Patent Application
20180162634
The present invention relates to re-usable containers for substances for the preparation of a liquid beverage, designed in particular for use as capsules for a machine for dispensing beverages. More in particular, the invention has been developed with particular reference to re-usable containers of the type comprising:
The state of the art offers numerous examples of re-usable containers for substances for the preparation of a liquid beverage commonly designated by the name of “pods” or “capsules”.
These substances include, for example, beverages in powder or granular form, thereby meaning the powders (e.g., ground coffee) or granules by means of which it is possible to prepare the beverage.
In particular, the production of disposable containers for ground coffee is particularly vast, as emerges from a considerable number of examples of re-usable containers for coffee (or other powdered beverages in powder form).
Known solutions of containers for powdered beverages in powder form, in particular coffee, are available, for example, from the documents Nos. WO 2014/041419 A1, US 2014/0272048 A1 and FR 2 946 854 B3. Each of the containers forming the subject of the above documents is re-usable thanks, amongst other things, to the fact that a removable end portion is provided.
However, each of the solutions described in the above documents presents some non-negligible drawbacks. In particular, the capsules of the first two documents mentioned are rather complex to produce and maintain, the user having periodically to carry out washing of the containers after use. In particular, the container of the document No. US 2014 0272048 A1 is characterized by a plurality of components that require disassembly when they are to be washed and their re-assembly may prove extremely problematical.
Finally, each of the aforementioned documents, as likewise a plurality of other examples available in the prior art, limits the sphere of interest to just the technical solutions that enable the container to be rendered re-usable, without tackling systematically the problem of ensuring—at the same time—the quality of the beverage produced. The quality is moreover liable to be affected by the large number of components that make up the container, which are frequently made of different materials that interact in a way that is not always foreseeable with the hot beverage being made, altering the taste thereof.
As is known, a container for powdered beverages in powder form includes a first end portion provided with one or more apertures for inlet for a liquid, typically water at a temperature close to boiling point, and a plurality of outlet apertures on a second end portion, through which the beverage obtained by interaction (percolation or infusion) of the hot liquid with the powdered beverage in powder form contained in the internal volume of the container exits. In this sense, the examples available in the framework of the prior art show that the search for a configuration that enables re-usability of the container inevitably leads to relegating aspects such as the simplicity of production thereof and/or the search for the best quality of the beverage.
The object of the present invention is to solve the technical problems mentioned previously. In particular, the object of the invention is to provide a re-usable container for substances for the preparation of liquid beverages that will be characterized by a high level of simplicity of production and that at the same time will be able to guarantee a high quality of the beverage produced.
The object of the invention is achieved by a re-usable container having the features forming the subject of one or more of the appended claims, which form an integral part of the technical disclosure provided herein in relation to the invention.
In particular, the object of the invention is achieved by a container having all the features listed at the beginning of the present description and moreover characterized in that each aperture on the second end portion is defined by at least one slot.
The invention will now be described with reference to the annexed plates of drawings, which are provided purely by way of non-limiting example and in which:
With reference to
The container 1 is of a re-usable type and is in particular designed for use as cartridge for a machine for dispensing beverages, which normally functions with containers for powdered beverages in powder form that are not re-usable.
The container 1 includes a first end portion 2, a second end portion 4, and a shell 6 that is comprised between the first and second end portions 2, 4 and delimits an internal volume V (
With reference to
It is moreover possible to envisage, in some embodiments, a central through hole at the relief 12 so that it shares the axis X1.
Once again preferably, the groove 10 has a width L10 in the radial direction comprised between 2 mm and 5 mm.
Provision of the apertures 8 within the groove 10, hence in a recessed position with respect to the end of the end portion 2 ensures compatibility with the dispensing machine in so far as normally the area where the groove 10 is located would undergo penetration by needles designed to enable passage of hot liquid, which are normally configured for penetrating disposable capsules.
With reference to
According to the invention, each of the apertures 18 is pre-formed—i.e., they do not have to be formed by the ensemble of needles of the dispensing machine (the so-called “needle array”) at the moment of insertion of the container 1 therein—and has a geometry defined by at least one slot.
By the term “slot” is meant an aperture having a layout (hence, by definition, a geometry belonging to a plane) characterized by a primary (predominant) development direction and a secondary development direction, along which the dimensions of the layout are considerably smaller than the dimensions in the primary (predominant) development direction.
