Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
WINE BOTTLE AERATOR
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[Para 1] This PCT application claims priority to the following
applications:
continuation-in-part application 15/089,582 filed on April 3, 2016 which is
now U.S.
Patent 9,440,199; continuation-in-part application 15/089,584 filed on April
3, 2016
which is now U.S. Patent 9,579,612; and continuation-in-part application
15/230,716
filed on August 8, 2016.
DESCRIPTION:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[Para 2] The present invention generally relates to aeration of wine. More
particularly, the present invention relates to devices that aerates wine in a
wine glass,
bottle or other container at an accelerated rate through the expansion and
control of
aeration bubbles.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[Para 31 Decanting of red wine has been a long tradition in the wine
industry. In
decanting, the wine is simply poured into another container, usually one of
clear glass
or crystal. Decanting is particularly important for most young red wines
(between three
to ten years old). These younger wines can be harsh or astringent if consumed
directly
after opening the bottle. Such wines have this harsh character because red
wine has
been maintained in a relatively oxygen-free environment during aging in a
bottle. Over
time, this environment results in a closed character for the beverages that is
derived
from the accumulation of particular aroma compounds. A wine's aroma will
change
during the first ten to thirty minutes after the bottle is opened. Decanting
accelerates
the breathing process, which increases the wine's aromas from natural fruit
and oak by
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allowing a few volatile substances to evaporate. Decanting also softens the
taste of
tannins that cause harshness and astringency in young wines. In older red
wines, the
tannin reactions have proceeded long enough to reduce astringency. As a
result, the
taste is not as harsh when the wine is drunk straight out of the bottle. In
comparison to
reds, white wines have little tannin and are not aged in bottles for very long
before
serving. Thus, they have very little opportunity to develop bottle aromas that
need
evaporation. Instead, their natural fruit aromas more specifically define
their taste.
There are however, a number of white wines that can benefit from decanting, or
specifically aeration.
[Para 4] In the past, it was quite common for wines poured from both barrel
and
bottle to contain a considerable amount of solid matter (i.e. sediments).
However, most
wines on the shelves today have gone through a filtering process and are
substantially
clear. Certain high end wines, particularly after long term storage, can still
have
substantial sediments. Decanting a young wine (particularly one with no
sediment)
involves pouring the wine into another decanter and letting it sit for twenty
minutes or so
before you serve it and you will likely notice a dramatic increase in subtlety
and
complexity. If you have the luxury of time, one can continue tasting the wine
over a
period of hours. Many wines keep evolving and improving over time. Some
experts
believe that decanting all types of wines from Bordeaux to Burgundy and even
whites
can beneficially affect the wine.
[Para 5] Of course the problem with decanting is that it takes a
substantially long
period of time for the oxygen to work its miraculous effects on the taste of
the wine. If
one knows, for example, a day in advance that they are going to be having a
meal with
a particular type of wine, the wine may be uncorked and decanted as much as a
day
before. Some experts have recommended the following process for properly
drinking a
bottle of red wine: First, chill the red wine in a refrigerator for at least
two hours.
Second, uncork the bottle of wine and decant it. Allow it to come back to room
temperature over a period of hours. Third, taste and then drink the wine. The
process
of warming back up tends to pull more oxygen in from the surrounding air
thereby
refining the wine. The inventors have actually done this process and it works
amazingly
well. The downside is that is very time consuming.
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[Para 6] However, all of this historical decanting and ritual that one goes
through
with wine (particularly red wine) ignores the simple physics. It is really
only the act of
pouring the wine from one bottle to a different container that has any real
meaningful
effect as this is when surface tension is broken up and oxygen from the
surrounding air
actually has a chance to interact with wine molecules. Once the wine is
decanted and
sitting again in a calm state, there is a surface tension across the surface
of the fluid
thereby making gas exchange a very slow and long process.
[Para 7] Accordingly, there is a need to rapidly aerate wine and perfect an
oxygen
exchange to remove the astringent taste and reduce the tannin levels. U.S.
Patent
4,785,724 to Vassallo describes an apparatus for aerating bottled wine.
Referring to
FIG. 1 of Vassallo, one can see a wine bottle 1 which is full of wine and an
aeration tube
20, 21 disposed into the bottle of wine terminating at a distal end 22 in a
structure with
fine holes to break up the air flow into final bubbles. The problem with the
Vassallo
invention is that the air flow rate through the tube 20, 21 has to be
extremely low so that
the wine does not form bubbles and froth out the top and create a mess all
over the
base unit 2. The inventors have experimented with such techniques and have
found
that this is no more efficient than decanting. In other words, it can take up
to 20 minutes
by very slowly putting bubbles into the wine and creating a slight surface
agitation such
that the wine will not froth out of the bottle.
[Para 8] Reference is also made to U.S. Patent 5,154,112 to Wettern. In the
Wettern invention, there is a manual pump disposed over the top of the wine
bottle
which one manually compresses. Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2 of the '112 patent,
one
can see the end of the pump 8 and a seating collar 13 where it sits on the
neck of the
wine bottle. Referring to FIG. 2, one can see the manual pump in cross-section
and
one can see the area 13 and note that there is not a liquid tight seal formed.
This
means that as air is injected down into the wine bottle, as shown in FIG. 1,
it would have
to be an extremely low flow rate. If a bubble froth was formed, that would
mean that
liquid and bubbles would escape between the neck of the wine bottle and the
collar 13
which only loosely rests on the end of the wine bottle. This is a major
deficiency of the
invention as previously described in the Vassallo '724 patent. In other words,
the
Wettern invention would only work at extremely low flow rates.
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[Para 9] Another wine bottle aerator is described in U. S. Patent 5,595,104
to
Delaplaine. FIG. 1 of Delaplaine shows an air pump housing 12, a sealing
apparatus
14, an extension tube 16 and an end with aeration holes 18. There is an air
escape
hole 24, as shown. The '104 patent suffers from all of the same deficiencies
as
described in the Vassallo and Wettern patents. The deficiency is the air flow
out of the
distal tip 18 would have to be extremely low such that a bubble and froth
wasn't created,
which would cause wine to overflow the outside of the wine bottle and pour,
for
example, down onto a countertop.
[Para 1 01 U.S. Patent 8,561,970 to Mills, et al. describes another type of
low volume
aeration system. The Mills, et al. aeration system does not have an expansion
chamber
and is therefore, by definition a low volume system. This is in marked
contrast to the
present invention, which is a high volume aeration system able to achieve
complete
aeration and reduction of tannins in the wine in less than 10 seconds or some
specific
time period much shorter than the prior art. All of the aforementioned prior
art requires
at least several minutes of aeration at a very slow rate. The reason for this
is simple
physics. If one drives a very high volume of gas, such as air or oxygen into
the bottle of
a bottle of wine, a great deal of bubble formation and froth will immediately
occur.
Unless there is an expansion chamber, this froth will spill over the top of
the wine bottle
and create a mess.
[Para 1 1 ] Accordingly, there is a need for a device that can aerate wine
at an
accelerated rate. The present invention fulfills these needs and provides
other related
advantages.
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SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[Para 1 2] An exemplary embodiment of an aeration assembly for aerating
liquids
including wine and other alcoholic beverages includes an expansion chamber and
an
aerating device. The expansion chamber is defined as having a top portion and
a
bottom portion, wherein both the top portion and the bottom portion have an
opening
disposed there through. The bottom portion is configured to engage an opening
of an
uncorked and/or opened bottle. The top portion is disposed above the opening
of the
uncorked and/or opened bottle when the bottom portion is engaged with the
opening of
the uncorked and/or opened bottle. The expansion chamber is configured to be
in fluid
communication with an inside of the uncorked and/or opened bottle when the
bottom
portion is engaged with the opening of the uncorked and/or opened bottle. The
aerating
device comprises a gas conduit having a proximal end in fluid communication
with a
distal end, wherein the gas conduit is configured to pass through the opening
of the
bottom portion of the expansion chamber. The distal end is disposable below
the
bottom portion of the expansion chamber while the proximal end is disposable
above
the bottom portion of the expansion chamber. A gas source is in fluid
communication
with the proximal end of the gas conduit. The expansion chamber is configured
to
temporarily contain an expansion of bubbles during an aeration process. The
expansion chamber and aerating device are not permanently connected, wherein
the
aerating device can be fully removed from the expansion chamber before, during
or
after the aeration process.
[Para 1 3] In other exemplary embodiments, the expansion chamber may be
optically
transparent or translucent.
[Para 1 4] In other exemplary embodiments, a sealing element may be
attached to
the bottom portion of the expansion chamber, wherein the sealing element is
configured
to seal against an inside surface, a top surface or an outside surface of the
opening of
the uncorked and/or opened bottle. The sealing element may comprises an
elastic or
rubber-like material.
[Para 1 5] In other exemplary embodiments, an aeration element may be
attached to
the distal end of the gas conduit.
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[Para 16] In other exemplary embodiments, the opening at the bottom portion
of the
expansion chamber may be larger than a maximum width of the aeration element
and/or the distal end of the gas conduit.
[Para 17] In other exemplary embodiments, at least an inside portion of the
expansion chamber may be in fluid communication with surrounding air through
the
opening at the top portion.
[Para 18] In other exemplary embodiments, a middle portion and/or the top
portion
of the expansion chamber may be larger in cross-sectional area as compared to
the
bottom portion of the expansion chamber. The middle portion and/or top portion
of the
expansion chamber that is larger in cross-sectional area as compared to the
bottom
portion of the expansion chamber may have a diameter of at least 2 inches.
[Para 19] In other exemplary embodiments, the gas source may comprise an
electrically powered air pump, a manually powered air pump or a pressurized
cartridge.
The electrically powered air pump may be electrically powered by a battery or
by an
electrical plug.
[Para 20] In other exemplary embodiments, the gas source may be disposed
remote
from the gas conduit or the gas source may be attached to a portion of the gas
conduit.
[Para 21] In other exemplary embodiments, the expansion chamber may include
at
least one pour spout disposed at or near the top portion of the expansion
chamber.
[Para 22] In other exemplary embodiments, a bubble-reducing filter element
may be
disposed within the expansion chamber and/or connected to the gas conduit.
[Para 23] In other exemplary embodiments, the opening at the bottom portion
of the
expansion chamber may be larger than a maximum width of the aeration element
and/or distal end of the gas conduit.
[Para 24] In other exemplary embodiments, the gas conduit may be removably
attachable to the gas source with the use of an 0-ring and/or seal ring.
[Para 25] In other exemplary embodiments, a second gas conduit removably
may
be attachable to the gas source, the second gas conduit comprising at least
one bend
and an aeration element disposed at its distal end, wherein the aeration
element is
positioned perpendicular in relation to the proximal end of the second gas
conduit.
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[Para 261 In other exemplary embodiments, the aerating device may include
an LED
configured to illuminate into the expansion chamber when the distal end of the
gas
conduit of the aerating device is disposed through the bottom portion of the
expansion
chamber.
[Para 27] In other exemplary embodiments, the aerating device may be
configured
to be removably captured by the expansion chamber.
[Para 28] In other exemplary embodiments, a stop may be attached to a
portion of
the gas conduit, wherein the stop is removably engageable with a portion of
the
expansion chamber, the stop locating and removably securing the aerating
device
relative to the expansion chamber.
[Para 29] In other exemplary embodiments, the aerating device may comprise
a
housing, where a distal end of the housing engages a counter-bore formed in
the
retention chamber, the distal end of the housing and counter-bore locating and
removably securing the aerating device relative to the expansion chamber.
[Para 30] In other exemplary embodiments, the aerating device may comprise
an air
restriction valve controlling a flow of gas from the gas source to the gas
conduit.
[Para 31] In other exemplary embodiments, the aerating device may comprise
a
bleeder valve controlling a flow of gas from the gas source to the gas
conduit.
[Para 32] In other exemplary embodiments, the aerating device may comprise
a
heater element disposed in fluidic communication with the gas source and/or
gas
conduit, the heater element configured to heat a flow of gas supplied to the
gas conduit.
[Para 33] In other exemplary embodiments, the heater element may be a
thermoelectric heater configured to utilize the Peltier effect to create a
heat flux between
a junction of two different types of materials.
[Para 34] In other exemplary embodiments, a middle portion of the expansion
chamber may be larger in cross-sectional area as compared to the bottom
portion and
the top portion of the expansion chamber. The middle portion of the expansion
chamber that is larger in cross-sectional area as compared to the bottom
portion and
top portion of the expansion chamber may have a diameter of at least 2 inches.
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[Para 35] In other exemplary embodiments, the opening at the bottom portion
of the
expansion chamber may have a diameter greater than 0.45 inches.
[Para 36] Other features and advantages of the present invention will
become
apparent from the following more detailed description, when taken in
conjunction with
the accompanying drawings, which illustrate, by way of example, the principles
of the
invention.
