JPH04224716A - Beverage package and method of making beverage therefrom - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To provide a suitable beverage packaged body by providing a filter between a partitioned chamber for holding a component for making a beverage and the lower end of the top part of the packaged body, and providing a passage so that a fluid medium is collected from the partitioned chamber to an outlet through the filter. CONSTITUTION: The top part 5 of a packaged body 1 has a longitudinal rib 6 and lateral ribs 7 on both ends thereof, and these are reinforced by a post 8. A filter material 9 is thermally sealed to the ribs 6, 7 and the post 8, and extended across most of the top part of the partitioned chamber 2. All the drink made by putting water into the partitioned chamber 2 is carried to a passage 15 through the filter material 9, mixed with a beverage collected within an area 16, and sent to an outlet nozzle 3 through a beverage collecting area 19.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

0001

FIELD OF INDUSTRIAL APPLICATION The present invention relates to a package for holding ingredients for making a beverage, particularly a hermetically sealed package made of substantially air- and water-impermeable material for holding one or more ingredients for making a drink. Regarding.

0002

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION In the past, it has been proposed to seal the ingredients for making beverages into individual air-impermeable packages.

For example, cartridges or capsules that hold ground and compressed coffee are commonly known for use in certain types of coffee making machines, commonly referred to as "esproso" machines. When brewing coffee using these coffee making machines, a coffee cartridge is placed in a brewing chamber and hot water, typically under pressure, is passed through the cartridge, thereby extracting the aromatic coffee components from the ground coffee and creating a coffee beverage. make.

Cartridges for holding brewed and ground coffee, through which hot water flows under gravity, are also known. A cartridge of such a general type is described in British Patent No. 1,397,116.

European Patent Application No. 87311 filed by the applicant
Subheading 325.2 contains at least one beverage-making ingredient;
For example, packages containing brewed and ground coffee are described. In a preferred embodiment, the package includes a sealed body formed of a substantially air- and water-impermeable material and having a compartment for retaining the beverage ingredients and an exit passageway, the compartment and exit passageway being , in use, the beverage is filtered, thereby cooperating in such a way that an external filter is not required.

[0006] Also, European Patent Application No. 87311325.2
The issue describes a method of making a beverage including the steps of positioning a package holding the beverage at an incubation station, introducing water into the package through a water introduction means, and controlling the mixing of the water with the ingredients of the beverage. A method is described comprising the steps of allowing and collecting the beverage so formed through an outlet formed in the package.

Beverage packaging, such as that described in European Patent Application No. 8731125.2, is primarily intended for use with beverage-making machines that handle the packaging automatically or semi-automatically. A machine of such type is described in European Patent Application No. 89302708.6 by the applicant. The package contains cultured and ground coffee, black tea,
Or it can hold one or more ingredients to make a powdered beverage, such as powdered chocolate, powdered coffee or powdered soup.

[0008]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The applicant has proposed a method for holding one or more of the ingredients for making a beverage, with a filter arranged in such a way that the beverage to be made is filtered upwardly through the filter. We have developed a packaging that

[0009]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, the present invention provides a beverage package that holds one or two beverage-making ingredients and is formed of a substantially air- and water-impermeable material. an inlet and an outlet communicating with the compartment; a filter disposed between the compartment and at least a portion below the top surface of the package;
A passageway is formed between the filter and the top of the package, said passageway communicating with an outlet so that, in use, the liquid medium passes into the compartment holding the beverage-making ingredients and through the filter. A beverage package is provided which is filtered upwards and collected from the outlet.

[0010] The beverage package of the present invention preferably comprises a body portion which may be formed, for example, of molded plastic material. The inlet and/or outlet of the package can be closed by plugs of plastic material molded into the inlet and/or outlet nozzles during molding of the body portion. Alternatively, the inlet and/or outlet can be covered with an air- and water-impermeable material, such as aluminum foil or a laminated material, before opening the inlet and/or outlet. Specific examples of materials that can be used are 30 to 60 μm thick;
Aluminum foil coated with a polypropylene layer or polypropylene/aluminum foil/polyester laminate.

[0011] The outlet of the package can be formed during the process of making the beverage, for example using a cutting and piercing tool of the type described in the applicant's European Patent Application No. 89302708.6.

