KR20160010281A - An Electrical Appliance for Processing a Beverage - Google Patents

Abstract

By passing oxygen through the beverage for a predetermined period of time, an apparatus is provided for automatically breathing a beverage such as red wine. The apparatus is equipped with an air treatment system which processes the air to collect an oxygen content of 90% oxygen capacity or higher, including the atmosphere. The apparatus includes a controller for automatically controlling parameters of the oxygen breathing process, the duration including a period for delivery of oxygen enriched air to a predetermined beverage according to one or more characters or vases of the beverage.

Description

[0001] An Electrical Appliance for Processing Beverages [

The present invention relates to an electric appliance for beverage processing for improving preparation for beverages, and in particular for treating alcoholic beverages such as red wines.

Some wines need to be allowed to breathe for a certain period of time before the beverage to improve the tenderness of the wine's taste, and to improve the flavor of the wine, to reduce or eliminate any bad water vapor . The process of breathing the wine includes exposing the wine to air for a predetermined period of time. Oxygen in the air is activated in the wine and acts to reduce the aroma and flavor in the wine.

Breathing wine is generally associated with red wine, although some white wines are beneficial from this process. The degree to which a wine is allowed to be struck by air depends on many factors, including the type of wine, the age of the wine, the type of grapes used in the wine making, the temperature of the wine, the ambient temperature, It is different. In effect, beneficial wines by breathing have unique requirements for breathing to successfully improve the taste of the wine before the beverage.

One way to breathe wine is to simply remove the cork or open the wine bottle to allow the wine to rest. However, the narrow neck of the wine bottle limits airflow to such an extent that the wine is not considered an efficient way to breathe because the required period of time is exceeded to achieve certain results.

A more traditional way in which wine can blow air is to decant the wine into a jug or wine decanter. Wine decanters have a wide open neck that allows air to flow relatively unrestrictedly over the surface of the wine, but even this process has disadvantages. One disadvantage is that for some wines it may take an hour or more to allow the aeration process to be completed with an open decanter of wines exposed to pests such as insects during this period.

In order to overcome the disadvantages associated with the traditional use of wine decanters, many devices have been known for allowing the user to pass air through the wine while the wine is being followed. Such devices frequently include an infusion funnel to pass air through the structure in the funnel which interferes with the flow of wine as the wine is poured through the funnel into the glass and inflow air into the wine when the flow is disturbed. A disadvantage of such a device is that they do not identify other wines and must consider other requirements for the airflow required by such wines.

In addition, known devices for air-rated wines, including decanters, can be used to measure the degree of aeration, such as that which must be measured for a predetermined period of time, often including an assessment of the ambient temperature that a particular wine may require, There are disadvantages that depend on experience. However, vintage wines made from different vaginal and / or other raw materials (e.g. vineyards) may have different air exposure conditions, so even wine connoisseurs may have difficulty in achieving the task successfully .

An important factor when airrating wine is that it does not increase the oxygen concentration in the air to expose the wine to oxygen, nor to any known devices to air the wine.

Other beverages may have advantages from being airrated prior to drinking.

It is an object of the present invention to alleviate or eliminate to some extent one or more of the problems associated with known methods and devices for airrating wine.

Said object being achieved by a combination of features of the main claims; The dependent claims disclose further advantageous embodiments of the invention.

It is another object of the present invention to improve the oxygen concentration in the air to aerate the beverage in improving the preparation for the beverage.

It is another object of the present invention to provide means for automatically airrating a beverage based on the beverage's characters or parameters.

It is another object of the present invention to provide means for automatically airrating a beverage for a time period determined by the user or automatically determined based on the beverage's characters or parameters.

Those skilled in the art will realize other objects of the invention in the following description. Therefore, the above-described objects are not exhaustive and merely provide some of the many objects of the present invention.

The present invention provides an apparatus for automatically breathing a beverage such as red wine by passing oxygen through the beverage for a predetermined period of time. The device includes an electrically powered mechanism. The apparatus has an air treatment system which processes air to collect an oxygen content of 90% oxygen capacity or higher, preferably atmospheric, even if the level of oxygen content is sufficient or adequate for some beverages However, in some embodiments, the oxygen breathing the beverage may comprise the atmosphere or may comprise a supply of pure oxygen. In the case of the supply of pure oxygen, it may comprise a source prepared in advance for pure or near-pure oxygen. The apparatus includes a controller that automatically controls parameters of the oxygen breathing process. One parameter may comprise a cycle for the supply of oxygen enriched air to the beverage, said cycle being preset according to one or more characteristics or qualities of the beverage. The set period can be determined automatically by the device or through user input to the device. Other parameters may include the temperature of the beverage, ambient temperature, beverage type, beverage volume, and the like.

In a first aspect, the present invention provides an electrical apparatus for automatically processing beverages. The electric device includes an inlet through which air is introduced; An air treatment device for concentrating oxygen by stretching in air; And an outlet for delivering oxygen enriched air to the beverage under pressure. The device may control the automatic delivery of oxygen to the beverage for a predetermined or user-set period of time. Concentrating the amount of oxygen has the advantage of improving the airrating process and significantly speeding up the process. The apparatus includes a percentage concentration of oxygen in oxygen enriched air; Flow rate of oxygen enriched air; And the cycle of the oxygen enriched air delivered to the beverage.

