CONTAINER FOR THE PREPARATION OF BEVERAGES Description The invention relates to a portion container for extractable substances, in particular for producing a beverage pursuant to the preamble of claim 1. The portion containers for extractable substances described here are typically used for producing drinks or brewed beverages. Since the beverages are mostly coffee, such containers are also referred to as "coffee capsules". The interior of the portion containers,
i.e. surrounded by a container wall, therefore contains the corresponding substance to be extracted, usually in powder form. For example it can be plant-based constituents, such as in particular coffee, tea, cocoa and the like, which are present in particular in dried form. The basic operating principle of the corresponding brewing machines is that water is heated and pressed under pressure into a portion container that has been inserted in the machine. In this way, the hot water is also pressed through the substance to be extracted, so that an aroma extract can be produced. The portion container must therefore have at least two openings to allow the brewing water to be pressed through. For this purpose, appropriate openings are usually automatically punctured in the containers when they are inserted into the machine. Typically, the openings are arranged at least substantially opposite one another, i.e. in particular at the top and bottom of the portion container. There are various types of brewing machines that use different types of capsules in different shapes. But their operating principle is essentially always the same. As arule, the capsules or portion containers are sealed aroma-tight to prevent unwanted loss of the aroma of the substances in the container. For this purpose, aroma-tight and thus preferably gas-tight materials are employed as the material of choice for manufacturing the portion containers. In particular, aluminium foil is typically used. These, but also other materials such as plastics or plastic coatings or the like, result in large quantities of waste packaging, as recycling is costly or not worthwhile. All of the recyclable materials proposed to date offer no protection whatsoever against loss of aroma and are therefore not aroma-tight. For example, the portion containers are individually wrapped in plastic film for aroma protection, which on the one hand must be removed separately and on the other hand produces additional waste. In EP 2218 653 A1 a capsule is described having a casing made of a fibre layer on the inside and a closure membrane as its lid, wherein the fibre casing and the membrane are made of biodegradable materials.
WO 2015/162632 A1 discloses a biodegradable capsule with a casing and membrane made of compostable polymers.
EP 2 364 930 A2 describes a capsule comprising various materials, such as aluminium, plastic and paper in combination with different polymers.
WO 03/002423 A1 describes a flexible cartridge for the preparation of coffee drinks based on different materials that are also biodegradable.
In WO 2015/082982 A1 a capsule with a casing and a closure element made of a variety of different materials is described, such a polylactic acid as a special layer.
Various combinations of materials are discussed. — Known from WO 2016/103104 A1 is a cartridge with a casing and a closure lid, whereby generally a "biomaterial is described.
Known from WO 2016/079701 A1 is a coffee capsule which is composed of biocompatible materials.
The disadvantage of the known portion containers or capsules is that large quantities of — waste packaging is produced.
Although the known portion containers are aroma-tight or at least packaged as being aroma-tight, they are made of a material mix that is not particularly environmentally friendly.
The object of the invention is therefore to specify a portion container of capsule which avoids the disadvantages mentioned above.
In particular, environmental compatibility is to be improved.
This object is realized by a portion container for extractable substances having the features of claim 1. Such a portion container for extractable substances, in particular for producing a beverage, has an interior surrounded by a container wall for the at least substantially aroma-tight containment of the at least one extractable substance.
The extractable substance in this case is preferably selected from coffee, tea, cocoa, chocolate of similar edible products.
The portion container according to the invention is characterized in that the container wall is completely biodegradable.
This provides a considerable advantage over the prior art in terms of environmental compatibility.
In contrast, the containers known from prior art are not completely biodegradable or not aroma-tight.
The container wall is preferably formed from at least one biodegradable material.
The material is in particular constructed in sections and/or layers, with preferably several materials being bonded, preferably glued, to one another
The at least one biodegradable material comprises or consists of in particular cellulose and/or wood pulp and/or cellulose pulp and/or sugar cane pulp and/or combinations thereof. In particular, the container can be made of paper or paperboard. According to the invention, these materials are preferred for the production of the container since they achieve the object stated at the outset. A mixture of bamboo fibres and sugar cane fibres is preferably used to produce the capsules, especially the container wall. Here the ratio of bamboo fibres to sugar cane fibres is preferably between 90% to 10% and 50% to 50%, more preferably about 30% to 70%. According to the invention, these mixing ratios have proved particularly successful. These can be used to produce durable and/or aroma-tight and/or biodegradable capsules. In particular, the container wall and/or the biodegradable material has a biodegradable coating and/or sheathing. This is preferably a sheathing based on starch or starch flour. Such a sheeting provides a particularly good aroma seal. It can further improve the tightness of the materials used. At the same time, it is biodegradable. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, cellulose pulp or cellulose is provided as a container wall with a coating of starch flour. This configuration has proven to be particularly stable and dense. It fulfils the advantages of the invention to a particular degree. The interior is preferably surrounded by a coating or lining or wrapping. The coating or lining or wrapping is applied in particular to the inner surfaces of the container wall. According to the invention, such a coating improves the properties of the base material of the container wall. Furthermore, the interior is closed or sealed so as to be aroma-tight or at least almost aroma-tight with respect to the surrounding environment. Thus, a seal or sealing of the interior with respect to the environment is achieved by suitable design and/or treatment of the container wall. Arranged in the interior is preferably at least one biodegradable insert. Of further preference is the arrangement of a biodegradable filter and/or filter element for the at least one extractable substance. The insert as well as the filter serve to prevent the substance to be extracted from escaping from the container. Thus, the filter or insert has a structure that prevents the substance from passing through. In particular the pores of the filter or insert are sufficiently small, preferably smaller than 00.5 mm, further preferably smaller than 0.1 mm. The thickness of the insert of filter or filter element is preferably in the range between approximately 1 um and 1000 um, in particular preferably between approximately 10 um and 150 um.
