Beverage Cartridge Bottom Wall Ribs and Passages
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing beverage preparation cartridges, especially those with sealed coverings, often create preferential paths for water and steam entry, leading to poor-quality drinks due to incomplete saturation and lack of cream formation in espresso coffee, as a result of misalignment, blockages, or machining errors.
Innovation Solution
A cartridge design featuring a bottom wall with staggered reinforcing ribs and passage openings that communicate adjacent sectors, ensuring uniform emulsion and air circulation, preventing preferential paths and ensuring fluid outflow under all conditions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a sealed covering is used to completely insulate the comestible substance, then product retention is improved, but preferential paths are created for water and steam passage
Solution Approach 1:
The bottom wall is segmented into multiple sectors by reinforcing ribs, with passage openings distributed across different ribs. This segmentation prevents preferential paths by dividing the flow into multiple channels, ensuring uniform saturation of the comestible substance while maintaining the sealed covering's product retention capability.
Solution Approach 2:
Different regions of the bottom wall are given different functions: reinforcing ribs provide structural support and create sector divisions, while passage openings in these ribs enable controlled fluid distribution. This local differentiation ensures both product retention and uniform beverage passage without creating preferential paths.
2Stability of the object's composition
If openings are aligned with the central shank radius, then sector communication is achieved, but homogeneous emulsion and cream formation are not realized
Solution Approach 1:
The passage openings are positioned asymmetrically on the reinforcing ribs rather than aligned radially with the central shank. This asymmetric arrangement creates more effective fluid distribution patterns that promote homogeneous emulsion and cream formation, while still maintaining communication between adjacent sectors through the rib structure.
3Adaptability or versatility
If the dispensing machine has blockages or positioning errors, then preferential paths are facilitated, but beverage quality deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The cartridge design incorporates multiple passage openings distributed across different reinforcing ribs as a preemptive measure. This design cushions against potential blockages or positioning errors in the dispensing machine by providing alternative flow paths, ensuring that preferential paths cannot form and beverage quality is maintained even under suboptimal operating conditions.
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 design enhances the quality of beverages by ensuring uniform emulsion and cream formation, particularly in espresso coffee, and maintains fluid outflow even with partial occlusions, resulting in a better-tasting and more persistent cream.
Implementation Method 1
the bottom wall is provided with a plurality of reinforcing ribs able to sub-divide the bottom wall into a plurality of sectors (for example circular sectors). According to the invention, some or all of the ribs exhibit at least a passage opening, which is able to place the two adjacent sectors in communication.
Implementation Method 2
The openings, for example of two contiguous ribs, are positioned staggered on the ribs... The realising on the bottom of the capsule of a series of ribs in sectors exhibiting different heights, which define passage openings, enables a uniform emulsion of the beverage to be obtained.
Implementation Method 3
The openings, for example of two contiguous ribs, are positioned staggered on the ribs... facilitates the filling of the sector and improves the emulsion of the beverage, as well facilitating the natural circulation of the air around the fluid, enabling a correct and optimal emulsion and a generation of a more lasting cream.
Implementation Method 4
the bottom wall provided with a plurality of reinforcing ribs able to sub-divide the bottom wall into a plurality of sectors (for example circular sectors)... ensures the outflow of fluid dispensed under all operating conditions, as it prevents even only partial occlusion
Data Source
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AI summary
A cartridge (10) for preparing beverages, comprising a beaker-shaped body (11) made of a waterproof material, internally of which a substance for preparation of the beverage is contained, the beaker-shaped body exhibiting a bottom wall (12) provided with a plurality of reinforcing ribs (16), characterised in that at least one of the ribs (16) exhibits a passage opening (18).