MXPA99008831A - Self-cooling beverage and food container and manufacturing method - Google Patents

Abstract

A rapid refrigeration apparatus (10) includes a container (20) having a container (20) upper end, a container wall (22) with a container opening in the container (20) upper end bordered by a container rim (24), the container liquid container contents (12);a receptacle (30) extending within the container (20) and containing a refrigerant (28), the receptacle (30) including a cup portion (32) sized to fit into the container (20) opening, a cup flange (38) sized to rest against and sealing secured to the container rim (24) and a cup wall (34), at least a portion of which is expandable, the cup wall (34) having cup wall opening mechanism (52) for releasing the container contents (12) into the receptacle (30);and a lid (40) sealingly secured to the cup flange (38) and including a lid opening mechanism (42) for releasing the refrigerant (28) from the receptacle (30) into the atmosphere and for releasing the container contents (12) from the receptacle (30) for consumption;the lid opening mechanism (42) including a lid opening mechanism (42) activation mechanism for voluntarily opening the lid opening mechanism (42) at a selected moment in time.

Description

CONTAINER OF FOOD AND BEVERAGES AUTO-COOLER AND MANUFACTURING METHOD Registration History This application is a continuation in part of the application with serial number 08 / 534,453, registered on September 27, 1995.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention: The present invention is generally related to the field of food and beverage containers. More specifically, the present invention relates to a self-contained container apparatus containing a beverage or other food article and methods for assembling and operating the apparatus. The terms "beverages", "food article" and "contents of the container" are considered equivalent for the purposes of this application and are used interchangeably. For the first preferred embodiments, the apparatus includes a container such as a can containing a beverage and having a conventional unified bottom and a side container wall ending in a top sealing flange referred to hereafter as container edge. A coolant receptacle is provided which includes a receptacle cup having a cup wall having an expandable portion and having a cup sealing flange, hereinafter referred to as cup rim, which extends laterally from the wall of the cup. As an alternative to the cup with an expandable wall, a second container is placed inside the container to hold the beverage and to define a narrow annular cooling chamber between the container and the container, providing a broad surface area for heat transfer. A conventional beverage can lid is further provided, including a lid panel with a mechanism for opening the lid and a lid side rim. An apparatus assembly method is provided which includes the steps of lowering the cup through the container edge so that the cup displaces part of the beverage within the container; rest the edge of the cup on top of the edge of the container; Place the lid on top of the cup so that the side flange of the lid rests on top of the rim of the cup, and splice the side rim of the lid and the rim of the cup over the rim of the container either before or after The lid has been placed on the cup, a coolant cooled to a liquid state is introduced into the cup After splicing, the refrigerant is heated to room temperature, which partially evaporates and develops internal pressure against the wall of the Cup and cap A method of operation is provided in which the consumer operates the mechanism to open the cap and thereby releases the vaporized refrigerant from the receptacle cup.The remaining refrigerant liquid progressively boils to a vapor state and It escapes through the mechanism to open the lid, sucking heat from the drink through the wall of the cup.After all the refrigerant has been released, the wall of the cup opens with a mechanism to open the wall of the cup to allow the beverage to flow into the cup, and then go through the container through the mechanism to open the lid for consumption. 2. Description of the Prior Art: Self-cooling containers have previously existed for food items including refrigerating appliances with walls of widely separated rigid receptacles. The receptacle is opened when it is desired to cool the beverage and the refrigerant is progressively discharged from the receptacle, extracting the heat from the contents of the container. A problem with that construction is that, as the volume of the liquified refrigerant lowers during discharge, the surface area of the refrigerant in thermal contact with the walls of the receptacle decreases, so that the progressively cooled refrigerant is in contact with an area of progressively smaller conductive surface. The result is a coolant evaporation level that decreases exponentially. ThusIt is an object of the present invention to provide a self-cooling container apparatus containing a cooling receptacle with either narrow or expandable spaced apart walls for fast and efficient heat transfer of the contents of the container. It is another object of the present invention to provide an apparatus in which a smaller volume of cold refrigerant is exposed to a larger heat transfer surface area as by the corrugation of the refrigerant receptacle wall, to increase the level of refrigerant. evaporation of the liquid refrigerant. It is still another object of the present invention to provide an apparatus which releases refrigerant and opens the passage to pass the contents of the container with a single action performed by the consumer. Finally, it is an object of the present invention to provide the apparatus which is not expensive to manufacture, safe and reliable.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention achieves the aforementioned objectives, as well as others, as can be determined by the fair reading and interpretation of the entire specification. A rapid refrigeration apparatus is provided, which includes a container having an upper end of container, a container wall with a container opening at the upper end of the container bounded by a container edge, the container contains liquid contents; a receptacle extending within the container and containing a coolant, the receptacle includes a cup portion sized to fit within the container opening, a cup flange sized to rest against and securely sealed to the container edge and a cup wall, at least a portion of which is expandable, the cup wall has a mechanism for opening the cup wall to release the contents of the container within the cup; and a cap sealingly secured to the cup flange and including a mechanism for opening the cap to release coolant from the receptacle into the atmosphere and to release the contents of the receptacle container for consumption; The mechanism for opening the lid includes a mechanism for activating the mechanism to open the lid to voluntarily open the mechanism for opening the lid at a selected moment in time. The mechanism for opening the cup wall preferably includes a cup wall orifice and a cup wall orifice plug positioned immediately adjacent to the wall of the container so that the cap is dislodged from the cup wall orifice by pressing against and arching the wall of the container inwards. The mechanism for opening the cup wall includes a cup wall rupture region of a sheet material which breaks when activating the mechanism to open the lid due to the resulting loss of pressure within the receptacle with the release of the refrigerant _ and the simultaneous creation of a pressure difference between the interior of the receptacle and the interior of the container outside the receptacle. The expandable portion of the cup wall includes a cone with the apex of the cone facing away from the lid and having a corrugated cone wall, wherein the corrugations are flattened as the cone wall expands. The mechanism for opening the lid preferably includes a content release port of the container having a removable closure mechanism for the content release port of the container and a coolant release port having a releasable closing mechanism for the release port of the container. refrigerant. The coolant release orifice preferably includes an outwardly projecting nozzle portion having a nozzle passage dimensioned to release a stream of gaseous refrigerant at a release rate which is greater than the rate of combustion of the gaseous refrigerant and where the Removable coolant release hole closure mechanism includes a nozzle passage plug. The nozzle portion stopper preferably includes a stopper handle having a conical nozzle inlet tip and a thumb flange to press the conical nozzle inlet tip into and through the nozzle portion. The thumb tab preferably includes a flexible trailing tab extending laterally to hold and remove the handle of the nozzle passage plug. A rapid cooling apparatus is also provided, which includes a primary container having an upper end of primary container, a primary container wall having a primary upper bevelled wall portion surrounding a primary container opening, the opening of primary container is limited by a primary container edge; a secondary container smaller and placed inside the primary container, the secondary container has an upper end of secondary container, a secondary container wall having a secondary upper wall portion bevelled inward, surrounding a secondary container opening and having a mechanism for opening the wall of the cup, the secondary container opening is bounded by a secondary container edge, such that the secondary container edge rests against and is sealed to the primary container edge and such that a Annular refrigerant receptacle chamber is defined between the primary and secondary container walls; the refrigerant contained within the annular refrigerant receptacle chamber; the liquid content of the container in the secondary container; a floating seal cup having a beveled cup side wall tapering towards the secondary container bi dimension if it is to fit sealingly inside the secondary top portion bevelled inwardly, the bevelled side wall of the cup has at least one hole of side wall of cup; and a cap sealingly secured to the second edge of the secondary container and including a mechanism for opening the lid to release the refrigerant from the receptacle chamber within the atmosphere and to release the contents of the container. receptacle container for consumption; the mechanism for opening the lid includes a mechanism for activating the mechanism for opening the lid to voluntarily open the mechanism for opening the lid at a selected moment in time; in such a way that by activating the mechanism for opening the lid the air pressure inside the sealed cup decreases to the atmosphere, causing the pressure between the sealed cup and the rest of the secondary container to press the sealed bevelled cup side wall to entering sealing contact with the secondary upper wall portion bevelled inward, and causing the mechanism to open the cup wall to open and release "the gaseous refrigerant through the orifice of the cup and into the cup and through the mechanism to open the lid inside the atmosphere, cooling the contents of the container, and substantially clearing the lateral sealing pressure in the mechanism to open the wall of the cup so that the cup floats and angles away from the lid when tilting the apparatus allowing the content of the container to flow over and around the cup and out of the apparatus through the mechanism for opening the lid.

