GB2476834A

GB2476834A - Cooling device for cooling a predetermined part of a container

Info

Publication number: GB2476834A
Application number: GB1000428A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Joseph Eugene Holland; William Robert Mooney
Original assignee: IMI Cornelius Inc
Current assignee: Cornelius Inc
Priority date: 2010-01-12
Filing date: 2010-01-12
Publication date: 2011-07-13
Also published as: GB201000428D0

Abstract

A cooling device 1 is provided for cooling a container 2, such as a bottle with a neck 3 and a body 4, having a carbonated beverage inside. The cooling device comprises a chamber 5 adapted to receive at least one container and a flow of cooling fluid from a cooling fluid outlet (8, fig.2). The cooling fluid may consist of air which is blown over an evaporator (9, fig.2) by a fan (19, fig.2). The chamber is constructed and arranged such that a predetermined part of the container is cooled more than the remainder of the container. Preferably, the chamber is defined by a cabinet 6 and includes a storage system 7 with a track 14 arranged to transfer bottles in sequence from an inlet 20 to an outlet 21. In use, the bottles are cooled in the chamber by a cooling fluid introduced into the chamber, preferably to cool the necks of the bottles at or near to the outlet so that, on opening a bottle dispensed from the outlet, the contents of the bottle flash freeze to a slush consistency in the neck of the bottle when the pressure in the bottle is released.

Description

COOLING DEVICE

This invention relates to a cooling device for cooling a container having a carbonated beverage therein. In particular, it relates to a bottle cooling device for cooling a bottled carbonated beverage. The invention is particularly suitable for use with carbonated alcoholic beverages such as beer, lager and cider, but is not intended to be limited to such use and may be used with other alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages. The invention also relates to a method of cooling a container.

Over recent years, there has been a significant change in the market for beverages and it has become fashionable to consume certain beverages directly from the bottle, rather than from a glass. Additionally, some beverages, such as speciality beers and lagers, are served with a layer of slush (semi-frozen beverage) on top of the liquid in the bottle such that the beverage being consumed directly therefrom passes through the slush, thus cooling further the beverage leaving the bottle and enhancing the sensation of a super-cooled drink.

The phenomenon of cooling a bottled carbonated liquid below its ambient freezing point (i.e. the freezing point at atmospheric pressure) is known and relies upon the pressure within a closed container, such as a bottle, to suppress the freezing point. Releasing the pressure within the bottle by, for instance, uncapping the bottle, results in the liquid contents starting to freeze, as the pressure has dropped to atmospheric pressure and the freezing point is no longer suppressed. Nucleation of the crystals is encouraged by the break out of bubbles resulting from the rapid release of pressure. The change of state from liquid to slush results in a slight increase in temperature, which prevents the whole content of the bottle freezing.

It will be appreciated that, with normal bar chilling equipment, it is difficult to chill bottles adequately and consistently to create the above-mentioned slush formation. The use of freezer cabinets can over cool the product, resulting in total freezing when the bottle is opened and the pressure is released.

According to a first aspect of the invention, we provide a cooling device for cooling a container having a carbonated beverage therein, the cooling device comprising a chamber adapted to receive at least one container and a flow of cooling fluid from a cooling fluid outlet, wherein the chamber is constructed and arranged such that a predetermined part of the or each container is cooled more than the remainder of the container.

Preferably, the chamber includes a storage system to receive containers placed in the chamber, the storage system and cooling fluid outlet being arranged such that cooling fluid is directed over the predetermined part of the or each container. This is advantageous as the storage system presents the predetermined part to the flow of cooling fluid. As the cooling fluid is accurately directed at the predetermined part of the container, a significant temperature gradient within the bottle's contents can be achieved, which ensures that only the desired amount of slush is formed in the container, when it is opened, to enhance the drinking experience. It is common practice in the design of cooling devices to go to great lengths to promote cold air circulation and distribution in order to maintain the contents at a substantially even temperature. The arrangement of the present invention is advantageous as the cooling device makes use of the cooling fluid that first enters the chamber via the outlet to achieve the desired cooling effect by directing it onto the predetermined part of the containers before it flows into the remainder of the chamber.

Preferably the cooling fluid comprises air.

