Modular retrofit quench unit
AssigneeBlue Quench LLC
InventorJohn Lauchnor
Life of this patent
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Abstract
The disclosure features various embodiments and aspects of a chest for quenching beverages. The chest can include a tank for holding a chilled mixture of ice and water, an ice maker adapted for making ice having an output for ejecting ice into a conduit in fluid communication with the tank, and a plurality of quench trays disposed above the tank for holding containers of beverages located in first and second positions. The trays can be filled with cold water by way of a conduit in fluid communication with the tank. The quench trays can include a compartment defined by a bottom and a plurality of walls, and defining therein a plurality of rows for aligning and containing a plurality of beverage containers. The drawers can further include at least one drain orifice configured to guide water out of the quench tray.
Claims19
A modular retrofit device for quenching at least one beverage, comprising:
- a quench container adapted and configured to be removably positioned at least partially within a thermally insulated cooler having a cooled water bath, the quench container including at least one space configured for holding at least one beverage container;
- a pump coupled to and removable with the quench container;
- and
- a conduit coupled so as to be in fluid communication with the quench container, the pump, and the cooled water bath of the thermally insulated cooler, the conduit being removable with the pump and the quench container as a single unit;
- wherein activation of the pump is operative to draw water from the water level of the cooled water bath of the thermally insulated cooler into the quench container and direct the cooled water over the at least one beverage container disposed in the quench container.
A thermally insulated cooler, comprising:
- a thermally insulated exterior housing defining a reservoir therein configured to contain a cooled water bath;
- at least one liquid pump;
- at least one liquid conduit;
- at least one quench container disposed at least partially within the thermally insulated exterior housing, the at least one quench container being configured and arranged to be in fluid communication with the liquid pump and the at least one conduit, the at least one quench container being disposed above the reservoir, the at least one quench container defining at least one beverage container space therein for holding and cooling at least one beverage container, wherein activation of the pump causes water to be drawn from the cooled water bath of the reservoir and directed through the at least one conduit into the at least one quench container, the at least one quench container being further configured and arranged to direct the water from the cooled water bath via the pump over the at least one beverage container in the at least one beverage container space to enhance cooling of a beverage in the at least one beverage container;
- at least one drive axle including a plurality of drive wheels disposed thereon for engaging the at least one beverage container to cause the at least one beverage container to rotate while being cooled with water from the cooled water bath;
- at least one level sensor configured and arranged to detect the physical orientation of the thermally insulated cooler;
- and
- a controller operably coupled to the pump and to the level sensor, the controller being configured to shut off the pump in response to a signal from the at least one level sensor.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.