GB2411962A

GB2411962A - Apparatus for ascertaining whether a liquid has required minimum density

Info

Publication number: GB2411962A
Application number: GB0405556A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Denis Fitzgerald
Original assignee: H & D Fitzgerald Ltd
Current assignee: H & D Fitzgerald Ltd
Priority date: 2004-03-12
Filing date: 2004-03-12
Publication date: 2005-09-14
Also published as: GB0405556D0

Abstract

An apparatus and method for ascertaining whether a liquid has a required minimum density, the apparatus comprising a marker 24 disposed within a body 10, the body having an aperture 12 therein through which the liquid 22 can pass and means for drawing the liquid through the aperture into the body 14, wherein the marker is relatively free to move within the body and has a density equal to the required minimum density of the liquid such that if the liquid has less than the required minimum density, the marker sinks. A plurality of markers are preferably provided. The apparatus and method are preferably adapted for testing beverages, e.g. the alcohol content of liquors.

Description

1 2411 962 Title: Apparatus for ascertaining whether a liquid has a

required minimum density

Description:

The present invention relates to an apparatus for ascertaining whether a liquid has a required minimum density and in particular, but not exclusively, to an apparatus for ascertaining the alcohol content of beverages.

Testing of beverages is important for a number of reasons. Firstly, consumers of alcoholic beverages must be confident that their beverage is "as advertised". If the beverage has been watered down, then they will be being paying over the odds for an inferior product. Conversely, if an "export strength" beverage is being sold as a "regular" beverage, there is a risk that a consumer will inadvertently drink an unhealthy or dangerous amount or even drive with more alcohol in his bloodstream than he thought.

Secondly, theft of beverages (e.g. by bar staff) is often covered-up by topping-up the bottles with water. This, obviously, affects the alcohol content -ail:.

Of the beverage, which if tested by a relevant government or consumer body, . 2 would result in the licensee (e.g. the publican or hotelier) being prosecuted. A. Thirdly, beverages are sometimes stolen from bonded warehouses and..

can be bought by legitimate, unsuspecting businesses. Taxes and duties are not normally paid on beverages in bonded storage, and if such stolen e' beverages are introduced into the market, the government may stand to lose substantial revenues.

Accordingly, consumer groups (e.g. Trading Standards), licensees (e.g. hoteliers) and government bodies (e.g. HM Customs and Excise) have a vested interest in monitoring the alcohol content of beverages sold in various outlets (e.g. pubs, clubs and restaurants).

A reliable means of testing the alcohol content of beverages is therefore needed.

Hydrometers are known in the art of beverage testing and comprise a weighted float arranged to be floated in a quantity of beverage. The density (or specific gravity) of the beverage varies with alcohol content. Thus, for a fixed weight and volume, the hydrometer will sink to varying levels when immersed in different beverages. The hydrometer has graduations thereon and the liquid level (i.e. depth to which it sinks or floats) can be read off on a chart to ascertain the alcohol content of the beverage.

Conventional hydrometers pose several problems. A hydrometer needs to be quite large to make the graduations easy to see and interpret.

This means that a relatively large quantity of beverage needs to be used in order to obtain a reading. Once, read, the beverage tested must generally be. . discarded, which is wasteful. Furthermore, covert use of a conventional ' at: hydrometer is difficult, if not impossible owing to its size.

The present invention aims to provide a solution to one or more of the .

above problems. .,.

A first aspect of the invention provides an apparatus for ascertaining .

whether a liquid has a required minimum density, the apparatus comprising a marker disposed within a body, the body having an aperture therein through which the liquid can pass and means for drawing the liquid through the aperture into the body, wherein the marker is relatively free to move within the body and has a density equal to the required minimum density of the liquid such that if the liquid has less than the required minimum density, the marker sinks.

A second aspect of the invention provides an apparatus for ascertaining whether a liquid has a required maximum density, the apparatus comprising a marker disposed within a body, the body having an aperture therein through which the liquid can pass and means for drawing the liquid through the aperture into the body, wherein the marker is relatively free to move within the body and has a density equal to the required maximum density of the liquid such that if the density of the liquid is greater than the required maximum density, the marker floats.

The invention can be used as a beverage tester. The density of the liquid can be changed by the addition or removal of species. By way of an example only, adding water to an alcoholic beverage (e.g. whiskey) would increase the density of the beverage and thus cause a marker that would ordinarily sink (i.e. in an un watered-down beverage), to float. A possible embodiment of the invention could therefore be used to test whether an alcoholic beverage contains too high a percentage of water, i. e. the density is greater than the required minimum density. . . The apparatus has at least one marker, but preferably has a plurality of markers, each marker having a density equal to a different required minimum.

density of the liquid. Where more than one marker is provided, the apparatus can be used to ascertain whether the liquid has a density within a required.

range. Preferably, there are three markers each having a different density.

