The present invention relates generally to systems and methods for storing and dispensing liquids, and more particularly to systems and methods for selectively dispensing liquids (such as wine or similar beverages) stored in a pressurized environment by utilizing a controlled source of pressure force to apply a sufficient pressure to the pressurized environment to dispense a portion of the stored liquid in accordance with a desired dispensing regime.
The ever-increasing consumption of wine and similar beverages, both in various commercial establishments (e.g., restaurants, bars, lounges, etc.), and in consumers' homes, coupled with growth in consumer perception of wine as an “experience” meant to be paired with proper food or enjoyed though “tastings”, has resulted not only in a growing consumer demand for a wider selection of wines made available in commercial establishments (leading to proliferation of dedicated “wine bar” establishments), but also fueled the desire of many consumers to be able to bring the “wine bar” or equivalent experience to their home.
While restaurants have traditionally relied on bottle purchases by their patrons, leaving only a few low-end wines available for “by the glass” pours from bottles that may remain in use for several days after being opened, due in large part to the inherent changes (e.g., oxidation) in wine over time when exposed to air, eventually leading to deterioration and spoilage. However, in view of the above-noted market trends, many establishments have been nevertheless forced to expand their “by-the-glass” (hereinafter “BTG”) selections to meet consumer demand, but at a greatly increased cost (both due to rapid deterioration of unsealed wine bottles, and due to increased costs in labor in managing a wide-range of BTG pours). Stand-alone bars and lounges have traditionally offered limited wine selections, but in view of the aforementioned trends, they were likewise faced with the same obstacles as the restaurants. Finally, wine bars were forced to deal with the challenge of keeping a sufficiently wide ranging BTG selection by their very nature.
Virtually all attempted solutions to the above challenges involved devices and systems for preservation and/or dispensation of bottled wines, and thus were quite limited in their success due to inherent disadvantages of utilization of bottled wine in a commercial establishment environment. Moreover, due to the fact that virtually all bottle-based wine preservation systems are sized and configured only for use with standard 7 50 ml bottles which requires very frequent and time-consuming replacement of bottles when the establishment is busy (i.e., precisely at a time when the establishment staff is under the greatest pressure to maintain an appropriately high level of speedy service to the customers). Moreover, because higher-end conventional wine preservation/dispensing systems comprise a separate chamber for each bottle, the expense of systems that comprise a sufficient number of wine bottle chambers for larger establishments quickly rises into stratospheric levels.
To address the disadvantages of the use of bottled wine in commercial establishments, various companies proposed utilization of larger volume/less expensive “wine bags” (often offered in a “wine-in-bag”/“bag-in-box” format hereinafter “WinB products”). However, the previously known WinB products have different disadvantages when used in commercial establishments, which in some cases can make them less desirable than bottled wine under many circumstances. These disadvantages have resulted in at least the following key obstacles to wide-ranging successful use of WinB products in commercial and environments:
the difficulties in preserving and pouring wine from WinB product containers;
the amount of space taken up by WinB products and their containers—an especially serious issue for commercial environments where space is at a premium;
the challenge posed in commercial environments by the necessity of metering wine pours of specific volume from the WinB products, and the difficulty in tracking such pours automatically; and
The aesthetic appearance of most WinB products and their containers does not permit their use in tastefully decorated commercial and consumer environments.
In view of the above, WinB products have only found very limited acceptance in all but a few smaller establishments. To date there has not been a suitable solution offered that would enable commercially practical use of wine-in-bag products in virtually all restaurant/bar (and similar) environments.
Fortunately, the commonly assigned co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/055,876 entitled “SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR STORING AND SELECTIVELY DISPENSING LIQUIDS”, which is hereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety, has provided various embodiments of an advantageous inventive Pressurized Liquid Storage and Dispensing (“PLSMPD”) system, that not only readily addresses and solves the drawbacks and disadvantages of all previously known wine and other liquid) preservation and dispensing solutions, but that also provides a number of heretofore unseen advantages, when utilized in connection with WinB products to dispense wine.
Specifically, in various exemplary embodiments thereof, the PLSMPD system of the '876 application is capable of transporting/dispensing wine locally, or to significantly remote dispensing locations, at extremely high speed and with a great deal of accuracy and precision, without spillage. Moreover, the '876 application PLSMPD system's rapid transport of the wine also subjects the wine to controlled oxygenation (which when properly administered, is widely considered to enhance the positive attributes of most wines). This highly desirable feature of the novel PLSMPD system is particularly advantageous in view of the fact that in many wine bars/fine dining establishments, quite a bit of tune is spent to “aerate” the wine prior to serving it-a process which would be rendered unnecessary if the inventive system is deployed.
