U.S. patent application number 15/636731 was filed with the patent office on 2017-10-19 for beverage capsule with moldable filter.
The applicant listed for this patent is 2266170 Ontario Inc.. Invention is credited to YuCheng Fu, Liberatore A. Trombetta.
Application Number | 20170297811 15/636731 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 50622602 |
Filed Date | 2017-10-19 |
United States Patent
Application |
20170297811 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Fu; YuCheng ; et
al. |
October 19, 2017 |
Beverage Capsule With Moldable Filter
Abstract
A method for making a beverage capsule for use in a beverage
preparing machine disposes a moldable non-woven fabric over an
opening defined by a body having an interior space. The fabric
includes multi-component fibers that are constructed and arranged
to be drawn to a desired depth. A portion of the fabric is sealed
to a sealing layer disposed on the body. A portion of the fabric
disposed over the opening is molded to the desired depth in the
interior space to form a filter defining an ingredients chamber.
Ingredients are disposed in the ingredients chamber for preparing a
desired beverage. A cover disposed over the opening. The cover is
sealed to the body.
Inventors: |
Fu; YuCheng; (Mississauga,
CA) ; Trombetta; Liberatore A.; (Ancaster,
CA) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
2266170 Ontario Inc. |
Mississauga |
|
CA |
|
|
Family ID: |
50622602 |
Appl. No.: |
15/636731 |
Filed: |
June 29, 2017 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
14074024 |
Nov 7, 2013 |
|
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15636731 |
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61723644 |
Nov 7, 2012 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B65D 85/8043
20130101 |
International
Class: |
B65D 85/804 20060101
B65D085/804 |
Claims
1. A method for making a beverage capsule for use in a beverage
preparing machine, said method comprising the steps of: disposing a
moldable non-woven fabric over an opening defined by a body having
an interior space, said fabric comprising multi-component fibers
that are constructed and arranged to be drawn to a desired depth;
sealing a portion of said fabric to a sealing layer disposed on
said body; molding a portion of said fabric disposed over said
opening to said desired depth in said interior space to form a
filter defining an ingredients chamber; disposing ingredients in
said ingredients chamber for preparing a desired beverage;
disposing a cover over said opening; and sealing said cover to said
body.
2. The method of claim 1 further comprising the step of evacuating
air from said interior space and replacing with an inert gas.
3. The method of claim 1, wherein said body includes a flange that
extends around the perimeter of said opening, said fabric being
sealed to said sealing layer disposed on said flange.
4. The method of claim 3, wherein said cover is sealed to said
fabric on said flange.
Description
[0001] This application is a division of U.S. application Ser. No.
14/074,024 filed on Nov. 7, 2013 which claims the benefit of U.S.
Provisional Application No. 61/723,644 filed on Nov. 7, 2012.
FIELD
[0002] This specification relates to beverage capsules used in
beverage preparing machines and in particular to beverage capsules
having improved filter materials and methods for making same.
BACKGROUND
[0003] The following background discussion is not an admission that
anything discussed below is citable as prior art or common general
knowledge. The documents listed below are incorporated herein in
their entirety by this reference to them.
[0004] Single serve beverage capsules for use in beverage preparing
machines are becoming increasingly popular. Such beverage capsules
come in a variety of formats for producing beverages such as
espresso coffee, drip coffee, tea or hot chocolate.
[0005] One example of a single serve beverage capsule is the Keurig
K-Cup.TM. capsule. This beverage capsule includes a paper filter
having a side wall that is sealed to an inside peripheral edge of a
thermoformed body. The side wall of the filter is pleated or fluted
to define channels extending between the top and bottom of the
filter.
[0006] It is desirable to use moldable thermoplastic filter
materials in place of paper filters for a variety of reasons
including an improved taste profile, potential health benefits,
barrier preservation, sedimentation control and manufacturing
efficiencies.
