阅读说明：本技术 复合材料的胶囊和加强基部的结构构造 (Structural construction of a composite material capsule and reinforcing base ) 是由 R·M·纳贝罗 J·A·德菲格雷多·布兰科 M·F·刚萨雷斯·马丁斯 于 2020-02-06 设计创作，主要内容包括：本发明公开了一种复合材料的胶囊(1),所述胶囊(1)适于容纳可食用物质,例如烘焙研磨的咖啡豆,并且适于流过流动压力大于4巴、优选大于8巴的加压流,所述胶囊(1)具有容器部分(11),所述容器部分以复合材料提供,所述复合材料包括与天然植物物质相关联的聚合物,并且所述容器部分被构造成抵抗至少4巴、优选地至少8巴的内部压力。(The present invention discloses a capsule (1) of composite material, the capsule (1) being adapted to contain an edible substance, such as roast and ground coffee beans, and to flow through a pressurized flow having a flow pressure of more than 4 bar, preferably more than 8 bar, the capsule (1) having a container portion (11) provided in a composite material comprising a polymer associated with a natural plant substance, and the container portion being configured to resist an internal pressure of at least 4 bar, preferably at least 8 bar.)

1. A capsule for preparing an edible product, such as an aromatic beverage,

the capsule (1) comprises a container portion (11) and a lid portion (12),

said container portion (11) having a base wall (111) and a side wall (112) extending with respect to a central axis (X) and having a structural configuration adapted to resist an internal pressure of at least 4 bar, preferably at least 8 bar,

the container part (11) is provided as a composite substance having a composition comprising a biopolymer,

it is characterized in that the preparation method is characterized in that,

the base wall (111) has a wall thickness that increases along at least a part of the radial extension in the direction of the central area, such that a greater structural resistance can be provided at the central area of the base wall (111).

2. The capsule according to claim 1,

the wall thickness of the base wall (111) has a relation between a larger and a smaller wall thickness, which relation is between 1.1 and 4, preferably between 1.2 and 2, and

wherein the base wall (111) has a larger wall thickness at least at the upstream oriented face and at a central region having at least one of: dot shapes, circular shapes, radial shapes, and annular shapes.

3. The capsule according to claim 1 or 2,

a central region of the base wall (111) has a larger wall thickness than a wall thickness of a region located at a periphery of and adjacent to the central region,the central region comprises in particular a maximum wall thickness (e)_max) The region located at the periphery of and adjacent to the central region comprises in particular a minimum wall thickness (e)_min) Wherein at least a part of said area of larger wall thickness extends further downstream with respect to the remaining base wall (111), and wherein said central area extends in a radial extension larger than 0.2, preferably larger than 0.3, particularly preferably similar to or larger than 0.5 times a characteristic dimension defined by said base wall (111), in particular an inner diameter of said container portion (11) immediately adjacent to said base wall (111).

4. The capsule according to any one of claims 1 to 3,

the base wall (111) has a configuration in which at least the upstream oriented face has a convex shape, for example a conical shape, with an apex extending upstream in a direction at least substantially aligned with the central axis (X), and such that the wall thickness increases in the central region relative to the peripheral region of the base wall (111).

5. The capsule according to any one of claims 1 to 4,

the base wall (111) has a downstream oriented face in a planar shape, and

wherein the increase in the wall thickness is at least substantially continuous along at least a portion of the radial extension of the base wall (111), preferably at least in a central region thereof.

6. The capsule according to any one of claims 1 to 5,

the base wall (111) has an upstream oriented face also having a conical shape extending upstream, such that the increase in wall thickness is provided over the radial extension relative to the remaining radial extension over the peripheral region of the base wall (111).

7. The capsule according to any one of claims 1 to 6,

the base wall (111) has a base projection (114) extending upstream along a circular alignment portion defining an annular configuration in the vicinity of the projection of the side wall (12) such that a cavity space is defined in the peripheral region of the base wall (111), wherein the base projection (114) projects with a similar extension as the projection of the side wall (12) and has a wall thickness smaller than the wall thickness of the projection of the side wall (12).

