CA1288607C - Cooling beverages - Google Patents

Cooling beverages

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Publication number
CA1288607C
CA1288607C CA000540360A CA540360A CA1288607C CA 1288607 C CA1288607 C CA 1288607C CA 000540360 A CA000540360 A CA 000540360A CA 540360 A CA540360 A CA 540360A CA 1288607 C CA1288607 C CA 1288607C
Authority
CA
Canada
Prior art keywords
container
receptacle
cooling
beverage contained
cooling medium
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Expired - Lifetime
Application number
CA000540360A
Other languages
French (fr)
Inventor
Charles R. Micallef
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
LUNE METAL PRODUCTS Ltd
LUNE METAL SPINNING CO Ltd
Original Assignee
LUNE METAL SPINNING CO Ltd
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by LUNE METAL SPINNING CO Ltd filed Critical LUNE METAL SPINNING CO Ltd
Priority to CA000540360A priority Critical patent/CA1288607C/en
Application granted granted Critical
Publication of CA1288607C publication Critical patent/CA1288607C/en
Anticipated expiration legal-status Critical
Expired - Lifetime legal-status Critical Current

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Abstract

ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE

A wine cooling apparatus comprises a bottle holder which holds a bottle within an ice and water mixture in a container which is rotatably mounted on a turn-table. When the turntable is rotated, the container rotates and fins on the inside of the container stir the mixture and cause it to swirl around the surface of the bottle thereby cooling the wine.

Description

:l~B1~6i~7 COOLING BEVERAGES

This inventlon relates to cooling beveraae~ in contalners and in particular, although not exclusively, to cooling wine in a bottle. ~he invention might al~o be applied to cooling cans of drinks, or jugs of drinks such a~ fruit juice3.

With wine, and in particular white wine. it i3 often desired to serve the wine chilled or at a temperature below room temperature. Wine i9 sometime~ stored in a refrigerator to allow it to be served chilled.
However. when a large selection of wines i9 offered.
or a large number of bottles is required to be served in a short period of time. the size of the refrigerator mu~t be considerable if it i9 to cope with demand. Thu~ valuable space is often taken up by the refrigerator. Further, the storing of wine at a low temperature uses up a considerable amount of energy, a lot of which energy may be wasted if the wine being cooled is not used for some time. An additional disadvantage with a refrigerator is that it takes alongtime to cool a bottle, and thus 19 of no u~e where a customer orders a bottle of wine which is not yet chilled. as the customer is unwilling to wait .

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-while the wine i9 chilled gradually. The practice of maintaining wine for long periodq in a refrlgerator i~
also disadvantageou~ because it prevent~ natural ageing.

It has been known for people serving ~lne to attempt to cool the wine rapidly by placing it into a bucket of ice and rotating the bottle rapidly to and fro in the ice. Although the wine may well have its tempera-ture reduced rapidly by this movement, any sediment i~
~haken up and the wine has bubbles forced into it by the movement which renders the wine unsuitable for drinking. Obviously this method of cooling cannot be used on ~parkling wines as the pres~ure which build~
up within the bottle by this movement does not permit the ~ine to be opened for a considerable period after the violent movement has ceased.

US Patent 388092 ~Fisher) disclose~ a wine chiller including a tank to hold the chilling medium and wine bottles to be cooLed, a refrigeration unit to cool the chilling medium, a pump to draw the chilling medium cooled by the refrigeration unit and feed it to the tank, and a receptacle to receiving chilling medium as it overflows from the tank. Incorporation of a pump " . ' ,.

~386~7 i.n the wlne chiller means tha-t ice/water mixture can not be used as it cannot be pumped by the pump. As a result the chilling medium has to be a cooling medium about 0C and therefore efficient cooling cannot be achieved.

An object of this invention is to provide apparatus for cooling wine or other beverages in a container which can cool the beverage to a desired temperature of, say 9C, in a few minutes. Ano-ther object of this invention is to provide apparatus for cooling a beverage, such as wine, in a container which can use an ice/water mixture as a cooling medium~

A method of cooling a beverage contained in a con-tainer in accordance with the presen-t invention comprises the steps of providing a means for rotating a receptacle, supporting the receptacle on the means for rota-ting the receptacle, provi.ding a support means for supporting the container in a fixed posi--tion within the receptacle filled with a cooling medium and imparting a swirling motion to the cooling medium by rotating the receptacle about the container, whereby the beverage may be cooled without dis-turbing same within the container.

