Reusable Instantaneous Beverage Cooling Device

Abstract

A cooling device for cooling beverage containers and their contents, such as, but not limited to, twelve-ounce aluminum cans. The device comprises a cylindrical body open at its top and having a bottom, where said cylindrical body includes an inner wall as well as an outer wall so as to form a plurality of compartments. In use, a beverage container is inserted into the innermost compartment surrounded by the inner wall while a solvent is added to the annular compartment between the inner and outer walls which contains a salt coolant. The dissolution of said salt in said solvent induces an endothermic chemical reaction capable of instantly cooling the beverage container as well as its contents via contact with said inner wall. Separation of the solvent from said salt coolant allows for subsequent reuse of the cooling device.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

Not Applicable

STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

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REFERENCE TO APPENDIX

Not Applicable

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to a cooling device, a portable and reusable device for instantaneously cooling beverage containers via an endothermic chemical reaction which will absorb the heat from the beverage container.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The invention presented herein is a portable cooling device primarily focusing on, but not limited to, the cooling of twelve-ounce aluminum cans or other beverage containers. A commonly used method for cooling beverages is the addition of ice cubes to cool the liquid content of the container. However, this way of cooling has a few problems. Namely, the narrow opening of certain bottle or can-shaped containers prevent the addition of ice cubes to the inside. In the instance where ice cubes are of appropriate size, and capable of passing through the narrow regions, they dilute the beverage inside, altering the taste. While traditional household refrigerators are a possible solution for cooling beverages, this method is initially very time-consuming and not portable, limiting its usefulness to keeping beverages cool while at home. The objective of the invention is thus to provide solutions for the above constraints by providing users with a portable cooling device capable of instantly cooling beverages; this would be especially useful in situations such as camping as well as when a warm beverage is desired to be consumed at a colder temperature without the waiting time associated with refrigerators.

While there are prior arts which have addressed some of the issues, they each have their own drawbacks. For instance, prior invention in the U.S. Pat. No. US20160069608A1, designed a device with several cooling sub-assemblies with interior chambers for the cooling fluid. The cooling fluid consists of an endothermic reaction which cools the container held by the device and thus the contents of the container. Another prior art is presented by U.S. Pat. No. 20120247128A1, which has a similar design strategy; the invention consists of a beverage can insulating sleeve, and cylindrical flexible bellows that are attached to the bottom of the sleeve via a bottom plate. The cooling mechanism is a similar technique as above where the contents of the can are cooled by activated cooling cartridges which contain an endothermic reaction. However, these cartridges can only be used once and must be replaced following each use.

Both examples of prior art mentioned above work in a similar pattern using endothermic reactions to cool the contents inside the container. Yet, both inventions failed to address the issues of sustainability and safety. More specifically, once the endothermic reaction has been carried out, the reactants must be refilled (US20160069608A1) or an entire new cooling cartridge must be installed (US20120247128A1). Furthermore, the application of gas-producing endothermic reactions to these cooling devices is a safety concern as the excess buildup of gas throughout the reaction could cause an increase in internal pressure and explosion of the cooling device.

In the invention presented here, the device was designed to account for sustainability, safety, and cost efficiency. This design focuses on the recycling of the endothermic contents through the removal of the solvent via, but not limited to its evaporation, as well as a safety valve system which allows the release of any gas produced during the endothermic reaction or evaporation process. Overall, this device was designed to provide users with a safe, sustainable, portable, and cheap method for instantly cooling beverages.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is thus an object of the present invention to provide a cooling device comprising a cylindrical body open at its top and having a bottom. Within the cylindrical body is an inner wall as well as an outer wall to form a plurality of compartments. The annular compartment formed between the inner and outer walls contains a salt coolant. The larger annular compartment formed between the outer wall and the cylindrical body is comprised of a vacuum or insulative material to prevent heat entry from the surrounding environment. In use, a beverage container is inserted into the innermost compartment which is surrounded by the inner wall. The diameter of said innermost compartment is such that the beverage container fits snugly and remains in contact with the inner wall. Addition of a solvent into the compartment containing the salt coolant will induce an instantaneous endothermic chemical reaction as the solvent dissolves the salt. The endothermic reaction will cause the solution to cool, resulting in cooling of the inner wall with which it is in contact. Cooling of said inner wall will result in subsequent cooling of the beverage container as well as the contents within it, providing a means for instantaneously cooling beverages. The characteristics of the coolant are such that removal of the solvent via a valve allows precipitation of the salt coolant for subsequent reuse.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING

FIG. 1 portrays a longitudinal view of the cooling device.

FIG. 1A depicts a cross-sectional view of the cooling device.

FIG. 2 shows a top view of the sealing cap for the cooling device.

FIG. 2A depicts a top cross-sectional image of the cooling device.

FIG. 3 represents the overall view of the cooling device.

FIG. 3A demonstrates the internal layout of the device and its compartments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

FIG. 1 portrays the overall longitudinal view of the cooling device. The cooling device has a cylindrical body (3) with two one-way valves, an inlet (2A) and an outlet (2B) on either side of the device, and a lid (1) to increase insulation as well as prevent spills when using to cool non-bottled or non-canned liquids.

