Detailed Description
With reference to the accompanying drawings, numeral 1 indicates as a whole a capsule for making beverages according to the present invention. Similar to the prior art capsule as indicated, the capsule according to the invention also contains a powdered food substance (not shown in the figures) which allows making a beverage by passing hot water through it, and which is contained in a housing cavity 2 formed inside a cup-shaped containing body 3. The containment body 3 comprises a tubular side wall 4 comprising a first edge 5 and a second edge 6 at opposite ends. Connected to the first edge 5 is a bottom portion 7, said bottom portion 7 extending transversely to the side wall 4 (and transversely to the central axis of the container 1) and thus closing the housing cavity 2 on one side. At the second edge 6, the side wall 4 forms a radial flange 8 which extends outwards from the container 1 and to which a closing element 9 is fixed (advantageously by sealing or gluing), which also extends transversely to the central axis, and thus closes the other side of the housing cavity 2 at least during the production phase of the container 1 at the access opening for accessing the housing cavity 2, delimited by the second edge 6 of the side wall. In fact, during the production of the container, the access opening is used to fill the housing cavity 2 before fixing the closing element 9 in position.
As described in more detail below, the bottom portion 7 is intended to constitute, in use, an inlet section for feeding hot water into the container 1, advantageously after the bottom portion 7 has been pierced by the means used.
In turn, the closing element 9 is intended to constitute, in use, a discharge section of the beverage, advantageously after the closing element 9 has been pierced by the device in use.
According to an innovative aspect of the invention, the container 1 also comprises a filter element 10 permeable to water and impermeable to the powdery substance (at least with reference to the mean granulometry of said substance or to a large part of the range of granulometry thereof), the filter element 10 being positioned inside the cavity 2 between the powdery food and the bottom portion 7. In particular, the filter element 10 is simply seated on the bottom portion 7 and is therefore free to move away from the bottom portion 7 towards the inside of the cavity 2 or towards the closing element 9, if there is no resistance exerted by the powdered food (in fact, the movement of the filter element 10 can generally be achieved only by partially compressing the powdered food).
Advantageously, in terms of the dimensions and/or materials used, the filter element 10 is manufactured in such a way that, in use, a piercing element of a beverage making device in which the capsule 1 is intended to be used, which is inserted through the bottom portion 7, causes the filter element 10 to move towards the closing element 9 without piercing it, or at least without completely piercing it.
In a preferred embodiment, the filter element 10 comprises, and advantageously consists of, at least one layer of material that is permeable to water, such as preferably a non-woven fabric or another similar material (such as a fine synthetic fibre, for example polyester, that has been compacted). In the case shown in the figures, the filter element 10 consists of a disc of material permeable to water, the extent of which is substantially equal to the extent of the bottom portion 7.
In particular, it is advantageously a disc of approximately 2 mm thickness made of a non-woven material (made of polyester fibers) having a density of 0.1 g/cm3And a weight per unit surface area of about 200g/m2. The nonwoven material had an air permeability of 810 l/dm measured at 200 Pa2And (5) min. Furthermore, in a preferred embodiment, the layer of water-permeable material has a thickness equal to at least five times the average thickness of the bottom portion 7. In that way, in fact, it may be possible to ensure that the resistance of the layer to piercing and tearing is significantly greater than the resistance of the bottom portion 7 to piercing and tearing, so that the piercing means that pierce the bottom portion 7 cannot pierce through the filter element 10 (this result is nevertheless also obtained due to the fact that, during piercing, the bottom portion 7 remains substantially fixed in the device in use by locking the container 1 in position and thus the side wall 4 to which the bottom portion 7 is connected in position, the filter element 10 being substantially free to move).
However, in alternative embodiments, the following is also possible: the filter element 10 relatively comprises a rigid or semi-rigid piercing body made of plastic material.
In all preferred embodiments, the filter element 10 has an extent substantially corresponding to the extent of the entire bottom portion 7 and/or has a substantially uniform water permeability over its entire extent.
