Beverage cooler

Abstract

A beverage cooling element includes a housing having a main body portion and a stem portion, both filled with a freezable material. The stem portion is removably held in a hollow bore of a stem of a drinking vessel, especially a martini glass, containing a liquid beverage, and the main body portion is held in direct contact with the beverage to effect a rapid, direct heat transfer between the frozen material and the beverage to be cooled.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims the benefit of U.S. provisional patent application Ser. No. 60/966,743, filed Aug. 29, 2007.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates generally to the field of cooling beverages, and in particular to the use of removable cooling elements that may be integrated into various beverage drinking vessels or containers, especially martini glasses. Such cooling elements are removable to permit them to be placed into a freezer, frozen and reused.

The most common method used to cool a beverage or to maintain a cold beverage temperature is to place one or more frozen cubes of ice directly in the beverage. While this is certainly an effective beverage cooling method, the placing of ice cubes in a beverage does present some problems. Specifically, when the frozen ice cubes melt, the beverage becomes diluted with water. In addition, the beverage may be contaminated by the water used to make the ice. Ice cubes may also be contaminated when touched by a human hand, such as when initially placing them into the beverage. This diminishes the beverage taste and sacrifices beverage quality.

Another way to cool a beverage is to frost a glass for holding the beverage in a freezer. However, when frosting the glass in the freezer, the frost can be contaminated by other products in the freezer, thereby causing an odor. Also, sometimes, the glass may crack when repeatedly subjected to extreme temperature differences.

In order to overcome these problems, various beverage cooling elements, sometimes called “fake ice”, have been developed in the related art. In particular, a number of known beverage cooling elements propose using a frozen liquid within a sealed housing or body. Each sealed body is directly placed in the beverage and typically floats therein. In most instance, the wall of the sealed body is composed of an impermeable membrane which permits heat transfer between the beverage and the frozen liquid inside of the sealed body. As the frozen liquid melts, the impermeable membrane wall of the sealed body contains the melted liquid and does not allow the beverage to become diluted.

As advantageous as these known beverage cooling elements have been, their use has not been altogether satisfactory. For example, they typically float around in the beverage and repeatedly strike a drinker's lips during drinking. These cold impacts against the drinker's lips are often disconcerting, especially when the beverage is a cocktail to be sipped. The art has proposed mounting a beverage cooling element within a sealed bottom cavity of a glass having a removable stem. However, the heat transfer is not direct due to the presence of the bottom cavity which isolates the beverage from the cooling element, thereby increasing the cooling time. Also, a special glass construction is required in which the stem is removable from the glass in order to mount the cooling element within the bottom cavity. This removable stem construction is an expense to be avoided.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Hence, this invention is related to cooling elements and techniques for cooling beverages which greatly reduces or eliminates such drawbacks.

One aspect of this invention is directed to a beverage cooling element that includes a housing having a main body portion bounded by an impermeable membrane wall surrounding and encapsulating a sealed interior chamber which is filled with a freezable material. The membrane wall, preferably constituted of a glass material, is structured and disposed, when the element is directly placed in a glass or analogous drinking vessel containing a liquid beverage, to permit a rapid, direct heat transfer between the liquid beverage surrounding the main body portion and the frozen material contained within the interior chamber. This avoids the prior art problem of indirect heat transfer through an isolating cavity.

The housing further includes a stem portion, fixed and integral with a bottom of the main body portion, and removably mounted in a hollow bore of a stem of the glass. The stem portion, also advantageously constituted of a glass material, is preferably provided with a hollow interior in fluid communication with the sealed interior chamber which is filled with the freezable material. The stem portion is frictionally held in a snug fit within the hollow bore of the stem of the glass and thus cannot float freely within the glass, even during drinking of the beverage. This avoids the prior art problem of repeated cold impacts against the drinker's lips. The stem portion is removable from the hollow bore of the stem with an affirmative tug to allow cleaning and reuse of the cooling element.

Another aspect of this invention is directed to the combination of the beverage cooling element and the glass having the hollowed or bored stem. When the stem portion of the element is mounted in the hollowed stem of the glass, the cooling element is barely noticeable.

The novel features which are considered as characteristic of the invention are set forth in particular in the appended claims. The invention itself, however, both as to its construction and its method of operation, together with additional objects and advantages thereof, will be best understood from the following description of specific embodiments when read in connection with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a side elevational view showing the beverage cooling element in accordance with this invention in isolation; and