In various preferred embodiments represented in the figures annexed hereto, each aperture 18 is defined by at least one rectilinear slot. The term “rectilinear slot” designates, according to the definition referred to above, an aperture having a layout (hence, by definition, a geometry belonging to a plane) having a substantially rectangular shape that develops in a prevalent way along just one of the two dimensions in the plane (primary and predominant development direction), whereas the other dimension is characterized by an extremely limited development. To provide an analogy, a rectilinear slot may have a layout shaped like an I.
In particular, in the present description it is assumed by way of reference that the one or more rectilinear slots that come to make up each aperture 18 develop in a prevalent way in the direction of length, with minimal development in the direction of width necessary just to provide, physically, a passageway. It should be noted that the joining of a number of mutually incident rectilinear slots enables broken-line geometries (for example “L”, “Z”, “U”, etc.) or cross-shaped geometries (“X”, “T”, etc.) to be obtained.
In alternative embodiments, the primary and predominant development direction may be a curvilinear path. In this case, the corresponding slots will be referred to as curvilinear, namely, having a layout where the primary (predominant) development direction is the aforesaid curvilinear path, and the secondary development direction is the dimension transverse to the curvilinear path. Examples of curvilinear slots are C-shaped or else S-shaped slots.
In general, the slots that define the apertures 18 have a ratio between the dimension in the primary, or predominant, development direction (linear length in the case of rectilinear slots; extension of the curvilinear path in the case of curvilinear slots) and the dimension in the secondary development direction (width for the rectilinear slots; dimension transverse to the curvilinear path of development in the case of curvilinear slots) comprised between 3 and 100, more preferably between 6 and 10.
Purely by way of example, without this constituting any limitation for the purposes of the invention, the dimension in the secondary direction may preferably be comprised between 0.3 mm and 0.4 mm, whereas the dimension in the primary direction may be comprised between 2.5 mm and 3 mm.
However, in some embodiments, the dimension in the primary direction may reach approximately 30 mm, from which an aspect ratio of 1:100 is obtained.
An example of these embodiments is illustrated in
In
Whatever the geometrical configuration of the slots, the apertures 18 of the container 1 according to the invention may have a constant cross section through the wall thickness of the recess 16 (or the thickness of the end portion 4 in general, in the case where the recess 16 is not present), or else may have a variable cross section in a direction parallel to the axis X1. In particular, examples of variable cross section comprise a converging cross section (proceeding from the internal volume V to the outside) or diverging cross section (once again from the internal volume V to the outside).
In one embodiment, represented in
Furthermore, in various embodiments (see in this connection all of
In particular, there may be recognised in the arrangement apertures 18 a central portion 20, which includes a plurality of apertures 18 with L-shaped geometry arranged at the nodes of a lattice with quadrangular, preferably square, meshes and defines as a whole a figure with an envelope that is quadrangular, preferably square. The arrangement moreover includes a periphery having four sets 22 of apertures aligned and arranged parallel to the rows of perimetral apertures of the central portion 20. In the case in point, without this constituting any limitation, the central portion 20 includes nine apertures 18 arranged according to the nodes of a square mesh bordered by four sets of three peripheral apertures, which define the arms shaped like a Greek cross. It is possible in any way to envisage alternative embodiments, in which the envelope of the arrangement of the apertures 18 has a square layout, with an arrangement of 4×4 apertures 18 or 5×5 apertures 18.
With reference to
In particular, with reference to
Preferably, the coupling between the collars 24, 26 is obtained by means of a threaded joint: both of the collars hence carry a thread, which is internal for the collar 24 and external for the collar 26. There are, of course, possible solutions in which the coupling is obtained by slotting, possibly with the provision of an annular sealing element to prevent seepage of liquid.
The removability of the end portion 4 enables loading of the powdered beverage into the internal volume of the container 1 (thus allowing recharging thereof, if needed), facilitated by the fact that the operation of loading is carried out from the side of larger dimensions of the container 1 (namely, the end portion 4).
With reference to
As for the container 1 represented in
With reference to
The various embodiments of the end portion 4 are designated, for convenience of reference, by the references 4A, 4B, 4C, 4D, 4E, each associated to the reference 4 in brackets to indicate the fact that they are simply variants of the end portion 4 already described.
As general information valid for all the embodiments 4A-4E that will now be described, the arrangement of the apertures 18 on the end portion 4 is identical to what has already been discussed; i.e., it is possible to identify a central portion 20, which includes a plurality of apertures 18 arranged at the nodes of a lattice with quadrangular meshes, preferably square, and defines as a whole a figure with an envelope that is also quadrangular, preferably square. The arrangement moreover includes a periphery having four sets 22 of apertures 18 aligned and arranged parallel to the rows of perimetral apertures of the central portion 20. In all the cases represented in
Whatever the shape of the apertures 18 selected, it is possible, however, to apply it both to the containers 1 with removable end portion 2 and to the containers 1 with removable end portion 4. In the limit, embodiments may be envisaged where, whatever the geometry of the apertures 18 selected, both of the end portions 2, 4 are removable.
With reference to
The end portion 4B of
Preferably, the length of the slots 180, 181, 182 and the inclination of the slot 182 are chosen in such a way that the Z shape can be inscribed in a square. Of course, it is possible to choose the same dimensions in such a way that the Z shape can as a whole be inscribed in a rectangle.
With reference to
The first and second slots 180, 181 are mutually parallel and are intersected by the slot 182 in an orthogonal way and at the (homologous) ends thereof, so as to define a substantially U shape.
Preferably, the U shape defined by the slots 180-182 may be chosen in such a way that it can be inscribed in a square, but it is also possible to choose the dimensions in such a way that the shape can be inscribed in a rectangle. However, in yet a further variant it is possible to provide the intersection between the slot 182 and the slots 180, 181 in a position other than the ends of the slots 180, 181, thus defining an H shape. Again, it is possible for the slots 180, 181 to extend in a way not parallel to the other.
With reference to
Finally, with reference to
The container 1 may be made of any material compatible for use in the food sector and able to withstand the temperatures typical of the liquid used for preparation of the beverage, typically water at a temperature close to boiling point.
In a preferred embodiment, the container 1 is made of metal material, for example, steel or aluminium, with the apertures 18 are obtained by laser cutting or milling, or else blanking.
In alternative embodiments, it is possible to use a plastic material for making the container 1, with savings in terms of production costs. In this case, the container 1 may be made either using traditional techniques of injection moulding or with a 3D printer.
In yet further alternative embodiments it is possible to envisage that the container 1 is made of a number of different materials. In particular, in an advantageous embodiment, it is possible to make the body of the container 1 (end portions 2, 4, and shell 6) of plastic material, and to obtain, by means of added inserts of metal material (or inserts of metal material embedded in the plastic material) the parts of the container that are intrinsically most subject to wear.
In particular, it is possible to obtain the threaded joints that define the coupling interfaces between the removable end portions (2, 4 or both of them) and the shell 6 by means of threaded bushings forced into the collars 24, 26 and 28, 30. In addition or as an alternative, the recess 16 of the end portion 4 may be made as an insert of metal material having the apertures 18 according to any of the patterns described and embedded in the plastic material of the end portion 4, which in this case would be limited to a peripheral annular band corresponding substantially to the flange 14 (or possibly to the ensemble made up by the flange 14 and the collar 28 if the end portion 4 were removable).
Another possible solution consists, for example, in making the end portion 2 of steel and the end portion 4 of aluminium.
As concerns the use of the container 1, the user has the possibility of filling the internal volume V with any powdered beverage, or also any powdered beverage in granular form or in the form of shredded leaves (such as tea).
During development of the invention, the inventors in any case conducted a series of tests with particular reference to a powdered beverage, such as ground coffee. In particular, when the powdered beverage is coffee, provision of the apertures 18 by means of one or more slots made as described previously—whether rectilinear or curvilinear—ensures for coffee a clearly superior quality (given the same blend of coffee used, and not only) as compared to what can be obtained with the traditional circular apertures present on known containers, or else to what can be obtained with apertures that are formed in the end portions of the container at the moment of its insertion into the machine, i.e., when the container is of a disposable type.
With reference to the case of coffee, the hot water delivered by the machine in which the container 1 is used as cartridge floods the container 1 through the access apertures 8 and the internal volume V.
In so doing, the hot water percolates through the coffee in the internal volume V: the interaction between the hot water and the ground coffee, leads to obtaining liquid coffee that flows out of the apertures 18. Provision of the apertures 18 with the criteria described favours a very regular outflow of the liquid during percolation, thus improving as a whole the quality of the beverage.
In this connection, is should be noted that the containers for beverage precursors in powder form, in particular ground coffee, configured for operating within a closed and pre-constituted system, must operate with the following constraints, which is determined by the dispensing machine and cannot hence be modified:
For the specific case of coffee, there moreover exists the need to respect a further constraint of amount of ground coffee present in the capsule, which cannot drop below a threshold value (approximately 4.5 g) without causing a drop in the quality of the resulting espresso coffee.
The container according to the invention enables the objective of a high-quality beverage to be achieved (which in the case of coffee can be define in terms of taste, aroma, intensity, and creaminess), albeit respecting the constraints defined above, thanks to the fact that by providing the apertures 18 by means of one or more slots a correct balance is achieved between the incoming flow of liquid (hot water) and the outflow of beverage (in particular, coffee).
The slot, thanks to its geometry that privileges one development direction, enables the objective referred to above to be achieved as well as possible (in particular with reference to coffee), with the constraints defined above, for the following reasons:
i) having a dimension in the secondary development direction that (preferably) ranges between 0.3 and 0.4 mm, each slot can effectively function as filter, preventing any exit of the ground coffee or of any other soluble powdered beverage present inside the internal volume of the container 1;
ii) the dimensions in the primary development direction, albeit rendering possible to perform the function of filtering described above, enable provision of an area of passage for the beverage that is sufficiently wide to enable a constant outflow of beverage, without risking occlusion of the container and simultaneous blocking of and/or damage to the dispensing machine, a problem that—instead—afflicts rechargeable containers that envisage apertured end portions having traditional geometries with square or circular holes; since the grain size of ground coffee on the market may vary considerably, with the simple solution with hole, the risk of occlusion would be effectively very high in the cases of very fine grain sizes;
iii) thanks to the simultaneous contribution of the dimensions in the primary and secondary directions of development, albeit maintaining the characteristics defined in points i and ii, the container 1 according to the invention ensures setting-up and maintenance of a correct pressure within the container itself, a determining factor for transfer of the taste and aroma characteristic of espresso coffee, as well as for formation of cream; and
iv) in a way similar to point ii), the dimensions in the primary development direction, albeit allowing the function of filtering described in point i) to be performed, enable provision of an area of passage that is sufficiently wide to enable convenient outflow of the cream, which is notoriously less liquid than coffee and which would otherwise risk remaining trapped inside the container, as frequently occurs with rechargeable containers that envisage apertured end portions with traditional geometries with square or circular holes.
Hence, the solution of slot-like apertures, above all in view of what has been noted in points ii), iii) and iv) is particularly effective as compared to other solutions currently in use in so far as it enables the container to operate in optimal conditions also in the cases where the amount of ground coffee introduced into the container approaches the physical filling limit, at the same time guaranteeing an optimal result in terms of taste, aroma, intensity, and creaminess, maintaining an optimal dispensing of the beverage.
It is hence the narrow and elongated shape of the slot (which is the constitutive unit of the apertures 18) that contributes to guaranteeing the correct balance between functionality (the powdered beverage does not come out, and the capsule is not occluded) and taste (correct internal pressure that enables production of the cream and transfer of taste and aroma), also in the presence of the right amount of coffee (from 4.70 to 7.10 g of ground coffee): in fact, the traditional apertures with square or circular holes reveal in an evident way their limits precisely when the amount of coffee is that necessary to guarantee a high-quality espresso coffee. With the above amounts of coffee the holes are frequently subject to occlusions, thus imposing the need to load the container with a smaller amount of ground coffee at the expense of the quality of the end product.
These results are moreover amplified in the container 1 by envisaging the first apertures 8 with the pattern illustrated in
Of course, all the advantages referred to above apply also in the cases of beverages other than coffee, such as for example, tea, tisanes, camomile, hot chocolate, etc.
To provide a comparative example, on the hypothesis of wishing to obtain the same area of passage as the one afforded by the apertures 18 in any one of the solutions represented the figures (for example,
The advantage that derives in terms of simplicity of implementation and of production costs of the container 1 thus becomes even more evident.
It will consequently be appreciated that the structure of the container 1 is extremely simple and inexpensive to produce with any known method. Moreover, the operations of maintenance that are to be carried out by the user are particularly simplified in so far as disassembly of the container 1 can be carried out without recourse to specific equipment and without the need to assemble a large number of components.
To favour disassembly it is moreover possible to provide on the removable end portion a surface texture that improves gripping thereof. For instance, in the case where the removable end portion is the first end portion 2, it is possible to provide an external knurling on the outer surface of the coupling collar 28.
The same applies in the case where the removable end portion is the second end portion 4. In this case, the knurling may conveniently be provided on the shell 6.
In either case (removable end portion 2 or removable end portion 4) a knurling is preferably provided also on the side wall of the flange 14.
Of course, the details of construction and the embodiments may vary widely with respect to what has been described and illustrated herein, without thereby departing from the scope of protection of the present invention, as defined by the annexed claims.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 102015000022464 | Jun 2015 | IT | national |
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/IB2016/053300 | 6/6/2016 | WO | 00 |