In the embodiment shown, the side wall 4 is advantageously made of a rigid or semi-rigid plastic material.
According to an embodiment not shown, the bottom portion 7 is entirely made of the same material as the side wall 4, and the side wall 4 and the bottom portion 7 form a single piece.
In contrast, according to the preferred embodiment illustrated in the accompanying drawings, the bottom portion 7 comprises at least a first sheet 11 of material having a resistance to piercing and tearing which is less than the resistance to piercing and tearing of the material constituting the side wall 4. Advantageously, the first sheet 11 comprises at least one layer of aluminium.
Furthermore, in a preferred embodiment, the bottom portion 7 also comprises a rigid or semi-rigid annular zone 12, which is formed in a single piece with the lateral wall 4 and extends radially from the first edge 5 of the lateral wall 4 towards the central axis. The first sheet 11 is fixed to the annular zone 12, either on the outside of the container 1 (figures 1 to 4) or on the inside of the container 1 (figures 5 to 8), preferably by sealing or gluing.
The closure element 9 is also constituted by a second sheet of material having a resistance to piercing and tearing which is less than the resistance to piercing and tearing of the material constituting the lateral wall 4, advantageously the same as or similar to the first sheet 11.
Finally, the invention also relates to a system 13 for making a beverage, comprising both a capsule 1 of the type described above and an extraction device 14 for making a beverage by flowing hot water through the capsule 1.
Although the device 14 is similar in itself to the prior art device, its interaction with the container 1 constitutes another innovative aspect of the present invention.
The apparatus 14 comprises: a first portion 15 comprising a housing 16 for the container 1; and a second portion 17. Advantageously, in the preferred embodiment, the housing 16 is also substantially mainly cup-shaped and comprises an upper insertion opening 18 surrounded by an annular rim 19 of the first portion 15. The shell 16 and the annular rim 19 are shaped in such a way as to enable the container 1 to be inserted into the shell 16 with its radial flange 8 resting on the annular rim 19. In contrast, the second portion 17 is advantageously shaped in such a way that it constitutes a sort of cap that can be coupled to the annular edge 19 for closing the casing 16.
The first portion 15 and the second portion 17 are movable one with respect to the other between an operating position, in which they clamp the container 1 inserted in the housing 16 therebetween, and a home position, in which they allow the insertion of the container 1 into the housing 16 and the removal of the container 1 from the housing 16, respectively. In the embodiment shown, in the operating position, the flange 8 of the container 1 is held clamped between the second portion 17 and the annular edge 19 of the first portion 15 in such a way as to form a watertight seal (fig. 4, 7 and 8).
One or more piercing elements 20 are associated with the housing 16 for piercing the bottom portion 7 of the container 1 inserted in the housing 16 at least when the first portion 15 and the second portion 17 are in the operating position. In the illustrated embodiment, the piercing elements 20 are three metal blades (not necessarily sharp) secured to the bottom of the housing 16. However, in other embodiments, it may have different forms.
The water feeding means is operatively associated with the housing 16 to supply, in use, water into the container 1 through the bottom portion 7 pierced by the one or more piercing elements 20. For this purpose, in a preferred embodiment, the feeding means comprise a duct 21 for water, which opens into the housing 16 at the piercing element 20.
There are also piercing means designed to pierce the closure element 9 at least when the container 1 is inserted in the housing 16, the first portion 15 and the second portion 17 are in the operating position and the pressure in the chamber 2 exceeds a predetermined value. In the embodiment shown, the piercing means comprise a plurality of raised elements 22 fixed to the second portion 17, against which plurality of raised elements 22 the closure element 9 can tear when the pressure inside the container 1 increases to a predetermined value after the supply of pressurized hot water into the cavity 2.
There are beverage supply means associated with the piercing means, which allow the beverage to flow, which comes out through the closing element 9 to the outside of the device 14 (in the embodiment shown, the beverage supply means comprise a duct (not shown) passing through the second portion 17).
