Abstract:
A wine aerating device that can be inexpensively manufactured and produced that aerates wine leaving a wine container, such as a long neck bottle, by separating the flow of wine into multiple streams of wine that retain the individual streams, whereby each stream of wine increases the surface area of wine exposed to the atmosphere, without injecting air into the wine. The device of the present invention also produces an esthetically pleasing pour while at the same time aerating the liquid by the use of multiple bi-directional tubes formed in a stopper that do not inject air into the wine.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     Not Applicable 
     STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT 
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     REFERENCE TO SEQUENCE LISTING, A TABLE, OR A COMPUTER PROGRAM LISTING COMPACT DISC APPENDIX 
     Not Applicable 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     This invention generally relates to a low cost device for aerating wine exiting from a container by breaking the flow of wine into multiple streams without injecting air into the wine. 
     Wine enthusiasts know that for certain wine, to truly enjoy the flavor, it must be allowed to “breath.” That is, the wine must be exposed to the air. This breathing, or aeration, to be more precise, has been done by opening a selected container of wine, typically a bottle of wine, and allowing the wine sit and interact with the air. A problem with this method is that it takes time for the air to interact with the wine. The problem is even greater with a “box of wine.” That is typically a flexible bag containing wine that had a resealable (multiple open and close) pour spout contained in a cardboard box. Such a wine box does not let air into the container to breath so it is important to aerate wine exiting the wine box container. 
     An excellent discussion of previous attempts to aerate wine can be found in US 2010/0011967 A1, which is hereby incorporated by reference for the discussion of the need to aerate wine, and the drawbacks of known methods and devices that inject air into wine in a container. 
     Other attempts to inject air into wine have been used, such as U.S. Design Pat. No. D614443 which shows a stopper having one tube of changing diameter for wine to pour out of a bottle that is designed to use the Venturi effect of a fluid moving through a compressed space and then into an expanded space. Formed into the tube in which the wine flows is an air intake that injects air into the wine as it flows past the constricted portion of the pouring tube. The same air supply line also is directed into the bottle end of the stopper so that air is fed back into the bottle as wine leaves the bottle. 
     Another attempt to aerate wine is the Aerating Pour Spout sold by True Fabrication™ of Seattle Wash. This device also has a single tube with changing diameter extending through the stopper to allow wine to exit a bottle, and also has a narrow portion to create a Venturi effect before it expands out to meet a metal plate with a plurality of holes in it defined as a “strainer [that] blends in oxygen.” This device has “dual vents” that draw in oxygen as a result of the Venturi effect. 
     These known examples of wine aerators inject air into wine via a Venturi effect, the same effect widely used in engineering applications, for example to mix air and fuel in carburetors. While this may be fine for fuel in carburetors, they are too harsh on the wine and therefore do not produce the pleasing effect of natural aeration, that is the air moving over the surface of the wine. 
     BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The disclosed apparatus relates to a device for controlling the flow of a liquid from a container, such as a bottle, having a narrow cylindrical opening through which wine or similar liquid may be poured. One aspect of this invention is directed to a low cost aeration device for aerating wine as it is poured from a bottle or exits a box of wine. Another aspect of the invention is to maximize the surface area of the wine exposed to the air, or atmosphere, as it is poured, without injecting air into the wine. A further aspect of the invention is to make an aerating device that is customizable by an end user. 
     The device is generally a stopper that either fits into the mouth of a bottle and is retained by a friction fit, or screws onto the top of a bottle that has a screw on top rather than a cork, or has been designed into the end of a pour spout attached to a flexible bag that contains a liquid, such as wine. The stopper can be made of any material that does not impact the flavor of the wine. It may be metal, plastic, rubber, cork, acrylic or a combination of these materials. The stopper includes one end region to be placed in fluid communication with the wine in a bottle or pour spout of a flexible bag holding wine, and an opposite end region exposed to the atmosphere to be in fluid communication with the atmosphere. A plurality of elongated tubes, each of a constant diameter from one end to the other, are held or formed within the stopper, and extend from the region to be placed in fluid communication with the wine to the end in communication with the air. In one embodiment at least one of the tubes can be manipulated by a user to slide in or out of the stopper to increase or decrease the projection of the tube from a top surface or bottom surface of a stopper. 
