Form-Retaining Coffee Pad Design to Prevent Fluid Bypass
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional coffee pads are prone to deformation, leading to increased risk of fluid bypass during use, resulting in diluted beverages and inconsistent extraction of beverage preparation products, due to their flexible design. This deformation can cause uneven distribution of the beverage preparation product, affecting the quality and consistency of the prepared beverage.
Innovation Solution
A coffee pad with a form-retaining second sheet made of a nonwoven material, comprising at least 50-70% plastic fibers or filaments, which maintains its shape during and after fluid flow, reducing the risk of bypass and ensuring uniform distribution of the beverage preparation product, thereby enhancing the consistency and quality of the prepared beverage.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If the second sheet is made of flexible filtering paper, then the pad is easy to manufacture and insert into the holder, but the pad deforms during use increasing the risk of fluid bypass
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the material parameter of the second sheet from flexible filtering paper to a form-retaining nonwoven material with specific plastic fiber content (50-70%). This parameter change maintains manufacturability while fundamentally improving shape stability during use, preventing the deformation that leads to fluid bypass.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs a composite nonwoven material consisting of plastic fibers (50-70%) combined with other fibers to create the second sheet. This composite structure provides both the form-retaining properties needed to prevent bypass and the filtering capabilities required for beverage preparation, resolving the contradiction between flexibility and shape stability.
2Ease of manufacture
If the second sheet is made of flexible filtering paper, then the pad can be easily manufactured, but the distribution of beverage preparation product becomes uneven affecting beverage consistency
Solution Approach 1:
By changing the material parameters of the second sheet to include form-retaining nonwoven material with 50-70% plastic fibers, the patent ensures uniform support for the beverage preparation product throughout the extraction process. This prevents the uneven distribution that occurs with flexible paper, thereby improving manufacturing precision and beverage consistency.
3Reliability
If the second sheet is made of form-retaining nonwoven material with 50-70% plastic fibers, then the pad maintains its shape reducing fluid bypass, but the material composition becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The patent specifies a quantitative range (50-70% plastic fibers) for the nonwoven material composition, transforming a complex material selection problem into a defined parameter specification. This approach maintains shape retention reliability while providing clear manufacturing guidelines, effectively managing the complexity through parameter standardization.
4Productivity
If hot fluid flows through the second sheet, then beverage is prepared, but the sheet may deform at high temperatures
Solution Approach 1:
The patent selects plastic fibers with appropriate thermal stability characteristics to maintain the form-retaining properties of the second sheet even when exposed to hot brewing fluid. This parameter selection ensures that the sheet maintains its shape and filtering function throughout the beverage preparation process, preventing bypass and ensuring consistent extraction.
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 form-retaining second sheet prevents fluid bypass and ensures uniform extraction of the beverage preparation product, resulting in a well-defined beverage with improved consistency and reduced risk of drips, making it easier to remove the pad from the coffee maker after use.
Implementation Method 1
the second sheet is of form-retaining design
Implementation Method 2
a force, measured during the test, which is exerted on the second sheet
Implementation Method 3
the first sheet and the second sheet each form a filter which can pass the fluid and which forms a barrier to the beverage preparation product
Implementation Method 4
a fluid such as water is supplied, under pressure, to the pad so that the fluid is pressed through the pad
Implementation Method 5
a product soluble in a fluid
Data Source
Figure 1~3
Figure 4
Figure 5a~5f
AI summary
Pad for use in a coffee-maker for preparing 1 or 2 cups of beverage, provided with an envelope with an inner space which is filled with a beverage preparation product for preparing the beverage, wherein the beverage preparation product comprises a product to be extracted with a fluid (and/or a product soluble in a fluid), wherein the envelope is formed by a first disc-shaped sheet and a second disc-shaped sheet which are interconnected adjacent their longitudinal edges, wherein the interconnected parts of the first sheet and the second sheet form a sealing seam and wherein the first sheet and the second sheet each form a filter which can pass a fluid and which forms a barrier to the product to be extracted, wherein, in use, with the coffee-maker a fluid such as water is supplied under pressure to the pad so that the fluid is pressed through the pad for obtaining a beverage which thereupon leaves the pad, wherein the second sheet is of form-retaining design.