US 2,010,303,964 · Filed 2009-05-29

The Filter Guard Patent Behind Keurig's Single-Serve Coffee Pods

Keurig invented a protective shield that sits inside their coffee pods to keep the needle from puncturing and destroying the filter when the machine brews. It's like a tiny bodyguard for the mesh screen that keeps grounds out of your cup.

Curated and verified by the IsItPatented Editorial team

The plain-English version

What it protects

The claim covers a beverage cartridge (like a K-Cup pod) that includes a filter and a separate filter guard component. What's protected here is the specific arrangement where the guard sits between the piercing needle and the filter, absorbing the impact of the needle without letting it tear the filter material. The patent covers both the guard's shape and its positioning within the container to shield the filter from damage.

Why it matters

This patent matters because single-serve pod machines like Keurig depend on precise needle insertion to work reliably. Without a filter guard, the piercing needle could puncture or shred the mesh filter, allowing coffee grounds to leak into the brewed beverage and damaging the machine's internal needle. This patent protects Keurig's ability to manufacture a pod system where the filter survives repeated use without degradation, which is essential to the product's quality and reliability.

Real-world use

Every time you pop a K-Cup into your Keurig machine and hit brew, the needle shoots down through that little plastic guard before penetrating the pod's top—the guard protects the filter underneath from getting ripped apart.

Original USPTO abstract

A cartridge for forming a beverage includes a container defining an interior space, a filter, a beverage medium contained in the interior space, and a filter guard. The filter may be arranged so that liquid that interacts with the beverage medium flows through the filter to exit the interior space. The container may include a surface arranged to be pierced by a piercing member to permit beverage to exit the container. The filter guard may be arranged to contact the piercing member to resist damage to the filter when the container surface is pierced. In one embodiment the filter guard and filter may be in contact with the container surface that is pierced, yet damage to the filter that might be caused by the piercing element may be avoided.

Patent details

Publication number: US 2,010,303,964
Filing date: 2009-05-29
Grant date: Application — not yet granted
Assignee: Keurig, Incorporated
Inventor(s): BEAULIEU RODERICK H., WUERTELE JAMES W.
CPC class: A47J31/446

View original record on Google Patents →

Want to file your own patent?

If you're designing a kitchen gadget with moving parts or liquid flow, search IsItPatented to see what similar cartridge or filter designs are already locked down.

Free patentability scan