AU2016330818A1 - Capsule for preparing a beverage such as coffee or an infusion - Google Patents

Abstract

A capsule (1) having a base (11) and a side wall (12), together forming part of a frustum of a cone of which the opening, provided with a rim (13), is covered by a lid after filling with the product. The base (11) is subdivided into a central area (111) and a peripheral area (112) comprising peripheral sectors (14) bordered by a rupture line (15) leaving a connecting strip (16) connecting the peripheral sectors (14) with the central area (111). The peripheral area (112) is in the action area (2) of the spikes (21) of the piston so as to be deformed by the spikes (21) in order to open them.

Description

“CAPSULE FOR THE PREPARATION OF A BEVERAGE SUCH AS COFFEE OR AN INFUSION"

Domain of the invention

The present invention pertains to a capsule designed to contain a substance for the preparation of a beverage, for a coffee machine having a housing for the capsule and a piston endowed with pins distributed in an action area for pressing the capsule within the housing of the machine, by pressing against the capsule, with the capsule having a bottom and a side wall essentially forming a truncated cone of which the opening has a rim covered by a cap after the product is loaded.

State of the art

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

Depending on the type of capsule, according to whether it is a non-pre-pierced capsule with which the spurs pierce the bottom, or a pre-pierced capsule with which the spurs enter a circular groove in the bottom, which is the area of action of the pins which, in this case, do not touch the bottom.

Pre-pierced capsules must be hermetically closed by additional packaging, or an overwrap, which complicates the production because of this packaging step after the filling of the capsule.

The conservation of flavors is not entirely guaranteed, because the aromas diffuse through the pre-piercings within the volume of the packaging.

The size of the capsule thus packaged or overpacked is considerable, which thus increases the volume of packaging of the capsules in their boxes and, ultimately, the volume of waste.

In the case of non-pre-pierced capsules, the production is difficult because it is necessary to reduce the thickness of the bottom to enable the piercing by the spurs.

To sum up, the problem of these capsules is the complexity of their shape and their packaging to preserve the substance contained within the capsule as hermetically sealed as possible, to protect it against deterioration of the sensory characteristics of the product and, more generally, to maintain the quality of the product, so as to obtain a drink that is as similar as possible to a beverage such as coffee or an infusion prepared directly from a fresh substance (coffee powder or an infusion product).

Purpose of the invention

The present invention addresses the development of a capsule of the above type, that is simple and reduces the packaging used to maintain a hermetic seal without complicating the manufacture and use of the capsule or making it more difficult to install or extract it from the cavity in the machine; additionally, with this in mind, the invention also addresses the production of a biodegradable capsule and, notably, a capsule that is compostable.

Explanation and advantages of the invention

To accomplish these ends, the invention addresses a capsule of the above-described type that is characterized in that the bottom is subdivided into a central area and a peripheral area incorporating peripheral sections edged by a breakage line leaving a connecting strip between the peripheral sections and the central section, with each each section remaining joined to the bottom by a connecting area, and with the peripheral area being in the area of action of the spurs of the piston, so as to be deformed by the spurs pushing at least some peripheral sections, in order 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 unlikely to be deformed and get stuck in the cavity in the machine, because of the rigidity of the bottom, of which all the sections in contact with the spurs open and retract inward; the spur, which eventually encounters a connecting strip, pushes it, opening the neighboring break lines without irreversibly deforming the bottom, which ensures entries of liquid distributed over the bottom, regularly dispersing the liquid within the product.

The capsule according to the invention has the advantage of minimizing the packaging, which is perfectly sealed, it does not require overwrapping a priori, which reduces the waste dumped in the trash.

The peripheral sections number greater than the spurs of the piston, so that at least some of the spurs encounter a peripheral section and open it while, where applicable, a spur encountering a connecting strip between two sections deforms the bottom, with this deformation at least partially tearing one or other of the nearest break lines so as to at least partially open the corresponding section.

According to another characteristic, the connecting strips joint the outer edge of the bottom to its central area through the peripheral area; they reinforce the bottom and prevent any overall deformation; if a pin encounters a joining strip, it only deforms this joining strip without deforming the entire bottom. As this deformation is generally elastic, there is no overall deformation of the capsule that might trap it within its lodging in the machine.

According to another advantageous characteristic, the break line of a section is formed from an outer segment and two branches oriented towards the central area, the branches of two adjacent break lines leave the connecting strip between them.

Advantageously, the joining area connects the section to the central area of the bottom or, conversely, the joining area connects the section to the edge of the bottom. In both cases, under the pressure from a spur, the section tears along the break line and opens towards the interior of the capsule so as to form a passageway for the liquid.

