Capsules And Other Containers With Optimized Recycling Attributes And Methods For Making Same
A capsule or container is provided having optimized recycling attributes. The capsule is provided for use in a machine for preparing a consumable product from capsules. The capsule includes a body that defines an interior space with an opening. A cover is disposed over the opening. A filter is disposed in the interior space to define a chamber between the filter and the cover. The body, filter and cover are preferably formed of the same substantially pure polymer material. Ingredients are disposed in the interior space for preparing a desired product. A hinge is provided to tether the cover to the body. The cover is attached with a peelable seal to the body so that cover may be peeled away from the body while remaining tethered at the hinge.
1 . A beverage capsule for use in a beverage preparing machine to prepare a beverage product, said beverage capsule comprising:
a body formed entirely of a substantially pure polymer material, said body defining an interior space having an opening;
a filter formed entirely of the same substantially pure polymer material as said body, said filter being disposed in said interior space to define an ingredients chamber for containing and filtering ingredients for preparing a desired beverage product;
ingredients disposed in said ingredients chamber for preparing a desired beverage product; and
a cover disposed on said body to close said opening.
2 . The beverage capsule of claim 1 wherein said filter has a basis weight of less than 40 g/m2.
3 . The beverage capsule of claim 1 wherein said filter has a basis weight of no more than 25 g/m2.
4 . The beverage capsule of claim 1 wherein said filter has a tensile strength of 100 N/5 cm or less in the Machine Direction (MD) and 70 N/5 cm or less in the Cross Direction (CD).
5 . The beverage capsule of claim 1 wherein said filter has a tensile strength in the range of 20-70 N/5 cm in the Machine Direction (MD) and 10-40 N/5 cm in the Cross Direction (CD).
6 . The beverage capsule of claim 1 wherein said filter has a tensile strength in the range of 20-60 N/5 cm in the Machine Direction (MD) and 10-30 N/5 cm in the Cross Direction (CD).
7 . The beverage capsule of claim 1 wherein said filter has a material tear strength of 15 N or less in the Machine Direction (MD) and 20 N or less in the Cross Direction (CD).
8 . The beverage capsule of claim 1 wherein said filter has a material tear strength in the range of 3-10 N in the Machine Direction (MD) and 3-10 N in the Cross Direction (CD).
9 . The beverage capsule of claim 1 wherein said filter has an elongation to break value of 50% or less in the Machine Direction (MD) and 40% or less in the Cross Direction (CD).
10 . The beverage capsule of claim 1 wherein said filter is formed of bi-component fibers having a CPP core and a PP sheath.
11 . The beverage capsule of claim 1 wherein said filter is hydrophobic and non-absorbent.
12 . The capsule of claim 1 wherein the filter is sealed to said body within said interior space.
13 . The capsule of claim 1 wherein said body includes a sidewall and an end wall that define said interior space.
14 . The capsule of claim 13 wherein said filter is sealed to said sidewall within said interior space at a location that is in the middle one-third of the distance between said opening and said end wall.
15 . The capsule of claim 14 wherein said filter, at it's lowest point, is spaced a minimum distance D from said end wall to avoid said filter being contacted by a dispensing system during use of capsule in the machine.
16 . The capsule of claim 1 wherein said cover is formed entirely of the same substantially pure polymer material as said body and said filter.
17 . The capsule of claim 1 wherein said substantially pure polymer material is at least 90% pure by weight.
18 . The capsule of claim 1 wherein said substantially pure polymer material is at least 95% pure by weight.
19 . The capsule of claim 1 wherein said substantially pure polymer material is at least 97% pure by weight.
20 . The capsule of claim 1 wherein said substantially pure polymer material is at least 100% pure by weight.
21 . The capsule of claim 1 wherein said substantially pure polymer material is selected from one of PP, PET or PLA.
22 . The capsule of claim 1 wherein said substantially pure polymer material for said body includes a barrier material that provides an oxygen barrier between an exterior of said capsule and said interior space.
23 . The capsule of claim 22 wherein said barrier material comprises less than 5% of said substantially pure polymer material by weight
24 . The capsule of claim 22 wherein said substantially pure polymer material for said body is a multilayered material comprising at least one layer of PP, at least one layer of CPP and at least one layer of barrier material.
