LU92840B1 - Capsule for the preparation of a beverage such as coffee or an infusion - Google Patents

Abstract

Capsule (1) having a bottom (11) and a side wall (12) generally forming a cone trunk whose opening provided with a rim (13) is covered by a lid after loading the product. The bottom (11) is subdivided into a central zone (111) and a peripheral zone (112) comprising peripheral sectors (14) bordered by a rupture line (15) leaving a connecting strip (16) between the peripheral sectors ( 14) with the central zone (111). The peripheral zone (112) is in the zone of action (2) of the pins (21) of the piston to be deformed by the pins (21) to open them

Description

Capsule for the preparation of a beverage such as coffee or an infusion

Field of the invention

The present invention relates to a capsule for receiving a substance for the preparation of a beverage, for a coffee machine having a housing for the capsule and a piston provided with pins distributed in an action zone for pressing the capsule in the housing of the machine resting against the capsule, the capsule having a bottom and a side wall generally forming a truncated cone whose opening provided with a rim is covered by a lid after loading the product.

State of the art

A multiplicity of capsules having the most diverse shapes are known to be used in a machine in which the capsule is pierced to inject hot water / steam and prepare a beverage such as coffee or an infusion.

Depending on the type of capsule, depending on whether it is a non-pre-pierced capsule, the pimples pierce the bottom or a pre-drilled capsule, the pimples come in a circular groove of the bottom corresponding to the action zone of the pimples which, in this case, do not touch the bottom.

The pre-drilled capsules must be sealed with additional packaging or overpack, which complicates the manufacturing by this packaging step after filling the capsule.

The conservation of flavors is not completely guaranteed because the aromas diffuse through the pre-boring in the volume of the packaging. The size of the capsule thus packaged or overpacked is important, which increases the volume of packaging capsules in boxes and ultimately the volume of waste.

In the case of non-pre-drilled capsules, the manufacture is difficult because it is necessary to reduce the thickness of the bottom to allow drilling by the pins.

In summary, the problem of these capsules is the complexity of their shape and their packaging to preserve the substance contained in the capsule as hermetically as possible to protect it against the deterioration of the organoleptic characteristics of the product and more generally to maintain the quality of the product , to obtain a drink as close as possible to a drink such as coffee or an infusion prepared directly from a fresh substance (coffee powder or infusion product).

Purpose of the invention

The present invention aims to develop a capsule of the above type, simple, reducing the packaging used to maintain hermeticity without complicating the manufacture and use of the capsule or make it more difficult to set up or extract it. the cavity of the machine and in this view, the invention also aims to achieve a biodegradable capsule and in particular a compostable capsule.

DISCLOSURE AND ADVANTAGES OF THE INVENTION For this purpose, the subject of the invention is a capsule of the type defined above, characterized in that the bottom is subdivided into a central zone and a peripheral zone comprising peripheral sectors bordered by a line of rupture. leaving between the peripheral sectors a connecting strip with the central zone, and each remaining sector connected to the bottom by a connecting zone, the peripheral zone being in the zone of action of the pins of the piston to be deformed by the pins pushing at least some peripheral areas to open them by tearing the break lines.

The capsule according to the invention has the advantage of being perfectly hermetic without complicating the piercing of the bottom. It is not likely to be deformed and get stuck in the cavity of the machine, thanks to the rigidity of the bottom of which all sectors in contact with the pins open and retract inwards; the pin which eventually encounters a connecting strip pushes it, opening the neighboring rupture lines without deforming the bottom irreversibly, which ensures liquid inlets distributed on the bottom, regularly distributing the liquid in the product.

The capsule according to the invention has the advantage of minimizing the packaging since being perfectly sealed, it does not require a priori overpackaging which reduces the waste placed in the trash.

The peripheral sectors are in number greater than that of the pins of the piston so that at least some of the pins meet a peripheral sector to open it while, if necessary, the pin arriving on a connecting strip between two sectors deforms the bottom and this deformation at least partially tears one or the other of the nearest breaking lines to at least partially open the corresponding sector.