Therefore, when used with WinB products, the rapid transport aspect of the '876 application PLSMPD system's is not only beneficial in terms of time savings for accurate pours, but also enhances the quality of the dispensed wine. In addition, in various embodiments thereof, the '876 application PLSMPD system is highly (and easily) configurable to ensure rapid highly accurate metered pours over a wide range of distances through the use of predefined pressure vs. time algorithms to automatically manage pour rate accuracy for one or more predetermined desired pour sizes.
However, the '876 application did, not specifically address the full range of special advantages and additional capabilities that are possible with the deployment of the novel PLSMPD system (or equivalent thereof) in a commercial establishment environment (such as a restaurant, bar, or equivalent, and/or in a hotel, cruise ship, or other hospitality environment).
It would thus be desirable to provide a system and method that resolves all of the disadvantages of previously known WinB products and their dispensing containers in their use in commercial environments. It would further be desirable to provide a system and method that offers heretofore unavailable advantageous features relating to preservation and controlled dispensing of beverages, such as wine, from WinB products or equivalents thereof. It would additionally be desirable to provide a system and method for preserved storage and selective controlled dispensation of beverages, such as wine, that is configurable for use with a variety of WinB products, and their equivalents, which is modular and readily scalable for advantageous utilization in environments ranging from consumer homes to large commercial/hospitality establishments.
In the drawings, wherein like reference characters denote corresponding or similar elements throughout the various figures:
The inventive system and method for storing, preserving, managing, and selectively dispensing beverages, in various embodiments thereof, remedies the flaws and drawbacks of all previously known wine storage and dispensing solutions (and especially larger-scale commercial solutions), regardless of their configuration, by storing a plurality of beverages (such as various wines, etc.) in a pressurized environment (which may be remotely located, and/or environmentally controlled) to ensure that the stored beverage does not come into contact with air, and then by selectively dispensing a portion of the stored beverage, in accordance with a desired configurable dispensing regime (which may be configured and controlled locally, remotely, and/or via a computerized system), by utilizing a controlled source of pressure force to apply a sufficient degree pressure to the pressurized environment to expel the desired volume of the beverage in a pressurized stream directed to a remote dispensing/pouring interface (for example located in a desired area of a bar, restaurant, or other hospitality establishment) through a liquid delivery system (which may comprise one or more separate systems, for example directed to different areas of a commercial establishment.
In at least one embodiment thereof, the system and method of the present invention are configured for use with compressible wine-in-bag (“WinB”) product containers placed into at least one pressurized chamber (serving as the pressurized environment) and interfaced with a liquid delivery system connected one or more dispensing components (such as shown and described in various embodiments of the novel pressurization-based liquid dispensing technology disclosed in the above-incorporated '876 application as a Pressurized Liquid Storage and Dispensing system (which is hereby referred to as the “PLSMPD system”). Advantageously, the inventive system and method are scalable from use in conjunction with a single WinB product (for example, implemented with a simplified embodiment of the PLSMPD system, such as is shown in
At the outset, it should be noted that while the various descriptions of the different embodiments of the system and method of the present invention describe the utilization thereof with wine, it should be understood to one skilled in the art that the various embodiments of the inventive system and method can be readily utilized in conjunction with storage and selective dispensation of any beverage or liquid substance as a matter of design choice or necessity without departing from the spirit of the invention. Similarly, while the inventive system and method are described as being operable for use with WinB products, virtually any anaerobic compressible container can be readily substituted, or even integrated into the pressurized chamber (e.g., as a lining, etc.).
Prior to describing the various embodiments of the system and method of the present invention in detail, it is helpful to provide an overview of various novel embodiments of a pressurization-based liquid metered pour dispensing technology disclosed in the above-incorporated '876 application as a “Pressurized Liquid Storage and Metered Pour Dispensing system” (which is hereby referred to as the “PLSMPD system”) which are shown in
Referring now to
The Wine Cannon SPMMPD system 1 is preferably configured for use with one or more pressurized storage/preservation (“PSP”) systems that are each operable to store one or more WinB (or equivalent) products therein in a pressurized environment, and that are also operable to launch, in response to control signals, predetermined amounts of the stored wines to one or more remote dispenser pour units (as hereinafter described), through corresponding dispensing conduits, to enable each dispenser pour unit to rapidly serve precisely metered pours.
In various exemplary embodiments thereof, the Wine Cannon SPMMPD system 1 comprises at least a portion of the following components, elements, and/or features:
Advantageously, while the entire Wine Cannon SPMMPD system 1 ray be operated from local controls positioned at various locations where the beverages stores in the PSP systems are dispensed, preferably the Wine Cannon SPMMPD system may be controlled, configured, and operated, through a centralized Beverage Service Management (“BMS”) control system 6 (for example comprising at least one data processing system (and related applicable components) operable to execute one or more configurable application programs and/or program modules).
