GB2551572A

GB2551572A - Device for infusing an infusionable substance

Info

Publication number: GB2551572A
Application number: GB1611002.5A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Milne Downie Donald
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2016-06-23
Filing date: 2016-06-23
Publication date: 2017-12-27
Also published as: GB201611002D0

Abstract

An infusing device 10 including a sachet 11 containing the infusion substance, and an elongate part 12 which extends upwardly through or around the sachet from a bottom region 14 of the sachet, to which the elongate part is engaged. A handle extends beyond the top region 16 of the sachet. Also included is a moveable part 13 in the form of an inverted V, which has a hole at the apex through which the elongate part is received for slidable movement. The movable part has flaps which may pivot to embrace opposite faces of the sachet, thereby squeezing the sachet between the flaps. The sachet may include two chambers. The elongate part may be a tape, ribbon or cord. The flaps may extend inwards from an edge of the V, or may extend from an end of the V. The movable part may be formed from one or more pieces of water resistant paper or card.

Description

Device for Infusing an Infusionable Substance

The present invention relates to a device for infusing an infusionable substance. Devices for this purpose are known. A common example is a so-called tea-bag which comprises a sachet containing an infusionable substance such as tea-leaves or herbs. The sachet has porous walls, usually of a water-resistant paper or a film of porous plastics material. Usually, the device comprises a sachet and a cord attached to the sachet. The purpose of the cord is to enable the user (1) to dispose the sachet in hot liquid (usually hot water) without the user's fingers contacting hot liquid, and (2) to remove the sachet from the liquid or the container (e.g., a cup) for disposal. While tea-bags are widely used, they suffer from drawbacks. Among these drawbacks are the following: (a) after immersion in liquid, the sachet contains liquid which tends to drip out which is a nuisance; (b) the liquid which is retained in the withdrawn sachet is a concentrated infusion representing wastage of the infusion which is potentially available from the sachet; (c) user's often try to recover some of the retained infusion, but this can involve squeezing the sachet with the user's fingers (which can expose the user's fingers to hot liquid and which may have a tendency to stain) and/or an implement such as a spoon, which is inconvenient from the user's viewpoint; (d) the wastage of infusion of point (b) represents an inefficient use of the infusionable substance.

An object of the present invention is to provide a device for which one or more drawbacks is mitigated.

The present invention provides a device for infusing an infusionable substance as defined in claim 1 of the set of claims following the description of embodiments of the invention. Preferred and/or

Embodiments of the invention are now described byway of non-limitative example and with reference to the diagrammatic drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a general view of a tea-bag according to the invention;

Figure 2 is a cross-sectional view of a tag disposed for sliding along a spill shown in Fig. 1;

Figure 3 is a cross-sectional view showing the tag abutting the top of the sachet;

Figure 4 is a view similar to Fig. 3 but with the tag pressed further down onto the sachet;

Figures 5, 6, 7 and 8 show stages in forming the tag of Figs. 1 to 4;

Figure 9 shows another form of tag slidably mounted on a relatively stiff spill member;

Figure 10 shows the tag of Fig. 9 abutting the top of the sachet;

Figure 11 shows the tag of Figs. 9 and 10 crumpling and squeezing a sachet;

Figure 12 shows the components of a two-part tag and part of a spill member;

Figure 13 shows principal features of an infusion device formed from the components shown in Figure 12.

Figure 14 shows the main features of a device according to another embodiment;

Figure 15 shows the main features of a device according to another embodiment;

Figure 16 shows the device of Fig. 15 when crumpled and/or squeezed .

Reference is made herein to devices which are tea-bags, by way of example, but it is to be understood that the invention is equally applicable to devices for infusing infusionable substances other than tea.

In this text, the terms "bottom", "top", "upper", "lower" refer to positions or locations in normal use of the part in question.

