WO2018154536A1

WO2018154536A1 - Container for fresh ground coffee as well as method for the packaging of fresh ground coffee in said container

Info

Publication number: WO2018154536A1
Application number: PCT/IB2018/051220
Authority: WO
Inventors: Enrico Sandrini
Original assignee: All Pack Srl SU
Current assignee: All Pack Srl SU
Priority date: 2017-02-27
Filing date: 2018-02-27
Publication date: 2018-08-30
Anticipated expiration: 2019-08-27

Abstract

A container for fresh ground coffee, comprising a cylindrical body (101) and a closing element (31), the latter being coupled with said cylindrical body (101) to define an airtigthly closed container (100). The closing element (31) further comprises unidirectional valve means (33) for controlling the discharge of gas from the airtigthly closed container (100).

Description

CONTAINER FOR FRESH GROUND COFFEE AS WELL AS METHOD FOR THE PACKAGING OF FRESH GROUND COFFEE IN SAID CONTAINER

DESCRIPTION

Field of the invention

The present invention is generally applicable in the food field and has particularly for object a container for fresh ground coffee, as well as a method for the packaging of fresh ground coffee in said container.

State of the Art

It is known that there are systems of different sizes for filling containers with ground coffee.

However, these systems have some drawbacks. In particular, the ground coffee is degassed before packaging for a period of time generally between 3 and 7 days with a consequent loss of perfumes, essences and aromas.

Furthermore, containers of known type are expensive to manufacture and have a high environmental impact which makes recycling particularly expensive.

Summary of the invention

The object of the present invention is to overcome at least partially the above mentioned drawbacks, by providing a container and a method for the packaging of fresh ground coffee with high functionality.

Another object of the invention is to provide a container for fresh ground coffee which preserves the aromas and the organoleptic characteristics of the coffee itself.

Another object of the invention is to provide a container for ground coffee which has a low environmental impact.

These objects, as well as others that will appear more clearly in the following, are achieved by a container and/or a method in accordance with what is herein described, shown and/or claimed.

The dependent claims describe advantageous embodiments of the invention.

Brief description of the drawings

Further characteristics and advantages of the invention will be more evident considering the detailed description of some preferred but not exclusive embodiments thereof, shown by way of a non-limiting example with the aid of the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a line 1.

Detailed description of some preferred embodiments

With reference to the mentioned figures, a line 1 for the packaging of fresh ground coffee in airtigthly closed containers 100 is described.

Line 1 may be part of a machinery, whereas the container 100 may be a tin suitable for containing fresh ground coffee and may therefore have a substantially cylindrical body 101 having an upper opening 102 and a bottom wall 104. In particular, the tin 100 may have dimensions as to contain about 210-250g of coffee, that is a quantity of about 35 espresso coffees.

It is clear that the container 100 may have different dimensions without thereby departing from the scope of protection of the present invention.

According to a particular aspect of the invention, the cylindrical body 101 may be recyclable and may be made of food grade polymeric material.

In particular, recyclable polymeric material is meant a polymeric material recoverable from waste in order to be reusable. "Food grade" is meant a material which doesn't release toxic and/or harmful substances once in contact with food.

For example, the cylindrical body 101 may be made of low density polyethylene, high density polyethylene, polypropylene, polyester or polyethylene terephthalate, preferably, the cylindrical body 101 may be made of polyethylene.

Line 1 may therefore comprise a storage unit for already roasted coffee beans and means for supplying it to a grinding station 10 to obtain fresh ground coffee.

It is clear that the roasted coffee may come from a previous processing station, from a storage unit or the like.

The grinding station 10 may comprise a filling silos 11, grinding means 12 of a known type, for example a plurality of rotating blades or stone mills and a storage unit 13 for ground coffee.

Conveniently, the roasted coffee beans may be moved by pneumatic transport from the storage unit up to the filling silos 11. The pneumatic transport may be carried out in a per se known manner, for example by suction.

In addition, supply means 6 of a working gas, for example nitrogen, may be provided into the storage unit 13 so as to have a protective atmosphere therein.

The supply means 6 of nitrogen may be of a per se known type and may comprise a storage unit, a pump and one or more ducts fluidically connected with the first ones.

It is understood that the following text generally refers to "coffee". However this term is to be intended as both a specific type of coffee and a mixture of different types of coffees, as known by the person skilled in the art. Furthermore, the term "ground coffee" refers to fine granulometry grinding, that is a so-called "espresso grinding", "moka grinding", "filter grinding (american)" or "turkish coffee grinding".

