Beverage temperature regulating apparatus and method of rapidly cooling a beverage using same

Abstract

A temperature-regulating apparatus is provided to rapidly cool a beverage to a desired temperature. In some variations, the geometry of the temperature-regulating apparatus is configured to rapidly cool a beverage incorporating one or more inner portions that contain a temperature regulating material, such as a phase change material having a high heat capacity. The geometry of the interior of the container may be configured to aid in rapid heat transfer between the beverage therein and the outer shell of the inner portion and may have a length to width aspect ratio of at least 4:1. The inner portion may be formed between the exterior wall of the container and by a single piece of formed metal that extends along the length, width and base walls to form the interior for receiving a beverage. The cavity formed between the outer shell and the exterior wall may be at least 15 mm deep.

Claims

1. A temperature-regulating apparatus configured to cool a beverage to a desired temperature comprising: a container comprising: a rectangular shaped interior for receiving said beverage; an inner portion having an outer shell and an interior wall portion that forms a cavity having a temperature-regulating material therein, wherein the inner portion forms the interior for receiving said beverage and wherein said interior wall portion includes a pair of opposing planar interior wall portions to form said interior of container having an aspect ratio of an interior length to an interior width of 3 or more; wherein the pair of opposing planar interior wall portions have a gap distance therebetween of between 0.25 inch to 2.0 inch, wherein said inner portion is a monolithic inner portion and wherein the well is a contiguous well for receiving said beverage; wherein said gap distance between the pair of opposing planar interior wall portions is configured to cool the beverage, wherein the inner shell is a thermally conductive material configured to facilitate a heat transfer process from the beverage to the temperature regulating material; and wherein the temperature regulating material is phase change material, wherein the temperature-regulating material forms at least 50% of a cross sectional surface area of the temperature-regulating apparatus, whereby the temperature-regulating apparatus is configured to cool the beverage within the interior from an initial temperature of 75° F. to less than 40° F. in no more than 5 minutes.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a thermometer system comprising: a thermometer that measures the temperature of a beverage in the temperature-regulating apparatus; b) a display that displays a temperature of said beverage in the temperature-regulating apparatus.

3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the thermometer comprises a thermometer probe that extends into the interior of the temperature-regulating apparatus.

4. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the thermometer system is further configured to estimate an estimated time for a beverage to reach an input temperature based on a rate of change of the temperature of the beverage and wherein the display displays said estimated time.

5. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the estimated time is a count down time.

6. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a fill hole configured to allow the beverage to be poured into the apparatus and a spout configured to allow the beverage to be poured out of the apparatus.

7. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the fill hole is on a first end of the temperature-regulating apparatus and the spout is on an opposing second end from the first end.

8. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising an exterior formed from a thermally insulating material.

9. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the cavity formed by the outer shell has as aspect ratio of interior length to interior width of 4 or more.

10. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the interior wall portion is monolithic being made of a single formed piece of metal.

11. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the cavity has a thickness of at least 10 mm along the length of the container, and whereby the temperature-regulating apparatus is configured to cool the beverage within the interior from an initial temperature of 75° F. to less than 40° F. in no more than 5 minutes.

12. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the inner portion further comprises: a dividing interior wall portion that extends along the length of the inner portion along between said pair of opposing planar interior walls portions to form two discrete wells for receiving a beverage in the interior.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) The accompanying drawings are included to provide a further understanding of the invention and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate embodiments of the invention, and together with the description serve to explain the principles of the invention.

(2) FIG. 1 is a side view of an example of a temperature-regulating apparatus to rapidly cool a liquid having one or more features consistent with the present description.

(3) FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional perspective view of the temperature-regulating apparatus shown in FIG. 1.

(4) FIGS. 3A-3E show top down views of potential geometrical layouts of one or more internal portions of a temperature-regulating apparatus having one or more features consistent with the present description.

(5) FIGS. 4A-4E show top down views of potential geometrical layouts of one or more internal portions of a temperature-regulating apparatus having one or more features consistent with the present description.

(6) FIGS. 5A-5C illustrate an exemplary use of a temperature-regulating apparatus having one or more features consistent with the present description.