According to another advantageous characteristic, the peripheral sections are identical and number greater than the spurs of the piston. Particularly advantageously, the number of peripheral sections is one greater than the spurs. Thus, firstly, not all the spurs are will encounter joining strips, the risk being limited to an encounter between a spur and a connecting strip, with the other spurs acting directly on the peripheral sections so as to open them.

Thus, globally and over the entire periphery of the bottom, there will be passageways for the liquid, which prevents the opening of preferential passageways through the mass of product contained within the capsule.

According to another advantageous characteristic, the capsule is manufactured using an injection/compression process, with the capsule ensemble being produced by injection, and with the break line being procured by compression from within the interior of the capsule. The break line is thus the imprint of the compression tool, which only traverses the wall of the bottom over part of its thickness - halfway, for instance.

This has the advantage of producing a perfectly-smooth outer bottom and a break line open towards the interior of the bottom, which prevents any attachment of the capsule to a snag, with the risk of partial opening or injury of the bottom of the capsule during the filling and packaging operations.

According to another advantageous characteristic, the side wall is formed around the center line of the capsule, and has a conically-shaped upper portion joined to the bottom via a reinforced portion composed of a truncated conical strip having an angle greater than that of the side wall, with the conical strip being being reinforced on the interior of the capsule by a first set of radially-oriented gussets forming bearing points for the stacking of empty capsules within each other, and with the cylindrical surface and the truncated conical crown being reinforced internally by a second set of radially-oriented gussets that are angularly offset in relation to the first set of gussets.

The capsule, of which the side wall is of essentially conical form, is thus reinforced to prevent being deformed by the piston and remaining jammed within the cavity in the machine. The reinforcing parts are produced directly during the molding, without requiring a complex mold with moving parts.

According to another advantageous characteristic, the bottom is composed of a central area and a peripheral area joined to the side wall at one edge, with the peripheral area being occupied by the sections, and with the central area being formed from a domed crown within the extension of the concave shape of the peripheral area, and being joined to a flat crown surrounding a hollow dome.

The bottom thus formed is particularly rigid so as to withstand the thrust of the piston, so that this thrust opens the sections without deforming the bottom and allows transmission of any forces caused by the piston, of which a spur encounters a part of the bottom other than a section; 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.

In effect, according to another characteristic, the invention makes it possible to produce capsules that are biodegradable and, in particular, compostable. Such a capsule is characterized in that the capsule is made of a biodegradable and, notably, compostable material chosen from a group including PLA and mixtures thereof, and the conical upper part and the lower part are of reduced thickness in relation to the lower part and the bottom.

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

This arrangement of the gusset of the second set allows -in conjunction with the gussets of the first set and the joining strips -the peripheral sections to be rigidly surrounded so that, under the thrust from a spur, the said thrust is exerted only on the peripheral section encountered by the spur. In the event of a spur encountering a part other than a section within the bottom, the bottom will be slightly deformed and this deformation will break the break line on either side of the point of thrust of the spur.

Drawings

The invention herein will be described hereinafter in more detailed manner by means of a form of embodiment of a capsule illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a side view of one form of implementation of a capsule, Figure 2 is an axial cross-section of the capsule in Figure 1, accordance with the break line II-II of Figure 3;

Figure 3 is a top view iof a capsule bottom;

Figure 4A is an axial cross-section, at larger scale, of the bottom part of the capsule in Figure 2;

Figure 4B is an enlarged view of the bottom, showing the break lines;

Figure 4C is a corresponding top view of Figure 4B, showing the opening of the peripheral sections by the thrust of the spurs;

Figure 5A is an axial cross-section of the capsule, in accordance with the break line (VA-VA) of Figure 3;

Figure 5B is an axial cross-section of the capsule, in accordance with the break line (VB-VB) of Figure 3;

Figure 6 is an axial cross-section of the stacking of two capsules; Figure 7A is an enlarged-scale view of the detail VILA in Figure 6; Figure 7B is an enlarged-scale view of the detail VIIB in Figure 6). Description of forms of implementation of the invention

As illustrated in Figure 1, the invention pertains to a capsule 1 for a machine for the preparation of a beverage such as coffee or an infusion. This capsule 1 is globally formed around its axis XX, with a bottom 11, with a conical side wall 12, and with an open top, being endowed with a rim 13 accommodating a hermetically-sealed cover over the opening to enclose the product within the capsule.

As a convention, to simplify the description of the capsule 1, reference will be made to the vertical orientation of the capsule illustrated in Figures 1, 2 and the subsequent drawings, with the rim 13 for the cover being located at the top, and with the bottom 11 below.

