U.S. patent application number 14/157866 was filed with the patent office on 2014-07-17 for capsule part for a coffee capsule.
The applicant listed for this patent is ALICE ALLISON SA. Invention is credited to MICHELE ORSI.
Application Number | 20140199442 14/157866 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 49918533 |
Filed Date | 2014-07-17 |
United States Patent
Application |
20140199442 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
ORSI; MICHELE |
July 17, 2014 |
CAPSULE PART FOR A COFFEE CAPSULE
Abstract
A coffee capsule which contains a capsule part is configured to
receive roasted and ground coffee and is suitable for preparing an
espresso beverage using pressurized hot water in an espresso
machine. The capsule part is a frustoconical plastics part with a
conical side wall and an outwardly protruding peripheral flange
integrally formed on the large frustoconical diameter. The
peripheral flange has a peripheral external thickened portion. A
tearable membrane is able to be welded onto an internal peripheral
welding surface of the peripheral flange. A radially extending
bellows is present between the welding surface and the peripheral
external thickened portion. The bellows can be plastically and/or
elastically deformed while maintaining a sealing effect with radial
and axial tolerance compensation for a brewing chamber-closing
device of the espresso machine.
Inventors: |
ORSI; MICHELE; (CUGNASCO,
CH) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
ALICE ALLISON SA |
Grono |
|
CH |
|
|
Family ID: |
49918533 |
Appl. No.: |
14/157866 |
Filed: |
January 17, 2014 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
426/112 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B65D 85/8043
20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
426/112 |
International
Class: |
B65D 85/804 20060101
B65D085/804 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Jan 17, 2013 |
CH |
CH-00195/13 |
Claims
1. Capsule part for a coffee capsule consisting of the capsule part
and a tearable membrane attached thereto, the coffee capsule being
configured to receive roasted and ground coffee and being suitable
for preparing an espresso beverage using pressurized hot water in
an espresso machine, the capsule part comprising: a. a plastic
frustoconical part having a conical side wall, a top part
integrally formed on the small frustoconical diameter and an
outwardly protruding peripheral flange integrally formed on the
large frustoconical diameter, and b. the peripheral flange having a
surface on the top part side and an outlet clamping surface
opposing the surface on the top part side, the peripheral flange
having a peripheral external thickened portion, c. the outlet
clamping surface having a peripheral welding surface onto which the
tearable membrane is able to be welded, and d. a radially extending
bellows disposed between the welding surface and the peripheral
external thickened portion, said bellows being able to be
plastically and/or elastically deformed and having a sealing effect
with radial and axial tolerance compensation for a brewing
chamber-closing device of the espresso machine.
2. Capsule part according to claim 1, wherein the cross-sectional
shape of the bellows is one cross-sectional shape selected from one
of the following: a zigzag shaped cross section and a wave-shaped
cross section.
3. part according to claim 2, wherein the bellows on the surface on
each of the top part side and the outlet clamping surface has at
least two concentric sealing edges alternately opposing one another
and which form multiple sealing points.
4. Capsule part according to claim 1, wherein the bellows on the
surface on each of the top part side and the outlet clamping
surface has at least two concentric sealing edges alternately
opposing one another and which form multiple sealing points.
5. Capsule part according to claim 4, wherein the bellows is
arranged axially offset relative to the welding surface.
6. Capsule part according to claim 3, wherein the bellows is
arranged axially offset relative to the welding surface.
7. Capsule part according to claim 2, wherein the bellows is
arranged axially offset relative to the welding surface.
8. Capsule part according to claim 1, wherein the bellows is
arranged axially offset relative to the welding surface.
9. Capsule part according to claim 8, wherein the width of the
welding surface is at least double the size of the wall thickness
of the capsule part.
10. Capsule part according to claim 7, wherein the width of he
welding surface is at least double the size of the wall thickness
of the capsule part.
11. Capsule part according to claim 6, wherein the width of the
welding surface is at least double the size of the wall thickness
of the capsule part.
