WO2021137864A1 - Appareil de refroidissement et de chauffage de produits alimentaires et procédé - Google Patents

Appareil de refroidissement et de chauffage de produits alimentaires et procédé Download PDF

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Publication number
WO2021137864A1
WO2021137864A1 PCT/US2020/000050 US2020000050W WO2021137864A1 WO 2021137864 A1 WO2021137864 A1 WO 2021137864A1 US 2020000050 W US2020000050 W US 2020000050W WO 2021137864 A1 WO2021137864 A1 WO 2021137864A1
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WIPO (PCT)
Prior art keywords
product
humidification liquid
dry gas
container
chamber
Prior art date
Application number
PCT/US2020/000050
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English (en)
Inventor
Michael Mark ANTHONY
Original Assignee
Anthony Michael Mark
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
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Publication date
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Publication of WO2021137864A1 publication Critical patent/WO2021137864A1/fr

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Classifications

    • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
    • F25—REFRIGERATION OR COOLING; COMBINED HEATING AND REFRIGERATION SYSTEMS; HEAT PUMP SYSTEMS; MANUFACTURE OR STORAGE OF ICE; LIQUEFACTION SOLIDIFICATION OF GASES
    • F25D—REFRIGERATORS; COLD ROOMS; ICE-BOXES; COOLING OR FREEZING APPARATUS NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • F25D5/00—Devices using endothermic chemical reactions, e.g. using frigorific mixtures
    • F25D5/02—Devices using endothermic chemical reactions, e.g. using frigorific mixtures portable, i.e. adapted to be carried personally
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
    • B65D—CONTAINERS FOR STORAGE OR TRANSPORT OF ARTICLES OR MATERIALS, e.g. BAGS, BARRELS, BOTTLES, BOXES, CANS, CARTONS, CRATES, DRUMS, JARS, TANKS, HOPPERS, FORWARDING CONTAINERS; ACCESSORIES, CLOSURES, OR FITTINGS THEREFOR; PACKAGING ELEMENTS; PACKAGES
    • B65D2517/00—Containers specially constructed to be opened by cutting, piercing or tearing of wall portions, e.g. preserving cans or tins
    • B65D2517/0001—Details
    • B65D2517/0047—Provided with additional elements other than for closing the opening
    • B65D2517/0056—Unusual elements
    • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
    • F25—REFRIGERATION OR COOLING; COMBINED HEATING AND REFRIGERATION SYSTEMS; HEAT PUMP SYSTEMS; MANUFACTURE OR STORAGE OF ICE; LIQUEFACTION SOLIDIFICATION OF GASES
    • F25D—REFRIGERATORS; COLD ROOMS; ICE-BOXES; COOLING OR FREEZING APPARATUS NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • F25D2331/00—Details or arrangements of other cooling or freezing apparatus not provided for in other groups of this subclass
    • F25D2331/80—Type of cooled receptacles
    • F25D2331/805—Cans

Definitions

  • the present novel invention relates generally to the art of cooling and heating food and beverage containers and to processes for manufacturing such containers. More specifically the present invention relates to an apparatus for cooling and alternatively heating a food product such as a beverage, means and methods of cooling said containers with said apparatus, including methods of assembling and operating said apparatus.
  • a food product such as a beverage
  • means and methods of cooling said containers with said apparatus including methods of assembling and operating said apparatus.
  • product container refers to any sealed and openable storage means for a food product meant for consumption.
  • Prior art that that cool uses liquefied refrigerants fail to address the real issues of environmental green house and global warming issues. They also fail to address manufacturing and beverage plant operations that are crucial for the success of a self-cooling and self-heating food product container program.
  • Some such prior art designs require pressurized food product containers to store liquid refrigerants.
  • the only liquid refrigerants that can be stored between commercially viable pressure canisters are HFCS, CFCS, hydrocarbons, ethers, and other highly flammable low-pressure gases. These gases are not commercially viable and have led to difficulty in implementation of such technologies.
  • Cryogenic self-cooling food product containers require the use of very high-pressure vessels, and cryogenic gases such as CO2, and they also require expensive containers made from high pressure bearing materials such as aluminum, steel, or fiber-glass. They are essentially dangerous, since the pressures involved are generally of the order of 600 psi or more. Further, they are complicated since the pressures involved are much higher than a conventional food product container can withstand.
  • Desiccant-based self-cooling and heating food product containers require the desiccant to be stored in an evacuated chamber separated fluidly from water stored in a separate chamber. When the vacuum is released between the two compartments, water vapor is pulled into the vacuum and then absorbed by the desiccant and heat of evaporation is taken from the cooled item and transported to condense in the desiccant chamber. The heat taken by the evaporated water heats up the desiccant and must not be allowed to interact with the beverage, otherwise it would reheat the beverage again.
  • Prior art also reveals chemically endothermic self-cooling food product containers. These rely on the use of fixed stoichiometric reactions of chemicals to absorb heat from the food product container contents. These prior art technologies require two containers that may be connected by a breakable membrane and other means. They particularly do not allow the sorption of the humidification liquid to be achieved by automatic vacuum generation within the chemical chamber to permit complete solvation and complete use of the maximum surface area available.
  • the present invention differs from all the mentioned prior art and provides a novel cost effective and thermodynamically simple and viable means for cooling and heating a beverage in a food product container by using the cooling or heating potential of fixed amounts of reactants A that generate a thermal change and using electromotive force of a dry gas acting on a humidification liquid of suitable choice. Many trials and designs have been made to obtain the present configuration of the disclosed invention.
  • Prior Research by Present Inventor on Beverage Containers that led to the Present Invention
  • US Patent number 6,065,300 issued to the present inventor on May 23, 2000 shows a configuration in which a plastic container serves the purposes of the product container, while the outer container is a conventional beverage container of the standard can design.
  • US Patent number 6,418,73 IB issued to the present inventor on June 16, 2002 also shows a cooling configuration for a beverage in which a plastic container serves the purposes of the product container, while the outer container is a conventional beverage container of the standard can design.
  • a conventional liquified refrigerant gas is used to fill the space between the two containers and serve as a refrigerant. Due to environmental reasons, such gases cannot be used for a self-cooling container.
  • US Patent number 6,817,202 B1 issued to the present inventor on November 16, 2004 and US Patent 6,5,81,401 B1 issued to the present inventor on June 24, 2003 both illustrate a means of using carbon matrices to store CO2.
  • the present invention overcomes this deficiency by means of an extremely dry gas. Dry gas with a dew point of 10°F to -150°F can easily absorb vapor from a liquid that is cooled to freezing point without a vacuum. The interstitial spaces between granules of thermally reacting chemical compounds used in crystalline form is considerable. As a matter of fact, well over 40% of the free interstitial spaces between such crystalline structures is not used for cooling but contains humidified air.
  • the water is allowed to enter into the chamber holding the reacting chemicals and cooling is generated such that the cooling generally occurs at a lower level than the headspace leaving the headspace of the beverage uncooled. Since cold liquids tend to fall to lower levels by gravity, no cooling occurs above the reactant space just below the water top level.
  • This problem is solved by the present invention by means of a dry gas thermally reactive structure infused with trapped dry gas which dissolves in the humidification liquid and generates a dry gas to completely intermingle with humidification liquid into the solutes chamber regardless of orientation of the apparatus in the beverage container. This also allows the cooled solution to be turbulent and complete contact the dry gas chamber walls and thus cool the product more efficiently.
  • thermodynamic heating or cooling This solves the issue of minimizing the volume occupied by the solute in the apparatus as it dissolves into the solvent.
  • the present invention does not necessarily require pins, knives and other methods to introduce water vapor to the reacting chemical compounds.
  • the interesting aspect of the invention is that it allows the apparatus to be sealed by conventional beverage bottling plant seaming means such as with standard canning plant seaming rollers.
  • the present invention uses only two standard beverage containers to manufacture it, and does not need any further manufactured components other than the dry gas thermally reactive structure and a gas permeable membrane.
  • Dry gas Dry gas such as substantially dry air, preferably substantially dry CO2, substantially dry Nitrogen, substantially dry Dimethyl ether, several other types of dehumidified gases such as Solstice® L41y (R-452B), Solstice® 452 A (R-452A), Solstice® L40X (R-455A), Solstice® zd, Solstice® ze, (R- 1234ze), Solstice® yf (R-1234yf) with very low dew point temperatures can cause extreme cooling or heating.
  • Dry air in particular can cause extreme cooling as is evidenced by weather patterns that are predominantly driven by the humidity of air and heat energy available in the atmosphere.
  • dry air can result in dramatic snow and ice formation, in turn resulting in extreme weather patterns across the world.
  • lip-balm used for dry lips sells well in winter. From hurricanes to tornadoes, to heavy snow storms, and icy winter storms, nature has provided an amazing electromotive heat transport means that can be emulated to assist in cooling a beverage and a food product using humidification and dehumidification of air. It is my theory that the tremendous vacuous energies of a tornado are a result of the sudden condensation of water vapor from the dehumidification of humidified dry air.
  • Water vapor is 1840 times the volume of the same weight of liquid water, and so when a huge cloud condenses, a tremendous reduction in volume is obtained resulting a vacuum which appears as a funnel cloud of a tornado. No simple wind motion can generate such tremendous energies.
  • the humidification of very dry air results in very cold temperatures that results in snow storms. This happens as moisture is picked up by dry air and evaporated to remove heat from the surrounding environment followed by saturation of the same wet air which again deposits its vapor as moisture in as snow and hail.
  • Water has the best thermodynamic potential to heat or cool a food product. It has the highest heat of evaporation and as such it can be used in combination with electromotive drying and regenerative processes that also rely on water molecules to heat or cool a food product container. However, water does not easily evaporate due its high heat of evaporation and as such it must be “enticed” to do so by an appropriate means. Further, as water cools, for example in an endothermic reaction, and in a desiccant evaporation system, it becomes more and more difficult to evaporate it. Thus, neither regular endothermic cooling such as in conventional cold packs nor conventional desiccant cooling systems of prior art by themselves prove to be the most efficient forms of cooling a food product such as beverage.
  • the combination of dry gas mediation, and either endothermic or exothermic solvation and the generation of a pressurized dry gas such as CO2 can use the two fundamental substances, water and a dry gas, to effectively increase the thermodynamic potential to heat or cool a food product.
  • a pressurized dry gas such as CO2
  • an inventive step of the interaction of dry gases and a humidification liquid to maximize the heat exchange surface area of the apparatus is intended.
  • the additional inventive step of using standard beverage containers to form the humidification liquid and the dry gas chamber is intended.
  • the additional inventive step of using the solvation of chemicals to generate pressurized dry gas for the purposes of maximizing the contact of cooling means with the beverage container used for the invention is intended.
