EP3071495B1

EP3071495B1 - Capsule for preparing infusion beverages

Info

Publication number: EP3071495B1
Application number: EP15714039.3A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Stefano Bisio
Original assignee: Bisio Progetti SpA
Current assignee: Bisio Progetti SpA
Priority date: 2014-02-12
Filing date: 2015-02-02
Publication date: 2021-09-08
Anticipated expiration: 2035-02-02
Also published as: ES2897923T3; EP3071495A1; PT3071495T; WO2015121882A1

Description

The present invention refers to a capsule for preparing infusion beverages or soluble substances.
As known, the art propose a wide variety of automatic or semi-automatic machines equipped with a preparing and delivering assembly adapted to produce an infusion through the passage of hot water through a capsule containing the essence to be infused, such as, for example, tea, coffee, tisanes, chocolate milk, etc.
In particular, known capsules are a disposable pre-packaged dose of the substance to be infused closed inside a container made of plastic material enclosed by a cover made of plastic or an aluminum foil.
Moreover, there are different types of automatic or semi-automatic preparing machines for preparing infusion beverages, each one of which uses a different type of capsules: in general, however, the common operating principle of such machines provides for the perforation of the base and of the cover of such capsule, thereby allowing the essence to be infused contained therein to be crossed by an infusion flow of hot water delivered by an infusing assembly of the machine itself and its exit as infusion beverage.
However, in order to avoid that the flow of hot water crosses the substance to be infused too directly and quickly, therefore without sufficiently propagating itself inside the capsule with obvious problems on the quality of the beverage to be infused which goes out, prior art capsules typically have a base equipped with one or more bits or cutting profiles and covered by a layer of sealing film, usually made of aluminum: when therefore the flow of hot water delivered by the infusing assembly crosses the internal volume of the capsule, the pressure of the flow itself pushes the layer of sealing film against such bits or profiles for cutting the base, generating a perforation or a breakage, and consequently allowing the beverage to go out of a suitable nozzle or opening placed on the base of the capsule itself through a labyrinth-type structure which slows down its flow.
Examples of such capsule are disclosed in EP2238050 , EP2129595 , EP1864917 , WO2013026651 . Such known capsules, however, given their construction complexity and the number of component parts, still result relatively costly and still have some critical points at production level, above all as regards making their related dies.
WO2008/116818 A1 discloses a capsule for preparing infusion beverages, equipped with a small plate in which dripping-preventing openings are inserted.
Object of the present invention is solving the above prior art problems, by providing a capsule for preparing infusion beverages, in particular coffee, which can be made simpler and cheaper with respect to known prior art capsules, though similar performances are obtained in terms of slowing down the flow of hot water crossing the substance to be infused inside the capsule itself.
Another object of the present invention is providing a capsule for preparing infusion beverages, in particular coffee, in which the breakage of the layer of sealing film covering the base occurs through a break-through due to the pressure exerted by the infusion beverage therein, thereby avoiding to use any opening, cutting or drilling means, like in prior art capsules.
The above and other objects and advantages of the invention, as will appear from the following description, are obtained with a capsule for preparing infusion beverages as claimed in claim 1. Preferred embodiments and non-trivial variations of the present invention are the subject matter of the dependent claims.
It is intended that all enclosed claims are an integral part of the present description.
It will be immediately obvious that numerous variations and modifications (for example related to shape, sizes, arrangements and parts with equivalent functionality) could be made to what is described, without departing from the scope of the invention, as appears from the enclosed claims.
The present invention will be better described by some preferred embodiments thereof, provided as a non-limiting example, with reference to the enclosed drawings, in which:

Figure 1 shows a longitudinally sectioned view of a preferred embodiment of the capsule according to the present invention;
Figure 2a shows an enlarged view of the detail contained in circle A of Figure 1 in a first operating position;
Figure 2b shows an enlarged view of the detail contained in circle A of Figure 1 in a second operating position;
Figure 3a shows a top plan view of the capsule according to the present invention; and
Figure 3b shows an enlarged view of the detail contained in circle B of Figure 3a.