(E.g., greater than 30%, greater than 50%, or even greater) than the percent oxygen capacity of oxygen greater than atmospheric, i.e., greater than 21%, and preferably substantially greater than, 70% or more, but preferably not more than 90%).

In one embodiment, the oxygen concentrator is operated to provide oxygen enriched air having an adjustable oxygen percentage by at least 30% capacity.

In one embodiment, the device may be arranged to supply oxygen enriched air under pressure to the beverage contained in the container. The device may be arranged to supply oxygen enriched air to a beverage such as a bottle, glass or wine contained in a decanter.

In one embodiment, the device may be arranged to deliver oxygen enriched air to the beverage under pressure as the beverage is injected into the container. The apparatus may be arranged such that the flow of oxygen-enriched air through the outlet under pressure transports the beverage to the vessel and draws the beverage from the vessel to supply oxygen enriched air to the beverage injected under pressure. In this embodiment, the beverage, i.e., red wine, is air-laid (i.e., vented) to the oxygen rich air being injected.

Preferably the apparatus further comprises a support plate adapted for receiving the container or container. The support plate includes an upper surface of the device, but preferably includes a surface extending in front of the device adjacent the outlet. Also preferably, the mechanism comprises an outlet conduit extending to the support plate. The conduit may extend to the support plate to deliver oxygen enriched air under pressure to a container contained on the support plate or to beverage contained within the container.

In one embodiment, the conduit may extend downwardly on the support plate to enter the container received on the support plate.

In one embodiment, the conduit may extend from the support plate to the support plate outlet port, and the support plate outlet port may sealably engage the intake port of the container received on the support plate, Oxygen-enriched air under pressure through the port can be provided as a beverage contained within the container.

In one embodiment, the conduit may extend into the support plate to draw beverage from the container received on the support plate, transfer the introduced beverage to the container, and deliver oxygen enriched air to the beverage under pressure as it is transported to the container.

In one embodiment, the outlet comprises a first downwardly extending tubular part that enters the container, a second downwardly extending tubular part at a T junction between the first downwardly extending tubular part and the second horizontally extending tubular part And a T-shaped conduit having a second horizontally extending tubular portion having a narrow region. Thus, the flow of oxygen enriched air through the narrow region of the second horizontal extension tubular portion causes a suction force to be generated in the first downward extension tubular portion to stop the beverage contained in the container, and through the outlet region of the second horizontal extension tubular portion Can be transported. The first downwardly extending tubular portion of the outlet conduit may extend to allow the end of the tubular portion to enter the container and extend below the beverage side. The first downwardly extending tubular portion of the outlet conduit may extend telescopically or spirally.

Preferably, the air treatment apparatus includes an oxygen concentration device that removes some or most of the gas other than oxygen from the atmosphere to provide an oxygen concentration error. Also preferably, the concentrator comprises a molecular sieve which removes some or most of the gas other than oxygen from the atmospheric air to supply oxygen enriched air. The molecular sieve may comprise two zeolite-containing vessels using nitrogen to remove nitrogen from the atmosphere using a zeolite material and operating a pressure swing adsorption process to provide oxygen enriched air. The oxygen concentrator may be operated to provide oxygen enriched air having at least 30% capacity, at least 50% oxygen capacity or at least 70% oxygen capacity or preferably at least 90% oxygen capacity.

In one embodiment, the device can control the discharge of the initially treated air to the atmosphere before delivering oxygen enriched air under pressure to the beverage. The apparatus may be configured such that after the treated air containing oxygen enriched air is delivered to the apparatus outlet, the treated air is discharged to the atmosphere until the oxygen concentration reaches a predetermined threshold value, or oxygen enriched To control the discharge of the initially treated air to the atmosphere for a set period so that the oxygen enriched air can reach a predetermined threshold value in the treated air after the treated air containing air is delivered to the apparatus outlet have.

Preferably, the mechanism comprises a secondary battery power supply for use in an environment such as a restaurant where the appliance is not easy to connect the appliance to the main power supply. Preferably, the air treatment apparatus further comprises a storage tank for storing oxygen enriched air under pressure for auxiliary use, wherein at least oxygen rich enriched air Lt; / RTI >

In one embodiment, the device may comprise a sensor for detecting the temperature of the beverage.

In one embodiment, the apparatus comprises a beverage storage tank and may include a cooling system for cooling the beverage stored in the storage tank.

In one embodiment, the mechanism may comprise a refrigeration system, wherein the support plate comprises a cooling plate cooled by the refrigerant cooled from the cooling system, and the beverage contained in the container contained on the container or support plate Can be cooled.

In one embodiment, the apparatus can include a beverage storage tank and a heating system for heating the beverage stored in the storage tank. The support plate may include a hot plate heated by the heating system to heat the beverage contained in the container received on the container or support plate.

Advantageously, the mechanism comprises a communication module connected to the communication network to download data from the computer system. It may also have a machine readable media module or port, such as a USB port, an SD port, etc., that accepts a machine readable medium.

Also preferably, the device is a scanning system that automatically recognizes characters of labels, indicia, codes including bar code and QR code, or other information running on the beverage container or label of the beverage container, Respectively. The scanning system may include a camera and module running recognition software, although any suitable scanner, such as a bar code reader, may be used.