  • an effective gas storage thermally reactive structure can be made with dry ice pellets and molten urea with certain salts and carbonates.
  • dry-ice cylindrical pellets of small dimensions (1mm dia x 2mm length) are projected at high momentum as projectiles into molten urea, the urea crystallizes over them before they substantially start to sublimate.
  • the electronic rate of recrystallization of urea is far faster than the sublimation rate and has a tremendously stronger bonding strength than the pressure forces exerted by the sublimation of densely packed small sectioned dry-ice pellets.
  • the dry ice is encapsulated in the crystalline structures that form around them as urea crystals until it sublimes and becomes micro nodules of gaseous and liquefied CO2 encased in the crystalline structure of the urea.
  • the shrinkage of the urea around the gas as crystalline pores formed by the dry gas is even capable of forming extreme Nano-containment pores that hold the dry gas under pressure.
  • gases such as dimethyl ether (DME) can be encapsulated in the crystalline structures that is formed from the silica gel crystals, sodium silicate, and ferrous metals, when compressed at very high tonnage above 10 tons to 50 tons of compressive force using a conventional hydraulic press for example.
  • DME dimethyl ether
  • the shrinkage of each of the types of compounds around a suitable dry gas, such as DME forms pores that hold the dry gas, sometimes under pressure. It is important that gas used be a dry gas since any moisture present during the compression molding of the dry gas thermally reactive structure can result in failure of the encapsulation.
  • PTFE fibers may be added to the crystals and then compressed in a mold in the presence of a high-pressure dry gas to form the thermally reactive structure.
  • CO2 in combination with a storage matrix comprising of one of urea, and urea in combination with activated carbon, PTFE micro fiber cores, and naturally occurring nitrate salts, and carbonates can be used to achieve an environmentally friendly and safe self-cooling apparatus, while a dry gas such as DME in combination with silica gel, sodium acetate, and raw ferrous metals, can be used to achieve a self-heating beverage container.
  • a dry gas can be effectively stored and released in a specially made thermally reactive structure to combine with reactive compounds and achieve either adequate heating or adequate cooling of a beverage.
  • the endothermic cooling is enhanced by agitation of the dry gas that is released.
  • the dry gas absorbs water as vapor and additionally cools the beverage container.
  • the phase change and expansion of the dry gas if in liquified form, when released during the fragmentation of the endothermic thermally reactive structure further cools the product.
  • the entire endothermic thermally reactive structure can be made using conventional manufacturing processes.
  • the exothermic heating is enhanced by agitation of the dry gas that is released.
  • the dry gas suitably chosen can absorb water as vapor and additionally release heat to heat the beverage container.
  • the absorption of the dry gas by humidification liquid can cause a vacuum in the dry gas during the fragmentation of the exothermic thermal reactive structure, further heats the product by absorption.
  • the entire exothermic form of the thermally reactive structure can be made using conventional manufacturing processes in exactly the same manner as the first case.
  • DME Dimethyl ether
  • heating is effectuated by the thermally reactive structure made from one or more of sodium acetate, calcium chloride, silica gel, sodium hypochlorite, and metals when exposed to humidification liquids such as water.
  • DME is a gas that is highly absorbable in water in an exothermic process for example, and generates additional heat in a heating mode of the thermally reactive structure, and so a simple change in reactants A and dry gases can convert a cooling structure to a heating structure.
  • the cost of manufactured containers has been reduced by present day technology especially in the beverage industry.
  • the thickness, weight and costs of aluminum beverage containers provide an ideal standard for commercializing a self-cooling and self-heating container.
  • this invention uses conventionally available elements from the beverage industry to provide for a very efficient and low- cost self-cooling and self-heating container.
  • Paired containers can be used to form chambers that serve the purposes of a dry gas chamber and a humidification liquid chamber to achieve the goals set forth in the invention.
  • the invention uses paired containers to form an outer container and a product container. It further uses a conventional lid to completely form a self-cooling and self-heating container.
  • paired containers being commercially available can be used from the stock of Standard Cans and the Slim cans that are available in the market place.
  • the Standard cans generally come as 12oz, 16oz, 19oz and 24oz cans.
  • the Slim cans generally come as 12oz, 8.5oz and 6.5oz.
  • the cans generally have similar diameters and vary only in height. Any combinations of a Standard Can and a Slim Can may be used for the purposes of this invention.
  • a product container is required to be inserted snugly through the outer container open rim into the outer container to form an annular radial space between the two containers that essentially forms the humidification liquid chamber.
  • the cylindrical space between the outer container base dome and the product container base dome forms a dry gas chamber.
  • a compressible barrier structure formed from one of wax, plastic, rubber and putty is preferably used to form a cylindrical fluid barrier between the two containers and thus form the dry gas chamber and the humidification liquid chamber close to the product container bottom edge and the outer container inner cylindrical wall. Natural waxes are hydrophobic and environmentally friendly and provide a good cheap alternative to welding plastic structures that can separate the two chambers. c). Combining dry gas, and a thermally reactive structure and a paired set of beverage containers.
  • a paired set of beverage containers is used to form a beverage chamber, a dry gas chamber, and a humidification liquid chamber simultaneously.
  • the dry gas chamber contains a thermally reactive structure impregnated with a dry gas within a dry gas chamber that is formed between paired beverage containers.
  • the purpose of the thermally reactive structure serves to release dry gas and either heat or cool and additionally to heat or cool the beverage by exothermic and endothermic solvation also and respectively.
  • the thermally reactive structure also serves to heat or to cool the outer container inner cylindrical wall as the thermally reactive structure either dissolves endothermically or absorbs humidification fluid endothermically in the humidification liquid releasing trapped dry gases that further cool or heat the by expansion, phase change, and by absorption and humidification of the released dry gas to cool, and alternatively by absorption of the humidification liquid to heat exothermically.
  • the cooling or heating of the outer container 200 is not a necessary part of the invention, however it provides a physiological advantage that is invaluable as an indicator of the process. Thus, a tremendous amount of cooling or heating can be achieved by this method by using a dry gas and a humidification liquid as compared to a regular endothermic process and compared to a regular absorption process such as using a desiccant alone. d)
  • a filtration membrane is provided.
  • the filtration membrane is a simple thin PTFE membrane that allows gases to pass through while preventing liquids from passing through a vapor passageway. Filtration membranes can be obtained from companies such as Porex, FluoroporeTM, and OmniporeTM, and Sterlitech, and Membrane solution.
  • the filtration membrane is used to prevent any liquids from passing through a vapor passage way while only allowing gases such as CO2, DME, Solstice Enhance TM to pass through the apparatus to atmosphere from the interior of the outer container.
  • a carbon disc may also be used as a filtration membrane, and in such a case it must be made thin and porous enough to allow gases to pass through its structure while preventing liquids from passing through it.
  • a cheap filtration membrane can be made using VaproShieldTM membranes typically used as breathable moisture barriers in homes. VaproShieldTM is a very inexpensive moisture barrier that is commercially available and comes in a self-adhesive form that is easy to use as a filtration membrane for the purposes of this invention.
  • VaproShieldTM can be used even when it disintegrates over a period of days after use.
  • These inexpensive membranes are available in large inexpensive sheets from hardware stores such as Home DepotTM and Lowe’sTM.
  • the filtration membrane is hydrophobic and thus does not allow liquids to pass through its pores but will allow gases to pass through its pores.
  • the vapor passageway and a filtration membrane thus accord a means of passing a dry gas DG from within a self-cooling and self-heating apparatus to atmosphere without loss of liquid, such as described in this invention.
  • “Filtration Membrane” shall mean a thin hydrophobic membrane disc made from one of Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) and activated carbon, with pore sizes such as 0.05um, 0.1 Oum, 0.22um, 0.45um, lum, 2um, 3um, 5um, for preventing liquid from exiting the apparatus during use while allowing gases to exit the apparatus.
  • PTFE Polytetrafluoroethylene
  • “Dry gas” for the purposes of this application shall mean a gas with a substantially low partial water vapor pressure with a dew point temperature less than 10°F that fills interstitial spaces between particles of endothermically reacting compounds. It is noted that the dry gas itself could be liquefied and mixed in with said endothermically reacting compounds; “Wet gas” for the purposes of this application, shall mean a dry gas humidified to have a higher water vapor pressure than dry gas and a dew point temperature greater than 10°F.
  • “Dry gas thermally reactive structure” shall mean a composite compressed structure infused with a dry gas either in gaseous form or in liquefied form, and made with materials comprising of a combination of one or more of urea, sodium bicarbonate, acetic acid, potassium chloride, ammonium nitrate, activated carbon, wax and a PTFE fibers.
  • Thermally reactive structure shall mean a granular or solid crystalline structure formed from reactive chemicals that is embedded within a dry gas environment and containing a dry gas in its interstitial structure that either dissolve endothermically or generate heat by interacting with a humidification liquid to endothermically cool or exothermically heat a food product respectively.
  • Cylindrical groove shall mean an inwardly roll formed structure on a cylindrical portion of beverage container wall.
  • Food product for the purposes of this application shall mean any substance that is a consumable item preferably a liquid beverage
  • Dew point temperature for the purposes of this application shall mean the temperature at which the vapor of a humidification liquid in a sample of dry gas at constant barometric pressure condenses into humidification liquid at the same rate at which it evaporates.
  • Headspace for the purposes of this application shall mean the carbonation filled space in a sealed beverage container that is above the beverage level.
  • Heat transport means for the purposes of this application, shall mean a thermodynamic and electromotive potential to exchange heat between substances;
  • Outer container shall mean a conventional metal beverage container made in the form of a such as containers made by Ball Corporation, and can be made in volumetric sizes ranging from 12oz to 32oz and having conventional 202, 204 and 206 specifications for the open end.
  • “Product cbntainer” shall mean a beverage container that is made to contain a beverage or food product and made in the form of a conventional “Slim Can” such as made by Ball Corporation that snugly slides through the open rim of an Outer container and having conventional 202, 204 and 206 specifications for the open end with a diameter and height less than an Outer container.
  • “Sealing membrane” shall mean a thin membrane made from one of paper, and plastic, and metal foil and forms a non-permanent seal covering a filtration membrane.
  • “Compressible barrier” for the purposes of this application shall mean any structure made from materials such as a- wax, a rubber, a plastic, a rubber tube, a metal used to form a temporarily fluid seal preventing humidification liquid from passing through it and that can be disrupted by gas pressure and by finger and mechanical pressure to open said temporarily fluid seal.
  • Interconnection structure for the purposes of this application, shall mean a segment of the walls of the segmefits of the wall of the outer container forming a compressible barrier between a dry gas chamber and humidification liquid chamber such as a cylindrical groove.
  • Collapsible for the purposes of this application shall mean the reduction in volume of a closed space without a change in the surface area of the walls enclosing said volume.
