Cross-Reference to Related Applications

This Patent Application claims priority from Italian Patent Applications No. 102021000022115 filed on August 20, 2021 and No. 102022000017208 filed on August 11, 2022 the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.

Technical Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a disposable beverage preparation capsule. In particular, the present invention relates to a disposable beverage preparation capsule designed to be used in an automatic beverage preparation machine and of the type comprising a cup-shaped body, which is designed to contain a brewing or soluble food substance and is closed by a lid designed to be perforated for injecting into the capsule a fluid for producing a beverage by brewing or dissolving the food substance contained in the capsule.

State of the Art

In the sector of coffee capsules, it is known to use technologies for recognising the capsules in the automatic beverage preparation machines in order to extract from the capsules information suitably memorised therein and useful for determining whether or not said capsules are suitable to be used in a given automatic beverage preparation machine and/or relative to operating parameters of the automatic beverage preparation machines in which such capsules can be used, such as, for example, pressure, temperature and dispensing time.

The known capsule recognition systems are based on various technologies, more commonly optical technologies for reading optical codes (bar codes, QR codes, etc..) carried by the capsules or for detecting optical properties (fluorescence and phosphorescence) of optical recognition chemical substances applied to a portion of capsule, inside or outside thereof.

The use of optical recognition substances is known for example from US 2016/325923 Al, US 2015/047509 Al, US 2015/158666 Al and EP 3 454 700 B l.

In particular, in US 2015/158666 Al and US 2016/325923 Al the optical recognition substance is carried by the capsule body or by its lid, integrated within, or arranged on the outside or on the inside of the material with which said capsules are made.

In EP 3 454 700 B l and in WO 2021/090186 Al, the optical recognition substance is carried by a permeable support element, in particular the brewing water distribution filter, arranged inside the capsule body, between the lid and the substance to be brewed.

In W02012110323A1, a beverage production capsule is disclosed, which comprises a cup-shaped body designed to contain the brewing substance and tightly closed by a lid. The lid is made of a multilayer sheet comprising at least two layers of material welded together with the exception of an area designed to be perforated, in use, by n brewing water injection member so as to form a fluid-tight engagement with the outer surface of the injection member. No optical capsule recognition system is provided.

Ob ject and Summary of the Invention

The Applicant has observed that the optical capsule recognition technologies according to the prior art, despite being satisfactory in some respects, have considerable margins for constructive improvement and as to recognition reliability.

The object of the present invention is to provide an optically recognisable capsule for preparing a beverage in an automatic beverage preparation machine and which is constructively simpler and simultaneously ensures high recognition standards.

The object of the present invention is to provide an optically recognisable capsule for preparing a beverage in an automatic beverage preparation machine, as claimed in the appended claims.

Brief Description of the Drawings

Figures 1, 2 and 3 show in a perspective view different embodiments of an optically recognisable beverage preparation capsule according to the invention.

Figures 4, 5 and 6 show in cross-section and with enlarged parts different operating steps of an optical recognition process to optically recognise the capsule of Figure 1 in an automatic beverage preparation machine.

Figure 7 shows a tape roll for manufacturing lids to be bonded to optical recognition membranes for use with capsules of the type shown in Figure 1.

Detailed Description of Preferred Embodiments of the Invention

The present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying figures in order to allow a person skilled in the art to implement it and use it. Various modifications to the described embodiments will be immediately apparent to the persons skilled in the art and the general principles described can be applied to other embodiments and applications without thereby departing from the scope of protection of the present invention, as defined in the appended claims. Therefore, the present invention is not to be considered limited to the described and illustrated embodiments, but it is to be granted the broadest scope of protection in accordance with the principles and the characteristics described and claimed herein.

In Figure 1, reference numeral 1 indicates, as a whole, an optically recognisable beverage preparation capsule according to the present invention.

The capsule 1 is designed to contain a brewing food substance or a soluble food substance for producing a beverage, such as, for example, coffee, tea, chocolate, milk, broth, etc..

The capsule 1 comprises a cup-shaped body 2, which is designed to contain the food substance, has a longitudinal axis 3 and is closed at an upper end thereof by a lid 4 fluid- tightly welded to an outer annular flange 5 of the cup- shaped body 2 which externally surrounds the upper end of the cup-shaped body closed by the lid 4.