More precisely, and as illustrated in the axial cross-section in Figure 2 and the top view in Figure 3, the capsule 1 has a rim 13 of which the top is flat, so that the cover can be attached too it; the underside of the rim 13 incorporates sealing lips to accommodate the edge of the piston and produce the seal.

The capsule has a side wall 12 composed of a conical upper portion 121 and a reinforced lower portion, with a conical strip 122 endowed internally with a first set of gussets 21 regularly distributed in groups of three. The gussets 21 in the radial planes reinforce the conical belt 122, and - via their corner - form bearing points 211 for stacking empty capsules (Figure 6).

The conical belt 122, which has a conical angle greater than that of the portion 121, is joined to a cylindrical surface 123 that is extended by a conical crown 124 with a relatively-large cone angle connecting to the bottom 11 via its edge 113.

The cylindrical surface 123 and the conical surface 124 are endowed internally with a second set of gussets 22 in radial planes, reinforcing the lower part and the bottom 11, with a distribution that is illustrated more clearly in Figure 3.

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-pierced capsule of which the bottom 11 - which has no opening - is hermetically sealed before the action of the machine's piston.

Figure 3 is a top view of the capsule 1 showing the inner structure of its lower part, and of its bottom 11, in accordance with the orientation around the vertical axis of rotational symmetry XX of the capsule. In Figure 2, the plane of cross-section is the plane (II II) of Figure 3, which is not a plane of symmetry or even pseudo-symmetry like the planes (VA, VA) and (VB, VB).

Within the rim 13, there are the gussets 21 and their bearing points 211, as well as the gussets 22. The gussets 22 - of which there are four - are distributed regularly, with a quadrant between each one of them, within which there are three gussets 21 also regularly distributed within each quadrant, without being in radial extension of the gussets 22.

The bottom 11 is geometrically subdivided into a central area 111 and a peripheral area 112 extending to the edge 113 of the bottom, at its junction with the conical crown 124 of the side wall 12. Schematically, the central area 111 is bounded by a circle, and the peripheral area 112 is the area between this circle and the edge 113 of the bottom.

The bottom 11 has peripheral sections 14 located within the peripheral area 112, and each is bounded by a break line 15 composed of an outer segment 151, being substantially parallel to the edge of the bottom, and two branches 152, being radial or essentially oriented toward the central area, so as to bound the section 14 on three sides while allowing continuity of the material of the bottom towards the central area 111. This continuity of the material is schematically illustrated by a dashed line corresponding to a connecting area 17 that extends over a certain width within the radial direction.

More precisely, the break line 15 consists of the outer segment 151 extending, at a certain distance, the edge 113 of the bottom, and continued at each extremity by a short branch 152 allowing continuation of the connecting area 17 joining the section 14 to the central area 111 of the bottom, and constituting a hinging area allowing the section 14 to be detached from the bottom 11 by the partial or complete breakage of its break line 15, so as to be lifted in relation to the surface of the bottom by the hinging effect produced by this connecting area 17.

The break line 15 is preferably formed by a weakening of the material at the time of production of the capsule, through injection/compression, leaving the outer surface of the bottom smooth so that, as explained above, the break line 15 lies within the capsule and not on the outside. But the contrary implementation is not excluded. The break line 15 is simply a reduction in the thickness of the material, without traversing the entire thickness, and without producing a penetration, such that the bottom 11 is perfectly sealed like the rest of the capsule.

The sections 14 are separated by connecting strips 16 joining the edge 113 to the central area 111 through the peripheral area 112, so as to stiffen the bottom 11 such that it will not be depressed on contact with a spur.

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

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

The peripheral area 112 within which the sections 14 are positioned has a concave shape.

The central area 111 is composed of a crown 111a of dished shape, with a flat crown lib within it, and with a hollow dome 11 lc in the center.

The cave shape of the crown 111a extends the concave form of the peripheral area 112.

To sum up, the succession of the forms of revolution 121, 122, 123, 124 and their join lines 122a, 123a, 124a between them and the line of connection 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, produces a lower part of the capsule - including the bottom -that is particularly rigid, such as not to deform under thrust from the piston.

It should be emphasized that the plane of cross-section (II II) passing through the two sections 14 and the outer segment 151 of the two break lines 15 shows its break lines in Figure 4A.

As illustrated in Figure 4B, the capsule 1 is placed within the housing of a machine of known design per se, which is not illustrated, which provides the seal upstream and downstream of the capsule, in the direction of travel of the liquid, at the rim 13 and the cover, so that the injected liquid is forced through the capsule 1 and can not bypass it, towards the exit, at the cover side. The bottom 11 of the capsule is exposed to the thrust of the spurs 31 of the piston, which pierce it so as to inject the extraction liquid into the cavity of the capsule and exit as the beverage via the open cover.

