Capsule, a system for preparing a potable beverage
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing beverage capsule sealing systems fail to maintain a reliable fluid seal at both low and high fluid pressures, particularly when the enclosing member has radially extending open grooves, leading to potential leakage issues during brewing.
Innovation Solution
The capsule features an annular projection with a trough design, where the projection's inner foot radially extends outside an inner sealing member portion and an outer projection foot radially inside an outer flange portion, providing a sealing member that is integral with the outwardly extending flange, ensuring a satisfactory seal by increasing radial contact pressure and resisting deformation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If the enclosing member has radially extending open grooves to facilitate capsule removal, then ease of operation is improved, but sealing reliability deteriorates due to potential fluid leakage through the grooves
Solution Approach 1:
The sealing member is designed with differentiated radial thickness: thicker at the inner region (inner radial thickness) and thinner at the outer region (outer radial thickness). This local variation allows the sealing member to effectively seal against the radially extending open grooves while maintaining structural integrity and facilitating capsule removal.
Solution Approach 2:
The sealing member is made elastically deformable and is pressed against the enclosing member by a closing member during brewing to ensure sealing. After brewing, the closing member is removed and the sealing member returns to its original position, allowing easy capsule removal. This dynamic behavior resolves the contradiction between sealing reliability and ease of operation.
2Productivity
If fluid pressure is increased to improve brewing efficiency, then productivity is improved, but sealing reliability deteriorates due to potential leakage
Solution Approach 1:
The sealing member's radial thickness is optimized to provide sufficient sealing force at high fluid pressures during brewing. The inner radial thickness is greater than the outer radial thickness, creating a pressure distribution that maintains sealing effectiveness across varying pressure conditions, from low pressure during insertion to high pressure during brewing.
3Reliability
If the sealing member is made thicker to improve sealing reliability, then sealing reliability is improved, but device complexity and manufacturing difficulty increase
Solution Approach 1:
Rather than uniformly thickening the sealing member, the invention applies local quality by varying the radial thickness: the inner radial thickness is greater than the outer radial thickness. This targeted approach provides enhanced sealing where needed while keeping the overall structure simple and manufacturable.
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 achieves a fluid sealing contact with minimal leakage (0-6% of total fluid), maintaining a reliable seal across varying fluid pressures, even with radially extending open grooves, facilitating easy capsule removal and efficient brewing.
Implementation Method 1
providing a sealing member (28) at said outwardly extending flange (20), said sealing member (28) being arranged for providing a fluid sealing contact with said enclosing member (6)
Implementation Method 2
a substance for the preparation of a potable beverage by extracting and/or dissolving the substance by means of supplying a fluid under pressure into the capsule
Data Source
AI summary
Capsule containing a substance for the preparation of a potable beverage, the capsule having an aluminum capsule body having a side wall and an outwardly extending flange and a sealing member at the outwardly extending flange for providing a fluid sealing contact with an enclosing member of a beverage preparation device. The beverage preparation device comprises an annular element having a free contact end which may be provided with a plurality of radially extending open grooves. The sealing member is integral with the outwardly extending flange and comprises a projection. An annular trough between the inner projection foot and the side wall has a bottom axially spaced from the outer projection foot towards the bottom of the capsule body.