12. Capsule part according to claim 5, wherein the width of the
welding surface is at least double the size of the wall thickness
of the capsule part.
13. Capsule part according to claim 4, wherein the width of the
welding surface is at least double the size of the wall thickness
of the capsule part.
14. Capsule part according to claim 3, wherein the width of the
welding surface is at least double the size of the wall thickness
of the capsule part.
15. Capsule part according to claim 2, wherein the width of the
welding surface is at least double the size of the wall thickness
of the capsule part.
16. Capsule part according to claim 1, wherein the width of the
welding surface is at least double the size of the wall thickness
of the capsule part.
17. Coffee capsule for preparing an espresso beverage using
pressurized hot water in an espresso machine having a brewing
chamber-closing device, the coffee capsule comprising: a. a hollow
capsule part and a tearable membrane attached thereto, the hollow
capsule part being configured to receive roasted and ground coffee
and being suitable for preparing an espresso beverage using
pressurized hot water in an espresso machine; b. a filling
consisting of roasted and ground coffee disposed in the hollow
capsule part; and c. wherein the hollow capsule part including: a
plastic frustoconical part having a conical side wall, a top part
integrally formed on the small frustoconical diameter and an
outwardly protruding peripheral flange integrally formed on the
large frustoconical diameter, ii. the peripheral flange having a
surface on the top part side and an outlet damping surface opposing
the surface on the top part side, the peripheral flange having a
peripheral external thickened portion, iii. the outlet clamping
surface having a peripheral welding surface onto which the tearable
membrane is welded, and iv. a radially extending bellows disposed
between the welding surface and the peripheral external thickened
portion, said bellows being able to be plastically and/or
elastically deformed and having a sealing effect with radial and
axial tolerance compensation for a brewing chamber-closing device
of the espresso machine.
18. Coffee capsule according to claim 17, wherein the frustoconical
capsule part and the membrane have aroma-preserving properties.
19. Coffee capsule according to claim 18, further comprising a
coating with aroma-preserving properties applied to the
frustoconical capsule part and the membrane.
20. Coffee capsule according to claim 19, wherein the coating has
been sprayed onto the inside of at least one of the frustoconical
capsule and the membrane.
21. Coffee capsule according to claim 19, wherein the coating has
been sprayed onto the outside of at least one of the frustoconical
capsule and the membrane.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] The present application claims priority to currently pending
Swiss Patent Application Serial No. CH-00195/13 filed Jan. 17,
2013.
STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT
[0002] Not applicable.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0003] The present invention relates generally to a coffee capsule
that is configured to receive roasted and ground coffee and being
suitable for preparing an espresso beverage using pressurized hot
water in an espresso machine and also more specifically to a part
of such coffee capsule.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0004] Aspects and advantages of the invention are set forth below
in the following description, or may be obvious from the
description, or may be learned through practice of embodiments of
the invention.
[0005] Coffee capsules of this type are known in principle, in
particular from the portion packs for coffee preparation from
Nestle SA of Switzerland for espresso machines. The capsules
thereof, as well as compatible products, in principle contain a
capsule part which is a substantially frustoconical metal or
plastics part, with a conical side wall, a top part integrally
formed on the small frustoconical diameter and an outwardly
protruding peripheral flange integrally formed on the large
frustoconical diameter. The peripheral flange thus has a surface on
the top part side and an outlet clamping surface opposing the
surface on the top part side. Additionally, the peripheral flange
has a peripheral external thickened portion as a centring aid and a
peripheral welding surface on the outlet clamping surface, onto
which a tearable membrane is able to be welded.