In the package of the invention, the communication between the inlet and the compartment holding the ingredients for making the beverage is separated from the compartment by a wall having a plurality of holes formed for the liquid medium to enter the compartment. It is preferable to do so through a closed passage. Preferably, the passageway extends along at least one side of the compartment, more preferably along three sides of the compartment. Preferably, the holes formed in the wall are generally in the form of elongated slots arranged in such a way that the liquid medium is evenly distributed through the ingredients making up the beverage.

[0013] The filter is preferably formed from a material having high wet strength, such as a non-woven polyester fiber material. Other materials that may be used include water permeable cellulosic materials, such as cellulosic materials containing woven paper fibers. Woven paper fibers can be mixed with polypropylene, polyvinyl chloride and/or polyethylene fibers. By including these plastic materials in the cellulose material, the cellulose material can be heat-sealed. The filter material may also be coated with a heat and/or pressure activated material to facilitate sealing to ribs formed on the underside of the top of the package, thereby allowing one or more filters to communicate with the outlet. A passage can be formed.

[0014] The ingredients that make up the beverage retained within the packaging of the present invention are preferably brewed and ground coffee or black tea, and, depending on individual preference, powdered milk or creamer, sugar or artificial sweeteners.

The compartment holding the ingredients for making the beverage is divided into two or more parts, for example one part holds the brewed and ground coffee and another part holds the powdered milk or creamer. It will be understood that it is convenient to do so. In such a configuration, the means for introducing the liquid medium into the separate compartments can be varied to suit the conditions that may be required for the filtration or decomposition of a particular component.

[0016] When the packaging body of the present invention is filled with cultured and ground coffee, the packaging body of the present invention can be used for making 4 to 1 cup of coffee.
It is desirable to hold 0g, preferably about 6g of brewed and ground coffee. However, a package intended to hold many cups of coffee will hold an appropriate amount of roasted and ground coffee; for example, a package intended to hold 5 cups of coffee will contain 20 to 50 g. , preferably holds about 30 g of brewed and ground coffee.

[0017] When using the beverage package of the present invention, a liquid medium is introduced through the inlet of the package into the compartment holding the ingredients for making the beverage. A filter is placed on top of the compartment that holds the ingredients for making the beverage, so that the liquid medium is
It flows upward through the ingredients that make up the beverage. The beverage thus formed flows upwardly through the filter into one or more passageways communicating with the outlet.

Filtration of the beverage upwards allows small, lightweight particles of the ingredients that make up the beverage to settle to the bottom of the compartment;
Therefore, it has been found to be desirable in that it can alleviate filter clogging caused by these small particles. In this way, the beverage is filtered upwardly through the filter more quickly than if the filter were positioned below the beverage components and the liquid medium flowed downwardly. Furthermore, the upward flow of water through the packaging is advantageous in that particles of the beverage-making ingredients float up towards the filter, thereby resetting the filter bed. This is particularly advantageous if particles of the beverage-making ingredients settle out during transport and/or storage and if holes or cracks occur in the bed. Upward filtration resets the filter bed in these situations, allowing it to more effectively filter the ingredients that make up the beverage. When making a beverage from black tea, upward filtration is particularly advantageous since the black tea first floats and then sinks, and the form of the beverage package of the invention prevents wet black tea from clogging the filter. do.

[0019] The amount of filtration of the ingredients that make up the beverage, particularly in the case of roasted and ground coffee, is known to affect the flavor of the beverage. The beverage package of the present invention allows efficient filtration to be achieved, thereby providing a beverage with excellent flavor with little or no turbidity.

Another advantage of the packaging of the present invention is that by allowing water to flow continuously upward through the packaging, it may be possible to more effectively moisten the ingredients that make up the beverage. This is because when the particles become wet they expand and prevent fine particles from passing through the filter.
This is important for cultured and ground coffee. It will be appreciated that when making coffee from brewed and ground coffee, or when making tea, the liquid medium is hot water.

The present invention also encompasses a method of making a beverage from a sealed package having one or more beverage-making ingredients positioned within a compartment within the package, the method comprising: introducing a liquid medium suitable for making the beverage into the package under pressure through the formed inlet; and introducing the liquid medium into the compartment thereby forming a beverage;
It comprises the steps of filtering the beverage upwardly through the filter and collecting the beverage thus formed from the outlet of the package.

[0022] The packaging of the invention is preferably provided with identification means so that it can be identified by a machine into which the packaging is inserted for processing, the identification of such packaging allowing the liquid medium to be placed inside the packaging. Precise processing steps can be carried out, including the step of introducing the When making a beverage from beverage-making ingredients, the liquid medium to be introduced into the package is generally a water/air mixture.

[0023] The identification means may comprise one or more surface features formed on the body of the beverage package. For example, the package body can be provided with one or more notches, notches, protrusions or holes that can be identified by a mechanical sensor within the beverage making machine. This mechanical sensor responds according to the presence or absence of notches, notches, protrusions or holes.

The identification means may alternatively be a simple optical device, such as a bar code printed on the body of the package, a pattern of through holes in the package, or one or more packages holding beverages of different colors. It can be a color tone or color pattern with a large difference in brightness and darkness printed on the body.

The identification means may also include one or more strips of magnetic material affixed to the body of the package and readable by a suitable magnetic sensor; one or more molded or divided regions which produce an inductive effect on body movement and which are detectable; and one or more formed or divided regions formed in the body of the package and which are electrically detectable. The conductive region described above can be provided.

As mentioned above, the package of the present invention can contain one or more beverage-making ingredients, such as, for example, optionally brewed and ground coffee or black tea, and sugar and/or creamer. Hold. 1. Easily making a beverage from the preferred beverage packaging of the present invention, which is equipped with identification means
One machine is described in European Patent Application No. 89302708.6. The only modification required to a machine for making such a beverage is to incorporate a suitable sensor or sensors into the machine, such that the sensor reads a specific code on the capsule and sends a signal to the control device. All it does is allow the controller to select the steps to make the appropriate beverage.

[0027] The identification means used in the beverage packages of the present invention allow a single beverage making machine to make very different numbers of drinks from different beverage packages requiring different beverage making conditions. It is what makes it possible.

The packages of the invention can be processed by a machine equipped with one or more sensors adapted to detect and identify identification means provided on packages inserted into the machine.

[0029] The sensor can be, for example, a mechanical sensor, an optical sensor, a magnetic sensor, an electrical sensor or an inductive sensor. Preferably, the machine operates automatically after inserting the package into the machine. For example, a machine of the type described in European Patent Application No. 89302708.6 can be fitted with suitable sensors to detect and identify the beverages to be used together by means of identification means provided on the packaging.

[0030]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will be described in more detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Referring to the drawings, a beverage package is indicated at 1. The body may be made of molded plastic material, for example. The body 1 has a compartment 2 which holds the ingredients 1 or 2 for making the beverage. The package is provided with an outlet nozzle 3 and an inlet 12 formed therein. The compartment 2 is separated by a wall 4 from the main body, region in which the nozzle 3 is formed. The top 5 of the package 1 has 4 molded on its underside, illustrated as a plurality of dotted lines in FIG.
It has two longitudinal ribs 6. These four ribs 6
A transverse rib 7, which is also shown in dotted lines in FIG. 2, is connected to both ends. These ribs 6 and 7 are similar to the packaging body 1.
is reinforced at intervals by posts 8 molded onto the underside of the top 5 of the holder. These posts 8 are shown in dotted lines in FIG. Filter material 9 is heat sealed to ribs 6, 7 and posts 8, with filter material 9 extending across most of the top of compartment 2.

The compartment 2 is separated from the outlet nozzle by a wall 4 and is surrounded on the other three sides by a U-shaped wall 10. The wall 10 has a surrounding U-shaped passage 11 that communicates with an inlet 12 . The wall 10 has a plurality of small slots 13 formed in its two longitudinal arms.

As shown, when a beverage package is used, the bottom of the package 1 is made of aluminum foil or laminated foil heat-sealed to the lower edges of the walls 4, 10 and to the lower edge 14 of the package. sealed by. Water is at entrance 12
It enters the package at a pressure of approximately 105 Pa through the inlet 12, which is opened by drilling or cutting the material covering it. This water enters passages 11 surrounding the three sides of the compartment 2 which holds the beverage ingredients. Water under pressure is directed through an elongated slot 13 formed in the wall 10 separating the passageway 11 from the compartment 2. The water is held in compartment 2, mixed with the beverage-making ingredients, and passed upwards through the beverage-making ingredients. The beverage formed by the water passing through the beverage making ingredients passes through the filter material 9 into the passages 15 formed between the ribs 6. All beverages must pass through the filter, since the sealing material 9 sealing against the ribs 6, 7 prevents any short circuits. This passage 15 has a transverse rib 7 at its end remote from the outlet.
Closed by The beverage formed by the water passing through the beverage making ingredients passes directly through the filter material 9 through the passage 15.
It enters the area 16 that communicates with. The beverage travels along the path 15, mixes with the beverage collected in the area 16, and then
is funneled by an angled extension 17 over a weir 18 by two intermediate ribs 6 to a beverage collection area 19;
It is then sent to the outlet nozzle 3. The beverage is then collected in a cup or other container placed below the outlet nozzle 3. Preferably, the filter material 9 is supported by additional support ribs within the passageway 15 to prevent the filter material from bending and sealing the passageway.