As already indicated, according to the invention, when the container 1 is inserted in the housing 16 with the first portion 15 and the second portion 17 in the operating position, the one or more piercing elements 20 pass completely through the bottom portion 7 and contact the filter element 10. In more detail, according to circumstances and/or embodiments, according to the present invention, either the piercing element 20 does not pierce the filter element 10 at all (fig. 4 and 7), or the piercing element 20 partially pierces the filter element but does not pass completely through it (fig. 8). In both cases, however, advantageously, in the operating position, the piercing element 20 keeps the filter element 10 away from the bottom portion 7 (fig. 4, 7 and 8).
Furthermore, from an operational point of view, during the passage of the first portion 15 and the second portion 17 from the home position to the operational position (an intermediate position between said two positions is shown in fig. 7), the one or more piercing elements 20 first pass through the bottom portion 7, creating one or more holes therein, then contact the filter element 10 and are only partially inserted therein, rather than passing completely therethrough, and/or the one or more piercing elements 20 cause the filter element to move away from the bottom portion 7.
Finally, in the preferred embodiment (in which the bottom portion 7 comprises an annular zone 12 fixed to the lateral wall 4 and a first plate 11 fixed to the annular zone 12), the annular zone 12 delimits an aperture such that, when the capsule 1 is inserted in the housing 16 of the device 14 and the first and second portions 15 and 17 are in the operating position, the piercing element 20 passes through the bottom portion 7 only at the first plate 11, without cutting into or affecting the annular zone 12.
Operationally, when the capsule 1 is inserted into the housing 16, it initially rests with the bottom portion 7 on the piercing element 20, with the radial flange 8 at a distance from the annular edge 19. The first portion 15 and the second portion 17 are then definitely turned to the operating position, which clamps the flange 8 on the annular rim 19 and forces the bottom portion 7 against the piercing element 20, tearing it. As soon as the piercing element 20 passes through the bottom portion 7, it contacts the filter element 10 and pushes it away from the bottom portion 7, overcoming the resistance of the powdered substance which may thus be partially compressed. Depending on the balance reached between the thrust exerted by the piercing element 20 and the resistance of the powdered substance, and depending on the material constituting the filter element 10, either the piercing element 20 does not cut into or affect the filter element 10 at all, or it partially pierces the filter element 10 but does not pass through it completely, at least at the contact zone with the piercing element 20.
Once the first portion 15 and the second portion 17 are in the operating position, the feeding means start to supply hot water into the housing 16 and from there into the chamber 2 through the hole made by the piercing element 20.
Once the water has entered the container 1 and is located in the free space between the filter element 10 and the bottom part 7, the filter element 10 acts as a distributor of the water. In fact, the water is able to pass through the filter element 10 at the entire surface of the filter element 10, thus being uniformly distributed in the entire volume of the powdery substance. Furthermore, a portion of the water may reach the powdery substance located along the side wall 4, diffusing therein directly through any gaps that may be present peripherally between the filter element 10 and the side wall 4. The invention brings important advantages.
Firstly, thanks to the present invention, it is possible to provide a capsule for making beverages which guarantees that all the powdered substance is thoroughly wetted for the entire duration of the beverage supply, since the presence of the filter element prevents the formation of preferential passages for water, as occurs relatively in the prior art capsules.
Secondly, due to the movement of the filter element, it may be possible to obtain a partial compression of the powdery substance, thus improving its extraction after the subsequent passage of the hot water.
Finally, the filter element also prevents the powdered substance from accidentally coming out of the container once the supply is complete.
Finally, it should be noted that the present invention is relatively easy to produce and even the costs associated with implementing the invention are not very high.
The invention described above may be modified and adapted in several ways without thereby departing from the scope of the inventive concept.
Moreover, all the details of the invention may be substituted by other technically equivalent elements, and the materials used, as well as the shapes and dimensions of the various parts, may vary according to requirements.