[0006] During operation, in other words during the preparation of a
coffee beverage in the espresso machine, the coffee capsule is
located in a so-called brewing chamber, which is also of
frustoconical shape and which is kept shut by a counterpressure
plate. The counterpressure plate is provided with puncture teeth or
perforation teeth in order to puncture the tearable membrane of the
coffee capsule under the action of the pressure built up in the
capsule after closing the brewing chamber and thereby to permit the
brewed coffee beverage to flow out. Additionally, the
counterpressure plate also has outlet openings through which the
coffee beverage is able to enter a beverage dispensing channel. In
the brewing state, the peripheral flange of the coffee capsule is
clamped and centred between the brewing chamber and the
counterpressure plate. Naturally, the result of this design is that
the seal at the clamping point between the brewing chamber, the
peripheral flange of the coffee capsule and the counterpressure
plate has to be ensured during operation, as otherwise undesired
leakages or bypass flows occur at this point. An at least partial
seal may naturally already be achieved by a sufficiently high
clamping pressure between the brewing chamber and the
counterpressure plate. In principle, however, various other
measures may be provided to achieve the desired seal, either on the
coffee capsule or on the espresso machine itself.
[0007] The sealing means on the espresso machine may, for example,
consist in the pressure chamber and/or the counterpressure plate
being able to be provided with sealing rings or similarly acting
means. A drawback with these solutions is that their sealing
effectiveness degrades because they wear relatively rapidly or seat
incompletely due to soiling.
[0008] For this reason, although sealing means are preferably used
on the coffee capsules themselves, they have the drawback that they
increase the cost of producing the capsules. The known and
currently marketed Nespresso brand coffee capsules made of
aluminium from Nestle, however, have no additional and/or
separately and locally applied sealing elements in the projection
region of the flange. A sufficient seal in this case is produced by
other means about which no further details will be provided here as
the solution has practically no common features with the present
invention.
[0009] In the area of sealing means which are suitable for the
capsule, however, appropriate solutions have been proposed. Thus,
for example, EP-1 654 966 reveals a solution in which, for example,
rubber-elastic seals are attached to the surface of the flange on
the top part side in order to achieve the desired seal at least in
this partial region. As already mentioned, the capsules thus
produced naturally become more expensive as additional materials
and operations are required during production.
[0010] However, it has been clearly shown that the problem of the
seal in the capsule region is becoming increasingly significant. On
the one hand, this is because Nespresso-compatible coffee capsules
are increasingly used where the capsules and the brewing chamber do
not coincide exactly in size or in shape. This means that undesired
bypass paths might occur and that, due to the pressure difference
which is to be expected in principle between the capsule inlet and
capsule outlet, said bypass paths have the effect of increasing the
problem. As Nespresso-compatible coffee capsules are also
increasingly made of plastics material, naturally also the problem
of the dimensional stability of the capsules themselves is
intensified, as said plastic capsules are still able to be deformed
further when welding-on or attaching the membrane, for example.
Added to this are the production tolerances of the brewing chamber
closing device which are in any case present and the appearance of
wear and soiling in the sealing region, i.e., between the brewing
chamber and the counterpressure plate closing the brewing chamber.
A suitable design of a coffee capsule that accommodates all these
tolerances, even with different types of design of the
frustoconical part of the capsule part, has thus far proved
elusive.
SUMMARY OF EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION
[0011] It is, therefore, a principal object of the invention to
provide for a coffee capsule, a novel design for a capsule part
that has the greatest possible sealing effect, with radial and
axial tolerance compensation for a brewing chamber-closing device
of an espresso machine. In satisfying this object, the invention is
in no way restricted from solving additional problems encountered
in the art.
[0012] With a generic coffee capsule and/or a capsule part which
the coffee capsule contains, the solution in accordance with the
present invention employs a radially extending bellows disposed
between the welding surface thereof, which is arranged on the
inside, and the peripheral external thickened portion. The bellows
is able to be plastically and/or elastically deformed and has a
sealing effect with radial and axial tolerance compensation for a
brewing chamber-closing device of the espresso machine.
[0013] Naturally, the main advantages of such a design are that a
sealing means which is suitable for a capsule is provided. This
sealing means does not require additional and/or separate and
locally applied sealing elements in the projection region of the
flange and, due to its capacity for high radial and axial tolerance
compensation, is suitable for a plurality of different capsule
designs made of plastics material. Naturally, a cost advantage is
thus also achieved due to the simple production.
