System and Method for Interfacing with, and Controlling, Beverage Dispensing Containers

Abstract

The inventive system and method advantageously enable superior adaptive connection of containers for storing and dispensing beverages to various dispensing systems, and more particularly to systems and methods for interfacing with, and controlling the flow of liquid from, various beverage storage / dispensing containers that comprise any of a variety of dispensing interface components. In at least one embodiment of the present invention, the inventive configurable releasable dispensing interface coupling adapter is configured to achieve a pressurized seal with a connected beverage storage / dispensing container, to accomplish connection with a pressurization-based beverage dispensing system or equivalent thereof.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS[0001]The present patent application claims priority from the commonly assigned co-pending U.S. provisional patent application Ser. No. 61 / 530,509 entitled “SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR STORING AND SELECTIVELY DISPENSING LIQUIDS” filed Sep. 2, 2011.FIELD OF THE INVENTION[0002]The present invention relates generally to systems and methods for connecting containers for storing and dispensing beverages to various dispensing systems, and more particularly to systems and methods for interfacing with, and controlling the flow of liquid from, various beverage storage / dispensing containers that comprise any of a variety of dispensing components.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0003]The ever-increasing consumption of wine and similar beverages, both in various commercial establishments (e.g., restaurants, bars, lounges, etc.), and in consumers' homes, has led to growth in popularity and in commercial availability of “wine bags” / “wine boxes” (often offered in a “win...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

The present patent application claims priority from a co-pending provisional patent application filed in September 2011. The patent is about a system and method for interfacing with and controlling beverage storage and dispensing containers, specifically win-in-bag (WinB) products. The technical effect of the patent is to provide a solution that overcomes the disadvantages of proprietary dispensing interfaces of all previously known WinB products, allowing them to be interfacing with and controlled by advanced wine preservation and dispensing systems. The patent describes a configurable releasable dispensing interface coupling adapter that can be connected to a variety of WinB product containers, providing flexibility and access to a wide range of consumer and commercial settings.

Problems solved by technology

However, virtually all previously known WinB products suffer from at least one significant disadvantage—their dispensing interfaces either include fully functional dispensing taps (such as push-button or twist taps) which makes them usable only with specific properly sized and configured tap-less dispensing containers, or are configured for proprietary connections to specific models of dispensing containers / systems—an approach most often taken by wine sellers that offer their customers a proprietary dispenser for which the customer must later purchase wine in the seller's proprietary WinB products.

It is for above reasons, that despite their growing popularity, WinB products have, to date, failed to achieve a well-deserved broad level of commercial success.

Moreover, the proprietary nature of commercially available WinB products also greatly limits their use only to such specific consumer / commercial wine preservation / dispensing systems which they are configured to interface.

This is a particularly significant problem for WinB products that comprise a user-activated tap interface.

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