Self-heating or cooling container
AssigneeCrown Packaging Technology, Inc.
InventorsIan Robert Maxwell, Paul Robert Dunwoody, Christopher Paul Ramsey
Life of this patent
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Abstract
This invention relates to a self-heating or self-cooling container (1), which uses an exothermic or endothermic re-action to provide or remove heat from the contents of the container. The chemical reaction includes a fluid consistuent (either as a reagent or solvent), held in a reservoir (6), which is added to another reagent in the reaction chamber (5) to initiate the reaction. The container (1) according to the invention proposes a means (8, 91) to control the volume of this fluid constituent added to the reaction chamber (5) depending on the ambient temperature of the container.
Claims10
A self-heating or self-cooling container which uses an exothermic or endothermic chemical reaction to effect heating or cooling, the container comprising
- a body for holding a product,
- a reaction chamber for holding a primary fuel,
- a reservoir for holding a fluid constituent,
- an activation means for creating a fluid flow path from the reservoir into the reaction chamber, and
- a temperature control means which responds to the ambient temperature of the container to control the volume of the fluid constituent entering the reaction chamber
- wherein (i) the reservoir is adapted to accommodate a reduction in volume, the volume reduction pressurizing the fluid constituent and thereby creating the fluid flow path into the reaction chamber, and (ii) the temperature control means comprises a stop, whose position automatically adjusts in response to the ambient temperature of the container, the stop arranged to prevent further volume reduction of the reservoir and thereby to prevent further addition of the fluid constituent to the reaction chamber.
A self-heating container which uses an exothermic chemical reaction to effect heating, the container comprising:
- a body for holding a product,
- a reaction chamber for holding a primary fuel,
- a reservoir for holding a fluid constituent,
- an activation means for creating a fluid flow path from the reservoir into the reaction chamber;
- a temperature control means which responds to the ambient temperature of the container to control the volume of the fluid constituent entering the reaction chamber;
- and
- an auxiliary reservoir connected to the reservoir, by one or more flow paths
- wherein (i) the reservoir is adapted to accommodate a reduction in volume, the volume reduction pressurizing the fluid constituent and thereby creating the fluid flow path into the reaction chamber, (ii) the temperature control means comprises a plug associated with the or each flow path, which is adapted to open when the ambient temperature of the surroundings reaches a pre-defined temperature, and (iii) the or each plug is made from a material, which melts in response to an increase in the ambient temperature of the container.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.