IPC분류정보
국가/구분 |
United States(US) Patent
등록
|
국제특허분류(IPC7판) |
|
출원번호 |
US-0977176
(2010-12-23)
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등록번호 |
US-8756940
(2014-06-24)
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발명자
/ 주소 |
- Doucet, Guy
- Senee, Laurent
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출원인 / 주소 |
|
대리인 / 주소 |
Norton Rose Fulbright Canada LLP
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인용정보 |
피인용 횟수 :
1 인용 특허 :
7 |
초록
▼
A temperature and humidity controlled housing for storing and preserving wine bottles. The housing defines a storage compartment having front and rear temperature control chambers and wherein the rear chamber is also humidity controlled. A division wall having passages provided with a flexible seali
A temperature and humidity controlled housing for storing and preserving wine bottles. The housing defines a storage compartment having front and rear temperature control chambers and wherein the rear chamber is also humidity controlled. A division wall having passages provided with a flexible sealing component receives bottles on supports associated with each of the passages and a cubic chamber structure in the rear chamber. The bottle necks engage the seals which, together with the division wall, substantially seal the front chamber from the rear chamber while the spout end portion of the wine bottles is supported in the rear humidified chamber. The housing may be used in a modular assembly. The method of use is also described.
대표청구항
▼
1. A temperature and humidity controlled housing for storing and preserving wine bottles, said housing having a storage compartment for supporting a plurality of wine bottles; a division wall in said storage compartment defining a front and a rear chamber, said housing having a door for access to sa
1. A temperature and humidity controlled housing for storing and preserving wine bottles, said housing having a storage compartment for supporting a plurality of wine bottles; a division wall in said storage compartment defining a front and a rear chamber, said housing having a door for access to said front chamber for positioning and retrieving wine bottles from individual bottle supports, said bottle supports being secured in relation to an associated one of a plurality of passages formed with said division wall whereby a neck and spout end portion of said wine bottles extend into said rear chamber and a body portion of said wine bottles extends supported in said front chamber, said passages each being provided with displaceable closure means, said displaceable closure means each being provided with a flexible circumferential sealing membrane to substantially isolate said rear chamber from said front chamber and to embrace said neck portion of a wine bottle extending therethrough when disposed on an associated one of said bottle supports from said front chamber, refrigeration means in said rear chamber to refrigerate said storage compartment, a fan in communication with said rear chamber through pressure venting valves associated with a venting passage in said rear chamber communicating said rear chamber to atmosphere when in an open position by pressure created in said rear chamber by said fan, said refrigeration means having one or more cold plates disposed in said rear chamber, said fan creating a regulated ambient air flow in said rear chamber through said pressure venting valves to cause condensation to form on said one or more cold plates, programmable control means to operate said refrigeration means depending on sensed temperature in said storage compartment and humidity conditions of said rear chamber provided by sensors, said programmable control means operating said fan to control the humidity in said rear chamber whereby said spout end of said bottles is maintained in a controlled humidified environment. 2. A temperature and humidity controlled housing as claimed in claim 1 wherein said division wall is a division wall structure having a flat front face facing said front chamber and a cubic chamber structure projecting in said rear chamber, each said cubic chamber being associated with a respective one of said plurality of passages. 3. A temperature and humidity controlled housing as claimed in claim 2 wherein said cubic chamber structure is formed by interconnected spaced-apart horizontal and vertical plates defining therebetween a plurality of said cubic chambers having an open rear end, said individual bottle supports being secured to an associated one of said cubic chambers. 4. A temperature and humidity controlled housing as claimed in claim 3 wherein said horizontal and vertical plates are constructed of thermally conductive material. 5. A temperature and humidity controlled housing as claimed in claim 3 wherein said horizontal and vertical plates define therebetween seventy-two cubic chambers and wherein there are twelve vertical columns of six cubic chambers. 6. A temperature and humidity controlled housing as claimed in claim 1 wherein said displaceable closure means is provided by a plurality of hinge doors each normally biased against a respective one of said plurality of passages on a rear face of said division wall. 7. A temperature and humidity controlled housing as claimed in claim 6 wherein each said hinge doors are spring-biased against said rear face of said division wall by a torsion spring. 8. A temperature and humidity controlled housing as claimed in claim 1 wherein said flexible circumferential sealing membrane is a circular disc membrane having a circular central opening therein. 9. A temperature and humidity controlled housing as claimed in claim 1 wherein said flexible circumferential sealing membrane is a circular disc membrane having slits radiating from a center thereof to constitute flexible tongues adapted to be displaced inwardly from said front face of said division wall when said neck and spout end of said wine bottle is pushed therethrough, said circular disc membrane constituting said displaceable closure means. 10. A temperature and humidity controlled housing as claimed in claim 1 wherein said bottle support is comprised by a body support member pivotal on a horizontal pivot axis extending between opposed side walls of its associated cubic chamber, and an actuable pivoting linkage assembly secured to a counter-lever end of said body support member, said actuable pivoting linkage having a bottle neck clamping lever connected to an actuable linkage to translate an upward pushing force applied by the weight of said bottle inserted in said associated passage and rested substantially horizontally on said body support member to displace said bottle neck clamping lever downwards against said bottle neck, said wine in said bottle contacting entirely a rear face of a cork positioned in said spout end of said wine bottle. 11. A temperature and humidity controlled housing as claimed in claim 10 wherein said bottle neck clamping lever comprises a pair of pivoting spaced-apart side arms pivotally secured to a fixed horizontal pivot rod secured between said opposed side walls, a curved arch member secured between opposed forward ends of said side arms for abutting engagement with said neck portion of said bottle, a linkage arm pivotally connected at a top end to a respective one of opposed rearward ends of said side arms rearwardly of said fixed horizontal pivot rod, said linkage arm being pivotally connected at a bottom end thereof to a respective end of a transverse attachment arm secured to said counter-lever end of said body support member, said transverse attachment arm extending parallel to said horizontal pivot axis and said fixed horizontal pivot rod. 12. A temperature and humidity controlled housing as claimed in claim 10 wherein said body support member is a straight support rod, said horizontal pivot axis being constituted by a transverse fixed pivot rod, and a bottle seating member secured to said support rod for supporting said bottle. 