8. The capsule according to any one of claims 1 to 7,

the downstream oriented surface of the base wall (111) extends in a plane located downstream of the plane of the cavity-like space configured by the projections of the side wall (112) and the projections of the base wall (114), and wherein preferably a plurality of radial connecting elements are provided, distributed along the cavity space.

9. The capsule according to any one of claims 1 to 8,

the container part (11) has a reinforcement device comprising:

-a transversal reinforcement device (131) configured so as to exhibit an increase in the thickness of the side wall (112) towards the base wall (111), and

-base stiffening means (132) exhibiting an increase in the thickness of the base wall (111) towards the centre of the base wall (111),

wherein the stiffening means (131, 132) are provided as ribs extending in the inner surface of the container portion (11) such that, when seen in a side sectional view, a local increase of the wall thickness of the container portion (11) is provided, the increase of the wall thickness extending substantially in the downstream direction and to the centre thereof.

10. The capsule according to any one of claims 1 to 9,

the container portion (11) comprises transverse stiffening ribs (131) provided as ribs extending in an inward face of the side wall (12) along a main flow direction and exhibiting an increase of the wall thickness inwardly and towards the base wall (111), wherein the increase of the wall thickness extends in at least one of a circular direction and a radial direction of the transverse stiffening ribs (131), preferably both the circular direction and the radial direction, with respect to the central axis (X), and wherein the increase of the wall thickness preferably extends continuously and at least inwardly with respect to the interior of the capsule.

11. The capsule according to any one of claims 1 to 10,

the container portion (11) comprises base stiffening ribs (132) which extend in a radial configuration in the base wall (111) of the container portion (11) and which exhibit an increase in the wall thickness in the radial direction in the direction of the central region of the base wall (111), the increase in the wall thickness preferably being continuous and gradual.

12. The capsule according to any one of claims 1 to 11,

at least a part, preferably all, of the first and second stiffening ribs (131, 132) extend in an aligned manner with respect to each other, preferably in a continuous manner with respect to each other, such that an at least substantially continuous increase of the wall thickness of the container portion (11) along the side wall (12) and up to the central region of the base wall (111) is provided.

13. The capsule according to any one of claims 1 to 12,

the base wall (111) has a plurality of flow channel regions (113) provided with an elongated shape, in particular with a relation between length and width of between 2 and 10, preferably between 3 and 6, wherein a part of the flow channel region (1131) extends in an at least substantially radial direction and at least a part of the flow channel region (1132) extends in a circular direction.

14. The capsule according to any one of claims 1 to 13,

the base wall (111) has a plurality of flow channel regions (113) comprising a radially oriented first flow channel region (1131) arranged on a central region having a larger wall thickness and a circularly oriented second flow channel region (1132) arranged in the peripheral region having a smaller wall thickness, wherein the first flow channel region (1131) and the second flow channel region (1132) have at least substantially similar characteristic dimensions, in particular length and width.

15. The capsule according to any one of claims 1 to 14,

the base wall (111) has a plurality of first flow channel regions (1131) which are arranged in an at least substantially radial orientation on a central region of greater and/or increased wall thickness of the base wall (111), and wherein the base wall (111) has a plurality of second flow channel regions (1132) which are arranged in an at least substantially angular orientation on a peripheral region of smaller and/or constant wall thickness of the base wall (111).

16. The capsule according to any one of claims 1 to 15,

the base wall (111) comprises a plurality of areas adapted for flow channels, wherein the areas (113) for flow channels are provided as at least one of: an opening and a weakened material region adapted to rupture upon application of upstream hydraulic pressure to the weakened material region.