With reference to the Figures, it is possible to note that the capsule 1 according to the present invention for preparing infusion beverages, in particular coffee, chocolate milk and other soluble substances, comprises at least one containing body 3 having at least one base 5 and, usually, at least one opening 6 opposed to such base 5 adapted to be closed by at least one cover (for example through a protecting aluminum layer), such containing body 3 comprising at least one internal volume V adapted to contain at least one substance to be infused or melted, typically in grain or powder form.
Advantageously, the base 5 is equipped with at least one outlet nozzle 4 of the infusion beverage or soluble substance from the internal volume V and, in order to slow down the flow aimed to the central area of the base 5 and make hot water diffuse itself inside the volume of the capsule 1 containing the substance to be infused or melted and is compelled to propagate also towards the periphery of the internal volume V before flowing out through the nozzle 4, at least one portion of the internal surface 8 of the base 5 is covered by at least one insulating layer 11, for example an aluminum foil welded or glued onto the surface 8, the insulating layer 11 separating the internal volume V of the containing body 3 from the nozzle 4 itself. Still more advantageously, the insulating layer 11 is arranged on the base 5 in order to be stretched above at least one recess 6 of the surface 8, such recess 6 being fluid communicating with the nozzle 4: in particular, in the capsule 1 according to the present invention, the insulating layer 11 is adapted to be broken-through next to at least one recess 6 under the action of the pressure increase inside the internal volume V of the containing body 3 created by the infusion flow, for example of hot water delivered by the infusing assembly (of any known prior art type) of the preparing machine, inside which the capsule 1 is inserted and by the infusion beverage or soluble substance in order to create, next to at least one recess 6, at least one passage P through the insulating layer 11 for the infusion beverage or soluble substance from the internal volume V of the containing body 3 towards the delivery nozzle 4 through at least one recess 6.
Advantageously, therefore, in the capsule 1 according to the present invention, the passage P between the internal volume V of the containing body 3 and the nozzle 4 through the insulating layer 11 is spontaneously created only by the pressure increase exerted by the infusion beverage or soluble substance which is created inside the volume V, due to the pressurized injection of the infusion flow by the infusion assembly, without consequently having to require the arrangement of suitable opening, drilling and tearing means (such as bits, cutting profiles, etc.) of the insulating layer 11 itself, as instead proposed in prior art capsules.
Obviously, the shape and the arrangements of the recesses 6 on the internal surface 8 of the base 5 can be several, though performing the above described functions. As can be noted in particular in the Figures, the internal surface 8 of the base 5 of a preferred embodiment of the capsule 1 according to the present invention is equipped with at least two reliefs 13', 13" adapted to support the insulating layer 11 in the respective contact points, such reliefs 13', 13" being of a substantially circular shape and arranged concentric to the nozzle 4 with respect to a longitudinal axis S-S of the base 5, the circular crown interposed between the reliefs 13', 13" defining at least one recess 6.

Claims

Capsule (1) for preparing infusion beverages or soluble substances in particular coffee or chocolate milk, comprising
a containing body (3) having a base (5), said containing body (3) comprising at least one internal volume (V) containing at least one substance to be infused or melted,

said base (5) being equipped with an outlet nozzle (4) of said infusion beverage or soluble substance from said internal volume (V) and

at least one portion of an internal surface (8) of said base (5) being covered by at least one insulating layer (11) separating said internal volume (V) of said containing body (3) from said nozzle (4),

said insulating layer (11) being arranged on said base (5) stretched above at least one recess (6) of said surface (8), said recess (6) being fluid communicating with said nozzle (4),

said insulating layer (11) being an aluminum foil adapted to be broken through in correspondence with at least one recess (6) under an action of a pressure increase inside said internal volume (V) of said containing body (3), to create, in correspondence with at least one recess (6), at least one passage (P) through said insulating layer (11) for said infusion beverage or soluble substance from said internal volume (V) of said containing body (3) towards said nozzle (4) through at least one recess (6),

characterized in that said internal surface (8) of said base (5) being equipped with at least two reliefs (13', 13'') supporting said insulating layer (11), said reliefs (13', 13") being of a substantially circular shape and arranged concentric to said nozzle (4) with respect to a longitudinal axis (S- S) of said base (5), a circular crown interposed between said reliefs (13', 13") defining at least one recess (6),

and in that said passage (P) between the internal volume (V) of the containing body (3) and the nozzle (4) through the insulating layer (11) is spontaneously created, without requiring opening means and in correspondence with at least one recess (6), only by the pressure increase exerted by the infusion beverage or soluble substance which is created inside the volume (V) .
Capsule (1) according to claim 1, characterized to be devoid of drilling or tearing means of the insulating layer (11).
Capsule (1) according to claim 1 or 2, wherein said insulating layer (11) is welded or glued onto the surface (8).