Abstract:
An apparatus for dispensing pre-packaged wine comprises a housing configured substantially in the shape of a wine barrel. A shelf positioned within the barrel extends from a front face toward a removable back panel. A shelf support for supporting the shelf includes a semi-circular contour for engaging a lower portion of the circumferential wall. A wine insert, supportable by the shelf, is disposable within the housing with the back panel removed. The wine insert includes a floor having a declined portion allowing wine contained therein to be drawn by gravity towards the rear of the housing. A spigot and conduit fluidly connected to the wine insert are provided for selectively dispensing the wine.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION(S) 
     None. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention generally relates to wine storage devices. More particularly, the present invention relates to an apparatus for storing and dispensing wine from collapsible, reusable containers. 
     For many years, wine has remained one of the most popular drinks to accompany a meal, and as such, is made available not only at home, but at a vast number of restaurants. It is therefore important for a restaurant to keep in stock ample quantities of wine to meet the demand of its customers. However, as wine has historically been stored within glass 750-mL bottles, not only are there increased shipping costs associated with the use of glass bottles, but stocking a restaurant with such wine requires certain space requirements. Alternatively, certain types of wine have been made available by means of portable fluid containers, for example flexible 3- to 10-liter bladders of wine contained within a cardboard box, sometimes referred to as “wine-in-a-box” or simply “box wine”. While such containers cut down on shipping costs, there are still storage considerations to take into account, as well as other inherent setbacks. For instance, as the box itself must be placed within a refrigeration unit to keep the wine chilled, the refrigeration space required for the box must be considered. Further, and regardless if a bottle or portable fluid bladder is used, once opened, the shelf-life of the wine decreases rapidly due to oxidation. While bottles of wine typically have to be consumed within a day or so, “wine-in-a-box” products currently available typically last only about a week. More importantly, though, as wine is considered by many to be a premium product, “wine-in-a-box” does not do well from a marketing standpoint as it has been perceived by the purchasing public to be an inferior product or inferior means of storage as opposed to glass bottles. For this reason alone, many vintners have avoided providing wines in this fashion, preferring instead to stick with glass bottles. 
     There exist in the art several examples of devices that have attempted to provide a means for storing box wine in an aesthetically pleasing manner. However, limitations exist in such examples as conventional devices have been shown to be quite difficult to change between spent wine bladders and new ones. Recent improvements in the art have made it less difficult to change spent wine bladders. For example, commonly owned U.S. Pat. No. 8,596,496 describes a rear-loading wine storage and dispensing device that overcame some of these problems. However, other complications have since risen including ease of installing a support floor for the insert. Another complication that has been known for quite some time is the difficulty in extracting all the wine from these types of inserts without having to physically manipulate the insert or device. 
     Currently, there exists a need in the art to provide an aesthetically pleasing wine dispensing mechanism for use in conjunction with reusable wine inserts which provides a stable support floor for the inserts and which is not difficult to construct. There also exists a need in the art to provide a wine insert that is capable of dispensing the entirety of its contents without the aid of physical manipulation. 
     BRIEF SUMMARY OF INVENTION 
     The present invention includes an apparatus for dispensing pre-packaged wine contained within an insert. The apparatus comprises a housing configured substantially in the shape of a wine barrel. The housing includes a circumferential wall, a front face fixedly connected to a first end the wall and a removable back panel attachable to an opposing second end of the wall. A shelf disposed within the housing extends from the front face toward the removable back panel. A shelf support having a semi-circular contour for engaging a lower portion of the circumferential wall is included for supporting the shelf. 
     The apparatus of the present invention further comprises a removable wine insert. The wine insert includes a semi-circumferential wall having a first end, a second end and opposing longitudinal edges. A semi-circular end wall affixes to the first end of the semi-circumferential wall. A semi-circular cap is securable to the second end of the semi-circumferential wall. A floor is disposed between the first end and the second end of the semi-circumferential wall. The floor includes a first portion extending from the second end along each longitudinal edge of the semi-circumferential wall and a second portion disposed between the first portion and the semi-circular end wall. The second portion positioned at an upward angle from the first portion wherein at a juncture between the second portion and the end wall the second portion is positioned apart from each longitudinal edge of the semi-circumferential wall. 
     A spigot for selectively dispensing wine is supported by and is positioned through the front face of the housing below the shelf. A conduit disposed within the housing below the shelf and through an aperture contained with the shelf support fluidly connects the spigot to the wine insert. The wine insert, disposable within the housing through the second end of the wall with the back panel removed, is supported by the shelf such that the wine contained within the insert is drawn by gravity down the second portion of the floor to the first portion of the floor to the fluidly connected conduit. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The following figures are used herein in conjunction with the specification to assist in understanding the invention. The Figures are as follows: 
         FIG. 1  is perspective view of a wine storage and dispensing apparatus in accordance with the present invention. 
