Package-Less Beverage Tablets With Post-Breakage Extraction
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing beverage preparation systems generate significant packaging waste and inefficiencies due to the need for separate disposable packaging for each portion of beverage material, which complicates the brewing process and increases environmental impact.
Innovation Solution
The development of package-less beverage tablets with voids and outer walls, designed to be compacted and broken into pieces by a beverage machine using posts, allowing direct contact with the machine without packaging and facilitating efficient extraction and brewing.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If separate disposable packaging is used for each portion of beverage material, then the beverage material is protected and easy to store, but packaging waste increases and the brewing process becomes complicated
Solution Approach 1:
The patent eliminates disposable packaging by using a reusable beverage machine with a dedicated brew chamber that receives and processes beverage tablets. The machine is designed to be cleaned and reused, converting a single-use packaging model into a durable, recoverable system that reduces waste while maintaining protection of beverage material during storage and transport.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent combines the beverage material, storage, and brewing functions into an integrated system. The beverage tablet is designed to be directly received in the brew chamber without separate packaging, merging what were previously separate components (packaging, storage container, brewing device) into a unified package-less system.
2Ease of operation
If beverage tablets are mixed directly with hot water without breakage, then the brewing process is simple, but extraction efficiency is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces dynamic breakage action into the brewing process through a movable post that applies mechanical force to the tablet. This dynamic mechanism transforms the static mixing process into an active breakage-and-extraction sequence, improving extraction efficiency while maintaining ease of operation through automated machine action.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent segments the beverage tablet into smaller pieces through mechanical breakage by the post. This segmentation increases the surface area of the beverage material exposed to hot water, thereby enhancing extraction efficiency. The tablet is divided from a single large piece into multiple smaller fragments that dissolve more rapidly and completely.
3Productivity
If beverage tablets are broken into pieces by mechanical means, then extraction efficiency increases, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the breakage function from a complex multi-component system and implements it through a single movable post element. This post is the sole mechanical component responsible for tablet breakage, simplifying the overall device architecture while maintaining the necessary extraction efficiency through focused mechanical action on the beverage tablet.
4Volume of moving object
If the beverage tablet is made compact for storage, then storage efficiency increases, but the tablet is difficult to break and extract
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary mechanical action through the movable post that pre-breaks the compact tablet structure before water extraction begins. This preliminary breakage action overcomes the compactness of the tablet, creating fissures and smaller fragments that allow subsequent water penetration and extraction to proceed efficiently, thus resolving the contradiction between compact storage and easy 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
This approach reduces packaging waste, enhances extraction efficiency, and allows for customizable beverage preparation by controlling the breakage process to achieve desired sensory attributes and characteristics, such as strength and flavor, in a shorter time frame.
Implementation Method 1
applying a compressive force to the beverage tablet to break the tablet into a plurality of pieces
Data Source
AI summary
Aspects disclosed herein relate to beverage tablets and beverage machines for use in forming a beverage. Beverage ingredients may have been compacted into a tablet form to form the beverage tablets. A beverage tablet may include at least one void that may be interfaced with at least one post of a beverage machine. The at least one post of the beverage machine may be configured to interact with the beverage tablet to break the beverage tablet. The beverage machine may be configured to form a beverage from the beverage tablet.