JP2015530142A - Beverage capsule having a dripping prevention film - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention comprises a capsule side wall (20) defining a chamber, a capsule top end, and a capsule bottom (21) having a supply outlet (22), where the fluid is injected into the chamber under pressure. In a beverage capsule (11) containing a raw material from which a food or beverage is made soluble and / or extractable when further comprising a pressure sensitive membrane (25), the pressure sensitive membrane (25 ) Includes at least one fragile or pre-cut area defining a non-resealable opening (26), wherein the opening (i) fluid pressure inside the capsule is between 0.5 bar and 20 relative pressure When a predetermined value between the bars is reached, it opens elastically and plastically, spreads respectively, and then (ii) at least after the fluid pressure in the chamber has been released to the value of atmospheric pressure One relates to opening a beverage capsule width (26) and maintains a shape that spreads not exceed 1 mm (11). [Selection] Figure 7

Description

  The present invention relates to raw material capsules for use in food preparation machines, such as liquid food preparation machines.

  Beverage preparation machines are well known in the areas of food science and consumer goods. Such machines allow the consumer to prepare a given type of beverage at home, for example a coffee-based beverage such as espresso or extractable coffee.

  Today, most beverage preparation machines for home beverage preparation are equipped with a system consisting of a machine that can accommodate raw materials sorted for beverage preparation. Such servings can be flexible pods or pads, or sachets, but more and more systems use semi-rigid or rigid servings such as rigid pods or capsules. Become. In the following, it will be considered that the beverage machine of the present invention is a beverage preparation machine operating with hard or semi-hard capsules.

  The machine comprises a container body or cavity for containing the capsule and a fluid injection system for injecting a fluid, preferably water, into the capsule under pressure. For example, to prepare a coffee drink according to the present invention, the water that is injected into the capsule under pressure is preferably hot, i.e. at a temperature above 70 ° C. However, in certain cases, the water may be at ambient temperature or rather cooled. The pressure inside the capsule chamber during the extraction and / or lysis of the capsule contents is typically about 1 to about 8 bar for the lysis product and about 2 to 2 for the extraction of roast and ground coffee. About 12 bar. Such a preparation process is quite different from the so-called “extraction” process of beverage preparation (especially tea and coffee) in that the extraction requires the raw material to be leached for a long time with a fluid (eg hot water), This beverage preparation process allows consumers to prepare beverages, such as instant coffee, in seconds.

  The principle of extracting and / or dissolving the contents of sealed capsules under pressure is known, which usually involves inserting the capsule into a machine container or cavity and generally attached to the machine. After punching the surface of the capsule with a punch injection element such as a fluid injection needle, a certain amount of pressurized water is injected into the capsule, resulting in a pressurized environment inside the capsule, Extracting or dissolving, and then releasing the extracted substance or dissolved substance through the capsule. Capsules that enable the application of this principle have already been described, for example, in the patent documents 1 and 2 of the applicant.

  Machines that make it possible to apply this principle are already described, for example, in US Pat. According to these documents, the machine comprises a container or cavity for the capsule and a piercing and injection element made in the form of a hollow needle with one or more liquid injection openings in its distal region. . The needle has a dual function in that it punctures the top of the capsule on the one hand and forms the water inlet channel in the capsule on the other.

  The machine further applies a pressure to a fluid tank (mostly) for storing the fluid used to dissolve and / or leach and / or extract the raw material (s) contained within the capsule. In some cases this fluid is water). The machine comprises a heating element such as a boiler or heat exchanger, which can warm the water used therein to the operating temperature (typically temperatures up to 80-90 ° C.). Finally, the machine comprises a pump element for circulating water from the tank to the capsule, possibly via a heating element. The manner in which water circulates inside the machine is selected, for example, using a selection valve means such as a peristaltic valve of the type described in the applicant's patent document 5.

  When the beverage to be prepared is coffee, one interesting way to prepare this coffee is to provide the consumer with capsules containing roasted and ground coffee powder, It will be extracted with the hot water injected.

  In many cases, the machine is provided with a capsule holder for holding the capsule, which is intended to be inserted into and removed from the corresponding cavity or container of the machine. When the capsule is functionally loaded into the capsule holder and inserted into the machine, the water injection means of the machine fluidly connects to the capsule and injects water into it for food preparation as described above be able to. The capsule holder has been described in, for example, Patent Document 6 of the applicant.

  Capsules for food preparation, specifically for beverage preparation, have been developed, and these capsules are described and claimed in US Pat.

