CN116348393A

CN116348393A - Tea bag

Info

Publication number: CN116348393A
Application number: CN202180066589.3A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 安炳烈; 安怡玲; 安庭佑; 安埈鸿
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2020-09-29
Filing date: 2021-09-28
Publication date: 2023-06-27
Also published as: KR20230084448A; EP4219339A1; KR20220043888A; EP4219339A4; KR102542021B1; WO2023054737A1

Abstract

The water-swellable substance constituting the teabag of the present invention can prevent the tea from further dissolving in water after a predetermined time has elapsed by satisfying the condition that the expansion ratio in the first direction is greater than the expansion ratio in the second direction perpendicular to the first direction or that the contraction ratio in the second direction is greater than the contraction ratio in the first direction perpendicular to the second direction, thereby maintaining the aroma of the tea for a long time. Various examples of other water-swellable substances are presented.

Description

Tea bag

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a teabag, and more particularly, to a teabag which extracts tea only for a certain period of time so as to allow a user to enjoy an optimal taste and aroma.

Background

In general, a general teabag includes: a packaging tea bag containing a certain amount of raw bean coffee in powder form, or various tea leaves such as green tea, polygonatum tea, black tea, or tea materials such as extracts; a string connected to the tea bag so that the teabag can be put into or taken out of the container containing water; and the label is connected with the tea bag rope so as to play a role of a handle and pull the tea bag rope.

If the teabag is placed in a container with hot water, the tea material is immersed in the hot water so that the user can drink the brewed solution. At this time, the taste and aroma thereof depend on how long the contents of the teabag are immersed in hot water. Therefore, there is a problem in that if the soaking is performed for more than a certain time, bitterness is generated, aroma is also lost, and the optimum taste and aroma of the tea contained in the teabag cannot be enjoyed.

In order to solve this problem, the applicant has proposed a tea bag in patent application No. 10-2020-012655, which includes a tea bag containing tea material therein for convenience of drinking, wherein the tea bag is provided with a water-swellable substance which swells in water for a predetermined period of time to seal the tea material contained therein and prevent release of the tea material to the outside.

This application is a further specific improvement over the applicant's prior application.

As a related patent document, WO2017/137399 discloses a bag tea folded into a disc or a round shape to expand after water absorption. But the patent does not disclose a structure and function for preventing water absorption after a certain time has elapsed. Publication No. 10-2019-0127978 discloses a water-swellable nonwoven cellulose fiber fabric, the difference in pore size is determined at the time of fiber production, and the structure and function of initially absorbing water and blocking the entry of water after a certain time has not been disclosed. Japanese patent publication No. 2009-114569 discloses a net having a net that swells after absorbing water. However, this patent does not disclose that the size of the net becomes smaller after water absorption.

Disclosure of Invention

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a tea bag which is made of a water-swellable substance and which, after a certain period of time sufficient to release the flavor after the tea is immersed in and exposed to water, continues to retain and preserve the flavor and taste inherent to the tea by blocking the flow of water to the tea bag.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a tea bag in which tea is contained, the tea bag comprising a water-swellable substance having a higher expansion ratio in a first direction than in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction when the tea bag is in contact with water, wherein the water-swellable substances have respective expansion ratios such that after a predetermined time has elapsed, a portion in the first direction swells more than a portion in the second direction, thereby impeding the flow of water.

The water-swellable substance is a fiber and the first direction may be a thickness (vertical) direction and the second direction may be a length (lateral) direction.

The present invention also provides a teabag for containing tea therein, wherein the teabag is composed of a water-swellable substance having a larger shrinkage in a second direction than in a first direction perpendicular to the second direction when the teabag is in contact with water, and the water-swellable substances have respective shrinkage rates such that after a predetermined time has elapsed, a portion in the second direction is more shrunk than a portion in the first direction, thereby impeding the flow of water.

The present invention also provides a teabag as a teabag in which tea is contained, the teabag being a composite structure composed of a plurality of lattice-shaped partitions and a water-swellable substance arranged in a space formed by the respective partitions, the partitions including: a row which is formed in a line in a lateral direction and integrally extended in parallel, and is formed in a vertical direction at a certain distance, respectively; vertical columns which form lines in the vertical direction respectively, are elongated in parallel as a whole, and are formed at a distance from each other in the lateral direction respectively, and the partitions are made of a material which does not expand or contract when in contact with water and which is unchanged in shape and structure.

