Decanter Stopper With Flexible Seal For Flavor Extraction
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for liquid aging, such as using barrels or wood dust in bottles, are limited in flavor customization and efficiency, as they provide only superficial woody flavors and require large quantities, making it difficult to achieve rapid flavor enhancement on a small scale.
Innovation Solution
A decanter system with a wide mouth and neck, featuring a stopper with a flexible seal and a filter, allowing for the insertion of larger pieces of flavoring materials like wood, fruits, and spices, which can be cycled to mimic seasonal pressure changes, enhancing flavor extraction and aging on demand.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If traditional barrels are used for aging, then large quantities of liquid can be aged, but the customer cannot customize flavors and must accept the barrel's natural aging process which takes years
Solution Approach 1:
The invention divides the aging process into controllable segments by using individual bottles with removable stoppers containing specific flavoring materials. Each bottle becomes an independent aging chamber where users can select and change flavoring materials (wood chips, spices, fruits) to customize the aging process, rather than being constrained by a single large barrel's fixed characteristics.
Solution Approach 2:
Flavoring materials are pre-loaded into the stopper before insertion into the bottle. This preliminary preparation allows the aging process to begin immediately upon sealing, eliminating the need for years of waiting. The stopper acts as a pre-configured flavor infusion device that can be inserted directly into the bottle to start the aging process.
2Quantity of substance
If wood dust or thin wood spirals are placed in bottles, then aging can be attempted on a small scale, but the surface area is limited and only superficial woody flavor is achieved
Solution Approach 1:
The stopper is designed with a flexible hollow chamber that can be compressed and expanded. When inserted into the bottle, the flexible material allows the stopper to be compressed, expanding the internal chamber to accommodate larger quantities of flavoring materials such as whole wood chips, spices, and fruits, thereby significantly increasing the surface area available for flavor extraction.
Solution Approach 2:
The stopper incorporates a dynamic compression mechanism where the user can apply force to compress the flexible material, which in turn compresses the flavoring materials inside. This dynamic action enhances the contact between the liquid and flavoring materials, increasing the efficiency and speed of flavor extraction beyond what static small pieces of wood could achieve.
3Length of moving object
If a narrow neck bottle is used, then the bottle structure is simple, but larger pieces and quantities of wood and flavoring materials cannot be inserted
Solution Approach 1:
The invention separates the flavoring material containment function from the bottle structure itself by using a removable stopper. The stopper acts as an independent carrier that can be pre-filled with various flavoring materials outside the bottle, then inserted into the bottle's neck. This segmentation allows the use of larger flavoring pieces without requiring a wider bottle neck.
Solution Approach 2:
The flavoring materials are nested within the hollow chamber of the stopper, which is then inserted into the bottle. This nested configuration allows compact storage and easy insertion of substantial quantities of flavoring materials through a relatively narrow neck, as the materials are contained within the stopper's internal cavity rather than needing to be inserted loose.
4Strength
If the stopper uses a rigid seal, then the seal is strong, but the stopper cannot move vertically to create pressure changes for flavor extraction
Solution Approach 1:
The seal is constructed from flexible elastomeric material that can deform under compression. When the user pushes the stopper downward, the flexible seal compresses between the angled mouth of the decanter and the angled stopper, closing the gap and maintaining the seal. When pressure is released, the seal's elasticity allows the stopper to return to its original position, creating pressure changes that enhance flavor extraction.
Solution Approach 2:
The stopper system transitions from a static rigid seal to a dynamic flexible seal that can move vertically. The flexible material allows the stopper to be compressed downward to create pressure, then naturally rebound when pressure is released. This dynamic movement creates repeated pressure cycles that force the liquid in and out of the flavoring materials, accelerating the extraction process while maintaining an effective seal throughout the motion.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enables rapid and customizable flavor enhancement of liquids by allowing larger surface areas of flavoring materials and simulating barrel aging effects, allowing for frequent pressure changes to draw out flavors more quickly than traditional methods, providing a more intense and customizable aging experience.
Implementation Method 1
The seal of the stopper can have a bulb like profile and can be made of a flexible rubber-like or elastomeric material which can also be a compressible foam cellular type. This bulb like profile can create a gap between the body of the seal and the stopper. When the stopper is pushed down, the flexible material can flex and compress between the angled mouth of the decanter and the angled stopper, closing the gap and allowing the stopper to move in a vertically downward motion.
Implementation Method 2
Placement and vertical movement of the stopper into the angled mouth of the decanter can thereby create a mild pressure and release function inside the decanter, allowing the liquid to move in and out of flavoring materials, including pores of wood, fruits, spices or other flavoring products placed inside, just like the pressure changes created by seasonal temperature variations that affect the spirit in the barrel.
Implementation Method 3
This action can more quickly draw out the flavors and age the liquid. The size and angle of the bulb, stopper, and the decanter mouth can be varied to create a larger or smaller volume, thereby increasing or decreasing the movement of the stopper and seal assembly, which in turn creates more movement of the liquid into and out of the flavoring materials.
Data Source
AI summary
A decanter system can include a decanter and a stopper. The decanter can include a decanter body and a neck. A mouth can be formed in the neck. The stopper can include a sealing member. The stopper can be configured to be selectively disposed in the mouth to form a seal between the sealing member and the mouth. The stopper is positionable in the mouth between a first position and a second position where the seal is maintained in each of the first position and the second position. A method of storing liquid can include providing a decanter system. A liquid can be disposed in the decanter body. A filter with flavoring materials disposed therein can be placed within the decanter body. The decanter can be sealed with the stopper in the first position. The stopper can be pushed downwards in the mouth to the second position, repeatedly as desired.