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

Definitions

• This invention relates to a capsule for making beverages and a system which comprises the capsule as well as an apparatus, where the capsule is of the type which comprises a powdered food substance which allows the beverage to be made by passing water through the food substance.
• This invention may be applied either with regard to a capsule of the type which contains a food substance intended to allow the beverage to be made by extraction or infusion (such as roasted, ground coffee), or with regard to a capsule of the type which comprises a food substance intended to allow the beverage to be made following complete or partial dissolving of the food substance in the water which passes through it (for example milk, chocolate, powdered tea, etc.).
• the capsules for which this invention is intended comprise a main body which contains the food substance, and an upper film which closes the top of the main body.
• the main body is usually substantially cup shaped and comprises a lateral wall and a bottom wall.
• the lateral wall is typically roughly frustoconical or cylindrical.
• This invention is intended, in particular, for a type of capsule into which water is injected through the upper film and in which the beverage comes out of the capsule through the bottom wall.
• the upper film is initially closed and is pierced at the moment of use by a piercer which is part of the apparatus for making the beverage.
• the outflow of the beverage through the bottom wall occurs through an opening which may already be present in the bottom wall, or which may also be made in the bottom wall by the apparatus for making the beverage.
• this invention may also be applied in capsules with an inverted inner structure, that is to say, in capsules in which the bottom wall constitutes the infeed wall for the water whilst the upper film constitutes an outfeed wall for the beverage.
• prior art capsules also usually have a barrier against the passage of oxygen, in order to ensure optimum preservation of the food substance contained in them.
• the recognition device comprises a reading head, for example constituted of an optical fibre fixed to the piercer.
• This invention was developed with reference to a system for making beverages in which it is necessary to prepare an optical recognition element inside the capsule.
• the technical purpose which forms the basis of this invention is to make a capsule for making beverages which is an alternative to the prior art capsules which are equipped with an inner optical recognition element.
• FIG. 1 is an axonometric view of a capsule made in accordance with this invention which has an infeed wall constituted of an upper film, pierced by the piercer of an apparatus in which the capsule has previously been inserted;
• FIG. 1 shows the capsule of Figure 1 without the upper film and the powdered food substance
• FIG. 3 shows the capsule of Figure 2 from a different viewpoint
• FIG. 4 is an axial vertical section of a supporting element which is part of the capsule of Figure 2;
• FIG. 5 is an axial vertical section of the capsule of Figure 2;
• FIG. 6 shows a first alternative embodiment of the capsule of Figure 5;
• FIG. 7 shows a second alternative embodiment of the capsule of Figure 5;
• FIG. 8 shows a third alternative embodiment of the capsule of Figure 5;
• FIG. 9 shows a fourth alternative embodiment of the capsule of Figure 5;
• FIG. 10 is an axial section of an apparatus which is part of an embodiment of a system according to this invention.
• FIG. 11 is an enlarged detail of the apparatus of Figure 10.
• the numeral 1 denotes in its entirety a capsule for making beverages in accordance with this invention.
• the capsule 1 comprises two main components which define its overall dimensions, that is to say, a main body 2 and an upper film 3.
• Both may be made mainly with a plastic or metal material (in particular aluminium), or with a compostable or biodegradable material (in these cases even the other components of the capsule 1 will advantageously be respectively compostable or biodegradable).
• the upper film 3 is a flexible film.
• both the main body 2, and the upper film 3 are made with a material capable of creating a barrier to oxygen so as to guarantee improved preservation of what is contained in the capsule 1.
• the main body 2 is substantially cup-shaped and has a lateral wall 4 and a bottom wall 5.
• substantially cup-shaped means that the main body 2 has a shape which resembles that of a cup, as is the case for most prior art capsules for making a beverage.
• the terms “upper” and “lower” shall be understood to refer to a positioning of the main body 2 of the capsule 1 similar to that of a cup, that is to say, with the bottom wall 5 resting on a horizontal resting plane; therefore, these terms do not refer to a way of using the capsule 1 , since the latter may be suitable for use both in apparatuses 6 with so-called horizontal infusion units 7, and in apparatuses 6 with so-called vertical infusion units 7.
