CN106170232B

CN106170232B - Beverage cup for coffee or the like

Info

Publication number: CN106170232B
Application number: CN201580013225.3A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 爱德华·Z·蔡; 蔡宇冰
Original assignee: SHAOYANG KEEPEEZ HOUSEHOLD PRODUCT TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT Co Ltd
Current assignee: Shaoyang Keepeez Household Product Technology Development Co., Ltd.
Priority date: 2014-03-13
Filing date: 2015-03-12
Publication date: 2020-01-21
Anticipated expiration: 2035-03-12
Also published as: WO2015138045A1; CN106170232A

Abstract

A cup comprising a container having a flat bottom wall pierceable by a needle; a filter having a flat filter bottom supported on the flat bottom wall or sufficiently close to the flat bottom to allow a needle to push a portion of the flat filter bottom upward to form a beverage collection chamber; a lid having an outer sidewall and an inclined inner sidewall to convert brewing pressure in the cup into a radially outward force acting on the outer sidewall to impart rigidity to the lid during a brewing operation; and a pressure sensitive adhesive O-ring between the horizontal wall of the lid and the container rim. The cup may include a pressurized chamber enclosed by an outer sidewall, an inner sidewall and a top film and adapted to become pressurized and expand when hot water is injected into the cup, thereby imparting rigidity to the lid and improving the sealing of the container.

Description

Beverage cup for coffee or the like

Technical Field

The present invention relates to beverage filter cups or cartridges which are filled or pre-filled by a user in their home or store with a flavour containing material, such as coffee, tea, cocoa or apple juice.

Background

The beverage cartridges taught by Sylvan et al in U.S. patent nos. 5,325,765 and 5,840,189 are among others for their convenience and speed

The (K-cup) brand has gained wide acceptance, however several problems continue to exist since its introduction about 20 years ago. One such problem is the limited amount of ground coffee that the cartridge can hold, making the coffee too inadequate for some people. Sweeney et al teach in us patent No. 6,645,537 to solve this problem by sealing the filter to a tapered circular rim located at the lower portion of the cup. This problem can also be solved by replacing the Sylvan cone filter with the cup filter 20 in the cup 10A shown in figure 1A. The top end 17 of the side wall 21 of the filter 20 is connected to the top side wall 16 of the container 19. The periphery 14 of the cover film 11 is permanently heat sealed to the rim 15 of the container to seal the coffee 12. An empty space 24 of almost 1 inch height is formed below the flat filter bottom 23 to prevent the sharp point 31 of the needle 29 on the top wall 27 of the cupholder 28 from damaging the filter bottom when the cup 10A is fully inserted into the cupholder 28. The needle 29 is designed to pierce the bottom wall 25 for the beverage to flow out through the channel 30. However, both solutions do not make full use of the space in the cup for grinding the coffee, due to the high empty space 24.

Another problem is that the cartridge of Sylvan does not allow the consumer to control what and how much ground coffee is used. To address this problem, a number of refillable filter cups have been provided, such as Ekobrew, taught by Vu in U.S. patent application 2013/0017303^TM、Cafe Cup^TMAnd Solofill^TMA cup. Such filter cups, designated 10B in fig. 1B, typically have a cup-shaped filter 20 formed in the receptacle 19, with the empty space 24 being high enough to prevent the filter bottom 23 from being pierced by the needle 29. The rigid cover 41 has a rubber O-ring 42 positioned on a sidewall 43 to seal to the sidewall 16 of the container 19. An opening 45 is formed at the center of the lid to receive a water injection needle (not shown) from a brewer (brewer) and a plate 47, the plate 47 having a number of holes 44 for dispensing water from the injection needle to the ground coffee 12. While such filter cups allow consumers to use their own ground coffee, such filteringNor can the cup contain ground coffee for a large cup or mug of coffee. The filling and cleaning of such filter cups is also time-consuming and messy, especially in the morning when coffee and time are equally precious, which makes it difficult to clean the filter cups

The convenience and speed of brewing becomes ineffective.

To make cleaning easier, Simple Cup^TMA disposable filter paper is provided that fits into the filter cup. However, the filter paper also reduces the amount of coffee that the filter cup can hold. Simple Cup^TMA separate container, lid and inversion tool are also provided to allow a user to assemble the filter cup by placing the filter paper into the container, filling with coffee, and then pushing the lid into the container with force with the inversion tool support. This process is even more difficult and slower than the process using the filter cup of fig. 1B. Furthermore, since there is no seal between the lid and the container in the assembled filter cup, the coffee cannot remain fresh and the lid easily slides out of the container causing coffee grounds to splash around during disposal and storage.

