Brookston Beer Bulletin

Jay R. Brooks on Beer

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Patent No. 8584665B2: Brewery Plant And Method

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Today in 2013, US Patent 8584665 B2 was issued, an invention of Kurt Stippler and Klaus-Karl Wasmuht, assigned to Krones Ag, for his “Brewery Plant and Method.” Here’s the Abstract:

A brewery plant with at least one mash container, a lauter tun, a wort pan and a water housing, wherein at least part of the thermal energy requirement of the brewery is covered with solar collectors, and the solar collectors directly or indirectly heat a fluid. Also, a brewing method where the thermal energy requirement for at least of a part of the brewing process stages is at least partially covered with a fluid heated directly or indirectly by solar collectors.

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Patent No. 2813638A: Palletizer

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Today in 1957, US Patent 2813638 A was issued, an invention of Frank H. Miller Jr., assigned to Miller Engineering Corp., for his “Palletizer.” There’s no Abstract, although in the description it includes this summary:

This invention relates to a palletizing device and to the method of operation thereof, and in particular to a palletizing device which is completely automatic in operation.

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Patent No. 133152A: Improvement In Apparatus For Curing Hops

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Today in 1872, US Patent 133152 A was issued, an invention of Nehemiah E. Hinds, for his “Improvement in Apparatus for Curing Hops.” There’s no Abstract, although in the description it includes this summary:

This invention relates to an Improvement in kilns for curing hops; and consists, first, of a series of tubes connected with a steam generator outside of the kiln, arranged within the kiln in such a manner as to discharge the steam beneath the hops and permit it to pass up through the hops, thereby thoroughly saturating them, the object of this part of the invention being to keep the hops thoroughly dampened while undergoing the bleaching process; secondly, of a pair of frames, covered with canvas, arranged within the kiln in such a manner as to be swung down upon and I completely cover the hops, the object of this part of the invention being to partially confine the steam, but more especially the fumes of the brimstone, within the kiln, and only permit them to escape slowly through the canvas—the united objects of the two parts of the invention being to produce a kiln that will cure hops in a manner far superior to the kilns heretofore in use.

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Patent No. 2262863A: Lauter Tank

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Today in 1941, US Patent 2262863 A was issued, an invention of Robert C. Schock, for his “Lauter Tank.” There’s no Abstract, although in the description it includes this summary:

Lauter tanks, as is known, are provided with two bottoms, a false or inner bottom which is in the nature of a screen or a perforated plate or a slotted plate permitting the wort to pass therethrough, and a lower bottom which collects the wort that has filtered through the false bottom.

It has heretofore been’ proposed to remove the wort which is passed through the false bottom, by a large number of separate pipes, one for each subdivision of the lauter tank, and these pipes, generally speaking about twelve to thirty-two in number, having an equal number of discharge valves or cocks, lone for each pipe. ‘I’he control of the wort by means of such a multiplicity of valves was difficult and not at all times possible.

Furthermore, in some of the lauter tanks heretofore used, the outside bottom was entirely flat and in consequence there would be an adherence of the wort to the bottom, so that the wort would accumulate on such bottoms and bring about a harmful condition of uncleanliness, favorable to the generation of bacteria in undesired quantities, unless carefully cleaned after each use.

The object of the invention here is to provide l an outside bottom which prevents a building up of sediment or under dough, and to replace the said multiplicity of pipes and valves by three valves which can be readily controlled and regulated in accordance with the practice of determining the amount of sugar in the wort, and thereby determining the density of flow of the l wort as it bypasses through the saccharometer chambers, and in the event that the flow in any of the chambers which is so governed by the three valves is not of the desired order, it can be throttled until the flow shall have been equalized.

For this purpose, the improvements in the lauter tank forming the basis of this invention are, first, the provision of three manifolds concentrically arranged to render each of said manifold saccharometer grant. Secondly, the invention consists in providing the outside bottom with a series of concentric channels, each V-shaped in cross-section, the apex of the V being provided with the outlet pipes which discharge the wort into the aforesaid manifolds, such V-shape formation providing the outside bottom with concentrically disposed inclined walls, to enable a free flow of the wort which is passed through the false bottom in such a manner as to maintain the inner walls of these V-shaped circumferential members clean of the wort, by promoting faster running thereof and thus to prevent the formation of undesirable accretions of solid matter from the wort, also to aid in preventing under dough and to prevent any possible generation of undesired bacteria.

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Patent No. 1832587A: Method Of And Apparatus For Dealcoholizing Beer

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Today in 1931, US Patent 2061240 A was issued, an invention of Claude B. Schneible, for his “Method of and Apparatus for Dealcoholizing Beer and the Like.” There’s no Abstract, although in the description it includes this summary:

This invention relates to -a method of and apparatus for dealcoholizing beer and the like and will be readily understood from the following description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

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Patent No. 1008914A: Hop-Picker

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Today in 1911, US Patent 1008914 A was issued, an invention of Emil Clemens Horst, for his “Hop-Picker.” There’s no Abstract, although in the description it includes this summary:

This invention relates to hop-pickers, or devices for removing the hops from the vines.

The invention is applicable either as a device for picking the hops by hand, or for picking t-hem entirely by machinery; essentially the same principle being employed in either instance.