A rapid cooling apparatus is further provided, including a primary container having an upper end of primary container, a primary container wall having a primary container support portion and a primary container neck portion surrounding a container opening primary, the primary container opening is limited by a primary container edge; a secondary container smaller than and placed inside the primary container, the secondary container has an upper end of secondary container, a secondary container wall having a secondary container support portion and a secondary container neck portion surrounding an opening of primary container, the secondary container opening is limited by a secondary container edge, such that an annular refrigerant receptacle chamber is defined between the primary and secondary container walls; the refrigerant contained within the annular refrigerant receptacle chamber; the liquid content of the container inside the secondary container; and a removable cover sealed on the edges of primary and secondary containers. The neck portion of the container is preferably externally threaded and the lid preferably includes an upper wall and a cylindrical side wall which is internally threaded, such that the screws of the side wall in the lid engage over the neck portion of the container. container. The preferential cover and additionally includes a cover hole and a removable and sealingly capped cover hole plug within the cover hole to release the contents of the container.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Several other objects, advantages, and features of the invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art from the following discussion taken in conjunction with the following drawings, in which: FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of a container in the form of a conventional beverage can containing beverage. The container is shown as transparent for purposes of illustration _ in this and in many subsequent FIGURES. FIGURE 2 is a view as seen in FIGURE 1 additionally showing in the receptacle cup an expandable side wall portion and a metering passage orifice and an orifice plug that is lowered into the opening in the upper part of the container. FIGURE 3 is a perspective view in approach of the receptacle cup with a portion of the cup edge lying down to reveal the detail of the beverage passage orifice and the cap. FIGURE 4 is a view like FIGURE 2 with the receptacle cup completely inside the container, with the edge of the cup resting on the edge of the container. FIGURE 5 is a view as in FIGURE 4 showing how the cup is loaded with refrigerants from a refrigerant dispenser R. FIGURE 6 is a view as in FIGURE 5 with the container lid in place, the side edge of the lid resting on the edge of the lid and ready to be spliced. FIGURE 7 is a view as in FIGURE 6 showing a mechanism for opening the lid that includes the large orifice for passing drink and the sealing disc and the smaller orifice for passing coolant. FIGURE 8 is a close-up of the cap and mechanism for opening with a preferred nozzle provided around the small orifice that allows coolant to pass, showing the preferred nozzle closure bar and the fin structure. FIGURE 9 is a view as in FIGURE 7 with the closing bar and the fin structure removed from the small hole and a gaseous refrigerant nebula that escapes into the atmosphere. FIGURE 10 is a schematic representation of the gaseous refrigerant nebula of FIGURE 9 showing the two nebula regions discussed in the text. FIGURE 11 is a view of the container in an inclined position and with the hole that allows open drink to pass, with the drink being poured for consumption. FIGURE 12 is a view like FIGURE 1. FIGURE 13 is a view like FIGURE 12 with the secondary container inside the container and the sealing cup resting on the bottom of the container. A through hole is also shown.

FIGURE 14 is a view like FIGURE 13, except that the beverage has been added so that the sealing cup floats to the upper end of the container where its beveled side walls seal against the inside of the beveled support portion of the container. FIGURE 15 is a view as in FIGURE 14 with the lid of the container added. FIGURE 16 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the upper end of the container showing conditions immediately after the mechanism for opening the lid has been opened, with the cup slidably pressed against the beveled support portion of the container and the refrigerant having broken the region of thin container support and passing through the holes of the cup. FIGURE 17 is a perspective view of the refrigerant receptacle of the third embodiment, having the nozzle for piercing the lid and an upper wall which in combination with the lid defines an additional chamber. FIGURE 18 is a cross-sectional side view of the refrigerant receptacle of the third embodiment installed in a container.

FIGURE 19 is a view as in FIGURE 18, showing conditions immediately after opening the mechanism to open the lid. FIGURE 20 is a perspective view of a container such as a bottle having a neck portion and a neck portion lo- is trecha. FIGURE 21 is a side cross-sectional view of the container of FIGURE 20 with a secondary container placed therein, the secondary container also has a neck portion and a supporting portion, the container and the container together define a chamber of receptacle of re fr Ig igant annular. FIGURE 22 is a side view in cross section of the preferred lid having a coolant passage and an orifice that allows the beverage to pass through. FIGURE 23 is a cross-sectional view as FIGURE 21, with the preferred cover, to the traction flap cover opener, and the beverage and the additional refrigerant. FIGURE 24 is a view as in FIGURE 23 of just the upper portion of the apparatus with a nebula of refrigerants escaping from the passage of the refrigerant in the cup.

FIGURE 25 is a cross-sectional side view of the fifth embodiment of the apparatus. The FIGURES 26 and 27 are views of the container and the receptacle of the fifth embodiment which fit into the container.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED MODALITIES As required, the detailed embodiments of the present invention are described herein; however, it should be understood that the embodiments described are merely exemplary of the invention which can be exemplified in various ways. Therefore, the specific structural and functional details described herein should not be construed as limiting, but merely as a basis for the claims and as a representative basis for teaching those skilled in the art how to employ the present invention variously in various ways. any appropriately detailed structure. Reference will now be made to the drawings, wherein similar features of the present invention shown in the various FIGURES are designated by the same reference numerals.

First Preferred Modality Referring to FIGS. 1-11, a self-enclosing container apparatus 10 containing a beverage or other food article 12 is described as well as an apparatus assembly 10 and methods of operation. The apparatus 10 includes a container 20 such as a can containing a beverage 12 and having a conventional unified bottom and a side container wall 22 ending in a container edge 24 defining a container opening. A receptacle 30 containing a coolant 28 is provided and includes a receptacle cup 32 having a cup wall 34 with an expandable portion 36 and having a passage edge 38 which extends laterally from the passage wall 34 in the opening of the container. A conventional beverage can lid 40 is further provided, including a lid panel with a mechanism for opening the lid 42 and a lid side flange 44.

Method of Operation Opening the mechanism to open the lid 42 releases the refrigerant vapor 28 initially present within the receptacle 30 and the remaining liquid refrigerant 28 progressively boils to a vapor state and quickly escapes from the opening mechanism 42. As the 28 refrigerant evaporates and evaporates, extracts heat from the beverage 12 through the passage wall 34. Once the refrigerant 28 has been released, the cup wall 34 is opened with a mechanism for opening the cup wall 52 for allowing the beverage 12 to flow into the cup 32 and then out of the container through a mechanism to open the lid 42.

Assembly Method The manufacturing method includes the steps of lowering the cup 32 in half through the edge container 24 so that the cup 32 moves part of the beverage 12 into the container 20; placing the cup edge 38 on the container edge 24; placing the lid 40 on top of the cup 32 so that the side edge of the lid 44 rests against the edge of the cup 38; and splicing the side rim of the lid 44 and the rim of the cup 38 over the rim of the container 24. Either before or after the lid 40 is placed on the cup 32, a refrigerant 28 cooled to a liquid container is placed inside. of the cup 32. After splicing, the refrigerant 28 is heated to an ambient temperature together with the remainder of the apparatus 10, partially evaporates and develops an internal pressure against the cup wall 34 and the lid 40. The expandable portion 36 of the cup wall 34 expands and transmits this pressure developed against the beverage 12, which in turn transmits the pressure to the container wall 22. The container wall 22 and the lid 40 are designed to withstand pressure well beyond this level. In addition, the cup wall 34 is dimensioned and provided with a capacity of expansion relative to the headspace above the beverage 12 within the container 20 so that the wall of the cup 34 reaches an equilibrium pressure with the beverage 12 and the container wall 22 before reaching its maximum expansion, so that the cup wall portion 36 is not loaded in tension and does not break. It is preferable that the receptacle 30 be charged with a refrigerant 28 before closing the receptacle 30 and splicing the apparatus 10. An alternative approach is provided, however, in which the beverage 12 is placed in the container 20, the lid 40 splice on the container 20 and the refrigerant 28 is placed within the receptacle 30 subsequently. In this case, after the splicing process is completed, the container 20 and its contents are transported to a separate processing section where the liquified refrigerant 28 is charged into the receptacle 30 under pressure at an ambient temperature. This alternative approach has the advantage of separating the refrigerant charging process 28 from the manufacturing process of the apparatus 10. The refrigerant 28 enters a receptacle 30 through a nozzle 50 shown in FIGURE 8. According to conventional charging methods of refrigerant, the charge valve (not shown) engages the nozzle 50 and forms a seal. The liquified refrigerant 28 is then introduced into the receptacle 30 through the nozzle 50. Upon completion of the charging of the liquified refrigerant, the passage 50 of the nozzle is plugged in and sealed by a sealing mechanism. An optional step is to charge the refrigerant 28 with a small amount of cryogenically cooled LC02 (liquid carbon dioxide) or LN2 (liquid nitrogen). The blended mixture is poured into the receptacle 30 just before the receptacle 30 is inserted into the container 20. As the containers 20 travel to the receptacle insertion station 30, and then to the food or beverage filling station 12 , the cold cryogenic fluid evaporates slowly, and the coolant is turned on 28. In this way, the refrigerant 28 remains in its liquid form throughout the manufacturing process, losing very little in evaporation. It is important that the amount of LC02 or LN2 used be accurately calibrated. The evaporation of the LC02 or LN2 must be completed in the container time 20, the receptacle 30 and the lid 40 are joined together. This is because the pressure of an excessive amount of LC02 or LN2 can be very high and can result in the rupture of the container 20 after a period of time when its vapor pressure increases beyond the pressure limit of the container 20. .

Structural Variations It is preferred that the cup wall 34 be formed of a flexible material such as metallized paper or a suitable plastic and that the wall of the cup 34 be corrugated around its lateral circumference. As the circumference of the cup wall expands to the point of equilibrium, the undulations partially flatten. The upper end 34 of the cup wall is preferably a non-expandable ring portion 58 integrated with the expandable lower portion 36. The mechanism for opening the cup wall 52 is optionally a circumferential series of caps 62 sealed within the corresponding plug holes 64 in the space wall ring portion 58. The plugs 62 can be pushed out of the holes 64 and into the cup 32 by the consumer by tightening the adjacent portions of the wall of the container 22 against the plugs 62. The plugs 62 can also be dislodged automatically by a pressure imbalance caused by the sudden decrease in pressure within the receptacle 30 during the operation of the mechanism for opening the lid 42 and the sustained pressure of the environment of the beverage 12 out of the receptacle 30. Alternatively, the cup wall ring portion 58 is provided with a circumfere series of thin portions 66 which break inward with the sudden pressure imbalance, allowing the beverage 12 to enter the cup 32 and then exit the container 20 through the mechanism to open the lid 42. The mechanism for opening the cover 42 may be an ordinary traction flap or a trap door region 72 defined by a tension enhancing groove which is depressed and then freely broken to pivot within the cup 32 by a lever 74 pivoting in a rivet 76 Another mechanism for opening the suitable layer 42 is a hole and an ECO-TOP ™ disc opener mechanism. The lid 40 is provided with a large hole 82 and a small hole 84. The small hole 84 is sealed with a sealing disc 94 slightly larger than the small hole 84 and placed below the small hole 84 to form a breakable seal with a small hole 84. small hole 84. The disc 94 is pressed down into the receptacle 30 to release the gaseous refrigerant 28. At the same time, the large orifice 82 is rupturably sealed with a slightly larger sealing disc 92 below. The disc 12 is pressed down into the receptacle 30 to release the beverage 12 that flows into the cup 32 after the evaporation of the refrigerant 28. The large disc 92 can be depressed by the consumer's finger. Another mechanism for opening the lid 42 is provided inventively which includes a large hole 82 as described immediately above and a small hole 84 dimensioned to define a narrow safety nozzle projecting upwards 90. The nozzle 90 has a size and a configuration to release the gaseous refrigerant 28 in a narrow stream at a rate higher than the combustion rate of the refrigerant 28, so that the flame can not advance inside the receptacle 30 in the event that the current is accidentally turned on. In addition, for reasons stated below, the current is believed to be incapable of igniting. As a result, a safety nozzle 90 makes possible the use of common flammable refrigerant mixtures, such as butane, propane, 152A, or dimethyl ether. The safety nozzle 90 is provided with a resealable nozzle 102 so that the subsequently poured beverage 12 does not run out of the nozzle 90. The resealable plug 102 preferably includes a plug rod 104 having a conical widening 106 at its tip to enter pressure through the passage 90 of the nozzle and settle under the lid 40. The plug 102 is preferably connected to the underside of the disc flange 110., and a flexible trailing flap 112 projecting laterally is secured to the disk flange 110. Once again, the lid 40 is secured to the container 20 by splicing its side flange 44 over the edge of the container 24 with a machine conventional splicing. Since the splicing equipment and the procedure are conventional, any existing spliced cap 40 design can be used without modifying the cap. A conventional traction flap cover 40 can be used directly with the assembly to achieve the desired purpose of creating separate beverage chambers 12 and coolant 28 within the container 20. The plug 102 can be formed of a flexible plastic material and the tapered broadening 106 preferably has a slightly larger diameter than the passage of nozzle 90, so that conical widening 106 freely slides through nozzle 90 and then expands to form a seal under cover 40. Nozzle 90 form during the manufacture of the lid 40 with a specially designed punch pin (not shown) attached to a stamp (not shown) used to stamp the lid 40 of a sheet material. An alternative plug design 112 is simply a dough within the nozzle passage 90 formed by spreading molten plastic over the nozzle 90 so that the plastic assumes a sealing shape.