The cup-shaped body 2 comprises a side wall 6, which is coaxial to the axis 3 and preferably, but not necessarily, has a generally truncated cone shape flared towards the outer annular flange 5, and a bottom wall 7 extending in a direction generally transverse to the axis 3.

As shown in Figures 4 to 6, the capsule 1 is intended to be supplied, in use, to a brewing assembly 8 of a known automatic beverage preparation machine, in which a given quantity of a brewing fluid, normally hot water at a given pressure, is injected into the capsule 1 so as to brew or dissolve the food substance contained therein and produce a beverage.

With reference to Figures 4 and 6, the brewing assembly 8 comprises a dispensing cup 9 and a fluid injection device 10 relatively movable between a capsule loading configuration in which a capsule 1 may be accommodated into the dispensing cup 9 and a brewing configuration, in which the dispensing cup 9 and the fluid injection device 10 are fluid-tightly coupled and mutually form a brewing chamber. In particular, the dispensing cup 9 has a cavity sized to accommodate a capsule 1 and comprises a beverage outlet duct 11 fluidically communicating with the cavity.

The fluid injection device 10 is arranged facing the open end of the dispensing cup 9 and comprises a perforation device 12 designed to perforate, in use, the lid 4 of a capsule 1 accommodated in the dispensing cup 9 to allow the brewing fluid to be injected into the capsule 1.

In the embodiment shown in the accompanying figures, the perforation device 12 comprises a single perforator, which is arranged, with respect to the dispensing cup 9, so as to perforate, in use, a central portion of the lid 4 of the capsule 1 and further acts as a brewing fluid injector provided with an inner brewing fluid supply duct.

In an embodiment not shown, the perforator may have the sole function of perforating the lid 4 so as to form an opening designed to allow a brewing fluid in the brewing chamber to flow into the capsule 1, which brewing fluid is supplied to the brewing chamber by means of one or more brewing fluid supply ducts formed in the fluid injection device 10 and distinct from the perforator.

In a further embodiment not shown, the perforation device 12 comprises two or more perforators, all of which or only a part of which may serve as brewing fluid injectors.

Still with reference to Figure 1, the capsule 1 comprises an optical recognition membrane 13, which is distinct from the lid 4, is arranged facing an inner face of the lid 4, i.e.. a face of the lid 4 facing the inside of the capsule 1, and carries a recognition substance designed to enable the capsule 1 to be optically recognised inside the automatic beverage preparation machine, as is better described in the following.

In particular, the membrane 13 is arranged in the capsule 1, with respect to the lid 4 and to the cup-shaped body 2, so as to allow the capsule 1 to be optically recognised by an optical recognition device 14 of the automatic beverage preparation machine during the relative movement of the fluid injection device 10 and of the dispensing cup 9 from the capsule loading configuration to the brewing configuration.

The lid 4 and the membrane 13 may be bonded to each other and to the cup-shaped body 2 in different ways and by different technologies described in the following.

In particular, in the embodiment shown in Figure 1, the lid 4 and the membrane 13 substantially have the same size, equal to that of the outer diameter of the flange 5, and are permanently mutually bonded, for example by gluing, at their peripheral edges, while they are unbonded from each other, with or without mutual contact, at their central portions internal to the peripheral edges along which they are mutually bonded.

The lid 4 and the membrane 13 are then permanently bonded to the flange 5, in a continuous manner at their peripheral edges, for example by means of heat-sealing or gluing or any other connection technology suitable for the purpose.

In this embodiment, the peripheral edge of the membrane 13 is thus sandwiched between the flange 5 and the peripheral edge of the lid 4, and the membrane 13 is free to move with respect to the lid 4 at a central portion of the membrane 13, so as to be moved away from the lid 4 by the perforator device 12 during the relative movement of the fluid injection device 10 and of the dispensing cup 9 from the capsule loading configuration to the brewing configuration, so as to allow the capsule 1 to be optically recognised in the way described more specifically in the following. In the embodiment illustrated in Figure 2, instead, the lid 4 continues to substantially have a size equal to that of the outer diameter of the flange 5, while the membrane 13 has a smaller size than that of the lid 4 and equal to or smaller than that of the inner diameter of the flange 5.

In this embodiment, the lid 4 is permanently continuously bonded to the flange 5, for example by heat- sealing or gluing or any other bonding technology suitable for the purpose, at a peripheral edge of the lid 4, while the membrane 13 is permanently bonded to the lid 4, for example by gluing, at a peripheral edge of the membrane 13.

