Coffee pad for use in a coffee machine
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing coffee machine pads face issues with shape retention and fluid sealing, leading to bypass effects and inconsistent beverage quality, particularly when preparing smaller volumes of coffee with higher dry matter content and intense flavor, and limited versatility in brewing different coffee varieties with standard machines.
Innovation Solution
A coffee machine pad with a flexible first sheet and a rigid shell, equipped with a fluid collecting structure and a second sheet positioned on the bottom, forming a barrier for the beverage preparation product, which ensures a static and dynamic seal with the holder, allowing for increased pressure drop and precise control over beverage properties, and includes features for establishing a laminar flow to create a foamy head.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Shape
If a flexible pad is used without a rigid shell, then the pad is simple in structure and easy to manufacture, but the pad cannot retain its shape and causes bypass effects leading to poor beverage quality
Solution Approach 1:
The pad uses a flexible first sheet and second sheet that form a pouch structure, combined with a rigid shell that provides structural support and shape retention. The flexible sheets allow the pad to conform to the holder while the rigid shell prevents deformation and bypass effects, resolving the contradiction between flexibility and shape retention.
Solution Approach 2:
The pad combines different materials with complementary properties: flexible filtering sheets for filtration and conformability, rigid shell material for structural support and shape retention, and sealing materials for creating tight seals. This composite structure resolves the contradiction by integrating materials that individually address different requirements.
2Reliability
If the pad is manually flattened and adapted to the holder, then a seal can be achieved, but the process is complex and requires user attention to prevent bypass effects
Solution Approach 1:
The pad is pre-formed with the rigid shell and connected sheets in the correct shape and configuration before use. This preliminary structuring eliminates the need for users to manually flatten or adapt the pad during placement, ensuring reliable sealing without requiring user skill or attention.
Solution Approach 2:
The rigid shell and connected sheets structure enables the pad to self-maintain its shape and self-seal against the holder without requiring manual intervention. The pad automatically achieves the desired configuration and sealing when placed in the holder, making the operation simple and reliable.
3Reliability
If a rigid shell is added to the pad, then the pad retains its shape and prevents bypass effects, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The rigid shell is merged with the flexible sheets through connection structures (such as sealing or attachment mechanisms) to create an integrated pad assembly. This merging allows the rigid shell to provide shape retention and prevent bypass effects while the flexible sheets provide filtration, achieving reliable beverage quality without requiring separate components for each function.
4Manufacturing precision
If the pad structure is simplified without a rigid shell, then manufacturing is easier, but the pad cannot maintain homogeneous coffee bed distribution
Solution Approach 1:
The rigid shell provides a structured container that maintains the coffee bed in a homogeneous distribution during placement and brewing. The flexible sheets conform to the shell structure, ensuring the coffee bed remains evenly distributed without requiring complex manufacturing processes for the shell itself.
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 pad maintains its shape and ensures a tight seal, preventing bypass effects, allowing for the preparation of smaller volumes of coffee with higher dry matter content and intense flavor, while enabling the production of various coffee varieties with precise control over beverage properties and the creation of a foamy head.
Implementation Method 1
the flexible first sheet and the second sheet each form a filter permeable to a fluid such as water and beverage which can pass and which forms a barrier for the beverage preparation product
Implementation Method 2
on the interior space of the pad in a bottom of shell there is provided a fluid collecting structure, such as channels that are in fluid connection with the at least one outlet
Data Source
AI summary
Pad for use in coffee machine for preparing at least one part of a single beverage serving. In use, in the coffee machine an aqueous fluid such as water is supplied under pressure to the pad so that the fluid is forced through the pad for obtaining a beverage that then exits the pad. The pad includes a covering with an interior space that is filled with a beverage preparation product for preparing the beverage, which beverage preparation product is a product such as ground coffee extractable with a fluid, such as water. The covering is formed by an optionally disc-shaped first sheet and a rigid shell, wherein the first sheet and the shell around their adjacent perimeter edges are connected to each other. The shell is equipped with at least one outlet, wherein on the interior space of the pad in a bottom of shell a fluid collecting structure is provided, advantageously embodied as channels in fluid connected with the at least one outlet. The pad is equipped with a second sheet that is positioned on the bottom of the shell and covering the fluid collecting structure or the channels. The second sheet is located between the beverage preparation product and the shell, wherein the first sheet and the second sheet each form a filter permeable to a fluid such as water and beverage, which can pass and that forms a barrier for the beverage preparation product so that, when in use, a fluid fed under pressure at the first sheet of the pad flows through the first sheet to the beverage preparation product so that the beverage is formed which then flows through the second sheet and via the fluid collecting structure, such as the channels, and leaves the pad through the at least one outlet opening.