  • “Humidification liquid chamber” for the purposes of this application shall mean a space containing humidification liquid.
  • “Humidification liquid” for the purposes of this application shall mean any liquid that is used to react with endothermically reacting chemical compounds to generate endothermic cooling and such liquid may include water and beverage.
  • “Humidification liquid vapor” for the purposes of this application shall mean the vapor of any humidification liquid.
  • “Dry gas chamber” for the purposes of this application is a functional structure that preferably contains a dry gas and may hold a thermally reactive structure in the form of solids, granules, prills, or liquids within it.
  • PVC heat-shrinkable polyvinyl chloride
  • PET for the purposes of this application shall mean heat-shrinkable polyethylene terephthalate.
  • Upright for the purposes of this application shall mean vertical orientation.
  • the food product container is assumed to be standing in an upright, vertical orientation with the food product container’s bottom resting on a horizontal plane.
  • This invention uses the thermodynamic potential of a thermally reactive structure in combination with the evaporation or absorption of a humidification liquid such as water, water-ethanol azeotropes, dimethyl ether-water azeotropes, or a suitable liquid and the ability of a substantially low vapor pressure medium such as a dry gas to enhance absorption and reactivity.
  • a humidification liquid such as water, water-ethanol azeotropes, dimethyl ether-water azeotropes, or a suitable liquid
  • a substantially low vapor pressure medium such as a dry gas
  • a gas-liquid separation membrane such as a POREX Corporation PM17Y and PM10Y disc membranes, FluoroporeTM and OmniporeTM Disc membranes, Membrane Solutions, and Sterlitech Corporation disc membranes
  • An apparatus for chilling beverages and other food products includes a product container for containing a food product and having a rim and a side wall and a base dome, and an outer container having an open rim, and a side wall and a base dome, and a lid with a release port and release port opening means, where the product container is snugly fitted into the open rim of the outer container and has a height less than that of the outer container so that there is a cylindrical space between the product container base dome and the outer container base dome defining a dry gas chamber containing a dry gas and a thermally reactive structure, and where the diameter of the product container cylindrical wall is less than the diameter of the outer container cylindrical wall so that there is a radial space between the product container cylindrical wall and the outer container cylindrical wall defining a humidification liquid chamber containing a humidification liquid, and a barrier between the dry gas chamber and the humidification liquid chamber, which
  • the apparatus reverses the chambers, so that the humidification liquid chamber is defined by the space between the container domes and the dry gas chamber is defined by the radial space between the container cylindrical walls.
  • the barrier preferably is formed of wax or a similar substance.
  • the thermally reactive structure in the dry gas chamber is impregnated with a dry gas.
  • FIGURE 1 shows the apparatus according to the embodiments of the invention.
  • a standard metal beverage container in the form of a standard beverage can is shown as an outer container of the apparatus.
  • the product container is shown intimately sealed with the outer container by a beverage container lid to form a cylindrical chamber holding a thermally reactive structure however, the product container 100 may already be filled and sealed and ready to be consumed when it is inserted into the outer can and may be crimped at a later stage.
  • FIGURE 2 shows a cross-sectional view of the apparatus according to the first embodiment comprising a humidification liquid chamber containing a humidification liquid, a dry gas chamber containing a cooling and alternatively a heating structure.
  • the dry gas chamber is shown as being a concentric chamber between the product container and the outer container.
  • a compressible barrier made from one of a compressible wax, plastic, silicone rubber, and putty is shown separating the dry gas chamber from the humidification liquid chamber.
  • the compressible barrier can be partly rigid and partly resilient to compressive forces such that the resilient portions such as a tube portion can be compressed and expanded to close or open the humidification liquid chamber to the dry gas chamber.
  • FIGURE 3 shows the apparatus according to the second embodiment of the invention.
  • An outer container is shown as with an inwardly rolled portion forming a barrier between the humidification liquid and the dry gas chamber against the product container.
  • a humidification liquid chamber containing a humidification liquid is shown as a concentric space between the two containers.
  • the thermally reactive structure is shown in the dry gas chamber in the space between the base of the product container and the base of the outer container.
  • FIGURE 4 shows a partial cutaway section of the interconnection structure with the compressible barrier filling a portion of the interconnection structure that connects to the humidification liquid chamber according to the first embodiment of the invention.
  • the configuration shows the apparatus before the beverage container is opened.
  • FIGURE 5 shows a cross section of apparatus after opening the lid opening means with the loss of pressure of the product container causing the product container to slightly deform by compression from the pressure in the dry gas chamber causing the passage of humidification liquid into dry gas chamber.
  • FIGURE 6 shows the first embodiment of the invention with one or more the filtration membranes attached to cover a dry gas passageway through the cylindrical wall of the product container.
  • FIGURE 7 shows a partial cut away view of the outer container according to the second embodiment of the present invention, with the dry gas chamber filled with a thermally reactive structure in the form of a cylindrical structure surrounding the product container. Filtration membranes are shown attached to the product container and also on the beverage container lid.
  • FIGURE 8 shows a disc pressure release opening means for the apparatus that consists of a disc sealing an opening on the lid.
  • the high pressure of the carbonation prevents easy opening of the pressure released opening means to prevent opening of the product container and thus prevent a sudden loss of carbonation pressure that can cause the collapse of the product container walls.
  • FIGURE 9 shows a partial cross-sectional view of the filtration membrane covered by a sealing membrane that has been ruptured by dry gas pressure.
  • the sealing membrane can also just be dislodged from a sealing position over the filtration membrane to allow dry gas to escape to atmosphere.
  • FIGURE 10 shows a cross section of the thermally reactive structure with the dry gas trapped in the crystalline structure by compression molding.
  • FIGURE 11 shows an example of a mold to form the thermally reactive structure by using a press to compression mold it.
  • FIGURE 12 shows an embodiment of the humidification liquid chamber as a separate container inside the apparatus.
  • FIGURE 13 shows finger pressure actuating the cooling process by pushing on the embodiment of the humidification liquid chamber in shown in Figure 12 to break a compressible barrier such as a wax and a plastic, a silicone tube, and foil membrane to release humidification liquid into the dry gas chamber.
  • a compressible barrier such as a wax and a plastic, a silicone tube, and foil membrane
  • FIGURE 14 shows an exploded view of the fourth embodiment of the invention with the thermally reactive structure being inserted into the outer shell beverage container before the product container is slid into the outer container.
  • a humidification liquid chamber is also shown holding humidification liquid and about to be slid over the base dome of the outer container to sealing slide along its outer cylindrical wall.
  • FIGURE 15 shows a sectional view of the fourth embodiment of the invention.
  • the humidification liquid chamber is shown as a separate attachable structure that sealingly and slidingly fits unto the base of the outer container.
  • a molded thermally reactive structure is also shown sitting inside the base dome of the outer container.
  • the product container is shown holding a beverage in a completely sealed configuration.
  • the outer container is shown to have a valve such as a duckbill valve to allow the passage of humidification liquid from the humidification liquid chamber covering the bottom of the outer container.
  • FIGURE 16 shows a cut away view of the fourth embodiment of the invention’s humidification liquid chamber with a filtration membrane attached to cover over dry gas passageways to prevent humidification liquid from exiting the humidification liquid chamber while only allowing dry gas to exist through dry gas passage holes to atmosphere.
  • FIGURE 17 shows the apparatus according to the fourth embodiment with the product container and the outer container forming a dry gas chamber holding the dry gas thermally reactive structure.
  • the humidification liquid chamber with humidification liquid contained therein is shown as a separate attached structure that sealingly and slidingly fits around the base of the outer container.
  • a breakable barrier such as a sealing membrane and a wax layer is shown blocking a humidification liquid passageway through the outer container domed base.
  • the dry gas thermally reactive structure is also shown beneath the product container supporting against the base dome of the outer container it from carbonation stresses.
  • FIGURE 18 shows a finger pushing the humidification liquid canister to sealingly slide on the outer container to deform the compressible barrier from a sealing configuration and allow humidification liquid to enter into the dry gaS chamber.
  • FIGURE 19 shows a compressible barrier support means for using a simple silicone tube as a resilient portion of compressible barrier for the present invention.
  • FIGURE 20 shows the product container surrounded and supported by the compressible barrier support means with a silicone flexible tube being compressed between the product container and the compressible barrier support means to seal the humidification liquid passageways until the beverage container pressure is released.
  • FIGURE 21 is a cut away view of the compressible barrier support means showing the humidification liquid passageways as a flexible silicone tube compressed into a sealing configuration between the product container outer wall and the compressible barrier support means to seal off the humidification liquid from entering the dry gas chamber DGC and interact with the reactants A.
  • FIGURE 22 is a cut away view of the compressible barrier support means showing the humidification liquid passageways as a flexible silicone tube expanded into its normal form as the flexural strength of the product container wall decreases, allowing the silicone tube to natural expand back from a closed configuration to its normal an open configuration.
  • an apparatus 10 for cooling beverages and other food products including two beverage containers with matched sizes, namely, an outer container 100 and a product container 200.
  • the inventor has discovered that two conventional beverage containers have such matching sizes.
  • the outer container 100 and the product container 200 are chosen such that the outer diameter of the product container 200 fits snugly through the outer container open rim 106 which has a slightly larger diameter than the product container outer cylindrical wall 202.
  • the product container 200 is chosen to have a height that is less than that of the outer container 100.
  • the gap between the height of the outer container base dome 103 and the height of the product container base dome 203 forms a cylindrical space A between them.
  • the gap between the diameter of the outer container cylindrical wall 111 and the diameter of the product container cylindrical wall 201 forms an annular radial space R between them.
  • the cylindrical space A forms a dry gas chamber DGC that will hold a thermally reactive structure 107 impregnated with a dry gas DG, and the annular radial space R forms the humidification liquid chamber HLC that will hold a humidification liquid HL.
  • the first method of forming the thermally reactive structure 107 is by means of compressing the thermally reactive structure with a chemical that is either exothermic or endothermic when water is added to it.
  • a chemical that is either exothermic or endothermic when water is added to it For example, in the case of a cooling thermally reactive structure, a mixture of dry-ice pellets that are densely packed with crystalline urea and salts to is compressed by a 10-50 Ton press to form the desired shape and size of the thermally reactive structure 107.
  • dry ice pellets may be used. The dry ice pellets are commonly made for industrial use and the density of the packing of the dry ice determines its sublimation rate and eventually its life span as a solid.
  • a mold 300 acts as a high-pressure molding vessel with a re-sealable closure. See FIGURE 11.
  • the mold cavity 301 must be a relatively strong and able to withstand high pressures.
  • a dry gas DG feeding valve and a dry gas DG release valve may be provided in the mold cavity 300 to allow high pressure dry gas DG to enter into the mold cavity 301.
