GB2558513A

GB2558513A - Coffee capsule filling machine

Info

Publication number: GB2558513A
Application number: GB1511558.7A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Gort-Barten Alex; Gort-Barten Leslie
Original assignee: Leslie Gort Barten
Current assignee: Leslie Gort Barten
Priority date: 2015-07-01
Filing date: 2015-07-01
Publication date: 2018-07-18
Also published as: GB201511558D0

Abstract

A coffee capsule filling machine for filling capsules with ground coffee, which machine has holders (not shown, 11) for the capsules. The machine further comprises a cutting and sealing station 8, which cutting and sealing station cuts capsule seals from a reel of foil. The foil is guided through the cutting and sealing station by a plurality of rollers 12, 13, 15, 16, one of which rollers 16 is provided with an embossing surface such that the foil is embossed prior to being cut at the cutting and sealing station 8.

Description

(71) Applicant(s):

Alex Gort-Barten

County Oak Way, Crawley, West Sussex, RH11 7ST, United Kingdom

Leslie Gort-Barten

County Oak Way, CRAWLEY, West Sussex, RH11 7ST, United Kingdom (72) Inventor(s):

Alex Gort-Barten Leslie Gort-Barten (74) Agent and/or Address for Service:

Jensen & Son

366-368 Old Street, LONDON, EC1V 9LT,

United Kingdom (51) INT CL:

B65B 7/28 (2006.01) B65B 7/16 (2006.01) (56) Documents Cited:

GB 2519871 A WO 1999/029508 A1

US 5392986 A http://www.cemachinery.com/aluminum-foil-lid-forcoffee-capsule/, Aluminum lid for coffee capsule, Author Admin, 06/09/2014, Accessed 20/1015 (58) Field of Search:

INT CL A47J, B29C, B65B, B65D Other: WPI, EPODOC and the Internet (54) Title of the Invention: Coffee capsule filling machine Abstract Title: Coffee Capsule Filling Machine (57) A coffee capsule filling machine for filling capsules with ground coffee, which machine has holders (not shown, 11) for the capsules. The machine further comprises a cutting and sealing station 8, which cutting and sealing station cuts capsule seals from a reel of foil. The foil is guided through the cutting and sealing station by a plurality of rollers 12, 13, 15, 16, one of which rollers 16 is provided with an embossing surface such that the foil is embossed prior to being cut at the cutting and sealing station 8.

Fig.1

At least one drawing originally filed was informal and the print reproduced here is taken from a later filed formal copy.

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10 16

Fig.1

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10 16

Fig.2

Coffee Capsule Filling Machine

The invention relates to machine for filling coffee capsules for use in an espresso machine.

Powered espresso machines are well known. The conventional espresso machine comprises a water chamber, a heating element adapted to heat the water to around 9598 C, which is then pumped under high pressure of 15 to 19 bar to a filter holder or portafilter. Lower pressure systems also exist. The filter holder typically comprises a handle portion and a holder portion provided with two or three lugs that are adapted to engage in the installed position with the machine brewhead to where the water is pumped. The holder portion is adapted to receive a filter, which is usually a metal bowl with a number of perforations through its bottom. In use, the filter is filled with finely ground coffee and the water is forced through the coffee at the high pressure generated by the pump to produce the espresso coffee which is collected in a cup placed under the filter holder.

The classic coffee machine suffers from two potential drawbacks. The first drawback is that ground coffee starts to lose its freshness and flavour after a few days and so for the optimum espresso, the user will also need to have a coffee grinder. The other drawback is that the used espresso coffee has to be removed from the filter, which can lead to mess as the grinds are fine.

This lead to the development of ESE coffee pods, which can be used in many espresso machines. Coffee pods are generally individually wrapped to maintain freshness and consist of a small pod made of a perforated filter paper which contains the coffee. The pod is placed in the filter holder and then disposed of after use. Coffee pods are convenient but have to fit the filter holder and be placed correctly otherwise water can leak around the edge.