It is a first object of the present invention to provide a new drinking cup which is not only convenient and quick to use as a drinking cupBut also gives the consumer the freedom to choose their own amount of roast, brand, and ground coffee as a refillable filter cup does.

It is a second object of the present invention to provide a new drinking cup which may allow consumers such as

Or refillable filter cups, as much as 50% more ground coffee.

A third object of the invention is to provide a new drinking cup, compared to

Cost of, the beverage cup can be savedUp to about at least 50% cost.

A final object of the invention is to provide a new cup that is reusable when the user desires more cost savings and disposable when the user desires more convenience.

Summary of The Invention

The beverage cup or pod of the present invention includes an impermeable cup-shaped container having a flat bottom wall pierceable by a beverage outlet needle in the brewer's cup holder, and a cup-shaped filter having a flat filter bottom supported on or positioned sufficiently close to the flat bottom wall to allow the needle to push a portion of the flat filter bottom upward to form a beverage collection chamber. Unlike the large and tall built-in beverage collection chamber in prior art K-cups or reusable filter cups, the beverage collection chamber of the present invention is not present prior to the brewing operation, allowing the beverage cup of the present invention to be able to hold up to 50% more ground coffee. The beverage cup also includes a lid having an outer sidewall that is smaller than the opening of the cup-shaped container to allow the lid to move almost freely in and out of the container to facilitate closure of the container, and a pressure sensitive adhesive O-ring positioned between the horizontal peripheral wall of the lid and the horizontal rim of the cup-shaped container. The cup-shaped container and lid are made of very thin walls to minimize the use of materials and to make the cup disposable and reusable as desired by each user. The lid also includes an angled inner sidewall to translate brewing pressure in the cup into a radially outward force on the outer sidewall of the lid to impart strength and rigidity to the thin-walled lid during a brewing operation to resist deformation of the outer sidewall of the lid to prevent hot water leakage.

In an alternative embodiment, the beverage cup further comprises an annular pressurized chamber enclosed by an outer sidewall, an inner sidewall, and a top membrane sealed to the lid. The pressurization chamber is at ambient pressure prior to brewing and when hot water is injected into the beverage cup through the brewer's water inlet needle, the pressurization chamber expands in volume becoming pressurized, imparting rigidity to the thin-walled lid and acting as an O-ring to improve the sealing of the container.

Brief Description of Drawings

The figures show diagrammatically non-limiting embodiments of the invention, as follows:

FIG. 1A is a vertical cross-sectional view of a prior art beverage cup partially inserted in a holder;

FIG. 1B is a vertical cross-sectional view of a prior art refillable cup partially inserted in a holder;

FIG. 2 is a vertical cross-sectional view of a beverage cup partially inserted in a holder according to the present invention;

FIG. 2A is a cross-sectional view taken along line A-A of FIG. 2;

FIG. 2B is a vertical cross-sectional view of the beverage cup of FIG. 2 prior to being filled with ground coffee;

FIG. 3 is a vertical cross-sectional view of the improved beverage cup of FIG. 2 partially inserted in a holder according to the present invention;

FIG. 3A is a cross-sectional view taken along line A-A of FIG. 3;

FIG. 3B is a vertical cross-sectional view of the beverage cup of FIG. 3 prior to being filled with ground coffee;

FIG. 4 is a vertical cross-sectional view of the improved beverage cup of FIG. 3 partially inserted in a holder according to the present invention;

FIG. 4A is a partial vertical cross-sectional view of the beverage cup of FIG. 4 prior to the lid being sealed to the cup and placed in the cup holder 28; and

figure 5 is a vertical cross-sectional view of the modified beverage cup of figure 4 prior to sealing the lid to the cup.

Description of the preferred embodiments

As shown in fig. 2-2B, the beverage filter cup or cartridge 100 of the present invention includes an impermeable container 19, a filter 170, and an impermeable lid 122. For simplicity, parts similar to those in the prior art figures of fig. 1A and 1B are assigned the same reference numerals. The container 19 is preferably cup-shaped and has an impermeable lower sidewall 22 of a tapered truncated cone shape, an impermeable upper sidewall 16, a step 18 between the lower and upper sidewalls, a generally flat impermeable bottom wall 25 pierceable by a beverage outlet needle 29, and a radially outwardly projecting rim 15 surrounding a circular inlet opening for receiving an aroma-containing material 12, such as ground coffee, tea, cocoa, or other aroma-containing material. The outlet needle is located at the bottom 27 of the brewer's holder 28 and has a sharp tip 31 for piercing the bottom wall 25 and a beverage outlet channel 30.

