Waterless ice crystal nucleator for supercooled beverages
AssigneeThe Coca-Cola Company
InventorMiyako Sekita
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A beverage nucleator system for a supercooled beverage container may include a frame for receiving a beverage container and an ultrasonic device positioned therein. The frame may include a beverage container aperture therein sized to allow direct contact between an ultrasonic transmitter coupled to the ultrasonic device and a closure on the container. The ultrasonic transmitter may operate at a 28 kHz frequency with a power of 5 W for 1-5 seconds. The beverage nucleator system can operate without requiring a fluid or gel transmission medium.
Claims17
A beverage nucleator system for a supercooled beverage container having a neck and a closure, comprising:
- an ultrasonic device including an ultrasonic transmitter, wherein the ultrasonic device is configured to generate an ultrasonic signal;
- and
- a frame with the ultrasonic device positioned therein;
- the frame comprising a beverage container aperture therein,
- wherein the beverage container aperture is sized to allow for direct contact between the ultrasonic transmitter and the container such that the ultrasonic signal generated by the ultrasonic device is transmitted by the ultrasonic transmitter directly to the container unaltered to cause ice crystal nucleation within the beverage within the container,
- wherein the beverage container aperture is sized for receiving the closure such that the beverage container aperture positions and supports the neck of the beverage container when the beverage container is received within the beverage container aperture, and
- wherein the direct contact on the container is on the closure.
A method of providing an iced beverage product, comprising:
- receiving a supercooled beverage in a bottle with a neck and a closure such that the closure of the bottle is in direct contact with an ultrasonic transmitter of an ultrasonic device, wherein the ultrasonic device is configured to generate an ultrasonic signal, wherein the bottle is in an inverted position, wherein receiving the bottle comprises positioning the closure in a beverage container aperture of a frame that has the ultrasonic transmitter positioned therein, wherein the beverage container aperture is sized to allow for direct contact between the ultrasonic transmitter and the container such that the ultrasonic signal generated by the ultrasonic device is transmitted by the ultrasonic transmitter directly to the container unaltered, wherein the beverage container aperture is sized for receiving the closure such that the beverage container aperture positions and supports the neck of the bottle when the bottle is received within the beverage container aperture;
- and
- transmitting ultrasonic energy from the ultrasonic transmitter into the beverage directly through the closure to cause ice crystal nucleation within the beverage.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.