Classifications

• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
  • B65D—CONTAINERS FOR STORAGE OR TRANSPORT OF ARTICLES OR MATERIALS, e.g. BAGS, BARRELS, BOTTLES, BOXES, CANS, CARTONS, CRATES, DRUMS, JARS, TANKS, HOPPERS, FORWARDING CONTAINERS; ACCESSORIES, CLOSURES, OR FITTINGS THEREFOR; PACKAGING ELEMENTS; PACKAGES
  • B65D85/00—Containers, packaging elements or packages, specially adapted for particular articles or materials
  • B65D85/70—Containers, packaging elements or packages, specially adapted for particular articles or materials for materials not otherwise provided for
  • B65D85/804—Disposable containers or packages with contents which are mixed, infused or dissolved in situ, i.e. without having been previously removed from the package
  • B65D85/8043—Packages adapted to allow liquid to pass through the contents
  • B65D85/8046—Pods, i.e. closed containers made only of filter paper or similar material
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
  • B65D—CONTAINERS FOR STORAGE OR TRANSPORT OF ARTICLES OR MATERIALS, e.g. BAGS, BARRELS, BOTTLES, BOXES, CANS, CARTONS, CRATES, DRUMS, JARS, TANKS, HOPPERS, FORWARDING CONTAINERS; ACCESSORIES, CLOSURES, OR FITTINGS THEREFOR; PACKAGING ELEMENTS; PACKAGES
  • B65D65/00—Wrappers or flexible covers; Packaging materials of special type or form
  • B65D65/38—Packaging materials of special type or form
  • B65D65/46—Applications of disintegrable, dissolvable or edible materials
  • B65D65/466—Bio- or photodegradable packaging materials
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
  • B65D—CONTAINERS FOR STORAGE OR TRANSPORT OF ARTICLES OR MATERIALS, e.g. BAGS, BARRELS, BOTTLES, BOXES, CANS, CARTONS, CRATES, DRUMS, JARS, TANKS, HOPPERS, FORWARDING CONTAINERS; ACCESSORIES, CLOSURES, OR FITTINGS THEREFOR; PACKAGING ELEMENTS; PACKAGES
  • B65D85/00—Containers, packaging elements or packages, specially adapted for particular articles or materials
  • B65D85/70—Containers, packaging elements or packages, specially adapted for particular articles or materials for materials not otherwise provided for
  • B65D85/804—Disposable containers or packages with contents which are mixed, infused or dissolved in situ, i.e. without having been previously removed from the package
  • B65D85/8043—Packages adapted to allow liquid to pass through the contents
• • Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
  • Y02—TECHNOLOGIES OR APPLICATIONS FOR MITIGATION OR ADAPTATION AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE
  • Y02W—CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION TECHNOLOGIES RELATED TO WASTEWATER TREATMENT OR WASTE MANAGEMENT
  • Y02W90/00—Enabling technologies or technologies with a potential or indirect contribution to greenhouse gas [GHG] emissions mitigation
  • Y02W90/10—Bio-packaging, e.g. packing containers made from renewable resources or bio-plastics

