Beverage Capsule Fluid Injection Port Stiffness and Piercing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Cellulose pulp-based capsules used in beverage preparation devices often fail to maintain their shape during water injection, leading to incomplete piercing by the injection member, which can block the capsule or result in incorrect beverage dispensing.
Innovation Solution
The capsule design features a cup-shaped body with a fluid injection portion of reduced thickness and increased density, combined with an oxygen barrier liner, to improve piercing efficiency and stiffness, ensuring effective water injection and beverage preparation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Object-affected harmful factors
If the cup-shaped body is made from cellulose pulp-based material, then environmental impact is reduced, but the shape retention during water injection deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The capsule combines cellulose pulp-based material with a plastic coating layer to create a composite structure. The cellulose pulp provides environmental benefits while the plastic coating layer provides shape retention and structural stability during water injection, resolving the contradiction between environmental impact and shape retention.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention changes the physical parameters of the capsule by controlling the thickness and density distribution of the cellulose pulp-based material. By optimizing these parameters, the capsule maintains both its environmental advantages and improved shape retention capabilities during the beverage preparation process.
2Reliability
If the fluid injection portion has reduced thickness, then piercing capability is improved, but structural strength deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The capsule applies different thickness characteristics to different portions of the cup-shaped body. The fluid injection portion has reduced thickness to facilitate piercing, while other portions maintain normal thickness to preserve structural strength. This local differentiation resolves the contradiction between piercing capability and structural strength.
Solution Approach 2:
The plastic coating layer compensates for the reduced thickness in the fluid injection portion, providing the necessary structural strength while allowing the thinner cellulose pulp-based material to enable effective piercing by the injection member.
3Strength
If the density of the cellulose pulp layer is increased, then stiffness is improved, but manufacturing complexity deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The invention modifies the density parameter of the cellulose pulp-based material in specific portions of the capsule. By controlling density variations during manufacturing, the capsule achieves improved stiffness where needed without requiring overly complex manufacturing processes, balancing performance with manufacturability.
Data Source
AI summary
A capsule for the preparation of a beverage in a beverage preparation device (10), comprising: a cup-shaped body (1) with a bottom wall (4), a lateral wall (5) and a flange (3), and a cover (2) sealed onto the flange (3) for closing the cup-shaped body (1), wherein said bottom wall (4) comprises at least a fluid injection portion (7), suitable for being pierced by a piercing member (12) of the beverage preparation device (10), and at least a surrounding portion (13A, 13B) surrounding said first fluid injection portion (7); wherein the cup-shaped body (1) comprises a cellulose pulp layer (14), and an oxygen barrier liner (15) attached to said cellulose pulp layer (14); wherein the thickness (T1) of said fluid injection portion (7) is less than the thickness (T2) of said at least a surrounding portion (13A, 13B), and wherein the density of at least the cellulose pulp layer (14) of said fluid injection portion (7) having reduced thickness is increased with respect to the density of the cellulose pulp of said surrounding portion (13A, 13B); such as to improve the piercing of said fluid injection portion by the piercing member and to increase the stiffness of this fluid injection portion with respect to the stiffness of said surrounding portion (13A, 13B).