MXPA97002260A - An apparatus for cooling bebi - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a system for cooling beverages, because it comprises: an ice storage tank having a mechanical agitator placed therein, the ice storage tank has an opening in a lower part, the mechanical stirrer being activatable for mechanically stirring ice in the ice bin and mechanically driving and directing the ice down through the aforementioned opening, - an ice guide placed adjacent to the opening in the ice storage bin, - a cold plate assembly placed under the ice guide, the cold plate assembly includes a plate having an inclined upper surface, the cold plate also includes at least one beverage distribution line positioned on the inclined upper surface; ice is placed to deflect and orient the ice on the upper inclined surface of the plate the ice moves on the surface its perio by means of the mechanical force provided by a movement of the

Description

AN APPARATUS FOR COOLING DRINKS DESCRIPTION Background and field of the invention The present invention relates to an apparatus for cooling beverages wherein a cold plate is used to cool liquid beverages. The cold plate can be combined with an ice dispenser to provide the dual purpose of cooling drinks and dispensing ice. In the food and beverage service industries, it is desirable to provide ice and cold drinkable beverages in an efficient manner. The present invention relates to the system wherein the beverages can be precooled by means of a cold plate so that those beverages can be served at a cool temperature. Many major beverage manufacturers have recommended temperatures to serve their beverages, and recommend that product resellers serve beverages within specific ranges. In addition, carbonated beverages are known to retain much more of their carbonation when the beverage is served cold. In source-type beverage systems, when carbonated beverages are served from an unpackaged source, beverages must be cooled in the beverage distribution lines to prevent excessive foaming. In addition, the ice added to the pre-enfirated beverage in a drinking cup or cup does not excessively crumble, thereby preventing undesirable dilution of the beverage. The present invention relates to an apparatus for cooling liquid beverages, so that the quality of the beverage served is as high as possible. The invention is aimed at fulfilling most of the requirements of beverage manufacturers for serving temperature and serving quality. A variety of systems have been known in which ice is placed on an ice plate to cool a liquid beverage. For example, U.S. Patent No. 4,300,359, which is incorporated herein by reference, discloses a cold plate system wherein ice in a hopper is transported through a conduit to an ice bin, to cool the drinks that flow there. The '3' 9 patent describes the use of a stirrer in a hopper to agitate the ice in the hopper. However, the '359 patent does not describe the problems caused by the known "binding effect" which occurs when the ice particles settle on top of the cold plate or other surface, and are joined by melting. This binding effect prevents fresh ice from directly coming into contact with the cold plate, and reduces the efficiency of the thermal transfer between the ice and the cold plate beverage. An additional problem that exists in the '359 patent is that the patent '359 does not describe any type of system where the ice is oriented and / or moves towards the inlet side of the beverage line, to maximize the effect of the heat transfer. U.S. Patent No. 752,810 discloses a water cooler wherein two blocks of ice are manually placed on cooling tubes 8 to cool water fed from an elevated water bottle. However, the '810 patent is a fully manual system, and does not describe any system where ice is automatically fed or driven into the cooling pipe from a separate hopper, to effectively and continuously cool the beverage that is being fed there.

