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
• • 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
• • 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
  • B65D65/00—Wrappers or flexible covers; Packaging materials of special type or form
  • B65D65/38—Packaging materials of special type or form
  • B65D65/46—Applications of disintegrable, dissolvable or edible materials
• • 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
  • B65D85/8067—Packages for several ingredients

Definitions

• the present invention concerns a coffee container, in particular a pod for containing coffee in a compacted form, said container for being extracted in a beverage preparation machine.
• the container e.g. the pod, pad or capsule - which usually has a small volume for reasons of storage convenience and low environmental impact, contain a limited coffee weight (5g to 6g); therefore, they offer good short cups. But the drawback of over-extraction in the preparation of longer cups remains.
• the machine brewing chamber requires a movable element that allows the brewing chamber to increase or decrease its size to adapt its shape walls to that of the container.
• a movable element in the brewing chamber necessarily adds complexity to the construction of the machine, hence increased costs for its development, its production, and its maintenance.
• the machine does set its brewing chamber size/shape automatically, and it requires a manual operation by the user, to conform the brewing chamber appropriately to be able to use one or the other type of ingredient container properly. This adds a handling step to the user, which is not user-friendly.
• the purpose of the present invention is therefore to obviate the above-mentioned drawbacks of existing beverage preparation systems.
• the present invention generally consists in an ingredient container, preferably a coffee pod, having a fixed depth and an adjustable empty space in its center, so that the general container has a "donut shape".
• the size of the central space is adjusted depending on desired coffee quantity.
• the invention is directed to a container containing coffee ingredient for use in a food or beverage preparation machine, comprising a chamber delimited by an injection wall able to be punctured or otherwise opened for circulating water under pressure, and by a coffee delivery wall, the chamber being filled with said coffee.
• a portion of said injection wall has the shape of a half torus, or a half toroidal polyhedron, so as to define a ring-shaped chamber portion.
• half a torus or half a toroidal polyhedron it is meant a tubular structure being bent and joined to form a closed tube.
• the tube can have various sections, but is preferably half circular, triangular, or square. But other types of cross-sections can be found.
• the general outer shape of the ring is preferably circular (as will be further illustrated in detail afterwards in relation to the drawing). But it can also correspond to other types of revolution shapes such as elliptic, square, triangular, or have any other type of general shape such as defined in the term "toroidal polyhedron".
• the coffee ingredient contained in the ring-shaped chamber portion is preferably a roast and ground coffee.
• the ring-shaped chamber portion surrounds a central container portion filled with a second ingredient that differs from the coffee ingredient contained in the ring-shaped chamber portion.
• the second ingredient is preferably a powdered soluble coffee, or a roast and ground coffee having different roasting, grinding and/or powder compaction characteristics, than that of the coffee contained in the ring-shaped chamber portion.
• the width of the ring-shaped chamber is comprised between 5 to 15mm.
• the variations in the volume of the container chamber are obtained by varying its radial dimensions but not its height, nor its outer boundaries (in particular the shape or diameter of the outer edge of the ring).
• the dispensing wall is planar and has a square or disc shape.
• the dispensing wall is preferably made of a liquid impermeable material that is pierceable by piercing means of the food or beverage preparation machine.
• the injection wall is made of a paper-based or compostable material that is coated or laminated with a liquid-impermeable material.
• the central empty area of the container is resistant to tearing, damaging or piercing by the water injection means of the machine's brewing chamber.
• the coffee contained in the chamber is a compacted coffee powder.
• the injection and dispensing walls are preferably sealed or otherwise glued or welded one to another to form a closed chamber.
• Figure 1 is a perspective top view of one embodiment of a container according to the invention.
• Figure 2 is a perspective cut view of the container of figure 1, in the brewing chamber of a food or beverage machine.
• Figure 1 depicts a container 1 according to the invention, for containing coffee ingredient.
• the container 1 is designed for insertion and use in the brewing chamber of a coffee preparation machine of the type using single-use disposable pods.
• the container 1 comprises a chamber 2 delimited by an injection wall 3 able to be punctured or otherwise opened for circulating water under pressure, and by a coffee delivery wall 4.
• the coffee delivery wall 4 is pierced (or generally opened) under the effect of the rise of fluid pressure inside the container, onto at least one, preferably a series of opening elements of the machine which exert an opening (e.g. a puncturing or tearing force on the material) when the pressure inside the container increases, due to the injection of water therein through the injection wall).
• the container chamber 2 is filled with coffee which is preferably a blend of roast and ground coffee.
• the chamber is preferably entirely filled (no headspace is present).
• the injection wall has the shape of a half torus, so as to define a ring-shaped chamber portion, as illustrated in figure 1.
• the ring-shaped chamber 2 surrounds a central container portion 5 that is empty in the embodiment depicted in figure 1, but could be filled in an alternative with a second ingredient that differs from the coffee ingredient contained in the ring-shaped chamber portion.
• the central portion is formed by directly attaching (e.g. sealing or gluing) the injection wall 3 to the dispensing wall 4, like in the outer portions 6 of the container that surround the chamber 2.
• the width "W" of the ring-shaped chamber is 12 mm.
• the height "H” of the chamber 2 is 8 mm.
• the container according to the invention is designed to be inserted in the brewing chamber 10 of a food or beverage preparation machine (the machine as a whole is not illustrated).
• the brewing chamber 10 is of the type already known in the art and will not be described in great details hereafter. It generally comprises two parts, an injection part 11 and a dispensing part 12 that are movable relatively to one another, so as to open and close the brewing chamber.
• Figure 2 depicts the brewing chamber 10 in its open state with the coffee container partially inserted therein in an insertion socket 13.
• the square-shaped outer portions 6 of the container 1 are guided in insertion socket's grooves during insertion.
• the outer boundaries of the container could have another shape than square (e.g. circular).
• the injection part comprises a series of injection spikes 14 which are able to pierce and partially protrude through the container chamber 2 when the container is inserted inside the brewing chamber 10 and the latter is closed around the container in order to prepare a beverage.
• the height of the spikes is less than the height H of the chamber so that the spikes can never contact the dispensing wall of the container.
• the injection part 11 comprises a water entry 15 that is linked to the fluidic system of the beverage machine (a water source, e.g. a water tank that is linked through pipes to a water pump and preferably a water heater) that is able to deliver water, preferably heated water at a certain pressure towards the brewing chamber for injection inside the coffee container through spikes 14.
• the dispensing part 12 of the brewing chamber 10 comprises a series of opening elements 16 as described above, which contact the surface of the dispensing wall when the brewing chamber is closed.
• the volume of the container ingredient chamber is comprised between 3.5ml and 15ml, preferably between 9ml and 11ml.
• a medium size cup of coffee 80ml to 130ml
• the volume of the container ingredient chamber is comprised between 15ml and 17ml.
• the volume of the pod ingredient chamber is comprised between 17ml and 115ml, preferably between 17ml and 20ml.
• the coffee powder that is contained in the chamber 2 can be either loose or in a compacted state.
• the container according to the invention was found to provide the best solution to offer the most qualitative and quantitative coffee cup from 10 ml, up to 500 ml, without adding complexity and cost to the beverage preparation machine.

Landscapes

• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
• Apparatus For Making Beverages (AREA)
• Packages (AREA)
• Tea And Coffee (AREA)

Priority Applications (11)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Publications (1)

Family

ID=60702385

Family Applications (1)

Country Status (13)

Citations (6)

Family Cites Families (17)

• 2018
  • 2018-12-19 JP JP2020532999A patent/JP2021507738A/ja active Pending
  • 2018-12-19 CN CN201880082210.6A patent/CN111511660A/zh not_active Withdrawn
  • 2018-12-19 KR KR1020207013592A patent/KR20200097244A/ko unknown
  • 2018-12-19 CA CA3085217A patent/CA3085217A1/en not_active Abandoned
  • 2018-12-19 EP EP18833199.5A patent/EP3728075A1/en not_active Withdrawn
  • 2018-12-19 SG SG11202003645WA patent/SG11202003645WA/en unknown
  • 2018-12-19 US US16/954,655 patent/US20200339342A1/en not_active Abandoned
  • 2018-12-19 BR BR112020009353-0A patent/BR112020009353A2/pt not_active Application Discontinuation
  • 2018-12-19 MX MX2020007194A patent/MX2020007194A/es unknown
  • 2018-12-19 AU AU2018392643A patent/AU2018392643A1/en not_active Abandoned
  • 2018-12-19 WO PCT/EP2018/085792 patent/WO2019121881A1/en unknown
• 2020
  • 2020-04-21 PH PH12020550469A patent/PH12020550469A1/en unknown
  • 2020-06-12 CL CL2020001585A patent/CL2020001585A1/es unknown

Patent Citations (6)

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