User:Adam T. Letcher

Contact

• Email: aletcher@nd.edu

Selected Patent

• Patent 4,875,508: Beverage Container for Use in Outer Space
  • Date Issued: October 24th, 1989

• The idea behind this particular patent is to design a beverage container that can both function in zero-gravity environments as well as withstand the stresses during takeoff and landing. Since there is no gravity, there is no natural separation of liquids and gases in the container. The mechanics of the patented design use both an elastic bag inside the container that contracts and forces the beverage out of the container, and also a flexible bag that is surrounded by a compressible gas. The patent and design drawings can be found here [1] via Google Patents.
  • This patent interested because I am interested in the complications that zero gravity environments have on even the simplest things, such as the fluid mechanics we take for granted in drinking a beverage.

Inventiveness and Invention in the Combination of Known Devices

Patent 2,762,534: Device for Tapping a Barrel and Removing the Liquid Therefrom [2]

As seen in the patent document above, Patent 2,762,534 is an invention that is designed to provide a new and better method of removing liquid from a solid container, most commonly beer from a barrel as typically sold in the United States. The need for the invention arises from the adverse effects of introducing air into direct contact and mixing with the carbonic gases in the barrel of beer. This mixing results in the diluting of the beer's carbonic gases, causing it to become flat and tasteless.

The invention presented in the patent then is a method of removing the liquid from the barrel without air coming into direct contact with the liquid itself and its own vaporized carbonic acids. This is achieved by the means of inserting an expandable bag into the barrel of liquid by means described in the patent document. As air from outside the barrel is pumped by means of a typical hand powered pump, the expandable bag inside the barrel inflates and exerts a constant pressure force on the liquid contained in the barrel. The invention also includes a rod which is inserted into the bottom of barrel and serves as the path along which the liquid is forced. This rod is then attached to a tap by which the liquid can then be dispensed into smaller containers.

Patent 2,816,690: Pressure Packaging Systems for Liquids [3]

This particular patent concerns the invention of a new, faster, and more sterile way of packaging and transporting liquids in large containers. Previously, it was common practice to simply pump the liquid into the solid rigid container through an inlet valve, until it was satisfactorily full. The container was then capped and transported to its destination. This left the liquid exposed to potentially unsterile conditions through direct contact with the inside of the rigid container. Also, in the event that the rigid container was punctured, broken, or damaged in some way, the liquid would rapidly be exposed to the outside environment and spill from the container.

The invention presented here addresses these problems through the use of an elastic core that would receive the liquid to be packaged and expand as it was filled.The diameter of the core would be minimal compared to the overall diameter of the rigid barrel. This elastic core would lie inside the rigid container and be attached to the inlet valve. As the liquid is pumped into the core under pressure, the core would expand until it came into all-around contact with the rigid shell. Upon delivery to its destination, the new container could be hooked to the extraction system. The natural elastic properties of the core would then provide the pressure force needed to extract the contained liquid.

This invention allows liquids to be transported in a much more sterile environment, since the liquid never comes into direct contact with the inside of the rigid container. The invention also provides another layer of protection against contamination in the event that the rigid shell is punctured, broken, or damaged in some way.