HK1158472B - Device for extemporaneously preparing a hot beverage from a soluble powder - Google Patents

Description

Device for the immediate preparation of a hot beverage from soluble powder

Technical Field

The invention relates to a device by means of which a fairly palatable hot beverage can be prepared from soluble powder at any time and place.

Background

Many soluble powders, such as milk powder, coffee powder or cocoa powder, for the immediate preparation of hot beverages by the addition of hot liquids, in particular hot water, have been widely spread on the market for decades. The powder is usually placed by the user in a cup-shaped container; subsequently, the user heats a predetermined quantity of drinkable liquid (most commonly water) in a separate container, and finally, the user pours the hot liquid into the cup-shaped container so as to bring the drinkable liquid into contact with the soluble powder contained therein and stir the mixture thus obtained, thus making a homogeneous beverage.

The above operation necessarily needs to have: a predetermined amount of soluble powder available for use; a cup-shaped container into which soluble powder can be placed and to which a drinkable hot liquid can be added; a separate container adapted to be placed on a heat source to heat a potable liquid; and a predetermined amount of potable liquid (most commonly water). This is not a problem when the user is at home, but can cause problems when the user is traveling or traveling, or when he is performing physical exercise, or when he is in a place where there is no potable water. In these latter cases, in fact, the user should carry with him a soluble powder packet, a cup-shaped container, a separate container adapted to be placed on the heat source, and a predetermined amount of drinkable liquid (e.g. water).

WO-A-2004/073468 discloses A device for preparing hot beverages at any time and place by extracting and/or injecting A beverage (for example A coffee) capable of producing the desired beverage, comprising A container having A side wall, A base and A removable sealing lid. The inner space of the container is divided into an upper space and a lower space by a partition. The lower space contains a quantity of drinkable liquid and the upper space contains a filter containing said substance. An elongated hollow element is arranged in the device, which is open at both ends and which transports the drinkable liquid from the lower space to the upper space via the filter element. In which a sealing means is arranged to prevent communication between said upper and lower spaces via said elongated hollow element, said sealing means being deactivatable due to user intervention or reaching a predetermined pressure or temperature within the liquid.

Disclosure of Invention

The object of the present invention is to provide a device in which all the elements mentioned above, namely a cup-shaped container, a predetermined quantity of soluble powder, a separate container adapted to be placed on a heat source and a predetermined quantity of drinkable liquid, are collected in one single unit, which comprises all the necessary for making a hot beverage instantly and which is easy to handle, store and dispense in large quantities.

The above object is achieved by a device according to the invention comprising a container having a side wall, a bottom and a removable sealing cover, the inner space of said container being divided by a partition into an upper space and a lower space, the lower space containing a quantity of drinkable liquid and the upper space containing a quantity of soluble powder capable of making said beverage, an elongated hollow element being provided which is open at both ends and which transports said drinkable liquid from the lower space to the upper space, the open upper end of the elongated hollow element having a height above the level of said beverage in the upper space, a seal being provided for preventing communication between the upper space and the lower space through the elongated hollow element, said seal being capable of being deactivated by user intervention or by the liquid reaching a predetermined pressure or temperature.

Conveniently, the elongate hollow element comprises a duct inserted into a sleeve which passes through said partition and is fixed thereto such that the duct conveys the potable liquid from the lower space to the upper space, the duct being axially movable within the sleeve. The lower end of the sleeve extends downwardly beyond the lower end of the delivery tube when the device is presented to a user. The seal may be a thin membrane made of a material suitable for contacting food (e.g., aluminum) that seals the lower end of the sleeve and may be pierced by the user pushing down on the delivery tube before the device is subjected to the heat source after the container lid is opened or removed.

According to a variant of the invention, the delivery tube is fixed to said sleeve or also directly to the diaphragm, and the seal can also be a membrane made of a material that melts as a result of the heating of the device.

In another variant of the invention, the delivery tube is still fixed to the sleeve or directly to the diaphragm, the seal being a membrane having a thickness allowing it to rupture when a predetermined liquid pressure is reached by the heating action of the heat source.

The seal must prevent contact between the soluble powder and the drinkable liquid before the user decides to prepare the hot beverage.

Depending on the nature of the soluble powder, various hot beverages can be prepared, such as coffee, hot chocolate, cappuccino, tea. After use, the container, along with its internal components, may be discarded.

The advantages of the device disclosed above may be more readily appreciated, particularly when the device is shaped and sized as a beverage can.