Line 1 may therefore comprise a filling station 20 which may comprise a loading hopper 21 for ground coffee.

Conveniently, the hopper 21 may comprise an inlet fluidically connected to the nitrogen adduction means 6 so as to insufflate nitrogen into the same hopper 21 to preserve the protective atmosphere.

The ground coffee may be pneumatically transported from the grinding station 10 to the filling station 20 in a per se known manner, for example by means of suitable suction means.

In particular, a duct 5 may be provided having an end 5' inside the storage unit 13 and an opposite end 5" at the hopper 21 so as to allow the movement of the coffee from the first to the second.

The duct 5 may be substantially insulated and may be fluidically connected with the nitrogen supply means 6 so as to preserve the protective atmosphere even inside the duct 5.

Preferably, the nitrogen may be insufflated at the end 5', while the suction means may be at the end 5".

In this way the ground coffee may always be kept in a protective atmosphere so as to keep the organoleptic and aromatic characteristics of the ground coffee unaltered. In other words, the aromatic substances in the environment may be minimal.

In the present text, "protective atmosphere" refers to an atmosphere configured to limit the migration of aromas from ground coffee. In particular, this atmosphere may be air particularly enriched with a mixture of gases containing nitrogen and carbon dioxide.

As known, in fact, the ground coffee releases carbon dioxide. Therefore, inside the storage unit 13, the duct 5 and the hopper 21, an atmosphere having a high presence of nitrogen and carbon dioxide and a particularly limited presence of oxygen may be obtained.

According to a particular aspect of the invention, the hopper 21 may contain a relatively small amount of coffee so that the fresh ground coffee itself remains within it for a limited period of time. For example, the hopper 21 may contain 7-8 kg of ground coffee, corresponding to the content of about 30 tins 100.

The hopper 21 may comprise an outlet 22 and an endless screw 23 for guiding and/or regulating the flow of ground coffee to the outlet 22. In other words, the endless screw 23 may both fill the tins 100 and dose the quantity of coffee with which to fill the last ones.

Conveniently, the line 1 may further comprise means 8 for feeding the open tins 100 to the filling station 20.

In particular, the means 8 may be configured to position the opening 102 of the open to be filled tin 100 at the outlet 22 of the hopper 21. For example, these means 8 may comprise one or more conveyer belts, guide means, centering and/or locking means of a per se known type.

Eventually, the nitrogen supply means 6 may be configured so as to insufflate nitrogen within the tin 100 when it is in the filling station 20. In this way nitrogen may be insufflated into the tin 100 even during the filling of the same with ground coffee.

Conveniently, the line 1 may also comprise adjustment and/or control means for determining the amount of ground coffee coming out of the hopper 21. For example, these adjustment and/or control means may act on the endless screw 23 to selectively drive the latter so that a predetermined quantity of ground coffee comes out of the hopper 21.

In this way the filling line can be substantially automatic.

Once the tin 100 has been filled, the latter may be airtightly sealed by a closing element 31 so as to preserve the characteristics of the ground coffee contained therein.

It is clear that line 1 may therefore comprise a sealing station 30 which may comprise means of a known type for airtightly sealing the tins 100 by means of the corresponding closing element 31, for example a heat sealer, and means 30' for the feeding of the closing elements 31, for example a loading unit 35 and a chute 36 connected to the latter to guide the closing elements 31.

The sealing station 30 may be immediately next to the filling station 20 so that the closing element 31 can be immediately applied after filling the tin 100, close to the hopper 21.

The closing element 31 may be made of a food grade polymeric material. In particular, the same closing element 31 may comprise a film 32 of food grade polymeric material compatible with the polymeric material of the cylindrical body 101 which may be heat-sealed at the upper edge 103 of the cylindrical body 101.

Furthermore, the closing element 31 may comprise unidirectional valve means 33, for example a non-return valve, to allow the controlled discharge of the carbon dioxide produced by the ground coffee itself.

The valve 33 may have a coupling area 34 with the film 32, and may be made of a food grade polymeric material, compatible with the polymeric material of the film 32. For example, the valve 33 may be made of polyethylene terephthalate and/or polyethylene.

Conveniently, the latter may be coupled with the film 32 by sealing, before the closing element 31 is applied to the tin 100.

In particular, the film 32 may be made to act as a barrier against the passage of gas, aromas and/or humidity therethrough. For example, the film 32 may be made of polyethylene terephthalate with polyvinyl alcohol and/or polyvinylchloride coupled with polyethylene.

