US20030012850A1 - Cartridges containing an infusion substance and process to fabricate them - Google Patents

Cartridges containing an infusion substance and process to fabricate them Download PDF

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Publication number
US20030012850A1
US20030012850A1 US10/163,171 US16317102A US2003012850A1 US 20030012850 A1 US20030012850 A1 US 20030012850A1 US 16317102 A US16317102 A US 16317102A US 2003012850 A1 US2003012850 A1 US 2003012850A1
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US
United States
Prior art keywords
cartridges
cartridge
infusion
perimeter
membrane
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Abandoned
Application number
US10/163,171
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English (en)
Inventor
Gaetan Turmel
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
MATTIS Inc
Matiss Inc
Original Assignee
Matiss Inc
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Matiss Inc filed Critical Matiss Inc
Assigned to MATTIS INC. reassignment MATTIS INC. ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST (SEE DOCUMENT FOR DETAILS). Assignors: TURMEL, GAETAN
Publication of US20030012850A1 publication Critical patent/US20030012850A1/en
Assigned to MATISS, INC. reassignment MATISS, INC. RE-RECORD TO CORRECT THE ASSIGNEE'S NAME PREVIOUSLY RECORDED AT REEL/FRAME 013292/0048 Assignors: TURMEL, GAETAN
Abandoned legal-status Critical Current

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    • 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
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
    • B65B—MACHINES, APPARATUS OR DEVICES FOR, OR METHODS OF, PACKAGING ARTICLES OR MATERIALS; UNPACKING
    • B65B29/00—Packaging of materials presenting special problems
    • B65B29/02—Packaging of substances, e.g. tea, which are intended to be infused in the package
    • B65B29/025—Packaging of substances, e.g. tea, which are intended to be infused in the package packaging infusion material into pods

