Compacted Coffee Capsule Structure for Stable Extraction Pressure
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing coffee capsules with open exit areas and loosely filled coffee result in uncontrolled beverage preparation due to low extraction pressure, leading to inferior coffee quality with excessive wateriness and reduced CO2 content, affecting foam formation.
Innovation Solution
A coffee capsule with compacted roast and ground coffee, ensuring uniform particle distribution and a porous exit filter, which maintains controlled fluid flow and higher extraction pressure, regardless of capsule orientation, to produce a high-quality coffee with desired strength and foam content.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If the capsule has an open exit area with loosely filled coffee, then the capsule structure is simple and easy to manufacture, but the extraction pressure is low resulting in uncontrolled beverage preparation
Solution Approach 1:
The coffee is compacted before being placed in the capsule, creating a pre-compressed coffee bed that maintains its structure during brewing. This preliminary compaction action ensures proper extraction pressure control is achieved before the brewing process begins, resolving the contradiction between simple capsule structure and controlled extraction pressure.
2Productivity
If the coffee is loosely filled in the capsule, then the filling process is simple and fast, but water rushes through the capsule resulting in low extraction pressure
Solution Approach 1:
The coffee is compacted in advance before capsule filling, creating a dense coffee bed that prevents water from rushing through. This preliminary compaction maintains extraction pressure while allowing for efficient filling processes.
Solution Approach 2:
The density of the coffee bed is changed from loose to compacted state. This parameter change in coffee density increases resistance to water flow, thereby maintaining extraction pressure without requiring slower filling speeds.
3Adaptability or versatility
If the capsule is placed in rotated position, then the capsule can adapt to different apparatus configurations, but preferential fluid flow paths occur along the walls
Solution Approach 1:
The coffee is compacted against the capsule walls to create a uniform coffee bed that contacts the exit filter across the entire surface. This local compaction quality ensures that water flow is distributed evenly across all areas, preventing preferential flow paths regardless of capsule orientation.
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 compacted coffee capsule ensures consistent and high-quality coffee preparation by maintaining controlled fluid flow and pressure, resulting in a beverage with optimal strength, foam, and oil balance, while preventing water leakage and improving sealing quality.
Implementation Method 1
such a compressed coffee bed together with the exit area of the coffee provides a desired flow restriction within the capsule during preparation of the beverage. This allows a higher extraction pressure building up within the inner space of the capsule
Implementation Method 2
a perforate and/or porous third wall closing the circumferential first wall at a second, open, end opposite the second wall arranged for draining the prepared beverage from the capsule
Data Source
Figure 1
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AI summary
Capsule (2) for preparing a predetermined quantity of beverage suitable for consumption using an extractable product, for instance roast and ground coffee, comprising a circumferential first wall (14)1, a second wall (16) closing the circumferential first wall at a first end, a perforate and/or porous third wall (20) closing the circumferential first wall at a second, open, end opposite the second wall arranged for draining the prepared beverage from the capsule, wherein the first, second and third wall enclose an inner space (24) comprising the extractable product, wherein the extractable product in the inner space of the capsule has been, at least partly compacted. The invention further relates to a method for manufacturing such a capsule, a system comprising such a capsule for preparing a beverage and a method for preparing of a beverage.