An object of the present invention is to provide a beverage cooling system in which maximum heat transfer efficiency between the ice and the beverage is obtained, to effectively pre-cool beverages before being served in a cup or container of drink. The effectiveness and efficiency of the invention is achieved by using an agitator to perform three functions of agitating ice in a hopper or ice feeder to prevent ice from being added to the hopper, serving or providing the ice from an ice dispenser and push the ice through an opening into an ice guide and into a hopper where the force of the agitator moves the ice around an inclined top surface of the cold plate, improve thermal transfer, prevent bonding, and ensure a stream of ice on the surface of the cold plate. The hopper or ice bin, therefore, is provided with a supply port which is used to supply ice directly to a drinking container, before the beverage is added to it. The objects of the present invention are achieved by means of a beverage cooling system which comprises an ice storage tank having a mechanical stirrer placed thereon, the ice storage tank having an opening in a lower part thereof. The mechanical agitator is operable to mechanically stir the ice in the ice bin and mechanically push the ice through the opening in the bottom of the ice. An ice guide adjacent to the opening is placed in the ice storage bin, and a cold plate is placed adjacent to or below the ice guide. The cold plate is supported on a support base so that the cold plate has an inclined upper surface, and includes at least one beverage distribution line disposed below the upper surface. The ice guide is positioned to deflect and orient the ice on the upper inclined surface of the cold plate. The ice moves along the upper surface of the cold plate by the mechanical force provided by the operation of the agitator. The intent may include a drain pan on a lower portion of the upper inclined surface of the cold plate. The drain is configured to drain water from the upper surface of the cold plate as the ice on it melts as a result of the thermal transfer between the ice and the cold plate. The upper inclined surface of the cold plate can have four edges, with three of the four edges being sprayed by a raised perimeter edge. A fourth edge, which is a lower edge, is open to allow water to flow directly into the tundish.

For more effective cooling of the beverage, the beverage distribution line or lines are crimped along the cold plate, below the inclined upper surface thereof. A hopper can be placed under the ice guide. The hopper encloses an ice path on the inclined upper surface of the cold plate, and prevents both ice and water from sliding off the upper surface of the cold plate. The hopper serves to orient the water, driven by the force of gravity, of the inclined upper surface of the cold plate towards the drainage trough. The hopper is configured to prevent ice from entering and cloging the drain pan. The ice storage bin may include an ice supply port at a supply station. A switch serves to activate the agitator to simultaneously supply ice from the supply port, stir the ice in the reservoir, and push the ice through the opening in the bottom of the reservoir.

Brief description of the drawings The foregoing and other objects and the consequent advantages of the present invention will become readily apparent from the reference to the following detailed description considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein: Figure 1 illustrates a sectional view of an apparatus for cooling beverages according to the present invention; Figure 2 is an exploded view illustrating the elements of the beverage cooling apparatus; Figure 3 is a perspective view of the cold plate of the claimed invention; Figure 4 is a perspective view of the ice guide of the present invention; Fig. 5 is a top view of the cold plate; and Figure 6 is a side view of the cold plate, taken from the lower edge thereof.

Detailed description of the drawings With reference to Figure 3, the cold plate 1 has an upper surface 2. Beverage entry ports 3 are arranged towards an upper part of the inclined upper surface, and drinking outlet ports 4 are configured so that the lines of Beverage distribution move the beverage from the top towards a lower part of the upper inclined supeificie of the cold plate, before it reaches the exit ports. The input ports 3 and the output ports 4 are connected to the cold plate by means of the crimped beverage distribution lines 3a, which are corrugated below the inclined lower surface 2. A plurality of lines, of beverage distribution in various horizontal planes can be configured below the upper surface of the cold plate. The beverage distribution lines can be encapsulated inside the cold plate with a material which supports the thermal transfer between the ice and the drink. A preferred method of manufacturing the cold plate is that where the. beverage distribution lines are pre-formed from an appropriate pipe such as stainless steel, and the cold plate is a casting of a thermally conductive melt material such as aluminum. The cold block aluminum plate improves the thermal transfer results between the ice placed on top of the cold plate and the beverage distribution lines. The cold plate 1 includes a drain pan 5 on a lower surface thereof. The edges 6 of the cold plate 1 surround the inclined upper surface, and provide a barrier or wall of approximately 10 mm in height around this surface. The perimeter edges end in projections 6a in a lower part of the cold plate; these projections 6a leave an open lower edge of the inclined upper surface of the cold plate, having no perimeter edge raised around it; this open edge allows the water that melts on the surface of the cold plate to drain, by the force of gravity, directly into the drain pan 5. The cold plate is maintained in the proper inclined position by means of the support base 7 (see figure 2), which supports the cold plate in an inclined position so that the upper surface 2 of the cold plate is inclined. The cold plate, the beverage supply lines, and the base form a cold plate assembly. The outer surfaces of the cold plate, with the exception of the upper surface thereof, are preferably coated with a thermally insulating material 17, to allow the cold plate to remain at a cold temperature when the ice is applied to it. As shown in Figure 2, the hopper 8 is configured to rest within the boundary delineated by the perimeter edges 6, and prevent it from sliding down or out of the drain trough by means of the projections 6a. The hopper 8 includes an opening 8a in it. The ice guide 9 is configured to coincide with the opening 8a of the hopper 8, and the ice supply tank 10 rests on the assembly formed by the cold plate 1, the hopper 8, and the ice guide 9. The ice guide 9 can also be firmly secured to the bottom of the ice supply tank 10. The ice supply tank 10 is supported by an appropriate support structure, and may be part of a total cover 16. The ice supply tank 10 includes a stirrer 11 therein.