(7) FIG. 6 is a top view of an exemplary temperature-regulating apparatus having a thermometer display in the lid.

(8) FIG. 7 is a chart showing the rate of cooling of a beverage in an exemplary temperature-regulating apparatus as described in example 1.

(9) Corresponding reference characters indicate corresponding parts throughout the several views of the figures. The figures represent an illustration of some of the embodiments of the present invention and are not to be construed as limiting the scope of the invention in any manner. Further, the figures are not necessarily to scale, some features may be exaggerated to show details of particular components. Therefore, specific structural and functional details disclosed herein are not to be interpreted as limiting, but merely as a representative basis for teaching one skilled in the art to variously employ the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE ILLUSTRATED EMBODIMENTS

(10) As used herein, the terms “comprises,” “comprising,” “includes,” “including,” “has,” “having” or any other variation thereof, are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion. For example, a process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises a list of elements is not necessarily limited to only those elements but may include other elements not expressly listed or inherent to such process, method, article, or apparatus. Also, use of “a” or “an” are employed to describe elements and components described herein. This is done merely for convenience and to give a general sense of the scope of the invention. This description should be read to include one or at least one and the singular also includes the plural unless it is obvious that it is meant otherwise.

(11) Certain exemplary embodiments of the present invention are described herein and are illustrated in the accompanying figures. The embodiments described are only for purposes of illustrating the present invention and should not be interpreted as limiting the scope of the invention. Other embodiments of the invention, and certain modifications, combinations and improvements of the described embodiments, will occur to those skilled in the art and all such alternate embodiments, combinations, modifications, improvements are within the scope of the present invention.

(12) Referring now to FIGS. 1, 2 and 6, an exemplary temperature-regulating apparatus 100 is designed to rapidly cool a liquid having one or more features consistent with the present description. FIG. 1 shows some hidden parts of the interior of the temperature-regulating apparatus as dashed lines. The exemplary temperature-regulating apparatus 100 includes a spout 1 and fill hole 2 in communication with an interior 3. An inner portion 20 is configured within an inner perimeter of the exterior wall 32 of the container 30 of the temperature-regulating apparatus to produce a cavity 24 that contains a temperature-regulating material 7. A portion of the outer shell 22 of the inner portion forms the interior wall 34 of the interior of the container that receives a liquid therein to be cooled. A portion of the inner portion may be formed by the exterior 6, or exterior wall 32 of the container 30, which may be plastic. The outer shell or at least the portion that contacts the beverage in the interior of the container is a thermally conductive material, such as a metal including but not limited to copper, aluminum, steel and preferably stainless steel, and the like. The inner portion may be formed from a monolith of formed metal that is configured within the exterior wall of the container and this formed inner portion may have planar interior wall portions 26 that extend along the length 50 of the interior, two opposing width ends 28, 28′ and a base 29. The cavity 24 of the inner portion is formed between this interior outer shell portions and the exterior wall 32 of the container 30. The two planar interior wall portions may extend substantially parallel to each other and have a gap distance 25 between them, as shown in FIG. 3A. When liquid is poured through the fill hole 2 into the interior 3, the temperature-regulating material is configured to absorb the heat in the liquid through the interior walls, or outer shell 22 of the inner portion 20, and rapidly cool the liquid to a desired temperature. The rapidly cooled liquid can then be poured out of the apparatus using the spout 1. The desired temperature may be different for different liquids.

(13) The temperature-regulating apparatus 100 can be formed from one or more of metal, plastic, a polymer, or the like. The exterior 6 and interior 3 of the temperature-regulating apparatus can be formed of different materials. The interior 3 can be formed from a conductive material configured to facilitate the heat transfer process. Such conductive materials can include metal, plastic, or the like. The exterior 6 can be formed from a thermally non-conductive material configured to protect the user's hand from the cold. Such thermally non-conductive material can include, for example, plastic, silicon, ceramic, wood, or the like. In some variations, the temperature-regulating apparatus can include a handle 4. The handle 4 can be made of a non-conductive material. In some variations, the handle 4 and the exterior 6 can be contiguous. In some variations, the handle 4 and the exterior 6 can be formed separately. The handle 4 can be configured to detach from the temperature-regulating device. The handle can be stored separately to avoid becoming cold when stored in the cool environment.