In Fig. 1, the teabag device is indicated generally by reference 10 and it comprises a sachet 11 containing tea leaves (not shown), a tape or spill 12 extending upwards from the sachet 11 and a tag 13 which is slidable along the tape or spill 12. Reference herein to "spill" may be construed as a reference to a relatively rigid elongate member or to a tape of suitable material, according to the context. The sachet 11 may have one or two tea-containing chambers and is formed from porous, water-resistant paper of porous plastic film, such as polylactic acid ("PLA"). The spill 12 may be of stiff, water-resistant card or of wood or bamboo. Alternatively, the spill 12 may be of tape, cord or ribbon, but for the sake of simplicity, the embodiments described herein have spills 12 which are either of relatively rigid material, such as bamboo, or of tape or ribbon of any suitable material. The tag 13 may be of water-resistant card or other suitable material. As shown in Fig. 3, the spill or tape 12 extends upwards from the bottom region 14 of the sachet 11 and either (a) around the outside of one or both outer faces of the sachet, or (b) through the sachet and protruding beyond the top region of the sachet so as to serve as a handle for holding and manipulating the device 10. Embodiments in which the tape, ribbon or spill 12 extends upwards from the bottom region of the sachet around one or both of the outside faces of the sachet are not shown in the accompanying drawings. The bottom end (as depicted) of the spill 12 extends through the bottom (as depicted) of the sachet and is provided with a stop member 15, shown in Figs. 3 and 4. The stop 15 is formed and/or adapted to prevent the spill 12 being pulled upwards (as depicted) through the sachet 11 and may have any suitable form such as a heat seal between the bottom region of the sachet and the bottom region of the spill or tape or a knot or a cross-member perpendicular to the length of the spill 12. Figs. 1, 3 and 4 show the tag 13 in different positions on the spill 12 relative to the sachet 11. In Fig. 3, the tag 13 has been slidden down the spill 12 until its lower part abuts the top region 16 of the sachet 11. Downward pressure exerted on the tag 13 causes the tag 13 to open out like an umbrella (as explained herein) as it encounters resistance to downward travel along the spill on abutting the top of the sachet 11. Downward pressure on the tag 13 is balanced by an upward pull on the spill 12 which causes the sachet 11 to be squeezed from the top by tag 13 and crumpled from the bottom by the stop 15, as shown in Fig.4. The downward squeezing and upward crumpling of the sachet 11 are advantageous in that they promote expression of infused essence from the sachet 11 when the sachet has been wetted with infusioning liquid, thereby increasing the quantity of infusionate for a given quantity of infusionable substance in the sachet 11. The side flaps of the tag 13 can be manually used to squeeze the sachet 11 from the sides thereby enhancing the amount of infusate. One result is that less tea or other infusionable substance is required in the sachet 11 to brew a desired strength or concentration of the resulting infusion. Another result is that the tendency of the sachet to drip infused liquid is reduced, e.g. when discarding the sachet after use in a brewing or infusioning operation.

Figure 5 shows one form of blank from which a tag 13 may be formed. The blank, generally indicated by reference 116 comprises a rectangle (or square) of water-resistant paper or card with a slot 17 formed in one side 20. Fold lines 18 and 19 are formed parallel to side 20. The distance between side 20 and proximate fold line 18 is preferably slightly greater than the distance between the fold lines 18 and 19.

Fig. 6 shows the blank 116 being folded to form a tag 13. The blank 116 is folded about fold line 19 towards the unfolded part 21 of the blank, and the section between fold line 19 and side 20 is folded about fold line 18 in the opposite sense so that the folded parts form an inverted "V" attached at fold line 19 to the unfolded part 21. Fig. 7 shows the blank 116 folded about the line of the slot 17 and around the spill 12. The various flap-like members formed by the folding steps are adhered as follows, referring to Figs. 6 and 7: Regions 23 are heat-sealed and/or glued to each other; regions 24 are heat-sealed and/or glued to each other. Regions 25 are heat-sealed and/or glued to each other, and regions 26 are heat-sealed and/or glued to each other. The resulting tag 16 assembled with the spill 12 is shown in Fig. 8. The mode of action of the tag 16 is explained herein in connection with Figs 3 and 4.

Figures 9 to 11 relate to another embodiment of tea-bag 210 according to the invention. The tape or spill 212 and sachet 211 are substantially the same as their counterparts in Figs. 1 to 4 and may extend through or around one or both outer faces of the sachet 211, but a different form of tag 213 is used. The tag 213 comprises a generally rectangular piece of water-resistant paper or card folded to a shape generally resembling a capital "W". The central apex of the "W" is formed with a slot through which the spill 212 is slidably received. The outer arms or flaps 215 of the "W" are "hinged" to the inner arms thereof at fold-lines 216. When the tag 213 is slid down the spill 212 into abutment with the top region of the sachet 211, the flaps 215 can be manually splayed out about fold lines 216 by the user as indicated by the broken lines in Fig. 9 and as depicted in their splayed-out disposition in Fig. 10. The flaps of the tag 213 can be brought into contact with the outer surfaces of the sachet 211 as shown in Fig. 11 and employed by the user to squeeze the sachet 211 to expel infused liquid therefrom. If the user pushes the tag 213 downwards along the spill 212, the sachet is also squeezed between the tag 213 and the stop or weld or heat-seal 218 at the bottom end (as depicted) of the spill 212 thereby expelling additional infused liquid from the sachet 211. The expulsion of infused liquid from the sachet 211 by the squeezing actions described herein results in the recovery of additional infused liquid from the sachet 211 compared with known infusing devices, so that less infusionable substance (e.g. tea) is required for a given amount and quality of infused liquid. Moreover, the squeezing action results in a used sachet with reduced liquid content so that the tendency to drip infused liquid is reduced.

Reference is now made to Figures 12 and 13. Fig. 13 shows an infusion device 300 comprising a infusion sachet 330, a spill or tape member 312 which extends from the bottom region of the sachet 330 to above the top region thereof either through the sachet or around the sachet so as to be usable as a handle for the device. The bottom end 340 of the spill or tape member 312 is formed with a knot or bar 340 or is heat-sealed to the bottom region of the sachet to engage against the bottom of the sachet 330. Fleat sealing is generally preferable. A tag member is provided which is slidable along the handle part of spill or tape 312. In Figure 12, it is seen that the tag member is formed from two rectangular pieces of water-resistant card or paper which each have fold lines 315, 316, 317 and 318. The rectangular pieces are folded along the fold lines to the form shown in Fig. 13. The top areas 315 of both cards are adhered to each other on each side of the spill or tape, and the bottom areas 318 of both cards are adhered to each other on each side of the spill or tape thereby forming relatively stiff top and bottom edges on the tag. The adhesion may be effected in any convenient manner such as by heat-sealing, welding, adhesive, and/or physical means such as a staple or stud (not shown). When pushed down into contact with the top region of the sachet, the side flaps of the tag separate from each other and the open up like the ribs of an umbrella, and the flaps 320 "embrace" and squeeze against the outer faces of the sachet 330. At the same time, the sachet 330 is squashed and/or crumpled in a vertical sense between the heat seal or knot or bar 340 and the edge 321 of the tag member, so as to expel infused liquid from the sachet 330.

Fig. 14 shows a device 400 comprising a sachet 401 (which may have one or two chambers for containing an infusionable substance), a thread 402 attached to the sachet 401, and a tag 403 which can be slidden along the thread 402. The tag 403 may be generally of the form of any of the tags 13 (Fig. 1), 11 (Fig. 8), 213 (Fig. 9), 300 (Fig. 13). The tag 403, as depicted in Fig 14, is generally of the same form as the tag 300. A collar or loop 404 is fixedly located on an external wall of the sachet 401 at or near the top region of the external wall. The collar is of water-resistant paper or PLA and attached to the sachet in any suitable manner, such as heat-sealing or welding. The thread 402 passes slidably through the collar 404 and around the bottom 405 of the sachet 401 to a fixing location 406 at a bottom region of the other external wall of the sachet 401, where the end of the thread is attached to the wall in any suitable manner.

Fig. 15 shows a variant of the device 400 of Fig. 14. In this variant, the thread 402 passes through the collar 404 on one side of the sachet, loops under the bottom 405 of the sachet, and extends over the other side of the sachet (as indicated in broken line) to a fixing location 409 adjacent to the top region of the said other side of the sachet where it is affixed in any suitable manner. The sachet 408 is of pyramidical form but it could equally have other forms such as rectangular.

In Fig. 16, the tag 403 has been slidden down the thread 402 by the user into contact with the sachet thereby crumpling the sachet against the bottom loop of thread and expelling therefrom infused liquid. The user can expel further amounts of liquid from the sachet by squashing the sachet between the flaps of the tag 403. The expelled liquid can be incorporated with the infused liquid obtained normally from the sachet thereby strengthening and increasing the resulting infusate and reducing the tendency of the used sachet to drip. The device enables an infusate of a given strength to be made with a reduced amount of infusible substance (e.g., tea) in the sachet. The device of Fig. 14 is used in the same manner as the device of Fig. 15.

Claims

CLAIMS:

1. A device for infusing an infusionable substance, the device comprising; (a) A sachet for containing an infusionable substance; (b) an elongate member having a bottom end region and a top end region and which extends upwardly through or at least partially around the sachet from a bottom region of the sachet to a handle part which extends beyond the top region of the sachet for use as a holding means for holding the device, the bottom end of the elongate member having engagement means for engaging the bottom region of the sachet; (c) A movable member of which at least part has the general form of an inverted "V" with a hole or slot at the apex of the "V" in which the top region of the elongate member is received for slidable movement of the movable member along the elongate member; (d) The movable member having hingeable flaps which can hinge downwardly to embrace opposite faces of the sachet for squeezing the sachet between the flaps and for crumpling the sachet between the movable means and the engagement means.

2. The device of claim 1 in which the sachet comprises two chambers for containing infusionable substance, part of the elongate member being located either between the two chambers or around one or both chambers.

3. The device of claim 1 or claim 2 in which the movable member comprises an inverted "V" having free edges distal from the apex of the inverted "V", each flap extending inwardly from a respective free edge of the "V".

4. The device of claim 3 in which one edge of each flap is hingeadly attached to one free edge of the "V".

5. The device of claim 3 or claim 4 in which each flap has a fold line parallel to said one edge for the flap to be disposed in a folded condition between the main faces of the "V" prior to the movable member being moved along the elongate member into contact with the sachet.

6. The device of claim 1 or claim 2 in which each flap is hinged for swinging outwardly and inwardly from a respective free edge of the "V".

7. The device of any of claims 1 to 6 in which the movable member is formed from water-resistant card or paper or plastic.

8. The device of any of claims 1 to 7 wherein the movable member is formed from a single piece of water-resistant piece of card or paper.

9. The device of any of claims 1 to 7 wherein the movable member is formed from two or more pieces of water-resistant card or paper.

10. The device of any preceding claim in which the elongate member is formed from a wood, plastic or fibrous spill, or a tape or a ribbon or a cord.

11. The device of any preceding claim in which the bottom end of the elongate member is affixed to the bottom region of the sachet.

12. The device of any preceding claim wherein the elongate member comprises a tape, ribbon or cord which extends at least partially around the sachet.

13. The device of any preceding claim comprising a collar or loop fixedly located at a top region of one external face of the sachet, the tape, ribbon or cord passing slidably through the loop or collar and around the bottom of the sachet to a fixing location on the other external face of the sachet.

14. The device of any preceding claim wherein the sachet contains infusionable substance.