The BMS control system 6, that may be readily configured for use with various embodiments of the system and method of the present invention may be a standalone system, or it may be integrated with an existing hospitality management system (for example in a large restaurant and/or in hotel or other sufficiently large venue facility), and while certain operations and back-office functions thereof are preferably restricted to a secure local or a secure web-accessible control interface, the day to day dispensing functions and related tasks may be operated (and optionally configured) from one or more control system interfaces (shown in
In various exemplary embodiments thereof, the Beverage Service Management (“BMS”) System—may comprise a centralized or a distributed data processing system with communication, data interchange, and data acquisition features, implemented as at least one of: a computer executing one or more application programs and having a (preferably) graphical user interface, a dedicated controller (or set of specialized controllers) for interfacing with and managing various components of the Wine Cannon SPMMPD system 1 (such as the plural PSP systems, the dispenser pour units, etc.), and/or as a hybrid platform in which a mobile data processing device (such as a smart phone or a tablet) may be utilized as the control and user interface, with the remainder of the functions being managed and implemented through one or more secondary data processing systems, and/or specialized controllers. Advantageously, the BMS control system 6 may comprise one or more of the following features/functions:
In at least one embodiment of the present invention, each PSP system utilized in the Wine Cannon SPMMPD system 1, may comprise one or more of the following:
Thus, for example, as described in greater detail below, each of the PSP systems 2a, 2b, or 2c, may comprise the pressurized container A coupled to a controllable pressure system D of the PLSMPD system 9 of
Advantageously, by way of example, PSP systems may comprise and utilize compressible liquid volumes (such as WinB products) of a variety of different types, styles, varietals, and brands of beverages, such as different red wines R1-R(x), white wines W1-W(z), Ports or other cordials P(y), etc. Optionally, one or more of the PSP systems (such as PSP systems 2a, 2b) may be provided with temperature and/or other environmental (e.g., humidity) control systems (e.g. environmental control systems 2a-1, 2b-1) for proper maintenance of the stored beverages.
In accordance with the present invention, the Wine Cannon SPMMPD system 1 may comprise and utilize PSP systems of various configurations. Exemplary embodiments of PSP systems that may be advantageously utilized, may include, but are not limited to, at least one of the following PSP system exemplary embodiments:
Optionally, rather than requiring the various PSP systems to utilize local pressure sources, the Wine Cannon SPMMPD system 1 may comprise a centralized stabilized pressure source (for example positioned in a remote location) connected to plural sealed outlets in a facility (such as an Events or Banquet hall or an exterior area), enabling portable and/or mobile PSP systems to be deployed proximally to such outlets without the need for portable pressure sources, so that when connected thereto, the PSP systems may share and utilize the centralized stabilized pressure source, and provide dispensing functionality through local dispenser pour units (which for example may be configured as simplified “guntype” pour components).
The Wine Cannon SPMMPD system 1 may be used with PSP systems located in a remote PSP area 2 (e.g., PSP systems, 2a, 2b, and optionally 2c), which is preferably a location that is environmentally appropriate for long term storage of wine and other beverages (such as a basement or a cellar), Optionally the Wine Cannon SPMMPD system 1 may also be used in conjunction with one or more locally positioned PSP systems, such as a PSP system 2-1.
The Wine Cannon SPMMPD system 1 also comprises a plurality of dispenser pour units 4a, 4b, and, optionally, 4-1 located in one or more dispensing areas 3, and optionally may also comprise at least one dispenser pour unit 4-2, located in a different area of the operating establishment. Each dispenser pour unit 4a-4-2 is operable to:
The dispenser pour units 4a, 4b, etc. may range from simple gun-type hand-operated dispensers positioned at the end of one or more liquid delivery conduits connected to the remote PSP systems, to a more robust and full-featured dispenser pour unit such as an exemplary embodiment of the novel dispenser pour unit configured for optimal use in connection with the Wine Cannon SPMMPD system 1, illustrated as a dispenser pour unit 100 in
The delivery/dispense control/and optional routing of the various beverages R1-R(n), W1-W(z) and P(y) from the PSP systems 2a-2c in PSP area 2, and from other locations (e.g., from PSP system 2-1), to the various corresponding dispenser pour units 4a to 4-2, may optionally be accomplished by a dispense control system 5 (and optionally by one or more optional additional dispense control systems 5-1, 5-2) which may be configured to perform all necessary PSP system control functions (and thus eliminate the need for individual control local systems at each PSP system), and/or which may be configured to communicate with and selectively operate one or more control systems local to one or more corresponding PSP systems. Examples of configuration and operations of such systems are provided below, and are also set forth in connection with descriptions of dispense control E of the PSP system 9 of
Optionally, the dispense control system 5 may comprise one or more “enhancement” components, each operable to selectively apply one or more predefined enhancements to one or more dispensing conduits selectively connectable therewith. Examples of enhancement components that may be provided and utilized in accordance with the present invention include, but are not limited to:
Exemplary Embodiments of the Pressurized Liquid Storage and Metered Pour Dispensing System for Use with the Wine Cannon SPMMPD System of
In summary, in a core (i.e., simplified) embodiment of the novel PLSMPD system, is that a liquid (e.g., wine) is stored in a pressurized environment under regulated pressure sufficient to maintain it in an anaerobic state (for example the liquid may be stored in a compressible bag disposed inside a sealed pressurized chamber), whereupon the liquid can be selectively dispensed through a normally locked dispensing conduit connected to its pressurized environment, while maintaining the anaerobic status of the remaining liquid, maintaining a predetermined level of pressure on the stored liquid, that is sufficient to expel the stored liquid in response to the dispensing conduit being selectively unlocked for as long as the conduit is open, in accordance with one or more predetermined dispensing profiles. Each such profile may comprise dispensing parameters that include, but that are not limited to, the volume of liquid to be dispensed, the distance the dispensed liquid will need to travel along the conduit to a dispensing system/interface to be poured, etc. In various embodiments thereof, the pressurization system component of the PLSMPD system compensates for the gradual decrease in the volume of the stored liquid such that system performance is maintained after multiple dispensations.