(14) The temperature-regulating apparatus can include a thermometer system comprising a thermometer 10 and a display 5. The thermometer may comprise a thermometer probe 110 that extend into the beverage retained within the interior of the container. The thermometer display 5 can be configured to display the temperature of liquid poured into the temperature-regulating apparatus 100. A switch can be provided on the bottom of the temperature-regulating apparatus 100 that can switch the thermometer units between Fahrenheit and Celsius. A battery compartment, for storing batteries, can be disposed in the bottom of the temperature-regulating apparatus 100 allowing for a replaceable battery to provide power to the thermometer. The display may be configured in the lid 8, and the thermometer probe may extend down from the lid, as shown in the FIGS. 1 and 2.

(15) In some variations, the thermometer system, including a thermometer probe 110, a thermometer display 5, and/or other parts, can be removable from the temperature-regulating device. The thermometer system can be configured to be removable as a combined system, or individual elements can be removed separately. The thermometer systems, or elements thereof, can be configured to be retained in the temperature-regulating device by friction, magnets, clips, or the like. In some variations, for example, the thermometer display may be removable and the thermometer probe may be fixed in the temperature-regulating device.

(16) The temperature-regulating apparatus 100 can take the form of any shape and the figures are not intended to be limiting. FIG. 2, FIGS. 3A-3E, and FIGS. 4A-4E show temperature-regulating gel, or the inner portions holding the temperature-regulating gel, as being shaded portions.

(17) FIGS. 3A-3E and FIGS. 4A-4E show top down cross sectional views of potential geometrical layouts of one or more internal portions of a temperature-regulating apparatus having one or more features consistent with the present description. The shaded portions represent temperature-regulating material and the non-shaded portions represent where the liquid could be poured into the device by the user. Note that the gap distances 25 between the outer shell or shells of the inner portion are small, and therefore the transfer distances, the minimum distance from any point of the liquid receiving chamber to an outer shell is also minimized to promote rapid cooling. As shown in FIG. 3A, the high aspect ratio of the interior of the container produces small gap and transfer distances, wherein the transfer distance is half that of the gap distance. The gap distance 25 is the same as the interior width 52. The aspect ratio of the interior is the interior length 50 divided by the interior width 52.

(18) In some embodiments, the interior walls 3 can be placed in parallel. The walls can be connected with additional walls on the sides and bottom. The walls can be surrounded by a coolant such as water, phase-change material, or the like. The ideal distance between the two walls can be between 0.25 “−2”, but the proximity of the walls can be calibrated or adjusted within this range so that 75 F liquid poured into the container between them can lower to 60 F in 5 minutes or less. The purpose is for the liquid to be quickly cooled (75 F to 60 F in less than 5 minutes) and then poured out of the container to stop the cooling process. FIGS. 3A-3E shows wells for the liquid to be poured into the apparatus.

(19) FIG. 3A illustrates exterior walls containing temperature regulating material of the temperature-regulating apparatus. The temperature regulating material can consist of one or more of water, phase change material (PCMs), sodium chloride, propylene glycol, or the like.

(20) FIG. 3B illustrates wells with a rectangular shape configured in parallel to each other with dividing and exterior walls containing temperature regulating material. The wells could span the internal width of the temperature-regulating apparatus or a portion of the width of the temperature-regulating apparatus.

(21) FIG. 3C illustrates wells with a circular shape aligned in a hexagonal tiling with dividing and exterior walls containing temperature regulating material. FIG. 3D illustrates wells with a rectangular shape aligned in a rectangular array with dividing and exterior walls containing temperature regulating material.

(22) FIG. 3E illustrates wells with a hexagonal shape aligned in a hexagonal tiling with dividing and exterior walls containing temperature regulating material.

(23) FIGS. 4A-4E show walls and columns placed into the apparatus for liquid to be poured around. These inner portions are retained away from the interior wall of the beverage receiving chamber or interior of the container.

(24) Walls and columns in FIG. 4A-4E can be configured to be removable from the temperature regulating apparatus or fixed within the temperature-regulating apparatus.

(25) FIG. 4A illustrates one interior wall containing temperature regulating material.

