AU634245B2

AU634245B2 - Fermenting apparatus

Info

Publication number: AU634245B2
Application number: AU57934/90A
Authority: AU
Inventors: Brian Richard Harris
Original assignee: Monterrey Pty Ltd
Current assignee: Monterrey Pty Ltd
Priority date: 1989-06-28
Filing date: 1990-06-28
Publication date: 1993-02-18
Anticipated expiration: 2010-06-28
Also published as: AU5793490A

Description

K MPLETE AFTER PROVISIONA [PECIFICATION NO. PJ 4951

L

A UZ) j ALIA PATENTS ACT 1952 b4 4 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION

(ORIGINAL)

FOR OFFICE USE: Application Number: Lodged: Class Int. Class Complete Specification Lodged: Accepted: Published: Priority: R~elated Art: Name of Applicant(s): Add ress of Applicant(s): I.H.S. HOLDINGS PTY LTD -trading as HOMEBREW AUSTRAL W471'f$T 1 L1) fTIM 1_ I r AU8, IA w(c r?4 81 rCMC -Uni-t-- 1-S Roberts _Street- OSBORNE PARK WA

AUSTRALIA-

BRIAN RICHARD HARRIS 66 017- Actual Inventor(s): Address for Service: Kelvin Lord Co., 4 Doiuro Place, WEST PERTH, Western Australia 6005.

VN112"

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Complete Specification for the invention entitled: FEMFI XJa~ APPARATUS" Th fe1n,~c- :tqrt tnt is a full description of this invention, including the best method of perfor-ming it known tome/us -I C- 111~: ,oq 00 0 H '0 2 The present invention relates to a fermenting apparatus, a kit containing components for a fermenting apparatus, and a method of fermenting.

In accordance with a first aspect of the present invention there is provided fermenting apparatus comprising substantially rigid wall means having an inside surface, flexible liner means supportable by said substantially rigid wall means, and a flexible container irsertable into said flexible liner means to contain fermenting ingredients, wherein said rigid wall means is foldable to enable easy packaging thereof and said flexible liner means is supportable by said substantially rigid wall means such that the wall of said flexible liner means has at least a portion provided adjacent said inside surface of said substantially rigid wall means and said flexible liner means is able to provide reinforcement and support for said flexible container.

In accordance with a second aspect of the present invention there i provided a method of assembling a fermenting apparatus comprising providing substantially rigid wall means having an inside surface and being foldable to enable easy packaging thereof, supporting flexible liner means by said substantially rigid wall means, inserting a flexible container into suid flexible liner means to on-tain fermenting ingredients, and positioning at least a portion of the wall of said flexible liner means adjacent s,.id inside surface of said substantially rigid wall means such that said flexible liner means is able to p-.ovide 00 6*0*0 400*t 4 4 44 44 a 4* 4 4* a a 4 h 2 reinforcement and support for said flexible container.

3 The present invention will now be described, by way of 4 example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein: 6 Figure 3. is a perspectivre view of the substantially rigid 7 wall of the fermenting apparatus in accordance with an 8 embodiment of the present invention; 9 Figure 2 is a perspective view of the fermenting apparatus in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, 11 showing the flexible container being placed into the 12" substantially rigid wall (shown in Figure 1) already having 13 a flexible liner bag therein; and 14 Figure 3 is a sectional view through the (assembled) 15 fermenting apparatus shown in Figure 2, showing the contents 16 of the flexible container being drawn therefrom.

17 In Figures 2 and 3 there is shown a fermenting apparatus 18 The fermenting apparatus 10 comprises a substantially rigid 19 wall 12, a flexible liner bag 14 and a flexible container 16.

21 The sub star, .1ally rigid wall 12 is shown -Gparately in 22 Figure 1.

23 The substantially rigid wall 12 may be made of a foldable 24 but substantially rigid material, e.g. cardboard, such that it is collapsible, and is of substantially tubular form.

26 The substantially rigid wall 12 may be provided with fold 27 lines 18 to enable easy packaging. The substantially rigid 28 wall 12 may be of octagonal form hav.i..ig eight faces 29 betwetzn the fold lines 18. The substantially rigid wall 12 0 is open at both ends, and has an inside surface 22 an -I i 1 1 2 outside surface 24. However, the substantially rigid wall 12 may be closed at one of its ends. The fold lines 18 extend between the ends of the substantially rigid wall 12.

The substantially rigid wall 12 may be of a single piece of material of substantially oblong or rectangular shape whose two opposed free ends of lesser dimension are but jointed together and which is contained in the packaging by being folded along the fold lines 18. The but jointing may be by a strip of adhesive tape 26 during manufacture. This enables the substantially rigid wall 12 to take up a minimum volume in the packaging containing the fermenting apparatus S i 'ISi> 1 4 4 The flexible liner bag 14 is shown in Figures 2 and 3.

The flexible liner bag 14 comprises a closed bottom portion 28 and a side wall 30 extending therefrom to an edge 32 forming an opening.

The flexible container 16 is in the form of a bag having an end 34 which has an opening 35 that may be closed with a tie 36. The flexible liner bag 14 and the flexible container 16 may be made of suitable plastics materials.

.o 10 The flexibleA -bag- 14 is preferably manufactured to a oor4 (high food grade standard.

o°"a The manner of assembly of the fermenting apparatus 10 will S, now be described.

The substantially rigid wall 12, flexible liner bag 14 and the flexible container 16 are removed from their packaging (not shown). This packaging does not, however, form part of 0 the present invention.

The substantially rigid wall 12 is then 4-re-folded along the fold lines 18 such that it assumes a substantially tubular form open at both ends, having an octagonal cross-section, as shown in Figure 1.

A The substantially rigid wall 12 is then placed on a substantially horizontal or level surface 38, in an upright manner resting on one of its open ends and with the other open end uppermost. (The surface 38 should be at an elevated height to facilitate later syphoning of contents from the flexible container 16).

The flexible liner bag 14 is then arranged on the S/S T substantially rigid wall 12 such that it is supported t 4 J

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-881 5 thereby.

The flexible liner bag 14 is arranged on the substantially rigid wall 12 by first placing the flexible liner bag 14 inside the substantially rigid wall 12 such that the closed bottom portion 28 rests upon the surface 38. The side wall of the flexible liner bag 14 is then pushed against the inside surface 22 of the substantially rigid wall 12 to lie substantially facing thereto. The excess of the side wall is then folded over the top edge 40 of the substantially rigid wall 12 and pushed against the outside surface 24 thereof to lie substantially facing thereto. The edge 32 of the side wall 30 of the flexible liner bag 14 is positioned outside the substantially rigid wall 12.

The side wall 30 thus has an inside portion 42 located inside the substantially rigid wall 12 and an outside port-ion 44 located outside the substantially rigid wall 12.

This is best seen in Figures 2 and 3.

The flexible container 16 is then inserted into the flexible end liner bag 14, with theeq 4 -34 having the opening uppermost. The flexible container 16 is pushed against the closed bottom portion 28 and the inside portion 42 of the side wall 30 of the flexible liner bag 14. The excess of the flexible container 16 may be folded over the top edge of the substantially rigid container 12 and down along the outside portion A4 of the side wall 30 of the flexible liner bag 14.

The substantially rigid wall 12 provides shape and structure to the fermenting apparatus 10 and maintains the flexible container 16 in an upright position such that its end 34 may r I IL_ r.rrrxn~rarsrrs*nn r~ nl(F~ 6 00 00 o c a a 0000 0 000 0 00 0 0 t8 0 *r 00 t 4IL r be uppermost.

The flexible liner bag 14 provides reinforcement and additional strength and support for the flexible container 16.

The manner of use of the fermenting apparatus 10 will now be described.

In use, the fermenting apparatus 10 is assembled as hereinbefore described.