13. A temperature and humidity controlled housing as claimed in claim 12 wherein each said plurality of passages are circular passages defined in said division wall, each circular passage having a curved alignment cavity in a lower edge portion thereof disposed on a vertical radius of said circular passage, said straight support rod resting on said curved alignment cavity. 14. A temperature and humidity controlled housing as claimed in claim 1 wherein said refrigeration means is comprised by at least one thermoelectric refrigeration module. 15. A temperature and humidity controlled housing as claimed in claim 14 wherein there are at least two of said thermoelectric refrigeration modules spaced-apart and secured to said cubic chamber structure behind said open rear end whereby said cold plate of each said thermoelectric refrigeration module will refrigerate said horizontal and vertical plates to accumulate cold and defuse cold air to refrigerate said rear chamber and said front chamber, said division wall being a thermally conductive metal plate. 16. A temperature and humidity controlled housing as claimed in claim 15 wherein said cold plate is secured to at least one of said horizontal and vertical plates by thermally conductive brackets, said thermoelectric refrigeration modules each having a hot plate isolated by an insulation material, a heat sink secured to each said hot plate and disposed in an exposed cavity in an insulating rear wall of said housing to dissipate heat exteriorly of said storage compartment, said cubic chamber also producing condensation in said rear chamber by the creation of said regulated air flow by said fan through said rear chamber. 17. A temperature and humidity controlled housing as claimed in claim 15 wherein said thermoelectric refrigeration modules are connected in series and operative by switch means connected to a DC supply. 18. A temperature and humidity controlled housing as claimed in claim 1 wherein said pressure venting valves are ball valves normally biased in a closed position against said venting passage in communication with said rear chamber, and biasing means to bias a displaceable ball of said ball valve against a seating cavity about an open venting end of said venting passage. 19. A temperature and humidity controlled housing as claimed in claim 1 wherein said front chamber is provided with a stone tile on at least one of surrounding walls thereof to store cold to quickly maintain said front chamber at a substantially predetermined temperature after said door has been opened and closed, said front chamber being isolated from said rear chamber to prevent ingress of humidity from said rear chamber to prevent the formation of mould on labels adhesively secured to said bottle body disposed in said front chamber. 20. A temperature and humidity controlled housing as claimed in claim 1 wherein said housing is secured in a vibration damping frame, said vibration damping frame having floor support frame members and opposed side wall frame members interconnected with said floor support frame members, and a rear brace interconnecting said opposed side wall frame members, and vibration absorbing components secured to at least said floor support frame members. 21. A temperature and humidity controlled housing as claimed in claim 1 wherein said housing is mounted in a support frame, said support frame permitting stacking of two or more of said housings in at least one of a side-by-side and vertically stacked relationship. 22. A temperature and humidity controlled housing as claimed in claim 21 wherein said vibration damping frame has a plurality of vibration absorbing components supporting said housing. 23. A temperature and humidity controlled housing as claimed in claim 1 wherein said door is a double thickness glass door having a light filter capable of conducting exterior light of a wavelength which does not affect the quality of wine contained in said wine bottles. 24. A temperature and humidity controlled housing as claimed in claim 1 wherein said front chamber is provided with a red light emitting source having its incident light rays oriented substantially along a longitudinal axis of said wine bottles supported in said housing. 25. A temperature and humidity controlled housing as claimed in claim 24 wherein said red light emitting source is provided by electro-luminescence light emitting diodes (LEDs). 26. A temperature and humidity controlled housing as claimed in claim 25 wherein said LEDs are secured on at least one of said division wall or inner door frame, said LEDs being pulsated at a frequency exceeding 70 Hz which is not visible to the human eye. 27. A temperature and humidity controlled housing as claimed in claim 1 wherein said programmable control means has a memory for storing instructions relating to the operation of said refrigeration means, said fan and humidity sensed of said rear chamber, each said bottle supports having an identification code incorporated in a program to identify wine bottles associated therewith and having a description inputted by a user person, and means to input and access information pertaining to said wine bottles stored in said housing. 28. A method of preserving wine bottles in a temperature and humidity controlled housing comprising: i) providing a housing defining a storage compartment for supporting a plurality of wine bottles at a specific orientation,ii) dividing said housing by a division wall to define a refrigerated front chamber and a substantially isolated refrigerated and humidified rear chamber, said division wall having a plurality of passages provided with displaceable closure means, bottle supports being secured in relation to an associated one of said passages,iii) positioning wine bottles on each said bottle support by pushing a neck and spout and portion of said wine bottles into said rear chamber through said displaceable closure means of said passages to establish a substantially sealed relationship between said neck and spout end portion and said passages,iv) refrigerating said storage compartment by refrigeration means having one ore more cold plates disposed in said rear chamber,v) controlling humidity in said rear chamber by operating a fan to introduce ambient air in said rear chamber and simultaneously exhausting air therefrom through venting valves,vi) causing condensation to form on said one ore more cold plates in said rear chamber behind said division wall, andvii) automatically controlling said refrigeration means and said fan modules by means of an automatic controller to control the temperature in said front and rear chambers and the humidity in said rear chamber whereby to maintain a cork in said wine bottle in a humid environment. 29. A method as claimed in claim 28 wherein there is further provided means to input and access stored information in a memory of said automatic controller pertaining to the identification of wine bottles in association with said passages.
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