Infusion container with one inlet valve

Description

[0001] The present invention relates to an infusion container comprising an inlet valve according to independent claim 1.

[0002] In the context of the present invention, an infusion beverage is understood to be any type of beverage that can be prepared from a dry infusion substance by contact with a cold or hot infusion liquid. A typical infusion beverage is, for example, tea, which is prepared by brewing tea leaves or herbs with hot water.

[0003] It is known that different types of tea require a relatively long brewing time of several minutes to optimally develop their aroma. The contact time between the tea leaves and the brewing water must therefore be sufficiently long. EP 3 119 245 B1 discloses a tea preparation device and a method that makes it possible to bring a measured quantity of a dry infusion substance into contact with an infusion liquid for a specific contact time. This is achieved by an expandable infusion container. To introduce the infusion liquid into the container, a lid of this container is pierced with a filling needle, and the infusion liquid is introduced into the container through this needle.

[0004] This process requires a considerable amount of force. The filling needle can become blunt, which increases the force required to pierce and can therefore lead to incorrect handling. The necessity of a hollow needle as a filling needle limits the flow into the infusion container. DE 10 2010 030988 A1 discloses an infusion container according to the preamble of claim 1.

[0005] The object of the invention is to overcome at least one or more disadvantages of the prior art. In particular, it aims to...

[0006] An inlet valve for an infusion container must be provided that enables safe, simple and, in particular, reproducible operation and preferably provides a sufficiently large opening for introducing the infusion liquid into the infusion container.

[0007] This problem is solved by the device defined in independent claim 1. Further embodiments are described in the dependent claims.

[0008] An infusion container according to the invention for receiving an infusion dry substance comprises an inlet valve having a closure cap and a valve body. The closure cap and the valve body are separably connected to each other via a thin section of material.

[0009] The connection of the cap to the valve body via a thinning of the material makes it possible to separate these two elements with little effort and to provide a filling opening along the broken thinning of the material through which the infusion liquid can be introduced into the infusion container.

[0010] The end cap also makes it possible to guide and / or hold it on a corresponding counterpart, such as a support.

[0011] It may be provided that the closure cap has a base body and a wall extending from it and surrounding the base body.

[0012] The surrounding wall allows for smooth, and especially position-independent, guidance of the cap on a corresponding counterpart. The design of a base body creates a defined stop that limits movement of the cap towards the wall.

[0013] The wall can therefore be hollow-cylindrical in shape and have a first end and a second end. The first end connects to the base body and the second end connects to the thinning point in the material.

[0014] This allows for simple, cost-effective and, in particular, reproducible manufacturing.

[0015] Preferably, the material thinning area is formed all around the end of the cap.

[0016] The cap can therefore be completely separated from the valve body, allowing subsequent relative movement between the valve body and the cap.

[0017] The material thinning area can form a delamination film. A delamination film is a region in the material with a relatively small height or thickness compared to its width. A delamination film is typically thicker than 10 µm and preferably does not exceed 500 µm. In particular, it is at most half the thickness of the adjacent wall.

[0018] The valve body may have a valve base extending radially towards the center of the inlet valve, adjoining the material thinning point.

[0019] The valve body is thus spaced away from the material thinning point via this valve base. The material thinning point is therefore accessible.

[0020] To form a step, a wall extending from and circumferentially around the valve base can be arranged at the valve base. This wall is therefore part of the valve body.

[0021] The circumferential wall allows a corresponding counterpart, such as a filler neck, to be accommodated within the valve body and guided along the valve base. This circumferential arrangement of the wall enables the filler neck to be guided, particularly regardless of its position. Furthermore, it facilitates the simple creation of a circumferential seal between this wall and the corresponding filler neck.

[0022] This wall can be hollow and cylindrical, with a first end and a second end. The first end connects to the valve body base, and the second end connects to a base body extending radially outwards from it.

[0023] This allows for simple, cost-effective and, in particular, reproducible manufacturing.

[0024] Preferably, the wall of the valve body and the wall of the closure cap are arranged essentially concentrically to each other.

[0025] The walls preferably extend over essentially the same length.

[0026] The wall of the valve body and the wall of the end cap, together with the valve body base, can have a substantially U-shaped cross-sectional profile. The thinning area is accordingly located at the base of the U-shaped profile.

[0027] Such a configuration makes it possible to arrange a corresponding inlet valve in a lid part of an infusion container in such a way that it is recessed within the lid part and does not protrude beyond the lid part.

[0028] The walls can also taper towards each other in the direction of the material's thinnest point, thus having a conical shape. Each wall can have an incline of up to 5°.

[0029] This facilitates manufacturing on the one hand, and on the other hand, such a conical design allows for a reliable connection between the walls and a corresponding counterpart, such as a support or a filling nozzle.

[0030] In particular, the base body of the closure cap is arranged essentially in the same plane as a base body of the valve body and is preferably offset in a direction towards the interior of the infusion container.

[0031] The base body can, in particular, be designed as an integral part of a lid part of an infusion container.

[0032] One or more support elements can be formed on the base body and / or on the valve base.

[0033] This allows a defined distance to be created and / or the movement of a corresponding element to be restricted.

[0034] These support elements can each interact with corresponding counterparts on the infusion container, in particular on a bottom part of the infusion container.

[0035] The inlet valve, in particular the cap and / or the valve body, can be manufactured using an injection molding process from plastic, in particular from a biodegradable plastic, preferably from a bio-based plastic.

[0036] The invention relates to an infusion container for receiving a dry infusion substance for the preparation of an infusion beverage. The infusion container comprises a base, a lid, a wall connecting the base and lid, and an inlet valve as described herein. The inlet valve is formed in the lid.

[0037] This allows for simple and integrated manufacturing of at least the lid part of the infusion container. An additional step to attach a corresponding valve is unnecessary.

[0038] The infusion container is expandable, with the wall section in particular having a variable length.

[0039] This allows, on the one hand, the swelling of a dry infusion substance located in the infusion container, and on the other hand, the infusion container can be transported and stored with little space before use.

[0040] The infusion container, with the exception of the inlet valve described herein, can be designed in particular according to the infusion container described and claimed in EP 3 119 245 B1. The infusion container is thus designed to be liquid-tight for receiving an infusion liquid and to expand from a collapsed to an expanded state by the introduction of infusion liquid. It is equipped with an outlet valve that preferably opens when an overpressure in the infusion container is exceeded. This outlet valve is arranged in the bottom section. However, the outlet valve can also be designed as a mechanically openable valve.

[0041] The infusion container described herein is particularly suitable for carrying out the method described and claimed in EP 3 119 245 B1. This method is specifically a method in which a measured quantity of an infusion dry substance is brought into contact with a measured quantity of an infusion liquid, thereby producing the infusion beverage. The infusion dry substance is provided in the infusion container, which is initially in a collapsed state and expandable. The infusion liquid is introduced into the infusion container. The infusion container is expanded so that the infusion dry substance is kept in contact with the infusion liquid within the container for a specified contact time, thus forming the infusion beverage.Then, by squeezing the infusion container, it is at least partially returned to its collapsed shape, and in the process, the infusion beverage is at least partially expelled from the infusion container.

[0042] A support for the closure cap may be arranged on the bottom part of the infusion container.

[0043] Such a support allows the cap to be held in a specific position relative to the base. Furthermore, it enables forces acting on the cap, for example, to be absorbed by the base.

[0044] A guide for the closure cap can also be provided by such a support.

[0045] In particular, it may be provided that the support interacts with a corresponding wall of the valve cap of the inlet valve. For this purpose, the support may, for example, have a substantially cylindrical wall that interacts with a correspondingly designed hollow cylindrical wall of the valve cap, as described here.

[0046] Both walls can be complementary and slightly conical, so that movement of the walls against each other leads to jamming of these walls.

[0047] The support can also be designed in such a way that it restricts movement of the closure cap.

[0048] The support can be located at a dispensing opening of the infusion container and can be designed, at least in some areas, as a filter screen.

[0049] This design prevents the infusion dry matter from being dispensed from the infusion container along with the infusion beverage. Furthermore, the design provides a dual function by acting as a support, specifically guiding and limiting the movement of the cap as described above. In addition, this design allows the infusion container to be easily held in its collapsed state.

[0050] The support can therefore have a guide element for guiding the closure cap.

[0051] Preferably, the valve body connects to the wall part, in particular the base body of the valve body connects to the wall part.

[0052] This design provides a cover part that incorporates the inlet valve. In other words, the inlet valve is formed as a single piece and provides the cover part.

[0053] This allows for simple and cost-effective manufacturing and eliminates the need for additional elements and / or components.

[0054] The invention is explained in detail below using schematic figures and an exemplary embodiment. These show: Figure 1: A perspective sectional view of an infusion container; Figure 2A: A perspective view of the infusion container from the Figure 1 in a collapsed form; Figure 2B: a perspective view of the infusion container of the Figure 2A in an expanded form; Figure 3: a detail view of the inlet valve from Figure 1; Figure 4: the detail view from the Figure 3 with a broken inlet valve.

[0055] For the sake of clarity, the depiction of any infusion dry substance that may be located in the infusion container 20 has been omitted in all figures.

[0056] Figure 1 Figure 1 shows a perspective sectional view of an infusion container 20. The infusion container 20 has an inlet valve 10 and an outlet valve 30 with a dispensing opening 212. The infusion container itself comprises a base part 21, a lid part 22, and a wall part 23. The wall part 23 is expandable and, in this case, designed in the form of a bellows and made of a flexible plastic. The wall part 23 is connected to the base part 21 in a liquid-tight manner on one side and to the lid part 22 on the other. This wall part 23 is enclosed by the base part 21 and the lid part 22. For this purpose, a wall extending towards the lid part 22 is provided on the periphery of the base part 21. As shown in the Figure 1As can be seen, the inlet valve 10 is designed as an integral part of the cover part 22.

[0057] The inlet valve 10 is arranged on a support 211 and is thus spaced accordingly from the base part 21. The support 211 is designed as an integral part of the base part 21.

[0058] The infusion container 20 according to the Figure 1 The infusion container 20 is essentially rotationally symmetrical and has a central axis L. This axis also defines an axial direction. Even in non-rotationally symmetrical configurations of the infusion container 20, a central axis is present. This axis is essentially defined by the connection between the inlet valve 10 and the outlet valve 30. The inlet valve 10 and the outlet valve 30 also define a flow direction that runs from the inlet valve 10 to the outlet valve 30.

[0059] The Figure 2Ashows a perspective view of the infusion container 20 from the Figure 1 in a collapsed form. As if from the Figure 2A and from the Figure 1 As can be seen, in the collapsed form the bottom part 21 is connected to the lid part 22 via the wall arranged at its periphery with corresponding break-up elements.

[0060] The Figure 2B shows a perspective view of the infusion container from the Figure 2A in an expanded form. By introducing overpressure via the inlet valve 10 (see Figure 1), the rupture elements of the wall of the base part 21 were ruptured, and the wall part 23 was expanded by filling the infusion container 20 with infusion liquid. It is understood that before the overpressure was introduced, the thin material sections 13 of the inlet valve 10 were ruptured, as shown below with reference to the Figures 3 and 4The infusion container 20 remains in this expanded shape for a predetermined time and is then compressed to dispense the infusion beverage. The compression, or an additional device, opens the outlet valve 30 (see below). Figure 1 ) opened and the infusion beverage dispensed through this outlet valve 30.

[0061] The Figure 3 shows a detailed view of inlet valve 10 from the Figure 1 in a sectional view according to the Figure 1 The inlet valve 10 has a cap 11 and a valve body 12. The cap 11 has a base 111 and a wall 112 extending from this base 111. The wall 112 extends towards the interior of the infusion container 20 and, in this case, towards the bottom part 21 in which the outlet valve 30 (see figure) is located. Figure 1The wall 112 is designed as a hollow cylindrical wall, with a first end of the wall 112 adjoining the base body 111 and a second end of the wall 112 adjoining a thin section 13. The thin section 13 is located between the end cap 11 and the valve body 12. The thin section 13 extends circumferentially along the wall 112. It adjoins a valve body base 121 extending radially from the center of the inlet valve 10. The valve body base 121 is part of the valve body 12. The valve body 12 thus comprises the valve body base 121 and a wall 122 extending circumferentially along this valve body base 121. This wall 122 adjoins a base body 123. The base body 123 is presently an integral part of the cover part 22 (see Figure 1 trained.

[0062] The base body 123 and the main body 111 lie essentially in one plane. The respective walls 122 and 112 extend from this plane towards the outlet valve 30 and, correspondingly, towards the thinning point 13. The two walls 122 and 112, together with the valve body base 121, form an essentially U-shaped cross-section, with the thinning point 13 located at the base of this cross-section. The two legs of the U, formed by the walls 122 and 112, taper slightly towards the thinning point 13.

[0063] The closure cap 11 has an essentially hat-shaped overall form. The closure cap 11 is operatively connected to a support 211 and guided axially on it. For this purpose, the support has a guide element 214 (see Figure 4 ) on. As in the Figure 3As illustrated, the end of the wall 112, to which the thinning area 13 adjoins, is axially spaced from a corresponding counterpart on the support 211. The counterpart on the support 211 is designed as a circumferential shoulder 215.

[0064] The Figure 3 Overall, this shows a configuration in which the infusion container 20 has collapsed and the material thinning point 13 has not yet broken open; in other words, this corresponds to a delivery condition.

[0065] The Figure 4 shows the detailed view from the Figure 3with a ruptured inlet valve 10, or with a ruptured material thinning area 13. To rupture the material thinning area 13, the sealing cap 11 is pressed towards the support 211 until a lower end of the wall 112 of the sealing cap 11 is in contact with the circumferential shoulder 215 of the support 211. This relative movement of the sealing cap 11 to the valve body 12 ruptures the material thinning area 13. A filling opening is created along the ruptured material thinning area 13.

[0066] The support 211 has a filter screen 213 and is located upstream of the outlet valve 30 in the direction of flow (see [reference]). Figure 1) arranged. A guide element 214 is formed on the support 211, which is in operative connection with the wall 112 and provides axial guidance for the wall 112. The valve body 12, whose base body 123 is formed as an integral part of the cover part 22, is located on the circumferential wall of the bottom part 21 (see also Figure 1 ) supported. A force acting on the valve body 12 is therefore absorbed in the base part 21. The valve body 12 can thus maintain its relative position with respect to the support 211. When a force is applied to the end cap 11 and the end cap 11 is displaced axially, shear forces are generated in the thin section of material 13, which then rupture it.

[0067] For example, it may be additionally provided to include further elements radially outside the material thinning point 13 in the area of ​​the shoulder 215 of the support 211, which can, for example, support the valve base 121. Alternatively, it may also be provided to include support elements on the valve base 121, which interact in particular with the shoulder 215 and support the valve base 121 on the shoulder 215.

Claims

1. Infusion container (20) for receiving a dried infusion substance for the preparation of an infusion beverage, comprising a base part (21), a lid part (22) and a wall part (23) connecting the base part (21) and the lid part (22) and an inlet valve (10) wherein the inlet valve (10) is formed in the lid part (22), characterized in that the inlet valve (10) comprises a valve cap (11) and a valve body (12), wherein the valve cap (11) and the valve body (12) are connected to one another in a separable manner via a material thin point (13) and in that the infusion container (20) is expandable, wherein in particular the wall part (23) has a variable length.

2. Infusion container (20) according to Claim 1, characterized in that the closure cap (11) comprises a base body (111) and a wall (112) extending therefrom, which runs around along the base body (111).

3. Infusion container (20) according to Claim 2, characterized in that the wall (112) is configured to be hollow-cylindrical and has a first end and a second end, wherein the first end adjoins the base body (111) and the second end adjoins the material thin point (13).

4. Infusion container (20) according to one of Claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the material thin point (13) is configured to be circumferential around the closure cap (11).

5. Infusion container (20) according to one of Claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the material thin point (13) is configured as a tear-off film.

6. Infusion container (20) according to one of Claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the valve body (12) has a valve base (121) extending radially towards a centre, which adjoins the material thin point (13).

7. Infusion container (20) according to Claim 6, characterized in that a wall (122) extending therefrom, which runs around along the valve base (121) is arranged on the valve base (121) to form a step.

8. Infusion container (20) according to Claim 7, characterized in that the wall (122) is configured to be hollow-cylindrical and has a first end and a second end, wherein the first end adjoins the valve base (121) and the second end adjoins a base body (123) extending radially outwards therefrom.

9. Infusion container (20) according to Claim 8, characterized in that one or more support elements are formed on the base body (123) and / or on the valve base (121).Infusion container (20) according to one of Claims 1 to 8, characterized in that a support (211) for abutment of the closure cap (11) is arranged on the base part (21).

10. Infusion container (20) according to one of Claims 1 to 9, characterized in that the support (211) is arranged on a dispensing opening (212) and is configured at least in some areas as a filter sieve (213).

11. Infusion container (20) according to one of Claims 9 to 10, characterized in that the support (211) comprises a guide element (214) for guiding the closure cap (11).

12. Infusion container (20) according to one of Claims 1 to 11, characterized in that the valve body (12) adjoins the wall part (23), in particular that the base body (123) adjoins the wall part (23).