Definitions

  • This invention relates to a process consisting in the automated preparation of cartridges containing an infusion substance, like coffee, tea or types of herbal tea and the cartridge itself. These cartridges are destined for new vending or infusion machines.
  • the invention described herein is a fabrication process for the automated preparation of a cartridge for infusion machines.
  • This process consists in the filling of the cartridges, the sealing of the infusion paper and the paper cutting on the cartridge perimeter.
  • the plastic made cartridges are formed in a ring shape, in which the interior area can contain radial members, thus giving rigidity and uniformity to the cartridge.
  • the substance to infuse is put inside the cartridge and an infusion paper or filter is glued to the cartridge faces and seals the cartridge.
  • the infusion paper is made from a fiber composition that is resistant to high infusion temperatures and is unrolled as a continuous band on top and underneath the cartridges. After sealing the infusion paper to the cartridges, that same paper is cut along the cartridges perimeter in a clean and direct way, without leaving any exceeding part or leftovers.
  • One of the critical points in a similar fabrication process is the high production rate required per unit or per production system.
  • the process operations must be performed in a continuous mode instead of a stop-and-go mode.
  • Each operation or process station demands an exact positioning of the cartridges.
  • the process is developed accordingly to ensure a positive control of the cartridges from the beginning until the end of the operations.
  • Horizontal guides having a thickness respecting the cartridge height and form, carry the said cartridges along guides and at given distances along the process, from the pick-up moment until the controlled exit of the finished product.
  • the stations for the sealing of the filter paper to the cartridge faces accomplish control operations regarding the process rates.
  • the level of temperatures applied through the filter paper using a heating plate can vary from 250° F. to 400° F. That temperature varies according to the machine's speed, the thickness and properties of the filter paper and cartridges.
  • the conception of the heating plates takes into account the heating time required and the properties of the paper and cartridges. Heating time can vary from 2 to 4 seconds.
  • the edge configuration of the top and bottom surfaces of the cartridges represents another variable that led to the invention of this part of the process, on top of all the others hereinabove mentioned. Press-rollers put a light pressure on one surface of the cartridges, which are pressed on the filter paper and are sliding on the non-stick surface of a stationary heating plate.
  • the gluing or sealing surfaces: the members as well as the circumference of the cartridges have edges thin or sharp enough to allow an adequate melting of the plastic material in order to obtain a good sealing of the filter paper and this, with a minimum length of heating plate.
  • the filter paper used for infusion is a made of a combination of different fibers and it is impossible to cleanly cut it with the known methods. The cut must be clean and direct, without leaving any exceeding part or leftovers.
  • the cartridge perimeter or periphery is a round or curved surface.
  • the invented cutting system consists in a circular piece, conical at 40 degrees on the inside and has an abrasive surface. That circular matrix is lowered on the cartridge and then turns on itself, with just enough pressure to ensure a good friction in order to cut off the paper filter with the abrasive surface, without damaging the plastic cartridge. To succeed in that operation, the cartridges need to be maintained in place to prevent them from being rotated by the abrasive surface of the matrix.
  • the invention also consists in the development of a braking system.
  • the guide pushing the cartridges comprises a toothed portion, as is the cartridge around its periphery surface.
  • a light pressure applied on the cartridge against the guide teeth gives a breaking or blocking gear effect.
  • the filter paper leftovers are Tewound in a continuous mode.
  • FIG. 1 shows a complete view of the invented process, along with an elevation and a side view
  • FIG. 2 shows a cartridge configuration
  • FIG. 3 shows in more details the heating station designed for the top of the cartridges, the cutting stations for the top and bottom surfaces of the cartridge and the rewinding system of the filter paper leftovers.
  • the cutting mechanism has an elliptical motion that follows the cartridge during the cutting process;
  • FIG. 4 details the cartridges indexation at the beginning of the process and the horizontal guides which then lead the cartridges.
  • FIG. 5 shows the exit or the end of the process when the cartridges are transferred by vertical/horizontal straps
  • FIG. 6 shows the guide configuration while leading a cartridge
  • FIG. 7 illustrates a sealing system of the top of the cartridges which consists in floating rollers pressing a cartridge against the heated surface
  • FIG. 8 shows the sealing principles of the filter paper on the bottom surface of the cartridges.
  • FIG. 9 shows in details the cutting matrix with its conical interior and abrasive surface.
  • FIG. 10 illustrates a first embodiment of the motion a cutting matrix goes through as it cuts the filter paper on the continuously moving cartridges.
  • FIG. 11 illustrates a second embodiment of the motion a cutting matrix goes through as it cuts the filter paper on the continuously moving cartridges.
  • FIG. 1 The top-left plan view of FIG. 1 shows a turn table 100 on which cartridges 200 are put in bulk. Different guides unscramble the cartridges 200 and redirect them in double rows as they move in the apparatus 400 .
  • the bottom of the turn table 100 is perforated to prevent small plastic chips from entering the apparatus 400 .
  • the current embodiment describes a two-row configuration and has a speed of about 20 to 60 units per minute per row.
  • a typical cartridge is shown in FIG. 2. It comprises a plastic ring shape 220 which is closed with a top membrane 210 and a bottom membrane 211 , both membranes being fixed to the ring's periphery preferably by a fusion process, after the infusion substance has been enclosed between both membranes.
  • the cartridges 200 are individually led by star shaped wheels 405 towards the guides 410 .
  • the bottom membrane 211 consists of a roll being directed by guides 425 , 426 , before ending up rolled again on a drum 429 (without the portion which had been joined to the cartridge during the process).
  • the top membrane 210 starts as a roll 440 , follows the guides 445 , 446 and ends up on a drum 449 (without the portion which had been joined to the cartridge during the process).
  • the powder or the infusion substance particles are put in the cartridges 200 at the filling stations 510 , 520 using known techniques.
  • the cartridges are then introduced in the second heating station 450 as shown in FIG. 7, which seals the top membrane 210 to the cartridges with the same method used to join the bottom membrane 211 .
  • the cartridges then go through the bottom cutting station 460 and the top cutting station 470 .
  • the membrane cutting operation represents an important process of the apparatus 400 .
  • no other known or used method for cutting a membrane seal of any other products has given satisfactory results.
  • the filter paper used for infusion is a made of a combination of different fibers and it is impossible to cut it with the known methods. The cut must be clean and direct, without leaving any exceeding part or frays.
  • the cartridge's perimeter or periphery is a round or curved surface.
  • FIGS. 3, 9, 10 and 11 The cutting stations are shown in details in FIGS. 3, 9, 10 and 11 .
  • an engine 461 is mounted on a carrier 465 which moves along a longitudinal axis 466 , parallel to the apparatus axis and at the same speed as the cartridge 200 while the cutting matrix 468 separates the membrane portion 211 attached to the cartridge bottom surface 200 from the rest of the membrane 211 .
  • the uncut membrane portion 211 is rolled back on the drum 429 .
  • FIG. 11 A second cutting station embodiment is illustrated in FIG. 11.
  • the engines 461 ′ and 461 ′′ mounted on a plate which is attached in such a manner so as to permit it to pivot on supports 462 ′ and 462 ′′, the latter being connected to cams 464 ′, 464 ′′.
  • the cutting matrices 468 ′ and 468 ′′ attached to the engines 461 ′ and 461 ′′ can go down on each cartridge 200 , while longitudinally moving along the apparatus 400 , at the same speed as the cartridges 200 .
  • the cutting matrix 468 is circular and conical at 40 degrees on the inside and is equipped with an abrasive surface 469 .
  • This piece goes down against the cartridge 200 and turns on itself with a pressure just adequate enough to cut the membrane 211 with the friction against the abrasive surface 469 , without damaging the plastic cartridges 200 .
  • it is necessary to hold the cartridges 200 in order to prevent them from turning with the abrasive surface of the matrix.
  • the part 411 of the guides 410 which is pushing the cartridges 200 comprises teeth 412 , as shown in FIG. 6.
  • the cartridges perimeter is preferably toothed in a complementary manner to the teeth 412 of the guides 410 .
  • a light pressure of the cartridges against the toothed guide gives a breaking or blocking gear effect. After the cut, the leftovers of the filter paper are rewound on the drum 429 in a continuous mode.
  • the continuous operation mode of this new process demands cutting matrices that operate in a back and forth motion in order to follow the cartridges and re-position themselves to the next cartridge after a cutting operation.