  • a mold cavity 301 must be made of a suitable metal such as stainless steel.
  • the mold cavity 301 is a two-part mold with a male mold 302 and a female mold 303 to form the thermally reactive structure 107 by compressing the urea U with the endothermic salts E. It is desirable that the two cavities be machined to form a mold cavity 301 that closely fits the shape and size of the dry gas chamber DGC longitudinal cylindrical space A between the two containers 100 and 200. As such the mold 300 must have a dome cavity 304 that matches the product container base dome 203, and a reverse dome cavity 305 that matches the outer container base dome 103. An example of such a mold 300 and a mold cavity 301 is shown in FIGURE 11.
  • the shape of the mold cavity 301 is designed to maximize the volume of the thermally reactive structure 107 such that it fills the dry gas chamber DGC according to the first embodiment as shown in FIGURE 2.
  • the thermally reactive structure 107 can also be formed in any shape or size as long as it can be configured to maximize its volume in relation to the dry gas chamber DGC.
  • the mold cavity 301 can be heated and lined with a very thin wax layer for easy release of the compression-formed thermally reactive structure 107 by melting the thin wax coating inside the mold cavity 301 to release the thermally reactive structure 107.
  • the general thickness and shape of the thermally reactive structure 107 for the first embodiment is determined by the differences in height between the product container 200 and the outer container 100. A general difference of about 1 inch between the standard beverage containers is provided by the readily available cans such as the 8.5oz 200 Slim CanTM for the product container 200, and the 12.0oz 202 Slim CanTM for the outer container 100, both manufactured by Ball CorpTM for example, and other canning companies.
  • the product container 200 can be chosen to be an 8.5oz Slim CanTM with a 200-neck configuration with the chosen outer container 100 being to be a 12 oz standard can or a 12 oz Slim CanTM with a 202-neck configuration.
  • the thermally reactive structure 107 also may be formed by compressive molding in the manner prescribed above and then broken up into granular form so that it can be poured into the outer container 100 to form the apparatus 10.
  • Another method of forming the thermally reactive structure 107 for cooling purposes is by using endothermic salts E and carbonates and adding one of Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) fibers and activated carbon, in combination with organic salts such as one or more of Sodium Chloride, Potassium Chloride, and in some cases with Sodium Bicarbonate and acetic acid granules to form the thermally reactive structure 107.
  • PTFE Polytetrafluoroethylene
  • the PTFE fibers can be replaced with activated carbon, and fullerene nanotubes, however, PTFE fibers are more effective in application and are preferred for cleanliness.
  • PTFE and other media that can absorb CO2 to make the thermally reactive structure 107 semi porous for storing gases and also for providing a porous substrate for water, the water easily dissolves the thermally reactive structure 107 by opening the pores formed by compression to release trapped dry gas DG.
  • the mixtures of urea with the PTFE fibers and salts and carbonates can be varied to various proportions as shown as an example in the table below.
  • the mixture is generally heated in the mold 300 or extrusion cavity to a temperature of 271.4°F at which point the urea melts to a clear liquid without decomposition.
  • CO2 is introduced under a pressure of about 820 psi and greater, and even to supercritical pressures over the extrusion or mold cavity 301.
  • the dry gas DG is infused into the mold cavity 301 to mix with the molten urea U by slowly bubbling the dry gas DG through the molten urea U as micro bubbles through the mold cavity 301 using a slow- release control valve.
  • the bubbles should be about 0.01” in diameter and, as such, holes made through the mold cavity 301can be used to bubble a gas for example, such as CO2.
  • the range of diameters of the holes of dry gas DG are as small as 10 microns to 200 microns, and as such they may be laser perforated through the mold 300, if desired. It is important that the mold cavity 301 holes be small enough not to allow the passage of molten urea U and endothermic salts E through them, but can allow the free passage of dry gas DG. Heating of the urea can also be achieved by just introducing the dry DG gas under pressure to generate a heating of the gas. Thus, dry CO2 for example can be pressurized into the molten urea U mixture through the mold cavity 301 to generate the heat required without heaters.
  • a cooling coil may be used to pass cooling media such as cooled air, cooled water, and a cryogenic liquid through the mold cavity 301 to rapidly cool the urea and encapsulate the dry gas DG inside PTFE fibers and activated carbon granules as a sorbent.
  • Urea U has a density 1.32g/cc while PTFE has a density of 2.2g/cc. at 271.4°F, the density of liquid CO2 is about 0.76 g/cc.
  • CO2 is the lightest compound of the mixture and will tend to migrate in a vertical, upward direction through the mixture when introduced at the lowest point of the mold cavity 301 where the concentration of PTFE fibers is maximum due to their higher densities.
  • the mixtures of silica gel with the PTFE fibers and sodium acetate, calcium chloride, silica gel, sodium hypochlorite, and metals are mixed in proportions that can be varied to as shown as an example in the table below by adjusting the range of different components to form 100% of the mixture.
  • the desired mixture is generally put in the mold 300 or extrusion cavity to a temperature of 200°F at which point the vapor is expelled without decomposition.
  • Dry gas DG such as Dimethyl Ether (DME) is introduced under a pressure of about 60 psi and greater, over the extrusion or mold cavity 301.
  • the dry gas DG is infused into the mold cavity 301 to mix with the mixture by slowly bubbling the dry gas DG through the mold cavity 301 using a slow release control valve.
  • the range of diameters of the holes of dry gas DG are as small as 10 microns to 200 microns, and as such they may be laser perforated through the mold 300, if desired.
  • a cooling coil (not shown) may be used to pass cooling media such as cooled air, cooled water, and a cooling liquid through the mold cavity 301 to rapidly cool the mixtures of one or more of sodium acetate, calcium chloride, silica gel, sodium hypochlorite, and metals, to encapsulate the dry gas DG inside PTFE fibers and the mixture.
  • PTFE fibers and activated carbon encapsulate liquid CO2 at a molecular level. If left by themselves, however, the CO2 will eventually migrate through their pores and dissipate to atmosphere, achieving very little storage.
  • PTFE and activated carbon hollow fibers have facilitated CO2 capture in other applications and their affinity to repel water makes them attractive in such CO2 storage applications, where water vapor otherwise tends to fill the pores of other storage medium fibers in place of the CO2. It is thus important that the dry gas DG, such as DME and CO2, be dried to a low dew point preferably below 10°F to avoid storing water in the interstitial spaces of the thermally reactive structure 107.
  • the storage capacity of the thermally reactive structure 107 will be less than 10% of its available storage capacity at room temperature and at a normal atmospheric humidity of 50%.
  • a random orientation of the micro PTFE fibers facilitates and allows the dry gas DG to easily interact and be trapped within the PTFE fibers as it migrates through the thermally reactive structure 107.
  • the pores of the PTFE fibers and the urea U in the thermally reactive structure 107 form crystalline blocked fiber cores encapsulating dry gas DG such as DME and CO2, as the thermally reactive structure 107 cools and crystalizes around the fibers.
  • the dry gas DG is substantially dried to the low dew point by removing water vapor from it.
  • Dry gas DG does not mean non-liquefied CO2 , and one familiar with the term will know that dry CO2, for example, can be liquefied but contains little or no water.
  • the dry gas DG is substantially dried by flowing it through a desiccant bed to remove as much water as possible, and in this case, the dry gas DG is passed through a desiccant bed of silica crystals repeatedly and over a period of time to remove all moisture. Dry gas DG can also be created by evacuation at low pressures, to allow water vapor to condense from it. Standard beverage plants and several factories use substantially dry CO2 for carbonation of soda and beers. Water can reduce the capacity to store dry gases in such structures, and thus the removal of as much water as possible helps achieve the aims of the invention.
  • the dry gas DG is needed to effectuate further heating or cooling by absorption of water and humidification of the dry gas during operation of the apparatus 10.
  • Studies by the inventor on cooling forms of the thermally reactive structure show that when the ends of a tube holding liquefied substantially dry CO2 are plugged with recrystallized molten urea U, the solidified crystals are capable of withstanding the critical pressures of the liquefied dry gas DG, even at large diameters of blockage.
  • the Urea is dissolved, some of the dry gas DGthat has migrated into the urea U is also released with endothermic cooling. This property of urea is adopted to PTFE fibers, which can also store CO2 when under some pressure.
  • the problem of dry gas DG storage lies in the further migration of the gas to atmosphere as time passes.
  • This problem can be solved by encapsulating the dry gas DG using a small percentage of PTFE fibers trapped inside recrystallized urea U granules or prills, forming bounded containments.
  • extruding or molding a mixture of molten urea U, PTFE, and endothermic salts E with a dry gas DG such as CO2 and then recrystallizing the urea U rapidly in a mold cavity 301 greatly facilitates dry gas DG capture, entrapping the dry gas DG for long term use.
  • the purpose of the endothermic salts E is to rapidly disintegrate the thermally reactive structure 107 as they dissolve in humidification liquid HL forming cavities and pores which allow easy access for more water molecules to enter the thermally reactive structure 107.
  • the endothermic salts E may not be necessary if the disintegration of the urea U can occur quickly.
  • the endothermic salts E can be chosen to also dissolve endothermically, allowing further cooling effects to be achieved in addition to the cooling effect effectuated by dissolving Urea U in water.
  • the thermally reactive structure 107 can thus be formed in this manner in any desired shape to be used to heat or cool the apparatus 10.
  • the thermally reactive structure 107 can be made in the form of longitudinal segments of a cylinder as semi-flexible thick membranes that can be wrapped and placed into the outer container 100, to expand and abut outer container inner cylindrical wall lOland to surround the product container cylindrical wall 202 outer surface. It is also possible to mold form the thermally reactive structure 107 by pouring its molten state on a fibrous open-celled sheet material such as a porous foam or a highly absorbent paper tissue to allow it to be flexible and contiguous.
  • a fibrous open-celled sheet material such as a porous foam or a highly absorbent paper tissue
  • the same process is used as before for the cooling version, by simply replacing the endothermic reactants A with exothermic reactants, A, such as a sodium hypochlorite, metals, desiccants, silica gel, and sodium acetates, a dry gas DG such as DME that heats up upon absorption by the humidification liquid HL.
  • exothermic reactants such as a sodium hypochlorite, metals, desiccants, silica gel, and sodium acetates
  • a dry gas DG such as DME that heats up upon absorption by the humidification liquid HL.
  • the thermally reactive structure 107 is first formed and inserted into the outer container 100 to sit on its inner dome. If formed as a compression molded structure, the thermally reactive structure 107 is simply inserted to sit on the outer container base dome 103. If formed as a granular structure, the thermally reactive structure 107 is simple poured onto the outer container base dome 103.
  • a very thin compressible wax layer is then poured to form a compressible barrier structure 128 that fluidly seals over the surface of the thermally reactive structure 107.
