WO2001088483A1

WO2001088483A1 - Wine bottle temperature director

Info

Publication number: WO2001088483A1
Application number: PCT/US2001/015860
Authority: WO
Inventors: Penny Byron
Original assignee: IN2WINE Inc
Current assignee: IN2WINE Inc
Priority date: 2000-05-17
Filing date: 2001-05-16
Publication date: 2001-11-22
Anticipated expiration: 2002-11-17
Also published as: AU2001259787A1

Abstract

A wine bottle temperature director (10) including laminated temperature-sensitive display panel apparatus (18) for attachment to a bottle of wine. The panel apparatus has three sections, or alternatively three separate panels (12, 14, 16) for displaying the three different notices. Each section or panel utilizes at least one layer of thermochromic material that automatically displays the words 'cool it' (26) when the bottle temperature is above the optimum temperature for consumption, and displays the words 'warm it' (30) when the bottle temperature is too cool, and presents the words 'ready to serve' (28) when the bottle temperature is in the optimum range for consumption of the wine.

Description

WINE BOTTLE TEMPERATURE DIRECTOR

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention The present invention relates generally to temperature control of wine, and more particularly to an apparatus to give notice that the wine is at the correct temperature, or to explicitly give instruction to cool or warm the wine.

Description of the Prior Art It is well known that the temperature of a beverage is important for its enjoyment. For example, wine that is served too cold has a reduced aroma and flavor, and bitterness is enhanced. On the other hand, wine that is too warm presents a dull and flat flavor, and seems harshly alcoholic. Various temperature measuring devices have been designed for use in measuring the temperature of wine. U.S. Patent 5,738,442 by Paron et al. describes a liquid crystal temperature panel on an adhesive-backed flexible plastic substrate for attachment to a wine bottle. The panel includes a central column containing a series of temperature-indicating sections. A centigrade scale is printed on the left side and a Fahrenheit scale is printed on the right so that a user can tell the temperature of the bottle. The panel also includes words of common types of wine, presumably in the temperature area at which the wine is best consumed. U.S. Patent 4,538,926 describes a thermometer for measuring the temperature of a bottle in the form of a semicircular array of temperature-indicating sections. A mark is placed on the section halfway around the semicircle that indicates the optimum temperature. Arrows are placed beside the sections to the left and right of center to indicate the need to bring the temperature to the level indicated by the marked, centrally located section. A disadvantage of the above-described temperature indicators is that a person needs instruction in their use. In other words, it is not immediately obvious to a person that something should be done to optimize the wine from a casual glance at the thermometer.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an apparatus for instructing a person to optimize the temperature of wine. It is a further object of the present invention to provide an apparatus that automatically issues a printed command to cool wine that is too warm. It is a still further object of the present invention to provide an apparatus for automatically issuing a printed command to warm wine that is too cool. It is another object of the present invention to provide an apparatus for instructing a person when a wine is at an optimum temperature for consumption. Briefly, a preferred embodiment of the present invention includes a laminated temperature-sensitive display panel apparatus for attachment to a bottle of wine. The apparatus automatically displays the printed words "cool it" when the bottle temperature is above the optimum temperature for consumption, and prints the words "warm it" when the bottle temperature is too cool, and presents the words "ready to serve" when the bottle temperature is in the optimum range for consumption of the wine. The panel apparatus has three sections, or alternatively three separate panels for displaying the three different notices. The panel for displaying the words "ready to serve" has a top layer of thermochromic material that is opaque below a lower acceptable temperature and clear above that temperature. The words "ready to serve" are included in an intermediate layer below the top layer and are constructed of a thermochromic material that is opaque below a maximum acceptable temperature and clear above that temperature. A substrate layer below the intermediate layer is selected with a color that contrasts with the color of the intermediate layer. The section for displaying the words "warm it" includes an upper layer having the words "warm it" formed from thermochromic material that is opaque below the lowest acceptable temperature and clear above it, placed on a contrasting substrate. The section for displaying the words "cool it" has a top layer of thermochromic material that is opaque below a maximum acceptable temperature and clear above it. The words "cool it" are printed in permanent color in a lower intermediate layer on a contrasting colored substrate. An advantage of the present invention is that it does not require a user to read or interpret a thermometer to know how to adjust the temperature of wine bottle. A further advantage of the present invention is that it automatically provides a printed instruction to a user to either cool or warm the bottle, and provides a printed notice when the bottle is in the optimum temperature range for consumption.

IN THE DRAWING Fig. 1 is an illustration of the preferred embodiment of the present invention; Fig. 2a is a perspective bottom view of three stacked layers for constructing a notice that the wine is ready to serve; Fig. 2b is a planar view of three layers for more clearly explaining the layer order of Fig. 2a; Fig. 3 is a perspective top view of two layers for constructing a notice to warm the wine; Fig. 4a is a perspective bottom view of three layers for constructing a notice to cool the wine; and Fig. 4b is a planar view of three layers for more clearly explaining the layers of Fig. 4a.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT A preferred embodiment of the temperature director apparatus 10 of the present invention is illustrated in Fig. 1. Three separate panels 12, 14 and 16 are shown, each for displaying a different message. Alternatively, the three panels 12, 14 and 16 can be constructed on a single panel as indicated by dashed line 18. The panels 12, 14, 16 or single panel 18 (including the area of panels 12, 14 and 16) are preferably constructed of flexible materials with an adhesive on a back side (not shown in Fig. 1) for adhering to a surface of a wine bottle (not shown). Various layers of both thermochromic and permanent material are used over a base material/substrate that provides support and a background color selected to contrast with the opaque color of the words. The laminated areas are indicated by numbers 20, 22 and 24, and include instructions 26, 28 and 30, displaying the directive words "cool it", "warm it" and "ready to serve". The laminated areas are designed using thermochromic material to automatically display the messages 26, 28 and 30 at the appropriate temperature. Since the optimum serving temperature for one wine is not usually the same as that for another, the selection of thermochromic materials, etc., is specific to a particular wine. It is therefore convenient to print the wine type on each panel. This label can be placed anywhere on the label, preferably outside the areas 26, 28 and 30. For example, a complex red wine is preferred at 64°F, a red wine at 58°F, a complex white wine at 52°F, and a white wine at 46°F. In operation with the panel(s) attached to the side of a wine bottle, if the bottle temperature is above the acceptable temperature range for consumption, the "cool it" notice 26 will be automatically displayed for view, and the notices 28 and 30 will be obscured from view. If the temperature of the bottle is colder than the acceptable temperature for consumption, the "warm it" notice 30 will be automatically displayed, while the notices 26 and 28 will be obscured. When the temperature of the bottle is within the acceptable range for consumption, the "ready to serve" notice 28 will be automatically displayed, and notices 26 and 30 will be obscured. The present invention is not limited to the specific words "cool it", "warm it" and "ready to serve". Other directive words to cool and warm, and to give notice when the wine is at the correct temperature are also included in the spirit of the present invention. The construction of the laminated areas will be fully described in the following text in reference to the figures of the drawing. A preferred construction/selection of the layers included in the "ready to serve" notice is illustrated in Figs. 2a and 2b wherein only the single word "ready" of the words "ready to serve" is used to simplify the illustration. Again, for ease of illustration, the optimum wine temperature range is arbitrarily assumed to be 40°F to 50°F. Fig. 2a is a perspective view of three layers, viewed from below. Fig. 2b is a planar symbolic end view of the layers to clearly show the position of the letters in layer 40, between layers 38 and 42. The top layer 38 is constructed from a thermochromic material that has a clearing point temperature of 40°F, i.e. it is opaque below 40°F and clear above 40°F. The layer 40 immediately below the top layer 38 includes the letters 40 of the notice, i.e. "ready to serve". The letters are printed with a thermochromic material that has a transition temperature of 50°F, i.e. is opaque below 50°F and clear above 50°F. The letters will therefore be visible between 40°F and the clearing point of the letters themselves, which is 50°F. The third layer 42 is a base layer with a permanent color that contrasts with the opaque color of the letters making up the middle layer 40. In operation , when the temperature is below 40°F, the letters of layer 40 are obscured by the layer 38 which has a clearing point temperature of 40°F. When the temperature is above 40°F, the top layer 38 is transparent, and the letters of layer 40 can be seen through layer 38 when the temperature is below the 50°F clearing point temperature of the letters/layer 40. Above the 50°F clearing point temperature of the middle layer 40, the letters of that layer become transparent/clear and are therefore not visible. As a result, the notice "ready to serve" is displayed only when the temperature is between 40°F and 50°F. It will be understood by those skilled in the art that the terms "clearing point" and "clear" are approximate in their use, in that there is a finite temperature range over which the actual transitions take place from opaque to clear, and that the thermochromic material may not actually become perfectly clear. The temperatures used are also merely illustrative, and any temperature or temperatures that can be accommodated by a thermochromic material are included in the spirit of the present invention, as are all applicable materials that change color with temperature. For example, in an alternate