25 . The capsule of claim 1 wherein said cover is peelably sealed to said body to enable said cover to be at least partially separated from said body following use of said capsule.
26 . The capsule of claim 1 wherein said cover includes a hinge, that is permanently sealed at a hinge zone to said body, and a peelable portion that is peelably sealed at a peel zone to said body to enable said cover to be partially separated from said body following use of said capsule while remaining connected at said hinge.
27 . A beverage capsule for use in a beverage preparing machine to prepare a beverage product, said beverage capsule comprising:
a body defining an interior space having an opening;
a filter disposed in said interior space to define an ingredients chamber for containing and filtering ingredients for preparing a desired beverage product, said filter being formed of a hydrophobic and non-absorbent polymer material having a basis weight of less than 40 gsm;
ingredients disposed in said ingredients chamber for preparing a desired beverage product; and
a cover disposed on said body to close said opening.
28 . The beverage capsule of claim 27 wherein said filter has a basis weight in the range of 10-30 gsm.
29 . The beverage capsule of claim 27 wherein said filter has a basis weight of no more than 25 g/m2.
30 . The beverage capsule of claim 27 wherein said filter has a tensile strength of 100 N/5 cm or less in the Machine Direction (MD) and 70 N/5 cm or less in the Cross Direction (CD).
31 . The beverage capsule of claim 27 wherein said filter has a tensile strength in the range of 20-70 N/5 cm in the Machine Direction (MD) and 10-40 N/5 cm in the Cross Direction (CD).
32 . The beverage capsule of claim 27 wherein said filter has a tensile strength in the range of 20-60 N/5 cm in the Machine Direction (MD) and 10-30 N/5 cm in the Cross Direction (CD).
33 . The beverage capsule of claim 27 wherein said filter has a material tear strength of 15 N or less in the Machine Direction (MD) and 20 N or less in the Cross Direction (CD).
34 . The beverage capsule of claim 27 wherein said filter has a material tear strength in the range of 3-10 N in the Machine Direction (MD) and 3-10 N in the Cross Direction (CD).
35 . The beverage capsule of claim 27 wherein said filter has an elongation to break value of 50% or less in the Machine Direction (MD) and 40% or less in the Cross Direction (CD).
36 . The beverage capsule of claim 27 wherein said filter is formed of bi-component fibers having a CPP core and a PP sheath.
37 . The capsule of claim 27 wherein the filter is sealed to said body within said interior space.
38 . The capsule of claim 27 wherein said body includes a sidewall and an end wall that define said interior space.
39 . The capsule of claim 38 wherein said filter is sealed to said sidewall within said interior space at a location that is in the middle one-third of the distance between said opening and said end wall.
40 . The capsule of claim 39 wherein said filter, at it's lowest point, is spaced a minimum distance D from said end wall to avoid said filter being contacted by a dispensing system during use of capsule in the machine.
41 . The capsule of claim 27 wherein said cover is peelably sealed to said body to enable said cover to be at least partially separated from said body following use of said capsule.
42 . The capsule of claim 27 wherein said cover includes a hinge, that is permanently sealed at a hinge zone to said body, and a peelable portion that is peelably sealed at a peel zone to said body to enable said cover to be partially separated from said body following use of said capsule while remaining connected at said hinge.
43 . A capsule for containing a food product, the capsule comprising:
a body defining an interior space for containing a food product, said body having an opening for accessing the food product, said opening being surrounded by a flange; and
a cover sealed to said flange to close said opening, wherein said cover includes a hinge, that is permanently sealed at a hinge zone to said flange, and a peelable portion that is peelably sealed at a peel zone to said flange to enable said cover to be opened following use of said capsule while remaining connected at said hinge,
wherein said body and said cover are made of the same substantially pure material that is at least 95% of the same type of material by weight.
44 . The capsule of claim 43 wherein said substantially pure material is selected from one of aluminum, PP, PET or PLA.
45 . The capsule of claim 43 wherein said substantially pure material includes a barrier material that provides an oxygen barrier between an exterior of said capsule and said interior space.
46 . The capsule of claim 45 wherein said barrier material comprises less than 5% of said substantially pure material by weight
47 . The capsule of claim 45 wherein said substantially pure material is a multilayered material comprising at least one layer of PP, at least one layer of CPP and at least one layer of barrier material.
