Patent Application
20140048232
The present invention relates to cooling devices and more particularly to an apparatus for cooling beverages.
There are almost an infinite number of beverages which are being consumed by today's consumer. Furthermore, it seems that more and more beverages are being made available for the consumer today. Some of these beverages are best consumed hot while others are best consumed cold.
A problem with cooling a beverage is dilution. While it is possible to place a beverage into a relatively cold environment such as a refrigerator, such a procedure usually involves a long amount of time in order to cool the beverage. In many instances, it is desirable to cool the beverage more rapidly. One solution is to place ice into the beverage, and as the ice melts, the beverage will be cooled. However, an undesirable consequence of melting ice is that the beverage will be diluted as the ice melts. This dilution may significantly change the taste of the beverage and result in a less desirable beverage.
One particular example is iced coffee. Coffee must be brewed at a near boiling temperature in order to separate the coffee flavor from the coffee beans. Placing the warm coffee in a refrigerator until it is cool is not a desirable solution because the length of time may change the flavor of the coffee. Additionally, placing ice into the warm coffee will dilute the taste of the coffee which will result in an undesirable taste.
Consequently, there is a need for an apparatus to cool or warm a beverage without the need for adding ice to the beverage.
A beverage cooling device to cool the beverage by a cooling liquid may include a container to cool the beverage and a coil to extend into and out of the container.
The beverage may be coffee.
The cooling fluid may be water.
The container may hold the beverage.
The container may hold the cooling fluid.
The coil may extend through a sidewall of the container.
The coil may include an input and an output and wherein the input and output extend over the sidewall of the container.
The invention may be understood by reference to the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which, like reference numerals identify like elements, and in which:
This invention relates to the cooling of hot beverages which may include iced coffee. Coffee is a beverage that is brewed hot. After coffee is brewed, there is usually a cooling process implemented to reach a desired drinking temperature. There are several methods of cooling a cup of coffee, the simplest being the addition of ice cubes. This method can result in dilution of the beverage to the point where the consumer is no longer satisfied with the flavor. Another method of cooling is to place the beverage in a container under ambient conditions, or in a cooling environment such as a refrigerator or freezer. This process may be undesirable because the process may leave the consumer waiting, as the beverage requires a predetermined time to cool via natural convection. The present invention described below is an alternative that will allow any user to make undiluted iced coffee in less time than conventional methods.
The present invention may include a container 101 to hold a reservoir of a cool fluid which may be a liquid, and a thermally-conductive coil 103 which may be a spiral of tubing to form a beverage passageway for the beverage which may be coffee to pass through and release the excess heat from the beverage. The coil 103 may be wound in a helix or other manner through the interior near the periphery of the container 101 from top to bottom. At the bottom of the reservoir, the end of the coil 103 may either extend back to the top as illustrated in
The proposed method of chilling a beverage can be performed in at least one of two ways:
The container 101 which may include reservoir may contain the actual beverage to be cooled illustrated in
The container 101 of the reservoir may contain a cool fluid such as water illustrated in
These above described methods or processes rely on the pressure difference in height (gravity) to drive the liquid in the passageway from the top of the container 101 to the bottom of the container 101 within the coil 103. A pump 111 may be implemented in certain configurations to move the fluid through the coil 103 where a higher flow rate is desired or when the flow is against gravity.
The present invention may include a shell and tube heat exchanger.
There are other methods of transferring heat, such as plate or tubular heat exchangers, which may require extra work to disassemble for cleaning. The advantage of using the cooling coil 103 is that it does not require disassembly to access the chilling element which allows for easy cleaning and viewing. Compared to the plate and tubular heat exchangers, both variants of the invention are easier and less expensive to manufacture, as well as implement into a beverage system.
The coil 103 may be formed from copper, due to its high thermal conductivity, stainless steel is another option, however, any metal or other suitable material with desirable heat transfer properties for the purpose of the invention are acceptable. Other materials, such as aluminum, are also considerable options for coil material. The only requirement for material choice of the reservoir is one that, like the coil, must be suitable for containing liquids between 0° C. and 100° C. All materials used must follow material safety guidelines, as they will be used for containing beverages meant for consumption.
The dimensions for the present invention may be scalable to fit any beverage system in which it is implemented or may be used in a standalone fashion.
While the invention is susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms, specific embodiments thereof have been shown by way of example in the drawings and are herein described in detail. It should be understood, however, that the description herein of specific embodiments is not intended to limit the invention to the particular forms disclosed.