         FIG. 2  is a cross-sectional view of the wine storage and dispensing apparatus of the present invention as taken along lines A-A in  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 3  is an exploded cross-sectional view of the wine storage and dispensing apparatus of the present invention. 
         FIG. 4  is a perspective view of a shelf of the wine storage and dispensing apparatus in accordance with the present invention. 
         FIG. 5  is a top view of the shelf of the wine storage and dispensing apparatus in accordance with the present invention. 
         FIG. 6  is a perspective view of a shelf support of the wine storage and dispensing apparatus in accordance with the present invention. 
         FIG. 7  is a side view of the shelf support of the wine storage and dispensing apparatus in accordance with the present invention. 
         FIG. 8  is an exploded perspective view of a wine insert in accordance with the wine storage and dispensing apparatus of the present invention. 
         FIG. 9  is a cross-sectional view of the wine insert of the present invention as taken along lines B-B in  FIG. 8 . 
         FIG. 10  is a cross-sectional view of the wine insert of the present invention as taken along lines C-C in  FIG. 8 . 
         FIG. 11  is a cross-sectional view of the wine insert of the present invention as taken along lines D-D in  FIG. 8 . 
         FIG. 12  is a side-view of a cover of the wine insert in accordance with the wine storage and dispensing apparatus of the present invention. 
         FIG. 13  is a cross-sectional view of the cover of the wine insert as taken along lines E-E in  FIG. 12 . 
         FIG. 14  is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the cover of the wine insert as taken from portal F in  FIG. 13 . 
     
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     A wine storage and dispensing apparatus in accordance with the present invention is generally indicated at  100  in  FIG. 1 . The apparatus  100  includes a housing structure  102 , preferably an aesthetically shaped miniature wooden wine barrel, for placement on or near a bar in areas where wine would normally be dispensed. However, it should be noted that alternative shapes for the housing structure  102  are well within the scope of the present invention, including non-exhaustive examples of semi-circular barrels with flat bottoms, rectangular boxes or the like. The wine barrel  102  includes a front face  104  which supports a spout or spigot  106  for selectively dispensing wine. As illustrated in  FIGS. 2 and 3 , a removable back panel  108  attaches to the wine barrel  102  by means of a latching mechanism  110 . The specific latching mechanism  110  employed is not critical in practicing the invention, and those skilled in the art will recognize that other mechanisms than those illustrated will suffice. 
     The apparatus  100  of the present invention further includes a shelf  112  and shelf support  114  for supporting a removable wine insert  116  positionable within the housing  102 . Referring to  FIGS. 4 and 5 , the shelf  112  is fashioned from a durable material, preferably metal, but other durable materials are well within the scope of the present invention including, but not limited to, wood, plastic or other synthetic material. The shelf  112  includes a flat major surface  118  having a flange  120  extending therefrom on a first end. The flange  120  is abuttable against the front face  104  of the barrel  102  and contains one or more apertures  122  for securing the shelf  112  to the front face  104  by means of a fastener  124 , including for example a bolt, screw or similar fastener, as is known in the art. An opposing second end of the major surface  118  contains a slot  126  to facilitate connection of the wine delivery system to the wine insert  116 . The opposing end of the major surface  118  also contains one or more apertures  128  for connection to the shelf support  114 . 
     Referring to  FIGS. 6 and 7 , the shelf support  114  includes a generally “L”-shaped configuration with a first leg  130  mateable with an underside of the major surface  118  of the shelf  112 . The first leg  130  includes a corresponding slot  132  to facilitate connection of the wine delivery system to the wine insert  116 . The first leg  130  also includes corresponding apertures  134  for connecting shelf support  114  to the second end of the shelf  112 , which can be accomplished by means of fasteners  134 , including for example bolts, screws or similar fasteners, as is known in the art. A second leg  136  of the shelf support  114  includes a generally semi-circular configuration for cooperably engaging the lower inner surface of circumferential wall of the barrel housing  102 . In this fashion, the second end of the shelf  112  rests upon and is supported by the shelf support  114  which carries the brunt of the mass of the wine insert  116 . While not absolutely necessary to the practice of the present invention, it is well within the scope of the present invention to provide additional fasteners to secure the shelf to the inner circumferential wall of the housing. A slotted aperture  138  contained within the second leg  136  permits a conduit  140  of the delivery system to be disposable therethrough. 
