Method and Apparatus for Portable Beverage Containers that Preserve and Re-Carbonate Beverages Exposed to Atmosphere Air

Abstract

An apparatus that vents atmosphere air and allows for the pressurization of a sealed beverage container with carbon dioxide for the purpose of reducing oxidation and preserving or re-introducing effervescence to the beverage housed within the container. The previously mentioned apparatus can be integrated and/or retrofitted to accommodate the various sizes and shapes of current and future portable beverage containers. For the purpose of this apparatus, “portable beverage container” is defined as having a volume less than or equal to 5 gallons and the apparatus uses external or internally integrated pressure regulated gas sources to pressurize the container.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to an apparatus to be integrated into portable beverage containers for preserving the contained beverage and the contained beverage's carbonation, and/or re-introducing effervescence to sparkling beverages.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Carbonated beverages lose effervescence and eventually “go flat” after their pressurized containers have been opened. For sparkling beverages, such as beer, a noticeable decrease in quality can take place in a matter of hours—with dramatic decreases in quality occurring within a twenty-four hour period. This occurrence strongly influences the manner in which beverages are marketed, sold, consumed, and transported.

The challenge with portable and re-sealable containers is that once the beverage has left its original pressurized and airtight container, the processes of oxidation and de-carbonation begins to set in. This oxidation and decrease in pressurization leads to a very short shelf life of beverages stored within portable re-sealable containers. Furthermore, this process is exponentially expedited each time the container is opened and more contents are removed for consumption—often leading to the necessity of finishing all contents within the container shortly after consumption has begun.

There are several devices available that attempt to preserve carbonated beverages by repressurizing previously opened containers. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,273,670 to Robinson et al. and U.S. Pat. No. 5,031,785 to Lemme developed an apparatus that forms a seal over the opening of a bottle and re-pressurizes it by pumping air into the headspace. By adding a pressurized gas, these devices address the need to maintain positive pressure in the container in order to keep the beverage from going flat. Another invention uses carbon dioxide to re-pressurize a previously opened carbonated beverage container is outlined in U.S. Pat. No. 4,823,969, to Caldwell.

These inventions; however, when applied to the preservation of a carbonated beverage have a few shortcomings. Firstly, Robinson et al. and Lemme's inventions do not aid in the preservation of beers and sparkling wines because pressurized air contains oxygen and can increase the amount of oxidation to the beverage inside the container. Once a beer or wine is oxidized, it is commonly viewed as spoiled or “skunked” [a common term in the industry for spoiled by light or oxygen]. Caldwell's patent seeks to reduce the amount of oxidation that occurs by creating a means for injecting screw top containers with pressurized carbon dioxide gas instead of atmosphere air. This is a move in the right direction; however, there is still oxygen located in the headspace of the container that remains within the container and can still cause oxidation to occur to the beverage.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is directed toward an apparatus that allows a sparkling beverage to be re-pressurized and/or preserved, with minimal oxidation to the contained beverage. Furthermore, this apparatus is presented in such a way that it can be integrated and retrofitted into any present or future portable beverage containers.

In a preferred embodiment of the apparatus, an adjustable pressure relief valve will be located at the top of a container. Also located near the top of the container is a one-way valve that is removably connectable to an external source of pressure regulated carbon dioxide gas. The one-way valve allows pressure regulated CO2 gas to pass through the apparatus and into the container, thereby pressurizing the container and the beverage. This valve also uses a mechanism to automatically block airflow when the pressurized gas source is disconnected from the aperture, allowing the container to maintain the positive pressure gained by the gas source. The pressure relief valve will be set to the desired internal pressure of the portable beverage container and the carbon dioxide source will be set to a pressure slightly greater than that of the pressure relief valve. This will allow for the desired pressure to be obtained within the portable beverage container and cause the least dense gases, including oxygen, to be expelled from the portable beverage container.

In a second embodiment, a manually controlled valve connected to an adjustably pressure regulated portable gas canister is integrated into the apparatus. The portable gas canister allows for the ability to pressurize the beverage container without the need to connect the one-way valve to an external gas source. In this embodiment, the portable gas canister will be connected to an integrated regulator to control the volume of airflow into the container and will have a manually operated valve to select when the portable beverage container is to be pressurized with the internally pressure regulated carbon dioxide gas.

The pressure relief valve is integrated into this apparatus for two reasons: maintaining a safe pressure for the portable beverage container and to reduce the volume of oxidation to the beverage. As the pressure controlled gas gradually fills the portable beverage container, pressure will gradually begin to build. As the pressure builds, the oxygen in the container will rise to the top because oxygen is less dense than carbon dioxide. Once the desired pressure is achieved within the container, the adjustable pressure relief valve's seal cracks and the oxygen is expelled from the container into the atmosphere. Thus reducing the amount of oxidation to the beverage, introducing pressure to preserve or generate effervescences to the contained beverage, and improving the safety of the apparatus by expelling excess pressure and preventing catastrophic failure of the container.

The described aperture has the ability to be incorporated into a beverage container itself, or any container lid, cap or closure. As the container is opened, the pressurized gas will escape freely into the atmosphere. When the container's pressure is at equilibrium with the atmosphere, the container's closure device can be removed and the contained beverage can be consumed. At any point, the container can be resealed and pressurized gas can be reintroduced to the container. The pressurization of the container allows the amount of gas that evolved out of the solution while the container was open to dissolve back into the beverage and re-carbonate the beverage; thereby preserving the effervescence. Additionally, the gradual pressurization of the container allows for the excess oxygen to be expelled through the relief valve for prolonged preservation of flavor and freshness.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 contains the multiple angles and cross sections of the first embodiment of the apparatus to be integrated into the cap of an existing or future portable beverage container allowing for an external pressurized gas to pressurize the beverage container and expel oxygen through an adjustable pressure relief valve for the purpose of pressurizing and preserving carbonated beverages.