Definitions

• the present disclosure relates to cartridges for the preparation of liquid products, for example for the preparation of beverages such as coffee or tea.
• Cartridges also known as capsules or pods
• Cartridges for preparing liquid products, such as beverages, by introducing into the cartridge liquid (possibly under pressure and/or at high temperature) and/or steam constitute a technological sector that is extremely rich and articulated, as documented, for example, by FR-A-757 358, FR-A-2 373 999 (corresponding to which is US-A-4 136 202), FR-A-2 556 323, GB-A-938 617, GB-A-
• a fair share of the solutions described in the documents referred to above primarily regards the preparation of liquid products constituted by beverages such as coffee, tea, chocolate, broth, soups, or various infusions.
• beverages such as coffee, tea, chocolate, broth, soups, or various infusions.
• preparation of coffee known from the prior-art documents (for example from EP-A-0 507 905, already mentioned above) , are solutions designed to enable preparation of espresso coffee.
• WO2010/077066 Al describes a cartridge comprising a bottom wall having a layered structure with at least one layer of a first compostable material that can undergo softening and/or melting at a temperature comprised between 70° and 120°C, and at least one layer of a second compostable material that does not undergo significant softening and/or melting at that temperature.
• the aforesaid layers of compostable material are coupled together to form a composite material.
• Biodegradability i.e., the metabolic conversion of the compostable material into carbon dioxide. This property is measured with a standard testing method, namely prEN 14046 (also published as ISO 14855: biodegradability under controlled composting conditions) .
• the level of acceptance is 90% biodegradability (with respect to cellulose) to be achieved in less than 6 months.
• Disintegrability i.e., the fragmentation and loss of visibility in the final compost (absence of visual contamination) .
• a plant-growth test (test OECD 208, modified) is carried out on samples of compost where degradation of the test material has occurred. No difference must be observed as compared to a control compost.
• a biodegradable material is not necessarily compostable because it must also disintegrate during a composting cycle.
• a material that breaks up during a composting cycle into microscopic pieces that are not then, however, totally biodegradable is not compostable.
• UNI EN 13432 is a harmonized norm; i.e., it has been published in the Official Journal of the European Union and is adopted in Europe at a national level and envisages presumption of compliance with the European Directive No. 94/62 EC, on packages and package waste.
• Capsules or cartridges for the preparation of coffee (or tea or other liquid products such as beverages) that are compostable according to the norm UNI EN 13432 can be disposed of in organic recycling (composting) , for example envisaging that the spent capsules undergo a process of disintegration within a pre-set time (3 months) .
• the object of the present invention which has the characteristics recalled in Claim 1, is to provide a solution that is able to combine characteristics of compostability and contained cost with a particular effectiveness of application and use of the cartridge.
• FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a cartridge according to the invention.
• FIG. 2 is a perspective cut-away view of a cartridge according to the invention.
• the reference number 10 designates as a whole a cartridge (or pod or capsule, these terms being here used as equivalent to one another) for preparing a liquid product by introducing liquid and/or steam into the cartridge.
• the liquid product in question may be constituted by a beverage such as coffee (for instance, espresso coffee) or tea, for example obtained by introducing into the cartridge liquid and/or steam under pressure and at a high temperature (i.e., hot) .
• a beverage such as coffee (for instance, espresso coffee) or tea, for example obtained by introducing into the cartridge liquid and/or steam under pressure and at a high temperature (i.e., hot) .
• the cartridge 10 contains a dose 12 of at least one substance that is able to form the aforesaid product via the aforesaid liquid and/or steam.
• the dose 12 may be constituted by powdered coffee, or by another precursor of a liquid product such as, for example, a beverage, tea, chocolate either in powdered or granular form, products for preparing broths, soups, drinks, and infusions of various nature.
• a liquid product such as, for example, a beverage, tea, chocolate either in powdered or granular form, products for preparing broths, soups, drinks, and infusions of various nature.
• the cartridge 10 which is shaped as a whole substantially like a tray or small cup inside which the dose 12 is present, there may be distinguished :
• a body 14 comprising a side wall 140 and a bottom wall 142 that closes the body 14 at one end of the side wall 140;
• closing foil that closes the cartridge 10 at the opposite end with respect to the bottom wall 142.
• the material of the foil 16 may be suited to being connected in a fluid-tight way, for example by heat-sealing, to the side wall 140 of the body 14 of the cartridge, for instance at a flange 144 that surrounds the mouth part of the aforesaid body 140.
• the material of the bottom wall 142 may be suited to being connected in a fluid-tight way, for example by heat-sealing, to the side wall 140 of the body 14 of the cartridge, for instance at a flange 146 that extends towards the inside of the bottom part of the body 140.
• the bottom wall 142 may also be made of a single piece with the side wall 140.
• the bottom wall 142 here represented as plane or substantially plane, may also present a vaulted shape, for example concave with the concavity facing the outside or the inside of the cartridge 10. Also in this case, the choice of the above shape is not imperative.
• the body 14 may present a tray-like conformation diverging from the bottom wall 142 towards the end closed by the sealing foil 16.
• This divergent conformation may, for example, be a frustoconical conformation.
• This conformation is not on the other hand imperative in so far as the cartridge 10 may present as a whole different shapes, for example a prismatic shape, or the shape of a truncated pyramid, etc.
