Beverage Capsule Inlet Membrane for Even Water Distribution
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing beverage capsules face issues with uneven water distribution and flow control, leading to poor quality beverages, especially when using ground coffee, due to heterogeneous flow distribution and the need for complex machines with multiple perforations, which can deform or become blunt, and require precise flow rates and pressures for different coffee types.
Innovation Solution
A beverage capsule design with a recessed section at the inlet face featuring a plurality of injection openings, allowing for both axial and radial liquid distribution, ensuring even wetting of ingredients, and a bypass channel to adjust flow rates, preventing over-extraction, and using a cover member for sealing and easy opening mechanisms.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If multiple openings are pierced through the capsule for water injection, then water distribution becomes more even, but the machine complexity increases and piercing elements deform or become blunt
Solution Approach 1:
The inlet face is divided into multiple injection openings distributed across the surface, with each opening providing water injection at a different location. This segmentation allows even water distribution without requiring complex piercing mechanisms, as the openings are pre-formed in the capsule structure
Solution Approach 2:
The injection openings are pre-formed in the capsule inlet face during capsule manufacturing, before use. This preliminary action eliminates the need for complex piercing operations during beverage preparation, reducing machine complexity while ensuring precise water distribution through the pre-positioned openings
2Reliability
If high closure force is applied to pierce the capsule, then opening reliability improves, but the piercing elements deform or become blunt after repeated use
Solution Approach 1:
The capsule inlet face is pre-prepared with injection openings during manufacturing, eliminating the need for high-force piercing operations during use. This preliminary action ensures reliable opening without subjecting piercing elements to repeated deformation and blunting
Solution Approach 2:
The mechanical piercing system is replaced with a pre-formed opening system. Instead of using forceful mechanical piercing elements that deform and blunt, the capsule is designed with pre-formed openings that require minimal force to activate, improving both reliability and element durability
3Productivity
If liquid flows through the capsule at high pressure, then beverage production speed increases, but liquid bypasses the ingredients creating heterogeneous flow distribution
Solution Approach 1:
The injection openings are strategically positioned and sized to create localized water injection zones throughout the ingredient bed. This local quality approach ensures that water is introduced at multiple points simultaneously, maintaining homogeneous flow distribution even at high pressures that enable fast beverage production
Solution Approach 2:
Water injection is distributed across the two-dimensional inlet face surface rather than through a single central point. This dimensional change allows simultaneous multi-point injection that maintains uniform flow distribution through the ingredient bed, enabling high-pressure operation without bypassing
4Device complexity
If the same side of the capsule is used for both liquid inlet and beverage outlet, then the capsule structure is simplified, but liquid flow path optimization is compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The capsule is designed with asymmetric flow paths where the inlet face with multiple injection openings is positioned opposite to the outlet face. This asymmetric configuration optimizes liquid flow through the ingredient bed by creating a longer, more efficient flow path that maximizes contact between water and ingredients, improving beverage production efficiency
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
Ensures homogeneous liquid distribution and controlled flow rates within the capsule, preventing bitterness and improving beverage quality by distributing water evenly across the ingredients and allowing for adjustable flow rates, thus enhancing the reliability and consistency of the brewing process.
Implementation Method 1
the capsule is opened both at the water inlet face for injection water under pressure in the capsule
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3~4
AI summary
The present invention proposes a system for preparing a beverage from a food substance contained in a single-use capsule (1) by injection of a liquid into the capsule (1), said system comprises a device (50) having at least one enclosing member (13a,13b) connected to a closing mechanism (21) for selectively enclosing said capsule (1) in a receiving chamber (16) of the device (50), said device further comprising a pump (70) for supplying liquid to the capsule (1), opening means (15,16) for opening a first inlet face (3a) and a second outlet face (3b) of the capsule (1), and a control unit (80) for controlling at least the pump (70) of the device, wherein the opening means (15,16) are arranged to supply a liquid received from the pump (70) to the inside of the capsule (1), wherein the capsule (1) further comprises a rigid body (2) and a recessed section (4) formed as an integral part of the body (2), and wherein said recessed section (4) is formed at the inlet face (3a) of the capsule (1) and comprises a plurality of perforations (6a,6b).