As shown in Figures 1 and 2, the agitator 11 comprises the shaft Ia, blades 11b for ice agitator, and blades 11c for movement of ice. The ice mixing blades 1 Ib act to stir the ice inside the tank, to prevent the ice from crumbling or agglomerating. The blades 11c for ice movement act to drive the descending ice through an opening 12 provided in the bottom of the ice supply tank 10. The shaft 1 is connected to a motor or other means of rotation or appropriate rotating element 13, which rotates the shaft 1 when activated by means of the switch 14. The ice supply container 10 includes a supply port 15 of ice, which is configured so that that ice can be supplied directly from this port to a drinking cup or container. The beverage cooling system of the invention operates as follows: the ice supply tank 10 is filled or partially filled with ice particles of a desirable size from an appropriate source of ice (not shown). The ice can be supplied by means of manual loading, or an automatic ice maker or a system for transporting and feeding ice into the ice reservoir. As the ice reservoir fills, the ice, by means of gravity, falls through the opening 12 in the bottom of the ice reservoir, and is directed by the ice guide 9 onto the inclined upper surface 2 of the cold plate. The force of gravity is sufficient to cause the ice to fall on the cold plate until the space created by the hopper 8 and the upper surface of the cold plate is filled with ice. Immediately thermal transfer occurs between the ice and the cold plate, which cools the drink in the beverage distribution lines. The ice on the cold plac, therefore, immediately begins to melt, and the water drains into the drain pan 5. When a user wishes to drink, typically the user will first seek to partially fill the glass or rate of drink with ice . Ice is obtained by activating switch 14 to supply ice from port 15 of ice supply. When the switch 14 is activated, the motor 13 rotates the agitator 11. With the rotation of the agitator 11, the blades of the agitator 1 Ib rotate to move the ice in the ice reservoir, and the ice particles rise towards the port 15 of ice supply. The agitator blades 11b are configured so that upon turning the agitator 11, the ice in the ice bin is agitated to be moved towards the center of the ice bin, in the general direction of the opening 12. The blades 11c for movement of ice are rotated to move the ice vertically downwardly through the opening 12 of the ice bin 10, through the opening 9a in the ice guide 9, and towards the area defined by the interior surface of hopper 8 and the upper inclined surface of the cold plate. The ice guide 9 can be configured with a deflecting blade 9b to deflect the ice towards a central or upper part of the upper surface 2 of the cold plate 1. The ice guide 9 and / or the deflecting blade 9b are configured in a manner that ice moved through the opening 9a pushes the ice already on the cold plate, causing the ice to move, and allowing new or "fresh" ice to be directed towards the part of the cold plate where maximum heat transfer occurs . The continued rotation of the agitator drives more ice through the ice guide 9 into the hopper 8, and causes the ice on the upper surface of the cold plate to continue to be moved by the force provided by the ice blades. When no more ice can move through the opening 12 in the upper surface of the cold plate, the agitator acts only to agitate the ice in the ice reservoir 10 and move the ice upwards