• the lateral wall 4 extends between a first edge and a second edge at which the bottom wall 5 is connected.
• the first edge which in the preferred embodiments comprises a flange 8 which extends radially outwards relative to a central axis of the main body 2 (as wall as of the capsule 1), defines an infeed opening and the upper film 3 is fixed at it to close the main body 2.
• the flange 8 constitutes a substantially flat circular ring and has an internal diameter equal to the diameter of the infeed opening.
• the upper film 3 is fixed to the main body 2, and in particular to the radial flange 8, by sealing or by gluing.
• the bottom wall 5 is connected to it to close the bottom of the main body 2.
• the bottom wall 5 may be made either as a continuous wall without an opening, or there may be one or more beverage outfeed openings made in it, if necessary closed by suitable closing elements, such as a sheet of flexible material.
• the passage from the lateral wall 4 to the bottom wall 5 is without an interruption, so that the second edge coincides with a perimetric edge of the bottom wall 5 and cannot be visually distinguished from it.
• one of either the bottom wall 5 or the upper film 3 is configured to constitute an infeed wall 9 for the water into the capsule 1 , whilst the other is configured to constitute an outfeed wall 10 for the beverage from the capsule 1.
• the upper film 3 is configured to constitute the infeed wall 9 and the bottom wall 5 is configured to constitute the outfeed wall 10.
• the capsule 1 comprises an optical recognition element 11 whose function is to allow optical identification of the capsule 1 by an optical recognition device 12 which is part of the apparatus 6 for making a beverage intended to use the capsule 1.
• the optical recognition element 11 is placed inside the capsule 1 in such a way that it can be viewed once the capsule 1 has been pierced.
• the optical recognition element 11 is positioned in such a way that it can be viewed once an opening has been made in the infeed wall 9.
• the optical recognition element 11 comprises a recognition substance which, when it is energised with a predetermined first optical signal, emits a second optical signal with known and recognisable characteristics.
• the predetermined first optical signal has a frequency which is included in the band of frequencies of visible light and/or of ultraviolet and/or of infra-red, and has a first emission spectrum, in that range of frequencies, which is known and predetermined (in use the first optical signal will coincide with an energising optical signal emitted by the optical recognition device 12 of the apparatus 6).
• the optical recognition substance is a substance selected in such a way that, once irradiated with that first optical signal, it emits the second optical signal with frequencies in the range of frequencies of visible light and/or of ultraviolet and/or of infra-red and with corresponding known and recognisable characteristics of the emission spectrum.
• the optical recognition substance may have fluorescent properties, so that by using a first optical signal with a frequency band included in the ultraviolet range of frequencies, the optical recognition substance emits a second optical signal with a frequency band which is included in the visible light range of frequencies
• the capsule 1 itself comprises a supporting element 13 which is mounted inside the main body 2, and which comprises a base 14 and a projection 15 which extends from the base 14 towards the infeed wall 9.
• the projection 15 is connected to the base 14 at a central portion of the base 14 itself and extends in the shape of a column.
• the base 14 of the supporting element 13 is positioned near the outfeed wall 10. Even more preferably the base 14 is placed between the food substance and the outfeed wall 10; it is also part of a filtering unit 16 of the capsule 1 configured to filter the beverage which is made as a result of the water flow passing through the food substance.
• the base 14 constitutes the filtering unit 16 and, for that reason, has a plurality of holes. In other embodiments the filtering effect may even be obtained in other ways, for example, by fixing portions of flexible filtering material to the base 14.
• the supporting element 13 is made, typically by injection moulding, of a plastic material which may or may not also be compostable or biodegradable.
• the optical recognition element 11 is supported by the supporting element 13 and, in particular, is associated with the projection 15 and is directed towards an inner part of the infeed wall 9 (the upper film 3 in the accompanying figures).
• the optical recognition element 11 is constituted of the supporting element 13; for example the recognition substance may be inserted in the material which constitutes the supporting element 13; alternatively, the recognition substance may be inserted in an outer covering layer of the supporting element 13, or may be inserted in an ink applied to the supporting element 13.
• the recognition element may be a separate component from the supporting element 13 and may be fixed to the supporting element 13 or may be inserted in a seat defined by the supporting element 13 (in particular by the projection 15).
