GB2232480A

GB2232480A - Thermal storage vessels

Info

Publication number: GB2232480A
Application number: GB9007886A
Authority: GB
Inventors: D Jeronimo Antonio Segur Lopez; D Jose Ma Lujan Cabezas
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1989-04-12
Filing date: 1990-04-06
Publication date: 1990-12-12
Also published as: DE4011763A1; GB9007886D0; IT9021000U1; IT9021000V0; FR2645949A1; FR2645949B3; PT93756A; IT219456Z2

Description

COOLER (COOLING CONTAINER) The present invention relates to a container,

in which there may be kept products, such as canned drinks or any other product that needs to be chilled or maintained at a low temperature during a 5 period of time.

There are various types of containers made for keeping products such as refreshing drinks, etc. cold. In general hadever all of these containers are based on insulating bodies that only prevent the thermal level reached in their interior exceeding that of the outside.

For example, the classic, well known carrping coolers are based on a double chamber usually insulated with an air chamber or with padding that allows for ice or cold blocks arranged among the items to be kept at a low temperature. This type of container is, however, passive. In other words, it only insulates the cold product frcm the outside.

According to a first aspect of the present invention there is provided a container for cooling material placed within the container, which container has an inner wall and bottcm defining a storage space and an outer wall and bottcm spaced frcm the inner wall and bottcm to define between the walls and bottcus a sealed space, said sealed space containing a congealable liquid, and which container includes a lid for closing the storage space.

According to a second aspect of the present invention there is provided a container adapted to keep a product therewithin cold and to lower the temperature of said product, essentially characterized in that it is made of two, tubular, concentric bodies that are separated by their lateral surfaces and bottcrrs, to define a chamber between them, which chamber is watertight and contains a congealable liquid fluid; said internal tubular body having a i outline of the external tubular body in order to obtain the watertightness of the chamber and said container having a lid in the shape of an inverted bowl whose rim is inwardly stepped and which rim is chamfered to facilitate location of the lid upon the container, the edge of the rim being supported upon the perimetric flange of the internal body, while the inward step of said rim of the lid is supported by an upper region of the container.

The container has a hermetic chamber containing a liquid that is previously frozen in order to subsequently use the cold as a means to cool the product kept in the container.

The present invention thus proposes a cooler that keeps any product within it cold. Tb begin with, the purpose is to keep a product like a bottled liquid cold for hours. The cooler in question is also useful for keeping products cold in the case of, for exairple, the transportation of medicine, analysis sanples and in general whenever there is the necessity of keeping a product or object at a low tenperature during a transportation period.

The effectiveness of the invention is obtained by the contribution of the accumulated negative trature in the container, a contribution that will obviously affect the product contained in the cooler. The negative tenperature is conferred to the cooler because of its existence in the cooling chamber just like a dcuestic freezer or dcmestic refrigerator and the mentioned trature accumulates in it by freezing the liquid fluid contained in the watertight chamber existing in the cooler.

In a preferred embodiment the cooler is made of two, tubular, concentric bodies between which there exists a chamber that likewise affects the bottcm. The chamber is almst ccirpletely full of a liquid susceptible to freezing when chilled. The chamber is watertight and the cooler unit has a lid that adjusts substantially perfectly over the mouth to prevent the cold frcm escaping.

- 'R - Furthermore, it allows for the main part of the cold to be transferred to the product to be chilled and allows for it to remain in the interior of the cooler.

It is evident that the use of a cooler like that described is 5 practical and advantageous as it resolves the problem in so many situations of the supply of, for example, a cold drink without the high cost. On the contrary, given the simplicity of the container and the material that it is made of, it has a low cost.

Also, the volume and weight may be limited, thus to allow it to fit 10 in a knapsack, sport bag, the glove cerrpartment of a car, etc. or to occupy a small space in a domestic freezer while waiting to be used.

An embodiment of the container of the present invention will now be described, by way of example only, by reference to the acccying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective representation of an embodiment of a container according to the present invention; and Figure 2 is a vertical cross-section of the container of Figure 1.

1 Referring to the drawings an embodiment of the present invention comprises two, tubular, concentric bodies (1) and (2), where preferably and advantageously the external body (1) is thicker than the internal body (2). These concentric bodies (1) and (2) are slightly separated, both as far as the lateral surfaces and at the bottom of the two. The bodies (1) and (2) define between them a hermetic chanter (3) containing a liquid (4) that fills a great part of the volume of the same. The liquid (4) is congealable and when frozen does not entirely fill the watertight chamber (3).

rIb obtain this watertightness between the tubular bodies (1) and (2), the internal body (2) is provided with an external, perennetric flange (5) whose edge is lodged in the inner outline of the external body's (1) lateral surface and specifically on step (7), provided for this purpose in the upper part of the external body (1). The step (7) is formed as a consequence of the upper section of the wall of the external body (1) not being as thick, or in other words it is defined by an inner groove or recess in the wall of the external body (1).

The interface of the perimetric border (6) of the flange (5) corresponding to the inner body (2) with the step (7) of the external body (1) is sealed, e.g. by any conventional means to obtain the airtightness/watertightness of the ch&rber (3) defined between both bodies (1) and (2).

The container thus made has a lid in the form of a sort of inverted bowl whose perimetric rim (9) is stepped at region (10). There is also a chamfer towards the lower edge of rim (9) to facilitate the location of the lid (8) on the container.

The lower edge of the lid (8) will be supported over the perimetric flange (5) of the internal body (2), while the stepped region (10) of the aforementioned rim (9) will be supported by an upper rim (11) forming a mouth of the container.

According to this design and concept of the cooler, all one has to do is freeze the fluid (4) contained in the watertight chamber (3) of the same and thereafter place in the interior of the cooler a product that one wants to chill or keep cool during a period of time of several hours, since the cold fran this frozen liquid (4) will be transferred to the product contained in the cooler, causing the product to chill. Thus, the number of hours that the contained product will remain cold is in direct relation with the trature of the frozen liquid (4), as well as the tature of the -4 1 contained product and the tature diference as far as the outside.

For example, if the ambient trature is approximately 2411C and the frozen liquid (4) is at 5 to 101C below zero when a product is inserted, then after six to eight hours the determined product may have a tature between 10 and 120 below the ambient tenperature.

It is not necessary to amplify this description, as any expert in the field will understand the significance of the invention and the 10 advantages that come from the same.

lhe materials, shape, size, and arrangement of the elements way be subject to variation, where this does not assume an alteration of the essential aspects of the invention.

The terms used in this report should be taken in a broad sense, and 15 not in a limiting sense.

CLMMS 1. A container for cooling material placed within the container, which container has an inner wall and bottam defining a storage space and an outer wall and battcin spaced fran the inner wall and bottan to define between the walls and bottcm a sealed space, said sealed space containing a congealable liquid, and which container includes a lid for closing the storage space.

Claims

2. A container according to Claim 1, where in the inner wall and the outer

wall are in the fom of tubular concentric bodies.

3. A container according to Claim 1 or 2, wherein the lid is generally in the shape of an inverted bowl.

4. A container adapted to keep a product therewithin cold and to lower the temperature of said product, essentially characterized in that it is made of two, tubular, concentric bodies that are separated by their lateral surfaces and bottcffLs, to define a chamber between them, which chamber is watertight and contains a congealable liquid fluid; said internal tubular body having a perimetric flange co-operating with a gradation provided in the outline of the external tubular body in order to cbtain the watertightness of the chamber and said container having a lid in the shape of an inverted bowl whose rim is inwardly stepped and which rim is chamfered to facilitate location of the lid upon the container, the edge of the rim being supported upon the periwatric flange of the internal body, while the inward step of said rim of the lid is supported by an upper region of the container.

5. A container for cooling material placed within the container, substantially as hereinbefore described, with reference to the acccnpanying drawings.

6. The features hereinbefore disclosed, or their equivalents, 2 in any novel selection.

Published 1990atThe Patent Office. State House.66 71 High Holborn. London WC1 R 4TP. Further copies maybe obtained from The Patent Office-