Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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Cartridge for Beverage Making
Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a cartridge. More particularly the present
invention relates to a cartridge containing a selected amount of material and adapted
5 to be telescopingly stacked to seal the contents of the cartridges.
Background to the Present Invention
Materials for making beverages such as coffee and tea are conventionally
packaged in selected amounts for making one or more cups. Tea for example is
packaged in perforated tea bags that are immersed in water that ;s substantially at
10 boiling temperature to permit the water to permeate therethrough to brew the tea.
No attempt is made to keep the individual tea bags sealed until time of use.
Coffee on the other hand is sometimes packaged in metered amounts to make
one pot of coffee. The coffee preferable remains substantially vacuum packed until
used by for example by providing a measured amount of coffee in a sealed pouch
15 that is opened and emptied into say a filter basket of the conventional coffee making
machine. The quantity of coffee in each pouch so packaged, as above indicated, is
sufficient to make a full pot, thus if only one or two cups are desired a full pot must
nevertheless be brewed.
United States patent 1,576,735 issued March 16 1926 to Fessenden shows a
20 particular cartridge made out of foil or the like and having perforated sides so that
liquid may infuse through the perforations and dissolve the tea or the like contained
therein. As with other tea bags the quantity contained in the cartridge may be
sufficient to make a single cup of tea. The shape of the cartridge controls the
thickness of the mat of tea through which the water must pass in brewing a cup of
25 tea. This patent also teaches that the cartridge may be sealed by sealing theperforations using a soluble material such as melted sugar that dissolves after
immersion to open the perforations after imrnersion and then brewing commences.
U.S. patent 3,387,553 issued June 11, 1968 to Tavera describes a particular
technique for packaging coffee within a filter that forms the top of the percolator
30 and provides a handle for handling the used grounds contained within the package.
Exposure to the atmosphere of the contents of the packages is limited by packaging
a plurality of such packages in a sealed container such as a coffee can. The plastic
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top portion of the uppermost coffee package tends to limit exposure of the lowerpackages in the coffee can to the atmosphere when the can has been opened.
U.S. patent 3,445,237 issued May 20, 1969 to Gidge discloses a shaped
permeable cartridge adapted to fit within a conventional perforated cup of a
S percolator. The only sealing of the cartridges before use is the coffee can from
which they are withdrawn prior to use.
United States patent 3,446,624 issued May 27, 1969 to Luedtke teaches the
concept of a prepackaged amount of say coffee contained within a particular typeof filter structure that functions to make a single cup of coffee directly within a cup
10 by pouring the liquid through the brewing cartridge and leaving the porion of the
cartridge containing the coffee immersed in the brew as long as desired.
United States patents 2,743,664 issued May 1, 1956 and 2,899,310 issued
August 11, 1959 both to Dale disclose frusta-conical cartridge structures with apredetermined amount of coffee packaged in a compartment adjacent the bottom
15 of the cartridge. The tapered cartridge provides a cup into which the liquid is
poured to pass through the coffee in the compartment near the bottom and into a
second (ordinary) cup.
None of the above provide a simple way of utilizing the cartridge structure
to provide sealed container for the selected amount of material. Furthermore none
20 of the above permit rapid dispersion of a selected amount of water through a
preselect depth of material contained in the cartridge to form a preselected amount
of beverage.
Brief Description of the Present Invention
It is an object of the present invention to provide a self sealing cartridge
25 structure for beverage making and a system whereby the cartridge may be directly
mounted on a liquid dispenser.
Broadly the present invention relates to a cartridge comprising an open ended
receptacle having circurnferential side wall forming means flaring outward from a
bottom wall toward an open end, passages through said bottom wall, a first
30 circumferential sealing means formed in said circumferential side wall forrning
means adjacent said open end and a second circumferential sealing means formed
in said circumferential wall forming means space from said first circumferential
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sealing means toward said bottom wall and a removable sealing means for sealing
said passages through said bottom wall.
Preferably the receptacle will be filled to a preselected level with a measured
amount of charge of material.
S The receptacles will preferably be constructed of dimensions so that a
plurality of said receptacles may be telescopingly interengaged one in the other such
that a first of said receptacles is telescoped within a second of said receptacles with
said first circurnferential sealing means on said second receptacle receiving therein
said second circumferential sealing means on said first receptacle.
Brief Description of the Drawings
Further features objects and advantages will be apparent for the following
detailed description of the preferred embodiments of the present invention taken in
conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which;
Figure 1 illustrates embodiment of an empty cartridge constructed according
to the present invention.
Figure 2 is a section through a pair of telescopically interconnected cartridgesof the type shown in Figure 1.
Figure 3 is a section through a cartridge of Figure 1 mounted on a hot water
dispenser in position to make coffee (tea, etc.) once the peel back cover is removed
to permit water to pass through the cartridge.
Figure 4 is a view similar to Figure 2 but illustrating another embodiment of
the invention.
Figure 5 is a view similar to Figure 3 showing the cartridge of Figure 4
mounted in position on a liquid dispenser.
Description of the Preferred Embodiments
As shown in Figure 1 the cartridge 10 is formed by imperforate side wall 11
made for example from a suitable plastic material and defining a substantially frusta-
conical receptacle having a substantially circular cross section (other cross sectional
shapes could be used), an open (top) end 13 and a bottom wall 16. The wall 11
flares outwardly from the bottom wall 16 toward the open end 13. A circumferential
flange 19 may be provided around the open end or mouth 13 to provide a
reinforcing and a mounting flange if desired.
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First and second axially spaced circumferentially extending seal forming seats
12 and 14 respectively are formed in the wall 11 hy substantially semi-circular
inwardly concave and outwardly convex deformation of the shape of the wall 11.
The first circumferential seal 12 is provided adjacent the open end 13 of the
5 cartridge and has an inner concave sealing surface 15. The second circumferential
seat 14 is spaced between the first seat 12 and the bottom 16 and is provided with
an outer convex sealing surface 17 adapted to co-operate wi~h the surface 15 of
another nested cartridge as will be described below.
The bottom 16 of the cartridge is provided over a major portion of its area
10 by perforations or is otherwise provided with passages 18 which preferable are
substantially uniformly spaced and sized so that flow of water through the cartridge
is well distributed. In the illustrated arrangement a peel back sealing cover sheet
20, made say of aluminum foil, is removably (adhesively) secured to and extends
over the bottom 16 and seals the perforations 18 (see Figure 2 and 3.) Other
15 means may be used to temporarily seal the passage 18, for example, if the passages
18 were X shaped the outline of the shape could be weakened and the X shape
could be torn from the bottom 16 along the weakened lines thereby to
simultaneously form and open the passages 18.
A charge of ground coffee or other suitable material æ is contained within
20 the cartridge 10 and may rest directly on the bottom 16 or a filter sheet 23 may be
placed over the bottom 16 and the charge of material placed thereon. Ihe top of
the charge 22 is normally covered by a suitable retaining filter sheet or element 24.
It will be noted that the charge æ has a substantially uniform thickness
throughout its area so that the thickness or depth of material though which the
25 liquid must pass is controlled and uniform over substantially the whole area.The cartridges are intended to be sold in the forrn of a telescoped stack 50
of say 25 individual cartridges 10 stacked one inside the other as illustrated in Figure
2. In the illustrated arrangement of Figure 2 the top cartridge 10A is empty andsimply functions to seal the top end of the column of cartridges. While only 2
30 telescoped cartridges are shown in Figure 2 it will be apparent that any reasonable
number of individual cartridges can be so arranged and all but the top cartridgefilled with material æ.
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The upper (first) cartridge 10A is telescopically received in the lower (second)cartridge 10 and the two cartridges are sealed together by the outer surface 17A of
the seal 14A nesting into the inside of the seal forming seat 12 and co-operating with
the surface 15 to provide a circumferential seal between the cartridges 10 and 10A.
S The perforations 18A in the bottom 16A of the cartridge 10A are sealed by the
peelable sealing strip 20A which in conjunction with the circumferential seal formed
by the interengagement of the seats 12 and 14A seals the material 22 in the cartridge
10 from above while the peelable seal strip 20 covering the bottom 16 of the
cartridge 10 seals the material 22 in the cartridge 10 from below, thereby to
10 completely seal the material within the cartridge 10.
A pull tab 26 m~y be provided on the sealing sheets 20. In the illustrated
telescoping arrangement of Figure 2 the tab 26 is accommodated in seat 14 of thecartridge immediately therebelow. The tab 26 is flexible and thus is easily deflected
if necessary when the bottom cartridge is removed from the stack.
When it is desired to make a cup of, say coffee, the bottom most cartridge in
this case the cartridge 10 in Figure 2 containing a suitable charge of coffee æ is
stripped from the other cartridges in the stack 50 thereby to expose the filter 24 and
then is snapped onto a suitable hot water dispenser such as is schematically indicated
in dotted lines 30 in Figure 3. Preferable the dispenser 30 will be of a special design
20 to cooperate with the cartridge 10 and will be provided with an annular seal 32
adapted to mate with the irLner sealing surface 15 of the circumferential seal forming
seat 12 to secure the cartridge 10 in position. The peelable seal strip 20 may be
removed before or after the cartridge 10 is mounted on the dispenser 30. Water
schematically illustrated at 34 is distributed as indicated at 36, uniformly over a
25 significant portion of the area of the filter 24 and passes from the hot water
dispenser 30 through the filter 24, the material 22 and out of the cartridge 10
through the bottom filter 23 (if provided) and perforations 18 and is received in a
suitable container such as a mug or cup (not shown).
If desired the water may be applied under pressure to tend to drive the liquid
30 through the charge 22, however care must be taken to insure the pressure within the
cartridge does not increase to a level that would force the cartridge from the water
dispenser, i.e. break the seal formed between the surface 15 and the seal 32 and
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force the cartridge 10 form the dispenser 30.
The cartridge 110 illustrated in Figures 4 and 5 and providing a second
embodiment is similar to the cartridge 10 of the first embodiment. Like parts of the
cartridges 10 and 110 forming the two embodiments are represented in the drawingby the same last two digits, but with the second embodiment being further identified
by the 100 series of numbers i.e. the walls 11 and 111 are equiva]ent but shapeddifferently.
As shown in Figure 4 each cartridge 110, 110A and 110B is essentially the
same and all except the top cartridge 110A is provided with its charge 1æ and 122B
of material (coffee) and its filters 123 and 124.
The cartridge 110 is constructed with a frusta-conical, but stepped wall 111
having an upper (first) circumferential seal forming seat 112 with an inner concave
sealing surface or seat 115 formed in the step 200 in the wall 111. the lower
(second) circumferential seal forming seat 114 is formed in the wall 111 at or
adjacent the plane of the bottom wall 116 and has a convex outer sealing seat 117
adapted to mate with the seat 115. The bottom wall 116 is perforated as indicated
at 118 and the perforations are sealed by a foil sheet 120 removably secured to the
outside of the bottom wall 116. The sealing foil 120 is slightly smaller than the foil
20 and the pull tab 126 does not extend beyond the periphery of the bottom wall
116.
The cartridge 110 is used in the same manner as the cartridge 10 and may be
mounted on a suitable dispenser 130 that may be provided with a seat to cooperate
with the seat 115 or the flange 119 may be used to mount the careridge. In the
illustrated arrangement the dispenser 130 is provided with an outer frusta-conical
surface 133 that seats in the internal frusta-conical surface 135 to prevent leakage
of the liquid from the dispenser 130 flowing into the cartridge 110.
Having described the invention, modifications will be evident to those skilled
in the art without departing from the spirit of the invention as defined in the
appended claims.
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