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CN-122003327-A - Compostable capsule cap structures, sheet materials and methods for making same

CN122003327ACN 122003327 ACN122003327 ACN 122003327ACN-122003327-A

Abstract

The invention relates to a sheet material (3), from which sheet material (3) at least one delivery wall (300) can be obtained by cutting or punching, the delivery wall (300) being intended to close a chamber (250) of a capsule body (200) of a beverage capsule (100) for preparing a beverage, the delivery wall (300) comprising in layered manner a carrier layer (320) forming a base layer for carrying subsequent layers, a barrier layer (340) for providing a preferably bi-directional barrier against moisture and/or gas, the barrier layer (340) preferably being made of a different material than the carrier layer (320), the barrier layer (340) being applied on the carrier layer (320), an optional protective layer (350) being provided on a surface of the barrier layer (340) opposite to the carrier layer (320), and an adhesive layer (330) being positioned on a surface of the delivery wall (300) oriented towards the chamber (250) for sealing the delivery wall (300) to an edge portion (211) of the capsule body (200), the adhesive layer covering preferably at most 90%, preferably at most 80%, preferably at least about 10mm between 10mm and the most about the periphery of the delivery wall (300) and preferably between 10mm and at least about the periphery of the periphery (3 mm, wherein the sheet material (3) comprises a cutting area identifying means (370, 380) for at least one delivery wall (300) of a cutting device adapted to cut at least one delivery wall (300) from the sheet material (3). The invention also relates to a method for obtaining at least one delivery wall (300) from the sheet material of the invention, the delivery wall (300) being used for closing a chamber (250) of a capsule body (200) of a beverage capsule (100) for preparing a beverage.

Inventors

  • GERBER GILLES
  • C. Pawan

Assignees

  • 雀巢产品有限公司

Dates

Publication Date
20260508
Application Date
20241014
Priority Date
20231017

Claims (15)

  1. 1. -A sheet material (3), from which at least one delivery wall (300) can be obtained by cutting or punching the sheet material (3), the delivery wall (300) being intended to close a chamber (250) of a capsule body (200) of a beverage capsule (100) for preparing a beverage, the delivery wall (300) comprising in a layered manner in the following order: a carrier layer (320) forming a base layer for carrying the subsequent layers, A barrier layer (340) for providing a preferably bi-directional barrier against moisture and/or gas, the barrier layer (340) preferably being made of a different material than the carrier layer (320), the barrier layer (340) being applied on the carrier layer (320), -An optional protective layer (350) provided on the surface of the barrier layer (340) opposite the carrier layer (320), and An adhesive layer (330) positioned on a surface of the delivery wall (300) oriented towards the chamber (250) for sealing the delivery wall (300) to an edge portion (211) of the capsule body (200), the adhesive layer covering at most 90%, preferably 80%, most preferably 70% of the delivery wall and being applied at least over a radial distance D between 3mm and 12mm, preferably between 5mm and 10mm, around the periphery of the delivery wall (300), Wherein the sheet material (3) comprises a cutting area identifying means (370, 380) for at least one delivery wall (300) of a cutting device adapted to cut the at least one delivery wall (300) out of the sheet material (3).
  2. 2. The sheet material (3) according to claim 1, wherein the delivery wall further comprises a filter layer (310) on a surface of the carrier layer (320) opposite the barrier layer (340) for filtering out particles from the prepared beverage dispensed via the delivery wall (300).
  3. 3. The sheet material (3) according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the delivery wall further comprises a bonding layer (360) at least partially joining the filter layer (310) and the carrier layer (320) to each other on opposite sides thereof, preferably by adhesive bonding or heat sealing, and the bonding layer is arranged between the carrier layer (320) and the filter layer (310).
  4. 4. The sheet material (3) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the at least one delivery wall (300) of the sheet material (3) is a laminated layered structure comprising one or more of the carrier layer (320), the filter layer (310), the bonding layer (360), the barrier layer (340), the protective layer (350) and the adhesive layer (330).
  5. 5. The sheet material (3) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein each layer of the delivery wall (300) is made of biodegradable and/or compostable material and the delivery wall as a whole is biodegradable and/or compostable.
  6. 6. The sheet material (3) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the sheet material (3) has a thickness of between 100 and 200 micrometers, preferably between 120 and 180 micrometers.
  7. 7. The sheet material (3) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the cut area identification means comprises an ink layer (370) interposed between two layers of the delivery wall (300), preferably between the protective layer (350) and the adhesive layer (330), the ink layer extending over the outer periphery of the delivery wall (300) for a distance between 0.1mm and 1mm, forming a cut area (375).
  8. 8. The sheet material (3) according to claim 7, wherein the cutting area (375) for cutting at least one delivery wall (300) from the sheet material is a circular contour formed by the ink layer (370).
  9. 9. The sheet material (3) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the cut area identifying means further comprises any one of perforations, pre-cuts, embossing elements or contour structures extending over the periphery of the delivery wall (300), preferably applied during application of the adhesive layer (330).
  10. 10. The sheet material (3) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the cut area identification means further comprises at least one alignment element (380) positioned on at least one edge (4) of the sheet material (3).
  11. 11. The sheet material (3) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein two adjacent delivery walls (300) of the sheet material (3) are spaced apart by a distance between 1mm and 15 mm.
  12. 12. Method for obtaining at least one delivery wall (300), the delivery wall (300) being for closing a chamber (250) of a capsule body (200) of a beverage capsule (100) for preparing a beverage, wherein the delivery wall (300) is adapted to let a prepared beverage flow out of the chamber (250) of the capsule (100) towards the outside of the capsule (100) when the capsule (100) is used in a beverage preparation machine, wherein the method comprises the steps of: -providing a sheet material (3) according to claims 1 to 11 from which the delivery wall (300) can be obtained, -Aligning the cutting area identification means (370) provided on the sheet material (3) with respect to a cutting device, -Cutting said sheet material (3) with the cutting area identification means so aligned by said cutting device, and -Intermittently moving the sheet material (3) along an Advancing Path (AP) with respect to the cutting device.
  13. 13. The method according to claim 12, wherein the Advancement Path (AP) corresponds to a distance between two consecutive delivery wall centers, and wherein the Advancement Path (AP) is between 30mm and 50mm, preferably between 35mm and 45 mm.
  14. 14. A method according to any of claims 12 or 13, wherein the cutting device comprises a cutting tool, preferably at least one knife, for cutting the delivery wall from the sheet material.
  15. 15. The method according to claim 12 or 13, wherein when the cutting zone identification means comprises a contour structure extending along the periphery of the delivery wall, the cutting device cuts the delivery wall on an inner periphery of the contour structure, and the obtained delivery wall (300) is free of any cutting zone identification means.

Description

Compostable capsule cap structures, sheet materials and methods for making same Technical Field The present invention relates to a sheet material from which at least one delivery wall for closing a chamber of a capsule body of a beverage capsule for preparing a beverage can be obtained, and to a method for obtaining at least one delivery wall from said sheet material. Background Single serving beverage capsules for beverage preparation machines are known in the art. These capsules are commonly used for on-demand dispensing of beverages such as coffee, tea or hot chocolate and are popular due to their fresh taste, flavor variability and convenience in beverage preparation. Typically, a capsule containing a beverage component is inserted into a capsule holder of a beverage preparation machine, the capsule holder is closed and beverage preparation is started. A fluid, such as water or milk, is delivered to the capsule to interact with beverage components contained inside the capsule to produce the desired beverage. When a sufficient amount of fluid fills the capsule, the capsule opens under the pressure of the fluid to release the prepared beverage. For example, the opening of the capsule may be accomplished by pressing the extraction face of the capsule against an opening structure provided in the capsule holder with a force generated by increasing the fluid pressure inside the capsule, such that the extraction face is torn when reaching its breaking stress. The opening structure may be a plurality of raised and recessed elements, such as pyramid-shaped elements, onto which the extraction surface extends and tears under the internal pressure of the fluid. Such pressure controlled beverage preparation has the advantage that a high quality beverage can be produced. However, a large number of parameters and dynamic effects may influence the opening process of the capsule on the extraction face with the aforementioned opening structure, and therefore repeatability and consistency in the opening process is difficult to achieve, which may have a negative impact on the result of the finished beverage. In particular, it has been found that the extraction face needs to exhibit a certain amount of hardness to ensure a pressure build-up in the capsule, while avoiding the collapse of the capsule during the opening process. Conversely, the extraction surface should be configured such that it can be torn by the opening structure during opening. Furthermore, it is desirable that particles and fibres from the beverage component remain inside the capsule in order not only to avoid contaminating the prepared beverage, but also to avoid blocking openings and/or opening structures in the capsule, which openings and/or opening structures are provided for dispensing the prepared beverage out of the beverage preparation machine. In the prior art, these technical challenges are solved by forming the extraction face of a film made of aluminum, which has a very precisely controlled thickness, in particular about 30 to 40 microns. Aluminum provides many advantages such as high pressure resistance, durability, flexibility, low weight, long shelf life and unchanged taste of the prepared beverage. In addition to aluminum capsules, some consumers expect capsules made of alternative materials, particularly those made of compostable materials. Accordingly, various attempts have been recently made to replace the aluminum material used in the capsule with an alternative material. For example, bioplastic made of corn starch or dry pulp made of sugar cane fiber is proposed as a capsule material. However, a disadvantage of such materials is that they do not have the same material properties as the materials currently used (e.g. aluminium). For example, capsules made of alternative materials typically have limited shelf life because they do not provide the same reliable oxygen and moisture barrier as aluminum. In particular, the design of extraction faces with alternative materials seems to be challenging, since it is not possible to simply transfer the design principles and solutions applied to the previous aluminum extraction faces to these new materials. For example, the simple replacement of the known aluminium-formed extraction surfaces with paper-based materials has proven unsuccessful, since the quality of the prepared beverage, the reproducibility of the flavour and the consistency of the beverage are not comparable to the high standards set by the known aluminium-based extraction surfaces. Additionally, while some attempts to provide alternative compostable capsules have initially met with success, the construction, structure, and design of capsule cap membranes (also referred to as delivery membranes or delivery walls) remains a challenge. This is particularly true in the case that the capsule delivery membrane should be considered biodegradable, preferably compostable, and should incorporate a material that allows for a tight seal to th