     In a preferred embodiment of the device, there are at least 3 elongated conduits, or tubes, located intermediate the end regions of the stopper. As used here, tubes has its standard definition of a hollow, usually cylindrical body of metal, glass, rubber, acrylic or other material, used especially for conveying or containing liquids or gases. However, the tubes can be of any shape as long as that shape is maintained from one end to the other so as not to product or induce a Venturi effect on the wine. With the preferred circular straw type of tube, each tube has a constant diameter so that there is no Venturi effect on the wine as it flows through the tube to the open end of the tube and into the atmosphere. Wine entering the fluid communication end of the device contacts the opening to the tubes. Using only the force of gravity, the wine contacting the opening in the tubes experiences a gentle separation so that the delicate wine is not damaged. Each stream passes through its own elongated tube and exits the end region exposed to the air. The number of streams greater than 3 is limited only by the diameter of the tubes and the diameter of the device, which should be set to the diameter of the mouth of a standard wine bottle, the pour spout of boxed wine. The greater the number of tubes, the smaller the diameter of each tube. However, it is also possible to make the tubes with one or more having a larger or smaller diameter than the others. For example, one tube may be designed to have a larger diameter than the others. The one tube with the larger diameter may be placed in the center of the stopper, or it may be positioned other than the center of the stopper. It is all a matter of design fitting them inside the mouth, or opening of the wine bottle, or the pour spout, and the desired visual effect that is to be achieved by the resulting streams of wine. 
     In another embodiment, the ends of one or more of the tubes can be extended beyond the end of the stopper to be in communication with the wine such that the tubes extend into the bottle beyond the end of the stopper. These tubes can either be fixed in position at the time of manufacture, or designed to slide such that a user can adjust the length of the tube beyond the end of the stopper. 
     In addition, one or more of the ends of the tubes that are in fluid communication with the atmosphere can be extended beyond the end of the stopper so that they project from the mouth of the bottle or pour spout. Here again, the tubes can be manufactured in this extended position, or they can be designed to be moveable so that the length of the projection can be adjusted by a user to customize the visual experience created when a fluid exits the tubes. 
     These ends of the tubes projecting to communicate with the atmosphere may be individual tubes projecting out from the stopper, or may be tunnels formed in a solid piece, such as clear plastic (Acrylic), so that the wine can be seen as it travels from a bottle, and exits the tubes as individual streams. 
     Once placed on a bottle of wine, the wine bottle is tilted such that the wine under the force of gravity contacts the tubes and exits the bottle as individual streams of wine. Each stream of wine increases the surface area of the wine exposed to the air. The greater the number of tubes the greater the number of streams of wine, and therefore the greater the surface area of wine exposed to the air. This is a more natural and desirable form of aeration than those methods or devices that inject air into the wine. 
     When the desired amount of wine has been dispensed, tipping the bottle to its natural resting position will stop the gravity powered flow of wine out of the bottle. The remaining wine in the tubes will be retrieved back into the bottle for storage (until the next pour). 
     A unique feature of this invention is that each tube is bi-directional. That is, each tube can serve as either an exit path for the fluid leaving the bottle, or an air intake to let air back into the bottle to replace the volume of fluid leaving the bottle. Unlike other solutions that provide for dedicated air intake ports, and thus limit how the bottle can be tilted, applicant&#39;s invention can be poured from any side. In this manner, a tube that in the first pour served to be a fluid transmitting tube may in the second pour become an air transmitting tube. 
     In the case of a pour spout attached to a flexible bag containing wine (eg, a “box of wine”) there is no need for an air intake to let air back into the bag. Therefore, each tube serves as an exit path for the wine and each tube produces a stream of wine that is then aerated by the atmosphere surrounding each stream. 
     In addition, each stream from each tube creates an elegant and visually stimulating experience for the user as the wine is gently aerated. If the tubes are parallel, the streams remain separated as gravity pulls on them as they are directed into a glass or other useful container. If manufactured with non-fixed tubes, tubes that can for example slide within the stopper, then the length of the tubes can be adjusted to change or customize the visual experience as the wine is aerated. With a little engineering, the ends of the tubes can be angled so that the streams of wine from the tubes will converge back into a mixed stream. The collision of the streams should be at a very slight angle so that the streams merge without excessive spray. 
