Beverage Capsule with Filtering Wall for Sticking-Free Release
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing beverage preparation systems require complex piercing mechanisms to release capsules from the support surface, which can be inactive or absent in certain types, leading to inefficient brewing processes.
Innovation Solution
The use of a capsule with a woven or non-woven filtering material as the third wall, which abuts the support surface to prevent sticking and facilitate easy release, eliminating the need for active piercing means and ensuring the capsule remains intact under high pressure.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If piercing mechanisms are used to release capsules from the support surface, then capsule release is achieved, but device complexity increases and reliability decreases when piercing means are inactive or absent
Solution Approach 1:
The invention removes the piercing mechanism entirely from the system. Instead of using active piercing elements to release the capsule, the capsule wall itself is designed with inherent release properties through the filtering material that prevents sticking while allowing easy separation from the support surface.
Solution Approach 2:
The capsule becomes self-releasing through the properties of the filtering material in its wall structure. The material prevents the capsule from sticking to the support surface during brewing, enabling automatic release without requiring external piercing mechanisms or additional release measures.
2Reliability
If intensive abutment between capsule and support surface is maintained, then brewing contact is improved, but capsule sticking occurs and release becomes difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The filtering material in the capsule wall provides localized anti-sticking properties at the contact interface with the support surface. This allows intensive abutment for reliable brewing contact while the filtering material prevents adhesion, enabling easy release after brewing without compromising contact quality.
3Reliability
If active piercing means are used to ensure capsule release, then release reliability improves, but the system becomes more complex and may fail when piercing means are inactive
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts the piercing mechanism from the system entirely, relying instead on the inherent properties of the filtering material in the capsule wall to prevent sticking and enable reliable release without any active piercing components.
Solution Approach 2:
The capsule structure with filtering material provides self-release functionality, eliminating the need for external piercing mechanisms. The filtering material inherently prevents sticking during brewing while allowing easy separation afterward, making the system more reliable and less complex.
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
This solution allows for a simpler and more reliable capsule release mechanism, preventing sticking and rupture, and ensures consistent beverage preparation without the need for additional release measures, enhancing the reproducibility and quality of the brewing process.
Implementation Method 1
the third wall is formed by a woven or non-woven filtering material... which abuts the support surface to prevent sticking and facilitate easy release
Data Source
AI summary
A capsule for preparing a predetermined quantity of beverage suitable for consumption using an extractable product is shown. The capsule includes a circumferential first wall, a second wall closing the circumferential first wall at a first end, and a flexible sheet-shaped third wall closing the circumferential first wall at a second, open, end opposite the second wall, the third wall being at least one of perforate and porous. The first, second and third wall enclose an inner space including the extractable product. The third wall forms an outermost boundary of the capsule in an axial direction thereof. The third wall includes a filtering material. The second wall is one of a flexible porous sheet, a flexible foil provided with a plurality of entrance openings, and a substantially rigid wall that includes a plurality of entrance openings.