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BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[Para 37] The accompanying drawings illustrate the invention. In such
drawings:
[Para 381 FIGURE 1 is a sectional side view of an exemplary embodiment of
an
aerator of the present invention;
[Para 39] FIGURE 2 is a sectional view taken from lines 2-2 from the
structure of
FIG. 1;
[Para 40] FIGURE 3 is a sectional view taken from lines 3-3 from the
structure of
FIG. 1;
[Para 41] FIGURE 4 is a sectional view similar to FIG. 1 now showing wine
being
aerated and expanding into an expansion chamber;
[Para 42] FIGURE 4A is a view similar to FIG. 4, where now the gas source
is a
compressed gas canister;
[Para 43] FIGURE 5 is a perspective view of another exemplary embodiment of
an
aerator of the present invention;
[Para 44] FIGURE 6 is a sectional view of the structure of the FIG. 5;
[Para 45] FIGURE 6A is a view similar to FIG. 6 now showing an embodiment
with a
case;
[Para 46] FIGURE 7 is a sectional view of another exemplary embodiment with
a
different sealing element and a base;
[Para 47] FIGURE 7A is a view similar to FIG. 7 now showing the aerator
with a
case;
[Para 48] FIGURE 8 is a sectional view of another embodiment of an aerator
with a
manual air pump;
[Para 49] FIGURE 9A is a sectional view of another embodiment of an aerator
with
a manual air pump in the down position;
[Para 50] FIGURE 9B is the structure of FIG. 9A now showing the manual air
pump
in the up position;
[Para 51] FIGURE 10 is a sectional view of another exemplary embodiment of
an
aerator now with a sealing element configured to seal into different sized
wine bottles;
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[Para 52] FIGURE 11 is a sectional view of another exemplary embodiment of
an
aerator now with a quick-disconnect feature;
[Para 53] FIGURE 12 is a sectional view of another exemplary embodiment of
an
aerator now with a telescoping gas conduit inside of a wine bottle;
[Para 54] FIGURE 13 is a view similar to FIG. 12, now showing the
telescoping gas
conduit retracted to fit a wine glass;
[Para 551 FIGURE 14 is a sectional view of another exemplary embodiment of
an
aerator now with an additional bubble-reducing, aeration element;
[Para 56] FIGURE 14A is a view similar to FIG. 14, now showing an air pump
with a
high and low setting;
[Para 57] FIGURE 14B is a view similar to FIG. 14A, now showing the air
pump with
a timer;
[Para 58] FIGURE 140 is a view similar to FIG. 14, now showing a variable
flow rate
air pump;
[Para 59] FIGURE 140 is a view similar to FIG. 14, now showing a digital
display
integrated into the air pump;
[Para 601 FIGURE 14E is a view similar to FIG. 140, now showing a
simplified
button layout with the digital display integrated into the air pump;
[Para 61] FIGURE 14F is a view similar to FIG. 14D, now with a new
embodiment of
a button layout with the digital display integrated into the air pump;
[Para 62] FIGURE 14G is a view similar to FIG. 14, now showing an air pump
with
LEDs for displaying information;
[Para 63] FIGURE 15A is a sectional view of another exemplary embodiment of
an
aerator now integrated as a single assembly;
[Para 64] FIGURE 15B is a view similar to FIG. 15A now showing the aerator
in
action;
[Para 65] FIGURE 16 is a sectional view of another exemplary embodiment of
the
aerator of FIGS. 15A and 15B now with a case;
[Para 66] FIGURE 17A is a view similar in structure to FIG. 15A where now
the
sealing element seals to the outside of the wine bottle;
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[Para 67] FIGURE 17B is a view similar to FIG. 17A now showing the aerator
in
action;
[Para 68] FIGURE 18 is a sectional view of another exemplary embodiment of
the
bubble-reducing, aeration element;
[Para 69] FIGURE 19 shows the structure of FIG. 14 aerator a wine glass
instead of
a wine bottle;
[Para 70] FIGURE 20 is a sectional view of another exemplary embodiment of
the
bubble-reducing, aeration element;
[Para 71] FIGURE 21 is a sectional view of another exemplary embodiment of
the
bubble-reducing, aeration element;
[Para 72] FIGURE 22 is a sectional view of another exemplary embodiment of
the
bubble-reducing, aeration element;
[Para 73] FIGURE 23 is a sectional view of another exemplary embodiment of
the
bubble-reducing, aeration element;
[Para 74] FIGURE 24 is a sectional view of another exemplary embodiment of
the
bubble-reducing, aeration element with a retention area in action;
[Para 75] FIGURE 25 is an enlarged view of the structure of FIG. 24 taken
along
lines 25-25;
[Para 76] FIGURE 26 is a sectional view of an exemplary housing for the
bubble-
reducing, aeration element;
[Para 77] FIGURE 27 shows a sectional view of a bottle, glass and novel
aerator of
the present invention being used in practice;
[Para 78] FIGURE 28 is a sectional view of a simplified aerator of the
present
invention;
[Para 79] FIGURE 28A is a sectional view similar to FIG. 28 now showing an
upper
and lower case;
[Para 80] FIGURE 28B is a sectional view of an assembled version of the
simplified
aerator of FIGS. 28 and 28A;
[Para 81] FIGURE 29 is a section view similar to FIG. 28 now showing a new
embodiment of an aeration element disposed in a horizontal direction;
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[Para 821 FIGURE 30 is a sectional view of another exemplary embodiment of
a
multitude of bubble-generating aeration elements disposed in a housing;
[Para 83] FIGURE 31 is a view similar to FIG. 30, now showing the bubble-
generating aeration elements extended and turned;
[Para 84] FIGURE 32 is a view similar to FIG. 31, now showing the bubble-
generating aeration elements aerating a larger portion of the wine inside the
bottle;
[Para 851 FIGURE 33 is another embodiment of a wine aerator where the
bubble-
generating aeration element is integrated into a pouring spout;
[Para 86] FIGURE 34 is another embodiment of a wine aerator where now the
bubble-generating aeration element is enclosed within a liquid-permeable
housing
configured to channel bubbles upward when in use;
[Para 87] FIGURE 35 is a view similar to FIG. 34 now showing how the
bubbles will
move upwardly through the housing and pour out of the spout into a wine glass;
[Para 881 FIGURE 36 is another embodiment of a wine aerator similar to FIG.
14,
where now the distal end of the gas conduit is flexible and resilient such
that it is shaped
to dispose the bubble-generating element in a horizontal position for
increased aeration;
[Para 89] FIGURE 37 is another embodiment of a wine aerator where now the
expansion chamber and gas conduit can be separately manufactured and
separately
used depending on whether a glass or bottle is to be aerated;
[Para 90] FIGURE 38 is a side sectional view of another embodiment of a
retention
chamber having a widened diameter;
[Para 91] FIGURE 39 is a side view of another embodiment of an aerator
configured
to fit within the retention chamber of FIG. 38;
[Para 92] FIGURE 39A is an enlarged sectional view of the structure of FIG.
38
taken along lines 39A-39A;
[Para 931 FIGURE 39B is an enlarged view of another embodiment of an
aeration
element similar to the structure of FIG. 39 taken along lines 39B-39B;
[Para 94] FIGURE 390 is an enlarged view of another embodiment of an
aeration
element similar to the structure of FIG. 39 taken along lines 390-390;
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[Para 95] FIGURE 39D is an enlarged view of another embodiment of an
aeration
element similar to the structure of FIG. 39 taken along lines 39D-39D;
[Para 96] FIGURE 39E is an enlarged sectional view of the structure of FIG.
39
taken along lines 39E-39E;
[Para 97] FIGURE 40 is a sectional view of the structures of FIG. 38 and 39
combined;
[Para 98] FIGURE 40A is a sectional view similar to the structure of FIG.
40 now
showing bubble formation in the wine and bubbling into the retention chamber;
[Para 99] FIGURE 40B is a side view of the structure of the retention
chamber of
FIGS. 38, 40 and 40A now showing an indicator line;
[Para 1 00] FIGURE 41 is a side sectional view of a novel gas conduit inserted
into
the wine in a wine glass;
[Para 101] FIGURE 41A is a side sectional view of the structure of FIG. 41 now
showing the bubble formation in the wine and into the wine glass;
[Para 1 02] FIGURE 42 is a side view of another embodiment of an aerator;
[Para 1 03] FIGURE 43 is a side view of another embodiment of an aerator;
[Para 1 04] FIGURE 44 is a side view of another embodiment of an aerator with
a
bubble reducing filter element attached to the gas conduit;
[Para 1 05] FIGURE 45 is a side sectional view of the structure of FIG. 44
installed
within a novel retention chamber of the present invention;
[Para 1 06] FIGURE 46 is a side view similar to the structure of FIG. 44 now
with the
bubble reducing filter element removed;
[Para 1 07] FIGURE 47 is a side sectional view of the structure of FIG. 46
installed
within a novel retention chamber that includes a bubble reducing filter
element;
[Para 1 08] FIGURE 48 is a side sectional view of another embodiment of a
retention
chamber now having an air passage for a gas conduit;
[Para 1 09] FIGURE 49 is a side view of another embodiment of an aerator with
an
adjustable stop disposed along the gas conduit;
[Para 11 0] FIGURE 49A is an enlarged side view of another embodiment of a
stop
similar to the structure of FIG. 49 taken along lines 49A-49A;
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[Para 111] FIGURE 49B is an enlarged side view of another embodiment of a stop
similar to the structure of FIG. 49 taken along lines 49B-49B;
[Para 112] FIGURE 50 is a side sectional view of the structures of FIGS. 48
and 49
combined;
[Para 113] FIGURE 51 is a side view similar to that of FIG. 49 now showing the
stop
adjusted to a new location;
[Para 114] FIGURE 52 is a side view similar to that of FIG. 50 now showing the
stop
adjusted to a new location;
[Para 115] FIGURE 53 is a side sectional view of another embodiment of a
retention
chamber now having a counter-bore for capturing an aeration device;
[Para 116] FIGURE 54 is a side view of another embodiment of an aerator
designed
to fit within the counter-bore of FIG. 53;
[Para 117] FIGURE 55 is a side sectional view of the structures of FIGS. 53
and 54
combined;
[Para 118] FIGURE 56 is a side sectional view of another embodiment of a
retention
chamber now having a counter-bore for capturing an aeration device;
[Para 119] FIGURE 57 is a side view of another embodiment of an aerator
designed
to fit within the counter-bore of FIG. 56;
[Para 120] FIGURE 58 is a side sectional view of the structures of FIGS. 56
and 57
combined;
[Para 121] FIGURE 59 is a side sectional view of another embodiment of a
retention
chamber now having a counter-bore for capturing an aeration device;
[Para 122] FIGURE 60 is a side view of another embodiment of an aerator
designed
to fit within the counter-bore of FIG. 59;
[Para 123] FIGURE 61 is a side sectional view of the structures of FIGS. 59
and 60
combined;
[Para 124] FIGURE 62 is a side sectional view of another embodiment of a
retention
chamber;
[Para 125] FIGURE 63 is a side sectional view of another embodiment of a
retention
chamber;
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[Para 1 26] FIGURE 64 is a side sectional view of another embodiment of a
retention
chamber;
[Para 1 27] FIGURE 64A is side view of the structure of FIG. 64;
[Para 1 28] FIGURE 64B is a side very similar to FIGS. 64 and 64A, except the
web
plate has been removed;
[Para 1 29] FIGURE 65 is a side sectional view of another embodiment of a
retention
chamber installed onto a bottle;
[Para 1 30] FIGURE 66 is a side view of another embodiment of an aerator
having a
stop designed to fit within the narrowed neck of the retention chamber of FIG.
65;
[Para 1 31] FIGURE 67 is a side sectional view of the structures of FIGS. 65
and 66
combined;
[Para 1 32] FIGURE 68A is a perspective view of an embodiment of the stop
taken
from FIGS. 66 and 67;
[Para 1 33] FIGURE 68B is a perspective view of another embodiment of the stop
taken from FIGS. 66 and 67;
[Para 1 34] FIGURE 69 is a side sectional view of an novel basket for cleaning
of a
plurality of gas conduits with aeration elements;
[Para 1 35] FIGURE 70 is an enlarged side view of a novel air restriction
screw;
[Para 1 36] FIGURE 71 is an enlarged side view of a novel air bleeder valve;
[Para 1 37] FIGURE 72 is schematic and side view of a novel aerator of the
present
invention now including a heating element; and
[Para 1 38] FIGURE 73 is schematic and side view of a novel aerator of the
present
invention similar to FIG. 72 now showing the heating element in a different
location.
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DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[Para 139] FIGURE 1 illustrates a cross-section of a wine bottle 18 with an
aerator 10
of the present invention. Most wine bottles 18 are a standard 750 ml. However,
there
are magnum bottles and even super magnum bottles, which may have different
neck
sizes. Shown, is an expansion chamber 12 in accordance with the present
invention.
The expansion chamber 12 has a top portion 14 and a bottom portion 16 which is
necked down to fit into the opening 20 of the bottle 18. A sealing element 44,
such as a
rubber seal, is shown such that fluid and or bubbles cannot escape and flow
down the
outside of the wine bottle 18. As shown here, the sealing element 44 is in
contact with
an inside surface 22 of the bottle opening 20. A sealing element 44 could also
be
configured to seal to a top surface 24 of the bottle opening 20 or to an
outside surface
26 of the bottle opening 20.
[Para 1 40] There is a gas source 36 shown, which may be an air pump 36a (FIG.
4),
a compressed air source 36b (FIG. 4A) (a compressed oxygen source or CO2
source)
or a manual air pump 36c (FIGS. 8, 9A, 9B). Shown here is an on/off switch 40.
