U.S. Patent No. 10,336,597 B2 (‘597) issued on July 2, 2019, for “Capsule-Based Alcoholic Beverage Apparatus and Components Thereof.” It was issued to inventors Ross Franklin of Rancho Cucamonga, California, Ed Rosenthal of Oakland, California, and Rachel Franklin of Rancho Cucamonga, California. The applicant is ERS Holdings, LLC of Piedmont, California, and the assignee is Pivot Naturals, LLC of Anaheim, California. The ‘597 specification discloses the problem in the art as having a product which can dispense craft alcoholic beverages essentially on-demand, with specified alcoholic and sugar content depending on the consumer’s preference. The ‘597 claims are directed to the apparatuses, which comprises the capsule holder which allows for a beverage capsule and flavor medium, the water supply reservoir, the alcohol supply reservoir, the dispenser, with predetermined amounts of water and alcohol to be specified by presumably the consumer, and the carbonated water supply reservoir.
The Cooperative Patent Classifications are B67D, dispensing, delivering or transferring liquids, namely apparatus or device for dispensing beverage on draught, with carbonators (1/0057), namely, conventional (1/0066), based on volumetric dosing (1/0025) in the form of a metering pump (1/0031) using flow-rate sensors (1/0032), containing ingredient cartridges (1/0078), in a keg-dispensing apparatus using solid state elements (1/0869) with flow or pressure control device or system comprising menas for detecting the liquid level in vessels to be filled (1/1238); and B65D, containers for storage or transport of articles or materials, namely, with disposable containers or packages which are infused or dissolved in situ, with packages adapated to allow liquid to pass through the contents (85/8043).
Altria is the Big Tobacco company, so this claimed invention represents a divergence from its core products. However, the broader Altria Group owns several beer and wine companies, including St. Michelle Wine Estates and owns an equity interest in Anheuser-Busch InBev, the world’s largest beer maker. Further, Altria owns a portion of Cronos Group, a cannabinoid research and development company.