U.S. patent application number 13/881611 was filed with the patent office on 2013-08-22 for capsule for preparation of a beverage.
This patent application is currently assigned to NESTEC S.A.. The applicant listed for this patent is Nihan Dogan, Samuel Goux. Invention is credited to Nihan Dogan, Samuel Goux.
Application Number | 20130216663 13/881611 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 43743513 |
Filed Date | 2013-08-22 |
United States Patent
Application |
20130216663 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Dogan; Nihan ; et
al. |
August 22, 2013 |
CAPSULE FOR PREPARATION OF A BEVERAGE
Abstract
The present invention is directed to a capsule (1) for
delivering a drink by injecting a pressurized fluid into the
capsule comprising: a hollow body and an injection wall (4) which
is impermeable to liquids and to gas and which is attached to the
body and adapted to be punctured by an injection means (2) foreign
to the capsule, a chamber (5) containing a bed of at least one food
substance to be extracted, means (7, 9, 10) for retaining the
internal pressure in the said chamber, said means comprising a
pierceable membrane (7), characterized in that said capsule (1)
further comprises a secondary means (12) for maintaining the bed of
substance at a distance d from said pierceable membrane (7), said
distance d being at least 1 mm, preferably at least 2 mm, more
preferably at least 3 mm, and in that the pressure retaining means
comprise: the pierceable membrane (7), raised elements (9) which
open the said membrane (7) in order to create punctures and allow
the liquid extract to pass through the punctures; the punctures in
the membrane (7) being obtained under the effect of the rise in
pressure in the chamber (5) of the capsule (1).
Inventors: |
Dogan; Nihan; (La
Croix-sur-Lutry, CH) ; Goux; Samuel; (Les Grangettes,
FR) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Dogan; Nihan
Goux; Samuel |
La Croix-sur-Lutry
Les Grangettes |
|
CH
FR |
|
|
Assignee: |
NESTEC S.A.
Vevey
CH
|
Family ID: |
43743513 |
Appl. No.: |
13/881611 |
Filed: |
October 20, 2011 |
PCT Filed: |
October 20, 2011 |
PCT NO: |
PCT/EP11/68321 |
371 Date: |
April 25, 2013 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
426/115 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B65D 85/8043
20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
426/115 |
International
Class: |
B65D 85/804 20060101
B65D085/804 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Oct 25, 2010 |
EP |
10188699.2 |
Claims
1. Capsule for delivering a drink by injecting a pressurized fluid
into the capsule comprising: a hollow body and an injection wall
which is impermeable to liquids and to gas and which is attached to
the body and adapted to be punctured by an injector that is not
part of the capsule; a chamber containing a bed of at least one
food substance to be extracted; a member for retaining the internal
pressure in the chamber, the member comprising a pierceable
membrane; the capsule further comprises a secondary member for
maintaining the bed of substance at a distance from the pierceable
membrane the distance being at least 1 mm, the retaining member
comprising: the pierceable membrane; and raised elements which open
the membrane in order to create punctures and allow the liquid
extract to pass through the punctures, the punctures in the
membrane being created due to the effect of the rise in pressure in
the chamber of the capsule.
2. Capsule according to claim 1, comprising a member configured to
break the jet of fluid so as to reduce the speed of the jet of
fluid injected into the capsule and distribute the fluid across the
bed of substance at a reduced speed wherein it comprises an
injection space between the injection wall and the chamber of the
capsule that contains the bed of substance, allowing the injector
to inject at least one jet of pressurized fluid to be introduced
through the injection wall, wherein the distributing and
jet-breaking member comprise at least one punctured wall which
separates the injection headspace from the chamber containing the
bed of substance, and the perforated wall is positioned in order to
maintain the bed of substance in compression in the non-hydrated
state of the substance.
3. Capsule according to claim 2, wherein the wall comprises welding
edges which are welded against the internal surface of the hollow
body of the capsule in such a way as to position the wall back from
the injection wall.
4. Capsule according to claim 2, wherein the wall is a deformable
flexible film.
