Stopper for wine or champagne preservation and dispensing apparatus
First Claim
1. A stopper for a wine or champagne dispensing apparatus, said stopper comprising:
- a first member adapted to engage an opening in a wine or champagne container, said first member defining an unsealed fluid communication channel and an unsealed gas communication channel;
a second member removably attachable to said first member, said second member including a sealable gas communication channel;
a liquid connection between the second member and the fluid communication channel of the first member, wherein the connection allows wine or champagne to freely flow from the container and through the first and second members when the first and second members are attached;
a sealed gas connection between the gas communication channel of the second member and the gas communication channel of the first member, wherein the sealed gas connection allows a gas to flow from the second member through the first member and into the container when the first and second members are attached;
a sealer in the sealed gas connection, wherein the sealer is biased to a closed position; and
an actuator in the sealed gas connection which disengages the sealer from the closed position when the first and second members are attached to enable gas to flow through said sealed gas connection.
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0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
The present invention relates to an apparatus for preserving and dispensing wine or champagne. The apparatus provides a housing having a container support for holding wine or champagne bottles, a plurality of removable stoppers for insertion in the bottles, a nitrogen generator for generating a nitrogen rich gas from air, a nitrogen storage tank for storing the generated nitrogen rich gas, a cooling system for cooling certain bottles and dispensers for providing wine or champagne from the bottles to a user. The nitrogen generator draws in ambient air, adsorbs the oxygen from the air and stores nitrogen rich gas in the nitrogen storage tank. The nitrogen storage tank supplies the nitrogen rich gas to the bottles for preserving the wine or champagne. The stoppers include a nitrogen line and a supply line. The nitrogen line communicates nitrogen rich gas into the bottles and the supply line communicates wine or champagne from the bottles to the dispensers.
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Citations
34 Claims
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1. A stopper for a wine or champagne dispensing apparatus, said stopper comprising:
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a first member adapted to engage an opening in a wine or champagne container, said first member defining an unsealed fluid communication channel and an unsealed gas communication channel;
a second member removably attachable to said first member, said second member including a sealable gas communication channel;
a liquid connection between the second member and the fluid communication channel of the first member, wherein the connection allows wine or champagne to freely flow from the container and through the first and second members when the first and second members are attached;
a sealed gas connection between the gas communication channel of the second member and the gas communication channel of the first member, wherein the sealed gas connection allows a gas to flow from the second member through the first member and into the container when the first and second members are attached;
a sealer in the sealed gas connection, wherein the sealer is biased to a closed position; and
an actuator in the sealed gas connection which disengages the sealer from the closed position when the first and second members are attached to enable gas to flow through said sealed gas connection. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A stopper for a wine or champagne dispensing apparatus, comprising:
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a first member defining an unsealed fluid communication channel and an unsealed gas communication channel;
a flanged stem removably attachable to said first member and adapted to sealingly engage an opening in a wine or champagne container, said flanged stem defining a port for transporting liquid and gas through the stem to the unsealed fluid communication channel;
a second member removably attachable to said first member, said second member including a sealable gas communication channel;
a liquid connection between the second member and the fluid communication channel of the first member, wherein the liquid connection allows wine or champagne to freely flow from the container and through the first and second members when the first and second members are attached;
a sealed gas connection between the gas communication channel of the second member and the gas communication channel of the first member, wherein the sealed gas connection allows a gas to flow from the second member through the first member and into the container when the first and second members are attached;
a sealer in the sealed gas connection, wherein the sealer is biased to a closed position; and
an actuator in the sealed gas connection which disengages the sealer from the closed position when the first and second members are attached to enable gas to flow through said sealed gas connection.
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16. A stopper for a wine or champagne dispensing apparatus, comprising:
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a first member including a flanged stem adapted to sealingly engage an opening of a wine or champagne container, said first member defining an unsealed fluid communication channel and an unsealed gas communication channel;
a second member removably connected to said first member, said second member including a sealable gas communication channel;
a liquid connection between the second member and the fluid communication channel of the first member, wherein the liquid connection allows wine or champagne to freely flow from the container and through the first and second members when the first and second members are attached; and
a sealed gas connection between the gas communication channel of the second member and the gas communication channel of the first member, wherein the sealed gas connection allows a gas to flow from the second member through the first member and into the container when the first member is connected to the second member, said sealable gas communication channel of the second member including a sealer biased to a closed position and an actuator which disengages the sealer from the closed position when the first and second members are connected to enable gas to flow through said sealed gas connection. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18)
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19. A stopper for a wine or champagne dispensing apparatus, comprising:
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a first member defining an unsealed fluid communication channel and an unsealed gas communication channel which includes a plurality of independent gas ports, said first member adapted to sealingly engage an opening in a wine or champagne container;
a flanged stem removably attachable to said first member, said flanged stem defining a liquid port for transporting liquid through the flanged stem to the unsealed fluid communication channel of the first member;
a second member removably attachable to said first member, said second member including a sealable gas communication channel;
a liquid connection between the second member and the fluid communication channel of the first member, wherein the liquid connection allows wine or champagne to freely flow from the container and through the first and second members when the first and second members are attached;
a sealed gas connection between the gas communication channel of the second member and the gas communication channel of the first member, wherein the sealed gas connection allows a gas to flow from the second member through the first member and into the container when the first and second members are attached;
a sealer in the sealed gas connection, wherein the sealer is biased to a closed position; and
an actuator in the sealed gas connection which disengages the sealer from the closed position when the first and second members are attached to enable gas to flow through said sealed gas connection. - View Dependent Claims (20, 21)
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22. A stopper for a wine or champagne dispensing apparatus, said stopper comprising:
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a first member adapted to engage an opening in a wine or champagne container, said first member defining an unsealed fluid communication channel and an unsealed gas communication channel;
a second member removably attachable to said first member, said second member including a sealable gas communication channel;
a liquid connection between the second member and the fluid communication channel of the first member, wherein the connection allows wine or champagne to freely flow from the container and through the first and second members when the first and second members are attached;
a sealed gas connection between the gas communication channel of the second member and the gas communication channel of the first member, wherein the sealed gas connection allows a gas to flow from the second member through the first member and into the container when the first and second members are attached;
a sealer in the sealed gas connection, wherein the sealer is biased to a closed position; and
a post in the sealed gas connection which disengages the sealer from the closed position when the first and second members are attached to enable gas to flow through said sealed gas connection. - View Dependent Claims (23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34)
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Specification