Automated home beer brewing machine and method

• US 6,032,571 A
• Filed: 10/19/1998
• Issued: 03/07/2000
• Est. Priority Date: 05/06/1997
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Brad Brous, Craig A. Wright, Curt N. Torgerson, Terry Dubson
• Original Assignee: Brad Brous, Craig A. Wright, Curt N. Torgerson, Terry Dubson
• Inventors: Wright, Craig A., Dubson, Terry, Brous, Brad, Torgerson, Curt N.
• Primary Examiner(s): ALEXANDER, REGINALD
• Application Number:
  US09/174,703
• Time in Patent Office: 505 Days
• Field of Search: 99/277.1, 99/277.2, 99/348, 99/278, 99/276, 366/244, 366/245, 366/246, 366/247, 366/248, 366/249, 366/222, 366/223, 366/224
• US Class Current: 99/277.2
• CPC Class Codes: B07C 2501/009 Sorting of fruit
• CPC Class Codes: C12C 13/10 Home brew equipment

Abstract

An automated home beer brewing machine and method makes beer in a single vessel under automatic control. The machine and method allows making of wort for beer without requiring apparatus to be sanitized, without boiling the wort, without the use of a traditional water-filled fermentation lock, and without using a wort chiller or ice-packing of a brewing pot. The inventive single-vessel automated brewing operation allows the user to load ingredients, conduct a grain-steeping if desired, and then automatically carries out the rest of the brewing process in a single vessel, until summoning the user days later to sugar-prime and bottle the beer. Thus, the user is required to provide much less time and labor than conventional home beer brewing, and the invention also frees the home-hobby brewer of much of the current art traditionally attached to home brewing.

Claims

1. An automated machine for home-brewing beer, said machine comprising:

a housing having a heater, a first power drive means, a second power drive means, and an ingredients dispenser;

a removable brew pot receivable into cooperation with the housing in heat transfer relation with the heater for heating beer wort in the brew pot;

a lid for covering the brew pot, said lid defining an aperture through which ingredients may be dispensed into the brew pot, said housing and lid being configured so that when the removable brew pot is received into cooperation with the housing home-brewing without contamination by ambient microbes is facilitated;

a stirrer extending into the brew pot, said stirrer cooperating with said first power drive means so as to be in driving relation with the stirrer when the brew pot is in cooperation with the housing;

said ingredients dispenser including plural ingredients containers, and second power drive means for driving said ingredients dispensing mechanism for dispensing ingredients from said ingredients containers into said brew pot;

a programmable controller for controlling said heater, said first power drive means, and said second power drive means.

2. The machine of claim 1 further including a temperature sensor probe carried by said housing for sensing the temperature of beer wort in said brew pot.

3. The machine of claim 2 wherein said controller includes program means for effecting natural cooling of beer wort in said brew pot, and for addition of yeast thereto by actuation of said ingredients dispensing mechanism as a function only of temperature of said beer wort after cooling naturally to a selected temperature from a higher temperature, whereby said yeast is added only to a sufficiently cool wort so as to prevent shock or death of the yeast.

4. The machine of claim 1 wherein said brew pot and said lid cooperatively define a labyrinth seal, and said brew pot and lid with said labyrinth seal both cooperatively protect the wort from ambient microbes, and allow escape of fermentation gas between the container and the lid without use of a fermentation water-lock.

5. An automated machine for simplified, low-temperature, single-vessel, home-brewing of beer, said machine comprising:

a housing having a base portion, an intermediate portion above the base portion, and an upper portion on the intermediate portion, the housing portions cooperatively defining a recess for removably receiving a brew pot and cover, a temperature sensor in the recess for contacting the brew pot in heat transfer relation to sense the temperature of beer wort therein, and the housing on the base portion carrying a hot-plate heater having a heating surface, a power drive for a stirrer, and an incremental-movement power-drive ingredients dispenser;

a removable brew pot receivable into said recess in cooperation with the housing and on said heating surface in heat transfer relation for heating beer wort in the brew pot;

a lid for covering the brew pot, said lid defining an aperture through which ingredients may be dispensed into the brew pot from said power-drive ingredients dispenser, said lid carrying a stirrer extending into the brew pot toward but short of a bottom thereof, cooperative drive means connecting the stirrer with the power-drive for a stirrer when said brew pot and cover are received into said recess;

said housing upper portion carrying said incremental-movement power-drive ingredients dispenser, said ingredients dispenser including plural ingredients containers carried upon a turntable member rotational on said upper housing portion, and incremental power drive means for driving said ingredients dispenser for dispensing ingredients from said ingredients containers into said brew pot via said aperture in response to incremental rotational motion of the turn table member, said power drive means including;

a reversible motor;

a gear rotating in respective opposite directions in response to respective forward and reverse operations of said motor;

a toggle member pivoting between respective first and second positions in response to rotation of said gear in respective opposite directions;