FIG. 1A depicts the three-dimensional cross-sectional area of the cooling device. Region (6) consists of the cylindrical region in which the beverage container to be cooled is inserted. This region is encircled cylindrically by a material having high thermal conductivity and low diffusion coefficient, forming the inner wall (5). The space between the inner wall (5) and the outer wall (4) contains the coolant salt and is the annular region to which the solvent is added. The outer wall (4) encircles the annular region containing the endothermic reaction and is made of a material having low thermal conductivity and low diffusion coefficient. The space between the cylindrical body (3) and the outer wall (4) is an insulative region containing an insulating material with low thermal conductivity or vacuum. Item (2A) is a one-way valve that allows the movement of solvent into the endothermic reactor space which is enclosed by the inner wall (5) and outer wall (4). The valve's outer surface (2A) is embedded into the cylindrical body (3) and outer wall (4). Item (2B) is a one-way valve that allows the removal of solvent or gas from the annular region enclosed by the inner wall (5) and the outer wall (4). The valve could serve for the removal of solvent via evaporation for subsequent use of the cooling device or for the removal of unwanted gases building up. The outer surface of this valve (2B) is also embedded into the outer wall (4) and cylindrical body (3).

FIG. 3 shows the lining system separating all regions as well as how they are connected to each other. Region (1) is the space where any container which is desired to be cooled is inserted. The space between regions (4) and (5) would contain the endothermic reactant contents; the reaction is triggered by the addition of a solvent via the one-way inlet valve (2A). The material of the inner wall (5) has high thermal conductivity and low diffusion coefficient. Once the endothermic reaction has been initiated, the energy from the liquid within the container is drawn to the annular space between the inner wall (5) and outer wall (4). This energy which is in the form of heat is transferred to the cold liquid produced by the endothermic reaction, ultimately causing the temperature of the liquid content inside the container located in region (6) to decrease. It is crucial that the inner wall (4) is consist of a material that allows rapid heat transfer from the warm container in region (6) to the cold liquid between (4) and (5). It is also important to account for potential diffusion of any reactant contents from the space between (4) and (5) into the space in region (6). For this reason, the inner wall (5) and outer wall (4) are comprised of non-permeable materials with low diffusion coefficients. One of the novelties of this invention is the reusability of the coolant salt. Once the reaction is complete, the solvent can be removed, for instance by evaporation, which would cause the salt of the endothermic reaction to reprecipitate for subsequent uses of the cooling device. The solvent is removed via the one-way outlet valve (2B). This one-way valve (2B) is also a safety feature which allows the release of any potential gas-buildup occurring during the endothermic reaction of the cooling process. The outer wall (4) is constructed of a material having low conductivity and low diffusion coefficient. Low conductivity of this outer wall (4) allows it to act as an insulator, preventing the endothermic reaction from drawing heat from the environment as opposed to drawing heat from the beverage. To increase the efficiency of the design, the annular region between the outer wall (4) and the cylindrical body (3) contains another form of insulator such as an insulating material or a vacuum which prevents any incoming heat flux from the environment. The outer cylindrical body (3) is also composed of a material having low thermal conductivity, allowing it to act as a third layer of insulation. In addition to increasing the reaction efficiency by preventing heat entry from the environment or user's hands, this maintains the outer temperature of the device at safe handling temperatures. Unlike the outer wall (4), the inner wall (5) is not connected the base of the cylindrical body. This allows the endothermic reaction to encircle the beverage container, allowing heat transfer to occur from the bottom of the beverage container in addition to the sides; thus, increasing the efficiency of the heat removal system. The design system presented herein provides a solution for instantly cooling beverage containers through the implementation of a safe and sustainable method.

Claims

1. A cooling device for cooling beverage containers, comprising:

a cylindrical body open at its top and having a bottom, where said cylindrical body includes an inner wall as well as an outer wall so as to form a plurality of compartments within said cylindrical body;

a lid portion made of an insulative material having a closed top end, and a bottom end mattable with the open end of said cylindrical body;

coolant salt disposed within the annular compartment formed between said inner wall and said outer wall;

a plurality of valves for the inlet of said solvent into said annular compartment between said inner wall and said outer wall and the outlet of said solvent from said annular compartment between said inner wall and said outer wall;

insulative material disposed within said outer wall and said cylindrical body; and

whereby said cooling device cools the beverage container found within the innermost compartment via an endothermic chemical reaction, initiated by the addition of a solvent to the coolant salt found in the annular compartment between said inner wall and said outer wall and said solvent is subsequently removed for reuse of said coolant salt.

2. The cooling device of claim 1 wherein said inner wall is comprised of a conductive material, and said outer wall is made of an insulative material.

3. The cooling device of claim 1, wherein said inner wall and outer wall comprises an adsorbent for the coolant salt.

4. The cooling device of claim 1, wherein said insulative material disposed within said outer wall and said cylindrical body consists of a vacuum.

5. The cooling device of claim 1, wherein said removal of solvent occurs by evaporation.

6. The cooling device of claim 1, wherein said solvent is water.