5. Capsule according to claim 2, wherein the openings of the
perforated wall are distributed substantially uniformly across the
wall so as to distribute the stream of fluid substantially
uniformly across the bed of substance
6. Capsule according to claim 1, wherein the raised elements are
distributed over a plate which comprises ducts leading to openings,
passages or slots through which the drink can flow.
7. Capsule according to claim 1, wherein the secondary member
comprises a perforated wall selected from the group consisting of a
plastic wall with holes, a film with holes, a grating, a layer of
woven or nonwoven material, a porous layer and combinations
thereof.
8. Capsule according to claim 1, wherein the space between the
secondary member and the pierceable membrane comprises a layer or
mass of discrete elements to limit the deformation of the secondary
means during the beverage preparation.
9. Capsule according to claim 1, wherein the chamber containing the
bed of substance to be extracted and/or dissolved, is divided by at
least one dividing wall into at least two corresponding
compartments, each containing one type of substance to be extracted
and/or dissolved in an at least partially sequential manner.
10. Capsule according to claim 9, wherein the compartments comprise
an upper compartment containing a powdered soluble coffee to be
dissolved to produce a liquid coffee solution, and a lower
compartment containing a mass of roast and ground coffee to be
extracted under pressure by said liquid coffee solution.
11. Capsule according to claim 9, wherein at least one of the
compartments encloses a bed of substance to be extracted and/or
dissolved, such that the substance is in a compressed state at
least at the time pressurized fluid circulates through said
substance.
Description
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0001] The present invention concerns a capsule for the preparation
of beverages in a beverage preparation machine, involving a high
pressure extraction and/or dissolution.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] The present invention is directed to a capsule (that is
preferably a completely closed capsule although one its walls might
be open), for use in a beverage preparation machine. 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. 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.degree. 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 6 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.
[0003] The principle of extracting and/or dissolving the contents
of a closed capsule under pressure is known and consists typically
of confining the capsule in a receptacle of a machine, injecting a
quantity of pressurized water into the capsule, generally after
piercing a face of the capsule with a piercing injection element
such as a fluid injection needle mounted on the machine, so as to
create a pressurized environment inside the capsule either to
extract the substance or dissolve it, and then release the
extracted substance or the dissolved substance through the capsule.
Capsules allowing the application of this principle have already
been described for example in applicant's European patent n.degree.
EP 1 472 156 B1, and in EP 1 784 344 B1.
[0004] Machines allowing the application of this principle have
already been described for example in patents CH 605 293 and EP 242
556. According to these documents, the machine comprises a
receptacle for the capsule and a perforation and injection element
made in the form of a hollow needle comprising in its distal region
one or more liquid injection orifices. The needle has a dual
function in that it opens the top portion of the capsule on the one
hand, and that it forms the water inlet channel into the capsule on
the other hand.
[0005] When the beverage to be prepared is coffee, one interesting
way to prepare the said coffee is to provide the consumer with a
capsule containing roast and ground coffee powder, which is to be
extracted with hot water injected therein.
[0006] Capsules have been developed for such an application, which
are described and claimed in applicant's European patent EP 1 784
344 B1, or in European patent application EP 2 062 831.
[0007] In short, such capsules comprise typically: [0008] a hollow
body and an injection wall which is impermeable to liquids and to
air and which is attached to the body and adapted to be punctured
by e.g. an injection needle of the machine, [0009] a chamber
containing a bed of roast and ground coffee to be extracted, [0010]
an aluminium membrane disposed at the bottom end of the capsule,
closing the said capsule, for retaining the internal pressure in
the chamber, the said membrane being associated with piercing means
for piercing dispensing holes in the said aluminium membrane when
said internal pressure inside the chamber reaches a certain
pre-determined value, [0011] optionally, means configured to break
the jet of fluid so as to reduce the speed of the jet of fluid
injected into the capsule and distribute the fluid across the bed
of substance at a reduced speed.
