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
  • B65D85/8064—Sealing means for the interface with the processing machine

Definitions

• Such beverage then escapes from the upper part of the capsule at the cover which, subj ected to the internal pressure of the water, opens and thus allows the extracted beverage to pass through, which is collected in a dedicated external container .
• the edge of said upper part of the capsule rests on the side opposite the water inlet side and, by virtue of its profile , seals against the side of the infusion chamber from which the beverage escapes .
• the infusion chamber closes correctly and seals even under pressure so that there are no signi ficant leaks of hot water outside the infusion chamber itsel f .
• the aluminum capsules of the known type therefore comprise a cup provided with a circular perimetral edge suitable for making a seal engagement with a relative abutment edge of the infusion chamber, in such a way as to guarantee the sealing of the water under pressure and make the infusion operation more ef ficient by forcing the water to pass inside the capsule so as to maximi ze the ef fectiveness of the extraction of the beverage .
• aluminum has the considerable advantage of being impermeable to oxygen and water, which means that the cof fee in the capsules has a long shel f li fe , it easily deforms during the filling and packaging step, and is therefore di f ficult and expensive to implement a reliable seal on the edge of the cup .
• the obj ect of the present invention is to provide a capsule which overcomes the aforementioned drawbacks and therefore guarantees reliable operation .
• FIG. 1 shows a sectional view of a capsule according to the present invention
• FIG. 2 shows an enlargement of the perimetral edge of the cup of the capsule of Figure 1 ;
• FIG. 3 shows a cross-sectional view of the capsule of Figure 1 when inserted into an infusion chamber of an extraction device , in a first insertion step ;
• FIG. 4 shows an enlargement of the perimetal edge of the cup of the capsule of Figure 3 ;
• FIG. 5 shows a cross-sectional view of the capsule of Figure 1 when inserted into an infusion chamber of an extraction device , in a second insertion step;
• FIG. 6 shows an enlargement of the perimetral edge of the cup of the capsule of Figure 5 ;
• FIG. 7 shows a cross-sectional view of the capsule of Figure 1 when inserted into an infusion chamber of an extraction device , in a third insertion step ;
• FIG. 8 shows a top view of the capsule of Figure 1 ;
• FIG. 9 shows an enlargement of the upper bottom of the cup of the capsule of Figure 1 .
• Figure 3 shows an aluminum capsule 10 according to the invention inserted in an infusion chamber 3 ( shown only partially) of an extraction device for preparing beverages .
• Figure 1 instead shows only the aluminum capsule 10 , of the single-dose type for preparing a beverage , for example cof fee , infusion, soluble , decoction or the like .
• the capsule 10 comprises a hollow body called cup 1 defining therein a compartment for containing at least one substance to be infused or dissolved or extracted by means of a liquid under pressure , such as for example cof fee or tea, typically in granular or powder form .
• the cup 1 comprises an annular side wall 2 extending in height along a central axis X, between a bottom wall 4 and an opposite front end 6 defining an opening 5 .
• Such opening 5 is covered by a cover 8 , perforable or yielding, which closes the capsule 1 .
• the side wall 2 has an overall substantially truncated cone shape on the outside, for example realized by the succession of truncated cone surfaces having different angular openings.
• the bottom wall 4 is intended to be crossed by the liquid injected by the extraction device for preparing the beverage, typically hot water or other food liquid, such as milk.
• the bottom 4 provides a perforable central portion 41 by specific perforation means of the extraction machine when the capsule is in use, so as to realize passages for the liquid towards the inside of the cup 1.
• the perforable central portion 41 is provided with a reinforcement edge 42 suitable for providing stiffness to the bottom 4 of the cup 1, avoiding the deformation thereof during the perforation step for the injection of the liquid under pressure.
• the reinforcement edge 42 is an inward fold made in the wall of the cup 1.
