Foods and beverages: apparatus – Beverage – With gas treating means
Patent
1990-06-22
1992-10-13
Hornsby, Harvey C.
Foods and beverages: apparatus
Beverage
With gas treating means
261 30, 2611211, 215228, 215260, 215315, B01F 304, A23L 226
Patent
active
051541122
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
The present invention relates to apparatus and methods for aerating liquids in containers.
It may, in a number of instances, be desirable to aerate liquids in containers. One particular use to which devices according to the present invention may be put is the aeration of wines to improve their flavour before consumption, and specific embodiments of the present invention as described below are suitable for use in conjunction with wines in bottles.
Various aeration devices have been proposed in the past. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,494,452 proposes a device for aerating wine comprising a motor driven diaphragm air pump. A problem with this device, overcome by the present invention, is than an electrical source is required.
British Patent 1588624 proposes a device for frothing beer. The device requires to be held in position by an operator throughout its operation. This is inconvenient where aeration of a liquid over a relatively long period of time is required.
The present invention overcomes these and other problems by providing a device for aerating a liquid in a container comprising: a base element; a tube connected to the base element, and adapted to depend therefrom; and means defining a variable volume above the base element, communicating with the tube, characterised in that the device further comprises means to exert continuously a force tending to reduce said variable volume, whereby in operation, with the base element resting on the container and the tube depending into the liquid in the container, reduction of the said variable volume causes air to be forced through the tube and into the liquid in the container.
In preferred embodiments, the tube is formed in two parts, the first part comprising a nozzle, and being joined to or integral with the base element, and the second part comprising a tube, being slidably mounted within and retained by the nozzle. The tube, which may conveniently be formed of steel or aluminium tubing, but might equally well be formed of plastics material, such as acrylic, may thus be adapted alternatively to project from the nozzle when in use, and to retract within the nozzle when not in use. Retraction of the tube within the nozzle assists in minimising the bulk of the device when in storage or transportation.
The nozzle may be tapered for location of a neck of a container.
Also in preferred embodiments, there is a restriction element attached to and communicating with the end of the tube distal the base element. The restriction element serves primarily to restrict the flow of air into the liquid, but may also serve other useful functions. For instance, the restriction element may contain a ball located within a cavity of the element, communicating with the tube, for preventing the sucking back of liquid up the tube, in the case where the liquid pressure is greater than the air pressure in the tube. The restriction element may also be provided with manually grippable extensions to enable easy grip thereof in order to facilitate the extension and retraction of the tube from the nozzle, and which may also function to prevent complete retraction of the tube within the nozzle.
Preferably, the means defining a variable volume and the base element comprise respectively a cylinder member and a corresponding piston member. In some embodiments, the piston member and the cylinder member may be in sealing relationship, the seal being achieved by conventional means. In other embodiments, the variable volume means comprises a conventional bellows disposed in a cylinder member, the bellows preferably having an inlet valve to allow the pump to be reprimed after use without removing the tube from the liquid.
The invention will hereinafter more particularly be described by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a device according to the present invention in operation;
FIG. 2 is a vertical sectional view of the device of FIG. 1, shown in fully retracted configuration;
FIG. 3 is a vertical sectional view of the device of
REFERENCES:
patent: 2408306 (1946-09-01), Flournoy
patent: 3281129 (1966-10-01), Payne
patent: 3307836 (1967-03-01), Arndt
patent: 3430933 (1969-03-01), Taggart
patent: 4395940 (1983-08-01), Child
patent: 4494452 (1985-01-01), Barzso
patent: 4763803 (1988-08-01), Schneider
patent: 4889250 (1989-12-01), Beyer
Chin Randall Edward
Hornsby Harvey C.
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