Preferably the cooling device includes an evaporator cooling element for chilling air and a circulation system, the circulation system being arranged to direct a flow of cooling fluid over the evaporator and directly through the cooling fluid outlet. This is advantageous as the cooling fluid that leaves the cooling fluid outlet is very cold as it has just passed over the cooling element, which is typically at -10°C. This colder fluid is directed over the predetermined part of the container. Then, as the cooling fluid fills the remainder of the chamber, it will warm up as it extracts heat from the device and any containers therein. This arrangement allows the predetermined part of the container to be chilled below the ambient freezing point of the beverage therein while the bulk of the beverage in the container can be maintained at a temperature above its ambient freezing point.

Preferably the circulation system is arranged such that cooling fluid only enters the chamber via the cooling fluid outlet.

Preferably the cooling device includes a control element, adapted to maintain the temperature of the cooling fluid leaving the cooling fluid outlet at a first temperature and also adapted to maintain the average temperature within the chamber at a second, higher temperature. This may be achieved by controlling the circulation rate of the circulation system and the temperature of the evaporator cooling element.

Preferably the storage system comprises a track arranged to position the predetermined part of the or each container adjacent the cooling fluid outlet. The storage system may be arranged such that the containers can only be removed in the order that they were inserted into the storage system. This is advantageous as it ensures that the containers remain in the cooling device for as long as possible after being inserted. This helps to guarantee that the contents and the predetermined portion are sufficiently cooled.

The track may be arranged such that containers are introduced at a first end and cooled containers may only be removed at a second end after travelling along the whole length of the track.

The track may be of a serpentine configuration or a spiral configuration, although it is envisaged that other configurations may be employed, for example a vertical stack.

Preferably the track is constructed and arranged such that a container can only be removed from the track at the second end if a container is loaded into the track at the first end. This is advantageous as it prevents staff from taking chilled containers from the device without re-stocking, which would result in exhaustion of chilled containers.

The track may be constructed such that the containers are stored horizontally and may also be arranged to cause the containers to roll about their longitudinal axis as they pass along it. This has the benefit of more even cooling around the predetermined part and there is no tendency for the container contents in the predetermined part to mix with the contents in the remainder of the container, thereby maintaining the temperature differential.

Preferably, the container includes a divider surface adapted to partially divide the chamber and define a region that receives the cooling fluid prior to the remainder of the chamber, the storage system being arranged to retain the predetermined part of the or each container in said region.

Preferably the container is a bottle comprising a hollow body portion and a neck portion. The predetermined part may therefore be the neck of the bottle.

According to a second aspect of the invention, we provide a method of cooling a predetermined part of a container to a lower temperature than the remainder of the container comprising the steps of; loading a plurality of containers into a chamber such that the predetermined part of the container extends into a predetermined region of the chamber; and directing a flow of cooling fluid such that it first flows into the predetermined region before flowing into the remainder of the chamber.

There now follows by way of example only a detailed description of the present invention with reference to the accompanying drawings in which; Figure 1 shows a cut away view of the cooling device; Figure 2 shows a simplified diagrammatic view of the cooling device of Figure 1; and Figure 3 shows a flow chart illustrating an embodiment of the method of cooling a container.

The embodiment of the cooling device 1 described herein is a cooling device for cooling bottles of cider or other alcoholic beverages. These bottles typically comprise a body and a neck that leads to an aperture through which the contents can be removed. The aperture is sealed by a removable cap. The cooling device 1 is adapted to cool the neck of the bottle, which is the "predetermined part" of the bottle, more than the body.

Figure 1 shows a plurality of containers 2, which comprise bottles having a neck 3 and a body 4. The cooling device 1 includes a chamber 5 defined by a cabinet 6. The bottles 2 are supported in the chamber 3 by a storage system 7. The cooling device 1 is configured to direct cooling fluid over the neck portion 3 of the bottles 2 located near the bottom of the chamber 5.

The cooling fluid is cooled by a refrigeration system that includes a condenser 12, a compressor 11 and an evaporator (not shown in Figure 1) as will be known to those skilled in the art. The compressor 11 and evaporator are located in the base of the cabinet 6 below the chamber 5 and the condenser 12 is mounted to the rear of the cabinet 6, outside of the chamber 5. The condenser 12 is cooled by air blown over the condenser 12 by a fan 10.

