HK1217473B - Capsule for preparing drinks - Google Patents

Description

Capsule for preparing drinks

The application is a divisional application of a patent application with the application number of 200880011657.0, the application date of 2008, 4 and 11, and the name of 'a bin body for preparing drinks'.

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a cartridge for preparing beverages, which contains a powdered substance that produces a beverage when a liquid (e.g. hot water) flows through it. The invention is intended in particular for use in the coffee preparation sector. Thus, although it should be understood that the invention is suitable for preparing various drinks (by filling the capsule with a particular powder and injecting a particular liquid into the powder), the following description is mainly concerned with coffee, in which case the powder filled in the capsule is ground coffee and the liquid used is hot water (which is more or less pressurized depending on the type of coffee to be obtained-espresso, filter coffee, cappuccino).

Background

Currently, there are many types of coffee preparation cartridges of the prior art. Such as the techniques described in patents US 4136202 and EP 1344722.

In general, most cartridges contain a container element having a side wall (in most cases in the shape of a truncated cone) joined or connected to a bottom wall and a top wall.

In practice, hot water is injected into the cartridge through the upper wall and the prepared drink flows out through the bottom wall (however, in some cases this operation is reversed, or the side walls are perforated). Thus, the bottom and upper walls each have suitable openings therein which can be made during the cartridge body manufacturing step or when the cartridge body is in use.

Disclosure of Invention

The present invention is particularly designed for cartridges of the type equipped with an internal filter element, which has a plurality of through holes and which separates the coffee powder from the opening through which the drink flows out of the cartridge.

Currently, there are two main types of filters.

The first type of filter consists of a paper or fibrous filter, which allows only the beverage to flow through, while filtering out the coffee powder from flowing through.

However, such filters as described above do not provide adequate mechanical strength without the use of relatively expensive support structures.

A second type of filter consists of a generally semi-rigid filter, which is produced by moulding in a plastic material and has a plurality of through holes with a circular cross section and a diameter such as to substantially prevent the passage of the majority of the coffee powder. (see, for example, patent EP 1344722)

As indicated previously, the present invention is designed to employ filters of this type, which, according to the experience of the applicant, are liable to clog and thus hinder the correct preparation and dispensing of the drink. If some of the through holes are blocked, the distribution and circulation of the water inside the cartridge is affected and not all the coffee powder is moistened to the same extent, which means that the quality of the coffee may be less than expected.

In this context, the technical purpose forming the basis of the present invention is to provide a capsule for the preparation of drinks which allows to overcome the aforesaid drawbacks.

In particular, the technical purpose of the present invention is to provide a cartridge for preparing drinks which comprises a filter with a plurality of through holes, which is not as susceptible to clogging as other cartridges currently known.

The technical purpose described above and the aims indicated are substantially achieved with a cartridge for preparing drinks as claimed herein.

Drawings

Further details and advantages of the present invention will be more apparent in the detailed description which follows, with reference to which several preferred embodiments of a beverage preparation cartridge are referred, but to which the invention is not limited solely by the appended drawings, wherein:

figure 1 is a vertical section of a first embodiment of the cartridge body according to the present invention, wherein the powdered substance is not filled;

figure 2 is a vertical section of a second embodiment of the cartridge body according to the invention, wherein the powdered substance is not filled;

figure 3 shows the cartridge of figure 2 filled with a powdered substance;

figure 4 is a vertical section of a first embodiment of a filter element according to the invention;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged perspective view of a detail of the filter element according to the invention;

FIG. 6 is a bottom view of the filter element of FIG. 4;

FIG. 7 is a 3/4 top view in axonometric projection of the filter element of FIG. 4;

FIG. 8 is an axonometric 3/4 bottom view of the filter element of FIG. 4;

figure 9 illustrates an alternative embodiment of the filter element in figure 8;

figure 10 is a vertical section of a second embodiment of a filter element according to the invention;

FIG. 11 is a bottom view of the filter element of FIG. 10;

FIG. 12 is a 3/4 top view in axonometric projection of the filter element of FIG. 10;

FIG. 13 is an axonometric 3/4 bottom view of the filter element of FIG. 10;

figure 14 is a vertical section of a second embodiment of a filter element according to the invention;

FIG. 15 is a bottom view of the filter element of FIG. 14;

FIG. 16 is an axonometric 3/4 bottom view of the filter element of FIG. 14;

FIG. 17 is a 3/4 top view in axonometric projection of the filter element of FIG. 14.

Detailed Description

With reference to the accompanying drawings, the figure 1 figure shows a cartridge for preparing drinks according to the present invention.

Fig. 1 and 2 illustrate two examples of cartridge bodies that can be manufactured in accordance with the present invention, which differ only in their lower shape, being flat in fig. 1 and convex in fig. 2.

