Single Serving Brewing Material Holder
Patent No. US10865039 (titled "Single Serving Brewing Material Holder") was filed by Adrian Rivera Maynez Enterprises Inc on Oct 23, 2017.
What is this patent about?
’039 is related to the field of single-serving beverage brewing, specifically addressing the problem of efficiently and effectively brewing coffee using a pre-packaged brewing material holder, often referred to as a pod. Traditional methods of brewing coffee involve loosely packed ground coffee in a filter, which can lead to inconsistent flavor extraction. Existing pod adapter systems aim to improve flavor but may suffer from issues such as unreliable puncturing of the pod for water injection.
The underlying idea behind ’039 is to create a self-supporting filter paper cup that can function as a beverage pod. This cup is designed with pleated walls and a rim, providing structural integrity and a surface for sealing. The pleats allow the paper to conform to a cup shape and provide strength. The design facilitates easy insertion into a pod holder and, when sealed, allows for reliable puncturing by a water injection needle.
The claims of ’039 focus on a beverage pod comprising a receptacle made from water-permeable material. This receptacle has a base, a pleated sidewall extending outward from the base, and a pleated annular rim encircling the sidewall opening. The receptacle is formed from a single sheet of water-permeable material, which is pleated to form the shape of the receptacle.
In practice, the user would insert the pleated filter paper cup into a pod holder, fill it with coffee grounds, and then optionally cover it with a lid. The pod holder's lid then clamps down on the rim of the cup, creating a seal. The tautness of the cover, achieved by this clamping action, ensures that a water injection needle can easily and reliably puncture the cover to introduce hot water for brewing. The pleats in the cup walls provide structural support, preventing the cup from collapsing under the pressure of the brewing process.
This design differentiates itself from prior approaches by providing a pre-formed, self-supporting filter cup that simplifies the pod-making process for the user. Unlike existing coffee pods that may lack structural integrity, the pleated design of this filter paper cup ensures that it maintains its shape during handling and brewing. The pleated rim also provides a reliable surface for sealing, addressing the issue of inconsistent puncturing experienced with some existing pod systems.
How does this patent fit in bigger picture?
Technical landscape at the time
In the early 2010s when ’039 was filed, coffee brewing devices were typically implemented using gravity-fed systems where hot water dripped through loosely packed coffee grounds. At this time, single-serve coffee brewing was gaining popularity, but hardware or software constraints made it non-trivial to consistently tamp the coffee grounds for optimal extraction in these single-serve systems. When systems commonly relied on pre-packaged pods or manual tamping methods rather than automated tamping mechanisms within the brewing device itself.
Novelty and Inventive Step
The examiner approved the application because the prior art of record, specifically Biefeldt et al., does not disclose or suggest a base having a peripheral edge, a cover including heat-sealable filter paper, an annular rim with specific inner and outer diameters, or a receptacle base with specific diameter and height dimensions, as recited in the independent claims.
Claims
This patent includes 26 claims, with independent claims numbered 1, 12, 13, and 14. The independent claims generally focus on the structure and features of a beverage pod, particularly the receptacle and its components like the base, sidewall, and rim. The dependent claims elaborate on specific materials, dimensions, and configurations of the beverage pod and its components, as well as its integration into a reusable holder to form a beverage cartridge.
Key Claim Terms New
Definitions of key terms used in the patent claims.
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Date
Description
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US10865039
- Application Number
- US15790398
- Filing Date
- Oct 23, 2017
- Status
- Granted
- Expiry Date
- Mar 12, 2027
- External Links
- Slate, USPTO, Google Patents