GB2475244A

GB2475244A - Beverage cooling device

Info

Publication number: GB2475244A
Application number: GB0919641A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Gerald Lincoln Paczensky
Original assignee: PAZBAR UK Ltd
Current assignee: PAZBAR UK Ltd
Priority date: 2009-11-10
Filing date: 2009-11-10
Publication date: 2011-05-18
Also published as: GB0919641D0

Abstract

A beverage cooling device 1 comprises a container 2 having an internal volume 4 for containing a cooling medium 6, such as a mixture of ice and water. The container has a lid 14 to provide access to the internal volume, a reservoir (18, fig.2) for containing a beverage to be cooled, a conduit leading from the reservoir and passing through the internal volume, and an outlet 26 connected to the conduit by which the cooled beverage is dispensed. The conduit is arranged to transfer heat from beverage in the conduit to the cooling medium in order to cool the beverage in the conduit. The reservoir is contained within the lid and is preferably provided by a recess in an upper surface of the lid. The recess may be substantially bowl-shaped and covered with a removable cover (40, fig.2). Preferably, the conduit comprises a flexible pipe portion 29 connected to the lid, and a coil 19 located in a lower region of the internal volume. The reservoir, conduit and outlet may be arranged so that beverage flows out of the reservoir under gravity. In use, the device is designed to cool a beverage without the need for a powered refrigerator.

Description

Beverage Cooling Device

BACKGROUND

a. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a device for cooling a beverage, and in particular to a device which can be used to cool a beverage without the need for a powered refrigerator.

b. Related Art Cold drinks are very popular at events and meals, particularly those held outdoors in warm weather. Often, however, there will be no easy access to powered refrigeration in order to cool drinks prior to dispensing. One solution, of course, is to add ice to drinks, but many drinks suffer from dilution, and this can create other problems such as how to keep ice from melting too quickly.

Commercial sales of beer have dropped significantly in recent years with many bars and pubs closing. Smoking bans have also also had an impact with clubs being set up within communities allowing social gatherings at home where people can drink and smoke in relative comfort rather then go to the pub. The off sales market continues to grow as the price of beer in pubs increases and people have less disposable income to spend at pubs. It can be difficult to refrigerate a large quantity of drinks in a home refrigerator, which will normally be filled with food stuffs.

Wine sales to the domestic home market have increased and wine is a readily available product that can be purchased in any number of shops, which typically do not refrigerate wine.

At the moment, if there is a need to cool wine or some other drink, there are the following options: * Place a bottle of wine in the fridge and wait a few hours until the wine is cold.

* Buy a dedicated wine fridge and keep this stocked. These are designed to act like a cellar and do not take the wine much below 18 °C.

* Use an ice bucket or cold jacket on the bottle of wine and wait until the wine is cold.

In many instances, such as at picnics or when camping, there may be no access to a refrigerator.

There is therefore an increasing need to be able to cool drinks when there is no easy access to powered refrigeration.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a beverage cooling device that addresses these issues.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to the invention, there is provided a beverage cooling device, comprising a container having an internal volume for containing a quantity of a cooling medium, the container having a lid to provide access to said internal volume, a reservoir for containing a beverage to be cooled by the beverage cooling device, a conduit leading from the reservoir and passing through said internal volume the conduit being arranged to transfer heat from beverage in the conduit to said quantity of cooling medium in order to cool the beverage in the conduit, and an outlet connected to the conduit by which said cooled beverage may be dispensed, wherein the reservoir is contained within the lid.

In the context of the present invention, the capacity of the reservoir should exceed the capacity of the conduit, preferably by a factor of at least 1 0, and most preferably by a factor of between 15 and 30.

The beverage may be any consumable liquid, for example drinking water, fruit juice, wine, beer, etc. The cooling medium may be any convenient medium that may be contained by the container, but will most usually be a closed quantity of ice and/or cold water.

