Portion capsule for preparing a brewed product and a method for producing said portion capsule

Abstract

A method for producing a capsule includes providing a plastic main body having a bottom region, a peripheral side wall, and a peripheral main-body collar adjoining the peripheral side wall, wherein the main body has a substantially rectangular cross-section in the region of the main-body collar; providing a deep-drawn plastic cover for closing the capsule, wherein the cover forms an outward curvature, which adjoins a peripheral cover collar; filling the main body with an extraction material; and placing the cover onto the main body such that the cover collar lies on the main-body collar and fastening the cover collar to the main-body collar via ultrasonic welding. The cover is provided with an energy-director, which focuses the ultrasound energy during the ultrasonic welding, and wherein the cover has at least one groove that extends peripherally on an outer face in the region of the cover collar.

Claims

1. A method for manufacturing a portion capsule, which is filled with an extraction material and which is for creating a brewed product, comprising the steps of: providing a main body of a plastic, with a bottom region, a peripheral side wall, and a peripheral main-body collar connecting to the peripheral side wall, wherein the main body has a rectangular cross section in a region of the main-body collar; providing a cover of a plastic, wherein the cover, connecting to a peripheral cover collar, forms an outward arching, and wherein dimensions of the peripheral cover collar are matched to the main-body collar, said cover being manufactured by deep drawing and said cover collar having at least one groove that is peripheral and formed in an outer side of the cover collar, said cover comprising an energy director that focuses ultrasound energy during ultrasound welding; filling the main body with an extraction material; and placing the cover onto the main body, such that the cover collar lies on the main-body collar, and fastening the cover collar on the main-body collar by way of ultrasound welding.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the cover and the main body are manufactured of a same plastic.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the energy director is shaped as a peripheral rib.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein at least the cover is manufactured with an oversize, and protruding regions are separated away subsequent to the welding or simultaneously with welding.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the cover is provided with a positioning aid, by way of which the cover is aligned relative to the main body upon placement thereon.

6. A portion capsule of a plastic and which is filled with an extraction material and is for creating a brewed product, said capsule being manufactured with a method according to claim 1, comprising: a main body with a bottom region and with a peripheral side wall and with a peripheral main-body collar that connects to the peripheral side wall, wherein the main body in a region of the main-body collar has a rectangular cross section; a cover of a plastic that is fastened on the main body along a peripheral collar, wherein the collar is manufactured by ultrasound welding of the main-body collar to a cover collar; wherein the cover forms an outward arching, so that the cover contributes to a capsule volume, wherein the cover is manufactured by deep-drawing, the cover collar defines at least one groove, which is peripheral on an outer side of the cover collar and an energy director is integrated into the cover collar.

7. The capsule according to claim 6, which, with the exception of the collar is cube-shaped or cuboid.

8. The capsule according to claim 6, wherein a base of the arching is offset inwards in comparison to a portion of the side wall onto which the cover collar connects.

9. The capsule according to claim 6, wherein the cover, from an outside to an inside, comprises a collar region, an arcuate transition region and a flat region, said collar region forming a surface facing towards a cover side, and said flat region being set away from a plane of the surface.

10. The capsule according to claim 9, wherein the flat region assumes at least 40% of a cover surface.

11. The capsule according to claim 6, wherein the collar projects laterally between 0.8 mm and 2 mm.

12. The capsule according to claim 6, wherein the main body and the cover are manufactured from a same plastic.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) Embodiment examples of the invention are hereinafter described by way of drawings. In the drawings, the same reference numerals indicate the same or analogous elements. The drawings are not true to scale and may show elements which correspond to one another in sizes which differ from figure to figure. There are shown in:

(2) FIG. 1 a capsule;

(3) FIG. 2 a main body for the manufacture of a capsule according to FIG. 1;

(4) FIG. 3 a cover for the manufacture of the capsule;

(5) FIG. 4 the cover according to FIG. 3, represented in a truncated manner;

(6) FIGS. 5 and 6 in each case, a sectioned representation of a detail of the capsule according to FIG. 4, in the region of the collar;

(7) FIG. 7 a further cover;

(8) FIG. 8 the cover according to FIG. 7, represented in a truncated manner; and

(9) FIG. 9 a bottom view of the cover according to FIG. 7, likewise represented in a truncated manner.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

(10) The capsule 1 according to FIG. 1 essentially has the shape of a cube with rounded edges. The expanse however increases slightly towards to side lying at the top, so that the capsule has a truncated pyramid shape in a strict mathematical sense. The inclination angle of the surfaces which are lateral in the figure, with respect to the perpendicular to the bottom surface 5what is meant of course is that plane, which is perpendicular to the bottom surface and which runs through the edge between the bottom surface and the corresponding lateral surfaceis very small and at the most is preferably 2?, for example only approx. 1?. Moreover, the height of the capsule above the bottom surface corresponds approximately to the length of the bottom surface edges.

