Barrel with trapdoor

Details Barrel with trapdoor Barrel with trapdoor

2001-02-27

2003-09-09

Young, Lee (Department: 3727)

Wooden receptacles

Barrels

Closures

C220S592190

Reexamination Certificate

active

06616002

ABSTRACT:

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
(a) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a trapdoor in a barrel used for storing and aging alcoholic spirits or wine to allow ready access to the interior of the barrel. Accessing the interior of a barrel after construction and sealing of the head has been problematic. This invention provides a barrel which contains a convenient, fast and simple entry point for accessing the interior area of the barrel for addition and removal of material for aging the wine or spirits.
(b) Description of the Prior Art
The storing and aging of spirits and wine has historically been accomplished through the use of wood barrels, often made of oak. It is well known that oak imparts natural wood components to alcoholic spirits and wine which enhances flavor and adds other desirable characteristics during the aging process. Toasting the oak further enhances the flavors imparted.
The body of the barrel is generally of greater length than breadth and has a cross-section, with the largest diameter at the body middle portion with decreasing diameters towards the ends. The barrel body is traditionally made of wooden staves which are bound together by hoops, usually made of metal. A head, which is usually a flat wooden circular disc of wood, is removably attached at each end of the barrel towards the ends of the wooden staves, forming a generally flat top and bottom. The barrel is constructed to be liquid tight, although there is some natural evaporation of the wine through infiltration of air into the barrel through the wood. The barrel has a bunghole, which is usually a small hole with a usual diameter of two inches or less, for addition and removal of the wine or spirits. The bunghole is usually located on the barrel body and can be sealed with any of a variety of materials, such as a bung made of silicon or wood, which provides a liquid tight seal and does not chemically react with the wine or spirits in an adverse manner. However, barrels also may be constructed of certain types of metal or synthetic material and may be of any size or shape.
Unfortunately, wooden barrels are expensive and difficult to maintain, and may only be used for a limited period of time before they must be replaced. The natural wood components in the interior surface of the wooden barrels become depleted after several years of use and cease to impart flavor to the wine or spirits. After a few batches of wine or spirits have been aged in the containers, new containers must be used or new wood must be inserted in the barrel to provide a new source of wood components.
Wood barrels are expensive to produce, and winemakers have developed varying methods of prolonging the life of the barrel. An increasing number of wine or spirit makers now insert additional wooden staves made of oak or small pieces of wood derived from oak into used wood barrels in order to provide additional sources of wood for extraction of the wood compounds. The staves are usually mounted in a rack installed in the barrel. The wood pieces usually take the form of strips, rods, chips of irregular shapes or cubes. These wood pieces and wooden staves also become depleted and must be removed and replaced. This method of adding and removing racks, wooden staves and wood pieces is very difficult with traditional wine-making or spirits-making barrels. The barrel's bunghole is small, and it is very difficult, if not impossible, to remove the small wood pieces from the barrel through the bunghole. Removal of a barrel head is required to add, replace or remove the rack and additional wooden staves. Removal of the barrel head is difficult and can damage the barrel. Therefore, a trained cooper is typically required to remove the head and service the barrel. This process can be time consuming and high in labor costs.
The vast majority of wineries and distilleries do not have a cooper on site with the skills required to properly service the barrels. They must hire outside help and then coordinate the timing of the work to coincide with the availability of empty barrels in large enough quantities to make it feasible to have a cooper visit the premises. This requires the wineries or distilleries to have additional warehouse space available to house the empty barrels awaiting servicing.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a trapdoor in a barrel used for storing and aging alcoholic spirits or wine to allow ready access to the interior of the barrel. Accessing the interior of a barrel after construction and sealing of the head has been problematic. This invention provides a barrel which contains a convenient, fast and simple entry point for accessing the interior area of the barrel for addition and removal of material for aging the wine or spirits.
The barrel of the present invention contains a removable trapdoor which fits snugly into an aperture in the barrel and which is easily removed from the aperture, thereby providing for easy access to the interior of the barrel. The present invention provides distinct advantages over the prior art because it allows a worker lacking the skills of a cooper to remove or replace the wood chips or additional staves inside the barrel without removing a barrel head. Since the wood replacement can be done by regular employees, the barrels can be serviced when needed or convenient, rather than accumulating a large number of barrels for a cooper to service at one time.
The present invention relates to a barrel, comprising a body having a top end, a middle portion, a bottom end, an interior surface, and an exterior surface; a first head and a second head, the first head toward the top end, the second head toward the bottom end; a bunghole; a removable trapdoor having a geometrical shape, edges, an inner surface and an outer surface; and an aperture having a similar geometrical shape to the geometrical shape of the trapdoor, where the trapdoor is received and retained therein.
More particularly, the present invention comprises a wooden barrel with a removable trapdoor, the barrel comprising: a body having a top end, a middle portion, a bottom end, an interior surface, and an exterior surface; a first head and a second head, the first head toward the top end, the second head toward the bottom end; a bunghole; the removable trapdoor having a geometrical shape, edges, an inner surface and an outer surface; an aperture having a similar but slightly larger geometrical shape to the geometrical shape of the trapdoor, where the trapdoor is received and retained therein; the aperture being sized and shaped to receive the trapdoor with the aperture edges abutting and able to be in intimate contact with the trapdoor edges when the trapdoor is inserted into the aperture; the aperture edges being beveled; the trapdoor edges being beveled; the surface area of the trapdoor outer surface being greater than the surface area of the trapdoor inner surface; the aperture being located in the barrel body middle portion between two adjacent hoops; the barrel body comprised of a multiplicity of wooden staves bound in assembled relationship with at least two hoops wrapped perpendicularly around the multiplicity of wooden staves, each said wooden stave in said multiplicity of wooden staves having a width; the aperture located in one wooden stave of the multiplicity of wooden staves; the aperture being the width of one wooden stave; the trapdoor being composed of material similar to the barrel; and the bunghole being located in the trapdoor.
Additionally, a seal material may be compressed between the trapdoor edges and the aperture edges, forming a liquid-tight seal when the trapdoor is inserted into the aperture. The seal material may consist of cork, rubber, neoprene, silicone, plastic or any suitable sealing material. In an alternate embodiment, the trapdoor may be composed of material different from that used for the barrel, such as wood, rubber, plastic or any suitable material. In a further alternate embodiment, the barrel may be constructed of suitable metal or synthetic material and may be of a

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