Portion capsule having an identifier
AssigneeK-Fee System GmbH
InventorMarc Krüger
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A method of making a portion capsule that includes steps of: forming a metal material into a base element that includes: i) a wall extending around a central longitudinal axis to define a cavity, and ii) a rim having a top side and an opposing bottom side; filling the cavity with a beverage material; closing the cavity by attaching a foil cover onto the top side of the rim, the cover being dimensioned and configured to be: i) pierced by the mandrel of the beverage making machine in a piercing region, and ii) sealed by the seal of the beverage making machine in a sealing region; and providing an optically detectable identifier onto the metal material so that the optically detectable identifier results on the bottom side of the rim.
Claims21
A method of making a portion capsule for use with a beverage making machine to make a beverage, the beverage making machine incudes a pump, an optical detector, a mandrel that pierces a foil cover of the portion capsule, a groove defined to include opposing spaced apart walls that are joined together by a bridge wall, and a seal disposed in the groove, the method comprising:
- forming a material into a base element that includes:
- i) a wall structure extending around a central longitudinal axis to define a cavity, and ii) a peripheral region having a top side and an opposing bottom side, the wall structure including an upper annular portion with a generally constant slope, an arcuate bottom portion, and an intermediate portion that joins the upper annular portion and the arcuate bottom portion, wherein the intermediate portion has a slope that is different than the generally constant slope of the of the upper annular portion;
- filling the cavity with a raw beverage material;
- closing the cavity by attaching the foil cover onto the top side of the peripheral region, the foil cover being dimensioned and configured to be:
- i) pierced by the mandrel of the beverage making machine in a piercing location that is laterally offset from the central longitudinal axis, and ii) sealed by the seal of the beverage making machine in a sealing location that is located between the piercing location and an outer perimeter of the peripheral region, wherein such piercing and sealing of the portion capsule occurring during use of the portion capsule with the beverage making machine;
- wherein the seal is in simultaneous contact with the opposing spaced apart walls and the bridge wall, and a distal tip of the mandrel is arranged laterally inward of the opposing spaced apart walls of the groove;
- and
- providing a detection means including a plurality of plural-edged detectable surfaces on the peripheral region of the base element that extend around a perimeter of the peripheral region;
- wherein the detection means is configured to be sensed by the optical detector of the beverage making machine, and the pump is activated to supply hot water after the detection means is sensed by the optical detector and compatibility of the portion capsule is determined based upon information obtained using the detection means.
A method of making a portion capsule for use with a beverage making machine to make a beverage, the beverage making machine incudes a pump, an optical detector, a mandrel that pierces a foil cover of the portion capsule, a groove defined to include opposing spaced apart walls that are joined together by a bridge wall, and a seal disposed in the groove, the method comprising:
- forming a material into a base element that includes:
- i) a wall structure extending around a central longitudinal axis to define a cavity, ii) a peripheral region having a top side and an opposing bottom side, and iii) a bottom area that is generally opposed to the peripheral region and that is at least partially rounded;
- wherein the wall structure includes an upper annular portion with a generally constant slope, an arcuate bottom portion, and an intermediate portion that joins the upper annular portion and the arcuate bottom portion, wherein the intermediate portion has a slope that is different than the generally constant slope of the of the upper annular portion;
- filling the cavity with a raw beverage material;
- closing the cavity by attaching the foil cover onto the top side of the peripheral region, the foil cover being dimensioned and configured to be:
- i) pierced by the mandrel of the beverage making machine in a piercing location that is laterally offset from the central longitudinal axis, and ii) sealed by the seal of the beverage making machine in a sealing location that is located between the piercing location and an outer perimeter of the peripheral region, wherein such piercing and sealing of the portion capsule occurring during use of the portion capsule with the beverage making machine, wherein the seal is in simultaneous contact with the opposing spaced apart walls and the bridge wall, and a distal tip of the mandrel is laterally inward of the opposing spaced apart walls of the groove;
- and
- providing a detection means having a plurality of plural-edged detectable surfaces on the peripheral region of the base element that extend around a perimeter of the peripheral region;
- wherein the attaching step includes sealing and/or bonding the foil cover to the top side of the peripheral region;
- and
- wherein the detection means is configured to be sensed by the optical detector of the beverage making machine.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.