Preferably, a computer implemented controller of the apparatus analyzes the information obtained from the scanning system and controls the operation of the apparatus in accordance with the data obtained from the analyzed information. The controller determines an appropriate beverage processing program from the data obtained from the analyzed information and controls the mechanism to implement the program when the analyzed information is processed. The beverage processing program includes control parameters: time for transfer of oxygen enriched air to the beverage; An oxygen concentration level of the oxygen enriched air; And any combination of the flow rates of the oxygen enriched air. The controller may retrieve the appropriate beverage processing program from memory or from a database. The database may comprise a networked database. The apparatus may comprise a control panel including user input means by which a user may adjust some of the control parameters of the beverage processing program.

The apparatus of the present invention is particularly adapted to treat red wines, but can be used to air other types of alcohol and non-alcoholic beverages.

In a second main aspect, the present invention provides a beverage processing method comprising automatically passing oxygen enriched air under pressure over a predetermined period of time. The method may be carried out in an inlet with an inlet in the atmosphere, an air treatment device for concentrating oxygen by stretching in air, and an outlet for delivering oxygen enriched air to the beverage under pressure.

In a third aspect, the invention provides an apparatus for treating beverages. The device comprises an electric device according to the first aspect of the invention; And a container or container received on a support plate of the device.

In a fourth aspect, the invention relates to an apparatus comprising: an outlet for delivering oxygen to a beverage under pressure; A controller for automatically controlling the delivery of oxygen to the beverage; And a communication module for downloading data from the computer system to connect to the communication network. The communication module is connected to the network to download data containing processing characters for the new beverage so that the controller can automatically control oxygen delivery to such beverages.

In a fifth aspect, the invention relates to an apparatus comprising: an outlet for delivering oxygen to a beverage under pressure; A controller for automatically controlling the delivery of oxygen to the beverage; And a scanning system that automatically recognizes characters of labels, indicia, codes including bar code and QR code, or other information carried on the beverage container or the label of the beverage container. The scanning system may include a camera and module driven recognition software.

In a sixth aspect, the present invention provides a method of producing oxygen, comprising: an outlet for delivering oxygen to the beverage under pressure; A controller for automatically controlling the delivery of oxygen to the beverage; And temperature sensing means for determining the temperature of the beverage to be treated.

In a seventh aspect, the present invention relates to a method for controlling an electrical device, when executed by a controller of an electrical device according to any one of the first, fourth, fifth or sixth main aspects of the present invention, A computer program product comprising machine readable instructions for performing steps of the method.

Among some of the key aspects of the present invention, in particular the fourth to sixth aspects, the oxygen can comprise an untreated atmosphere, an oxygen gas already close to pure or pure, or oxygen enriched air obtained from the atmosphere by means of an apparatus have.

The summary of the invention does not necessarily describe all features that are important to the invention; The present invention can be in sub-combinations of the disclosed features.

The present invention can improve the oxygen concentration in the air to aerate the beverage in improving the readiness for the beverage.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The above and further features of the present invention will become apparent from the following description in the preferred embodiments provided by way of example only in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
1 is a block diagram showing the structure of an electric device according to an embodiment of the present invention.
2 is a block diagram illustrating a structure of a mechanism according to an embodiment of the present invention connected to a communication network;
3 is a perspective view of a device according to another embodiment of the present invention.
Figure 4 is a side cross-sectional view of the instrument of Figure 3;
5 is an enlarged view of the circular portion of Fig.
6 is a side cross-sectional view of a mechanism according to another embodiment of the present invention.
7 is an enlarged view of the circular portion of Fig.
Figure 8 is a top cross-sectional view of the instrument of Figure 6;
Figure 9 is an enlarged view of the circular portion of Figure 8;
10 is a perspective view of a device according to another embodiment of the present invention.
11 is a side cross-sectional view of the mechanism of Fig.
Figure 12 is a top cross-sectional view of the instrument of Figure 10;
13 is a side cross-sectional view of a mechanism according to another embodiment of the present invention.
14 is a side cross-sectional view of a mechanism according to another embodiment of the present invention.
15 is a side cross-sectional view of a mechanism according to another embodiment of the present invention.
16 is a perspective view of a device according to another embodiment of the present invention.
17 is a side cross-sectional view of the mechanism of Fig.
18 is another cross-sectional side view of the instrument of Fig.
19 is a perspective view of a device according to another embodiment of the present invention.
20 is a side cross-sectional view of the mechanism of Fig.
21 is another cross-sectional side view of the instrument of Fig.
22 is an enlarged view of a control circuit element of some embodiments of the present invention.
23 is a perspective view of a device according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.
24 is a side cross-sectional view of the mechanism of Fig.
25 is an enlarged view of the circular area of Fig.
26 is another cross-sectional side view of the mechanism of Fig. 23. Fig.
27 is a perspective view of a device according to another preferred embodiment of the present invention.
28 is a side sectional view of the mechanism of Fig. 27;
29 is a perspective view of a mechanism according to another embodiment of the present invention.
30 is a side cross-sectional view of the mechanism of Fig. 29;
31 is a cross-sectional view illustrating the rear of the mechanism of Fig. 29;

The description below is directed to a preferred embodiment without being limited to a combination of features necessary for carrying out the invention by way of example only.

Reference in the specification to "one embodiment" or "an embodiment" means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic associated with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the invention. The appearances of the phrase "in one embodiment " in various places within the specification are not necessarily all that relate to the same embodiment, or are not mutually exclusive separate or alternative embodiments for other embodiments. In addition, various features may be represented by some embodiments and may not be represented by others. Similarly, the various requirements may be a requirement for some embodiments, not other embodiments.