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Patent No. 2868247A: Bottle Filling Apparatus

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Today in 1956, US Patent 2868247 A was issued, an invention of Aloysius J. Feit and Sydney R. Weisberg, for their “Bottle Filling Apparatus.” There’s no Abstract, although in the description it includes this summary:

Among the principal objects of the present invention are: to provide bottle filling apparatus where the opening of a valve discharging fluid or other material into a lbottle is initiated by the depression of an actuator member by the bottle as it is positioned below a supply outlet controlled by the valve, where the valve is closed preferably automatically by an automatic timer and, under certain circumstances, upon operation of a manual switch, and where the valve is thereafter prevented from again opening until the bottle is removed from the actuator member and another bottle is moved against the same to depress the actuator member to begin a new filling cycle; to provide bottle filling apparatus of the type above described wherein, although the actuator member may be spring urged to an extended position, the actuator member is held in its depressed position at least during the actual filling operation so that the bottle need not he forced against the actuator member during the filling operation, making the system particularly suitable in the filling of very light bottles where the bottles would otherwise require an externally applied force to keep the bottles in the proper filling position against the actuator member; to provide bottle filling apparatus as just described wherein the aforementioned valve is an electrically controlled valve, such as a solenoid valve, which is associated with a control circuit which selectively provides for controlling the solenoid valve either through an automatic electric timer or a manual switch, and which becomes operative to control the valve after the aforesaid actuator member has been depressed to thereby provide flexibility of operation; to provide apparatus as just described wherein there is further provided during manual or timer operation a means for instantaneously shutting off the valve should this be desired for any reason, such as due to a malfunction in the control circuit or timer control circuit which fails to shut off the solenoid valve; to provide such apparatus where means is provided for readily shifting the position of the supply outlet so that the apparatus may be readily adapted for use with bottles of different sizes; and to provide such apparatus which is inexpensive to manufacture and is reliable in operation.

In accordance with the invention, the aforesaid actuator member is preferably arranged to move the. armature of a relay into a position where the contacts controlled thereby initiate, preferably through electric timer, opening of a control valve, preferably a solenoid valve, and also the energization of the relay which holds the actuator member in its depressed position. In such case, the armature, which is spring biased away from the relay core, does not apply any backward force to the bottle which would tend to push it out of alignment with the supply outlet. Both the solenoid valve and the relay are preferably connected in series with a set of contacts controlled by the electric timer which contacts close for an adjustable interval to open the solenoid valve and energize the relay, and open at the termination of such interval to close the solenoid valve and de-energize the relay. An emergency cut-off switch in series with the solenoid valve is provided for instantaneously shutting off the solenoid valve independently of the timer, where this is necessary or desirable. The electric timer is not re-set for a new cycle of operation until the bottle is removed from the actuator member. Once the bottle is filled, the overall weight of the bottle is usually sufficient to hold the actuator member fully depressed even after the relay is de-energized. The resetting of the electric timer is effected by removing the bottle to return the relay contacts to their normal positions, and, upon subsequent closing of the actuator member, a new timing interval is initiated.

In the interest of system flexibility, switching means are provided for disabling the timer circuit from operation and for inserting the relay in series with its own contacts and also the latter in series with the solenoid valve so that, upon depression of the aforementioned actuator member, a holding circuit is established for the relay and the solenoid valve is opened. Closing of the solenoid valve and defenergization of the relay is effected through manual operation of the switching means.

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Patent No. 1246803A: Beer-Pipe Cleaner

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Today in 1917, US Patent 1246803 A was issued, an invention of Giuseppi Doti, for his “Beer-Pipe Cleaner.” There’s no Abstract, although in the description it includes this summary:

This invention relates to a beer pipe cleaner, and the primary object of the invention is to provide a device, by means of which any one or a number of beer pipes or coils may be cleaned, by being first subjected to warm water, after which the beer pipes are flushed or rinsed by cold water.

A further object of this invention is to provide a frame work, which is constructed of a plurality of pipes having branches, and to connect the frame work of pipe structures to a city water supply pipe, and also to an ordinary barrel or keg tap, so that warm water may be forced upwardly out of a barrel into the pipes of the frame work, and outwardly therethrough into and through the beer pipes, for cleansing the beer pipes, after which the flow of hot water is cut oil, and valves for controlling the cold water are opened which permit cold water to flow through the pipe frame work and through the beer pipes.

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Patent No. 549699A: Hop Separator

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Today in 1895, US Patent 549699 A was issued, an invention of Christian Abele, for his “Hop Separator.” There’s no Abstract, although in the description it includes this summary:

My invention relates to an improvement in separators, in which the material to be operated upon is given repeated trajectory movements during its passage on an incline.

The machine which I have here illustrated is particularly well adapted for separating the foreign substance from hops; but it may be used for general separating purposes, and I therefore wish it to be understood that I do not limit myself to the particular use named.

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Patent No. 414673A: Process Of Aerating And Purifying Beer Wort Or Beer

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Today in 1889, US Patent 414673 A was issued, an invention of Axel Bergh, for his “Process of Aerating and Purifying Beer Wort or Beer.” There’s no Abstract, although in the description it includes this summary:

The advantages of my invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art to which it appertains, and it will be particularly seen that the wort is led to the fermenting-house in an absolutely-sterilized condition, while at the same time it is cooled, aerated to the required degree, and freed from impurities, and the losses due to residual wort are avoided.

The herein-described process of freeing wort from suspended particles by simultaneously subjecting the Wort to centrifugal action and a regulated supply of sterilized air, and subsequently cooling the wort preparatory to fermentation, all to be carried out in contact with sterilized air, substantially as described.

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