[0012] The jet-breaking means comprises an injection space between
the injection wall and the chamber allowing the injection needle to
inject a jet of pressurized fluid to be introduced through the
injection wall. The distributing and jet-breaking means further
comprises at least one punctured wall which separates the injection
space from the chamber containing the bed of substance and the
perforated wall is positioned, in order to keep the bed of
substance in compression in the non-hydrated state of the
substance.
[0013] It was found that in such coffee capsules, pressure inside
the capsule chamber increases during extraction/dissolution by the
injection fluid by the fact that the self-opening system present at
the bottom of the capsule--which is an excellent system to
guarantee the product freshness throughout storage--builds a
pressure inside the capsule when fluid is injected therein. This is
due to the mechanical resistance of the aluminum membrane, which is
pierced by the piercing means only after some pressure inside the
capsule pushes said membrane onto the piercing means. The pressure
necessary to open the membrane can be varied by selecting a
material having a lower resistance (thinner aluminum for instance).
However the membrane thickness cannot be decreased below a certain
level, so as not to comprise its gas, and light properties.
[0014] It was found that this effect of pressure build-up inside
the capsule before it self-opens, is increased by the fact that the
smallest coffee particles (so-called "fines") present in the mass
of roast and ground coffee powder, move downwards during
circulation of the extraction fluid inside the capsule chamber, and
clog the dispensing holes of the aluminum membrane that is present
at the bottom part of the membrane. In that case, liquid
circulation is slowed-down, and fluid pressure inside the capsule
builds-up even more, as the pump of the machine continues to inject
fluid inside the capsule chamber.
[0015] The purpose of the present invention is to obviate the
aforementioned problems, and provide a capsule allowing preparation
of a brew-like (i.e. low-pressure coffee, that is to say between 1
and 3 bar) beverage without--or at least with very little--foam, in
a capsule comprising a self-opening freshness system as described
above.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0016] The purpose mentioned above is met with the present
invention, with a capsule for delivering a drink by injecting a
pressurized fluid into the capsule comprising: [0017] a hollow body
and an injection wall which is impermeable to liquids and to gas
and which is attached to the body and adapted to be punctured by an
injection means foreign to the capsule, [0018] a chamber containing
a bed of at least one food substance to be extracted, [0019] means
for retaining the internal pressure in the said chamber, said means
comprising a pierceable membrane, [0020] characterized in that said
capsule further comprises a secondary means for maintaining the bed
of substance at a distance d from said pierceable membrane, said
distance d being at least 1 mm, preferably at least 2 mm, more
preferably at least 3 mm, and in that the pressure retaining means
can comprise: [0021] the pierceable membrane, [0022] raised
elements which open the said membrane in order to create punctures
and allow the liquid extract to pass through the punctures; the
punctures in the membrane being obtained under the effect of the
rise in pressure in the chamber of the capsule.
[0023] The invention provides a solution to prepare a product
having filter-coffee taste and look, while preparing the cup using
a high-pressure machine. According to the invention, the new
capsule of the present invention allows to decrease the pressure
inside the capsule chamber, with minimum mixing/shearing of coffee.
Hence, in this invention coffee is separated from the Aluminum
membrane. The coffee thus produced has very little foam (also
called "crema"), or no foam at all.
[0024] In one preferred embodiment of the present invention, the
capsule which further comprises means configured to break the jet
of fluid so as to reduce the speed of the jet of fluid injected
into the capsule and distribute the fluid across the bed of
substance at a reduced speed wherein it comprises an injection
space between the injection wall and the chamber allowing the
injection means to inject at least one jet of pressurized fluid to
be introduced through the injection wall, wherein the distributing
and jet-breaking means comprise at least one punctured wall which
separates the injection space from the chamber containing the bed
of substance and the perforated wall is positioned in order to keep
the bed of substance in compression in the non-hydrated state of
the substance. By non-hydrated it is meant state of the coffee
powder prior to the extraction fluid wetting the mass of
coffee.