As according to another characteristic, the connecting strips connect the outer edge of the bottom to its central zone through the peripheral zone, they reinforce the bottom and avoid any global deformation; if a pin encounters a connecting strip, it deforms only this connecting strip without deforming the entire bottom. This deformation is generally elastic, there is no overall deformation of the capsule may trap it in its housing of the machine.

According to another advantageous characteristic, the breaking line of a sector is formed of an outer segment and two branches oriented towards the central zone, the branches of two adjacent rupture lines leaving between them the connecting strip.

Advantageously, the connection zone connects the sector to the central zone of the bottom or vice versa, the connection zone connects the sector to the edge of the bottom. In both cases, under the pressure of a pin, the sector tears along the line of rupture and opens towards the inside of the capsule to form a passage for the liquid.

According to another advantageous characteristic, the peripheral sectors are identical and their number is greater than that of the pins of the piston. In a particularly advantageous manner, the number of peripheral sectors is one unit higher than that of the pins. Thus, on the one hand, all the pins are not likely to encounter binding strips, the risk being limited to the meeting of a pin and a connecting strip, the other pins acting directly on the peripheral sectors for open.

Thus, globally and over the entire periphery of the bottom, there will be passages for the liquid, which avoids the preferential passages through the mass of product contained in the capsule.

According to another advantageous characteristic, the capsule is produced by an injection-compression process, the entire capsule being made by injection and the rupture line obtained by compression from inside the capsule. The line of rupture is thus the impression of the compression tool which crosses the wall of the bottom only over a part of its thickness, for example to "half-flesh".

This has the advantage of a perfectly smooth outer bottom and a break line open towards the inside of the bottom, which avoids any attachment of the capsule on an asperity and the risk of partial opening or injury of the Bottom of the capsule during filling and conditioning manipulations.

According to another advantageous characteristic, the side wall has a shape of revolution around the axis of the capsule has a frustoconical upper portion connected to the bottom by a reinforced portion consisting of a frustoconical belt angle greater than that of the upper part, joining a cylindrical surface itself connected to the bottom by a frustoconical crown angle greater than that of the side wall, the frustoconical belt being reinforced on the inside of the capsule by a first set of gussets oriented radially and forming supports for the stacking empty capsules into each other and the cylindrical surface and the frustoconical crown being reinforced internally by a second set of gussets oriented radially and angularly offset from the gusset of the first set.

The capsule whose generally frustoconical side wall has been reinforced avoids being deformed by the piston and remain stuck in the cavity of the machine. Reinforcing elements are directly molded without requiring a complex mold with moving parts.

According to another advantageous characteristic the bottom is composed of a central zone and a peripheral zone joining the side wall by an edge, the peripheral zone being occupied by the sectors and the central zone being formed of a domed crown in the extension. the convex shape of the peripheral zone and connected to a flat crown surrounding a hollow dome.

The bottom thus structured is particularly rigid to withstand the thrust of the piston so that this thrust opens the sectors without deforming the bottom and allow to transmit the possible forces induced by the piston which a pin meet a part of the bottom other than a sector; the force will then be transmitted distributed peripherally to the "lower" part of the wall of the capsule so as to be applied in a distributed manner over the entire periphery of the conical wall, even in the case of a biodegradable or compostable capsule .

Indeed, according to another characteristic, the invention makes it possible to produce biodegradable capsules and in particular compos-tables. Such a capsule is characterized in that the capsule is made of a biodegradable and in particular compostable material, chosen from a group including PLA and mixtures thereof and the frustoconical upper part and the lower part are of reduced thickness compared to that of the lower part and the bottom.

According to another advantageous characteristic, the capsule characterized in that the gusset of the second set is located substantially in the middle of the outer segment of the rupture line of a peripheral sector.