[0014] A radially extending bellows has an improved capacity for
radial and axial tolerance compensation relative to the sealing
action because a number of multiple sealing points may be formed on
the sealing edges. These multiple sealing points are repeated
concentrically and thus increase in their effect and deal much more
effectively with the local conditions between the brewing chamber
and the counterpressure plate than the previous conventional flange
designs, which have much less clearance for plastic and/or elastic
deformability.
[0015] The radially extending bellows itself may naturally also be
designed differently according to requirements. Thus, it may have a
different number of sealing edges, and the sealing edges in turn
may be produced from cross sections of, for example, zigzag shaped
or wave-shaped design or even a design consisting of a mixture of
shapes.
[0016] Moreover, the bellows may be arranged relative to the
welding surface with different axial offsets. By combining and
varying these features, the compatibility and sealability of the
coffee capsule may be further improved according to requirements of
any of a variety of expresso machines.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0017] A full and enabling disclosure of the present invention,
including the best mode thereof to one skilled in the art, is set
forth more particularly in this specification, including reference
to the accompanying figures, in which:
[0018] FIG. 1 shows a side view of a capsule part with a flange
according to the invention,
[0019] FIG. 2 shows an enlarged view of a partial section in the
flange region of a capsule part according to FIG. 1 in an
arrangement between a brewing chamber and a counterpressure plate,
and
[0020] FIG. 3 shows an alternative offset arrangement of the
bellows relative to the welding surface.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION
[0021] Reference will now be made in detail to present embodiments
of the invention, one or more examples of which are illustrated in
the accompanying drawings. The detailed description uses numerical
and letter designations to refer to features in the drawings. Like
or similar designations in the drawings and description have been
used to refer to like or similar parts of the invention.
[0022] Each example is provided by way of explanation of the
invention, not limitation of the invention. In fact, it will be
apparent to those skilled in the art that modifications and
variations can be made in the present invention without departing
from the scope or spirit thereof. For instance, features
illustrated or described as part of one embodiment may be used on
another embodiment to yield a still further embodiment. Thus, it is
intended that the present invention covers such modifications and
variations as come within the scope of the appended claims and
their equivalents.
[0023] FIG. 1 shows a side view of a capsule part 1 according to an
embodiment of the invention of a coffee capsule 2 with a flange 3.
The capsule part 1 in this case is a substantially frustoconical
plastics part with a conical side wall 4. The capsule part 1 has a
top part 5 integrally formed on the small frustoconical diameter,
whilst the outwardly protruding and peripheral flange 3 is
integrally formed on the large frustoconical diameter. The partial
region A marked with a circle in FIG. 1 is shown in an enlarged
detail in FIG. 2. The complete coffee capsule 2 consists of the
capsule part 1 and the membrane 12 attached thereto. Also, as
schematically shown in FIG. 1, the hollow capsule part 1 is hollow
and is configured to receive roasted and ground coffee and is
suitable for preparing an espresso beverage using pressurized hot
water in an espresso machine. A portion of the conical side wall 4
has been cut away in FIG. 1 to reveal a filling 20 consisting of
roasted and ground coffee disposed in the hollow capsule part
1.
[0024] FIG. 2 shows an enlarged view of a partial section in the
flange region of a capsule part 1 according to FIG. 1. The partial
region A marked in FIG. 1 is shown. The FIG. 2 view shows the
arrangement of the coffee capsule 2 between a brewing chamber 6 of
the espresso brewing machine and a counterpressure plate 7 during a
brewing process in an espresso machine. A brewing chamber closing
device (not shown) of the espresso machine ensures that the brewing
chamber 6 and the counterpressure plate 7 during the brewing
process are mutually pressed together by compressive forces
schematically indicated by the arrows designated F in FIG. 2.
