Cap Reservoir Device for Beverage Shelf Life
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Active substances in food liquids, such as flavors and vitamins, degrade due to light, heat, and chemical reactions with the container materials or oxygen, leading to a reduction in shelf life and nutritional quality, especially in ready-to-drink beverages that require storage and transportation without refrigeration.
Innovation Solution
A cap reservoir device for bottles featuring a capsule filled with soluble nuggets coated in a protective amylaceous starch matrix, a removable actuator to perforate the capsule, and a cap design that allows hermetic sealing and easy activation by the user, ensuring the active components are protected and released only before consumption.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If the beverage is stored in a ready-to-drink liquid form, then convenience is improved, but the shelf life and preservation of active substances deteriorate due to degradation from light, heat, and chemical reactions
Solution Approach 1:
The beverage system is divided into two separate components: a liquid base and active substances contained in soluble nuggets within a capsule. This segmentation allows the liquid to be stored ready-to-drink while the active substances remain protected until activation, resolving the contradiction between convenience and shelf life preservation
Solution Approach 2:
The active substances are pre-prepared in soluble nugget form within the capsule, protected from degradation factors. The capsule is pre-assembled in the cap with the actuator mechanism ready for activation. This preliminary preparation maintains stability during storage while enabling convenient activation at consumption time
2Reliability
If the active substances are added in dry form at consumption time, then shelf life is improved, but practical convenience deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The soluble nuggets containing active substances are nested within the capsule, which is in turn nested within the cap assembly. This nested structure integrates the dry substance storage with the beverage container, eliminating the need for separate packaging and preparation steps while maintaining shelf life
Solution Approach 2:
The actuator mechanism is integrated into the cap assembly, allowing the consumer to activate the soluble nuggets by simply operating the cap. This self-service mechanism eliminates the need for external preparation tools or steps, making the dry substance addition as convenient as opening a regular beverage
3Reliability
If a hermetic seal is provided to protect active substances, then preservation is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The capsule is constructed with flexible side walls and a thin film bottom wall that can be hermetically sealed to protect the soluble nuggets. This flexible membrane approach provides effective protection against degradation factors while maintaining a simple, lightweight structure that integrates easily with the cap assembly
Solution Approach 2:
The hermetic sealing function is merged with the cap assembly structure. The capsule is positioned within the cap and sealed to the container neck, combining the protection function with the closing mechanism. This integration eliminates the need for separate sealing components, reducing overall device complexity
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 cap reservoir device extends the shelf life of ready-to-drink beverages by protecting active substances from degradation, allowing for convenient and economical preservation and release of flavors and nutrients, maintaining taste and nutritional qualities.
Implementation Method 1
soluble nuggets comprising an active component surrounded by an envelope or a matrix of a soluble food substance protecting the active component against chemical alteration
Implementation Method 2
a removable actuator comprising a perforator adapted to perforate, cut or break the bottom wall
Implementation Method 3
the soluble envelope or matrix is composed of an amylaceous starch, for example tapioca
Data Source
AI summary
Cap reservoir device for a food bottle comprising a container with a neck on which the cap reservoir device is intended to be assembled in order to hermetically close the interior of the container. The cap reservoir device comprises:a capsule comprising a chamber closed by a bottom wall, the chamber being filled with a gas hermetically sealed by the capsule and the cap before actuation of the actuator,a cap in which the capsule is disposed, the cap comprising a base part adapted to be fixed to the neck of the bottle,a removable actuator comprising a perforator adapted to perforate the bottom wall, andsoluble nuggets comprising an active component surrounded by an envelope or a matrix of a soluble food substance protecting the active component against chemical alteration.