While a number of liquid transport solutions exist, attempting to apply them to address the above-noted challenges, of WinB product utilization, reveals their significant disadvantages that render such utilization impractical. For example, the majority of liquid transport system utilize mechanical pumps, with a separate pump being required for each liquid dispensing conduit (greatly increasing the cost of any implementation that requires delivery of multiple liquids (i.e., a selection of wines) to a remote dispensing target). Moreover, pumps generate heat during their operation, which has a significant negative impact on temperature-sensitive liquids (such as wines). Additionally, a mechanical pump requires that a liquid-filled bag (e.g., a WinB product) be placed in a holding vessel, with the nozzle positioned on the bottom of the bag, and because the mechanical pump does not pull the liquid (e.g., the wine) from its container (e.g., the bag), it can never fully empty the contents of the bag, resulting in ongoing losses of valuable products (and creating additional difficulties in depleted bag disposal. Furthermore, as dispensing WinB products is a very intermittent process, subjecting the pump to constant starts/stops greatly increases its wear/tear and leads to a sizable reduction in the pump's useful life.
Other liquid transport solutions eschew the use of mechanical pumps and instead rely on a “gravity feed” approach coupled with utilization of regulation flow-meters. However, because any liquid transport system based on such a solution will not be able to transport any liquid from its container to a dispensing location that is at the same level as, or elevated above, the portion of a bag from which the liquid exits. Moreover, the performance of any gravity feed solution suffers when the dispensing target, to which the liquid must be transported, is not positioned significantly below the bag from which the liquid is being dispensed.
Finally, both of the above-described previously known liquid transport solutions also suffer from one more common drawback. In the context of their utilization to dispense WinB products, it would be nearly impossible to configure either of the solutions to quickly deliver carefully metered pours on demand. Not only does this flaw increases costs due to over-dispensing expensive wines, but there are significant operational costs in commercial beverage service environments incurred when establishment staff must spend sufficient time to ensure an accurate pour.
The various embodiments of the novel PLSMPD system, that is preferable for use in conjunction with the inventive Wine Cannon SPMMPD system 1 of
In addition, the PLSMPD system is highly (and easily) configurable to ensure rapid highly accurate pours over a wide range of distances through the use of predefined pressure vs. time algorithms to automatically manage pour rate accuracy for one or more predetermined pour sizes. Control and tuning of such algorithms may be made at one or more of the following system components, as a matter of design choice without departing from the present invention:
Referring now to
The PLSMPD system 9 includes a pressurized container A (e.g., an airtight high-pressure seal rated tank, vessel or equivalent) for storing a compressible liquid volume C (e.g., a flexible WinB product) within a pressurized environment B), a controllable pressure system D (e.g., a compressor, a compressed air (or other gas) tank, or an air pump connected to an air pressure stabilizer and an air pressure regulator) that is connected to the pressurized environment B through a pressure delivery conduit (e.g. tubing or piping) G-1. It should be noted that the controllable pressure system D may be readily selected from a variety of devices/systems operable to generate and maintain the pressurized environment B within the desired parameters. For example, the controllable pressure system D can utilize non-air gas, or another fluid. Alternately the pressure force for the controllable pressure system D, may be generated through gravity, preconfigured compressed air/gas container, or through other non-pumping means.
