Beverage Cartridge
TECHNOLOGICAL FIELDThe present disclosure is in the field of cartridges for use in preparing a beverage, particularly a hot beverage.
BACKGROUND ARTReferences considered to be relevant as background to the presently disclosed subject matter are listed below: - WO 2005/026018 - WO 2001/602- WO 2001/607- DE 1020100478- EP 3216768 - WO 2017/2142- WO 2012/0311- WO 2010/1385- WO 2002/080742 - WO 2002/080743 Acknowledgement of the above references herein is not to be inferred as meaning that these are in any way relevant to the patentability of the presently disclosed subject matter.
BACKGROUNDMachines for brewing a beverage using a disposable cartridge containing a dry beverage medium are known. A brewing machine for example, for brewing a beverage from a single serve filter cartridge is disclosed in WO 02/080742 and WO 2002/080743. The process is initialized by piercing the cartridge with tubular outlet and inlet probes. Then, a beverage is produced by inserting a heated liquid into the cartridge that is
combined with the dry beverage medium and the hot beverage is then extracted from the cartridge through the outlet probe. A beverage filter cartridge is disclosed in WO 2005/026018. The cartridge includes a container which is divided by a cup-shaped filter element, formed from materials such as paper or polymer, into two chambers. Of these two, the top chamber, defined between the filter element and the cartridge’s top, stores a dry beverage medium, such as ground coffee or other substances. The top of the cartridge container has a pierceable lid to allow liquid to flow into the top chamber, mix with the beverage medium and thus forming a beverage. The formed beverage then passes through the filter into the bottom. The bottom of the container is also pierceable to allow the beverage liquid to flow through and out of the cartridge. Other examples of two-chamber beverage filter cartridges have been described in WO 2001/60219, WO 2001/60712, WO 02/082863, DE 102010047890 WO 2017/214294, WO 2012/031106, WO 2011/031294 and WO 2010/138563. A capsule for remineralizing water formed with an upper salt-containing space on top of a turbulence layer that may be made of or comprise a fibrous material is disclosed in EP 3216768.
GENERAL DESCRIPTIONThe present disclosure has the purpose of providing a cartridge for the preparation of a beverage from a dry beverage medium. The beverage medium may be a solid, ground or particulate mass, such as ground coffee, instant coffee, tea, a solid composition for producing a health drink, solid base for a fruit drink, etc. The cartridge has a housing made of any suitable material, including a metal substance or alloy, such as aluminum, a polymeric material such as polyethylene, polypropylene, a recycled material, etc. In other words, the cartridge is not limited by the material from which it is made. The cartridge, which is generally cup shaped, has an internal space that is divided by an integral barrier into two chambers refer to herein has “first chamber” and “second chamber”. In use, as will be elucidated in the description below, the first chamber is on top of the second chamber – the water to be mixed with the beverage medium being introduced through an inlet probe into the first chamber, reacting with the beverage medium to thereby produce a liquid beverage that then passes through the bored barrier (see below) into the second chamber and then out therefrom, by engagement of an outlet mechanism of the machine, for example through an outlet probe
that pierces the wall, into a beverage receptacle, e.g., a drinking glass. Accordingly, the terms “top” and “bottom” or corresponding terms, may be used to refer to the relative positions and/or orientations, although it is understood that when one views the cartridge in isolation it may be positioned with the first chamber being below the second chamber, the cartridge may be so oriented such that the two are horizontally arranged one next to the other, or any other orientation. The integral barrier is bored, the bores being of dimensions such that they do not permit passage therethrough of the beverage medium, typically in the form of particulate solid, but permit a passage therethrough of water and the formed beverage. The cartridges may, for example, be configured to be used in beverage maker machines such as those disclosed in WO 02/080742 and WO 2002/080743 or in coffee makers such as those of Keurig Dr. Pepper, Inc., USA. Thus, provided by one aspect of this disclosure is a cartridge for producing a beverage comprising a generally cup-shaped housing and an integral barrier within the housing, the cartridge being configured to fit within a cartridge receptacle of a beverage producing machine. The housing has an opening at one end that is sealed by a closure and has an end wall at the other end and a side wall between the two ends. The integral barrier is substantially parallel to said closure and divides the housing’s interior into a first chamber defined between said one end and the barrier that comprises a dry beverage medium, and a second chamber defined between said barrier and said end wall. The barrier comprises holes that are configured to permit passage of liquid and block passage therethrough of the dry beverage medium. The closure is pierceable by a tubular inlet probe for