• the reinforcement edge 42 defines a wavy shape, visible in Figure 8.
• the cup 1 At the front end 6, the cup 1 comprises a collar 7, typically arranged at the free end of the side wall 2, projecting radially externally.
• the collar 7 has a front face 7b facing towards the opening 5 of the cup 1 , and an opposite rear face 7a .
• the front face 7b of the collar 7 is intended for union with the peripheral annular region of the cover 8 which closes the cup 1 at the front end 6 .
• the rear face 7a of the collar 7 is intended to engage with an abutment edge 31 of the infusion chamber 3 of the extraction device .
• the extraction device comprises an infusion chamber 3 suitable for housing at least part of the cup 1 of the capsule 10 therein .
• the infusion chamber 3 is movable with respect to a receiving plate 38 between an open position, which allows the capsule 10 to be inserted and removed, and a closed position .
• the infusion chamber 3 When the infusion chamber 3 is in the closed position, as shown in Figure 7 , it forms a closed chamber around the capsule 10 when the heated and pressuri zed water is fed into the cup 1 ( through the bottom 4 ) to carry out the beverage infusion and extraction step .
• the receiving plate 38 is provided with at least one opening (not shown) , to allow the beverage to flow into the final container, for example a cup .
• the rear face 7a of the collar 7 is therefore intended to engage with the internal edge 32 of the infusion chamber 3 of the extraction device to seal the infusion chamber .
• the collar 7 is provided with a particular geometry in such a way as to act itsel f as a sealing ring of the capsule 10 .
• the collar 7 is in fact intended to sealingly engage , at least partially, with the internal edge 32 of the infusion chamber 3 of the extraction device and provides , with the internal edge 32 , a head seal .
• the collar 7 of the cup 1 due to features of the material and structural and dimensional features , is at least partially deformable under the action of compression of the internal edge 32 of the machine , so as to provide the seal ; the deformation is of a plastic type .
• the collar 7 comprises an end 72, for example a hollow edge obtained by folding back on itself of the terminal portion of the cup 1.
• the terminal portion of the cup 1 forms a curl end 72.
• Such end 72 allows the capsule to be kept in position by virtue of the side arms of the infusion chamber (as seen in Figure 4) until the end of the extraction.
• the collar 7 comprises a flat horizontal portion 71, on whose front face 7b is attached the cover 8 which closes the cup 1 at the front end 6.
• the flat portion 41 extends for about 1 mm.
• the flat portion 71 is wide to facilitate the welding step of the cover 8.
• the seal step 91 is defined by a tilted raised portion 911 (i.e. defined by a truncated cone annular wall) preferably at an angle between 2° and 6°, preferably 4° with respect to the central axis X.
• the raised portion 911 extends for about 1 mm.
• the seal step 91 is also defined by an abutment portion 912 preferably tilted at an angle between 4° and 12°, preferably 8 ° with respect to the hori zontal plane .
• the abutment portion 912 extends for about 1 mm .
• the seal step 91 is engaged by the internal edge 32 during the closing step of the infusion chamber 3 .
• the internal edge 32 compresses the seal step 91 as shown by way of example in Figure 7 until it deforms , creating a crease 913 which is inserted at least partially into the annular recess 34 ( i . e . between the internal edge 32 and the external edge 33 ) reali zing a seal engagement with the compression edge 31 of the extraction device during the closing step of the infusion chamber .
• the geometry of the seal step 91 allows the aluminum to deform as a whole when clamped between the compression edge 31 and the receiving plate 38 , as in Figure 7 .
• the geometry of the seal step 91 allows a high adaptability of the capsule 10 to the di f ferent shapes of the compression edge 31 of the infusion chamber to be obtained .
• the presence of a raised portion 911 and an abutment portion 912 , both tilted, facilitates the deformation of the seal step 91 .
• the side wall 2 of the cup 1 comprises a centering step 21 which is arranged above the collar 7 .
• Such centering step 21 is intended to abut against the internal wall of the infusion chamber of the extraction device in order to improve the centering of the capsule 10 inside the infusion chamber to ensure the correct positioning of the seal step 91 in axis with respect to the internal edge 32.