[0025] Advantageously, the wall can comprise welding edges which
are welded against the internal surface of the hollow body in such
a way as to position the said wall back from the injection
wall.
[0026] Preferably, the wall is a deformable flexible film.
[0027] Also preferably, the openings of the perforated wall are
distributed substantially uniformly across the wall so as to
distribute the stream of fluid substantially uniformly across the
bed of substance
[0028] In this case, the raised elements are preferably distributed
over a plate which comprises ducts leading to openings, passages or
slots through which the drink can flow
[0029] In any case, the secondary means can advantageously comprise
a perforated wall chosen from a plastic or fiber wall with holes, a
film with holes, a grating, a layer of woven or nonwoven material,
a porous layer or a combination thereof.
[0030] In one possible embodiment, the space between the secondary
means and the pierceable membrane comprises a layer or mass of
discrete elements for instance a layer of granulate inert material
to limit the deformation of the secondary means during the beverage
preparation. Such a layer or mass of discrete elements, allows to
keep the secondary means at a distance from the pierceable
membrane, whatever the conditions of pressure inside the capsule,
and even though fluid circulates within said capsule; at the same
time, the said layer or mass allows to completely let the
extraction/dissolution fluid circulate, due the spaces between the
discrete elements.
[0031] In a particularly preferred embodiment of the present
invention, the capsule chamber containing the bed of substance to
be extracted and/or dissolved, is divided by at least one dividing
wall into at least two corresponding compartments, each containing
one type of substance to be extracted and/or dissolved in an at
least partially sequential manner.
[0032] In the latter embodiment, the compartments preferably
comprise an upper compartment containing a powdered soluble coffee
to be dissolved to produce a liquid coffee solution, and a lower
compartment containing a mass of roast and ground coffee to be
extracted under pressure by said liquid coffee solution.
[0033] Also, at least one of the compartments advantageously
encloses a bed of substance to be extracted and/or dissolved, such
that said substance is in a compressed state at least at the time
pressurized fluid circulates through said substance.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0034] Additional features and advantages of the present invention
are described in, and will be apparent from, the description of the
presently preferred embodiments which are set out below with
reference to the drawings in which:
[0035] FIG. 1 is a schematic profile cut view of a capsule
according to the invention;
[0036] FIG. 2 is a schematic profile cut view of an alternative
embodiment of a capsule according to the invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0037] In the following detailed description, the embodiment
considers that the capsule according to the invention comprises
coffee, in roast and ground and/or soluble powder form. However,
the capsule as described herebelow could be filled with any other
food ingredient that would be suitable for being extracted and/or
dissolved by a fluid under pressure, in a beverage preparation
machine described in preamble. Such ingredients can be in gel,
concentrate, powder or particulate soluble form and include but are
not limited to: tea, dehydrated soup, milk powder, infant formula
powder, fruit juice concentrate, dairy creamers, sweetening
ingredients, natural or artificial, cocoa-based ingredients,
spices, meat, fish, vegetable ingredients, and mixtures
thereof.
[0038] Illustrated in FIG. 1, is a capsule 1 for delivering a drink
by injecting a pressurized fluid into said capsule. The injection
is done by placing the capsule into a machine (not illustrated in
the drawing), which machine comprises a needle 2 through which a
extraction fluid is pumped under pressure (illustrated by a dashed
arrow), and injected in the capsule.
[0039] The capsule 1 comprises a hollow body 3 and a top injection
wall 4 which is a flexible membrane welded onto the capsule body 3,
the said membrane 4 being impermeable to liquids and to gas. The
top membrane wall 4 is adapted to be punctured by the needle 2.
[0040] The capsule 1 further comprises a chamber 5 containing a bed
of at least one food substance 6 to be extracted.
