Bellows-Base Beverage Capsule for Controlled Brewing Deformation
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing coffee capsules have limitations in deformation, brewing process optimization, sealing effectiveness, and counterfeiting protection, with a fixed base design that restricts adaptability and fails to ensure uniform penetration during brewing.
Innovation Solution
A capsule with a bellows-like configuration at the base, allowing for defined deformation and variable indentation, enhancing sealing and brewing quality, and incorporating features like U-shaped grooves and a pin for improved manufacturing and counterfeiting resistance.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If the capsule base is designed with a fixed rigid structure, then the capsule has robust construction, but the capsule is expensive and not suitable for certain perforating and brewing processes
Solution Approach 1:
The capsule base transitions from a fixed rigid structure to a flexible membrane structure, fundamentally changing the mechanical parameters of the base. This allows the base to be deformed during brewing processes while reducing manufacturing complexity and cost compared to robust rigid constructions.
2Ease of manufacture
If the capsule base is designed with a simple flat structure, then the capsule is easy to manufacture, but the floor cannot be pressed inwards in a predefined manner during brewing
Solution Approach 1:
The capsule base is designed as a flexible membrane that can dynamically deform during the brewing process. The membrane can be pressed inwards in a predefined manner to adapt to different brewing requirements, while maintaining ease of manufacture through its simple flexible structure without complex rigid components.
3Device complexity
If the capsule base is designed to allow only one position (central bottom section inverted), then the deformation process is simple, but the capsule allows only one position and the field of application is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The flexible membrane base can assume multiple positions and deformation states during the brewing process, enabling the capsule to adapt to different brewing systems and chamber shapes. This dynamic capability expands the field of application while keeping the deformation process manageable through the membrane's inherent flexibility.
4Ease of manufacture
If the capsule uses conventional base design, then the manufacturing is simple, but the capsule cannot provide adequate guarantee function and protection against counterfeiting
Solution Approach 1:
The flexible membrane base introduces new physical parameters and deformation characteristics that can be used for authentication purposes. The specific way the membrane deforms under controlled conditions can serve as a guarantee function against counterfeiting, while the membrane itself remains simple to manufacture.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The bellows-like configuration enables adaptable deformation, improved sealing, and enhanced brewing quality, while the U-shaped grooves and pin enhance manufacturing robustness and counterfeiting protection, expanding the capsule's application and ensuring better brewing performance.
Implementation Method 1
Depending on the shape of the bellows and optionally depending on the choice of capsule body material, the base can be elastically or plastically deformable in the cold state
Implementation Method 2
the base can be elastically or plastically deformable in the cold state. In the latter case, the indentation process is no longer reversible after the compressive force is removed
Implementation Method 3
the base of the capsule can be moved from the inside to the outside by the action of hydraulic force as a result of the introduction of a liquid into the chamber of the capsule
Data Source
Figure 1~3
Figure 4~6
Figure 5a~6a
AI summary
A capsule (1) that can be used in a device for preparing a beverage contains a rotationally symmetrical capsule body (2) with a base (4) designed to be flexible such that it can be compressed by an external force. This flexibility is achieved by a bellows-like configuration of the base (4) in the form of wave-shaped sections (8, 9, 10).