FI109988B - Disposable cartridge used in hot beverage extraction and dispensing machines - Google Patents

Abstract

An inlet end wall of the cartridge has an outer peripheral annular rib (26) which surrounds a perforated region (20) and can be engaged under mechanical pressure by a heated plate (P) for introducing hot water into the cartridge. The annular rib (26) is made of a plastics material, such as polypropylene, which can be softened at the temperature to which the water delivery plate (p) is heated.

Description

109988

The present invention relates to a disposable cartridge 5 comprising a remarkably rigid housing containing a portion of powdered, granular or similar particulate material for producing a beverage by filtration, dissolution or brewing under pressure. , this housing comprises a cylindrical, largest drawing, hollow body having an unpunched sidewall, an inlet end wall having a perforated center area and a perforated opposite outlet end wall, and said inlet end wall having an outer peripheral annular projection, and which can be coupled by mechanical pressure exerted by a heating plate through which hot water is introduced by fluid pressure into the cartridge through said central region to produce and distribute the beverage through an outlet end wall.

Cartridges of this general type are known, inter alia, from European Patent Application 0 057 671.

The annular annular projection serves as a kind of seal with the machine's dispensing outlet plate so that it contains pressurized hot water in its circumference which is introduced from the center of the supply plate into the cartridge through this perforated area.

• · * / · !; Provided that the volume of the • · · ·. ·. man water pressure is approximately 10 - 15 bar, it is desirable that the plate presses on the annular projection and engages with it accurately to prevent hot water from leaking • · * ..! 30 out of the periphery before reaching the inside of the cartridge.

However, it is often the case that this engagement is incomplete due to the fact that said plate and the top of the projection are not in the same plane.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a cartridge of the aforementioned type 35, in which a perfect tight connection between the plate and the annular projection is ensured, even when the two parts are not in the same plane.

According to the present invention, this object is achieved by 5 cartridges of the type described above, characterized in that said annular projection is made of a plastic material which softens at a temperature to which the water supply plate heats.

Preferably, the projection has an annular brush 10 which can be flattened by mechanical pressure on the feed plate after the plastic material has been softened.

In a preferred embodiment, the projection has a frustoconical surface whose apex is coincident with the cartridge axis and has a blunt apex angle and in which radially outer surface forms with said frustoconical surface said flattened annular brush.

With this arrangement, the thermal deformation of the projection compensates for any disadvantages caused by the fact that the projection and the plate are not in the same plane, thus ensuring complete water tightness under pressure.

In a preferred embodiment, the surface of the projection has a very shallow skew toward the center of the top wall: gradually, as the annular brush softens, the plate is able to press • · ·,. · 25 nucleation on the surface of the projection, which grows rapidly as the plate • "ί decreases and correspondingly the specific mechanical pressure decreases. V: Rapidly on the upper surface of the projection. This pressure decrease corresponds to ··· gradually decreasing plasticization of the material. • · 30 delicate softening.

The object of the present invention will be better understood by reference to the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment and the accompanying drawings, which are given by way of non-limiting example.

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In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a cartridge provided with an annular projection according to the invention.

Figure 2 is a diametric sectional view of the same pat-5 edge at an enlarged scale.

Figure 3 is a partial sectional view, further enlarged, of the area III circled in Figure 2; and

Fig. 4 is a partial sectional view corresponding to Fig. 3, which schematically shows a portion of a water supply plate printed on an annular projection 10 and in which the projection is deformed by heat and mechanical pressure exerted by the plate.

Referring now to Figures 1 and 2, the disposable cartridge comprises a hollow body or housing, generally designated by reference numeral 10. The hollow body 10 is substantially cylindrical in shape and is capable of containing granular, powdered, or particulate material M (Figure 2). capable of producing a beverage by filtration, soaking or brewing under pressurized hot water. With respect to a machine using a cartridge, reference is made, for example, to European Patent Application 0 041 031, which relates to an automatic coffee machine capable of utilizing the cartridge described and described in the accompanying drawings.

The hollow body 10 comprises a cup-shaped portion, generally designated by reference numeral 12, and the portion forms a lid, designated by reference numeral 14. Both parts 12 and 14 may be made of an economically rigid plastic material suitable for use in foodstuffs. t with 30 dogs. However, the use of the plastic material is not 'limiting, except for the features which will be further described below.

A suitable material for making parts 12 and 14 is polypropylene, which should have a softening temperature in order to. The objects of the invention are achieved, about 100 ° C.

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The cup-like portion 12 comprises an unpunctured, substantially cylindrical side wall 16 which forms the side wall of the housing 10, and a bottom wall 18 which forms the exit end wall of the housing 10. The bottom wall 5 18 is surrounded by an annular projection 19 which forms a seal over the lower plate or the like on which the cartridge can be supported by its lower wall.

The bottom wall 18 is perforated and may have a plurality of openings as described, for example, in EP-A-10 0 041 931, or a single central hole as described and described in EP-A-0 057 671.

The lid 14 comprises a perforated circular central region 20 which forms the inlet end wall of the housing 10. The central region 20 is circumferentially surrounded by an annular flange 22 which engages with a corresponding flange 24 which is part of the upper edge of the side wall 16 of the cup-like portion 12.