In this
particular embodiment, the gas source 36 is a self-contained air pump and has
an
internal battery 38 or could be connected to an electrical outlet via an
electrical cable
and plug (not shown). The gas flow is directed through gas conduit 30 from the
proximal end 32 to the distal end 34. Shown here the air conduit 30 has a
flexible
extension 31 that allows the gas source 36 to be placed remotely from the
expansion
chamber 12 and bottle 18. For the sake of simplifying the figures, the gas
conduit 31 is
typically shown in a simplified manner without a wall thickness, but does in
fact have a
wall thickness as is understood by those skilled in the art.
[Para 141] At the distal end 34 of the gas conduit 30 is a fine aeration
element 42.
This aeration element 42 could be constructed of a stainless steel cylinder
with multiple
small perforations, or an alcohol-resistant stone structure such that micro-
bubbles are
formed at a high flow rate.
[Para 142] As gas pressure is introduced into an inside 28 of the bottle 18 as
best
seen in FIG. 4, the pressure on the inside 28 of the bottle 18 will tend to
increase along
with the formation of a large amount of froth and bubbles 54 from the wine 52.
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Passageways 56 (FIGS. 2 and 3) allow these bubbles and froth to collect on the
inside
of the expansion chamber 12. This process is so fast that several inches of
froth will
develop in just a few seconds. Referring once again to sealing element 44, one
will see
that it has a catch 58 which is part of the expansion chamber 12 so that the
rubber
stopper / sealing element 44 will not easily or mistakenly slide off.
[Para 143] Referring once again to the gas source 36, it can be a self-
contained
battery operated air pump or use electrical cord (not shown). As another
embodiment
of the gas source 36, it could even be a self-contained compressed gas source
36b as
best shown in FIG. 4A. The compressed gas source 36b could be a CO2 canister,
compressed air canister or compressed oxygen canister. The canister can be
screwed
into or connected to the switch 40.
[Para 144] Referring once again to FIG. 1, the expansion chamber 12 could be
made
of many different materials. In a preferred embodiment, the expansion chamber
12
would be translucent so one could enjoy the effect of watching the wine 52
froth build up
and then dissipate back down into the bottle 18. Of course, this could also be
stainless
steel, plastic or any other material suitable material. In one preferred
embodiment, this
would be of a crystalline glass structure and can even be etched with some
grapes or
other ornamentation.
[Para 145] Referring again to FIG. 1, the tubing material 31, in a preferred
embodiment, would be a clear type of surgical or food-grade tubing. It would
have a
slip-fit 33 onto the end of the rigid proximal end 32 of the gas conduit 30.
At the distal
end 34 of the gas conduit 30 would be the aeration element 42. The gas conduit
itself
34 could be of glass, stainless steel, or the like. In a preferred embodiment,
the
material would be stainless steel to provide mechanical strength. It is also
noted herein
that the gas conduit 30 is preferred to be rigid, but could also be a flexible
gas conduit
30 as well.
[Para 146] FIGURE 2 and 3 are taken from FIG. 1 and show how the sealing
element
44 functions. In FIG. 2, on can see the passageways 56 through the sealing
element 44
that connect the expansion chamber 12 and the inside 28 of the bottle 18 in
fluid
communication. Also seen is the air conduit 30 passing there through. FIG. 3
shows
how the sealing element 44 is sealed against the inside surface 22 of the
bottle 18.
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[Para 147] FIGURE 4 dramatically illustrates one difference in the present
invention
over all of the other prior art. As one can see, the volume of gas flow
injected at or near
the bottom of the wine bottle 18 is extremely high producing a huge bubble
formation
and froth 54, which is temporarily collected in the expansion chamber 12. This
whole
process is amazingly quick. The inventors have demonstrated that all it takes
to
partially reduce the tannins and remove astringent properties of a wine 52 is
just a few
seconds of high surface area bubbling like this. This is in stark contrast
with all of the
other prior art where the bubble formation is so low it will not overflow the
container.
The flow rates of the present invention tend to be at least an order or
magnitude greater
than the prior art. The inventors have done a set of very interesting
experiments using
the configuration shown in FIG. 4. These experiments have been performed by
pinching down the flexible extension tube 31, wherein, no expansion chamber 12
was
used. In other words, the inventors wanted to see if a very small amount of
air bubble
formation could be produced, such that the wine would not overflow the top of
the wine
bottle. This was found to be the case. By reducing the air flow down to a
relatively
miniscule amount (less than 0.1 liters per minute), the bubble formation 54
can be
reduced to the point where the bubbles do not overflow the top of the wine
bottle 18.
However, experimentation has shown that one must do this for at least several
minutes
to properly aerate the wine and as much as 10 to 20 minutes, or in some cases
hours.
This makes this pinching technique hardly any more efficient than the old
method of
decanting.
[Para 148] Again, in the present invention, there is such a huge bubble
formation that
occurs in just a few seconds that tremendous surface area is created which is
then
captured and contained by the expansion chamber 12. Surface area is created
around
the outside of each bubble that's formed in the expansion chamber 12 and also
the
inside of each bubble. In other words, gas or air is in contact with an
enormous surface
area of the wine 52. Double blinded testing in large groups of people has
repeatedly
shown that the high surface area bubbling approach has a remarkable effect on
the
aroma, taste, and reduction of tannins of almost all wines. The present
invention is so
effective, it also removes astringency from white wines and spirits, including
tequila and
the like.
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[Para 149] Referring to FIG. 4A, one can see that the wine bottle and
retention
chamber of FIG. 4 is shown. In this case, instead of a battery operated air
pump 36a,
we have a gas canister 36b. These compressed air gas canisters are generally
readily
available in the marketplace and are used for life rafts, compressed air guns
and the
like. It would be desirable if the compressed gas canister 36b was filled with
either
oxygen or air. This is because as the bubbles are formed, you would get an
oxygen
exchange with the tannins on both the inside surface of the wine bubble and
the outside
surfaces of the wine bubble once it is escaped into the air. However, it
should be
realized that even if the compressed air cylinder 36b was filled with
nitrogen, carbon
dioxide or the like, the invention would still work albeit at a much slower
rate. The
reason for this is the inside of the air bubbles would be filled with a
relatively inert gas
and as they float upward through the liquid wine, little to no oxygen exchange
would
occur with the tannins and other elements of the wine that promote a better
taste.
However, once these formed bubbles exit the liquid surface of the wine and
enter the
expansion chamber 12, they are exposed to surrounding air. These bubbles still
have a
very large surface area and an oxidation exchange would occur between the
exposed
environmental air on the outside of the bubbles. Accordingly, this would work,
but would
not be as effective.
[Para 150] FIGURE 5 illustrates an alternative embodiment of the present
aeration
invention 10 showing a wine bottle 18, where the air pump 36a is integral to
the
expansion chamber 12. As one can see in FIG. 5, there is a switch 40 on the
top of the
housing 48 and batteries (internal batteries not shown) and an internal air
pump with a
vent 50 to allow excess gas pressure to escape during the wine bubble 54 (best
shown
in FIGS. 4 and 4A) formation in expansion chamber 12.
[Para 151] FIGURE 6 is a cross-sectional view taken from FIG. 5 showing that
the
proximal end of the gas conduit 32 is fitted into the end of the removable gas
pump
housing 48.
[Para 152] FIGURE 6A shows the modification to the expansion chamber 12
including an extension 46 which allows the entire air pump assembly 48 and gas
conduit 30 to be inserted into a convenient storage case 60. In a preferred
embodiment, the storage case 60 would be of stainless steel or even of clear
crystalline
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glass. The storage case can be adapted to any of the drawings of the present
invention
and serves several very important functions. First, it provides a convenient
way to
transport the aerator 10 to a table in a restaurant. Second, after completion
of the wine
aeration, it provides a convenient place in which to quickly insert the wine
aeration
assembly 10 and gas conduit 30 such that any drips 61 that would emanate from
the
distal end 34 of aeration element 42 to then collect in the bottom of the case
60 where it
could be easily wiped out. Drips 61 could also come from the passageways 56,
as
shown. Again, the case 60 could be made of any material, including plastics
and the
like.
[Para 153] FIGURE 7 is very similar to the apparatus previously described in
FIG. 6,
except that in this case, there is an extension 46 that extends over the neck
of the wine
bottle 18. This provides some structural stability to avoid tipping of the
aeration
assembly 10 when in use. In this case, the sealing element 44 abuts to the
outside
surface 26 of the wine bottle opening 20, which fits tightly in place so that
the froth and
bubble formation 54 from FIGS. 4 and 4A will not leak down the outside of the
wine
bottle 18. Also shown is an optional base 57 into which the wine bottle can be
inserted
to further prevent tipping. This base piece 57 could be of glass, stainless
steel, a plastic
ring or the like.
[Para 154] FIGURE 7A is very similar to FIG. 7, except that it is shown mated
with a
case 60 as previously described in FIG. 6A.
[Para 155] FIGURE 8 is very similar to FIG. 7, except that the electrically
operated
pump structure 36a (previously shown in FIG. 4) has been replaced by a manual
squeeze ball pump 36c. When a user squeezes the ball pump 36c, air is forced
through
the gas conduit 30 from the proximal end 32 to the distal end 34 and out
through the
aeration element 42. In this case, the expansion chamber 12 is shown below the
squeeze ball 36c. The expansion chamber 12 is cylindrical in shape as compared
to
the previous cone shapes. It is understood that the expansion chamber 12 may
take a
variety of shapes and configurations and this disclosure is not limited to the
precise
forms described herein.
[Para 156] FIGURES 9A and 9B illustrate that the squeeze ball 36c of FIG. 8
could
be replaced by a manual piston-type air pump 36d, as illustrated. The piston-
type pump
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36d may provide pressure and gas through the gas conduit 30 on either one
motion of
direction (typically going downward) or even both directions of motion through
the use of
various one-way valves.
[Para 157] FIGURE 10 shows that the sealing element 44 can comprise a variety
of
shapes such that it is insertable and sealable into both the standard 750 mL
wine
bottles 18 and even larger wine bottles 18a as shown herein. The sealing
element 44
has at least two sizes of seals that are configured to engage into the at
least two sizes
of wine bottles 18 and 18a.
[Para 158] The use of fluid communication as used herein describes the ability
to
transport gases, air and/or liquids and is not limited to the transportation
of just liquids.
[Para 159] FIGURE 11 illustrates a wine glass 62. In general, connoisseurs of
red
wine prefer relatively large wine glasses, such as the Libbey 8414 Citation 12
ounce
glass. The reason that red wine glasses have evolved to have very large
surface area
has to do with improving the taste of the wine by swirling it or letting it
sit for extremely
long periods of time, thereby facilitating oxygen exchange. In the present
invention, the
wine glass 62 can be of any shape or dimension, even one small in diameter
and/or like
a tall champagne flute. This is because the present invention can provide
aeration to
the wine in any shape of wine glass.
[Para 160] Aeration element 42 has been previously described and can have
various
densities providing varying diameters and velocities of the air bubble 54.
Element 64 is
a quick disconnect allowing one to disconnect the gas conduit 30 from the gas
conduit
extension 31. Having this quick disconnect facilitates a number of things. For
example,
by disconnecting the gas conduit 30 from the gas conduit extension, one can
then place
the subassembly of the gas conduit 30 with aeration element 42 into a
dishwasher for
cleaning. This also facilitates changing out various aeration elements for
different types
of wine. For example, having a more aggressive aeration for a heavy body wine
like
Burgundy would be in marked contrast to a lesser body wine like a Zinfandel,
where
finer bubbles may be optimal.
[Para 161] FIGURE 12 illustrates that the previous gas conduit 30 can be made
into a
telescoping gas conduit 66 (30). This is useful, for example, a shorter bottle
of wine
(also called a split) and a taller or regular bottle of wine or even a magnum
bottle of
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wine, which is much taller. Referring once again to FIG. 12, one can see that
the
expansion chamber 12 has an integral rubber seal 44. By its own weight, this
causes a
seal between the top lip of the wine bottle and the chamber 12. This is
important so that
the wine bottles do not leak out and overflow down the sides of the wine
bottle. Instead,
this way the bubbles form inside the wine bottle and then are transferred into
the
expansion chamber 12 without leakage.
[Para 162] FIGURE 13, in some ways, is very similar to FIG. 12, in that, the
gas
conduit 66 (30) is telescoped such that the entire apparatus will fit a wine
glass 62.
Again, there is a rubber, foam or seal 44 that prevents wine bubbles from
overflowing
the wine glass. The design of the seal 44, which is matched to the diameter of
aerator
assembly 10 allows a seal to be made with various diameter and sizes of wine
glasses.
[Para 163] The wine aerator apparatus 10 illustrated in FIGURE 14 embodies
dramatic improvements over all the previous embodiments previously described.
Aerator system 10 of FIG. 14 eliminates the need for an open and large
expansion
chamber 12 sitting on top of the wine bottle whereas a smaller expansion
chamber 13
may be utilized. First of all, the wine bottle 18 is more accurately drawn, in
that, it
includes a punt 70. Almost all wine bottles have a punt 70. This not only
increases the
strength of the wine bottle, but also leaves an area on either side of the
punt (think of
this as a diameter) where sediments may collect. In general, the aeration
element may
ideally be spaced at or slightly above the punt so it will not stir up the
sediments.
[Para 164] Air bubbles flow out of the aeration element 42 and foam up on the
top
surface of the liquid inside of the wine bottle. These air bubbles, which are
now under
some pressure, go through the sealing area opening holes 56, 56', 56n (in
other words,
any number of air passage holes may be provided). The air bubbles would flow
right
out of the much smaller volume expansion chamber 13, except in this case, a
novel
secondary filtering element 68 is included. This element 68 is a bubble-
reducing or
bubble breaking filter element. This causes the bubbles to break up and turn
back to a
liquid whereby gravitational action will return the liquid back to the inside
of the wine
bottle.