Eventually, the whole closing element 31 may be made of food grade polymeric material and, preferably, of recyclable material.

Conveniently, a disinfecting station 40 placed before the filling station 20 may be provided, the disinfecting station 40 may comprise at least one nozzle 41, preferably a pair thereof, fluidically connected to deionized air and nitrogen supply means and configured to insufflate deionized air and nitrogen within the tin 100.

In other words, before being filled, the tin 100 may receive a disinfecting action by insufflating deionized air and nitrogen within the same tin 100.

To make the disinfecting action even more effective, the tin 100 may be rotated so that the opening 102 faces downwardly at the nozzles 41 so that the latter can insufflate deionized air and nitrogen into the tin 100.

A closing station 60 may be provided next to the sealing station 30 for coupling a cap 110 of known type to the can 100 to protect the film 32 and/or the valve 33 from accidental impacts and/or blunt bodies. For example, the edge 103 of the tin 100 may be threaded while the cap 110 may have a counter-threaded portion 111 intended to match with the edge 103 by screwing.

Preferably, the cap 110 may be made of the same material of the cylindrical body 101, preferably polyethylene.

In this way the whole tin 100 may be recyclable and particularly ecological.

Optionally, the container 100 may then be labeled by a labeling station 70 comprising means for applying one or more labels 71 to the outer surface of the tin 100 and in particular of the cylindrical body 101.

The invention is susceptible of numerous modifications and variations, all of which are covered by the appended claims. All the details may be replaced by other technically equivalent elements, and the materials may be different according to requirements, without departing from the scope of protection of the invention defined by the appended claims.

Claims

1. A completely made of plastic container for fresh ground coffee, comprising:

- a cylindrical body (101);

- a closing film (32) coupled with said cylindrical body (101) by heat-sealing to define an airtightly closed container (100);

- a cap (110) having a threaded peripheral edge (111);

wherein said closing film (32) further comprises unidirectional valve means (33) for controlling the discharge of gas from said airtightly closed container (100);

wherein said cylindrical body (101) comprises a bottom wall (104) and an upper opening (102), said closing film (32) being heat-sealed at the latter, said upper opening (102) comprising a counter-threaded upper edge (103) for screwing said cap (110), so that the latter protects said closing film (32) from blunt objects allowing gas to discharge by said unidirectional valve means (33);

wherein said cylindrical body (101) is made of a first food grade polymeric material, said closing film (32) being made of a second food grade polymeric material compatible with said first food grade polymeric material, said cap (110) being made of a third polymeric material, said unidirectional valve means (33) being made of a fourth food grade polymeric material compatible with said second food grade polymeric material.

2. Container according to claim 1, wherein said first polymeric material and said third polymeric material are recyclable, or said first, second, third and fourth polymeric materials are recyclable.

3. Container according to claim 2, wherein said first polymeric material is chosen from the group consisting of: polyethylene, polypropylene and polyethylene terephthalate.

4. Container according to claims 1, 2 or 3, wherein said third polymeric material is food grade.

5. Container according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein said first and third polymeric materials are the same.

6. Container according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein said second polymeric material is polyethylene terephthalate with polyvinyl alcohol and/or polyvinylidene chloride.

7. Container according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein said fourth polymeric material is polyethylene terephthalate and/or polyethylene.

8. A method for the packaging of fresh ground coffee in airtightly closed containers (100), comprising the following steps of:

- providing a predetermined quantity of roasted coffee beans;

- grinding said predetermined quantity of coffee beans;

- providing a plurality of open cylindrical bodies (101), each cylindrical body (101) comprising a bottom wall (104) and an upper opening (102), the latter comprising a counter- threaded upper edge (103);

- providing a plurality of closing films (32) for said cylindrical bodies (101);

- filling said open cylindrical bodies (101) with ground coffee;

- airtightly sealing said cylindrical bodies (101) by heat-sealing a respective closing film (32) on the upper opening (102) of each thereof, so as to define an airtightly closed container (100);

wherein said steps of grinding and filling are sequentially carried out in a protective atmosphere so as to keep the organoleptic and aromatic characteristics of the ground coffee unaltered, said closing films (32) including unidirectional valve means (33) to allow the discharge of the carbon dioxide produced by the same ground coffee into the atmosphere; wherein the method further comprises the steps of:

- providing a plurality of caps (110) each one having a threaded peripheral edge

(ill);

- screwing a respective cap (110) on each one of said airtightly closed containers (100) by reciprocal engagement of the threaded peripheral edge (111) of the first and the counter-threaded upper edge (103) of the latter, so that the cap (110) protects the closing film (32) from blunt objects allowing gas to discharge by said unidirectional valve means (33);

9. Method according to claim 8, comprising a step of accumulating ground coffee in at least one storage unit (13), the latter being also in a protective atmosphere.

