting the beverage or espresso coffee, for example of the type disclosed in prior WO 2005/092162, the input port 3a of the capsule cannot be reached and/or pierced by the hot water injector of the machine, because it is too distant from the piercing needle. Therefore, in addition to simplifying and speeding up the capsule manufacturing operations, the invention allows advantageously to prevent the unintended use of a defective capsule, i.e. a capsule which is subject to the accidental expulsion of the elastic septum toward the cup or vessel in which the beverage is collected.
In the embodiments described so far, the elastic septum 9 is provided with an elastic membrane with a central through orifice 10. However, in order to simplify and speed up the manufacture of capsules which contain an elastic crema forming septum, the elastic membrane of the septum 9 can be molded so that it has a weaker region 110. The weaker region 110 is a prefracture region, i.e., a region which is adapted to be broken by the pressurized beverage during extraction. In this manner, the septum is formed completely in a single operation and does not require the additional piercing operations used for example in the manufacture of the septum of the capsules described in prior WO 2005/092160.
In the case shown in
However, as can be appreciated easily, the septum 9 with a prefracture region 110 can be molded together with the cup 2 of the capsule by co-molding, like the septum of the capsules shown in
With reference to
The filter allows not only to speed up the manufacture of the capsule but also to eliminate the drawbacks that might arise from the use of paper-based filters. For example, with the plastic filter it is possible to provide even an output port 7 which has a considerable diameter without having to take into consideration the possibility of breakage of the lower filter due to excessive deformation, therefore without being limited to structures having small diameters of the output port or bridge-like supporting structures adapted to reduce the passage surface of the output port.
Moreover, the plastic filter can be made of the same material as the box-like body of the capsule, with considerable advantages in terms of production chain.
Of course, the plastic flat filter is not limited only to the capsules described here but can be used in any capsule containing substances in powder form for preparing beverages, particularly single-use capsules for preparing espresso coffee.
In practice it has been found that the invention fully achieves the intended aim, since it allows to reduce considerably the manufacturing times of single-use capsules for preparing beverages such as espresso coffee, eliminating some additional manufacturing steps which are separate from the molding of the capsule.
The installation and fixing of the crema forming septum is particularly quick and simple and at the same time allows safe and reliable operation of the capsule throughout the beverage extraction step.
Moreover, the invention allows to remove some technical limitations in the design of the capsule.
Although the invention has been conceived in particular for capsules suitable for preparing espresso coffee, it can in any case be used more generally for capsules which contain edible substances in general adapted to produce a beverage by percolation.
The capsule, the septum and the filter thus conceived are susceptible of numerous modifications and variations, all of which are within the scope of the appended claims. All the details may further be replaced with other technically equivalent elements.
In practice, the materials used, as well as the dimensions, may be any according to requirements and to the state of the art.
The disclosures in Italian Patent Application No. MI2006A001503 from which this application claims priority are incorporated herein by reference.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| MI2006A001503 | Jul 2006 | IT | national |
