ES2237217A1 - Wine fermentation grape chaff controller includes a perforated plate lowering the chaff in the fermentation tank, with recirculation of the wine - Google Patents

Abstract

The wine fermentation grape chaff controller has a perforated plate vertically-mobile in the fermentation tank, above the chaff layer and progressively lowering this in the tank. A wine recirculation pipe has a pneumatic lifting pump made as a container divided into two compartments by a membrane. EMBODIMENT - The first compartment receives injected air and the second wine via a non-return valve for return to the top of the fermentation tank.

Description

Equipment for skin control during wine fermentation.

Object of the invention

The present invention patent application Its purpose is to register a team to control the contact between the skin and the must during the fermentation of the wine that incorporates notable innovations and advantages over Current wine fermentation systems.

More specifically, the new invention consists of an integrated wine fermentation control system, in special red wine, in which greater contact is achieved of the skin with all the must in fermentation and one more release homogeneous tannins, dyes and aromatic substances contained in the aforementioned skin. In addition the new team presents a wort recirculation pump, newly designed, which allows this operation without excessive agitation of the fluid.

Background of the invention

During the red wine making process it is necessary to keep the must in contact with the fermentation grape skins, basically made up of the skin and nuggets, so that tannin and coloring elements contained in these skins are incorporated into the must producing the characteristic color of these wines.

This contact between the must in fermentation and the skins are hindered by the very different density of the skin and must, which makes the skin overflow in the liquid surface. This effect is enhanced by the strong detachment of fermentation gases, which push up the less dense solid elements making, in practice, it is very laborious to obtain the necessary contact between skins and must. This leads to the wine obtained from the tank present different properties depending on the height at which It has been fermented.

Description of the invention

The equipment for controlling the skin during the wine fermentation object of this registry, it is characterized because it allows more controlled fermentation and more contact intimate and regulated skin with the must during fermentation.

Mainly the new invention consists in the incorporation into the fermentation tank of one, perforated plate, that can be moved vertically and arranged horizontally over the skin layer. As the plate descends through the tank the skin is pushed into the wort in fermentation and forces said fluid to exit through a conduit located in the part lower. Said recirculation duct attached to the bottom of the tank flows into the top of the tank above the plate, where you pour the fluid pushed out of the tank to your inside. The plate, being perforated allows, during return from the lower position to the upper position, the percole fluid through its holes in a controlled manner. He skin rises naturally since its density is lower than the Density of the fermentation must. Said vertical displacement of the perforated plate is made by the weight of the plate itself or moved with the help of auxiliary mechanical means, being its full path to the top of the fermentation tank or only partial with which a means of recirculation of the external must. The engine of said mechanical means is not specified, but it can be a pneumatic piston, a spindle electrically operated or others.

Adjacent or incorporated into the fermentation tank the use of a must recirculation pump is planned. It is helpful that the recirculation of the wine is enhanced by some kind of drive. Generally said transfer of must is done by means of centrifugal pumps. In said operation centrifugal pumps produce excessive wort agitation that is counterproductive with the achievement of A good quality product.

In substitution of the traditional means of transfer is planned a pneumatic pump or tank recirculation consisting of a rigid deposit, usually of stainless steel or aluminum, which presents inside a flexible and expandable membrane, of material compatible with products  foodstuffs, such as, for example, polyurethane. Bliss membrane is reinforced by a metal structure and divides the deposit in two chambers. One of these cameras is connected with the bottom of the fermentation tank and is suitable for receive the must that comes out of it. The other camera is connected with a pneumatic pump capable of introducing pressurized air into its breast and with a vent valve. The pump has a functioning simple, because it is filled with must, being generally at a lower level than the tank, said filling taking place natural given the high jump between the fermentation tank and the pump, in said operation the membrane shrinks, reducing the Atmospheric chamber size The air contained in said chamber Atmospheric is removed by a vent or exhaust valve. One time fill the recirculation wort pump, the receiving chamber of must occupies most of the volume of the pump. For the return from the must to the fermentation tank, pressurized air is introduced into The atmospheric chamber of the pump. In this process the valve venting closes and the elastic membrane expands to occupy the full volume of the pump reservoir. In driving that communicates the bottom of the tank with the pump is a unidirectional valve in non-return function, so that forces the must to return to the fermentation tank by the alternative driving, pouring on top, above of the perforated plate and the skin layer, completing the process of recirculation. During operation the fluid pump of new invention is very advantageous since it does not introduce any excessive agitation or turbulence in the fluid to be transferred. He must in fermentation moves in a controlled way simply by pressure differences or hydrostatic height.

Since the pneumatic pump included in the new invention allows a continuous and smooth movement of entry and exit of the must in the tank, the passage of the must can be carried out through the skin without the need to move the plate. Indeed, if the plate is fixed mechanically to a determined height the pneumatic pump extracts must from the part bottom of the tank and returns it in its upper part. The must in its circulation crosses the plate and comes back into contact with The skin.

The whole set of valves, engines Drive plate and compressor can be controlled electronically through a programmer that facilitates all your Operation automatically. It also allows the realization of operations without direct personnel control.

In its practical application this specific equipment It can be used well in fermentation tanks since existing, which will have to be adapted, or in new deposits that incorporate from the moment of its manufacture the invention that describe. This situation may lead to small differences in Installation details, which do not modify the features basis of the two specific elements of the invention, which are the pressure plate and pneumatic pump.

