Claims
- 1. A stopper for a wine or champagne dispensing apparatus, said stopper comprising:
a sealing member adapted to sealingly engage a wine or champagne container; a fluid communication member removably attachable to said sealing member; a liquid connection between the fluid communication member and the sealing member when the sealing member and the fluid communication member are attached; and a sealed gas connection between the fluid communication member and the sealing member when the sealing member and the fluid communication member are attached.
- 2. The stopper of claim 1, wherein the liquid connection includes a male portion and a female portion, wherein said male portion sealingly engages said female portion.
- 3. The stopper of claim 2, wherein the liquid connection includes an o-ring adapted to form a seal between the male and female portions.
- 4. The stopper of claim 1, wherein the sealed gas connection includes a male portion and a female portion, wherein said male portion sealingly engages said female portion.
- 5. The stopper of claim 4, wherein the sealed gas connection includes an o-ring adapted to form a seal between the male and female portions.
- 6. The stopper of claim 1, wherein the fluid communication member and the sealing member include co-acting locking members for removably attaching the fluid communication member to the sealing member.
- 7. The stopper of claim 6, wherein the co-acting locking members include a male locking portion having a locking tab and a female locking portion having a locking receiver adapted to receive the locking tab for removably attaching the fluid communication member to the sealing member.
- 8. The stopper of claim 1, wherein the sealed gas connection includes a sealer biased to a closed position.
- 9. The stopper of claim 8, wherein the sealed gas connection includes an o-ring surrounding an outlet in said sealed gas connection, said o-ring being substantially compressed by said sealer when the sealer is in the closed position.
- 10. The stopper of claim 8, wherein the sealed gas connection includes an actuator which dis-engages the sealer from the closed position when the fluid communication and sealing members are attached to enable gas to flow through said sealed gas connection.
- 11. The stopper of claim 8, wherein the sealed gas connection includes a post positioned to disengage the sealer when said fluid communication and sealing members are attached to enable gas to flow through the sealed gas connection.
- 12. The stopper of claim 11, wherein the sealer includes a check ball biased by a spring to the closed position.
- 13. The stopper of claim 1, wherein the sealing member includes a flanged stem removably attached to a portion of the sealing member, said stem defining a port for communicating fluid and gas into the wine or champagne container.
- 14. The stopper of claim 1, wherein said sealed gas connection defines at least one port for transporting a gas through the sealing member.
- 15. The stopper of claim 1, which includes a transport tube removably attached to said sealing member for communicating fluid from the wine or champagne container to the sealing member.
- 16. The stopper of claim 15, wherein the transport tube includes an upper draft tube and a lower draft tube connected to said upper draft tube, said lower draft tube being angled to reach a lowest interior point of the wine or champagne container.
- 17. A stopper for a wine or champagne dispensing apparatus, comprising:
a sealing member; a flanged stem removably attachable to said sealing member and adapted to sealingly engage a wine or champagne container, said flanged stem defining a port for transporting liquid and gas through the stem to the sealing member; a fluid communication member removably attachable to said sealing member; a liquid connection between the fluid communication member and the sealing member wherein the sealing member and the fluid communication member are attached; and a sealed gas connection between the fluid communication member and the sealing member wherein the sealing member and the fluid communication member are attached.
- 18. A stopper for a wine or champagne dispensing apparatus, comprising:
a sealing member including a flanged stem adapted to sealingly engage a wine or champagne container; a fluid communication member removably connected to said sealing member; and a sealed gas connection between the fluid communication member and the sealing member when the sealing member is connected to the fluid communication member, said sealed gas connection including a sealer biased to a closed position and an actuator which disengages the sealer from the closed position when the fluid communication and sealing members are connected to enable gas to flow through said sealed gas connection.
- 19. The stopper of claim 18, wherein the sealer includes o-ring in the sealed gas connection.
- 20. The stopper of claim 19, wherein the sealer includes a check ball in the sealed gas connection adjacent to said o-ring for substantially compressing said o-ring to close an end of the sealed gas connection, said check ball being biased to a closed position.
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This patent application is related to the following co-pending commonly owned patent applications: “WINE OR CHAMPAGNE PRESERVATION AND DISPENSING APPARATUS,” Ser. No. ______, Attorney Docket No. 0113260-005; “NITROGEN GENERATOR FOR WINE OR CHAMPAGNE PRESERVATION AND DISPENSING APPARATUS,” Ser. No. ______, Attorney Docket No. 0113260-007; and “COOLING SYSTEM FOR WINE OR CHAMPAGNE PRESERVATION AND DISPENSING APPARATUS,” Ser. No. ______, Attorney Docket No. 0113260-008.