Furthermore, also in this embodiment, the lid 4 and the membrane 13 are mutually unbonded, with or without mutual contact, at their central portions internal to the peripheral edge of the membrane 13, along which the membrane 13 is bonded to the lid 4.

Therefore, in this embodiment, the peripheral edge of the membrane 13 is not sandwiched between the flange 5 and the peripheral edge of the lid 4, but is radially internal to the flange 5, whereas the membrane 13 continues to be free to move with respect to the lid 4 at a central portion of the membrane 13, so as to be moved away from the lid 4 by the perforator device 12 during the relative movement of the fluid injection device 10 and of the dispensing cup 9 from the capsule loading configuration to the brewing configuration.

Therefore, unlike the first embodiment, in this second embodiment, while the peripheral edge of the lid 4 is permanently continuously bonded to the flange 5 so as to ensure the sealing of the capsule 1, the peripheral edge of the membrane 13 may be either continuously or discontinuously glued to the lid 4.

Figure 3 shows a third embodiment of the capsule 1, which comprises a further separation membrane 15, which is distinct from both the lid 4 and the membrane 13 and is arranged facing an inner face of the membrane 13, i.e., a face of the membrane 13 facing the inside of the capsule 1, so as to separate the membrane 13 from the food substance contained in the capsule 1.

The membrane 15 is bonded to the membrane 13, to the lid 4 and to the flange 5 in the same way as that previously described with reference to the first embodiment shown in Figure lin which wherein the membrane 13 is bonded to the lid 4 and to the flange 5. Alternatively, the membrane 15 might be bonded to the membrane 13 for the entire extension of the membrane 13.

In a different embodiment not shown, the membrane 15 may have the same size of the membrane 13 in the second embodiment previously described with reference to Figure 2, and be permanently bonded thereto, for example by gluing, only along a peripheral edge of the membrane 15, either continuously or discontinuously, or on the entire face of the membrane 15.

In a yet further embodiment, shown in Figure 3 with reference numerals in parenthesis, the further membrane 15 is interposed between the lid 4 and the membrane 13. In this case, the membrane 15 is bonded to the membrane 13 only along a peripheral portion of the membrane 15, while it may be bonded to the lid 4 for the entire extension of its face facing the lid 4 or only along a peripheral portion of the membrane 15.

In the embodiments shown in Figures 1, 2 and 3, regardless of whether the capsule 1 contains a brewing food substance or a soluble food substance, the inner volume of the cup- shaped body 2 occupied by the food substance could be delimited at the top by a micro-perforated sheet (not shown), which is welded to the lateral part 6 of the cup- shaped body 2 at a given distance from the membrane 13, or from the membrane 15, if provided, and has the function of both preventing the contact between the food substance and the membrane 13, when the membrane 15 is not provided, and the function of favouring a uniform distribution and penetration of the brewing fluid in the food substance when the brewing fluid is supplied into the capsule 1 through the lid 4.

The cup-shaped body 2 is made of a material for food use and impermeable to external agents, i.e., having a high barrier property to the external agents, such as oxygen and vapours, preferably a plastic material, in particular PolyPropylene (PP) or PolyEthylene Terephthalate (PET) or Oriented PolyPropylene (OPP) or PolyButylenTerephthalate (PBT) or Ethylene- Vinyl Alcohol (EVOH) or their compounds, or still a metallic material, for example aluminium, and may be obtained by means of any forming process suitable for the purpose, in particular by thermoforming.

The lid 4 is made of a mono or multi-layer film of a material for food use and impermeable to external agents, in particular a plastic material, in particular PolyPropylene (PP) or Poly Ethylene Terephthalate (PET) or Oriented PolyPropylene (OPP), or still a metallic material, for example (lacquered) aluminium, or their compounds, or still paper or other compostable materials suitable for the purpose.

The lid 4 may be partially or totally transparent to light, depending on the optical recognition method adopted to recognise the capsule 1 , as it will be appreciated in the following.

The membranes 13 and 15 can be made of a same material or of different materials for food use, suitably but not necessarily, materials impermeable to fluids, in particular plastic materials, for example PolyPropylene (PP) or PolyEthylene Terephthalate (PET) or Oriented PolyPropylene (OPP), or metallic materials, for example aluminium, or still paper or other compostable materials suitable for the purpose, or their compounds. Furthermore, the lid 4 and the membrane 13 have different elastic properties which allow the optical recognition substance to be recognised during the relative movement of the dispensing cup 9 and of the fluid injection device 10 between the capsule loading configuration and the brewing configuration in the way described in the following.

In particular, the membrane 13 has a thickness and/or an elastic modulus greater than those of the lid 4. Preferably, the membrane 13 has a thickness of two to four, suitably three, times greater than that of the lid 4, and/or an elastic modulus of four to six, suitably five, times greater than that of the lid 4.

In a preferred embodiment, the lid 4 is made of Poly Ethylene Terephthalate (PET) with a thickness of about 12 pm and an elastic modulus between 457.5 and 762.5 MPa, while the membrane 13 is made of PolyPropylene, suitably Oriented (OPP), with a thickness of about 40 pm and an elastic modulus between 2.610 and 3.590 MPa.

Preferably, if the membrane 15 is provided and arranged between the membrane 13 and the brewing substance, the membrane 15 is made of a material that has an elastic behaviour equal or equivalent to that of the membrane 13, with respect to the lid 4.

When the membrane 15 is interposed between the lid 4 and the membrane 13, the membrane 15 is preferably made of a material that has an elastic behaviour similar to that of the lid 4 or anyway a behaviour that is less elastic than that of the membrane 13.

With regard to the optical recognition substance, it can be arranged on at least one of the faces of the membrane 13, preferably at least on the face of the membrane 13 facing the lid 4, or on both faces of the membrane 13. Preferably, the optical recognition substance can be arranged on the membrane 13 by extrusion during manufacturing of the membrane 13 and/or by printing on the already formed membrane 13.

The optical recognition substance is a known chemical substance which has luminescent properties of phosphorescence or fluorescence which appear when the optical recognition substance is impinged by an electromagnetic radiation generated by the optical recognition device 14 either in the spectrum of the light visible to human eye or in the spectrum of the light invisible to the human eye, in particular in the infrared or ultraviolet spectrum.

In particular, the optical recognition substance is a known chemical substance chosen so that the optical return signal generated thereby when impinged by an optical reading signal having given characteristics in terms of optical frequency and intensity, has one or various given characteristics in terms of optical frequency and intensity, and, if of the phosphorescent type, in terms of decay time.

By way of mere example, the optical read signal and the optical return signal could be of the type disclosed in EP 3 454 700 B 1. The optical recognition device 14 comprises an optical source 16 for example in the form of a photo-emitter, in particular a light emitting diode (LED), which is electronically controllable by an electronic control unit 17 to generate an optical reading signal having predetermined optical characteristics in terms of frequency and intensity.

The optical recognition device 14 further comprises an optical sensor 18 for example in the form of a photo-receiver, in particular a photodiode, arranged so as to capture and detect an optical return signal generated by the optical recognition substance in response to the optical reading signal and generate a corresponding electric output indicative of the characteristics of the optical return signal and, consequently, of the properties of the optical recognition substance.

The electric output of the optical sensor 18 is then inputted to the aforementioned electronic control unit 17, which is configured to receive and process the electric output of the optical sensor 18 to determine the properties of the optical recognition substance and recognise the capsule 1 and to control the operation of the automatic beverage preparation machine accordingly in a known manner and thus not specifically described.

The optical recognition device 14 further comprises an optical transport device 19 for example in the form of one or different light guides or optical fibres or of a light guide film arranged so as to transport and direct the optical reading signal towards the capsule 1 and to capture and transport towards the optical sensor 18 the optical return signal generated by the optical recognition substance when impinged by the optical reading signal.

The optical recognition device 14 can be entirely carried by the fluid injection device 10 or in part thereby and in part by the automatic beverage preparation machine.

In the embodiment shown in Figures 4, 5 and 6, the optical source 16, the optical sensor 18 and the electronic control unit 17 are carried by the automatic beverage preparation machine; whereas, the optical transport device 19 is carried by the perforation device 12 and comprises a feedforward light guide or optical fibre arranged so as to transport the optical reading signal generated by the optical source 16 towards the capsule 1, and a return light guide or optical fibre arranged so as to capture and transport towards the optical sensor 18 the optical return signal emitted by the optical recognition substance.