As shown in fig. 2 and 2B, the filter 170 is cup-shaped and includes an upper filter sidewall 177 permanently connected to an inner surface of the upper sidewall 16, a lower filter sidewall 171, and a closed, substantially flat filter bottom 173 to define a storage chamber to store the spice-containing material 12. Unlike the filter bottom 23 of the prior art filter 20 shown in fig. 1A and 1B, the flat filter bottom 173 of the present invention has a substantially flat elastomeric film 111 attached to the filter bottom 173 and located on the bottom 25 of the container 19 or sufficiently close to the bottom 25 of the container 19, thus maximizing the volume or capacity of the storage chamber for holding the fragrance-containing raw material 12. The results indicate that the storage chamber of the beverage filter cup 100 can hold up to 50% more flavor-containing material 12 than the prior art filter cups 10A and 10B shown in fig. 1A and 1B.

Unlike the large and tall built-in beverage collection chamber 24 in the prior art K-cup 10A or reusable filter cup 10B shown in fig. 1A and 1B, the beverage collection chamber 100 of the present invention is nearly nonexistent before the filter cup 100 is inserted into the holder 28. A beverage collection portion 110 is formed in the filter cup 100 when the bottom wall 25 of the container 19 is pierced by the outlet needle 29 and the outlet needle pushes a portion of the filter bottom 173 upward. As more of the needle 29 pierces the bottom wall 25, the collection chamber 110 increases in size and reaches a maximum size after the cup 100 is fully inserted into the holder 28. The elastomeric film 111 imparts puncture resistance to the outlet needle to the filter base 173. Other puncture resistant sheets, flexible or rigid, such as polyolefin sheets or nonwoven polypropylene films, may be attached to the filter bottom 173 to impart puncture resistance to the filter bottom.

The results show that when certain specifically selected materials are used for the filter 170 and the container 19, the upper filter sidewall 177 becomes invisible after the filter is sealed to the upper sidewall 16 of the container via heat, ultrasonic, infrared, or other energy. This invisibility of the filter improves the seal between the container 19 and the lid 122, making filling and cleaning of the beverage cup easier and making the cup look better. Known cup materials, such as polystyrene or polymer laminates, for example, the Winpak Portion Pack of Bristol, Pa product number C150 as taught by Sylvan et al in U.S. patent numbers 5,325,765 and 5,840,189, do not render the upper filter sidewall 177 invisible. The results also indicate that to achieve this invisibility, the filter 170 should also be made of the same or similar material as the container 19. Materials that satisfy such conditions are polyethylene and polypropylene. The lower filter sidewall 171 is pleated to facilitate beverage flow out of the closed chamber defined or formed by the filter bottom 173, the filter sidewall 171, and the lid 122. Vertical channels (not shown) may be formed in the lower side wall 22 and channels (not shown) may be formed in the bottom wall 25 of the container to improve beverage flow to the beverage collection chamber 110.

The lid 122 includes a peripheral horizontal wall 115 above the rim 15 of the container, an impermeable central wall 127 pierceable from the brewer by water injection needles (not shown) for introducing water into the container, and a circular channel 121 between the peripheral and central walls. The circular channel 121 includes a first exterior cover sidewall 117 receivable in the access opening defined by the top sidewall 16 of the container, a second exterior cover sidewall 119 receivable in the upper portion of the sidewall 22 just below the step 18, a step wall 118 connecting the first and exterior sidewalls to the second exterior sidewall, an inner sidewall 120 having one end connected to the central wall 127 and the other end connected to the second exterior sidewall 119, and three flexible thin connectors or beams 114 connecting the rim 15 of the container 19 to the cover's peripheral wall 115. A space 112 is formed between the flexible beams 114.

Unlike the prior art disposable K-cup in fig. 1A, in which the cover film 11 is permanently heat sealed to the container 19, and unlike the reusable filter cup in fig. 1B, which can provide thick, rigid walls and rubber O-rings to achieve leak-proof during brewing at high pressure, the lid 122 of the present invention requires the use of thin walls as thin as 0.01 inch that are disposable as desired by the user, and needs to be removable to allow the user to add ground coffee to the container. As a result, the lid 122 is prone to hot water leakage during brewing because the thin lid wall of the lid 122 is very prone to deformation under high brewing pressures. To improve the seal between the lid 122 and the container 19, the inner side wall 120 is inclined, preferably at an angle of less than 60 degrees relative to the first outer side wall 117. Such an inclined inner side wall 120 converts brewing pressure within the cup 100 into an outward radial force acting on the lower end of the first outer wall 117 to improve the rigidity of the thin walled lid 122 and the seal between the side wall 117 and the side wall 16. The second outer sidewall 119 is provided to further improve the seal between the lid and the container during brewing.

