Self-cooling containers of beverage and foodstuffs
AssigneeBass Public Limited Company
InventorsStuart W. Molzahn, Gregory Berman, John Russell Tippetts, Lisa Jane Paine, William Dando
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A self cooling beverage container or can. Different embodiments of a self cooling can are shown including the use of an endothermic reaction perhaps between ammonium nitrate and water. In another embodiment a volatile liquid is evaporated. In another embodiment water is maintained in a low pressure environment and allowed to boil. The vapour which is produced from the boiling water is absorbed by a desiccant maintaining the boiling process. The cooling process may be initiated by the pressure release of a carbonated beverage can during opening of the can.
Claims43
A self-cooling beverage container comprising:
- a beverage chamber having beverage retained in it;
- a solvent chamber having pressurised solvent retained in it;
- said pressurised solvent comprising methylal;
- a pressurised gas dissolved in the pressurised solvent;
- pressurisation means adapted to hold said pressurised solvent with its dissolved gas at a pressure above atmospheric pressure;
- de-pressurisation means adapted to release said pressure in the solvent chamber;
- the arrangement being such that, in use, when said pressurised solvent chamber is de-pressurised said dissolved gas comes out of solution and expands, extracting heat from said solvent/beverage system, there being heat transfer means adapted to transfer heat from said beverage to the solvent and/or to the gas released from said solvent, the overall result being a cooling of said beverage.
A foodstuff container comprising:
- a foodstuff chamber having foodstuff retained in it;
- a solvent chamber having pressurized solvent retained in it;
- said pressurized solvent comprising methylal;
- said pressurized solvent having a gas dissolved in it;
- pressurization means adapted to hold said pressurized solvent with its dissolved gas at a pressure above atmospheric pressure;
- depressurization means adapted to release said pressure in the solvent chamber;
- and
- the arrangement being such that, in use, when said pressurized solvent chamber is depressurized said dissolved gas comes out of solution and expands, extracting heat from said solvent/foodstuff system, there being heat transfer means adapted to transfer heat from said foodstuff to the solvent and/or to the gas released from said solvent, the overall results being a cooling of said foodstuff.
A foodstuff container comprising:
- a foodstuff chamber having foodstuff retained in it;
- a solvent chamber having pressurized solvent retained in it, said solvent comprising methylal;
- said pressurized solvent having a gas dissolved in it;
- pressurization means adapted to hold said pressurized solvent with its dissolved gas at a pressure above atmospheric pressure;
- de-pressurization means adapted to release said pressure in the solvent chamber;
- agitation means adapted to move axially through said container;
- and
- the arrangement being such that, in use, when said pressurized solvent chamber is depressurized said dissolved gas comes out of solution and expands, extracting heat from said solvent/foodstuff system, there being heat transfer means adapted to transfer heat from said foodstuff to the solvent and/or to the gas released from said solvent, the overall results being a cooling of said foodstuff, and the agitation means is adapted to agitate the contents of the container.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.