In different embodiments, the optical reading signal and the optical return signal could be transported by an optical transport device 19 comprising a single light guide or optical fibre or a light guide film by means of suitable optical decoupling devices or optical splitters. Furthermore, also the optical source 16 and the optical sensor 18 could be carried by the fluid injection device 10 and connected to the electronic control unit 17 by suitable electric wires. As shown in Figures 4, 5 and 6, in use, the capsule 1 is first loaded into the brewing assembly 8 (Figure 4), then the fluid injection device 10 and the dispensing cup 9 are relatively moved so as to pass from the capsule loading configuration to the brewing configuration, in which the dispensing cup 9 and the fluid injection device 10 are fluid-tightly coupled.

During the approach between the fluid injection device 10 and the dispensing cup 9, the perforation device 12 first perforates the lid 4 at the central area of the lid 4 in which it is unbonded to the membrane 13 (Figure 5).

The different elastic behaviour of the lid 4 with respect to the membrane 13 results in the lid 4 having a flexibility (much) lower than that of the membrane 13, thus allowing the perforation device 12 to initially perforate only the lid 4.

After the lid 4 has been perforated, the membrane 13, being separated from the lid 4 at a central area of the membrane 13 and having a greater flexibility than the lid 4, is moved away from the lid 4 by the perforation device 12, deforming without though being perforated for a certain section of the approach stroke between the fluid injection device 10 and the dispensing cup 9.

Once a breaking limit of the membrane 13 is exceeded, the membrane 13 is perforated by the perforation device 12, which thus penetrates in the capsule 1, thus enabling a given quantity of a brewing fluid, normally hot water at a given pressure, to be injected into the capsule 1, thus brewing or dissolving the food substance contained therein and producing the beverage (Figure 6).

The optical recognition device 14 can be operated by the electronic control unit 17 for all or part of the time employed by the fluid injection device 10 and by the dispensing cup 9 to move from the capsule loading configuration to the brewing configuration.

In particular, if the lid 4 is made of a material totally opaque to light, the optical recognition device 14 is suitably operated in the interval of time between the perforation of the lid 4 and the perforation of the membrane 13.

Should the optical recognition substance be present also on the opposite face of the membrane 13, i.e., the one facing the food substance, the optical recognition device 14 could be operated also for a certain time subsequent the perforation of the membrane 13, at least until the injection of the brewing fluid starts, so as to prolong the reading time of the capsule 1 in those cases in which the optical properties of the food substances are such to negatively influence the reading of the capsule 1, as for example it can occur in the case of soluble powdered milk, whose white colour can in some circumstances cause reading problems.

Whereas, should the lid 4 be made of a material at least partially transparent to light, the optical recognition device 14 is suitably operated also prior to the perforation of the lid 4 so as to prolong the reading time of the capsule 1 so as either to read or at least to start reading the capsule 1 prior to the perforation of the lid 4.

With regard to what described above, it is suitable to specify that, in the cases where the perforation device 12 which carries the optical transport device 19 is distinct from the perforator/ brewing fluid injector and thus has the sole function of perforating the capsule 1 to allow the optical recognition substance to be recognised, the membrane 13 will have to be unbonded to the lid 4 in the area where the perforation device 12 perforates the lid 4 and for a sufficient extension so that the penetration of the perforation device 12 in the capsule 1 anyway produces the effect of moving the membrane 13 away from the lid 4.

Furthermore, conveniently, according to what is shown in Figure 7, the lid 4 and the membrane 13 bonded thereto form, as a whole, a closure member of the capsule 1 which is obtained by punching a roll 20 of a multilayer tape 21. In particular, in order to manufacture the capsule shown in Figure 1, the multilayer tape 21 comprises a sheet of material for the lids 4 and a sheet of material for the membranes 13, which sheets are mutually bonded, for example by gluing, except for the areas where the membranes 13 have to be unbonded to the lids 4.

The same applies to the manufacture of the capsules shown in Figures 2 and 3.

What described in the foregoing enables the advantages that the present invention allows to achieve to be appreciated.

In particular, the optically recognisable capsule according to the present invention is constructively much simpler than many of the optically recognisable capsules of the prior art because firstly it does not require any additional elements for supporting the optical recognition substance to be introduced in the capsule.

Furthermore, the fact that the optical recognition substance is arranged in the proximity of the lid significantly reduces, if not totally annuls, the risk of contamination of the food substance by the optical recognition substance because the optical recognition substance is not in direct contact with the food substance contained in the capsule and, especially, is not flown through by the brewing fluid, normally very hot, which could transport part of the optical recognition substance into the food substance.