In an alternate embodiment of the present invention, the pressurized container A may be configured such that the compressible liquid volume C is implemented directly in the pressurized environment B, without being encased in a compressible flexible container. In this alternate configuration, a dispensing conduit G-2 (which may be plastic or metal tubing, or equivalent), would be directly connected to the pressurized container A (as opposed to being connected to the liquid volume C interface), while the controllable pressure system D would be selected and configured to provide direct pressurization to the compressible liquid volume C for example by volumetric compression of the internal region of the pressurized container A (e.g., by hydraulic/piston-like compression thereof) to generate and maintain the pressurized environment B within the necessary/desired parameters. The dispensing conduit G-2 may include one or more in-line 1-way check valves to minimize the amount of liquid that remains therein after each time the PLSMPD system 9 dispenses the liquid therethrough.
The PLSMPD system 9 also includes a local dispensing control system E (e.g., a solenoid valve coupled to a dispensing controller (which may range from a solid state electronic control to a computerized system operable to independently control multiple solenoid valves)), that is connected to the compressible liquid volume C via the conduit G-2. The local dispensing control system E is also connected to a corresponding dispenser pour unit (which may be one of the, via a dispensing conduit G-3 (which may likewise comprise plastic or metal tubing, or equivalent). Optionally, the dispensing conduit G-3 may be positioned within a hollow protective housing G-3′, enabling the easy removal and replacement of dispensing conduit G-3 when needed.
Optionally, the local dispensing control system E may be connected to the controllable pressure system D, such that it may be operable to provide any necessary control functions, such as pressure maintenance/regulation, or, in an alternate embodiment of the present invention, when activated (for example, from the BMS control system 6 through a link therewith), the local dispensing control system E may instruct the controllable pressure system D to briefly increase the level of pressure in the pressurized environment B for all or a portion of the duration of a dispensing period to provide additional force and velocity to liquid being expelled from the liquid volume C (for example if a corresponding dispenser pour unit is particularly distant from the pressurized container A).
As noted above, the PLSMPD system 9 is operable through selective activation of the local dispensing control system E (through a remote signal from an external controller (e.g., the BMS control system 6)), and/or via an activation signal from a dispenser pour unit connected thereto (e.g., by a button, pressure, IR or equivalent switch). In accordance with one or more predefined dispensing profiles, the local dispensing control system E opens the path therethrough for the conduit G-2, causing the pressurized liquid to be immediately expelled from the liquid volume C, through the local dispensing control system E and the conduit G-3 to be poured at the corresponding dispenser pour unit (e.g., such as dispenser pour unit 4a-4-2 of
A dispensing profile may be as simple as a predetermined group of settings fully or partially locked into the PLSMPD system 9, that control pressurization, duration of the dispensing period, and other parameters. Or, in more sophisticated preferable implementations of the inventive PLSMPD system 9, a particular dispensing profile may be selectively is led from, and/or modified by, the BMS control system 6 (for example regulating the volume of each dispensed metered pour depending on a customer order, and/or that may provide instructions for additional operations).
For example, in accordance with such instructions, the dispensed wine can be diverted and then retrieved from (e.g., via an additional set of solenoid valves) a parallel wine aeration and/or accelerated aging system, prior to being poured. The implementation of deployment profiles in the inventive PLSMPD system 9 is preferably supported by at least one predefined pressure vs. time algorithm that may be executed by the local dispensing control system E to automatically manage pour rate accuracy for one or more predetermined pour sizes, at a corresponding dispenser pour unit. In one embodiment of the present invention, the remote controller may include a mobile device with corresponding software application comprising a graphical user interface, installed thereon.
In an alternate embodiment of the PLSMPD system 9, the pressurized container A (and optionally the conduits G-2, G-3, and the local dispensing control system E) may be positioned in a temperature controlled environment T that is suitable for temperature stable storage of the liquid being dispensed from the liquid volume C. The temperature controlled environment T may be passive (such as a cellar/basement), active (such as a refrigerated housing (or refrigerated jacketing or coils positioned around the pressurized container A), or a cold plate (or equivalent), or ice or equivalent freezable cold elements, positioned proximally to the pressurized container A (such under the bottom thereof), or a combination of one or more of the above (such as a climate controlled wine cellar). Additionally, a temperature control component may be positioned surrounding the liquid volume C (such as a cooling jacket around a wine bag).
In alternate embodiments of the present invention, the PLSMPD system 9 may be positioned on a mobile cart (not shown) or on an equivalent mobile platform, wherein the controllable pressure system D may comprise one or more air tanks, wherein the corresponding dispenser pour unit may comprise a dispensing gun (as described above), and wherein the dispensing control system may comprise a mobile device supplied with a corresponding user-controlled application.