  • Humidification liquid HL is then poured into the outer container 100 as to sit above the compressible barrier structure 128 and fill the annular radial space R between the containers and above the thermally reactive structure 107.
  • an indented annular groove 122 may be made on the outer container 100 to reduce the amount of material used to form the compressible barrier structure 128. This facilitates recycling since the compressible barrier structure 128 may be reduced to a just a sealing film or completely eliminated by making indented annular groove 122 seal against product container outer cylindrical wall 202.
  • a vapor passageway 110 comprising a small hole of dimensions between l/8 th of an inch to 1 ⁇ 2 an inch in diameter is made through the outer container cylindrical wall 111, preferably at the highest possible location on the outer container cylindrical wall 111.
  • the vapor passageway 110 can also be made by laser perforation to create several small holes in place of a single large hole.
  • the purpose of the vapor passage way 110 is to allow effluent dry gas DG, to exit the apparatus 10 from the humidification liquid chamber HLC to atmosphere.
  • the vapor passageway 110 may not be necessary if the volume of dry gas DG that is stored in the thermally reactive structure 107 will not generate a pressure greater than 1 psi.
  • a preferred location for the vapor passageway 110 is at about the 1” from the outer container open rim 106.
  • the vapor passageway 110 may also be placed on the topmost possible location of the product container outer cylindrical wall 111 and through the product container inner cylindrical wall 202. This also allows the dry gas DG to pass through product container cylindrical wall 202 through the product container cylindrical wall 201 inner surface and then through the beverage release port 116.
  • the vapor passageway 110 is placed in the outer container 100 to avoid any possibility of contamination between the beverage B in the product container 200 with the thermally reactive structure 107.
  • the vapor passageway 110 can be made through the product container 200 and additionally through the beverage container opening means 116.
  • the vapor passageway 110 communicates fluidly between atmosphere and the humidification liquid chamber HLC formed by the annular radial space R between the two containers.
  • the vapor passageway 110 can be made on the outer container 100 to allow the humidification liquid chamber HLC to communicate with the atmosphere.
  • the vapor passageway 110 can also be made through the product container 200 to allow communication between the humidification liquid chamber HLC and atmosphere through either the beverage container opening means 116 or alternatively through a vapor passageway 110 made directly through the beverage container lid 113.
  • a filtration membrane 117 preferably made from a thin hydrophobic plastic disc of Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) with pore sizes such as 0.05um, O.lOum, 0.22um, 0.45um, lum, 2um, 3um, 5um, is attached by a strong hydrophobic and water compatible adhesive to cover over the vapor passageway 110 either on the inside or the outside surface surrounding the vapor passageway 110.
  • the adhesive is placed on the cylindrical portion of the filtration membrane 117, not covering the vapor passageway 110.
  • the filtration membrane 117 also may be welded onto any of the container walls by thermal or ultrasonic welding to cover the vapor passageways 110.
  • the attached filtration membrane 117 must be able to withstand pressures greater than carbonation pressures of about 60psi. In the case when the vapor passageway 110 is placed on the product container cylindrical wall 115, the filtration membrane 117 must be large enough to allow the free flow of dry gas DG through its structure without stressing the walls of the product container 200 with back pressure, otherwise back pressure may crush the walls of the product container 200.
  • a multiplicity of vapor passageways 110 may also be perforated through both the product container 200, the outer container 100, and the beverage container lid 113 to reduce the back pressure of dry gas DG and prevent it from collapsing the product container 200 walls.
  • the filtration membrane 117 is a thin membrane of a thickness less than 5 mills, and about 20mm to 50mm in diameter, and has a burst pressure of above 80psi and can also adequately withstands the pressures that are generated when the apparatus 10 is in operation, releasing CO2 to atmosphere.
  • the pore size for the filtration membrane should be no less that 1 micron and no more that 15 microns. In all cases, the filtration membrane must not allow water molecules to free pass through it.
  • the filtration membrane 117 is hydrophobic and thus does not allow humidification liquid HL liquids to pass through its pores, but will allow dry gas DG to pass through its pores.
  • the vapor passageway 110 affords a means of passing dry gas DG through a filtration membrane 117 from the humidification liquid chamber HLC to atmosphere. If an adequate amount of dry gas DG is used, vapor y passageway 110 and the filtration membrane 117 may be eliminated altogether, since the dry gas DG will be absorbed by the humidification liquid HL to allow humidification liquid HL to completely saturate the thermal reactive structure 107.
  • the next step in the assembly and manufacturing process of the first embodiment is to pour a prescribed amount of humidification liquid HL, preferably water, into the outer container 100.
  • the amount of humidification liquid HL must be enough to just fill the annular radial space R between the containers 100 and 200.
  • the next step in assembling the first embodiment of apparatus 10 is to slowly insert the product container 200 through the outer container open rim 106 until the product container sealing flange 207 rests on the outer container sealing flange 207a.
  • a protective sealing membrane 120 in the form of thin membrane of plastic or paper with glue lining on its edge may be attached firmly to cover and protect the filtration membrane 117 from the outside environment.
  • the sealing membrane 120 is not essential but accords protection of the humidification liquid chamber HLC from atmospheric pressure changes and dirt.
  • the protective sealing membrane 120 must be attached so that it can be either be dislodged or can be ruptured by a slight pressure that is greater than carbonation pressure, preferably above 50 psi of pressure.
  • the sealing membrane 120 must be designed to form a seal over the filtration membrane 117 during normal storage of a carbonated beverage B without rupturing.
  • the sealing membrane 120 is welded by thermal or ultrasonic welding unto the surfaces of the containers 100 and 200 over the vapor passageway 110.
  • the sealing membrane 120 must be attached to withstand pressures greater than carbonation but should be rupturable when the pressure exceeds the carbonation pressure of the beverage B being cooled.
  • the next step is just filling a beverage B into the product container 200 through product container open rim 206 using conventional beverage filling machines.
  • the next step is to jointly seal both the product container with the outer container 100 by either sealing flange 207 and the outer container sealing flange 207b simultaneously to the beverage container lid flange 207c or by simply welding the containers together with a suitable glue or by sonic welding. This provides a seal for the beverage B product inside the product container 200, and also provides a seal for the dry gas chamber DGC and humidification liquid chamber HLC simultaneously.
  • the filtration membrane 117 may be placed over a vapor passageway 110 made on the product container 200 and a sealing membrane 120 may be placed over any filtration membrane 117 that is on the beverage container lid 113. Alternatively, it may be placed on the outer container cylindrical wall 111 at an appropriate location at the highest possible location. This allows carbonation pressure from the beverage B to enter into the outer container 100 and pressurize its walls.
  • the two containers can be joined by sealing the product container with the outer container 100 by simply welding the containers together with a suitable glue or by sonic welding the outer cylindrical walls together.
  • a suitable glue or by sonic welding the outer cylindrical walls together.
  • the vapor passageway 110 made on the product container 200 ensures rapid equilibration of pressure between the carbonated beverage B and the volume cylindrical space A, so that the product container 200 bears little or no pressure related stresses.
  • a means of activating the cooling process for the first embodiment requires a vapor passage way 110 through the product container outer cylindrical wall 202, through the product container inner cylindrical wall 201, and the beverage container lid 113.
  • Apparatus 10 is activated by simply depressing the wall of the outer container 100 to compress the compressible barrier 128 formed by the wax ring and deform it from a sealing configuration to a non-sealing configuration.
  • the humidification liquid HL in the cylindrical space A is released by gravity to contact the thermally reactive structure 107 below it as it flows through the deformed compressible barrier 128.
  • Simple agitation by swirling or shaking can ensure that the humidification liquid HL contacts the thermally reactive structure 107 and the process will continue as pressure builds up inside the outer container 100 and ruptures the deformed compressible barrier 128.
  • the pressure loss also causes the deformed compressible barrier 128 to break and deform further as the humidification liquid HL becomes ckrbonated and pushes the deformed compressible barrier 128 to release gas.
  • the pressurized dry gas DG that is generated will pass through a vapor passageway 110 through the product container 200 and thus through a filtration membrane 117, and then, through a vapor passageway 110 on the beverage container lid 113.
  • the pressure of the existing gases will be higher than carbonation pressure and thus will dislodge the protective sealing membrane 120 to exit to atmosphere. If is important that the rate of flow of gases through the filtration membranes 117 be selected to match eabh other. This way, no back pressures are generated during the process that may compressibly crush the product container 200.
  • FIGURE 3 shows a second embodiment of the invention.
  • the second embodiment of the invention requires two conventional beverage containers with matched sizes to serve the purposes of an outer container 100 and a product container 200 that form part of apparatus 10.
  • the outer container 100 and the product container 200 are chosen such that the outer diameter of the product container 200 fits snugly through the outer container open rim 106 which has a larger diameter than the product container outer cylindrical wall 202.
  • the product container 200 is chosen to have a height that is less than the outer container 100.
  • the gap between the height of the outer container base dome 103 and the height of the product container base dome 203 forms a cylindrical space A between them.
  • the gap between the diameter of the outer container cylindrical wall 111 and the diameter of the product container cylindrical wall 201 forms an annular radial space R between them.
  • the cylindrical space A forms humidification liquid chamber HLC which will hold a humidification liquid HL
  • the annular radial space R forms a dry gas chamber DGC that will hold a thermally reactive structure 107 impregnated with a dry gas DG.
  • the annular radial space R between the two containers now forms a dry gas chamber DGC as opposed to a humidification liquid chamber HLC, and the cylindrical space A forms humidification liquid chamber HLC that will hold a humidification liquid HL.
  • the roles of the dry gas chamber DGC and the humidification liquid chamber HLC have been reversed as a counter example to the first embodiment.
  • the first step in making the second embodiment is to form a vapor passageway 110 at the center of the outer container base dome 103.
  • the vapor passageway 110 communicates fluidly between atmosphere and the cylindrical space A between the two containers.
  • the vapor passageway 110 can be made through the outer container cylindrical wall 102 and through the outer container base dome 103 to allow the fluid communicate between the cylindrical space A with atmosphere.
  • a filtration membrane 117 is placed over the vapor passageway 110.
  • the filtration membrane 117 is a thin membrane of thickness less than 5 mills, and about 20mm to 50mm in diameter, and has a burst pressure of above 50psi and can also adequately withstand the pressures that are generated when the apparatus 10 is in operation releasing CO2 to atmosphere. If an adequate amount of dry gas DG is used, vapor passageway 110 and the filtration membrane 117 may be eliminated altogether, since the dry gas DG will be absorbed by the humidification liquid HL to allow humidification liquid HL to completely saturate the thermal reactive structure 107.
  • the next step in assembling the second embodiment is to flood the outer container 100 with an extremely dry gas DG such as CO2 or Dimethyl ether.