Moreover, all statements herein, including principles, aspects, and embodiments of the invention, as well as specific examples, are intended to cover structural and functional equivalents. In addition, such equivalents are intended to include currently known equivalents as well as equivalents developed in the future, i.e., any elements developed to perform the same function regardless of structure.

The present invention provides an apparatus for automatically breathing a beverage such as red wine by passing oxygen through the beverage. The apparatus preferably comprises an atmosphere and contains an oxygen content of 90% oxygen or a higher oxygen content, even if a low level of oxygen concentration such as 30%, 50% or 70% is sufficient or desirable for some beverages And an air treatment system for collecting the collected air. The oxygen concentrator may be operable to provide oxygen enriched air having an adjustable percentage of oxygen by at least 30% volume. However, in some embodiments, at least 50%, at least 70%, or at least 90% can be adjusted. The apparatus includes a controller that automatically controls one or more parameters for the oxygen breathing process. The parameters may include a period for delivery of the oxygen enriched air to the beverage according to one or more features or beverage quality and / or user input to the apparatus. Other parameters may include the treated air and the flow rate, for example, the concentration level of oxygen at the volumetric flow rate of the treated air delivered to the beverage. Therefore, the apparatus may include a sensor for detecting the oxygen concentration level in the treated air, and a flow meter for measuring the flow rate of the treated air or gas.

1 shows a block diagram of an electrical device 10 for automatic treatment of beverages according to the present invention. The device 10 comprises an air inlet port 12 for drawing the atmosphere into the device 10 and an air treatment device 14 for enriching the oxygen by stretching in air. The device 10 includes an outlet port 16 for delivering oxygen enriched air under pressure to a beverage to be processed by the device 10. The air filter 18 is provided to the filter drawn in the atmosphere to remove debris and dust and is even granulated before the air reaches the oxygen concentrator 14. [ A compressor (20) is provided for pumping the filtered air to the oxygen concentrator (14). Oxygen enriched air exiting the oxygen concentrator 14 under pressure can cause the storage tank 22 (shown in Figure 1) to temporarily store pressurized oxygen suspended / enriched air, although in some embodiments, Is delivered to the outlet port 16, although it may be provided as means for storing treated air for a longer period of time for auxiliary use. In some embodiments, the device may be arranged to deliver the filtered atmosphere to a beverage in which an oxygen enrichment device is not required.

The instrument 10 comprises a computer implemented controller 24. The controller 24 controls the operation of all the functions of the mechanism 10. [ The controller 24 includes at least one processor 26 and at least one memory 28 but may include a number of other processors, And other modules (27).

The power supply 30 of the device 10 may include a main power supply, but in some embodiments it may be removed for charging on an external charger module (not shown) or the battery power supply may be removed Which can be replaced by a secondary battery power supply. In a further embodiment, the mechanism is provided between the main power supply and the secondary battery power supply, wherein the controller 24 may include a charger circuit for charging the battery power supply from the main power supply. Providing the appliance 10 with a secondary battery power supply may allow the appliance 10 to operate at a service point or at a customer table within a restaurant where it is not convenient to connect the appliance 10 to the main power supply. table can be used in the same environment.

The communication module 29 may be provided as one means for connecting the device 10 to the network (FIG. 2). The communication module allows wirelessly connecting the device to the network via Wi-Fi ( ^TM ), Bluetooth ( ^TM ), or the like. The device may be arranged to be controlled by another device, such as a smart phone or tablet computer, via remote control using Bluetooth or other short range wireless communication protocol. Optionally or additionally, the device 10 may include a port 31, such as a suitable network-enabled port 31 for connecting the device 10 to a router or the like via a cable. The suitable networkable port 31 may be provided by the communication module 29 (see FIG. 1) or the controller 24.

The oxygen concentrator 14 may include some suitable molecular sieve devices to increase oxygen concentration in the atmosphere. However, it preferably comprises a zeolite based oxygen concentrator apparatus 14 which operates a pressure swing adsorption process. As such, the oxygen concentrator 14 includes first and second zeolite-containing vessels 32,34. The oxygen concentrator 14 removes some or most of the gas other than oxygen, such as nitrogen, from the atmosphere to provide oxygen enriched air or oxygen suspended air.

During operation of the oxygen concentrator 14 at high pressure, nitrogen focuses only on the zeolite surface. Since the zeolite is porous, it has a very large surface area and can absorb a large amount of gas. The nitrogen is reduced at a low pressure. The oxygen concentrator 14 includes a variable valve 36 that is operated in sequence on a half-cycle basis to direct directly pressurized air to the first and second zeolite vessels 32, .

The oxygen enrichment process cycles to each cycle having two halves of the same duration. The cycle can be described with respect to the first container 32 below. In the first half of the cycle, the first vessel (32) receives air from the compressor (20). The first half cycle usually lasts approximately 3 seconds but may last longer. During that time, the pressure in the first vessel 32 rises from atmospheric pressure to several times the normal atmospheric pressure (usually 2020 psi / 138 kPa gauge, or 2.36 absolute atmosphere) and the zeolite material is pumped in the additional atmosphere by oxygen concentration To be saturated with nitrogen. At the first half of the cycle, the gas in the first vessel 32 comes close to pure oxygen, even though there is a small amount of argon, CO2, water vapor, radon and other small atmospheric constituents. A swing valve 36 is opened to allow gas to flow into the pressure equalizing reservoir 38. At the end of the first half of the cycle there is another valve position change so that the air from the compressor 20 is directed to the second vessel 34. Since oxygen enriched air (substantially pure oxygen) in the first vessel 32 flows into the reservoir 38, the pressure in the first vessel 32 falls and the nitrogen adsorbed on the zeolite is backwardly reduced to gas And the oxygen concentration drops. There is another valve change in which, as it passes through the first half of the cycle, the gas in the first vessel 32 is vented to the atmosphere through each vent 40, 42. The swing adsorption process preferably prevents the oxygen concentration from dropping in the pressure equalization reservoir 38 by about 90%. The pressure in the path 33 that transfers the oxygen enriched air from the equilibrium reservoir 38 to the outlet 16 is maintained relatively stable by the pressure relief valve 44.

In some embodiments, the oxygen concentrator 14 may be operated to provide oxygen enriched air having an oxygen volume of at least 50% or an oxygen volume of at least 70%, but may be operated to provide an oxygen volume of at least 90% .

In one embodiment, the device 10 may control the discharge of oxygen-enriched air under pressure to the atmosphere, prior to transferring the oxygen-enriched air through the outlet port 16 to the beverage. The apparatus 10 discharges the initially treated air to the atmosphere until the oxygen concentration reaches a set minimum threshold level in the treated air after the treated air containing oxygen enriched air is delivered to the apparatus outlet port 16 Can be controlled. To this end, an oxygen level detector may be provided in the instrument 10. However, it is preferred that the initially treated air is vented to the atmosphere for a set period of time in order to allow the oxygen concentration in the treated air to reach a predetermined minimum threshold level. This is because the controller 24 requires only timing control and does not require any oxygen level detecting means.

2, which shows a block diagram of a device 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention, the device 10 may be connected to a communication network 50, such as the Internet. The device 10 may be wirelessly connected to the network 50 via a communication module 29 or via an electrical connection such as a cable plugged into the networkable port 31 of the device (i.e., an Ethernet cable). As described in more detail below, the mechanism may connect to the server 52 and / or the database 54 via the network 50 to download data to the apparatus. In some embodiments, the data download may include a computer program software update for the controller 24. In the same or other embodiments, the data download may include downloading data related to the beverage so that the apparatus can automatically process the beverage according to the characteristics or parameters of the beverage. The data download may update the database of the furniture 10 that includes the onboard memory 28 or the beverage processing program. The mechanism 10 can upload data to the server 52 and / or the database 54, which allows the user of the apparatus 10 to send data to the server 52 and / Lt; / RTI > subscription service.

Reference is now made to Figs. 3 to 9 which illustrate a number of embodiments of the instrument 10 according to the present invention. In all of the embodiments of FIGS. 3-9, the instrument 10 includes a barrel-shaped housing 100 having a support plate 102 for receiving a container such as a wine bottle 104. The power switch 101 is provided in front of the support plate 102, although it may be provided elsewhere on the mechanism 10. A control panel 103 is provided on the upper region of the housing 100 to receive user input and / or provide information to the user at the device 10. The housing (100) has an inlet port (12) and an outlet port (16). The inlet port 12 is connected to a compressor 20 which is in turn connected to the inlet of the oxygen concentrator 14 via a swing valve 36. The oxygen concentrator 14 may include a pump 106 for additionally pressurizing the oxygen enriched air to escape any type of molecular sieve 32, 34 as described above.

The outlet port 16 of the device 10 for delivering oxygen to the beverage is provided with a first downwardly extending tubular portion 108a for entering the container and a second downwardly extending tubular portion 108b between the first downwardly extending tubular portion 108a and the second horizontally extending tubular portion 108b And a T-shaped conduit 108 (Figures 5,7 and 9) having a second horizontal extension tubular portion 108b with a narrow region 110 at the T junction of the T-junction. The pressurized oxygen enriched air flowing through the narrow region 110 of the second horizontal aligned tubular portion 108b is directed toward the outlet region 112 of the second horizontal extension tubular portion 108b when the beverage contained in the container 104 is withdrawn, A Venturi effect suction force is generated by the Bernoulli Principle at the first downwardly extending tubular portion 108a to be conveyed through the first downwardly extending tubular portion 108a.

The first downwardly extending tubular portion 108a of the outlet conduit 108 extends to allow the end of the tubular portion 108a to enter the container 104 located within the support plate 102, Lt; RTI ID = 0.0 > downwardly < / RTI > The first downwardly extending tubular portion 108a of the outlet conduit 108 may extend telescopically (see FIG. 4) or spirally extend (see FIG. 6). In the embodiment of Figure 4, the first downwardly extending tubular portion 108a of the outlet conduit 108 includes a connector 114 and first and second telescoping tubes 114a, 114b. In Fig. 6, the spirally extending first downwardly extending tubular portion 108a includes a screw connector 116 and a shed 116a.

The output 112 of the second horizontal extension tubular portion 108b extends outwardly from the housing 100 with a downturned portion 112a that directs the beverage to a container such as a glass 118 . In operation, the process of inhaling a beverage, such as wine, from the container 104 using the pressurized flow of oxygen from the oxygen concentrator 14 will cause oxygen suspended air (substantially pure oxygen) , The process increases considerably as much as a very high percentage of oxygen in oxygen enriched air.

