Aroma reservoir for the storage of aroma substances and drinking system with such an aroma reservoir

Description

[0001] The present invention relates to an aroma storage device for storing fragrances and for releasing the fragrances to a drinking system, wherein the aroma storage device comprises a container enclosing a receiving chamber with a wall, wherein the wall provides at least one air inlet opening and at least one air outlet opening, and wherein the aroma storage device further comprises a substrate material arranged in the receiving chamber, which is loaded with a fragrance and releases the fragrance to air flowing in through the air inlet opening, flowing along the substrate material, and flowing out through the air outlet opening. The invention further relates to a drinking system with a drinking vessel and an aroma storage device associated therewith.

[0002] Drinking vessels or systems are known from the prior art in which the user is given a taste experience when consuming an otherwise tasteless beverage, such as pure drinking water, mineral water, or table water, via retronasal olfaction. For this purpose, the drinking vessels, such as drinking bottles, are equipped with a fragrance element or aroma container or aroma reservoir from which aromatic substances are released and then carried to the back of the throat by the user as they drink, thus triggering the taste experience.

[0003] A drinking system of this kind is available on the market, for example, in the form of the drinking system offered by the German company air up GmbH under the brand name air up® and described in WO 2020 / 126210 A1 (see www.air-up.com). This drinking system consists of a specially shaped drinking bottle and interchangeable flavor reservoirs, which the supplier calls "pods." These pods release a fragrance or flavoring when the drinking system is in use, thus creating a taste experience, especially when drinking water. The manufacturer offers pods with different flavors, such as raspberry, lemon, cherry, cucumber, etc.

[0004] Disclosures relating to this prior art and such drinking systems can also be found in patent literature. Reference should be made, for example, to the documents DE 20 2016 004 961 U1, DE 20 2017 000 239 U1, DE 10 2018 000 382 U1, DE 10 2018 003 669 A1 and DE 10 2018 222 299 A1.

[0005] Scent-emitting bodies that can be attached to a drinking device are described in US 2013 / 043245 A1, US 5 635 229 A and US 2019 / 0367230 A1.

[0006] The aroma reservoir of the aforementioned air up® drinking system, described in WO 2020 / 126210 A1, is ring-shaped and encircles a drinking straw in the mouthpiece area. The known aroma reservoir has a continuous chamber for a substrate loaded with a fragrance. The air inlet and outlet openings are located essentially diametrically opposite each other. A problem with this system is that the substrate is often not uniformly shaped to offer the same resistance to the airflow throughout. Consequently, most of the air passing through the aroma reservoir preferentially flows along the path from the air inlet to the outlet that offers the least resistance. In any case, the air only flows along one half of the ring.In the ring half with the stronger airflow, the fragrance is leached more readily from the substrate, whereas in the other ring half, which is not or only minimally exposed to airflow, the fragrance is released to a significantly lesser extent. The aroma reservoir then prematurely ceases releasing fragrance into the airflowing through it, becoming "spent," even though approximately half of the substrate still contains sufficient, indeed nearly the original, concentration of fragrance. Furthermore, a problem with the known aroma reservoir is that it consists of a base and a lid, which are welded together after the fragrance-laden substrate has been poured in. This process introduces heat into the system, which can impair the sensitive fragrance and significantly reduce its quality.

[0007] The object of the present invention is to improve upon these and other disadvantages of the prior art and to create an improved aroma reservoir. Furthermore, the object of the invention is to provide improvements to a drinking system comprising a drinking vessel and an aroma reservoir.

[0008] According to the invention, this problem is initially solved by an aroma storage device according to claim 1. Further advantageous embodiments of an aroma storage device are described in claims 2 to 6. In a further aspect, an improved drinking system is described in claim 7. Further advantageous embodiments of a drinking system are described in claims 8 to 15.

[0009] According to the invention, an aroma storage device for storing fragrances and for releasing the fragrances to a drinking system comprises a container. This container has a wall that encloses a receiving chamber formed within the container. The wall provides at least one air inlet opening and at least one air outlet opening. The aroma storage device further comprises a substrate material arranged in the receiving chamber, which is loaded with a fragrance. The substrate material releases the fragrance to air flowing in through the air inlet opening, flowing along the substrate material, and flowing out through the air outlet opening.

[0010] In this respect, the aroma storage device according to the invention is still consistent with the generally known prior art. The aroma storage device according to the invention is characterized, firstly, by its ring shape, with the receiving chamber arranged around a central opening and enclosed by the wall. The air inlet opening and the air outlet opening are arranged adjacent to each other. Furthermore, it is particularly noteworthy that, according to the invention, a partition wall is arranged in the receiving chamber, completely dividing it transversely, and that the air inlet opening is arranged in an area adjacent to the partition wall on a first side, and the air outlet opening is arranged in an area adjacent to the partition wall on a second side opposite the first.

[0011] This design ensures that the entire circumference of the ring is traversed by the air flowing through the aroma reservoir, avoiding the parallel arrangement of the two ring halves found in known aroma reservoirs, where often only one of the two halves is traversed. The partition, located between the air inlet opening and the adjacent air outlet opening, forces the airflow to pass through the entire ring circumference. This effectively doubles the length of the reaction path compared to the prior art and correspondingly increases the degree of air loading within the aroma reservoir. In known aroma reservoirs, the ratio of the flow path length to the diagonal of the reservoir cross-section is approximately 1:7.8 (based on the mean diameter of the annular aroma reservoir).With an aroma reservoir in a configuration with a partition as described here, this ratio can be significantly increased to 10:1 or more, and in particular can be doubled to approximately 15.7, while essentially maintaining the dimensions of the ring-shaped aroma reservoir. This results in a noticeably better and more intense fragrance experience.

[0012] Furthermore, it prevents the aroma storage unit from no longer releasing any fragrance into the air flowing through it, even though a significant part of the substrate is still loaded with fragrance, i.e., from appearing "leached out", simply because a section of the storage space is not traversed by the air, especially because such a section is located in a segment with a higher flow resistance than in a section connected in parallel in terms of flow.

[0013] In particular, the air outlet opening of the aroma reservoir according to the invention can be arranged on an inner wall section of the wall facing the opening. For example, the air exiting the aroma reservoir and carrying the fragrance can then be transferred from there to an inlet opening of a drinking straw in a drinking system arranged in the opening. Advantageously, the air outlet opening arranged on the inner wall section can be an elongated, slit-shaped opening in the circumferential direction of the ring, the width of which changes continuously in a direction transverse, and in particular perpendicular to, the circumferential direction, and in particular tapers when viewed in a circumferential direction.This arrangement allows, in particular, the adjustment of the cross-sectional area of ​​a passage formed by the air outlet opening and an air inlet opening, which interacts with it and is narrower than the length of the elongated air outlet opening, by a relative displacement, especially a rotation, of the two openings relative to each other. In this way, the amount of air drawn in per unit of time through this passage can be metered, thus also controlling the amount of fragrance carried along and, consequently, the intensity of the retronasal fragrance experience perceived as taste, which can be achieved with the aroma reservoir and a drinking system equipped with it.

[0014] In the aroma reservoir according to the invention, the air inlet opening can be arranged, in particular, on a side wall facing away from the opening, on an upper top wall, or on a lower bottom wall. If the air inlet opening is provided on a lower bottom wall, it can be closed, for example, by moving the aroma reservoir used in a drinking system downwards against, for example, the material of a mouthpiece of the drinking system, so that no fragrance can escape there when not in use. If the air inlet opening is provided in an upper top wall, with a suitable design of the lid of the drinking system, this lid or a component thereof can close the air inlet opening when the drinking vessel is closed.

[0015] In an aroma storage container, according to the invention, the container can generally be formed by a base shell, preferably formed in one piece, and a lid placed on the base shell. Specifically, the base shell can form a bottom and adjoining side walls, and the lid can form the wall surrounding the receiving space enclosed between the base shell and the lid. In particular, the lid can be firmly connected to the base shell by a cold-formed connection, especially by pressing and / or rolling. In this embodiment of the invention, the aroma storage container is thus formed as a two-part construction consisting of a base shell and a lid. The lid is secured to the base shell by pressing and / or rolling. For food safety reasons, this connection, which is essentially a type of clamping connection, is preferably designed so that the consumer cannot open it without tools or force.The advantage of this design over the welding connection known from the prior art lies primarily in the fact that the volatile fragrances are not negatively affected by the waste heat of the welding process. Furthermore, the design proposed according to the invention is simpler and less expensive to manufacture. The clamping connection obtained by pressing and / or rolling should, in particular, be sufficiently tight against negative pressure to prevent short circuits in the flow that could impair the fragrance experience. This criterion can be readily met with a suitable design of the sealing surfaces.

[0016] Another aspect of the invention relates to a drinking system with a drinking vessel and an associated aroma reservoir. The aroma reservoir comprises a container which, with a wall having an air inlet opening and at least one air outlet opening, encloses a receiving chamber formed in the container. A substrate material loaded with a fragrance is contained in the receiving chamber. The aroma reservoir, which may in particular be an aroma reservoir as described above, is connected or connectable to the drinking vessel in such a way that, when drinking from the drinking vessel, air drawn in through the air inlet opening in the wall of the aroma reservoir and mixed with the fragrance stored in the substrate material is directed through the air outlet opening and to the drinker's mouth.

[0017] Such a drinking system allows the user to experience a taste sensation induced by retronasal olfaction when drinking otherwise tasteless liquids, such as water.

[0018] Such a drinking system according to the invention can, in particular and advantageously, have a mouthpiece from which a drinking straw with a drinking end protrudes, inserted into the drinking vessel, and which, with the exception of the opening formed by the drinking straw and any refill opening that may be present there or formed with the assistance of the mouthpiece for refilling a volume taken from the vessel during drinking, substantially seals the interior of the drinking vessel. The drinking straw can then have a circumferential wall and an air inlet opening in the circumferential wall, and the aroma reservoir can be arranged around the drinking straw such that the drinking straw passes through the opening and the air outlet opening of the aroma reservoir and the air inlet opening of the drinking straw are opposite each other in such a way that, when the drinking straw is sucked on, air flows through the aroma reservoir and from the air outlet opening through the air inlet opening.This is particularly feasible if the air outlet of the aroma reservoir is located on the inner wall section facing the opening. A refill opening for replenishing the volume dispensed from the container during drinking can be formed at the mouthpiece. It can also be formed with the mouthpiece's involvement, for example, by the mouthpiece protruding from the actual drinking vessel at some point when the drinking system is in its open position, thus allowing an air passage. However, a refill opening can also be implemented elsewhere in the drinking system, for example, in a wall of the drinking vessel secured against liquid leakage by a valve.

[0019] In an arrangement as described above, the aroma reservoir can be axially displaceable along the drinking straw to open and close the passage formed between the air outlet and air inlet openings. Advantageously, a first spring element, e.g., a disc spring, a ring spring, in particular a wave ring spring, or the like, can be provided and arranged such that it biases the aroma reservoir into a position where the passage formed between the air outlet and air inlet openings is open. This solution provides automatic activation of the aroma reservoir when the path to the open position is cleared, into which the first spring element pushes the aroma reservoir.

[0020] In the prior art, the air up® brand drinking system features a screw-on lid that axially displaces the ring-shaped aroma reservoir inside the drinking vessel when the lid is screwed on, pressing it into a closed position. After opening the lid, the user must pull up the aroma reservoir to activate the fragrance flow. This step can be forgotten or even misunderstood by the user, leading to disappointment due to the lack of a flavor experience. Furthermore, the process for activating the fragrance flow is complicated. In contrast, the solution according to the invention always holds the aroma reservoir in the open position due to the spring action of the first spring element, thus making the drinking system ready for use.

[0021] In particular, the drinking vessel of the drinking system according to the invention can have a lid for closing the mouthpiece and covering the drinking end of the straw. This lid can, for example, be a screw-on lid and have a multi-start screw thread. The multi-start screw thread makes it easier to screw the lid on. Advantageously, the pitch of the screw thread is chosen to be large enough that the screw lid closes securely with a maximum rotation of 360°.

[0022] The lid can advantageously have a bearing section which, when closed, rests against the aroma reservoir and, provided a first spring element as described above is provided, moves the reservoir into a closed position, particularly against the spring force of the first spring element, in which the passage formed between the air outlet opening and the air inlet opening is closed. Thus, when the drinking vessel is closed, the aroma reservoir is sealed and deactivated, whereas when the lid is removed, the aroma reservoir can be lifted and activated, in particular by the spring force of the first spring element, which automatically opens and activates it. It can also be provided, in particular, that the air inlet opening is arranged in a position on the aroma reservoir exposed to the lid and that, when the lid is closed, the bearing section rests against the air inlet opening and closes it.The lid can thus simultaneously close and seal the aroma reservoir, preventing the fragrance from escaping. To improve the sealing effect of the reservoir section when closing the air inlet opening, it can be provided that, at least in the area where it rests against and seals the air inlet opening when the lid is closed, it is made of or coated with an elastic material, in particular an EVA-PE copolymer.

[0023] The bearing section in the lid of a drinking system according to the invention, with which the aroma reservoir is pressed downwards into a closed position and thus displaced when the lid is placed on, can in particular be a section of a second spring element arranged in the lid.

[0024] The lid has three functions: It must cover the mouthpiece itself and seal it against unwanted leakage of liquid. Particularly when the mouthpiece, as is the case in the prior art, is made of a flexible material, especially silicone, and, due to its specific design, leaves a gap at least at one point in the open position relative to the rim of the drinking vessel as a passage for incoming air (i.e., an air inlet), the lid must securely and firmly press the mouthpiece against the rim of the drinking vessel, specifically against a sealing surface, in the area where it rests on the opening and forms the air inlet when open. The lid should be screwed on tightly for this purpose. Furthermore, it should seal the open end of the drinking straw, e.g.,with a central projection that extends into this open end and is intended to push the aroma reservoir downwards from the upwardly shifted open position into the closed position. This results in a static overdetermination in the vertical direction, similar to that found in the well-known air up® drinking bottle system.

[0025] The familiar lid features two ring-shaped protrusions. One protrusion activates the aroma reservoir, pushing it downwards. The second protrusion seals the beverage compartment by pressing a silicone insert located at the mouthpiece against the bottle body.

[0026] This system only functions flawlessly under ideal conditions. Due to manufacturing tolerances, in practice either the aroma reservoir or the part of the bottle containing the beverage, particularly the flow opening formed between the silicone mouthpiece and the rim of the drinking vessel when open, is preferentially sealed. Only when the user deforms the silicone body, which is pre-stressed into a shape assumed when the drinking system is open, by applying very high screw force, are both areas sealed. But even when the lid of the known system is fitted very tightly, especially screwed on, the uncontrolled distribution of pressure forces does not guarantee a reliable seal for the entire system. In practice, this leads to annoying leaks with the known drinking system.

[0027] The second spring element provided according to the invention, which can be, for example, a disc spring, ensures that the contact force of the screw cap is not distributed uncontrollably between the two annular shoulders. Instead, controlled deformability is introduced into the system. This compensates for manufacturing tolerances and creates two defined pressure points that follow one another and signal to the consumer that the entire system is securely closed.

[0028] If the drinking system has a first spring element as described above, the spring force of the second spring element is preferably chosen to be greater, in particular significantly greater, than the spring force of the first spring element. This is because the second spring element, which can then also be considered a closing spring, must overcome the opposing spring force of the first spring element, which can also be considered an opening spring, in order to push the aroma reservoir into the closed position against the spring force of the first spring element.

[0029] Advantageously, the aroma reservoir can be arranged to rotate around the drinking straw through at least a predetermined angular range. This range can be approximately 90°, for example, but other values ​​are also possible. This is particularly advantageous if the aroma reservoir, as described above, has a slit-shaped air outlet on its inner wall that extends circumferentially around the ring and whose opening width changes continuously in a direction transverse to, and especially perpendicular to, the circumferential direction, and if, on the other hand, the air inlet opening is located on the drinking straw and is less wide than the longitudinal extent of the slit-shaped air outlet opening (e.g., if the air inlet opening is circular), then the intensity of the aroma experience can be adjusted. Stops can be provided to limit end positions, for example.for positions of maximum opening size or complete closure, whereby the amount of fragrance released between these end positions can be continuously adjusted by changing the cross-sectional area of ​​the passage formed by the overlap of the air outlet opening and the air inlet opening.

[0030] Advantageously, the air outlet opening can have a larger opening area than the air inlet opening, preferably at least 10% larger, and particularly about 20% larger. This allows for the correction of positioning errors in the relative arrangement between the elements supporting the air outlet opening and the air inlet opening, such as the inner wall of the aroma reservoir and the drinking straw, as well as for the correction of manufacturing tolerances.

[0031] These errors and tolerances otherwise have an extremely high influence on the fragrance experience, as they determine the cross-sectional area of ​​the passage and thus the amount of fragrance carried.

[0032] Further advantages and features will become apparent from the following description of design variants based on the accompanying figures. These show: Figure 1 is a schematic view of a prior art aroma storage device with parallel flow paths; Figure 2 is a schematic view of a first aspect of an aroma storage device with a single flow path formed in the aroma storage device; Figure 3 is a sectional view along section line I-I. Figure 1 and in view b a section view along section line II - II from Figure 1 (each seen in the direction of the in the Figure 1(area shown below); Figure 4 in three views a to c schematically shows the principle of a further design element of the invention for metering the fragrance release from the aroma reservoir; Figure 5 in two views a and b shows the interaction between a lid of a drinking system according to the invention and an aroma reservoir arranged on a mouthpiece with automatic activation and deactivation when the lid is opened or closed; Figure 6 schematically shows an alternative embodiment of the lid of a drinking system according to the invention; and Figure 7 shows a view of a second spring element as it is incorporated in the lid according to Figure 6 is used.

[0033] In the Figure 1Figure 1 shows an aroma storage device 1 according to the prior art, as used in a known drinking system of the brand air up®. This aroma storage device 1 is generally ring-shaped with a wall 2 and a receiving chamber 3 surrounded by the wall 2, in which a substrate material loaded with a fragrance (not shown in detail here) is filled. Air L can flow into the receiving chamber 3 of the aroma storage device 1 through an air inlet opening 4. An air outlet opening 5 is arranged in a position approximately diametrically opposite the position of the air inlet opening 4, through which the air L leaves the aroma storage device 1 and is transferred to the drinking system. As shown, the air L can flow through the receiving chamber 3 of the aroma storage device 1 along two parallel paths, namely along the one shown in the Figure 1 Path 6 shown on the right on one side and along the path shown in the Figure 1The path 7 shown on the left is on the other side. If the flow resistance that the substrate material filled into the receiving chamber 3 opposes to the airflow differs along the two paths 6 and 7, the air will preferentially flow along path 6, where the flow resistance is lower. Accordingly, leaching of the substrate material will occur there, which happens through the release of fragrance into the passing air L. The substrate material along path 7, on the other hand, is hardly permeated by air L and therefore releases little fragrance.Thus, when the substrate material along path 6 is exhausted and no longer releases any fragrance or only very little fragrance, the air L flowing out of the air outlet 5 is no longer sufficiently loaded with fragrance, so that the aroma storage 1 is considered to be exhausted, although sufficient fragrance is still stored in the substrate material in the area of ​​path 7.

[0034] The problem described above is overcome by an aroma storage device according to a first aspect of the invention. Such an aroma storage device 10 is described in the Figure 2 and 3shown. The aroma storage unit 10 also has a wall 12 and is formed in an annular shape with a central opening 11, to which an inner wall section 18 of the wall 12 adjoins. The aroma storage unit 10 according to the invention also has an air inlet opening 14 and an air outlet opening 15 through which air L can flow in and out. A substrate material, not shown in detail here, which is loaded with a fragrance, is also filled into the receiving chamber 13 of the aroma storage unit 10, which is enclosed by the wall 12. In contrast to the one in Figure 1 The aroma storage device 1 shown according to the prior art is in the aroma storage device 10 according to the invention. Figure 2 and Figure 3A partition wall 19 is provided, completely traversing and separating the recording chamber 13. The air inlet opening 14 and the air outlet opening 15 are no longer, as in the prior art, essentially diametrically opposed to each other, but are arranged adjacent to each other, albeit on different sides of the partition wall 19. Whereas in the Figure 2Since the air inlet opening 14 is arranged to the left of the partition 19, the air outlet opening 15 is positioned to the right of the partition 19. This means that the air L flowing through the receiving chamber 13 must flow through it along the entire circumference of the ring to reach the air outlet opening 15 from the air inlet opening 14. Accordingly, the air L passes through the entire substrate material in this way and, due to the longer exposure time, can absorb more fragrance than would be possible if it only flowed through a portion of the ring's circumference. A problem due to differing flow resistances of the substrate material along various parallel flow paths, as occurs in the aroma storage device 1 according to the prior art, is not a concern with the aroma storage device 10 according to the invention. Furthermore, the following can be seen in the Figure 2Stop surfaces 20, which are formed in the outer circumference of the wall 12 and which are significant with regard to a further aspect of the present invention.

[0035] In Figure 3 In two illustrations, a and b, sectional views are shown, extending along the section line I - I ( Figure 3a ) or II - II ( Figure 3b ) are taken, each with in the Figure 2 downward-pointing view. It can also be seen here that an aroma reservoir 10 according to the invention is composed of a lower shell 21, which is formed in one piece, and a lid closing it (not shown here), which rests on a surface shown in the illustration of the Figure 3The opening shown, pointing upwards, is placed on the receiving chamber 13 after the substrate material loaded with the fragrance has been introduced into it. The lid then forms part of the wall 12, sealing the receiving chamber 13. This lid, and this is a further aspect of the invention, is clamped to the lower shell 21 after the receiving chamber 13 has been filled with the fragrance-loaded substrate material, for example by pressing and / or rolling. In particular, the lid is not joined to the lower shell 21 by applying heat, i.e., by welding, so that the fragrance in the receiving chamber 13 is not affected or damaged by such heat treatment.

[0036] Another design variant claimed with the invention here is in the Figure 4The aroma reservoir 10 according to the invention can also be seen there, shown here as it is placed over the free end of a drinking straw 22 of a drinking vessel that, together with the aroma reservoir 10, forms a drinking system according to the invention. The drinking straw 22 has a circular cross-section and is guided through the opening 11 in the aroma reservoir 10, where it rests in a largely tight contact with the inner wall section 18. Figure 23 indicates an overall circular air inlet opening, which is formed in the side wall of the drinking straw 22. The air outlet opening 115 of the aroma reservoir 10 is, in this case, recognizably slit-shaped with a longitudinal extension in the direction of the circumferential direction of the annular aroma reservoir 10.The slot is not formed with a uniform width, but rather tapers continuously from a large opening cross-section shown on the right in the figure to a small opening cross-section visible on the left. The aroma reservoir 10 can be rotated around the drinking straw 22, as indicated by the corresponding double arrows in Figures 3a to c. This causes the air outlet opening 115 and the air inlet opening 23 to be positioned with different surface overlaps, thus allowing control of the amount of air passing through the resulting passage and consequently also of the amount of fragrance extracted from the aroma reservoir 10 by the flow of air L.When drinking from the drinking vessel into which the drinking straw 22 extends, the tasteless liquid, such as water, is drawn in. When the passage is open, air is drawn in along with the liquid. This air has previously passed through the aroma reservoir 10 and absorbed a fragrance. This fragrance-laden air enters the user's mouth along with the beverage, flowing into the retronasal area where it encounters odor-sensitive sensory cells. This creates a taste sensation for the user when using the drinking system according to the invention. For example, if the fragrance in the aroma reservoir is a lime scent, the user will perceive a lime taste. The beverage itself, particularly neutral water, has no taste; the taste sensation is created solely by the perception of the fragrances carried in the air.

[0037] In the Figures 4 a to cIf different switching states or control states are shown, then the Figure 4a Figure 4b shows a passage with a large diameter, thus representing a position suitable for a high dosage of the fragrance. Figure 4b shows a closed position in which a fragrance cannot pass through the closed passage, meaning the user simply sips the beverage, for example water, from the drinking vessel without any additional fragrance. Figure 4c A small opening width of the passage is shown, in which only a small amount of air is drawn through the aroma reservoir 10, consequently only a small amount of fragrance is absorbed, and thus the taste experience is less intense. To limit the rotation shown at an angle, stop surfaces 20 formed on the aroma reservoir 10 can be used, as shown in Figure 2The figures shown then strike corresponding counter-stops formed in the area of ​​the mouthpiece of the drinking vessel, for example, a drinking bottle, thus limiting the angle of rotation. It should also be noted that the shape of the slot of the air outlet opening 115 is shown here only schematically. This slot can be significantly longer, with a more pronounced slope from a low opening height to a high opening height, in order to enable even more precise dosing covering a wider area.

[0038] A further aspect of the invention is shown in Figure 5 in illustrations a and b. Here, a mouthpiece 24 of a drinking vessel 30 of a drinking system according to the invention is shown schematically, which has the drinking straw 22 centrally located. The drinking vessel 30 and the drinking system as a whole can be formed, in particular, essentially as described in WO 2020 / 126210 A1, the features of which are fully incorporated into this disclosure. However, the modifications explained here and described as essential to the invention are implemented.

[0039] The drinking straw 22 of the drinking vessel 30 is to be constructed in a manner as above based on the Figure 4The aroma reservoir 10 is arranged as described above and can be repositioned by rotation to adjust the inflowing quantity of the fragrance, as described above. A further repositioning option is available in the axial direction of the drinking straw 22. This repositioning serves to activate or deactivate the aroma reservoir 10. According to the invention, the aroma reservoir 10 is pressed into an active position (shown at the top of the figure) by a first spring element 25, which can, for example, take the form of a wave-ring spring. In this position, the air inlet opening 23 in the drinking straw 22 and the air outlet opening 115 in the aroma reservoir 10 are in the same plane. A vertical stop 26 on the drinking straw 22 ensures that the aroma reservoir 10 is not detached from the drinking straw 22.When the aroma reservoir 10 is placed on the straw, this vertical stop 26 is overcome in the manner of a locking lug; the aroma reservoir 10 can also be detached from the straw 22 by applying a force that overcomes the locking force and is not provided by the first spring element 25. A lid 27 for closing the drinking vessel 30 is also visible, which has ridge-like depressing structures 28. When the lid 27, which can be a screw cap in particular, is placed on the mouthpiece 24 of the drinking vessel 30, these depressing structures 28 engage the ring-shaped aroma reservoir 10 and press it down against the force of the first spring element 25 into a position similar to that shown in the diagram. Figure 5bThe position shown is shown. In this position, the air outlet opening 115 and the air inlet opening 23 are offset from each other, so that the passage is closed. In this way, no aroma can escape from the aroma reservoir 10 when the drinking vessel 30 is closed with the lid 27. It can also be seen that a central cone structure 29 is molded onto the lid 27, which in the closed state (compare Figure 5b ) protrudes into the drinking straw 22 and seals it so that no drinking liquid can escape from the inside of the drinking vessel 30.

[0040] In Figure 6 An alternative embodiment of the drinking system according to the invention is shown with a lid 27 in the closed position. The difference to the one in Figure 5 The design shown consists primarily in the fact that instead of the fixed and rigid hold-down structure 28, as shown in the lid 27 according to Figure 5exhibits a second spring element 128 arranged there and fixed in the lid, which has sections, more precisely with inwardly projecting tongues 31 (compare Figure 7), presses down on the aroma reservoir 10 and depresses it into the closed position. The spring force of the second spring element 128 depressing the aroma reservoir 10 is significantly greater than the spring force of the first spring element 25, which pushes the aroma reservoir 10 upwards towards the open position. This ensures that when the lid 27 is closed, the aroma reservoir is securely pressed into the closed position. Due to the flexibility of the second spring element 128, a specific and reliably sealing closing position of the lid 27 is achieved, even in the event of dimensional differences due to manufacturing tolerances, e.g., regarding the height of the aroma reservoir 10 used in the drinking system. Such tolerances are compensated for by a possible evasive movement of the tongues 31 of the second spring element 128.

[0041] The above description has once again clearly demonstrated the various advantages of the different embodiments of the invention. Reference symbol list

[0042] 1 Aroma reservoir 2 Wall 3 Receptacle 4 Air inlet 5 Air outlet 6 Path 7 Path 10 Aroma reservoir 11 Opening 12 Wall 13 Receptacle 14 Air inlet 15 Air outlet 18 Inner wall section 19 Partition 20 Stop surface 21 Bottom shell 22 Drinking straw 23 Air inlet 24 Mouthpiece 25 Spring element 26 Vertical stop 27 Lid 28 Retainer structure 29 Tap structure 30 Drinking vessel 31 Tongue 115 Air outlet 128 Spring element Air

Claims

1. Aroma reservoir (10) for the storage of aroma substances and for the delivery of the aroma substances to a drinking system, wherein the aroma reservoir (10) has a container enclosing a storage space (13) with a wall (12), wherein at least one air inlet opening (14) and at least one air outlet opening (15; 115) are provided in the wall (12), and wherein the aroma reservoir (10) further comprises a substrate material arranged in the storage space (13) which is loaded with an aroma substance and releases the aroma substance to air flowing in through the air inlet opening (14), flowing along the substrate material and flowing out through the air outlet opening (15; 115), wherein the aroma reservoir (10) is in the shape of a ring with the storage space (13) arranged around a central opening (11), enclosed by the wall (12), characterised in that a dividing wall (19) is arranged in the storage space (13) which completely divides this transversely and wherein the air inlet opening (14) and the air outlet opening (15; 115) are arranged adjacent to each other, wherein the air inlet opening (14) is arranged in a region adjacent to the dividing wall (19) on a first side of the dividing wall (19) and wherein the air outlet opening (15; 115) is arranged in a region adjacent to the dividing wall (19) on a second side of the dividing wall (19) opposite the first side.

2. Aroma reservoir (10) according to claim 1, characterised in that it has a substantially rectangular cross-sectional area and is designed such that it has a ratio of the length flowed through to a diagonal of the cross-sectional area flowed through of at least 10:1, in particular of more than 15:1.

3. Aroma reservoir (10) according to one of the preceding claims, characterised in that the air outlet opening (15; 115) is arranged on an inner wall section (18) of the wall (12) arranged on the inside and facing the opening (11).

4. Aroma reservoir (10) according to claim 3, characterised in that the air outlet opening (115) is a slit-shaped opening elongated in the circumferential direction of the ring, the opening width of which changes, in particular narrows, viewed in a direction of rotation, continuously in a direction transverse, in particular perpendicular to the circumferential direction.

5. Aroma reservoir (10) according to one of the preceding claims, characterised in that the air inlet opening (14) is arranged on an outer side wall facing away from the opening, on a lower base wall or on an upper cap wall.

6. Aroma reservoir (10) according to one of the preceding claims or according to the preamble of claim 1, characterised in that the container is formed by a lower shell (21), in particular formed in a single piece, and a cap fitted on the lower shell (21), wherein a base and side walls of the lower shell (21) and the cap form the wall (12) surrounding the storage space (13) enclosed between the lower shell (21) and the cap and wherein the cap is firmly bonded to the lower shell (21) by a cold-formed joint, in particular by press-fitting and / or rolling.

7. Drinking system comprising a drinking vessel (30) and an aroma reservoir (10) assigned thereto and connected or connectable with the drinking vessel (30) according to one of the preceding claims such that, when drinking from the drinking vessel (30), air (L) sucked in through the air inlet opening (14) in the wall (12) of the aroma reservoir (10) and mixed with the aroma substance stored in the substrate material passes through the air outlet opening (15; 115) and is guided to the mouth of the drinker.

8. Drinking system according to claim 7, characterised in that it has a mouthpiece (24) at which a drinking straw (22) inserted into the drinking vessel (30) protrudes with a drinking end and which, with the exception of the opening formed by the drinking straw (22) and any air vent opening that may be present on the mouthpiece or formed with the mouthpiece for filling up a volume extracted from the container during drinking, largely seals an interior of the drinking vessel (30), wherein the drinking straw (22) has a circumferential wall and an air intake opening (23) in the circumferential wall, wherein the aroma reservoir (10) is arranged around the drinking straw (22) in such a way that the drinking straw (22) passes through the opening (11), and the air outlet opening (15; 115) of the aroma reservoir (10) and the air intake opening (23) of the drinking straw (22) are arranged opposite each other in such a way that, when sucking on the drinking straw (22), air (L) flows through the aroma reservoir (10) and from the air outlet opening (15; 115) through the air intake opening (23).

9. Drinking system according to claim 8, characterised in that the aroma reservoir (10) can be displaced axially along the drinking straw (22) to open and close a passage formed between the air outlet opening (15; 115) and the air intake opening (23), wherein a first spring element (25) is provided which pre-tensions the aroma reservoir (10) into a position in which the passage formed between the air outlet opening (15; 115) and the air intake opening (23) is open.

10. Drinking system according to one of the claims 8 or 9, characterised in that it has a cap (27) for closing the mouthpiece (24) and covering the drinking end of the drinking straw (22), wherein the cap (27) has at least one bearing section (28) with which, when closed, it rests against the aroma reservoir (10) and, insofar as dependent on claim 8, displaces this against a spring force of the first spring element (25) to a position in which the passage formed between the air outlet opening (15; 115) and the air intake opening (23) is closed.

11. Drinking system according to claim 10, characterised in that the air inlet opening (14) is arranged on a position of the aroma reservoir (10) lying exposed to the cap (27) and that, when the cap (27) is closed, the bearing section (28) rests against the air inlet opening (14) and seals this.

12. Drinking system according to claim 11, characterised in that the bearing section (28) is made of or coated with an elastic material, in particular an EVA-PE copolymer, at least in the region where, when the cap (27) is closed, it rests against the air inlet opening (14) and seals this.

13. Drinking system according to one of the claims 10 to 12, characterised in that the bearing section is a section of a second spring element (128) arranged in the cover (27), wherein, insofar as dependent on claim 8, the spring force of the second spring element (128) is greater than the spring force of the first spring element (15).

14. Drinking system according to one of the claims 7 to 13, characterised in that the aroma reservoir (10) is or can be arranged so as to be rotatable around the drinking straw (22) around at least a specified angular range.

15. Drinking system according to claim 8 or one of the claims 9 to 15, insofar as these are dependent on claim 8, characterised in that the air outlet opening (15; 115) has a larger opening area than the air intake opening (23), preferably at least 10% larger, in particular about 20% larger.

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