The device preferably also comprises additionally a means for controlling the flow of beverage out of the outlet, for example a manually operable valve on the outlet.

The reservoir, conduit and outlet are preferably arranged so that beverage in the reservoir may flow out of the reservoir under gravity.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the lid has an upper surface, the reservoir being provided by a recess in this upper surface. The recess can be substantially bowl-shaped, and the lid may also comprise a removable cover over the recess so that the reservoir can be closed after filling with a quantity of beverage to be cooled The cover may have a cap which can be opened and closed to provide access to the reservoir without removing the cover from the recess.

The cover and the interior of the container are preferably dimensioned so that the cover is stowable inside the container when not being used to cover over the recess, for example when newly manufactured packed for shipment, or when being stored away for any period of time.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the conduit is connected to a lower portion of the recess, the reservoir, conduit and outlet being arranged so that beverage in the recess may flow out of the reservoir under gravity.

The conduit may include a pipe connected to the lid, this pipe including a flexible portion which permits the lid to be removed from the remainder of the container without disconnecting the conduit from the reservoir. This allows the interior of the container to be filled or partially filled with a cooling medium such as iced water, or to be topped up with cooling medium as required in order to maintain efficient cooling of the beverage passing through the conduit.

The lid may be connectable and disconnectable to the remainder of the container by moving the lid relative to the remainder of the container, for example by turning the lid to engage a threaded fixing or a bayonet fixing, the flexible portion then accommodating this relative motion.

The conduit preferably includes a coil in a middle and/or lower portion of the container internal volume, in which case the flexible portion can be provided between the coil and the lid. The coil can be formed from a sterile material having good thermal conductivity, for example stainless steel pipe, and the flexible portion can be made from a durable and easily cleanable material, for example Neoprene (Reg. TM) tubing.

Preferably, the conduit is disconnectable and connectable from the reservoir so that the conduit may be temporarily disconnected from the reservoir to facilitate cleaning of the conduit after use of the device to cool a beverage.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention will now be further described, by way of example only and with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a perspective view of a beverage cooling device according to a preferred embodiment of the invention, having a container with a lid in which is provided a bowl-shaped receptacle for containing a quantity of beverage to be cooled; Figure 2 is a view of the beverage cooling device of Figure 1 showing how the receptacle in the lid has a removable cover; and Figure 3 is view of the beverage cooling device of Figure 1 with the lid removed from the remainder of the container, showing how the container has an internal volume that can be filled with a cooling medium such as iced water for cooling a beverage flowing in a conduit that leads from the lid receptacle to a dispensing outlet.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Figures 1 to 3 show various views of a cooling device 1 for cooling beverages prior to dispensing. The cooling device 1 comprises a container 2 having an internal volume 4 which, as can be seen in Figure 3, has been partially filled with a cooling medium, which is here a mixture 6 of crushed ice and water.

The container 2 has a main body 8 that is substantially cylindrical in shape, having an annual outer wall 10 and a flat base 12. The container also has a lid 14 that can be joined to and removed from the main body 8 in order to close or open up the volume 4 within the container 2. The lid 14 is substantially disc-shaped and has in an upper surface 16 a bowl-shaped recess 18, shown most clearly in Figure 2.

The recess has a base 21 in which is provided an outlet hole 25.

Both the lid 14 and main body 8 have a tough outer plastic skin that encases foam insulation (not shown) in order to reduce heat gain to the cooling medium 6 from outside the container 2.

The lid 14 may be securely joined to the main body 8 of the container 2 by engaging a pair of projections 20 in an inner rim 22 of the lid with corresponding recess 23 in an inner wall surface 24 of the main body, and then by turning the lid.