Reference is now made to Figs. 10-15 showing a number of further embodiments of the instrument 10 according to the present invention. In all embodiments, the instrument 10 includes a housing 100 of barrel type. While the embodiments of Figs. 10-15 share many features with the embodiment of Figs. 3-9, there are a number of differences. The primary difference is that in the embodiment of Figures 10 to 15, the main aerating process of the beverage using oxygen enriched air is an open necked flask, Decanter or zerg.

10-12, the action of transferring the wine from the bottle 104 to the container 118 is such that the wine or beverage is delivered to the container 118 in the form of a flask and the second horizontal Except for the fact that the elongated tubular portion 108b extends outwardly from the housing 100 with the lower portion extending downwardly towards the wine contained in the container 118 and the container 118, 9 < / RTI > In operation, the process of sucking a beverage, such as wine, from the container 104 using the pressurized flow of oxygen from the oxygen concentrator 14, when delivered to the vessel 118, ), But the main aeration process lasts in the vessel 118 due to the continuous flow of oxygen towards the beverage contained in the vessel 118. The time lapse of this process may be determined by processing the control data retrieved by the controller 24 for user input at the control panel 103 and / or from the memory 28 or network database 54 under the automatic control of the controller 24 Can be a countermeasure against.

The other difference between the embodiments of FIGS. 10-15 and the embodiments of FIGS. 3-9 is that the former embodiments include the beverage storage tank 120. In addition, the cooling system 122 may be provided to cool the stored beverage. The cooling system 122 may be arranged to cool only the beverage stored in the storage tank 120. However, in addition to, or as an alternative to, cooling the stored beverage, the cooling system 122 may provide cooled refrigerant to the cooling plate 124 within the support plate 12 to cool the container or support plate 102 Thereby cooling the beverage contained in the container accommodated in the container.

In some embodiments, the device 10 may be provided with a heating system to heat or warm the beverage stored in the storage tank 120 as an alternative to or in addition to the cooling system 120. The support plate 102 may include a hot plate heated by the heating system to heat the beverage contained in the container 118 contained in the container or support plate 102.

In the embodiment of Figure 13, the outlet port conduit 108 is not overlaid on the support plate 102 and does not include a T-shaped conduit as in other embodiments. In this embodiment, the pressurized flow of oxygen is not used to withdraw the beverage from a container such as a container or bottle. The beverage is manually positioned within the container 118 located on the extended support plate 102. The outlet port conduit 108 includes one passageway extending into the support plate outlet port 102a at the bottom of the support plate 102. [ The support plate outlet port 102a seals the intake port 118a of the container 118 received on the support plate 102 to seal the oxygen enriched air under pressure through the container intake port 118a into the container 118 To the beverage contained in the beverage.

The embodiment of the instrument 10 of Figures 14 and 15 is similar to the embodiment of Figure 13 in that it does not have a suction function at the outlet port 16 but the outlet port conduit 108 is arranged in a similar manner to other embodiments Which differs from the embodiment of FIG. 13 in that it extends above the extended support plate 102.

Reference is now made to Figs. 16-22 showing a further embodiment of a device 10 according to the present invention. The embodiments of Figures 16-21 include a scanning system 130 that automatically recognizes the codes of characters, indicia, bar code and QR code, or any other information or beverage container running on the beverage container 16 to 18 are much the same as the embodiments of Figs. 10 to 12, and the embodiment of Figs. 19 to 21 is substantially the same as the embodiment of Figs. 13 to 15. Fig. The scanning system 130 may include an image camera 132 and an image sensor 134 under the control of the controller 24. The controller 24 implements camera image module drive recognition software, etc., even if some suitable scanner, such as a bar code reader, is used in other embodiments. The controller 24 analyzes the information obtained from the scanning system 130 and controls the operation of the mechanism 10 according to the data obtained by the analyzed information. The controller 24 can determine an appropriate beverage processing program from the data obtained from the analyzed information and control the instrument 10 to execute the program when the analyzed information processes the obtained beverage. The beverage treatment program includes a time distance for the delivery of oxygen enriched air to the beverage but may include other factors such as the set temperature of the beverage, the flow rate of oxygen enriched air, and / or the oxygen concentration level in oxygen enriched air . It will be appreciated that the oxygen concentration level in the treated atmospheric state can be controlled through control of the cycle time of the pressure swing adsorption process in an oxygen concentration apparatus. As such, the instrument 10 includes a sensor for detecting the temperature of the beverage, and the information about the detected temperature may be included in the process of determining an appropriate processing program for execution via the controller 24. [ In some embodiments, the detection temperature of the beverage can be used by the controller 24 to control the cooling system to reduce the temperature of the beverage or the heating system to raise the temperature of the beverage. The apparatus includes a flow meter for measuring the flow rate of the treated air and a sensor for detecting the oxygen concentration level in the treated air.

When scanning information related to beverages such as those provided on wine bottle labels, the user holds the bottle adjacent to the camera and rotates slowly to allow the camera to see all or part of the label. The controller 24 may be arranged to execute software for recognizing and interpreting characters (i.e., characters) on the label. For example, the recognition of the wine name and the year of the vintage may be various information useful for retrieving a series of process control steps for processing of the beverage recognized from the memory 28 or database 52. In addition, the controller can recognize label symbols such as trademarks or commodity enclosures routinely found on wine bottle labels. In addition, the health controller 24 determines the amount of beverage and, therefore, even though the amount of beverage in some embodiments is assumed to be the amount of standard bottles (e.g., 750 ml in the case of wine bottles) The control steps can be adjusted.