Drawings

The invention may be more readily understood by reading the following examples of some embodiments, which are given by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

fig. 1 is an axial cross-sectional view of a first embodiment of a device according to the invention, provided to a user;

figure 2 shows the final state of the device in which a hot beverage has been prepared;

fig. 3-8 are axial cross-sectional views of other possible embodiments of the device according to the invention, provided to the user.

Detailed Description

It should be noted that in the drawings, like numerals indicate like or similar elements, and in some cases, the dimensions are maximized for clarity.

As shown in fig. 1, container 10, which is part of device 101, has a sidewall 20, a bottom 22, and a lid 24. The container 10 includes: an upper space 12 containing a predetermined dose of soluble powder 30 and intended to collect the final beverage; a lower space 14 containing a predetermined dose of potable liquid 32; and a delivery tube 16 inserted through a sleeve 26 of a bulkhead 28, the sleeve being secured to the bulkhead and projecting downwardly. The duct 16 and the sleeve 26 form the above-mentioned elongated hollow element connecting the lower space 14 and the upper space 12, so that the potable liquid 32 is pressed from the lower space 14 through the duct 16 and its upper opening 46 into the upper space 12 when the pressure in the lower space 14 increases due to the heating of the potable liquid 32. As shown in FIG. 1, the upper end of the delivery tube 16 has an opening 46.

A septum 34 secured to the lower end of the sleeve 26 sealably separates the potable liquid 32 from the interior space 18 of the delivery tube 16.

Fig. 2 shows the device 101 in a final state, in which the membrane 34 has been pierced by the user moving the delivery tube 16 downwards, and the drinkable liquid 32 has been moved from the lower space 14 to the upper space 12 through the inner space 18 of the delivery tube 16 due to the pressure in the lower space 14 increasing due to heating, the drinkable liquid 32 contacting the soluble powder 30, so that the hot beverage 40 is prepared. It can be seen that the height of the opening 46 must be higher than the height of the beverage 40. Advantageously, the lower end of the delivery tube 16 is shaped in a flute mouthpiece shape (as shown in fig. 1 and 2) to ensure communication between the lower space 14 and the upper space 12 even if the user pushes the delivery tube 16 down until the lower end of the delivery tube 16 contacts the bottom 22 of the container 10. As a variant, the sleeve 26 has an internal thread and the delivery tube 16 (which therefore has an external thread) is screwed into the sleeve. In this case, downward movement of the delivery tube 16 is achieved by threading it into the sleeve 26.

Fig. 3 shows another possible embodiment 201 of the device according to the invention, in which the membrane 36 located in the lower space 14 is sealed at its peripheral region 38 to the wall 20 of the container 10, the membrane 36 sealing the liquid 32 and being pierced by pushing down on the delivery tube 16. In this embodiment, the sleeve 26 may be shorter than the sleeves shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, and may even conform to the thickness or configuration of the septum.

Fig. 4 shows another possible embodiment 301 of the device according to the invention, in which the soluble powder 30 is packed in a package 38, the means 48, 50 for connecting the package 38 to the sealing cap 24 and/or the connecting tube 16 being able to open the package 38 by pulling the cap 24 and/or by operating the delivery tube 16. As previously described, delivery tube 16 in embodiments 101, 201, and 301 may be in a fixed position relative to cannula 26. In this case, the sealing membrane 34 or 36 can rupture when a predetermined pressure value in the lower space 14 is reached, so that the user does not need to perform any other operations than opening or removing the container lid 24 and placing the device in a position where it is subjected to the action of a heat source. Microwave ovens may also be used provided the device is made of a suitable material, such as a suitable plastic material.

Also as described above, the membrane 34 or 36 may be made of a material that melts under the action of the heat applied by the heat source (obviously, suitable for contact with food) while the delivery tube 16 is still in a fixed position relative to the sleeve 26, thus providing communication between the lower space 14 and the upper space 12.

If a fixed delivery tube is used, the cannula 26 is not required because the delivery tube can be directly secured to the baffle 28 (see delivery tube 16B in FIG. 8).

It should also be noted that if a fixed delivery tube is used and the sealing membrane is of the heat-fused type or of the type which ruptures when a predetermined pressure value is reached, such a membrane may be located at the upper end of the delivery tube, instead of at the lower end of the sleeve 26 or delivery tube 16, so as to seal the opening 46. Fig. 7 shows a further variant 601 with a fixed duct and the seal 35 arranged to seal the opening 46 at the upper end of the duct 16 can be pierced by the user (for example, by using an impermeable membrane with a tear-off tab, not shown in fig. 7, which seals said opening 46).