[Para 165] It is desirable (but not necessarily required) that there be a
space 13
above the bubble-reducing, filter element 68 so that one can readily observe
whether
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the bubbles are exceeding the capacity of the remaining expansion chamber to
hold
them from overflowing. Also, the bubble-reducing filter element 68 may have a
range of
heights, diameters and porosities. For example, the bubble-reducing filter
element 68
may be from 0.01 to 2 inches in height, but also may be above 2 inches in
height. As
can be understood by those skilled in the art, the height and size of the
bubble-reducing
filter element 68 will be dependent upon its ability and efficiency in
reducing bubbles.
[Para 1 66] Referring back to the bubble-reducing, filter element 68, this can
be a
stainless steel mesh, it can be a stone, it can be plastic fibers, a plastic
mesh, a filtering
element (replaceable), paper elements or the like. The bubble-reducing,
aeration
element 68 may include fine mesh stainless steels, such as SS304 grade woven
wire
mesh. One example is from the Mesh Company, wherein multiple layers of woven
wire
mesh varying in sizes from Number 40 mesh all the way to Number 55 mesh could
be
used. Meshes of stainless steel grade 430 are also applicable. Much finer
meshes that
would allow air to pass, which would break up bubbles, include Number 60 mesh
through Number 500 mesh. In general, one can use mesh size or pour size of
microns.
Through experimentation, the inventors have found that a pour size of microns
would
vary anywhere from 1 ¨ 500 microns. In another embodiment, the pour size would
be
0.1 ¨ 200 microns. Any food grade material that would be stable in the
presence of
wine (in particular, alcohol) and cleanable can be used, such as Porex. The
critical
point is that the bubble-reducing, filter element 68 readily pass air, but
break up wine
bubbles. The gas source 36, which in most embodiments is a battery operated
air
pump, can be designed to provide various air flow rates. It is a careful
design balance
between the flow rate of the air pump 36 and the pore or mesh size of the
bubble-
reducing, filter element 68.
[Para 1 67] Referring once again to the construction of the bubble reducing
filter
element 68, one could also use polyester filtration fabric, such as the
manufactured by a
company called SAATIFILTm. SAATIFILTm makes polyester fabrics in a variety of
pore
sizes and mesh counts. In addition, they make folded structures, which can be
individually folded fabric or higher porosity sheets of fabric that bind a
much more dense
sheet of fabric in between, again folded up in accordion style. Accordion-
style structure
could be advantageous for bubble breaking filter element 68 in that, the
bubbles would
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transition through a filtration breaking zone and then into air thereby
allowing the
bubbles to return to a liquid and then through the next bowl and the like. The
SAATIFILTm specification sheet indicates that mesh openings are available from
7 to
1950 micrometers with varying mesh counts. In this case, the materials can be
polyamide or polyimide (PA) or polyester (PEF or PET). All of these materials
are
biocompatible. Samples of these materials were obtained by the inventors from
the
Medical Device and Manufacturing show in Anaheim, in February 2016 and
evaluated.
Any other biocompatible or food grade plastics could, of course, be used in
place of
these materials.
[Para 1 68] Referring now to aeration element 42, it is necessary that
aeration
element 42 be food grade or FDA compatible and also highly resistant to
solvents. By
highly resistant to solvents, we in particular mean the alcohol contained in
wine. The
inventors first experienced with the stones made for aquarium pumps that they
rapidly
deteriorated as they were made of plastic composites and sand or stone
containing a
binder material. First of all, these materials are not food grade and second,
they were
not chemically resistant and rapidly degraded and wore away during long term
experience aerating wine. So it became a necessity for the inventors to locate
a suitable
aeration element material 42 that would be long term biocompatible, biostable,
non-toxic
and resistant to chemicals. After studying this situation, the following list
of materials
prove to be ideal for the application:
1) high purity porous ceramics, such as porous alumina ceramic. These are
general
manufactured by mixing the ceramic paste with a solvent and a binder, which
both
completely burn out during sintering, thereby leaving behind a porous ceramic
structure.
2) high density polyethylene is another ideal material (HPPE or HDPE);
3) a close cousin is ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE);
4) polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF);
5) and polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE). This material also goes by brand names
of Gore
Tex, Teflon and the like.
[Para 1 69] A major advantage of these materials is that companies, such as
Porex
Technologies Corporation located in Georgia, can formulate EPHDPE, UHMWPE,
PVDF and PTFE into solid, but porous shapes. These materials are ideal to form
the
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shape of the novel aeration element 42 of the present invention. Through
experimentation, we have found that ideal pore sizes vary from 0.1 to 100
microns. Two
particular aerators 42 that we have extensively tested, have a mean pore size
of 45 to
75 microns and a second one had a mean pore size of 20 to 30 microns. Both of
these
formed a high density of small to medium to large bubbles and provided ideal
long
aeration. It will be understood that one can use pore sizes of less than 100
microns or
less than 200 microns or even less than 500 microns depending upon the
corresponding pump flow rate to achieve the desired goals. The desired goals
being the
proper aeration and taste improvement of wine within a reasonable time period.
In other
words, in the present invention, one is trying to achieve proper aeration of
wine and
taste control within seconds, or at most minutes, as opposed to typical
decanting
methods which can embody as much as several hours. The inventors experimented
with distal aeration elements 42 obtained from Porex Technologies. We
evaluated three
different porosities. The first porosity was 20 to 30 microns. The second
porosity was
approximately 25 to 35 microns. The third porosity was between 45 to 75
microns. It
was found that all three of these micron ranges work well as long as one
varies the flow
rate of the pump 36 accordingly. We used the maximum flow rate on this
experiment of
4 liters per minute and a minimum flow rate of 0.5 liters per minute and we
found that
we could get each one of the stones to adequately aerate the wine in a
reasonable
amount of time. Through these experiments, we think an upper flow rate on the
order of
liters per minute we think a lower pump flow rate would be on the order of 0.1
liters
per minute. It also became apparent that the ability to adjust the flow rate
while
visualizing the wine, the bubbles and the height of the bubbles becomes a
critical factor.
Accordingly, there is a need for an adjustable flow rate embodiment of the
present
invention. Reasons for the needed variable flow rate adjustability include the
vast
differences and viscosities of the types of wine (red wines in particular) and
also the fact
that the flow rate that generate bubbles will vary with altitude (height above
sea level).
Because of people's enjoyment of wine in ski chalets and perhaps even in an
underwater diving habitat, the patent will cover flow rates from 0.1 to 20
liters per
minutes, realizing the "sweet spot" is between 1 and 10 liters per minute.
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[Para 1 70] A complicating factor is that not all red wines have the same
viscosity. For
example, there are some relatively light bodied red wines, such as the
Zinfandels and
Pinots, which are in contrast to heavier bodied red wines, such as Cabernet
Sauvignons
and Bordeauxs. Through actual experimentation with steel wools and meshes, the
inventors have discovered that, in general, the air flow rates of the air pump
36 will vary
from .10 to 20 liters per minute (or 1 to 10 liters per minute). The inventors
have found
that approximately 0.5 to 3.0 liters per minute may be ideal for the aerator
apparatus 10,
as illustrated in FIG. 14, which embodies both an aeration element 42 and a
bubble-
reducing, filter element 68. By experimenting with various sizes of steel wool
mesh, the
inventors have also been able to determine that it may be desirable to have a
pump 36
that has adjustable or variable flow rates. The reason for this is because of
the varying
viscosities depending on the type of grape and the type of wine or blend.
Referring
once again to FIG. 14, one can see that there is a rubber or equivalent
sealing element
44, which is press-fitted into the inside diameter of the neck of wine bottle
thereby
preventing wine bubbles from escaping and creating a mess.
[Para 171] FIGURE 14A illustrates that the air pump 36 has a switch 40 with an
off
position and a low and a high flow rate. For example, the low flow rate may be
0.5 liters
per minute and the high flow rate may be 3 liters per minute. As previously
described,
the low flow rate may go as low as .01 liters per minute and the high flow
rate may go
as high as 10 liters per minute.
[Para 1 72] FIGURE 14B illustrates a timer 72. This is a twist knob (but could
take
any shape), wherein the operator can adjust the air pump 36 to automatically
shut off
after a preset time has elapsed. For example, if one was using a very slow
flow rate,
such as .01 liters per minute, it may take 5 to 10 minutes to properly aerate
the wine
and have it ready for consumption. One could then adjust the timer knob 72 to
the
desired time setting. Obviously, this may take some experimentation on the
part of the
consumer. This would allow the consumer or restaurant server to start up the
air pump
36 and then walk away, as it will automatically shut off. Excess aeration can
damage
certain delicate wines, such as Merlots. For example, one would not want to
aerate the
wine for half an hour. Accordingly, the adjustable timer 72 is very important
so that one
does not damage a delicate wine.
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[Para 1 73] FIGURE 140 illustrates an air pump 36 with a simple on/off switch
40. In
this case, there is a flow rate adjustment knob 74 located at the bottom of
the assembly.
This is in the same position as in the previously described timer 72 of FIG.
14B. In this
case, the consumer may adjust the flow rate from a very low setting (as low as
0.1 liters
per minute) to a very high setting (such as 20 liters per minute). In this
way, one can
experiment with the viscosity of the wine and make sure that it is being
bubbled, but that
the bubbles are not overflowing the bubble-reducing filter element 68 and
expansion
chamber 12 and 13. As is understood by those skilled in the art, any of the
embodiments shown in one figure can be applied to another embodiment shown in
a
different figure, as these examples are not intended to be mutually exclusive.
[Para 1 74] In general, the pumps of the present invention are powered by DC
Motors.
One of the important features of a DC Motor is that its speed can be
controlled with
relative ease. There are generally three basic types of DC Motors: Series,
Shunt and
Compound. In general, speed can be controlled by the terminal voltage of the
armature, the external resistance and the armature circuit and the flux per
pole. Speed
control of a DC Series Motor can be done either by armature control or by
field control.
[Para 1 75] A brushless DC Motor is controlled by an electronic circuit.
Fortunately,
these can now be bought at very low cost as chips. For example, see Motor
Driver Part
No. DRV8301 built by Texas Instruments. The brushless DC Motor (BLDG) has
become very popular in many applications. An advantage of the BLDG Motor is it
can
be made much smaller and lighter than a brush-type motor with the same power
output.
This makes it ideal for the present invention. In addition, there are no
brushes to wear
and no metal particles to worry about getting into wine. BLDC Motors also lend
themselves to either resistive or digital speed controls.
[Para 1 76] FIGURE 14D illustrates another embodiment where the pump body 36
has a push button mode switch 41, an on/off switch 40 and then +/- switches
43. It also
has a digital display 45. In one embodiment, this would be a 4-segment display
45. By
pushing the mode switch, one can cycle through what the display is showing
digitally.
For example, one push of the mode switch 41 would display flow rate and then
one
could use the + and - buttons 43 to raise or lower the flow rate across a
range. By
pushing the mode switch 41 again, after having already selected a flow rate,
one then
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goes to a timer mode. Again, by pressing the + and ¨ buttons 43, one can
increase the
amount of time or decrease the amount of time. For example, it has been
previously
stated that an ideal flow rate for many wines is about 2.8 liters per minute.
So when
one pushes the mode button once and it goes to flow rate, it could default to
3 liters per
minute. Then one could use the + and - buttons to lower it or raise it. Using
a proper
motor controller chip, this would be almost infinitely variable up and down
from very
slow to very fast. The same could be done when you press the mode switch a
second
time when it goes to the time display. The default time, for example, might be
20
seconds and one could lower that down to just a few seconds or to as much as
several
minutes.
[Para 1 77] FIGURE 14E is another embodiment where the separate off/on push
button could be eliminated and everything could be done off of one switch 40,
41 which
is both the on/off switch and the mode switch. In other words, with one push
of the
switch 40, 41 the digital display would display ON and then a second push of
the switch
40, 41 would display FLOW RATE and then a third push of the switch 40, 41
would
display TIME. Pushing a fourth time would then display OFF. Speed control can
also
be achieved through resistive voltage dividers whereby, multiple position
switches that
are switching in various values of resistors then control the voltage and the
armature
circuit. This was previously described in FIG. 14-14A of the slide switch. One
could also
use a variable resistor configured as a potentiometer.
[Para 1 78] FIGURE 14F illustrates yet another embodiment where there is an
on/off
switch 40, but now there is a separate timer switch 72 and a separate flow
rate switch
49. Now the timer and flow rate can easily be selected and changed. For
instance, one
could combine the teachings of FIG. 140 and FIG. 14D. To do this, one would
remove
the on/off switch 40 from FIG. 14C and replace it with the digital display 45
and the
on/off switch 40 and the mode switch 41 from FIG. 14D. However, referring back
to FIG.
14C, one would keep the rheostatically controlled flow rate switch 74. In the
inventors'
experience, when one is observing bubble flow, one has to very quickly make
both
coarse and fine flow rate adjustments in order to hold the bubbles at an
equilibrium
height. A rotary style pump flow controller is best for this purpose, This
would take the
form of a rheostat or potentiometer with a knob 74, as illustrated in FIG.