  • the dry gas DG need not be under pressure. This displaces any air that may be inside the outer container 100.
  • the thermally reactive structure 107 can be made as one or more segments of a cylinder that fits into the annular radial space R between the containers 100 and 200. If made as a cylinder, the shape of the thermally reactive structure 107 is preferably a split cylinder whose cylindrical wall is cut along its longitudinal axis to allow it to be squeezed to a smaller diameter that can pass through the outer container open rim 106 and then expanded to attach itself by friction to shell container cylindrical wall 101 inner surface within the annular radial space R.
  • the thermally reactive structure 107 also may be made in segments that can easily be inserted through the outer container open rim 106 to attach to outer container cylindrical wall 101 inner surface.
  • a preferred way of making the thermally reactive structure 107 for this embodiment is by compression molding it into the cylindrical portions in a mold as described above.
  • the mixture of urea U, endothermic salts E and some carbonates is compressed to a high tonnage by a press capable of pressures of about 10 tons to 50 tons of force, and then heated in a mold cavity that is pressurized with dry gas DG to form cylindrical segments.
  • the thermally reactive structure 107 mixture will heat up as it is compressed to form a contiguous crystalline structure into the desired cylindrical segment shapes as described earlier.
  • This process can be very effective for mass production and requires at least a 20-ton press for the “cakes” to be stable in very much the same manner as a tablet of medication is made.
  • This method can also be used to form segmented thermally reactive structure 107 sections that can be easily inserted into the outer container 100.
  • thermally reactive structure 107 Yet another effective way of making the thermally reactive structure 107 is to heat the thermally reactive structure 107 with sorbents, (PTFE, and or activate carbon), salts and carbonates, desiccants, and to extrude the molten mixture directly unto the outer container inner cylindrical wall 101 as the outer container 100 is spun on its axis to rotate preferably in a horizontal axis of symmetry.
  • the thermally reactive structure 107 will then solidify as it cools to form a solid cylindrical layer stuck on the outer container inner cylindrical wall 101 in the annular radial space R.
  • This process provides a simple and fast method of mass manufacturing the thermally reactive structure 107 while achieving insertion into the outer container 100 directly. Care must be taken to allow the flow of the molten thermally reactive structure 107 to form an even cylinder that has a diameter just slightly larger than that of the product container 200 so that the product container 200 can slide freely into the outer container 100.
  • Humidification liquid HL is first poured into the outer container 100 to sit and fill the cylindrical space A between the outer container base dome 103 and the product container base dome 203.
  • the next step in forming the apparatus 10 according to the second embodiment is to pour a thin layer of molten wax into the outer container 100 to float and cover over and seal the humidification liquid HL as it dries.
  • the vapor passageway 110 can also be made by laser perforation to create several small holes in place of a single large hole.
  • the purpose of the vapor passageway 110 is to allow effluent dry gas DG, preferable, CO2 , to exit the apparatus 10 from the dry gas chamber DGC to atmosphere.
  • the vapor passageway 110 may not be necessary if the volume of dry gas DG stored in the thermally reactive structure 107 will not generate much pressure greater than 1 psi.
  • the next step is to slowly insert the product container 200 through the outer container open rim 106 until product container sealing flange 207 rests snugly on the outer container sealing flange 207a.
  • dry gas DG inside the cylindrical space A that forms the dry gas chamber DGC builds up pressure as the dry gas DG that was flooded into the outer container 100 is displaced by the product container 200.
  • the excess dry gas DG passes through the vapor passageway 110 and through the filtration membrane 117 to atmosphere.
  • a protective sealing membrane is attached firmly to cover and protect the filtration membrane 117 from the outside environment.
  • the sealing membrane 120 is not essential but accords protection of the dry gas chamber DGC from atmospheric pressure changes and dirt.
  • the protective sealing membrane 120 must be attached so that it can be either dislodged or can be ruptured by pressure greater than atmospheric pressure.
  • the sealing membrane 120 must be designed to form a seal over the filtration membrane 117 during normal storage of a carbonated beverage B without rupturing.
  • the sealing membrane 120 is welded by thermal or ultrasonic welding unto the surfaces of the containers over the vapor passageways 110.
  • vapor passageway 110 and the filtration membrane 117 may be eliminated altogether, since the dry gas DG will be absorbed by the humidification liquid HL to allow humidification liquid HL to completely saturate the thermal reactive structure 107.
  • the next step is just filling a beverage B into the product container 200 using conventional beverage filling machines and seaming a beverage container lid 113 to preferably seal the product container sealing flange 207 with product.
  • This provides a seal for the beverage product B inside the product container 200, If co-crimped, this provides a seal for the dry gas chamber DGC and humidification liquid chamber HLC.
  • the two containers can be joined by sealing the product container with the outer container 100 by simply welding the containers together with a suitable glue or by sonic welding the outer cylindrical walls together.
  • the filtration membrane 117 may be placed over a vapor passageway 110 made on the product container 200 and a sealing membrane 120 may be placed over any filtration membrane 117 that is on the beverage container lid 113 or the outer container 100. This allows carbonation pressure from the beverage B to enter into the outer container 100 through the product container to pressurize the outer container 100.
  • the product container sealing flange 207 may be softened for easy seaming by heating it and quenching with water. This allows it to easily stretch over the outer container sealing flange 207a and the beverage container lid flange 207c for the co-seaming operation.
  • the two containers can be joined by sealing the product container with the outer container 100 by simply welding the containers together with a suitable glue or by sonic welding the outer cylindrical walls together.
  • a beverage container lid made with a finger depressible sealing disc can be used instead of the conventional tab on the beverage container lid.
  • Such lids are readily available from Ball Container CorporationTM in the USA and from Crown Cork and Seal CorporationTM.
  • the Global VentTM lid made by Crown Cork and SealTM is an example of such a beverage container lid.
  • the resealable twist and turn lid made by Rexam USATM is another example of such a lid.
  • These special lids have an opening that is sealed by a depressible disc.
  • the surface area of the disc can be chosen so that when pressure builds up during cooling and the release of CO2, the pressure acting on this area will generate a force that is enough to prevent the lid from being readily depressed by finger pressure F, until all the gases have exited the outer container through the vapor passageway and through the filtration membrane to atmosphere, allowing the pressure to fall to a pressure that will exert a minimal force that allows the disc to be depressed by finger pressure F.
  • the apparatus is now ready for use. If an adequate amount of dry gas DG is used, vapor passageway 110 and the filtration membrane 117 may be eliminated altogether, since the dry gas DG will be absorbed by the humidification liquid HL to allow humidification liquid HL to completely saturate the thermal reactive structure 107.
  • the apparatus 10 is turned upside down with the base dome at the top.
  • the apparatus is activated by simply depressing the wall of the outer container 100 to compress the compressible barrier 128 formed by the wax ring and deform it from a sealing configuration.
  • the humidification liquid HL in the cylindrical space A is released by gravity to contact the thermally reactive structure 107 below it as it flows through the deformed compressible barrier 128.
  • Simple agitation by swirling or shaking the can 10 ensures that the humidification liquid HL contacts the thermally reactive structure 107, and the process will continue as pressure builds up inside the outer container 100 and ruptures the deformed compressible barrier 128.
  • the pressure loss also causes the deformed compressible barrier 128 to break and deform further as the humidification liquid HL becomes carbonated and pushes the deformed compressible barrier 128 to release gas.
  • the pressurized dry gas DG that is generated will pass through a vapor passageway 110 through the product container 200 and thus through a filtration membrane 117, and then, through a vapor passageway 110 on the beverage container 200.
  • the pressure of the exiting gases will be higher than carbonation pressure and thus will dislodge the protective sealing membrane 120 to exit to atmosphere. It is important that the rate of flow of gases through the filtration membranes 117 be selected to match each other. This way, no back pressures are generated during the process that may compressibly crush the product container 200.
  • the thermally reactive structure 107 is endothermically dissolved and the urea U that is dissolved allows the CO2 trapped in the thermally reactive structure 107 to expand and cool the beverage further, and the CO2 further absorbs water as a dry gas DG and humidifies, effectuating cooling by phase change, evaporation and endothermic cooling.
  • the apparatus 10 can now be left standing in its normal upright configuration and the foaming turbulence thus generated by the CO2 will gradually allow the humidification liquid HL to continuously disrupt and rupture the remaining compressible barrier 128 to release gas, allowing continuous contact between humidification liquid HL and the thermally reactive structure 107, even in an upright position.
  • the pressure of the gas rises, causing the sealing membrane 120 to rupture or become dislodged from the container and allowing only CO2 gas to pass through the filtration membranes 117 to atmosphere. This effectuates cooling or heating of the product container 200 as well as the outer container 100.
  • a second means of activating the cooling or heating process is to simply open the beverage container opening means 116. This requires a vapor passageway 110 and a filtration membrane 117 to be placed either through the product container cylindrical wall 115 or through the outer container cylindrical wall 111. No harm is done if both vapor passages are made as stated earlier in the first activation means. When this is done, the pressure loss then causes product container 200 walls to momentary relax and the compressible barrier 128 formed by the wax is disrupted. Further agitation will ensure that the water contacts the thermally reactive structure 107 as it disintegrates and falls into the humidification liquid HL.
  • the thermally reactive structure 107 is either endothermically dissolved or exothermically absorbed and the dry gas DG trapped in the thermally reactive structure 107 expands and if it is a cooling gas such as CO2 it absorbs water and cools the humidification liquid HL further, and the dry gas DG further absorbs humidification liquid HL as a dry gas DG humidifies, effectuating cooling by phase change, evaporation and endothermic cooling.
  • the dry gas DG is a heating gas such as Dimethyl ether, (DME) it is absorbed in the humidification liquid HL, preferably water, and the dry gas DG and effectuates heating by phase change in absorption and exothermically heats the food product.
  • DME Dimethyl ether
  • the dry gas DG and CO2 from carbonation can either exit through the vapor passageway 110 on the product container 200 or through the vapor passageway 110 on the outer container 100 and also through both vapor passageways 110.
  • the apparatus can now be left standing on its normal upright configuration and the foaming turbulence thus generated by the CO2 will gradually allow the humidification liquid HL to continuously disrupt and rupture the remaining wax barrier structure, allowing continuous contact between humidification liquid HL and the thermally reactive structure, even in an upright position.
  • the third embodiment of the invention requires two conventional beverage containers with matched sizes to serve the purposes of an outer container 100 and a product container 200 that form part of apparatus 10.
  • the outer container 100 and the product container 200 are chosen such that the outer diameter of the product container 200 fits snugly through the outer container open rim 106, which has a larger diameter than the product container cylindrical wall 202 outer surface.
  • the product container 200 is chosen to have a height that is less than the outer container 100.