Thus it follows that the invention can be brought to practice both with the pump or recirculation tank in the outside of the fermentation tank as located inside. A example is the case of newly manufactured tanks in which the recirculation tank or pneumatic pump is contained in the inside the fermentation tank itself, in position central and vertically elongated, thereby forming a set compact. The perforated pressure plate is arranged around a vertical tubular body, pushing around total or partially the skin layer. The plate has holes of passage of the must and degassing ducts while in its descending path pushes the wort around the central duct  previously mentioned. Said plate movement produces a pressure increase of the inferiorly situated must that rises by the central duct overflowing at the top and is poured back to the main chamber of the fermentation tank by on top of the skin layer.

Optionally, the central tube can be provided with a pneumatic system (7) that allows forced recirculation of the must through the skin. For this, the perforated plate is provided of a system that immobilizes it in a certain position and the air flow injected into said central duct makes circulate the must from the bottom of the tank to the part upper, being able to return to the inside of the tank fermentation by a small independent return duct and passing through the skin downward.

To complete the description that follows will perform and in order to help a better understanding of their characteristics, is accompanied by the present specification, of a set of figures, in an illustrative and non-limiting way, where they represent the most significant details of the invention.

Brief description of the designs

Figure 1. Shows a scheme of the invention based on the pneumatic pump arranged externally to the tank fermentation.

Figure 2. Shows a scheme of the invention with the pneumatic pump disposed internally to the tank fermentation.

Figure 3. Shows a sectioned elevation view of the pneumatic transfer pump.

Figure 4. Shows a detail of the section cross section of the expandable membrane inside the pump Pneumatic transfer.

Figure 5. Shows a sectioned view taken through section A-A 'of figure 4.

Description of a preferred embodiment

In view of the commented figures and agree with the numbering adopted, you can see in them a preferred but not limited embodiment of the invention, the which consists of a fermentation tank (1), so preferably cylindrical, which has a plate inside (2) perforated flat, vertically movable in the wort (4), partially or totally along said deposit (1) on the skin layer (3) supernatant, optionally pushed by mechanical means (14). Attached to said deposit (1) there is a pump connected by a transfer line (5) comprising a shut-off valve (7) and a one-way valve (6) of retention, said pump being constituted by an external body (9) or deposit inside which is a membrane (10) flexible expandable, made of compatible material food and reinforced with a metal structure (18) and similar, dividing said reservoir (9) of the pump into two chambers, and the membrane (10) and reinforcement structure 18) are joined with a seat collar (19), connected to the air inlet from the compressor (13) and the vent valve (11). The fluid chamber (20) it is connected to the wort (5) of must reception from the bottom of the tank (1) and a second line (8) of return of the must from the pump to the tank (1) in its part higher. The atmospheric chamber (21) is connected to a valve vent (11) or air leak and with a pneumatic compressor (13) through its corresponding shut-off valve (12).

In an alternative embodiment the tank (1) it presents inside a recirculation chamber (17) arranged throughout it, existing in the gap between both chambers (1 and 17) the perforated plate (2) provided with holes (15) of percolation and degassing ducts (16). Perforated plate (2) presents an auxiliary mechanism (14) for movement and detention forced. Said recirculation chamber (17) is open inferiorly and at its upper end presents a pourer of return of the must to the main chamber of the tank (1), a vent valve (11) and an air intake line Regulated tablet with its corresponding shut-off valve (12).

Claims (4)

1. Equipment for controlling the skin during the fermentation of the wine, characterized in that the fermentation tank (1) has a perforated plate (2) inside, vertically movable in the wort (4) and arranged on the skin (3 ), a pneumatic transfer pump being coupled, connected by a must transfer line (5) and a return line (8); and because the pneumatic pump is constituted by a rigid tank (9) of sufficient capacity, which comprises in its interior an expandable membrane (10) that divides said tank (9) into two chambers (20) and (21); and because the chamber (20) is connected to the tank (1) for the reception of the must; and because the chamber (21) is connected to a compressor (13) by means of a shut-off valve (12) and a vent valve (11) for inflation and deflation. 2. Equipment for controlling the skin during the fermentation of wine, according to claim 1, characterized in that the chamber (20) of the tank (9) is connected to the conduit (5) for the reception of the must from the tank (1) , there being in said conduit a bypass valve (7) and a unidirectional check valve (6); and because the chamber (20) of the tank (9) is connected to the conduit (8) for the return of said must to the tank (1). 3. Equipment for controlling the skin during the fermentation of the wine, according to claims 1 and 2, characterized in that the membrane (10) of the pump has a built-in reinforcement structure (18), preferably metal; and because the membrane (10) and the reinforcement structure (18) are connected with a seat collar (19), connected to the air inlet from the compressor (13) and the vent valve (11). 4. Equipment for controlling the skin during the fermentation of the wine, according to claims 1 and 2, characterized in that in an alternative embodiment, the tank (1) has an inner tank (17) and between them there is the perforated plate ( 2) movable by mechanical means (14) and fixable at a certain height, said inner reservoir (17) being open at its lower part and presenting in its upper part a fluid return spout; and because said reservoir (17) is connected by a conduit in its upper part with a compressor (13) with the respective shut-off valve (12) and a vent valve (11) or pressure relief, operatively capable of introducing air into pressure inside.