SEALED CARTRIDGE FOR THE PREPARATION OF A BEVERAGE

CONTENANT SCELLE POUR LA PREPARATION DE BOISSONS

English Abstract

The invention relates to a sealed cartridge which is
intended to be extracted under pressure and which contains
a substance (3) for the preparation of a beverage, comprising
a cup (2) with an upper face, a substantially frusto-conical
lateral wall and a lower face (4) larger in diameter
than the upper face, in which the lower face is a
cover welded to the periphery of the lower lip of the cup
and is made of a flexible material impermeable to oxygen
selected from the group consisting of aluminium, an
aluminium/plastic composite, an aluminium/plastic/paper
composite, a pure plastic or a multilayer plastic.

French Abstract

Cartouche scellée contenant une substance (3), devant être extraite sous pression, servant à la préparation d'une boisson. Elle comprend un godet (2) présentant une face supérieure, une paroi latérale essentiellement tronconique ainsi qu'une face inférieure (4) d'un diamètre supérieur à celui de la face supérieure. La face inférieure s'avère un couvercle, soudé sur le pourtour de la lèvre inférieure du godet, d'un matériau souple étanche à l'oxygène faisant partie d'un groupe composé d'aluminium, d'un composite d'aluminium-plastique, d'un composite d'aluminium-plastique-papier, de plastique pur ou de plastique multicouche.

Claims

CLAIMS
1. Sealed cartridge, designed to be included in an extraction process under pressure,
containing a substance for the preparation of a beverage chosen from roasted ground
coffee, tea, soluble coffee, a mixture of ground coffee and soluble coffee, a chocolate
product or any other dehydrated edible substance, said cartridge comprising a cup with a
base and a substantially frustoconical lateral wall and a circular lip larger in diameter than
the base, and a cover welded to the periphery of the lip of the cup and consisting of a
flexible material impermeable to oxygen, chosen from the group consisting of aluminium,
an aluminium/plastic composite, an aluminium/plastic/paper composite, pure plastic or
multi-layer plastic, said cover being free of any filter or weakened zone and the cover or
the base being intended to be torn solely under the effect of the pressure of the extraction
fluid at the start of extraction.
2. Cartridge according to claim 1, wherein the cover is crimped onto the lip of the
cup.
3. Cartridge according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the cup is made of a material chosen
from 20 to 100 µm thick aluminium, a pure plastic or a multi-layer plastic, acardboard/aluminium/plastic composite or a cardboard/plastic composite.
4. Cartridge according to any of claims 1 to 3, wherein the cup is made of a material
chosen from 15 to 60 µm thick aluminium and a laminate comprising, either 20 to
60 g/m2 paper, 20 to 60 µm thick plastic and 5 to 20 µm thick aluminium, or 5 to 30 µm
thick EVOH or PVDC and 20 to 100 µm thick plastic (PP, PE or PA), or PET (5 to 30
µm) and 20 to 100 µm plastic (PP, PE), or metallized PET or PET provided with a high
performance barrier layer such as SiO2.
5. Cartridge according to any of claims 1 to 4, having a diameter of between 2.5 and
6 cm and a distance between said cover and said base of between 10 and 25 mm.

6. Cartridge according to any of claims 1 to 5, wherein an additional layer based on
filter paper or woven or non-woven fibres based on PET or PP is provided above or below
the cover.

Description

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This invention relates to a sealed cartridge which is
designed to be extracted under pressure and which contains
a substance for the preparation of a beverage, comprising
a cup with a base and a substantially frustoconical lateral
wall and a circular lip larger in diameter than the base.
GB-PS 938,617 describes a cartridge with an internal
filter forming two compartments and intended to be extrac-
ted by a system which pierces its lower and upper faces
before extraction. The disadvantage of this cartridge is
that, due to the thickness of the faces, it necessitates
the use of a relatively dangerous piercing system which
ensures neither perfect cleanness during the extraction nor
easy release on completion of extraction.
There are several reas~ns for the use of capsules ~or
the preparation of a beverage, above all in the field of
espresso type cof~ees extracted under pressure, namely:
hygiene, optimal keeping of the co~Pee, ease of use, better
control of the quality of the coffee obtained and good
reproducibility of the extraction conditions. Among the
large number of available capsules, only sealed capsules
which open under the effect of the injected water pressure
really satisfy the requirements mentioned above. Capsules
of this type are distinguished by their opening system.
The capsules according to C~ 605 293 have we~kene~
zones which tear preferentially under the effect of pres-
sure. This solution has the disadvantage of increasing the
complexity and price of the capsule because the mate:rials
used have to be treated very precisely if ~pening o~E the
capsule i~ to be correct and reproducible.
The cartridge according to the present invention is
far lower in price, considerably easier to ~anufacture and
may be used for the preparation of a beverage, particularly
espresso cof~ee, i.e. in which the coffee is extracted
under a pressure of 1 to 15 bar.
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The present invention relates to a sealed cartridge
according to the preamble of claim 1, comprising a cover
welded to the periphery of the lip of the cup, the cover
consisting of a flexible material impe.rmeable to oxygen
S selected from the group consisting of aluminium, an alumin-
ium/plastic composite, an aluminium/plastic/paper com-
posite, pure plastic or multilayer plastic and the cover or
the base being intende~ to tear solely under the effect of
the pressure of the extraction fluid at the beginning of
the extrartion process. Tha advantaqe o~ this cartridge is
that it does not have a filter or a weakened zone in the
strict sense.
The cartridge according to the invention may ~e
extracted by the process and with the system according to
European patent application 91 107 462.3. The extraction
system according to this patent application enables this
simplified capsule to be extracted under good conditions.
To extract the capsule, it is either the cover or the base
of the cup which is torn under the effect of the extraction
fluid. If it is the cover, the base of the cup is first
op~ned by the water injector during introduction o~ the
cartridge into the extraction system and the cover is torn
therein during the i~crease in pressure and, after use, the
cartridge can be removed easily and intact with a ~;ni
of waste co~fee grounds or packaging material.
The cover is normally welded to the periphery of the
cup by heat sealing, the parts to be welded comprising a
welding lacquer on their opposite faces. The lower l:ip o~
the cup may also be folded back onto t~e cover for crimp-
ing. Welding either on its own or in conjunction withcrimping gives a cartridge which is capable of withstanding
pressures of up to 15 bar during the extraction proce~s.
The cartridge is ~illed with a substance for the
preparation of a beverage. This substance is preferably
roasted and ground coffee, but may also be tea, soluble
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coffee, a mixture oP ground coffee and soluble coffee, a
chocolate-bassd product or any other dehydrated edible
substance.
The cup i5 a frustoconical, hemispherical or frusto-
pyramidal element. The base of the cup does not neces-
sarily have to be flat, but may also assume the above-
mentioned geometries.
The main part of the capsule, namely the cup which may
be frustoconical in shape and semirigid, may be made of
10 aluminium between 20 and lOO ~m thick, pure pla~tic or
multilayer pla~tic, optionally with an oxygen barrier
layer, such as EVOH or PVDC, a multilayer film, such as
cardboard~aluminium/plastic or cardboard~plastic optionally
with an oxygen barrier layer, uch as E~OH of PVDC.
The flexible cover of the capsule may be made of
aluminium 15 to 60 ~m thick or of a multilayer ~il~ com-
prising either 20 to 60 g/m2 paper, plastic, such as 20 to
60 ~m thick polyethylene, and 5 to 2Q ~m thick aluminium
or EVOH or P~DC 5 to 30 ~m thick and plastic (PP, PE, P~)
20 20 to 100 ~m thick or PET ~5 to 30 ~m) and plastic (PP, ~E)
20 to 100 ~m ~hiak or metallized PET or PET provided with
an upper barrier layer, such as SiO2. A multilayer combina-
tion of paper and aluminiu~ may also be used.
Of these materials, aluminium tears the most easily
25 and cleanly; where a multilayer film is used, the presence
of the paper fibres and the stretching of the plastic layer
enable a network ~o be formed at the location of the tears
which is favourable for keeping the base of the capsule
intact and reducing the dispersion of the coffee grounds
30 while, at the same time, ensuring homogeneous extraction of
the layer of coffee.
To prevent coffee grounds from being dispersed on the
flow grill, an additional layer based on filter paper or
woven or non-woven fibres hased on PET or PP is provided.
35 In one configuration, this layer may be arranged between

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the body of the capsule and the cover and may be bonded or
welded to those two elements. This material may have a
density of 20 to 50 g/m2. In another configuration of the
capsule, the layer o~ filter paper or woven or nonwoven
fibres may be arranged on the outside o~ the capsule and
bonded or welded to the cover.
The cartridge according to the invention may vary in
size according to the volume of coffee to be prepared. The
coffee dose may vary from 5 to 20 g, the diameter of the
cartridge is between 2.5 and 6 rm and the thickness of the
coffee layer is between 10 and 25 mm.
The invention is described in more detail in the
~ollowing with reference to the accompanying drawings,
wherein:
~igure 1 diagrammatically illustrates the cartridge
according to the invention.
Figure 2 diagrammatically illustrates a second embodi-
ment.
Figure 3 diagrammatically illustrates a third embodi-
ment.
The cartri~ge ~1) compri~es a cup ~2) with a base (5~
and a frustoconical l~teral wall (6)~ The cup is made of
50 ~m thick aluminium. The cartridge contains roasted
coffee (3) a~d i5 closed by a cover (4~ of aluminium~paper
r~ ~o~ite. The cover is welded to the periphery (7) oE the
lip of the cup.
The cartridge (8) in Fig. 2 comprises a cup 12)
identical with that shown in Fig. 1 except that the lip (9)
o~ the cup is wider and can thus be folded back, i.e.
crimped onto the periphery of the cover (4)~ The material
used is the same as in Fig. 1.
The cartridge (30) in Fig. 3 comprises on the cover
(4) a paper filter (31) which is welded to th~ periphery of
the cover and to the periphery o~ the cup (2)0
The cartridge according to the invention is of the
.
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type which opens under the effect of pressure, but is
simpler and more economical than known cartridges in terms
of design and production.
Explanation of the abbreviativns:
.
PV~C = polyvinylidene chloride
EVOH = copolymer of ethylene and vinyl alcohol
PP = polypropylene
PE = polyethylene
PET = polyester
PA = polyamide
.

Representative Drawing