FIG. 2 contains the multiple angles and cross sections for the second embodiment of the apparatus to be integrated into an existing or future production portable beverage container allowing for an internally integrated pressurized gas to pressurize the beverage container and expel oxygen through an adjustable pressure relief valve for the purpose of pressurizing and preserving carbonated beverages.

FIG. 3 demonstrates one of many possible configurations for a process to integrate a pressurized gas source into an existing or future portable beverage container, allowing for a manually controlled volume of pressurized gas to pressurize a re-sealable portable beverage container.

FIG. 4 illustrates an example of how the method and apparatus can be integrated into a portable beverage container and achieves the outcome of pressurizing a re-sealable and portable beverage container while expelling oxygen from the enclosed container to reduce oxidation of the beverage and prolonging the preservation of the enclosed beverage.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The first embodiment of an apparatus and method that that can be integrated into current or future portable beverage containers is illustrated in FIG. 1 with various angles and cross sections demonstrated in 1 A-C. This is the preferred embodiment for integrating the preservation method into a previously designed portable beverage container, or for the development of future portable beverage containers for those with ready access to an external source of CO2. The oxygen releasing apparatus 3 contains a one-way input valve 1 and an adjustable pressure relief valve 2.

The adjustable pressure relief valve 2 regulates the pressure within the portable beverage container 20 through a spring-loaded poppet 4. The tension and pressure of which is adjustable by increasing or decreasing the distance of the pressure relief valve's top 21 from the spring-loaded poppet 4. When the pressure within the portable beverage container 20 is greater than the adjustable pressure of the pressure relief valve's top 21 on the poppet, the poppet will release its seal and vent the gas contained in the portable beverage container 20 until the pressure within the portable beverage container 20 is at equilibrium with the adjustable pressure applied by the spring-loaded poppet.

Gas is introduced into the portable beverage container from an externally pressure regulated CO2 source through a one-way input valve 1. The one-way input valve 1 has a spring sealed poppet 5 that releases when an input mechanism depresses a pin 6 with enough force to open the airway and allow the pressurized gas to flow freely into the portable beverage container and reseal once the input mechanism is removed.

The second embodiment of an apparatus that that can be integrated into current or future portable beverage containers is illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3. FIG. 2 depicts an apparatus 3 with the previously described pressure relief system 2 integration to allow for oxygen to be expelled from the sealed and pressurized portable beverage container.

FIG. 3 depicts an apparatus to integrate an internal CO2 source into a portable beverage container for the purpose of pressurizing and preserving a carbonated beverage. A one-way input valve 1 allows for an external source to pressurize the portable beverage container. A CO2 canister 18 provides a portable solution for internally integrating the ability to pressurize a portable container. The CO2 source is contained in a threaded enclosure 19 that attaches to a port 15 that houses a lance 16 and a rubber gasket 17 that forms a seal around the gas canister 18 and allows the contained gas to flow into the inline system leading into the portable beverage container. As the highly pressurized gas travels towards the portable beverage container 20, a pressure regulator 9 controllably reduces the pressure. The pressure regulator 9 works by adjusting pressure on a spring 10 applying pressure to a diaphragm 11. The diaphragm 11 is attached to a poppet 12 that allows air to flow from input 13 to output 14. The poppet 12 turns on and off the airflow as equilibrium is met with the pressure from the spring 10 applied to the diaphragm 11. As a result, a controlled and stable pressure of gas is omitted through output 14. As pressure controlled gas leaves the regulators' output 14, the gas flow is controlled by a valve 8 allowing for gas to be manually selected to pressurize the portable beverage container 20.

FIG. 4 illustrates one of many examples of how the apparatus can be applied to a present or future beverage container. As noted in FIG. 4, the portion of the apparatus illustrated in FIG. 3 can be integrated into the handle of a portable beverage container and the portion of the apparatus illustrated in FIG. 2 can be integrated into the lid of a portable beverage container—thus allowing for the preservation method of carbonated beverages stored in portable and re-sealable beverages containers outlined in this invention to be achieved.

It is important to note that numerous modifications and variations of the previously described apparatus and process for the preservation and re-carbonation of beverages stored in a portable re-sealable container may occur to anyone familiar with the particulars of the invention. For example, slight variances in the location and design of the necessary elements to make this invention work can be applied to achieve the same outcomes previously achieved in this document. A few examples include, but are not limited to: an input mechanism being moved from the handle to the cap, a modified variant of a one-way input mechanism for gas, using a magnet or digital control instead of a spring trigger for a regulator or control valve, omitting or adding additional air flow controls, etc. Therefore, it is to be understood that many variations and equivalent apparatuses can be created while still operating within the spirit and scope of the following claims.

Claims

1. An apparatus and process that can be integrated into a portable beverage container, which allows for pressure regulated carbon dioxide gas to pressurize the beverage container and expel oxygen from the interior of the container for the purpose of preserving the effervescence and preventing oxidation to the contained beverage, comprising of:

A) a pressure relief device to be installed at the apex of the portable beverage container that communicates with the interior of said container, and said pressure relief device is calibrated to ensure desired interior pressure is achieved and that oxygen is expelled from the container;

B) a valve that communicates with the interior of the portable beverage container that allows for an internally or externally, adjustable pressure regulated carbon dioxide source to pressurize the container at a pressure greater than the aforementioned calibrated pressure relief device, forcing the less dense oxygen gas out of the portable beverage container and pressurizing the head space of the portable beverage container with carbon dioxide gas.