An apparatus in accordance wi-th the present invention comprises at least one rotatable receptacle for containing a cooling medium, support means arranged .

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- 3a --to hold the container in a fixed posi-tion in the receptacle, and motion inducing means fo:r ro-tating the receptacle which is operable upon the cooling medium to cause the cooling medium to swirl around the container continually circula-ting within the receptacle.

More specifically, this invention comprises cooling a beverage in a container by holding the container in a cooling medium which is located in a reeeptacle, the preferred form of cooling medium being a mixture of ice and water, and acting directly upon the cooling medium in the receptacle whereby to cause the cooling medium to be swirled around the container so that the cooling medium is moved continually and is circulated around the container. The motion of the coollng medium around the beverage container causes the beverage in ~ .

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that container to be cooled at a rapid rate and, as the container iq held while it ls being chilled, the beverage is not ~haken up and do2s not ~uffer the disadvantages as~ociated with ~uch movement of the container. Furthermore a container such as a uine ~ottle ~ay be rapidly chilled after it has been ordered, thus avoiding or reducing the need to provide a large refrigeration space for stored, chilled bottles .

In a preferred embodiment the receptacle is caused to be rotated about the container whereby to cause the cooling medium to be swirled around the container which is held out of contact with the receptacle.
There may be timing means arranged to allow movement of the cooling medium to cease at the end of a predetermined period of time. The inner wall of the receptacle may be adapted to cause movement of the cooling medium upon rotation of the receptacle, say by the inclusion in that inner wall of one or more fins projeating into the lnterior of the receptacle. Appa-ratus for carrying out the lnvention may be arranged to hold a plurality of container~ of beverages in the receptacle for cooling simultaneously. The apparatus may be provided with a variable timer device, a ,~ .

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digital di~play and a room temperature readout device to enable the approprlate cholce of time eta., to be made.

The rotatlon of the receptacle may be arranged to be effect~d by an electric motor which may be an AC or a DC motor, and the timing means may be a~sociated with the motor so as to switch off the motor after a predetermined time has elapsed. The ~peed of rotation of the receptacle, as well as the duration of the predetermined time for which the electric motor operates before it is switched off, may be adjustable.

Two containers may be provided each having a bottle support whereby a plurality of bottles may be chilled at any one time.

One embodiment of thi~ invention, and a modiflcation of that embodiment, will be described now by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings, of which:-Figure 1 is a per-qpective vlew of wine cooling apparatus in which this invention i9 embodied, and ':. . . . ~ . ..

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''', ' . ' ~ : ' , ~2~ ;137 Figure 2 i9 a per~pective view of wine cooling apparatus similar to that 3hown in figure 1 but including a modification.

Figure 1 ~how~ uine cooling apparatus including a receptacle uhich i~ an open topped cylindrical drum 10 mounted on a turntable 11, and a bottle holder 12.
The drum 10 ha~ a plain interior ~urface with a level marking to indicate the level to which it is to be filled with cooling medium.

The turntable 11 i9 supported by a platform 13. The bottle holder 12 comprise~ a column 14 which i~
mounted on the platform 13 at one side of the turntable 11 and which projects upwardly alongside, but ~paced from the drum 10. An arm 15 projects laterally from the top of the column 14 to which it i9 hinged and has a bottle engaging arrangement above the drum ln the form of a pair of resilient fingers which are adapted to engage the neck of the bottle on opposite sides.

The platform 13 houses an electric motor ~not shown~
which i9 coupled to the turntable 11 to cause it to rotate at selected speed within the range 30-150 rpm.

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The preferred speed i9 60 rpm. The preferred coupling of the electric motor to the turntable i9 direct gearing but other rotary transmis~ion arrangements may be u~ed such as an indirect belt drive arrangement or a wheel driven by the motor and engaging the wall of the drum 10. An electric lead 16 i 9 provided for connecting the electric motor to an AC pouer supply.
An on/off switch 11 is mounted on the plltform 13 and is operable to make or break the connection between the electric lead 16 and the electric motor for controlling the power supply to the electric motor.