A further reinforcement of the packaging according to the invention is provided by ribs 21 arranged in the end wall 22, side wall 27 and wall 4 in a cross-like manner in the area adjacent to the outlet nozzle, as shown in FIG.
is provided in the area adjacent the outlet nozzle by a hollow post 20 attached by.

When using the beverage packaging illustrated in FIGS. 1 to 5, 160 ml of coffee from the brewed and ground coffee held in compartment 2 is extracted by passing water at 105 Pa through the packaging. It can be made in 20 seconds.

The beverage packaging illustrated in FIGS. 1-5 is provided with identification means, which is a preferred feature of the invention. The package 1 of the present invention holding one or more beverage-making ingredients has a substantially rectangular shape with a flat top surface and a bottom surface,
For this reason, for example, European Patent Application No. 89302708.
It is suitable for longitudinal insertion through a slot into a machine for making beverages of the type described in No. 6.

The package also includes, as shown in FIG.
Molded teeth 25 are provided along one side wall of the compartment 2. The teeth 25 have recesses 26 formed therebetween. These teeth 25 are for enabling the beverage package to be driven through the beverage making machine by engaging the teeth 25 with cam teeth (not shown). The side wall 27 of the beverage package has a flange 28 extending at right angles to the package. The flange 28 has an upright rib 30 at its end near the front end 29 of the package.

[0038] When the package is introduced into a beverage making machine,
The flange 28 is detected when the side edge of the package passes under a detection arm (not shown). The flange 28 has a plurality of upright projections 31, 32, 33, 34, and when the package is introduced into the machine by the engagement of the teeth 25 with the teeth of the cam, the sensor detects the upright projections 31, 32. , 33, 34 exist.

One or more protrusions 31, 32, 33, 34
If not present, the detection arm thereby identifies a different type of beverage package. The detection arm actuates a switch (not shown) that sends information regarding whether a protrusion is present on the package to a control mechanism of the beverage dispensing machine. In this way, the protrusions 31 and 32 are placed on the package.
, 33, 34 make it possible for the control device to identify the type of package and select the conditions for which the appropriate package will be produced based thereon.

The presence or absence of three protrusions means that the detection arm is capable of detecting eight different types of beverage packaging. In this way, if the presence of a protrusion at a specific position is encoded as code 1 and the absence of a protrusion is encoded as code 0, the following code combinations become possible.

[0041] If a fourth protrusion is further present on the flange 28, the number of code combinations will further increase.

Once the beverage making machine has selected the conditions for making a suitable beverage, the water inlet 12 of the package is perforated or cut to expose the outlet 3 within the package so that the water retains the beverage ingredients. The fluid is allowed to flow under pressure through the compartments that contain the fluid. The selected beverage is then collected in a cup or container placed below the outlet 3 of the package.

It will be appreciated that for different types of packaging, the beverage or other ingredients will require significantly different treatment. Thus, some types of beverages can be made with hot water, while others can be made with cold water, and other beverages, such as espresso coffee, can be made with less water. Beverage preparation times need to be varied. Similarly, water and/or air may be required for preparing and dispensing the beverage/contents of the packaging, or for purposes of pre-cleaning inlet pipes or cleaning used packaging. . Furthermore, the user may also request that a particular beverage be dispensed in combination with one or more ingredients from an independent source, such as powdered milk and/or sugar, for example.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a portion of a beverage package of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the beverage package of FIG. 1;

3 is a cross-sectional view of the beverage package of FIG. 1 along line A-A of FIG. 2; FIG.