48 . A capsule for containing a food product, the capsule comprising:
a body formed entirely of a substantially pure material, said body defining an interior space for containing a food product, said body having an opening for accessing the food product, said opening being surrounded by a flange; and
a cover formed entirely of the same substantially pure material as said body, said cover being sealed to said flange to close said opening.
49 . The capsule of claim 48 wherein said substantially pure material is at least 95% pure by weight.
50 . The capsule of claim 48 wherein said substantially pure material is selected from one of aluminum, PP, PET or PLA.
51 . The capsule of claim 48 wherein said substantially pure material includes a barrier material that provides an oxygen barrier between an exterior of said capsule and said interior space.
52 . The capsule of claim 51 wherein said barrier material comprises less than 5% of said substantially pure material by weight.
53 . The capsule of claim 48 wherein said substantially pure material is a multilayered material comprising at least one layer of PP, at least one layer of CPP and at least one layer of barrier material.
54 . The capsule of claim 48 wherein said cover is peelably sealed to said flange to enable said cover to be opened following use of said capsule.
55 . The capsule of claim 48 wherein said cover includes a hinge, that is permanently sealed at a hinge zone to said flange, and a peelable portion that is peelably sealed at a peel zone to said flange to enable said cover to be opened following use of said capsule while remaining connected at said hinge.
56 . A system for making a beverage capsule for use in a beverage preparing machine, the system comprising:
a filter station for sealing a filter to an interior space of a body for the beverage capsule to define an ingredients chamber;
an ingredients station for depositing a desired volume of desired ingredients into said ingredients chamber;
a cover sealing station for sealing a cover to said body.
57 . The system of claim 56 wherein said filter has a basis weight of less than 40 gsm.
58 . The system of claim 56 wherein said filter is pre-cut to a desired diameter that is larger than the diameter of said interior space.
59 . The system of claim 56 further comprising a cover pre-sealing station for sealing a portion of said cover to said body and a MAP station for replacing air in said capsule with an inert gas and sealing the remainder of said cover to said body.
60 . The system of claim 59 wherein said cover is sealed to said body to define a hinge zone and a peel zone, wherein said hinge zone has a stronger seal than said peel zone
61 . The system of claim 60 wherein said peel zone is formed by sealing a portion of said cover to said body at a first temperature T 1 and said hinge zone is formed by sealing the remaining portion of said cover to said body at a second temperature T 2 , where T 2 is a higher temperature than T 1 .
62 . The system of claim 60 wherein said peel zone is formed by sealing a portion of said cover to said body using a first sealing technique that forms a peelable seal and said hinge zone is formed by sealing the remaining portion of said cover to said body using a second sealing technique that is different from the first sealing technique and forms a stronger seal than the peelable seal.
63 . A process for making a beverage capsule for use in a beverage preparing machine, the process comprising the steps of:
sealing a filter to an interior surface of a body for the beverage capsule to define an ingredients chamber;
depositing a desired volume of desired ingredients into said ingredients chamber;
sealing a cover to said body to cover said opening.
64 . The process of claim 63 wherein said filter has a basis weight of less than 40 gsm.
65 . The process of claim 63 wherein said filter is pre-cut to a desired diameter that is larger than the diameter of said interior space.
66 . The process of claim 63 further comprising the steps of (i) sealing a portion of said cover to said body and (ii) replacing air in said capsule with an inert gas and (iii) sealing the remainder of said cover to said body.
67 . The process of claim 66 wherein said cover is sealed to said body to define a hinge zone and a peel zone, wherein said hinge zone has a stronger seal than said peel zone
68 . The process of claim 67 wherein said peel zone is formed by sealing a portion of said cover to said body at a first temperature T 1 and said hinge zone is formed by sealing the remaining portion of said cover to said body at a second temperature T 2 , where T 2 is a higher temperature than T 1 .
69 . The process of claim 67 wherein said peel zone is formed by sealing a portion of said cover to said body using a first sealing technique that forms a peelable seal and said hinge zone is formed by sealing the remaining portion of said cover to said body using a second sealing technique that is different from the first sealing technique and forms a stronger seal than the peelable seal.