Draining the Beverage From a Single-Serve Beverage Pod With or Without an Outlet Piercing Element

Abstract

A single-serve beverage pod has a filter that is sealed to the rim of container where upon a predetermined force applied to the filter, the filter can separate from the rim to form a gap therebetween to drain the beverage. The rim also has a line of weakness which can also separate upon the application of the predetermined force to form the gap between the filer and the rim to drain the beverage. As such, the pod has two independent means of separating the filter from the rim to form the gap.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A beverage pod comprising:
 a container having a base that extends upwardly to form a sidewall and extends outwardly to form a rim to define an opening, the rim having a line of weakness defining an outer section and an inner section of the rim where the inner section is juxtaposed to the sidewall;   a filter having a filter base that extends upwardly to form a filter sidewall and extends outwardly to form an extension to define an opening adapted to receive beverage ingredient, where the opening of the container is adapted to receive the filter such that the extension is juxtaposed to the rim of the container; and   an energy director between the rim of the container and the extension of the filter.   
     
     
         2 . The beverage pod according to  claim 1 , where the energy director protrudes from the rim of the container. 
     
     
         3 . The beverage pod according to  claim 1 , where the energy director protrudes from adjacent to a distal end of the rim of the container. 
     
     
         4 . The beverage pod according to  claim 1 , where the energy director protrudes from the extension of the filter. 
     
     
         5 . The beverage pod according to  claim 1 , where the energy director has a triangular configuration with a base width from 0.40 mm to 0.10 mm, a height from 0.40 mm to 1.00 mm, and a tip width from 0.02 mm to 2.00 mm. 
     
     
         6 . The beverage pod according to  claim 1 , where the energy director seals the extension to the rim around the circumference of the rim at a predetermined sealing force range from 15N to 40N. 
     
     
         7 . The beverage pod according to  claim 1 , where the strength of the line of weakness is predetermined to be near the upper range of the predetermined sealing force of the energy director. 
     
     
         8 . The beverage pod according to  claim 1 , where the line of weakness is between the energy director and the sidewall of the container. 
     
     
         9 . The beverage pod according to  claim 1 , where the container and filter are made of substantially similar material. 
     
     
         10 . The beverage pod according to  claim 1 , where the container and filter are made of polypropylene material. 
     
     
         11 . The beverage pod according to  claim 1 , where the container and filter are formed from an injection molding process. 
     
     
         12 . The beverage pod according to  claim 1 , where the base filter has holes to allow beverage to pass through the holes. 
     
     
         13 . A beverage pod, comprising:
 a container having a first part peelably bonded to a second part along a bond area, the first part having a first sidewall that bends at a corner to form a first section and defining an opening around the first section, the second part having a base and a second sidewall that is outside and juxtaposed to the first sidewall to form a pathway between the first and second sidewalls and to have the first section extends outwardly from the second sidewall where the opening defines a top side of the container and the base defines a bottom side of the container, and the bond area is located near the top side of the container;   a filter coupled to the first part such that the filter forms a pocket within the opening to receive a beverage substance within the pocket; and   a lid coupled to the first section of the first part to enclose the opening and to hermetically seal the beverage substance within the container such when the beverage pod is brewed in a first orientation the base is pierced by an outlet piercing element to drain the beverage via the outlet piercing element, and when the beverage pod is brewed in a second orientation at least a portion of the bond area is separated to form a gap between the first and second parts by a separating element to allow beverage to flow along the pathway and drain via the gap.   
     
     
         14 . The beverage pod according to  claim 1 , where the first sidewall is within the second sidewall and the first sidewall has a plurality of ribs protruding outwardly therefrom to provide the pathway between the first and second sidewalls. 
     
     
         15 . The beverage pod according to  claim 1 , where the first sidewall has a plurality of holes to allow beverage to pass therethrough. 
     
     
         16 . The beverage pod according to  claim 1 , where the first section of the first part extends in a lateral manner when the container is in the first orientation. 
     
     
         17 . The beverage pod according to  claim 16 , where the first part further includes a second section that extends from the first section in a slanted downward manner relative to the first section. 
     
     
         18 . The beverage pod according to  claim 17 , where the second sidewall extends outwardly to form a rim. 
     
     
         19 . The beverage pod according to  claim 18 , where the first section of the first part is peelably bonded to the rim of the second part. 
     
     
         20 . The beverage pod according to  claim 19 , where the rim of the second part has a line of weakness around the second sidewall. 
     
     
         21 . The beverage pod according to  claim 1 , where the filter has a ledge that is bonded to the first section and the lid is bonded to the ledge of the filter to enclose the opening and to hermetically seal the beverage substance within the container. 
     
     
         22 . The beverage pod according to  claim 1 , where the filter has a sidewall that extends upwardly from its bottom and terminates at a distal end that is bonded to the first sidewall adjacent to the corner of the first part. 
     
     
         23 . The beverage pod according to  claim 1 , where the first sidewall has an inner side and an outer side terminating at a distal end, and the first part has an inner side and an outer side 
     
     
         24 . The beverage pod according to  claim 1 , where the filter has a bottom and the first part has a shield base to support the bottom of the filter such that the first sidewall is between the first section and the shield base.