17. The capsule according to any one of claims 1 to 16,

the composite substance has a composition comprising natural fibres including at least one, preferably at least two, from the list of natural fibres obtained by treating:

-green coffee beans;

-cinnamon;

-sugar cane;

-corn;

-cassava.

18. The capsule according to any one of claims 1 to 17,

the composite has a thermoplastic matrix reinforced with natural fibers, including coffee silverskin fibers, and

wherein the polymer matrix that polymerizes the silver-skinned fibers comprises a polymer of natural origin, the polymer comprising a derivative of cellulose and an aliphatic polyester.

6.2.2020, Rician.

Technical Field

The present invention relates to the field of capsules for preparing beverages, which are generally manufactured in a composite material comprising a non-synthetic substance and which, in addition, particularly has a reinforced structural configuration.

Background

The prior art comprises several documents related to capsules for preparing beverages by mixing edible substances internally thereof, and discloses solutions for reinforcing the structural capacity of said capsules, in particular in the case of capsules made of synthetic materials comprising biopolymers or other substances with the possibility of composting by natural means, as an alternative to the usual synthetic materials of fossil origin. In particular, in certain capsules, the base wall of the container portion is the flow outlet surface and is subjected to a greater hydraulic pressure, and therefore there is a structural need.

Document EP 1807318B 1 discloses a capsule of the type of the invention comprising a container portion having ribs on the side walls and ribs on the base wall. The ribs on the side wall appear to have an increasing thickness towards the periphery of the side wall.

Document EP 1961676B 1 discloses a capsule in which the base wall has a wall portion of larger wall thickness than the central region with respect to the remaining base wall, wherein the wall portion extends towards the downstream side, the wall portion being for example a plurality of ribs.

Document EP 2408691B 1 discloses a capsule wherein the container part is made of a biodegradable polymer and wherein the base wall has a plurality of radially arranged elements and a plurality of flow channels in the cavity spaces between the radial elements, wherein the channels are not aligned with the radial elements.

Document WO 2015/145361 a1 discloses a capsule in which the base wall has a portion of convex surface provided on the downstream oriented surface and which extends with a thickness decreasing towards its convex edge.

The prior art also includes several documents relating to composite materials having a composition comprising a synthetic polymer (in particular in a thermoplastic matrix) and a biopolymer.

Document EP 22218653 a1 discloses a biodegradable capsule comprising a shell, a fibrous layer and a closing membrane, which are composed in each case of a biodegradable material.

Document WO 03/000810a1 discloses an improved composition consisting of a dip and a coating based on an emulsion of a polymer and a latex of vegetable origin such as shells and other ashes, including the ashes of coffee shells.

Document WO 2012/077066 a1 discloses a capsule for the preparation of liquid products, comprising a base wall presenting a multilayer structure, at least one layer of which is made of a first compostable material and at least one layer of a second compostable material that does not withstand significant softening and/or melting at temperatures of 70 ℃ to 120 ℃. In particular, the first compostable material is selected from the group comprising polymers derived from biomass, synthetic polymers, polymers produced by microorganisms or genetically modified bacteria, polymers of fossil monomers, and mixtures of said polymers with or without additives. The second compostable material is selected from paper, such as cellulose paper, and preferably 100% cellulose paper, cardboard, cellophane and cellulose acetate, in particular, the first material layer is disposed internally with respect to the second material layer. The disclosed capsules may be integrally constructed of compostable materials. Definitions of "compostable" and "biodegradable" are described herein, both of which are within the scope of the present application.

Document US 2012/0097602 a1 discloses a similar type of capsule in which the filter element has a mixture of 0 to 60% cellulose fibres and about 40 to 100% compostable polyester fibres.

Document WO 2015/121489 a1 discloses a similar type of capsule comprising a biodegradable and compostable polymeric material, or a mixture of said materials, and a percentage of filler, wherein the polymeric material comprises an agropolymer and a biopolyester.

Document WO 2015/162632 a1 discloses a compound with a thermoplastic polymer and a filling device for producing food packages, in particular coffee capsules, and which also comprises a polysaccharide derived from an agricultural polymer. The capsule has a single layer and is made of a material comprising biodegradable and compostable polymers, wherein the percentage of filling means is from 15% to 80% of at least one aliphatic polyester, or aromatic-aliphatic containing from 15% to 90% of one or more filling means having a particle size of D50.

Document FR 3035085 also discloses capsules produced from compounds comprising an agropolymer from a specific list of possible sources of such agropolymers.

Documents WO 2013/131117 a1 and WO 2018/050544 a1 also disclose capsules of the type of the present invention having reinforcing means of the side wall and part of the upstream wall.

However, there are two major limitations associated with the usual synthetic materials of fossil origin using this type of biopolymer-containing material: the material cost per unit quantity increases significantly and the structural resistance is reduced, which in turn leads to a deterioration in the packaging costs.

None of the prior art documents disclose a composite substance having a structural configuration that provides an optimization of the structural resistance force, and thus an optimization of the amount of material used.

Disclosure of Invention

It is an object of the present invention to provide a capsule for the preparation of a beverage by injection of a pressurized flow at a flow pressure of at least 8 bar and provided with a composite substance comprising a biopolymer, said capsule being configured such that it has a better structural resistance, comprised in the base wall of the container portion.

According to the present invention, this object is solved by a capsule according to claim 1, wherein preferred embodiments are disclosed in the dependent claims.

A related object is to provide a flow outlet arrangement through the base wall of the container portion that provides a better distribution of hydraulic pressure and load losses at the beverage flow outlet, thereby helping to reduce the need for structural reinforcement of the base wall.

Another related object is to provide a composite substance having a composition comprising synthetic polymers and biopolymers, in particular using fibers of natural materials instead of biodegradable plastic materials, in particular comprising at least one biopolymer of vegetable origin, and suitable for providing thermal, mechanical, fluid transport (permeability) and surface transport properties (wettability, friction coefficient) and other properties, advantageous in view of several uses and at a reduced cost.

In particular, the capsule is made in a material comprising 60% to 90% associated with at least one of the following: sugar cane, tapioca, and corn, wherein the remaining composition comprises PLA polymer or the like.

In particular, the capsule according to the invention is produced in a composite substance comprising in its composition caffeine silver skin fibres, wherein the composite substance does not comprise PLA.

The composite substance may include at least one of:

-a polyethylene selected from the list comprising high density polyethylene and Low Density Polyethylene (LDPE),

-Polycaprolactone (PCL);

-thermoplastic amides (TPS);

-copolymers of ethylene-vinyl alcohol (EVOH);

-polyvinylidene chloride (PVDC), and

-a compatibilizer.

The composite material may include polyethylene grafted with maleic anhydride (PE-co-MA) as a compatibilizer.

Drawings

The invention will be explained in more detail below on the basis of preferred embodiments and the accompanying drawings.

The figures show, in a simplified schematic representation:

FIG. 1: a side view of an embodiment of a capsule of the type of the present invention;

FIG. 2: a top view of an embodiment of the capsule 1;

FIG. 3: a side sectional view of an embodiment of a capsule 1 according to the invention;

FIG. 4: a side sectional view of an embodiment of a capsule 1 according to the invention;

FIG. 5: a top view of an embodiment of the container portion 11 of the capsule according to the invention;

FIG. 6: a side sectional view of an embodiment of the container portion 11 of the capsule 1 according to the invention;

FIG. 7: a side sectional view of an embodiment of the container portion 11 of the capsule 1 according to the invention;

FIG. 8: a side sectional view of an embodiment of the container portion 11 of the capsule 1 according to the invention;

FIG. 9: a side sectional view of an embodiment of the container portion 11 of the capsule 1 according to the invention;

FIG. 10: a side sectional view of an embodiment of the container portion 11 of the capsule 1 according to the invention;

FIG. 11: a side sectional view of an embodiment of the container portion 11 of the capsule 1 according to the invention;

FIG. 12: a top perspective view of an embodiment of the container portion 11 of the capsule 1 according to the invention.

Detailed Description

Capsules of the type of the present invention are used in machines for preparing beverages by injection of a pressurized flow at a flow pressure of at least 8 bar, sometimes more than 15 bar, and essentially comprise a container portion 11 and a lid portion 12 adapted to be able to close said container portion (see fig. 1 and 2). The pressurized flow is made to enter the capsule through the lid portion 12 and exit through the base wall 111 of the container portion. The container portion 11 has a base wall 111 and a side wall 112, for example of cylindrical shape, which extends in a symmetrical manner with respect to the central axis x of the capsule. The capsules may be generally provided in a synthetic material comprising a biopolymer in order to mitigate the associated environmental impact. In the particular case where the base wall 111 is also the beverage outlet wall, it is also subjected to greater structural requirements due to the hydraulic pressure upstream thereof.

The capsule may have structural reinforcing means in the form of ribs adapted to structurally reinforce the side walls and the base wall of the capsule. The base wall 111 may have base reinforcing ribs 131, and the side wall 112 may have side reinforcing ribs 132.

As shown in the representative schematic view of fig. 3, the capsule 1 according to the invention comprises a container portion 11, wherein the base wall 111 has a wall thickness increasing towards its center and has a shape which is at least substantially symmetrical in an at least substantially uniform manner with respect to said central axis X and all around it.

In particular, it has proven sufficient, at least for a given range of operating flow pressures, to provide an increase of said wall thickness of the base wall only in the upstream oriented face of the base wall 111, such that the downstream oriented face remains in a planar form without cavities or protrusions, at least in its central region.

The base wall 111 may generally have a convex shape extending upstream, including increasing thickness toward its central region wall (see fig. 4).

As the applicant can experimentally prove, the configuration of said base wall 111 provides a significant increase of the structural resistance of the base wall 111, in particular in its central zone.

Preferably, said increase in the wall thickness of the base wall 111 develops at least over a central region thereof, for example extending in a radial extension corresponding to 20% to 50% of the free inner dimension of said base wall 111.

Preferably, said increase in the wall thickness of the base wall 111 is spread out in an at least substantially continuous manner.

As shown in fig. 5 and 6, the capsule 1 according to the invention is characterized in that it has a container portion 11 provided with reinforcing means comprising:

a transverse reinforcement means 131 configured so as to exhibit an increase in the thickness of the side wall 112 towards the base wall 111, an

A base reinforcing means 132, which exhibits an increase in the wall thickness of the base wall 111 towards the centre of the base wall 111,

wherein the stiffening means 131, 132 are provided as ribs extending in the inner surface of the container portion 11 such that a local increase of the wall thickness of the container portion 11 is provided, which increase extends substantially in the downstream direction and towards the centre thereof.

A solution is thus advantageously provided which avoids a general increase in the wall thickness of the structural reinforcing means, in particular by reinforcing means, for example rib-type reinforcing means, having a uniform thickness along its extension, in particular providing a gradual increase in the thickness of the reinforcing means, and thereby providing structural reinforcement of the base wall 111 and the side wall 112 of the container portion 11 to meet the requirements of a pressurized flow inside the capsule 1 during the beverage preparation process.

As shown, the container portion 11 may comprise transverse stiffening ribs 131, which are provided as ribs extending in the main flow direction on the inner surface of the side wall 12 and having an increasing wall thickness towards the base wall 111, wherein the increase in wall thickness extends in at least one, preferably both, direction of the circular direction and the radial direction of the transverse stiffening ribs 131 with respect to the central axis X.

