WO2009081436A1

WO2009081436A1 - Waffle for preparing infusion beverages

Info

Publication number: WO2009081436A1
Application number: PCT/IT2008/000698
Authority: WO
Inventors: Roberto Nani
Original assignee: Essence-Sbt Sa
Priority date: 2007-12-21
Filing date: 2008-11-10
Publication date: 2009-07-02
Also published as: EP2315710A1; ITTO20070931A1

Abstract

A waffle (1) for preparing infusion beverages is described, composed of a first containing tank (3a) coupled on its perimeter with a second containing tank (3b) in order to define an internal room adapted to contain the substance adapted to be infused, each one of such containing tanks (3a, 3b) being equipped on its surface with at least one drilled or micro-drilled portion (5a, 5b) adapted to allow the passage of infusion water through the substance adapted to be infused contained in the internal room.

Description

WAFFLE FOR PREPARING INFUSION BEVERAGES

The present invention refers to a waffle for preparing infusion beverages.

As known, the art proposes an extremely wide variety of automatic or semi-automatic machines equipped with an assembly for preparing and delivering adapted to produce an infusion through the passage of hot water through a waffle containing the essence to be infused, such as for example tea, coffee, tisanes, etc.

In particular, known waffles are a prepackaged disposable dose of the substance adapted to be infused, enclosed between two sheets of filter paper sheet for food. In order to safeguard the aroma of the substance adapted to be infused, which, when storing the product, tends to evaporate through the filter paper thereby impairing the final quality of the beverage, the known waffles are typically enclosed into suitable protecting packages, usually made as a small aluminium envelope. Upon preparing the beverage, the envelope must then be opened (to be then discarded as waste) in order to be able to withdraw the waffle.

There are further different types of automatic or semi-automatic machines for preparing infusion beverages, each one uses a different type of waffle.

Object of the present invention is solving the above prior art problems by providing a waffle for preparing infusion beverages which does not require the use of external protecting packages, resulting less expensive and more practical with respect to known waffles.

Another object of the present invention is providing a waffle that can be used in- any machine for preparing infusion beverages, which uses traditional waffles .

Moreover, object of the present invention is providing a waffle for preparing infusion beverages, which, due to the absence of external protection packages, has lower overall sizes and thereby allows packaging in a packaging container a greater number of waffles with respect to traditional waffles.

The above and other objects and advantages of the invention, as will appear from the following description, are obtained with a waffle for preparing infusion beverages like the one claimed in claim 1. Preferred embodiments and non-trivial variations of the present invention are the subject matter of the dependent claims.

It will be immediately obvious that numerous variations and modifications (for example related to shape, sizes, arrangements and parts with equivalent functionalities) can be made to what is described, without departing from the scope of the invention as appears from the enclosed claim.

The present invention will be better described by some preferred embodiments thereof, provided as a non-limiting example, with reference to the enclosed drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of a preferred embodiment of the waffle for preparing infusion beverages according to the present invention;

FIG. 2 shows a plan view of the waffle for preparing infusion beverages of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 shows a side view of the waffle for preparing infusion beverages of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 4 shows an exploded view of the waffle for preparing infusion beverages according to the present invention. With reference to the Figures, it is possible to note that the waffle 1 for preparing infusion beverages according to the present invention is composed of a first containing tank 3a coupled on its perimeter with a second containing tank 3b in order to define an internal room adapted to contain a substance adapted to be infused, such as for example coffee or tea typically in grainy or powdery form.

Each one of the containing tanks 3a, 3b, which are preferably and advantageously equal one to the other, are equipped on their surface with at least one drilled or micro-drilled portion, respectively 5a and 5b, adapted to allow the passage of infusion water delivered by a preparing machine of a substantially known type through the waffle 1, and consequently through the substance adapted to be infused contained in the internal room, entering from one of the two drilled or micro-drilled portions 5a or 5b (obviously depending on the indifferent positioning of the waffle 1 inside the machine) , in order to exit from the opposite drilled or micro-drilled portion 5b or 5a as infusion beverage. Advantageously and preferably, the containing tanks 3a, 3b are made of a plastic thermoformed material and are mutually joined through the mutual heat welding of their respective perimeter edges 7a, 7b.

In order to avoid that aromas of the substance adapted to be infused contained in the internal room of the waffle 1 get dispersed, thereby impairing the beverage quality, each one of the drilled or micro-drilled portions 5a, 5b is externally covered with at least one removable protecting film, respectively 9a and 9b, for example externally glued onto the related containing tank 3a, 3b. In order to make it easier to remove the removable protecting films 9a, 9b, making their grip easier by a user, each one of the films is preferably equipped with at least one projecting tongue, respectively 11a, lib. Preferably, each one of the removable protecting films 9a, 9b is made of at least one aluminium film. Obviously, the removal of the removable protecting films 9a, 9b from the waffle 1 in order to uncover the respective drilled or micro-drilled portions 5a, 5b is necessary only if required by the type of operation of the preparing machine, on which the waffle 1 itself is every time used: in fact, should the used machine be of the type with a delivery manifold for infusion water equipped with waffle-drilling punches, the removal of films, or at least of one of them, would be superfluous, since the machine itself takes care of creating the holes for passing the infusion water through the protecting films 9a, 9b of the waffle 1.

Due to the removable protecting films 9a, 9b, the waffle 1 according to the present invention advantageously allows to be self-protected, keeping and safeguarding thereby the aromas of the substance adapted to be infused contained inside it, without having to resort to the use of any separate, external protecting package, thereby resulting with smaller overall sizes, more practically usable and globally more inexpensive with respect to known prior art waffles.

In addition, always to avoid that aromas of the substance adapted to be infused contained in the internal room of the waffle 1 or the substance itself are dispersed outside through the drilled or micro-drilled portions 5a, 5b once, each one of the drilled or micro-drilled portions 5a, 5b themselves can be internally covered with at least one layer of filter paper, respectively 13a and 13b, obviously of the type permeable to infusion water.

Claims

1. Waffle (1) for preparing infusion beverages characterised in that it is composed of a first containing tank (3a) coupled on its perimeter with a second containing tank (3b) in order to define an internal room adapted to contain said substance adapted to be infused, each one of said containing tanks (3a, 3b) being equipped on its surface with at least one drilled or micro-drilled portion (5a, 5b) adapted to allow the passage of infusion water through said substance adapted to be infused contained in said internal room.

2. Waffle (1) according to claim 1, characterised in that each one of said containing tanks (3a, 3b) is made of plastic thermoformed material.

3. Waffle (1) according to claim 1, characterised in that said containing tanks (3a, 3b) are mutually joined through mutual heat welding of respective perimeter edges (7a, 7b) .

4. Waffle (1) according to claim 1, characterised in that each one of said drilled or micro-drilled portions (5a, 5b) is externally covered with at least one removable protecting film (9a, 9b) .

5. Waffle (1) according to claim 4, characterised in that said removable protecting film (9a, 9b) is equipped with at least one projecting tongue (11a, lib) .

6. Waffle (1) according to claim 4, characterised in that said removable protecting film (9a, 9b) is at least one aluminium film.

7. Waffle (1) according to claim 1, characterised in that each one of said drilled or micro-drilled portions (5a, 5b) is internally covered with at least one layer of filter paper (13a, 13b) .