Classifications

• • 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

Definitions

• the invention relates to the field of systems for preparing beverages by means of liquid introduced into a beverage capsule. It relates in particular to a portion capsule which contains an extraction material or extract from which a drink or drink component can be prepared by injecting water.
• the so-called coffee capsule systems they are also available in variants for preparing tea
• the capsule is often pierced on one side (injection side).
• injection side injection side
• discharging the brewed beverage generally on the other side of the capsule (the extraction side).
• capsules in which a filter element is arranged in the interior of the capsule, which separates an extraction area from a collecting area and which in a suitable manner Is liquid-permeable, for example. By having a plurality of filter openings.
• portion capsules with such filter elements can be found, for example, in EP 1 344 722 and in WO 2010/085824.
• portion capsules with filter elements according to the prior art is that they generally have to be manufactured as injection molded parts and are therefore very complex to produce and also require a great deal of polymer material, which has a negative effect on the energy consumption during manufacture and on the weight of the capsule . They also add some complexity to the capsule design. For example, the groupage area must generally be designed in such a way that it receives extraction-side piercing tips of the beverage preparation machine without these being damaged by hitting the filter element.
• the portion capsule and in particular the filter element should be inexpensive, easy to manufacture and environmentally friendly.
• the portion capsule has, for example, a cup-like base element with a capsule base and a circumferential base element Sidewall on.
• a cover element is attached to the base element and together with it forms an interior space with an extraction material area which is filled with an extraction material.
• a filter element is inserted into the interior. This separates the extraction material area from the capsule base or from a capsule cover formed by the cover element.
• the filter element is made of an open-cell foam.
• Open-pore or open-cell foams are referred to here as foams in which the walls between the pores are at least partially not completely closed, so that the foam can absorb and release liquid. This does not rule out the presence of closed cells as well as open cells.
• the foam can be an open-cell polypropylene (PP) plastic.
• Open-pore PP foams are known, for example, from EP1479716, EP 1625174 and EP2233516. It has been shown that open-pore PP foams are particularly well suited for use as filter elements in portion capsules for drinks, since they can be produced easily and inexpensively, are light, temperature-resistant and can be recycled; EP2233516 even discloses approaches to make such foams biodegradable.
• the open-cell foam is made from a bio-plastic.
• bio-plastics have already been discussed as materials for beverage capsules.
• bio-plastics are plastics that are made from a renewable raw material (so-called bio-based plastics).
• bio-plastics are plastics that are biodegradable (so-called biodegradable plastics).
• biodegradable plastics plastics for applications in the food industry which are biodegradable and in some cases contain a proportion of bio-based plastics.
• biodegradable means biodegradable according to the ENI 3432 standard (status: end of 2019)
• bio-based means "made from renewable raw materials, not fossil-based”.
• the material of the open-pored foam can in particular be biodegradable. It has been shown that the biodegradability of foams consisting of biodegradable polymer is particularly large and advantageous.
• the open-pored foams have a particularly large surface.
• the organisms responsible for biodegradation (composting) can accordingly attach to a larger surface per degradation volume, and the supply of oxygen is better possible, which is why this is more efficient than with filters according to the prior art.
• the design of the filter element from biodegradable plastic is therefore particularly favorable and preferred for embodiments.
• the material from which the foam is made (for example PP or a bioplastic) can be the same as the material of the base element and / or the capsule lid. This combination has great advantages in recycling.
• the base element and / or cover element on the one hand and the filter element on the other hand are each made of a biodegradable plastic (which then do not have to be identical). This combination is also particularly favorable in terms of good recyclability.
• the manufacture of the filter element can be particularly simple. In doing so, use is made of the fact that, for the effectiveness of the filter element, it is sufficient that it lies flat against the capsule base or capsule lid on the radially outer side. During the brewing process, the filter element is pressed slightly against the capsule base or lid due to the liquid pressure inside the capsule, which is why it has a sealing effect. A very precise adjustment of the shape and orientation of the filter element to the capsule shape is not necessary for this.
• the filter element can be made using a strand of expanded plastic that is cut into slices. The thickness of the discs corresponds to the thickness of the filter element. Each disc then forms a filter element. This manufacturing process is particularly cheap and efficient.
• the strand can be round in cross-section if the capsule has a conventional cup shape that is substantially symmetrical about an axis.
• the strand can also have an approximately rectangular cross-section, for example, if the capsule has a rectangular shape in cross-section, or it can have another cross-sectional shape that is substantially adapted to the shape of the capsule.
• a strand for the production of filter elements can in particular be produced by foam extrusion.
• Foam extrusion is a process that can be applied to a number of known plastics, including bioplastics.
• the filter element can be fastened to the capsule base or capsule lid, for example by welding or a suitable adhesive.
• the filter element can also simply be inserted into the base element or the cover and can therefore be held in the capsule without adhesive.
• the extraction material will prevent the filter element from moving away from the intended position within the capsule. Due to the procedure according to the invention, it is not necessary that in the capsule interior, in addition to an extraction material area, a collection material area separated from this by the filter element is formed, into which the beverage flows and from which it is discharged, as is provided in the prior art. Rather, due to its open-pore design, the filter element itself can have a double function in that it not only filters but also forms the groupage area itself. It is therefore possible for the filter element to rest directly against the capsule base or possibly the capsule lid.
• the invention also includes an extraction system with a capsule of the type discussed and a beverage preparation machine which has a brewing module into which the capsule fits.
• the beverage preparation machine has, in a manner known per se, a water reservoir or a water supply line, a water heating means, a pump and a beverage outlet.
• the brewing module has, for example, a piercing device on the injection side and a capsule piercing and / or scribing device on the extraction side.
• the pump is set up to pump water heated by the water heating means into the brewing module and thus into the capsule from the injection side.
• the extraction product is discharged from the capsule on the extraction side and from there reaches the beverage outlet.
• the brewing module and capsule shape can be matched to one another in such a way that the filter element is on the extraction side of the capsule.
• 1 shows a schematic sectional view of a portion capsule with the filter element and with a piercing device on the injection side and one on the extraction side; 2 shows a sectional illustration of an alternative portion capsule;
• FIG. 3 shows a schematic representation of a foam strand for the production of filter elements.
• the capsule 1 according to FIG. 1 has a base element in the form of a cup 2 (with axis 20, about which the cup is, for example, essentially rotationally symmetrical) and a cover element 8 fastened to it along a circumferential flange 5.
• the base element forms a capsule bottom 4 and a circumferential side wall 3 which, together with the cover 9 formed by the cover element 8, form an outer capsule wall and define a capsule interior 7.
• the material of the filter element is a foam.
• the material composition can be the same as for the capsule cup and / or the lid element.
• FIG. 1 also shows schematically one injection-side piercing device 21 with injection-side piercing tips 21 and one extraction-side piercing device 23 with extraction-side piercing tips 24.
• These piercing devices 21, 23 - each with at least one piercing tip 22, 24 - are present in a brewing module of a beverage preparation machine. As is known per se, they serve to puncture the capsule before and / or during brewing so that water can be introduced into the capsule on the injection side and the extraction product can be discharged from the capsule on the extraction side.
• Systems are known in which the liquid is passed through the piercing tip and systems in which the piercing tip merely pierces and in which the liquid flows past the piercing tip into the capsule or out of it.
• the capsule is torn on the extraction side, or systems in which the capsule already has openings before the brewing process, which, for example, may or may not be covered by a film to be peeled off.
• the functioning of the present invention is independent of how the openings for the liquid are created.
• the liquid is introduced into the capsule from the lid side (top in FIG. 1) and discharged therefrom through the capsule base 4, and the filter element is located on the side of the capsule base.
• reverse configurations introduction through the capsule base, discharge through the capsule lid, etc.
• the filter element 11 Due to the flexibility of the foam, it is not necessary for the filter element 11 to have specific modifications at the point of contact with the corresponding piercing tip 24.
• the filter element can - depending on its design - evade the tip somewhat and / or be pierced by it.
• the cover element is not designed as a film or plate, but rather as a three-dimensionally shaped element, for example manufactured by injection molding or deep drawing.
• the cover element is curved so that it forms part of the circumferential side wall, as is also described in WO 2015/096989.
• the actual capsule lid 9 is thus offset in the axial direction from the flange 5 to the outside.
• the filter element is arranged on the capsule lid and not on the capsule base.
• the capsule can - but does not have to - be matched to the brewing chamber in such a way that the liquid is introduced through the capsule base and discharged through the capsule lid.

Landscapes

• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
• Apparatus For Making Beverages (AREA)
• Packages (AREA)
• Life Sciences & Earth Sciences (AREA)
• Biodiversity & Conservation Biology (AREA)
• Food Science & Technology (AREA)
• Prostheses (AREA)

Priority Applications (8)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Publications (1)

Family

ID=70680317

Family Applications (1)

Country Status (9)

Citations (7)

• 2020
  • 2020-05-08 EP EP20173758.2A patent/EP3907156A1/de not_active Withdrawn
• 2021
  • 2021-05-06 BR BR112022022504A patent/BR112022022504A2/pt unknown
  • 2021-05-06 AU AU2021267703A patent/AU2021267703A1/en active Pending
  • 2021-05-06 KR KR1020227040650A patent/KR20230037489A/ko active Search and Examination
  • 2021-05-06 JP JP2022567693A patent/JP2023524831A/ja active Pending
  • 2021-05-06 CN CN202180033923.5A patent/CN115515867A/zh active Pending
  • 2021-05-06 EP EP21725087.7A patent/EP4146566A1/de active Pending
  • 2021-05-06 US US17/923,391 patent/US20230286731A1/en active Pending
  • 2021-05-06 WO PCT/EP2021/062066 patent/WO2021224422A1/de unknown
• 2022
  • 2022-11-11 ZA ZA2022/12349A patent/ZA202212349B/en unknown

Patent Citations (8)

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