Figure 2 shows a simplified diagram of Figure 1. The cooling fluid comprises air which is blown over the evaporator 9 by a circulation system comprising a fan 19. The air, having been cooled by the evaporator 9, passes through a cooling fluid outlet 8 and into a predetermined region 13 of the cabinet 5, roughly designated by the dashed lines, before spreading out into the remainder of the chamber 5.

The storage system 7 and cooling fluid outlet 8 are arranged such that the neck 3 of each bottle 2 stored therein enters the predetermined region 13.

When the necks of the bottles enter the predetermined region, closest to the fluid outlet 8, they will be cooled to a greater extent and their necks 3 will reach temperatures below the ambient freezing point of the cider therein. For example, the temperature of the cooling fluid is set such that a cider with an alcohol content of 4% and a freezing point of approximately -2°C will be chilled to about -4°C and thus will flash freeze to a slush consistency in the bottle neck when the pressure within it is released as the bottle is opened.

The storage system 7 comprises a track 14 defined by a first guide 15 and a second guide 16. The first and second guides 15, 16 are spaced apart from one another a distance slightly larger than the diameter of the bottle 2. The track retains the bottles 2 in a horizontal orientation. The bottles 2 should be stored in the track with their necks at a predetermined side. The track 14 includes a first end 17, at the top, where bottles 2 are introduced to the storage system 7. The track 14 also has a second end, at the bottom, where bottles 2 can be removed from the storage system 7 and therefore from the chamber 5. Thus, bottles 2 introduced at the first end 17 travel along the track 7 under gravity coming to rest at the second end 18 until they are removed. The track 14 ensures that the first bottle introduced into the cabinet is the first bottle removed from the cabinet.

This ensures that the bottles 2 reside in the chamber 5 for as long as possible so that they can be sufficiently cooled.

The cabinet 6 includes a filling door 20 located adjacent the first end 17.

The filling door 20 provides access to the first end 17 of the track 14 for placing bottles within the chamber 5. The cabinet 6 also includes a dispensing door 21 located adjacent the second end 18. The dispensing door 21 is connected to a dispensing mechanism 22. The dispensing mechanism 22 comprises cradle 23 which is mounted to the cabinet 6 by a pivot 24, such that the mechanism 22 and door 21 can rotate about the pivot 24. The cradle 23 includes a stop member 25 at an end distal to the pivot 24. When the dispensing door 21 is closed, the cradle 23 sits beneath the second end 18 of the track 14. When the door 21 is opened, the mechanism 22 is pivoted about pivot 24, which causes the cradle 23 to lift the bottle at the second end 18 of the track 14. The stop member 25 engages the bottle adjacent to the one lifted by the cradle 23 to prevent the other bottles from leaving the track 14. On further pivoting, the cradle 23 reaches an angle where the bottle can roll towards the door 21 and then removed by the user. When the dispensing door 21 is closed, the stop member 25 releases the next bottle, allowing it to reach the second end 18. The other bottles in the track 14 will file along the track behind the next bottle.

A flow chart illustrating the method of operation is shown in Figure 3.

Step 31 represents the loading of the bottles 2 into the track 14 in the chamber 5.

Step 32 represents the cooling of the bottles in the chamber by the cooling fluid.

Step 33 represents the neck portion of the bottles entering the predetermined region 13 where they receive the direct flow of cooling fluid that first enters the chamber 5 through the cooling fluid outlet 8.

The air leaving the cooling fluid outlet 8 is colder than the average temperature in the chamber 5, as the cooling fluid warms up as it flows around the chamber extracting heat from the bottles and cabinet. Thus, the neck portions 3 of the bottles can be cooled more than the remainder of the bottle 2.

Step 34 represents the control of the temperature of the cooling fluid leaving the outlet 8 to ensure that the neck portion 3 of each bottle 2 is cooled to a temperature below the ambient freezing point of the contents.

Step 35 represents the removal of a bottle from the chamber 5. On opening the bottle 2, the contents in the neck portion 3 will partially freeze forming slush. The remainder of the Contents in the body portion 4 will just be chilled and will not form slush.

Claims

CLAIMS1. A cooling device for cooling a container having a carbonated beverage therein, the cooling device comprising a chamber adapted to receive at least one container and a flow of cooling fluid from a cooling fluid outlet, wherein the chamber is constructed and arranged such that a predetermined part of the or each container is cooled more than the remainder of the container.
2. A cooling device according to claim 1 wherein, the chamber includes a storage system to receive containers placed in the chamber, the storage system and cooling fluid outlet being arranged such that cooling fluid is directed over the predetermined part of the or each container.
3. A cooling device according to claim 1 or claim 2 wherein, in use, the cooling fluid that enters the chamber via the cooling fluid outlet is first directed onto the predetermined part of the container to achieve the desired cooling effect before flowing into the remainder of the chamber.
4. A cooling device according to any preceding claim wherein the cooling fluid comprises air.
5. A cooling device according to any preceding claim wherein the cooling device includes an evaporator cooling element for chilling the cooling fluid and a circulation system, the circulation system being arranged to direct a flow of cooling fluid over the evaporator and directly through the cooling fluid outlet.
6. A cooling device according to claim 5 wherein the circulation system is arranged such that cooling fluid only enters the chamber via the cooling fluid outlet.
7. A cooling device according to claim 5 or claim 6 wherein the cooling device includes a control element adapted to maintain the temperature of the cooling fluid leaving the cooling fluid outlet at a first temperature and also adapted to maintain the average temperature within the chamber at a second, higher temperature.
8. A cooling device according to claim 7 wherein the temperature of the cooling fluid is controlled by controlling the circulation rate of the circulation system and the temperature of the evaporator cooling element.
9. A cooling device according to any preceding claim wherein, in use, the predetermined part of the container is chilled below the ambient freezing point of the beverage therein while the bulk of the beverage in the container can be maintained at a temperature above its ambient freezing point.
10. A cooling device according to any preceding claim wherein the storage system comprises a track arranged to position the predetermined part of the or each container adjacent the cooling fluid outlet.
11. A cooling device according to claim 10 wherein the storage system is arranged such that the containers can only be removed in the order that they were inserted into the storage system.
12. A cooling device according to claim 11 wherein the track is arranged such that containers are introduced at a first end and cooled containers can only be removed at a second end after travelling along the whole length of the track.
13. A cooling device according to claim 12 wherein the track is constructed and arranged such that a container can only be removed from the track at the second end if a container is loaded into the track at the first end.
14. A cooling device according to any of claims 10 to 13 wherein the track is of a serpentine configuration or a spiral configuration.
15. A cooling device according to any of claims 10 to 14 wherein the track is constructed such that the containers are stored horizontally.
16. A cooling device according to claim 15 wherein the track is arranged such as to cause the containers to roll about their longitudinal axis as they pass along it.
17. A cooling device according to any preceding claim wherein the chamber is provided with a region that receives the cooling fluid prior to the remainder of the chamber, the storage system being arranged to retain the predetermined part of the or each container in said region.
18. A cooling device according to any preceding claim wherein the container is a bottle comprising a hollow body portion and a neck portion.
19. A cooling device according to claim 18 wherein the predetermined part is the neck of the bottle.
20. A cooling device for cooling a container having a carbonated beverage therein substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
21. A method of cooling a predetermined part of a container to a lower temperature than the remainder of the container comprising the steps of; loading a plurality of containers into a chamber such that the predetermined part of the container extends into a predetermined region of the chamber; and directing a flow of cooling fluid such that it first flows into the predetermined region before flowing into the remainder of the chamber.
22. A method according to claim 21 wherein the predetermined part of the container is chilled below the ambient freezing point of the beverage therein while the bulk of the beverage in the container can be maintained at a temperature above its ambient freezing point.
23. A method according to claim 21 or claim 22 wherein the cooling fluid that enters the chamber is first directed onto the predetermined part of the container to achieve the desired cooling effect before flowing into the remainder of the chamber.
24. A method according to any of claims 21 to 23 further including the step of removing containers that have been cooled from the chamber in the order in which they have been loaded into the chamber.
25. A method according to any of claims 21 to 24 wherein a container that has been cooled can only be removed if a container to be cooled is loaded into the chamber.
26. A method according to any of claims 21 to 25 wherein the container comprises a bottle having a body and a neck, and the predetermined part of the container is the neck of the bottle.
27. A method according to any of claims 21 to 26 wherein the cooling fluid is air.
28. A method according to claim 27 wherein the air is cooled by passing over an evaporator of a refrigeration system before entering the chamber.
29. A method according to claim 28 wherein the cooling fluid enters the chamber via an opening arranged to direct the cooling fluid over the predetermined part of the container.
30. A method of cooling a predetermined part of a container to a lower temperature than the remainder of the container substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.