embodiment, a material that changes from one color to another at a required temperature can be used to implement the present invention. An example of an alternative material for the middle (letter) layer 40 would be a material that is blue below 40°F and red above 40°F. Materials displaying two different colors can be foπned by mixing a thermochromic material with a material that does not change with temperature. In this case, instead of a top layer, the area surrounding the letters would be a similar material that changes from blue to red where the clearing point temperature is 50°F. When the surrounding area turns red at 50°F, the red letters would blend with the red background/surrounding area and seem to disappear. Such alternative designs will be apparent to those skilled in the art and are included in the spirit of the present invention. Fig. 3 illustrates a design for the "warm it" notice area. The view is a perspective one as seen primarily from the top and front, h this case the top layer includes the letters 44 making up the words "warm it". The letters can be constructed of a thermochromic material that has a clearing point temperature of 40°F for this illustrated case. Below 40°F the letters are opaque and will be visible with a contrasting color background surface 46. For example, the base layer 48 can be a white-colored surface 46, and a thermochromic material making up the letters 44 can be black below the clearing point temperature of 40°F. Fig. 4 illustrates a design for the "cool it" notice. A top thermochromic layer 50 is designed with a 50°F transition temperature corresponding to the requirement that the wine be below 50°F in temperature. Above 50°F the thermochromic layer 50 is clear/transparent, and the letters "cool it" in the layer 52 below the top layer 50 can be seen. The layer 52 can be constructed of a permanent, non-temperature-sensitive material of a color that contrasts with a color of the background substrate material 54. The base material 42 of Fig. 2a, 48 of Fig. 3, and 54 of Fig. 4a are all flexible and preferably have an adhesive backing layer such as layer 49 in Fig. 3. The layer 49 in Fig. 3 is shown for illustrative purposes, but applies also to the bases/substrates 42 and 54 of the other panels. The rectangular shape of the layered areas shown in Figs. 2a, 3 and 4a is for convenience of illustration. They can actually be of any shape, for example, as illustrated by areas 20, 22 and 24 in Fig. 1. As noted in reference to Fig. 1, the three panels can be physically separate, or they can all be included on a common base material as indicated by line 18 in Fig. 1. The preferred material for construction of the notices/directives is a thermochromic pigment that goes from color to clear as the temperature rises past what is called the "clearing point". When the temperature drops past the clearing point, the color returns to the pigment. These pigments are available in a variety of basic colors that can be blended to create other colors. If a thermochromic pigment is mixed with an agent that does not change with temperature, the result is a substance that changes from one color to another color as described in an alternate embodiment above. The "warm it" notice of Fig. 3 is the easiest to understand since it is simply one layer 44 (the "warm it" letters) of thermochromic material on top of a base 48. As described above, the layer 44 can be constructed of a basic thermochromic material that has a color below the clearing point and is basically colorless and clear above the clearing point. In this case the letters "warm it" can be constructed from any color of thermochromic material that would contrast sufficiently with the color of the surface 46 of the base material 48. Alternatively, the thermochromic pigment can be mixed with a colored material that does not change with temperature to provide a composite material that will change from a first color below the clearing point to a second color above the clearing point. In the "warm it" notice case, the surface 46 of the base would be selected to match the second color, with the first color contrasting with the base. When the temperature rises above the "clearing point", the color of the composite material (second color) matches the base material and the "warm it" notice blends with the base and effectively disappears. With the "cool it" notice, an alternate embodiment to the structure described in reference to Fig. 4 includes using a composite material, as in the alternate embodiment just described above for the "warm it" notice, except that the base surface color, such as the surface 46 in Fig. 3, would be selected to match the color of the composite material at the lower temperature causing the "cool it" notice to blend with the background at temperatures below the clearing point and contrast with the background above the clearing point and become visible. The present invention can be implemented using any of a wide variety of materials and compositions that change color with temperature. These have generally been referred to in the above disclosure by use of the term "thermochromic" to refer to any substance exhibiting thermochromism, that is a reversible change in color with temperature. Although the present invention has been described above in terms of a specific embodiment, it is anticipated that alterations and modifications thereof will no doubt become apparent to those skilled in the art. It is therefore intended that the following claims be interpreted as covering all such alterations and modifications as fall within the true spirit and scope of the invention. What is claimed is:

