Re-usable container for substances for the preparation of liquid beverages
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Reusable containers for liquid beverage preparation face challenges in accommodating substances with varying physical characteristics, leading to unsatisfactory beverage quality and potential machine malfunction due to differences in grain size and other characteristics across regions.
Innovation Solution
A reusable container design featuring a dismountable second end portion with an annular element and a removably coupled insert, allowing for adjustable aperture configurations to adapt to different substance characteristics, ensuring optimal performance with various substances.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If a reusable container uses a fixed second end portion with fixed apertures, then the device structure is simple, but it cannot adapt to different substance characteristics (grain size variations) leading to unsatisfactory beverage quality and machine malfunction
Solution Approach 1:
The second end portion is segmented into two removable components: an annular element and an insert. The insert contains the plurality of second apertures and can be removed and replaced independently. This segmentation allows the aperture configuration to be adapted to different substance characteristics (grain sizes) without redesigning the entire container, thus improving adaptability while keeping the overall structure relatively simple.
Solution Approach 2:
The insert is made removable from the annular element, transforming the static aperture configuration into a dynamic one. Users can change the insert based on the substance being processed, allowing the container to adapt to varying grain sizes and substance characteristics. This dynamic capability enables the same container body to work optimally with different substances by simply changing the insert component.
2Adaptability or versatility
If the second end portion is made removable with an insert, then adaptability to different substances is improved, but the device complexity and assembly/disassembly operations increase
Solution Approach 1:
By segmenting the second end portion into an annular element and a separate insert, the design enables selective replacement of only the aperture-containing insert rather than the entire end portion. This reduces the complexity of assembly and disassembly operations compared to replacing whole end portions, while still achieving adaptability to different beverage preparations.
Solution Approach 2:
The insert containing the second apertures is extracted as a separate removable component from the annular element. This extraction allows users to easily remove and replace only the necessary part (insert) when changing substances, simplifying the operation compared to replacing entire end portions or capsules, while maintaining compatibility with various beverage preparations.
3Ease of manufacture
If fixed aperture configurations are used, then manufacturing is simpler, but beverage quality varies unsatisfactorily with different grain sizes
Solution Approach 1:
The container is segmented such that the insert with apertures is a separate component that can be optimized for specific substance types. Each insert can be manufactured with aperture configurations tailored to particular grain sizes, ensuring consistent beverage quality. The main container body remains simple to manufacture, while the interchangeable inserts provide the specialization needed for quality consistency across different substances.
Solution Approach 2:
The container body is designed as a universal component that can work with multiple types of inserts, each optimized for different substance characteristics. This multi-functionality approach allows a single container design to maintain beverage quality consistency across various grain sizes by simply changing the insert, without requiring complex manufacturing for each specific substance type.
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2~3
Figure 4A~4F
AI summary
Described herein is a re-usable container (1) for a substance for the preparation of a liquid beverage, particularly configured for use as a capsule for a beverage dispensing machine, the container including: - a first end portion (2), - a second end portion (4), - a shell (6) comprised between said first end portion and second end portion (2, 4) and delimiting therewith an internal volume (V) of the container (1) configured for housing a substance for the preparation of a liquid beverage, wherein : said first end portion (2) includes one or more first apertures (8) configured for allowing the inlet of a liquid into said internal volume (V), said second end portion (4) including a plurality of second apertures (18, 180, 181, 180_7) configured for allowing the outlet of a beverage that can be obtained by interaction of said liquid with a substance for the preparation of a liquid beverage within said internal volume (V), wherein furthermore said second end portion (4) is removable. The second end portion (4) is dismountable and includes an annular element (14) configured for coupling with said shell (6) and an insert (16; 16A, 16B, 16C, 16D; 16E, 16F, 16G, 16h, 161; 16A*, 16B*, 16C*, 16D*; 16E*, 16F*) that can be removably coupled into said annular element (14) and having said second apertures (18, 180, 181).