This arrangement of the gusset of the second assembly makes it possible, with the gussets of the first assembly and the connecting strips, to rigidly surround the peripheral sectors so that, under the thrust of a pin, the thrust is exerted solely on the peripheral sector encountered by the pin. In the case of a pin meeting a portion other than a sector of the bottom, the bottom will be slightly deformed and this deformation will break the line of rupture on either side of this point of support of the pin.

drawings

The present invention will be described in more detail below with reference to an embodiment of a capsule shown in the accompanying drawings in which: FIG. 1 is a side view of an embodiment of FIG. 2 is a view in axial section of the capsule of FIG. 1 along the section plane IIII of FIG. 3; FIG. 3 is a top view of a capsule base, FIG. in axial section on an enlarged scale of the lower part of the capsule of FIG. 2, FIG. 4B is an enlarged view of the bottom showing the rupture lines, FIG. 4C is a view from above corresponding to FIG. opening of the peripheral sectors by the pushing of the pins, FIG. 5A is an axial sectional view of the capsule along the section plane (VA, VA) of FIG. 3; FIG. 5B is an axial sectional view of the capsule; according to the section plane (VB, VB) of FIG. e 6 is an axial sectional view of the stack of two capsules, FIG. 7A is an enlarged view of detail VIIA of FIG. 6, FIG. 7B is an enlarged view of detail VIIB of FIG.

Description of Embodiments of the Invention

According to Figure 1, the invention relates to a capsule 1 for a machine for preparing a drink such as coffee or an infusion. This capsule 1 has an overall shape of revolution about its axis XX with a bottom 11, a frustoconical side wall 12, and an open top, provided with a rim 13 receiving a cap sealing the opening to trap the product in the capsule.

By convention, to simplify the description of the capsule 1, reference will be made to the vertical orientation of the capsule shown in Figures 1, 2 and following, the edge 13 for the lid being located at the top and the bottom 11 at the bottom .

More specifically and according to the axial sectional view of Figure 2 and the top view of Figure 3, the capsule 1 has a flange 13 whose top is flat to fix the lid; the underside of the flange 13 comprises sealing lips for receiving the edge of the piston and sealing.

The capsule has a side wall 12 formed of a frustoconical upper portion 121 and a reinforced lower portion, having a frustoconical belt 122 provided internally with a first set of gussets 21, regularly distributed in groups of three. The gussets 21 in the radial planes reinforce the frustoconical belt 122 and form by their corner, supports 211 for stacking empty capsules (Figure 6).

The frustoconical belt 122 of cone angle greater than that of the portion 121 joins a cylindrical surface 123 continuing with a frustoconical crown 124 of relatively large cone angle joining the bottom 11 by its edge 113.

The cylindrical surface 123 and the frustoconical surface 124 are internally provided with a second set of gussets 22 in radial planes, ensuring the reinforcement of the lower part and the bottom 11 in a distribution which appears more clearly in FIG.

The portions 121, 122, 123, 124 of the side wall 12 have a reduced thickness except for the gussets 21, 22 and a ring 23 internally reinforcing the cylindrical surface 123.

The capsule 1 according to the invention is a non-pre-drilled capsule whose bottom 11, without opening, is hermetic before the action of the piston of the machine.

Figure 3 is a top view of the capsule 1 showing the inner structure of its lower portion and its bottom 11, in the rotational orientation about its vertical axis of rotational symmetry XX of the capsule. In Figure 2, the section plane is the plane (II II) of Figure 3 which is not a plane of symmetry or even pseudosymmetry as the planes (VA, VA) and (VB, VB). Inside the rim 13 appear the gussets 21 and their supports 211 and the gussets 22. The gussets 22 four in number are evenly distributed leaving each other a quadrant in which there are three gussets 21 also regularly distributed in each quadrant without being in the radial extension of the gussets 22.

The bottom 11 is geometrically subdivided into a central zone 111 and a peripheral zone 112 going to the edge 113 of the bottom, at its junction with the frustoconical crown 124 of the side wall 12. Schematically, the central zone 111 is delimited by a circle and the peripheral zone 112 is that between this circle and the edge 113 of the bottom.

The bottom 11 has peripheral sectors 14 located in the peripheral zone 112 and each delimited by a break line 15 composed of an outer segment 151, substantially parallel to the edge of the bottom and two branches 152, radial or generally oriented toward the zone central to delimit the sector 14 on three sides leaving the continuity of the material from the bottom to the central zone 111. This continuity of the material is shown schematically by a dashed line corresponding to a connecting zone 17 which extends over a certain width in the radial direction.

