CA2764474A1

CA2764474A1 - Variable temperature sleeve for a beverage container

Info

Publication number: CA2764474A1
Application number: CA 2764474
Authority: CA
Inventors: Matthew G. Eason; Damian C. Lai; Christian Euler
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2012-01-11
Filing date: 2012-01-11
Publication date: 2013-07-11

Abstract

The invention discloses a reusable insulating sleeve suitable for a beverage container, comprising a sealed internal compartment containing a substance that can exchange heat through a reversible exothermic or endothermic reaction, and a means to trigger activation of this substance. The sleeve is comprised of such materials that allow energy to be preferentially exchanged between the heat exchanging substance and the internal cavity of the sleeve, allowing the sleeve to heat or cool a beverage to a desired temperature for consumption.

Description

Description FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention incorporates elements of insulating holders for beverage containers, as well as those of heaters and heating or cooling methods.
BACKGROUND OF THE ART
Many commercially popular beverages (ex. coffee, tea, hot chocolate) are made to be consumed at or near the boiling point of water. The high temperatures of these beverages can cause discomfort or even burns in the hands of individuals consuming them. In response to this challenge, an insulating sleeve was developed by Jay Sorensen in 1993 (US
patent #5425497).
The main feature of such a sleeve is to provide an insulating layer which impedes heat transfer from the hot beverage into the drinker's hand. Today a wide variety of cup sleeves, both disposable and reusable, exist. However, all of these sleeves are designed for use with a beverage that is already at a temperature undesirable for holding, and none of them provide useful options for rapidly reheating a beverage that has already reached equilibrium with the ambient temperature.
For example, US patent 2863037 describes a beverage container which can reheat beverages contained therein through electrical means. However, this design is inconvenient as it requires that purchased beverages be transferred from a commercial disposable cup to the container.
Thus, the container must be cleaned between uses. Additionally, its reliance on an electrical outlet for electrically-generated heat greatly reduces its portability.
Additionally, Canadian patent application 2512674 describes a heating sleeve which uses electrical means to heat a beverage. This design combines the desired salient features of reheating and portability, but it still requires electrically-generated heat from batteries. Once more, the reliance of this design on electrically-generated heat reduces its effective portability.
Thus, there exists a need for a sleeve which insulates the drinker's hand from heat transfer, can reheat said beverage in a reusable way, and which is effortlessly portable.
The proposed device makes use of chemical energy in place of electrical as a means to generate heat, as in the heating pad described by Canadian patent 2380664. This reusable and portable device is used for therapeutic purposes and is based on the reversible, exothermic (heat-generating) solidification of a solution of sodium acetate. The proposed device integrates a chemically-generated heat exchange into the insulating sleeve designed by Sorensen. In order to avoid heat transfer into the hands of drinker, the proposed device is made up of two materials with different heat transfer coefficients such that it preferentially directs heat transfer into the beverage while providing insulation to the drinker.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
This invention is an insulating holder for a beverage container comprising of a largely cylindrical sleeve having an outer side, an inner side, and an internal compartment (Fig.

2). The internal , compartment contains a material which can be activated to transfer heat, either from the surroundings to the material, or vice-versa.
The heat-transferring material has sufficient thermal capacity to either heat a beverage from ambient temperature to between 40 and 50 degrees celsius, or to cool a beverage from ambient temperature to between 0 and 10 degrees celsius. The inner surface is comprised of a material with high thermal conductivity, allowing heat to efficiently pass between the sleeve and the container placed within. The outer surface of the sleeve is comprised of an insulating material to protect the user's hand from heat produced by the sleeve itself, or that produced by the beverage.
The heat-transferring material is also reusable in that it can be used to heat or cool a beverage, then be regenerated by some means, such as placing in boiling water or a freezer, in order to allow reuse with a new beverage. Preferably, the entire sleeve is resistant to the regeneration conditions, allowing it to be used as a whole object, without requiring the removal of the inner material for regeneration.
Preferably, the entire sleeve is made of elastic materials, allowing the sleeve to be adjusted to any common size and shape of beverage container. In another embodiment (Fig 1), the sleeve is not made of elastic material, but is instead designed with dimensions to fit a common size of coffee mug, for example a large paper cup like those used by major coffee chains, or a common style of insulated mug. In this embodiment, a variety of dimensions could be produced to fit different cup sizes.
If the sleeve is made of elastic materials, it can take a largely cylindrical form, as the nature of the materials will allow it to take the form of most containers with which it would be used. If the sleeve is not elastic, it will take a more tapered shape, allowing it to conform to a given range of cup sizes due to a decreasing diameter towards the lower end of the sleeve.
DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
FIG 1. is a front perspective view of the sleeve placed on a commercial beverage container FIG 2. is a cross-section of the sleeve depicting the internal heat-generating compartment (A), the heat conducting layer (B) and the heat insulating layer (C).

Claims

Claim 1:
A reusable insulating sleeve having a shape adapted for receiving a portion of a beverage container, and comprising a sealed internal compartment containing a substance that can receive or emit heat.
Claim 2:
A reusable insulating sleeve as claimed in claim 1, comprising a plurality of concentric substantially annular layers forming an internal compartment containing a heat exchanging substance.
Claim 3 A reusable insulating sleeve as claimed in any of claims 1 to 2 wherein the substance exchanges heat through a reversible exothermic or endothermic chemical or physical reaction which requires a means for activation .
Claim 4:
A reusable insulating sleeve as claimed in claim 3 wherein the heat exchanging reaction is reversed by heating the substance to a temperature sufficiently above ambient temperature or by cooling it to a temperature sufficiently below ambient temperature, as required by the reaction thermodynamics.
Claim 5:
A reusable insulating sleeve as claimed in any of claims 3 to 4 wherein the means for triggering the activation of the reversible chemical reaction are contained within the compartment of the sleeve which also contains the heat exchanging substance.
Claim 6:
A reusable insulating sleeve as claimed in any of claims 1 to 5, wherein the sleeve is comprised of an outward facing heat insulating material and an inward facing heat conducting material such that energy is preferentially exchanged between the heat exchanging substance and the cavity of the sleeve and such that energy exchange with the external face of the sleeve is limited.