[0041] The chamber 5 of the capsule is closed at its bottom side by
means for retaining the internal pressure in the said chamber. This
pressure retaining means comprises: [0042] a pierceable aluminum
membrane 7 that is sealed onto an edge 8 in the lower part of the
capsule, and [0043] raised elements 9 to create punctures through
the membrane 7 and allow the liquid extract produced inside the
capsule to pass through the said punctures; the raised elements are
pyramid-shaped pins 9 which are distributed over a plate 10. The
plate 10 comprises ducts (not illustrated in the drawing) leading
to a dispensing opening 11 of the capsule through which the
prepared liquid drink can flow.
[0044] Punctures in the membrane 7 are obtained under the effect of
the rise in pressure in the chamber of the capsule, which presses
said membrane 7 against the pins 9 of the plate 10, such that the
pins perforate the membrane. The membrane is made in aluminum and
has a thickness comprised between 5 and 50 .mu.m, preferably
between 10 and 45 .mu.m, and most preferably a thickness comprised
between 25 and 40 .mu.m. The thicker the membrane, the higher the
pressure inside the capsule to allow a perforation of the membrane,
and hence, the higher dissolution/extraction pressure inside the
capsule chamber. Particularly, it was found that the thinner the
bottom aluminum membrane, the lower the pressure. Specific piercing
plate should be able to create holes on Aluminum easily without the
need for building a high pressure inside the capsule.
[0045] In the example described with reference to FIG. 1, the
thickness of the aluminum membrane 7 is chosen such that the
extraction pressure inside the capsule chamber 5 before the said
membrane is open by the pins 9 is between 0.1 and 3 bars (relative
pressure), preferably between 1 and 3 bar (relative pressure).
According to the invention, the capsule 1 comprises secondary means
12 for maintaining the bed of substance 6 at a distance d from said
pressure-retaining means 8, 9, 10. In the example, said distance d
is 3 mm.
[0046] As illustrated in FIG. 1, the secondary means 12 comprise a
perforated wall which is a membrane with holes having a diameter
not greater than 500 .mu.m. Particularly, it was found that it is
important that roast and ground (R&G) coffee fines cannot reach
the Aluminum membrane because this would increase the internal
pressure inside the capsule by clogging at least partially the
dispensing holes pierced through said aluminum membrane, as
previously explained: the R&G average size is 150 to 1000
.mu.m, with an average particle size of 500 .mu.m. More precisely,
the membrane 12 is manufactured from filter paper, of the type used
for producing tea bags. It could alternatively be manufactured from
a non-woven material.
[0047] The effect of the filter membrane 12 is to remove foam in
the final product that flows out of the capsule. It was found that
foam is removed by the conjunction of two effects: first, the
filtering effect of the membrane 12 breaks air bubbles within the
liquid, this effect being reinforced by the fact that a free space
is created in the distance between the aluminum bottom membrane 7,
and the filter membrane 12. The filter membrane could be made of
woven polymer.
[0048] The second effect, is the fact that the filter membrane 12
prevents smallest coffee particles ("fines") to flow with the
liquid coffee that is produced inside the capsule chamber, and clog
the aluminum membrane 7 at the time the latter is pierced by the
pyramid pins 9. It was found that in known capsules, the fines are
moved towards with the liquid circulation in the roast and ground
coffee mass, and clog the holes of the aluminum membrane, once the
latter is opened. The result is an increase of pressure inside the
capsule, due to the fact that liquid is prevented from correctly
flowing out of the capsule. Such a pressure increase produces
coffee foam ("crema"). This crema is characteristic of
espresso-like coffee, but is undesirable when a brew-like coffee
production is sought. With the present invention, it was made
possible to produce a brew-like coffee cup (i.e. long cup, made
with low pressure and no foam) from a closed capsule.
[0049] The capsule 1 illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2 further comprises
a liquid-permeable wall 13 configured to break the jet of fluid
injected by the needle into the capsule, so as to reduce its speed,
and distribute the said fluid across the bed of substance 6 in a
even manner. The jet-breaking wall 13 is positioned in the capsule
so as to create an injection space 14 between the injection wall 4
and the chamber 5 that contains the ingredient or ingredients 6 to
be extracted and/or dissolved.