The water-swellable substance may be composed of cellulose that swells when contacted with water.

The water-swellable substance may be formed by stitching a material having a higher expansion rate in a first direction than in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction when in contact with water or stitching a material having a higher contraction rate in the second direction than in the first direction perpendicular to the second direction when in contact with water.

The present invention also provides a tea bag in which tea is contained, the tea bag including a water-swellable substance which is provided in a state in which its shape is changed by plastic working and which allows water to flow, and which returns to its original shape when in contact with water for more than a predetermined time, and which prevents water from flowing.

The present invention also provides a teabag for containing tea therein, comprising a water-swellable substance, wherein the water-swellable substance has a multilayer structure in which a core is formed of a substance having a small water-swellable rate and at least one frame portion having a large swelling rate is formed around the edge of the core.

The present invention also provides a teabag in which tea is contained therein, wherein the teabag has a composite structure in which a layer or a coating of a water-swellable substance is added to all or a part of a cloth material in which water is free to flow, and the water-swellable substance has a structure in which the swelling rate in a first direction is higher than the swelling rate in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction when the teabag is in contact with water or a structure in which the swelling rate in the second direction is higher than the swelling rate in the first direction perpendicular to the second direction when the teabag is in contact with water.

The present invention extracts tea only for a certain period of time so that a user can enjoy an optimal taste and aroma, thereby exerting effects of satisfying various consumer preferences and improving marketability.

Drawings

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating the structure and principle of a water-swellable substance forming the characteristics of the tea bag of the present invention from the expansion rate point of view.

Fig. 2 is a diagram showing an expansion process in the case where a fabric woven with warp and weft is exposed to water, based on the principle of fig. 1.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating the structure and principle of a water-swellable substance forming the characteristics of the tea bag of the present invention from the point of view of shrinkage.

Fig. 4 is a diagram showing a shrinkage process in a case where a fabric woven with warp and weft is exposed to water based on the principle of fig. 3.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an embodiment of a tea bag including a water-swellable substance of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating another embodiment of a tea bag including a water-swellable substance of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating yet another embodiment of a tea bag including a water-swellable substance of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating yet another embodiment of a tea bag including a water-swellable substance of the present invention utilizing the principles of FIG. 7.

FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating yet another embodiment of a tea bag including a water-swellable substance of the present invention.

Detailed Description

The structure and principle of the water-swellable substance 10 constituting the characteristics of the teabag 1 of the present invention will be described. Representatively, although the fiber is described as an example of water-swellable substance 10, it should be noted that the material is not necessarily limited to fibers.

The objects, effects and technical configurations for realizing these will become clear when the drawings and the embodiments described in detail below are referred to. In describing the present invention, if it is considered that a detailed description of known functions or configurations may obscure the gist of the present invention, a detailed description thereof will be omitted.

Throughout the specification, when a portion is referred to as "comprising" a component, it means that other components may be included, but not excluded, unless expressly stated to the contrary. On the other hand, in the embodiment of the present invention, each constituent element, functional block, or device may be constituted by one or more lower constituent elements.

Fig. l a shows a portion of a fiber having an initial length Lo and an initial thickness Do.

When the expansion ratio in the fiber length direction is α, the fiber length L after a certain time t is:

L＝L _o (1+α△t)(α＞0)。

in terms of fiber length, although temperature acts as an important variable except for time, it is considered to be a fairness factor that affects both the length and thickness variations except for this.

Next, when the expansion ratio in the fiber thickness direction is β, the fiber thickness D after a certain time t is:

D＝D _o (1+β△t)(β＞0)。

here, if the longitudinal expansion rate α is the same as the thickness expansion rate β, the amounts of change in length and thickness are the same. However, when the thickness direction expansion ratio β is larger than the longitudinal direction expansion ratio α, as shown in fig. 1b, the fibers expand more in the thickness direction, expand less in the longitudinal direction, or expand very short in length.