Operation Characteristics As the liquid refrigerant 28 boils to its vapor state and leaves the receptacle 30, the refrigerant 28 extracts and transports the heat of the beverage 12. During this process, the pressure of the liquid part of the refrigerant 28 is greater at an atmosphere and the receptacle 30 remains partially expanded. As the pressure of the refrigerant 28 lowers due to rapid self-cooling, the expandable portion of the cup wall 36 relaxes and the weight of the beverage or food product 12 surrounding the cup 32 pushes the receptacle 30 to form a smaller volume. This reduction in volume causes the cooled liquified refrigerant 28 to be compressed and pushed into contact with a larger surface area of the receptacle 30. The wall of the cup 34 then transfers more heat from the beverage 12 to the cold liquified refrigerant 28. This improves the evaporation of the refrigerant 28. The increased heat absorption results in an increase in the evaporation rate. This increase in the evaporation rate produces more refrigerant gas 28 with the receptacle 30 and thus causes the pressure of the refrigerant 28 to increase. The increase in pressure within the receptacle 30 causes the receptacle 30 to expand its volume again. Once again, as the self-cooling of the liquified refrigerant 28 occurs, the cycle repeats. This rapid cyclic variation in the volume of the receptacle 30 causes the refrigerant 28 to evaporate at a higher rate than would be expected if the refrigerant 28 were evaporating into the rigid receptacle with a fixed volume. As generally indicated above, upon removal of the plug 102, the orifice 90 causes the gaseous refrigerant 28 to exit at a high velocity, exceeding thirty feet per second. See FIGURE 10. During the exit of the refrigerant 28 from the nozzle 90, swirls are formed by rapid recirculation of the gas 28 within the nozzle 90 as the gas 28 is forced out of the nozzle 90. If a flammable gas mixture 28 is to be used, the nozzle 90 is designed with an outlet passage (not shown) with a width in the order of one millimeter to two millimeters in diameter. According to the ideal gas law: + = K (constant), where is the pressure difference between the gas 28 within the receptacle 30 and an atmospheric pressure, is the gas density 28, and is the velocity of the gas stream. gas 28. The velocity of the gas leaving 28 will depend on the internal pressure of the gas 28 leaving the nozzle 90. The velocity of the gas leaving 28 can be controlled exactly by selecting the passage size of the nozzle 90 to be able to maintain a pressure given and a fixed evaporation rate. The mass flow rate of the gas 28 will be approximately constant, as an exception to the pressure oscillation due to the volume variation cycle described above. Thus, by varying the diameter of the nozzle passage 90, the velocity of the exhaust gas 28 is controlled exactly for each gas mixture 28. During the rapid exit of the gas 28, a vacuum is created peripherally around the nozzle 90. This vacuum results in air being pulled uniformly around the cone of the gas mixture 28 which expands. As shown in FIGURE 10, the air cone S thus formed around the gas stream 28, forms a flame barrier around the gas stream 28. FIGURE 10, region A is a region where the Gas / air mixture is rich in fuel. This fuel-rich brew in region A is also surrounded by a rapid flow of air, which prevents any possibility of combustion of the gas mixture as the percentage of fuel in the gas stream 28 in the air exceeds the limits. of upper and lower explosion (LEL) and (UEL) of the gas mixture 28. Thus, if a naked flame such as a butane torch or cigar lighter is placed adjacent to the A region, the flame will extinguish immediately. Also the velocity of the gas stream 28 is so high that it exceeds the gas flame velocity, so that no combustion can be sustained in region A. Region B is a region in which a flame can form momentarily. Still, due to the rapid movement and turbulence resulting from the air mixing with the gas 28, a flame or combustion within the B region can not be sustained. Region B is a very small region, and it is located in a very short period of time, during which a flame can not survive the transition. Also, the air barrier thus formed within the region B, forces the outer skirt of the gas stream 28 to be rich in air in this non-flammable manner, and the interior of the B region forces the current of gas 28 is rich in fuel and thus non-flammable. Thus, the outer skirt of the gas stream has a percentage of fuel below the required lower explosion limits (LEL) of gas 28, and the interior of region B has a percentage of fuel much greater than the limit of Upper explosion (UEL) required to maintain gas combustion 28.

At the time that the gas mixture 28 reaches the C region, it is too diluted by the air current to be flammable. Thus, the LEL of gas 28 exceeds the percentage of fuel in air required to maintain combustion. FIGURE 11 shows a container that has been cooled and opened for consumption.

Second Preferred Modality The second modality includes the container of the first embodiment, with an internal container slightly smaller and similarly sized 120 fitted inside. see FIGURES 12-16. Both the container 20 and the container 120 have bevelled support portions 122 and 124, respectively. The edge of the container 126 of the inner container 120 has a side tab which rests on the edge of the container 24 of the inner container 120, and an annular space 130 is defined between the container 20 and the container 120 for retaining the refrigerant 28. The pressure The inner container support 124 is formed of a thin and brittle material, and the entire inner container 120 can be formed of the same thin material, such as aluminum foil or molded or blown plastic material. A beveled seal cup 140 is provided and is formed of a floating plastic, having radial cup holes 138 that open within its beveled side wall 142. The beveled angle of the side wall 142 corresponds to the beveled angle of the portion of inner container holder 124. A container lid 140 of a conventional design, which preferably has a mechanism for opening the lid 44 is provided having a side flange 44 which is joined together with the edge of the container 24 and the edge of the inner container 126. The cup 140 may also be constructed to be pre-fixed directly to the side below the lid 40 prior to the splicing process. In such a case, the lid 140 is designed not to interfere with the usual stacking of the non-fixed lids 40 within the conventional fitting equipment.

Assembly Method In a manufacturing apparatus 10, it is preferred that the refrigerant 28 first be introduced into the container 20 and then the inner container 120 fit within the container 20 until the edges 24 and 38 come together. Then, the cup 140 fits inside the inner container 120 so that the cup 140 rests on the bottom of the inner container with the end of the narrower open cup 140 facing upwards. The beverage or other food product 12 is then introduced into the inner container 120 in accordance with conventional refilling procedures. As the level of the beverage 12 increases inside the inner container 120, the floating cup 140 floats to the level of the bevel support 124 within the inner container 120. See FIGURE 14. Then the lid 40 is placed on the two upper edges 24 and 38 and the side flange of the lid 44 and are spliced together in a conventional manner with existing splice equipment. See FIGURE 15. Cap 40 may be the ECO-TOP ™ cap described previously. Method of Operation FIGURE 16 illustrates what happens when flap 74 is opened by the consumer. When the flap 74 is pulled, the disc 72 breaks and the stop 70 is created to form a beverage or food product passage 12. As the walls of the container 120 are exposed to atmospheric pressure, a force evidenced by the arrows A is created, which tends to compress the container 120 and force the level of the beverage 12 to increase towards the beverage orifice. The seal cup 140 now forms a seal with the beveled support portion 124. The pressure of the refrigerant 28 against the beveled support portion 124 causes the support portion 124 to break through and into the radial cup holes 138 in the beveled side wall 142 of the cup 140. In this way, the cooling gases 28 can freely escape through the hole 70 in the lid 40 as indicated by the arrows. The sealing cup 140 is raised by pressure and forms a seal under the cap and against the bevelled support portion 124, preventing the drink 12 from escaping. The refrigerant 28 is thus free to evaporate from the container 20. The refrigerant that evaporates 28 cools the beverage 12. Upon completion of the cooling process, the pressure of the refrigerant 28 drops to an atmospheric pressure, and the pressure acting on the seal cup 140 is released. When the container 20 is tilted for consumption, the sealing cup 140 is free to float away from its sealing position, allowing the passage of the beverage 12 for its consumption.

Third Preferred Modality An expandable receptacle similar in construction to the receptacle 30 of the first embodiment is provided. see FIGURES 17-19. The receptacle 150 has the expandable portion of conical corrugated side wall 136 and a cylindrical upper side wall segment 152 with thinned regions 154 for a break of different depression as described above, and has a non-breakable cylindrical side wall segment 156 between the expandable portion 136 and upper side wall portion 152. A top receptacle wall 160 is additionally provided at the intersection of cylindrical side wall segments 152 and 156. Top wall 160 is made of a rupture resistant sheet material but flexible, includes a nozzle and upward and centrally located rotationally 190 generally as described in the first embodiment, but having an upper tip for piercing the tapered lid 192. The upper cylindrical side wall portion 162 terminates in a receptacle flange that laterally extends 162 which is sized to rest on from the edge of the container 24. A conventional step 40 which preferably has a mechanism for expanding the lid 42 and a lateral rim of the circumferential lid 44 is fitted on the upper part of the container 20 so that the lateral rim of the lid 44 rests on the lid. receptacle tab 162. The side flange of the lid 44, the flange of the receptacle 162 and the edge of the container 24 are then spliced together in a conventional manner with a known splice success. This construction stops an upper chamber 180. Prior to splicing, the container 20 is first filled with the beverage 12. The receptacle 150 is then charged with the liquid refrigerant 20 through the nozzle 190 at a charging insertion station (not shown). The nozzle 190 is opened in such a manner that the coolant 28 allows it to partially evaporate as the receptacle 150 is inserted into the filled container 20. The lid 40 is then spliced together with the combined receptacle flange 162 and the container rim. 24, while the evaporation of the refrigerant 28 is momentarily carried out through the nozzle 190. As the splice is completed, the evaporating refrigerant 28 begins to build up pressure in the receptacle walls 150 beginning to expand. The expanding receptacle 150 now presses on the beverage or the food product 12, which in turn exerts pressure on the wall of the container 22. The three soon come into equilibrium, and the pressure that turns the expansion of the receptacle 150 decreases. In this stage, there is no pressure stress on the walls of the receptacle 150. All pressure stresses have been transferred to the container wall 22, which is preferably designed to withstand 100 pounds per square inch (psi). The chamber 180 is connected to the passage of the nozzle 190 of the receptacle 150 being of a very small diameter, so that the liquid refrigerant 28 contained within the receptacle 150 does not leak substantially into the chamber 180. In addition, only a small amount of refrigerant 28 it will have evaporated from the receptacle 150 before the splice of the lid 40 with the flange of the combined receptacle 162 and the edge of the container 24, which stops evaporation. FIGURE 19 shows the apparatus 10 a moment after the mechanism for opening the lid 42 is opened by pulling the pulling tab 74 and opening the lid opening 70. The lid opening 70 has been broken exposing the receptacle 150 and the chamber 180 at atmospheric pressure. The refrigerant gas 28 contained within the chamber 180 under pressure escapes into the atmosphere with which the result is a loss of pressure balance between the chamber 180, the receptacle 150 and the container 20. This causes the upper wall 160 of the receptacle 150 is deformed upward causing the nozzle 190 to puncture the lid of the container 40. At the same time, the fragile sections 182 are broken from the upper wall of the receptacle 160 exposing the contents of the chamber 180 to the hole for release. The receptacle 150 expands to a maximum state during evaporation but does not break, so that there is no additional pressure that is transmitted to the beverage product 12 during the cooling process. The beverage 12 thus remains inside the container 20 until the container 20 is tilted for consumption. The refrigerant 28 contained within the chamber 180 escapes through the nozzle 190 as shown by the arrow C. As the refrigerant 28 boils, it cools the wall of the receptacle 150 and thus effects cooling of the beverage 12 in the chamber 180. At the end of the evaporation cycle, the cooled beverage 12 can be consumed through the drinking hole 70 as indicated by arrow B.