Referring now to
The PLSMPD system 10A includes a pressurized container 22a (e.g., an airtight high-pressure seal rated tank, vessel or equivalent), for storing a compressible liquid volume 28 (e.g., a flexible WinB product) within a pressurized environment 22b. The compressible liquid volume 28 includes a volume interface 32 (e.g., a nozzle or equivalent) for accessing the liquid stored therein, preferably configured for a sealed/airtight connection to a releasable coupling 30 (such as a connector/compression filling), that in turn connects the compressible liquid volume 23 to a conduit 44a/44b.
In an alternate embodiment of the present invention, the pressurized container 22a may be configured as a pressurized canister/cartridge 16, having the various pressurized container interfaces 40a, 40b (and optionally 40c), positioned, sized and configured to align with and “plug in”, or otherwise securely couple to corresponding pressurization and liquid delivery conduits when placed into a correspondingly configured “docking station” or equivalent (i.e., such as in connection with PSP systems 2a, 2b, and 2c of
While the volume interface 32 and the releasable coupling 30 may be preconfigured to readily form a releasable sealed connection, in an alternate embodiment of the present invention, the releasable coupling 30 may comprise a “universal adapter” component, operable to enable the adaptive releasable coupling 30 to form a secure sealed (but releasable) connection with virtually any variation of the volume interface 32. Various embodiments of a novel adaptive releasable coupling that would be particularly advantageous for use as the adaptive releasable coupling 30, are described in greater detail in the commonly assigned U.S. patent application entitled “SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR INTERFACING WITH, AND CONTROLLING, BEVERAGE DISPENSING CONTAINERS”, which is hereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety. It should be noted that preferably the releasable coupling 30 also comprises a releasable sealed connector element operable to form a releasable connection with the conduit 44a so that it the conduit 44a can be readily disconnected if replacement or either component is necessary. In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the sealed connector element of the releasable coupling 30 comprises a releasable adaptive pressurized filling that increases in strength and reliability in response to an increase in the pressure that is exerted in the PLSMPD system 10A (e.g., such as a pressurized “0-Ring” fitting).
Similarly, the use of such releasable adaptive pressurized fillings would be advantageous in all components of the PLSMPD system 10A in which connections with various conduits are made (in pressure container interfaces 40a and 40b (and in optional pressure container interface 40c), in an optional splitter 52 (e.g. a I-way diverter valve), and in numerous other connections (not specifically identified in
In accordance with the present invention, the various conduits utilized in connection with the PLSMPD system 10A comprise reliable, preferably flexible, tubing or equivalent, which may be composed from plastic (and related materials—e.g., polymers, etc.), or from suitable metal.
In some embodiments of the present invention, all conduits utilized in the PLSMPD system 10A may have uniform characteristics, whether employed for pressurization or for liquid transport functions (in which case when used for beverage dispensing, the conduits must be composed from non-reactive food-safe materials)—thus simplifying the PLSMPD system 10A maintenance and upkeep (i.e., since replacement conduits for either purpose may be readily cut and deployed as needed).
In other embodiments of the present invention, conduits utilized in the PLSMPD system 10A may have different characteristics, depending on whether they are employed for pressurization (e.g., conduits 42a, 42b, 42c, and 42d), or for liquid transport functions (e.g., conduits 44a, 44b, and 44c). In this case, the pressurization conduits do not need to be food-safe and may be more robust (such as through use of metal tubing), while the liquid transport conduits must be composed from non-reactive food-safe materials. Utilizing flexible materials for the liquid transport conduits 44a, 44b, and 44c enables the PLSMPD system 10A to take advantage of the “hammer effect” to increase the speed of the liquid being dispensed therethrough. Depending on their length, the liquid transport conduits 44b and 44c may also each include one or more corresponding controllable valves 46a, or 46b, 46c, respectively, which may be controllable 1-way valves, conventional 1-way check valves, or a combination thereof. Optionally, one or more diverter valves may be included in one or more of the liquid transport conduits 44b and 44c to minimize the amount of liquid that can remain therein following each time the PLSMPD system 10A dispenses the liquid.
Optionally, one or more additional compressible liquid volumes 50 may also be stored inside the pressurized container 22a, and also subjected to the pressurized environment 22b during PLSMPD system 10A operation. The size and quantity of such additional compressible liquid volume(s) 50 may be selected as a matter of design choice (e.g., based on the size of the selected pressurized container 22a, etc.) without departing from the spirit of the invention.
In an alternate embodiment of the present invention, one of the at least one additional compressible liquid volumes 50, may be filled with a cleaning solution operable for cleaning and sanitizing the liquid transport conduits 44b, and 44c, with the interface element 40c comprising a controllable 1-way diverter valve and being positioned in-line in conduit 44a, such that when activated (for example by the local control system 48a), the PLSMPD system 10A operation results in the cleaning solution from the compressible cleaning solution volume 50 passes through the same conduits, valves and related components as the main liquid being dispensed therethrough, thus ensuring that the PLSMPD system 10A remains clean and hygienic. The protocol for activation of the cleaning function can be configured and issued by the BMS control system 6, and can occur automatically in accordance with a predefined schedule, and/or automatically after a certain number of dispensing cycles, and can also be activated manually.