A pair of lugs 18 extend from the outer cylindrlcal surface of the drum 10 and are each located in a respective one of a pair of upwardly-open slots 19 which are formed in plates 20 mounted on the turntable 11 on opposite 3ides of the drum 10. The drum 10 is wedged between the plates 20. That wedging action and the cooperation of the lugs 18 with the side~ of the slots 19 hold the drum 10 on the turntable 11 and constraln it to rotate with the turntable 11.

An opposed pair of radially inwardly pro~ecting fins 21 are provided on the inner cylindrical ~urface of . ............ . . . ..

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- a -the drum 10, each fin 21 extending over substantlally the ~ull height of the drum 10.

The upper edge of the drum 10 i~ forn!ed with an S annular radially-inwardly projecting flange 22 which has a depending cylindrical flange 23 at its inner edge.

In u~e, the neck of a bottle i9 inserted between and gripped by the resilient fingers of the bottle holding arrangement. The major portion of the bottle extends into a cooling medium, comprising ice and water, which is contained within the drum 10. The on/off ~witch 17 is then actuated and the turntable 11 driven for lS rotation by the electric motor, thereby cau~ing the drum 10 to be rotated. The fin~ 21 stir the ice and water mixture and cause it to be swirled around the bottle. As the mixture moves around the bottle, heat passe~ from the wine in the bottle, through the wall of the bottle and into the ice and water mixture. As the mixture is continually moving within the container no liquid of the mixture i~ permitted to remain in contact with the wall of a bottle for more than an in~tant. Thus no thermal barrier is allowed to build :' ' .

up ad~acent to the bottle whlch would reduce the rate of cooling.

The inwardly-directed and depending annular flanges 22 and 23 prevent the mixture from rising up and over the side of the drum 10.

A timer ~hich is operable to switch off the electric motor automatically after a predetermined time may be incorporated. Alternatively the motor may be ~topped by manual operation of the 4witch 17. It ha.~ been found that, at a rotation ~peed of about 60 rev~ per minute wine can be chilled from a temperature of the order of 20to 22C to 9C after the drum 10 has been rotated for between 5 and 6 minutes. A time/
temperature chart in the form of a label ~tuck to a surface of the apparatus may be provided.

Once rotation of the drum 10 has ceaqed, the neck of the bottle can be removed from between the resilient fingers and the wine aan be ~erved.

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-- 10 _ The drum 10 may be removed erom the turntable 11 in order to empty the mixture or pour in fresh mixture, by lifting the drum 10 until the lugs 18 are clear of the slots 19 in the plate3 20.

The apparatu~ may be provided with alternative claw devices adapted for holding cans ~uch as cans of beer or ~oft drinks, the claw devices being for fitting in place of the ~ine bottle holding device. Another alternative replacement device that might be provided i9 claw device for holding jug3 of fruit juice.

All the parts of the apparatus may be formed of a suitable plastics material, or a 3uitable metal, or the apparatus may comprise metal and plastlc part~.

Figure 2 show~ apparatu~ similar to that shown in figure 1 but modified by the provision of additional control means and a display control panel 24. The panel 24 has a room temperature display 25 which is a visual readout of the ambient temperature sensed by temperature senslng means ~not shown) incorporated in the apparatus. There i9 a timer switch 26 which is operable to activate a timer to control operation of the turntable 11 automatically for a 3elected time - '.-, .. - : . .

~2~ 07 interval up to a ma~lmum of 15 minutes, the tLme interval being selectable in increments of half a minute. The timer switch 26 i~ also arranged to operate a warning light 27 and/or an audible warning device (not shown~. The timer is adapted to stop the electric motor automatically at the end of the selected time interval. The control panel 24 also has an indicator 28 which reads out a selected number as an indication of the table in the restaurant, or of the waiter responsible.

The visual display3 25, 27 and 28 may be mechanical devices or micro electronic devices u~ing LED means, LCD means, or a combination thereof.

The apparatus shown in figure 2 may be mounted on the top shelf of a trolley which is designed to hold wine bottles below that shelf.

The height of the drum 10 and it~ diameter would be chosen to suit. The height of the drum 10 has a significant effect on cooling, and, for cooling wine bottles, the height of the drum 10 would be of the order of 320 millimetres. The single bottle container shown in the drauings ~ould have a diameter of the , - : , : ' .

