WO2004110227A1

WO2004110227A1 - Cooling pot/vessel

Info

Publication number: WO2004110227A1
Application number: PCT/FI2004/000205
Authority: WO
Inventors: Helena Sarvela
Original assignee: Helena Sarvela
Priority date: 2003-06-13
Filing date: 2004-04-02
Publication date: 2004-12-23
Also published as: FIU20030238U0; FI6026U1

Abstract

A cooling pot/vessel with a cover (2), particularly for holding a liquid package (6) and cooling it/keeping it cool and possible for serving its contents, and formed particularly form a ceramic material. The pot contains a fixed, detachable, or raised internal base (3) or similar (10), with a water space (4) under it. The internal base (3, 10) slopes and near to the lowest edge of the internal base (3, 10) there is an opening (5) in the wall (1) of the pot for the tap (7) of the package.

Description

Cooling Pot/Vessel

The present invention relates to a pot or a certain type of storage space, which permits the sensible cooling, serving, and storage of various substances, such as prepacked liquids (for example, wine on tap). According to the invention, the pot/vessel can be used particularly with liquid packages equipped with a tap.

In the pot/vessel, cooling is based on either the property of water of effectively binding heat to itself when it evaporates and on the capillary phenomenon, according to which water is absorbed into and travels along a porous wall, or on insulation and a cold-accumulator cartridge.

For centuries, porous clay has been used to keep drinking water cool in traditional simple clay pots. In addition, simple protective cylinders exist for wine bottles, which, when wetted, keep the wine cool for some time. However, as these do not have water reservoirs or cold-accumulator cartridges, the cooling effect remains relatively short. Attempts have also been made to eliminate the limitations and drawbacks of prepackaging (appearance and the difficulty of serving) by constructing various kinds of wooden or metal serving holders. However, these lack the important cooling function.

In conditions, in which electricity is available, various kinds of apparatus equipped with refrigerating machinery are usually used for cooling. Naturally, these are not suitable for use in serving.

The invention is now intended to eliminate the defects of the prior art and create a pot/vessel, which will keep a package placed in it cool for long periods. The intention is also to do so in a way that will permit the substance being cooled to be served directly using the pot.

The aforementioned and other benefits and advantages of the present invention are achieved in the manner stated as characteristic in the accompanying Claims. In the following, the invention is examined with reference to the accompanying drawings, which show various embodiments of one pot/vessel according to the present invention.

Thus:

Figure 1 shows a sketch of a partial vertical cross-section one of the pot/vessel according to the invention;

Figure 2 shows a schematic drawing of the inner component used inside the pot, seen at an angle; and

Figure 3 shows a cross-section A-A of the inner component of figure 2.

The pot is formed of a conventional vessel component formed by walls 1 , with a cover 2. The cooler according to the invention is intended to be used to achieve the greatest and longest cooling effect. This is achieved in the pot, not only through wetting the porous ceramic part, but also by reserving additional water spaces 9, 4 in the cover 2 of the pot and correspondingly in the space under the internal base 3. Moisture spreads from these spaces to the cooling, porous walls 1 of the pot. This is thus achieved without any technical devices or machinery.

The internal base 3 is either a fixed, or a detachable part of the structure of the pot, and is supported at a certain height in some suitable manner, for instance, by making protrusions on the inner walls of the pot, on which the internal base 3 rests, or by supporting the internal base from the bottom of the pot, with the aid of a suitable stand construction that can either form part of the internal base or else be separate. The internal base also forms a slightly sloping base for the liquid bag 6 or other article to be stored, and lifts the tap 7 of the liquid bag to a suitable height for filling a glass 8. The slope ensures that the liquid bag empties as completely as possible. The size of the hole 5 immediately next to and above the internal base 3 is selected so that standard international bag-in-box packages, together with their taps, will be suitable for use with the pot/vessel.

Thus, water is put into the cooling space on the bottom of the pot, from which the capillary phenomenon raises it along the walls and evaporates it, binding heat. If desired, a second water space 9 can be arranged in the cover 2 of the pot, from which the water evaporating binds heat, but, as the cover is also of a ceramic material, the water will also spread through the capillary phenomenon to the neighbouring structures.

Figures 2 and 3 show one embodiment for creating an additional cooling effect. Thus, they show an inner component 10, which is set inside the pot on its bottom. The inner component 10 thus also acts as the internal base, on top of which the liquid package to be cooled, for example, is placed. It can be constructed so that, like the internal base described above, it too forms a structure slanting towards the opening 5.

The inner component 10 is preferably also of a ceramic material, which has capillary properties. It is formed of an essentially flat upper surface and leg components 11 , of which there can be several. The totality is one and the same piece. The legs 11 are hollow and open out onto the upper surface of the inner component 10. The intention is to increase the cooling effect by increasing the surface through which the capillary phenomenon can act. It is obvious that the shape and number of the leg components can be chosen freely, the most important criterion possibly being the technical ease of manufacture.

The pot according to the invention can be kept as such on a table or other surface, but can also stand on a separate stand component. One alternative is also one in which the pot is equipped with suitable suspension devices for suspending it from above. For example, there can be holes in the edges of the upper part of the pot, to which suspension chains or cords can be attached, or a hanging flower-pot type of suspension device can be used. The above is a simplified description of one embodiment of the invention. Many variations are possible while nevertheless remaining within the scope of the protection of the inventive idea and of the accompanying Claims.

Claims

1. A cooling pot/vessel with a cover (2), particularly for holding a liquid package (6) and cooling it/keeping it cool and possible for serving its contents, and formed particularly from a ceramic material, characterized in that the pot contains a fixed, detachable, or raised internal base (3) or similar (10), with a water space (4) under it.

2. A cooling pot/vessel according to Claim 1 , characterized in that the internal base (3, 10) slopes and that, near to the lowest edge of the internal base (3, 10) there is an opening (5) in the wall (1 ) of the pot for the tap (7) of the package.

3. A cooling pot/vessel according to Claim 1 , characterized in that there is also a water space (9) in the cover (2) of the pot.

4. A cooling pot/vessel according to any of the above Claims, characterized in that the internal base (3, 10) is formed of a separate, inner component (10) with legs (11 ), supported on the bottom of the pot.

5. A cooling pot/vessel according to Claim 4, characterized in that the legs of the inner component (10) are hollow.