HK40050779B - Package, machine and method for preparation of beverages - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a portion packing with a liquid permeable filter material surrounding a chamber containing an extraction material, which contains a movable closing device which can be moved from a closed position to a position opening the chamber, a brewing machine with a hot water production device, a holder for a portion packing with an extraction material to arrange the portion packing under a hot water intake and a control and detection unit, and a process for brewing a beverage.

DE 10 2014 109 768 A1 describes a device for brewing beverages which has a light guide at the bottom of a capsule to identify the capsule by the introduction and redirection of light. Such capsule identification allows optimum program control of the device. However, it is not possible to determine whether a capsule is in an open or closed position.

In the case of EP 1 786 303 B1 an identification mark on a capsule is detected by means of a detector, the detector being fitted to the slide to feed the capsule.

WO 2013/080073 reveals a portion packaging with a liquid permeable material and a perforated film that can be used for detection.

WO2006/032565, WO2013/046149 and WO2014/153659 reveal further portion packs with an identification mark.

The present invention is therefore intended to create a serving pack, a machine and a method for brewing a brew beverage, which have an improved portion pack detection to facilitate handling.

This task is solved by a portion packing with the characteristics of claim 1, a machine with the characteristics of claim 7 and a process with the characteristics of claim 11.

In the case of the portion packing according to the invention, an extraction material is placed in a chamber surrounded by a liquid permeable filter material, with a movable closing device to open the chamber, which is moved from a closed position to an open position, with at least one identification mark on the movable closing device to identify the portion packing. This can be done by means of a detection unit, on the one hand, to identify the portion packing, for example to control the preparation parameters during the brewing of the beverage, such as the temperature of the hot water seal or the amount of hot water, and on the other hand, by means of the detection unit, whether the portion packing is moved in a closed or opened position, and whether the portion packing is moved in a marked direction, as the detection can also be done by means of a position marker.

Preferably, the closing device shall have at least one folding flap. The flap may be located on one side of the serving pack if the serving pack is in a position of use, i.e. in a holder of a brewing machine. Preferably, the closing device shall have several folding flap, for example, triangular in shape, which surround an upper opening in the open position. Depending on the design of the serving pack, between two and ten folding flap may be provided on the top, preferably between four and eight flap, in particular six flap.

In another design, the markings are placed on one flap at each end, whereby in the closed position of the portion packing the markings on each flap form a common surface, such as a colour surface or another coding such as a barcode or a symbol.

Preferably, the portion packing shall consist of a supporting body of cardboard connected to the filter material, the supporting body having a folded edge on which the closing device flaps can be stored flexibly. By wetting the folded edge, the closing device with the flaps can then be moved from a closed position to the open position, as wetting initiates spring processes that cause the flaps to flex at the folded edge. For example, the portion packing may be designed as revealed in DE 10 2018 101 338.

In the case of the brewing machine according to the invention, a detection unit can be used to detect a mark placed on a movable closing device of the serving pack in the closed position, so that on the one hand the identification of the serving pack can be made and on the other hand the closed and open state of the serving pack can be detected. The detection unit is preferably located on top of the serving pack adjacent to a hot water intake. The detection unit can be, for example, an optical detection unit that has a light source and an optical reader. An LED light source can be used to illuminate a portion of the closing device of the serving pack, which can be illuminated by an optical sensor, for example, a color-coding camera, which can be used to detect different types of portions.

The method of the invention, after placing a serving pack in a holder of a machine, involves the recording of a mark on a closing device on one side of the serving pack by a reader of the machine before the brewing process is initiated. Preferably, after recording a serving pack in the holder of the machine, a small amount of hot water is added to the serving pack by a control to open it, so that after a predetermined waiting time, for example between 2 s and 30 s, and in particular between 4 s and 15 s, hot water can be added to the opened serving pack again to brew the beverage.by first detecting the closed position of the serving pack and then checking after opening the serving pack whether the closing device is actually still in the closed position. This can prevent the release of hot water in case of malfunction, reducing the risk of injury to the user. The detection unit can be used to check whether the first delivery of hot water has opened the serving pack. At the same time, the total preparation time can be optimized, since it is not necessary to have a fixed waiting time between the first and the next water supply, but it can be detected from which time the serving pack is opened,to continue the process.

The control can also be used optionally to block a hot water outlet if no portion packing is detected in the machine holder by the detection unit or if a portion packing has already been used, further reducing the risk of injury to the user as no portion packing can be inserted in the process already started.

The invention is explained in more detail below by means of an example of an embodiment with reference to the accompanying drawings. Figure 1a schematic perspective view of a machine for brewing beverage preparation;Figure 2a schematic view of a serving pack used in the machine for detection;Figure 3a perspective view of a serving pack;Figures 4A to 4Dmultiple schematic views of the detection unit at different stages of brewing beverage production, andFigure 5a schematic view of a movable detection unit allowing dynamic measurement.

A machine 1 comprises a housing 2 containing preferably a removable freshwater tank 3 from which water can be drawn by a pump and a heating device to discharge hot water at a inlet 4; machine 1 has a stationary holding device 6 at the housing 2 in which a holder 7 is inserted which has a reception for a portion pack 8; the portion pack 8 is located below the inlet 4 and has a reflection mark on the top 11 which can be detected by a surface detection unit 12; the surface detection unit 12 has a light source 13 for this purpose, for example a colour label on the top of the LED light source which reflects some colour through the surface of the portion pack 8; the light sensor is designed to be used on the top of the bed, for example, a colour label on the top 11 or on the top 13 which can be detected by a colour sensor, for example, the RGB 11 or the RGB 11 light sensor.

During the brewing process, hot water is then poured into the open serving pack 8 via the intake 4 and flows through the serving pack 8 and into a cup 9 below the holder 7 which is placed on a dropper 10 of machine 1.

Figure 2 shows the detection unit 12 schematically, which has a light source 13 and an optical reader 14. The detection unit 12 is located above the portion packaging 8 contained in the holder 7. The portion packaging 8 includes a liquid permeable filter material, such as paper or nonwoven fabric, which has sidewalls 81 that run obliquely and terminate at a tip 82 in the lower area. On the top of the sidewalls 81 there is a folding edge 83 where a closing device 84 is stored, which can be moved. The marking 11 is located on the closing device 84, which is shown in the closed position in Figure 2. The extraction material, like a coffee or tea chamber, is arranged inside a serving of 80 cups.

It is also apparent that the lower tip 82 of serving pack 8 is located in holder 7 over a drainage channel 70.

The light source 13 emits light on the label 11 on the top of the serving pack 8 as shown by the dashed lines. The reader 14 captures the light rays reflected by the label 11 so that a colour design of the label 11 on the optical reader 14 can be used to determine the type of serving pack 8 in the holder 7. To minimise environmental effects, a combination measurement can also be made, i.e. a measurement without illumination by the light source 13 and a measurement with illumination by the light source 13 and a subsequent signal evaluation.

Figure 3 shows a portion pack 8 The portion pack 8 is pyramid-shaped and comprises a lower tip 82 from which side walls 81 extend upwards in a spiral. Each side wall 81 has a folding edge 83 on the top which connects the side walls 81 to an upper closing device 84 which has a variety of folding flaps which are essentially horizontal in the closed position. The horizontal orientation refers to the position of the folding device 84 in the closed position. The closing device 84 with the flaps finally comprises the marking 11 which provides for a number of folding flaps, but may be individually combined by three flaps which may be folded together at the end of the closing.

The portion pack 8 may be essentially formed as described in application DE 10 2018 101 338. In particular, portion pack 8 may have a liquid permeable filter material contained in a ring-shaped supporting body, which may form the folding edges 83 and be made of cardboard or other waterproof material. By pouring a small amount of hot water onto the top of portion pack 8 the water reaches the folding edges 83 and thereby causes spring processes to occur which open the closing device by swinging the individual flaps upwards. A mechanical lock of the flaps can be opened as described in the above application.

The control of machine 1 for brewing beverage preparation is shown in the various steps in Figures 4A to 4D: Other In Figure 4A, no portion packing 8 is used in holder 7 and the detection unit 12 can detect this because the optical reader 14 does not detect any reflection of the light rays emitted by the light source 13 and therefore a hot water output can be blocked to minimise the risk of injury to the user.

In Figure 4B, a serving pack 8 is placed in holder 7. The detection unit 12 detects the mark 11 on the top of the serving pack 8 by reflecting the light beam emitted by the light source 13 through the mark 11 and detected by the optical reader 14. This detection can signal to the control that a closed serving pack 8 is placed in holder 7 and the brewing process can be started.

In a first step, a small amount of hot water is then poured onto the top of serving pack 8 to open the closing device 84 of serving pack 8 as shown in Figure 4C. By pouring hot water onto serving pack 8 the closing device 84 is opened with the individual flaps arranged in a circular fashion, the flaps releasing a top of the chamber 80 for the roasting process. The detection unit 12 can detect, after a predetermined waiting time, for example between 2 s and 20 s, whether the closing device 84 is at least partially in the open position. In Figure 4C, it is now possible to detect that a section 11a Marki 11 and a section 11b Marki 11 are open in a different direction than the opening of the pack 8 and that a portion of the opening is now open by means of the detection unit 11 and a portion of the Marki 11 in the opening of the pack.