Fourth Preferred Modality The fourth embodiment of the apparatus 10 is similar to the second embodiment in which the container is provided within the container defining between these an annular refrigerant receptacle chamber. see FIGURES 20-24. In this case, however, the container 220 has a container support portion 222 and a container neck portion 224 that opens through a container edge 226. Therefore, the container 230 also has a portion of container holder 232 and a container neck portion 234, and annular cooling chamber 240 extends to the top of the two neck versions 224 and 234. The outer surface of the upper end 224 of the neck portion of the The container is threaded to receive an internally threaded container cover 250, which includes a cylindrical lid sidewall 252 and a lid upper wall 254 which causes a sealing contact to occur with the edge of the container 226. The lid 250 can be unscrewing to release refrigerant 28 so that beverage 12 cools and provides drinking access to beverage 12 when container 220 is tilted. The container 230 is preferably filled with about eighty percent of the interior volume of the container 220 available to retain the beverage 12. The lid 250 is preferably a plastic member formed by injection molding. The cover 250 includes a resealable sealing plug 256 fitted within a cover hole 258 in an upper cover wall 254. See FIGURE 22. The resealable cap 256 is retained in the cover hole 258 partially by the internal pressure of the container 230 against the plug sealing flange 260. The internal pressure against the sealing plug 256 is normally too large for there to be an evacuation of the plug by means of the thumb of the consumer until the refrigerant 28 has been released and the cooling of the beverage 12 decreases the internal pressure. A very narrow cover passageway 260 is provided through the upper cover wall 254 directly over the portion of the annular chamber 240 between the upper portions 224 and 234. A passage plug assembly 264 with a fraction flap 266, it fits within passage 262. A charge of refrigerant 28 can be introduced into annular chamber 240 through passage 262 after the lid assembly 250 is assembled on container 220. An annular cylindrical projection 272 preferably extends downward from the top wall of the lid 254 around the lid hole 258, and seals the neck of the container 234 when the lid 250 is threaded into the container 220. Assembly Method The container 230 is preferably made of a blow molded plastic, but also it is formed of aluminum foil with an attached aluminum container neck portion 234. During the manufacture of the container 230, this ref It is then filled with beverage 12 in a conventional manner and then a special lid (not shown) is used to seal the container forming an airtight seal between container 220 and container 230. After the beverage refill process 12 has been completed, the lid 250 is screwed into the container 220 and a seal is made between the edge of the container 226 and the top wall of the lid 254. The chamber 240 is then preferably loaded with a mystified refrigerant 28 by inserting a perforation charge valve (not shown) through passage 262. FIGURE 24 shows a container 220 assembled and in use during the cooling process. In FIGURE 24, a passage plug 274 has been removed to release refrigerant 28 within the atmosphere and thereby effect cooling of beverage 12. The passage 262 is preferably narrow enough to cause gaseous refrigerant 28 to escape at a speed that exceeds the rate of combustion, as described for the nozzles of the previous modalities. The refrigerant 28 can alternatively be poured directly into the empty container 220 during the manufacturing process of the apparatus 10. A charge of refrigerant 28 is mixed with cryogenically cooled LC02 (liquid carbon dioxide) or LN2 (liquid nitrogen) and the mixture is poured inside the container 220 just before the receptacle 230 is inserted. As the containers 220 travel to the receptacle insertion station 230, and to the beverage refill station 12, the cryogenically cooled fluid slowly evaporates, replacing the refrigerant 28. In this way, the refrigerant 28 remains in a liquid form through the manufacturing process carrying out very little evaporation. When the container 230 is inserted into the container 220, the level of refrigerant 28 increases, and some evaporation can be carried out due to the influx of certain heat given by the relatively hot container 230 and the walls 238 and 228 of the container 220. The gas 28 thus created comes out of the container 220 flowing between the sealing flange of the container 230 and the edge of the container 226. The container 220 is then filled with beverage 12 and the sealing cover 250 is fixed to form two sealing chambers inside the container. container 220, one holding the refrigerant 28 and the other holding the beverage 12. In this case, the common conventional lid 250 can be used with the system, and a plug 256 is not necessary. Thus, the manufacture of the containers 220 It does not change substantially. It is important that the amount of LC02 (liquid carbon dioxide) or LN2 (liquid nitrogen) used can be accurately calibrated. The evaporation of the LC02 or the LN2 should be completed at the time that the closing lid 250 is fixed to the container 220. This is because the pressure of the LC02 or the LN2 used can be very high and undesirable since its temperature increases over time, and this may result in a rupture of the container 230 after a period of time after which its vapor pressure increases beyond the container's pressure limit. It should be appreciated that an ordinary closure means of the variety typically used with such containers can be used in conjunction with the container 230, instead of the special cover 250 illustrated in FIGURE 20. In such a case, the loading valve (not shown) ) is used to drill a hole through the closing means. After charging the refrigerant 28, the hole thus created for charging can be plugged by means of a removable coupling plug or by smearing removable molten plastic over the hole. Along with other advantages mentioned in this description, the container 220 can be a beverage container such as a can or a bottle. The content of the container can then comprise any form of beverage 12 whether alcoholic or non-alcoholic, or carbonated or non-carbonated.

Fifth Preferred Modality The fifth embodiment of the apparatus 10 is similar to the fourth embodiment in that the container 230 is provided within a container 220 by defining between these an annular cooling receptacle chamber 240. See FIGURES 25-27. In this case, the inner container 230 terminates a distance above the bottom of the container 220, and a receptacle that retains the cylindrical coolant 310 is provided in this interior container region 220. The wall of the receptacle 310 has thin brittle breaking sections 312 around of its circumference. A container wall piercing mechanism 320 is provided, preferably including a pivot fin 322 having a fin end spliced together with the side flange of the lid 44 and the edge of the container 226. A piercing tooth 324 protrudes from a face of the flap 322 towards the wall of the container 228. When it is desired to consume the beverage 12, the consumer applies pressure to the flap 322 and thereby activates the tooth 324 within the wall of the container 228, opening a release hole in the wall of the container 228. This action causes a pressure above atmospheric inside the annular chamber 240 to decrease and thereby cause the rupture section 312 to open. The refrigerant 28, which is by its nature at a pressure above atmospheric at an ambient temperature, exits under pressure through the rupture sections 312 and flows through the annular chamber 240 to exit through the opening made by the tooth 324. Then the lid 40 of the container 220 is opened with a conventional opener mechanism 42 and the cooled beverage 12 is available for consumption. It is preferable that the container 230 and the receptacle 310 are interconnected by a tubular passage 332, through which the refrigerant 28 is preferably charged. Then the passage 332 is closed with a plug 334, preferably having a bar portion 336 to fit closely within the passage 332 and a side flange 338.