introducing liquid into the cartridge (e.g. hot water) and the bottom wall is configured to engage with a beverage outlet arrangement of the machine, for example a tubular outlet probe, for extracting the beverage from the cartridge. The cartridge may have a side wall that generally converges from the top end to a narrower bottom end. The cup-shaped housing has, typically, albeit not exclusively, a rounded cross-section. In some embodiments, the cup-shaped housing may have an overall shape of a truncated cone. The cartridge typically comprises a peripheral skirt at its upper end. In some embodiments, the housing is made of two cup-shaped members that are joined to one another, to be referred to herein as “first member” and “second member”. The first member has an opening at one end, a barrier with holes at an opposite end and
a first side wall extending therebetween. The second member has an opening at one end, a wall at an opposite end and a second side wall therebetween. The two members are combined such that the opening of the second member is fitted onto said barrier of the first member, whereby (i) the opening of the first member constitutes said opening of the cartridge, (ii) the barrier of the first member constitutes said barrier of the cartridge, (iii) the end wall of the second member constitutes said end wall of the cartridge, and (iv) the first wall portion and the second wall portion jointly defining said side wall of the cartridge. Thus, the first member essentially defines the first chamber, and the second member defines the second chamber. The two members may be combined with one another by fitting a portion of the second side wall adjacent to the second member’s opening over a portion of the first side wall adjacent said barrier and tightly joining the two portions one to another. The two members may be joined to one another by welding, gluing, pressure joining, optionally with embossing. In the latter case, to ensure a gas-tight seal, a lubricant such as a food grade, silicone-based lubricant may be added between the two portions prior to such pressure joining. In some embodiments, the holes have a general shape of a truncated cone between an upper hole end at said first chamber and a narrower bottom hole end at said second chamber. The cartridge may be a single serve cartridge for receiving a defined volume of water through the inlet probe that flows down through the first chamber, then through said barrier into the second chamber and for extracting a volume of a beverage through the outlet probe. A specific, albeit not exclusive embodiment of this disclosure is a cartridge for use in brewing a hot beverage, the dry beverage medium being suitable for such brewing, e.g., for preparing a coffee or a tea. In some embodiments, the number and dimensions of the holes are configured to permit passage therethrough of the beverage produced in the first chamber at a rate such that the liquid introduced through the inlet probe will partially and transiently accumulate in the first chamber to properly wet the dry beverage medium. To achieve that, the number and dimensions of the holes, that define the rate in which the beverage that is produced in the first chamber is passed through the barrier into the second chamber, is matched to the nature of the dry beverage medium. Where, for example, the dry beverage medium has the effect of slowing the flow of water down towards the barrier, such as finely ground
coffee, the dimensions and number of the holes may be configured to permit relatively rapid flow of the formed beverage therethrough; whereas, where, for example, the dry beverage medium is such that rapidly dissolves in the liquid, such as instant coffee, the dimensions and number of the holes may be configured to permit relatively slow flow of the formed beverage therethrough. Provided by another aspect is an empty cartridge (namely a cartridge in which the first chamber is empty, and the opening is not sealed with the closure) that may be used to produce the cartridge disclosed herein. The empty cartridge has a generally cup-shaped housing defined between an opening at one end and an end wall at the other end and a side wall between the two ends. There is an integral barrier within the housing, substantially parallel to a plain define by rims of said opening and dividing the housing’s interior into a first chamber defined between said one end and the barrier and a second chamber defined between said barrier and said end wall. The barrier is the one defined above and it comprises holes that are configured to permit passage of liquid and block passage therethrough of the dry beverage medium. The empty cartridge is configured for further processing that comprises (i) receiving dry beverage medium into said first chamber, (ii) after said receiving sealing said opening with a closure, and for (iii) fitting within a cartridge receptacle of a beverage producing machine, wherein said closure is pierceable by a tubular inlet probe for introducing a liquid and the end wall is configured for engagement with a beverage extracting arrangement of the machine, for example being pierceable by a tubular outlet probe of said machine, for extracting the beverage from the cartridge. Also provided by this disclosure are cup-shaped members that are configured for combining with another cup-shaped member to produce the empty cartridge described above. Provided by yet another aspect if this disclosure is process for the manufacture of an empty cartridge of the kind disclosed above. The process comprises producing two cup-shaped members and then joining them to one another. The first cup-shaped member has a first opening at its one end, a barrier with holes at an opposite end and a first side wall extending therebetween. The second cup-shaped member has a second opening at its one end, an end wall at its other end and a second side wall extending therebetween, said second opening being dimensioned such to fit over said barrier with internal portions of said second side wall adjacent said second opening fitting snugly over external wall