The crushed ice and water 6 preferably fills the internal volume 4 sufficiently to submerge a stainless steel cooling coil 19. The coil is separated from the internal wall surface by a distance of approximately one-third the coil diameter. In this example, the cooling mixture contains 3 kg of ice provided both inside and outside the coil diameter. The ice is initially level with the top of the cooling coil and then topped up with cold water to ensure that the coil is submerged. Ideally, the cold water is pre-chilled to freezing by mixing with ice and letting to stand for a few minutes in another container (not shown).

The wraps of the coil 19 slope steadily upwards from a lower end (not shown) at which the coil is permanently connected to an outlet 26 on a lower outer surface of the container 2, towards an upper end 27 where the coil is removeably joined to a flexible length of tubing 29.

The outlet 26 includes a dispensing spout 28 and a hand-operable valve 30, which is spring biased to a closed position.

The flexible tubing 29 has an inner diameter which is slightly less than the outer diameter of the coil 19. One end 30 of the flexible tubing 29 is slipped over the upper end 27 of the coil 19, while the other end 31 of the tubing is removeably joined to the lid 14, for example by slipping over a smaller diameter pipe connector (not shown) on an underside 33 of the lid that communicates with the outlet hole in the bowl-shaped recess 18.

When the lid 14 is securely fitted to the main body 8 and the base 12 placed on a substantially level surface, the recess 1 8 can be filled or partially filed with a beverage to be cooled (not shown). The liquid should ideally come to just below an upper edge 34 of the reservoir 18.

The valve 30 is then opened to allow the beverage to flow under gravity down the hole 25 and into the flexible tubing 29 and cooling coil 19. Trapped air in the tubing and coil is then driven out of the spout 28 until the beverage fills the tubing and coil. It takes about 40 seconds for the drink to run through the coil and flow from the tap, at which point the valve 30 is closed.

This allows the air to escape from the thermal transfer cooling coil and!!charges!! the coil ready to dispense the beverage. Heat is then transferred from the relatively warm beverage inside the coil 1 9 into the surrounding cooling medium 6.

The beverage cooling device 1 is allowed to stand for a period of time before and between serving drinks to allow the cooling process to take place more effectively.

The temperature of the drink will be dependant on the time delay between servings. In practice it has been found that a time of 1 minute is adequate to substantially cool the beverage. After two minutes the beverage cooler 1 will dispense beverages at 10 °C or less when the initial temperature of the beverages is at 20°C.

To ensure continuous cooling, the reservoir 18 should be topped up regularly, ideally before the cooling coil 19 is emptied.

The length of time the water/ice mixture 6 will last is dependant on the initial temperature of the drink and the number of servings.

When the servings are not as cool as required, the interval volume 4 can be refreshed as follows. The remaining drink is first dispensed from the drink reservoir 18 into a suitable container (not shown), taking care not to drain the coil 1 9.

The lid 14 is then removed from the main body 8 of the container 2. The cold water inside the container may be scooped with a cup and saved, leaving any remaining ice behind. Fresh ice is then added to the internal volume 4 until level with the top of the coil 19, and then refilled with some of the cold water previously saved.

As shown in Figures 1 and 2, the beverage cooling device preferably has a removable cover 40 over the recess 18. The cover 40 is substantially disc-shaped and has a peripheral downwardly depending rim 42 that seats securely inside the rim 34 of the reservoir recess 18.

The cover 40 has a filling point cap 44 that pivots upwards from within a recess 45 to reveal a hole 46 in the cover through which beverage may be added to the reservoir 18. The cover 40 therefore prevents any contamination from reaching the reservoir while allowing convenient access for topping up when required.

After use, the beverage cooling device 1 may be cleaned as follows. The dispensing tap 26 is opened to drain any remainder of the drink. While holding the lid 14 and drink reservoir 18 tightly on the main body 8 of the container 2, the container is lifted and tipped to allow all the water inside to drain out the receptacle hole 25, keeping any remaining the ice inside the internal volume 4.

The lid 14 and drink reservoir 18 are then removed so that any ice can be tipped out into a suitable container and stored in a freezer for future use.