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order of 180 millimetres, but drums havlng smaller diameters~ say 160 millimetres, could he used. Drums with larger diameters, ~ay up to 500 millimetres in diameter may be used for acommodating a plurallty of wine bottles or cans and drums of various heights may be adopted having regard to the form of contalner for which they are de~igned.

The eins 21 and the annular flanges 22 and 23 are optional although the latter are preferable for multi-container applications in order to prevent the cooling medium splashing out of the drum 10. A paddle device in the bottom of the drum 10 may be used in3tead of the fins 21 for stirring the cooling medium and causing it to circulate around the container.

The drum 10 may be connected to the turntable 11 by means other than the lug and slot aonnection described, for example, taper fit means or interen-gaging dlmples in the drum 10 and the turntable 11 may be adopted.

A battery powered ~C motor may be used in place of the mains powered AC motor in portable apparatu~ for use in boats, caravans, trains etc.

Claims (12)

1. A method of cooling a beverage contained in a container comprising the steps of providing a means for rotating a receptacle supporting said receptacle on said means for rotating said receptacle, providing a support means for supporting said container in a fixed position within said receptacle filled with a cooling medium and imparting a swirling motion to said cooling medium by rotating the receptacle about the container, whereby said beverage may be cooled without disturbing same within said container.
2. A method of cooling a beverage contained in a container according to claim 1 in which the cooling medium is a mixture of ice and water.
3. A method of cooling a beverage contained in a container according to claim 1 further comprising supporting the container out of contact with the rotating receptacle.
4. A method of cooling a beverage contained in a container acording to claim 1 comprising the further step of cooling the beverage in the container to a temperature in the region of about 9°C.
5. A method of cooling a beverage contained in a container according to claim 1, in which said step of supporting the container is effected by support means adapted to engage a neck portion of the container.
6. A method of cooling a beverage contained in a container according to claim 1 wherein the receptacle is rotated for a predetermined time.
7. A method of cooling a beverage contained in a container according to claim 6 wherein the receptacle is rotated for between 5 and 6 minutes.
8. An apparatus for cooling a beverage contained in a container comprising at least one rotatable receptacle for containing a cooling medium, support means arranged to hold the container in a fixed position in the receptacle, and motion inducing means for rotating said receptacle which is operable upon the cooling medium to cause the cooling medium to swirl around the container continually circulating within the receptacle.
9. An apparatus for cooling a beverage contained in a container according to claim 6, including timing means for stopping said swirling motion after a predetermined period of time has elapsed.
10. An apparatus for cooling a beverage contained in a container comprising at least one rotatable receptable having an inner wall and being adapted to contain a cooling medium, and support means arranged to hold the container in a fixed position in the receptacle, the inner wall of said receptacle including motion inducing means operable upon the cooling medium to cause the cooling medium to swirl within said receptacle around the container upon rotation of the receptacle.
11. An apparatus for cooling a beverage contained in a container according to claim 8, in which said motion inducing means comprises at least one fin projecting into the receptacle and spaced from said container.
12. An apparatus for cooling a beverage contained in a container according to claim 8 in which said support means is adapted to hold a plurality of containers.
CA000540360A 1987-06-23 1987-06-23 Cooling beverages Expired - Lifetime CA1288607C (en)

Priority Applications (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
CA000540360A CA1288607C (en) 1987-06-23 1987-06-23 Cooling beverages

Applications Claiming Priority (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
CA000540360A CA1288607C (en) 1987-06-23 1987-06-23 Cooling beverages

Publications (1)

Publication Number Publication Date
CA1288607C true CA1288607C (en) 1991-09-10

Family

ID=4135961

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
CA000540360A Expired - Lifetime CA1288607C (en) 1987-06-23 1987-06-23 Cooling beverages

Country Status (1)

Country Link
CA (1) CA1288607C (en)

Cited By (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
CN105444487A (en) * 2014-05-30 2016-03-30 青岛海尔特种电冰柜有限公司 Tin/bottle beverage refrigeration method

Cited By (2)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
CN105444487A (en) * 2014-05-30 2016-03-30 青岛海尔特种电冰柜有限公司 Tin/bottle beverage refrigeration method
CN105444487B (en) * 2014-05-30 2018-10-09 青岛海尔特种电冰柜有限公司 A kind of cold preserving method of tank/bottle drink

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