• the capsule 1 also comprises a unit 17 for distributing the water flow inside the capsule 1.
• Figures 1 to 5 show a first embodiment of a capsule 1 in accordance with this invention which is equipped with a first type of supporting element 13 and with a water flow distributing unit 17.
• Figures 6 to 9 show several alternative embodiments in which the aspects which change are the shape and/or the positioning relative to each other of the supporting element 13 and of the water flow distributing unit 17.
• the water flow distributing unit 17 divides the inner part of the capsule 1 into an infeed chamber 18 and into a containment chamber 19.
• the infeed chamber 18 is the zone at which the water enters the capsule 1 , and is partly delimited by the infeed wall 9 through which the piercer 20 is in use inserted.
• the containment chamber 19 is the inner zone of the capsule 1 which contains the food substance.
• the projection 15 of the supporting element 13 extends as far as into the infeed chamber 18, in such a way that the optical recognition element 11 associated with it is facing the inner part of the infeed chamber 18.
• the water flow distributing unit 17 is constituted of the projection 15.
• the projection 15 may comprise a top portion 21 which defines the water flow distributing unit 17 and which comprises a bottom portion 22 and a tubular wall 23.
• the bottom portion 22 is at a distance from the infeed wall 9 and is facing it.
• the tubular wall 23 extends from the bottom portion 22, and in particular from its perimeter, as far as the infeed wall 9 with which it is substantially in contact (if the infeed wall 9 is constituted of a flexible film, as in the case of the embodiment illustrated in the accompanying figures, the contact may not be constant; as will be clear from the following description, the important thing is that there is contact when the capsule 1 is closed in the infusion chamber defined by the apparatus 6).
• the infeed chamber 18 therefore corresponds to the part of the inner space of the capsule 1 which is laterally delimited by the tubular wall 23, and at the two ends of the tubular wall 23, respectively by the infeed wall 9 and by the bottom portion 22.
• the containment chamber 19 extends between the lateral wall 4 and the projection 15 and, also, between the tubular wall 23 and the lateral wall 4 of the main body 2 near the infeed wall 9.
• the tubular wall 23 is concentric relative to the lateral wall 4 of the main body 2.
• One or more transit openings 24 are made in the tubular wall 23 to put the infeed chamber 18 and the containment chamber 19 in fluid communication.
• the transit openings 24 are distributed all around the tubular wall 23 in order to distribute the water flow throughout the powdered food substance.
• the transit openings 24 are sized in such a way as to prevent the transit of the nominal particle size measurement of the powdered food substance.
• the tubular wall 23 comprises an upper edge coupled to the infeed wall 9, and the transit openings 24 comprise a plurality of slits made in the tubular wall 23 starting from the upper edge.
• the upper edge may or may not be fixed to the infeed wall 9 (for example by sealing.
• the capsule 1 comprises two distribution units 17, 25, one similar to that of Figure 4 and constituted of the projection 15, and an additional one 25 constituted of a screen permeable to the water which extends like an annulus between the supporting element 13 and the lateral wall 4. It externally rests on a first shoulder 26 defined by the lateral wall 4 and internally rests on a second shoulder 27 defined by the supporting element 13.
• the additional distributing unit 25 may be rigid or semi-rigid and be either simply rested on the two shoulders or fixed to them, or it may in itself be flexible and be fixed to the two shoulders.
• the water flow distributing unit 17 is a separate component from the projection 15 and is associated with it.
• the projection 15 comprises the top portion 21 , but without the transit openings 24 and placed at a distance from the infeed wall 9 ( Figures 6 and 9).
• the water flow distributing unit 17 is interposed between the top portion 21 and the infeed wall 9. It may be rigid or semi-rigid and be either simply rested on the first shoulder 26 and on the top portion 21 or be fixed to them, or it may in itself be flexible and be fixed at least to the first shoulder 26. Furthermore, the distributing unit 17 may be made of a transparent material in order to allow viewing of the underlying optical recognition element 11 associated with the projection 15; in this case it will be at a sufficient distance from the infeed wall 9 to not be pierced, in use, by the piercer 20 of the apparatus 6. Alternatively, it may be configured to be pierced by the piercer 20 so as to allow viewing of the underlying optical recognition element 11. When it is intended to be pierced, the distributing unit 17 is advantageously fixed to the tubular wall 23 in order to prevent the water from freely infiltrating between the tubular wall 23 and the distributing unit 17.