said toggle member carrying a first pinion meshed with said gear and driving a second pinion;

said toggle member also carrying a third pinion meshed with said gear, and driving a fourth pinion via a direction-reversing drive, said second pinion and said fourth pinion being spaced circumferentially apart relative to said turn table member;

said turn table member peripherally defining a gear section divided into plural respective gear sectors by plural circumferentially spaced apart intervening notches having no gear teeth; and

in each of said first and said second positions of said toggle member said second and said fourth pinions respectively meshing with a gear segment of said turn table member to rotate said turn table member in a single direction regardless of direction of operation of said motor until the meshed pinion runs off a gear segment into a notch to stop rotation of said turn table member, continued operation of said motor in the same direction with a pinion in a notch not rotating said turn table member;

whereby, reversing direction of operation of said motor pivots said toggle member to the other of said first and second positions, and meshes the other of said second and fourth pinions with a gear segment to again rotate said turn table member in said single direction regardless of direction of rotation of said motor; and

a programmable controller for controlling said heater, said first power drive means, and said second power drive means.

6. The machine of claim 5 wherein said controller includes programming responsive to temperature sensed by said temperature sensor to control said heater so as to not boil said beer wort in said brew pot.

7. The machine of claim 5 wherein said turn table member includes plural ingredients containers and plural aperture-cover portions alternating with one another circumferentially of said turn table member, a respective one of said plural aperture-cover portions aligning with said aperture when said second pinion runs off a gear segment to stop said turn table member.

8. The machine of claim 5 wherein each of said plural ingredients containers and said housing defining cooperating means for dispensing ingredients from one of said ingredients containers as said turn table member rotates incrementally between stops to pass the one ingredients container over said aperture.

9. The machine of claim 8 wherein said cooperating means for dispensing ingredients from one of said ingredients containers includes said plural ingredients containers being circumferentially arrayed on said turn table member, and each container being configured as an ingredient cup pivotally supported on said turn table member, said housing carrying means for tipping the one of said ingredient cups passing over said aperture, and the turn table member having a funnel-like wall section disposed below each ingredient cup and disposed to deflect ingredients therefrom into said aperture.

10. The machine of claim 5 wherein said motor drives both of said power drive for a stirrer, and said incremental-movement power-drive ingredients dispenser;

said cooperative drive means connecting the stirrer with the power-drive for a stirrer when said brew pot and cover are received into said recess including a drive gear drivingly connected with said motor, and a driven gear carried by said stirrer and meshing with said drive gear when said brew pot and cover are in said recess.

11. An brew pot with lid for use in automated home-brewing of beer, said brew pot with lid comprising:

a brew pot portion having a bottom wall and a side wall, said walls cooperatively defining an upwardly opening cavity in the brew pot, and the side wall having a lip defining an opening to said cavity;

a removable lid portion for covering the brew pot, said lid defining a peripheral skirt having a circumferential downwardly opening groove receiving said lip and cooperating therewith to define a labyrinth seal with the brew pot portion, said lid further having an aperture through which ingredients may be dispensed into the brew pot, said lid carrying a stirrer extending into said brew pot cavity toward but short of said bottom wall, and externally-exposed power drive means for said stirrer;

whereby said brew pot and lid with said labyrinth seal both cooperatively protect beer wort in said cavity from ambient microbes, allow escape of fermentation gas between the brew pot portion and the lid portion via said labyrinth seal without use of a fermentation water-lock, and allowing power-drive stirring of said beer wort.

12. An automated machine for home-brewing beer, said machine comprising:

a housing;

a heater;

a stirrer with power drive means;

an ingredients dispenser;

a temperature sensor providing a temperature output signal;

a brew pot in heat transfer relation with both the heater and temperature sensor;

a lid for covering the brew pot, said lid defining an aperture through which ingredients may be added to the brew pot;

said ingredients dispenser including plural ingredients containers for dispensing ingredients into said brew pot via said aperture;

a programmable controller receiving said temperature output signal and controlling said heater in accordance with a programmed procedure for home-brewing beer programmed in the controller.

13. The machine of claim 12 further including said programmable controller controlling said power drive means.

14. The machine of claim 12 wherein said programmable controller includes program means for commanding addition of yeast to beer wort in said brew pot as a function only of temperature of said beer wort.

15. The machine of claim 14 wherein said ingredients dispenser includes an additional power drive means effecting dispensing of ingredients into said brew pot, said programmable controller controlling also said second power drive means and including program means for commanding addition of ingredients to beer wort in said brew pot, ingredients other than yeast being added to said beer wort as a function of both time and temperature.

16. The machine of claim 12 wherein said brew pot further includes a water cooling jacket.

17. The machine of claim 12 wherein said programmable controller effects temperature control of wort in said brew pot to heat said wort to a temperature and always below boiling.

18. The machine of claim 17 wherein said temperature is in the range from about 140°

F. to about 205°

F., and is below boiling temperature.