Fig. 5 shows another possible embodiment 401, in which some additional powder 42, different from the soluble powder 30, is contained in the inner space 18 of the sleeve 26 in order to adjust the taste and/or the composition (for example, to confer it a flavour) of the beverage made from the soluble powder 30.

In fig. 6, a device 501 is shown having an elongated hollow element 16A with an open upper end 46A having a flare for better distribution of hot liquid onto the soluble powder 30, otherwise the same as the device 101 shown in fig. 1.

It should be noted that the elongated hollow element 16A may be in a fixed position relative to the sleeve 26 (or directly to the baffle 28, thereby eliminating the need to have the sleeve 26) if the seal sealing the opening 46A at the upper end of the elongated hollow element 16A is of the heat-melted type or ruptures when a predetermined pressure is reached.

In particular, the flared upper end 46A of the elongated hollow element 16A has an edge notch 50 that facilitates the dispensing of the hot liquid. Another embodiment 701 shown in fig. 8 (which has been described above) provides for sealing the opening 46 at the upper end of the delivery tube 16B and a coating 39 encapsulating the soluble powder 30 within the headspace 12 that can be removed by the user (e.g., by having a tear tab, not shown) before the device 701 is heated by the heat source.

The components of the device according to the invention (obviously excluding liquids and powders) may all be made of the same material, for example a suitable metal (for example aluminium or a suitable plastic material), but this is not a mandatory requirement. For example, container 10 and cap 24 may be made of aluminum, while septum 28, delivery tube 16 and cannula 26 may be made of a suitable plastic material, such as polyethylene, polyethylene terephthalate, or a bio-plastic, such as a fully or partially biodegradable plastic, including, for example, cellulose or starch.

Claims (15)

1. Device for the immediate preparation of a hot beverage at any time and place from a soluble powder, comprising a container with a side wall, a bottom and a removable sealing lid, the internal space of said container being divided by a partition into an upper space and a lower space, the lower space containing a quantity of drinkable liquid, the upper space containing a quantity of soluble powder from which said hot beverage can be prepared, an elongated hollow element being provided which is open at both ends and which conveys said drinkable liquid from the lower space to the upper space, the open upper end of the elongated hollow element having a height which is higher than the level of said hot beverage in the upper space, a seal being provided for preventing the communication between the upper space and the lower space through the elongated hollow element, said seal being capable of being deactivated by the intervention of a user or by the liquid reaching a predetermined pressure or temperature,

wherein the soluble powder is disposed on the separator.

2. The device of claim 1, wherein the elongated hollow member comprises a cannula secured to and extending through the septum, and a delivery tube inserted into the cannula.

3. The device of claim 2, wherein the delivery tube is movable within a cannula and the seal comprises an impermeable membrane secured to a lower end of the cannula and pierceable by a user moving the delivery tube downward.

4. The device of claim 2, wherein the delivery tube is movable within the cannula, and the seal comprises an impermeable membrane covering the liquid and secured to the sidewall of the container at a peripheral portion thereof, and the impermeable membrane is pierceable by a user moving the delivery tube downward.

5. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the lower end of the delivery tube is shaped in a flute mouthpiece shape.

6. The device of claim 2, wherein the delivery tube is in a fixed position relative to the casing, and the seal comprises an impermeable membrane capable of rupturing when the liquid reaches a predetermined pressure due to the heat source applied to the device.

7. A device according to claim 2, wherein the delivery tube is in a fixed position relative to the casing and the sealing means comprises an impermeable membrane which melts when the temperature reaches a predetermined value due to the action of the heat source on the device.

8. The device of claim 2, wherein the delivery tube is in a fixed position relative to the cannula, and the seal comprises an impermeable membrane that seals an upper aperture of the delivery tube and is removable by a user.

9. The device of claim 2, wherein the container, the sealing cap, the septum, the sleeve, and the seal are made of the same material.

10. The device of claim 2, wherein the predetermined dose of soluble powder located in the headspace is contained in a powder package when delivered to the user.

11. The device of claim 10, wherein means are provided to attach the powder package to a sealing lid for opening the powder package when a user pulls the sealing lid.

12. A device according to claim 10, wherein means are provided for connecting the powder package to the delivery tube for opening the powder package when the delivery tube is operated by a user.

13. The device of claim 2, wherein a coating seals the upper opening of the delivery tube and simultaneously encapsulates the soluble powder within the headspace, the coating being removable by the user.

14. The device of claim 1, wherein additional powder other than the soluble powder is disposed in the interior space of the elongated hollow element when the device is delivered to a user.

15. The device of claim 2, wherein the length of the sleeve corresponds to the thickness of the septum or to the structure of the septum.