Storage and Dispensing System for Potable Liquids
OwnerGeoff Dalyinventor
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A storage and dispensing system for potable liquids, e.g., wine, includes an inclined rack which holds a bottle with the neck down, a dispensing head sealing the bottle neck, and an inert gas supply system in fluid communication with the head. As liquid is dispensed from the bottle, low-pressure gas is admitted into the bottle, to inhibit oxidation of the wine. The system includes one or more self-sealing elements in the head itself and/or in gas lines between the head and a gas regulator. Because the self-sealing elements prevent air from entering into the system when the gas lines are detached, each bottle can have a dedicated head and bottles can be swapped out for dispensing, without the need for replacing bottle heads, sparging, or using more than one source of gas.
Claims20
A wave washer comprising:
- a disk;
- an opening in the disk;
- a lever extending from the disk;
- and
- undulations formed in the disk.
A system useful for storing and dispensing a potable liquid from a bottle having a neck, the system comprising:
- a cabinet having an inclined surface and at least one opening configured and arranged to receive the neck of a bottle;
- a gas source of inert, non-oxygen containing gas;
- a pressure regulator in fluid communication with said gas source;
- a gas line in fluid communication with the pressure regulator;
- at least one bottle head configured and arranged to form a fluid seal when positioned in the neck of the bottle, the at least one bottle head including a gas passage and a fluid passage;
- wherein the gas line is in fluid communication with the gas passage of the at least one bottle head.
A method of storing and dispensing wine, the method comprising:
- positioning a bottle head in the neck of a bottle containing the wine;
- resting the wine bottle on an incline with the bottle head down;
- fluidly connecting a source of inert, non-oxygen-containing gas with the interior of the bottle;
- and
- dispensing wine from the bottle.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.