Inlet valve and extraction vessel for extraction vessel

Abstract

An inlet valve (10) for an extraction vessel (20) for containing an extracted dry substance, and the extraction vessel (20). The inlet valve (10) has a closure cap (11) and a valve body (12). The closure cap (11) and the valve body (12) are separably connected to each other via a material thinning portion (13).

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to an inlet valve for an extraction container in the form described in the superordinate concept of the independent claims and an extraction container having the inlet valve.

Background Art

[0002] In the context of the present invention, an extract beverage is understood to be any type of beverage that can be prepared by contacting an extraction dry matter with an extraction liquid at low or high temperature. A typical extract beverage is, for example, tea prepared by pouring hot water over tea leaves or herbs.

[0003] It is known that various types of tea require a relatively long extraction that lasts for several minutes in order to optimally develop their aroma. Therefore, the contact time between the tea leaves and the extracted water must be long enough.

[0004] According to European Patent No. 3119245, a tea preparation device and method are known that can contact a measured amount of an extraction dry matter with an extraction liquid over a predetermined contact duration. This is made possible by an expandable extraction container. To introduce the extraction liquid into the container, the cover of this container is pierced with a filling needle, and the extraction liquid is introduced into the container through this filling needle.

[0005] Such a process involves a fair amount of labor. The filling needle may become dull, which increases the labor required for piercing and thus may lead to incorrect operation. Depending on the need for a hollow needle as the filling needle, the flow rate into the extraction container is limited.

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0006] The object of the present invention is to overcome at least one or more drawbacks of the prior art. In particular, it is desirable to provide an inlet valve for an infusion vessel that enables reliable, simple, and especially reproducible operation, and preferably provides a sufficiently large opening for introducing the extract into the extraction vessel. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] This problem is solved by the apparatus specified in the independent claim. Further embodiments are described in the dependent claims.

[0008] The inlet valve for an extraction container for containing an extracted and dried substance according to the present invention comprises a closing cap and a valve body. The closing cap and the valve body are detachably coupled to each other via a thin portion of the material.

[0009] Because the closing cap is bonded to the valve body via a thin section of material, these two elements can be separated from each other with minimal effort, providing a filling opening along the fractured thin section of material, through which the extract can be introduced into the extraction container.

[0010] Furthermore, the closing cap can be guided and / or held on a corresponding component, for example, on a mounting portion.

[0011] The closing cap may be assumed to have a base and a wall extending from the base and extending in an annular manner along the base.

[0012] The annular wall allows the closing cap to be guided uniformly, and especially regardless of its position, on the corresponding member. By forming a base, a defined stopper can be provided to restrict the movement of the closing cap in the direction of the wall.

[0013] Therefore, the wall may be formed in a hollow cylindrical shape and may have a first end and a second end. The first end is connected to a base body, and the second end is connected to a thin portion of the material.

[0014] This enables simple, inexpensive, and especially reproducible manufacturing.

[0015] Preferably, the thin-walled portion of the material is formed in an annular shape around the closing cap.

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

[0017] Thin-walled areas of the material may be formed as a tear film. A tear film is an area of ​​material having a height or thickness smaller than its width. Typically, the tear film is thicker than 10 μm, preferably not exceeding 500 μm. In particular, the tear film is at most half the thickness of the wall to which it is connected.

[0018] The valve body may have a valve base that extends radially toward the center of the inlet valve, and the valve base is connected to a thin portion of the material.

[0019] Therefore, the valve body is positioned at a distance from the thin-walled portion of the material via this valve base. This allows it to approach the thin-walled portion of the material.

[0020] A wall may be provided at the valve base to form a stepped portion, extending from the valve base and extending in an annular manner along the valve base. In other words, this wall is a component of the valve body.

[0021] The annular wall can accommodate corresponding mating members, such as filling tube segments, in the valve body and guide this filling tube segment along the valve base. Due to the annular arrangement of the wall, the corresponding filling tube segment can be guided regardless of the position. Furthermore, an annular seal can be easily provided between this wall and the corresponding filling tube segment.

[0022] This wall may in particular be formed in a hollow cylindrical shape and may have a first end and a second end. The first end is connected to the valve body base, and the second end is connected to a base body that extends radially outward from this second end.

[0023] This enables simple, inexpensive, and particularly reproducible production.

[0024] Preferably, the wall of the valve body and the wall of the closing cap are arranged substantially concentrically with each other.

[0025] In this case, these walls preferably extend over substantially the same length.

[0026] The wall of the valve body and the wall of the closing cap may have a substantially U-shaped cross-sectional profile together with the valve body base. The thin-walled portions of the material are correspondingly arranged at the bottom of the U-shaped profile.