10. Method according to claim 9, wherein the ground coffee inside said at least one storage unit (13) is invested by a substantially continuous flow of nitrogen.

11. Method according to claim 10, wherein said step of filling the cylindrical bodies (101) is carried out by a loading hopper (21) operatively connected to said at least one storage unit (13), said loading hopper (21) being invested by a substantially continuous flow of nitrogen.

12. Method according to any one of claims 9 to 11, wherein the ground coffee is moved from the grinding step to the filling step by insulated pneumatic ducts (5) in a protective atmosphere.

13. Method according to any one of claims 8 to 12, further comprising a disinfecting step of the cylindrical bodies (101) preceding said filling step, said disinfecting step being carried out by insufflating deionized air and nitrogen within the cylindrical bodies (101).

14. Method according to any one of claims 8 to 13, wherein during said filling step of said cylindrical bodies (101), the latter are invested by a substantially continuous flow of nitrogen.

15. A method for packaging fresh ground coffee in airtightly closed containers (100), comprising the following steps of:

- providing a predetermined quantity of roasted coffee beans;

- grinding said predetermined quantity of coffee beans;

- providing a plurality of open containers (100);

- providing a plurality of closing elements (31) for said containers (100);

- filling said open containers (100) with ground coffee;

- airtightly sealing said containers (100) by coupling a closing element (31) on each of them;

wherein said steps of grinding and filling are sequentially carried out in a protective atmosphere so as to maintain the organoleptic and aromatic characteristics of the ground coffee unaltered, said closing elements (31) including unidirectional valve means (33) to allow the discharge of the carbon dioxide produced by the same ground coffee into the atmosphere.

16. Method according to claim 15, comprising a step of accumulating ground coffee in at least one storage unit (13), the latter being also in a protective atmosphere.

17. Method according to claim 16, wherein the ground coffee inside said at least one storage unit (13) is invested by a substantially continuous flow of nitrogen.

18. Method according to claim 17, wherein said step of filling the containers (100) is carried out by a loading hopper (21) operatively connected to said at least one storage unit (13), said loading hopper (21) being invested by a substantially continuous flow of nitrogen.

19. Method according to any one of claims 16 to 18, wherein the ground coffee is moved from the grinding step to the filling step by insulated pneumatic ducts (5) in a protective atmosphere.

20. Method according to any one of claims 15 to 19, wherein said containers (100) are made of a first food grade polymeric material, said closing elements (31) comprising a film (32) made of a second food grade polymeric material compatible with said first polymeric material, each of said films (32) being heat-sealed on a corresponding container (100).

21. Method according to the preceding claim, wherein said valve means (33) include a non-return valve having a coupling area (34) with the corresponding film (32) made of a third food grade polymeric material compatible with said second polymeric material.

22. Method according to any one of claims 15 to 21, comprising a disinfecting step of the open containers (100) preceding said filling step, said disinfecting step being carried out by insufflating deionized air and nitrogen within the containers (100).

23. Method according to any one of claims 15 to 22, wherein during said filling step of said containers (100), the latter are invested by a substantially continuous flow of nitrogen.

24. A line for packaging fresh ground coffee from coffee beans in airtightly closed containers (100), the line comprising:

- a grinding station (10) of coffee beans to make ground coffee; and

- a filling station (20) for filling a plurality of containers (100) with the ground coffee; wherein said grinding station (10) comprises at least one storage unit (13) of ground coffee;

wherein said filling station (20) comprises:

- at least one loading hopper (21) for the filling of the containers (100);

- means (8) for feeding open containers (100) to said at least one loading hopper (21);

- means (30') for feeding closing elements (31) to said at least one loading hopper

(21);

- means for the airtight closing of the filled containers by a corresponding closing element (31);

wherein the line (1) further comprises:

- at least one insulated duct (5) extending from said grinding station (10) to said filling station (20) passing through said at least one storage unit (13);

- means (6) for feeding a working gas into said grinding station (10), into said filling station (20) and into said at least one duct (5) so that the ground coffee is filled into the containers (100) in a protective atmosphere;

wherein said closing elements (31) include unidirectional valve means (33) to allow the discharge of the carbon dioxide produced by the ground coffee into the atmosphere.