A third aspect of the invention provides a method of ascertaining whether a liquid has a required minimum density, comprising the steps of; drawing a quantity of liquid into the body of an apparatus comprising a marker disposed within the body, the body having an aperture therein through which the liquid can pass and means for drawing the liquid through the aperture into the body, wherein the marker is relatively free to move within the body and has a density equal to the required minimum density of the liquid; inspecting the marker to see whether it sinks in the liquid; and if the marker sinks, concluding that the liquid has a density less than the required minimum density; if the marker floats, concluding that the liquid has a density greater than the required minimum density; and if the marker is suspended in the liquid, concluding that the liquid has a density equal to the required minimum density.

The method preferably involves providing the apparatus with three markers having different specific gravities in order to be able to determine whether the density of the liquid falls within a specified range.

The body of the apparatus can be of any suitable form. The body is preferably manufactured of a durable and/or lightweight material, such as plastic, although glass may also be used. The body is preferably transparent or translucent to permit inspection of the marker or markers when in use.

The body may take the general form of a tube having openings at either end. Where the body is a tube, it may be circular in cross section, although other cross-sections, e.g. elliptical, triangular etc may be preferred to prevent rolling on non-flat surfaces.

The aperture is preferably smaller than the marker or markers to prevent the marker or markers from escaping the body. The aperture may be necked.

The means for drawing beverage into the body may be provided in any number of ways although it is envisaged that "syringe", "eyedropper" or "straw" type means may be preferred.

A syringe means may comprise a plunger that is slidable within the body such that sliding the plunger creates a vacuum or pressure that can either draw or expel beverage into or out of the body respectively.

Likewise, an eyedropper means may comprise a bulb that can be squeezed and released to create a vacuum or pressure to either draw or expel beverage into or out of the body respectively. An expansion chamber may be provided such that the internal volume of the body is more than that of the bulb to prevent beverage from being inadvertently drawn up into the bulb.

The expansion chamber, where provided, may have a non-circular crosssection to prevent the tester from rolling when placed on non-flat surfaces.

A straw means may simply comprise a tubular body with open ends that can be lowered into the beverage to fill the body. It is envisaged that one end could be sealed with finger pressure such that when the body is removed from the beverage, the beverage inside the body is unable to escape.

Any number of markers may be provided, although more than one is preferred. For example, three markers may be provided that are adapted to float in beverages of differing specific gravities. Where more than one marker is provided, they are preferably too large to pass one another within the body such that they remain in a desired order. This arrangement is intended to prevent the more dense markers being buoyed-up by less dense markers when the apparatus is in use.

The marker or markers can be formed of any suitable material, although glass or plastics are preferred. The marker or markers may be hollow glass spheres of varying densities (i.e. of differing sizes and/or wall thickness). The densest marker, where more than one is provided, is preferably located nearest the intended lower end of the tester and least dense marker located nearest the intended upper end of the tester.

The marker or markers are preferably calibrated and may additionally carry a certification mark. The markers could be around 6mm in diameter. A certification mark, where provided, may be a coloured serial number and may be fused into and/or painted onto the marker. The density of the marker or markers can be fine-tuned by grinding/polishing the surface thereof to remove material, thereby altering the weight-to-volume ratio of the marker.

The marker or markers could alternatively, be manufactured from plastics materials. The marker or markers could also be colour coded for ease of use.

Graduations may be provided on the body such that the depth of a suspended (rather than sunk or floating) marker can be ascertained, if desired. e The respective densities of the marker or markers are selected for use in conjunction with specific beverages. . The apparatus may be provided with an "up" arrow to indicate which way up it should be used because the highest density marker should, ideally, . . be located towards the bottom of the apparatus when in use.

The apparatus of the invention could be adapted for use with other liquids, such as, but without limitation to liquid fuels and foodstuffs.

It is to be appreciated that the word "density" can be replaced by equivalent nomenclature, e.g. "specific gravity", "SO", "relative density", " Brix" or Oeschle", depending on the circumstances. The apparatus and method of the invention can be used to test for, amongst others, the alcoholic strength of beverages and sugar content of beverages.

A preferred embodiment of the invention shall now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which; Figure 1 shows a view of a syringe type embodiment of the invention; Figure 2 shows a view of an eyedropper type embodiment of the invention; and Figure 3 shows a view of a straw type embodiment of the invention.

Referring now to Figure 1, a syringe-type embodiment of the invention is shown comprising a body 10 in the form of a tube having an opening 12 at one end thereof. Means for drawing beverage into the body 10 is provided by way of a plunger 14 that is slidable within the body. Three markers 16, 18 & are provided within the body 10. The markers 16, 18 & 20 are too large to pass one another within the body 10 such that they remain in the order they ë....

were placed inside the body 10. This prevents the most dense marker being.

buoyed-up by a less dense marker.

The markers 16, 18 & 20 are formed of hollow glass spheres of varying. -

densities, the most dense 16, being located nearest the opening 12 and the least dense 20 being provided nearest the plunger 14. Thus, when filled with.

beverage 22 of unknown density, the markers either float 18 & 20 or sink 16.

The markers are preferably calibrated and certified and carry a certification mark 24.

Graduations 26 are also provided on the body 10 such that the depth of suspended (rather than sunk or floating) markers can be ascertained, if desired.

The density of the markers are selected for use in conjunction with specific beverages. For example, a whisky tester will have markers arranged to float at specific gravities corresponding to 40% alcohol by volume (ABV).

In a whisky tester, for example, there may be markers arranged to float only in beverages with >41% ABV, >40% ABV and >39% ABV. Thus, if no markers float, the alcohol content is greater than 41% ABV, if one marker floats, the alcohol content is 41% ABV, if two markers float, the alcohol content is 40% ABV and if three markers float, the alcohol content is 39% ABV or less. The tester can therefore be used to quickly ascertain whether a full hydrometer test ought to be carried out on the suspect beverage.

Obviously, different marker densities can be selected for different beverages, e.g. 15% + 2% for wines, 45% + 2% for export strength liquor, 40% +2% for e.g. whisky, 37.5% +2% for e.g. gin and so forth. Moreover, different numbers of markers can be provided to extend or reduce the measurable range of the tester e.g. providing 39%, 40%, 41%, 44%, 45% and 46% markers for testing "regular" and "export" strength liquors, or 39.5%, 40% and 40.5% for higher accuracy testing. Other useful combinations and permutations can be easily worked out.

The measurable range of the invention is preferably equivalent to between 35% to 44% ABV or 955 to 941 kg my at 20 C. (I.e. the required minimum density of e.g. whiskey should be 948 Kg ma).

Figure 2 shows an alternative embodiment of the invention having a bulb 28, rather than a plunger. The bulb 28 is manufactured of a hollow elastomer and is sealed to the opposite end 30 of the body to the opening 12.

The bulb 28 is squeezed to expel air trapped therein and the body 10 lowered into the beverage. Releasing the bulb 28 produces a vacuum that draws beverage 22 up through the opening 12 and into the body 10. An expansion chamber 32 is provided to ensure that the internal volume of the body 10 is less that of the bulb 28, to prevent beverage from being inadvertently drawn up into the bulb 28.

The expansion chamber 32 is elliptical in cross section to prevent the tester from rolling when placed on non-flat surfaces.

An alternative embodiment is shown in Figure 3 of the drawings whereby two openings 12 & 34 are provided. The lower opening 12 allows beverage 22 to enter the body 10 when lowered into a quantity of beverage.

A finger 36 is then applied to seal the upper opening 34 such that when the tester is removed from the beverage, a quantity of beverage is retained by virtue of the vacuum 38 created in the upper part of the body 10. . . The openings 12 & 34 are necked 40 to prevent the markers 16, 18 & from escaping. An "up" arrow 42 is also provided to indicate which way up.

the tester should be used (bearing in mind that the highest density marker should be at the bottom). ...

Claims

Claims: 1. An apparatus for ascertaining whether a liquid has a required

minimum density, the apparatus comprising a marker disposed within a body, the body having an aperture therein through which the liquid can pass and means for drawing the liquid through the aperture into the body, wherein the marker is relatively free to move within the body and has a density equal to the required minimum density of the liquid such that if the liquid has less than the required minimum density, the marker sinks.
2. An apparatus for ascertaining whether a liquid has a required maximum density, the apparatus comprising a marker disposed within a body, the body having an aperture therein through which the liquid can pass and means for drawing the liquid through the aperture into the body, wherein the marker is relatively free to move within the body and has a density equal to the required maximum density of the liquid such that if the density of the liquid is greater than the required maximum density, the marker floats.
3. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2, having a plurality of markers. -
4. An apparatus as claimed in claim 3, wherein the markers have different. ., densities. .-
5. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1 or in claim 3 and 4 when appended to.