[0027] With a structure of such a form, a corresponding inlet valve can be arranged in the cover portion of the extraction container such that the inlet valve is recessed inside the cover portion and does not protrude beyond the cover portion.

[0028] The two walls may extend so as to approach each other in the direction of the thin-walled portions of the material, that is, they may be formed in a conical shape. In this case, each wall may have an inclination of up to 5°.

[0029] This makes the manufacturing easier on the one hand, and on the other hand, such a conical configuration enables a reliable connection between the wall and the corresponding mating member, for example the placement part or the filling tube piece, to be provided.

[0030] In particular, the base body of the closure cap is arranged substantially in the same plane as the base body of the valve body and is preferably offset in the direction towards the inside of the extraction container.

[0031] In this case, the base body may in particular be formed as an integral component of the cover part of the extraction container.

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

[0033] This can provide a defined spacing and / or limit the movement of the corresponding elements.

[0034] Such placement elements can each cooperate with a corresponding mating member in the extraction container, particularly in the bottom part of the extraction container.

[0035] The inlet valve, particularly the closure cap and / or the valve body, can be manufactured from plastic by injection molding, particularly from biodegradable plastic, preferably from plastic of biomass origin.

[0036] A further aspect of the invention relates to an extraction container for containing an extraction dry substance for preparing an extraction beverage. The extraction container has a bottom part, a cover part, a wall part connecting the bottom part and the cover part, and an inlet valve as described herein. This inlet valve is formed in the cover part.

[0037] This enables at least the cover part of the extraction container to be manufactured simply and integrally. No additional working steps for attaching the corresponding valve are required.

[0038] The extraction vessel is preferably expandable, and in particular, the wall portion has a variable length.

[0039] This allows, on the one hand, the extraction and drying material present in the extraction container to expand, and on the other hand, enables the extraction container to be transported and stored in a small space before use.

[0040] The extraction vessel may be configured in accordance with the extraction vessel described and claimed in European Patent No. 3119245, except for the inlet valve described herein. Therefore, the extraction vessel is formed to be liquid-tight for containing the extract and is configured to expand from a contracted shape to an expanded shape upon the introduction of the extract. The extraction vessel is preferably provided with an outlet valve that opens when the pressure inside the extraction vessel exceeds the limit. This outlet valve is located at the bottom. However, the outlet valve may be formed as a mechanically openable valve.

[0041] The extraction vessel described in the present invention is particularly suitable for carrying out the method described and claimed in European Patent No. 3119245. The method, in particular, involves contacting a measured amount of extract-dried material with a measured amount of extract to produce an extracted beverage. The extract-dried material is prepared in an extraction vessel that is initially in a contracted shape and can expand into an expanded shape. The extract is introduced into the extraction vessel. The extraction vessel expands, thereby keeping the extract-dried material inside the vessel in contact with the extract for a contact time to form an extracted beverage. The extraction vessel is then compressed back to at least partially its contracted shape, at which point the extracted beverage is at least partially released from the extraction vessel.

[0042] A mounting section for a closing cap can be provided on the bottom surface of the extraction container.

[0043] This type of mounting section allows the closing cap to be held in a specific position relative to the bottom surface. Furthermore, this type of mounting section can absorb forces acting on the closing cap, for example, through the bottom surface.

[0044] A guide for the closing cap can also be provided by a mounting section of this type.

[0045] In this case, the mounting portion may be intended to cooperate with a corresponding wall of the valve cap of the inlet valve. For this purpose, the mounting portion may, for example, have a substantially cylindrical wall, which cooperates with a correspondingly formed hollow cylindrical wall of the closing cap as described herein.

[0046] The two walls may be formed in a complementary, slightly conical shape, so that their movement relative to each other clamps them together.

[0047] The mounting portion may be further formed to restrict the movement of the closing cap.

[0048] The mounting portion may be positioned at the discharge opening of the extraction container and may be formed as a filter screen in at least a predetermined area.

[0049] This configuration prevents the extracted dried substance from being released from the extraction container along with the extracted beverage, and provides a dual function through a suitable mounting section, in which case the mounting section can specifically provide the guide described herein and restrict the movement of the closing cap. Furthermore, this type of configuration allows the extraction container to be easily held in a retracted form.

[0050] In other words, the mounting section may have a guide element for guiding the closing cap.

[0051] Preferably, the valve body is connected to the wall portion, in which case the base body of the valve body is particularly connected to the wall portion.

[0052] This configuration provides a cover portion that encloses the inlet valve. In other words, the inlet valve is integrally formed and provides the cover portion.

[0053] This allows for simple and inexpensive manufacturing, and eliminates the need for additional elements and / or components.

[0054] Based on schematic drawings, the present invention will be described in detail below with respect to embodiments. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0055] [Figure 1] This is a perspective view showing a cross-section of the extraction vessel. [Figure 2A] This is a perspective view showing the extraction container in its contracted form (Figure 1). [Figure 2B] This is a perspective view showing the extraction container in its expanded form (Figure 2A). [Figure 3] Figure 1 is a detailed view of the inlet valve. [Figure 4] This is a detailed view of Figure 3, showing the fractured inlet valve. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0056] For clarity, the illustration of the extracted dried material present in the extraction container 20 has been omitted in all drawings, in some cases.

[0057] Figure 1 is a perspective view showing a cross-section of the extraction container 20. The extraction container 20 has an inlet valve 10 and an outlet valve 30 with an outlet opening 212. The extraction container itself has a bottom portion 21, a cover portion 22, and a wall portion 23. The wall portion 23 is expandable and is formed in the form of a bellows and is made of flexible plastic. The wall portion 23 is liquid-tightly coupled to the bottom portion 21 on one side and liquid-tightly coupled to the cover portion 22 on the other side. This wall portion 23 is surrounded by the bottom portion 21 and the cover portion 22. For this reason, the bottom portion 21 has a wall around it that extends in the direction of the cover portion 22. As can be seen from Figure 1, the inlet valve 10 is formed as an integral component with the cover portion 22.

[0058] The inlet valve 10 is positioned on the mounting portion 211 and is therefore appropriately spaced away from the bottom portion 21. In this case, the mounting portion 211 is formed as an integral component with the bottom portion 21.

[0059] The extraction container 20 in Figure 1 is substantially rotationally symmetric and has a central axis L. This central axis also defines the axial direction. Even if the structure of the extraction container 20 is not rotationally symmetric, a central axis still exists. This central axis is substantially 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 the direction of flow from the inlet valve 10 to the outlet valve 30.

[0060] Figure 2A shows a perspective view of the extraction container 20 of Figure 1 in its retracted form. As is clear from Figures 2A and 1, in the retracted form, the bottom portion 21 is connected to the cover portion 22 via a surrounding wall having corresponding breaking elements.

[0061] Figure 2B shows a perspective view of the extraction container 20 in Figure 2A, but in an expanded state. By applying overpressure through the inlet valve 10 (see Figure 1), the rupture element in the wall of the bottom portion 21 ruptures, and the wall portion 23 expands as the extraction liquid is filled into the extraction container 20. As will be described later with reference to Figures 3 and 4, it can be seen that the thin-walled portion 13 of the material of the inlet valve 10 has already ruptured before the overpressure is applied. The extraction container 20 remains in this expanded state for a predetermined time, and is then compressed to release the extracted beverage. By compression or an additional device, the outlet valve 30 (see Figure 1) is opened, and the extracted beverage is released through this outlet valve 30.

[0062] Figure 3 shows a detailed view of the inlet valve 10 in the cross-sectional view of Figure 1. The inlet valve 10 has a closing cap 11 and a valve body 12. The closing cap 11 has a base 111 and a wall 112 extending from the base 111. The wall 112 extends in the direction of the inside of the extraction container 20, in this case, in the direction of the bottom portion 21 where the outlet valve 30 (see Figure 1) is located. The wall 112 is formed as a hollow cylindrical wall, with a first end of the wall 112 connected to the base 111 and a second end of the wall 112 connected to a material thinning section 13. The material thinning section 13 is located between the closing cap 11 and the valve body 12. The material thinning section 13 is formed in an annular shape along the wall 112. The material thinning section continues to the valve body base 121 which extends 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 has, that is, the valve body base 121 and an annular wall 122 extending along the valve body base 121. This wall 122 continues to the base body 123. In this case, the base body 123 is formed as an integral component with the cover portion 22 (see Figure 1).

[0063] The base body 123 and the substructure 111 are located substantially in a single plane. Each wall 122 and 112 extends from this plane in the direction of the outlet valve 30 and therefore in the direction of the material thinning area 13. Together with the valve body base 121, both walls 122 and 112 form a substantially U-shaped cross-section, and the material thinning area 13 is formed at the bottom of this cross-section. The two legs of the U-shape are formed by the walls 122 and 112 and taper slightly conically in the direction of the material thinning area 13.