Fig. 2 shows the expansion process when the fabric woven with warp and weft threads, respectively, is exposed to water, based on the principle of fig. 1, in the case of α=β and β > α.

As shown, in the initial state without water, the fabric is in the state of fig. 2 a.

When α=β, when the fabric is exposed to water, the length and thickness of the fibers expand at the same rate (fig. 2 b), and thus the gap width (cross-sectional area of the mesh) between the fibers becomes large, thereby maintaining the natural in-out of water (fig. 2 c).

However, when β > a, when the fabric is exposed to water, the thickness of the fibers expands more than the length (fig. 2 d), and thus, the width of the void (the cross-sectional area of the mesh) formed by the four fibers becomes narrower due to the thickness expanding from the periphery, and thus the water flow becomes slow or hindered (fig. 2 e).

Therefore, the first condition of the water-swellable substance 10 of the present invention is that it is necessary to be a material (fiber) having a larger expansion ratio in the thickness direction than in the length direction after a certain time has elapsed.

The principle described above will be explained below in terms of determining the shrinkage.

Fig. 3a shows a portion of a fiber having an initial length Lo and an initial thickness Do.

In fig. 3a, when the shrinkage in the fiber length direction is α', the fiber length L after a certain time t is:

L＝L _o (1+α'△t)(α'＜0)。

then, when the shrinkage in the fiber thickness direction is β', the fiber thickness D after a certain time t is:

D＝D _o (1+β'△t)(β'＜0)。

here, if the longitudinal shrinkage α 'and the thickness shrinkage β' are the same, the amounts of change in length and thickness are the same. However, when the shrinkage α 'in the longitudinal direction is larger than the shrinkage β' in the thickness direction, as shown in fig. 3b, the fiber is more shrunk in the longitudinal direction, less shrunk in the thickness direction, or the shrinkage length is very short.

Fig. 4 shows the shrinkage process when the fabric woven with warp and weft is exposed to water, respectively, when α '=β' and |α '| > |β' | based on the principle of fig. 3.

As shown, the fabric is in the state of fig. 4a when there is no water.

When α '=β', when the fabric is exposed to water, the length and thickness of the fibers shrink at the same rate (fig. 4 b), so the void width between the fibers is unchanged from the total area, thereby maintaining the natural ingress and egress of water (fig. 4 c).

However, in the case of |α '| > |β' |, when the fabric is exposed to water, the length of the fibers is more contracted than the thickness (fig. 4 d), and thus the width of the void formed by the four fibers is narrowed by the length contracted from the periphery, and thus the water flow is slowed or blocked (fig. 4 e).

Therefore, another condition that water-swellable substance 10 of the present invention may be replaced is that it is necessary to be a material (fiber) having a shrinkage in the longitudinal direction greater than a shrinkage in the thickness direction after a certain time has elapsed.

From the above, it is understood that the water-swellable substance 10 constituting the teabag 1 of the present invention must satisfy the condition that the expansion ratio in the first direction is larger than the expansion ratio in the second direction perpendicular to the first direction or that the contraction ratio in the second direction is larger than the contraction ratio in the first direction perpendicular to the second direction.

Based on the above description, an embodiment of a teabag 1 comprising a water-swellable substance 10 of the present invention is described with reference to fig. 5.

In this embodiment, it is shown that water-swellable substance 10 of tea bag 1 is woven or knitted laterally and vertically to directly form tea bag 1. When the expansion ratio in the vertical (thickness) direction is greater than that in the lateral (length) direction, the water flow is slowed down or blocked as shown in fig. 2 after a prescribed time has elapsed, preventing unwanted tea components from being dissolved or dispersed in the water, thereby maintaining the original taste of the tea. The swelling of water-swellable substance 10 does not occur rapidly at the moment of contact with water and first the time for which the tea material is sufficiently soluble in water should be ensured. In other words, the lattice space formed by the transverse and vertical fibers becomes gradually narrower over time, and is made to block, inhibit, or deactivate the flow of water molecules when below a critical area. By sufficiently considering this, the differential values of the expansion ratios in the lateral and vertical directions and the two expansion ratios and the prescribed time, that is, the contact time with water are appropriately determined.

