# US 2014/0360208 A1 · On-Demand Beverage Cooler > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 2014/0360208 A1 - Document ID: US20140360208A1 - Status: Published application - Kind: A1 - Application number: 14/362,915 - Filed: 2012-12-12 - Published: 2014-12-11 - Earliest claimed: 2011-12-12 - Assignees: Avner SADOT - Inventors: Avner Sadot; Shaul Hanuna - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US20140360208A1 ## CPC - F25D 16/00: Devices using a combination of a cooling mode associated with refrigerating machinery with a cooling mode not associated with refrigerating machinery - F25B 21/02: using Peltier effect; using Nernst-Ettinghausen effect - F25B 21/04: reversible - F25D 31/002: {Liquid coolers, e.g. beverage cooler (receptacle coolers F25D31/006)} - F28D 7/085: {in the form of parallel conduits coupled by bent portions} - F28F 3/02: Elements or assemblies thereof with means for increasing heat-transfer area, e.g. with fins, with recesses, with corrugations (F28F3/08 takes precedence) - F25D 2323/121: the refrigerator is characterised by a water filter for the water/ice dispenser - F25D: REFRIGERATORS; COLD ROOMS; ICE-BOXES; COOLING OR FREEZING APPARATUS NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR (refrigerated showcases A47F3/04; thermally-insulated vessels for domestic use A47J41/00; refrigerated vehicles, see the appropriate subclasses of classes B60 - B64; containers with thermal insulation in general B65D81/38; heat-transfer, heat-exchange or heat-storage materials, e.g. refrigerants, or materials for the production of heat or cold by chemical reactions other than by combustion C09K5/00; thermally-insulated vessels for liquefied or solidified gases F17C; air-conditioning or air-humidification F24F; refrigeration machines, plants, or systems F25B; cooling of instruments or comparable apparatus without refrigeration G12B) - F25B: REFRIGERATION MACHINES, PLANTS OR SYSTEMS; COMBINED HEATING AND REFRIGERATION SYSTEMS; HEAT PUMP SYSTEMS - F28D: HEAT-EXCHANGE APPARATUS, NOT PROVIDED FOR IN ANOTHER SUBCLASS, IN WHICH THE HEAT-EXCHANGE MEDIA DO NOT COME INTO DIRECT CONTACT (fluid heaters having heat generating means and heat transferring means F24H; furnaces F27; details of heat-exchange apparatus of general) - F28F: DETAILS OF HEAT-EXCHANGE AND HEAT-TRANSFER APPARATUS, OF GENERAL APPLICATION (water and air traps, air venting F16) ## Abstract A beverage cooler (10, 100, 200) includes a heat pump (12) having a cooling element thermally coupled to a negative-heat-energy accumulator (14). The accumulator (14) includes a heat-energy dispersion arrangement (16) formed from thermally conductive material which is in thermal contact with a quantity of phase-change material (18) having a phase-change temperature above zero Celsius. A conduit (20) for the beverage defines a circuitous path thermally coupled to accumulator (14). The heat pump (12) draws heat energy predominantly from the phase-change material (18) so as to ensure that a temperature of the phase-change material is reduced by at least as much as the temperature of the beverage within conduit (20), even under zero-flow conditions. This ensures that the accumulator (14) can be fully charged during periods of low beverage dispensing demand without risk of freezing the beverage within conduit (20). ## Claims ### Claim 1 A beverage cooler comprising: (a) a heat pump having a cooling element; (b) a negative-heat-energy accumulator thermally coupled to said cooling element, said negative-heat-energy accumulator comprising: (i) a heat-energy dispersion arrangement formed from thermally conductive material, and (ii) a quantity of phase-change material having a phase-change temperature above zero Celsius, said phase-change material being deployed in thermal contact with said thermally conductive material; and (c) a conduit defining a circuitous path for carrying the beverage along at least part of a flow path from an inlet to an outlet, said conduit being thermally coupled to said negative-heat-energy accumulator, wherein said negative-heat-energy accumulator and said conduit are deployed such that an absolute thermal resistance between said cooling element and said quantity of phase-change material is lower than an absolute thermal resistance between said cooling element and water within said conduit, thereby rendering said heat pump effective to cool said phase-change material more rapidly than the beverage within said conduit. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The beverage cooler of claim 1, wherein said heat pump comprises at least one thermoelectric cooler (TEC), and wherein said cooling element is a cold plate of said at least one TEC. ### Claim 3 (depends on 1) The beverage cooler of claim 1, wherein said heat pump comprises a vapor-compression refrigeration system. ### Claim 4 (depends on 1) The beverage cooler of claim 1, wherein a majority of a length of said conduit from said inlet to said outlet is immersed in said negative-heat-energy accumulator. ### Claim 5 (depends on 4) The beverage cooler of claim 4, wherein said circuitous path of said conduit includes a plurality of substantially parallel conduit segments passing through openings in said heat-energy dispersion arrangement. ### Claim 6 (depends on 1) The beverage cooler of claim 1, wherein said conduit has an internal diameter, and wherein said circuitous path has a flow-path length greater than 100 times said internal diameter. ### Claim 7 (depends on 1) The beverage cooler of claim 1, wherein said heat-energy dispersion arrangement comprises an arrangement selected from the group consisting of: an array of heat-transfer fins of sub-millimeter thickness; and an open-cell metallic foam. ### Claim 8 (depends on 1) The beverage cooler of claim 1, wherein said heat-energy dispersion arrangement comprises an array of heat-transfer fins of sub-millimeter thickness, said array of fins being spaced apart by gaps of no more than 5 millimeters, said gaps being filled with said phase-change material. ### Claim 9 (depends on 8) The beverage cooler of claim 8, wherein said circuitous path of said conduit includes a plurality of substantially parallel conduit segments passing through openings in said heat-transfer fins. ### Claim 10 (depends on 1) The beverage cooler of claim 1, wherein a majority of a length of said conduit from said inlet to said outlet is integrated within a thermally-conductive block, said thermally-conductive block being thermally coupled to said negative-heat-energy accumulator. ### Claim 11 (depends on 1) The beverage cooler of claim 1, further comprising a water filter unit, wherein at least part of said water filter unit is received within a recess, said recess being substantially surrounded by said negative-heat-energy accumulator, and wherein said conduit is configured to interconnect with said water filter unit such that said beverage passes through said filter as part of said flow path from said inlet to said outlet.