The desired fermenting ingredients 46 are then inserted into the flexible container 16 up to substantially the height of ferv^('/\g the substantially rigid wall 12. The ingredients 46 may be brewing ingredients. The excess of the flexible container 16 is gathered and the end 34 is twisted and folded over and secured with a tie 36 such that the opening 35 is closed off. This will leave a space in the uppermost portion of the flexible container 16 above the contents 46.

Several apertures 48 are made in the flexible container 16 (be\eafA 4We c(osed of op&'9 at the uppermost portion thereofAusing a fine needle or pin.

As the ingredients 46 ferment, carbon dioxide is produced which causes the uppermost portion of the flexible container 16 to rise above the top of the substantially rigid wall 12, to form a dome-like shape shown in broken lines D in Figure 3. The flexible container 16 thus acts as a fermenter bag.

The carbon dioxide, so produced, slowly escapes from the flexible container 16 via the apertures 48 during completion of the fermentation process. As the carbon dioxide escapes from the flexible container 16 in this manner, the uppermost portion of the flexible container 16 will collapse onto the contents of the flexible container 16. This is shown in solid lines in Figure 3.

Since the flexible container 16 collapses onto the contents of the flexible container 16, only a relatively small amount of air will be contained in the flexible container 16.

This lack of air reduces risk of oxidation occurring which would cause off tastes and/or contamination in the final contents of the flexible container 16. This reduced risk of oxidation is due to the difficulty of air entering the flexible container 16 once it has collapsed.

10 The flexible container 16 is able to collapse since it is made of a flexible material.

In a conventional fermenting apparatus, the oxidation risk 00oo0 of the contents of the fermenting container is generally 0. o0 more serious.

Once the fermenting process has ended, the contents may be removed from the flexible container 16. To do this, hole 50 may be pierced in the flexible container 16 above the S"r level 52 of the contents. One end of a syphon 54 is then i! inserted through the hole 50 into the contents of the flexible container 16. The contents of the flexible Sfil container 16 may then be syphoned off into individual t bottles 56 as shown in Figure 3. The bottles 56, once I filled, may be sealed with a crown type seal.

The syphon 54 may be provided with a v-shaped notch-like aperture 58 therein near the (open) end contained in the flexible container 16 for easy syphoning. The position of the not.,h-like aperture 58 allows the syphoning action to continue even if the end opening of the syphon 54 inside the flexible container. 16 becomes blocked, e.g. by being pushed 8 into matter at the bottom of the flexible container 16 produced during the fermentation process. The shape of the notch-like aperture 58 allows the syphoning action to continue even if the notch-like aperture 58 is adjacent the wall of the flexible container 16.

The flexible container 16 may be discarded after the contents have been syphoned therefrom. A new flexible container 16 is used for the next fermenting. The substantially rigid wall 12 and flexible liner bag 14 are retained.

Accordingly, the flexible container 16 may be made of a lighter material to reduce costs. The flexible liner bag 14 may be made of a more heavy du.ty material.

Since the flexible container 16 is discarded after use, the need for thoroughly cleaning the fermenting container, as is the case with conventional apparatus, is removed.

4040 This makes for more hygienic fermenting since contamination problems arising from ingredients and residue remaining in the fermenting container due to improper cleaning are s.t removed.

a The fermenting apparatus 10 of the present invention is 4, easily packaged and transported.

The fermenting apparatus of the present invention may be used as a brewing apparatus for brewing beer, and also for other fermentation processes.

The substantially rigid wall 12, flexible liner bag 14 and flexibe container 16 of the fermenting apparatus 10 may comprise a kit.

The kit may further compvise the ties 36 and a syphon 54.

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~CI I C"l~g 9 The kit may also comprise crown type seals to seal the bottles 56, and a hand bottle capper.

The kit may also comprise a quantity of sodium metabisulphite (bottle sterilizer) and a quantity of alkaline salts (bottle washing powder).

Modifications and variations such as would be apparent to a skilled addressee are deemed within the scope of the present invention.

o e

Claims

2. Fermenting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said 16 substantially rigid wall means is provided with fold lines 17 to facilitate packaging, said fold lines defining faces i 18 therebetween. 19 3. Fermenting apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein said substantially rigid wall means is substantially tubular 21 and open at at least one of its ends. S 22 4. Fermenting apparatus according to claim 3, wherein said 23 fold lines extend between said en'ds in a substantially 24 parallel manner.
5. Fermenting apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 26 4, wherein said substantially rigid wall means is formed 27 from a substantially oblong or rectangular piece of material 28 jointed at two opposed ends. i t i I ;I t j I 11
6. Fermenting apparatus accordi'.g to any one of claims 1 to wherein said substantially rigid wall means is made from cardboard.
7. Fermenting apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein said substantially rigid wall means has an outside surface and said flexible liner means has a closed bottom and a side wall extending therefrom to form a bag, said closed bottom and a first portion of said side wall being receivable in said substantially rigid wall means and a second portion of said side wall being positionable outside said substantially rigid wall means such that said first and second portions of saLa wall means are facing said inside and outside surfaces of said substantially rigid wall means, respectively.
8. Fermenting apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein said flexible container has an opening and is insertable into said flexible liner means with said op-nincj outermost, said fermenting ingredients being receivable into said flexible container via said opening and said opening is able t j be closed off by a closure.
9. Fermenting apparatus according to claim 8, wherein apertures are provided at the upper portion of said flexible container beneath said closure. Fermenting apparatus according to any otne of claims 1 to 9, wherein said flexible container is in the form of a bag manufactured to a high food grade standard.
11. Fermenting apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 10, wherein said flexible liner means and said flexible container are made of suitable plastics materials. I f i J II- -I-1 I ;i 1 -12- 2 12. A method of assembling a fermenting apparatus 3 comprising providing substantially rigid wall means having 4 an inside surface and being foldable to enable easy packaging thereof, supporting flexible liner means by said 6 substantially rigid wall means, inserting a flexible 7 container into said flexible liner means to contain 8 fermenting ingredient,, and positioning at least a portion 9 of the wall of said flexible liner means adjacent said inside surface of said subst;ntially rigid wall means saich 11 that said flexible liner means is able to provide 12 reinforcement and support for said flexible container. 13 13. A method according to claim 12, further comprising: S14 placing said substantially rigid wall means on a surface trir with an open end thereof uppermost. 16 14. A method according to claim 12 or 13, wherein said S17 substantially rigid wall means has an outside surface and 18 said flexible liner means has a closed bottom and a side 19 wall extending therefrom, and inserting said closed bottom and a first portion of said side wail of said flexible liner 21 means into said substantially rigid wall means and 22 positioning a second portion of said side wall of said 23 flexible liner means on the outside of said substantially S24 rigid wall means such that said first andosecond portions of said wall means are facing said inside and outside surfaces 26 of said substantially rigid wall means, respectively. 27 15. A method according to any one of claims 12 to 14, 28 wherein said flexible container has an opening, and 29 inserting said flexible container into said flexible liner 30 means with said opening thereof uppermost. 1 2 3 4 6 '7 -13-
16. A method according to claim 15 further comprising placing fermenting ingredients into said flexible container. closing said opening of said flexible container, providing apertures in said flexible container above the contents thereof and allowing said contents to ferment.
17. A method according to claim 16, further comprising: allowing the upper portion of said flexible container to rise and subsequently collapse, providing an aperture in said flexible container, inserting syphon means into said aperture and syphoning the contents of said flexible container therefrom.
18. A fermenting apparatus substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
19. A method of assembling a fermenting apparatus substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings. o+ 4 o.' 4* 0 *0 4;r Sd Lii Sr SS 449 DATED OCTOBER 30 1992 WESTYIELD PTY LTD (ACN 050 608 592 By their Patent Attorneys FELVIN LORD AND COMPANY PERTH, WESTERN AUSTRALIA