WO2008138464A1

WO2008138464A1 - Customized pod and pod holder for hot drinks machine

Info

Publication number: WO2008138464A1
Application number: PCT/EP2008/003361
Authority: WO
Inventors: Dario Marinozzi
Original assignee: Dario Marinozzi
Priority date: 2007-05-11
Filing date: 2008-04-25
Publication date: 2008-11-20
Also published as: EP2155022A1; PL67763Y1; ITMC20070095A1; DE202008018142U1; PL120482A1

Abstract

The present invention concerns the sector of machinery for obtaining espresso coffee and hot drinks in general and concerns a pod (1) and a pod holder (4) the respective contact surfaces (2a, 2b, 6, 6a) of which have been especially designed so that other types of pods cannot be used on the said machines.

Description

TITLE: "Customized pod and pod holder for hot drinks machine"

Field of invention

The present invention concerns the sector of machinery for obtaining espresso coffee and hot drinks in general and concerns a pod and a pod holder the respective contact surfaces of which have been especially designed so that other types of pods cannot be used on the said machines. Background

It is well-known that hot drinks such as coffee, tea, herbal infusions, camomile tea, powdered milk and other substances are obtained by raising the temperature of the water contained in the tank of an appropriate machine, usually supplied with electric power, to boiling point.

In fact, the hot water, forced by the pressure generated by the heat and by an electromechanical pump, comes into contact with the ground fruits and solids of the drinks inserted in a container that must adhere perfectly to the tank in which the water is heated, absorbing their organoleptic characteristics before they are drunk by the consumer.

The ground fruit of the various types of hot drink may be kept in different containers. One of the most modern of such containers consists of plastic or aluminium capsules or pods which offer the advantage, compared to other types of container, of facilitating the transportation and storage of the product while also providing a better guarantee of hygiene and safety for consumers. The use of the pod or capsule also by private consumers requires special machines, chiefly electric, in order to obtain hot drinks in which the pod or capsule is inserted in a specific compartment, called a pod holder, which is provided with an upward manual movement that serves to ensure that the pod adheres perfectly to the water tank of the machine from which the water, due to the strong pressure generated by its boiling and by an electromechanical i pump, is injected into the pod in order to absorb the organoleptic characteristics of the fruit contained in it, after which it flows out of a series of holes drilled on the contact side of the said pod on the base of the pod holder and is collected in a hole located on the base of the pod holder in order to be channelled into the cup ready to be drunk by the consumer.

The need for the consumer to have a machine for obtaining hot drinks with a unit cost of a several hundred euro may induce the said consumer to choose other types of containers for the ground fruit that do not guarantee higher quality and better hygiene of the drink. In order to avoid this problem, manufacturers or dealers of the extracts of the various drinks apply a sales policy which provides for their purchasing the machines, which are mainly electric, themselves in order to give them in gratuitous loan to their various customers who are mostly private citizens. It goes without saying that the unit cost of the pods will be, of necessity, increased by a small percentage for the purpose of compensating the gratuitous lender for the cost of the machine that he himself has borne; a compensation that will be directly proportional to the greater or lesser consumption of the pods by his customer. The electric machines for obtaining hot drinks currently available on the market present the disadvantage of accommodating any kind of pod, so that it often happens that the customer, having accepted the gratuitous loan of the machine for obtaining hot drinks, then finds it more economical to purchase the pods from other suppliers at slightly lower prices because not subjected to the percentage of compensation for the price of the machine. Disclosure of invention

It is an object of the present invention to overcome the above-described problem and to prevent commercially unfair actions that are damaging to those operators in the sector who gratuitously lend machines for the making of hot drinks.

This and other objects are achieved according to the present invention that concerns the customization of a pod or capsule designed to contain ground fruit from which it is possible to obtain hot drinks such as coffee, tea, camomile tea, herbal infusions, powdered milk and other substances and of a pod holder for hot drinks machines, preferably electric, the respective contact surfaces of which are characterized by a double series of grooves so as to allow their perfect adherence along the whole length of the pod holder of the machine on which the pod slides and so that the two elements pod and pod holder become a sole customized operating structure that does not permit the use of other types of pod the contact surfaces of which are devoid of the said series of grooves.

Detailed description Further features and advantages of the invention shall be better understood from the drawings and from the description of a preferred but not exclusive embodiment of the customized pod or capsule and pod holder of a machine for hot drinks in which:

Fig. 1 is a side view of the pod (1) with the profile of its contact surface (2) showing the double set of grooves (2/a) and (2/b);

Fig. 2 is a view from above of the invention portraying the inside (3) of the pod (l);

Fig. 3 is a side view: - of the pod holder (4) of the hot drinks machine portraying the sliding base (5) with the double set of lateral grooves (6) and (6/a); - of the collection hole (7) located in the base (5), which collects the drink as it comes out of the pod to be poured into the user's cup; - of the two pins (8) and (8/a); Fig. 4 portrays the two comma-shaped stops (9) and (9/a). Fig. 1 represents the pod (1) the bottom (2) of which has a double set of lateral grooves (2/a) and (2/b) which enable it to slide along the base (5) of the pod holder (4) in order to ensure that the pod (1) adheres perfectly to the base (5) of the pod holder (4). The double set of grooves (2/a) and (2/b) on the bottom (2) of the pod (1) and the double set of grooves (6) and (6/a) on the base (5) of the pod holder (4) make the pod (1) and the pod holder (4) absolutely complementary and inseparable so that hot drinks machine cannot be used with pods the contact sides of which are devoid of the double set of grooves (2a) and (2b).

In fact, the double set of grooves (2a) and (2b) and (6) and (6/a) are necessary for ensuring the perfect adherence of the pod (1) to the base (5) of the pod holder (4) for the injecting of the water into the pod (1). The pod (1) that is the object of the present application is secured on the base (5) of the pod holder (4) by means of two comma-shaped stops (9) and (9/a) that, fastened to the pod holder (4) by means of two pins (8) and (8/a), serve to determine the stopping point of the pod (1) on the pod holder (4) so as to channel the drink into the hole (7) in the base (5) of the pod holder (4). Once the pod (1) has been used, the two stops (9) and (9/a) bend when a new pod is inserted so that the used pod (1) slides along the base (5) of the pod holder (4) until it is ejected immediately after which the said stops (9) and (9/a) return to their original position in order to stop and centre the new pod. The invention thus designed is capable of numerous modifications and variations, all of which may be made within the scope of the inventive concept; moreover, the materials and dimensions of the invention as described above, illustrated in the accompanying drawings and later claimed, may be varied according to requirements.

Claims

1. Customized pod and pod holder for hot drinks machine characterized by the fact that their respective contact bases are equipped with a double set of lateral grooves making them become a sole operating structure and, in any case, making them complementary and inseparable accessories so that the hot drinks machine cannot be used with other pods.

2. Customized pod and pod holder for hot drinks machine as claimed in claim 1 characterized by the fact that the bottom of the pod has a double set of lateral grooves so as to be able to slide and adhere perfectly to the matching double series of lateral grooves on the base of the pod holder of the hot drinks machine.

3. Customized pod and pod holder for hot drinks machine as claimed in claims 1 and 2 relative to which the pod holder base of the hot drinks machine is characterized by a double series of lateral grooves so as to enable only the pod described in claim 2 to achieve the perfect adherence required to enable the injection into its inside of the water forced by the pressure of boiling and its consequent contact with the fruit of the drink contained in the same.

4. Customized pod and pod holder for hot drinks machine as claimed in claims 1, 2 and 3 characterized by the fact that the pod holder of the hot drinks machine is provided with two pins to which two flexible comma- shaped stops are fastened.

5. Customized pod and pod holder for hot drinks machine as claimed in claim 4 characterized by the fact that the two comma-shaped stops have the function of determining the stopping point of the pod centring it in order to channel the drink into the collection hole located on the base of the pod holder.

6. Customized pod and pod holder for hot drinks machine as claimed in claims 4 and 5 characterized by the fact that the flexibility of the two stops enables the used pod to be ejected from the pod holder when a new pod is inserted and enables them to return to their original position in order to stop and centre the new pod.