  • the gap between the height of the outer container base dome 103 and the height of the product container base dome 203 forms a cylindrical space A between them.
  • the gap between the diameter of the outer container cylindrical wall 111 and the diameter of the product container cylindrical wall 201 forms an annular radial space R between them.
  • the cylindrical space A forms humidification liquid chamber HLC which will hold a humidification liquid HL
  • the annular radial space R forms a dry gas chamber DGC that will hold a thermally reactive structure 107 impregnated with a dry gas DG.
  • an open-ended humidification liquid chamber HLC is formed as a separate open cuplike container within the outer container 100 in the cylindrical space A.
  • the humidification liquid chamber HLC has a humidification liquid chamber outer cylindrical wall 132 that slidingly fits on outer container inner cylindrical wall 101.
  • the humidification liquid chamber HLC is manufactured by means of either stamping aluminum or by means of plastic injection molding.
  • the humidification liquid chamber HLC is configured with a stepped well 123 that has vapor passageways 110 in the form of an array of tiny holes through it as shown.
  • the vapor passageways 110 should be no more than 1 ⁇ 4 inch in diameter and should be as many as possible to allow free passage of dry gas DG and prevent back pressure build up.
  • a filtration membrane 117 is placed on the inside surface of the stepped well 123 to block off any liquid passage through the vapor passageways 110 passing through the stepped well 123.
  • An outer container dome hole 125 is made through the center of the outer container base dome 103 to allow the stepped well 123 to freely pass and project through the outer container the base dome 103.
  • the outer container dome hole 125 is between 0.5” to 1.5” in diameter and should just allow the stepped well 123 of the humidification liquid chamber HLC to pass through it.
  • the filtration membrane 117 is made from a thin hydrophobic membrane of Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) with pore sizes such as 0.05um, 0.1 Oum, 0.22um, 0,45um, lum, 2um, 3um, 5um, is attached by a strong hydrophobic and water compatible adhesive 118 to cover the vapor passageways 110 on the inside surfaces of stepped well 123 to prevent any liquids from passing through them.
  • Humidification liquid HL is filled into the humidification liquid chamber HLC and a breakable compressible barrier 128 made from a suitable material such as a wax layer, a thin plastic or aluminum foil barrier, is placed the humidification liquid chamber HLC to seal the humidification liquid chamber open rim 126.
  • the compressible barrier 128 material must be able to compress and deform into a non-sealing configuration when stressed by finger pressure F from the side of the outer container 100.
  • the humidification liquid chamber HLC is manufactured as a separate container to hold humidification liquid HL, and is positioned inside the outer container 100 to sit in the cylindrical space A and slide freely but sealingly against the outer container inner cylindrical wall 101.
  • Grease may be used to effectuate a proper seal between the humidification liquid chamber outer cylindrical walls 132 and the outer container cylindrical wall 101 inner surface.
  • vapor passageway 110 and the filtration membrane 117 may be eliminated altogether, since the dry gas DG will be absorbed by the humidification liquid HL to allow humidification liquid HL to completely saturate the thermal reactive structure 107.
  • the thermally reactive structure 107 is prepared in the manner prescribed by the second embodiment, i.e. as a cylindrical structure is made according to the second embodiment of the invention to sit in the annular radial space R between the containers.
  • the next step of manufacturing the apparatus according to the third embodiment is to place the humidification liquid chamber HLC, with the humidification liquid HL sealed within it by compressible barrier 128, to sit inside the cylindrical space A, and allowing the stepped well 123 to project through the outer container base dome hole 125, preferably without the stepped well 123 projecting beyond the outer container base edge 129.
  • the outer container 100 preferably will sit on outer container base edge 129 as usual.
  • the next step is to insert the product container 200 through the outer container open rim 106 until the product container sealing flange 107a rests and snugly sits on the outer container sealing flange 207a.
  • the next step is just filling a beverage B into the product container 200 using conventional beverage filling machines, and then seaming a beverage container lid 113 to co-seam and seal both the product container sealing flange 207a and the outer container sealing flange 107a to the beverage container lid flange 207c.
  • the apparatus is now ready to be used as invented.
  • a user simply presses the can down to push the humidification liquid chamber HLC by the stepped well 123 of the humidification liquid chamber HLC to break the compressible barrier 128 with the product container bottom edge 205.
  • the humidification liquid HL spills into and contacts the thermally reactive structure 107 and starts to agitate the thermally reactive structure 107 to either endothermically dissolve and cool or exothermically react and heat the product, and in the process to also release dry gas DG and for further heating or cooling depending on which dry gas DG is used.
  • thermally reactive structure of each embodiment While there many other means of forming the thermally reactive structure of each embodiment that have not been described, it is obvious to one skilled in the art that a variety of methods could be used to achieve the same goal.
  • CO2 other environmentally friendly gases may be used with the invention.
  • Dry Air and Dry Nitrogen may be used even though it will only be stored in gaseous form for the cooling process.
  • DME and other eithers can be used for heating. It is anticipated that the cost of the components needed to mass manufacture apparatus 10 in the forms shown above is less than US $0.20 per unit.
  • the portion C of compressible barrier structure 128 may be replaced by a simple plastic layer 228 forming a barrier.
  • One-way duckbill valves 230 may be used with small tubes (not shown) connect the dry gas chamber DGC to the humidification liquid chamber HLC and allow a one way flow of the humidification liquid HL in instances where carbonation pressure is used to pump the humidification liquid HL into the dry gas chamber DGC when carbonation pressure is released by opening the beverage container opening means 116.
  • the open end 106 may be left open for insertion of either humification liquid HL or thermally reactive structures 107. Then the open end 106 can be heat shrunk to seal and form the two chambers. HLC and DGC.
  • the orientation of the apparatus is irrelevant with this embodiment since by pushing the humidification liquid chamber HLC the humidification liquid HL will enter into the dry gas chamber DGC regardless of orientation. Thus, the apparatus may be oriented in a regular upright orientation without diminishing its operation. Further, by simply saturating the dry gas chamber DGC with a highly water absorptive gas such as DME (Dimethyl Ether), the filtration membrane 117 may be totally eliminated since upon pushing the humidification liquid HL such as water into the dry gas chamber DGC, absorption of the dry gas DME will automatically create a vacuum that forces the remaining humidification liquid HL in the humidification liquid chamber HLC to be sucked into the dry gas chamber DG activating the apparatus. This phenomenon can occur for both the heating and the cooling manifestations of the present invention. Thus, advantageously no filtration membrane need be used if the dry gas DG is also easily absorbed by water in large stoichiometric ratios.
  • DME Dimethyl Ether
  • FIGURES 14-19 A fourth embodiment of the invention is shown in FIGURES 14-19.
  • the fourth embodiment of the invention requires two conventional beverage containers with matched sizes to serve the purposes of an outer container 100 and a product container 200 that form part of apparatus 10.
  • the outer container 100 and the product container 200 are chosen, once again, such that the outer diameter of the product container 200 fits snugly through the outer container open rim 106, which has a larger diameter than the product container cylindrical wall 202 outer surface.
  • the product container 200 is chosen to have a height that is preferably but not necessarily less than the height of the outer container 100.
  • the space between the outer container 100 and the product container 200 forms the dry gas chamber DGC between them.
  • the cylindrical space A and the annular radial space R together form a dry gas chamber DGC that will hold a thermally reactive structure 107 impregnated with a dry gas DG.
  • a humidification liquid chamber HLC is formed as a separate part in the shape of a cup, as in the fourth embodiment.
  • the humidification liquid chamber HLC is formed with a humidification liquid chamber HLC bottom wall 133, a humidification liquid chamber cylindrical wall 131 inner surface and a humidification liquid chamber outer cylindrical wall 132.
  • the humidification liquid chamber HLC is designed to cap over and cover the outer container base dome 103 such that the humidification liquid chamber inner cylindrical wall 131 sealingly slides over the outer container cylindrical wall 102 outer surface.
  • the humidification liquid chamber HL is therefore configured like a cup with a humidification liquid chamber bottom wall 133.
  • the humidification liquid chamber bottom wall 133 can now hold the filtration membrane and has several vapor passageways 110 in the form of an array of small pin holes that pass through it as shown in FIGURES 18, 19, and 20.
  • the vapor passageways 110 should be no more than 1 ⁇ 4 inch in diameter and should be as many as possible to allow free passage of dry gas DG and prevent back pressure build up.
  • a filtration membrane 117 is placed on the inside surface of the dry gas chamber DGC to block any liquid from passing through the vapor passageways 110.
  • An outer container dome hole 125 with a diameter of about 1 ⁇ 4” to 1 ⁇ 2” is made through the outer container base dome 103.
  • vapor passageway 110 and the filtration membrane 117 may be eliminated altogether, since the dry gas DG will be absorbed by the humidification liquid HL to allow humidification liquid HL to completely saturate the thermal reactive structure 107.
  • the compressible barrier structure 128 could also be a compressible barrier such as a duckbill valve 230 that only allows flow into the dry gas chamber DGC from the humidification liquid chamber HLC when a force is applied to the humidification liquid HLC.
  • the purpose of the vapor passageways 110 is to allow gases within the dry gas chamber to be expelled through the filtration membrane 117 when the humidification liquid is introduced therein.
  • vapor passageways 110 can be anywhere on the walls that define the dry gas chamber including as shown in FIGURE 14, on the product container outer wall 202, and notwithstanding the foregoing, can also advantageously be on the outer shell cylindrical wall 102. It is not necessary that the vapor passageways 110 be on the humidification liquid chamber bottom wall 133 since the same purpose can be achieved if the vapor passageways 110 is placed anywhere on the outer container 100 to allow the easy displacement of gases within the dry gas chamber DGC.
  • Grease and other sealing agents that allow the humidification liquid chamber HLC to freely slide in a sealing configuration is applied to layer the humidification liquid chamber cylindrical walls 131 inner surface, and the humidification liquid chamber HLC is slid to cover over the outer container cylindrical wall 102 outer surface.
  • a tape may be applied around the edges of the humidification liquid chamber open rim 126 to hold it in place on the outer container cylindrical wall 102 outer surface before the apparatus 10 is used.
  • thermally reactive structure 107 is prepared and positioned as per any of the prior embodiments described herein and, in any combinations, thereof without limiting the scope of the invention.
  • a dry gas DG such as either Dimethyl ether (DME) or CO2, depending on whether cooling or heating is required respectively of the apparatus 10, is then flowed into the outer container 100 to remove any traces of air within the interstitial spaces in the thermally reactive structure 107.
  • DME Dimethyl ether
  • CO2 Dimethyl ether
  • the next step is to insert the product container 200 through the outer container open rim 106 with the product container outer cylindrical wall 202 snugly and sealingly fitting through the container open rim 106 until the product container sealing flange 107a is at least some distance from the outer container sealing flange 207a.