towards the spout 15. Upon contact with the upper surface of cold plate 1, thermal transfer occurs between the ice and the liquid beverage disposed in the beverage distribution lines between the inlet ports 3 and the outlet ports 4. The beverage in the beverage distribution lines remains cold, and the ice therefore melts and becomes water. Due to the slope of the upper surface 2, the melted ice runs downward along the slope towards the drain trough 5, through the open edge defined by the projections 6a. Edges 6 are injected to prevent water from running over the sides of the cold plate, and to secure the hopper 8 in position. A lower edge 8b of the hopper 8, which coincides with the lower open edge of the cold plate, is configured to allow water to seep under the edge towards the drain pan 5. The lower edge 8b is also designed so that prevent that ice from entering and clogging the drain pan. The drain pan 5 is connected to a drainage pipe or passageway (not shown) for the mining of the melted ice system (in liquid form). When the switch 14 is not being activated, the agitator 11 is not rotated, and there is no agitation or movement of ice neither in the ice supply tank 10, nor in the ice guide 9, nor along the upper surface 2 cold plate 1. When a user wishes to drink, a cup or rate for drinking is placed in port 15 of the ice dispenser, and switch 14 is activated to supply ice therefrom. The agitator 11 is rotated by the motor 13 to agitate the ice in the ice supply tank 10, to drive the ice downwardly through the opening 12 and the ice guide 9 towards the upper surface 2 of the cold plate 1, and the ice on the upper surface 2 of the cold plate 1 is also forced to move by means of the force of the new ice that is being pushed down by the stirrer 11. This force causes the "old" ice on the upper surface 2 is moved, whereby all the joined ice particles that could have formed by some binding effect that has occurred between the partially melted ice particles on it are broken. The ice guide directs the new ice to the upper and / or central parts of the cold plate, thereby ensuring that fresh ice is available to cool the hottest drink, which is located towards port 3 of entry. The ports of entry and the ports of exit, in combination with the wavy lines of distribution of drink, are configured in such a way that the maximum efficiency of heat transfer occurs between the ice on the cold plate and the drink in the distribution lines of drink. The hopper 8, as shown in Figure 2, is configured such that a greater amount of ice is maintained towards the upper part of the sloped upper surface, to provide greater cooling capacity near the entrance side of the distribution lines of drink. The lower part of the hopper, therefore, is smaller to ensure that only the smaller partially melted ice particles move down towards the lower part of the cold plate inclined surface, where less heat transfer is required. As the ice turns to water, the water runs into the drain trough 5, away from the system through the drain passage. It is readily apparent that the invention described above has the advantage of wide commercial utility. It is understood that the specific form of the invention described above is intended to be representative only, since certain modifications within the scope of these descriptions will be apparent to those skilled in the art. Accordingly, to determine the full scope of the invention, reference should be made only to the claims.

