Patent Application
20110277884
The present invention relates to the field of foam inhibiting in beer, carbonated beverages, and so on. More particularly, the invention relates to an accessory for inhibiting foaming while pouring a beverage.
Dispensers for carbonated beverages are known. When dispensing beverages, such as beer and carbonated drinks, there is a tendency for the liquid to foam as it is dispensed, which some people dislike, and furthermore, the foaming beverage may overflow the cup into which it is poured.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,573,145 discloses an apparatus for controlling foaming and flow rate in a beverage dispensing system, such as a draft beer dispensing system. A flow-regulating member is positioned within a faucet member, at the delivery end of the beer dispensing system, to balance the dispensing system to, in turn, further prevent break-up of the beverage into foam.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,927,801 discloses a carbonated beverage dispenser which comprises a passageway between the carbonated beverage and an outlet valve thereof. A foam-inhibiting portion of the passageway progressively decreases, then increases, then decreases, and finally increases again in the flow area. Preferably, the flow-inhibiting portion of the passage comprises a chamber containing two spherical bodies, which float or move freely in the chamber.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,568,973 discloses an antifoaming agent deposited on a stirring or straw element to be placed in a beverage receptacle. The disposition of this material on the element speeds up the pouring process and is useful in high volume environments, such as airliners, convenience stores, and college bars.
As such, there is a long felt need to provide a solution to the foaming of a beverage, especially beer and carbonated beverages, while pouring.
Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent as the description proceeds.
According to one embodiment of the invention, the present invention is directed to an accessory for inhibiting foaming of a beverage (such as beer, carbonated liquid, and so on) while the beverage is poured, the accessory comprising:
The accessory may further comprise one or more connectors (18), for connecting the slide (10) to a cup (20).
The accessory may further comprise a connector, for connecting the slide (10) to a beverage dispenser (such as bottle 30).
According to one embodiment of the invention, the connector comprises a ring (12) connectable to a beverage dispenser (such as bottle 30), and a joint (14), allowing changing the angle between the ring and the slide, thereby allowing folding the slide when not in use, and unfolding the slide when in use.
According to one embodiment of the invention, the form of the slide allows it to be placed into a cup (as illustrated in
According to one embodiment of the invention, the slide is an integral part of the cup (as illustrated in
According to one embodiment of the invention, the width of the slide expands downwards (as illustrated in
Preferably, the side of the slide through which the beverage flows is concave.
The slide may be made of plastic, metal, cardboard, polyethylene, hard material, soft material, elastic material, and so on.
According to one embodiment of the invention, the length of the slide is adjustable. This can be obtained by using a telescopic mechanism.
The reference numbers have been used to point out elements in the embodiments described and illustrated herein, in order to facilitate the understanding of the invention. They are meant to be merely illustrative, and not limiting. Also, the foregoing embodiments of the invention have been described and illustrated in conjunction with systems and methods thereof, which are meant to be merely illustrative, and not limiting.
Embodiments and features of the present invention are described herein in conjunction with the following drawings:
Each of
It should be understood that the drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale.
The present invention will be understood from the following detailed description of preferred embodiments, which are meant to be descriptive and not limiting. For the sake of brevity, some well-known features, methods, systems, procedures, components, circuits, and so on, are not described in detail.
Accessory 2 comprises a slide 10, connected by joint 14 to ring 12, which is placed on the bottle's neck.
Preferably, the inner diameter of the ring is a little bit greater than that of the neck of bottle 30, thereby allowing the ring to stay attached to the bottle's neck even when the bottle's lid 16 is removed.
Joint 14 allows changing the angle between ring 12 and slide 10, and as the ring is being connected to the bottle neck, the joint allows changing the angle between the slide and the dispenser (bottle). Thus, the slide can be folded when not in use, and unfolded in order to be used.
Joint 14 may take the form, for example, of a thinner line in comparison to the thickness of the ring.
Ring 12 and joint 14 are used as a connector for connecting slide 10 to a beverage dispenser.
Preferably, the side of the slide through which the beverage flows is concave.
When a beverage, especially beer or a carbonated beverage, is poured into a cup from a distance (i.e., there is no continuity of beverage from the dispenser to the cup), it results in foaming. The greater this distance, the more intensive the foaming effect. However, when the beverage is poured into the cup via a slide, when the slide touches the beverage present in the cup, it generates a continuity of beverage from the dispenser to the cup, i.e., the beverage does not fall from a distance into the cup, thereby the foaming effect is inhibited. Furthermore, even if the beverage is poured from a distance into the cup, the slide that intermediates between the dispenser and the cup decreases the distance, and therefore inhibits the foaming effect, as the smaller this distance, the lesser the foaming effect.
In order to use the accessory, a user thereof has to position the lower side of the slide away from the bottle, and pour the beverage onto the slide. The joint allows separating the lower side of the slide from the bottle, while the upper side of the slide remains connected to the bottle neck.
The angle between the slide and the ring is adjustable.
The slide may be made of plastic, metal, cardboard, polyethylene, and so on.
As illustrated, the angle between slide 10 and the bottle neck causes the poured beverage 22 to slide along slide 10. Thus, the slide bridges between the bottle neck and cup 20 into which beverage 22 is poured, thus, instead of falling from a distance, the liquid slides along slide 10, thereby inhibiting the foam.
Also illustrated in
Each of
The difference between the embodiments is that in the embodiment illustrated in
Connectors 18 of the accessory allow attaching the accessory to cup 20 while slide 10 is disposed into cup 20. In this situation, the beverage is poured on slide 10 instead of falling into the cup from a distance, thereby diminishing the foaming, as explained above.
According to this embodiment of the invention, accessory 2 does not comprise means for attaching the accessory to a dispenser. Thus, the accessory comprises only slide 10. Preferably, the form of the slide is adapted to correspond to the dimensions of cup 20.
According to this embodiment of the invention, accessory 2 is an integral part of cup 20, i.e., attached to the cup rather than attachable to the cup. The slider may be attached to the cup in the manufacturing process of the cup.
In the figures and/or description herein, the following reference numerals have been mentioned:
The foregoing description and illustrations of the embodiments of the invention has been presented for the purposes of illustration. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the above description in any form.
Any term that has been defined above and used in the claims, should to be interpreted according to this definition.
