Beverage Capsule Flange Sealing Design for Multi-Machine Compatibility

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing beverage capsules face issues with ensuring a tight seal between the capsule and the brewing device, leading to leakage and inconsistent performance across different brewing machine models due to design irregularities and wear and tear, affecting the quality and taste of the beverage.

Innovation Solution

A disposable capsule design featuring a flange-like rim with a sealing element in the form of a protrusion or increased thickness, and a lid that forms an outlet wall, where the flange rim has upper and lower sides with different plane levels to create a cavity for accommodating the brewing device's pressure, providing a spring-like effect for improved sealing and compatibility with various machine designs.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If a resilient sealing material is added to the capsule to ensure seal tight engagement, then sealing reliability is improved, but the capsule structure becomes more complex and requires additional materials

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvesealing reliabilityVSAvoidcapsule structure complexity

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent removes the resilient sealing material from the capsule structure and instead provides the sealing function through the receptacle's pressing portion with irregularities. The sealing interface is extracted from the capsule and relocated to the receptacle, simplifying the capsule design while maintaining sealing reliability.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

Solution Approach 2:

Instead of making the capsule's sealing portion resilient to accommodate receptacle irregularities, the patent inverts the approach by making the receptacle's pressing portion irregular and the capsule's sealing portion rigid. The sealing is achieved by the receptacle adapting to the capsule's rigid geometry rather than the capsule adapting to the receptacle's geometry.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #13The other way round (Inversion)

2Reliability

If the receptacle is pressed against the flange to achieve seal tight engagement, then sealing is improved, but the pressing portion may remain stuck in the sealing portion during capsule removal

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveseal tight engagementVSAvoidcapsule removal ease

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSEase of operation

Solution Approach 1:

The patent segments the pressing portion into multiple independent irregularities distributed around the sealing interface. This segmentation allows localized deformation and stress distribution, enabling the pressing portion to release from the sealing portion more easily during capsule removal while maintaining effective sealing during brewing.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The patent changes the geometric parameters of the pressing portion by introducing irregularities with specific dimensions and distributions. These parameter changes allow the pressing portion to achieve sufficient contact pressure for sealing while avoiding excessive adhesion that would cause sticking during removal.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #35Parameter changes

3Reliability

If the capsule design is optimized for one type of brewing machine, then sealing performance is improved, but compatibility with different machine models decreases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvesealing performanceVSAvoidmachine compatibility

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSAdaptability or versatility

Solution Approach 1:

The patent makes the capsule's sealing portion universally compatible with different brewing machine models by designing it with a standardized rigid geometry that can accommodate variations in the receptacle's pressing portion. The irregularities in the pressing portion adapt to different machine designs while the capsule maintains a consistent sealing interface.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #6Universality (Multi-functionality)

Solution Approach 2:

The patent inverts the adaptation approach by making the receptacle (in the brewing device) adapt to the capsule rather than the capsule adapting to the receptacle. This allows a single capsule design to work with multiple machine models, as the receptacle's irregularities conform to the capsule's standardized sealing geometry.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #13The other way round (Inversion)

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 capsule achieves a reliable seal in different brewing machines, compensating for design variations and wear, ensuring consistent beverage quality and ease of use without the need for external resilient materials.

Implementation Method 1

a sealing element in the form of a protrusion or projection from the flange-like rim, or in the form of an increased thickness of the flange rim, for providing a seal tight engagement with the pressing portion of the receptacle

Methodology Applied

Scientific EffectElastic deformation: Elasticity

Data Source

PatentEP2882670B1Capsule with improved sealing element, beverage preparation system and process of preparing a beverage

Publication Date: 2021.03.17 TUTTOESPRESSO SRL

Figure 1
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Figure 3a~3b

AI summary

A capsule (1) for preparing a beverage in a brewing device, comprises a hollow body (3) including an inlet wall (4), a lateral wall (5) and a flange rim (6) having an upper side (10) and a lower side (11) and a sealing element (12) located on the upper side of said flange rim; the lower side (11) of the flange rim (6) comprises at least two portions (13, 14) that lie on two or more planes (Q, P) that are at different levels with respect to the capsule axis (A-A) and provide a space (20) on the lower side of the flange rim.