Claims (25)

1. A system for cooling beverages, characterized in that it comprises: - an ice storage tank having a mechanical stirrer placed inside it, the ice storage tank has an opening in a lower part, the mechanical stirrer being activatable to stir in a mechanical ice in the ice bin and mechanically drive and direct the ice down through the aforementioned opening; - an ice guide placed adjacent to the opening in the ice storage tank; - a cold plate assembly placed below the ice guide, the cold plate assembly includes a cold plate having a sloped upper surface, the cold plate also includes at least one bead distribution line placed below the inclined top surface; - wherein the ice guide is positioned to deflect and orient the ice on the upper inclined surface of the cold plate, where the ice moves on the upper surface by means of the mechanical force provided by a movement of the agitator.

2. A system for cooling beverages in accordance with the claim 1, further characterized in that the cold plate further comprises a drain pan on a lower part of the inclined upper surface, the drain pan is configured to drain water from the upper surface as the ice on it melts as a result of the thermal transfer between the ice and the cold plate.

3. A system for cooling beverages in accordance with the claim 2, further characterized in that the upper inclined surface has four edges, three of the four edges being surrounded by a raised perimeter edge, and where a fourth edge is open to allow water to drain from the upper surface inclined towards the drain trough .

4. A system for cooling beverages in accordance with the claim 1, further characterized in that at least one beverage distribution line is corrugated along the cold plate, below the inclined upper surface thereof.

5. A system for cooling beverages according to claim 4, further characterized in that a plurality of crimped beverage distribution lines are provided in the cold plate.

6. A system for cooling beverages according to claim 5, further characterized in that the cold plate comprises a block of thermally conductive cast material, and wherein the plurality of the corrugated beverage distribution lines are encapsulated therein.

7. A system for cooling beverages in accordance with the claim 2, further characterized in that at least one beverage distribution line is corrugated along the cold plate, below the inclined upper surface thereof.

8. A system for cooling drinks, characterized in that it comprises: - an ice storage tank having a mechanical stirrer placed inside it, the ice storage tank has an opening in a lower part, the mechanical stirrer being activatable to stir mechanically ice the ice deposit and mechanically drive and direct the ice through the aforementioned opening; - an ice guide placed adjacent to the opening in the ice storage tank; - a cold plate assembly positioned below the ice sheet, the cold plate assembly includes a cold plate having a sloped upper surface, the cold plate also includes at least one beverage distribution line placed under the upper surface inclined and; - a hopper placed under the ice guide, the hopper encloses an ice path on the upper inclined surface of the cold plate, the hopper prevents the ice and water from sliding off the upper surface of the cold plate and guides the water, driven by the force of gravity, towards a drainage trough located in a lower part of the inclined upper surface, the hopper being configured to prevent the ice from entering the drainage trough; wherein the ice guide is positioned to deflect and orient the ice on the upper inclined surface of the cold plate, where the ice moves on the upper surface by means of the mechanical force provided by a movement of the agitator.

9. A system for cooling beverages in accordance with the claim 1, further characterized in that the agitator is connected to a rotary element for rotating the agitator, the rotary element being activated and deactivated selectively by means of a switch.

A system for cooling beverages according to claim 9, further characterized in that the ice storage tank includes an ice supply port at a supply station thereon, wherein the switch operates to activate the agitator to simultaneously supply ice from the ice supply port and push it through the opening in the bottom.

11. Vn system for cooling beverages in accordance with the claim 8, further characterized in that the ice guide is placed directly below the opening and directly above the hopper, the hopper has an opening therein that coincides with the opening in the ice storage bin and the ice guide.

12. A system for cooling beverages characterized in that it comprises: - an ice fountain for providing ice to cool liquid beverages; - an ice guide element adjacent to the bottom surface of the ice fountain to guide down the ice from the ice fountain; - an element of movement for forcedly moving the ice of the ice fountain towards the ice guide element and forcing it downwards through it; - a cold plate assembly positioned adjacent to the ice guide, the cold plate assembly including a cold plate having an inclined upper surface and being configured so that the ice guide deflects and guides the ice on the surface top inclined the cold plate also includes at least one beverage distribution line placed therein; - wherein the ice supplied by the ice fountain chills the liquid beverages in at least one beverage line by means of the heat transfer that occurs between the ice and the liquid beverage in the beverage distribution line, and wherein the Ice is moved on the inclined upper surface by means of the force coming from the element to move the ice, and where the water coming from the melted ice moves by the force of gravity towards a lower part of the upper inclined surface.

13. The system for cooling beverages in accordance with the claim 12, further characterized in that the cold plate further comprises a drain pan in the lower part of the inclined upper surface, the drain pan being configured to drain water from the upper surface as the ice on it melts as a result of the transfer thermal

14. Lln system to cool beverages in accordance with the claim 13, further characterized in that it further comprises a hopper positioned beneath the ice guide and adjacent to the sloping upper surface of the cold plate, the hopper prevents ice and water from sliding out of the cold plate, and guides the water towards the drain pan.