The series of control steps may include regulating the cycle for delivering oxygen to the wine contained in the vessel under pressure, but may include adjusting the temperature of the wine. The advantage of the scanning system 130 is that the user of the apparatus need not be skilled in adjusting the aeration of the wine before it is consumed.

Figure 22 illustrates a method for manually setting parameters for processing a beverage when the user wants to do so or when the scanning system fails to recognize information about the beverage container label and can not automatically retrieve the appropriate processing program 1 shows one embodiment of a user control interface 103 for a mechanism 10 provided with at least one or more time setting buttons 103a and an oxygen enrichment key 103b to enable the user to set the time. The control interface 103 may include display means 107 for displaying other input means and data to the user.

Figs. 23-28 illustrate preferred embodiments of the present invention having many features of the embodiments already described for the instrument 10 together.

23-26, which more clearly illustrate how the outlet port 102a of the support plate 102 in Figure 25 engages the inlet port 118a of the container 118 to seal, the support plate 102, Includes an input tube 140a and an output tube 140b that are connected to each other by a hollow base member 140c. The outlet port conduit 108 of the device is connected to be sealed to the inlet tube 140a while the inlet port 118a of the container 118 is engaged to be sealed to the outlet tube 140b. A deformable seal 142, which is certified as a good seal and provided on the outlet tube 140b, is fabricated into an inlet port 118a of the vessel 118. [ The inlet port 118a of the vessel 118 extends upwardly as an inverted tube 144 inside the vessel 118 while other air lock tube systems can alternatively be used for the inverted U- It will be understood.

The embodiment of the instrument 10 of Figures 27 and 28 uses an outlet port conduit 108 that extends above the support plate 102 in another embodiment.

The preferred embodiments of FIGS. 23-25 may have select buttons 150 disposed on the support plate 102 or elsewhere on the instrument 10. The selection buttons 150 are disposed around the periphery of the support plate 102. The buttons may be programmable soft user actuated buttons that allow the user to select a processing program suitable for the identified wine by activating the button 150 assigned to the wine (or beverage). The buttons 150 may have a fixed layout or may be programmed so that the user can program the buttons to illuminate user selections for desirable beverage processing.

In some other embodiments, embodiments of the instrument 10 of Figures 23-28 include a communication module for wireless connection to a scanning system, network, and the like.

29 to 31 show another preferred embodiment of the present invention encompassing many of the above-described aspects of the present invention. In this embodiment, the support plate includes a temperature sensor 170 that detects the temperature of the beverage contained in the decanter vessel being received and used on the support plate. The detection temperature of the beverage can be used to set or adjust one or more parameters of the beverage processing program. Additionally or alternatively, the sensed temperature may be displayed on the numerical display screen of the means 107 of the control interface 103. The temperature sensor 170 measures the temperature of the beverage in contact with the outer surface of the container containing the beverage when the container is able to measure the temperature through the optical means using an infrared beam projected onto the support plate, And can be deployed to determine.

In addition, the control interface 103 can be supplemented with numeric keypad and other input buttons so that the user can adjust the parameters of the beverage processing control program according to the user's taste or experience. The adjustment may be made through incremental changes of the displayed parameters using one or more user input buttons. The numeric keypad and other user input buttons may preferably include a touch screen.

The numeric keypad of the control interface 103 may enable a user to input a number uniquely assigned to a particular beverage. The unique number represents a beverage processing control program. The program is downloaded to the apparatus 10 in advance, but may otherwise be downloaded in response to the input of the unique number. The downloading of any beverage processing control program may be performed through a physical memory medium connectable to the communication module or mechanism 10 described above. Such media includes an SD card 160a that can be inserted into the SD card slot 160 for reading by the SD card reader 160b provided on the device 10. [ The SD card may include a database of process control programs accessible by the processor of the apparatus 10. [

As with some other embodiments, the embodiments of Figures 29-31 move a plurality of preference buttons 150 on the peripheral edge of the support plate 102. [ These buttons may include user depressible push buttons or a programmable user-accessible push button that allows the user for the identified wine to select an appropriate processing program by activating the button 150 assigned to that wine (or drink) Buttons (user actuated buttons). The buttons 150 may have a fixed layout or be programmable to allow the user to program buttons illuminating a user selection for desirable beverage processing.

At least a part of the above-described apparatus can be performed in software. Those skilled in the art will recognize that the above-described apparatus may be performed at least in part using general purpose computer equipment or custom equipment.

The hardware elements for operating the system and programming such computer languages are inherently straightforward and are assumed to be sufficiently familiar to those skilled in the art. Of course, some server functions may be performed in a distributed fashion on a number of similar platforms to distribute the processing load.

