Brew Cartridge

Abstract

A brew cartridge has a bowl with a flange extending laterally from its exterior and apertures in its bottom. A pod containing brewing material is located within the bowl and covered by a panel having apertures. Panel retention features in the interior of bowl keep the panel and pod in place. The brew cartridge fits in a brewing machine with a multiple piece chamber which matches the cartridge and clamps on the flange. The brew machine passes pressurized hot water through the cartridge to brew a beverage. The water enters through the panel and exerts at the bottom. Some embodiments of the cartridge have a drain bowl formed in the bottom of the bowl. The drain bowl has the apertures of the bottom of the bowl through and may have drain panel covering it.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates generally to drip brewing of beverages. More specifically, this invention relates to a disposable plastic brew pod enclosing a filtered packet containing a premeasured amount of brew material.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

There are several methods of brewing beverages. One method heats water and passes the heated water under pressure through a packet containing a premeasured amount of a brewing substance. The heated water extracts the flavoring elements from the brewing substance to create the desired beverage. This method typically employs a machine and a packet specifically designed to fit in the machine. This allows the machine to surround and reinforce the packet, so that it can withstand the passage of the pressurized heated water without rupturing and spilling its contents, such as coffee grounds, tea leaves, or other brewing materials. Also, in this process, a separate brew basket is not used. This allows each instance of brewing to be self contained with the packet being unwrapped for brewing, used, and then thrown away.

Frequently, this method is employed to produce single servings of the brewed beverage. This allows a fresh serving to be brewed when desired, as opposed to several servings being brewed into a carafe and maintained at an elevated temperature while waiting to be consumed. Additionally, in more recent times, brewed beverage makers have been provided in hotel and motel rooms, and the prepackaged single serving approach provides several advantages for economy and sanitation.

The cleaning provided by the housekeeping staff of hotels and motels is a major operation, and efficiency, for cost purposes, is of great importance. Providing the system with premeasured packages that fit directly into the brewing machine allows each guest to brew their own beverage when desired. However, because this system does not use a brew basket, this relieves the housekeeping staff of the task of cleaning the brew baskets and replacing them in the hotel room for reuse. This is a substantial time savings, and therefore this is a substantial cost savings. Along with a desire for efficiency, there are concerns about sanitation when a brew basket is reused after a, perhaps, peremptory cleaning. As with many situations, concerns about sanitation leads to the use of disposable components, in this case the self-contained brew packet provides the disposability.

DESCRIPTION OF RELATED ART

U.S. Pat. No. 6,740,345 by Cai is for a “Beverage Making Cartridge”. In Cai, a cartridge for use with a mounting head for the preparation of fluid comestibles comprises a cartridge inlet, a chamber connected to said cartridge inlet for containing suitable flavor-containing or particle materials, and a cartridge outlet connected to the chamber. A handle enables a user to hold the handle to attach and secure the cartridge inlet to the mounting head. This allows the liquid to be delivered under pressure through the flavor-containing or particle materials in the chamber, through the cartridge outlet and directly into a receptacle such as a cup or carafe for consumption, thereby dramatically simplifying the preparation of the fluid comestibles and relieving the user from the tedious cleaning work. The handle comprises at least part of the wall of the chamber, which is sufficiently rigid. The cartridge inlet has a cross-section area significantly smaller than that for the chamber to reduce the force exerted by the liquid pressure to the cartridge inlet, thereby lowering the risk of breaking the seal between the cartridge inlet and mounting head. The cartridge outlet may have a restrictive opening such as an orifice for forming a high-speed fluid jet or stream and an arrangement to allow it to interact with air to generate a foamy head for the fluid comestible. A freshness promoter can be used to prolong the freshness of the flavor-containing materials.

U.S. Pat. No. 2,905,075 by Liebelt is for a “Beverage Maker and Dispenser”. In Liebelt, a cartridge is used in combination with a beverage-dispensing apparatus having a nozzle. The cartridge has a reduced neck portion having a fluid passage engageable with the nozzle of the beverage-dispensing apparatus, and an enlarged body portion connected to the passage. The upper part of the enlarged body portion flares radially outwardly from the neck portion. The body portion has a fluid pervious bottom and is conformed to contain a bed of fluid-soluble ingredients. The maximum diameter of the body is greater than its maximum depth. The neck portion of the cartridge has a septum across it with the septum having perforations formed by downwardly punched tabs arranged in a circular pattern so as to cause fluid from the nozzle to swirl circumferentially in the cartridge.

U.S. Pat. No. 1,876,474 by Starkey is for a “Device for Making Drip Coffee”. In Starkey, one of the elements is a cartridge having a non-porous perforated bottom with a superposed upper and lower pervious fabric and filter materials. These materials are joined in an area away from their marginal edges to provide a central pocket for a substance charge. The cartridge is seated in the bottom of a liquid receiver having an open bottom. Liquid is poured into the liquid receiver and the liquid flows through the cartridge to extract flavor from the substance charge.

U.S. Pat. No. 2,292,101 by Brown is for a “Beverage Cartridge”. In one embodiment of Brown, the cartridge consists of two telescopically engaged cup-like shells of thin sheet material with pierced inwardly convergent openings. The inwardly convergent openings are surrounded by rough torn material trapping edges, and a water soluble sealing agent closes the conical openings. In another embodiment, a container made from vulcanized fiber has inwardly pierced openings projecting convergently inward into the body of the container and having rough torn ragged edges at the inner smaller ends of the passages inside the holder to trap granular material within the container while freely admitting liquid for infusion purposes. Other, similar, embodiments are claimed by the '101 patent. U.S. Pat. No. 2,283,967 by Brown is a related patent and is for a “Beverage Apparatus” which uses the cartridges of the '101 patent to brew beverages.

U.S. Published Patent Application 2010/0215808 by Versini is for a “Spherical Capsule for an Automatic Beverage Preparation and Dispensing Machine”. The invention is Versini provides a capsule than can be used in any position in a machine for automatically preparing and dispensing beverages and provided with a device for puncturing the capsule envelope and injecting pressurized water inside said capsule. One particularly advantageous characteristic of the capsule of the invention is that it does not require any pre-positioning in the infusion chamber of the machine. The solution of the invention is a capsule to be used in a machine for automatically preparing and dispensing beverages, said capsule being formed by a compacted aggregate of a substance to be infused (2) trapped in an airtight and watertight conditioning envelope (4) so that the infusion can be carried out inside said capsule, characterised in that said conditioning envelope has an essentially spherical outer shape. The conditioning envelope is adapted to be punctured on essentially any portion of its surface when water is injected into said capsule at a pressure of between 5 and 20 bars.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,325,765 by Sylvan et al. is for a “Beverage Filter Cartridge”. In Sylvan, a beverage filter cartridge includes an impermeable pierceable base having a predetermined shape and an opening at one end; a self-supporting wettable filter element disposed in the base sealingly engages with the opening in the base and has a form different and smaller than the predetermined shape of the base so that the filter element diverges from the base and divides the base into two sealed chambers, a first chamber for storing an extract of the beverage to be made, and a second empty chamber for accessing the beverage after the beverage outflow from the filter has been made by combining a liquid with the extract; and an impermeable pierceable cover sealingly engaged with the opening in the base to form an impermeable cartridge.

U.S. Pat. No. 7,213,506 by Halliday is for “A Cartridge for the Preparation of Beverages”. The invention in Halliday '506 has a cartridge containing one or more beverage ingredients which is formed from substantially air- and water-impermeable materials, the cartridge comprising an inlet for the introduction of an aqueous medium into the cartridge and an outlet for discharge of a beverage produced from the one or more beverage ingredients. The cartridge comprises an outer member and an inner member conjoined on assembly with the outer member, the inner member defining the outlet of the cartridge, wherein a snap-fit arrangement is provided to conjoin the outer member and the inner member on assembly of the cartridge.

Many of the prior art brewing cartridges are not physically resilient enough to withstand passage of pressurized heated water during the brewing process. They may rupture allowing their contents to enter the flow of water, or they may deform, obstructing the flow. Either of these defects causes the brewing process to have unsatisfactory results.

Other prior art brewing cartridges are highly complex which introduces high costs of production. Many of these types of cartridges are hard structures that are tightly sealed when formed, for example with a foil cap, and then pierced in some fashion by a brewing apparatus during the brewing process to introduce the heated water. While the robust structures of these cartridges provide a modular process for brewing beverages, the tight seal of these cartridges requires a trade-off for some brewing material, particularly coffee, for example. Freshly roasted and ground coffee beans have many volatile aromatics. These aromatics are a component of flavorful coffee. If freshly roasted and ground coffee is sealed in these tightly sealed rigid cartridges, the aromatics given off by the fresh coffee can build up and compromise the seals. To address this issue, it is a common compromise to delay packaging roasted and ground coffee. The fresh coffee is left out in ambient air to dissipate the aromatics and then packaged. While this means that somewhat stale coffee is packaged in the cartridges, it is judged a necessary trade-off to avoid cartridges with ruptured seals. A cartridge with a ruptured seal that has been stored results in coffee far more stale than the partially desiccated coffee of sealed cartridges. Although packaging semi-stale coffee is not ideal, it is deemed necessary for these tightly sealed cartridges to maintain their integrity, and strikes some balance between quality and convenience.

From the foregoing, it can be seen that there is room for improvement in brewing cartridges. There is a need for a brewing cartridge that is sufficiently durable to withstand hot pressurized water passing through, but not one needing a seal that requires delayed packaging of the brew material. Further, overly robust cartridges lead to excessive expense. The embodiments of the present invention address these needs.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An embodiment of the brewing cartridge has an upwardly directed bowl with a flange extending outwardly from the outer surface of the bowl. In at least one embodiment, the flange extends outwardly from the rim of the bowl. Within the bowl is located a pre-made pod of brew material, such as coffee, tea, etc. The pod is made of filter material and contains a premeasured amount of brew material. The bowl has at least one panel retention feature in its interior above the pod. In one embodiment, this panel retention feature is a groove circumscribing the bowl. In this embodiment, a panel shaped and sized to fit the bowl has its edges in the groove. In another embodiment, the panel retention feature is a set of protrusions extending from the sides of the bowl into the interior space of the bowl. These protrusions may be tabs cut from the bowl and extending into the interior of the bowl or they may be dimples in the bowl extending into the interior of the bowl. In this embodiment, the edges of a panel sized and shaped to fit the bowl are retained beneath the protrusions. The protrusions reduce the effective circumference of the bowl to retain the panel. In still another embodiment, the panel retention feature is the upper circumference of the bowl being less than the lower circumference of the bowl. In this embodiment, a panel shaped and sized to fit the bowl is pushed past the smaller upper circumference and retained within the bowl by the smaller upper circumference.

Both the panel and the bottom of the bowl have at least one aperture. In at least one embodiment, the panel above the pod has multiple apertures to allow free flow of water into the bowl over the entire area of the panel. The aperture in the bottom of the bowl allows brewed beverage to flow from the bowl to a waiting receptacle. Some embodiments may employ multiple apertures in the bottom of the bowl as well.

Some embodiments of the cartridge may have a smaller drain bowl formed in the bottom of the cartridge bowl. This smaller drain bowl will have the apertures for allowing brewed beverage to exit the cartridge while also having a panel retention feature of its own. As with the larger bowl, this panel retention feature may have different forms. A smaller panel is placed in the panel retention feature of the drain bowl. This smaller panel has multiple apertures through it to allow brewed beverage to flow from the larger bowl to the drain bowl and then on out apertures in the drain bowl. This provides a space between the pod and the exits from the bowl which, in applications where the pod may have a tendency to bunch and clog the fluid exit apertures in the bowl, prevents the pod from blocking the exit flow.

To brew a beverage using a cartridge according to the present invention, a cartridge is placed in a brewing machine specifically designed to use the cartridge. The machine has a chamber for receiving the cartridge that is shaped like the cartridge. The chamber is formed of separable top and bottom portions and when these are brought together to close the chamber, the flange of the brewing cartridge is clamped between the top and bottom portion of the chamber. The chamber fits the cartridge and generally reinforces the cartridge. The brewing machine introduces pressurized hot water at the top of chamber which flows through the larger panel into and through the brewing material. As the hot water passes through the brewing material, it extracts the flavorings of the material to create the desired beverage, and exits out the bottom of the cartridge. The chamber itself has an aperture in its bottom portion to allow the brewed beverage to flow to a waiting receptacle.

Because the cartridge and chamber are fitted for each other, the chamber securely holds the cartridge by the flange while also reinforcing the cartridge. This allows the cartridge to be constructed of thinner material, such as a thin plastic, although thicker material could be used. The simple design of the cartridge facilitates easy and low cost production. Also, while the panels are described as panels with apertures, in some embodiments, the apertures may be so numerous that the panel is actually a panel of screen material.

Once produced, the cartridges are packaged in a sealed envelope or similar outer packaging. The outer packaging is sufficiently flexible that fresh product, such as fresh roasted and ground coffee, can be contained in the pod of the cartridge without the attendant aromatics compromising the seal of the outer package.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Additional utility and features of the invention will become more fully apparent to those skilled in the art by reference to the following drawings, which illustrate the primary features of the several embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an embodiment of a brewing cartridge.

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of an embodiment of a brewing cartridge.

FIG. 3 is a side sectional view of an embodiment of a brewing cartridge.

FIG. 4 is a side sectional view of another embodiment of a brewing cartridge.

FIG. 5 is a bottom view of an embodiment of a brewing cartridge.

FIG. 6 is a bottom view of another embodiment of a brewing cartridge.

FIG. 7 shows a partially unwrapped brewing cartridge.

DETAILED DESCRIPTIONS OF THE EMBODIMENTS

The detailed description below of certain embodiments is intended to explain the current invention. It is to be understood that a variety of other arrangements are also possible without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an embodiment of a brewing cartridge 10. Brewing cartridge 10 has bowl section 20 with a flange 30 extending outward laterally from the outer surface of bowl section 20. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, flange 30 extends outward laterally from the rim 22 of bowl section 20. Located in the interior of bowl section 20 toward the top is cover panel 40. Cover panel 40 is generally shaped to match the perimeter of bowl section 20 and cover the interior of bowl section 20. Cover panel 40 has at least one aperture 42 through it, and in the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, cover panel 40 has several apertures 42. At the bottom of bowl section 20 is drain bowl 50 which is formed from bowl section 20. Drain bowl 50 has at least one aperture through it (not visible in FIG. 1) and is further discussed below.

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of an embodiment of a brewing cartridge 10 and shows the internal contents of brewing cartridge 10. Pod 60 and drain panel 70 are located beneath cover panel 40 and, when brewing cartridge 10 is assembled, hidden from sight. Pod 60 contains the brewing material for making the brewed beverage and is made of a water permeable material, such as filter paper, etc. Drain panel 70 has at least one aperture 72 in it as well and covers drain bowl 50 by either fitting over it or fitting in it near the top of drain bowl 50. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 2, drain panel 70 has several apertures 72. Cover panel 40 retains the contents of brewing cartridge 10, while drain panel 70 prevents pod 60 from deforming and blocking the flow of water through the aperture(s) in drain bowl 50. Depending on the particular contents of pod 60 and its construction, a drain bowl 50 and drain panel 70 may not be necessary in a particular embodiment.

At the top interior of bowl section 20 a panel retention feature may be seen. In the embodiment of brewing cartridge 10 shown in FIG. 2, the panel retention feature is a groove 80 formed into the side of bowl section 20. Bowl section 20, cover panel 40, and groove 80 are sized and formed so that the edges 44 of cover panel 40 fit into groove 80. In some embodiments, the flexibility of at least one of the bowl section 20 or cover panel 40 is sufficient to allow cover panel 40 to be pushed down into bowl section 20 until edges 44 of cover panel 40 “snap” into groove 80.