The pressurized container 22a preferably comprises an access component 22c (such as an airtight lid or other cover), that when opened, enables installation, removal, and/or replacement of the compressible liquid volume 28 (and/or of the additional compressible liquid volume(s) 50), and that when sealed, enables a controllable pressure system 8 to generate and maintain the desired pressurized environment 22b during PLSMPD system 10A operation.
The utilization of the controllable pressure system 18 by the PLSMPD system 10A, is one of the key aspects of the present invention, in that the controllable pressure system 18 is not only operable to manage the pressurized environment 22b in the pressurized container 22a within desired parameters (especially as the compressible liquid volumes are depleted during PLSMPD system 10A operation), but also because its operation supports the deployment and utilization of the above-described dispensing profiles by one or more dispensing systems (e.g., by a local control system 48a of a dispensing system 20a, and/or by an optional local control system 48b of an optional dispensing system 20a).
In at least one exemplary embodiment thereof, the controllable pressure system 18 includes a pressure source 34 (such as a compressor, an air pump, or equivalent thereof) connected, via pressurization conduit(s) 42a, 42b, to a pressure regulator 38a, that is operable to control the operation of the pressure source 34 to adjust the pressurized environment 22b, as needed, via a pressurization conduit 42c that forms a pressurized seal with the pressure container interface 40a. Seal (not check-valve bi-direction)
Preferably, after configuration of the desired settings and parameters thereof, the pressure regulator 38a operates automatically in accordance with its settings and parameters. In an alternate embodiment of the present invention, a pressure regulator 38b (having equivalent functionality to the pressure regulator 38a), or its features may be integrated into the pressure source 34, instead of using the pressure regulator 38a (or in addition thereto, for example for enabling backup/failsafe system operation, e.g., in case the pressure regulator 38a fails).
Preferably, the controllable pressure system 18 also includes a pressure stabilizer 36 positioned between pressurization conduits 42a and 42b, operable to “store” pressurization generated by the pressure source 34, and thereby to support the operation of the pressure regulator 38a by serving as an interim “on-demand” source of pressure for the pressure regulator 38a without needing to intermittently activate/engage the pressure source 34. Optionally, the pressure stabilizer 36 may serve as an interim pressure source for another pressure regulator of another PLSMPD system (not shown) via the pressurization conduit 42d, such that the other PLSMPD system may share the pressure source 34 and the pressure stabilizer 36 with the PLSMPD system 10A.
As was noted above, in connection with the description of the controllable pressure system D of
The PLSMPD system 10A also includes the dispensing control system 20a, which may comprise:
The dispensing control system 20a is also connected to a dispensing system 14a via the liquid transport conduit 44c.
If one or more optional additional compressible liquid volume(s) 50 are employed, the PLSMPD system 10A may include one or more optional dispensing control system(s) 20b, having a local control system 48b and a controllable valve 46c (each of which may be provided in any of a variety of configurations described above in connection with the local control system 48a, and the controllable valve 46a). The optional dispensing control system 20b is connected to a dispensing system 14b (for example a dispenser pour unit of the Wine Cannon SPMMPD system 1), and is operable to dispense the liquid from the compressible liquid volume(s) 50 therethrough.
Optionally, one or more stand-alone controllable valve(s) 46b may be provided that are controllable by the dispensing control system 20a (and/or by the dispensing control system 20b, if present), without need for a dedicated control system therefor. As is shown in
Optionally, the dispensing control system 20a (and/or of the dispensing control system 20b) may be connected to the controllable pressure system 18 (or to individual components thereof), such that it array be operable to provide any necessary control functions, such as pressure maintenance/regulation. In an alternate embodiment of the present invention, when activated (for example, from the dispensing system 14a through a link therewith), the dispensing control system 20a may instruct the controllable pressure system 18 to briefly increase the level of pressure in the pressurized environment 22b for all (or for a portion of the duration of a dispensing period) to provide additional force and velocity to liquid being expelled from the compressible liquid volume 28 (for example if the dispensing system 14a is particularly distant from the pressurized container 22a), thus temporarily modifying the predefined pressure vs. time algorithm(s).
