Submerged Agitator for Red Wine Fermentation Cap Management
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional cap management techniques for red wine fermentation are inefficient, requiring manual intervention and often result in oxidation due to open-top fermenters, and existing automated solutions are complex and costly.
Innovation Solution
An automated agitation device that can be retrofitted into wine fermentation tanks, using a stainless steel cylinder with a pneumatic flotation collar and thruster to break up and wet the cap from underneath, eliminating the need for manual punching and ensuring consistent cap management.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If manual punchdown is used to break up the cap, then the cap is effectively broken up and wetted, but the process is tedious and dangerous requiring repeated manual intervention
Solution Approach 1:
The device performs cap management automatically without requiring manual intervention. The automated system uses a pneumatic flotation collar to rise through the cap and a thruster to move across the surface, breaking up and wetting the cap autonomously based on预设 timing cycles
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces manual mechanical punching with an automated system that uses pneumatic pressure (flotation collar) and electric motor propulsion (thruster) to achieve cap breaking and wetting, eliminating the need for human operators to manually punch down the cap
2Ease of operation
If open top fermenters are used for manual punchdown, then access to the cap is easy, but air contacts the fermenting wine causing unwanted oxidation
Solution Approach 1:
The device enables cap management without requiring the fermenter top to be open. The automated system inserts through the liquid and cap from below, performing the punchdown function while the fermenter remains closed, thus preventing air contact and oxidation
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of accessing the cap from above through an open top, the device approaches the cap from below by submerging through the liquid. The flotation collar rises through the cap from the bottom, inverting the conventional top-down approach and thereby preventing oxidation
3Extent of automation
If automated punchdown devices are used, then manual intervention is eliminated, but the devices are mechanically complex and require moving seals that can contaminate the wine
Solution Approach 1:
The device is divided into simple, separate functional components: a flotation collar for rising through the cap, a thruster for horizontal movement, and a control system. This segmentation allows each component to perform its function independently without requiring complex integrated mechanisms or moving seals
Solution Approach 2:
The device uses simple, inexpensive components that can be easily replaced if needed. The flotation collar and thruster are basic mechanical elements rather than complex sealed mechanisms, reducing the risk of contamination from moving seals and lowering overall system cost
4Quantity of substance
If conventional automated methods pump liquid from the bottom over the cap, then the cap is moistened, but the cap is not effectively broken up
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of pumping liquid from the bottom over the cap, the device rises through the cap from below using pneumatic pressure. This inversion of approach effectively breaks up the cap structure while also delivering liquid to moisten it, achieving both functions simultaneously
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 device effectively breaks up and moistens the cap without manual intervention, improving wine quality by preventing oxidation and reducing the need for complex, expensive equipment, while being easily adaptable to various tank sizes and materials.
Implementation Method 1
a stainless steel cylinder with a rubber pneumatic flotation collar and a thruster
Implementation Method 2
a stainless steel cylinder with a rubber pneumatic flotation collar and a thruster
Implementation Method 3
A depth sensor in the device may measure the submerged depth and activate air to inflate the flotation collar when a preset depth is reached
Implementation Method 4
the device may rapidly fill with fermenting wine and sink down below the cap
Data Source
AI summary
An agitation device used in the production of red wine that breaks the cap during fermentation is provided. The device has a body, a depth sensor and a flotation device secured to the exterior of the body. Holes in the body enable the body to submerge into wine in a vessel below the surface. A control system is coupled to the agitator and inflates the inflation device to move the device to the surface of the wine to break through a fermentation cap formed on the surface of the wine.