They are cartridges comprising a cup-shaped structure 2 having a lower wall 3 and closed at the top by a lid 4 to which it is attached.

Internally, each cartridge body 1 has a liquid distribution element 5 (which may not even be represented in the figures) having a plurality of through holes 6, located opposite the lid 4, and a filtering element 7 located opposite the lower wall 3 of the cup-shaped structure 2. Between the filtering element 7 and the dispensing element 5 there is therefore a cavity 8 which is completely or partially filled with the powdered substance 9 (as shown in figure 3, with reference to the cartridge 1 of figure 2). The chamber 8 is flanked by truncated side walls 10 of one of the cup-shaped structures 2.

Both the filtering element 7 and the dispensing element 5 have a central conical recess 11, this recess 11 being designed to receive piercing means which, in use, pierce the lid 4 and the bottom wall to allow the liquid to flow in and the drink to flow out, respectively. The recess 11 prevents the piercing tool from damaging the dispensing element 5 or the filter element 7.

As already indicated above, the present invention relates to the structural shape of the filtering elements placed in the cartridge body 1 to retain the vast majority of the powdered substance 9.

Advantageously, the filtering element 7 can be a semi-rigid element made of plastic material (for example by moulding). The term "semi-rigid" is used herein to indicate that the element itself has a structural rigidity so as to allow it to be self-supporting, although it may also be bent by an external force, such as that generated by the water pressure inside the cartridge body 1. In either case, rigid body filter elements may be used.

According to the invention, the filtering element 7 has a plurality of through holes 12 which extend from a first face 13 of the element, which faces the inside of the cavity 8 for storing the powdered substance 9 (and is in contact with the powdered substance 9), to a second face 14, which faces the lower wall 3 of the cup-shaped structure 2 in the embodiment shown. Such a through hole 12 thus has an inlet section 15 at the first face 13, which is in direct contact with the powdered substance 9, and an outlet section 16 at the second face 14.

According to the invention, the inlet sections 15 of the through-holes 12 extend along a main expansion trajectory in such a way that they have substantially the appearance of a trough. That is to say their length is greater than their width, where their length is measured along their main expansion trajectory, while the width is measured in a direction transverse to the main expansion trajectory (vertical direction). Moreover, in many preferred embodiments, the length of the inlet section 15 is at least twice its width, although in some embodiments smaller ratios may be used.

Depending on the case, the main expansion trajectory may extend in a straight line (as in the illustrated case) or in a curved line (not illustrated).

In addition, it is a more advantageous option that the inlet section 15 has a width of less than 0.4mm, preferably less than 0.25mm, and a length of less than 5mm, preferably less than 2 mm. For example, in some cartridge embodiments for preparing coffee, the through holes 12 have a length of 1.5mm and a width of 0.2 mm.

In any case, the width of the inlet section 15 must be chosen in such a way that it must be smaller than the size of the particles of the vast majority of the powdered substance 9, so that only a minimum portion of the particles can pass through the filter element 7 (similar to what happens in the filter elements of the prior art).

In the case of single-dose cartridges for preparing coffee, the same advantage is that the sum of the areas of the inlet sections 15 of all the through holes 12 made in the filter element 7 is between 15 and 30mm²In the meantime. Typically, a filter element 7 having 50 to 80 through-holes satisfies this condition.

The through-holes 12 can be distributed in different configurations on the filter element 7 according to different requirements. For example, 3 different cases are illustrated in the figures.

In the first case, the through holes 12 are distributed along concentric circles, seen from the bottom in fig. 6, over the entire first face 13 and are positioned so that their inlet sections 15 are aligned with the concentric circles on which they lie.

In the second case, seen from the bottom in fig. 11, the difference from case one is that the inlet section 15 of the through-hole 12 is positioned in radial alignment with respect to the filter element 7.

In case three, the through-holes 12 are positioned in the same manner as in case two, but they are distributed only at the central portion of the filter element 7.

Some parts are transparent in fig. 5, which shows a part of the filter element 7 in which a through-hole 12 is made. As shown, the through-hole 12 has a transverse cross-section that increases from the first face 13 towards the second face 14. In more detail, it can be seen from the figures how, in the thickness of the filter element 7, the through hole 12 has a first extension 17, which is connected to the inlet section 15 and whose transverse cross-section is of substantially constant size, and a second extension 18, which is joined to the first extension 17 and terminates in the outlet section 16 and which has a truncated pyramidal shape and opens towards the outlet section 16.

This shape is very advantageous in facilitating the discharge of any particles of the powdery substance 9, which, due to their very small size, can enter the through holes 12.

In addition, the cartridge body 1 according to the invention may comprise a plurality of grommet elements 19 interposed between the second face 14 of the filter element 7 and the lower wall 3 of the cup-shaped structure 2, for isolating them from each other even in the event of deformation thereof with respect to each other. Advantageously, the grommet element 19 is integral with the filter element 7 and it extends in a protruding manner from the second face 14.

In the embodiment shown in the figures, the plurality of grommet elements 19 form a plurality of channels 19 between the second face 14 of the filter element 17 and the lower wall 3 (the channels 20 have a circular and radial extension with respect to the filter element 7).

In the embodiment of fig. 13 and 16, the grommet elements are cylindrical (advantageously, they also form protrusions that can be used to push the filter element out of the mold during manufacture).

Finally, in the embodiment of fig. 8, the two embodiments described above coexist.

The operation of the presently disclosed cartridge body 1 is identical to that of conventional cartridge bodies.

However, this patent provides a significant advantage to the filter element such that it is no longer as susceptible to clogging as a conventional filter element.

In conventional filter elements, particles of powdered substance (like spheres) may completely block a single through hole because the through hole is circular and smaller in diameter than the particles. In contrast, the through-holes in the form of slots disclosed in this patent, even in the case of material particles embedded in the slots (the width of the slots being smaller than the majority of the material particles), will behave like small spheres partially inserted into one slot, thus leaving a gap between the slot and the particle.

It should also be noted that the present invention is relatively easy to manufacture and even the associated costs to implement the invention are not very high.

The invention described herein can be modified and practiced in many ways without departing from the scope of the inventive concept.

All the details thereof may be replaced by other technically equivalent ones, and in the practical case, all the materials used, as well as all the shapes and dimensions of the parts, may vary according to requirements.

Claims (15)

1. A cartridge for preparing drinks by injecting a liquid therein and causing the pressurized liquid to flow through a powdery substance (9) contained in a cavity (8) made in the cartridge (l), the cartridge (1) comprising a cup-shaped structure (2) having a lower wall (3), the cavity (8) being delimited on at least one side by at least one filter element (7) having a plurality of through holes (12) extending from a first face (13) of the filter element facing the inside of the cavity (8) to a second face (14) of the filter element facing the lower wall (3) of the cup-shaped structure (2), the cartridge being characterized in that, at least at the first face (13), the through holes (12) have an inlet section (15) extending in the direction of the main expansion trajectory, and in that the length of each inlet section is measured in the direction of the main expansion trajectory, the length of the inlet section being greater than the width of the inlet section measured in the direction transverse to the main expansion trajectory (ii) a

The through-hole (12) has a first extension (17) which is connected to the inlet section (15) and whose transverse cross-section is of substantially constant size, and a second extension (18) which is coupled to the first extension (17) and terminates in an outlet section (16) and which has a truncated pyramidal shape and opens toward the outlet section (16).

2. The capsule for preparing drinks according to claim 1, characterised in that the width of the inlet section (15) is less than 0.4 mm.

3. The capsule for preparing drinks according to claim 2, characterised in that the width of the inlet section (15) is less than 0.25 mm.

4. The capsule for preparing drinks according to any of the claims 1 to 3, characterised in that the length of the inlet section (15) is less than 5 mm.

5. The capsule for preparing drinks according to claim 3, characterised in that the length of the inlet section (15) is less than 2 mm.

6. The capsule for preparing drinks according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterised in that the sum of the areas of the inlet sections (15) of all the through holes (12) made in the filtering element (7) is between 15 and 30mm²In the meantime.

7. The capsule for preparing drinks according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterised in that the filtering element (7) comprises from 50 to 80 through holes (12).

8. The capsule for preparing drinks according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterised in that the main development trajectory of the inlet section (15) is rectilinear and/or curvilinear.

9. The capsule for preparing drinks according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterised in that at least some of the through holes (12) are positioned on the filtering element (7) in concentric circles.

10. The capsule for preparing drinks according to claim 9, characterised in that at least some of the through holes (12) are positioned with their inlet section (15) aligned with the circumferential direction of the circle on which they lie.

11. The cartridge for preparing drinks according to claim 9, characterised in that at least some of the through holes (12) are positioned with their inlet section (15) aligned with respect to the radial direction of the filtering elements (7).

12. The capsule for preparing drinks according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterised in that it comprises simultaneously a plurality of grommet elements (19) interposed between the second face (14) and the lower wall (3) to keep them apart.

13. The capsule for preparing drinks according to claim 12, characterised in that the grommet element 19 is integral with the filtering element (7) and is projecting with respect to the second face (14).

14. The capsule for preparing drinks according to claim 12, characterised in that said plurality of grommet elements (19) forms a plurality of channels (20) between the second face of the filtering element (7) and the lower wall (3).

15. The capsule for preparing drinks according to claim 12, characterised in that at least some of the spacer elements (19) are cylindrical.