(11) The capsule has a main body (or beaker) 2 and a cover 3 that is fastened thereon along a peripheral collar 4. The main body forms a capsule bottom 5 and a peripheral side wall 6 which, at its end which is at the outside with respect to the axial directions (axis 10) and which is at the top in the figure, is terminated by the collar 4. The cover is arched outwards, by way of the cover surface 9, which is essentially parallel to the capsule bottom 5 being offset outwards with respect to the peripheral collar 4.

(12) FIG. 2 shows the main body 2 (beaker) before the filling and before the closure. The main-body collar 41 has an expanse or dimension that is larger than that of the collar 4 of the finished capsule.

(13) On capsule manufacture, the main body 2 is firstly filled with the extraction material, and the cover 3 is subsequently positioned. FIGS. 3 and 4 show an embodiment example of a cover 3, which is manufactured by way of deep-drawing. The energy director 23, which is formed out in the region of the cover collar 34, has the shape of a peripheral rib that is roughly V-shaped in cross section. Accordingly, a peripheral groove 11 forms on the rear side (on the outer side after capsule manufacture).

(14) The cover has a lateral overhang 31, which is separated away on or after fastening on the main body. A shouldered region is present on the overhang, so that a shoulder 32 is formed. The cover is dimensioned such that the main-body collar 41 reaches up to this shoulder when the cover is positioned on the main body, so that the shoulder serves as an aid on positioning relative to the main body.

(15) As is represented very schematically in FIG. 5, the main-body collar is supported from below by a first tool 21 (anvil) on closure of the capsule, whilst the cover is placed, and a second tool 22 (sonotrode) couples ultrasound energy from above into the cover collar, so that a welding takes place. FIG. 6 illustrates the location of the welding after separating away the possible overhang. The region, which is represented by way of cross-hatching, illustrates the original position of the energy director 23. In reality the main-body collar and the cover collar are also welded to one another next to this region, after the closure.

(16) The peripheral collar forms a surface 8 that faces the cover side and extends from the outer edge 7 of the collar up to the base 12 of the curvature. As one can see in FIG. 6, the base 12 is set inwards with respect to the peripheral side wall formed by the main body 2. Such an offset v can be of relevance compared to the thickness of the capsule wall, and in particular it is at least 0.2 mm. The offset v, as is illustrated in FIG. 6, is measured between the planes that are parallel to the outer surface of the main body in the region of the collar 4 and go through the location of maximal concave curvature, in the transition between the cover-side surface 8 and the arching of the cover, and between the main-body-side surface 18 of the collar 4 and the outer surface of the main body.

(17) The cover 3 between the collar region and the actual cover surface 9 forms a transition region 13, in which the wall has a curvature and thus forms the arching. In the shown example, this, departing from a portion which is almost at a right angle to the collar plane and the cover surface 9, merges with a continuous convex curvature into the flat region forming the cover surface. The concave curvature is therefore large (i.e., the radius of curvature is small) at the base 12. However, it would also be conceivable to assimilate the concave and the convex curvature to one another, by which means a course, which is S-shaped in cross section, would then result. It is ensured that the middle flat region makes up a large part of the cover surface (at least 40%) and therefore that the cube or cuboid shape as a whole is not compromised, by way of the surfaced limitation of the transition region.

(18) An optional thickening 14 is likewise visible in the transition between the peripheral side wall and the collar, in FIG. 6. Such a thickening serves for additional stiffening.

(19) FIGS. 7-9 show a cover 3, which is not manufactured by deep drawing, but by injection moulding, for the improved understanding. A web 33 inwardly projecting on the inner side is integrally formed, additionally to the energy director 23. This web serves for the mechanical stiffening and as a stacking aid. Positioning projections 35 integrally formed in the region of the corners act as a positioning aid. A capsule manufactured by way of deep-drawing can also include an integrally formed positioning aid.