Instant hot water drinks

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9737090-B2
Application number	US-201514869840-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Sep 29, 2015
Priority date	Nov 25, 2014
Publication date	Aug 22, 2017
Grant date	Aug 22, 2017

Abstract

A product having an internal substance protected by a rugged exterior shell is disclosed. The internal substance is reactive with the exterior shell but is separated therefrom by a coating on an interior surface of the external shell so that the product can be stored for a long period of time without the internal substance reacting with the exterior shell. The coating is meltable so that, when desired, the product may be heated (e.g. immersed in hot water or exposed to heat) in order to melt the coating so that the internal substance can react with the external shell so that the internal substance can excrete out of the exterior shell.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A capsule dissolvable in hot water, the capsule comprising:
a food grade exterior shell fabricated from a gelatin material;
a food grade paraffin coating disposed on an interior surface of the food grade exterior shell, the food grade paraffin having a melting temperature between about 130° F. and about 200° F.;
a flavor additive disposed between the food grade paraffin coating and the food grade exterior shell;
a water based substance disposed within the food grade exterior shell and separated from the food grade exterior shell by the food grade paraffin coating;
wherein disposing the capsule within water having a temperature at or above the melting temperature of the food grade paraffin dissolves the food grade exterior shell and melts the food grade paraffin coating to release the water based substance into the water.

2. The capsule of claim 1 wherein the water based substance is a solid or liquid.

3. The concentrate of claim 1 wherein the water based substance mixes homogenously with the water.

4. The concentrate of claim 1 wherein a thickness of a wall of the food grade exterior shell is between about 0.2 mm and about 3 mm, and a thickness of the food grade paraffin coating is between about 0.05 mm and about 2 mm.

5. The concentrate of claim 1 wherein the food grade paraffin coating is oil based.

6. The concentrate of claim 1 wherein food grade exterior shell is sufficiently rugged for transportation over trucks, trains and planes.

7. The concentrate of claim 1 wherein the water based substance is coffee extract, tea extract, food flavoring or combinations thereof.

8. A method of producing capsule which is dissolvable in hot water, the method comprising the steps of:
forming first and second ribbons of a gelatin material, each of the first and second ribbons defining an interior surface and an exterior surface;
disposing a flavor additive to the interior surface of the first and second ribbons;
coating the interior surfaces of the first and second ribbons with a coat of a food grade paraffin to lock the flavor additive between the coating of food grade paraffin and the first and second ribbons until capsule is dissolved in hot water;
guiding the first and second ribbons between first and second rollers;
disposing a water based substance between the first and second ribbons, the water based substance being separated from the first and second ribbons and the flavor additive with the coating of the food grade paraffin;
molding a plurality of capsules with the first and second rollers to encapsulate the water based substance within the capsules.

9. The method of claim 8 wherein the water based substance is a liquid or solid.

10. The method of claim 8 wherein the coating step is accomplished by spraying the food grade paraffin in liquid form on the interior surfaces of the first and second ribbons.

11. The method of claim 8 wherein forming step comprises the step of forming the first and second ribbons to be between about 0.2 mm and about 3 mm.

12. The method of claim 8 wherein the disposing step includes the step of injecting a material having a viscosity between about 5,000 cP and about 10,000 cP.

Assignees

• Singer Nicholas J

Inventors

• Singer Nicholas J

Classifications

• A23P20/11

  Coating with compositions containing a majority of oils, fats, mono/diglycerides, fatty acids, mineral oils, waxes or paraffins · CPC title

• A23F3/40

  Tea flavour; Tea oil; Flavouring of tea or tea extract (synthetic tea flavours A23L27/20) · CPC title

• A23F5/38

  Agglomerating, flaking or tabletting {or granulating} · CPC title

• A23L27/72

  Encapsulation · CPC title

• A23L2/395 Primary

  in a particular shape or form · CPC title