[0050] In this case the needle injects the pressurized fluid
through the injection wall into the headspace 14, and the
distributing and jet-breaking wall 13 separates the said injection
space 14 from the chamber 5 containing the bed of substance 6.
[0051] Importantly, the bed of substance 6 is held in a compressed
state in the non-hydrated state of said substance, between the
jet-breaking wall 13 on top, and the filter membrane 12 at the
bottom. The wall 13 and membrane 12 are made of materials which are
permeable only to liquids and gas, but not to solids (even very
fine particles).
[0052] The jet-breaking liquid permeable wall 13 comprises welding
edges which are welded against the internal surface of the hollow
body 3 of the capsule.
[0053] The liquid permeable openings of the perforated wall 13 are
distributed substantially uniformly across the wall so as to
distribute the stream of fluid substantially uniformly across the
bed of substance 6.
[0054] FIG. 1 shows the proposed new capsule design for filter
coffee. Coffee is placed between two plastic membranes which
comprise many small holes through which a liquid can flow, but
which are sufficiently small to prevent passage of solid particles,
even small fine particles, like small roast and ground coffee or
soluble coffee particles.
[0055] According to an essential requirement of the invention,
coffee contained within the capsule chamber is not in direct
contact with the Aluminum bottom membrane, would it be soluble, or
roast and ground coffee, or a mixture thereof. The piece above the
coffee is to distribute the water evenly. However, it is not
necessary to have this piece if coffee particle size is large
enough and if coffee is loose.
[0056] In FIG. 2 is shown a capsule 1 which is very close in its
construction to the capsule already described above with reference
to FIG. 1. However, in this particular embodiment, the capsule
comprises a dividing wall 15, which separates the chamber
containing ingredients to be extracted/dissolved in one upper
compartment 16 and one lower compartment 17, both being
superimposed. The dividing wall is manufactured such that no solid,
even fine particles can pass through one compartment to another,
but the wall 15 is liquid permeable.
[0057] In this case, when an extraction fluid is injected through
the needle 2 within the headspace 14, it then passes through the
jet-breaking liquid-permeable wall 13, into the upper compartment
16. In this compartment 16, the fluid interacts with powdered
soluble coffee, and dissolves the latter to produce a liquid coffee
solution, which then circulates through the perforated
liquid-permeable dividing wall 15, towards the lower compartment
17. The lower compartment 17 contains a mass of roast and ground
coffee, which is extracted by the liquid coffee solution prepared
in the upper compartment. Solids of the roast and ground coffee are
extracted by the liquid coffee at a pressure of about 1 to 3 bars
(relative pressure). Such a pressure allows a good extraction of
the coffee solids from the roast and ground coffee powder
particles, and sensory tests have shown that the final product thus
obtained is particularly rich in terms of flavour profile and taste
body. With a multi-compartment capsule as shown in FIG. 2, it is
possible to produce a long cup of coffee (at least 25 cl.,
preferably between 33 cl. and 50 cl., using a capsule which
contains less than 20 gram of coffee ingredient, and especially
less than 15 gram of roast and ground coffee. Such a construction
is therefore particularly interesting as the capsule size remains
small, while allowing a consumer to produce a long cup of coffee
having a very pleasant taste and body profile. The result product
in cup is a so-called "brew-like" coffee that is to say without
foam.
[0058] In all cases, and particularly in the examples described in
detail above, it is preferable to use large particle size coffee
with this design to prevent small particles (so-called "fines")
clogging the holes of the filter membrane 12. As it is difficult to
avoid all coffee fines after grinding, a non-woven type plastic
filter or a filter with small holes can be added to the design or
can replace the plastic piece with holes as shown in FIG. 1. In one
of the capsules tested by the applicant, the pore size of the
filter material was 100 microns.
[0059] It should be understood that various changes and
modifications to the presently preferred embodiments described
herein will be apparent to those skilled in the art. Such changes
and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit and
scope of the present invention and without diminishing its
attendant advantages. It is therefore intended that such changes
and modifications be covered by the appended claims.
* * * * *