Unlike the prior art cup 10B of fig. 1B, which uses a rubber O-ring 42 on the side wall 43 to effect a seal, as shown in fig. 2, the lid 122 has a new food-safe, pressure sensitive adhesive O-ring 116 positioned on the underside of the horizontal peripheral wall 115 of the lid 122. When the lid 122 is rotated and placed on the container 19 by the connector 114, the pressure sensitive adhesive O-ring 116 readily adheres to the rim 15 of the container 19. By having the pressure sensitive adhesive O-ring on the horizontal peripheral wall 115, no leakage is observed during pressure brewing even if the first outer lid sidewall 117 is substantially smaller than the inner diameter of the upper sidewall 16 or the top access opening of the container 19, e.g., 0.04 to 0.2 inches smaller. Because the lid sidewall 117 is smaller than the top access opening, little or no force is required to press the lid into the container after the user fills the cup with ground coffee, making the sealing operation painless.

A lid having lid sidewalls 117 smaller than the top access opening is also critical to the successful preparation of a beverage cup when the consumer fills and seals the cup at home. Because the cup 100 is disposable, the

side walls

16 and 22 of the container 19 are also very thin, e.g., less than about 0.03 inches. Such thin sidewalls cannot withstand the force required to press the lid sidewalls 117 into the top access opening if the lid sidewalls 117 are substantially the same as or larger than the top opening of the container 19. A lid having a smaller sidewall 117 may be pressed into the top access opening with little or no force to prevent the container 19 from collapsing when a user presses the lid into the container to seal the ground coffee 12 in the storage chamber defined or formed by the filter sidewall 171 and the filter bottom 173.

Although beverage cup 100 uses a very small amount of material by using a very thin walled lid 122 and container 19, and may be like

Is disposable, but a more cost-effective or environmentally conscious user may still wish to reuse beverage cup 100. To allow one to reuse the cup 100, we have found that by making the O-ring with a hydrophilic pressure sensitive adhesive, the O-ring may lose its adhesion after the brewing operation. Such loss of adhesion after brewing makes it possible for the user to open the lid, dispose of the used grounds and clean the cup 10 for reuse. After the cup 10 has dried in air or by heating, the pressure sensitive adhesive O-ring again gains its adhesion to adhere and seal the lid to the container 19.

The pressure sensitive adhesive used to make O-ring 116 may be a pressure sensitive hot melt such as FIMA-221-A from a glue factory of Hill Mantoux, Wisconsin, or a pressure sensitive emulsion such as AA-4080 from that same factory. The results show that for the cup 100 to work, the height of the pressure sensitive adhesive O-ring 116 needs to be about 0.1 mm to 2 mm, preferably 0.2 mm to 1 mm. As shown in fig. 2B, the inner perimeter of the pressure sensitive adhesive O-ring 116 is positioned near or at the outer sidewall 117 to prevent the O-ring from falling or transferring to the rim 15 of the container after the lid is sealed to and then removed from the container 19. Various textures, asperities, projections, recesses, channels and ridges can be provided on the underside surface, with the pressure sensitive adhesive O-ring positioned to then prevent the O-ring from falling off of the underside surface or transferring to the edge during sealing and removal of the lid. The pressure sensitive adhesive O-ring 116 does not require release or protective paper. When the O-ring 116 becomes soiled with ash or coffee particles, it can be easily cleaned with rinsing water to cause the O-ring to lose its adherence, and the O-ring can then regain its adherence by allowing it to dry in air.

The container 19 and lid 122 having thin walls may be thermoformed from a thin plastic sheet. Although in the preferred embodiment beverage cup 100 has a round cup shape, it should be understood that the cup may take the form of an oval, square, rectangle, diamond, and other shapes. It should be understood that the pressure sensitive adhesive O-ring may take shapes other than circular and may be used in other applications. It is also understood that if the flavor-containing material 12 is cocoa powder, milk powder, soup powder, apple juice, or any edible substance that can be consumed with or without the addition of water, the cup can be used without the need for the filter 20.