[0064] The closing cap 11 has a substantially cap-shaped configuration as a whole. The closing cap 11 is operationally coupled to the mounting portion 211 and is axially guided by the mounting portion. For this purpose, the mounting portion 211 has a guide element 214 (see Figure 4). As shown in Figure 3, the end of the wall 112 to which the material thinning portion 13 is connected is axially separated from the corresponding member of the mounting portion 211. The corresponding member in the mounting portion 211 is formed as an annular shoulder portion 215.

[0065] Figure 3 shows the structure of the extraction container 20 as a whole, with the material thinning area 13 not yet broken; in other words, this corresponds to the delivery state.

[0066] Figure 4 shows a detailed view of Figure 3, along with the fractured inlet valve 10 or the fractured thin-walled section 13. To fracture the thin-walled section 13, the closing cap 11 is pushed in the direction of the mounting section 211 until the lower end of the wall 112 of the closing cap 11 contacts the annular shoulder 215 of the mounting section 211. This relative movement of the closing cap 11 with respect to the valve body 12 causes the thin-walled section 13 to fracture. A filling opening is created along the fractured thin-walled section 13.

[0067] The mounting section 211 has a filter screen 213 and is positioned upstream of the outflow valve 30 (see Figure 1) in the flow direction. The mounting section 211 has a guide element 214 that acts in conjunction with the wall 112 and provides axial guidance for the wall 112. The base body 123 of the valve body 12 is formed as an integral component with the cover portion 22, and the valve body 12 is supported by the annular wall of the bottom portion 21 (see Figure 1). The force acting on the valve body 12 is absorbed by the bottom portion 21. Therefore, with respect to the mounting section 211, the valve body 12 can maintain its relative position. When a force acts on the closing cap 11, the axial sliding of the closing cap 11 generates a shear force that breaks the thin-walled portion 13 of the material.

[0068] For example, it may be assumed that, additionally, another element capable of supporting, for example, the valve base 121 is provided in the shoulder portion 215 region of the mounting portion 211, radially outward from the material thinning portion 13. Alternatively, it may be assumed that the valve base 121 is provided with a mounting element that cooperates particularly with the shoulder portion 215 to support the valve base 121 on the shoulder portion 215.

Claims

1. An extraction container (20) for containing an extractable dried substance for preparing an extracted beverage, the extraction container (20) having a bottom portion (21), a cover portion (22), a wall portion (23) connecting the bottom portion (21) and the cover portion (22), and an inlet valve (10), The extraction container (20) is characterized in that the inlet valve (10) is formed in the cover portion (22) and has a closing cap (11) and a valve body (12), the closing cap (11) and the valve body (12) are detachably connected to each other via a thin-walled portion (13) of the material, the extraction container (20) is expandable and the wall portion (23) has a variable length.

2. The extraction container (20) according to claim 1, wherein the closing cap (11) has a base (111) and a wall (112) extending from the base and extending in an annular manner along the base (111).

3. The extraction container (20) according to claim 2, wherein the wall (112) is formed in a hollow cylindrical shape and has a first end and a second end, the first end being connected to the base (111) and the second end being connected to the thin-walled portion (13) of the material.

4. The extraction container (20) according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the material thinning portion (13) is formed in an annular shape around the closing cap (11).

5. The extraction container (20) according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the thin portion (13) of the material is formed as a torn film.

6. The extraction container (20) according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the valve body (12) has a valve base (121) that extends radially toward the center, and the valve base is connected to the material thinning portion (13).

7. The extraction container (20) according to claim 6, wherein a wall (122) extending from the valve base (121) and extending in an annular manner along the valve base (121) is provided on the valve base (121) to form a stepped portion.

8. The extraction container (20) according to claim 7, wherein the wall (122) is formed in a hollow cylindrical shape and has a first end and a second end, the first end being connected to the valve base (121), and the second end being connected to a base body (123) extending radially outward from the second end.

9. The extraction container (20) according to claim 8, wherein one or more mounting elements are formed on the base body (123) and / or on the valve base (121) for supporting the valve base (121) on the shoulder portion (215) of a mounting portion (211) for mounting the closing cap (11).

10. The extraction container (20) according to claim 9, wherein the aforementioned base portion (211) is arranged on the bottom portion (21).

11. The extraction container (20) according to claim 9 or 10, wherein the mounting portion (211) is positioned in the discharge opening (212) and is formed as a filter screen (213) in at least a predetermined area.

12. The extraction container (20) according to any one of claims 9 to 11, wherein the mounting portion (211) has a guide element (214) for guiding the closing cap (11).

13. The extraction container (20) according to claim 8, wherein the valve body (12) is connected to the wall portion (23) and the base body (123) is connected to the wall portion (23).

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