In short, such capsules are usually
A hollow body and an injection wall that is impermeable to liquids and air and is attached to the body and is perforated by, for example, a machine needle;
A chamber containing a roasted ground coffee to be extracted or a soluble raw material or a mixture of soluble raw materials;
An aluminum film is disposed at the lower end of the capsule and seals the capsule in order to maintain the internal pressure in the chamber.

  This aluminum membrane is designed to be perforated by a perforating means that is integral with the capsule or that is located outside the capsule, for example in the capsule holder of the machine.

  The perforating means perforates the aluminum film when the internal pressure inside the chamber reaches a predetermined value.

  Also, in some cases, the capsule is configured to interrupt the jet of fluid, reduce the speed of the jet of fluid injected into the capsule, and disperse the fluid at a reduced rate to the contents spread. Means can be provided.

  Prior art capsules feature an injection wall or injection membrane (also called top membrane), which will be pierced by a fluid injection element (eg, a needle) of a beverage preparation machine and is part of the fluid system It is. As fluid is injected into the capsule compartment, the pressure increases and, as described above, this serves as a capsule extraction means for extracting and / or dissolving the raw material contained within the capsule. Such raw material can be, for example, a roasted and ground coffee. Alternatively, or in combination with roasted ground coffee, these ingredients can include soluble ingredients such as, for example, beverage blending ingredients.

  At the end of the beverage manufacturing process, capsules are opened on both the inlet and outlet sides. Although most of the liquid poured into the capsule will be drained from the water, some residual liquid will always remain in the capsule after the beverage manufacturing process.

  In particular, when the capsule is then removed from the beverage preparation machine, there is a problem that water or beverage drips, for example from the water inlet side of the capsule. Such dripping requires the consumer to leave a cup under the capsule supply outlet a few seconds after the supply is completed, which is undesirable. In some cases, if the consumer removes the cup from below the supply outlet, the dripping can contaminate the interior and surroundings of the machine, which is also undesirable. This dripping is particularly facilitated by the air entering the capsule from the beverage outlet side.

  The object of the present invention is therefore to reduce the risk of residual liquid dripping from the capsule after the beverage production process is complete.

A food product comprising a capsule sidewall defining a chamber, a capsule top, and a capsule bottom having a supply outlet, wherein the chamber is soluble and / or extractable when fluid is injected into the chamber under pressure Or a beverage capsule containing a raw material from which the beverage is derived, further comprising a pressure-sensitive membrane disposed between the raw material and the supply outlet, wherein the pressure-sensitive membrane defines a non-resealable opening Including at least one fragile or pre-cut area,
(I) when the fluid pressure inside the capsule reaches a predetermined value between 0.5 bar and 20 bar relative pressure, preferably between 1.0 bar and 15 bar, it opens elastically and plastically and spreads respectively; Then
(Ii) maintaining a widened shape so that the width of the at least one opening does not exceed 1 mm, preferably does not exceed 0.5 mm, after the fluid pressure in the chamber has been released to a value of atmospheric pressure. With the featured beverage capsule, the aforementioned objectives are realized.

  In a highly preferred embodiment of the invention, the at least one precut opening is comprised between a length to width ratio of 1: 1 to 1000: 1, preferably 1: 1 to 50: 1. More preferably, the slit is included between 5: 1 and 20: 1.

  Alternatively, the pre-cut opening is a cross-shaped, arcuate section, zigzag shape, or the aforementioned mechanical properties, i.e. fully open under pressure and then partially closed again while feeding the beverage. Or any other shape suitable to realize that the other shape can be maintained when the pressure in the capsule drops to a value approximately equal to atmospheric pressure. Such alternative shapes may be beneficial in allowing the product to flow and be delivered to a consumer's cup, such products have varying viscosities, and in some cases, for example, croutons, Contains small edible particles such as small herbs or pieces of fruit, etc., but provides good anti-dripping properties to the capsules after feeding the beverage.

  In a highly preferred embodiment of the present invention, and in order to achieve the aforementioned opening, expansion and resealing properties, the material used for the pressure sensitive membrane has the following properties: That is, the Young's modulus is included in the range of 800 MPa to 5000 MPa, the yield point is included in the range of 10 MPa to 50 MPa, and the melting point is in the range of 100 ° C. to 200 ° C., preferably in the range of 140 ° C. to 180 ° C. And a thickness of between 50 μm and 800 μm, preferably between 100 μm and 600 μm.

  Advantageously, the pressure sensitive membrane is at least one layer of thermoplastic material selected from the list of polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), ethylene vinyl alcohol (EVOH), polystyrene (PS), and combinations thereof. Made from.

  Also preferably, the capsule sidewall and the top of the capsule are permeable to moisture and oxygen, and the capsule further comprises a bottom membrane that blocks moisture and oxygen that is pierceable or tearable so that the capsule chamber is closed. .

  The bottom membrane is preferably releasable by piercing by actuation of a piercing element arranged in the vicinity of the capsule or outside thereof.

  In a preferred embodiment, the viscosity of the beverage prepared in the capsule is 0.1-100 mPa.s. s included.

  The capsules of the present invention preferably include ingredients from which to make a beverage included in the list of soups, fruit juices, vegetable juices, bouillon, coffee, chocolate, tea, milk or creamers, or combinations thereof.

  Additional features and advantages of the present invention are described in, and will be apparent from, the description of this preferred embodiment. These embodiments will be described below with reference to the drawings.

1 is a side perspective view of a beverage preparation machine suitable for use with a capsule according to the present invention. FIG. It is a schematic enlarged view inside the extraction head of the machine shown in FIG. It is a schematic sectional perspective view which shows the inside of the capsule by this invention. FIG. 4 is a schematic division diagram similar to FIG. 3. FIG. 3 is a top view of a supply film having a slit according to the present invention. FIG. 5 is an enlarged perspective view of the bottom of the capsule according to the present invention with the slit of the bottom supply membrane closed. FIG. 7 is a view similar to FIG. 6 in a state where the slit of the bottom supply film is open. FIG. 4 is an enlarged top perspective view of the bottom of a capsule according to the invention, shown in an open slit shape. FIG. 6 is a schematic partial cross-sectional view of an alternative embodiment of a capsule according to the present invention.

  The capsule according to the invention is used with the beverage preparation machine shown in FIG. 1 and thus forms a beverage preparation system.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the machine 1 comprises a machine body 2 and a water reservoir 3 that can be removed from the machine body 2 for replenishment. The main body 2 includes an on / off push button 4. The machine 1 further comprises an extraction head 5. The head 5 is a hot or cold water temperature selector in the form of two buttons 6 (one for selecting a hot beverage and the other for selecting a cold beverage), a locking lever 7 and An opening for inserting the capsule holder 8 is provided. The machine 1 further comprises a cup tray 9 for holding the cup under the extraction head. The machine further comprises a control panel 10 comprising, for example, a selector wheel for selecting the amount of beverage to be dispensed and a screen on which data about the beverage preparation settings are displayed.

  The capsule holder 8 is adapted to receive the capsule 11. A view of the capsule holder 8 is shown in FIG. 2, in which the capsule 11 is placed, and the holder 8 and capsule 11 are inserted into the corresponding container body of the extraction head shown in FIG. The capsule holder 8 comprises a body part 12 designed as a container body for the capsule 11 and further comprises a handle 13.

  FIG. 2 shows the inside of the extraction head 5 of the machine, in which the container body 14 has a guide ramp 15 for guiding the capsule holder 8 inside. When the capsule holder and capsule 11 are inserted into the container body 14, the user manually closes the extraction head of the machine by moving the locking lever 7 downward, so that the top of the capsule 11 and capsule holder 8 is The needle plate 16 moves downward. By doing so, the water injection needle 17 penetrates the upper end membrane 18 of the capsule. At this point, the capsule is functionally stored in the extraction head and its peripheral upper edge 19 is securely held between the upper surface of the capsule holder and the lower surface of the needle plate. From the reservoir, it can be started to inject water into the capsule through the pump, and possibly through the heating element, via the needle of the machine.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the capsule 11 includes a capsule side wall 20 that defines a substantially frustoconical body closed at the bottom by a bottom wall 21 formed integrally with the body side wall 20. In the center of the bottom wall 21 is provided a supply opening (or outlet) 22 for pouring a beverage prepared inside the capsule from the capsule into a cup placed here. The capsule further includes a penetrable aluminum film 23 that is sealed inside the capsule and close to the bottom wall 21, and a through plate 24 that penetrates the aluminum film when the pressure inside the capsule increases. The aluminum film 23 has a barrier function for protecting the capsule contents from moisture and oxygen during storage.

  The through plate is disposed between the aluminum film and the bottom wall of the capsule. Finally, the capsule is closed on top by a penetrable membrane 18. All walls and membranes define a chamber in which the raw material for the beverage is placed, and as described above, this raw material is mixed with water injected through the machine's water injection needle. ing. When the raw materials are mixed in this machine, a beverage is produced under pressure and is delivered when the capsule is opened. The capsule opens when the pressure inside the capsule is high enough to bend the aluminum film towards the penetrating plate 24, or high enough to just break the aluminum film open. During storage, capsules are made from materials that provide a moisture and oxygen barrier.