claim 1, wherein a selection of markers are provided having a have densities equal to, greater than and/or less than the required minimum...

density.
6. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1 or in claim 3 and 4 when appended to claim 2, wherein a selection of markers are provided having a have densities equal to, greater than and/or less than the required maximum density.
7. An apparatus as claimed in claim 5 or claim 6, wherein the markers are arranged in order of density such that denser markers are not buoyed-up by less dense markers when the apparatus is in use.
8. An apparatus as claimed in any one of claims 3 to 7, in which the markers are too large to pass one another within the body such that they remain in a desired order.
9. An apparatus as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the marker or markers are calibrated and carry a certification mark.
10.An apparatus as claimed in claim 9, wherein the certification mark is fused into or indelibly affixed to the marker
11.An apparatus as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 19, further comprising an indicator to indicate a preferred orientation of the body.
12.An apparatus as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 11, wherein the marker or markers are manufactured of hollow glass spheres.
13.An apparatus as claimed in any one of claims1 to 11, wherein the marker or markers are manufactured of plastics materials. . .
14.An apparatus as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 13, wherein the marker or markers are colour coded for ease of use. .
15.An apparatus as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 14, wherein the body has graduations thereon. . .
16.An apparatus as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 15, wherein the body is manufactured of a durable and/or lightweight material.
17.An apparatus as claimed in claim 16, wherein the durable and/or lightweight material is plastic.
18.An apparatus as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 16, wherein the body is manufactured of glass.
19.An apparatus as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 18, wherein the body is transparent or translucent to permit visual inspection of the marker or markers.
20.An apparatus as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 19, wherein the cross- section of the body is non-circular to inhibit or prevent rolling on surfaces.
21.An apparatus as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 20, wherein the aperture is smaller than the marker or markers to prevent the marker or markers from escaping the body.
22.An apparatus as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 21, wherein the aperture is necked.
23.An apparatus as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 22, wherein the means for drawing liquid into the body comprises a plunger slidable within the body such that sliding the plunger creates a vacuum or pressure that can . -e either draw or expel liquid into or out of the body respectively. .
24.An apparatus as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 22, wherein the means for drawing liquid into the body comprises a resiliently deformable bulb that, - ..

can be squeezed and released to create a vacuum or pressure to either e .e - draw or expel beverage into or out of the body respectively. ...
25.An apparatus as claimed in claim 24, further comprising an expansion chamber such that the internal volume of the body is more than that of the bulb to prevent beverage from being inadvertently drawn up into the bulb.
26.An apparatus as claimed in claim 25, wherein the expansion chamber has a non-circular cross-section to prevent the apparatus from rolling when placed on surfaces.
27.An apparatus as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 22 comprising a tubular body with open ends that can be lowered into the liquid to fill the body and sealed with finger pressure applied to one open end such that when the body is removed from the liquid, the liquid inside the body is unable to escape.
28.An apparatus as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the apparatus is adapted for use as a beverage tester.
29.An apparatus as claimed in claim 28, adapted for testing the alcohol content of liquors.
30.An apparatus as claimed in any one of claims 3 to 29 when appended to claim 1, wherein the required minimum density corresponds to liquors having an alcohol content of 35%,37.5%,40% or 45%, by volume.
31.An apparatus as claimed in any one of claims 3 to 29 when appended to claim 2, wherein the required maximum density corresponds to liquors having an alcohol content of 35%, 37.5%,40% or 45%, by volume.
32.A method of ascertaining whether a liquid has a required minimum density, comprising the steps of; drawing a quantity of liquid into the body of an apparatus comprising a marker disposed within the body, the body having an aperture therein through which the liquid can pass and means for drawing the liquid through the aperture into the body, wherein the marker is relatively free to move within the body and has a density equal to the required minimum density of the liquid; inspecting the marker to see whether it sinks in the liquid; and if the marker sinks, concluding that the liquid has a density less than the required minimum density; if the marker floats, concluding that the liquid has a density greater than the required minimum density; and if the marker is suspended in the liquid, concluding that the liquid has a density equal to the required minimum density.
33.A method as claimed in claim 32, wherein a plurality of markers is provided for determining whether the density of the liquid falls within a specified range.
34.A method as claimed in claim 31 or claim 32, wherein the density of the marker or markers are selected for use in conjunction with beverages.
35.A method as claimed in any one of claims 32 to 34, wherein the density of the marker or markers corresponds to liquor containing 35%, 37.5%, 40% or 40% alcohol by volume.
36.An apparatus substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.
37.A method substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as :.

illustrated in the accompanying drawings. . : : a: