Patent Application
20170325607
The present invention relates to beverage containers, and more particularly to beverage containers containing material for regulating the temperature of a liquid therein.
The optimal temperature to brew coffee, tea, and other hot beverages (e.g., ˜195° F.) is much higher than the comfortable temperature range for drinking (e.g., ˜150° F.-170° F.). This poses a problem in that many hot beverage drinkers are not able to drink their hot beverage immediately after brewing. Previously implemented solutions to this problem involve waiting for the hot beverage to cool naturally or introducing ice to the hot beverage, which dilutes the flavor. This problem is exacerbated when a user uses a drinking vessel with high thermal insulation properties (i.e., vacuum or foam insulated vessels) in an effort to keep the beverage temperature in the comfortable range once reached.
More recently implemented approaches use energy storage materials to draw heat energy from heated beverages. One solution proposes to include energy storage material between the sidewalls of a drinking vessel and separated from the beverage by an inner one of the sidewalls. Another approach is to keep the thermal regulation material in a separate containment vessel or pod loosely contained in the beverage container.
A beverage container according to the current application includes an energy storage material contained in a thermal regulation member suspended in a beverage cavity. The thermal regulation member has sidewalls exposed within the beverage cavity to maximize effective the surface area exposed to a beverage contained within the beverage cavity, thereby helping to maximize the energy transfer rate between the beverage in the beverage cavity and the energy storage material. The thermal regulation member may be configured to attach to a surface within the beverage cavity of the beverage container to prevent loose parts from colliding with the inner walls of the beverage container. The thermal regulation member may attach to a stopper or a lid of the beverage container, a bottom surface of the beverage cavity, or attach to a flexible member that suspends the thermal regulation member within the beverage cavity. The thermal regulation member may be selectively removable from and attachable to the beverage container to facilitate separate cleaning and/or storage. The energy transfer material is sealed (e.g., hermetically, fluid-tight) within the thermal regulation member to prevent contact between the beverage in the beverage cavity and the energy storage material. Attachment of the thermal regulation member within the beverage cavity may also help to prevent contact between the thermal regulation member and an interior surface of the beverage cavity to minimize noise and/or damage caused by contact of the thermal regulation member
A beverage container assembly 10 according to a first embodiment is shown in
The container main body 12 includes a beverage cavity 18 defined by an inner cavity wall 20 extending downwardly and terminating at a bottom surface 22. The container main body 12 includes a beverage aperture 24 through which a fluid or a semi-fluid may flow into or out of the beverage cavity 18. The container main body 12 may be a double-walled container having an insulation cavity 26 between the inner cavity wall 20 and an outer cavity wall 28 defining an exterior surface of the container main body. The insulation cavity 26 may be hermetically sealed and contain air, insulation material, or be vacuum-sealed. The container main body 12 further includes a stopper receptacle 30 sized and shaped to removably receive the stopper assembly 14. The container main body 12 may also include a stopper attachment portion 32 for releasably securing the stopper assembly 14 to the beverage container assembly 10.
As shown in
The sealing member 34 of this first embodiment has a cylindrical shape with sidewall 38 extending downwardly from an upper end portion 40. The sealing member 34 is provided with an insulation cavity 42 that helps to prevent heat transfer through the beverage aperture 24 when the sealing member is engaged with the stopper receptacle 30. The insulation cavity 42 is a sealed cavity that may be filled with air, or an insulating material having a low thermal conductivity, such as fiberglass, cellulose, polyurethane foam, or polystyrene, by way of non-limiting example. Alternatively, the insulation cavity 42 may be vacuum-sealed (i.e., sealed after removal of gas). The upper end portion 40 may be provided with a handle or a textured feature to help facilitate the user to insert and rotate the stopper assembly 14 within the stopper receptacle 30.
A lower end portion 44 of the sealing member 34 may be provided with a bottom wall 46 defining a bottom end of the insulation cavity 42. The lower end portion 44 may include a regulation member attachment portion 48 for attaching the thermal regulation member 36 to the sealing member 34. The lower end portion 44 may include an O-ring 52 that sealingly engages a flange 50 of the main body 12 disposed between the beverage cavity 18 and the stopper receptacle 30 of the container main body 12 to seal the beverage aperture 24 and reduce heat transfer therethrough and prevent leakage of the fluid or the semi-fluid from the beverage cavity 18. In this first embodiment, the O-ring 52 is disposed on the lower end portion 44; however, the O-ring may be disposed elsewhere on the sealing member 34 in other embodiments, such as on the sidewall 38.
The thermal regulation member 36 has an elongated shape sized to extend along a length of the beverage cavity 18 centrally inward of the cavity wall 20 (see
The first end portion 58 includes a sealing member attachment portion 64 configured to form a rigid attachment with the regulation member attachment portion 48 of the sealing member 34. The sealing member attachment portion 64 of this first embodiment is sized and shaped to fit within regulator member attachment portion 48. The sealing member attachment portion 64 includes a threaded sidewall 66 extending upward from the main body portion 55 and terminating at a first end 68. The threaded sidewall 66 of this first embodiment is threadably received within a complementary threaded interior portion of the regulation member attachment portion 48. The cavity 54 may extend into the first end portion 58 and interior of the sidewall 66. Alternatively, the cavity 54 may end within the main body portion 55 without extending into the narrower first end portion 58.
The sealing member attachment portion 64 is configured to be selectively attachable to and removable from the sealing member 34 to facilitate separate cleaning of the thermal regulation member 36. Selective removal of the thermal regulation member 36 from the sealing member 34 also allows the thermal regulation member to be separately heated and/or cooled. In some embodiments, the thermal regulation member 36 may be permanently attached to the sealing member 34. Sealing member attachment portion 64 may attach to the sealing member 34 using other methods than threaded sidewalls, such as bayonet mounting, friction fit, or ferromagnetic elements, by way of non-limiting example. The sealing attachment portion 64 has a cylindrical cross-section in this first embodiment, but may have a different cross-sectional shape in other embodiments, such as a rectangular shape.
When the stopper assembly 14 is inserted into and secured to the container main body 12, the thermal regulation member 36 extends at least partially through the beverage cavity 18 so as to be in direct contact with the fluid or the semi-fluid within the beverage cavity. The sidewall 56 of the thermal regulation member 36 extends in the same direction as the cavity wall 20 along a longitudinal axis of the cavity wall and is spaced apart from the cavity wall 20 when positioned within the beverage cavity 18. In this first embodiment, the thermal regulation member 36 is suspended from the sealing member 34 and extends downwardly in the beverage cavity 18. The second end 62 may be spaced apart from the bottom surface 22 of the beverage cavity 18 (see
In some embodiments, one or more cables (not shown) may connect the thermal regulation member 36 to the sealing member 34. Each of the one or more cables may be a flexible or elastic member extending between an attachment point on the lower end portion 44 of the sealing member 34 and an attachment point on the first end 68 of the thermal regulation member 36. The one or more cables may allow the thermal regulation member 36 to move within the beverage cavity 18 relative to the sealing member 34 instead of being fixed by a rigid attachment. The cable-suspended thermal regulation member 36 may include more than one bumper 67 (as shown for the second embodiment of
In other embodiments, the thermal regulation member 36 may attach to the bottom surface 22 of the beverage cavity 18, as shown in
The elongated shape of the thermal regulation member 36 may be different than a cylindrical shape without departing from the scope of the beverage container assembly described herein. The thermal regulation member 36 may have a square or rectangular cross-section, for example. In some embodiments, the thermal regulation member 36 may taper from one end to the opposite end (e.g., taper from the first end portion 58 to the second end portion 60). The first end 68 or the second end 62 may be rounded, or may have a convex or concave shape.
The energy storage material 37 in the cavity 54 draws heat energy away from the fluid or the semi-fluid, e.g., a beverage, in the beverage cavity 18 decreasing its temperature in a short period of time. Once the beverage has cooled to a temperature range more comfortable for drinking (e.g., ˜150° F.-170° F.), the energy storage material then transfers heat energy back into the beverage, thereby keeping it within a comfortable drinking temperature range for an extended period of time. The energy storage material 37 may be a phase change material that undergoes phase changes within and around temperature ranges that are comfortable for human consumption of beverages. For example, the phase change material may maintain a solid phase in a first temperature range comfortable for human consumption of the beverage (e.g., below 170° F.). The phase change material may maintain a liquid phase in the second temperature range that is uncomfortable for human consumption of the beverage (e.g., above 170° F.). When a heated beverage heated to a temperature above the first temperature range is introduced to the phase change material in the solid phase (i.e., in the first temperature range), the phase change material draws heat energy away from the beverage, thereby lowering the temperature of the heated beverage. As the phase change material absorbs a sufficient amount of heat energy to increase its temperature above the first temperature range, the phase change material may change from the solid phase to a liquid phase as a method of storing energy. Once the heated beverage has cooled below the temperature of the phase change material, the phase change material transfers heat energy back to the heated beverage maintaining the heated beverage in the comfortable drinking temperature range for an extended period of time. Once the temperature of the phase change material drops below the second temperature range, the phase change material changes from the liquid phase back to the solid phase. The phase change material may be a phase change material known to those of ordinary skill in the art including, but not limited to, salt hydrates, paraffins, palm oil isolate, organic acids, petroleum-based waxes, and eutectics. Non-phase changing energy storage materials include, but are not limited to ethylene glycol, hydroxyethyl cellulose, food-based oils and synthetic oils.
Locating the energy storage material 37 in the thermal regulation member 36 extending into the beverage cavity 18 allows the heated beverage to exchange heat energy with the energy storage material while the inner cavity wall 20 and outer wall 28 of the container main body 12 insulate the heated beverage and help to prevent heat transfer to external ambient air. Moreover, the thermal regulation member 36 extending in the beverage cavity 18 allows for a more uniform distribution of heat transfer as compared with a loosely contained vessel or pod in the beverage container.
Alternatively, the thermal regulation member may be configured to attach to a beverage container assembly using outwardly extending attachment members in some embodiments. Referring to
The outwardly extending attachment members 74 extend radially from the thermal regulation member 72 to engage with the cavity wall 78 and thereby attach the thermal regulation member within the container main body 76. The attachment members 74 of this second embodiment are thin, fin-shaped structures having substantially vertically facing major surfaces. Each of the attachment members 74 may taper or narrow in thickness toward an attachment member distal end 75. In some embodiments, the attachment members 74 may instead have a uniform thickness along their length. The attachment members 74 may be comprised of a resilient, flexible material, such as rubber, that bends or deforms when pressed against the cavity wall 78. The attachment members 74 may have a rigid core surrounded by the resilient, flexible material in some embodiments. Each of the attachment members 74 may extend outward from a peripheral edge of a ring 90 positioned on the upper portion 86 of the thermal regulation member 72, as shown in
A widest portion of the thermal regulation member 72, measured from the distal end 75 of one attachment member 74 to the distal end 75 of another attachment member on an opposite side of the thermal regulation member, may be wider than a widest diameter of the beverage cavity 82. Flexible attachment members 74 may deform or bend against the cavity wall 78 when the thermal regulation member 72 is inserted in the beverage cavity 82. The container main body 76 may include receptacles 92, each sized and shaped to receive the attachment member distal end 75 of one of the attachment members 74, and thereby removably secure the thermal regulation member 72 to the container main body 76. Insertion of the ends 75 of the attachment members 74 into the receptacles 92 helps to prevent or reduce vertical and rotational movement of the thermal regulation member 72 within the beverage cavity 82. The receptacles 92 do not extend into an insulation cavity 91 located between the inner cavity wall 78 and the outer cavity wall 79 of the container main body 76.
The inner cavity wall 78 of the container main body 76 may not include the receptacles 92 in some embodiments. The attachment members 74 may engage with the inner cavity wall 78 by friction fit in some embodiments. The attachment members 74 may include textured, roughened or high-friction distal ends 75 that abut the inner cavity wall 78 when the thermal regulation member 76 is inserted in the beverage cavity 82. The attachment members 74 may widen toward the attachment member distal ends 75 to increase the surface area of the attachment member ends contacting the inner cavity wall 78. The opposing cavity wall 78 may slope inwardly in the downward direction so that the beverage cavity 82 narrows to increase friction between the attachment member ends 75 and the cavity wall when the thermal regulation member 72 is inserted in the beverage cavity 82. The friction fit between the attachment member distal end 75 and the inner cavity wall 78 also helps to prevent or reduce vertical and rotational movement of the thermal regulation member 72 within the beverage cavity 82. In some embodiments, the attachment members 74 may be attached to and extend inward from the cavity wall 78 and engage with receptacles located on an upper portion of the container main body 76.