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  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
  • Apparatus For Making Beverages (AREA)
  • Separation Using Semi-Permeable Membranes (AREA)
US10/163,171 2001-06-04 2002-06-04 Cartridges containing an infusion substance and process to fabricate them Abandoned US20030012850A1 (en)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
CA002349507A CA2349507A1 (fr) 2001-06-04 2001-06-04 Rondelles contenant une matiere a infuser et procede pour les fabriquer
CA2,349,5071 2001-06-04

Publications (1)

Publication Number Publication Date
US20030012850A1 true US20030012850A1 (en) 2003-01-16

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US10/163,171 Abandoned US20030012850A1 (en) 2001-06-04 2002-06-04 Cartridges containing an infusion substance and process to fabricate them

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US (1) US20030012850A1 (fr)
CA (1) CA2349507A1 (fr)

Cited By (11)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US20040262328A1 (en) * 2003-06-30 2004-12-30 Nilsen Pamela A. Beverage flavoring dispenser
EP1705122A1 (fr) * 2005-03-22 2006-09-27 Opem s.r.l. Procédé et appareil pour la préparation en continue de cartouches d'infusion
WO2010007633A1 (fr) * 2008-07-14 2010-01-21 Gima S.P.A. Machine pour emballer des produits, en particulier des capsules pour machines de distribution de boissons infusées
CN103063488A (zh) * 2012-12-20 2013-04-24 王京力 一种纤维组分含量标准样品的制备方法
US9783361B2 (en) 2013-03-14 2017-10-10 Starbucks Corporation Stretchable beverage cartridges and methods
US9877495B2 (en) 2015-01-09 2018-01-30 Starbucks Corporation Method of making a sweetened soluble beverage product
US20180279822A1 (en) * 2015-11-23 2018-10-04 Mb2 Cup Development Llc System, apparatus, and method for preparing a beverage cartridge
US10442610B2 (en) 2014-03-11 2019-10-15 Starbucks Corporation Pod-based restrictors and methods
USD934179S1 (en) 2019-09-04 2021-10-26 E. Mishan & Sons, Inc. Power strip tower
US20220361705A1 (en) * 2015-11-23 2022-11-17 Cupper, Llc System, apparatus and method for preparing a beverage cartridge
US20230124747A1 (en) * 2015-11-23 2023-04-20 Mb2 Cup Development Llc System, apparatus, and method for preparing a beverage cartridge

Citations (2)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US4996066A (en) * 1989-05-15 1991-02-26 Hag Gf Aktiengesellschaft Beverage flavoring cassette
US5082676A (en) * 1989-05-15 1992-01-21 Hag Gf Aktiengesellschaft Coffee cassette

Patent Citations (2)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US4996066A (en) * 1989-05-15 1991-02-26 Hag Gf Aktiengesellschaft Beverage flavoring cassette
US5082676A (en) * 1989-05-15 1992-01-21 Hag Gf Aktiengesellschaft Coffee cassette

Cited By (14)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US20040262328A1 (en) * 2003-06-30 2004-12-30 Nilsen Pamela A. Beverage flavoring dispenser
EP1705122A1 (fr) * 2005-03-22 2006-09-27 Opem s.r.l. Procédé et appareil pour la préparation en continue de cartouches d'infusion
WO2010007633A1 (fr) * 2008-07-14 2010-01-21 Gima S.P.A. Machine pour emballer des produits, en particulier des capsules pour machines de distribution de boissons infusées
CN103063488A (zh) * 2012-12-20 2013-04-24 王京力 一种纤维组分含量标准样品的制备方法
US9783361B2 (en) 2013-03-14 2017-10-10 Starbucks Corporation Stretchable beverage cartridges and methods
US10442610B2 (en) 2014-03-11 2019-10-15 Starbucks Corporation Pod-based restrictors and methods
US10820607B2 (en) 2015-01-09 2020-11-03 Starbucks Corporation Soluble beverages with enhanced flavors and aromas
US9877495B2 (en) 2015-01-09 2018-01-30 Starbucks Corporation Method of making a sweetened soluble beverage product
US20180279822A1 (en) * 2015-11-23 2018-10-04 Mb2 Cup Development Llc System, apparatus, and method for preparing a beverage cartridge
US10925430B2 (en) * 2015-11-23 2021-02-23 Mb2 Cup Development Llc System, apparatus, and method for preparing a beverage cartridge
US20220361705A1 (en) * 2015-11-23 2022-11-17 Cupper, Llc System, apparatus and method for preparing a beverage cartridge
US20230124747A1 (en) * 2015-11-23 2023-04-20 Mb2 Cup Development Llc System, apparatus, and method for preparing a beverage cartridge
US11745906B2 (en) * 2015-11-23 2023-09-05 Cupper Llc System, apparatus, and method for preparing a beverage cartridge
USD934179S1 (en) 2019-09-04 2021-10-26 E. Mishan & Sons, Inc. Power strip tower

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Publication number Publication date
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AS Assignment

Owner name: MATTIS INC., CANADA

Free format text: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST;ASSIGNOR:TURMEL, GAETAN;REEL/FRAME:013292/0048

Effective date: 20010910

AS Assignment

Owner name: MATISS, INC., CANADA

Free format text: RE-RECORD TO CORRECT THE ASSIGNEE'S NAME PREVIOUSLY RECORDED AT REEL/FRAME 013292/0048;ASSIGNOR:TURMEL, GAETAN;REEL/FRAME:014555/0957

Effective date: 20010910

STCB Information on status: application discontinuation

Free format text: ABANDONED -- FAILURE TO RESPOND TO AN OFFICE ACTION