FIG. 2 is a sectional view showing the beverage cooling element of FIG. 1 installed within a drinking vessel for cooling a liquid beverage contained therein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Referring now to the drawings, reference numeral 10 generally identifies a beverage cooling element that includes a housing having a main body portion 12 bounded by an impermeable membrane wall 14 surrounding and encapsulating a sealed interior chamber which is filled with a freezable material 16, such as water or a gel. The membrane wall 14, preferably constituted of a glass material, is structured and disposed, when the element 10 is directly placed in a glass or analogous drinking vessel 20 (shown herein as a martini glass) containing a liquid beverage 22, to permit a rapid, direct heat transfer between the liquid beverage 22 surrounding the main body portion 12 and the frozen material 16 contained within the interior chamber. As shown, the main body portion 12 is generally conically shaped with sloping side walls that conform to the side walls of the glass 20, and an upper, broad, concave, surface 18. The main body portion 12 may also be generally spherically shaped to promote a rapid, direct heat transfer to the beverage 22

The housing further includes a generally rod-shaped stem portion 24, fixed and integral with a bottom of the main body portion 12, and removably mounted in a hollow circular bore 26 of a stem 28 of the glass 20. In a preferred embodiment, the hollow bore 26 is about 45 mm in height and about 12 mm in diameter. The stem portion 24, also advantageously constituted of a glass material, is preferably provided with a hollow interior in fluid communication with the sealed interior chamber which is filled with the freezable material 16. The stem portion 24 is frictionally held in a snug fit within the hollow bore 26 of the stem 28 of the glass 20, and is also described herein as a steady position relative to the glass. Thus, the cooling element 10 cannot float freely within the glass 20, even during drinking of the beverage. This avoids the prior art problem of repeated cold impacts against the drinker's lips. The stem portion 24 is removable from the hollow bore 26 of the stem 28 with an affirmative tug to allow cleaning and reuse of the cooling element 10.

The combination of the beverage cooling element 10 and the glass 20 allows the beverage to be rapidly cooled. When the stem portion 24 is mounted in the hollowed stem 28 of the glass 20, the cooling element 10 is barely noticeable.

It will be understood that each of the elements described above, or two or more together, also may find a useful application in other types of constructions differing from the types described above.

While the invention has been illustrated and described as embodied in a beverage cooler, it is not intended to be limited to the details shown, since various modifications and structural changes may be made without departing in any way from the spirit of the present invention.

Without further analysis, the foregoing will so fully reveal the gist of the present invention that others can, by applying current knowledge, readily adapt it for various applications without omitting features that, from the standpoint of prior art, fairly constitute essential characteristics of the generic or specific aspects of this invention and, therefore, such adaptations should and are intended to be comprehended within the meaning and range of equivalence of the following claims.

Claims

1. An element for cooling a beverage in a drinking vessel having a stem with a bore, comprising:

a housing having a boundary wall bounding and sealing an interior chamber, the housing having a stem portion and a main body portion;

a freezable material located within the chamber and being frozen therein;

the stem portion of the housing being friction tightly mounted in the bore of the vessel to maintain the housing in a steady position relative to the vessel during cooling; and

the main body portion of the housing being in direct contact with the beverage for enabling thermal transfer between the beverage and the frozen material in the steady position during cooling.

2. The element of claim 1, wherein the boundary wall is constituted of a glass material, and wherein the freezable material is constituted of one of gel and water.

3. The element of claim 1, wherein the main body portion has conically shaped side walls, and wherein the stem portion has an elongated, rod shape.

4. The element of claim 1, wherein the main body portion has a concave upper surface.

5. The element of claim 1, wherein the stem portion is removably mounted in the bore for re-use of the cooling element by re-freezing of the freezable material.

6. An arrangement for cooling a beverage, comprising:

a drinking vessel for containing the beverage to be cooled, the vessel having a stem with a bore; and

a cooling element having a housing with a boundary wall bounding and sealing an interior chamber, a freezable material located within the chamber and being frozen therein, the housing having a stem portion friction tightly mounted in the bore of the vessel to maintain the housing in a steady position relative to the vessel during cooling, and the housing having a main body portion in direct contact with the beverage for enabling thermal transfer between the beverage and the frozen material in the steady position during cooling.

7. The arrangement of claim 6, wherein the boundary wall is constituted of a glass material, and wherein the freezable material is constituted of one of gel and water.

8. The arrangement of claim 6, wherein the main body portion has conically shaped side walls, and wherein the stem portion has an elongated, rod shape.

9. The arrangement of claim 6, wherein the main body portion has an upper surface with a broad surface area for heat transfer.

10. The arrangement of claim 6, wherein the stem portion is removably mounted in the bore for re-use of the cooling element by re-freezing of the freezable material.

11. A method of cooling a beverage, comprising the steps of:

configuring a drinking vessel with a bore in a stem of the vessel;

filling the vessel with the beverage to be cooled;

bounding and sealing a freezable material within an interior chamber of a cooling element configured with a stem portion and a main body portion;

freezing the freezable material;

friction tightly mounting the stem portion in the bore of the vessel to maintain the cooling element in a steady position relative to the vessel during cooling; and

enabling thermal transfer between the beverage and the frozen material in the steady position during cooling by positioning the main body portion in direct contact with the beverage.

12. The method of claim 11, and removing the stem portion from the bore for re-use of the cooling element by re-freezing of the freezable material.