EP3867158A1 - Process for making a compostable infusion pod and compostable pod thus obtained - Google Patents
Process for making a compostable infusion pod and compostable pod thus obtainedInfo
- Publication number
- EP3867158A1 EP3867158A1 EP19797366.2A EP19797366A EP3867158A1 EP 3867158 A1 EP3867158 A1 EP 3867158A1 EP 19797366 A EP19797366 A EP 19797366A EP 3867158 A1 EP3867158 A1 EP 3867158A1
- Authority
- EP
- European Patent Office
- Prior art keywords
- compostable
- pod
- recess
- film
- infusion
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Withdrawn
Links
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
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
- B65B—MACHINES, APPARATUS OR DEVICES FOR, OR METHODS OF, PACKAGING ARTICLES OR MATERIALS; UNPACKING
- B65B29/00—Packaging of materials presenting special problems
- B65B29/02—Packaging of substances, e.g. tea, which are intended to be infused in the package
- B65B29/025—Packaging of substances, e.g. tea, which are intended to be infused in the package packaging infusion material into pods
-
- 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
-
- 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 invention falls within the field of compostable infusion pods. More specifically, it relates to a compostable pod made due to the use of an improved process for processing a compostable film and to the possible insertion of a related support structure.
- compostable pods on the market, formed by two mutually thermo-sealed layers, between which the coffee or other infusion product is positioned.
- Another highly significant problem relates to the increased permeability of the compostable pods to gases, and in particular to oxygen; the air, and the oxygen therein in particular, generates an alteration of the physical and organoleptic properties of the infusion product contained in the pod, which may also be such as to finally make it unusable.
- the object of the present invention therefore is to obviate the above- mentioned drawbacks and in particular, to make a compostable infusion pod using materials that can be adapted and used to make compostable pods by means of standard machinery already on the market. It is a further object of the invention to make a compostable infusion pod that is resistant to tears and to accidental perforations during the steps of making and/or storing and transport.
- the subject matter of the present invention is a process for making a compostable pod containing infusion material, comprising the following steps:
- the process according to the invention may provide a step of dispensing an edible vaporised liquid over the first layer of the compostable film, after the step of providing compostable film and prior to the drawing step.
- the process of the invention moreover may provide a die-cutting step, possibly after the step of dispensing an edible vaporised liquid and in any case prior to the drawing step; this advantageously increases the capacity of the compostable film to undergo deformations without inducing undesired breaks or tears.
- a step of pressing the infusion material may be included, after the step of introducing the infusion material in predetermined quantities into one or more of the two or more recesses, and prior to the step of selecting a first recess and a second recess and coupling them to each other.
- the preselected infusion material is a mixture of coffee powders or the like, which subjected to pressure, are capable of giving the pod such structure as to allow the use thereof in machines for dispensing infused beverages without losing efficiency or material.
- the process may provide a step of inserting a structural element into one or more of the two or more recesses, after the step of hot drawing the compostable film and prior to the step of introducing the infusion material in predetermined quantities into one or more of the two or more recesses.
- the same type of materials and production steps may also advantageously be applied to making compostable pods in which the preselected infusion material is based on a mixture of leaves and/or flowers for tea or in any case for infusion, which when subjected to pressure, would not be capable of giving the pod the required structure.
- the presence of the structural element instead compensates for this absence, in any case maintaining the possibility of using the pod also in the machines for dispensing infused beverages without losing efficiency or material.
- the process according to the invention may include a step of drying the compostable film, after the step of hot drawing the compostable film and prior to the step of introducing the infusion material in predetermined quantities into one or more of the two or more recesses. This advantageously allows removing any traces of moisture or liquids which could then be enclosed inside the pods together with the infusion product, risking to ruin it or in any case alter the properties thereof.
- the step of welding the first and the second recess preferably may occur cold, for example by means of ultrasound, or hot, in a conventional manner; the preference for one or the other method advantageously allows limiting the risks of damaging the contents of the pod or the pod itself with the heat generated by the welding tools.
- a further subject matter of the invention is a compostable infusion pod, characterised in that it is made by means of a process of the type described above.
- the compostable film preselected to make this first embodiment of a compostable infusion pod of the invention advantageously is made by company Ahlstrom Munkjo and is obtained by coupling two different films: a PLA-based film for the inner part of the pod and a corn starch-based parchment for the outer part of the pod.
- Such specific material may currently be used to make closing membranes for cup-like infusion capsules, for example made of plastic or aluminium, albeit with flat, not drawn, geometry and with thicknesses that did not allow obtaining a sufficiently low permeability to the air; the method the subject matter of the invention instead is able to also process films with increased thicknesses with excellent results.
- a second embodiment of the invention provides the use of a compostable film made by company Jura-tech.
- PLA polylactic acid or polylactide
- the material was modelled using a hot thermoforming machine.
- the film responded in optimal manner on low cycle times, but some breaks on the outer part of the film were detected using higher speeds.
