BEVERAGE ACTIVE CHILLER

Abstract

A mechanical apparatus comprised of a plurality of pods in the form of a cylindrical sleeve, containing liquid, to be frozen for the purpose of dynamically transfer/impart its charged thermal energy to a directly contacted object placed within. The pods are joined to each other by elastic bands allowing it to instantly expanse and grip varying size beverage containers. Furthermore, the plurality of pods and a beverage container are disposed in an insulated holder; a sealable cap is then inserted to seal off and insulate the discharging of thermal energy therein from ambient conditions. A beverage in the form of can or bottle may be placed in the apparatus to achieve desired chill temperature for an extended length of time in high ambient temperature conditions.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Often times, such as a backyard gathering, an outdoor event, picnicking, camping and boating etc., whereas, the outdoor temperature is usually much warmer than the temperature of controlled indoor setting; a chilled canned or bottled beverage will not be able to maintain its original chilled status for a length of time, especially in boating activities. After about 15 minutes of direct exposure to an elevated ambient temperature; the temperature of a chilled beverage becomes warm and continues to be warmer over time to a state that the beverage may not be as desirable for consumption. Alcoholic drinks such as beer and white wine; refreshment drinks such as soda, juice and water simply taste much better when they are chilled and remain chilled over a length of time. Thus, it is the exact intention of this invention to overcome the undesired above conditions and to deliver a practical and proven solution.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention provides a complete and easy to use portable chiller device for a beverage object in the form of a can or bottle. The most important part of the invention is the “active chiller”. Think of the active chiller like a rechargeable battery for use and to be reused. In this case, the active chiller comprises a plurality of pods containing distilled water; it is to be frozen to build up its icy condition (thermal energy charged); then it is to be placed/wrapped onto a pre-chilled beverage (pre-chilled beverage is preferred for best result but beverage can be of normal temperature condition). The pre-chilled beverage with the active chiller are disposed in a cup like holder, then the whole thing is capped to seal and insulate the ice cold temperature inside. The active chiller's icy condition couples with the pre-chilled beverage are being protected and insulated to provide the desired chilled temperature for an extended length of time. The active (because it has thermal energy—frozen ice—for discharge) chiller is removable, rechargeable and reusable.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ARTS

At the present, several devices for chilling a beverage object are known. One type of a known device for chilling a beverage object is comprised of a fixed diameter annular cylindrical sleeve. Whereas, this approach does not have the flexibility to accept variety of cans or bottles of different diameters. In doing so, there is an annular space existed between the beverage object and the fixed diameter annular cylindrical sleeve when the beverage object is not of intended size. The annular space is a clear disadvantage because it does not allow for the maximum thermal energy transfer to the beverage object. Such a device is known by U.S. Pat. No. 4,163,374 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,183,226.

A second type of a known device for chilling a beverage object comprises a sleeve-like body structure. The formation of the sleeve with multiple compartments can be best described as a polygon in its natural state. Each compartment further divides into two sub-compartments. The inner compartment requires non-freezing cooling liquid for active chilling and the outer compartment is reserved for a compressible resilient material. There are a few disadvantages to this invention. First, the use of non-freezing cooling liquid is not as effective as solid ice for thermal energy, it is considered toxic and costs more to supply. Second, because of its polygon shape, this invention cannot replace a non-freezing cooling liquid with water and still produce the circular shape required for the full contact with the objects. The inherently unpredictable shape of the compartments and the expansion and contraction of the sleeve do not fully accommodate the can or bottle. Furthermore, each compartment with two sub-compartments and the required use of exotic materials for construction are not a good economic factor. Lastly, by relying on the outer compartment for providing insulation to the cooling device is inadequate due to partial direct exposure of the inner compartment to ambient condition. Such a device is known by U.S. Pat. No. 7,089,757.

A third type of a known device for chilling a beverage object comprises a plurality removable plastic pouch. Each pouch is to be filled with coolant fluid (no mentioned of any specific fluid i.e., non-freezing, or water). The disadvantage is if the coolant fluid is non-freezing; then it will not have maximum thermal energy like frozen ice. However, the use of a non-freezing coolant fluid allows for the plurality removable plastic pouch to take the shape of the can or bottle object with full contact. The second disadvantage; the plurality removable plastic pouch does not allows for quick and instant ability to form the hollow cylindrical shape. Such a device is known by U.S. Pat. No. 4,741,176.

Further investigation shows a known device for chilling a beverage object comprises a plurality of chilling members. The disadvantage of this invention is that each chilling member must be placed in a pouch like carrier in order to form a hollow cylindrical shape. Thus, the chilling members do not have direct contact with the beverage object, resulting in a less effective thermal energy transfer. The second disadvantage of the invention is the required wrapping like of the pouch carrier to form a hollow cylindrical shape. This technique will not result in a true cylindrical shape due to the variant in the diameter of different sizes of cans or bottles. Another disadvantage is not all chilling members are in contact with the beverage object which results in a lost effectiveness for all chilling members. Such a device is known by U.S. Patent Application Publication US 2006/0242990 A1.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is the object of this invention to provide a new and improved device for chilling a beverage object in which the disadvantages of the known devices have been avoided.

The present invention provides a simple and effective solution to chill a beverage object for an extended length of time under ambient condition. For purposes of this application, the term “beverage” is used to refer to consumable substances of all types and phases, including by way of illustration only and not limitation, soft drinks, alcoholic beverages, water and the like. It is also understood that, for purposes of this application, the term “object” is used to refer to containers and receptacles of all types, materials and design constructions, including by way of illustration only and not limited to cans, bottles, cups, glasses and the like.

The apparatus of the present invention is comprised of a generally main portion of a cup like structure capable of receiving other components of the said invention and including a beverage object within. A removable chiller in the form of a cylindrical sleeve is variably expandable, contractible and fits within the main body portion of the apparatus to provide a means by which to produce and maintain desired chill condition for an extended period of time to a beverage object; while being exposed to ambient temperature condition. A sealable cap of ring like structure with built-in elastic material capable of expansion and retraction to its original state, when placed over the beverage object and capped onto main body portion, providing further protection, insulation and preserving pre-chilled temperature of the beverage object and the frozen condition of the chiller. A “raiser” is an added optional component to raise the height of shorter beverage object, thus allowing the full use of the embodiment.

To the accomplishments of the above, this invention may be embodied in the form illustrated in the accompanying drawings, attention being called to the fact, however, that the drawings are illustrative only, and that changes may be made in the specific construction illustrated and described within the scope of the appended claims.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

For a more complete understanding of the present invention and the advantage thereof, reference is now made to the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing in which:

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of the invention.

FIG. 2 is an exploded cross sectional front elevation view of the invention.

FIG. 3 is a cross sectional view of a pod taken along line 8-8 in FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a top plan view of the removable cylindrical sleeve assembly.

FIG. 5 is a cross sectional front elevation view of the invention with relation to a 16 oz can inserted.

FIG. 6 is a cross sectional front elevation view of the invention with relation to a 12 oz bottle inserted.

FIG. 7 is a cross sectional front elevation view of the invention with relation to a 12 oz can inserted.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Referring to FIG. 1, there is shown an embodiment of an apparatus of the present invention. In the preferred embodiment, the apparatus comprises a main body portion 1, a removable cylindrical sleeve 2, a sealable cap 3, and a raiser 4.

The main body portion 1 is a cup like configuration designed to receive the removable cylindrical sleeve 2, a raiser 4 (optional), a sealable cap 3, and an object to be chilled (FIGS. 5-7). The main body portion 1 is preferably constructed singularly of thermoplastic resins such as Polycarbonate, ABS, LDPE, or HDPE etc. All depended, but not limited to, on the desired strength, durability, cosmetically, availability and cost factor. It is further noted that the main body portion 1 also be made of metals such as Aluminum, Stainless Steel, Titanium etc. for high end market. With metal construction, there should be consideration of a rubber or thermoplastic layer on the interior wall of main body portion 1 to insulate/shield the high thermo conductivity associated with metals. It is to reduce frosting and condensing conditions occur on the exterior wall.

The removable cylindrical sleeve 2 comprises of plurality of pods 21, each pod 21 is a fraction of an annular cylindrical sleeve (FIG. 4). Pods 21 are collectively joined on equal spacing by elastic bands 22 to form a cylindrical sleeve 2 (FIGS. 1 & 4). The pod 21 is generally constructed of any thermoplastic resins with suitable strength, durability, availability, and cost factor. It is of utmost important, the wall thickness of pod 21 be constructed as thin as possible, yet still meet strength and durability requirements, and for maximum thermal energy transfer to desired object. Because wall thickness of pod 21 acts as an insulating layer, thermoplastic is not as good as metal in term of thermal conductivity, thus the thermo energy discharge of the thermoplastic pods to the object is less effective when they are in contacted to each other. It is highly preferred that pod 21 be made of metal that has excellence rate of thermal conductivity such as Copper or Aluminum. These metals are highly ductile and can be made very thin wall and yet met strength and durability requirements. FIG. 3 shown a cross section of pod 21 filled with distilled water 23 to approximate 90% of its volume. The 10% air volume 24 is allowed for freeze expansion of the distilled water 23 inside. Distilled water 23 is chosen for its purity, non-toxic and faster freezing rate over gel material. The science of filling pod 21 with distilled water 23 then seal off mean for filling the water is readily known and can be done in variety of techniques, thus it is not discussed here.

The cylindrical sleeve 2 is a plurality of pods 21 (FIG. 4) joined on equal spacing by elastic bands 22. The elastic band 22 is preferably made of Rubber like materials such as Neoprene, EPDM etc. that possessed high UV tolerant, good elongation and good retention characteristics. The significant of the elastic bands 22 (FIG. 1) is paramount. Elastic bands 22 allow the cylindrical sleeve 2 to instantly change its inside diameter to receive different objects of varying diameters (FIGS. 5-7). More and of equal important is the elastic bands 22 exerted gripping action of the cylindrical sleeve 2 to the object. Naturally, the gripping action produced direct contact of the pods' 21 convex surfaces to the object. Inherently, the direct and full surface contact and the radial compression force of the cylindrical sleeve 2 imposed on the object are the absolute must desired conditions for maximum transfer of thermal energy.

As more fully illustrated in FIGS. 1 & 2, the sealable cap 3 contributes to the all important of the invention; by capping and sealing off, the dissipation rate of thermal energy from the object and the cylindrical sleeve 2 is trapped, delayed, circulated and insulated from ambient conditions. The sealable cap 3 is comprised of two parts of two different materials molded together. The base cap 31 is preferably constructed of thermoplastics resins with suitable strength, durability, cosmetically, availability, and cost factor. It is designed to press and snap over main body portion 1. The ring seal 32 is preferably constructed of Neoprene, Thermoplastic Elastomer etc. that possesses high UV tolerance, good elongation and good retention characteristics. The inside diameter is designed to be smaller than the smallest known diameter of an object. The ring seal 32 is made thin so it can easily elongate over a bigger diameter (FIGS. 5-7) and produce a tight seal on the object. Importantly, the ring seal 32 is molded directly to its base cap 31 to form a single part—the sealable cap 3.

Further illustration of the embodiment of the invention is shown the raiser 4 (FIGS. 1, 2 & 7). The raiser 4 is generally constructed of any thermoplastic resins with suitable strength, durability, availability, and cost factor. The raiser 4 is an optional part and used only when an object is shorter than the main body portion 1 and sealable cap 3 disposed of together. This unique part resulted in the pod 22 being made taller, has bigger volume to produce more thermal energy, and more surface contact with the object. All of which results in the best thermal transfer.

FIGS. 5-7 shows an annular space 5. It is important to know that cylindrical sleeve 2 may be distorted and bulged due to freeze expansion of distilled water 23 on each pod 21. The annular space 5 is designed to accommodate the distortion and bulging of the cylindrical sleeve 2 and also provide a separation layer to main body portion 1.

A quick look at FIG. 1, one will note the simplicity of the design and the use of the invention. Prior to usage, the removable cylindrical sleeve 2 is froze to an icy condition. It is then placed/wrapped over a pre-chilled canned or bottled beverage (FIGS. 5-7). Depending on the can's height; the optional raiser 4 will be used as illustrated in FIG. 7. The canned or bottled beverage together with the removable cylindrical sleeve 2 and the optional raiser 4 are to be placed in the main body portion 1. The sealable cap 3 then slipped over the can or bottle, continues to move down to snap onto the main body portion 1. The seal ring 32 expanded and stretched over the can or bottle to seal off and insulate the chamber below. Icy condition (thermal energy) of the removable cylindrical sleeve 2 is protected by the sealed chamber. It is being insulated to deliver and maintain coldness to a beverage for an extended length of time; which is the novelty of the invention.

As known from above, the embodiment of the invention illustrates and details the simple, effectiveness and usefulness of an apparatus to deliver the desired chill temperature to any canned or bottled beverages.

It will be apparent that many applications will lend themselves to utilization of this invention. Although, the invention is particularly suited for chilling canned or bottled beverages, the invention could be modified and utilized for other industries.

While certain novel features of this invention have shown and described in the annexed claims, it will be understood that various omissions, substitutions and modifications in the forms and details of the apparatus illustrated and in its operation can be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of the invention.

Claims

1. An apparatus for the purpose of chilling canned or bottled object, it is comprising: a. A main body of cup like structure capable of receiving canned or bottled object.b. A chiller of the form removable cylindrical sleevec. A cap with built-in seal structured. A raiser to add height to shorter object

2. The chiller of claim 1, wherein the removable cylindrical sleeve comprising of a plurality of pods whereas pods are collectively joined equally space together by elastic bands

3. The chiller of claim 1, wherein the removable cylindrical sleeve comprising of a plurality of pods whereas each pod construction is a fraction of an annular cylindrical sleeve.

4. The chiller of claim 1, wherein the removable cylindrical sleeve comprising of a plurality of pods producing true cylindrical description.

5. The chiller of claim 1, wherein the removable cylindrical sleeve comprising of a plurality of pods containing distilled water.

6. The chiller of claim 1, wherein the removable cylindrical sleeve comprising of a plurality of pods whereas pods are solidly construct of high thermal conductivity materials.

7. The chiller of claim 1, wherein the removable cylindrical sleeve comprising of a plurality of pods whereas pods' concave surfaces are in direct contact with object.

8. The chiller of claim 4, wherein the removable cylindrical sleeve comprising of a plurality of pods having pods' concave surfaces are in full contact with object.

9. The chiller of claim 2, wherein the removable cylindrical sleeve comprising of a plurality of pods delivering radial compression force to grip object.

10. The chiller of claim 2, wherein the removable cylindrical sleeve comprising of a plurality of pods generating instant change of its inside diameter to receive object.

11. The cap of claim 1, wherein the cap providing seal off condition to object.

12. The cap of claim 1, wherein the built-in seal structure generating instant change of its inside diameter to fully contact object.

13. The cap of claim 1, wherein material for the built-in seal is elastic.