Fig. 3-3B show a modified embodiment of the beverage cup 100 of fig. 1. The improved cup has a generally annular pressurization chamber 162 receivable in the access opening of the container 19 and connected to the lid for preventing leakage during brewing. The pressurization chamber includes an outer sidewall 117 of the lid for engaging the impermeable upper sidewall 16 of the container 19, an inner sidewall 120 of the lid that contacts the hot fluid during brewing, a top membrane ring 161, and a chamber bottom 118 connected to the inner and outer sidewalls. The pressurization chamber is at ambient pressure prior to brewing and becomes pressurized during brewing when hot water injected into the cup 100 from the brewer's water injection needle (not shown) heats the air in the chamber. The pressure in the pressurization chamber pushes the outer sidewall 117 radially outward to improve the sealing of the upper sidewall 16 of the container 19 and to impart rigidity to the thin walled lid 122. The membrane ring 161 is part of a generally circular membrane 167 and is heat sealed to the top end of the outer sidewall 117. The outer peripheral section 160 of the membrane 167 is sealed to the peripheral wall 115 of the lid 122. The membrane ring 161 may also be heat sealed to the top of the inner wall 120 to create an annular chamber air tight to allow pressure to build up therein and prevent hot fluid above the flavor-containing material from entering the annular chamber when hot water from the water inlet needle heats the air in the annular chamber.

The cup filter 170 is made of non-woven polypropylene and the container 19 and lid 122 are also made of polypropylene so that the consumer can reuse all the propylene material in the filter and container after washing out the used coffee grounds. To make the beverage cup fully reusable, it was found that when the non-woven filter is made of elongated long polymeric fibers of polyolefin, polyester, nylon or similar polymers, the beverage collection chamber 110 may not be formed by the elastomeric film 111 of fig. 2 attached to the flat bottom 173 of the filter.

A protective opening 163 is formed at or near the center of the impermeable central wall 127 to prevent the beverage cup 100 from sticking to and causing damage to the brew head (not shown) of the brewer when the user opens the brew head to dispose of a used beverage cup. The protective opening is covered by the central membrane 164 of the membrane 167 to prevent oxidizing air from reaching the feedstock 12 after the lid 122 is sealed to the container 19. In order to prevent water leakage during brewing, in an alternative embodiment of the invention (not shown) the protection opening is made at least 3 times larger in diameter than shown in figure 3 and in diameter. In this alternative embodiment, the enlarged protective opening 163 occupies at least 40% of the area of the impermeable central wall 127.

One problem with the beverage cup 100 of fig. 2B is that the lid 122, although very light in weight, typically less than 5 grams, often causes the container 19 to tip and fall when the user places the beverage cup on a table or countertop, which makes filling the cup with ground coffee inconvenient and difficult. One solution is to provide a separate container 19 and lid 122, however this requires the user to store and handle the two separate parts. An improved solution is shown in fig. 3B, in which one end of the lid 122 is connected to the rim 15 of the container 19 via a section of low-memory film connector 168, and the free end opposite this connected end has about the same height as the bottom 25 of the container 19. This allows the free end of lid 122 to be supported on a table or countertop when the beverage cup is placed on the table or countertop. The low memory film connector 168 has little memory of its previous shape and may be an aluminum or paper based film capable of maintaining the current shape unaffected by its previous shape or may be an ultra-flexible film capable of being freely bent by a weight of the cover 122 of less than 5 grams. To prevent the cover 122 from moving out of the access opening of the container 19, the length of the membrane connector 168 is substantially greater than the total thickness of the rim 15 and the outer peripheral wall 115.

To use, a person grinds 1/4 to 1 pound of the person's favorite brand of fresh roasted coffee beans, places 12 to 48 beverage cups 100 on a table or countertop such that the free end of lid 122 is also supported on the table or countertop, dispenses or scoops 8 to 15 grams of ground coffee into each cup according to the person's preference for coffee strength and volume, and turns lid 122 over container 19 to cause pressure sensitive adhesive O-ring 116 to hermetically seal to rim 15 of the container to keep the ground coffee fresh. Such a pre-filled coffee cup 100 may be at the rear as if it wereThe same applies.

Figures 4 and 4A show a second modified embodiment of drinking cup 100 of figure 2. In the modified cup, the rim 115 of the radially outwardly projecting peripheral wall or lid 122 outside the first outer lid side wall 117 is shortened such that the shortened rim 115 is substantially narrower in width than the rim 15 of the cup-shaped container 19. The lid 122 is heat sealed to the flexible membrane 167 and connected to the container 19 by heat sealing a small portion 181 of the membrane 167 to a portion of the rim 15. The outer peripheral section 160 of the membrane 167 extends outwardly to cover the rim 15 of the container 19 when the container is sealed. The flexible outer peripheral section 160 of the membrane 167 prevents accidental opening when the cup 100 is dropped to a hard ground or contacts other objects. Moreover, the flexible outer peripheral section 160 prevents any possible tampering with the contents of the cup, as when one attempts to pull the flexible outer peripheral section 160 to open the lid 122, the film will rupture at or near its heat seal to the lid 167, which renders the cup 41 unusable and serves as a warning signal that the cup has been tampered with. However, during brewing, the steam heat or water makes the lid 122 removable after the cup 100 is brewed, which makes it possible to reuse the cup or remove waste ground coffee for better recycling.

