Rigid-Shell Beverage Pad Design to Prevent Fluid Bypass Under Pressure
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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 pad design featuring a flexible first sheet and a rigid shell with a centrally positioned outlet opening, allowing for high-pressure fluid flow and preventing bypass, along with a second sheet that forms a filter barrier to maintain beverage homogeneity and support the soluble preparation product, ensuring a stable and reproducible beverage preparation process.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If soft pillow-shaped pads made from flexible materials are used, then the pads are easy to manufacture and insert into the coffee machine, but the pads deform under hydraulic forces and allow fluid bypass, leading to poor beverage quality
Solution Approach 1:
The pad is divided into two distinct functional layers: a flexible outer layer for sealing and insertion, and a rigid inner core structure for maintaining shape and preventing bypass. This segmentation allows each layer to perform its specific function optimally without compromising the other.
Solution Approach 2:
The pad combines flexible sealing material with a rigid grid structure to create a composite construction that exhibits both flexibility for insertion and rigidity for maintaining shape under pressure, resolving the contradiction between ease of manufacture and fluid seal reliability.
2Reliability
If the pad edges are manually flattened to ensure sealing, then fluid seal is improved, but the process becomes more complex and time-consuming
Solution Approach 1:
The pad is pre-formed with a rigid grid structure that maintains its shape and sealing surfaces in the correct position before insertion. This preliminary structuring eliminates the need for manual flattening by the user, improving both reliability and ease of operation.
3Manufacturing precision
If a rigid grid structure is added to prevent agglomeration and collapsing, then beverage quality is improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The rigid grid structure is segmented into a modular pattern that provides structural support while maintaining manufacturability. The grid is integrated as a distinct layer within the pad construction, allowing for standardized production processes.
Solution Approach 2:
The rigid grid structure is combined with flexible sealing layers in a composite construction that achieves both structural integrity and sealing functionality without excessive complexity.
4Productivity
If the outlet opening size is increased to improve beverage flow, then productivity is improved, but the pressure drop across the pad decreases, affecting beverage preparation quality
Solution Approach 1:
The outlet opening is strategically positioned and sized to optimize the balance between flow rate and pressure drop. The local geometry of the outlet region is specifically designed to maintain adequate pressure for proper beverage preparation while allowing sufficient flow.
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 design enables the preparation of beverages with high dry matter content and stable taste, allowing for the creation of beverages with visual separate layers by maintaining a high pressure drop without fluid bypass, thus improving the quality and consistency of coffee machine output.
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
an aqueous fluid under pressure is supplied to the first sheet of the pad the aqueous fluid flows through the first sheet to the beverage preparation product so that the beverage is formed
Data Source
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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.