Patent Application
20200377290
The present invention generally relates to cannabis, and more particular an improved system and method for cannabinoid delivery into beverages, such as coffee and tea.
Cannabis as a health supplement has been practiced for over 1,000 years. Traditionally cannabis is heated to release cannabinoids, primary tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD). It is well known that cannabinoids offer many benefits to users, and there are a variety of methods to make cannabinoids available to the user. Recently, there has been a trend to enrich cannabinoids into beverages, such as coffee and tea. Consequently, the present invention provides an improved system and method for cannabinoid delivery into beverages.
The following presents a simplified summary of some embodiments of the invention in order to provide a basic understanding of the invention. This summary is not an extensive overview of the invention. It is not intended to identify key/critical elements of the invention or to delineate the scope of the invention. Its sole purpose is to present some embodiments of the invention in a simplified form as a prelude to the more detailed description that is presented later.
X TBD after claims are finalized.
The foregoing has outlined rather broadly the more pertinent and important features of the present disclosure so that the detailed description of the invention that follows may be better understood and so that the present contribution to the art can be more fully appreciated. Additional features of the invention will be described hereinafter which form the subject of the claims of the invention. It should be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the conception and the disclosed specific methods and structures may be readily utilized as a basis for modifying or designing other structures for carrying out the same purposes of the present disclosure. It should be realized by those skilled in the art that such equivalent structures do not depart from the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims.
Other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent when the following detailed description is read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:
The following description is provided to enable any person skilled in the art to make and use the invention and sets forth the best modes contemplated by the inventors of carrying out their invention. Various modifications, however, will remain readily apparent to those skilled in the art, since the general principles of the present invention have been defined herein to specifically provide an improved system and method for cannabinoid delivery into beverages.
For the purpose of this disclosure, the word “a” is defined to mean “at least one.” The word “cannabis” is defined to mean “any species of the cannabis genus of flowing plants including Cannabis sativa, Cannabis indica, Cannabis ruderalis, and hemp.” The word “cannabis plant matter” is defined to mean “any portion, cannabinoid, terpene, phytonutrient, or other compound, either natural, artificial, or synthetic, derived or extracted from a cannabis plant or cannabis plant DNA.” The word “beverage mix” is defined to mean “any ground or powdered beverage flavor, substance, etc. configured to be mixed into water to create a flavored beverage.” The terminology includes the words above specifically mentioned, derivatives thereof, and words of similar import.
As well documented, cannabis plant matter is desirable for the cannabinoids that the plant matter contains. The cannabinoids include CBD, THC, as well as other desirable cannabinoids. As companies attempt to offer various means to intake these desirable cannabinoids, one method is through coffee products.
There are many coffee cannabinoid containing products on the market today, and these products claim to have from 5 mg of CBD to 65 mg CBD prior to the brewing process. Testing was performed on 10 of these products to determine the cannabinoid levels infused into the beverage after brewing. Testing protocols were established and applied to each test. The testing was performed with standard coffee machines found in the marketplace using standard coffee filters or single use coffee systems for each test, as indicated by each product's directions. For each test, 8 oz of water was used. After brewing, 10 ml of the brewed coffee from each test was extracted, secured in a vial, then coded and sent for testing at a leading cannabinoid testing facility, Cannalysis Labs in California. The results were conclusive, not a single vial tested had any detectable CBD in the brewed beverage. Since CBD has no intoxicating effects associated with its intake, the consumers of these products are likely unaware that the cannabinoids, in this case CBD, are not reaching the brewed product.
The applicants have concluded that the cannabinoids are not able to penetrate the standard coffee filters or the filters present in the single use coffee systems. Alternatively, the cannabinoids are not being infused into the beverage during the brewing process. Thus, the following disclosure describes various embodiments to solve this problem.
During use, the housing of the single use coffee containment system is pierced in both the top surface and the bottom surface of the housing while hot pressurized water passes through the single use coffee containment system into a cup, herein “beverage,” positioned below the single use coffee system (not shown) as well known in the art. Thus, after brewing, the beverage would contain a coffee and cannabis plant matter (cannabinoid) combination.
Typically, coffee filter are made up of filaments approximately 20 micrometers wide enabling particles to pass through that are less than approximately 15 to 20 micrometers, preferably 10 to 15 micrometers or less. Thus, in one embodiment, the predetermined size of the cannabis plant matter is less than 10 micrometers.
In some embodiments, the hollow housing of the system is the filter, such that an additional filter (or filter bag) is not required. This may be referred to the hollow housing having an integrated filter. In this embodiment, the system may be single-use or reusable, wherein the material selection may vary depending on its usage as well known in the art.
In one embodiment, the predetermined amount of cannabis plant matter is ground cannabis plant matter comprised of nanoparticles. The method to reduce the cannabis plant matter to nano size is detailed in Applicant's parent application Ser. No. 16/388,821. In one embodiment, the nanoparticles are less than or equal to 120 nanometers. In another embodiment, the nanoparticles are less than 1,000 nanometers. In some embodiments, the nanoparticles are compacted to retain groups of particles larger than the predetermined size of the individual particles. In some embodiments, the nanoparticles are compacted into a dissolvable tablet.
In one embodiment, the predetermined amount of cannabis plant matter is comprised in a sublingual strip, wherein the sublingual strip dissolves when the hot pressurized water passes through the filter pod, enabling the cannabinoid containing cannabis plant matter to be mixed in the beverage. In some embodiments, extracted cannabinoids are used, including but not limited to cannabinoids in MCT oil, or other lipids. In another embodiment, the cannabis plant matter are encapsulated nanoparticles configured to be water soluble, as taught in Applicant's co-pending application Ser. No. 16/439,706 hereby incorporated by reference.
It should be understood, that the form of the cannabis plant material depends on the filter pod selected. In one embodiment, the filter pod is a mesh, screen, or paper barrier comprising filter material having a size larger than the individual particle size of the cannabis plant matter. In this embodiment, the compacted particles prevent the individual particles from exiting the filter pod prior to the brewing process. In another embodiment, the filter pod is made from a dissolvable material, such that the hot pressurized water dissolves the filter pod enabling the contained cannabis plant matter to be mixed with the beverage during the brewing process.
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A particular advantage of the cannabis delivery system is that it provides premeasured dosages of various cannabinoids that offer a means to track usage and accountability. In one embodiment, each cannabis delivery system is vacuum sealed and packaged individually, to prevent containments and to ensure proper shelf life and handling. In some embodiments, identifying information, including but not limited to barcodes, RFID, insignia, numbers, text, or any other identifying information may be provided on each cannabis delivery system. In this way, each cannabis delivery system may be tracked and accounted for. In some embodiments, each cannabis delivery system may be dispensed from a dispensing machine (not shown) to aid in the tracking and accountability of each cannabis delivery system.
Although the invention has been described in considerable detail in language specific to structural features and or method acts, it is to be understood that the invention defined in the appended claims is not necessarily limited to the specific features or acts described. Rather, the specific features and acts are disclosed as exemplary preferred forms of implementing the claimed invention. Stated otherwise, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology employed herein, as well as the abstract, are for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting. Therefore, while exemplary illustrative embodiments of the invention have been described, numerous variations and alternative embodiments will occur to those skilled in the art. Such variations and alternate embodiments are contemplated, and can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. For example, in one embodiment, the filter size of the standard coffee filter or coffee filter bag is increased greater than the typical 20 microns allowing the ground cannabis plant matter to easily escape the filter. In other embodiments, the standard coffee filter, coffee filter bag, or ground coffee, is infused, saturated, soaked, coated, or sprayed with cannabinoids such that the beverage would be infused with the cannabinoids during the brewing process. In some embodiments, the cannabinoid delivery system may be provided outside the portafilter for espresso coffee machines or other coffee machines, wherein the cannabinoid delivery system may be in any location that the hot water comes in contact with. Yet in other embodiments, although a single-use system is taught and discussed, the present invention may be modified to be reusable. That is, the cannabis delivery system is configured to be reused after brewing.
The present invention is a continuation in part application to U.S. Nonprovisional application Ser. No. 16/600,345, filed Oct. 11, 2019, entitled “IMPROVED METHOD FOR CANNABIONOID DELIVERY INTO BEVERAGES”, which is a continuation in part application to U.S. Nonprovisional application Ser. No. 16/449,338, filed Jun. 21, 2019, entitled “IMPROVED METHOD FOR CANNABIONOID DELIVERY INTO BEVERAGES” now U.S. Pat. No. 10,485,373 issued Nov. 26, 2019, which is a continuation in part application to United States Nonprovisonal application Ser. No. 16/388,821 filed Apr. 18, 2019 entitled “IMPROVED METHOD FOR EXTRACTING CANNABINOIDS FOR IMPROVED BIOAVALABLITY” and the present application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/853,668 filed on May 28, 2019 entitled “IMPROVED METHOD FOR CBD/CANNABINOID DELIVERY INTO BEVERAGES”, the disclosures of which are hereby incorporated in their entirety at least by reference.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | 62853668 | May 2019 | US |
| Child | 16744050 | US |
