Coffee Pad Shell and Dual Filters for High-Pressure Brewing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing coffee machine pads are prone to deformation and fluid bypass due to soft materials, leading to inconsistent beverage quality and inefficiencies in high-pressure brewing, particularly when preparing beverages with separate layers like cappuccinos and latte macchiato.
Innovation Solution
A coffee machine pad with a flexible first sheet and a rigid shell, featuring a large outlet opening and a second sheet that forms a filter to prevent agglomeration and ensure a stable fluid seal, allowing for high-pressure brewing without bypassing the beverage preparation product, enabling the preparation of beverages with distinct layers.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If soft pillow-shaped pads made from two sheets of filtering material are used, then the pad is easy to manufacture and flexible, but the pad deforms under hydraulic forces, loses homogeneity, and allows fluid bypass
Solution Approach 1:
The pad is divided into multiple functional layers: an outer sheet, an inner sheet, and a rigid grid structure in between. This segmentation allows each layer to perform its specific function - the outer and inner sheets provide flexibility and sealing, while the rigid grid maintains structural integrity and prevents deformation under pressure.
Solution Approach 2:
The pad combines different materials with complementary properties: flexible filtering material sheets for conformability and sealing, plus a rigid grid structure for mechanical strength and shape retention. This composite construction resolves the contradiction between softness/flexibility and structural stability.
2Reliability
If the pad edges are manually adapted to the compartment shape, then fluid seal is improved, but the process becomes cumbersome and requires careful user intervention
Solution Approach 1:
The pad is pre-formed with a shape that automatically adapts to the compartment when inserted. The rigid grid structure maintains the pad's form during insertion, eliminating the need for users to manually flatten or adapt the edges before placement.
Solution Approach 2:
The outer and inner sheets are made of flexible filtering material that can conform to the compartment surfaces while maintaining structural support from the rigid grid. This flexibility enables automatic sealing without manual intervention.
3Productivity
If high pressure is applied to force fluid through the pad, then brewing speed increases, but the soft pad deforms and allows bypass of beverage preparation product
Solution Approach 1:
The rigid grid structure segmented into cells provides structural support that prevents pad collapse under high pressure, maintaining the integrity of the beverage preparation product bed and preventing bypass while allowing fast brewing.
Solution Approach 2:
The combination of flexible filtering sheets and rigid grid creates a composite structure that is both pressure-resistant and permeable, enabling high-pressure brewing without deformation or bypass.
4Reliability
If a rigid grid structure is added to prevent agglomeration and collapsing, then pad stability improves, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The rigid grid is segmented into cells that provide structural support throughout the pad volume. This segmentation prevents agglomeration of the beverage preparation product and maintains pad shape without requiring a solid rigid structure, balancing stability with manufacturing simplicity.
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 ensures a consistent and reproducible beverage quality with high dry matter content and stable taste, allowing for the preparation of beverages like cappuccinos and latte macchiato by preventing fluid bypass and maintaining a high pressure drop across the pad.
Implementation Method 1
the first sheet and the second sheet each form a filter that allows an aqueous fluid, including water, and the beverage to pass and that forms a barrier for the beverage preparation product
Implementation Method 2
a beverage preparation product for preparing the beverage wherein the beverage preparation product includes a product soluble in an aqueous fluid
Implementation Method 3
maintaining a high pressure drop across the pad
Data Source
AI summary
Pad including a covering filled with a soluble beverage preparation product. The covering comprises a flexible first sheet and a rigid shell which are connected to each other. The shell has at least one outlet opening. The pad is further equipped with a flexible second sheet that is positioned on a bottom of the shell located between the product and the shell. The first sheet and the second sheet each form a filter that allows an aqueous fluid, including water, and the beverage to pass and that forms a barrier for the product. The at least one outlet opening preferably has a diameter of a sufficient size for passing beverage substantially unrestricted.