This in turn lead to the development of capsule machines. The coffee capsules for these machines are completely sealed. The capsule machines do not use the conventional filter holder. A capsule machine typically has a two part mechanism. The first part receives the capsule and is provided with an extraction surface upon which the capsule rests. The second part is provided with a locking lever which is used to make the first and second parts integral. In use, the second part cuts the upper surface of the capsule to allow water to enter the capsule and percolate down through the capsule, where it exits through the lower surface of the capsule at multiple locations determined by the geometry of the extraction surface. An example of such a machine is disclosed in EP 0870457 or W02005/004683. Capsules in the known capsule coffee machines are, in use, inserted into a capsule cage of the machine which holds the capsule in position so that it may be cut by a cutting member.

Capsule machines have proved to be commercially very successful as they are very convenient to use and produce a consistent product. However, each manufacturers coffee machines and capsules are designed to work with the manufacturers own brand. The most popular brand of capsule is Nespresso ®, which uses a sealed capsule. In use, the capsule is clamped into position in the machine with a capsule cage part holding the capsule so that it can be cut by three prongs to enable water under pressure to enter the coffee capsule. The main alternative to this type of capsule is perforated with 6 to 9 holes to enable the water to enter the capsule. The perforations have one significant design drawback in that air can enter the capsule. Consequently, the capsules are packaged in small quantities in nitrogen filled bags to enable the shelf life of the coffee to match that of a sealed capsule. This results in significantly increased transport and packaging costs.

Either type of capsule is sealed at its open end with a foil, typically aluminium, which foil is sealingly attached to the rim of capsule. The capsules used are generally plain and smooth as the cost of having different foils for each type of coffee is high.

According to the invention there is provided a coffee capsule filling machine in which in use capsules are filled with ground coffee, the capsules being held in capsule holders, which machine comprises a cutting and sealing station, which cutting and sealing station is adapted to cut capsule seals from a reel of foil, which foil is guided through the cutting and sealing station by a plurality of rollers, wherein one of said rollers is provided with an embossing surface such that the foil is embossed prior to being cut at the cutting and sealing station.

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In a capsule producing machine, the capsule body is first packed with coffee before the seal is applied to the rim in an inert atmosphere to prevent air from being sealed into the capsule which would result in the coffee becoming stale. It has surprisingly been discovered that embossing the foil has a significant effect on flow rates from the capsule. The ability to emboss a capsule foil is commercially significant as it enables branding to be put on the capsule during the capsule ma process. This in turn eliminates the need to have separate foil material for each type of coffee or beverage, which reduces material costs and increases capsule machine utilisation rates.

It has been surprisingly found that the depth of the embossing has a material effect on the flow rate of the coffee. Although in principle a longer flow time is beneficial in the extraction process, if the flow rate is too long the pressure build up in the capsule can cause the pump to stall.

An exemplary embodiment of the invention will now be described with reference to the drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 shows a part of a coffee capsule machine.

Fig. 2 shows a coffee capsule.

Figure 1 shows a part of a coffee capsule machine relating to the production of embossed foil seals for a capsule. The machine comprises a spindle 1 adapted to receive a reel of aluminium foil 2 suitable for use as a seal on a coffee capsule such as that described below. Aluminium is fed from the reel through a series of alignment rollers 3-7 adapted to keep the foil under tension as it leaves the reel.

The machine further comprises a cutting station 8, which cutting station 8 comprises first and second foil cutters 9, 10 adapted to cut circular seals out of the foil at a stamping section 14 being passed through the cutting station. Focated below the cutters 9, 10 are a plurality of capsule holders 11, which are adapted to be moved through the cutting station below the cutters. The foil is provided with a lacquer on its lower surface which will stick to the capsule rim, which capsule is generally made of food grade polypropylene or a gas tight plastic such as polybuytlene terephthalate (PBT).

A respective tensioning roller 12, 13 is located adjacent to the entry and exit points of the cutting station at a height slightly below the height of the cutting station stamping section 14. The rollers 12, 13 are adapted to ensure that the foil passes through the stamping section under tension and thereby remain flat. The foil is pulled through the stamping section by a motor driven roller 15 located after the roller 13.

An embossing wheel 16 is located adjacent to and underneath the tensioning roller 12 and connected by means of a geared connection to the roller 12 to ensure that the wheel 16 and roller remain aligned. The roller 12 can be provided with a male and female embossing surface so that the foil is embossed as it passes through the roller. Alternatively one wheel of 16 or 12 can be a rubber roller or similar and the other can have a male embossing surface. The design of the embossing, which can imprint the name of the coffee or the producer’s name can be easily changed by simply changing the roller with embossing surface.

Figure 2 shows a perspective side section of capsule 21 having a generally frustoconical form. The upper end of the cone frustrum has a smaller diameter than the lower end. The surface of the upper end of the cone is provided with a zone of weakness on the outer surface of the capsule. In use, cutting members of the capsule machine will sit just above the surface of the groove but do not pierce the capsule so that in use the water pressure bursts the weakened section and creates the path for the water to ingress the top of the capsule and into the coffee. In a manual machine that does not have cutting members, the water will simply tear or break the capsule at the zone of weakness.

If the capsule is made of a food grade plastic such as polybutylene terephthalate, this arrangement substantially reduces air movement between the inside and the outside of the capsule thereby greatly extending the time that the coffee in the capsule retains its aromas. In use, the capsule should be flushed with nitrogen prior to being filled to prevent oxygen degrading the quality of the coffee. This in turn enables the producer to achieve an acceptable shelf life for the coffee without the use of a nitrogen filled pillow bag. The interior surface of the upper end has a small stepped profile in the region of the zone of weakness, so that the wall is thicker near the edge of the groove.

This encourages the wall to tear near the centre of the groove or undercut rather than at the edge.

The lower end of the capsule is provided with a foil seal 23, which foil seal, in use, is pressed against a filter element typically comprising a plurality of the upstanding truncated pyramids and adapted to assist in the tearing of the foil in use so that the coffee extracted from the coffee granules can percolate out of the capsule through holes in the filter.

The interior of the capsule is provided with several strengthening ribs to reduce the likelihood of the capsule collapsing under the pressures to which it is subjected in use. The pressure on the inside of the capsule is typically in the range of 3 to 8 bar depending on the coffee machine and the packing density of the coffee in the capsule. This pressure is sufficient to cause the foil to tear against a filter plate in the coffee machine.

The capsule is provided with a flange 24 at its lower end, which flange 24 is adapted to co-operated with a retaining mechanism of a coffee machine in use so that the capsule can be held in the correct position when in use in the coffee machine. The flange is provided with first and second annular upstanding walls spaced from one another. In use the capsule cage walls bear against at least one of the upstanding walls.

The capsule does not have a regular conical outer diameter over its entire length. The outer diameter of the upper part of the capsule is initially vertical and increases at a first rate until it reaches shoulder 26 when the outer diameter increases by a small amount to provide a shoulder to the rim of the capsule or similar.

Further alternatives to the roller 16 would be a motor driven male embossing wheel or a single female roller.

Claims

1. A coffee capsule filling machine in which in use capsules are filled with ground coffee, the capsules being held in capsule holders, which machine comprises a cutting and sealing station, which cutting and sealing station is adapted to cut capsule seals from a reel of foil, which foil is guided through the cutting and sealing station by a plurality of rollers, wherein one of said rollers is provided with an embossing surface such that the foil is embossed prior to being cut at the cutting and sealing station.

2. A coffee capsule filling machine according to Claim 1, wherein the roller with an embossing surface is connected by means of a geared connection to a tensioning roller located adjacent to the cutting and sealing station.

3. A coffee capsule filling machine according to Claim 1 or Claim 2, wherein the roller is releasably mounted on the filling machine.

4. A coffee capsule filling machine substantially as described herein with reference to and as illustrated in Figure 1 of the drawings.

Intellectual

Property

Office

Application No: Claims searched: