Transparent POD for soluble products and ground coffee with an identification code system

Abstract

The object of this invention is a universal transparent rigid pod for the dispensing of soluble products and coffee grounds, characterized, in the upper part, by the presence of codes (by way of example, alphanumeric, bar, qrcode - henceforth "identification code") readable by any optical reader placed on a machine dispensing soluble substances, placed both at the top and bottom of the same.

Description

[0001] TRANSPARENT POD FOR SOLUBLE PRODUCTS AND GROUND COFFEE

[0002] WITH AN IDENTIFICATION CODE SYSTEM

[0003] 'k'k'k'k'k'k'k'k

[0004] The object of this invention is a universal transparent rigid pod for the dispensing of soluble products and coffee grounds, characterized, in the upper part, by the presence of codes (by way of example, alphanumeric, bar, qrcode - henceforth "identification code") readable by any optical reader placed on a machine dispensing soluble substances, placed both at the top and bottom of the same.

[0005] The term "pod" means a closed package of any material, soft or rigid, containing any pre-portioned beverage ingredient or combination of ingredients. Some pods, which, as will be said, are made for special pre-programmed delivery systems, include an identification code on an outer side of the pod, printed mostly on the lower edge and some also on the upper closing top that allows the machine to detect the type of pod and / or the nature of the ingredients supplied inside the pod in order to apply a predefined extraction profile for the beverage being prepared. These systems include a code reader for reading the identification code on the pod. The identification code reader must be positioned so as to be able to acquire an image of the entire identi fication code that must always be clearly vi sible to the reader, and therefore for this reason it is preferable to add the identi fication code to speci fic points on the pod .

[0006] However, there are several patents that describe the configuration of pods containing reading codes that can be read by readers inserted inside the machines .

[0007] The international application W02012 / 010317 Al describes various ways of creating pods with a readable code . A first solution requires the side wall of the cup-shaped body of the pod to have a plurality of parallel round ring reliefs , which with their longitudinal profile define an identi fication of the pod, "readable" by means of an optical detector device . In a second form, the side wall of the cup body has a series of uni formly spaced identi fication reliefs and recesses on its circumference , which form a toothed crown . The number, the extension and the spacing of the reliefs define the identi fication of the pod . This solution, however, is not very flexible , as it allows , through the toothed crown of relief s / recesses to manage only a limited number of information, and such a system allows the admiss ion or exclusion of a pod from being used in a speci fic machine equipped with a pod holder made exclusively for this type of pod .

[0008] The patent EP3933696A1 concerns an optically readable code support to be associated with a pod for dispensing a beverage in a special machine by centri fuging the pod . The support includes at least one sequence of symbols represented on the support in such a way that each symbol is sequentially readable by an external reading device while the pod is being rotated along a rotation axis .

[0009] The symbols are formed at least in part by surfaces able to reflect any incidental ray of light .

[0010] The patent US2017295988A1 provides for the creation of a QR code placed on the top of the pod, readable by a reader located in the dispensing machine .

[0011] The patent WO2023285548A1 describes a system for the preparation of beverages or food that involves a machine capable of decoding the preparation information provided by a code , made with elements arranged to be read sequentially while the container is rotated around a rotation axis . The patent EP2594171AI also provides for a pod equipped with a flange with a readable code on its lower edge . A di sadvantage of such a code is that its coding density is limited, so the amount of preparation information it can encode is limited .

[0012] All the evidence revealed from reading the patents shows that the pods described so far allow the codes to be read only and exclus ively on one s ide of the pod, since the codes are pre-printed there . In addition, each pod has only and exclusively a code corresponding to a single program, and consequently each pod can be used only and exclusively for that type of pre-set dispensing, forcing the user to buy and use always di f ferent pods .

[0013] These critical issues have been overcome by the patent IT 202023000001500 of Nutis S . r . l . which describes a transparent pod equipped with a multi film with superimposable codes that allows , depending on the preparation of the beverage one wants to dispense form the machine , to modi fy the beverage dispensing program by detaching one or more pre-set layers .

[0014] The subsequent research carried out has revealed that the use of a transparent pod or material comparable to it with the same refractive abilities , in terms of transparency, can allow identi fication codes to be appl ied directly to the ring or upper part of the pod, whatever shape it takes , surmounted by a transparent top, so as to allow reading by an optical device both placed at the top and at the bottom of the dispensing machine .

[0015] Alternatively, it has been found that the same purpose is achieved by af fixing an identi fication code that can be af fixed in any way, directly on the closing top, both in the upper and lower part of a transparent pod .

[0016] The main purpose of the present invention is therefore to create a pod that allows any cof fee dispensing machine to read the codes on the pod both from the top and bottom using one of the alternatives indicated above , essentially requiring the use o f pods made with clear or equivalent material , surmounted by transparent tops or equipped with a double code in the lower and upper part of the pod .

[0017] This invention will now be described, for illustrative purposes , in accordance with a preferred form of construction which must not be understood in any way as a limitation, with particular reference to the attached figures and drawings , taking into account that all the construction forms used, without prej udice to their functionality, may vary in si ze and shape without it limiting this invention :

[0018] - figure 1 depicts the transparent pod with the reading devices that , when positioned in the upper or lower part of the dispensing machine , are able to read the identi fication codes ;

[0019] - figure 2 depicts the transparent pod with the identi fication codes placed on the edge and surmounted by a transparent closing top ;

[0020] - Figure 3 depicts an alternative version of the transparent pod surmounted by a closing top on which the identi fication codes are located, on the top and / or bottom of the pod .

[0021] The pod A) composed and made , in its exemplary form of representation, of transparent plastic or equivalent material with comparable transparency characteristics functional for the purpose of this patent , is characteri zed by a transparent container 101 equipped with an edge also transparent 102 on which, in a first embodiment , an identi fication code 103 is found on the upper part of the edge 102 , of any shape and si ze and created with any means and tool that is therefore visible both in the part upper and lower than pod A.

[0022] To avoid the release of grounds Y) present in pod A) , on the transparent edge 102 of the transparent container 101 on which there is the identification code 103 is located, a transparent or opaque closing top 104 is affixed by way of gluing / welding, or any other suitable technique to achieve this purpose, that allows the identification code to be read from any optical reader X) placed in the upper or lower part of a dispensing machine.

[0023] In an alternative form aimed at achieving the same purpose, as shown in fig. 3, the transparent container 101 is characterized by an edge 102 that is also transparent but on which there is no identification code, while the identification code 103 can be affixed, by any means and tool, to the lower and / or upper part of the closing top 104, which can in turn be opaque or transparent, or be affixed to the lower and / or upper part of the closing top 104, even if it is not transparent, but always with the purpose of being able to be read from both sides, top or bottom.

[0024] This patent and its functionalities has been described by way of illustration, but is not limited to the same, and it must therefore be understood that changes and / or modifications to the sizes and measurements may be carried out to the invention as well as to its components, without falling outside the relevant scope of protection.

Claims

CLAIMS1- Transparent pod for soluble products and transparent coffee powder with identification code system, made of clear plastic or material with comparable transparency characteristics, featuring, in a first embodiment, a transparent container 101 equipped with a transparent edge 102 with an identification code 103 located on the upper part of the edge 102, of any shape and size and made with any means and tool, and by a closing top 104 that is transparent or opaque, applied on the transparent edge 102, which allows the identification code to be read from any optical reader X) placed at the top or bottom of a beverage dispensing machine.2) Transparent pod for soluble products and coffee grounds with an identification code system, made of clear plastic or material comparable to it with transparency characteristics, as in claim 1, characterized, in an alternative form of embodiment, by a transparent container 101 with an edge 102 that is also transparent, surmounted by an opaque / transparent closing top 104, which has an identification code 103 affixed to the lower and / or upper part, by any means and tool.3) Transparent pod for soluble products and coffee grounds with a system of identification codes, made of clear plastic or material comparable to it with transparency characteristics, as in claim 1, characterized in another form, by a transparent container 101 with a border 102 that is also transparent, surmounted by a closing top 104, not transparent, with an identification code 103 affixed on its lower and upper part, by any means and tool.

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