Flexible Beverage Ingredient Pack for Fermentation Gas Management
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing beverage-making technologies lack an efficient and convenient method for fermenting ingredients within a fermentation tank assembly, particularly in brewing beverages like beer, where ingredients such as malt, yeast, and hops need to be managed effectively to ensure uniform mixing and fermentation.
Innovation Solution
A beverage ingredient pack with a flexible container and interface portion that includes multiple openings for gas release and a tubular portion extending into the container, allowing for easy mounting on a fermentation tank assembly, facilitating the fermentation process by managing gas pressure and ingredient mixing within the tank.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If a rigid container is used for fermenting ingredients, then structural strength is improved, but ease of operation deteriorates due to difficulty in mounting and detaching
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs a flexible container made of expandable material that can be collapsed when empty and expanded when filled with ingredients. This flexible structure allows the container to be easily compressed for storage and simple to mount/detach from the fermentation tank, while still providing sufficient structural strength during the fermentation process through its expandable nature that distributes stress evenly.
2Reliability
If multiple gas release openings are created in the container, then gas pressure management is improved, but structural integrity deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent incorporates a porous valve structure that allows gas to escape through multiple microscopic pores distributed across the container wall. This porous design enables effective gas pressure management by allowing uniform gas release throughout the container surface, while the porous structure itself maintains structural integrity by distributing stress across many small openings rather than creating weak points at large holes.
3Stability of the object's composition
If the tubular portion extends deeply into the container, then ingredient mixing uniformity is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the mixing function into multiple segments by creating several openings in the tubular portion that extends into the container. This segmented design allows liquid to be injected at multiple levels and positions simultaneously, achieving uniform ingredient mixing throughout the container volume without requiring a single complex deep-insertion mechanism. The segmentation simplifies the overall device structure while maintaining effective mixing uniformity.
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
The solution enables efficient fermentation by managing gas pressure and ensuring uniform mixing of ingredients, improving the convenience and effectiveness of the beverage-making process by allowing for easy attachment and detachment of the ingredient pack from the fermentation tank.
Implementation Method 1
the at least one second opening includes a plurality of second openings configured to release gas from an interior of the flexible container
Data Source
AI summary
A beverage ingredient pack includes a flexible container; and an interface portion configured to be connected to the flexible container. The interface portion includes at least two openings formed therein; a tubular portion extending from a first opening of the at least two openings of the interface portion into an interior of the flexible container; and a mounting part configured to be mounted on a beverage making apparatus.