Program aspects of the technology may be thought of as " products "or" articles of manufacture "in the form of executable code and / or continued execution or embedded in a machine readable medium type. "Storage" -type media may be stored on a computer, a processor, or the like, such as a variety of semiconductor memories, tape drives, disk drives, and the like that may provide storage space for software programming at any time. Or other similar, or some or all of the memory modules associated therewith. All or part of the software may sometimes be communicated over the Internet or various other telecommunication networks. For example, such communications may load software from one computer or processor to another computer or processor. Thus, other types of media with software elements may be used for optical, electrical and electromagnetic waveforms, such as those used for physical interfaces between wired and optical terrestrial communication networks, and between local devices via various wireless links. < / RTI > waves). The physical elements that move such waveforms, such wired or wireless links, optical links, or the like, can be considered as media containing software. As used herein, the term "readable medium, " such as a computer or machine, refers to any medium that participates in providing instructions to a processor for execution, unless the context is limited to a temporary" storage "

Thus, machine-readable media can have many types of, but not limited to, tangible storage carriers, carrier wave media, or physical transaction media. For example, non-volatile storage media include optical or magnetic disks, such as some storage devices in a computer (s) that may be used to carry out the encoders, decoders, etc. shown in the figures. Volatile storage media include dynamic storage devices such as the main memory of a computer platform. Type transmission medium includes coaxial cables; And includes copper and optical fibers including wires that include a bus within the computer system. Carrier-wave transmission media can move acoustic or light waves, such as those generated during electromagnetic signals or RF and IR data communications. Common forms of computer-readable media include, for example, floppy disks, flexible disks, hard disks, magnetic tape, other magnetic media, CD-ROMs, DVD or DVD-ROMs, other optical media, punch cards, papers Other physical storage media having a hole pattern, a RAM, a PROM and an EPROM, a FLASH-EPROM, another memory chip or cartridge, carrier wave transmission data or instructions, a cable or links transmitting such a carrier wave, Or other medium from which a computer can read programming code and / or data. Many forms of computer-readable media may relate to moving one or more sequences of one or more instructions to a processor for execution.

While the invention has been illustrated and described in detail in the drawings and foregoing description, it is to be understood that it is to be considered as illustrative and not in a limiting sense, But is not limited to. Certain features described herein may be used in some embodiments. The illustrative embodiments are not exclusive of each other or with other embodiments not quoted herein. Accordingly, the present invention provides embodiments that include combinations of one or more embodiments that are illustrative of the foregoing. Modifications and variations of the invention herein disclosed may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention, and such limitations should be used as indicated by the appended claims.

In the claims below and in the preceding description of the present invention the word "comprises" or " comprises " or " comprises " &Quot; comprising "or" comprising " are used in its broadest sense, that is, to denote the presence of stated features, rather than to preclude the presence or addition of additional features in various embodiments of the invention.

It is to be understood that if any prior art documents are addressed herein, such documents do not constitute an acknowledgment that the article constitutes some general knowledge in the relevant field.

Claims (16)

An electric appliance for beverage processing,
An inlet through which air enters;
An air treatment device for concentrating the oxygen in the drawn air; And
And an outlet for delivering the oxygen enriched air to the beverage under pressure. The method according to claim 1,
The outlet of the device includes a conduit extending under pressure to the support plate to deliver oxygen enriched air to a beverage contained in the container or a receptacle contained on the support plate. 3. The method of claim 2,
The conduit extends from below the support plate to a support plate outlet port and the support plate exit port is configured to sealably engage the intake port of the container received on the support plate, An electrical appliance that provides oxygen enriched air under pressure as a beverage contained within the container. 10. A method according to any one of the preceding claims,
Wherein the air treatment apparatus includes an oxygen concentration apparatus for removing oxygen from the atmospheric air to remove part or most of the gas to supply oxygen enriched air. 5. The method of claim 4,
Wherein the oxygen concentrator comprises a molecular sieve for removing part or most of the gas other than oxygen from atmospheric air to supply oxygen enriched air. The method according to claim 4 or 5,
Wherein said oxygen concentrator is operated to provide oxygen enriched air having an adjustable percentage of oxygen by at least 30% capacity. 10. A method according to any one of the preceding claims,
The apparatus has a scanning system that automatically recognizes characters, indices, codes including barcodes and QR codes, or other information that is executed on a beverage container or a label of a beverage container. 8. The method of claim 7,
Wherein the computer implemented controller of the instrument analyzes the information obtained from the scanning system and controls the operation of the instrument in accordance with data obtained from the analyzed information. 9. The method of claim 8,
Wherein the controller is operable to determine an appropriate beverage processing program from data obtained from the analyzed information and to control the instrument to implement the program when processing the resulting beverage In a beverage processing method,
And automatically passing the oxygen enriched air under pressure over a predetermined period of time. An apparatus for processing beverages,
An electric device according to any one of claims 1 to 9, And
And a container or container received on a support plate of the device. In the electric device,
An outlet for delivering oxygen to the beverage under pressure;
A controller for automatically controlling the delivery of oxygen to the beverage; And
An electrical appliance comprising a communication module for downloading data from a computer system for connection to a communication network. In the electric device,
An outlet for delivering oxygen to the beverage under pressure;
A controller for automatically controlling the delivery of oxygen to the beverage; And
And a scanning system for automatically recognizing labels of characters, indications, codes including barcodes and QR codes, or other information carried on a beverage container or a label of a beverage container. In the electric device,
An outlet for delivering oxygen to the beverage under pressure;
A controller for automatically controlling the delivery of oxygen to the beverage; And
And a temperature sensor for determining the temperature of the beverage to be treated. 15. The method according to any one of claims 12 to 14,
Wherein the oxygen delivered to the beverage comprises unprocessed atmospheric air, pre-prepared pure water, or near-pure oxygen, or oxygen enriched air obtained from atmospheric air by the apparatus. A computer program product comprising machine-readable instructions for performing the steps of the method of claim 10 when executed by a controller of an electrical apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 9 or 11 to 14.

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