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

• Beverage preparation machines are well known in the food science and consumer goods area. Such machines allow a consumer to prepare at home a given type of beverage, for instance a coffee-based beverage, e.g. an espresso or a brew-like coffee cup.
• a coffee-based beverage e.g. an espresso or a brew-like coffee cup.
• the machine comprises a receptacle for accommodating said capsule and a fluid injection system for injecting a fluid, preferably water, under pressure into said capsule.
• a fluid preferably water
• Water injected under pressure in the capsule, for the preparation of a coffee beverage according to the present invention is preferably hot, that is to say at a temperature above 70°C. However, in some particular instances, it might also be at ambient temperature.
• the pressure inside the capsule chamber during extraction and/or dissolution of the capsule contents is typically about 1 to 8 bar for dissolution products, 2 to 12 bar for extraction of roast and ground coffee.
• Such a preparation process differs a lot from the so-called "brewing" process of beverage preparation - particularly for tea and coffee, in that brewing involves a long time of infusion of the ingredient by a fluid (e.g. hot water), whereas the beverage preparation process allows a consumer to prepare a beverage, for instance coffee within a few seconds.
• the capsule internal volume is divided into two compartments, as illustrated in figure 1. Both compartments are separated by a perforated water distributor wall, which serves to distribute the flow of water in an even manner across the bed of coffee powder and also to break the speed of the powerful jet of water which comes out of the injection needle.
• the distributor wall is preferably a plastic film sealed onto the internal surface of the capsule lateral walls, which is pierced with a plurality of small holes evenly distributed across its surface, as shown in figures 1 and 2.
• the selected SAP must be food safe, and meet the international and national food safety standards.
• Such food-safe SAP exist which are used in food applications, such as in meat or poultry trays for instance, in order to absorb biological liquids released during storage. It is not the purpose of the present specification to give a list of food safe SAP for application in the present invention, they will be chosen by the skilled person appropriately from SAP manufacturers.
• the bottom dispensing wall 5 flexes downwards as illustrated in figure 5, and is pierced on the sharp protrusions of the piercing plate 6, allowing beverage to flow out of the capsule into the consumer cup placed below the capsule (not shown).
• the fluid pressure inside the capsule, and in particular into the headspace compartment is maintained.
• the superabsorbent polymer is almost fully swollen and reaches a high expansion volume which presses the distributor wall 7 downwards.
• the holding/compaction effect of the mass of coffee RG within the ingredient compartment is maximal as illustrated in figure 5, such that channelling is prevented in spite of the water flow and fluid pressure there through.
• the needle can be withdrawn from the capsule, as illustrated in figure 6.
• a beneficial side effect of the invention that was surprisingly found, is that the swollen superabsorbent polymer inside the headspace compartment of the capsule clogs the hole pierced through the top pierceable wall, as shown in figure 6, which prevents any product or liquid flowing back to the top of the capsule, especially in case there would be any residual pressure inside the capsule headspace compartment. Clogging of the pierced hole in the top wall 3 is due to the superabsorbent polymer which resembles a gel in the swollen state.

Landscapes

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

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Publications (1)

Family

ID=50068848

Family Applications (1)

Country Status (6)

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Family Cites Families (3)

• 2015
  • 2015-01-29 JP JP2016544417A patent/JP2017509362A/ja active Pending
  • 2015-01-29 US US15/116,891 patent/US20170001795A1/en not_active Abandoned
  • 2015-01-29 WO PCT/EP2015/051852 patent/WO2015117892A1/en active Application Filing
  • 2015-01-29 CN CN201580005686.6A patent/CN105939943A/zh active Pending
  • 2015-01-29 EP EP15703041.2A patent/EP3102506A1/de not_active Withdrawn
  • 2015-02-05 AR ARP150100333A patent/AR099295A1/es unknown

Non-Patent Citations (2)

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