More specifically, the rupture line 15 consists of the outer segment 151 running at a distance from the edge 113 of the bottom and continuing at each end by a short branch 152 leaving the connecting zone 17 connecting the sector 14 to the central zone 111 of the bottom and constituting a hinge zone allowing the sector 14 to be detached from the bottom 11 by the partial or total breaking of its breaking line 15 to lift relative to the bottom surface by the hinge effect produced by this connecting area 17.

The rupture line 15 is preferably formed by a weakening of the material at the time of manufacture of the capsule, by injection-compression, leaving the outer surface of the bottom smooth so that, as indicated above, the rupture line 15 appears inside the capsule and not on the outside. But the opposite solution is not excluded. The rupture line 15 is simply a reduction in the thickness of the material without going through the thickness, nor can it be pierced so that the bottom 11 is perfectly sealed like the remainder of the capsule.

The sectors 14 are separated by connecting strips 16 connecting the edge 113 to the central zone 111 through the peripheral zone 112 so as to stiffen the bottom 11 so that it does not risk sinking in contact with a pin.

The connecting strips 16 are in the radial alignment of the middle gusset 21 of each group of three gussets. The sectors 14 between the connecting strips 16 are symmetrical with respect to a respective radial direction passing through a gusset 22 of the frustoconical crown 124 so that the edge 113 of the bottom is reinforced beyond the outer segment 151 of the rupture line. 15. In this arrangement, the gussets 22 are also supported by the groups of gussets 21 of the frustoconical belt 122.

The gussets 21, 22 and the connecting strips 16 thus form an array of reinforcing elements surrounding the rupture line 15 of each sector 14.

The peripheral zone 112 in which sectors 14 are located has a convex shape.

The central zone 111 is composed of a crown 111a, of curved shape with inside thereof a flat ring 1 lb and in the center a dome 11 the hollow.

The convex shape of the crown 111a extends the curved shape of the peripheral zone 112.

In summary, the succession of the forms of revolution 121, 122, 123, 124 and their connecting lines 122a, 123a, 124a between them and the junction line formed by the edge 113, with the bottom 11 and the internal reinforcements formed by the sets of gussets 21, 22 and the ring 23 form a lower part of the capsule, including the bottom, particularly rigid so as not to deform under the thrust of the piston.

It should be noted that the section plane (Il II) passing through the two sectors 14 and the outer segment 151 of the two rupture lines 15 reveal its break lines in Figure 4A.

According to Figure 4B the capsule 1 is placed in the housing of a machine known per se, not shown which provides sealing between the upstream and downstream of the capsule in the direction of passage of the liquid at the rim 13 and the lid so that the injected liquid is forced through the capsule 1 and can not bypass the exit side operculum. The bottom 11 of the capsule is exposed to the thrust of the pins 31 of the piston which pierce it to inject extraction liquid in the cavity of the capsule and out as a drink by the open lid.

The pins 31 are distributed over the piston in an annular action zone 3 and in particular on a circle centered on the axis of the piston which is also the axis XX of the capsule. The action zone 3 overlaps the peripheral zone 112 and the crown crown 111a between the edge 113 and the flat crown 111b

As the peripheral sectors 14 are preferably regularly distributed around the axis XX and their number is greater than that of the pins, this prevents all the pins from arriving on binding strips 16. It is indeed necessary that the Piston pins arrive on the surface of sectors 14 or at least at the base of the sectors and not on the connecting strips 16.

In general, there are three pins 31 regularly distributed around the axis of the piston so that the bottom 11 preferably comprises four sectors 14.

The number of sectors 14 is just greater than that of the pins 31, preferably one unit to have an evenly distributed overall liquid intake, ensuring good exhaustion of the product contained in the capsule. Thus, and as appears in Figure 4C very schematic, for this usual arrangement of the pins 31, at least two sectors 14 will be fully open and the other two will be partially while for a larger number of sectors 14, some would be not within the scope of action of the pins 31.

As the orientation of the capsule 1 about its axis XX, in the housing of the machine is not imposed by the shape since the capsule is symmetrical in rotation and that its orientation is random, the distribution and the shape of the segments 14 the bottom are designed so that: - the pins 31 can push at least some sectors 14 to open the break line 15 without deforming the edge 113; - If a pin 31 arrives on a connecting strip 16, it is not pierced by the pin, but deformed with a portion of the central zone 111, which causes the tear at least local of the breaking line 15 nearby but will not deform the capsule and jam it in the housing of the machine. The interior of the bottom 11 is covered by a not shown sheet, forming a mechanical filter retaining the product.

Figure 4 B shows the usual distribution of the pins 31 of the piston. These are three pins 31 located on a circle centered on the axis XX. More generally, the pins 31 may have a different distribution, also Figure 4B shows the annular surface constituting the action zone 3 of the pins. This zone overlaps the sectors 14, their connecting zone 17 and the geometric limit (according to the drawing) between the peripheral zone 112 and the central zone 111. The orientation of the capsule 1 with respect to the pins 21 is random, also every the peripheral sectors 14 are not necessarily in front of pins 31. In the example shown, the extension of the connecting strip 16 arrives on a pin so that the bottom surface which can not be pierced by the pin because of its thickness, is deformed and partially embedded in the capsule. This deformation puts in tension the two branches 152 on either side of this connecting strip 16.

FIG. 4C shows the opening of the sectors 14 by the thrust of the pins 31 against the bottom of the capsule. The peripheral sectors 14 open differently depending on the relative orientation between the bottom 11 of the capsule and the position of the pins 31.

To highlight the opening of the sectors 14, the different parts of the bottom are shaded to leave blank the open parts of the sectors 14.

The closing movement of the machine produces the opening of certain sectors 14 of the bottom by the pins 21 of the piston before the extraction fluid injection. The peripheral sectors 14 functioning as kinds of gills, letting the fluid pass through different veins passing through the product of the capsule. This advantage of distribution of the points of entry of the fluid is all the more striking that the opening of the sectors is oriented towards the edge 113 of the peripheral wall and not towards the center, so that the fluid arrives at multiple points in the mass of product, avoiding the preferential paths that would cross the product along lines of least resistance and generate losses of non-infused material.

The capsule 1 described above is preferably made of a biodegradable and in particular compostable material chosen from the group of materials including PLA (polylactic acid) or mixtures thereof and other biodegradable materials or compos-tables. As this material has, in some cases, a tendency to swell so that the capsule could lock in the cavity of the machine, it is advantageous to reduce the thickness of the wall to reduce the external dimensions of the capsule at the level of the This is possible without the risk of the capsulator being deformed by the thrust of the piston of the machine because this thrust of the piston acts substantially in the direction of the frustoconical upper portion 121 of the wall 12, supported by the cavity of the machine; this thrust of the piston is received by the bottom 11 and the lower portion 121, 122, 123, 124, reinforced with the capsule so that the thrust is evenly distributed.

This reinforced lower part may have a wall of reduced thickness.

On the other hand, the bottom is of greater thickness because the thrust is exerted against the surface of the bottom 11. By way of example, the thickness of the side wall 12 can be of the order of 0.50 millimeters and that of the bottom, of the order of 0.80 millimeters. The reduction in thickness achieving the rupture line 15 will leave a thickness of material of the order of 0.10 millimeters.

The sectional views of FIGS. 5A, 5B along the section planes (VA, VA) (VB, VB) of FIG. 2 show the section of the gussets 21 (FIG. 5A) and that of the gussets 22 (FIG. 5B).

Figure 6 shows the stack of two capsules 1, 1 'having an axial size (Ho) and a difference in height (d) between the two capsules 1, 1'.

In this stack (FIG. 6), the detail view (FIG. 7A) shows the support of the frustoconical crown 124 of the capsule 1 'on the supports 211 of the capsule 1. This support makes it possible to have a gap e between the walls 121 of the two capsules 1, 1 'as shown in Figure 7B. This relative arrangement makes it possible, on the one hand, to stack the empty capsules with a minimum space requirement and, on the other hand, to prevent the capsules from "sticking" to each other by their frustoconical part 121 and make it difficult to unstack automatic for filling capsules.

