Capsules, Beverage Brewing Systems And Fabrics With Optimum Filtration Characteristics

1 . 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 at least some of the ingredients for preparing a desired beverage product, said filter being formed of a hydrophobic and non-absorbent material having a basis weight of less than 40 g/m2;

ingredients disposed in said ingredients chamber, wherein a portion of said ingredients have a grind size of less than 100 microns; and

a cover sealed to said body to close said opening.

2 . A beverage capsule as claimed in claim 1 , wherein said ingredients have an average grind size of between 400-600 microns.

3 . A beverage capsule as claimed in claim 2 , wherein 5% of said ingredients have a grind size of less than 100 microns.

4 . (canceled)

5 . The beverage capsule of claim 1 wherein said filter has a basis weight of no more than 25 g/m2.

6 . 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).

7 . (canceled)

8 . (canceled)

9 . 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).

10 . (canceled)

11 . 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).

12 . (canceled)

13 . (canceled)

14 . The capsule of claim 1 wherein said body includes a sidewall and an end wall that define said interior space.

15 . The capsule of claim 14 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.

16 .- 27 . (canceled)

28 . The capsule of claim 1 wherein said cover includes a hinge, that is relatively 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.

29 . A beverage brewing system for use in a beverage brewing machine, said beverage brewing system comprising:

a filter defining an ingredients chamber for containing and filtering at least some of the ingredients for preparing a desired beverage product, said filter being formed of a hydrophobic and non-absorbent material having a basis weight of less than 40 g/m2;

ingredients disposed in said ingredients chamber, wherein a portion of said ingredients have a grind size of less than 100 microns.

30 . (canceled)

31 . A beverage brewing system as claimed in claim 29 , wherein 5% of said ingredients have a grind size of less than 100 microns.

32 . (canceled)

33 . (canceled)

34 . A fabric comprising:

a hydrophobic and non-absorbent material having a plurality of pores for filtering insoluble ingredients for preparing a desired beverage product and a basis weight of less than 40 g/m2; and

ground coffee embedded in said plurality of pores of said material.

35 .- 38 . (canceled)

39 . The fabric of claim 34 wherein said fabric is formed into a configuration to fit within a brew basket of a drip-style beverage machine.

40 . (canceled)

41 . 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, said filter being formed of a hydrophobic and non-absorbent material having a basis weight of less than 40 g/m2;

an ingredients station for depositing a desired volume of desired ingredients into said ingredients chamber, wherein a portion of said ingredients have a grind size of less than 100 microns;

a cover sealing station for sealing a cover to said body.

42 . (canceled)

43 . The system of claim 41 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.

44 . The system of claim 43 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

45 . (canceled)

46 . (canceled)

47 . (canceled)

48 . 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, said filter being formed of a hydrophobic and non-absorbent material having a basis weight of less than 40 g/m2;

depositing a desired volume of desired ingredients into said ingredients chamber, wherein a portion of said ingredients have a grind size of less than 100 microns;

sealing a cover to said body to cover said opening.

49 . (canceled)

50 . The process of claim 48 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.

51 . The process of claim 50 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

52 .- 54 . (canceled)