Figure 4D shows the fully open position of the portion pack 8 where the entire area of chamber 80 above the extraction material is accessible to allow hot water to be discharged from above. The open position of the closing device 84 can be detected, for example, by arranging an extraction material, such as brown coffee beans, in chamber 80 so that the brown color can be detected by the optical reader. The marking 11 can be provided in colours other than the extraction material, such as red, green or brown, so that colour detection can detect whether no portion is being inserted into the portion pack 7 or not, or whether a portion of coffee beans is being inserted into the portion pack 8 or not, or whether a portion of coffee is being inserted into the portion pack 8 or not, in the case of a position where the portion is in the open position.

In a particularly advantageous design of the machine, the detection unit is located in a movable part 40, for example a movable inlet, so that it does not interfere with the insertion and removal of the portion packing, but while the measurement is being made it is in the correct relative position (e.g. perpendicular to it) to portion packing 8. The movable part 40 can be moved by means of a drive and the control of the machine. A movable detection unit also allows a dynamic measurement of the opening angle. This is shown in Figure 5.

In the example shown, the serving pack 8 contains coffee flour, it is also possible to use tea or other extraction material instead of coffee flour, and the serving pack 8 can be used to prepare soups or other foodstuffs.

List of reference marks

1 machine2 housing3 freshwater tank4 intake6 holding device7 container8 serving pack 9 cup10 dropper 11 marking 11a section 11b section 12 detection unit13 light source14 reader 70 drainage channel80 chamber81 sidewall82 tip83 folding edge84 closing device

Claims (15)

1. Single-serve packaging (8), comprising a liquid-permeable filter material surrounding a chamber (80) in which an extraction material is arranged, wherein a movable closure device (84) is provided on the chamber (80) which is movable from a closed position into a position opening the chamber (80), characterized in that at least one marking (11) for identifying the single-serve packaging (8) is provided on the movable closure device (84).
2. Single-serve packaging according to claim 1, characterized in that the closure device (84) comprises at least one pivotable flap.
3. Single-serve packaging according to claim 2, characterized in that the closure device (84) comprises a plurality of pivotable flaps which in the open position circumferentially surround an opening to the chamber (80).
4. Single-serve packaging according to claim 2 or 3, characterized in that the marking (11) is provided in each case at the end of at least one part of the flaps, and the arms are interlocked with each other in the closed position of the single-serve packaging (8).
5. Single-serve packaging according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the marking (11) is formed by a colored surface.
6. Single-serve packaging according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the single-serve packaging (8) comprises a support body made of cardboard which is connected to the filter material and the support body has a folding edge (83) on which the flaps of the closure device (84) are pivotably mounted and, by moistening the folding edge (83), the closure device (84) can be moved from the closed position into the open position.
7. Machine for preparing a brewed beverage, comprising:

   - a device for the production of hot water;

   - a holder (7) for a single-serve packaging (8) having an extraction material for arranging the single-serve packaging (8) under a feed for the hot water;

   - a controller and a detection unit (12),

   characterized in that a marking (11) arranged on a movable closure device (4) of the single-serve packaging (8) can be detected in the closed position via the detection unit (12).
8. Machine according to claim 7, characterized in that a closed position and an open position of the single-serve packaging (8) can be detected by means of the detection unit (12).
9. Machine according to claim 7 or 8, characterized in that the marking (11) on the closure device (84) is pivoted when the closure device (84) is opened.
10. Machine according to one of claims 7 to 9, characterized in that the detection unit (12) comprises a light source (13) and an optical reader (14).
11. Method for preparing a brewed beverage, comprising the following steps:

    - inserting a single-serve packaging (8) comprising a liquid-permeable filter material with an extraction material into a holder (7) of a machine (1);

    - detecting a marking (11) on a closure device (84) on an upper side of the single-serve packaging (8) by a detection unit (12) of the machine (1);

    - opening the closure device (84) and moving the marking (11) of the single-serve packaging (8);

    - supplying hot water to the opening at the top of the single-serve packaging (8) and brewing a beverage, and

    - collecting the brewed beverage under the single-serve packaging (8).
12. Method according to claim 11, characterized in that, after a closed single-serve packaging (8) has been detected by the controller, hot water is applied to the single-serve packaging (8) in order to open it, and after a waiting time, in particular after detection of a successful opening of the single-serve packaging (8), hot water is again applied to the opened single-serve packaging (8) in order to brew the beverage.
13. Method according to claim 12, characterized in that it is checked via the detection unit (12) whether the single-serve packaging (8) has been opened after the first application of hot water.
14. Method according to one of claims 11 to 13, characterized in that a dispensing of hot water is blocked via a controller if no single-serve packaging (8) is detected in the holder (7).
15. Method according to one of claims 11 to 14, characterized in that a dispensing of hot water is blocked via a controller if an already opened single-serve packaging (8), in particular an already used single-serve packaging (8), is detected in the holder (7).