15. A system for cooling beverages in accordance with the claim 14, further characterized in that the ice source comprises an ice storage tank, and the ice driving element comprises a mechanical stirrer rotatably positioned in the ice storage tank.

16. A system for cooling beverages in accordance with the claim 15, further characterized in that the ice is fed to the cold plate through an opening in a central part of the lower part of the ice storage tank, and the ice guide and the hopper cooperate to divert and feed the ice on the upper surface inclined of the cold plate.

17. A system for cooling confectionery beverages with claim 9, further characterized in that the agitator is configured to drive the ice through the ice guide on the inclined upper surface of the cold plate.

18. The system for cooling beverages according to claim 12, further characterized in that the ice driving element is connected to a rotating element, to rotate the ice moving element, where the stirrer rotates to distribute the ice in the ice storage tank, and to ensure an even flow of ice in the ice storage vessel. the ice guide.

19. A system for cooling beverages according to claim 12, characterized in that the ice source includes an ice supply port at a supply station thereon, and wherein a switch is provided to selectively activate and deactivate the ice driving element, and wherein the ice driving element is configured to simultaneously supply ice from the ice supply port and drive the ice from the ice source to the upper inclined surface of the cold plate.

20. A system for cooling beverages according to claim 14, further characterized in that the ice guide is arranged directly below the source and directly above the hopper, the hopper has an opening in it that coincides with an opening in the guide of ice.

21. A system for cooling beverages characterized in that it comprises - an ice storage tank having a mechanical stirrer placed inside it, the ice storage tank has an opening in a lower part, the mechanical stirrer being activatable to stir in a mechanically ice the ice deposit and mechanically drive and direct the ice through the aforementioned opening; - an ice guide placed adjacent to the opening in the ice storage tank; - a cold plate assembly placed under the ice guide, the cold plate assembly includes a cold plate having an inclined top surface, the cold plate also includes at least one beverage distribution line placed under the inclined top surface; - wherein the ice guide is positioned to deflect and orient the ice on the upper inclined surface of the cold plate, where the ice moves on the upper surface by means of the mechanical force provided by a movement of the agitator and; wherein the ice guide is positioned to deflect and orient the ice coming from the ice storage tank away from a lower edge of the cold plate sloped upper surface.

22. A system for cooling beverages according to claim 21, further characterized in that the ice guide includes a diverting element for deflecting the ice away from a lower edge of the inclined upper surface of the cold plate.

23. A system for chilling beverages characterized in that it comprises - an ice source for providing ice to cool liquid beverages; - ice guide element adjacent to the ice fountain to guide the ice from the ice fountain; - element for moving ice to forcibly move ice from the ice source to and through the ice guide element; - a cold plate assembly positioned below the ice guide, the cold plate assembly includes a cold plate having a sloped top surface and being configured from the ice sheet to deflect and guide the ice on the sloped top surface, the cold plate also includes at least one beverage distribution line placed there; - wherein the ice supplied by the ice fountain chills the liquid beverages in the at least one beverage distribution line by means of the heat transfer that occurs between the ice and the liquid beverage in the beverage distribution line and where the ice moves on the upper inclined surface by means of force coming from the element to move the ice, and where the water coming from the ice that is melted moves by means of gravity towards a lower part of the upper inclined surface and wherein the ice guide is positioned to deflect and guide the ice to an inlet side of the at least one beverage distribution line of the cold plate.

24. A system for cooling beverages according to claim 8, further characterized in that the hopper is configured such that a larger amount of ice is maintained towards an upper part of the sloped upper surface of the cold plate from which it is kept in a lower part of the upper surface of the cold plate.

25. The system for cooling beverages according to claim 1, further characterized in that the cold plate assembly is provided with thermal insulation elements to prevent undesirable thermal transfer between the cold plate and the ambient air, the thermal insulation elements cover a part of the cold plate and a part of the cold plate assembly.