ES2600505T3 - Desktop fast cooling device for cans or bottles - Google Patents

Abstract

A rapid desktop cooling device (200) comprises: a housing (255); an ice storage chamber (245) disposed within said housing; said ice storage chamber having a lid (205) adapted to allow access to said ice storage chamber; a cooling chamber (265) also disposed within said housing and generally adjacent to said ice storage chamber, said cooled liquid cooling chamber containing; a support (250) removably disposed within said cooling chamber to hold cans or bottles of liquid snacks; a cover (230) of the cooling chamber adapted to allow access to said cooling chamber; a means (270, 275, 280) for rotation to rotate said support, so that the cans or bottles are rotated in thermodynamic communication with the cooled liquid; an ice making unit (260) disposed within said ice storage chamber; a cooling means for operating said ice making unit; and a control unit (215) electrically connected to said rotation means, wherein said support rotation is controlled.

Description

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DESCRIPTION

Rapid tabletop refrigeration device for cans or bottles Background of the invention

In ancient times, human beings hunted and gathered the food they needed every day. Techniques were developed to conserve food that allowed humans to store food in advance. It was found that keeping the food fno increased the usable time to safely consume the food. People began digging holes and building boxes in the ground to refrigerate the food. Later, people used ice in insulated boxes to keep food fresh for longer. The first practical demonstration of artificial refrigeration occurred in the late 1700s with the first practical refrigerator appearing in the 1830s.

Modern refrigerators can include frost-free freezers, climate controlled drawers, touch-screen interfaces, beverage and ice dispensing units and are only some of the features available. Although the modern refrigerator represents a tremendous advance in technology, there is still a need to quickly refrigerate items for immediate consumption. Often people will introduce a drink to be refrigerated in the freezer only to explode, which is a disaster, when they forget about it.

Although some solutions for this problem can be seen in JP 2005331159 and US2009044549, there is a need for a comfortable and portable device that can quickly lower the temperature of a food or beverage to be consumed.

Summary of the invention

The cooling device of the invention is defined in the claims. A desktop cooling device has a housing that contains an ice storage chamber with an articulated lid. Adjacent to the ice storage chamber is a cooler that also has an articulated lid. An ice maker is contained within the ice storage chamber to produce ice. A water storage tank is provided to supply water to the ice maker. The cooler contains a removable cage that holds cans or bottles of liquid snacks. The cooler contains water and ice to bathe the cage in a low temperature suspension. A compressor, condenser and associated components are used to produce the low temperatures necessary to produce ice. In another embodiment, thermoelectric modules in solid state assume the place of the compressor, etc. The ice storage chamber and the cooler are insulated with an insulation with high R rating. The rotation is controlled by a control panel that can also monitor the temperature, etc.

Other advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following description of the invention that refers to the attached drawings.

Brief description of the drawings

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the upper part and the front part of an embodiment that is not in accordance with the present invention.

Figure 2 is a perspective view of the back and top of an embodiment that is not in accordance with the present invention.

Figure 3 is a perspective view showing the open position of an embodiment that is not in accordance with the present invention.

Figure 4 is a perspective view of a bottle inserted according to an embodiment that is not in accordance with the present invention.

Figure 5 is a perspective view of a plurality of inserted cans according to an embodiment that is not in accordance with the present invention.

Figure 6 is a front view of a desktop rapid cooling device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 7 is a side view of the desktop rapid cooling device shown in Figure 6.

Figure 8 is a perspective view of the desktop rapid cooling device shown in Figure 6 with the covers closed.

Figure 9 is a perspective view of the desktop rapid cooling device shown in Figure 6 with the covers open.

Figure 10 is a transparent front view of a desktop rapid cooling device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Detailed description of the invention

In the following detailed description of the invention, reference is made to the drawings in which reference numbers refer to similar elements, and which are intended to show, by way of illustration, specific embodiments in which the invention can be practiced. It is understood that other embodiments may be used

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and that structural changes can be made without departing from the scope of the invention as defined by the claims.

With reference to FIGS. 1 and 2, a quick desktop cooling device 100 is shown having a housing 102 with a control panel 108 easily accessible to a user. In the embodiment shown, the desktop quick cooling device 100 is shown having two covers 104 and 106 isolated respectively. Air inlet is provided through louvers 105 and an exhaust port 110 is used to vent hot air into the surroundings. The desktop 100 rapid cooling device is relatively light allowing the device to be easily transported. Of course, other embodiments could include a single isolated cap or a plurality, depending on the desired use.

Referring now to Figures 3 to 5, a desktop rapid cooling device 100 is shown having an optional wire rack 114 and can be inserted into a cooling chamber 112 to facilitate the cooling of a bottle 118 such as wine or soda or 120 cans of beer or soda. The wire rack 114 can be grasped with an insulated handle (not shown) and removed by hand or can run on electricity for automatic recovery.

In one embodiment, a microcompressor is used to compress a gas and then the gas is allowed to expand within elements surrounding the refrigeration chamber 112 and 160 as is known in the art to provide rapid refrigeration. Using a microcompressor allows the desktop cooling device 100 to remain portable and lightweight.

Another embodiment uses a liquefied gas such as liquid nitrogen to rapidly refrigerate any object placed inside the cooling chambers 112 or 160. Liquid nitrogen circulates in a heat transfer unit surrounding refrigeration chambers 112 and 160. No liquid nitrogen is exposed or any food or liquid product comes into contact with the liquid nitrogen. In one embodiment, a filling opening is provided to recharge the unit with liquid nitrogen.

The control unit 108 may include a timer, clock and calendar function as is known in the art. A digital display can also be included to display the temperature inside cameras 112 and 116 respectively.

Referring now to Figures 6 to 9, a portable desktop cooling device 200 is shown having a housing 255 that contains, protects and provides an area to contain all the cooling, control and storage capabilities of the device 200. A unit Ice 210 and a cooler 235 are disposed within the housing 255. The ice unit 210 has an ice storage chamber 245 that contains and preserves the ice that is produced by an ice maker 260. A lid 205 of the ice unit opens to allow access to the ice and closes to maintain a constant storage temperature. Rubber legs 240 are provided to allow air to flow under housing 255 and to help stabilize the unit.

The cooler 235 has a liquid containing chamber 265 containing cooled water. A cooler cover 230 is provided to prevent liquid from escaping from the liquid containing chamber 265 while in use and to help maintain a low temperature. Water is cooled using ice from apparatus 260 to make ice. The ice is added to the water and a cooling cage 250 fits so that it can rotate with a motor rotor 275 and a mobile rotor 280. A power rotor 270 provides rotational power to at least one motor rotor 275 to rotate the cooler cage 250.

The cage 250 of the cooler is at least partially submerged in a cooling liquid and rotated to produce rapid cooling of any article placed inside. In general, the liquid is water to which some ice is added to produce a low temperature suspension. This allows a rapid thermodynamic transfer between the contents of the cooler cage and the low temperature suspension. Salt or other impurity can be added to further reduce the temperature of the suspension as is known in the art. Cans or bottles of liquid snacks fit inside cage 250 of the cooler and are rotated while in thermodynamic communication with the suspension at low temperature. Alternatively, a solid cylinder or its solid mayonnaise (the cylinder may have holes or openings to ensure that the fluid makes contact with the surface of the cans or bottles) made of a material that has good thermodynamic transfer properties such as aluminum or Copper can be used instead of the 250 cage to hold cans or bottles.

A control unit 215 is provided to control the apparatus 260 for making ice and a power rotor 270 also for controlling the temperature of the ice storage chamber 245. A plurality of control buttons 220 and indicator lights 225 are provided as is known in the art. As an example, on / off, rotation, rotation speed, temperature, etc., are among the type of controls and indicators that may be provided. An ice stop switch 285 is provided to prevent the ice maker 260 from overfilling. A water container 300 is provided inside the housing 255. A water fill hole 295 is provided to fill the water container 300.

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Optionally, a more permanent installation can be provided by hooking the desktop cooling device 200 directly to a water source as is often done with kitchen refrigerators equipped with ice makers.

The ice maker 260 is a conventional closed loop pressurized refrigeration system that uses refrigerants such as R-22 or R-134a which is one of the newest refrigerants that respect the ozone layer. Of course, other refrigerants may be used as is known in the art. The compressor, condenser and other associated components are contained within the housing 255 in part 290 of refrigerator components. The rapid desktop cooling device 200 is actuated by plugging it into a source of electrical energy. Additionally, battens may be provided if more portability is desired.

In another embodiment, the cooling is provided using thermoelectric cascade modules as is known in the art to provide cooling in solid states along with ice making. Additionally, thermoelectric cooling can be used to cool the inner surface of the liquid containment chamber 265 by lining an inner surface of a thermodynamic transfer material such as aluminum with cascading thermoelectric modules to cool the liquid in contact with them. The liquid will be refrigerated without adding ice in this embodiment.

Another embodiment uses a liquid solution of water mixed with a glycol such as ethylene glycol or propylene glycol. This lowers the freezing temperature of the liquid allowing faster cooling. A high R-value insulation is used to thermodynamically isolate the ice storage chamber 245 and the cooler 235 from ambient temperatures. A suitable electric motor is used in the power rotor 270 as is known in the art.

In another embodiment, an ice transfer connector allows ice to be added remotely to the cooler. The user presses a control on the control panel to automatically transfer a prescribed amount of ice to ensure that the cooler properly adjusts the temperature of the inserted snack. Additionally, a selector could be provided to allow a user to select different amounts of ice supplied to the cooler based on the amount or type of snack to be refrigerated. For example, the user could select a can, two cans, etc.

Although the present invention has been described in relation to particular embodiments thereof, many other variations and modifications and other uses will become apparent to those skilled in the art.

Claims (8)

5 10 fifteen twenty 25 30 1. A tabletop rapid cooling device (200) comprises: a housing (255); an ice storage chamber (245) disposed within said housing; said ice storage chamber having a lid (205) adapted to allow access to said ice storage chamber; a cooling chamber (265) also disposed within said housing and generally adjacent to said ice storage camera, said cooled liquid cooling chamber containing; a support (250) removably disposed within said cooling chamber to hold cans or bottles of liquid snacks; a cover (230) of the cooling chamber adapted to allow access to said cooling chamber; a means (270, 275, 280) for rotation to rotate said support, so that the cans or bottles are rotated in thermodynamic communication with the cooled liquid; an ice making unit (260) disposed within said ice storage chamber; a cooling means for operating said ice making unit; Y a control unit (215) electrically connected to said rotation means, in which said support rotation is controlled. 2. The desktop rapid cooling device of claim 1, wherein said cooling medium is a refrigeration unit of the compressor type. 3. The desktop rapid cooling device of claim 1, wherein said cooling medium is a thermoelectric cooling unit. 4. The desktop rapid cooling device of claim 1, wherein said rotation means is a motor. 5. The rapid tabletop cooling device of claim 1, further comprising a water containing tank in which water is supplied to said ice making unit. 6. The desktop rapid cooling device of claim 1, wherein said support is a cage. 7. The desktop rapid cooling device of claim 1, wherein said support is a hollow cylinder. 8. The desktop rapid cooling device of claim 7, wherein said hollow cylinder is made of aluminum.