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OwnerDavid Richard Stonehouse, Timothy Michael Wood +4inventors
InventorsDavid Richard Stonehouse, Timothy Michael Wood, Craig Harvey Nelson, David Livingstone, Frances Brindle, Philip Theaker
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A device for chilling the contents of a beverage container (10, 74) comprising a shell, the interior of which is adapted to accommodate the container (10, 74) the contents of which are to be chilled, and the wall of which comprises an annular reservoir (16, 70) for liquified refrigerant gas under pressure, which surrounds the container. The reservoir (16, 70) is openable at (30, 76) to permit the liquefied refrigerant to escape therefrom and create a cooling effect on the wall of the container (10, 74), consequent on the change of phase from liquid to gas, and expansion of the gas, to chill the container (10, 74) and its contents. The outer surface of the shell is formed with a heat insulating layer (24, 78) so that the cooling effect is preferentially directed towards the interior. The reservoir (16, 70) may be vented at the top of the bottom or through a plurality of apertures (106, 108) distributed around the interior of the shell. The venting apertures (106, 108) are small so as to restrict the flow of refrigerant and cause the cooling effect to occur over a period time. In a preferred embodiment the reservoir comprises a coiled tube (16, 70) within which the container (10, 74) is a snug fit. A rotatable base (22, 72) serves to close off the underside of the shell and provides a mechanism for venting the reservoir (16, 70).
A device for chilling the contents of a beverage container comprising a shell, the interior of which is adapted to accommodate the container whose contents are to be chilled, and the wall of which constitutes an annular reservoir for liquified refrigerant gas under pressure, which surrounds the container, and means which is openable to permit the liquified refrigerant to escape from the reservoir and create a cooling effect on the wall of the container consequent on the change of phase from liquid to gas and expansion of the gas, so as to chill the container and the contents thereof, wherein an outer surface of the shell is formed with a heat insulating layer or sleeve so that the cooling effect is preferentially directed towards the interior of the shell and towards any container and its contents located therein, and wherein, at one end of the coil, windings of ever decreasing radii in at least one layer, form a closed end to the coil, which will normally engage the underside of a beverage container when the latter is fitted therein.
A device for chilling the contents of a beverage container comprising a shell, the interior of which is adapted to accommodate the container whose contents are to be chilled, and the wall of which constitutes an annular reservoir for liquified refrigerant gas under pressure, which surrounds the container, means which is openable to permit the liquified refrigerant to escape from the reservoir and create a cooling effect on the wall of the container consequent on the change of phase from liquid to gas and expansion of the gas, so as to chill the container and the contents thereof, and a member at the base of the device, which is rotatable relative to the shell to effect venting of the reservoir and release of the refrigerant.
A method of forming a shell for receiving a beverage container, comprising the steps of filling a length of tube with a liquified refrigerant gas, sealing the tube, winding the tube around a mandrel to form a cylindrical sleeve, whose internal diameter will accommodate as a close fit the beverage container, and fitting an external packaging sleeve around the coiled tube, and wherein the winding of the coil is continued below the underside of the container in a layer in which the turns are of successively decreasing radius, so as to close off the lower end of the coil and provide a platform for the underside at the container to rest on.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.