The central region 20 may have a plurality of holes as shown, or other openings, or one or more holes 20 in the circumference, as disclosed in European Patent Application 0 057 671, which is incorporated herein by reference.

The outer surface of the perforated central region 20 of the lid 14 is surrounded on its outer periphery by an annular edge 26, the function of which is described below with reference to Figures 3 and 4.

Referring to Fig. 3, the annular peripheral rim 26 of the outer periphery, which surrounds the perforated central region 20 of the inlet end wall, has a frustoconical surface 28 which, j. the tip coincides with the cartridge axis. The apex of the frustoconical surface 28 is blunt. This peak angle is preferably »30 almost flat with an angle of about 175 °.

The annular projection 26 is delimited radially * »* by an outer surface 30 which forms a frustoconical surface 28 with a circular or annular tip 32. Preferably at least in the region of the annular tip 32, the front surface 28 and the radius I».

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In the direction of 109988, the outer surface 30 forms an angle of about 90 ° with each other.

A preferred material for at least edge 26 and preferably for the entire body 10 is food grade poly-5 propylene having a softening point slightly lower than the boiling water temperature but a melting point higher than the boiling water temperature (e.g. 110 ° C).

In Figure 4, the reference letter P indicates a metal plate forming part of a coffee machine or other machine 10 for extracting a beverage from the material M in the cartridge.

(Figure 2). The machine may be of the type described and described in EP 0 041 031.

The plate P has a central hole for the supply of hot water, for example at a temperature of 90 ° C and a pressure of about 15 to 15 bar.

the hot water under pressure the plate P has been lowered or otherwise pressed in the direction of the arrow F, the annular edge 26 turned on. The temperature of the plate P is approximately equal to the temperature of the hot water, i.e. about 20 to 90 ° C.

The mechanical pressure exerted in the direction of the arrow F the plate P has softened and deformed first the annular apex 32 and then into the upper portion 26 of the cantilever.

In Fig. 4, reference numeral 26a denotes 25 integral parts of edge 26 * · *: prior to softening and reference numeral 26b * · *

is marked below the tip 32 by the bulge formed by the softened portion 28a, V:. As can be seen, the plate P

·· The flat pressure surface S has largely changed the original

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a frustoconical surface 28 28a, which seals against the surface S of the plate P, thus ensuring that the hermetically sealed hot water escapes, against the space designated 32 and

formed by the perforated center area of the lid 14 and the plate P

»· ·· * 'between the corresponding central area.

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The plastic material of the annular edge 26, which softens and deforms under the influence of heat, does not melt due to the fact that its temperature does not exceed about 100 ° C, which is the temperature of the water entering the cartridge. The Mate-5 rial remains in what may be termed a "rubbery" state, and in this state it behaves in practice like a flexible seal to the benefit of the sealing effect.

As seen in Figure 4, the plate P and 26 of the contact surface between the edge, which is designated by reference numeral 10, 28a, which has reached the tip 32 and the edge 26 of the rest of the plastic material to thermal deformation by means of covers katkokartimaisesta surface of most of the original and thus ensure a specific mechanical pressure in the direction of arrow F in such that the edge 26 does not soften completely, which would be detrimental to the sealing effect.

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Claims (6)

A disposable cassette comprising a substantially rigid housing (10) containing a portion of slab granular, powdery or particulate material (M) for preparing a beverage by brewing, dissolving or sputtering with hot water under pressure , which housing comprises a generally cylindrical hollow body (10), comprising an operable side wall (16), an inlet end wall with a perforated central groove, and a grooved end perforated outlet end wall (18), which wall is provided with a compressible outer annular flange (26), which is made of plastic material and which surrounds the perforated area (20) and is arranged to abut a heated plate (P) under mechanical pressure for supplying hot pressurized water to the cassette via the central region (20) for producing the beverage and its discharge via the outlet end wall (18), characterized in that the annular flange 20 (26) is made of a plastic material having a softening temperature lower than the boiling water temperature and a melting temperature higher than that of boiling water, such that the flange (26) becomes partially softened and deformable under the mechanical pressure which is exerted by the heated plate (P). Cartridge according to claim 1, characterized in that the surface of the flange (26) is provided with an annular crown (32) which is flattable due to the softening effect of the plastic material under the mechanical pressure of the plate (P). Cartridge according to claim 2, characterized in that the flange (26) is provided with a frusto-conical surface (28), the vertex of which lies on the geometric axis of the cartridge and has a blunt vertex angle, and partly a radially opposite outer surface (30) which together with the frustoconical front surface (28) forms the flatable annular crown (32). Cartridge according to claim 3, characterized in that the blunt vertex angle of the frusto-conical front surface (28) is of the order of 175 °. Cartridge according to claim 3 or 4, characterized in that, at least the area of the displaceable annular crown (32), the frusto-conical front surface (28) and the radially extending outer surface (30) form between them at an angle of or almost 90 °. Cartridge according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the material in the flange (26) is polypropylene. »· * · I I · mi i ·» · • «· 4 ti • t ·