Furthermore, the container portion 11 can comprise base stiffening ribs 132 which extend in a radial configuration on the base wall 111 of the container portion 11 and which exhibit an increase in wall thickness in the radial direction in the direction of the central region of the base wall 111, the increase in wall thickness preferably being continuous and gradual.

It is particularly preferred in the capsule 1 according to the invention when at least a part, preferably all, of said first and second stiffening ribs 131, 132 extend in an aligned manner with respect to each other, preferably continuously between each other, such that an at least substantially continuous increase of the wall thickness of the container portion 11 along the side wall 12 and up to the central area of the base wall 111 is provided.

It should be readily understood by a person skilled in the art that the above-described configuration of the structural reinforcing ribs provides an optimized structural reinforcement, considering the main requirements during the process of extracting the beverage under pressure, which extends continuously along at least a portion of the side wall 112 and the base wall 111 and has a gradual and continuous increase in size in the direction of the central area of said base wall 111, in at least one of the radial direction and the angular direction, preferably in both the radial direction and the angular direction.

According to another aspect of the invention, as schematically shown in fig. 7 to 10 and 11 and 12, the capsule 1 may further have a plurality of flow channel regions 113 on the base wall 111, which are constructed and arranged to balance the pressure applied thereto by the upstream hydraulic flow.

In particular, said base wall 111 can have a plurality of flow channel regions 113 provided with an elongated shape, preferably with a relation between length and width comprised between 2 and 10, particularly preferably between 3 and 6, wherein a portion of said flow channel region 1131 extends in an at least substantially radial direction and at least a portion of the flow channel region 1132 extends in a circular direction.

This particular configuration and arrangement of the flow channel region 113 advantageously provides a better distribution of the upstream hydraulic pressure on the base wall 111, thereby contributing to an improvement in its requirements with respect to material quantity (i.e. wall thickness) and structural reinforcement, especially in its central region.

Preferably, the base wall 111 has a plurality of flow channel regions 113 comprising radially oriented first flow channel regions 1131 arranged in a central region having a larger wall thickness and circularly oriented second flow channel regions 1132 arranged on peripheral regions having a smaller wall thickness, wherein the first and second flow channel regions 1131, 1132 have at least substantially similar characteristic dimensions, in particular length and width.

Furthermore, the base wall 111 may have a plurality of first flow channel regions 1131 which are arranged in an at least approximately radial orientation on a central region of the base wall 111 in which the wall thickness is greater and/or increased.

Complementary to the previous aspect, the base wall 111 may have a plurality of second flow channel regions 1132 disposed along at least a substantially angular orientation over a peripheral region of the base wall 111 having a smaller and/or constant wall thickness.

In particular, the base wall 111 may comprise a plurality of regions adapted for flow channels, wherein the regions 113 for flow channels are provided as at least one of: an opening and a weakened material region adapted to allow hydraulic pressure upstream to act thereon to rupture.

As mentioned above, the capsule 1 according to the invention is provided as a composite substance comprising a biopolymer.

In particular, the capsule 1 may be manufactured by injecting the composite substance into a mould, at least into a mould of the container portion 11, preferably into a mould of the lid portion 12.

In particular, the composite substance may have a composition comprising natural fibres including fibres adapted to provide similar size and functional properties to those of the synthetic polymer, preferably including natural fibres resulting from processing of plant species such as coffee, cinnamon, sugar cane, corn and tapioca.

Furthermore, it is particularly preferred that the natural fibers comprise at least one, preferably at least two, of the list of natural fibers obtained by:

-green coffee beans;

-cinnamon;

-sugar cane;

-corn;

-cassava.

According to a particularly preferred aspect, the capsule 1 according to the invention is provided as a composite substance having a thermoplastic matrix reinforced with natural fibres including coffee silver-skinned fibres, and wherein the polymer matrix that polymerizes the silver-skinned fibres includes a polymer of natural origin, said polymer including cellulose and derivatives of aliphatic polyesters.

6.2.2020, Rician.