The internal volume 4 may then be washed with warm water, avoiding use of any strong detergent.

The lid 14 and reservoir are then refitted to the main body 8. The drink reservoir 18 is then filled with clean water, and the dispensing tap 26 opened in order to flush the flexible tube 29 and coil 19 through until it these are clean.

As there are no electrical parts to the beverage cooler 1, this can be thoroughly cleaned whenever required.

In the above example, the cover 40 and the interior 4 of the container 2 are dimensioned so that the cover is stowable inside the container when not being used to cool drinks, or when being stored.

The beverage cooler described above requires no electrical supply of any sort to activate the cooling cycle and, apart from periodic cleaning of the conduit, has no moving parts or components that would be subject to regular maintenance or replacement.

The cooling is achieved by a simple process of thermal transfer from the cooling medium to the beverage conveyed by the conduit with no contact between the cooling medium and the dispensed drink. The device operates on a gravity feed system, thereby eliminating the need to provide an electric power supply and pump.

The beverage cooler described above is robust for indoor or outdoor use and is ideal for remote locations such as the beach or communal fields and camping grounds. Subject to requirements, beverage cooling devices according to the invention can be created in almost any shape to reflect a particular product brand and can be presented in a range of finishes to enhance the aesthetic appearance of the cooler.

The invention therefore provides a convenient and economical beverage cooling device.

Claims

CLAIMS1. A beverage cooling device, comprising a container having an internal volume for containing a quantity of a cooling medium, the container having a lid to provide access to said internal volume, a reservoir for containing a beverage to be cooled by the beverage cooling device, a conduit leading from the reservoir and passing through said internal volume the conduit being arranged to transfer heat from beverage in the conduit to said quantity of cooling medium in order to cool the beverage in the conduit, and an outlet connected to the conduit by which said cooled beverage may be dispensed, wherein the reservoir is contained within the lid.
2. A device as claimed in Claim 1, comprising additionally a means for controlling the flow of beverage out of the outlet.
3. A device as claimed in Claim 1 or Claim 2, in which the reservoir, conduit and outlet are arranged so that beverage in the reservoir may flow out of the reservoir under gravity.
4. A device as claimed in Claim 1 or Claim 2, in which the lid has an upper surface, the reservoir being provided by a recess in said upper surface.
5. A device as claimed in Claim 4, in which the recess is substantially bowl-shaped.
6. A device as claimed in Claim 4 or Claim 5, in which the lid comprises a removable cover over the recess.
7. A device as claimed in Claim 6, in which the cover has a cap which can be opened and closed to provide access to the reservoir without removing the cover from the recess.
8. A device as claimed in Claim 6 or Claim 7, in which the cover is stowable in the container when not being used to cover over the recess.
9. A device as claimed in any of Claims 4 to 8, in which the conduit is connected to a lower portion of the recess, the reservoir, conduit and outlet being arranged so that beverage in the recess may flow out of the reservoir under gravity.
10. A device as claimed in any of Claims 4 to 9, in which the conduit includes a pipe connected to the lid, said pipe including a flexible portion which permits the lid to be removed from the remainder of the container without disconnecting the conduit from the reservoir.
11. A device as claimed in Claim 10, in which the lid is connectable and disconnectable to the remainder of the container by moving the lid relative to the remainder of the container, the flexible portion accommodating said relative motion.
12. A device as claimed in Claimi 0 or Claim 11, in which the conduit includes a coil in a lower portion of said internal volume, said flexible portion being provided between the coil and the lid.
13. A device as claimed in any preceding claim, in which the conduit is disconnectable and connectable from the reservoir so that the conduit may be temporarily disconnected from the reservoir to facilitate cleaning of the conduit after use of the device to cool a beverage.
14. A device as claimed in any preceding claim, in which the container is substantially cylindrical in form.
15. A beverage cooling device substantially as herein described, with reference to or as shown in the accompanying drawings.