FIG. 3 is a side sectional view of an embodiment of a brewing cartridge 10. In the embodiment of brewing cartridge 10 shown in FIG. 3, a different panel retention feature is used. Retention protrusions 84 extend into the interior of bowl section 20 and decrease the effective interior dimension at that height of bowl section 20 of brewing cartridge 10. In the embodiment of FIG. 3, retention protrusions 84 are dimples in bowl section 20 protruding into the interior of bowl section 20. In one embodiment, retention protrusions 84 may be one continuous dimple, or ridge, circumscribing the interior of bowl section 20. In FIG. 3, pod 60 and drain panel 70 may be seen located beneath cover panel 40. Edges 44 of cover panel 40 are beneath panel retention protrusions 84 to retain cover panel 40 in brewing cartridge 10. In FIG. 3 a second panel retention feature is seen at the bottom of bowl section 20. Recess 82 in the bottom of bowl section 20 provides a seat for drain panel 70 and has an outer perimeter at least slightly larger than the perimeter of drain panel 70, and its inner edge transitions down into drain bowl 50. Pod 60 with cover panel 40 above pod 60 bears upon drain panel 70 and keeps it seated in recess 82. Recess 82 may also be seen in FIG. 1 in the interior of bowl section 20. Other embodiments of brewing cartridge 10 may employ a groove in the bottom of bowl section 20 similar to that of groove 80 at the top of bowl section 20 to retain drain panel 70 in position.

FIG. 4 is a side sectional view of another embodiment of brewing cartridge 10. In the embodiment of brewing cartridge 10 shown in FIG. 4, a different panel retention feature is used. Retention protrusions 84 extend into the interior of bowl section 20 and decrease the effective interior dimension at that height of bowl section 20 of brewing cartridge 10. To assemble brewing cartridge 10, cover panel 40 is pushed in bowl section 20 until cover panel 40 is past protrusions 84. In FIG. 4, protrusions 84 are tabs cut from bowl section 20 and extending out into the interior of bowl section 20. One or several of bowl section 20, cover panel 40, or protrusions 84 may flex to allow insertion of cover panel 40. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 4, cover panel 40 is supported by pod 60. In other embodiments, cover panel 40 may be supported by additional panel retention features such as a second, lower set of protrusions. Also the retention protrusions could be extensions on the interior perimeter of flange 30, including a single extension circumscribing bowl section 20. There are many ways to form panel retention features, and each of the types of panel retention features should be considered to be within the scope of this invention.

In FIG. 4, flange 30 extends from the exterior surface of bowl section 20 and not the rim 22 of bowl section 20. The part of bowl section 20 extending above flange 30 provides additional means for sealing around the upper part of cartridge 10. An adequate seal makes sure the pressurized hot water flows through the cartridge and does not bypass it.

FIG. 5 is a bottom view of an embodiment of a brewing cartridge 10. In the embodiment of brewing cartridge 10 shown in FIG. 5, brewing cartridge 10 has a single aperture 90 centrally located in its bottom for the exit for the brewed beverage. Also, on the bottom of brewing cartridge 10, the outline of drain bowl 50 may be seen where the contour of brewing cartridge 10 transitions from bowl section 20 to drain bowl 50.

FIG. 6 is a bottom view of another embodiment of a brewing cartridge 10. In this embodiment, brewing cartridge 10 has multiple apertures 92 in its bottom, but has a smooth spherical bottom with no drain bowl. For some types of brewing materials and configurations of pods, space between the exit apertures and the pod may not be necessary. This also removes the need for a drain panel.

FIG. 7 shows a partially unwrapped brewing cartridge 10. Brewing cartridge 10 is wrapped in a sealed package 100. Package 100 has sufficient excess volume as well as flexibility to allow fresh brew material to be packed in pod 60 without comprising the seal of package 10. Other types of sealed package can also be used with the brewing cartridge of the present invention.

To brew a beverage using a brewing cartridge 10, a brewing cartridge 10 is unwrapped and placed in a brewing machine specifically design to use brewing cartridge 10. The machine has a chamber for receiving brewing cartridge 10 that is shaped like brewing cartridge 10. The chamber is formed of separable top and bottom portions and when these are brought together to close the chamber, flange 30 of brewing cartridge 10 is clamped between the top and bottom portion of the chamber and the chamber fits cartridge brewing cartridge 10 and generally reinforces brewing cartridge 10. The brewing machine introduces pressurized hot water at the top of chamber which flows through apertures 42 in cover panel 40 into and through the brewing material in pod 60. As the hot water passes through the brewing material, it extracts the flavorings of the material to create the desired beverage, and exits out the bottom of brewing cartridge 10 through aperture 90. The chamber itself has an aperture in its bottom portion to allow the brewed beverage to flow to a waiting receptacle. Brewing cartridge 10 may have different amounts of brew material to brew different amounts of beverage, and brew cartridge 10 may be made in different sizes, accommodated by different machines.

Brewing cartridge 10 may be made of any material or combination of materials deemed suitable. It is expected that it will most usually be constructed overall from thin plastic material allowing easy production and assembly. However, other embodiments might use a more rigid construction, including simply thicker construction. For embodiments explicitly intended to be disposable, biodegradable material may be used.

The embodiments and claims disclosed herein are further capable of other embodiments and of being practiced and carried out in various ways, including various combinations and sub-combinations of the features described above but that may not have been explicitly disclosed in specific combinations and sub-combinations. Accordingly, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the conception upon which the embodiments and claims are based may be readily utilized as a basis for the design of other structures, methods, and systems. In addition, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology employed herein are for the purposes of description and should not be regarded as limiting the claims.

Furthermore, the Abstract is neither intended to define the claims of the application, nor is it intended to be limiting to the scope of the claims in any way. It is intended that the application is defined by the claimed appended hereto.

Claims

1. A brew cartridge for use with a brewing machine, said brew cartridge comprising:

a bowl with its rim facing upward and at least one drain aperture in its bottom, said bowl having at least one panel retention feature in its interior;

a flange extending laterally outward from the exterior of said bowl section;

a cover panel sized and shaped to match the interior perimeter of said bowl section, said panel having at least one aperture through it, said cover panel being retained in said bowl by said panel retention feature; and,

a brew pod comprised of a water permeable material and containing brew material, said brew pod being located in said bowl beneath said cover panel.

2. The brew cartridge of claim 1, wherein:

said panel retention feature comprises at least one retention recess in the interior of said bowl.

3. The brew cartridge of claim 2, wherein:

said retention recess comprises a groove at least partially circumscribing the interior of said bowl.

4. The brew cartridge of claim 1, wherein:

said panel retention feature comprises at least one retention protrusion in said bowl extending into the interior of said bowl.

5. The brew cartridge of claim 4, wherein:

said retention protrusion comprises at least one dimple in said bowl extending into the interior of said bowl.

6. The brew cartridge of claim 1, wherein:

said flange extends laterally outward from the rim of said bowl.

7. The brew cartridge of claim 1, wherein:

said bowl further comprises a drain bowl in its bottom, said at least one drain aperture being located in said drain bowl.

8. The brew cartridge of claim 7, further comprising:

a drain panel with at least one aperture through it; wherein,

said drain bowl comprises at least one panel retention feature and said drain panel is retained in said drain bowl by said at least one panel retention feature.

9. The brew cartridge of claim 8, wherein:

said panel retention feature comprises at least one retention recess in the interior of said bowl.

10. The brew cartridge of claim 9, wherein:

said at least one retention recess comprises a groove at least partially circumscribing the interior of said drain bowl.

11. The brew cartridge of claim 8 wherein:

said panel retention feature comprises at least one retention protrusion in said bowl extending into the interior of said bowl,

said panel retention feature comprises at least one dimple in said drain bowl extending into the interior of said drain bowl.

12. The brew cartridge of claim 11 wherein:

said at least one retention protrusion comprises at least one dimple in said drain bowl extending into the interior of said drain bowl.

13. The brew cartridge of claim 1 packaged individually.