A recess 180 is formed on the rim 15 around the access opening of the container 19 and is sized to receive the shortened rim 115 such that a bottom surface of the shortened rim 115 is substantially below a top surface of the cup rim 15. The results show that when the recess 180 is deep enough to cause the top surface of the shortened rim 115 to be at least approximately level with the top surface of the rim 15 of the pod 19 or even below the top surface of the rim 15 of the pod 19, the adhesive force increases significantly to make opening of the lid 167 nearly impossible unless the cup 100 is brewed by hot water in a brewer.

The results also show that by making the diameter of the protective opening 163 larger than one third, preferably larger than one half, of the diameter of the lid 122, the freshness and aroma of the ground coffee sealed in the cup 100 is greatly improved after a storage time of 3 to 6 months. Theoretically, the larger opening 163 prevents air from entering the chamber as the room temperature or chamber pressure changes during the day and night. It has also been found that the freshness and aroma of the ground coffee sealed in the cup 100 is greatly improved by having the adhesive O-ring 116 sufficiently fluid to promote wicking (wick) of the adhesive when the container 19 is closed by the lid 122. It has also been found that when adhesive O-ring 116 comprises a layer of adhesive on the outer surface of first outer lid sidewall 117, the freshness and aroma of the ground coffee sealed in cup 100 is greatly improved.

It was found that the cup 100 of fig. 4 and 4A still operates without water leakage during brewing even though the lid 122 is not heat sealed to the flexible membrane 167, as shown in fig. 5. The flexible outer peripheral section 160 of the film 167 is connected to the container 19 by heat sealing the small portion 181 of the film 167 to a portion of the rim 15 of the container 19. The flexible membrane 167 should be sufficiently rigid to form a suitable filling and sealing angle Φ for the cup. The angle Φ should be between 90 degrees and 265 degrees to enable proper filling and sealing of the cup by the coffee filling apparatus. The peripheral section 160 of the membrane 167 is sealed to the rim 15 by an adhesive O-ring 160 or heat seal. The filter bottom 173 is generally flat and sufficiently close to the bottom wall 25 of the container 19 or even contacts the bottom wall 25 of the container 19 to form a particularly large containment or filter chamber formed by the pleated side filter 171 and the closed bottom filter 173. The beverage collection chamber 110 has a volume of zero or near zero, but is adapted to expand in volume during brewing to facilitate withdrawal of the ingredients and beverage in the filter chamber out of the cup.

It will be appreciated that by positioning the strainer bottom 173 adjacent to or in contact with the cup bottom 25, the present invention has avoided the usual presence of

The "water channeling" problem in (1), water channeling occurs because the water ejected from the brewer creates a large central path between the water inlet needle in the brewer and the filter bottom 23 and causes most of the water from the brewer to pass directly through the filter bottom 23 (fig. 1A and 1B) without contacting the ground coffee. It should also be appreciated that the beverage filter cup 100 may take a square shape to reduce its need for storage and shipping space. It will also be appreciated that the beverage outlet needle 29 may be solid without the channel 30, with the beverage outlet being formed between the outer surface of the needle and the pierced hole at the bottom 25 of the container 19.

Although specific features of the invention are shown in some drawings and not in others, this is for convenience only as some features may be combined with any or all of the other features in accordance with the invention. The foregoing description has been limited to specific embodiments of this invention. It will be apparent, however, that variations and modifications may be made to the invention, with the attainment of some or all of its advantages. Therefore, it is the object of the appended claims to cover all such variations and modifications as come within the true spirit and scope of the invention.

Claims

1. A beverage filter cup to be filled by a user with a supply of flavor-containing material, comprising:

a cup-shaped container having an impermeable sidewall, a closed bottom wall, and a radially outwardly projecting rim surrounding an access opening for receiving the flavor-containing material, the bottom wall being pierceable by a beverage outlet needle in a cup holder of a brewer;

a filter having a top portion connected to an inner surface of the impermeable sidewall, a filter sidewall, a closed filter bottom, and a storage chamber defined by the filter sidewall and the closed filter bottom for storing a supply of the flavor-containing material received through the access opening, the filter adapted to allow a beverage to pass through and out of the container via the beverage outlet needle;