General Comment Advantageously, the refrigerant 28 comprises a component having relatively good thermodynamic properties at room temperature. For example, the refrigerant 28 may comprise an HFC-152a, Dymel-A or a mixture of butane, HFCs and ethers or E134. It should be appreciated, however, that any combination of appropriate gases can be employed and that HFC-152a and HFC-134a merely serve as examples. In particular, the flammable gases advantageously effective in cost can be used as a refrigerant since the receptacle can be easily arranged in such a way that the velocity of the gas leaving the receptacle can be arranged to be high enough to exceed the speed limit of the container. gas flame. This advantageously can prevent any combustion of the total refrigerant 28 in the receptacle occurring any situation in which the accidentally escaping refrigerant is ignited as described above. Preferably, the opening of the receptacle allows at least partial expansion or partial collapse of the receptacle and leakage of the previously evaporated refrigerant introduced into the receptacle to occur. Preferably, the receptacle is sealingly connected with the closure member used, whether it is a lid spliceable on a metal or a plastic container, or a threaded or spreadable closure member with a lid on a glass bottle container or a container. plastic. Advantageously, the receptacle and the container are sealed by means of a spliced lid or by means of a threaded closure member. Preferably, expansion or contraction occurs to a size and shape which do not represent the maximum possible expansion of the minimum possible contracted volume of the receptacle. Therefore, it will be appreciated that the present invention provides an efficient and particularly cost-effective manner in which the contents of a container can be easily cooled by the intended end use of the container., that is, the consumption of the content, when required. The particular advantages will of course be apparent from the foregoing description. For example, if a carbonated beverage is taken into account, the carbonation of the beverage is actually retained by the receptacle since the contents of the receptacle will now perform the function previously performed by the carbonation gas in a standard beverage container. Also, the refrigerant within the receptacle will allow the expansion and contraction of the beverage during changes in ambient temperature. Since carbonation is suppressed until the receptacle is activated, that is, the atmosphere is opened, the carbonation in the beverage is retained until the drink is required for consumption. According to a particular feature of the invention, the receptacle is spliced into the container and the lid during manufacture forms two or more separate chambers. Alternatively, the receptacle is sealed to the container by a threaded closure forming two or more beds. According to a particular feature of the invention, the entire potential surface area of the receptacle is available for the heat exchange process and, as the receptacle decreases in volume, so as to reduce the volume of the refrigerant therein, the coolant comes into contact with an increasing area of the inner wall of the receptacle, and thereby, indirectly, an increasing area of thermal contact with the contents of the container. Advantageously, the apparatus of the present invention can be one hundred percent recyclable. The plastic advantageously used to form the receptacle can be the same as that used in the formation of plastic beverage bottles and the aluminum foil receptacle is also one hundred percent recyclable. The buildup of pressure within the receptacle may be appropriately selected but, in a particular example, it is not greater than 60 pounds per square inch (psi) at a total load and at a temperature of 70 degrees Fahrenheit. Although the apparatus of the present invention achieves cooling the contents of the container at a lower speed when it is located in a cold environment, effective cooling is still achieved, in hot environments, the apparatus of the present invention will generally be under more pressure and in this way it will assist in cooling the contents of the container more than what is expected in a cold environment. The receptacle of the present invention is particularly advantageous since a size is suitable for use with a large variety of different container sizes and this improves the economic viability of the present invention. Also, the refrigerant suitable for use with the present invention may comprise refrigerants that do not deplete the ozone so that the present invention can be considered as very environmentally friendly. As for the potential malfunction of the apparatus of the present invention, if the receptacle suffers effects during the canning / bottling process, it will not maintain the required pressure of the refrigerant and, in cases where the receptacle must form a seal, said defect It can be easily identified.

Also, as regards the bottling / canning process, the receptacle can be loaded before, during or after the containers pass along the processing line in such a way that the present invention can easily be incorporated into production lines. automated systems currently established. The invention is not restricted to the details of the above embodiments. For example, the invention can be used with any suitable container that serves to contain any suitable material that advantageously needs to be cooled at any particular time. While a particular use is found in the beverage industry, it should be appreciated that the concept of the present invention can be easily incorporated into a container to be used in with any form of food product or other product as required. Also, although some of the aforementioned characteristics have been discussed in relation to a can, and some in relation to a bottle, it should be understood that the particular aspect of the present invention depends very little on the nature of the container and therefore the Various features illustrated with the cans can easily be incorporated into these containers as bottles and vice versa, Furthermore, in order to prevent spillage of liquefied refrigerant when the container is tilted from its normal upright position, the invention can employ two or more receptacles with walls flexible that form multiple layers of skin around a cooling chamber. In this way, when employing this multi-layer "onion skin", the refrigerant in its liquid base must pass through a labyrinth of narrow passages before leaving the receptacle, which at that time, the total evaporation of the re fr Also, various obstacles with flexible walls can be connected in series, or in parallel, to form a heat exchange receptacle having a large surface area and multiple compartments for storage at the same time. portions of the refrigerant charge. This has the advantage that the refrigerant can be stored over a large surface area, it is therefore possible to form as required a plurality of chambers to provide the heat exchange surface and the refrigerant storage chambers simultaneously. In addition, it is also possible for patterns of possible forming a var of maximum surface exposure for refrigerant at different levels of contents of the container. The present invention has a variety of main advantages. For example, the receptacle with flexible walls is not subjected to any tension since it is supported on all sides by its own transfer pressure acting on the contents of the container. The maximum tension in the walls of the receptacle is not greater, because no particular change in shape can occur. This means that, at a total pressure, the collapsible walls of the receptacle will not be stretched or will be subjected to any tangential or lateral pressure. Exhausting the contents of the container while the receptacle is pressurized with coolant is also avoided since a portion of the wall of the receptacle may form a seal around an outlet opening of the container. Also, the maximum free volume available within the container can be used to store the refrigerant since the receptacle will easily expand to fill the maximum volume available within the container. No drink inside the drink escapes, nor is the drink easily exposed to the taste of the drink. Since the operation of the present invention does not depend on the pressure of the carbonation within a beverage, the ca-bonation pressure can easily be retained until the cooling process ends and the beverage is ready for consumption. further, the maintenance of the pressure within the beverage also helps to maintain other ion / 1 iber reactive devices associated with the beverage, i.e., those that provide a frothy head for canned beer, intact. The surface area of the receptacle available for the heat exchange process can advantageously be used more at little or no additional cost during manufacture simply by arranging the topology of the receptacle. The content volume of the container displaced by the flexible wall of the receptacle and significant in view of the thin walls used. As mentioned above, any internal sidewall and tangential pressure pressure inside the receptacle according to the present invention is negligible since the receptacle expands to a state of equilibrium between the pressure inside and outside the receptacle and, in addition, There is little or no change in the occurrence of an internal explosion. The receptacle can advantageously be changed at any time during or after the beverage filling process and therefore the invention can easily be incorporated into any high speed production line such as a high speed bottling or canning production line. Also, as a further alternative, the receptacle can be arranged to occupy a volume less than, for example, the headspace in the container so that, if required, the remaining space of the container can be occupied for example, by pressurized gas . Finally, from the above description, it will of course be appreciated that a particularly important aspect in the present invention is the ability of the surface area, the volume and the shape of the receptacle arranged to receive the refrigerant to change in response to any variation. in the external or internal pressure of the receptacle. It will be appreciated that other modifications and variations may be made to the embodiments described and illustrated within the scope of the present invention. Since the invention has been described, illustrated and shown in various terms or certain embodiments of modifications which have been assumed in practice, the scope of the invention should be deemed limited by this and the other modifications or modalities as may be suggested by the teachings of the present are reserved particularly and especially as they fall within the scope of the appended claims.