     In one embodiment, the stopper portion of the device is designed to fit into the neck of a bottle. One such means is an annular mounting flange for mounting within a neck of the bottle with a friction fit to support the device in a stable position on the bottle. This preferably is a semi ridged material, such as cork or rubber that forms the bottom portion of the stopper, or is wrapped around the bottom portion of the stopper. An alternative means is a threaded coupler that can screw onto the top of a wine bottle that is formed to receive a screw top. With the growing popularity of box wines (flexible bags of wine with resealable pour spouts that may be distributed and sold either as bags, or as bags inside of protective cardboard boxes from which the name “box” wine derives), the present invention can either be designed and manufactured right into the resealable pour spout, or designed to be added on by a consumer with a reusable aerating stopper of the present invention. 
     In one embodiment, the tubes are all of the same diameter. In another embodiment, at least one tube has a larger diameter than the other tubes. With a larger diameter, it is possible to make a telescoping tube with tubes of smaller diameter fitted inside the tube of larger diameter whereby the inner tube could be pulled out, or pushed in to customize the length of the tube. 
     In one embodiment, the tubes are all of the same length. In another embodiment, at least one tube is longer than the other tubes. It may be manufactured in a fixed position, or, by design, can be adjusted within the stopper to be longer or shorter than the other tubes. 
     The novel features which are considered as characteristic of the invention are set forth in particular in the appended claims. The invention itself, however, both as to its construction and its method of operation, together with additional objects and advantages thereof, will be best understood from the following description of specific embodiments when read in connection with the accompanying drawings. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING 
         FIG. 1  is perspective view showing the aeration device in accordance with this invention mounted on a wine bottle in the vertical position; 
         FIG. 2  is perspective view showing the aeration device in accordance with this invention mounted on a wine bottle in the horizontal position; 
         FIG. 3  is a perspective view of the aeration device in accordance with this invention having tubes that project from the top surface of the device; 
         FIG. 4  is a perspective view of the aeration device in accordance with this invention having a tube that project from the bottom surface of the device; 
         FIG. 5  is a perspective view of the aeration device in accordance with this invention having a screw cap on the bottom surface of the device; 
         FIG. 6  is a top view of the aeration device in accordance with this invention having 7 tubes; and 
         FIG. 7  is a partial perspective view of the multi stream aeration device in accordance with this invention as part of a pour spout of a wine box. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     Referring now to the drawings, in particular  FIG. 1 , reference numeral  10  generally identifies a portable aeration device for aerating wine  12  in a bottle  14  having a neck  16 . The device  10  ( 300  in  FIG. 3 ,  400  in  FIG. 4 ) is generally a stopper that either fits into the mouth of a bottle ( FIGS. 1 and 2 ) and is retained by a friction fit, or screws onto the top of a bottle ( FIG. 5 ) that has a screw on top rather than a cork, or has been designed into the end of a pour spout ( FIG. 7 ) attached to a flexible bag that contains a liquid, such as wine. The stopper includes one end region, or bottom surface  18  to be placed in fluid communication with the wine  12  in a bottle  14 , or pour spout  710  ( FIG. 7 ) of a flexible bag  720  holding wine, and an opposite end region, or top surface  20  exposed to the atmosphere to be in fluid communication with the atmosphere. A plurality of elongated tubes  22 , each of a constant diameter from one end to the other, are held or formed within stopper  10 , and extend from the bottom surface  18  to the top surface  20 . Tubes that are not formed within the stopper may be releasably held within the stopper by friction such that an end user may adjust the projection of a tube beyond the bottom or top surfaces. Or such tubes may be telescopic, in that they may be designed to extend in or out by sliding within a larger tube, or movable within a stopper. 
     In a preferred embodiment of the device, as shown in  FIG. 3 , stopper  300  has at least 3 elongated conduits, or tubes  312 ,  314 ,  316 , located intermediate the bottom surface  310  and the top surface  320  of stopper  300 . As used here, tubes has its standard definition of a hollow, usually cylindrical body of metal, glass, rubber, acrylic or other material, used especially for conveying or containing liquids or gases. With the preferred circular straw type of tube ( 312 ,  314 ,  316 ), each tube has a constant diameter so that there is no Venturi effect on the wine as it flows through the tube to the open end of the tube and into the atmosphere, as shown in  FIG. 2 . Eliminating, or greatly reducing the Venturi effect stops or greatly reduces air being injected into the wine so that aeration occurs due to air on the surface area of wine that exits via the tubes. 