a lid having a lid sidewall receivable in the access opening and adapted to surround the impermeable central wall to be pressed into the access opening, an impermeable central wall pierceable by a water inlet needle of the brewer to receive water into the storage chamber for mixing with the flavor-containing material to produce a beverage, a generally horizontal peripheral wall adapted to cover the outwardly projecting rim of the container, and a connector for connecting a portion of the generally horizontal peripheral wall to the outwardly projecting rim, the connector adapted to allow the lid to rotate between a first position in which the access opening is open and a second position in which the access opening is closed;

wherein the lid is remote from the access opening to allow a user to add a supply of fragrance-containing raw material into the storage chamber, and the lid is placed on the container by the user to urge the lid side wall into the access opening and the horizontal peripheral wall covers the outwardly projecting rim, thereby forming an airtight seal to the supply of fragrance-containing raw material, and

the lid further includes a pressurization chamber receivable in the access opening and connected to the lid side wall for preventing leakage during brewing, the pressurization chamber being normally at ambient pressure and becoming pressurized during brewing when hot water injected into the storage chamber from the water inlet needle heats air in the pressurization chamber, the lid side wall being urged radially outward against the impermeable side wall of the container by pressure in the pressurization chamber to form a leak-proof seal.

2. A beverage filter cup to be filled by a user with a supply of flavor-containing material, comprising:

a lid having a lid side wall receivable in the access opening of the container, an impermeable central wall, a generally horizontal peripheral wall adapted to cover the radially outwardly projecting edge of the container, and a connector for connecting a portion of the generally horizontal peripheral wall to the outwardly projecting edge, the impermeable central wall being pierceable by a water inlet needle of the brewer to receive water into the storage chamber for mixing with the flavor-containing material to produce a beverage, the connector being adapted to allow the lid to rotate between a first position in which the access opening is open and a second position in which the access opening is closed;

wherein the lid further comprises a substantially annular chamber receivable in the access opening of the container for preventing leakage during brewing, the substantially annular chamber comprising the lid sidewall, a chamber bottom connected to the lid sidewall, an inner sidewall having one end connected to the chamber bottom and another end connected to the impermeable central wall, a substantially annular space bounded by the lid sidewall, chamber bottom and inner sidewall, and a membrane ring sealed to the lid sidewall for covering the substantially annular space.

3. A beverage filter cup to be filled by a user with a supply of flavor-containing material, comprising:

a lid having lid side walls receivable in the access opening of the container, an impermeable central wall, a generally horizontal peripheral wall adapted to cover the outwardly projecting rim of the container, and a connector for connecting portions of the generally horizontal peripheral wall to the outwardly projecting rim, the impermeable central wall being pierceable by a water inlet needle of the brewer to receive water into the storage chamber for mixing with the flavor-containing material to produce a beverage, the connector being adapted to allow the lid to rotate between a first position in which the access opening is open and a second position in which the access opening is closed;

wherein the lid further comprises an inner sidewall having one end connected to the lid sidewall and another end connected to the impermeable center wall and a generally annular channel between the lid sidewall and the inner sidewall, the inner sidewall being inclined at an angle of less than 60 degrees relative to the lid sidewall to translate a brewing pressure in the beverage filter cup into an outward force acting on the lid sidewall to improve a seal between the lid sidewall and the impermeable sidewall of the container.

4. A beverage filter cup according to any of claims 1 to 3 wherein said filter is cup-shaped, having a substantially flat closed filter bottom, the substantially flat closed filter bottom is positioned proximate the closed bottom wall of the container such that when the beverage filter cup is inserted into the cup holder of the brewer, the beverage outlet needle of the brewer can push the closed filter bottom upward, the beverage filter cup further comprising a beverage collection chamber between the bottom wall of the container and the closed substantially flat filter bottom, the beverage collection chamber is adapted to increase in size as more of the beverage outlet needle penetrates the bottom wall of the container, and reaches a maximum size after the beverage filter cup is fully inserted into the cup holder.

5. The beverage filter cup of claim 4 further comprising a puncture resistant sheet attached to said substantially flat closed filter bottom, thereby creating resistance to puncture of said beverage outlet needle by said substantially flat closed filter bottom.

6. The beverage filter cup of claim 4 wherein said filter comprises a non-woven membrane made of elongated polymeric fibers resistant to puncture by said beverage outlet needles.

7. The beverage filter cup of claim 2 further comprising a generally circular membrane comprising a peripheral section sealed to an outer portion of said peripheral wall of said lid, a central membrane located above said impermeable central wall of said lid, and said membrane ring between said central membrane and outer peripheral section.

8. The beverage filter cup of claim 2 wherein said membrane ring is sealed to a top end of said inner sidewall thereby creating an air-tight seal of said generally annular chamber to allow pressure to build in said generally annular chamber when hot water from said water inlet needle heats air in said generally annular chamber.

9. The beverage filter cup of any of claims 1 to 3 wherein said lid further comprises a protective opening positioned proximate a center of said impermeable central wall, and a generally circular membrane sealed to said impermeable central wall to cover said opening, thereby preventing said beverage filter cup from sticking to a brewing head of said brewer and causing damage to said brewer.

10. The beverage filter cup of claim 9 wherein said protective opening is made large enough to occupy at least 40% of the area of said impermeable central wall to prevent leakage during brewing.

11. A beverage filter cup according to any one of claims 1 to 3 wherein said lid is connected to said container by a membrane connector having one end attached to said outwardly projecting rim of said container and the other end attached to said peripheral wall of said lid, said membrane connector having a length substantially greater than the combined thickness of said outwardly projecting rim and said peripheral wall to prevent said lid from moving out of said access opening of said container.

12. The beverage filter cup of any one of claims 1 to 3 further comprising a flexible connector for connecting a first end of the lid to the outwardly projecting rim of the container, the lid being positioned at a predetermined angle relative to the container to urge a free end of the lid opposite the first end to be at about the same height as the bottom wall of the container during storage and use of the beverage filter cup, thereby preventing the container from tipping or falling when a user places the beverage filter cup on a table or countertop and adds a flavor-containing material into the container.

13. The beverage filter cup of claim 12 wherein said flexible connector is a low memory membrane selected from the group consisting of laminated aluminum foil membranes, laminated paper membranes, coated paper membranes, and ultra-flexible membranes, said low memory membrane being substantially free to flex by a weight of less than 5 grams.

14. The beverage filter cup of any one of claims 1 to 3 further comprising a pressure sensitive adhesive O-ring positioned on the underside of said peripheral wall of said lid, said pressure sensitive adhesive O-ring readily adhering to said outwardly projecting rim of said container, thereby significantly accelerating the sealing operation of said beverage filter cup.

15. The beverage filter cup of claim 14 wherein said lid sidewall is substantially smaller than said access opening of said container and requires little or no force to press said lid sidewall into said container, thereby requiring no effort to perform said sealing operation of said beverage filter cup.

16. The beverage filter cup of claim 14 wherein said pressure sensitive adhesive O-ring is adapted to lose adhesion to said outwardly projecting rim of said container after a brewing operation, thereby allowing a user to easily open said lid, discard spent coffee grounds, and clean said beverage filter cup for reuse, said pressure sensitive adhesive O-ring being further adapted to regain its adhesion after drying in air or being heated.

17. The beverage filter cup of claim 16 wherein said pressure sensitive adhesive O-ring is made of a hydrophilic pressure sensitive adhesive.

18. The beverage filter cup of claim 14 further comprising at least one of a texture, roughness, protrusion, recess, channel and ridge on an underside surface where said pressure sensitive adhesive O-ring is positioned, thereby preventing said pressure sensitive adhesive O-ring from falling off said underside surface or transferring to said rim during sealing and removal of said lid.

19. The beverage filter cup of any of claims 1 to 3 wherein said filter sidewall is pleated to facilitate beverage flow and wherein a predetermined height of said pleated filter sidewall is sealed to a predetermined height of said impermeable sidewall of said container, said filter and said container being made of polypropylene such that said predetermined height of said filter sidewall is not visible.

20. A cup to be filled by a user with cocoa, instant coffee, lemon powder, milk powder, soup powder, apple juice or similar products, comprising:

a cup-shaped container having an impermeable side wall, a closed substantially flat bottom wall, and a radially outwardly projecting rim surrounding an access opening for receiving a product;

a lid having a lid side wall receivable in the access opening of the container, an impermeable central wall surrounded by the lid side wall for closing the access opening, and a substantially horizontal peripheral wall adapted to cover the outwardly projecting rim when the lid side wall is pressed into the access opening of the container; and

a pressure sensitive adhesive O-ring positioned on the underside of the peripheral wall of the lid, the pressure sensitive adhesive O-ring readily adhering to the outwardly projecting rim of the container, thereby significantly accelerating the sealing operation of the cup,

the lid further includes a pressurization chamber receivable in the access opening and connected to the lid sidewall for preventing leakage during brewing, the pressurization chamber being normally at ambient pressure and becoming pressurized during brewing, the lid sidewall being urged radially outward against the impermeable sidewall of the container by pressure in the pressurization chamber to form a leak-proof seal.