Claims (14)

1. A fast cooling apparatus comprising: container means having an upper end of the container, a container wall with a container opening at the upper end of the container limited by a container edge, the container has liquid content inside the container; receptacle means extending within the container means and containing a refrigerant, the receptacle means comprises a cup portion sized to fit within the container opening, a cup flange sized to rest against and be sealed to , the edge of the container and the wall of the cup, at least a portion from which it can be expanded, the wall of the cup has means for opening the wall of the cup to release the contents of the container within the receptacle; and cap means sealingly secured to the cup flange and comprising means for opening the cap to release the refrigerant from the receptacle within the atmosphere and for releasing the contents of the receptacle container for consumption; the means for opening the lid comprises means for activating the means for opening the lid to voluntarily open the means for opening the lid at a selected moment in time.

2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the means for opening the wall of the cup comprises a cup wall orifice and a plug for the cup wall orifice positioned immediately adjacent the wall of the container such that the The plug is dislodged from the hole in the wall of the cup by pressing against and arching the wall of the container inwards.

3. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the means for opening the wall of the cup comprises a rupture region of the cup wall of a sheet material which breaks when activating the means for opening the lid due to the result of the loss of pressure within the receptacle with the release of the refrigerant and the simultaneous creation of a pressure differential between the interior of the receptacles and the interior of the container outside the receptacle.

4. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the expandable portion of the wall of the cup comprises a cone with the apex of the cone oriented opposite the lid means and having a corrugated cone wall, wherein the corrugations are flattened as the cone wall expands.

5. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the means for opening the lid comprises a hole for releasing the contents of the container having removable orifice closing means for releasing the contents of the container and a coolant release orifice having means Removable closure of the coolant release hole.

6. The apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the coolant release orifice comprises a nozzle portion projecting outward, having a nozzle passage dimensioned to release a stream of gaseous refrigerant at a release rate which is greater than the combustion rate of the gaseous refrigerant and wherein the removable closure means of the coolant release orifice comprises nozzle passage plug means.

7. The apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the nozzle portion plug means comprises a plug handle having a conical nozzle inlet tip and a thumb flange for pressing the conical nozzle inlet tip into and through of the nozzle portion.

8. The apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the thumb flange comprises a flexible trailing tab extending laterally to hold and remove the handle of the cap from the nozzle passage.

9. A rapid refrigeration apparatus comprising: primary container means having an upper end of primary container, a primary container wall having a primary upper beveled wall portion inward, surrounding a primary container opening, container opening primary is limited by a primary container edge; smaller secondary container means "which and placed inside the primary container means, the primary container means have an upper end of secondary container, a secondary container wall having an upper portion of secondary wall bevelled inward, surrounding a secondary container opening and having means for opening the wall of the cup, the secondary container opening is bounded by the edge of the secondary container, such that the edge of the secondary container rests against and is sealed to the edge of the container primary and such that, an annular refrigerant receptacle chamber is defined between the primary and secondary container walls, a liquid refrigerant contained within the annular refrigerant receptacle chamber, a container with liquid content in the container means secondary a floating sealing cup having a bevelled cup side wall that is coned towards the secondary container opening and dimensioned to fit sealingly within the inwardly beveled secondary upper wall portion, the bevelled side wall of the cup has at least a cup side wall hole; and lid means sealingly secured to the edge of the secondary container and comprising means for opening the lid to release the refrigerant from the receptacle chamber within the atmosphere and for releasing the container contents from the receptacle for consumption; the means for opening the lid comprises means for activating the means for opening the lid to voluntarily open the means for opening the lid at a selected moment in time; such that by activating the means for opening the lid the pressure of the gas within the sealed cup to the atmosphere is decreased causing the pressure between the sealed cup and the rest of the secondary container means to press the sealed bevelled cup side wall to enter a sealing contact with the secondary upper wall portion bevelled inward, and causing the means for opening the cup wall to open and release the gaseous refrigerant through the cup orifice and into the cup and through the means to open the lid to the atmosphere, cooling the contents of the container; and substantially releasing the lateral sealing pressure in the means for opening the wall of the cup such that the cup floats and angles in the opposite direction of the lid when tilting the apparatus, allowing the contents of the container to flow over and around. of the cup and out of the apparatus through the means to open the lid.

10. A compact refrigeration apparatus comprising: primary container means having an upper end of primary container, a primary container wall having a container support portion and a primary container neck portion surrounding a primary container opening , the primary container opening is limited by a primary container edge; smaller container means smaller than and placed within the primary container means, the secondary container means have a secondary container upper end, a secondary container wall having a secondary container supporting portion and a secondary container portion; secondary container surrounding a primary container opening, the secondary container opening is bounded by a secondary container edge, such that a chamber of the annular refrigerant receptacle is defined between the walls of the primary and secondary container; refrigerant contained within the annular refrigerant receptacle chamber; the liquid content of the container within the means of the secondary container; and cover means removable and sealed tightly on the edges of the primary and secondary container.

11. The apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the container neck portion is externally threaded and wherein the lid means comprises an upper wall and an internally threaded cylindrical side wall, such that the side wall of the lid is Coupled with screws in the neck portion of the container.

12. The apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the lid means additionally comprises a lid orifice and a cap for the removable and sealingly sealed lid orifice inside the lid orifice, to release the contents of the container.

13. A fast cooling apparatus that comprises: container means having a container upper end, a container wall, the container has a liquid content inside the container; means to release the contents of the container for consumption; receptacle means extending within the container means and containing refrigerant; means for releasing the refrigerant to the f st r a; wherein the means for releasing the refrigerant comprises an orifice sized to release a stream of gaseous refrigerant at a rate of release which is greater than the rate of combustion of gaseous refrigerant.

14. The apparatus according to claim 13, wherein the orifice comprises a nozzle portion including a nozzle passage sized to release a stream of gaseous refrigerant at a release rate which is greater than the rate of combustion of the gaseous refrigerant. SUMMARY A rapid cooling apparatus (10) including a container (20) having an upper end of container (20), a container wall (22) with a container opening at the upper end of the container (20) ) limited by an edge (24) of the container, the liquid content (12) contained in the container; a receptacle (30) extending within the container (20) and containing a refrigerant (28), the receptacle (30) includes a cup portion (32) sized to fit within the container opening (20), a flange (38) of cup sized to rest against and seal secured to the edge (24) of the container and a cup wall (34), at least a portion of which is expandable, the wall (34) of the cup has a mechanism (52) for opening the wall of the cup to release the contents (12) of the container inside the receptacle (30); and a cap (40) sealingly secured to the flange (38) of the cup and including a mechanism (42) for opening the cap to release the refrigerant (28) from the receptacle (30) within the atmosphere and to release the contents (12) the receptacle container- (30) for consumption; the mechanism (42) for opening the lid includes an activation mechanism for opening the lid to voluntarily open the mechanism (42) to open the lid at a selected moment in time.