4 is a cross-sectional view of the beverage package of FIG. 1 along line B-B of FIG. 2; FIG.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along line CC in FIG. 2;

[Explanation of symbols]

1. packaging 2. compartment room 3. outlet nozzle 4. wall 5. top 6. longitudinal direction 7. transverse ribs 8. post 9. filter material 10. U shaped wall 11. aisle 12. entrance 13. slot 14. lower edge 15. aisle 16. region 17. Extension part 18. weir 19. Beverage collection area 20. hollow post 21. rib 22. end wall 25. teeth 26. recess 27. side wall 28. flange 29. front end 30. upright rib 31. upright protrusion 32. upright protrusion 33. upright protrusion 34. upright protrusion

Claims (23)

[Claims] 1. A beverage package for holding one or more beverage-making ingredients and formed of a substantially air- and water-impermeable material, comprising: a compartment for holding the beverage-making ingredients; and a compartment for holding the beverage-making ingredients; an inlet communicating with the chamber, an outlet, a filter disposed between the compartment and at least a portion of the lower surface of the top of the package, and a filter formed between the filter and the top of the package; two or more passageways in communication with the outlet so that, in use, a liquid medium is introduced into the compartment holding the food-making ingredients, filtered upwardly through the filter, and collected through the outlet; A beverage packaging body comprising: 2. A beverage package according to claim 1, characterized in that the inlet and/or outlet are covered with an air and water impermeable material during use and before forming the outlet in the package. Beverage packaging. 3. A beverage package according to claim 1, characterized in that the inlet and/or the outlet are closed by a stopper during use and before forming the outlet in the package. 4. A beverage package according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein a passageway communicates with an inlet into which the liquid medium enters the package, said passageway being a compartment in which the liquid medium holds ingredients from which the beverage is made. A beverage package, characterized in that it is separated from said compartment by a wall having a plurality of holes formed therein for entry into the compartment. 5. The beverage package of claim 4, wherein said passageway extends along at least one side of a compartment holding beverage-making ingredients. [Claim 6] The beverage package according to claim 4 or 5,
Beverage package, characterized in that the passageway extends around three sides of a compartment holding the ingredients for making the beverage. 7. A beverage package according to any one of claims 1 to 4 or 6, characterized in that the hole comprises a plurality of elongated slots. 8. The beverage package according to claim 1, wherein the filter is made of a water-permeable material. 9. The beverage package according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of passages are formed between the filter and the top of the package. 10. The beverage package according to claim 1, wherein the ingredient for making the beverage is black tea or brewed and ground coffee. 11. A beverage package according to any one of claims 1 to 10, characterized in that it is provided with identification means so that, in use, the package can be identified by a machine in which it is placed for processing. Beverage packaging, characterized in that the identification of the packaging allows a correct processing step to be performed on the packaging, including introducing a liquid medium into the packaging. 12. The beverage package of claim 11, wherein said identification means comprises one or more surface features formed on the body of the package. 13. The beverage package of claim 11, wherein said identification means comprises a bar code. 14. The beverage package of claim 11, wherein the identification means comprises a pattern of holes formed in the body of the package. 15. The beverage package according to claim 11, wherein the identification means has a color tone or a color pattern with a large difference in brightness and darkness. 16. The beverage package of claim 11, wherein said identification means comprises one or more strips of magnetic material. 17. The beverage package according to claim 11, wherein said identification means comprises a guiding device. 18. The beverage package of claim 11, wherein said identification means comprises a plurality of electrically conductive means. 19. A method of making a beverage from a sealed package holding one or more beverage-making ingredients disposed within a compartment within the package, the method comprising: bringing a liquid medium suitable for making the beverage under pressure; introducing a liquid medium into the compartment thereby forming a beverage; filtering the beverage upwardly through a filter; collecting from an outlet formed in the package. 20. A method according to claim 19, characterized in that the inlet and/or outlet of the package is formed by a piercing and cutting tool. 21. The method of claim 19 or 20,
A method characterized in that the liquid medium is water. 22. A method according to any one of claims 1 to 19 to 21, wherein the flow of a liquid medium into a compartment holding the ingredients for making a beverage is such that the flow of the liquid medium into the compartment holding the ingredients for making the beverage directs the liquid through one or more narrow holes into the compartment. A method characterized in that it is realized by causing the fluid to flow indoors. 23. The method of claim 22, wherein said narrow hole is an elongated slot.