- the breaking problem was resolved by moistening the film prior to thermo deforming it, also using higher processing speeds.
- the term “having a barrier” means a film that does not give rise to transfers of material toward the food - coffee in this case - by means of migration and/or transfer, infiltrations and naturally oxidation due to contact with air (which contains oxygen).
- the tests show that the film drawing only occurs if it is moistened beforehand. Accordingly, the machine was equipped with a vapour nebuliser which applies distilled water in the inner part of the compostable film. The film is then thermoformed by a hot deep drawing press with temperature variation.
- the water indeed creates a thin protective layer which allows the drawing buffer not to crystallise - and therefore not to break - the film given that the drawing speed is such as to only act on the moist layer and not on the film itself.
- the film maintains - without altering - its elastic features, thus allowing it to be drawn without any problems.
- the infusion product in particular coffee
- the capacity of the resistance of the pod to stresses advantageously is improved, especially during the step of running the hot water through it.
- a support device or structure to be incorporated with the pod itself for products whose consistency and/or granulometry does not allow avoiding the pod containing it from deforming or interfering with the water dispensing during the infusion.
- the pod For the actual manufacturing of the pod, it is performed by coupling an upper sheet and a lower sheet of film already consisting of the two above- described materials coupled to each other.
- the sheets are stored in the form of sealed rolls that are removed from their casing when they are to be processed and that preferably remain exposed to air for the minimum time necessary.
- the rolls of lower sheet and upper sheet are installed on plant supports and then partially unrolled in order to attach the free end of each sheet to an unwinder roller.
- the plant Downstream of the unwinder roller, the plant may provide a series of further rollers which act as bellows for controlling the tension of the sheets.
- a step of heating water in a boiler is provided at this point, by conveying the water vapour obtained toward a system of one or more nozzles that moisten the compostable material sheet to increase the processability thereof.
- each nozzle may be provided with a flow adjustment knob or other technically equivalent device to allow modifying the possible quantity of vapour with which the sheet is sprayed, according to needs or the project features.
- the process provides a step of die cutting the sheet, and it specifically provides making partial cuts at regular intervals along separation lines between the portions of sheet corresponding to each pod, both in the direction of the width and of the length of the sheet, thereby outlining rough squares on the sheet; this advantageously allows the sheet to accommodate the deformations and small movements caused by the successive drawing operation, avoiding to cause accidental rips or tears which would make the membrane unusable.
- the drawing is provided after the die-cutting operation, which drawing is carried out by means of matched moulds;
- the station accommodating the sheets to be deformed may comprise - in a preferred embodiment - a system of suction mouths which limit the movements of the sheets themselves in order to increase the processing accuracy and decrease waste.
- the sheet drying may occur, following the drawing and preferably only in the plant section dedicated to processing the lower sheet, in order to eliminate possible liquid residues which could ruin the infusion product or sheet itself.
- drying operation may be completed for example, by means of hot air jets or other adequate means for the purpose.
- the lower sheet is arranged on a chain conveyor belt at the outlet of the drying station, the belt comprising metal links consecutively connected to one another; a plurality of cavities, or recesses, are obtained on each link, each cavity or recess intended to house a respective portion of drawn sheet.
- Such chain conveyor receives and accompanies the lower drawn sheet for several metres toward the subsequent stations; immediately after the possible drying, the sheet is direct toward the filling station where a predetermined quantity of infusion product is deposited in the cavity created on the sheet during the drawing operation.
- a structural element is inserted in one or more of such recesses prior to the filling.
- the filling station is followed by a cleaning station, in which possible product residues deposited on the sheet outside the recesses are removed.
- the upper sheet After undergoing substantially the same processing, except the drying one, the upper sheet now meets the lower sheet transported by the belt into the coupling station; as with the drawing station, here too there may be provided suction systems for keeping the sheets in such position as to near and approach them to one another, without problems of accidental movements.
- the sheets are brought by the belt to a first cold, or tack, welding station, which makes a plurality of joining points to join the upper sheet with the lower one.
- the pre-coupled sheets reach a second welding station, a hot station this time, where heated or in any case thermo-controlled mouldings come into contact with the sheets and melt them at an area which generally takes on a circular shape, thus isolating the infusion product in the pods.
- the chain conveyor stops accompanying the sheets now containing the sealed pods at the outlet of the hot welding station and a roller directs them toward a third ultrasound station; one or more grippers or mechanical hands are positioned laterally along the space between the second and third welding station, close to the edges of the sheets, with the purpose of moving the sheets in the short path between the two stations in which there is no conveyor belt.
- the third welding station has elements that transmit the vibration to the piece to be welded, that is sonotrodes, positioned here in two parallel rows.
- the hot and cold welding processes may both occur on the same capsules, or one or the other may be carried out according to needs.
- the last operation that the sheets may undergo is die cutting again, which separates the actual pods from the waste, that is from the portions of coupled sheets surrounding the pods.