The above-described effects are also exerted when the shrinkage in the transverse (length) direction is larger than the shrinkage in the vertical (thickness) direction, and since this is an obvious matter for the person skilled in the art, a detailed description is omitted.

Next, as another embodiment of the present invention, another structure of the teabag 1 including the water-swellable substance 10 will be described with reference to fig. 6.

In fig. 6, the teabag 1 has a composite structure including a plurality of lattice-shaped partitions 20 and a water-swellable substance 10 woven in a sheet form in each of the partitions 20.

The dividing unit 20 includes: the lateral rows 22 which are respectively formed in a line in the lateral direction and are integrally extended in parallel, and are respectively formed in a vertical direction at a certain distance from each other; vertical columns 24 which are respectively formed in a line in the vertical direction and are integrally extended in parallel, and are respectively formed in a manner of being spaced apart in the lateral direction. The plurality of dividing portions 20 are formed in the entirety of the teabag 1, and each dividing portion 20 provides, for example, a square grid-like space a. The partition 20 of the present invention is made of a material having a very small expansion and contraction rate, and thus its shape and structure are hardly changed even when it is contacted with water, the volume is not increased, and the size of the space a is constant. The partition 20 may be made of a fibrous material or a clean plastic material harmless to the human body.

The water-swellable substance 10 of the present invention may be sewn in a sheet-like form in the space a provided by the partition portion 20. Alternatively, a bag for passing water may be formed in each of the compartments 20, and the water-swellable substance 10 may be filled in the bag.

As shown in the enlarged view, water-swellable substance 10 is composed of a large amount of cellulose 10A that swells when contacted with water. The cellulose 10A increases in volume and increases in size when in contact with water. When the cellulose 10A comes into contact with water, the water-swellable substance 10 swells, but the frame and shape of the partition 20 do not change, and therefore the swelling cannot exceed the adjacent partition 20, so that the cellulose swells in the predetermined partition 20, and the intervals between fibers become narrow, thereby impeding the flow of water.

The cellulose 10A has the same function as, for example, agar which becomes large in volume upon contact with water, and the swelling direction can be arbitrarily selected. However, as described with reference to fig. 1 to 5, the same effect can be expected even if materials of different expansion or contraction rates are woven laterally and vertically and the space of the division portion 20 is stitched.

Fig. 7 is a diagram for explaining the principle of plastic deformation of a material by an external force by punching a film of an artificial or natural material or a sheet of the material or by other means, and at this time, the material is soaked in water or returns from a specific temperature or higher to an original state while maintaining the physical or chemical deformation of the deformed portion, as another embodiment of the present invention. This is similar to a shape memory effect.

The paper or natural fiber material has a swelling and shrinkage phenomenon, and has a property of being restored to a plastic state in water by a state of being permanently deformed by an external force. The sheet comprises an aggregate of threads or cellulose and may be embodied in a fabric or paper. Plastic deformation includes plastic deformation of fibers or cellulose as constituent elements of the fabric, in addition to tearing separation from the sheet.

As shown in fig. 7, water-swellable substance 10 has a multilayer structure of first layer A1, second layer B1 and third layer C1, and has a plastic deformation ratio of first layer > second layer > third layer, and water-swellable substance 10 is deformed by an external force. When water-swellable substance 10 is exposed to water and reaches a temperature above a predetermined level, it returns to its original position, thereby closing the water passage and inhibiting the passage of water. In fig. 7, the first layer A1, the second layer B1, and the third layer C1 are actually different materials, or are single materials, but include a case where physical properties change during plastic deformation.

When a fiber having a certain length in a fabric is in a state of plastic deformation due to an external force, a tail portion of the fiber may protrude as shown in fig. 7, and at this time, is exposed to water or returns to a state before plastic at a certain temperature, thereby inhibiting movement of water.

Fig. 8 shows another embodiment utilizing the principles of fig. 7.

Before the teabag 1 is brought into contact with water, as shown in fig. 8a, the water-swellable substance 10 is made of a plastically deformable material and the water flow is in a natural state before the tea is brought into contact with water and a prescribed time has elapsed. Thereafter, when the prescribed time has elapsed, as shown in FIG. 8b, water-swellable substance 10 returns to its original state and blocks the passage of water, thereby inhibiting the migration of water. In FIG. 8, water-swellable substance 10 may be composed of multiple layers or a single layer as shown in FIG. 7.

