EP3292357B1 - System for glazing an object intended to allow a product to be displayed in a visually attractive way, cooled and/or kept at a desired temperature - Google Patents

Description

The field of the invention is that of presentation techniques at the expense of consumer products. More specifically, the invention relates to a system comprising a frosted object making it possible to produce an attractive presentation of products, while bringing these products to a suitable temperature or maintaining them at this temperature.

According to a conventional use, blocks of ice can be sculpted to serve as a presentation support. We thus find ice sculptures intended to present edible products or ice sculptures in the shape of a bowl intended to carry bottles of drink to be kept cool.

These ice sculptures can be particularly impressive visually. However, they have the disadvantage of not being durable and of melting when the temperature is positive. Thus, these sculptures are only ephemeral and can also present a risk of degradation of the products they must present (for example, in the event of melting or breaking of the glass, the products are likely to fall if they are not more properly supported).

The prior art also proposes presentation objects made for example of metal and containing ice. These objects thus make it possible to present products and keep them cool.

These presentation objects allow you to keep fresh products or keep drinks at a temperature of 0 ° C. In addition, these presentation objects can be made so as to have an appropriate appearance for festive atmospheres. However, this type of presentation object is not suitable for presentations that last several hours. In fact, in the event of a positive temperature, the ice melts and the objects eventually heat up.

According to another disadvantage of ice sculptures or display objects using ice, there is a possibility that the products presented are wetted by water resulting from melting ice. According to the example of beverage bottles having a label affixed, the water from melting can quickly wet the label of these bottles and cause the degradation of their appearance or cause their detachment from the bottles on which they are positioned.

The prior art also offers refrigerated display cases. These display cases allow products to be kept cool while allowing these products to be observed from the outside.

Refrigerated display cases thus have the advantage of allowing products to be kept cool for a long time without risking deterioration by an increase in temperature (except when the display case's refrigeration system is stopped) or by ice melt water.

However, these refrigerated display cases have the disadvantage of not being particularly qualitative visually and more precisely in comparison with the ice sculptures or the presentation objects previously described.

The prior art also proposes devices making it possible to refrigerate a preparation, such a device is described in the patent document published under the number US 3,888,303 A . This device comprises a refrigerated bowl in which, inter alia, ice or ice cream can be prepared.

More specifically, this bowl has a wall, the internal face of which forms the bowl cavity. The wall incorporates a sealed chamber in which a refrigerated liquid circulates so as to cool the internal face. The sealed chamber has an inlet and an outlet both located at the bottom of the chamber, as well as a partition traversing the entire chamber up to the upper ends of the chamber where it forms a rim delimiting a passage, all around of the bowl, between a part of the chamber in contact with the internal face and an external part of the chamber. This partition thus makes it possible to separate the sealed chamber in two so that the refrigerated liquid arriving in the chamber is exclusively located in the part of the chamber in contact with the internal face so as to refrigerate this internal face and cool the bowl cavity.

However, such a device has the disadvantage of not allowing the presentation of a product. If, however, this device was used to produce a presentation of a product, then this presentation would depend solely on the material used to constitute the external face of the wall of the bowl, as well as on the shape of this external face. It can also be noted as drawbacks that air tends to persist inside the sealed chamber during operation of the device, and that the circulation of the refrigerated liquid is not uniform in the sealed chamber.

It is also known from the prior art a device for refrigerating bottles by means of a tank of refrigerated liquid in which the bottle or bottles are immersed. Such a device is described in the patent document published under the number WO90 / 02302 A1 .

In this device, a tank has chilled liquid inlet pipes, located at the bottom of the tank and arranged so as to create a swirling flow of refrigerated liquid in the tank. A bottle immersed in the tank is then effectively cooled by this swirling flow. The refrigerated liquid is then evacuated from the tank by means of overflows located at the top of the tank and opening into a chamber. The refrigerated liquid flows into the chamber and is then discharged through drain pipes located at the bottom of the chamber.