     Turning to  FIG. 2 , wine entering the fluid communication end of the device, bottom surface  18 , contacts the opening  19  to the tubes  22 . Using only the force of gravity, the wine contacting the opening in the tubes in the end region of stopper  10  experiences a gentle separation into streams  210  so that the delicate wine is not damaged. Each stream  210  passes through its own elongated tube  22  and exits the end region, top surface  20 , to be exposed to the air. The number of streams greater than 3 is limited only by the diameter of the tubes  22  and the diameter of the device  10 , which should be set to the diameter of the mouth of a standard wine bottle  14 , or the pour spout of boxed wine ( FIG. 7 ). The greater the number of tubes  22 , the smaller the diameter of each tube. 
     As for example, shown in  FIG. 6  is a top view of one embodiment of a stopper  600  having seven tubes  620 ,  630 ,  640 ,  650 ,  660 ,  670 , and  680 . In this embodiment, one tube  620  is placed in the center of stopper  600 , while the remaining tubes  630 ,  640 ,  650 ,  660 ,  670 , and  680  are positioned equally spaced around tube  620 . Alternatively, by design the tubes could be arranged in, by way of example, and not as a limitation, an “S” pattern so that when streams of wine are poured they may form a desired pattern. Or they can be randomly positioned. 
     It is also possible to make the tubes  22 ,  620 ,  630 ,  640 ,  650 ,  660 ,  670 , and  680  with one or more having a larger or smaller diameter than the others. For example, one tube may be designed to have a larger diameter than the others as is shown in  FIG. 4 . 
     Turning to  FIG. 4 , there is shown one embodiment of the invention, stopper  400 , having three tubes  410 ,  420 ,  430 . Tube  420  has a diameter “A” that is larger than tube  430  with diameter “B.” While tube  420  with the larger diameter is shown placed in the center of the stopper  400 , it may also be positioned anywhere other than the center of the stopper. It is all a matter of design choice, and the desired visual look of the pattern of streams  210  ( FIG. 2 ) to produce the desired visual effect that is to be achieved by the resulting streams of wine. Tubes with larger diameters can be designed to hold within them a tube of smaller diameter (not shown) that can telescope out or in to allow for customization of the stopper  400 . Or at least one of tubes  410 ,  420 ,  430  can be moveable within stopper  400  to allow customization of stopper  400 . 
     Also, as shown in  FIG. 4 , the ends of one or more of the tubes  410 ,  420 ,  430  can be extended beyond the end of the stopper  400 , bottom surface  440 , such that the tubes (as shown tube  420 ) extends beyond the ends of tubes  410  and  430 . When in use on a wine bottle (such as wine bottle  14  shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2 ) tube  420  would extend into the bottle beyond the end, or bottom surface  440  of stopper  400 . 
     In addition, as shown in  FIG. 3 , one or more, or all of the ends of the tubes  312 ,  314 ,  316  that are in fluid communication with the atmosphere can be extended beyond the top end of stopper  300  (top surface  320 ) so that they will project from the mouth of the bottle  14  or pour spout  710 . Also as shown in  FIG. 3 , the tubes  312 ,  314  and  316  can be of different lengths (tube  314  being shown as longer than the remaining tubes. The length of the tubes is a design choice for the visual display of the streams that will exit the stopper. Again, at least one of the tubes can be moveable within stopper  400  to allow customization of stopper  400 . In this way a consumer may determine which tube should project more that the other tubes. 
     Turning again to  FIGS. 1 and 2 , once stopper  10  has been placed on bottle  14  of wine  12 , the wine bottle  14  may be tilted in any direction (north, south, east, west) such that the wine under the force of gravity contacts the tubes  22 , enters the tubes in opening  19  and exits the tubes of stopper  10  as individual streams  210  of wine. Each stream of wine increases the surface area of the wine exposed to the air. The greater the number of tubes  22  the greater the number of streams  210  of wine, and therefore the greater the surface area of wine exposed to the air. This is a more natural and desirable form of aeration than those methods or devices that inject air into the wine. 
     When the desired amount of wine has been dispensed, returning the bottle to its natural resting position ( FIG. 1 ) will stop the gravity powered flow of wine out of the bottle. The remaining wine in the tubes  22  will be retrieved back into the bottle for storage (until the next pour). 