- the first actual welding used is the hot one, and that is by means of a mechanical welding apparatus that uses an electrical resistance therein that may be regulated by means of a temperature probe indicating the reading in degrees thereof. Such process generates these results:
- the second and certainly safest one is the ultrasound one: it was possible to carry out different welding using two ultrasound generators (Telsonic 20 kHz and Herrmann 30 kHz) with a component at the end in this case called a bell sonotrode.
- a mechanical press in line with the pod manufacturing plant was used for the coffee, which forms the pod directly in the half drawing made beforehand in the film, while complying with the specific measurements for compatibility with specific infusion machines of different manufacturers.
- a half-shell of compostable film is obtained, which passes under a cochlea dosing device, which causes the right dose of coffee to descend: between 6.2 and 6.5 grams.
- the half-shell passes under the mechanical press unit which, by means of a forming cylinder, forms the pod and at the same time sucks any coffee residues on the outer film of the pod to advantageously ensure the ultrasound welding is effective and does not have any coffee residues.
- the process instead further requires a particular insert made of propylene and/or compostable material.
- This insert is housed in the half-shell of a compostable film and then is filled with the approximate dose of tea for each mixture used. At this point, the filled half-shell does not require any pressing. After filling with the established quantity, the filled half-shell is coupled to the other half-shell obtained by drawing another portion of film and finally they are sealed to each other.
Landscapes
- Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
- Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
- Life Sciences & Earth Sciences (AREA)
- Biodiversity & Conservation Biology (AREA)
- Containers And Plastic Fillers For Packaging (AREA)
- Fertilizers (AREA)
- Materials For Medical Uses (AREA)
Abstract
Description
Claims
Applications Claiming Priority (2)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
IT102018000009622A IT201800009622A1 (en) | 2018-10-19 | 2018-10-19 | PROCEDURE FOR MAKING A COMPOSTABLE POD FROM INFUSION, COMPOSTABLE POD SO OBTAINED AND RELATIVE STRUCTURAL ELEMENT |
PCT/IB2019/058891 WO2020079653A1 (en) | 2018-10-19 | 2019-10-18 | Process for making a compostable infusion pod and compostable pod thus obtained |
Publications (1)
Publication Number | Publication Date |
---|---|
EP3867158A1 true EP3867158A1 (en) | 2021-08-25 |
Family
ID=65409167
Family Applications (1)
Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
---|---|---|---|
EP19797366.2A Withdrawn EP3867158A1 (en) | 2018-10-19 | 2019-10-18 | Process for making a compostable infusion pod and compostable pod thus obtained |
Country Status (3)
Country | Link |
---|---|
EP (1) | EP3867158A1 (en) |
IT (1) | IT201800009622A1 (en) |
WO (2) | WO2020079623A1 (en) |
Family Cites Families (7)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US7910145B2 (en) * | 2007-05-31 | 2011-03-22 | Marco Reati | Precharged ground coffee capsule, method for its production and apparatus for implementing said method |
IT1403162B1 (en) * | 2010-12-14 | 2013-10-04 | Lavazza Luigi Spa | "CARTRIDGE FOR THE PREPARATION OF A LIQUID PRODUCT" |
AU2014394631B2 (en) * | 2014-05-23 | 2019-10-10 | Advanced Technology Assets B.V. | Capsule and device for preparing beverages and method for manufacturing a capsule |
MX2016015992A (en) * | 2014-06-04 | 2017-07-11 | Rapparini Gino | Reinforcement ring for capsules for obtaining beverages. |
FR3041617B3 (en) * | 2015-09-29 | 2017-11-03 | Diffussence | CAPSULE FOR PREPARING A BEVERAGE, PROCESS FOR PRODUCING THE SAME, AND METHOD FOR IMPLEMENTING THE SAME |
ITUB201568159U1 (en) * | 2015-09-10 | 2017-03-10 | Francesco Spignesi | PACKAGING OR BIODEGRADABLE BAG SINGLE-DOSE CLOSABLE ERMETICALLY CONTAINING A BIODEGRADABLE CAPPULA OR COFFEE POD |
FR3050725B1 (en) * | 2016-04-29 | 2019-07-12 | Ahlstrom Corporation | COMPOSTABLE OPERATOR FOR CAPTURING CAPSULE AND CAPSULE OBSTRUCTED BY THE OPERCULE |
-
2018
- 2018-10-19 IT IT102018000009622A patent/IT201800009622A1/en unknown
-
2019
- 2019-10-17 WO PCT/IB2019/058843 patent/WO2020079623A1/en active Application Filing
- 2019-10-18 EP EP19797366.2A patent/EP3867158A1/en not_active Withdrawn
- 2019-10-18 WO PCT/IB2019/058891 patent/WO2020079653A1/en unknown
Also Published As
Publication number | Publication date |
---|---|
IT201800009622A1 (en) | 2020-04-19 |
WO2020079653A1 (en) | 2020-04-23 |
WO2020079623A1 (en) | 2020-04-23 |
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