Foods and beverages: apparatus – Beverage – Infusors
Reexamination Certificate
1997-07-31
2001-02-13
Weinstein, Steven (Department: 1761)
Foods and beverages: apparatus
Beverage
Infusors
C099S30200C, C426S112000, C426S433000, C426S435000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06186051
ABSTRACT:
The invention relates to a method for preparing a beverage suitable for consumption, and to a system and apparatus for carrying out such method.
More in particular, the invention relates to a method for preparing a beverage suitable for consumption such as coffee, wherein a liquid and a granular material such as ground coffee are brought together to produce the beverage.
Such apparatuses and methods are known per se. In the known apparatus and method for preparing coffee, for instance ground coffee is introduced in a bowl-shaped container. This bowl-shaped container is open at its top side, while in the bottom of the container a large number of small orifices have been provided. These small orifices form a barrier to the ground coffee. Next, hot water is fed under high pressure to the ground coffee via the open top side. The coffee extract thus formed in the container can leave the container via the small orifices to be subsequently received in a cup disposed therebelow.
A drawback of this known system is that preparing coffee in this manner takes up relatively much time. In particular the filling of the bowl-shaped container with ground coffee costs much time. Also, it is not guaranteed that the right amount of coffee is included into the container for obtaining coffee of the desired taste. Moreover, it is not guaranteed that always the right quality of coffee is introduced into the container. When the ground coffee has been stored for a considerable time in for instance a coffee canister, the aroma may have largely disappeared, so that the beverage eventually obtained does not meet the highest requirements. In particular in hotels, restaurants, cafes, etc., this involves a substantial drawback. It is an object of the invention to provide a solution to this problem. It is a particular object of the invention to provide a method and apparatus suitable for preparing only one consumption.
According to the invention, the method comprises a number of steps, wherein:
a vacuum pack made from a thin-walled and flexible packing sheet (foil) is placed in a holder which, in use, tightly encloses the vacuum pack at least partially, the vacuum pack being filled with the granular material and comprising a closing seam interconnecting opposite parts of the packing sheet;
a free end of at least one needle-shaped tube is introduced into the inner space of the vacuum pack; and wherein
via the needle-shaped tube, a liquid is fed under pressure to the inner space of the vacuum pack, so that under the influence of the liquid pressure in the vacuum pack, this closing seam opens at least partially, with the beverage formed in the vacuum pack flowing out of the vacuum pack via the opening.
As the beverage is made from the granular material contained in the vacuum pack, it is guaranteed that the granular material is fresh at all times. The free end of the needle-shaped tube can for instance be brought into the inner space of the vacuum pack by pricking it through the flexible packing sheet immediately before the moment when the consumption is to be prepared. It is also guaranteed that at all times a proper amount of granular material is used for preparing the beverage. Indeed, the vacuum pack may have been manufactured in advance, so that it is determined from the factory what amount of granular material should be used for preparing for instance a one-cup consumption.
According to a particular aspect of the invention, the vacuum pack is opened as a result of the liquid pressure in the inner space of the vacuum pack. This pressure is created by the liquid that is fed to the inner space of the vacuum pack via the needle-shaped tube. Thus, a particularly great ease of use is guaranteed, because a user does not have to open the vacuum pack with his own hands, with the risk of granular material falling from the opened vacuum pack.
According to a particular aspect of the invention, opposite and at least substantially abutting parts of the packing sheet are pressed towards each other adjacent the closing seam, so that at least one narrow gap between these parts forms a filter which passes the beverage and forms a barrier to the granular material.
According to an alternative embodiment of the invention, opposite parts of the packing sheet adjacent the closing seam are attached to each other at a number of different positions, so that between these positions gaps are formed which act as a filter which passes the beverage and forms a barrier to the granular material.
In particular, the holder comprises relatively movable sidewalls that are pressed against the vacuum pack during at least a portion of the period in which, via the needle-shaped tube, a liquid is fed to the vacuum pack. It is thus ensured that it is possible to create a high pressure in the vacuum pack without involving the risk of the vacuum pack being blown up. The holder then provides that the vacuum pack can properly withstand the internal high pressure.
According to a highly advanced embodiment of the method, the vacuum pack comprises a rectangular bottom wall having a first and a second pair of opposite longitudinal edges, two opposite rectangular vertical sidewalls extending in upward direction towards each other from the first pair of longitudinal edges and interconnected at their top sides via the closing seam, and two opposite, triangular vertical sidewalls extending in upward direction from the second pair of longitudinal edges; and the holder comprises two opposite vertical sidewalls, wherein the distance between these sidewalls at a top side of the holder is greater than the distance between the sidewalls at a bottom side of the holder, the holder is at its bottom side provided with an opening, and wherein the vacuum pack is placed in the holder in such a manner that the bottom wall of the vacuum pack faces upwards while the closing seam of the vacuum pack faces downwards. In this embodiment, the needle-shaped tube will preferably be pricked through the bottom wall of the vacuum pack.
A system for preparing a beverage suitable for consumption, such as coffee, wherein a liquid and a granular material such as ground coffee are brought together to produce the beverage, is characterized in that the system comprises at least one vacuum pack that is manufactured from a thin-walled and flexible packing sheet and has a closing seam interconnecting opposite parts of the packing sheet, and is filled with the granular material, and an apparatus comprising a holder filled with the vacuum pack, liquid-dispensing means for dispensing the liquid and a needle-shaped tube connected to the liquid-dispensing means, wherein the system further comprises filter means and wherein, in use, the holder encloses the vacuum pack substantially tightly, a free end of the needle-shaped tube extends into the vacuum pack via an opening in the vacuum pack, the liquid-dispensing means supply liquid to the inner space of the vacuum pack via the needle-shaped tube, the closing seam opens at least partially under the influence of the liquid pressure in the vacuum pack, whereupon the beverage formed in the vacuum pack leaves the vacuum pack via the closing seam and the filter means.
The invention further relates to an apparatus comprising a holder for receiving a vacuum pack made from a thin-walled and flexible packing sheet, which vacuum pack comprises a closing seam interconnecting opposite parts of the packing sheet and is filled with the granular material, liquid-dispensing means for dispensing the liquid and a needle-shaped tube connected to the liquid-dispensing means, wherein the holder comprises relatively movable sidewalls and pressure means for pressing these sidewalls against the vacuum pack.
REFERENCES:
patent: 3292527 (1966-12-01), Stasse
patent: 3344734 (1967-10-01), Aguirre-Batres et al.
patent: 3347151 (1967-10-01), Ronalds
patent: 3372634 (1968-03-01), Brinkman et al.
patent: 3545983 (1970-12-01), Woods
patent: 3607297 (1971-09-01), Fasano
patent: 3628444 (1971-12-01), Nazza
patent: 3719505 (1973-03-01), Mazza
patent: 3812273 (1974-05-01), Schmidt
paten
Merchant & Gould P.C.
Sara Lee / DE N.V.
Weinstein Steven
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