• the centering step 21, clearly visible in Figure 2, is defined by a tilted raised portion 211 (i.e. defined by a truncated cone annular wall) preferably at an angle between 5° and 11°, preferably 8° with respect to the central axis X.
• the raised portion 211 extends for about 3 mm.
• the centering step 21 is also defined by an abutment portion 212 preferably tilted at an angle between 12° and 18°, preferably 15° with respect to the horizontal plane.
• the abutment portion 212 extends for about 0.5 mm.
• the internal wall of the compression edge 31 engages the centering step 21, and in particular the raised portion 211 which is configured as an abutment portion for guiding the centering of the capsule 10 in the infusion chamber itself.
• the centering step 21 provided with a raised portion 211 and an abutment portion 212, both tilted, facilitates centering of the capsule .
• the capsule 10 according to the present invention is inserted into the infusion chamber 3 of the extraction machine ( Figure 3 ) and, once the movement of the components of the machine itsel f is activated, the rear face 7a of the collar 7 of the capsule 10 engages with the compression edge 31 of the infusion chamber 3 to form a closed chamber around the capsule 10 and carry out the step of infusing and extracting the beverage .
• the compression edge 31 of the machine then ends up in abutment against the seal step 91 ( Figure 6 ) and deforms it ( Figure 7 ) to reali ze a sealed closing .
• the seal is achieved by deforming the seal step 91 .
• the seal step 91 is plastically deformed to provide the necessary seal to prevent any leakage of liquid from the infusion chamber .
• the compression edge 31 deforms the seal step 91 into a wavy crease 913 which allows a plurality of sealing points to be obtained with said compression edge 31 against potential water leaks from the infusion chamber .
• the centering step 92 in addition to acting as a centering of the capsule in its housing in the infusion chamber, is slightly deformed towards the outside , thus contributing to the seal against potential leaks of water from the infusion chamber .
• the deformation of the seal step 91 does not touch the flat portion 71 of the collar 7 thus avoiding risks of compromising the welding of the cover 8 .
• the curl end 72 of the collar 7 is not deformed during the closing step, thus continuing to hold the capsule in position by virtue of the side arms of the extraction chamber ( as seen in Figure 4 ) until the end of the extraction .
• the capsule according to the present invention overcomes the drawbacks mentioned with reference to the prior art , since it allows a reliable seal to be provided while maintaining a geometry that is constructively easy to manufacture .
• the capsule according to the present invention may be used in di f ferent types of extraction machines as it is provided with a seal step 91 and a centering step which compensate for any inaccuracies in closing the abutment edge of the infusion chamber on the capsule collar .
• the skilled in the art may make changes to the capsule described above in order to meet incidental needs , all falling within the scope of protection defined in the following claims .

Landscapes

• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
• Apparatus For Making Beverages (AREA)
• Packages (AREA)
• Laminated Bodies (AREA)
• Rigid Containers With Two Or More Constituent Elements (AREA)
• Closing Of Containers (AREA)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Publications (4)

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Family Applications (1)

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Citations (1)

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• 2021
  • 2021-08-18 IT IT102021000022040A patent/IT202100022040A1/it unknown
• 2022
  • 2022-07-19 CN CN202280056036.4A patent/CN117916172B/zh active Active
  • 2022-07-19 ES ES22754163T patent/ES3038958T3/es active Active
  • 2022-07-19 CA CA3226552A patent/CA3226552A1/en active Pending
  • 2022-07-19 EP EP22754163.8A patent/EP4387904B8/de active Active
  • 2022-07-19 US US18/683,033 patent/US20250136356A1/en active Pending
  • 2022-07-19 WO PCT/IB2022/056629 patent/WO2023021342A1/en not_active Ceased

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