Wine or champagne preservation and dispensing apparatus

A wine or champagne preservation and dispensing apparatus comprising:

• a housing adapted to receive at least one wine or champagne container, said housing including an electrical connector;
• at least one dispenser connected to the housing;
• at least one liquid communication line connected to the dispenser and adapted to be fluidly connected to said container;
• a nitrogen generator electrically connected to the electrical connector on said housing which automatically draws in ambient air and generates nitrogen rich gas, said nitrogen generator including an air compressor, an air dryer fluidly connected to the air compressor, a pressure retaining valve, a carbon molecular sieve fluidly connected to the air dryer, and a nitrogen storage tank connected to the carbon molecular sieve, a pressure reducer fluidly connected to the nitrogen communication line, a pressure controller which activates and deactivates the air compressor, a manifold having a plurality of outlets;
• and
• at least one nitrogen communication line connected to one of the outlets of the manifold and adapted to be fluidly connected to said container to direct the nitrogen rich gas into said container to preserve wine or champagne in said container.

A wine or champagne preservation and dispensing apparatus comprising:

• an enclosed housing;
• a container support mounted in said housing and adapted to support a plurality of wine or champagne containers, said container support including a divider defining at least two areas in the container support;
• a plurality of dispensers connected to the housing;
• a plurality of liquid communication lines, each said liquid communication line connected to one of the dispensers and adapted to be fluidly connected to one of the containers;
• a cooling system connected to the housing which cools one of the defined areas adjacent to the cooling system;
• a nitrogen generator connected to the housing which draws in ambient air and generates nitrogen rich gas;
• and
• a plurality of nitrogen communication lines, each said nitrogen communication line connected to the nitrogen generator and adapted to be fluidly connected to one of the containers to direct the generated nitrogen rich gas into said container to preserve wine or champagne in said container.

A wine or champagne preservation and dispensing apparatus comprising:

• an enclosed housing adapted to receive at least one wine or champagne container;
• at least one dispenser connected to the housing;
• at least one liquid communication line connected to the dispenser;
• a nitrogen generator connected to said housing which draws in ambient air and generates nitrogen rich gas, said nitrogen generator including a carbon molecular sieve which adsorbs oxygen from the ambient air to generate the nitrogen rich gas, an air compressor which compresses the ambient air and forces the compressed ambient air through the carbon molecular sieve, and a dryer fluidly connected to the air compressor wherein the dryer dries the compressed ambient air before the compressed ambient air enters the carbon molecular sieve;
• at least one nitrogen communication line connected to the nitrogen generator and adapted to be fluidly connected to the container to direct the generated nitrogen rich gas into the container to preserve wine or champagne in the container;
• and
• a stopper including a fluid communication member removably attachable to a sealing member, said sealing member adapted to sealingly engage an opening in the container, said stopper including a first port adapted to receive the nitrogen communication line to direct the generated nitrogen rich gas into the container to preserve wine or champagne in the container, and a second port adapted to receive the liquid communication line to direct wine or champagne from the container to the dispenser when the dispenser is activated.

A wine or champagne preservation and dispensing apparatus comprising:

• a housing;
• a container support mounted in said housing having at least one container receptacle and adapted to hold at least one wine or champagne container;
• and
• a cooling plate positioned adjacent to the container support, said cooling plate having a surface which is adapted to have a temperature lower than ambient temperature, said container receptacle defining at least one area adapted to receive a movable cooling transfer member which co-acts with the surface of the cooling plate to change the temperature of the wine or champagne in the container.

A container support adapted to be mounted in a an enclosed housing of a wine or champagne preservation and dispensing apparatus, said container support comprising:

• a body;
• a plurality of wine or champagne container receptacles defined in the body and positioned at an angle greater than zero degrees, each receptacle adapted to hold at least one wine or champagne container;
• a removable divider attached to the body and positioned between at least two of the container receptacles;
• and
• an area in at least one container receptacle for receiving a movable cooling transfer member which changes the temperature of the wine or champagne container in the body by changing the position of the cooling transfer member relative to a cooling member mounted adjacent to said container receptacle.

A method for preserving and dispensing wine or champagne comprising the steps of:

• (a) drawing ambient air into a nitrogen generator;
• (b) adsorbing oxygen from the ambient air in the nitrogen generator to generate nitrogen rich gas;
• (c) directing the generated nitrogen rich gas to a wine or champagne container to preserve wine or champagne in the container;
• (d) cooling the wine or champagne container to a desired temperature by moving a cooling transfer member relative to a cold surface of a cooling member wherein the cooling transfer member is positioned between the container and the cooling member;
• (e) communicating the wine or champagne from the container to a dispenser;
• and
• (f) dispensing the wine or champagne through the dispenser.

A method for preserving and dispensing wine or champagne in a preservation and dispensing apparatus, said method comprising the steps of:

• (a) drawing in ambient air;
• (b) compressing the ambient air;
• (c) drying the compressed air;
• (d) adsorbing the oxygen from the dried compressed air to generate nitrogen rich gas;
• (e) selectively communicating the nitrogen rich gas to a wine or champagne container to preserve wine or champagne in the container;
• (f) cooling the wine or champagne container to a desired temperature by moving a cooling transfer member relative to a cold surface of a cooling member wherein the cooling transfer member is positioned between the container and the cooling member;
• (g) communicating the wine or champagne from the container to a dispenser;
• and
• (h) dispensing the wine or champagne through the dispenser.