     A unique feature of this invention is that each tube  22  is bi-directional. That is, each tube  22  can serve as either an exit path for the fluid leaving the bottle  14 , or an air intake to let air back into the bottle  14  to replace the volume of fluid leaving the bottle  14 . Other solutions in the art provide for dedicated air intake ports, and thus limit how the bottle can be tilted (eg, there is only one way to pour so that the bottle must be held and poured in one particular direction so that the air intake will function correctly). Applicant&#39;s invention can be poured from any side of stopper  10  ( 300 ,  400 ,  500 ) In this manner, a tube  22  that in the first pour served to be a fluid transmitting tube out of the bottle  14  may in the second pour become an air transmitting tube into the bottle  14 . As shown in  FIG. 2 , three of five tubes  22  are transmitting wine  12  as streams  210  from bottle  14  into container  220 , while two of the five tubes  230  are transmitting air back into the bottle  14 . If the pour had been made to the left side of the bottle  14  ( FIG. 1 ), tubes  230  could transmit wine  12  into container  220 , while tubes  22  that had been transmitting wine  12  to container  220  could be transmitting air into bottle  14 . 
     Turning to  FIG. 7 , in the case of a pour spout  710  attached to a flexible bag  720  containing wine (eg, a “box of wine”) there is no need for an air intake to let air back into the sealed bag  720  as the bag deflates as wine exits the bag. There is no vacuum created by the volume of wine leaving the bag. Therefore, each tube serves as an exit path for the wine and each tube produces a stream  730  of wine that is then aerated by the atmosphere surrounding each stream  730 . 
     In addition, as shown in  FIG. 2  and  FIG. 7  each stream ( 210  in  FIG. 2 ,  730  in  FIG. 7 ) from each tube creates an elegant and visually stimulating experience for the user as the wine is gently aerated by air passing over the surface of the wine, rather than injecting air into the wine. If the tubes are parallel as shown in all Figs, the streams remain separated as gravity pulls on them as they are directed into a glass  220  or other useful container. With a little engineering, the ends of the tubes  22 , can be angled so that the streams  210  of wine from the tubes will converge back into a mixed stream (not shown). Such collision of the streams should be at a very slight angle so that the streams merge without excessive spray, or bruising of the wine. 
     In one embodiment, as shown in  FIGS. 1 ,  2 ,  3  and  4 , the bottom portion of stopper  10 ,  300 ,  400 , is tapered and designed to fit into the neck of a bottle as is well known for bottle stoppers or corks. Stopper  10 ,  300 ,  400  fit within a neck of the bottle with a friction fit to support the stopper in a stable position on the bottle  14 . The portion of stopper  10 ,  300 ,  400  that provides the friction fit inside the neck  16  of bottle  14  preferably is a semi ridged material, such as cork or rubber that is wrapped around the bottom portion of the stopper. An alternative means to connect the invention is a threaded coupler  510  of stopper  500  shown in  FIG. 5 . Stopper  500  can be screwed onto the top of a wine bottle that is formed to receive a screw top. Once only for inexpensive wines, screw on caps are becoming more prevalent in the wine industry due to issues with cork. 
     With the growing popularity of box wines (flexible bags of wine  720  with resealable pour spouts  710  that may be distributed and sold either as bags, or as bags inside of protective cardboard boxes  740  from which the name “box” wine derives), the present invention (stopper  750 ) can either be designed and manufactured right into the resealable pour spout, as shown in  FIG. 7 , or designed to be added on by a consumer with a reusable aerating stopper of the present invention having the proper connection end designed as part of a stopper. Applicant makes no claim to the means used to connect the present invention to the source of the wine. Any appropriate means to make a connection will suffice, from friction fittings, to screw on fittings like a screw on bottle cap, to being manufactured into the end of a pour spout for use in wine dispensing bags, jugs, barrels or boxes, or given releasable connection means to attach the present invention to of a pour spout for use in wine dispensing bags, jugs, barrels or boxes, such as by way of a snap, or strap, or friction fit. 
     While the invention has been illustrated and described as embodied in a wine aeration device, it is not intended to be limited to the details shown since various modifications and structural changes may be made without departing in any way from the spirit of the present invention. Without further analysis, the foregoing will so fully reveal the gist of the present invention that others can, by applying current knowledge, readily adapt it for various applications without omitting features that, from the standpoint of prior art, fairly constitute essential characteristics of the generic or specific aspects of this invention and, therefore, such adaptations should and are intended to be comprehended within the meaning and range of equivalence of the following claims.