[0025] As shown in FIG. 2, the peripheral flange 3 has a surface 8
on the top part side and an outlet clamping surface 9 opposing the
surface 8 on the top part side. Moreover, the peripheral flange 3
has a peripheral external thickened portion 10, which serves for
centering the coffee capsule 2. Additionally, the outlet clamping
surface 9 has an internally arranged peripheral welding surface 11
onto which a tearable membrane 12 is able to be welded.
[0026] In order to ensure correct welding of the membrane 12, even
with slight deformations of the capsule part 1, the width of the
welding surface 11 desirably is intended to be at least double the
size of the wall thickness of the conical side walls 4 of the
capsule part 1.
[0027] As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, a radially extending bellows 13
is present between the welding surface 11 and the peripheral
external thickened portion 10. The bellows 13 is configured so that
it is able to be plastically and/or elastically deformed while
maintaining a sealing effect with radial and axial tolerance
compensation for the brewing chamber-closing device of the espresso
machine.
[0028] In the present exemplary embodiment, the radially extending
bellows 13 has a zigzag shaped cross section. Other cross sections
extending in principle in a wave-shaped manner or even a mixture of
shapes of different types of cross section are naturally also
possible (for example combinations of zigzag shaped and wave-shaped
paths).
[0029] It is also visible from FIG. 2 that the bellows 13 has
so-called sealing edges 14. During a brewing process, said sealing
edges 14 form the contact points of the surface 8 on the top side
and the outlet clamping surface 9 of the flange 3 relative to the
brewing chamber 6 and relative to the counterpressure plate 7, and
thus they act as multiple sealing points. In the present exemplary
embodiment of the bellows 13 therefore, at least two alternately
opposing sealing edges 14 extending concentrically are
provided.
[0030] It has been mentioned that the bellows 13, for example, may
also have a wave-shaped cross section. Although in wave-shaped
cross sections it is not possible to speak of actual edges, the
contact points at the minimum and maximum points of these shapes
naturally also have the effect of multiple sealing points, and thus
such sealing points are also denoted the same, i.e., also as
sealing edges 14.
[0031] Finally, for the sake of completeness, it also should be
mentioned that the counterpressure plate 7 of the espresso machine
is provided with puncture teeth or perforation teeth 15 as shown in
FIG. 2. Under the pressure of the water flowing into the capsule 2,
the tearable membrane 12 of the coffee capsule is deformed and is
pressed onto the counterpressure plate 7. At the same time, the
membrane 12 is punctured by the perforation teeth 15 to enable the
brewed coffee beverage to flow out. To this end, the
counterpressure plate 7 also has outlet openings 16 through which
the coffee beverage is able to enter a beverage dispensing channel
(not shown).
[0032] FIG. 3 finally shows a further alternative offset
arrangement of the bellows 13 relative to the welding surface 11.
For example, if the relative position of an imaginary center line
17 of the wave-shaped cross section of the bellows 13 is viewed in
comparison with the position of the welding surface 11, it is
visible from FIGS. 2 and 3 that the bellows 13 can have more than
one different axial offset relative to the welding surface 11. In
the solution according to FIG. 2, the imaginary centre line 17 of
the bellows 13 is located in a plane above the plane in which the
welding surface 11 is located. However, in FIG. 3, the imaginary
center line 17 and/or center plane 17 is located in line with and
thus coincident with the plane of the welding surface 11.
[0033] The person skilled in the art will recognize without
difficulty that parameters are available in the disclosed
embodiments, i.e., in the design of the cross section of the
bellows 13 and in the choice of offset, and that by varying said
parameters the best possible seal may be achieved in the problem
area described for any given espresso machine configuration.
[0034] It also may be easily seen that, compared to the usual
capsule designs, a radially extending bellows 13 designed according
to the invention and which is able to be plastically and/or
elastically deformed has a markedly improved capacity for high
radial and axial tolerance compensation for a plurality of
different capsule designs, as the formation of multiple sealing
points, which has been described above, will prove effective even
if the bearing surfaces and/or contact surfaces on the brewing
chamber and on the counterpressure plate already have stuck-on
deposits due to soiling thereof.
* * * * *