     The removable wine insert  116  is constructed from a hard durable material, preferably plastic, and includes a protruded semi-circular concave wall  144  with a semi-circular end-wall  146  secured to a first end  148 . A removable cap  150  is securable to a second end  152  of semi-circular concave wall  144 . The wine insert  116  houses a collapsible bladder  154 , as illustrated in  FIGS. 2 and 3 , which is fillable with liquid, which in this case preferably includes wine. In order to facilitate gravitational draining of the contents of the bladder  154  during use, the wine insert  116  includes a sloping floor  156  disposed between opposing sides of the concaved wall  144 . As best illustrated in  FIGS. 9 through 11 , the floor  156  includes a first portion  158  positioned proximate the second end  152  disposed substantially flat along each longitudinal edge  160  of the wall. A second portion  162  of the floor extends at an inclined angle from the first portion  158  along inner surfaces of opposing sides of the semi-circular wall  144 . The second portion  162  of the floor  156  extends to and engages the end wall  146 . The second portion  162  thus connects to the end wall  146  a distance x above the plane of the first portion  158 . This slope allows wine contained with the bladder to be drawn by gravity to an exit portal  164  contained within both the first and second portions of the floor  156 . 
     Referring now to  FIGS. 12 through 14 , the removable cap member  150  is provided to enclose the wine insert  116 . The cap member  150  is also constructed from a hard durable material, preferably plastic, and is attachably removable to the second end  152  of the circumferential wall  144  as well as to the first portion  158  of the floor  156 . For attaching the cap member  150 , attaching portions  166  are provided which are insertable into corresponding receiving ports  168  contained within the circumferential wall  144  and the first portion  158  of the floor  156 . Each port  168  is receivable by respective attaching portions  166 . Each attaching portion  166  includes a resilient tab  172  which allows the respective insertion member  170  to pass thereover and then lock in place. The resiliency of the tab  172  is such that the cap member  150  remains secured to the wine insert during normal use, but can be pried and removed when replacing the bladder  154 . 
     As is known in the art, the bladder  154  may is constructed of a flexible material such that it may collapse upon itself when the contents therein are drained. Such materials can include metallic sheeting or plastic formed to provide a hermetically sealed interior. To fill the bladder, all air is first evacuated after which the wine is introduced therein. Upon being filled, the bladder is injected with an overpressure of an inert gas, such as Argon, to prevent oxygenation of the wine and thereby extend shelf life. Further, by filling the bladder with an inert gas, it has been discovered that the wine can remain unspoiled after opening for a much longer time than is observed within conventional wine-in-a-box methods. Instead of less than two weeks, which is typical for a conventional device, the wind dispensing apparatus of the present invention can prevent oxygenation and spoiling of the wine after opening for up to eight weeks. 
     It is intended that either the vintner or the wine wholesaler fills the bladders with wine, along with the overpressure of inert gas prior to sealing the bladder within the insert. The insert thereby provides a protecting structure to prevent the bladder from being punctured during transit or use. The vintner or wholesaler then ships the insert, or a plurality of inserts, directly to the restaurant when they can be stored until needed for dispensing. 
     To transfer the wine contained within the bladder positioned within the insert, a liquid transfer mechanism is provided. Referring back to  FIGS. 1 through 3 , the liquid transfer mechanism includes the spigot  106  in fluid communication with the conduit  140 , which in turn fluidly connects to a quick connector  176 . The conduit may consist of a flexible hose, or may be a telescoping conduit similar to that as fully described in U.S. Pat. No. 8,596,496, the entirety of which is incorporated herein by reference. 
     The quick connect is preferably a VITOP® BAG-IN-BOX® quick connect as made available by the Smurfit Kappa Group of Eperny, France. As is known in the art, the quick connect includes a male and female connector and any variety of connectors are well within the scope of the present invention. 
     The apparatus  100  further includes an optional thermoelectric heat pump and insulation (neither shown) for cooling wine contained within the barrel  102 . The thermoelectric heat pump and insulation are fully disclosed in commonly owned U.S. Pat. No. 8,596,496. 
     In operation, the apparatus  100  containing an insert with wine contained therein is positioned within a restaurant, home or other suitable place where it is convenient to dispense the wine into individual glasses when so desired. Upon depleting the contents of the bladder, whereby the wine insert  116  needs to be replenished, the back cover  108  of the housing  102  is removed. The user disconnects and pulls the insert  116  from the housing  102 . A new insert containing a full bladder of wine is then disposed within the barrel  102 . The connector  176  is attached to the insert  116  and the back cover  108  is replaced. The apparatus  100  is then ready again to dispense the wine through the spigot  106 , and the wine within the insert is storable for up to 8 weeks. 
     Although the present invention has been described with reference to preferred embodiments, workers skilled in the art will recognize that changes may be made in form and detail without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.