• the distributing unit 17 has the shape of an annulus and rests both on the first shoulder 26 and on the tubular wall 23, to both of which it is also advantageously fixed.
• the tubular wall 23 is preferably without transit openings 24.
• the top portion 21 of the projection 15 is flat and does not have any tubular wall 23.
• the distributing unit 17 may be rigid or semi-rigid and be either simply rested on the first shoulder 26 and on the top portion 21 or be fixed to them, or it may in itself be flexible and be fixed at least to the first shoulder 26.
• the distributing unit 17 completely covers the top portion 21 with which the recognition element is associated; therefore the distributing unit 17 must be at least partly optically transparent at least for the frequencies of interest for the first optical signal and the second optical signal.
• the projection 15 may have the shape illustrated in Figure 7 and the distributing element may have a hole at the central area of the upper portion to allow optical access to the optical recognition element 11.
• the first shoulder 26 may not be present; in that case the distributing unit 17 may be fixed directly to the lateral wall 4, may be wedged with interlocking inside the capsule 1 , or may be fixed, if it is not flexible, only to the supporting element 13.
• the optical recognition element 11 is advantageously associated with the top portion 21 of the projection 15, and advantageously with its bottom portion 22 when the tubular wall 23 is present.
• the entire supporting element 13 is made as the optical recognition element 11 , either by incorporating the recognition substance in its material, or by completely covering it with a layer containing the recognition substance.
• the optical recognition element 11 is printed on the supporting element 13 or is obtained by covering a limited portion of its surface with a layer containing the recognition substance.
• the optical recognition element 11 is a separate component from the supporting element 13 and may be fixed to the top portion 21 or simply be inserted in the tubular wall 23 (if present).
• the infeed chamber 18 is configured to house, in use, the piercer 20 which is part of the apparatus 6, when the piercer is inserted in the capsule 1 piercing the infeed wall 9.
• the tubular wall 23 of the supporting element 13 defines a seat in which the piercer 20 can be partly housed.
• the capsule 1 described above may advantageously be used in the context of a system for making a beverage which, in addition to the capsule 1 , also comprises an apparatus 6.
• the apparatus 6 will comprise an infusion unit 7 which in turn comprises a first part 28 and a second part 29, at least one of which is movable relative to the other.
• the first part 28 and the second part 29 are movable between an operating position, in which they are coupled with each other and define an infusion chamber 30, and a non-operating position in which they are uncoupled and at a distance from each other.
• the infusion chamber 30 is configured to house in use the capsule 1 to be used for making the beverage.
• a watertight seal is advantageously present between the infusion unit 7 and the infeed wall 9 in such a way as to prevent water leaks during supplying of the beverage.
• the first part 28 practically completely defines the space of the infusion chamber 30, whilst the second part 29 acts as a lid for the infusion chamber 30.
• the first part 28 is also movable (vertically relative to the appended drawing) relative to the second part 29 which is fixed (as regards the movement between the operating position and the non-operating position, whilst it is extractable as a whole when the infusion unit 7 is in the non-operating position).
• the first part 28 and the second part 29 allow capsule 1 insertion and removal, respectively, in and from the infusion chamber 30; in the embodiment illustrated that is achieved by removing the first part 28 from the rest of the apparatus 6.
• the apparatus 6 may also comprise a movement mechanism, which allows the first part 28 and the second part 29 to be shifted relative to each other; the movement mechanism may be operated directly by the user of the apparatus 6, for example using a lever in the case of manual operation, or by pressing a button in the case of motor-driven operation, as well as fully automatically in ways already known and therefore not described in detail.
• the apparatus 6 also comprises feeding means for feeding, in use, the water flow into the capsule 1 housed in the closed supplying chamber, and supplying means for, in use, supplying to the outside of the apparatus 6 the beverage which is made inside the capsule 1 , housed in the supplying chamber, as a result of the water flow passing through.