• Figure 2 is a cut-away view, in which half of the cartridge 10 is visible, and it is assumed that the non-visible half is specularly symmetrical to the visible half.
• the sequence of use of the cartridge 10 may be substantially the same as the sequence of use of the cartridge described in EP-A-0 507 905 or WO2012/077066 Al already referred to above, which renders any repetition of the corresponding description superfluous .
• the cartridge 10 is laid on an array of bottom tips, which may have a hollow structure, substantially resembling a syringe needle, with one or more openings that enable off-flow of the liquid product prepared using the cartridge 10;
• the machine for preparing liquid products may be activated, thus causing water at a temperature in the region of 90-100°C and at a pressure in the region of 8-10 atm or higher to flow through the holes formed in the top foil 16 (for example, via a pump) ;
• the hot water under pressure that flows into the cartridge 10 can perform a dual function: in the first place, the hot water starts to penetrate into the dose 12 starting off the process (which may be referred to, perhaps in a not altogether proper way, as "infusion") that leads to preparation of the beverage; in the second place, the pressure that is set up within the cartridge 10 causes the bottom 142 to undergo deformation and be pushed against the tips on which the bottom wall 142 itself rests;
• penetration of the tips into the bottom wall 142 may be only partial, with the tips that start only to deform the bottom 142 of the cartridge 10, creating dimples therein; in a subsequent step, the bottom tips 100 start to penetrate the bottom wall 142 of the cartridge 10 so that the cavities provided in these tips (as has already been said, in various embodiments these are hollow tips, which resemble syringe needles) enter in communication with the internal volume of the cartridge 10 so that the infusion of coffee starts to come out of the cartridge 10 and to flow out through the bottom tips;
• the mechanism of perforation of the bottom wall 142 of the cartridge 10 may then proceed until practically each of the bottom tips has perforated the bottom wall 142 of the cartridge 10, penetrating into the cartridge 10 itself, so that the axial cavity of each tip provides an out-flow path for delivery of the infusion of coffee;
• the above condition is maintained up to completion of preparation of the beverage; at this point, the pump that sends the hot water under pressure into the cartridge 10 is deactivated, the top tips (if this has not already happened previously) move away from the foil 16, which they have previously perforated, and the spent cartridge 10 can be taken out of the machine and replaced by a new cartridge in order to proceed to preparation of a new liquid product (for example, coffee) .
• a new liquid product for example, coffee
• perforation of the bottom wall 142 instead of occurring only following upon introduction of the liquid and/or steam into the cartridge 10, may also occur at least in part in "cold" conditions by exploiting interference of the tips with the bottom 142, i.e., following upon an action of perforation of the bottom 142 of the cartridge 10 by the bottom tips (before, together with, or after perforation of the sealing foil 16) even before the liquid and/or steam starts flowing into the cartridge 10.
• the bottom wall 142 may include (and optionally be constituted by) a cellulose material compostable according to UNI EN 13432.
• the side wall 140 may include (and optionally be constituted by) a material (e.g., plastic) compostable according to UNI EN 13432.
• a material e.g., plastic
• top wall or sealing foil 16 may include (and optionally be constituted by) a material compostable according to UNI EN 13432.
• the bottom wall 142, the side wall 140, and the top wall or sealing foil 16 may comprise materials that may be either the same as one another or different from one another: for example (this is just one of the possible examples), the bottom wall 142 could be made of a single piece with the wall 140.
• the cellulose material of the bottom 142 may be chosen for example from parchment or parchment substitute, Pergamyn, and moisture-proof paper.
• the cellulose material of the bottom 142 may present an air permeance not higher than 20 i / (Pa- s) , preferably not higher than 5 ./CPa-s) (according to ISO 5636), differing in this from filter paper, use of which has been proposed in cartridges for preparation of beverages, exploiting the intrinsic porosity thereof.
• the bottom 142 may have a thickness of between 20 ⁇ and 2.5 mm, preferably between 50 ⁇ and 0.5 mm and, in a particularly preferred way, between 60 ⁇ and 300 ⁇ .
• a preferential mode of use may envisage initial perforation of the bottom 142 by interference with the perforation tips, i.e., following upon an action of perforation of the bottom 142 of the cartridge 10 by the bottom tips (before, together with, or after perforation of the sealing foil 16), even before the liquid and/or steam starts flowing into the cartridge 10.
• the above tips may be present, for example, in a number of between 10 and 25 for a cartridge of current dimensions, and in this case the percentage of 25%, when it is such as to give rise to a non-integer value, is to be understood as rounded off to the closest integer .

Landscapes

• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
• Life Sciences & Earth Sciences (AREA)
• Biodiversity & Conservation Biology (AREA)
• Apparatus For Making Beverages (AREA)
• Packging For Living Organisms, Food Or Medicinal Products That Are Sensitive To Environmental Conditiond (AREA)
• Pharmaceuticals Containing Other Organic And Inorganic Compounds (AREA)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Publications (1)

Family

ID=55640786

Family Applications (1)

Country Status (6)

Families Citing this family (5)

Family Cites Families (6)

• 2015
  • 2015-03-02 IT ITTO2015U000031U patent/ITTO20150031U1/it unknown
• 2016
  • 2016-02-23 WO PCT/IB2016/050966 patent/WO2016139553A1/en active Application Filing
  • 2016-02-23 US US15/555,284 patent/US20180037402A1/en not_active Abandoned
  • 2016-02-23 AU AU2016227468A patent/AU2016227468A1/en not_active Abandoned
  • 2016-02-23 EP EP16712507.9A patent/EP3265403A1/de not_active Withdrawn
  • 2016-02-23 CN CN201680013530.7A patent/CN107683246A/zh active Pending

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