Other methods of attachment may be used without departing from the scope of the beverage container assemblies described herein. Alternatively, a bayonet mount may be used wherein the attachment member distal ends 75 engage in slots in the cavity wall 78. Alternatively, ferromagnetic elements on each of the attachment member distal ends 75 may magnetically attach to the inner cavity wall 78 or a corresponding ferromagnetic element located outward of the cavity wall 78.
The attachment members 74 may be positioned to engage the container main body 76 further down in the beverage cavity 82. The attachment members 74 may extend outwardly from a middle portion of the thermal regulation member 72 and engage with a middle portion of the cavity wall 78. In some embodiments, the attachment members 74 may extend from a bottom portion of the thermal regulation member 72 and engage with a bottom portion of the cavity wall 78 closer to a bottom of the container main body 76.
The thermal regulation member 72 may include a handle 96 extending upwardly from the upper portion 86 of the thermal regulation member. The handle 96 allows the user to position the thermal regulation member 72 in the beverage cavity 82 and remove it from the beverage cavity. The handle 96 of this second embodiment is a narrow, fin-shaped structure projecting upwardly from and extending along an upper surface 97 of the thermal regulation member 72. The shape and structure of the handle 96 is not particularly limited and may include shapes and features to allow the user to grab and maneuver the thermal regulation member 72 from the upper end portion 86.
The beverage container assembly 70 may further include a lid 98 that removably attaches to the container main body 76. The lid 96 is configured to attach at the upper end of the container main body 76 to cover the beverage cavity 82. The lid 98 includes a substantially cylindrical main body portion having a drinking aperture on an upper side thereof. The lid 98 may include a drinking aperture seal for selectively transitioning the drinking aperture between a closed position where the drinking aperture is sealed, and an open position allowing the user to drink from the drinking aperture. The lid 98 may include downwardly extending sidewall 99 having a threaded attachment portion that engages with a complementary threaded attachment portion on the container main body 76 to cover the beverage cavity 82 and the thermal regulation member 72. In some embodiments, the attachment members 74 may engage with apertures 92 disposed on an interior facing surface of the sidewall 99. In other embodiments, the attachment members 74 may be attached to and extend inward from the interior facing surface of the sidewall 99 and engage with receptacles located on the upper portion 86 of the thermal regulation member 72.
While particular embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that, based upon the teachings herein, changes and modifications may be made without departing from this invention and its broader aspects and, therefore, the appended claims are to encompass within their scope all such changes and modifications as are within the true spirit and scope of this invention. Furthermore, it is to be understood that the invention is solely defined by the appended claims. It will be understood by those within the art that, in general, terms used herein, and especially in the appended claims (e.g., bodies of the appended claims) are generally intended as “open” terms (e.g., the term “including” should be interpreted as “including but not limited to,” the term “having” should be interpreted as “having at least,” the term “includes” should be interpreted as “includes but is not limited to,” etc.).
It will be further understood by those within the art that if a specific number of an introduced claim recitation is intended, such an intent will be explicitly recited in the claim, and in the absence of such recitation no such intent is present. For example, as an aid to understanding, the following appended claims may contain usage of the introductory phrases “at least one” and “one or more” to introduce claim recitations. However, the use of such phrases should not be construed to imply that the introduction of a claim recitation by the indefinite articles “a” or “an” limits any particular claim containing such introduced claim recitation to inventions containing only one such recitation, even when the same claim includes the introductory phrases “one or more” or “at least one” and indefinite articles such as “a” or “an” (e.g., “a” and/or “an” should typically be interpreted to mean “at least one” or “one or more”); the same holds true for the use of definite articles used to introduce claim recitations. In addition, even if a specific number of an introduced claim recitation is explicitly recited, those skilled in the art will recognize that such recitation should typically be interpreted to mean at least the recited number (e.g., the bare recitation of “two recitations,” without other modifiers, typically means at least two recitations, or two or more recitations). Accordingly, the invention is not limited except as by the appended claims.
