Cartridge Collar Geometry for Automatic Beverage Pressure Setting
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing beverage and food preparation systems require complex and specially designed cartridges to manage high pressures, and users must manually set or recognize preparation parameters, which can be cumbersome and inflexible.
Innovation Solution
A machine with a valve system that interacts with the cartridge collar to automatically adjust pressure based on the cartridge's geometry, allowing for variable pressure preparation without user intervention, using a piston and spring mechanism to open at predetermined pressures defined by the cartridge's design.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If complex specially designed cartridges are used to manage high pressures, then the desired quality of beverage/food product can be produced, but the device complexity and manufacturing cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a collar as an intermediary component between the cartridge and the machine's valve system. This collar translates the cartridge's geometric features into pressure control signals for the valve, allowing pressure management without requiring the cartridge itself to be complex or specially designed for high pressure.
Solution Approach 2:
The cartridge's collar geometry automatically determines the preparation pressure through its interaction with the machine's valve means. The system self-regulates pressure based on the cartridge's own geometric features without requiring external control or complex cartridge design.
2Adaptability or versatility
If preparation parameters are preselected by the operator, then the system can accommodate different products, but the ease of operation decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The system automatically determines preparation parameters based on the cartridge's geometric features. The cartridge collar's geometry serves as an identifier that the machine's valve system uses to automatically select the appropriate pressure, eliminating the need for manual parameter selection while maintaining adaptability to different products.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the physical parameter of the cartridge collar (geometric features) to encode preparation parameter information. The machine reads these geometric parameters and automatically adjusts the preparation pressure accordingly, replacing manual parameter selection with automated parameter detection.
3Reliability
If the cartridge internal geometry is designed to enable desired quality under high pressure, then beverage quality improves, but the manufacturing precision requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The collar acts as an intermediary that transfers the function of pressure determination from the complex internal cartridge geometry to a simpler external geometric feature. This external collar geometry is easier to manufacture with standard precision while achieving the same quality outcome through interaction with the machine's valve system.
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
Enables the preparation of beverages and food products at a range of pressures without user input, simplifying machine design and operation, and allowing for flexible production of different products with defined peak opening pressures based on cartridge type.
Implementation Method 1
The piston or the collar is biased by spring means into the closed position.
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3
AI summary
This disclosure relates to improvements in beverage/food product preparation systems and in particular to beverage/food product preparation systems comprising machines of the type which use pre-packaged cartridges containing beverage or food ingredients. The cartridge (30) contains one or more beverage or food ingredients for use in a machine for preparing a beverage or food product from said ingredients. The cartridge (30) comprises a base (34), an outlet aperture (37) in the base (34), and a collar (38) extending from the cartridge base (34) around the outlet aperture (37). The cartridge (30) is inserted into a holding receptacle (14) of a machine the collar (38) interacts with an element (65) of the machine and the collar (38) is configured to determine the pressure in the cartridge (30) during the preparation process.