The container wall is preferably formed from several container parts.
These are preferably at least one container lower part and one container lid.
The container parts, in particular the container lower part and the container lid, are in particular connected to one another,
preferably permanently.
Filling can thus be carried out in a simple manner.
At the same time, an aroma-tight seal can be ensured.
Such a container form is occasionally designated as a bowl.
The container lid can preferably be made of a filter paper, preferably a single or multi-layer filter paper.
The filter paper has in particular a surface weight between 20 g/m?
and 100 g/m?.
Preferably at least one biodegradable reinforcing element is provided.
This is preferably at least one rib-like reinforcing element.
A plurality of reinforcing elements is typically provided.
This serves to stabilize the container wall against mechanical impact.
Individual reinforcement ribs can be provided which are applied to the inside of the container wall, for example.
However, a more or less complete framework arranged in the interior can also be provided.
— The container wall, preferably the container lower part, is designed to be cylindrical and/or conical at least in sections.
The container wall is preferably formed from at least two interconnected cylindrical sections and/or conical sections.
In particular, the conical sections have different opening angles.
This enables a stable and extraction-friendly formation of the capsule.
The container wall, in particular the container lower part is preferably formed from at least two sections with different cross-sections, wherein a circumferential step or edge is formed between the two sections.
The container wall, in particular the container lower part, preferably has a plurality of openings for the passage of the brewing liquid.
These are preferably slot-shaped openings,
wherein the openings can be arranged preferably in the region of the circumferential edge or step and/or in a bottom and/or bottom region of the container lower part.
The openings may already be prefabricated or first made in the region of the brewing machine, for example by means of suitable cutting or perforation devices.
The bottom and/or bottom region of the container lower part is preferably formed in a planar manner, if appropriate as a flat surface This promotes a suitable and preferably large-area passage of the brewing water.
Thus, an optimal extraction of the extractable substance in the capsule is ensured.
The openings preferably have a width of 0.01 mm to 1 mm, in particular preferably 0,05 mm to 0,2 mm.
The length-width ratio of the particularly slot-shaped openings is preferably between 1 and 50, particularly preferably between 5 and 20. The number of openings in the edge or step lies preferably between 1 and 100, especially preferably between 10 and 30.
The container wall has a particularly preferred circumferential flange, preferably at the end region of the container lower part with the largest cross section. The flange can, on one hand, be used for sealing in the brewing machine. On the other hand, it can serve as a connecting area between the container lid and the container lower part. In particular, the 5 container lid can be glued to the container lower part, preferably in the region of the flange. Preferably a circumferential seal is provided, in particular a seal of the O-ring type. The seal ensures that the capsule is sealed during extraction in the machine. The seal is in particular provided on the underside of the flange. Typical wall thicknesses of the portion containers described here are between 0.1 mm und 3 mm, preferably between 0.3 mm and 1.5 mm. This represents a compromise between stiffness and tightness, on the one hand, and material consumption or large wall thickness, on the other. However, the actual thicknesses can also deviate upwards or downwards. A preferred embodiment of the invention is described in more detail below on the basis of the drawings, in which:
Fig. 1 shows a first exemplary embodiment of a portion container according to the invention in the shape of a capsule,
Fig. 2 shows a further exemplary embodiment of the invention, and
Fig. 3 shows a third exemplary embodiment of the invention. Shown in Fig. 1 is a portion container 10 in the style or shape of a so-called "coffee capsule”. — Said capsule has on one hand a container lower part 11, and on the other hand a container lid 12. Together, the container lid 12 and the container lower part 11 form the overall container wall 13. This container wall thereby surrounds the interior 14 arranged on the inside. In addition, the extractable substance 15 is filled in the interior 14. Its upper filled level is indicated by a dotted line. Also arranged in the lower region of the portion container 10 is an insert in the form of a filter 16 or filter element. It serves to keep the extractable substance 15 from escaping the portion container 10 along with the brewing water when the capsule 10 is used in the corresponding brewing machine. In such a brewing machine, water is usually added to the portion container 10 from above in the region of the container lid 12 and is typically heated and under pressure. For this purpose, several openings are generated usually in the region of the lid 12 by means of corresponding cutting tools during insertion into the brewing machine. Such a perforation can preferably be made in the form of holes or slots. The water can then penetrate through these into the portion container 10.
Furthermore, present in the lower region of the container bottom 17 is a predefined discharge point 18. This discharge point 18 is typically provided with an appropriate discharge opening when the portion container 10 is inserted.
The water injected into the top of the container 10 can then escape through such a discharge opening with the aroma extract.
Provided in the upper region of the container 10 is a circumferential flange 19. This is primarily used to achieve an appropriate seal in a brewing machine.
The individual components of the portion container 10, in particular the container lower part 11, on one hand, and the container lid 12, on the other, are usually securely joined together.
In this way, an aroma-tight formation can be made possible.
This ensures that all components of the container wall exhibit a sufficient tightness against loss of aroma.
The flange 19 usually represents the point of contact between container lid 12 and container lower part 11. These two components of the portion container 10 can be connected to each other, preferably permanently, for example by gluing.
— The design of the container wall 13 according to the invention is characterized in that the entire portion container 10 is biodegradable.
In particular, this means that composting can be carried out directly.
No residues or non-biodegradable components are present.
This means that classic recycling, as is usually required for aluminium components, plastics or the like, is not necessary here.
Instead, the complete portion container 10, including the extractable substances 15 contained therein, can be directly put into organic waste containers, for example, or onto the compost heap.
Since the extractable substance 15 is typically coffee powder or tea, it is easily compostable.
In this case, compostability should of course also apply to the filter 16 or filter element.
For this purpose it is made of a material that is also biodegradable.
In particular, cellulose or cellulose materials are proposed as the preferred material for the production of the portion container 10. Ideally, the same material or at least the same base material is used for all components of the container 10.
These materials exhibit a sufficient degree of stability against mechanical stresses.
They can also ensure a basic seal against loss of aroma.
This means that no or almost no loss of aroma should occur over periods of a few weeks or months.
The aroma tightness can be improved by additionally coating the components of the portion container 10. This can also be an impregnation of the corresponding material of the container wall 13. Such a coating or impregnation should in this case also be biodegradable.
Only in this way can the object according to the invention be achieved.
Such a coating can be applied either to the inner side of the container wall or to its outer side. A coating on both sides may also be considered. In the case of a coating facing the interior 14, this coating may come into contact with the substance 15 to be extracted, i.e. in particular with the coffee powder or tea. This is not the case for a coating disposed on the exterior. The required tightness should be ensured by both variants. In this case, in particular a coating with starch or at least one starch compound is suggested. The exemplary embodiment shown in Fig. 2 has a slightly modified structure compared to the usual capsules as shown in Fig. 1. This relates to a container lower part 11 which practically comprises a number of sections. An upper container section 11a transitions in the area of a container edge 11b into a lower container section 11b. The container edge is designed like a step. The upper container section 11a and the lower container section 11b each have an essentially conical configuration. As can be seen here, the helix angles of the walls 13 of the upper container section 11a and the lower container section 11b are aligned at slightly different angles. Thus, a high accuracy of fit can be achieved in an appropriate brewing machine. The bottom 17 of the portion container 10 shown here is configured as a flat disc. A corresponding filter 16 is also arranged above this, which insures that the substance 15 is retained during the brewing process. In contrast to the capsule 10 shown in Fig. 1, a large- area perforation of the container bottom 17 can be made here to achieve a uniform extraction. In this way, a better flushing of the entire interior 14 of the portion container 10 can be achieved if necessary.
Fig. 3 shows a further alternative embodiment of the invention. This is not an essentially cylindrical or conical body of the portion container 10, but rather a bag-like basic body. In this case, the container lower part 11, configured to have a more pronounced curvature, forms the corresponding capsule 10 along with a container lid 12 that is likewise curved. Here a circumferential flange 19 for sealing is also shown. The special portion container 10 shown here can also be perforated in the brewing machine using the appropriate opening tool. Here too, brewing water can flow, as seen in the plane of the drawing, from top to bottom or vice versa. Accordingly, the substance 15 to be extracted is provided inside this portion container 10. If necessary, the appropriate filter 16 can be provided on the top side as well as on the bottom side. In this case, it is generally advisable to completely fill the interior 14 with the substance 15 in order to increase the overall stability of the portion container 10. This is not necessary in the case of the more rigid embodiments described above.
However, a mixture of bamboo fibres and sugar cane fibres has proven to be particularly suitable for the production of the capsules, in particular for the container wall.
The ratio of bamboo fibres to sugar cane fibres is preferably between 90% to 10% and 50% to 50%. A mixture of approximately 30% to 70% is employed as a particularly preferred embodiment.
This makes it possible to produce durable, aroma-tight and at the same time biodegradable capsules.
The production of the material for making the capsules is similar to that employed in the production of paper.
The fibres are softened, typically using mechanical and chemical means, to produce a fibre slurry, the so-called pulp.
A web is then pressed from the pulp, — with water being pressed out of it.
The web is then drawn into shape and finally dried.
This results in a smooth and a rough side.
The rough side is created by pressing the pulp through a fine-mesh net or screen.
List of references 10 portion container 11 container lower part 11a upper container section 11b lower container section 11c container edge 12 container lid 13 container wall 14 interior 15 substance 16 filter 17 container bottom 18 discharge point 19 flange