GB2198218A

GB2198218A - Cooling system

Info

Publication number: GB2198218A
Application number: GB08627459A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Michael John Filmer
Original assignee: SI COOLERS Ltd
Current assignee: SI COOLERS Ltd
Priority date: 1986-11-17
Filing date: 1986-11-17
Publication date: 1988-06-08
Anticipated expiration: 2006-11-17
Also published as: GB8627459D0; GB2198218B

Abstract

A cooling system has a remote refrigeration plant which cools a tank 16 of an intermediate liquid which is circulated by a pump 17 in a cooling circuit 18, 19 independent of the plant. The cooling circuit extends to one or more remote cooling devices 11, 12, 13 such as bottle coolers or drink dispenser coolers. The intermediate liquid is such that ice can be formed in the devices to be cooled. <IMAGE>

Description

Cooling System This invention concerns a cooling system suitable for cooling drink and/or food, for example behind the bar of a public house.

It is nowadays required to provide cooling means at the place of dispensing for a variety of different goods which are dispensed in different ways e.g. liquids served from a tap, bottles emptied into glasses, and whole bottles of wine sold chilled. Each refrigeration device necessarily gives off heat which can harm other goods and can make the working environment unpleasant.

A need exists for providing a cooling system which avoids thins problem, but which is cheap to install, and to modify if needs change or increase.

A central refrigerating plant circulating the cooled refrigerant to a number of devices is known, but this has to be installed, maintained and modified by a trained refrigeration engineer.

Accordingly, the invention proposes a cooling system comprising a refrigeration plant which cools a tank of an intermediate liquid forming part of a cooling circuit independent of the plant, wherein the cooling circuit includes a pump and is spatially separated from a number of devices to be cooled, and the intermediate liquid has a freezing point sufficiently low that ice can be formed in the devices to be cooled.

The intermediate liquid should be chemically inactive and harmless to humans, since this allows the cooling circuit to be formed from a pre-fabricated piping system e.g. made of p.v.c., and to be installed and maintained by non-specialists without danger. A suitable liquid is glycol solution in water.

In order that the invention shall be clearly understood, an exemplary embodiment thereof will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which; Fig.l shows a cooling system for a bar according to the invention; and Fig.2 shows a detail of one device for cooling draught beer.

A cooling system has a refrigeration plant associated with a tank 10, which supplies chilled liquid to a series of appliances or devices 11,12,13 mounted on or near a bar for dispensing drinks. In order that the heat from the refrigeration plant is not released close to the bar, the plant and tank 10 are located remotely, for example outside the building.

The refrigeration plant itself is not illustrated since it is conventional, but its cooling coil 15 is immersed in a insulating tank 16 containing glycol which serves as an intermediate liquid. The tank 16 forms a reservoir from which the liquid is pumped out at the bottom by a pump 17 through supply line 18. It returns via return line 19 having fed the devices 11,12,13 connected in parallel. The distribution lines terminate at 20, at which point further devices can be added if needed.

Device 11 is an air blown bottle cooling cabinet, device 12 is a bottle cooling tray, and device 13 is a heat transfer tank for cooling a liquid dispensed on draught, in this case beer supplied from a keg 25 to a dispensing tap 26. The piping system for the intermediate liquid is p.v.c. tubing with push fit connectors, and self sealing, snap-on couplings 27 at each device.

The cooling device 13 comprises an intermediate liquid coil 30, a cooling coil 31 through which the product being dispensed flows and a tank 32 containing water as a heat transfer medium. he glycol solution from the tank 16 is circulated through glycol coil 30 and an ice bank 33 is formed around the four sides of the tank 32. The ice bank size is controlled by an ice bank control 34, which in turn operates a solenoid valve 35 causing the glycol solution to cease flowing through the glycol coil when the ice bank 33 reaches a predetermined size.

On depletion of the ice bank 33, the control 34 re opens solenoid valve 35 allowing glycol solution to flow through the glycol coil 30 and ice bank 33 to be replenished. The cooling coil 31 carrying the beer to the tap 26 is immersed in the water in the tank 32 which is stirred by an agitator motor 36 to effect heat exchange between coil 31 and ice bank 33. The agitator motor 36 is controlled by an adjustable thermostat 37 the sensor of which is attached to the inlet of the coil 31. When beer is dispensed through the coil 31 it causes the thermostat 37 to switch on the agitator motor 36.

It is important that the devices shall, if desired, be capable of building up an 'ice bank' which forms a cooling reserve. Consequently, the temperature of the intermediate liquid in tank 16 is preferably at least 100C.

This applies, as seen, to device 13, and also to device 12. Both glycol and glycerine in solution are suitable as intermediate liquid, but others might be formulated.

It is also important that these liquids are harmless, so that the piping can be handled by non-specialists.

This reduces very greatly the expense of installation, maintenance and modifications. Moreover, a leak or failure in the system is not serious.

Claims

1. A cooling system comprising a refrigeration plant which cools a tank of an intermediate liquid forming part of a cooling circuit independent of the plant, wherein the cooling circuit independent of the plant, wherein the cooling circuit includes a pump feeding one or more devices to be cooled, spatially separated from the refrigeration plant, and the intermediate liquid has a freezing point sufficiently low that ice can be formed in the devices to be cooled.

2. A cooling system as claimed in claim 1 wherein the cooling circuit is formed of plastics material piping.

3. A cooling system as claimed in claim 1 or 2 wherein the intermediate liquid is chemically inactive and harmless to humans.

4. A cooling system as claimed in claim 3, wherein the intermediate liquid is a mixture of glycol or glycerine and water.

5. A cooling system as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the intermediate liquid circulates in a coil in a water bath of a device to be cooled, in operation an ice bank forming on the coil.

6. A cooling system substantially as herein described.