The spurs 31 are distributed on the piston in a ring-shaped area of action 3 and, in particular, over a circle centered on the center line of the piston, which is also the capsule’s axis XX. The action area 3 overlaps the peripheral area 112 and the concave crown 111a, between the edge 113 and the flat crown 11 lb.

As the peripheral sections 14 are preferably regularly distributed around the axis XX and their number is greater than that of the spurs, this prevents the arrival of all the spurs at the joining strips 16. This is because it is necessary that the spurs of the piston arrive on the surface of the sections 14, or at least at the base of the sections, and not on the joining strips 16.

In general, there are three spurs 31 regularly distributed around the center line of the piston, so the bottom 11 preferably incorporates four sections 14.

The number of sections 14 is just greater than that of the spurs 31 - preferably by one - so as to have an essentially even distribution of liquid intake, thus ensuring satisfactory usage of the product contained within the capsule. Thus - as illustrated in Figure 4C in a very schematic manner - for this usual arrangement of the spurs 31, at least two sections 14 will be fully open, while the other two will be partially open, whereas with a larger number of sections 14, some would be not within the perimeters of action of the spurs 31.

Because the orientation of the capsule 1 about its center line XX, within the machine's housing, is not imposed by the shape, since the capsule is in symmetrical rotation, and since its orientation is random, the distribution and the shape of the segments 14 of the bottom are designed so that: - the spurs 31 can push against at least some sections 14, so as 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 spur, but is deformed with a portion of the central area 111, which causes the tearing - at least locally - of the break line 15 in close proximity, but without risk of deforming the capsule and causing it to jam within the machine's housing.

The interior of the bottom 11 is covered by layer - not illustrated - forming a mechanical filter that retains the product.

Figure 4B shows the common distribution of the spurs 31 of the piston. There are three spurs 31 located in a circle centered on the axis XX. More generally, the spurs 31 can be distributed differently; thus, Figure 4B shows the ring-shaped surface constituting the area of action 3 of the spurs. This area overlaps the sections 14, their connecting area 17, and the geometric boundary (according to the drawing) between the peripheral area 112 and the central area 111.

The orientation of the capsule 1 in relation to the spurs 21 is random, so not all the peripheral sections 14 are necessarily opposite the spurs 31. In the example illustrated, the extension of the joining strip 16 arrives at a spur, such that the surface of the bottom -which cannot be pierced by the spur, because of its thickness - is deformed and partially embedded within the capsule. This deformation places tension upon the two branches 152, on either side of this joining strip 16.

Figure 4C shows the opening of the sections 14 by the thrust of the spurs 31 against the bottom of the capsule. The peripheral sections 14 open differently, depending on the relative orientation between the bottom 11 of the capsule and the position of the spurs 31.

To illustrate the opening of the sections 14, the various parts of the bottom are shaded, leaving the open parts of the sections 14 in white.

The closing movement of the machine produces the opening of certain sections 14 of the bottom by the spurs 21 of the piston, before the injection of the extraction fluid. The peripheral sections 14 operate as kinds of funnels, allowing the fluid to pass through different veins traversing the product in the capsule. This advantage of distribution of the points of entry of the fluid is all the more significant because the opening of the sections is oriented towards the edge 113 of the peripheral wall, and not towards the center, such that the fluid arrives at multiple points within the mass of product, eliminating preferential paths that might pass through the product along lines of lesser resistance, and that would give rise to wastages of un-infused product.

The capsule 1 described above is preferably made of a biodegradable and, notably, compostable material chosen from the group of materials including PLA (polylactic acid) or mixtures thereof, and other biodegradable or compostable materials. As this material has, in some cases, a tendency to swell, so that the capsule could become jammed within the cavity of the machine, it is advantageous to reduce the thickness of the wall, so as to reduce the outside dimensions of the capsule at the side wall 12. This is possible without risk that the capsule be deformed by the thrust from the machine's piston, because the thrust from the piston acts essentially in the direction of the upper conical portion 121 of the wall 12, supported by the cavity of the machine; this thrust from the piston is received by the bottom 11 and the lower reinforced part 121, 122, 123, 124 of the capsule, such that the thrust is evenly distributed.

This reinforced lower part can have a wall of lesser thickness.

However, 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 around 0.50 millimeters, while that of the bottom can be around 0.80 millimeters. The reduction in thickness producing the break line 15 will leave a thickness of material of approximately 0.10 millimeters.