  • the two containers can be joined by sealing the product container outer cylindrical wall 202 with the outer container open rim 106 using either a suitable glue or by welding them together. Of course, they two containers may also be co-seamed with a single lid to jointly seal the beverage compartment and the dry gas chamber DGC.
  • the next step is just filling a beverage B into the product container 200 using conventional beverage filling machines and seaming a beverage container lid 113 to seal the product container sealing flange 207a.
  • the two containers can be joined together by sealing the product container with the outer container 100 by simply welding the containers together with a suitable glue or by sonic welding the outer cylindrical walls together.
  • the two containers can be co-seamed together by a single lid to for the dry gas chamber DGC and the humification liquid chamber HLC simultaneously.
  • Beverage container lid 113 has a beverage opening means 116 and a scored portion 116a that can be easily broken to open by means of the beverage container opening means for consuming the beverage B, using a finger pull motion as is conventionally done.
  • the apparatus 10 is now ready to be used as invented.
  • a hand or finger force is applied to empty the humidification liquid chamber HLC by sealingly sliding it over the outer container cylindrical wall 102 outer surface to break the compressible barrier 128 and empty the humidification liquid HL through the humidification liquid passageway 130 into the dry gas chamber DGC.
  • the humidification liquid HL absorbs dry gas DG as it enters into the dry gas chamber DGC and generates a vacuum to further pull the humidification liquid HL into the dry gas chamber DGC.
  • the vapor passageways 110 and the filtration membrane 117 are required by the invention.
  • DME is a particularly effective gas in generating a vacuum when it is absorbed by water exothermically.
  • DME and other suitable exothermically absorbable gases such as Solstice Enhance TM may be used for the heating process, while noble gases and C02 may be used for the cooling process.
  • the thermally reactive structure 107 dissolves and endothermically cools the beverage B.
  • the fifth embodiment of the invention comprises the same elements as the prior embodiments except that the compressible barrier 128 has a portion that is a flexible and resilient rubber or silicone tube 130a.
  • a compressible barrier support 134 is provided in the form of an annular product container holding ring 135 with protruding support legs 136 which keep the silicone tube 130a portion at approximately the center of the product container 200 when not carbonated.
  • Annular product container holding ring 135 is designed to snugly fit on the outer container cylindrical wall 101 inner surface and to snugly hold the product container product container inner cylindrical wall 201.
  • the compressible barrier 128 has humidification liquid passageway 130 in the form of a silicone tube 130a that passes through a hole in annular product container holding ring 135 and thus protrude into the annular ring product container holding ring 135.
  • the compressible barrier support 134 is designed to tightly hold the product container 100 and thus to compress the silicone tube 130a when it is between the product container 100 and the annular product container holding ring 135.
  • the design of the annular product container holding ring 135 may incorporate the silicone tube 130a as part of its structure.
  • the first step in manufacturing the invention is to open up a vapor passage way 119 on the outer container 200, preferable on the outer container conical neck 104.
  • vapor passageway 110 and the filtration membrane 117 may be eliminated altogether, since the dry gas DG will be absorbed by the humidification liquid HL to allow humidification liquid HL to completely saturate the thermal reactive structure 107.
  • the second step is to open up a base dome hole 139 through the outer container base dome 103 to snugly and sealing pass the silicone tube 130a through the outer container 200.
  • the third step in manufacturing the apparatus 10 according to the fifth embodiment is to insert the compressible barrier support 134 through the open outer container open rim 106 into the outer container 200, and for the support legs 136 to sit inside the outer container base dome 103, and to be held snugly against the outer container inner cylindrical wall 101 with the extended compressible barrier 128 tube passing snugly through the base dome hole 139 to protrude some distance below the outer container base dome 103.
  • the third step is to co-crimp and alternately to weld the inner cylindrical wall 102 to the outer container conical neck 104 as shown in FIGURES 19-21.
  • product container 200 is inserted through the outer container open rim 106 of the outer container 200 until the product container sealing flange 107a rests and snugly sits on the outer container sealing flange 207a.
  • the product container outer cylindrical wall 202 can be glued using a food grade superglue to the outer container conical neck 104.
  • the two containers form the Annular radial space R, to hold the thermally reactive structure 107 with the dry gas DG.
  • the product container 100 is already filled and sealed and ready to be consumed but this is not necessary since it may be crimped at a later stage.
  • the filled and sealed product container when inserted into the outer container 200 fits snugly into the annular product container holding ring 135 of the compressible barrier support 134 and compresses the compressible barrier 128 against the annular ring product container holding ring 135 and seals the tube off.
  • the silicone tube 130a used for the compressible barrier 128 and the humidification liquid passageway 130 must be rigid enough to force a non-pressurized product container outer cylindrical wall 202 to give in, and allow the tube to re-expand and open.
  • the compressible barrier 128 may be built into the same structure as the compressible barrier support 134 as one piece.
  • the rigid pressurized product container outer cylindrical wall 202 and the annular compressible barrier support structure 134 sitting inside the base of the outer container 103 are held snugly by the outer container inner cylindrical wall 101.
  • the silicone tube 130a is pinched off by the pressure exerted by the product container outer cylindrical wall 202 on the annular product container holding ring 135, to block off any humidification liquid HL from entering the dry gas chamber DGC through the humidification liquid passageway 130 on the silicone tube 130a before use of the apparatus 10.
  • a filtration membrane 117 is placed on the inside surface of the dry gas chamber DGC to block any liquid from passing through the vapor passageways 110.
  • An outer container dome hole 125 with a diameter of about 1 ⁇ 4” to 1 ⁇ 2” is made through the outer container base dome 103. If an adequate amount of dry gas DG is used, vapor passageway 110 and the filtration membrane 117 may be eliminated altogether, since the dry gas DG will be absorbed by the humidification liquid HL to allow humidification liquid HL to completely saturate the thermal reactive structure 107.
  • the next step is to fill the Annular radial space R, acting as the dry gas chamber DGC with the thermally reactive structure 107 in the form of granules and prills.
  • a filtration membrane 117 then seals off the vapor passage way 119 on the outer container 200.
  • Solstice gas generally referred to as Solstice Enhance TM, and manufactured by Honeywell Corporation, is added to distilled water to act as humidification liquid HL for the invention.
  • the humidification liquid chamber HLC is a cup-like structure that is not movable or slidable relative to the outer container 200.
  • the next step is to fill the open humidification liquid chamber HLC to about 80% of its fill volume with a mixture of Solstice Enhance TM, and water to act as humidification liquid HL. It is preferable that the mixture be in the range of 5% - 50% Solstice Enhance TM.
  • the open rim 126 and the unfilled portion of the humidification liquid chamber HLC with the humidification liquid HL mixture in it is then glued sealed or welded sealed to the bottom of the outer container 100 to form a sealed humidification liquid chamber HLC. This can be achieved by a suitable super glue or by thermo-welding the open rim of the humidification liquid chamber HLC to the outer container outer cylindrical wall 102 to seal the humidification liquid chamber HLC, with the humidification liquid inside.
  • the trapped Solstice EnhanceTM, and water acting as humidification liquid HL will be under very slight pressure at room temperature.
  • a filtration membrane 117 is required to exhaust any dry gas DG from the dry gas chamber DGC as the humidification liquid HL enters into the dry gas chamber DGC to fully saturate the dry gas chamber DGC and cause the reactants A to heat or cool and the dry gas to absorb water and also cool simultaneously.
  • the silicone tube 130a acting as the compressible barrier 128 expands from the compressed and shut-closed configuration as shown in FIGURE 20 and FIGURE 21, to the decompressed and open configuration as shown in FIGURE 22. Humidification liquid HL is then free to enter into the dry gas chamber DGC.
  • One-way duckbill valves 230 may be used with small tubes to connect the dry gas chamber DGC to the humidification liquid chamber HLC and allow a one way flow of the humidification liquid in instances where carbonation pressure is used to pump the humidification liquid HL into the dry gas chamber DGC when carbonation pressure is released by opening the beverage container opening means 116.
  • Alternative material selections can be used, once again, to form the product container 200 and the outer container 100.
  • plastic rather than aluminum containers may be used to achieve the same purposes.
  • the open end may be left open for insertion of either humidification liquid HL or thermally reactive structure 107. Then, the open end 106 can be heat shrunk to seal and form the two chambers 100 and 200.

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  • Chemical Kinetics & Catalysis (AREA)
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Abstract

Appareil de refroidissement et de chauffage comprenant un récipient de produit, pour contenir un produit alimentaire, ayant un bord, une paroi latérale et un dôme de base, ainsi qu'un récipient externe ayant un bord ouvert, une paroi latérale et un dôme de base. Le récipient de produit est ajusté serré dans le rebord ouvert du récipient externe et un couvercle commun sur les rebords de récipient. Le récipient de produit est plus petit que le récipient externe définissant une chambre de gaz sec entre les dômes de base de récipient contenant un gaz sec et une structure thermiquement réactive et où les diamètres du récipient de produit sont inférieurs à celui du récipient externe, laissant un espace radial entre les parois cylindriques des récipients définissant une chambre de liquide d'humidification contenant un liquide d'humidification, ainsi qu'une barrière déformable entre la chambre de gaz sec et la chambre de liquide d'humidification.
PCT/US2020/000050 2019-12-31 2020-12-30 Appareil de refroidissement et de chauffage de produits alimentaires et procédé WO2021137864A1 (fr)

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Citations (5)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US5692381A (en) * 1995-07-04 1997-12-02 The Boc Group Plc Apparatus for chilling fluids
US6103280A (en) * 1997-09-20 2000-08-15 Bass Public Limited Company Self-cooling containers of beverage and foodstuffs
US6141970A (en) * 1997-09-20 2000-11-07 Bass Public Limited Company Relating to containers
US20110259020A1 (en) * 2008-12-09 2011-10-27 Jan Norager Rasmussen self cooling container and a cooling device
US20180259236A1 (en) * 2014-05-30 2018-09-13 Michael Mark Anthony Humidification and dehumidification process and apparatus for chilling beverages and other food products and process of manufacture

Patent Citations (5)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US5692381A (en) * 1995-07-04 1997-12-02 The Boc Group Plc Apparatus for chilling fluids
US6103280A (en) * 1997-09-20 2000-08-15 Bass Public Limited Company Self-cooling containers of beverage and foodstuffs
US6141970A (en) * 1997-09-20 2000-11-07 Bass Public Limited Company Relating to containers
US20110259020A1 (en) * 2008-12-09 2011-10-27 Jan Norager Rasmussen self cooling container and a cooling device
US20180259236A1 (en) * 2014-05-30 2018-09-13 Michael Mark Anthony Humidification and dehumidification process and apparatus for chilling beverages and other food products and process of manufacture

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