In an alternate embodiment of the PLSMPD system 10A, the pressurized container 22a may be positioned in a temperature controlled environment 54 that is suitable for temperature stable storage of the liquid being dispensed from the compressible liquid volume 28 (and/or from the compressible liquid volume 50). The temperature controlled environment 54 may be passive (such as a cellar/basement), active (such as a refrigerated housing (or refrigerated jacketing or coils positioned around the pressurized container 22a), or a cold plate (or equivalent), or ice or equivalent freezable cold elements, positioned proximally to the pressurized container 22a (such under the bottom thereof), or a combination of one or ore of the above (such as a climate controlled wine cellar). Additionally, an individual temperature control component (such as a cooling jacket around a wine bag) may be positioned surrounding any liquid volume stored in the pressurized container 22a that requires lower temperatures for optimal storage (e.g. the liquid volume 28 and/or 50).
Other than as is noted above, the PLSMPD system 10A operates in a manner substantially similar as described above in connection with the PLSMPD system 9 of
Referring now to
By way of example, the PLSMPD system 10B may comprise a system cleaning/sanitizing feature, implemented as a compressible cleaning/sanitizing solution volume 62 that can be utilized to clean any of the dispensing conduits 66a-66c, when the control system 20a-1 selectively activates each individual AB—Open/Close solenoid 64a-64c, one at a time, to dose off a corresponding stored to connect the compressible cleaning/sanitizing solution volume 62 to each corresponding dispensing conduit 66a-66c, and to perform cleaning/sanitization by running a cleaning cycle therethrough. At the conclusion of the cleaning process, the control system 20a-1 causes A/B—Open/Close solenoids 64a-64c to select the connections to the compressible liquid volumes (WinB product) 60a-60c).
Optionally, by way of example, a local carbonator component 68 operable through the control system 20a-1 (or remotely from the BMS control system 6) may be provided with selective connectivity to one or more of the dispensing conduits 66a-66c, having the functionality described above in connection with the dispense control system 5 of
Referring now to
By way of example, the PLSMPD system 10C may comprise a system cleaning/sanitizing feature that can be utilized to dean the dispensing conduit 66a-2 if the compressible liquid volume 60a-2 comprises a cleaning/sanitizing solution. The cleaning feature may be activated when the control system 20a-2 selectively activates the A/B-Open/Close solenoid 64a-2 to connect the compressible cleaning/sanitizing solution volume 60a-2 to the dispensing conduit 66a-2, and to perform cleaning/sanitization by running a cleaning cycle therethrough. At the conclusion of the cleaning process, the control system 20a-2 causes A/B—Open/Close solenoid 64a-2 to select the connection to the compressible liquid volume 60a-2.
Referring now to
Referring now to
A multi-pour nozzle 250 may comprise any reasonable number of nozzle elements ranging from 2 to 9 (or more), determined as a matter of design choice, without departing from the spirit of the invention.
Thus, while there have been shown and described and pointed out fundamental novel features of the inventive system and method as applied to preferred embodiments thereof, it will be understood that various omissions and substitutions and changes in the form and details of the devices and methods illustrated, and in their operation, may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of the invention. For example, it is expressly intended that all combinations of those elements and/or method steps which perform substantially the same function in substantially the same way to achieve the same results are within the scope of the invention. It is the intention, therefore, to be limited only as indicated by the scope of the claims appended hereto.
The present patent application claims priority from, and is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/183,647 entitled “SCALABLE MODULAR SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR STORING, PRESERVING, MANAGING, AND SELECTIVELY DISPENSING BEVERAGES,” filed Feb. 24, 2014, which is a continuation in part of, the commonly assigned co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/055,876 entitled “SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR STORING AND SELECTIVELY DISPENSING LIQUIDS,” filed Dec. 20, 2013, now Issued as U.S. Pat. No. 9,242,845, which claims priority from, and is a continuation in part of, the commonly assigned U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/720,583 entitled “SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR STORING AND SELECTIVELY DISPENSING LIQUIDS,” filed Dec. 19, 2012, which claims priority from, and is a continuation in part of, the commonly assigned U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/329,282 entitled “SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR INTERFACING WITH AND CONTROLLING, BEVERAGE DISPENSING CONTAINERS,” filed Dec. 18, 2011, which claims priority from the commonly assigned U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/530,509 entitled “SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR STORING AND SELECTIVELY DISPENSING LIQUIDS,” filed Sep. 2, 2011. The present patent application also claims priority from, and is a non-provisional of, the commonly assigned U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/931,560 entitled “SCALABLE MODULAR SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR STORING, PRESERVING, MANAGING, AND SELECTIVELY DISPENSING BEVERAGES,” filed Jan. 24, 2014.
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Parent | 14183647 | Feb 2014 | US |
Child | 17093567 | US |
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Parent | 14055876 | Dec 2013 | US |
Child | 14183647 | US | |
Parent | 13720583 | Dec 2012 | US |
Child | 14055876 | US | |
Parent | 13329282 | Dec 2011 | US |
Child | 13720583 | US |