Capsule with sealing means and its use in producing a beverage

• US 7,993,691 B2
• Filed: 10/25/2005
• Issued: 08/09/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 10/25/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Societe des Produits Nestle SA (Nestle SA)
• Original Assignee: Nestec SA (Nestle SA)
• Inventors: Yoakim, Alfred, Gavillet, Gilles, Denisart, Jean-Paul
• Primary Examiner(s): WEIER, ANTHONY J
• Application Number:
  US11/258,433
• Publication Number:
  US 20060110507A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,114 Days
• Field of Search: 426/112, 426/77, 426/433, 992/95, 715/733, 715/738, 715/751, 715/753, 715/760, 715/764, 715/765, 715/964, 715/205, 707/1, 707/9, 707/10, 707/104.1, 709/200, 709/201, 709/203, 709/205, 709/217, 709/219
• US Class Current: 426/77
• CPC Class Codes: A47J 31/3628 Perforating means therefor
• CPC Class Codes: B65D 85/8064 Sealing means for the interface with the processing machine

Abstract

A capsule contains beverage ingredients such as ground coffee, tea or other ingredients and is configured for insertion in a beverage production device in order to have a liquid under pressure have enter the capsule and to interact with the ingredients in the capsule. The capsule has a base body and a foil member closing the base body by being attached to a flange-like rim extending from the side wall of the base body of the capsule. The base body of the capsule has a resilient sealing member, the sealing member being designed to be in sealing engagement with a bell member of the beverage production device.

Claims

1. A capsule for containing beverage ingredients, the capsule being designed for insertion in a beverage production device in which a liquid under pressure enters the capsule in order to interact with the ingredients in the capsule and to produce a beverage from the capsule, wherein the capsule comprises a cup-like body comprising a top wall, a flange-like rim, a sidewall extending between the top wall and the rim, and a transition area connecting the sidewall and flange-like rim, with the flange-like rim comprising a transverse extension that includes a portion for being pressed on each side between matching surfaces of the beverage production device, and a sealing member provided on the transverse extension portion of the flange-like rim and extending over the transition area and to the sidewall, the sealing member being configured to be compressible in sealing engagement with at least a matching pressing surface of the beverage production device and the sealing member being resilient.

2. The capsule according to claim 1, wherein the sealing member is resilient due to its shape.

3. The capsule according to claim 1, wherein the sealing member is arranged to exert a biasing force against the matching pressing surface of the beverage production device.

4. The capsule according to claim 1, wherein the sealing member is compressible and resilient due to the constituent material.

5. The capsule according to claim 1, wherein the sealing member has a hollow deflectable structure.

6. The capsule according to claim 4, wherein the sealing member is designed to compress from a first uncompressed thickness to a second compressed thickness.

7. The capsule according to claim 1, wherein the sealing member is made of a material other than the material of the rest of the capsule.

8. The capsule according to claim 7, wherein the sealing member is made of a material having a lower hardness than the material of the rest of the capsule.

9. The capsule according to claim 6, wherein the sealing member is made of a rubber-elastic material.

10. The capsule according to claim 9, wherein the rest of the capsule is made of non-rubber elastic material and/or metal such as aluminum.

11. The capsule according to claim 1, wherein the sealing member is made from at least one of the constituent material(s) of the rest of the capsule.

12. The capsule according to claim 1, wherein the capsule is comprised of a first and a second wall element being connected with each other in an gas-tight fashion in a flange-like rim area in order to create a sealed interior for the ingredients.

13. The capsule according to claim 1, wherein the capsule comprises a cup-like base body and a closure member.

14. The capsule according to claim 11, wherein the sealing member is an integral part of one of the wall elements.

15. The capsule according to claim 6, wherein the sealing member is a piece different from the wall elements of the capsule.

16. The capsule according to claim 15, wherein the sealing member has the shape of an O-ring.

17. The capsule according to claim 16, wherein the sealing member has a L-shaped cross-section.

18. The capsule according to claim 15, wherein the sealing member is attached to one of the wall elements using an adhesive or by welding or by pinching or crimping or a combination thereof.

24. A method for producing a beverage, which comprises:

inserting a capsule according to claim 1 into a beverage production device configured to receive the capsule and having at least a matching pressing surface for engaging the sealing member of the capsule for compression thereof;

introducing water into the capsule for combining with the beverage ingredients to form the beverage; and

dispensing the beverage from the capsule and device;

wherein the water can only flow through the capsule due to the sealing engagement of the sealing member and matching pressing surface of the device.

25. The method of claim 24, wherein the capsule comprises a cup-like base body and a bottom closure member, and which further comprises introducing the water through the top wall of the capsule and dispensing the beverage through the bottom closure member.

27. The capsule according to claim 1, wherein the sealing member is a rubber-like material selected from the group consisting of EPDM, NBR, TPE or silicone rubber.

19. A beverage producing system, comprising a capsule for containing beverage ingredients, the capsule being designed for insertion in a beverage production device in which a liquid under pressure enters the capsule in order to interact with the ingredients in the capsule and to produce a beverage from the capsule, wherein the capsule comprises a cup-like body comprising a top wall, a flange-like rim, a sidewall extending between the top wall and the rim, and a transition area connecting the sidewall and flange-like rim, with the flange-like rim comprising a transverse extension that a portion for being pressed on each side between by matching surfaces of the beverage production device, and a sealing member provided on the transverse extension portion of the flange-like rim and extending over the transition area and to the sidewall, the sealing member being configured to be compressible in sealing engagement with at least a matching pressing surface of the beverage production device and the sealing member being resilient;

and a beverage production device having an enclosing member adapted to be selectively in sealing engagement with the sealing member of the capsule.

20. The system according to claim 19, wherein the sealing engagement is only effective as long as the enclosing member exerts a minimum pressure on the capsule, but is automatically released as soon as the pressure falls below said minimum pressure.

21. The system according to claim 20, wherein grooves are provided in the circumference of the enclosing member, which grooves act as air inlet passages for feeding air through these grooves and through the released sealing engagement between the capsule and the enclosing member.

22. The system according to claim 19, wherein the enclosing member comprises additional sealing means adapted to assist to the sealing engagement between the enclosing member and the capsule.

23. The system according to claim 19, wherein the sealing pressure acting at the sealing engagement has a radial an/or axial component relative to the center axis of the capsule.

26. A method for producing a beverage using the beverage producing system of claim 19, which comprises:

inserting the capsule into the beverage production device with the matching pressing surface engaging the sealing member of the capsule for compression thereof;

introducing water into the of the capsule for combining with the beverage ingredients to form the beverage; and

dispensing the beverage from the capsule and device;

wherein the water can only flow through the capsule due to the sealing engagement of the sealing member and matching pressing surface of the beverage production device.

28. The system according to claim 19, wherein the sealing member is a rubber-like material selected from the group consisting of EPDM, NBR, TPE or silicone rubber.