[0007] There are a number of challenges to finding a suitable
moldable polymer filter material however. In addition to meeting
food grade requirements, it is desirable that the filter material
be capable of being sealed in a sandwich between a flange and a
cover for the beverage capsule. It is also desirable that the
filter material be capable of being molded at high speed to a
desired shape without tearing or otherwise compromising its
filtering capabilities. It is also desirable that the filter
material be stable at the operating temperatures for beverage
preparing machines.
[0008] There is a need for a beverage capsule having an improved
filter material that addresses the above challenges.
SUMMARY
[0009] In one aspect the invention provides a beverage capsule for
use in a beverage preparing machine, the beverage capsule
comprising:
[0010] a body defining an opening;
[0011] a filter disposed in said opening and secured to said body,
said filter being molded to define an ingredients chamber, said
filter being formed of a moldable nonwoven fabric comprising fibers
that are undrawn or partially drawn prior to molding;
[0012] ingredients disposed in said ingredients chamber for
preparing a desired beverage; and
[0013] a cover disposed over said opening.
[0014] In another aspect the invention provides a beverage capsule
for use in a beverage preparing machine, the beverage capsule
comprising: [0015] a body defining an opening; [0016] a filter
disposed in said opening and secured to said body, said filter
being molded to define an ingredients chamber, said filter being
formed of a moldable nonwoven fabric comprising multi-component
fibers that are undrawn or partially drawn prior to molding,
wherein said multi-component fibers are formed of materials
including polyester; [0017] ingredients disposed in said
ingredients chamber for preparing a desired beverage; and [0018] a
cover disposed over said opening.
[0019] Other aspects and features of the teachings disclosed herein
will become apparent, to those ordinarily skilled in the art, upon
review of the following description of the specific examples of the
specification.
DRAWINGS
[0020] The drawings included herewith are for illustrating various
examples of articles, methods, and apparatuses of the present
specification and are not intended to limit the scope of what is
taught in any way. For simplicity and clarity of illustration,
where considered appropriate, reference numerals may be repeated
among the drawings to indicate corresponding or analogous
elements.
[0021] FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a beverage capsule in
accordance with the present invention disposed in a schematic
representation of a brew chamber for a beverage preparing
machine;
[0022] FIG. 2 is enlarged schematic view of a filtration fabric for
a beverage capsule in accordance with the present invention;
[0023] FIG. 3 is an enlarged schematic sectional view of a
multi-component fiber for the filtration fabric shown in FIG.
2;
[0024] FIG. 4 is a sectional view of a beverage capsule in
accordance with the present invention showing the process for
sealing and forming the filter.
DESCRIPTION OF VARIOUS EMBODIMENTS
[0025] Various apparatuses or methods will be described below to
provide examples of the claimed invention. The claimed invention is
not limited to apparatuses or methods having all of the features of
any one apparatus or method described below or to features common
to multiple or all of the apparatuses described below. The claimed
invention may reside in a combination or sub-combination of the
apparatus elements or method steps described below. It is possible
that an apparatus or method described below is not an example of
the claimed invention. The applicant(s), inventor(s) and/or
owner(s) reserve all rights in any invention disclosed in an
apparatus or method described below that is not claimed in this
document and do not abandon, disclaim or dedicate to the public any
such invention by its disclosure in this document.
[0026] A beverage capsule in accordance with the present invention
is shown generally at 10 in the Figures. Beverage capsule 10
includes a body 12, filter 14, ingredients 16 and cover 18. Body
12, filter 14 and cover 18 are all formed of food grade materials
(meaning materials that are considered to be safe for preparation
of food products). Body and cover are each formed of multilayered
materials that include one or more barrier layers providing
barriers against one or more environmental factors such as light,
oxygen, and moisture.
[0027] Body 12 includes a side wall 20 and an end wall 22 together
defining an interior space 24. An opening 26 is defined at one end
of body 12. A flange 28 extends around the perimeter of opening 26.
End wall 22 includes an extraction region 32 adapted for being
pierced by an extraction needle 34 of a beverage preparing machine
36.
[0028] Filter 14 is adapted to be disposed within body 12 to define
at least one ingredients chamber 46 in an upper region of the
interior space 24 for receiving one or more ingredients 16 and at
least one extraction chamber 48 exterior to the ingredients chamber
46 in the interior space 24 for receiving beverage from the at
least one ingredients chamber 46 prior to extraction using the
extraction needle 34.
[0029] Filter 14 includes a gasket portion 50 that is adapted to be
disposed between flange 28 and cover 18. Filter 14 also includes a
filter portion 52 located inwardly from gasket portion 50 that is
adapted to be molded to a desired shape for filtering a beverage
from ingredients 16.
[0030] In an alternative embodiment (not shown), body 12 does not
include a side wall 20 and end wall 22 that define interior space
24. Body 12 instead comprises a structure that is adapted to
support filter 14 and also support capsule 10 in beverage preparing
machine 36 without fully enclosing filter 14. The structure may
comprise flange 28 either on its own or in combination with a
partial side wall 20. Filter 14 may be secured to either the top of
flange 28 (preferable) or to side wall 20. Flange 28 may be sized
to support capsule in beverage preparing machine 36. Cover 18 may
be secured to flange 28, directly or over filter 14, as described
herein.
[0031] Referring to FIGS. 2 and 3, filter 14 is formed of a
moldable non-woven fabric 70 having a basis weight in the range of
40 to 150 grams per square meter (gsm) and more preferably between
60 to 120 gsm.
[0032] Fabric 70 is comprised of filaments or fibers 72 (referred
to as fibers 72 hereafter) having a single component
(homo-component) or multiple components (multi-component).
Multi-component fibers 72 may have components arranged in
configurations such as islands-in-the-sea, sheath-core or segmented
pie. Preferably, fibers 72 comprise two components (bi-component)
formed of a first material 74 and a second material 76. The
bi-component fiber 72 may be arranged in an islands-in-the-sea
configuration with first material 74 forming islands and second
material 76 forming a sea as shown in FIG. 3. It will be seen that
multiple strands of first material 74 form islands within the sea
formed by second material 76.
[0033] First material 74, preferably has a higher tensile strength
than second material 76 to provide sufficient integrity and
strength to fabric 70. First material 74 also preferably has a
higher melt temperature than the melt temperature of second
material 76. First material 74 also preferably has a higher melt
temperature than the melt temperature of the sealing layer of body
12 and the sealing layer of cover 18.
[0034] This allows gasket portion 50 of filter to be secured to
flange 28 and cover 18 by way of a heat seal that melts second
material 76 and the sealing layer of flange 28 while maintaining a
web of first material 74 defining channels 78. Channels 78 are
adapted to receive molten material from sealing layers for flange
28 and cover 18 during heat sealing to sandwich and seal gasket
portion 50 of filter 14 between flange 28 and cover 18. More
details of filter 14 and the manner for securing filter 14 and
cover 18 to flange 28 of body 12 are provided in co-pending patent
application Ser. No. 13/600,582 which is incorporated in its
entirety herein by reference.
[0035] First material 74 is preferably selected from polyamide (PA)
such as nylon, polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and polyester such
as polybutylene terephthalate (PBT) or polylactic acid (PLA). More
preferably first material 74 is formed from PBT. Second material 76
is preferably selected from polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP)
and PA. More preferably second material is formed from PE. It is
preferable that first material 74 comprises at least 50% of the
fibers 72 and more preferable that first material 74 comprises at
least 70% of the fibers 72.
[0036] Fabric 70 preferably comprises undrawn or partially drawn
fibers 72 in order that fibers 72 have the capability to be drawn
sufficiently during the filter molding process to form a desired
depth of filter 14. Fibers 72 may for instance be formed by melting
and spinning selected polymers at low air drawing and/or low
spinning speeds. It is preferred that a lower spinning speed is
selected to optimize the amount of undrawn or partially drawn
fibers.
[0037] Fibers 72 may be bonded together mechanically, thermally or
chemically. Preferably, fibers 72 are mechanically bonded through
hydroentanglement or needle punching. More preferably, fibers 72
are mechanically bonded through hydroentanglement.
[0038] Some examples of manufacturing processes, configurations and
materials for forming fabric 70 are provided below:
TABLE-US-00001 Cross First Second Process section material material
Bonding method Spun- Homo- PP Thru-air bonding/ bond component,
calendaring/hydro- round entangling/ultrasonic Spun- Round, Island
Sea Thru-air bonding/ bond Islands in the material- material-
calendaring/hydro- sea, 7 islands polyester, PE,
entangling/ultrasonic or higher PA (50- PP, PA 90%) (10- 50%) Spun-
Round, Core Sheath Thru-air bonding/ bond sheath-core material-
material- calendaring/hydro- polyester, PE, entangling/ultrasonic
PA (50- PP, PA 90%) (10- 50%) Spun- Round, Polyester, PE, PP,
Thru-air bonding/ bond segmented PA (50- PA (10- calendaring/hydro-
pie 90%) 50%) entangling/ultrasonic Melt- Homo- PP, PE, PA None,
calendaring, or blown component, ultrasonic bonding round Melt-
Round, Core Sheath None, calendaring, or blown sheath-core
material- material- ultrasonic bonding polyester, PE, PA (50- PP,
PA 90%) (10- 50%)
[0039] Referring to FIG. 4, an exploded sectional view of a
beverage capsule 10 in accordance with the present invention is
shown.
[0040] Beverage capsule 10 includes body 12 formed of a
conventional multilayered material MM1 that includes a barrier
layer B1 preferably formed of ethylene vinyl alcohol (EVOH) and a
sealing layer S1 preferably formed of polyethylene (PE). As well,
body 12 may include outer base layer O1 preferably formed of
polyolefin or polyester or other materials adapted to cover and
protect barrier layer B1.
[0041] Beverage capsule 10 further includes cover 18 formed of a
conventional multilayered material MM2 that includes a barrier
layer B2 preferably formed of aluminum foil or metalized polyester
or EVOH and a sealing layer S2 preferably formed of polyolefin. As
well, cover 18 may include an outer base layer O2 preferably formed
of polyolefin or polyester and a graphics layer G2 preferably
formed of ink.
[0042] Filter 14 is formed by disposing fabric 70 over opening 26
of body 12. Gasket portion 50 of filter 14 engages sealing layer S1
disposed on the top surface of flange 28 and filter portion 52
extends across opening 26. Gasket portion 50 is then sealed with a
heat sealer (not shown) to sealing layer S1 disposed on the top
surface of flange 28. A portion of the sealing layer S1 on top
surface of flange 28 and a portion of second material 76 of fabric
70 is melted by heat sealer and flows into channels 78 within
gasket portion 50 of fabric 70. Once the melted material
sufficiently cools to support gasket portion 50 on flange 28, then
filter 14 may be molded for instance by engaging filter portion 52
using a heated mandrel (not shown) to mold filter portion 52 to a
desired shape within interior space of body 12 to form the
ingredients chamber 46. Then ingredients 16 are disposed within
ingredients chamber 46 of filter 14 and cover 18 is positioned over
gasket portion 50 to cover opening 26.
[0043] Cover 18 may then be partially sealed to gasket portion 50
using a heat sealer. A portion of the sealing layer S2 on bottom
surface of cover 18 and a portion of second material 76 of fabric
70 is melted by heat sealer (not shown) and flows into channels 78
of gasket portion 50. The air within interior space 24 of capsule
10 may then be evacuated and replaced with an inert gas such as
nitrogen. Cover 18 may then be fully sealed to body 12 over gasket
portion 50 to seal the interior space 24 of capsule 10. In
particular, cover 18 may be heated to the melt temperature of
sealing layer S2 so that the material of sealing layer S2 and
second material 76 of fabric 70 at least partially flows into
channels 78 of gasket portion 50 to form a seal upon cooling.
[0044] While the above description provides examples of one or more
processes or apparatuses, it will be appreciated that other
processes or apparatuses may be within the scope of the
accompanying claims.
* * * * *