Capsule for infusion products

Technical Field

This invention relates to a capsule for infusion products, such as, coffee, tea, chamomile, milk, etc.

Background Art

As is very well known, infusion of the above mentioned products can be accomplished automatically in machines equipped with a percolation chamber that accommodates a rigid capsule, normally made of a plastic material, which is in turn placed in a flow of hot water which soaks and mixes with the product inside the capsule forming an infusion which flows out through a dispensing pipe located at the bottom of the percolation chamber.

Usually, the percolation chamber is a unit forming part of the machine and is provided with a housing for accommodating the capsule. The housing is open at the bottom, giving onto the dispensing duct, and has at least one opening through which the water feeds out after flowing into the upper part of the capsule.

Capsules currently available on the market come in several different kinds in terms of outer shape (cylindrical, truncated-cone shaped), but the top and bottom surfaces of all them (with reference to their position in the percolation chamber) have perforated filtering walls so that the water can flow in on one side and the infused product can flow out on the other side.

In the combination of percolation chamber and capsule, which, as stated, forms the bottom zone of the infusion unit, the percolation chamber has a flat bottom wall which, in use, is positioned face to face with the bottom filtering wall of the capsule. The bottom wall of the capsule may have a completely flat surface or it may have a ring-shaped lip (round the outer circumference of the surface) for abutting against the bottom wall and part of the circular outer wall of the percolation chamber.

It has, however, been found that over time this combination reveals a certain seal "weakness": in effect, the infusion water tends to force the brewed mix towards the edge of the bottom wall of the chamber, causing part of the fluid to spill over the top of the chamber, thus reducing the amount of infusion actually dispensed and also creating the risk of damaging the internal parts of the machine.

Disclosure of the Invention

The aim of this invention is to overcome the above mentioned drawbacks by providing a capsule for infusion products made in such a way as to allow effective infusion of the product while at the same time maintaining a simple and rational structure.

In accordance with the invention, this aim is achieved by a capsule, in particular, a capsule comprising the technical features described in one or more of the annexed claims.

Brief Description of the Drawings

The technical features of the invention, with reference to the above aims, are clearly described in the claims below and its advantages are more apparent from the detailed description which follows, with reference to the accompanying drawings which illustrate a preferred embodiment of the invention provided merely by way of example without restricting the scope of the inventive concept, and in which:

- Figure 1 is a schematic cross section of a capsule for an infusion product according to the invention;

- Figure 2 is a schematic cross section of another embodiment of the capsule according to the invention;

- Figure 3 illustrates a scaled-up detail A from Figure 1.

Detailed Description of the Preferred Embodiments of the Invention

With reference to the accompanying drawings, the capsule according to this invention, labelled 1 as a whole, is used for infusion products (such as coffee, tea, chamomile, milk, etc.) in automatic machines for dispensing these products.

The capsule 1 essentially comprises the shape of a cylinder, of defined diameter Dl, a perforated / filtering fluid (water) inlet wall 3 and a perforated / filtering infusion product outlet wall 4. More specifically, the infusion product outlet wall 4 of the capsule 1 is divided into two separate zones 6 and 7 by a single ring 5 of diameter D5, smaller than the diameter Dl of the capsule 1 and protruding perpendicularly from the outlet wall 4 itself: the first zone 6 is a flat, outer annular surface and is closed, while the second, central zone 7, is the one through which the product flows out (that is, the perforated / filtering part).

Furthermore, the bottom end of the single ring 5, in cross section, is tapered in such a way that the thickness of the single ring 5 is reduced at an angle α towards the outside of the capsule 1 relative to its central axis X (see also Figure 3). Figure 1 shows how, in cross section, the zone of connection between the annular surface 6 and the single ring 5 forms a right angle.

In Figure 2, on the other hand, the zone of connection between the annular surface 6 and the single ring 5 forms, in cross section, a rounded edge towards the inside of the capsule 1. A capsule made in this way thus achieves the above mentioned aims thanks to the special structure of its lower part.

The presence of an intermediate annular support forming a central infusion chamber makes it possible to conveniently "isolate" the product outlet zone and to reduce the risk of the infusion coming out in unwanted manner. The invention described above is susceptible of industrial application and 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 technically equivalent elements.