Patent Application
20230107311
This nonprovisional utility patent application claims priority to the provisional utility patent (Application No. 63/250,767) filed on Sep. 30, 2021.
The present disclosure relates to primarily to a cooling apparatus and more particularly it relates to an instant temperature-controlled cooling apparatus for food and beverages which re-chills or re-cools the food and beverages to any desired temperature in a rapid manner, with simultaneously maintaining safety and sanitary with respect to the food and beverages.
In general, consumers prefer their beverages chilled to cooler temperatures instead of warm or room temperature. With regard to food and other consumables, the temperature issue can be a preference but also a safety issue as many foods must be kept at a certain temperature to prevent bacteria growth, illnesses such as E-coli, Salmonella and Norovirus, which may survive ice or thrive in poor freezing or chilling conditions or result in spoilage. Consumers or commercial establishments may use ice, coolers, refrigerators and/or freezers to lower the temperature of food and beverage items. An obstacle to rapid cooling of beverages and food is time. On average, it takes around fifteen (15) minutes to chill a beverage and as long as forty-five (45) minutes for food items to freeze to a safe temperature of 0° F. (-18° C.). Failure to maintain safe temperatures may lead to bacteria and mold formation, and/or food poisoning cases among the population who come into contact with the food or beverage items maintained as unsafe temperatures.
Prior art methods have used various techniques for rapid cooling of food and beverages such as a Peltier device for thermoelectric cooling, ice water reservoirs, cooling chambers with chilled water tanks and control panels, temperature gauges, refrigerant pumps, cold accumulating gels with Peltier plates, and temperature diffusers. While prior art methods have achieved cooling of foods and beverages, none of these methods has achieved the rapid cooling, nearly instantaneous, of the present invention with a compact and portable device. The present device uses a chemical reaction to achieve quick cooling to achieve a desired temperature rapidly while maintaining safety and sanitation. The present device produces rapidly chilled contents (food or beverage) instead of a chilled container with un-chilled or room temperature contents as is the case with the prior art devices and methods.
An object of the present disclosure is to rapidly chill food and beverage items to a desired temperature.
Another object of the present disclosure is to provide a compact and portable rapid chilling device for food and beverage items.
Another object of the present disclosure is to provide rapid chilling of the contents inside a food or beverage container.
Another object of the present disclosure is to provide a rapid chilling device that uses electric power or a chemical reaction to power the rapid chilling of food and beverage items.
Another object of the present disclosure is to provide a rapid chilling device that does not require the hassle or mess of ice or water.
Another object of the present disclosure is to provide a system that may be expanded to chill multiple food and/or beverage items while maintaining its compact and portable traits.
Another object of the present disclosure is to provide a system for rapid chilling that does not risk contamination by bacteria or other potentially dangerous organisms.
The present invention is a rapid chilling apparatus or device to instantly reduce the temperature of food and beverage containers and their contents to any desired temperature. The construction of the instant chill device results in the maintenance of the desired temperature for as long as 24-72 hours. The chilling device is compact and portable for ease of use on the go and away from the comforts of home as well as in the home or backyard environment. Instant chill device may be constructed for a single beverage container or multiple containers (3, 6, 12 or more). The cooling apparatus is made up of a transport chamber or system connected to a pump, coolant chamber or reservoir with actuator to move coolant into coils within the container chamber. Chilling of coolant may occur from activation of an instant chill chemical reaction or via an external power source. When the coolant is chilled via chemical reaction, neither the pump nor the power cord is required for the instant chill device to operate and cool containers and contents. The coolant flows through a closed system to prevent contamination and to maintain the desired temperatures for extended periods of time. The instant temperature-controlled cooling apparatus maintains safe and sanitary conditions while rapidly cooling or chilling food and beverage container and relieves users of the necessity of ice or water for maintaining safe temperatures.
The instant chill device has three (3) main components: (1) the upper chamber or housing unit where the container chamber and food or beverage container would be positioned, (2) the coolant chamber, below the upper chamber, where the cooling agent is stored and pumped into and out of the upper chamber through the actuator and the coils in the upper chamber; (3) the transport system, located on the outer edge of both the upper chamber and the coolant chamber, which powers the movement of the coolant via a pump connecting the transport system to the coolant chamber. The instant chill device may be constructed of insulated plastic or double-walled borosilicate glass compatible with sub-zero temperatures. In addition, the instant chill has a removable power cord which may be attached to the exterior of the transport system to power the circulation and chilling of the coolant through the instant chill device, which may be powered through USB, car power system, power strip, or a wall electrical outlet by using the power cord. Alternatively, he instant chill achieves its rapidly decreased temperatures through a chemical reaction. The chemicals of nitrogen and carbon dioxide may be introduced into the transport system, moving through the actuator to the coolant coils of the instant chill device. The reaction between nitrogen and carbon dioxide produces temperatures as low as -50° C., which cools not only the food or beverage container but the food or beverage contents inside said container.
The interior of the upper chamber or housing unit is made up of coolant coils, food or beverage container chamber, container chamber opening, container chamber top surface. The exterior of the housing unit is made of plastic or double-walled borosilicate glass. The coolant coils are made of a flexible material such as rubber that is able to withstand extremely cold temperatures. The coolant coils are hollow inside so that coolant can flow through the interior of the coils. The coolant coils surround the food or beverage container chamber. In order to be chilled, a container of food or beverage such as a can of soup or a can or bottle of soda, water, energy drink, may be placed inside the container chamber of the housing unit. The container chamber has on opening at the top portion to allow for the insertion of the food or beverage container. The bottom of the container chamber is closed and adjacent to the coolant chamber positioned below the container chamber. The flat area surrounding the container chamber opening is the container chamber top surface. The interior walls of the container chamber are flat. The coolant coils are positioned outside of the container chamber but beneath the walls upper chamber.
The coolant chamber is located beneath the upper chamber and on the opposite end of instant chill device from the transport chamber. A pump is attached to the interior edge of the transport system, which is connected to the coolant chamber. The pump is inside the actuator, which is also inside the coolant chamber. The actuator has two openings. Coolant flows from the coolant chamber into the first opening of the actuator. Coolant is moved through the actuator and out of the second actuator opening via a pump, which is attached to the interior edge of the transport system. Once the coolant leaves the coolant chamber via the actuator, the coolant flows through the coolant coils inside the upper chamber of instant chill device. The coolant may be as low as -50° C. to achieve extreme cooling of containers and the container contents placed within the instant chill device. The coolant may be an appropriate inert liquid or gel substance treated with nitrogen or carbon dioxide that can withstand sub-zero temperatures without becoming solid.
The transport system is located on one end of instant chill device and is connected to the outer surface of both the housing unit and the coolant chamber. The transport system’s function is to circulate the coolant through the coils. When the instant chill device is powered by the chemical reaction, the pump is not required to achieve rapid cooling of a container and its contents. To create the chemical reaction, both nitrogen and carbon dioxide may be introduced into the transport system, causing a chemical reaction that produces sub-zero temperatures to rapidly chill the coolant substance but also to power the movement of the coolant through the actuator and up into the housing unit and through the coiled tubing or coils of the instant chill system. These chemicals may be introduced as packets, cartridges or a similar delivery method into the instant chill device. There is a pump located at the junction of the interior edge of the transport system and the interior edge of the coolant chamber. The pump, floating in a magnetic field within the actuator, forces the coolant through the coolant chamber, through the actuator and up into the housing unit and the coolant coils surrounding the container chamber holding the food or beverage container with contents. Instant chill device may be powered through a power cord plugged into an outlet or alternatively, a chemical reaction to power instant chill device.
Other technical features may be readily apparent to those skilled in the art from the following figures and descriptions. For a more complete understanding of this disclosure and its features, reference is now made to the following description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:
The present disclosure generally provides a portable and compact instant chill device for the rapid chilling of containers and the enclosed contents.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 63250767 | Sep 2021 | US |