FIG. 9A shows a cross-section of a fiber of water-swellable substance 10 forming core 10b from a less water-swellable substance and forming a border portion 10c of greater swell at the edges around core 10b, as yet another embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 9b shows a water-swellable substance 10 having a higher coefficient of thermal expansion towards the edges, and in a single cellulose, fibers having different expansion rates may be achieved in several stages radially from the center of the fiber during the spinning and weaving process.

In the embodiment of FIG. 9, the edges have a greater thermal expansion than the center, and therefore, water-swellable substance 10 is easier to manufacture, than a single cellulose that naturally or artificially forms the fiber core by a physicochemical treatment during the spinning (spinn ing and weaving). Because when the water-swellable substance 10 forms a tea bag 1 it is affected by the temperature of the water dissolving the tea.

Although several embodiments of the present invention have been described above, various modifications are possible for the present invention. For example, tea bag 1 may also be made of an existing cloth material that is free to flow water, and may also be made of a composite structure in which a layer or coating of the water-swellable substance of the present invention is added to all or a portion of the cloth material.

The scope of the claims is the same or equal to the scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A teabag as a teabag containing tea therein, characterized in that,

the teabag is composed of a water-swellable substance having a higher expansion ratio in a first direction than in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction when in contact with water, and the water-swellable substances have respective expansion ratios such that after a predetermined time has elapsed, the portion in the first direction swells more than the portion in the second direction, thereby impeding the flow of water.

2. The teabag according to claim 1, wherein the tea bag comprises,

the water-swellable substance is a fiber and the first direction is a thickness (vertical) direction and the second direction is a length (lateral) direction.

3. A teabag for containing tea therein, characterized in that,

the teabag is composed of a water-swellable substance having a larger shrinkage in the second direction than in the first direction perpendicular to the second direction when in contact with water, and the water-swellable substances have respective shrinkage rates such that after a prescribed time has elapsed, the portion in the second direction is more shrunk than the portion in the first direction, thereby impeding the flow of water.

4. The teabag according to claim 3, wherein the tea bag comprises,

5. A teabag for containing tea therein, characterized in that,

the teabag is a composite structure composed of a single or a plurality of grid-shaped dividing parts and water-swellable substances arranged in the space formed by each dividing part,

the dividing section includes: a row which is formed in a line in a lateral direction and integrally extended in parallel, and is formed in a vertical direction at a certain distance, respectively; vertical columns which are respectively formed in a line in a vertical direction and are integrally extended in parallel, and are respectively formed in a lateral direction at a certain distance from each other,

the partition is made of a material that does not expand or contract when in contact with water and does not change in shape and structure.

6. The teabag as in claim 5, wherein the tea bag comprises,

the water-swellable substance is composed of cellulose that swells when contacted with water.

7. The teabag as in claim 5, wherein the tea bag comprises,

the water-swellable substance is formed by stitching a material having a higher expansion ratio in a first direction than in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction when in contact with water or stitching a material having a higher contraction ratio in the second direction than in the first direction perpendicular to the second direction when in contact with water.

8. A teabag for containing tea therein, characterized in that,

the teabag includes a water-swellable substance that is provided in a state after being changed in shape by plastic working and allows water to flow, and returns to the original shape when in contact with water for more than a prescribed time, and blocks the flow of water.

9. A teabag for containing tea therein, characterized in that,

the teabag comprises a water-swellable substance,

the water-swellable substance has a multilayer structure in which a core is formed of a substance having a small water-swellable rate and at least one frame portion having a large swelling rate is formed around the edge of the core.

10. A teabag for containing tea therein, characterized in that,

the teabag is a composite structure in which a layer or a coating of water-swelling substances is added on all or part of the cloth material with free water flow,

the water-swellable substance has a structure in which the expansion ratio in the first direction is larger than the expansion ratio in the second direction perpendicular to the first direction when in contact with water or a structure in which the contraction ratio in the second direction is larger than the contraction ratio in the first direction perpendicular to the second direction when in contact with water.