• the feeding means comprise a tank configured to contain the water to be introduced into the capsule 1 , a pump which allows the desired water injection pressure to be obtained, and a boiler which allows the water to be brought to the temperature necessary for making the beverage.
• the feeding means may also comprise a nozzle configured to inject the liquid directly into the main body 2 of the capsule 1 ; advantageously, the nozzle may be defined by the piercer 20 as in the case of the embodiment illustrated in Figure 11.
• the feeding means comprise a piercer 20 configured to pierce the infeed wall 9 of the capsule 1 when the capsule 1 is housed in the infusion chamber 30.
• the apparatus 6 may also comprise an ejector, which is configured to eject the capsule 1 from the infusion chamber 30 after the beverage has been supplied; advantageously the ejector can also be activated by means of the movement mechanism previously described, in such a way that the capsule 1 can be ejected after the extraction unit has passed from the non-operating position to the operating position.
• the ejector is not present, whilst an elastically operated disengaging element 31 is present, configured to disengage the capsule 1 from the piercer 20 when the first part 28 and the second part 29 return to the non-operating position (in Figure 10 it is shown in the position which it adopts when the capsule 1 is inserted in the infusion chamber 30).
• the apparatus 6 also comprises an optical recognition device 12 which is associated with the supplying chamber and which is configured to recognise the optical recognition element 11 of the capsule 1 , when the capsule 1 is inserted in the supplying chamber.
• the optical recognition device 12 comprises a head for acquisition of an optical signal which is positioned inside the infusion chamber 30 and is positioned in such a way that it is directed towards the optical recognition element 11 when the capsule 1 is housed in the infusion chamber 30; the same acquisition head is also configured to acquire the second optical signal.
• the acquisition head is constituted of the end of one more optical fibres 32.
• the acquisition head is associated with the piercer 20.
• the piercer 20 is partly inserted in the infeed chamber 18 of the capsule 1 and the acquisition head is facing the optical recognition element 11.
• the optical recognition device 12 is also configured to inspect the response optical signal and to control operation of the apparatus 6 depending on the result of that inspection.
• the inspection aims to ascertain if the response optical signal has the known and recognisable emission spectrum characteristics of the second optical signal described above (which and how many characteristics are to be inspected may be decided on each occasion at the design stage). If the result of the inspection is positive (that is to say, if there is a match) the optical recognition device 12 considers the capsule 1 recognised and controls operation of the apparatus 6 accordingly, in the known ways. If the result of the inspection is negative (that is to say, if there is no match), the optical recognition device 12 considers the capsule 1 unrecognised; at that point operation of the apparatus 6 may be permitted or not depending on design choices.
• the optical recognition device 12 is operatively associated with the piercer 20 and comprises an emitter 33 for generating the first signal, for example an LED, an optical fibre 31 configured to direct the first signal towards the reading area of a capsule 1 inserted in the infusion chamber 30, and a mirror 34 positioned in such a way as to reflect at least part of the light radiation it receives from the LED, in the optical fibre 32.
• the optical fibre 32 is mounted inside the piercer 20 and is directly facing the reading area to irradiate it with the first optical signal.
• the same optical fibre 32 receives the response signal and sends it towards a detecting sensor 35 which in the embodiment illustrated is placed behind the mirror 34.
• the latter is indeed advantageously constituted of a dichroic mirror 34 which reflects the band of frequencies in which the part of interest of the first optical signal is included, and which is in contrast transparent for the band of frequencies of interest for the second optical signal.
• This invention brings important advantages.

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• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
• Apparatus For Making Beverages (AREA)
• Medicinal Preparation (AREA)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Publications (1)

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ID=77021708

Family Applications (1)

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Family Cites Families (4)

• 2021
  • 2021-03-16 IT IT102021000006254A patent/IT202100006254A1/it unknown
• 2022
  • 2022-03-14 EP EP22715378.0A patent/EP4308479A1/en active Pending
  • 2022-03-14 AU AU2022204251A patent/AU2022204251A1/en active Pending
  • 2022-03-14 WO PCT/IB2022/052274 patent/WO2022195450A1/en active Application Filing

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