portions of said first side wall adjacent said barrier. The second opening is then fitted over said barrier and said internal portions of said second side wall are then joined with said external portions of said first side wall by welding, gluing, pressure joining, optionally with embossing. In some embodiments, a lubricant such as a food grade, silicone-based lubricant may be added between the two portions prior to pressure joining in order to ensure a gas tight seal between the two portions. By one embodiment the puncturing of the barrier is carried out at the time of initial manufacturing of the first member. By another embodiment the production of the cup-shaped member comprises a separate step of puncturing holes through said barrier. For example, such puncturing may comprise bringing a receiving surface of first element of a puncturing apparatus into contact with one face of said barrier, the receiving surface comprising a plurality of cavities; displacing a pinned surface of a second element of said apparatus towards the opposite face of said barrier, the pinned surface comprising a plurality of pins projecting towards the receiving surface, each such pin being opposite to one of the cavities in said receiving surface, each cavity being configured to receive at least an end of the pin therein, whereupon a plurality of holes are punched through said barrier; and separating the first and second members from said barrier. By one embodiment, each of said pins is tapered, whereby the punched holes may have openings that have a dimension that is narrower at said one face than at the opposite face. The extent of penetration of the pins through the barrier may determine the dimensions of the holes, such dimension, in turn, may be matched to the types of dry beverage medium and may define the rate in which the beverage that is produced in the first chamber is passed through the barrier into the second chamber. By other embodiments of this disclosure, rather than by puncturing, the holes may be made by drilling. For the manufacture of a cartridge for producing a beverage a dry beverage is introduced into said first chamber, and then the opening is sealed with a closure.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGSIn order to better understand the subject matter that is disclosed herein and to exemplify how it may be carried out in practice, embodiments will now be described, by
way of non-limiting example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figs. 1A-1Fare, respective, side view, top perspective view, longitudinal cross-sectional view, perspective cross-sectional view, bottom perspective view and a top view of an empty cartridge according to an embodiment of this disclosure. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal cross-section through a cartridge for preparing a beverage according to an embodiment of this disclosure. Fig. 3is a schematic flow chart of a process for preparing an empty cartridge and a subsequent preparation of filled cartridge of this disclosure. Fig. 4A and Fig. 4B are schematic production scheme for the manufacture of the two members, that are subsequently combined to form the empty cartridge. Fig. 5 is a schematic perspective view of the apparatus for joining the two members into an empty cartridge of this disclosure. Figs, 6A-6C are schematic cross-sectional views through the joining unit for joining the first and second members to one another in several operational stages. Figs. 7A-7F are schematic perspective views of the joining unit of the apparatus of Fig. 5 in 6 successive operational steps.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTSThe current disclosure will now be further explained in a description of some specific, non-limiting embodiment, with reference to the annexed drawings. Referring first to Figs. 1A-1F , shown is an empty cartridge generally designated 100 that has a generally cup-shaped housing 102defined between an opening 104at one end an end wall 106at the other end and a side wall 108extending between the two ends and generally converging from the opening 104 to the narrower end wall 106 . Formed within the housing 102is an integral barrier 110 , substantially parallel to a plain define by rims of opening 104 and dividing the housing’s interior into a first chamber 112defined between the opening 104 and the barrier 110and a second chamber 114defined between said barrier and end wall 106 . The barrier 110is perforated by a plurality of holes 116that are configured to permit passage of liquid and block passage therethrough of the dry beverage medium.
As schematically illustrated in Fig. 2 , the empty cartridge is configured for further processing in which a dry beverage medium 118is added to the first chamber 112and then sealing the opening 104 with a closure 120 , typically an aluminum foil, as schematically illustrated in Fig. 2 to thereby obtain a cartridge 121for preparing a beverage. The empty cartridge 100 and consequently the cartridge 121 is configured for fitting within a cartridge-receptacle of a beverage producing machine (not shown), such as the machine disclosed in WO 2002/080742 and WO 2002/080743 as well as in a variety of coffee makers such as those marketed by Keurig Dr. Pepper, Inc., USA (including K-Supreme , K-Cafe , K-Elite and a variety of others). Closure 120and said end wall 106 are pierceable by a tubular inlet probe of such machines for introducing a liquid and by a tubular outlet probe of said machine for extracting the beverage from the cartridge, respectively. The end wall has an embossed star-like pattern 122 , with a central portion 124 , providing overall structural reinforcement, with the central portion 124 , being the portion, through which said outlet probe pierces the bottom wall. In the following description, unless specifically stated, the term “cartridge” will be used to denote both an empty cartridge and one in which the first chamber contains a dry beverage medium, and the opening is sealed by a closure. The cartridge of Figs. 1A-2 has a peripheral skirt 126with curled periphery 128surrounding the opening. Also, the cartridge of the illustrated embodiment has a cup-shaped housing 102has a rounded, particularly circular cross-section and has an overall shape of truncated cone. It should, however, be noted, that such a shape is an example and cartridges (including empty cartridges) embodying the teaching of this disclosure may also have a variety of other cross-sectional shapes such as polygonal. Also, it should be noted that the generally converging shape of the housing is an example and in other embodiments the opening and the end wall may have substantially the same dimensions. The cartridge 121 is typically a single serve cartridge for receiving a defined volume of water through the inlet probe for extracting a volume of a beverage through the outlet probe. The cartridge’s housing is made of two cup-shaped members that are joined to one another. A first of these members includes the opening 104at its one end, the barrier 110 at its other end and a first side wall 130 . A second of these members includes the end
wall 106and second side wall 132 extending upwards therefrom to an opening. A can be seen in Figs. 1A-2 , the two members are combined such that the opening of the second member is fitted over said barrier of the first member to form the cartridge 100 , with the two wall portions 130and 132 defining side wall 108of the cartridge. As can further be seen, the two members are joined to one another by fitting an upper portion 134of the second side wall 132 adjacent the second member’s opening over a lower portion 136of the first side wall 130 adjacent said barrier and tightly joining the two portions one to another. In this embodiment, the tight joining is through embossing with the formation of a plurality of round embossed clinches 140 . The manner of producing cartridges according to a non-limiting embodiment of this disclosure is shown schematically in Figs. 3-7F . As can be seen in Fig. 3 , in the manufacturing process of this embodiment 4 assemblies are used: a manufacturing line 150for producing the first member of the cartridge, a separate manufacturing line 152for producing the second member of the cartridge, both members are stacked and the stacks of the two members are then introduced into a joining apparatus 154 for joining the two members to form the empty cartridge. The empty cartridge is subsequently transported to a filing station 156 , in which dry beverage medium is introduced into the first chamber which is then sealed with a closure (not shown) to thereby produce a filled cartridge. The manufacturing process for each the two members can better be seen in Fig. 4 . Turning first to the manufacture of the first members in line 150 , in a first stage 160 cup-shaped devices 162 , shown also in an enlarged perspective, cross-sectional view 162A and a partial further enlarged cross-sectional view 162B , are formed by a deep drawing process from a metal plate 164 ; and then in a next stage 165 , the upright end 162C of the device’s skirt is subjected to a curling process to yield a cup-shaped device 166 , shown also in an enlarged, cross-sectional view 166A and a partial further enlarged cross-sectional view 166B . In a subsequent step 168 , holes are punctured in the end wall of the device (that will eventually form the barrier of the cartridge) to produce a first member 170 , shown also in an enlarged, perspective, cross-sectional view 170A . As can be seen, first member 170 , 170A , has an end wall 172 , that will constitute the barrier of the cartridge, that is perforated by a plurality of holes. In order to perforate wall 172 , a receiving surface of first element of a puncturing unit that has a plurality of cavities (which may be in the form of depressions, holes, etc.),
of which a representative portion 174with one cavity 176is schematically represented in an enlarged view above member 170A , is brought into contact with one of the faces of end wall/barrier 172(a portion of which 172Ais seen in the enlarged view), in this case the external face (although it may also be the opposite face by other embodiments). Then a pinned surface of a second member of said unit that has a plurality of pins projecting towards the receiving surface, of which a representative pin 178 that has a tapered end 180 is shown in the enlarged view, is displaced towards the receiving surface from the opposite face of wall 172 . Each of the pins is opposite one of the cavities in the receiving surface, and each such cavity is configured to receive the tapered end of the pin. The pins pierce the wall 172 to perforate it with a plurality of holes such as hole 182 seen in the enlarged view. The tapered nature of the pin means that through control of the extent of penetration of the pins through the barrier, the dimensions of the holes may be controlled. The next stage of the manufacturing process involves an automatic optical inspection using a camera, schematically represented at 192 and then the produced first members are stacked into stacks 194of such members. The manufacture second cup-shaped members 202 , of which a perspective cross-sectional view is blown up at 202A , is produce in a one-step deep drawing stage 204 . The second cup-shaped members 202 pass through an automatic optical inspection using a camera, schematically represented at 206 and then the said second members are stacked into stacks 208of such members. The second cup-shaped members are designed to have an opening that is dimensioned such to fit over said barrier as noted above. The stacks 194 and 208 may then be transported to apparatus 154 that is seen in a schematic perspective view in Fig. 5 . Apparatus 154 , in this embodiment, has 3 parallel processing lines 210 , which are functionally identical to one another. It should be noted that in other embodiments such an apparatus may comprise only one or a different number of such processing lines. Each line 210includes two feeding lanes, including a first feeding lane 212 for feeding the first members 170 from a stack of such members 194 , and including second feeding lane 214 for feeding the second members 202 from a stack of such members 208 . As can be seen, feeding lane 212is at a lower level than feeding lane 214 . At the end of the feeding lines, each second member 202 is stacked onto a first member 170 and these two stacked members are then fed into the joining unit 216 , in which, through an embossing process, the two members are joined to one another in an embossing process,
to be described below, to produce cartridges 100 . The cartridges 100 are then displaced along a cartridge feeding line 220 . These empty cartridges may be collected at the end of the line or may be fed directly into a feeling station, in which each cartridges receives a dry beverage medium into its first chamber and the cartridge’s opening is then sealed by a closure. For that purpose, the cartridges are turned by 180 degrees at 222 , for example through the use of guiding rails, and the turned cartridges are then transported into the filling station. By some embodiments, Line 210may also include a hole-puncturing unit 224 instead of such unit in first members manufacturing line 150 . Additionally, each of lines 210 may also include a lubrication unit for applying a lubricant on external surface portions of first members 170 and/or internal surface portions of second member 202 , to ensure a gas-tight seal between joined portion of these two members. Referring now to Figs. 6A-6C , showing perspective longitudinal cross-sections through part of joining unit 216 (shown in Fig. 5 ) in three operational steps. Once the stack of first member 170 and second member 202 is introduced into the joining unit, as seen in Fig. 6A , a cylindrical press 225 is pressed downwards in the direction of arrow 226 whereby portion 134 of second member 202 is snugly fitted about portion 136 of first member 170 . At a subsequent step, seen in Fig. 6B , annular press 228 , which has an outwardly slanted interface 230 at its bottom end, is lowered as represented by arrow 232 . External embossing elements 234 have a corresponding slanted face 236 and consequently downward displacement of press 228 causes an inward radial displacement of elements 234as represented by arrow 235 . Internal embossing elements 240 are radially externally displaced, in the direction represented by arrows 244 , by an upward displacement of coned press 242 , as represented by arrow 246 . This opposite relative radial displacement of elements 234 and 240 induces an embossing–based joining of portions 134 and 136 to one another. As can be seen in Fig. 6C , the entire upper portion of the unit is then upwardly displaced leading to the external radial displacement of elements 234 and upward displacement of extraction cylinder 238 , as represented by arrow 248 , causes upward lifting of the form cartridge 100 which can then be removed from unit 216 . Referring now to Figs. 7A-7F , showing successive steps in the joining process. In Fig. 7A , a two-member stack 250 consisting of a second member 202 on top of a first member 170 , is introduced into joining unit 216 that has a top assembly 252 and a bottom
assembly 254 . Assembly 252 is then lowered, as represented by arrow 256 is Fig. 7B , and one fully lowered the engagement of the bottom end of the cylindrical press 225 with the end wall of member 202 until it finally encloses stack 250 , as seen in Fig. 7C . Cylindrical press 225 is lowered, as seen in Fig. 7D , to press onto end wall of member 202 , as seen in Fig. 6A , and then following embossing, as shown in Fig. 6B , assembly 252 is lifted to exposed the formed cartridge 100 , which is then laterally displaced into line 220 (see Fig. 5 ) by a displacer element 258 which can reciprocate along a line, as represented by arrow 260 , which after laterally displacing the cartridge retracts back to its original position.