The cross-sections in Figure 5A, 5B, along the planes of cross-section (VA, VA) (VB, VB) of Figure 2, show the section of the gussets 21 (Figure 5A) and of the gussets 22 (Figure 5B).

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

In this stacking (Figure 6), the detailed view (Figure 7A) shows the pressing of the conical crown 124 of the capsule 1’ against the bearing points 211 of the capsule 1. This pressing produces a gap e between the walls 121 of the two capsules 1, 1’ - as shown in Figure 7B. This relative arrangement makes it possible, firstly, to stack the empty capsules with a minimized space requirement and, secondly, prevents the capsules from sticking to each other because of their conical portion 121 and making automatic unstacking difficult for the filling of the capsules.

NOMENCLATURE 1,1’ Capsule 11 Bottom 111 Central area 111a Concave crown 111b Flat crown 111c Hollow dome 112 Peripheral area 113 Edge of bottom 12 Side wall 121 Conical upper part 122 Conical belt 123 Cylindrical surface 124 Conical crown 13 Rim 14 Peripheral section 15 Break line 151 Exterior segment 152 Branch 16 Joining strip 17 Connecting area 2 Area of action 21 Gusset forming bearing points 211 Bearing point 22 Gusset 23 Ring 3 Area of action 31 Spur

Claims (10)

1. CLAIMS 1) Capsule designed to accommodate a substance for the preparation of a beverage, for a coffee machine having a housing for the capsule, and a piston endowed with spurs distributed within an area of action for pressing the capsule within the machine’s housing, by pressing against the capsule and piercing it for the injection of hot water, with the capsule (1) having a bottom (11) and a side wall (12) essentially forming a truncated cone of which the opening is endowed with a rim (13) that is capped with a cover after loading the product, with the capsule being characterized in that the bottom (11) is subdivided into a central area (111) and a peripheral area (112) incorporating peripheral sections (14) edged by a break line (15) leaving a connecting strip (16) between the peripheral sections (14) joined to the central area (111), and with each section (14) being joined to the bottom (11) by a connecting zone (17), with the peripheral area (112) being within the area of action (2) of the spurs (21) of the piston, so as to be deformed by the spurs (21) pushing at least some peripheral sections (14) so as to open them by tearing the break line.
2. 2) Capsule in accordance with claim 1, characterized in that the connecting strips (16) connect the outer edge (113) of the bottom (11) at its central area (111), through the peripheral area (112).
3. 3) Capsule in accordance with claim 1, characterized in that the break line (15) of a section (14) is formed from an outer segment (151) and two branches (152) oriented towards the central area (111), with the branches (152) of two adjacent break lines (15) leaving the connecting strip (16) between them.
4. 4) Capsule in accordance with claim 1, characterized in that the connecting area (17) joins the section (14) to the central area (111) of the bottom (11).
5. 5) Capsule in accordance with claim 1, characterized in that the side wall (12) wraps around the center line (XX) of the capsule and has a conical upper part (121) connected to the bottom (11) by a reinforced part consisting of a conical belt (122) with an angle greater than that of the upper part (121), joining a cylindrical surface (123) that is itself connected to the bottom (11) by a conical crown (124) with an angle greater than that of the side wall (121), - the conical belt (122) being reinforced on the inside of the capsule by a first set of gussets (21) oriented radially and forming bearing points (211) for stacking empty capsules into each other, and - the cylindrical surface (123) and the conical crown (124) being reinforced internally by a second set of gussets (22) oriented radially and angularly offset in relation to the gussets (21) of the first set.
6. 6) Capsule in accordance with claim 1, characterized in that the bottom is composed of a central area (111) and a peripheral area (112) joining the side wall (12) by an edge (113), - with the peripheral area (112) being occupied by the sections (14) and - the central area (111) being formed as a concave crown (111a) extending from the concave shape of the peripheral area (112) and joined to a flat crown (111b) surrounding a hollow dome (111c).
7. 7) Capsule in accordance with claim 5 or claim 6, characterized in that the capsule (1) is made of a biodegradable and, notably, compostable material chosen from a group including PLA and mixtures thereof, and the conical upper part (121) and the lower part (122-124) are of reduced thickness in relation to the bottom (11).
8. 8) Capsule in accordance with claim 5, characterized in that the gusset (22) of the second set is located essentially in the middle of the outer segment (151) of the break line (15) of a peripheral sector (14).
9. 9) Capsule in accordance with claim 1, characterized in that the peripheral sections (14) are identical and number greater than the spurs (21) of the piston; notably there is one more of them than the spurs (21).
10. 10) Capsule in accordance with claim 1, characterized in that the capsule (1) is produced by an injection/compression process, with the break line (15) being obtained by compression from within the inside of the capsule.