Vessel stopper with a pressure indicator

Abstract

Disclosed are systems and methods for preserving wine in a vessel. The system comprises a stopper adapted for engaging and airtight sealing the mouth of the vessel; the stopper comprises a valve assembly operable to draw and maintain a pressure differential within the vessel and a pressure indicator operable to indicate vacuum pressure within the vessel The system further comprises a pump operable to engage the valve assembly and to draw gas from within the vessel to an external atmosphere.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS [0001] This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. application Ser. No. 11 / 365,001 entitled “Decanter Stopper with a Vacuum Pressure Indicator”, filed on Feb. 28, 2006, which is incorporated in its entirety by reference herein.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0002] 1. Field of the Invention [0003] The present invention relates generally to systems and methods for preserving beverages and more specifically to a vessel stopper having means for drawing and maintaining a vacuum within the vessel and a vacuum pressure indicator to indicate vacuum pressure within the vessel. [0004] 2. Description of the Related Art [0005] It is to be understood that a “vessel” may be any container suitable for holding a liquid. In particular, a “vessel” shall refer to either a wine bottle or a decanter. A “wine bottle” is a vessel, usually made of glass, which is used to hold wine. Wine bottles come in different shapes and sizes depending upon the type of wine th...

AI Technical Summary

Problems solved by technology

Exposure of the wine to air for longer periods, such as six hours or more, however, tends to deteriorate the wine.

In particular, oxygen present in the air contacting the unconsumed wine in the decanter will oxidize the wine, resulting in off-flavors in the unconsumed wine.

Similarly, the quality of non-carbonated soft drinks may deteriorate upon exposure to air due to oxidation or other chemical reactions.

For one, a seal formed by the stopper valve is generally not very stable and prone to failure due to natural and mechanical causes.

For example, the presence of liquid or dust particles on the valve may result in a leaky seal, depressurization of the vessel, and / or inadvertent penetration of air into the vessel Furthermore, repeated use of the stopper as well as the pressure differential across thereof may result in degradation of its elastic properties.

Should the seal fair due to these or other reasons and allow air to enter the vessel, the wine will deteriorate due to oxidation or other chemical reactions.

The system however provides no suitable means for detecting the failure of the seal and the resultant depressurization of the vessel Such failure, if it remains undiscovered, will allow deterioration of the wine to progress undetected Another shortcoming of the prior art pump systems is that the provided stoppers are usually configured to only fit a single size or standard-size wine bottle and thus are not suitable for non-standard sized wine bottles or decanters, which typically have much wider neck openings.

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