• la bouteille est en contact direct avec le liquide réfrigéré, dégradant (en la mouillant) de ce fait toute étiquette collée à sa surface ;
• le dispositif n'a pas vocation à avoir un visuel attractif, ou n'est pas particulièrement attractif.

There are drawbacks mentioned in this type of device, including the fact that:

• the bottle is in direct contact with the refrigerated liquid, thus degrading (by wetting it) any label stuck to its surface;
• the device is not intended to have an attractive visual, or is not particularly attractive.

Other icing systems are also known from the documents US 59 21 096 A1 , US 64 60 375 B1 and FR 2797 685 A1 . The invention particularly aims to overcome these drawbacks of the prior art.

More specifically, the invention aims to provide a system for presenting products to keep cool which is particularly attractive visually compared to what is allowed by the prior art.

The invention also aims to provide such a system which allows a presentation lasting over time.

Another object of the invention is to propose such a system which makes it possible not to degrade the products presented.

These objectives, as well as others which will appear subsequently, are achieved thanks to the invention which relates to an icing system comprising at least one object having at least one body to be iced, characterized in that the body to be iced integrates a sealed chamber extending inside said body, the chamber having at least one inlet situated at the bottom of the chamber and at least one drain outlet situated at the top of the chamber, and in that the system comprises a device for refrigeration comprising a refrigeration circuit coupled with the drain inlet and outlet, the refrigeration device being intended to circulate a refrigerated liquid between the drain inlet and outlet, and in that the chamber incorporates at least one pipe plunger having the drain outlet, the plunger pipe being located inside the chamber and communicating with the refrigeration circuit.

Such a system according to the invention makes it possible to bring the body to be iced to a temperature below 0 ° C. In fact, when the system is in operation, the refrigerated liquid completely fills the sealed chamber of the body to be iced and cooled the body to be iced.

More specifically, the chamber extending inside the body to be iced, the entire body to be iced is homogeneously cooled. This chamber makes it possible to homogenize the contact with the refrigerated liquid, on the contrary to what a conventional coil comprising a refrigerant gas would allow, for example. Such a coil circulating inside the body to be iced would create inhomogeneous cooling of the body to be iced and at an uncontrolled temperature which would depend on the refrigerant gas used. Indeed, a coil of this type has a temperature difference more or less important between its two ends, in particular according to its length and the refrigerant gas used.

In other words, the presence of one or more refrigerated liquid inlet at the bottom of the chamber and one or more drain outlet at the top of the chamber, makes it possible to optimize the uniformity of the circulation of the refrigerated liquid from the bottom to the top of the chamber, and the uniformity of the transfer of calories from the body to be iced to the refrigerated liquid, thus causing the homogeneous cooling of this body to be iced. In addition, the drain outlet (s) located at the top of the room optimize the evacuation of the air which could have been captured inside the room and which would be located at the top of the room, thus avoiding any degradation of the capacity of the refrigeration device according to the invention to produce a homogeneous cooling of the body to be iced.

The cooling of the body to be iced causes a phenomenon of concretion of frost on the external surface of the body to be iced, by means of the condensation of the humidity of the air coming into contact with this external surface.

Thus, during the operation of the system, frost increases uniformly on the body to be iced until it reaches a desired thickness (by controlling the temperature of the refrigerated liquid and the duration of operation of the system in relation to the outside temperature) from from which the frost stops growing.

The system according to the invention then makes it possible to obtain an object having a body entirely covered with a coat of frost, providing a particularly attractive, even impressive, aesthetic effect. The object presenting the frosted body can then be used as an object for presenting products to be cooled and / or kept cool.

Also, as long as the refrigeration device of the icing system is in operation, the presentation of the products to be kept cool is durable over time. Indeed, the frosted body makes it possible to keep the products presented at a suitable temperature controlled to the nearest degree in an environment at room temperature, in particular between -25 ° C and 16 ° C and for example around 3 ° C.

Finally, by means of the frost formed on the surface of the body to be iced and as long as the refrigeration device is in operation, the products presented are kept at a constant storage temperature and are not wetted with melt water .