NOMENCLATURE 1.1 'Capsule 11 Bottom 111 Center 111a Crowned crown 111b Flat crown 111c Hollow dome 112 Peripheral area 113 Bottom edge 12 Lateral wall 121 Frustoconical top 122 Frustoconical belt 123 Cylindrical surface 124 Frustoconical crown 13 Edge 14 Perimeter 15 Line breaking 151 External segment 152 Branch 16 Connecting strip 17 Linking zone 2 Action zone 21 Gusset forming supports 211 Support 22 Gusset 23 Ring 3 Action zone 31 Picot

Claims (1)

A capsule for receiving a substance for the preparation of a beverage, for a coffee machine having a housing for the capsule and a piston provided with pins distributed in an action zone for pressing the capsule into a capsule. the housing of the machine resting against the capsule, and pierce it to inject the hot water, the capsule (1) having a bottom (11) and a side wall (12) generally forming a truncated cone whose aperture provided with a rim (13) is covered by a lid after loading the product, capsule characterized in that the bottom (11) is subdivided into a central zone (111) and a peripheral zone (112) comprising peripheral sectors (14) bordered by a breaking line (15) leaving between the peripheral sectors (14) a connecting strip (16) with the central zone (111) and each sector (14) remaining connected to the bottom (11) by a connecting zone (17), the peripheral zone (112) and in the region of action (2) of the pins (21) of the piston to be deformed by the pins (21) pushing at least some peripheral sectors (14) to open them by tearing the break line 2) Capsule according to the Claim 1, characterized in that the connecting strips (16) connect the outer edge (113) of the bottom (11) to its central zone (111) through the peripheral zone (112). 3 °) capsule according to claim 1, characterized in that the line of rupture (15) of a sector (14) is formed of an outer segment (151) and two branches (152) oriented towards the central zone ( 111), the branches (152) of two adjacent breaking lines (15) leaving between them the connecting strip (16). 4 °) Capsule according to claim 1, characterized in that the connecting zone (17) connects the sector (14) to the central zone (111) of the bottom (11). 5 °) capsule according to claim 1, characterized in that the side wall (12) has a revolution about the axis (XX) of the capsule has a frustoconical upper portion (121) connected to the bottom (11) by a reinforced portion consisting of a frustoconical belt (122) with an angle greater than that of the upper part (121), joining a cylindrical surface (123) itself connected to the bottom (11) by a frustoconical crown (124) of angle greater than that of the side wall (121), the frustoconical belt (122) being reinforced on the inside of the capsule by a first set of gussets (21) oriented radially and forming supports (211) for the stacking of empty capsules in each other and the cylindrical surface (123) and the frustoconical ring (124) being reinforced internally by a second set of gussets (22) oriented radially and angularly offset from the gussets (21) of the first set. 6 °) capsule according to claim 1, characterized in that the bottom is composed of a central zone (111) and a peripheral zone (112) joining the side wall (12) by an edge (113), the zone peripheral (112) being occupied by the sectors (14) and the central zone (111) being formed of a curved crown (111a) in the continuation of the curved shape of the peripheral zone (112) and connected to a flat crown ( 111b) surrounding a hollow dome (111c). 7 °) Capsule according to claim 5 or claim 6, characterized in that the capsule (1) is a biodegradable material and in particular compostable, selected from a group including PLA and mixtures thereof and the frustoconical upper part (121), the lower portion (122-124) have a reduced thickness relative to that of the bottom (11). 8 °) capsule according to claim 5, characterized in that the gusset (22) of the second set is located substantially in the middle of the outer segment (151) of the breaking line (15) of a peripheral sector (14). 9 °) Capsule according to claim 1, characterized in that the peripheral sectors (14) are identical and their number greater than that of the pins (21) of the piston in particular it is one unit higher than that of the pins (21). 10 °) Capsule according to claim 1, characterized in that the capsule (1) is made by an injection-compression process, the rupture line (15) being obtained by compression from the inside of the capsule.