(26) FIG. 4B illustrates walls with a rectangular shape containing temperature regulating material configured in parallel to each other. The walls could span the internal width of the temperature-regulating apparatus or a portion of the width of the temperature-regulating apparatus.

(27) FIG. 4C illustrates columns with a circular shape aligned in a hexagonal tiling containing temperature regulating material within the columns.

(28) FIG. 4D illustrates columns with a rectangular shape aligned in a rectangular array containing temperature regulating material within the columns.

(29) FIG. 4E illustrates columns with a hexagonal shape aligned in a hexagonal tiling containing temperature regulating material within the columns.

(30) The layout in FIG. 3A is represented in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2. Any of these layouts can be acceptable options for constructing the temperature-regulating apparatus 100. These figures only show a geometric concept layout and can be constructed with varying dimensions and quantities of wells, walls, and/or columns. Although these concepts are shown in rectangular containers, the exterior shape of the device can be any shape that tightly fits around the walls within. Although these concepts are shown configured in specific arrays, the wells may be configured in any variety that can fit within the interior walls of the surrounding shape.

(31) The temperature-regulating apparatus 100 can have any size, in some exemplary embodiments the exterior 6 can have a width in the range of 5 cm to 45 cm, a length in the range of 5 cm to 45 cm and a height in the range of 10 cm to 45 cm. The interior 3 of the temperature-regulating apparatus 100 can have a width in the range of 1 cm to 20 cm, a length in the range of 1 cm to 20 cm and a height in the range of 5 cm to 45 cm. These dimensions are exemplary only and are not intended to be limiting. In one example, the temperature-regulating apparatus 100 can be proportioned such that the contents of a bottle of wine, a soda bottle, or the like, can be cooled within it.

(32) Presently described is a method for using a temperature-regulating apparatus, such as temperature-regulating apparatus 100. In some variations, a user shall store the temperature-regulating apparatus in a cold environment, for example, a freezer, refrigerator, cellar, or the like. A user may remove the temperature-regulating apparatus from the cold environment to introduce liquid into temperature-regulating apparatus, the user can pour a liquid through the fill hole 2. With the liquid inside the temperature-regulating apparatus, the contained walls or columns, filled with temperature regulating material can absorb heat in the liquid to reduce the liquid to a desired temperature. A user can monitor the thermometer display 5 until the display reads the desired temperature. The user can then hold the temperature-regulating apparatus by the handle 4, and pour the liquid through the spout 1 into the original vessel or into a new vessel. If there is no handle 4, the user can hold the temperature-regulating apparatus by the exterior 6. The liquid poured from the temperature-regulating apparatus can therefore have a desired temperature or close to the desired temperature.

Example 1

(33) FIG. 7 shows the temperature and rate of temperature change for water poured into an exemplary temperature-regulating apparatus. The temperature-regulating apparatus used in this experiment was generally shaped like that shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, and had dimensions of about 17 cm long by about 5.7 cm wide by 23.6 cm high with an interior dimension for receiving the liquid of about 15.2 cm long by about 2.54 cm wide by about 21.6 cm high. The aspect ratio of the length of the interior to the width of the interior was therefore about 6:1. A phase change material filled the about 15 mm wide gap between the outer shell facing the interior for receiving the water and the outer shell or wall of the container. The outer shell facing the interior was a formed piece of stainless steel that was about 4.3 mm thick. The outer shell was made of plastic and therefore thermally insulating.

(34) The test was performed by pouring in about 750 ml liters of liquid that was at the temperatures shows on the ordinate of the graph. The temperature of the liquid was then monitored and recorded over time, wherein time is the abscissa of the graph. As shown, a liquid starting at 180° F. cooled to 78° C. in three minutes, a liquid starting at 145° F. cooled to 65° F. in three minutes, a liquid starting at 110° F. cooled to 53° F. in three minutes and a liquid starting at 75° F. cooled to 40° F. in three minutes.

(35) It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications, combinations and variations can be made in the present invention without departing from the scope of the invention. Specific embodiments, features and elements described herein may be modified, and/or combined in any suitable manner. Thus, it is intended that the present invention cover the modifications, combinations and variations of this invention provided they come within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents.