Personal Beverage Processing Apparatus

Abstract

A personal beverage processing apparatus for processing alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages includes an outer shell defining a generally airtight interior area, spaced apart environment access openings. A plurality of environmental modules are situated in the interior area of the outer shell, Each environmental module includes a vessel for receiving a liquid, at least one environmental sensor configured to detect an environmental condition, a module fan, and pressure sensitive vent. A control apparatus is in operative communication with the plurality of environmental modules, the environmental control apparatus including a cooling assembly configured to generate cooled air and a plurality of controllers, a respective controller being in communication with each environmental module to receive sensory data and to actuate the cooling assembly, respective exhaust baffles, and respective module fans based on the received data so as to maintain the respective environmental module in a user-determined environmental condition.

Description

REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS[0001]This application claims the benefit of provisional patent application U.S. Ser. No. 62 / 051,335 filed Sep. 17, 2014 titled Personal Beverage Processing Apparatus and which is incorporated herein in its entirety by reference.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0002]The present invention relates generally to equipment capable of achieving, isolating and simultaneously maintaining, multi temperature environments and more specifically environments required by breweries, wineries, distilleries and others drink manufacturers relating to blending, fermenting, ageing, filtration, maturation, conditioning, storage, packaging, serving etc. of alcoholic and non alcoholic beverages and drinks reminiscent of commercially produced beverages processed at home.[0003]Pre-manufactured brewing kits such as Coopers or Brewer's Best and Mr. Beer are commonly used to make alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages and drinks. A kit is prepared following manufacturer's instruction...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0020]A further object of this invention is to provide a personal beverage processing apparatus, as aforesaid, that is capable of efficiently maintaining all required environments automatically.

[0021]Further objects of this invention include the ability to create 1) primary fermentation environments required for alcohol including blended beverages or drinks, 2) secondary fermentation environment for alcoholic beverages or drinks as required, 3) multiple environments simultaneously for processing various beverages, 3) blended product environment requirements for flavoring and carbonating water, 4) filtration environment required for alcoholic and non alcoholic beverages or drinks, 5) carbonation of finished product, 6) packaging environment required for alcoholic and non alcoholic beverages or drinks, 7) serving environment required for alcoholic and non alcoholic beverages or drinks Ability to create, 8) follow formulation without chemistry knowledge and create successful beverages and drinks.

Problems solved by technology

Some modify various old refrigerators or freezers striving for temperature control with limited success.

Most end up at room temperature with runaway fermentations dependent on yeast strain and temperature, (Ref Coopers) and lack secondary or other temperature sensitive processes, thus limiting the range of products due to an inability to process products at required temperature specifications and thus creating unwanted flavors and nuances.

The weight of beverage makes movement to other environments difficult in either size.

Couple these requirements to an end user, using a mish mash collection of equipment; inability to control environment; inability to produce multi variable environments simultaneously; lacking the equipment leads to methodology mistakes, even if they know, they lack the equipment to process formulations correctly.

This void results in unsatisfactory alcoholic or non-alcoholic beverages and drinks.

Users commonly experience a lack of proper equipment to facilitate multi-environment functionality and, hence, ther poor results.

With the inability to control each environment to formulation requirements, the control of yeast or blending process is lost.

Lack of control leads to creation of undesired properties in the beverage, they experience the inability to process most beverages.

The inability to easily maintain environmental conditions required for beverage.

Inability to process products requiring low temperature, inability for multi temperature environments, inability to hold maturation environments.

Inability to complete final filtration environment, inability to create conditioning environments, inability for packaging environments, inability for serving environments.

The inability to create required environmental components to accommodate various beverage formulations.

Current personal equipment that is used to process Alcoholic and Non Alcoholic beverages all lend themselves to similar problems, leaving the end user perplexed and unsatisfied.

It is understood that current equipment cannot create proper environments for blending or fermentation and is inadequate to produce various high quality Alcoholic and None Alcoholic beverages and drinks.

It is hard to move beverages, risk spillage, limit processing amounts, space requirements of support equipment and inability to create and hold multi environments.

Personal equipment that is available today is incapable of multi-environment methodology and support functions.

It is inadequate for production of quality alcoholic and non alcoholic beverages and drinks because the user cannot achieve or maintain formulation environments to 1) ferment various beverages, 2) condition beverages, 3) blend beverages, 4) cold filter beverages, 5) age beverages, 6) serve temperature for beverages, 7) establish a packaging environment.

Without the ability to create environments required by formulation, the end products often have poor flavor, prevalent flavors are offensive, have an undesirable odor, are too sweet, are cloudy, have no carbonation, offer a weak blend of ingredients, are not emulsified, or have digestive side effects.

Inadequate packaging and storage result in additional spoilage.

It is understandable that these methods are inadequate due to the temperature and time requirements and related specific gravity of an average fermentation of alcoholic beverages.

As diligent as an end user is, they cannot achieve high quality results without processes taking place in required environments inclusive of atmospheres.

To produce high quality alcoholic or non-alcoholic beverages and drinks, the ability to intermix with additional processing techniques such as maturation, ageing, conditioning, cold filtration, CO2 adjustment and additional processes required are unattainable for most personal users.

The use of certain prior art products such as Apparatus For Brewing Beer: Toshiba Corp., JPH10313848 (A), 1998 Dec. 2, along with Home Brew Fermenter System And Apparatus; Coopers Brewery Limited, WO2010 / 130012 A1, 2010 Nov. 18, and their associated prior art do address some improvement; however, these type of systems do not address major processes that have to be done in different environments in order to produce a variety of quality products.

The prior art also does not address the issue of product production flow or outside packaging.

The beverage or drink goes into aggressive yeast fermentation causing excessive foam which is contained by inner sleeve extending itself upwards containing the foam produced by the rapid conversion of sugars at high temperatures.

This is, in most instances, responsible for producing off flavored additional byproducts and, in general, very poor quality results also lacking multi environmental and atmospheric control.

Addressing processing problems and protocol Brewing Alcoholic Beverages and Apparatus Therefor: Ward, John R, Canadian Patent 1196589 (A), 1985 Nov. 12, while resolving problems of prior art the apparatus itself created insurmountable problems for the personal user.

This level of resources far exceeds personal consumption requirements and legalities, and can cost in the millions to set up.

Movement of beverages is awkward, time consuming and can require multi environments being created dependent on process.

The current file of home brew fermenter systems by Coopers Brewery Limited, WO2010 / 130012A1, still exhibits an inability to achieve and maintain all required environments for complete processing.

Single vessel processing environments have limitations leading to poor production quality, poor production volume, and poor production varieties.

This results in off flavors and lacks final conditioning / carbonization and results in high spoilage of product.

The ability of the prior art to process beer, wine, alcoholic beverages, non alcoholic beverages and drinks is most certainly limited if not impossible for users to attain anticipated results.

The end user is frustrated with a lack of results and soon loses interest in processing his own beverages.

The void in home processing apparatuses leaves the individual unable to produce quality beverages and will tend to purchase such beverages from commercial suppliers.

Numerous problems are created with the lack of environmental control being applied to the required formulation.

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