ES2372458B1 - DRINK COOLING DEVICE. - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention refers to a portable beverage cooling device, specially designed and designed to refrigerate several consecutive beverage containers, such as cans or barrels, at the desired time, and can be used anywhere, without the need for food. external for such use. The invention is based on an isothermal tank containing a phase change material (MCF) that, by freezing, stores the cooling power of the device. The isothermal reservoir also has an inner housing for one or more beverage containers, and a specific structural configuration, based on a plurality of conductive fins and / or a thermally conductive open pore foam, which allows for instant cooling of said Drink containers

Description

Beverage cooling device.

Field of the Invention

The present invention refers to a device for cooling beverage containers. More specifically, the invention relates to a portable and autonomous device for cooling small cans or barrels instantaneously.

Background of the invention

Portable devices for cooling drinks are well known in the state of the art. The use of said devices is suitable for transporting beverage containers such as bottles, small-sized barrels or cans, in a simple and light way, without using a conventional refrigerator connected to the mains, to the place of consumption of said drinks, where they can be enjoyed in optimal conditions, at low temperature. Some examples of such devices are patent applications FR 2853400 A1 and WO 2006/088413.

The devices of the prior art described above are conceived with the aim of providing a means in which one or several beverages can remain cold, which is also easily transportable, and can also be used, after loading, without the need for power supply . The generation of the thermal energy necessary to cool the drinks to the desired temperature is usually obtained by means of Peltier thermoelectric systems. In this way, the drinks stored in the devices can be consumed at the desired time, keeping their temperature.

Although the aforementioned devices are suitable for the conservation of the temperature of the beverage containers that are stored inside, they have some limitations and problems that, to date, remain unresolved. On the one hand, its capacity to conserve thermal energy allows only a period of autonomy, once the accommodation where the refrigerated beverage containers are opened, limited to a few hours, or even minutes, which makes it difficult replace the initially refrigerated containers with new ones, introduced at room temperature, with the aim of repeating the cooling process at the place of consumption. This disadvantage seriously limits the functionality of said devices, in cases where it is desired to cool a considerable number of beverage containers.

On the other hand, the portable cooling devices existing in the state of the art do not have an ability to instantly cool the beverages, making the new containers introduced for cooling need long times to reach the desired temperature (about 5 ° C) , making you have to wait in excess before drinking the beverage at the optimum temperature, which is uncomfortable for the user.

Finally, state-of-the-art devices intended to refrigerate more than one beverage container usually comprise excessive weight, derived from the cold generation and transmission systems used, which ultimately limits its portability.

The present invention is oriented to solve the aforementioned problems, by means of a device of great capacity for cooling and conservation of thermal energy, which allows the cooling of new beverages for long periods of time, not less than twelve hours, at the same time requiring reduced cooling times for each container, said times being less than five minutes, for containers at room temperature. Additionally, its design based on the use of lightweight components guarantees its portability.

Brief Description of the Invention

The present invention relates to a light and easily manageable cooling device, preferably weighing less than 1.0 kg, to cool small-sized beverage containers, instantaneously, with a cooling time, from room temperature, preferably less than five minutes. The device is also capable of operating autonomously, maintaining its cooling capacity for a period of time greater than twelve hours, once charged. More particularly, the proposed invention consists of a portable cooling device, specially designed and designed to refrigerate beverage containers at the desired time, and can be used anywhere, without the need for external power for such use. The invention is based on an isothermal tank containing a phase change material (MCF) that, by freezing, stores the cooling power of the device. A phase change material is a material capable of absorbing large amounts of energy through its latent phase change heat. Preferably, the MCF changes phase in the range of -10 ° C -0 ° C (phase change temperature) and consists of an aqueous solution of salts that maximizes the latent heat of the material for the desired phase change temperature. Preferably, this latent heat is greater than 300 kJ / kg. The isothermal tank of the invention also has an inner housing for one or more beverage containers, and a specific structural configuration that allows the instant cooling of said beverage containers. This structural configuration, based on a means of thermal energy transmission capable of increasing the effective surface of energy exchange with the MCF, gives the device the thermal conductivity necessary to achieve the objective of instantaneous cooling. While the thermal conductivity of the phase change materials known for the usual temperature range of the prior art is between 1 and 1.5 W / mK in the solid state and below 1 W / mK in the liquid state, The specific structural con fi guration of the present invention enables the whole of the isothermal tank that stores the chiller's cooling energy to achieve a thermal conductivity of the set greater than 30 W / mK, which is the value that is required to cool small beverage containers size from 25 ° C to 5 ° C, at times equal to or less than five minutes, so that the energy accumulated in the MCF is transferred instantly to the walls of the cooling receptacle during all cooling cycles, regardless of the percentage of MCF that already exists yielded its latent heat for the cooling of previous cooling cycles.

An object of the present invention is a beverage cooling device comprising:

-

a cooling tank connected to a cooling system;

-

a phase change material (MCF) capable of storing thermal energy of said cooling system, through one or more cooling regions close to a cooling element comprised in said cooling system;

-

a thermally conductive housing capable of storing at least one beverage container, and capable of transmitting thermal energy to said beverage container;

-

a means of transmitting thermal energy capable of transmitting energy between the MCF and the thermally conductive housing;

characterized in that the thermal energy transmission means comprises a plurality of thermally conductive fins in contact with the MCF and / or a thermally conductive open pore foam in which the MCF is embedded, which increases the effective surface of energy exchange, allowing Instant cooling of the beverage container.

Another object of the present invention is a beverage cooling device, where the plurality of thermally conductive fins are evenly distributed around the thermally conductive housing, with a radial geometry with respect to the longitudinal axis of said housing.

Another object of the present invention is a beverage cooling device, where the plurality of thermally conductive fins adopts a distribution that combines a first set of radial fins parallel to the longitudinal axis of the thermally conductive housing and a second set of radial fins perpendicular to the axis longitudinal of said housing, providing a plurality of thermal exchange compartments in contact with the MCF.

Another object of the present invention is a beverage cooling device, wherein the plurality of thermally conductive fins comprises between 8 and 16 fins.

Another object of the present invention is a beverage cooling device, where the thermally conductive foam is a foam with an open pore density equal to or greater than 85%.

Another object of the present invention is a beverage cooling device, where the thermally conductive foam is a metallic open pore foam, preferably an aluminum foam. Metal foams are, as the name implies, metallic materials with a porous structure. They can form an open structure of interconnected pores, similar to a bath sponge. They have very low density (between 0.03-0.2 g / cm3), while they have some of the properties of the metal from which they are formed, along with other characteristics derived from their structure. Therefore, they are materials with a combination of physical-chemical and mechanical properties that make them an ideal structural means to increase the capacity of cold energy transmission of a MCF that is embedded within the foam.

Another object of the present invention is a beverage cooling device, where the MCF has a volume of 700 c.c. and a phase change temperature of -10 ° C.

Another object of the present invention is a beverage cooling device, where the thermally conductive housing is capable of accommodating a can and cooling up to 6 consecutive cans of beverage from a temperature of 25 ° C to 5 ° C in a time of less than 5 minutes, where each of said cans preferably has a volume of 0.33 liters.

Another object of the present invention is a beverage cooling device, where the cooling tank is thermally insulated by an insulating coating.

Another object of the present invention is a beverage cooling device, where the cooling system is a thermoelectric cooling system.

Another object of the present invention is a beverage cooling device, wherein the cooling system comprises one or more Peltier cells.

Another object of the present invention is a beverage cooling device, where the cooling regions are comprised in the thermally conductive housing. This results in greater use of space, providing a more compact device), while maintaining efficiency in thermal exchange.

Another object of the present invention is a beverage cooling device, wherein the cooling system comprises a heat sink.

Another object of the present invention is a beverage cooling device, wherein the cooling system comprises a fan.

Another object of the present invention is a beverage cooling device, where the cooling system is connected to an adapter to the household current, intended to obtain the energy necessary to freeze the MCF.

Another object of the present invention is a beverage cooling device, where the MCF can be frozen externally by a freezer.

Another object of the present invention is a beverage cooling device, wherein said device is portable.

Another object of the present invention is a beverage cooling device, where the total weight of said device is equal to or less than 1.0 kg.

Another object of the present invention is a beverage cooling device, where the beverage container that is cooled is a container with circular cross-section.

Another object of the present invention is a beverage cooling device, where the beverage container is a can.

Among the main advantages provided by the device of the present invention, the following are worth mentioning:

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Autonomous device, with the ability to cool more than one can during its autonomy time, thanks to storing cooling energy in the MCF.

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Portable and compact device.

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Rechargeable device, thanks to a thermoelectric system (based, for example, on the Peltier effect).

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Device that uses instant cold technologies, to accelerate cooling speeds.

-

The instant cold technology used by the device is achieved by light materials.

Other features and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the description of the invention that follows, as well as from the figures accompanying this document.

Description of the fi gures

Figure 1 shows a perspective view of the internal structure and the components of the cooling device of the invention, for a preferred embodiment in which the thermal energy transmission means comprises a plurality of conductive fins.

Figure 2 shows a top perspective view of the constituent elements of the cooling tank comprised in the cooling device of the invention, in which the thermal energy transmission means comprises a plurality of conductive fins.

Figure 3 shows a top perspective view of the constituent elements of the cooling tank comprised in the cooling device of the invention, in which the thermal energy transmission means comprises a thermally conductive open pore foam.

Figure 4 shows a front perspective view of the cooling system comprised in the cooling device of the invention.

Detailed description of the invention

The present invention consists of an instant beverage cooling device comprising (Figures 1-5):

-

a cooling tank (1), preferably thermally insulated by a coating of insulating material (4), said tank (1) being connected to a cooling system (8), and said cooling system (8) being preferably of type thermoelectric, based, for example, on Peltier cells;

-

a phase change material (MCF) (5) capable of storing thermal energy of said cooling system (8), through one or more cooling regions (2) near a cooling element (9) comprised in said system cooling (8);

-

a thermally conductive housing (3) capable of storing at least one beverage container (L), and capable of transmitting thermal energy to said beverage container (L);

-

a means of transmitting thermal energy between the MCF (5) and the thermally conductive housing (3), specifically configured to provide instant cooling of the beverage container, preferably less than five minutes for each container.

As described above, the cooling capacity of the present invention is achieved, thanks to the energy accumulated in the MCF (5), which, after being frozen by contact of the cooling zone (2) with the cooling system (8), allows one or more consecutive beverage containers (L) to be cooled, depending on the amount and latent heat of the device MCF.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the thermal energy transmission means intended for thermal exchange between the MCF (5) and the beverage container (L) comprises a plurality of fins (6) in contact with said MCF (5), through which energy transmission occurs. Said fins (6), preferably between 8 and 16, can adopt various configurations, following, for example, a radial distribution parallel or perpendicular to the axis of the cooling tank (1), and a distribution combining both geometries (such as case of Figure 1), providing a plurality of thermal exchange compartments in contact with the MCF (5). The purpose of the fins (6) is to increase the effective heat exchange surface, providing greater access to the MCF (5), which allows, in the end, an effective, fast cooling and with constant cooling times regardless of the percentage of MCF frozen inside the device. As an example, it is possible, by means of a con fi guration of 16 evenly distributed fins and for a cooler with housing for a can, to achieve a thermal conductivity of the cooling device of 30 W / mK.

In another preferred embodiment of the invention, the thermal energy transmission means intended for thermal exchange between the MCF (5) and the beverage container (L) comprises in a thermally conductive foam (7) of open pore where the MCF is embedded (5), so that the thermal transmission between the MCF (5) and the thermally conductive housing (3) is carried out through the specific surface that characterizes the foam (7). Said foam (7), additionally, provides the device of the invention with an effective, fast cooling capacity and guaranteeing constant cooling times regardless of the percentage of MCF frozen inside the device, with greater lightness and compact design, therefore being more easily manageable by the user, allowing to obtain a total weight of the device of no more than 1.0 kg. As an example, it is possible, by means of an open pore foam of 85% pore density and for a cooler with housing for a can, to achieve a thermal conductivity of the cooling device of 30 W / mK. Preferably, the thermally conductive foam is a metallic foam (for example, aluminum).

In another preferred embodiment of the invention, the thermal energy transmission means comprises both the plurality of conductive fins (6) and the conductive foam (7) in which the MCF (5) is embedded. In the same way as in the previously described embodiments, this configuration also allows to increase the effective heat exchange surface, providing the invention with a cooling rate much greater than that obtained by other devices of the prior art.

As an example of the instantaneous cooling capacity achieved with the present invention, for an embodiment of the invention in which the MCF (5) has a volume of 700 cc, enthalpy of fusion of 310 kJ / kg and temperature of change of -10 ° C phase, the present device allows to cool at least six consecutive cans, either by means of a con fi guration of fins (6), thermally conductive foam (7), or a combination of both, allowing the temperature of the cans to be lowered from 25ºC to 5ºC, in a time not exceeding five minutes.

The cooling system (8) (Figure 4) intended to freeze the MCF (5) is specially designed to be coupled to the isothermal tank (1), taking advantage of the cooling region (2) of the device, by means of at least one cooling element (9). Said cooling element (9) comprises one or more thermally conductive components connected to the thermoelectric system. It is possible, in different embodiments of the invention, to add to the cooling element (9) a thermally conductive upper coupling (10), also capable of transmitting thermal energy to the MCF (5). The cooling system (8) preferably comprises a plurality of Peltier cells (11, 12) capable of providing sufficient cooling power to freeze the MCF for several hours. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, 700 c.c. of latent heat MCF of 310 kJ / kg in a time between 4 and 6 hours, with a cooling power of the 15 W Peltier cell set. The cold surface of the Peltier cells (11, 12) is in contact with the cooling element (9) and the upper coupling (10), while the hot surfaces of said Peltier cells are connected to a heat sink (13) which, thanks to a fan (14), dissipates the heat generated by the Peltier cells outside the cooling device.

Additionally, the cooling system (8) comprises an adapter (15) to the domestic current, through which the necessary power source is obtained to activate the Peltier system and charge the device, until the MCF (5) is completely frozen. The invention can, however, also be charged regardless of the refrigeration system (8), for example, by means of a domestic freezer, preferably at a temperature below -12 ° C.

Once the present invention and some of its preferred embodiments have been described, it should be noted that said embodiments should not be considered as limiting in the face of variations in their design or in the combination of the elements that make up the device, provided that said variations do not alter the essence of the invention, as well as the object thereof.

Description of the elements of the fi gures

Claims (23)

1. Beverage cooling device comprising:

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a cooling tank (1) connected to a cooling system (8);

-

a phase change material (MCF) (5) capable of storing thermal energy of said cooling system (8), through one or more cooling regions (2) near a cooling element (9) comprised in said system cooling (8);

-

a thermally conductive housing (3) capable of storing at least one beverage container (L), and capable of transmitting thermal energy to said beverage container (L);

-

a means of transmitting thermal energy capable of transmitting energy between the MCF (5) and the thermally conductive housing (L);

characterized in that the thermal energy transmission means comprises a plurality of thermally conductive fins (6) in contact with the MCF (5) and / or a thermally conductive open pore foam (7) in which the MCF (5) is embedded .

2.

Device according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of thermally conductive fins (6) is uniformly distributed around the thermally conductive housing (3), with a radial geometry with respect to the longitudinal axis of said housing (3).

3.

Device according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of thermally conductive fins (6) adopts a distribution that combines a first set of radial fins (6) parallel to the longitudinal axis of the thermally conductive housing (3) and a second set of fins (6) radial perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of said housing (3), providing a plurality of thermal exchange compartments in contact with the MCF (5).

Four.

Device according to any of claims 1-3, wherein the plurality of thermally conductive fins (6) comprises between 8 and 16 fins.

5.

Device according to any of claims 1-4, wherein the thermally conductive foam (7) has an open pore density equal to or greater than 85%.

6.

Device according to any of claims 1-5, wherein the thermally conductive foam (7) is an aluminum foam.

7.

Device according to any of claims 1-6, wherein the MCF (5) has a volume of 700 c.c. and a phase change temperature of -10 ° C.

8.

Device according to any of claims 1-7, wherein the configuration of the thermal energy transmission medium (6, 7) and the thermally conductive housing (3) is capable of cooling between one and six consecutive beverage containers (L), for a volume of said containers of 0.33 liters, in a constant cooling time for each consecutive cooling cycle of each container (L).

9.

Device according to any of claims 1-8, wherein the cooling tank (1) comprises a thermally insulating coating (4).

10.

Device according to any of claims 1-9, wherein the thermal conductivity provided by the assembly comprised by the means of thermal energy transmission (6, 7) and the MCF is 30 W / mK.

eleven.

Device according to any of claims 1-10, wherein the cooling time, for a temperature of the beverage containers (L) from 25 ° C to 5 ° C, is less than 5 minutes.

12.

Device according to any of claims 1-11, wherein the cooling system (8) is a thermoelectric cooling system.

13.

Device according to claim 12, wherein the cooling system (8) comprises one or more Peltier cells (11, 12).

14.

Device according to any of claims 1-13, wherein the cooling regions (2) are comprised in the thermally conductive housing (3).

fifteen.

Device according to any of claims 1-14, wherein the cooling system (8) comprises a heat sink (13).

16.

Device according to any of claims 1-15, wherein the cooling system (8) comprises a fan (14).

17.

Device according to any of claims 1-16, wherein the cooling system (8) comprises an adapter (15) to the domestic current, intended to obtain the energy necessary to freeze the MCF (5).

18.

Device according to any of claims 1-17, wherein the MCF can be frozen by a freezer.

19. Device according to any of claims 1-18, wherein said device is portable.

twenty.

Device according to any of claims 1-19, wherein the total weight of said device is equal to or less than 1 kg.

twenty-one.

Device according to any of claims 1-20, wherein the beverage container (L) which is cooled is a container with circular cross-section.

22. Device according to claim 21, wherein the beverage container (L) is a can. SPANISH OFFICE OF THE PATENTS AND BRAND Application no .: 201031039 SPAIN Date of submission of the application: 07.07.2010 Priority Date: REPORT ON THE STATE OF THE TECHNIQUE 51 Int. Cl.: F25D16 / 00 (2006.01) F25D31 / 00 (2006.01) RELEVANT DOCUMENTS

 Category

 Documents cited  Claims Affected

A A A A A  WO 0077462 A1 (SCHIEDER HANS B et al.) 21.12.2000, summary; page 6, line 22 - page 9, line 23; figures. JP 2000231667 A (SUPINACCHI KK) 22.08.2000, figures & Summary of the EPODOC database. Recovered from EPOQUE; Accession number 200-590152. US 2002104319 A1 (PAINE LISA JANE et al.) 08.08.2002, the whole document. US 6082114 A (LEONOFF CHRISTOPHER A) 04.07.2000, summary; column 5, line 65 - column 6, line 42; figures. US 2009 049845 A1 (MCSTRAVICK DAVID et al.) 26.02.2009, paragraphs [0032-0036]; figures.  1-11 1-22 1-22 1-11 1-22

  Category of the documents cited X: of particular relevance Y: of particular relevance combined with other / s of the same category A: reflects the state of the art O: refers to unwritten disclosure P: published between the priority date and the date of priority submission of the application E: previous document, but published after the date of submission of the application

  This report has been produced � for all claims � for claims no:

Date of realization of the report 27.12.2011  Examiner O. G. Rucián Castellanos  Page 1/4

REPORT OF THE STATE OF THE TECHNIQUE Application number: 201031039 Minimum documentation searched (classification system followed by classification symbols) F25D Electronic databases consulted during the search (name of the database and, if possible, terms of search used) INVENES, EPODOC State of the Art Report Page 2/4  WRITTEN OPINION Application number: 201031039 Date of Completion of Written Opinion: 12.27.2011 Statement

Novelty (Art. 6.1 LP 11/1986)

Claims Claims 1-22 IF NOT

Inventive activity (Art. 8.1 LP11 / 1986)

Claims Claims 1-22 IF NOT

The application is considered to comply with the industrial application requirement. This requirement was evaluated during the formal and technical examination phase of the application (Article 31.2 Law 11/1986).  Basis of Opinion.- This opinion has been made on the basis of the patent application as published. State of the Art Report Page 3/4  WRITTEN OPINION Application number: 201031039 1. Documents considered.- The documents belonging to the state of the art taken into consideration for the realization of this opinion are listed below.

Document

Publication or Identification Number Publication Date

D01

WO 0077462 A1 (SCHIEDER HANS B et al.) 21.12.2000

2. Statement motivated according to articles 29.6 and 29.7 of the Regulations for the execution of Law 11/1986, of March 20, on Patents on novelty and inventive activity; quotes and explanations in support of this statement The object of the invention is a beverage cooling device having a cooling tank (1) comprising: a cooling system (8); a phase change material (5) for storing thermal energy of the cooling system (8) through one or more cooling regions (2), close to a refrigerator (9) of the cooling system (8); a thermally conductive housing (3) that can store at least one beverage container (L) and capable of transmitting thermal energy to said beverage container (L); a thermal energy transmission means capable of transmitting energy between the phase change material (5) and the thermally conductive housing (L), where the thermal energy transmission means is composed of a plurality of thermally conductive fins (6) and / or a thermally conductive open pore foam in which the phase change material is embedded. Document D01 discloses (the references in parentheses correspond to this document) an autonomous refrigeration apparatus (12), which can be placed in a beverage container (10) having a first chamber (16) containing a liquid and inside this is a second vacuum chamber (20,38) containing an absorbent (38), between the chamber (20) and the outer wall (22) an annular chamber (26) is created that can be filled with a change material phase As can be seen in Figure 3, to improve the heat transfer qualities of the cooling system (12) the system has a plurality of fins (14) that is fixed to the outer surface of the cylindrical housing (16) and It can be coated with an absorbent material (39). The claimed invention differs mainly from document D01, in that D01 does not have a housing for beverage containers, but is an apparatus that is placed in the beverage container itself, nor does it refer to a cooling system connected to the cooling tank and despite that it has fins, they are not in direct contact with the phase change material. Therefore, the object of claim 1 is new (Art. 6.1 LP 11/1986) and has inventive activity (Art. 8.1 LP 11/1986). Claims 2 to 22 are dependent on claim 1 and as they also meet the requirements of the LP with respect to novelty and inventive activity. State of the Art Report Page 4/4