The product (s) presented are more precisely brought to and kept at a suitable temperature thanks to the refrigerated air which is located near the frosted body of the object of the refrigeration device according to the invention.

The dip pipe allows the refrigerated liquid used to cool the body to be evacuated to be removed. By means of the dip tube, the body to be iced does not have a discharge conduit leaving from an upper end of the object. This or these immersion pipes thus make it possible to contribute to the appearance of the object comprising the body to be iced.

In other words, the dip tube (s) run through the sealed chamber so as to position the drain outlet (s) at the top of the chamber. Such immersion pipes contribute to the appearance of the object (the latter may then not have evacuation pipes extending from a high part of the object or of the body to be iced), as well as optimizing the evacuation of any air captured inside the chamber and optimizing uniform cooling of the body to be iced.

According to a theoretical example, in the case where the body to be iced has a simple shape and the chamber takes the form of a volume having a single highest point and no crevice in which air could remain trapped ( for example a spherical volume), then a single dip tube is sufficient to go to the top of this volume so as to present the drain outlet.

According to another theoretical example, in the case where the body to be iced has a complex shape and the chamber takes the form of a volume having several "high points" separated from each other and / or crevices, then several plunging pipes are required to go at the top of these "high points" and of these crevices to present drain outlets. Indeed, these high points or these crevices can capture air or interfere with the proper distribution of the refrigerated liquid in the room. Consequently, in this case, the plurality of immersion pipes optimizes the homogeneous cooling of the body to be iced, and this in particular by guaranteeing the complete filling of the chamber.

It is thus understood that the plunger or pipes then optimize the capacity of the refrigeration device to uniformly grow a coat of frost on the body or bodies to be iced.

Advantageously, the refrigeration device comprises a tank of refrigerated liquid from which a pump supplies the inlet with refrigerated liquid, and said one or more plunger pipes are coupled to a return conduit opening into the tank.

The refrigeration device can thus be offset relative to the object presenting the body to be iced. In this way, the refrigeration device can be hidden and only the object can be visibly positioned.

According to a preferred solution, the pump supplies the inlet via a supply duct, and the supply duct and the return duct join the body to be iced by crossing a base of the object.

Thanks to this solution, the refrigeration mechanism and in particular the refrigeration circuit of the object comprising the body to be iced can be completely concealed.

According to an advantageous characteristic, the supply duct and the return duct are of the isothermal type.

By means of this characteristic, the refrigeration device can be offset at a considerable distance from the object comprising the body to be iced. For example, the refrigeration device and the object can be separated and positioned in two different rooms. This characteristic makes it possible in particular to isolate the refrigeration device so that it does not produce any inconvenience near the object. presentation (operating noise of the refrigeration mechanism, vibrations, ...).

In addition, such conduits make it possible to avoid the appearance of the phenomenon of frost concretion on the outer surface of said conduits.

Preferably, the tank is of the isothermal type and the refrigeration device comprises a refrigerating evaporator immersed in the tank.

According to a particular embodiment, the refrigeration evaporator is welded to an internal face of a partition of the tank.

Such a refrigeration device is particularly easy to implement and economical to produce. Indeed, it thus uses known components and whose production processes are proven.

According to a preferred embodiment, the object is a container formed by a wall which constitutes the body to be iced.

The object thus takes a form adapted to the presentation and the conservation in the cool of bottles of drink or food. Indeed, the icing of the container makes it possible to maintain inside the container a constant temperature suitable for drinks or culinary preparations.

According to an advantageous characteristic, the icing system comprises a device for recovering defrost water.

This defrost water recovery device makes it possible to evacuate any defrost water so as not to create an accumulation of water which could degrade the products to be presented. The defrosting water can advantageously be recycled so as to contribute to the cooling of the refrigeration device.

According to a preferred characteristic, the refrigeration device comprises an adjustable thermostat.

This characteristic makes it possible to adapt the temperature near the frosted body according to the type of product to be presented. For example, for bottles of the “sparkling wine” type, the thermostat can be adjusted in relation to the ambient temperature, manually or automatically, so that the storage temperature is of the order of 3 ° C. or, for bottles of the "strong alcohol" type, the thermostat can be adjusted so that the storage temperature is of the order of -5 ° C.

Advantageously, the refrigeration device comprises an autonomous power source.

The system according to the invention can advantageously be used while traveling. For example, the system can be triggered in a storage location in anticipation of a festive event so that the object to be iced is iced before the system is delivered to the event site. Thus provided with an autonomous power supply, the system can be moved freely without risking the defrosting of the object.

• la figure 1 est une représentation schématique d'un système de givrage selon l'invention ;
• la figure 2 est une représentation schématique d'un corps à givrer selon une vue du dessus.

Other characteristics and advantages of the invention will appear more clearly on reading the following description of a preferred embodiment of the invention, given by way of illustrative and non-limiting example, and of the appended drawings among which:

• the figure 1 is a schematic representation of an icing system according to the invention;
• the figure 2 is a schematic representation of a body to be iced according to a top view.

With reference to the figure 1 , the icing system according to the invention comprises at least one object 1 and a refrigeration device 2.

According to this embodiment illustrated by the figures 1 and 2 , the object 1 is a container and has a base 11 and a body to be iced 10 formed by a wall 12.

As can be observed, the body to be iced 10 incorporates a sealed chamber 100 which extends inside the body to be iced.

• une entrée 101 située en position basse, au fond de la chambre ;
• deux sorties de vidange 102 situées en position haute, les sorties de vidange étant présentées par un tuyau plongeur 103 intégré à l'intérieur de la chambre.

Room 100 includes:

• an inlet 101 located in the lower position, at the bottom of the chamber;
• two drain outlets 102 located in the high position, the drain outlets being presented by a dip pipe 103 integrated inside the chamber.

The inlet 101 and the drain outlets 102 are coupled to a refrigeration circuit so as to circulate a refrigerated liquid 3 inside. of the chamber 100. Thus, the drain outlets are positioned at the top of the chamber so as to be able to drain the chamber of any air possibly present and of the refrigerated liquid which will have filled the chamber and cooled the wall 12.

The refrigeration device 2 comprises the refrigeration circuit coupled to the inlet 101 and to the drain outlets 102 via the plunger pipe 103. More specifically, the refrigeration device comprises an insulated tank 20 receiving the refrigerated liquid 3 from from which a supply duct 21 coupled to the inlet 101, and into which a return duct 22 which is coupled to the plunger pipe 103 plunges. Thus, the refrigerated liquid 3 circulates starting from the tank 20, cooling the wall 12 which constitutes the body to be iced 10 and returning to the tank.

To allow the circulation of the refrigerated liquid 3, a pump 4 immersed in the tank 20 is coupled to the supply duct 21. The pressure of the pump supplying the refrigeration circuit can vary and is in particular between 1 bar and 30 bar during operation of the icing system. This pressure variation makes it possible to adapt the circuit to the shape and to the internal spacings of the chamber. For example, if the chamber has a passage having a very small spacing, the pressure is then increased so as to promote good circulation of the refrigerated liquid through this passage and to obtain a homogeneous icing of the body to be iced.

The flow of the refrigerated liquid 3 at the outlet of the pump 4 must be adapted to the object 1 to allow good refrigeration of the body to be iced. Indeed, if the body to be iced and the chamber respectively have a large surface and a large volume, the flow rate of the refrigerated liquid is then set to a high value to allow homogeneous cooling of the body to be iced. For example, if the body to be iced takes the form of a sphere, the optimal flow rate of the pump is then higher compared to the optimal flow rate of the pump in the context of the example illustrated by the figures 1 and 2 , where the body to be iced takes the form of a cup.

The pressure of the refrigerated liquid in the sealed chamber can also be punctually increased to enable the sealed chamber to be emptied of any air bubbles or of the air present in the chamber before the icing system is put into service. The pressure then makes it possible to drain the air trapped in the chamber by means of the plunger pipe which has the drain outlets located at the top of the chamber.

According to other possible solutions, the air can be drained by means of a siphon mechanism or even by means of a dedicated plug.

With reference to the figure 1 , the supply duct 21 and the return duct 22 pass through the base 11 of the container. Thus, when the base 11 rests on a suitable surface 6, the refrigeration circuit is not apparent and only the object 1 is visible.

• ils ne risquent pas de givrer,
• ils permettent une économie d'énergie ;
• ils permettent d'éloigner l'objet 1 du dispositif de réfrigération 2.

In addition, the supply duct 21 and the return duct 22 are of the isothermal type. Thus, these conduits have the following advantages:

• they are not likely to freeze,
• they save energy;
• they allow object 1 to be moved away from the refrigeration device 2.

According to the embodiment illustrated by figures 1 and 2 , the refrigerated liquid 3 contained in the tank is maintained at a suitable temperature by means of an adjustable thermostat 27 and a conventional refrigerating system.

This conventional refrigerating system comprises a refrigerating evaporator 23 (immersed in the tank 20) coupled to a compressor 24, to a condenser 25 and to a pressure reducer 26.

The adjustable thermostat 27 makes it possible to adapt the temperature of the refrigerated liquid 3 contained in the tank 20 to the internal volume of the chamber 100, to the conditions of exposure of the frosted object and to the products presented. Indeed, if the user of the system observes that due to the external temperature, the exposed product (for example a bottle of drink) has a temperature too high, it then suffices to set the thermostat to a new temperature more suited to the conditions observed.

The adjustable thermostat can also be used based on the experience of the person using the icing system to change the appearance of the frosted mantle surrounding the body to be iced. Indeed, depending on the frost concretion conditions, the color, thickness and texture of the frosted mantle may vary.

As shown in the figure 1 , the icing system includes a device for recovering defrost water 5. These defrost water are conveyed to the refrigerating system where they allow the compressor 24 to be cooled.

If the icing system is designed to be mobile, for example to be installed temporarily as part of one-off events, the refrigeration device is then provided with an independent power source (not shown). This autonomous power source can in particular be of the single-phase inverter type and allows the formation and maintenance of the frosted layer on the body to be frosted 10 of the object 1 during movement of the system.

According to a characteristic of the system, the refrigerated liquid consists for example of brine or a mixture of glycol and water.

Incidentally, stirring means are integrated into the tank to avoid glittering of the liquid (formation of small tapered ice cubes in the tank, which could disturb the refrigeration circuit).

Advantageously, the body to be iced is made of a material of the thermal conductor type, for example metal.

Preferably, the wall 12 has a constant thickness.

These advantageous characteristics contribute to the object's ability to quickly present a frosted coat with a uniform thickness after the icing system has been put into operation.

According to the principle of the invention and when the system is put into operation, the refrigerated liquid 3 contained in the tank 20 is gradually brought to a temperature set from thermostat 27. For example, the temperature of the refrigerated liquid is brought to -15 ° C.

Then, the pump 4 drives the refrigerated liquid through the supply pipe 21 into the chamber 100 of the frosting body 10 of the object 1. The refrigerated liquid 3, by filling the chamber 100, expels any air that may be contained in the chamber via the drain outlets 102 presented by the plunger pipe 103. Indeed, the air is automatically evacuated from the tank under the effect of the rise of the refrigerated liquid inside the chamber then is evacuated from the dip pipe under the effect of the pressure of the refrigerated liquid generated by the pump.

Following the emptying of air from the sealed chamber and under the effect of the continuous supply of the chamber with liquid refrigerated by the pump, the wall 12 (forming the body to be iced) has a temperature which decreases until reaching a negative temperature.

This drop in temperature is in particular homogeneous at every point of the wall 12 and makes it possible, thanks to the phenomenon of frost concretion explained above, to develop a homogeneous and uniform layer of frost on the wall. Indeed, as can be observed on the figures 1 and 2 , the refrigerated liquid arrives in the chamber 100 via the inlet 101, spreads throughout the chamber by homogeneously cooling the body to be iced 10, then is evacuated through the drain outlets 102 presented by the plunger pipe 103.

Thus, when the icing system is in operation, the object has a classic cup shape with a bowl covered with a uniform coat of frost.

According to another non-illustrated example of application of the invention, the system may include several objects each having one or more bodies to be iced so as to form a decorative set of particularly impressive frosted presentation. The refrigeration system is then adapted and may include, for example, a tank of refrigerated liquid with a large capacity (three hundred liters).

According to one characteristic, letters or patterns of steel, brass or bronze are brazed in relief on the body to be iced. Thus, the frost will form around these reliefs while visually and clearly preserving their appearance. The frosted coat then takes on a uniform and controlled appearance and thickness over the frosted body, with the exception of these reliefs.

According to another characteristic, the base incorporates lighting. This lighting contributes to the visual effect obtained by the icing of the object by diffusing a light in the frosted coat, for example by highlighting the glossy reliefs of the letters or patterns brazed on the body to be iced.

According to a particular embodiment, the system includes means for hourly programming of the refrigeration device, these programming means being in particular coupled to the adjustable thermostat and to an external thermostat.

The system thus designed makes it possible to program the activation of the refrigeration device according to the opening and closing times of an establishment. For example, the system can turn on automatically one hour before the establishment opens so as to reconstitute its frosted coat.

The adjustable thermostat makes it possible to precisely modulate the temperature of the refrigerated liquid contained in the tank and the external thermostat makes it possible to know the ambient temperature to which the object presenting the body to be iced is exposed. By means of these two thermostats, the system then makes it possible to automate and precisely regulate the formation of the frosted mantle while making it possible to obtain a storage temperature for products to be presented which is stable and adjusted to the nearest degree.

In addition, the programming can be adjusted to predictably change the characteristics of the frosted coat (thickness, structure, appearance, shape, ...). These programming adjustments may for example consist of operating and stopping cycles of the refrigeration device, variations in the temperature of the liquid. refrigerated or modulations of the temperature of the refrigerated liquid depending on the ambient temperature.

Claims (9)

1. Glazing system comprising at least one object (1) having at least one body to be glazed (10), wherein the body to be glazed incorporates a sealed chamber (100) extending inside said body, the chamber having at least one inlet (101) situated at a bottom of the chamber and at least one evacuation outlet (102) situated at a top of the chamber, and wherein the system comprises a refrigeration device (2) comprising a refrigeration circuit coupled to the inlet (101) and the evacuation outlet (102), the refrigeration device being designed to circulate a refrigerated liquid (3) between the inlet and the evacuation outlet,
   the system being characterised in that the chamber (100) incorporates at least one dip-tube (103) providing the evacuation outlet (102), the dip-tube being situated inside the chamber and communicating with the refrigeration circuit, such that the body to be glazed (10) does not have an evacuation pipe running from an upper end of the object (1).
2. Glazing system according to claim 1, characterised in that the refrigeration device (2) comprises a tank (20) of refrigerated liquid (3) from which a pump (4) supplies the inlet (101) with refrigerated liquid, and in that said dip-tube or dip-tubes (103) are coupled to a return pipe (22) opening into the tank.
3. Glazing system according to claim 2, characterised in that the pump (4) supplies the inlet (101) via a supply pipe (21), and in that the supply pipe (21) and the return pipe (22) connect to the body to be glazed (10) by passing through a base (11) of the object (1).
4. Glazing system according to claim 3, characterised in that the supply pipe (21) and the return pipe (22) are of the isothermal type.
5. Glazing system according to any of claims 2 to 4, characterised in that the tank (20) is of the isothermal type and in that the refrigeration device (2) comprises a cooling evaporator (23) immersed in the tank.
6. Glazing system according to any of the preceding claims, characterised in that the object (1) is a container formed by a wall (12) that constitutes the body to be glazed (10).
7. Glazing system according to any of the preceding claims, characterised in that it comprises a device for recovering defrost water (5).
8. Glazing system according to any of the preceding claims, characterised in that the refrigeration device (2) comprises an adjustable thermostat (27).
9. Glazing system according to any of the preceding claims, characterised in that the refrigeration device (2) comprises a stand-alone power supply.

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