  Next, the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to FIGS.

  In the first embodiment of the present invention shown in FIGS. 4-8, the capsule 11 further comprises a pressure sensitive pre-cut membrane 25 having four non-resealable pre-cut slits 26. This membrane comprises (i) as shown in FIG. 7, when the fluid pressure inside the capsule reaches a predetermined value between 1 bar and 20 bar relative pressure, it expands elastically and plastically, then (Ii) After the fluid pressure in the chamber is released to the value of atmospheric pressure, the width of each of the slits 26 maintains an expanded shape so as not to exceed 1 mm.

  As shown in FIG. 4, which is a schematic partially exploded cross-sectional view of the capsule, the pre-cut film 25 is adjacent to or close to the aluminum film (ie, less than 5 mm, preferably less than 2 mm, More preferably (less than 1 mm) and placed between the aluminum film 23 and the raw material contained in the capsule.

  The pre-cut membrane is in the shape of a disc of thermoplastic film as shown in FIG. 5 so as to follow the almost frustoconical shape of the capsule. The membrane comprises four pre-cut slits 26, which are preferably spaced apart from one another and (although not necessarily) distributed over the surface of the membrane at equal distances from one another. The slit length to width ratio is comprised between 5: 1 and 20: 1. Its length is about 3-5 mm and is located at a distance of about 10 mm from the outer edge of the membrane.

  The slit can pre-cut the entire thickness direction of the membrane 25, or alternatively, only a portion of the membrane can be pre-cut.

  In the latter case, each slit is pre-cut using, for example, a laser scoring technique, for example by cutting half of the thickness method of the film 25 to establish a fragile predetermined pre-cut line; As the fluid pressure increases inside the capsule, the membrane is selectively cut along that line. Such a configuration includes a heat of a multilayer laminate structure comprising at least one layer of thermoplastic material that can be easily sealed to the inner surface of the capsule sidewall or bottom wall, and at least one material that provides a moisture and oxygen barrier. The advantage is that a pre-cut membrane can be made from the plastic material to guarantee the shelf life of the capsule and its contents for a long time. Of course, in that case, laser scoring is performed so that the barrier layer of the film 25 is not cut, and only the layer (s) without the barrier function are pre-cut. This eliminates the need for an additional aluminum barrier film.

  Importantly, the material selected to produce the membrane 25 is polypropylene with a thickness comprised between 200-300 μm, a Young's modulus of about 1600 Mpa, and a yield limit of about 30 Mpa. Its melting point is about 160 ° C. With such characteristics, the pre-cut slit is surely opened and widened under pressure and then fully closed, so that the dripping prevention effect is reliably realized according to the principle of the present invention.

  The pre-cut membrane 25 and slit 26 are in the shape shown in FIG. 6 during storage of the capsule and until the capsule is filled with water injected under pressure. In such a shape, the pre-cut film 25 is disposed adjacent to the aluminum film 23 and the slit 26 is closed.

  As described above, after the capsule 11 has been inserted into the capsule holder and this capsule holder has been functionally inserted into the brewing head of the machine, the user can initiate a beverage preparation cycle as already described. As mentioned above, the preparation of the beverage is by injecting a heated or unheated fluid (usually water) into the capsule under pressure through an injection needle that projects through the top membrane 18 into the capsule chamber. Executed. As fluid is injected into the capsule chamber, fluid pressure increases inside the capsule, pressing against the capsule walls and membranes, in particular the pre-cut membrane 25. As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the force exerted by the fluid under pressure presses against the slit cut and this slit widens (or breaks if the membrane 25 is not cut through its thickness as described above. Open). At that stage, as shown in FIG. 8, the aluminum film 23 (if present) moves away from the pre-cut film 25. Then, if an aluminum film is present, the fluid presses the aluminum film and opens it (by breaking or by operating the through plate 24). The capsule is then opened and the beverage is fed by gravity into a cup (not shown in the drawing) placed below the capsule 11.

  In the second embodiment of the invention shown in FIG. 9, the pressure sensitive pre-cut film 25 is sealed adjacent to the aluminum film 23 as in the first embodiment described above. There is no. The aluminum film 23 has a narrow surface and is sealed on the outer surface of the capsule bottom wall 21 outside the capsule to tightly cover and seal the capsule supply opening 22. Further, the capsule does not include a through plate as in the case of the first embodiment described above. In this case, when the fluid pressure inside the capsule reaches a predetermined level, the aluminum film is broken. The operating principle of the pressure sensitive pre-cut membrane 25 and slit 26 is the same as previously described herein with reference to the first embodiment of the present invention.

  The capsules according to the invention provide two beneficial effects during and after the production of the beverage in the capsule.

  First, a filter effect that prevents large particles of undissolved raw material from flowing into the consumer's cup (by not allowing the slits to open wide enough to leave the large particles out) due to the membrane having the slits. Is obtained. The present invention is particularly beneficial in that this filter effect is obtained simultaneously with a supply flow rate sufficient to reliably supply a large amount of beverage within a few seconds. Typically, a 250 ml long coffee cup can be served in less than 10 seconds and an approximately 60 ml espresso coffee cup can be served in less than 5 seconds. This means that a minimum supply flow rate of 10 ml / second, preferably 20 ml / second, more preferably 25 ml / second can be achieved, and at the same time a filter effect is realized in the beverage supply stage, whereby particles exceeding 2 mm, It means that it becomes possible to keep particles preferably exceeding 1 mm, more preferably exceeding 500 μm.

  Second, the film having slits achieves the effect of preventing dripping due to capillary action. That is, when the water injection stops, the pressure inside the capsule is released to a value sufficiently equal to the atmospheric pressure. At this point, the slit does not completely close due to plastic deformation of the slit during the beverage supply step, but due to the elastic properties of the material of the slit, the width of the slit is narrow enough to achieve capillary action. As a result, the remaining liquid inside the capsule does not drip due to gravity and is held in the capsule.

  The upper end of the capsule can be a flat membrane sealed to the upper edge of the capsule, which is preferably a moisture and oxygen barrier. Alternatively, the capsule upper end can be a perforated membrane or a filter membrane.

  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. Accordingly, such changes and modifications are intended to be included within the scope of the appended claims.

Claims (8)

A capsule side wall (20) defining a chamber, a capsule upper end and a capsule bottom (21) having a supply outlet (22) when the chamber is infused with fluid under pressure A beverage capsule (11) containing a raw material from which food or beverage becomes soluble and / or extractable, further comprising a pressure sensitive membrane (25),
The pressure sensitive membrane (25) includes at least one fragile or pre-cut area defining a non-resealable opening (26), the opening comprising:
(I) When the pressure of the fluid inside the beverage capsule reaches a predetermined value between 0.5 bar and 20 bar, preferably between 1.0 bar and 15 bar, it releases elastically and plastically. Each spread, then
(Ii) After the pressure of the fluid in the chamber is released to a value of atmospheric pressure, the shape of the at least one opening (26) is maintained to be widened so as not to exceed 1 mm. Beverage capsule (11).   Said at least one pre-cut opening is comprised between a length to width ratio of 1: 1 to 1000: 1, preferably between 1: 1 to 50: 1, more preferably Beverage capsule (11) according to claim 1, which is a slit (26) comprised between 5: 1 and 20: 1.   The pressure-sensitive film is a material having the following physical characteristics, that is, a Young's modulus is included in a range of 800 MPa to 5000 MPa, a yield point is included in a range of 10 MPa to 50 MPa, and a melting point is 100 ° C. to 200 ° C. 3. A material according to claim 1 or 2, made from a material comprised within the range, preferably within the range 140C-180C, and with a thickness comprised between 50m and 800m, preferably between 100m and 600m. Beverage capsule (11).   The pressure sensitive membrane (25) is at least one layer of thermoplastic material selected from the list of polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), ethylene vinyl alcohol (EVOH), polystyrene (PS), and combinations thereof. The beverage capsule (11) according to any one of claims 1 to 3, prepared from   Moisture that is pierceable or tearable such that the capsule sidewall (20) and the capsule upper end (18) are permeable to moisture and oxygen and the beverage capsule is further closed in the chamber of the beverage capsule. The beverage capsule (11) according to any one of claims 1 to 4, comprising a bottom membrane (23, 25) that blocks oxygen and oxygen.   Beverage capsule (11) according to claim 5, wherein the bottom membrane is releasable by perforation by actuation of a perforation element arranged in the vicinity of the beverage capsule or outside of the beverage capsule.   The beverage prepared in the beverage capsule has a viscosity of 0.1 to 100 mPa.s. Beverage capsule (11) according to any one of the preceding claims, contained between s.   8. The raw material from which the beverages included in the list of soup, fruit juice, vegetable juice, bouillon, coffee, chocolate, tea, milk or creamer, or combinations thereof are included. The beverage capsule (11) according to 1.

Images