14C.
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[Para 179] Another type of digital control indicator is illustrated in FIGURE
14G. In
this case, there are a number of LED lights 47. This replaces the digital
display 45 in
the previously described controller. A low flow rate setting would be when one
LED light
was on and when all the LED lights came on, it would be the highest flow rate.
When
one pressed the mode switch again, one would go to the time function and a
short
period of time would be one LED light and a longer period of time would be
when all the
lights are lit. As can be understand by those skilled in the art when
reviewing FIGS. 14-
14F, any of the structures and teachings taught herein can be cross applied to
any of
the embodiments disclosed throughout this specification.
[Para 180] FIGURE 15A and 15B illustrate that the aerator 10, previously
illustrated in
FIGS. 14 through 14G, can be integrated by removal of the extension, gas
conduit 31.
In the previous embodiments, the extension, gas conduit 31 is typically a
small clear
flexible hose. In FIGS. 15A and 15B, gas conduit 30 extends directly below the
air
pump 36. Air pump 36 is configured to be sealed directly into the top of the
wine bottle
and also provide a housing for bubble-reducing, aeration element 68 along with
an
extension, expansion chamber 13.
[Para 181] FIGURE 15B shows the pump in operation with bubble formation,
wherein
the bubbles break up in the bubble-reducing filter element 68 and only a few
bubbles
appear on the top surface of filter element 68. In this embodiment, there is
an upper
housing 76 of air pump 36 that is removable from the lower housing 78, which
includes
the gas conduit 30 and the aeration element 42. This can be a quick
disconnect,
including a snap, a screw or a friction fit assembly. First, the upper element
76, which
includes electrical components including a switch, a battery and an air pump
is removed
from the lower unit 78, which includes the gas conduit 30 and the aeration
element 42.
The lower unit 42, 30, 78 can then be washed in a sink or put in the
dishwasher. This
protects sensitive electrical components from being exposed to water and
allows all the
important parts that have come in contact with wine to be cleaned properly and
safely.
[Para 182] FIGURE 16 illustrates a storage case 60, which allows the aerator
assembly 10 (previously described in FIGS. 15A and 15B) to be safely stored in
a
drawer, a cabinet, purse, briefcase, pocket or the like. In some embodiments
of the
invention, the gas conduit 30 could be of a flexible plastic or polyurethane
tubing. In
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other embodiments, it may be rigid stainless steel or even glass. Accordingly,
it is
important to protect it from damage, particularly during storage or transport.
Also, the
aeration element 42 can be damaged by coming into contact with other hard
objects.
Accordingly, the storage case 60 is important to protect the sensitive
elements of
aerator 10. The storage case 60 may be perforated with many fine holes 100 to
facilitate an air exchange. These holes 100 are optional and the case 60 can
be
designed to include or not include these holes 100. The holes 100 are
important if the
wine aerator is put away wet so that it can properly dry while it's in a
drawer or a
cabinet.
[Para 1 83] FIGURES 17A and 17B illustrate a different sealing arrangement
where
seal 44 (flexible rubber, silicone or the like) presses down against the top
of the wine
bottle. Sealing is accomplished by the weight or the gravitational attraction
of the air
pump 36. Additional sealing may be easily accomplished by the operator simply
grasping the pump body 36 with his or her hand and simply pushing down against
the
wine bottle. It would be very easy to grasp this structure to create
additional sealing
force. As shown in FIGS. 17A and 17B, it is optional to have the telescoping
gas
conduit 66 that can be reduced in length to fit inside the gas conduit 30. As
it
understood by those skilled in the art, the telescoping feature of the gas
conduit 30 and
66 can be applied to any of the embodiments shown or taught herein.
[Para 1 84] FIGURE 18 illustrates a graduated diameter sealing element 44 so
that
the present invention will fit in various sizes of wine bottles or containers.
Referring
once again to FIG. 18, one can see that the bubble-reducing, filter element 68
has been
broken up into an element 68a, 68b and 68c. This shows that the bubble-
reducing, filter
element 68 may be graduated such that it starts with coarse filtering, then
medium
filtering and then fine filtering; thereby breaking up wine air bubbles such
that they will
turn to a liquid and flow back down through passageways 56. It will also be
understood
by those skilled in the art, that one could flip the arrangement, as
illustrated in FIG. 18.
In other words, element 68a could appear on top and 68c could appear on the
bottom.
One will also understand that 1, 2, 3 ... or even "n" different filter
elements 68 can be
stacked up in the present invention, all with varying mesh densities.
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[Para 185] FIGURE 19 illustrates that the novel aerator 10, as previously
illustrated in
FIGS. 14 through 18, which embodies both a distal aeration element 42 and a
bubble-
reducing, filter element 68, can also be used directly to aerate wine in a
wine glass (or
other container) 62. The wine glass 62 is, in general, not filled all the way
to the top
with wine. This provides a natural retention element 12 for the wine bubbles,
as shown.
Referring to FIG. 19 and all of the other figures of the present invention, it
will be
appreciated that in any embodiment, variable speed and variable time aspects,
as
described in FIGS. 14A through 14C, may be incorporated.
[Para 186] FIGURES 20 and 21 illustrate alternative embodiments for the bubble-
reducing, filter element 68, as previously described in FIGS. 14 and on. FIG.
20
illustrates that element 68 can have any number of individual layers that are
physically
laid together, co-bonded, press-fit or the like.
[Para 187] FIGURE 21 illustrates that the bubble-reducing, filter element 68
has been
modified to include a retention area 80 where the air bubbles can collapse
back into a
liquid and filter back down through element 68 and thereby return to the
bottle (not
shown). It will be appreciated that the cross-section of the retention area 80
appears
triangular in FIG. 21 but in reality is a frustoconical shape, which means it
takes the
shape of a cone or frustum. It will also be appreciated that this retention
area 80 can
take many shapes including rectangular shapes, semi-circular shapes or the
like.
[Para 188] FIGURE 22 illustrates that bubble-reducing, filter element 68 may
be
disposed as plates separated by an air space. In FIG. 22, they are shown
angled
downward to facilitate the breaking up of bubbles creating liquid flow paths
88 and 88'
thereby returning a liquid back into the wine bottle.
[Para 189] An alternative embodiment of FIG. 22 is shown in FIGURE 23, wherein
the plate 68 are angled to one side for the same purpose to collect the
dissipating wine
bubbles and form a liquid return flow path 88.
[Para 190] FIGURE 24 illustrates the bubble-reducing, filter element 68 of
FIG. 21 in
operation. One can see that the aeration element 42 is producing many bubbles
54 of
varying sizes. After passing through the bubble-reducing filter element 68,
one can see
that the retention area 80 of FIG. 21 fills up with some very fine bubbles 82.
These fine
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bubbles 82 are in the process of breaking back down into a liquid where they
can flow
back through element 68 and return to the wine bottle.
[Para 1 91] FIGURE 25 is a blown-up section taken from 25-25 from FIG. 24 and
illustrates the process of the bubbles 54 passing through filter element 68.
Referring
once again to FIG. 25, one can see there is an upward flow 86 of wine bubbles
that are
broken up and dissipated in the bubble-reducing, filter element 68. These
bubbles
emerge as either a liquid or very fine bubbles 82 within the retention space
80. The
upward flow of bubbles 86 is generated by the downward flow of air 84 within
the gas
conduit 31 (to aeration element 42 not shown). As the tiny wine bubbles 82
break up
into a liquid, there is a gravitational flow 88, which allows the liquid to
return back to the
wine bottle thus creating a steady state process. A steady state process is
easy to
accomplish by the variable flow rate device, as previously described as FIGS.
14-14G.
The retention chamber 13 is important as a safety device because if wine
bubbles start
to appear there, then one turns down the flow rate. The open end shape of the
retention chamber 13 is also particularly important because it allows for easy
visualization of the process. In other words, depending on the viscosity of
the wine, one
simply adjusts the flow rate until they start to see a few bubbles in the
retention
chamber 13 and then turn it down slightly. All one has to do then is wait for
a time until
the wine reaches the proper taste. It is noted herein that the gas conduit 31
is now
shown with a wall thickness. It is understood that for the other views in this
application
the gas conduit 31 does not show its wall thickness for the sake of simplicity
as adding
the wall thickness for all views would overly crowd the figures.
[Para 1 92] FIGURE 26 illustrates an L-shaped air/gas conduit 92 which is
connectable to extension tube or tubing 31 and also to the gas conduit 30. As
illustrated, the air/gas conduit 30 is directed to the distal end aeration
element 42, which
produces the multiplicity of bubbles. The extension, gas conduit 31 is
connectable to
pump 36 (not shown). An advantage to this is that the L-shaped conduit 92 and
the
retention chamber 12 along with the housing for the bubble-reducing, aeration
element
68 could all be formed in a single injection-molding process. This has the
advantage of
greatly reducing the cost of the assembly. Additionally, the assembly of FIG.
26 can be
left in place in the wine bottle simply by pulling off the extension, gas
conduit 31.
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Element 90 then becomes a convenient pour spout. A one-way air valve 102 can
be
installed in the L-shaped conduit 92 so that when pouring wine the wine does
not flow
back out. Alternatively, upon removal of extension, gas conduit 31, a cap
could be
placed over the area 92' of the L-shaped conduit 92. This little silicone,
rubber or other
material cap would prevent wine from inadvertently flowing out port 92' during
the
pouring process.
[Para 193] FIGURE 27 illustrates a likely real-world embodiment of the present
invention incorporating a distal aeration element 42, an optional proximal
bubble-
reducing, aeration filter 68 and a proximal air pump (gas pump) 36. In this
case, the
wine bottle has had its cork removed (or unscrewed) and a volume of wine 52'
has been
poured into a wine glass 62. The level of the wine 52' approximately fills
half of the
wine glass. By removing this quantity of wine from the wine bottle, this
creates an
additional bubble retention space 12'. This allows the operator or user to
operate the
pump at a higher speed (for example, the high setting, as previously
illustrated). After
the operator is done aerating the wine in the wine bottle, then a second step
is
necessary. That is where the operator would place the aerator element 42 in
the wine
glass and also aerate that quantity of wine. This was previously described in
FIG. 19.
[Para 194] Referring once again to FIG. 27, one can understand that the bubble-
reducing filter 68 and its housing 12 are not necessarily needed. This is
because with
the flow rate adjustment knob 74, one can adjust the flow of air bubbles out
of aeration
element 42 until an equilibrium status is reached with the bubbles just below
the neck of
the wine bottle so that they will not flow out and make a mess. Then, after
the wine
bottle itself is aerated, one can simply move the aeration element 42 into the
bottom of
the wine glass 62 and also aerate that volume of wine 52'.
[Para 195] As can be seen in FIG. 27, the air pump 36 has taken a more
consumer
friendly shape. The flow rate adjustment knob 74 allows the user to quickly
make large
and small adjustments that can account for a variety of factors that would
affect the rate
of bubble generation. It is understood that the air pump 36 can take many
shapes and
configurations shown in this application and even others not shown, without
departing
from the scope of this teaching.
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[Para 196] FIGURE 28 illustrates a highly simplified version of the aeration
invention.
As before, there is a distal aeration element 42 and there is also a gas
conduit 30.
Element 94 is a blow port, which conveniently fits the human mouth. One simply
drops
the distal aeration element 42 into a bottle or glass of wine and blows in a
few breaths
thereby aerating the wine.
[Para 1 97] FIGURE 28A illustrates and upper 96 and lower casing 98 so that
the
manually blow port version of FIG. 28 can be stored and carried, for example,
in
luggage, in a pants pocket, shirt pocket, purse or the like.
[Para 198] FIGURE 28B illustrates the blow port version of FIG. 28 stored
within the
upper 96 or lower 98 storage container portions of FIG. 28A. The top portion
of the
storage element 96 can be affixed to the bottom portion of the storage element
98 either
by press-fitting, a screw together mechanism (not shown) or a snap together
mechanism (not shown). In the press-fit version, the top portion 96 is pressed
down
against the seating area 108 of the mouthpiece. The bottom portion 98 is then
inserted
or press-fitted against the lower portion of flange 108. In an alternative
embodiment,
the flange portion 108 could be eliminated and the top portion 96 could be
directly
affixed to the bottom portion 98 either through a press-fit, screw or snap
configuration.
[Para 199] FIGURE 29 is similar to FIG. 28 but now the aeration element 42 is
a
circular disc. In many of the embodiments shown and described herein, the
aeration
element 42 was very narrow as it was depicted being taller than it was wider.
This
could have the problem of only aerating the wine which was close to the
aeration
element 42. Therefore, the embodiment shown in FIG. 29 has an increased
diameter
such that it would aerate a wider portion of the wine whether it was in a
glass or in the
bottle. The inventor's believe that it may be beneficial to create a turbulent
flow as
compared to a laminar flow for aerating the wine with bubbles. Therefore, it
is desired
that the Reynolds number is increased to help the exchange of oxygen with the
wine.
[Para 200] Laminar flow is the orderly flow of tiny particles (or, in the case
of this
invention, bubbles) along a thin line, whereas turbulent flow is more chaotic
and results
in the particles (bubbles) being dispersed throughout a larger area. Turbulent
flow will
reduce the thickness of the boundary layer, which is material against the wall
of the
container in which there is limited movement and therefore would have reduced
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interaction with the bubbles. Increasing the diameter in which the bubbles are
added to
the container (whether it be the wine glass or the wine bottle) will
inherently reduce the
thickness of the boundary layer as it will ensure a greater diameter of the
column of fluid
is seeded with the gas bubbles. Adding bubbles in a wider array and at various
positions will also increase the turbulence in the system as the bubbles
interact with the
wine fluid and each other and aerate the wine in a more expedient manner.