Claims

IN THE CLAIMS

1. An apparatus for temperature control of bottled wine comprising: an instruction label apparatus for placement on a wine bottle, said apparatus constructed from material including a thermochromic substance, said label apparatus including (a) a first printed notice apparatus for displaying a first printed notice informing a person to cool said wine, wherein said first notice appears automatically when a temperature of said wine bottle is above a first temperature; (b) a second printed notice apparatus for displaying a second printed notice for informing a person to warm said wine, wherein said second notice appears automatically when a temperature of said wine bottle is below a second temperature; and (c) a third printed notice apparatus for displaying a third printed notice for informing a person that said wine is ready to be served, wherein said third notice appears automatically when a temperature of said wine bottle is between said first temperature and said second temperature.

2. An apparatus as recited in claim 1 wherein said first printed notice includes the words "cool it".

3. An apparatus as recited in claim 1 wherein said second printed notice includes the words "warm it".

4. An apparatus as recited in claim 1 wherein the third printed notice includes the words "ready to serve".

5. An apparatus as recited in claim 1 wherein said label apparatus further includes identification of the type of wine in the bottle on which said label is designed to be placed.

6. An apparatus as recited in claim 1 wherein said first apparatus includes (a) a first layer of flexible base material for use in adhering said first apparatus to said bottle; (b) a second layer of material disposed upon said first layer and forming said first printed notice; and (c) a third layer including thermochromic material covering said second layer, wherein said third layer has a first clearing point temperature above which said wine is not within a temperature range for optimum consumption.

7. An apparatus as recited in claim 1 wherein said second apparatus includes (a) a first layer of flexible base material for use in adhering said second apparatus to said bottle; and (b) a second layer containing said printed notice, said second layer including thermochromic material over said first layer, wherein said thermochromic material has a clearing point temperature below which said wine is not within a temperature range for optimum consumption.

8. An apparatus as recited in claim 1 wherein said third apparatus includes (a) a first layer of flexible base material for use in adhering said third apparatus to said bottle; (b) a second layer over said first layer, said second layer including first thermochromic material, wherein said first thermochromic material has a clearing point temperature approximate the highest temperature at which said wine is optimum for consumption; and (c) a third layer over said second layer, said third layer including second thermochromic material, wherein said second thermochromic material has a clearing point temperature approximate the lowest temperature at which said wine is optimum for consumption.

9. An apparatus as recited in claim 1 wherein said first apparatus and said second apparatus and said third apparatus are all formed on a common base material.

10. An apparatus as recited in claim 9 wherein said base material includes an adhesive backing for attachment to said wine bottle.

11. An apparatus as recited in claim 1 wherein said first apparatus and said second apparatus and said third apparatus are each physically separate from each other, each having a separate base material.

12. An apparatus as recited in claim 11 wherein each said base material has an adhesive backing for attachment to said wine bottle.