[Para 201] Therefore, changing the aeration element 42 from a vertical
orientation to
a horizontal orientation will increase the diameter of the column of bubbles,
thereby
increasing the exchange of oxygen with the wine. This is best shown in FIG.
29. It will
be understood to those skilled in the art that this concept can be applied to
any of the
wine glass embodiments shown and/or described in this specification.
[Para 202] FIGURES 30, 31 and 32 illustrate yet another embodiment where a
multitude of aeration elements 42 may be used, whether two aeration elements
are
used as depicted herein or any number "n" of aeration elements. In these
embodiments
the gas conduit extension may have a branch fitting 112 that has one inlet but
may have
2, 3 .... or n outlets. This facilitates a multitude of gas conduits 30 and
30' that are then
connected to their respective aeration elements 42 and 42'. As shown herein,
the gas
conduits 30 and 30' are flexible, or are made from a resilient material that
has an
inherent bend or change of direction. A housing 110 keeps the gas conduits 30
and 30'
aligned when the aeration elements 42 and 42' are retracted within the housing
110 as
shown in FIG. 30.
[Para 203] As shown in FIG. 31, when the aeration elements 42 and 42' are
extended
beyond the housing 110, they will naturally bend outwards due to the inherent
bend or
bias manufactured into the gas conduits 30 and 30'.
[Para 204] FIG. 32 shows that when the air pump 36 is activated, the column of
bubbles within the bottle cover a larger amount of area as compared to
previous
designs. The distal end of the housing 110 can also be advantageously
contoured
and/or bent at location 114 to help the aeration elements 42 and 42' extend
and retract
in a smooth and efficient manner.
[Para 205] FIGS. 30, 31 and 32 also show the bubble-reducing filter element 68
disposed within the housing 110. The area above the bubble-reducing filter
element 68
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can act like the small expansion chamber 13. Furthermore, it is understood by
those
skilled in the art that the bubble-reducing filter element 68 could optionally
be removed.
[Para 206] FIGURE 33 is another embodiment of the aerator assembly 10. Here,
the
filter element 42 has been integrated into the upper portion of the aerator
10. In this
embodiment the aeration element 42 doesn't extend into the wine in the bottle
18.
Rather, the pump 36 is turned on when one is about to pour from the bottle 18.
As wine
is poured out through the pour lip 90, the wine passes through narrow
passageways 56
that are in close proximity to the aeration element 42. In this way, wine is
forced to
interact with bubbles that are being generated while the pouring is taking
place.
Therefore, a multitude of bubbles can be captured by the empty space of the
glass it is
being poured into.
[Para 207] FIGURE 34 is another embodiment of a wine aerator where now the
bubble-generating aeration element 42 is enclosed within a housing 116. The
housing
116 has an optional sediment filter 118 that allows the wine to pass through,
making it
liquid-permeable, but which prevents any sediments from also passing through.
Optionally, the sediment filter 118 could be removed and/or the bottom of the
housing
116 could include a plurality of fine holes sized to allow wine to pass
through but small
enough to stop large sediment particles. When the housing 116 is fitted into
the bottle,
the housing is configured to channel bubbles upward when in use.
[Para 208] FIGURE 35 is a view similar to FIG. 34 now showing how the bubbles
54
and/or wine will move upwardly through the housing 116 and pour out of the
pour spout
120 into the wine glass 62. As can be understood, one would activate the air
pump 36
and the bubbles 54 and/or wine would naturally rise through the housing 116
and be
channeled into the wine glass 62. This process could occur without the user
having to
tip the bottle and instead the bottle could remain upright and the wine glass
62
strategically placed below. The wine that would reside in the wine glass 62
could be
fully aerated as it was fully comprised of aeration bubbles 54 and/or aerated
wine.
[Para 209] FIGURE 36 is another embodiment of a wine aerator similar to FIG.
14.
Now, the distal end 34 of the gas conduit 30 is flexible and resilient but is
also shaped to
dispose the bubble-generating aeration element 42 in a horizontal position for
increased
aeration. The gas conduit 30 could be made of a memory-retention polymer,
metal or
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the like, that could sufficiently flex when inserted into the narrowed opening
of the wine
bottle, but return to its preset shape such that it disposed the bubble-
generating
aeration element 42 in the horizontal position. Due to the flexibility of the
gas conduit
30, it would take almost no more time to install and remove it from the
bottle, but would
provide a more efficient method of wine aeration. It is also understood by
those skilled
in the art that the bent distal end 34 could be used when the bubble-reducing
filter
element 68 is removed. In other words, the bent distal end 34 is not dependent
upon
the bubble-reducing filter element 68, but instead could be utilized in any of
the
embodiments disclosed throughout this specification.
[Para 210] FIGURE 37 is very similar to the combination of FIG. 14 and FIG.
14C.
Referring to FIG. 14, one can see that there is a filter element 68 that acts
to break up
bubbles; therefore, allowing the wine to be aerated at a relatively high flow
rate. In FIG.
37, this filter element 68 has been removed. In addition, referring back to
FIG. 14 in
comparison with FIG. 37, one can see that the through holes 56 and 56' have
been
enlarged such that the gas conduit 30 is no longer affixed to the fluid
expansion
chamber 12. Referring once again to FIG. 37, the diameter of aeration element
42 has
been carefully selected such that it will pass through the inside diameter of
seal 44 and
expansion chamber 12 such that the two elements may be separated and/or
manufactured separately. This allows great flexibility in the present
invention. For
example, if one was going to aerate only a glass of wine, one could slide the
aeration
element 42 out of the retention chamber 12 thereby using only aeration element
42 to
aerate the wine glass. On the other hand, if one was to aerate a full bottle
of wine, one
would first place the fluid retention chamber 12 and then slide the aeration
element 42
down through the inside diameter of the fluid retention chamber, placing it on
top of the
wine bottle (or even midway down the wine bottle).
[Para 211] One can also see that the pump element 36 has been modified. In
this
case, it has a flow rate control knob 74 that incorporates the on/off switch
40. The
control knob 74 could be either a rheostat or potentiometer, which then
controls the
motor speed. This switch 40 also, when you click it all the way to the lowest
position,
has an off position. You will feel this off position by a click that the user
will feel and/or
sense.
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[Para 212] In actual experiments using a variable speed knob 74,40, the
inventors
have determined that it is relatively easy to start from a very low flow rate
setting and
gradually increase it until you see bubbles start to form and come up the
retention
chamber 12. One has to observe this carefully and then turn the flow rate down
until
one reaches a state of equilibrium. For example, an ideal state of equilibrium
would be
shown at line 122 across the expansion chamber 12, where one would see the
last
bubbles breaking and turning back into a liquid. Through simple
experimentation, one
could then determine how long one needs to hold this in an equilibrium state
until the
wine reaches the desired taste. The inventors have found that in general, this
takes
about 20 seconds for common Merlots. It will be appreciated that the variable
flow rate
switch, which incorporates an integral on/off switch, can be adapted to any of
the
previous figures or descriptions in the present invention. It is also
understood by those
skilled in the art, that any of the embodiments taught herein can be cross-
applied to any
other embodiment or figure taught herein.
[Para 213] A further refinement of the apparatus of FIG. 37 (not shown) is
that the
gas conduit 30 could be eliminated and rather the gas conduit extension 31
would be
routed all the way from the pump 36 all the way directly to the proximal end
of the
bubble aeration element 42. This way when the tubing 31 becomes stained,
discolored
or even worn out, it can easily be replaced without the need to replace the
more
expensive pump or distal aeration element 42. This also leads to easy change
outs of
the distal aeration element 42. For example, in a restaurant application where
a very
high use is anticipated, it may be desirable to change out just the distal
aeration
element 42 on a daily or weekly basis. In fact, in high end restaurants, the
distal
aeration element 42 would be changed after aerating each different type of
wine. For
example, if at one table, they bubble a Merlot, they would then go through the
ritual of
removing the aeration element 42 and then placing a new one to go on and
bubble a
Burgundy.
[Para 214] During initial prototype development, the inventors found that some
of the
aeration elements disintegrated in the presence of the wine over time. It was
found that
those aeration elements (polymer based stones) broke down due to the alcohol
in the
wine. It was also found out that certain grades of tubing became heavily
stained by the
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wine. The inventors are hereby teaching that all of the elements that are in
contact with
wine, including any tubing, gas conduits and in particular, the aeration
elements must
be of FDA food grade materials, including materials that are resistant to
solvents (such
as alcohol), non-toxic and generally biocompatible. Furthermore, these
materials will
not break down over time while releasing binders or solvents or other
chemicals into the
wine. This not only preserves the taste of the wine, but also ensures consumer
safety.
As used herein, the term "food grade" includes all of the aforementioned
elements.
[Para 215] Referring once again to FIG. 37, one can see that bubbles 54 are
formed
by aeration element 42 inside of the wine bottle 18 and that due to the rising
air
pressure, bubbles 54' are formed within the retention chamber 12. A
disadvantage of
the retention chamber 12, shown in FIG. 37, is that it is relatively small in
size. This
necessitates a very slow pump rate, by using the pump adjustment knob 74, 40.
Experiments with the retention chamber of the approximate size shown in FIG.
12
indicate that it can take up to several minutes to bubble certain types of
wine. This does
not seem like a long period of time, but if one looks at their watch and times
a minute, it
becomes a very long time while you are waiting to be able to drink your wine.
The
inventors have determined that it is best to stay within an optimal time range
of 5
seconds to as long as 20 seconds. Accordingly, a larger retention chamber 12
needed
to be developed.
[Para 216] FIGURE 38 is very similar to FIG. 37 except that the retention
chamber 12
has a rounded, enlarged or bulbous shape. As it turns out, through numerous
experiments by the inventors, that this creates a maximum diameter 124
wherein, the
bubble field 54' will tend to stabilize and rise no higher. As can be seen in
the figure the
retention chamber 12 of FIG. 48 also incorporates a pour spout 90.
[Para 217] In FIGURE 39, it is shown, a pump element 36 with a control knob
74, 40
which not only turns the pump on and off, but also adjusts its flow rate. This
is a two-
piece assembly, in that the aeration element 42 is designed to slip down
through the
middle of the retention chamber 12 of FIG. 38. Having the retention chamber 12
be a
separate piece from the pump structure 36 and its associated aeration element
42 is a
very important novel feature. For example, this allows easy cleaning in a
dishwasher of
the retention chamber 12. The air passage assembly 30, as will be shown, is
easily
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removed from the pump assembly 36 so that it and its associated aeration
element 42
can also be safely washed in a dishwasher. In an embodiment, the inventors
have
found out that the aeration element can be of a plastic, such as a
polyethylene or be
made from a sintered stainless steel type of material. A sintered stainless
steel is
considered an easily cleanable embodiment since it can stand very high
temperatures,
such as the commercial dishwashers of a restaurant.
[Para 218] Referring once again to FIG. 39, one can see that the tubing
element 31
has been completely eliminated. Instead, a stainless steel tube 30 is plugged
into the
pump housing 36 and terminates at its distal end in aerator 42. In a preferred
embodiment, both the distal aerator and the tube 30 would be of stainless
steel. The
aerator would be a porous sintered stainless steel.
[Para 219] FIGURE 39A is a sectional view taken from section 39A-39A of FIG.
38.
FIG. 39A illustrates the draft angle theta (e) 126 has been reduced thereby
providing a
tighter fit between seal 44 and the inside diameter 22 of the wine bottle neck
20. Angle
theta (e) 126 has to be greater than zero degrees so that not too tight a fit
between the
seal element 44 and the inside diameter 22 of the bottle neck 20 is formed or
else that
would make it very difficult to remove the retention chamber 12 after the wine
(or other
liquor) was bubbled and ready for consumption. Accordingly, the draft angle
theta 126
can be from 1 to as much as 200. The overall height 128 of the seal area 44
is also
very important. This height 128 can vary from anywhere from a 1/4 of an inch
to 3
inches. It is important that the retention chamber 12 properly engage the
inside
diameter and surface 22 of the wine bottle neck 20, such that it will not tilt
or tip over.
Attention is now drawn to the inside diameter 130 of the retention chamber 12
as it is
inserted into the bottle 18. Referring once again to FIG. 39, one can see that
the
aeration element 42 is at the distal end of air passage 30.
[Para 220] Referring once again to FIG. 39A, one notes that there is an inside
diameter 130 of the combined pour spout 90 and retention assembly 12. The
inventors
have performed a number of experiments pouring out various types of red wine.
It has
been determined that the diameter 130 is extremely critical so that one
achieves a
steady flow of wine out of the bottle. If the diameter 130 is less than 0.45
inches, it has
been found that the flow is intermittent, interrupted and is at an undesirably
low flow
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rate. It turns out that this dimension 130 is quite critical. By raising the
diameter to 0.50
inches, one achieves a much smoother and higher flow rate, which is much more
pleasing as one is pouring the wine. It has been determined through a variety
of tests,
that the overall length of the neck 128 is not nearly as important as its
inside diameter
130. The inventors created a 3D model wherein, the inside diameter was exactly
0.45
inches. Pour experiments indicated a very low, interrupted and generally
unacceptable
flow rate. Cutting the length 128 in half had very little effect on this
pouring flow rate.
However, increasing the diameter 130 to 0.50 inches, produced a much smoother
and
more laminar flow rate, which was much more pleasing. In summary, the diameter
130
may be greater than 0.45 inches.
[Para 221] FIGURE 39B is taken from section 39B-39B from FIG. 39 and shows
that
the retention element can have a trapezoidal-like or frustoconical shape
instead of
cylindrical, as previously illustrated in FIG. 39. In either case, the
diameter of the
aeration element 132 must be less than the opening diameter 130 of the
retention
element 12 such that the entire assembly shown in FIG. 39 can be slipped down
inside
of the wine bottle and also easily removed. Importantly, referring back to
FIG. 39B, one
can see that the frustoconical shape 134, which has an added frustoconical
plastic
piece 136, facilitates removal of the aeration element 42 through the inside
diameter
hole 130 of the aeration element 12 without it becoming hung up on a ledge 138
or
abrupt diameter change.
[Para 222] Referring back to FIG. 39, one can see that there is a ledge 138
that's
formed between the differing diameters of the aeration element 42 and the air
tube 30.
Through experimentation by the inventors, this ledge 138 is undesirable
because when
one goes to remove the complete assembly of FIG. 39 from the assembly of FIG.
38,
this will get hung up on the edges 139 adjacent the opening 130 of the
retention
element 12.
[Para 223] FIGURE 39C is taken generally from section 39C-39C from FIG. 39 and
shows that indeed the aeration element 42 may be cylindrical. However, in this
case, a
frustoconical plastic piece 136 has been added to facilitate easy removal
through the
aperture 130 of the retention chamber 12. Similarly, the diameter of the
aeration
element 132' must be less than the opening diameter 130 of the retention
element 12
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such that the entire assembly shown in FIG. 39 can be slipped down inside of
the wine
bottle and also easily removed.
[Para 224] FIGURE 39D is a sectional view taken from section 39D-39D from FIG.
39, showing that in this embodiment, the diameter of aeration element 42 is
exactly the
same as the diameter of the air tube assembly 30. This eliminates any ledge
138,
which also facilitates easy removal through the aperture 130 of the retention
chamber
12 as previously described in FIG. 38. Again, the diameter of the aeration
element 132"
must be less than the opening diameter 130 of the retention element 12 such
that the
entire assembly shown in FIG. 39 can be slipped down inside of the wine bottle
and
also easily removed. It will be appreciated and understood that the aeration
elements
shown in FIGS. 39B, 390 and 390 are enlarged in comparison to FIG. 39A.
[Para 225] FIGURE 39E is taken generally from section 39E-39E from FIG. 39.
This
illustrates how the air passage tube 30 can be quickly inserted into the
bottom of the
pump housing 36 and sealed by 0-ring 146 into hole 148. There are a number of
advantages of this. First of all, this means with a simple pull, one can
remove the tube
assembly 30 along with its aeration element 42 from the pump assembly 36. In
an
embodiment, this tube 30 would be of a stainless steel and the aeration
element would
be of a porous, sintered, stainless steel. As previously mentioned, this
allows one to
place the aeration element 42 along with the stainless steel tube 30 in a
residential or
commercial dishwasher or even into boiling water or the like. It will be
understood by
those skilled in the art that 0-ring 146 could take on many other shapes as
sizes as it is
not to be limited to only an 0-ring configuration.
[Para 226] FIGURE 40 illustrates a bottle of wine 18 containing wine 52. FIG.
40
illustrates the mating of retention chamber 12 and pour spout 90 to then the
pump
assembly 36, gas conduit 30 and aeration element 42.
[Para 227] FIGURE 40A illustrates the assembly of FIG. 40 with the pump 36
turned
on wherein, the aeration element 42 is generating a column of air bubbles 54,
which
enter into the retention chamber 12 as bubble field 54'. As previously
described, the
bubble field 54' and the retention chamber 12 will reach stability at the
widest diameter
point of the retention chamber 12. Through numerous experiments by the
inventors, by
controlling the maximum diameter of the expansion chamber along with the pump
flow
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rate, one can achieve a steady state condition wherein, the bubbles are (as
shown)
about half way up the maximum diameter of the retention chamber 12.
Importantly, the
pump housing 36 fits snugly into the top opening of the retention chamber 12
and pour
spout 90 and the air pump housing shape is designed such that a convenient air
passage 140 allows the air that is being generated out of aeration element 42
to escape
up through the top.
[Para 228] It would be very undesirable to have too small of a diameter
retention
chamber 12 or too high of a pump flow rate such that the bubble field 54' did
not reach a
steady state and instead bubbled out undesirably through the air passage 140.
Accordingly, there is a design balance that's been accomplished by the
inventors such
that the bubble field 54' reaches a static (i.e. steady-state) condition as
shown. Through
various experiments and 3D model prints, the inventors have determined that
the
minimum diameter 124 of the retention chamber 12 is 0.75 inches. At the
minimum
diameter of 0.75 inches, the retention chamber maximum diameter 12 is quite
small,
meaning that the pump flow rate would have to be undesirably lowered to a very
low
rate. This requires a relatively long bubbling time to properly aerate the
wine or spirits.
A practical upper limit to the diameter 124 of the retention chamber 12 is 5
inches. At 5
inches, a very high pump flow rate can be used. However, at 5 inches, the mass
of the
retention chamber 12 becomes sufficiently large to create a potential toppling
or
overturning problem concerning with the bottle 18. It also creates aesthetic
concerns.
Obviously, one could go to a retention chamber diameter 124 of even 10 inches,
but this
would be ridiculously large to have sit on top of a wine bottle 18. It will be
understood
that the diameter of the retention chamber, can vary in 0.25 inch increments
all the way
starting from 0.75 inches all the way to 5 inches.
[Para 229] The inventors have performed numerous experiments based on what
they
thought were the physics of bubble formation only to find out that their
initial notions
were false. For example, the inventors theorized that if the height of the
bubbles were
sufficiently large, even in a small column, that the weight of the bubbles
would cause
them to collapse upon themselves. In fact, through actual experiments, the
opposite
turned out to be true. In one experiment, the inventors had a retention
chamber 12 that
was approximately the same diameter as the wine bottle neck and was several
inches
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high. Through actual experimentation, the bubble field went all the way up
through the
several inches (up to a foot) and still bubbled out the top. This lead to a
number of
other tests where the inventors started to increase the diameter of the
retention
chamber and it is through those tests, that it was determined that the
diameter of the
retention chamber was extremely important so that the bubble field would reach
a static
(i.e. steady state) situation and stop climbing. In summary, contrary to the
inventors
initial thoughts and concepts, testing proved that the bubbles readily
collapsed down
upon themselves when they are in a sufficiently large enough diameter
retention
chamber 12. When the diameter of the retention chamber 12, 124 gets too small,
the
bubbles just keep climbing. Another advantage of increasing the diameter 124
in
expansion chamber 12 is that the need for a bubble reducing element 68, as
described
in previous drawings, may no longer be needed and can be eliminated.
[Para 230] Referring back to FIGS. 38 through 40A, it is desirable that the
material of
the expansion chamber 12 be clear, such as a glass, an acrylic or other clear
plastic or
glass material. Having this material clear, allows one to readily observe the
bubble
expansion field 54' and if needed, adjust the pump flow rate accordingly. In
addition,
there is an aesthetically pleasing element by watching the bubbles form in the
retention
chamber 12. In one embodiment, a red or other color LED light 142 would shine
down
when the pump 36 was activated thereby, highlighting the bubble field 54'.
[Para 231] FIGURE 40B shows the retention chambers previously illustrated in
FIGS.
38 through 40A except that an indicator line 144 has been added. This
indicator line
144 could be etched on the surface, applied with paint, applied with a
sticker, or formed
in the molding process, wherein, the top half of the retention chamber is
joined at the
bottom half of the retention chamber 12. In any event, during the actual
aeration of
wine or spirit, as illustrated in FIG. 40A, one adjusts the flow rate of the
pump until it
reaches this ideal maximum diameter where the height of the bubble field 54'
reaches a
static (steady-state) position. (This means that the height of the bubble
field 54' is no
longer rising or collapsing.) Through actual experiments, the inventors have
determined
that when one turns on the pump 36, as illustrated in FIG. 40A, that the
bubble field 54'
at first, rises rapidly through the narrow neck of the bottle and then as it
enters the
increasing diameter of the retention chamber 12, it starts to slow down its
rise and when
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it reaches the maximum diameter at 124 (score line 144), then the bubble field
54' is
very easy to stabilize at a static height. (It will be appreciated that the
use of the term
"score line" is a shorthand way of saying all the different ways this line can
be
indicated.) However, if one has too high of a pump speed, the bubble field
rises beyond
the maximum diameter 124 and starts to encounter the narrow upper part of the
retention chamber, then the height of the bubble formation will start to
increase again.
In use, it's very easy to either use a predetermined pump speed or an
adjustable pump
speed such that the bubbles 54' will reach a static condition at the point of
maximum
diameter, shown as score line 144 in FIG. 40B.
[Para 232] FIGURE 41 utilizes the same type of pump 36 as previously
illustrated in
FIG. 39 except in this case, the straight tube 30 and aerator 42, previously
described in
FIG. 39, has been removed (simply pulled out of recess 148 in FIG. 39E) and
replaced
with the new fill tube 30', including the two bend radii 152, which allows the
aeration
element 42 to be placed parallel in the bottom of a wine glass 62. As
previously
described, this takes advantage of the Reynolds number, in that, the bubbles
52' that
are formed are being formed over a much wider dispersal area, thereby, more
efficiently
causing oxygenation of more of the wine or spirits. So one can refer to FIG.
41A to see
the bubble formation 52'. One will notice that the physics have not changed.
The wine
glass 62 forms its own retention chamber 12 similar to that previously
described in
FIGS. 38 through 40B. As one can see, when the bubble field 54' reaches the
point of
maximum diameter of the wine glass 62, it will reach a point where it
inherently wants to
become stable (steady-state) or reach a static height.
[Para 233] Referring once again to FIG. 41, one can see that the level of the
wine 52
should be poured well below the maximum diameter of the wine glass 62. This
allows a
custom that has been refined over the millennia, allowing one to swirl the
wine and also
look at the wine as it coats the inside of a wine glass to get an idea of
whether it is full or
light bodied, and also, through agitation, perform some very basic aeration
(which is
generally not very effective). In any event, pouring a wine glass to the half
full or
greater level is generally considered to be bad etiquette. As one can see in
FIG. 41A,
when one aerates the wine through aeration element 42, the bubbles rise up to
the
maximum diameter 124 of the wine glass reaching the static condition, as
previously
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described. Again, the pump 36 flow rate can be adjusted such that the static
level of the
wine bubbles 52 can be easily achieved and maintained.
[Para 234] Referring back to FIGS. 41 and 41A, the bend radius 152 has to be
tight
enough, such that the aeration element 42 will fit into a wide variety of wine
glasses,
including ones that have a relatively narrow neck. For wine glasses that are
relatively
small in diameter and have a narrow neck, it is possible that bubble field 54'
would tend
to rise very rapidly. However, during a human factor study, this was found to
be a very
easy thing to overcome. The person that is aerating their glass of wine 62 is
holding the
pump assembly 36 in their hand and they're watching in real time as the bubble
field 54'
is being formed. Accordingly, if the bubble field 54' is rising too rapidly,
the solution is
very simple. One only needs to raise up the entire pump assembly 36 and remove
the
aeration element 42 temporarily from wine 52, such that the bubble formation
54' stops.
[Para 235] In an embodiment, the centerline 154, of air tube 30', will bisect
the
distance 156, which is the distance between the end of the gas tube radius 152
and the
distal tip aeration element 42.
[Para 236] FIGURE 42 illustrates that the switch 40 can be disposed on top of
the
pump housing 36 and that the air flow rate adjustment knob 74 can be disposed
circumferentially around the top.
[Para 237] FIGURE 43 is very similar to FIG. 42, except that in this case, the
switch
40 is a push button switch disposed on the side. It will be appreciated that
these can be
any types of switches or adjustment knobs, including digital controls as
previously
described. It will also be appreciated that it is not necessary in the present
invention,
that the pump flow rate be infinitely adjustable through an adjustment
rheostat 74.
Instead, the pump can come with predetermined flow rates, such as a first and
a second
flow rate, one being at low speed and the other being at high speed. It will
also be
appreciated that the pump flow rate could be adjusted through a detent-type
switch
having, for example, five even pin preset flow rates.
[Para 238] FIGURE 44 is very similar to FIG. 42, except that an aeration
element 68
has a trapezoidal (frustoconical) shape and has been affixed to the shaft 30.
The shape
of the aeration element 68 is designed to be received by the shape of the
bottom of
retention element 12 shown in FIGURE 45. In other words, when the assembly of
FIG.
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44 is slipped into the retention chamber 12, the aeration element 68 seats and
holds
upright pump assembly 36 in the proper location. In this case, the pump
assembly 36
fits tightly into the top opening of retention chamber 12. There are one or
more air slots
158 that are embedded into the side of the pump housing, which allows air to
escape
while bubbles are formed by aeration element 42.
[Para 239] FIGURE 46 is very similar to FIG. 44 and FIGURE 47 is very similar
to
FIG. 45. The difference is that the aeration element 68 is permanently
attached into the
bottom of the retention chamber 12 and the aeration element 42 is
approximately the
same diameter as the gas tube 30. This allows the gas tube 30 and aeration
element
42 of FIG. 46, to be inserted down through the aeration element 68 and the
pump
assembly 36 will be seated into the opening of the retention chamber 12
holding it in a
vertical, upright and stable position.
[Para 240] FIGURE 48 describes a variation of the retention chamber 12 wherein
there is an essential aperture 162 designed to receive aeration element and
its
associated gas tube 30, as shown in FIGURE 49. Referring once again to FIG.
49, one
can see that there is an adjustable stop 164, which controls the height of the
aeration
element 42 above the wine bottle punt 70. In an embodiment, when the assembly
of
FIG. 49 is inserted into the assembly of FIG. 48, the aeration element 42
would be
disposed directly on top of or at a slight distance above the punt 70. When
the
assembly of FIG. 49 is inserted through the central passageway 162 and the
pump 36 is
turned on, air escapes through one or more air holes 160 and wine bubbles are
formed
in retention chamber 12, as has been previously described.
[Para 241] FIGURE 49A is taken from section 49A-49A from FIG. 49 showing an
alternative form of stop 164. In this case, the stop 164 has been welded or
brazed 166
to the tube 30, as shown.
[Para 242] FIGURE 49B is generally taken from section 49B-49B from FIG. 49. In
this case, stop 164 has been press-fit to the tube 30.
[Para 243] FIGURE 50 shows the wine bottle and retention chamber 12 of FIG. 48
with the air pump 36 assembly and the stop 164 and aeration element 42
inserted. As
one can see, in this example, the aeration element 42 is disposed well above
the punt
70. In some cases, having this additional spacing is highly desirable so that
one does
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not undesirably have the aeration element 42 undesirably stir up sediments 71
in the
wine bottle, which are generally located towards the bottom of the pump 70.
[Para 244] FIGURES 51 and 52 illustrate that the stop 164, in this case,
having an
adjustable cross-tip screw 165, can be adjusted such that the aeration
elements 42 is
disposed at an even greater distance above punt 70.
[Para 245] FIGURE 53 illustrates a retention chamber 12, but now has a counter-
bore
170 and its through hole. The counter-bore 170 is designed to receive the
similarly
shaped aerator 168 of the pump assembly 36 as seen in FIGURE 54. Element 168
is
designed to snuggly fit into counter-bore 170 thereby, holding the pump
assembly 36 in
a stable and upright position during operation.
[Para 246] FIGURE 55 illustrates the wine bottle 18 and the retention chamber
12 of
FIG. 53 mated with the pump assembly 36 of FIG. 54 showing the engagement of
element 168 with the counter-bore 170'. Please note that there is an air gap
140 that is
formed between the pump housing 36 and the inside diameter of the retention
chamber
12 thereby, allowing air to freely escape during bubble formation.
[Para 247] FIGURE 56 is very similar to FIG. 53, except that the counter-bore
170'
has been raised up to the midline of the retention chamber maximum diameter 12
as
shown. There are a number of air passage holes 160 that allow air to escape as
bubbles are being formed. Importantly, this plurality of small air bubbles 160
also act as
a bubble breaking filtration element. As previously described in FIGS. 54 and
55,
Element 168 is snuggly fit and engages the counter-bore 170' thereby, holding
the
pump assembly 36 in a stable upright position during operation.
[Para 248] FIGURE 58 shows the joining of the wine bottle 18 and retention
chamber
12 of FIG. 56 with the pump assembly of FIGURE 57. The inventors noted that
element
168 tightly fits into the counter-bore area 170' and now the counter-bore 170'
is located
within a web plate 172, as shown.
[Para 249] FIGURE 59 illustrates another variation showing that the counter-
bore
170" is disposed near the top of the retention chamber 12 in close proximity
to pour
spout 90.
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[Para 250] FIGURE 61 illustrates the mating of the pump assembly in FIG. 60
into the
wine bottle 18 and retention chamber 12 of FIG. 59.
[Para 251] FIGURES 62 and 63 indicate that the retention chamber 12 can take
on
angular shapes or other shape variations. It will be noted in FIG. 62 that a
maximum
diameter 124 is still created that acts as a bubble-stabilizing element. In
FIG. 63, this
maximum diameter area 124' is dispersed over a wider area, indicating that the
static
level of bubble height can be achieved anywhere within that region.
[Para 252] FIGURE 64 illustrates a retention chamber 12 with a greatly
enlarged pour
spout area 90 to facilitate the pouring of wine. The structure of FIG. 64
allows the wine
to flow out through pour spout area in an easier fashion so it doesn't get
hung up by the
curvature of the retention chamber 12.
[Para 253] FIGURE 64A is an isometric side view of the cross-sectional
structure of
FIG. 64.
[Para 254] FIGURE 64B is very similar to FIGS. 64 and 64A, except the web
plate
172 has been removed. In addition, the pour spout 90 has been readjusted, such
that a
maximum diameter 128 occurs in the retention chamber 12. Note that the
retention
chamber is not a perfect sphere and has more of an oblong shape, which is very
similar
to existing wine decanters. The oblong shape preserves the maximum diameter
128 to
create a static level for the bubble field 54' (not shown) while at the same
time reducing
the overall height and stability of the entire assembly on top of the wine
bottle.
[Para 255] FIGURE 65 indicates that the retention chamber 12 can mimic the
shape
of a wine glass, including a pour spout area 90. Referring once again to FIG.
65, one
can see that the opening at the top is the largest opening. This facilitates
making one
piece from a simple two-part mold because all of the draft surfaces are such
that the
entire retention chamber 12 can easily be removed from the mold. The retention
chamber 12 of FIG. 65 offers a number of other advantages as well. For one, it
is very
easy to quickly clean and dry with a hand towel and they can also be stacked
upside
down in trays, for example, in a restaurant.
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[Para 256] FIGURE 66 shows a pump assembly 36 with an air tube 30 and distal
aeration element 42. In this case, there is a stop 164, which has been
previously
described to be attached by a set screw, welding, brazing, press-fit or the
like.
[Para 257] FIGURE 67 shows the assembly of FIG. 66 mated with the assembly of
FIG. 65 showing the stop 164 fitting securely into the bottom area of the
retention
chamber 12. Stop 164 is specially designed so that air and wine bubbles can
escape
up into retention chamber 12.
[Para 258] Two types of stops are illustrated in FIGURES 68A and 68B. In FIG.
68,
one can see that the stop 164 has fin elements 174, as shown. FIG. 68B also
embodies fin elements 174 that are enclosed in an overall structure 175. The
stop 164,
as illustrated in FIG. 68A, is considered to be superior in that, it provides
great stability
to the pump assembly 36, but at the same time, it is easy to remove. A
disadvantage of
the assembly shown in FIG. 68B is that surface 175 can easily get stuck to the
inside
surface of the mating bottom portion of the retention chamber 12, particularly
when a
liquid, such as wine, is present. As can be seen in both FIGS. 68A and 68B,
air and
bubbles are free to flow through openings 160.
[Para 259] FIGURE 69 illustrates a dishwasher basket 176, which is generally
of
stainless steel or the like and has a mesh or open weave type of structure.
This allows
for the holding of any number of air passage tube 30 and distal aeration
element 42 of
the present invention. For example, in a restaurant operation, one may need to
wash
20, 30 or even more of these at the same time.
[Para 260] FIGURE 70 illustrates a different method of air control wherein,
the pump
speed is held constant. In this case, the air screw 178 can be turned to pinch
off the air
flow in portion 150 thereby allowing air flow control. A disadvantage of
having the set
screw 178 screwed all the way in is that this would almost completely block
off the air
flow from the pump. A negative of this is that back pressure is created
against the
pump, which also increases its temperature while draining more electrical
energy.
[Para 261] A superior embodiment is shown in FIGURE 71 wherein, the pump speed
is still held constant and an air bleeder screw 180 is employed. As the screw
180 is
unscrewed and the distal end of the screw is pulled out, this allows air to
escape from
passage 150 and be bled off, which thereby reduces the amount of air to the
aerator
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element 42 (not shown). An advantage of the air bleeder structure shown in
FIG. 71 is
that air can be diverted from the distal aeration element 42 without placing
back
pressure on the pump, which could cause damage to the pump or at the very
least,
increase electrical current flow to the pump.
[Para 262] FIGURE 72 illustrates a pump assembly 36 along with the gas flow
tube
30 and aeration element 42. In this case, interior elements, including the
battery, circuit
board, motor and pump assembly are schematically shown. Now, there is a novel
heating element 182 that has been added in series with the air flow tube 30.
By
selecting a digital or mechanical switch, one can select to activate heating
element 182.
[Para 263] Some explanation is required to understand why the heating element
182
can be very important. It is very common with wines to properly store them
either in
cellars, which are very cool or what has become very popular are wine storage
vaults or
wine storage refrigerators within one's home. In general, red wines are
preferably
stored at 55 F and white wines are stored typically at a much lower
temperature, such
as around 45 F. It is fully acceptable to drink white wines very chilled,
including
champagnes. However, a number of connoisseurs believe they should be actually
a
little warmer so that one can get the full bouquet and aromas of the wine. And
in
particular, red wines are never supposed to be served extremely chilled. It is
a myth
that red wines should be served at room temperature. Typically, they should be
a few
degrees colder than room temperature. Assuming room temperature is around 72
F, it
would be appropriate to serve a red wine slightly chilled, say at around 65 .
The
problem is, if one has one of these wine storage refrigerators, one must
remove the
bottle of wine that they wish to drink at least an hour, if not several hours
before drinking
and set it on an outside counter so that it can warm up somewhat.
[Para 264] The novel system, as shown in FIG. 72, eliminates this need by not
only
aerating the wine, but also having the air bubbles 54 that are emitted from
aerator
element 42, be heated. By using very small bubbles and having an enormously
high
volume of bubbles that is consistent with the present invention, this rapidly
warms up
the red wine to the desired drinking temperature. A user may open a bottle
taken
directly from a wine storage refrigerator and be able to aerate and warm the
wine for
immediate consumption at the proper aeration level and proper temperature.
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[Para 265] The heating element could also be based on thermoelectric
cooling/heating, which uses the Peltier Effect to create a heat flux between
the junction
of two different types of materials. A Peltier cooler, heater or thermal-
electric heat pump
is a solid-state active heat pump, which transfers heat from one side of the
device to the
other with consumption of electrical energy, depending on the direction of
current. Such
an instrument is also called a Peltier Device, Peltier Heat Pump, Solid-State
Refrigerator or Thermal-electric cooler (TEC). It can be used either for
heating or for
cooling, although in practice, the main application is cooling. It can also be
used as a
thermal-electric controller that either heats or cools. The TEC device can
also be
combined with a temperature sensor, such that the wine would reach the ideal
temperature before the TEC device turned off.
[Para 266] FIGURE 73 illustrates an alternate location 182' for the heating
element.
In this case, instead of being in series with the gas tube 30, the heating
element 182' is
disposed across one or more holes 183 in the pump housing assembly, where
cooler air
comes in. By passing across the heating element 182', the cool air is heated
and then
drawn into the pump intake 185 and then discharged through the pump outlet
187,
where the air comes out through the aeration element 42 as heated air.
[Para 267] Having the heating element 182 in series with the air tube 30, as
illustrated in FIG. 72, is more efficient. Having the heater element 182'
disposed where
cool air comes in, as described in FIG. 73, is actually inefficient, as that
heated air then
must flow past the battery 184, past the circuit board 186 and then past the
motor 188
thereby, heating all of them up slightly before it is drawn into the inlet of
the pump
assembly 190 and then discharged through the gas tube 30. Accordingly, the
assembly
of FIG. 72 is considered the more efficient embodiment, but FIG. 73
illustrates that the
heating element 182 or 182' may be placed anywhere such that the air exiting
the
aeration element 42 is heated.
[Para 268] It will be understood within the present invention for any of the
embodiments disclosed herein that every reference to the word "wine bottle" is
also
extendable to any other type of liquor bottle, including tequila bottles,
whiskey bottles
and the like. Similarly, the present invention is applicable to all types of
wines, including
red wines, white wines, varietals and the like. It is also applicable to all
types of spirits
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and liquors, including Scotch, Tequilas, Whiskeys, Bourbon and the like. It
will be
understood that every time the term wine is used in the present invention that
is for
brevity and does not narrow the scope of the invention. In other words, the
term "wine"
applies to all types of liquors and spirits as other drinks beyond wine may be
benefited
from the aeration process.
[Para 269] It will be understood that retention chamber 12 is interchangeably
called
the expansion chamber 12 throughout the invention. If the retention chamber or
expansion chamber 12 creates a space to hold wine bubbles during the aeration
process, it will also be understood that the expansion chamber or retention
chamber
may also hold liquid wine. For example, through experimentation the inventors
have
found that, particularly for a full bottle of wine, sometimes liquid wine gets
pushed up
into the retention/expansion chamber as well as bubbles. Therefore, it is
understood
that the expansion chamber / retention chamber is capable of holding liquid
wine in
addition to wine bubbles.
[Para 270] Although several embodiments have been described in detail for
purposes
of illustration, various modifications may be made to each without departing
from the
scope and spirit of the invention. Accordingly, the invention is not to be
limited, except
as by the appended claims.
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