GB2301172A

GB2301172A - Cooling equipment for chilling beverages

Info

Publication number: GB2301172A
Application number: GB9404892A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Richard Horwell
Original assignee: Chilla Ltd
Current assignee: Chilla Ltd
Priority date: 1993-03-13
Filing date: 1994-03-14
Publication date: 1996-11-27
Anticipated expiration: 2014-03-14
Also published as: GB2301172B; GB9404892D0

Abstract

Coding equipment for rapidly chilling beverages, such as wine, in containers (37, 43) comprises a cabinet 32 enclosing a bath of monopropylene glycol solution, or other suitable low freezing point liquid, which is cooled by a refrigeration unit to between -18{C to -21{C and circulated by a pump. In use a bottle of wine is inserted through a flexible diaphragm (34, 35, 36) mounted in a top (33) into the cooling liquid in the chiller compartment. A timer button (39, 40) is actuated to start the cooler equipment and initiate a timer sequence. The timer provides a visual indication of the passage of time by progressively lighting a set (41, 42) of Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs) and an audible alarm which sounds to indicate the end of the cooling cycle. The chilled bottle 37 is withdrawn through an orifice 36 in the diaphragm 34 so that excess liquid is wiped from the side of the bottle by the flexible diaphragm (34).

Description

TITLE IMPROVEMENTS IN OR RELATING TO COOLING EQUIPMENT THE INVENTION This invention concerns improvements in or relating to cooling equipment and in particular has reference to such equipment for cooling beverages, such as wine, beer or soft drinks, held in suitable containers, for example bottles or cans.

BACKGROUND TO THE INVENTION It is well known for catering establishments, wine bars, off-licences and the Iike to keep at least some alcoholic and soft drinks for retailing in cooling cabinets which are in fact simple refrigerators, the cooled product being ready for sale to customers in a condition for use. However, the relevant beverage has to be placed and retained in such cabinets for considerable periods in order to achieve the desired consumption temperature, and in fact the longer it is kept in a state of refrigeration, the greater is the likelihood of deterioration.

OBJECT OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide an improved means of chilling beverages in a swift and efficient manner without occasioning damage to the product.

STATEMENT OF THE INVENTION According to the invention there is provided cooling equipment for cooling beverages including a cabinet defining intemally thereof a chilling compartment having therewithin support means for supporting at least one beverage container, the compartment being adapted to contain a low freezing point fluid for contact with the at least one container and being provided with cooling coils around the internal walls thereof, and means for circulating said fluid, said cooling equipment also including a top having a number of apertures through which said at least one beverage container descends for partial immersion in said fluid upon insertion into the compartment.

At least one said aperture may be provided with a means for wiping the walls of a container as it is withdrawn therethrough during extraction from the compartment. The apertures may be of various sizes to accommodate different sizes of beverage containers.

The cooling equipment includes a refrigeration unit coupled to the cooling coils and incorporating a pump for circulating the low freezing point fluid which may be brine, e.g. an aqueous solution of sodium chloride or, preferably monopropylene glycol maintained at a temperature when the equipment is in use of between -180C and -210C. The fluid is circulated to the cooling coils and to the cavity of the compartment wherein in use beverage containers are placed.

The cooling equipment also includes controls for its operation and preferably there is provided an operating mechanism for initiating and terminating such operation. Additionally, the equipment is provided with a timer for timing the period during which the or each beverage container is held within the compartment. A visual display given for example by LED's is located on the exterior of the cabinet and is linked to the timer in order to display the progress of the chilling of the beverage. For example twelve such LED's may be disposed on a control panel set on the top of the cabinet, the intervals until all are lit thereby indicating completion of the chilling phase. An audible alarm by be provided for sounding automatically upon such completion.

The support means for beverage containers may be in the form of a fluid permeable base. Alternatively, the support means may extend partially across the base of the compartment leaving a sufficient clearance for fluid flow.

The cabinet may be mobile and for this purpose may be provided with casters.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS By way of example only, one embodiment of cooling equipment according to the invention is described below with reference to the accompanying drawings in which Figure 1 is a front elevational perspective view; Figure 2 is a close-up of part of the equipment shown in Figure 1; Figure 3 is a side elevational perspective diagrammatic view with some parts removed for clarity; Figure 4 is a plan view of a detail of the equipment; and, Figure 5 is a perspective diagrammatic view of a table-top version of the equipment.

SPECIFIC DESCRIPTION Referring to the drawings, cooling equipment is shown generally at 1 and includes a cabinet 2 which carries on its top part 3 to the rear thereof a control panel 4 in which are set control buttons 6 for initiating operation of the equipment and LED's 8 provided for illumination as hereinafter described.

The top part 3 contains six apertures 10 five of which are the same size and the sixth being larger to accommodate a larger size beverage container.

The apertures 10 are provided with rubber wiper rings 12 (Figure 4) for a purpose described later.

The equipment 1 includes a chilling compartment 20 having a liquid permeable base (not shown) for supporting beverage containers (not shown) within the compartment which is bounded by cooling coils 22 which may be of copper. Refrigeration apparatus (not shown), electrically or gas fired, is accommodated in the lower part of 24 of the cabinet and removable vents 26 are provided therefor. The apparatus includes a pump for circulating a low freezing point liquid, (for example brine comprising a 50/50 aqueous solution of sodium chloride), through the coils 22 and to and through the compartment 20 in which in use beverage contains are held.

The preferred low freezing point liquid is monopropylene glycol (USP).

In operation of the equipment 1, the chilling compartment 20 is filled with monopropylene glycol and when it is desired to chill a beverage, for example wine, the container, in this instance a bottle, is inserted through an aperture 10 and the wiper ring 12 and rests on the base within the glycolfilled compartment 20. One of the control buttons 6 is depressed to initiate actuation of the refrigeration apparatus to circulate the glycol through the coils and to and through the compartment in contact with the container positioned therewithin. It has been found desirable to provide a rapid circulation of fluid, and this may be achieved with the aid of two circulation pumps, each having an output of 1000 litres per hour.

The button 6 actuates a timer (not shown) and the LED's 8 progressively illuminate at 20 second intervals. There are twelve such LED's for each button and upon illumination of the twelfth LED a period of four minutes has elapsed after which the chilling of the beverage is completed. An alarm (not shown) is then sounded to advise the user that the chilled bottle is ready and may be removed from the cooling compartment.

The wine bottle in this instance, although not shown, is removed from the compartment by extraction through the wiper 12 which effectively wipes the bottle clear or substantially clear of the monopropylene glycol. The wine then being at a suitable consumption temperature.

The low freezing point liquid is preferably a 50% solution of glycol and water. However, the liquid may be an aqueous solution of sodium chloride, generally referred to as brine.

Referring now to Figure 5 which show a smaller version of the cooling equipment more suited to situations such as restaurants, public houses and homes, where space is limited, provision is made for chilling three bottles.

The equipment is basically similar to that described above. A cabinet 32 carries a top part 33 having three apertures 34 within each of which a flexible annular diaphragm 35 is located. The diaphragms 35 may have differently sized orifices 36 to accommodate different sizes of bottle or other form of container. The diaphragms 35 are made from synthetic rubber, neoprene or the like, and are designed to bear against the side of the bottle 37 as it is withdrawn from a chilling compartment located within the cabinet 32 directly below the top 33.

The equipment has an inclined control panel 38 situated to the rear of the top 33. The control panel 38 includes two timer buttons 39 and 40 and two corresponding sets of twelve Light Emitting Devices (LEDs) 41 and 42 which indicate the passage of elapsed time from the actuation of one of the timer buttons 39 or 40. The control panel 38 has instructions for use mounted thereon, and an alarm (not shown) which sounds when a cooling cycle is completed, is provided to alert the user that the 4 minutes of chilling time has elapsed.

Accordingly in the space of four minutes, a bottle 43 of wine can be chilled from ambient temperature to one at which it becomes palatable. Beverages of other types and in differing containers can equally be chilled using the cooling equipment of the present invention.

It is to be understood that the timing of the chilling period can be varied and in other embodiments, different compartments for each beverage container can be provided with appertinent controls to allow individual treatment.

The refrigeration unit produces heat which is vented through the louvered panel 44 in the side of the cabinet 32.

Claims

1. Cooling equipment for cooling beverages including a cabinet defining internally thereof a chilling compartment having therewithin support means for supporting at least one beverage container, the compartment being adapted to contain a low freezing point fluid for contact with the at least one container and being provided with cooling coils around the internal walls thereof, and means for circulating said fluid, said cooling equipment also including a top having a number of apertures through which said at least one beverage container descends for partial immersion in said fluid upon insertion into the compartment.

2. Cooling equipment as claimed in claim 1 in which at least one of said apertures is provided with a means for wiping the wall of the container as it is withdrawn therethrough during extraction from the compartment.

3. Cooling equipment as claimed in claim 2 in which the means for wiping the wall of the container comprises a flexible annular diaphragm having an expandable orifice.

4. Cooling equipment as claimed in claim 2 or claim 3 in which the means for wiping the wall of the container consists of a synthetic rubber material

5. Cooling equipment as claimed in any preceding claim in which the apertures are a range of sizes to accommodate different sizes of container.

6. Cooling equipment as claimed in any preceding claim including a refrigeration unit incorporating a fluid pump for circulating the low freezing point fluid.

7. Cooling equipment as claimed in any preceding claim in which the low freezing point fluid is monopropylene glycol (USP).

8. Cooling equipment as claimed in any preceding claim in which the low freezing point fluid is brine.

9. Cooling equipment as claimed in any preceding claim including a thermostat means which in use maintains the fluid at a temperature of between -180C and -210C.

10. Cooling equipment as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the fluid is circulated to the cooling coils and the compartment wherein the containers are placed.

11. Cooling equipment as claimed in any preceding claim including an operating mechanism for initiating and terminating the operation of the cooling equipment.

12. Cooling equipment as claimed in any preceding claim including timer means for timing the period during which the or each beverage container is held within the compartment.

13. Cooling equipment as claimed in any preceding claim including visual display means to indicate the progress of the chilling of the containers.

14. Cooling equipment as claimed in claim 13 in which the visual display of the display means consists of a number of light emitting diodes (LEDs) which progressively illuminate or extinguish to indicate the progress of the chilling operation.

15. Cooling equipment as claimed in any preceding claim including an audible alarm means for sounding automatically upon completion of the chilling operation.

16. Cooling equipment as claimed in any preceding claim in which the support means is in the form of a fluid permeable base on which the containers may rest.

17. Cooling equipment substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

17. Cooling equipment as claimed in any preceding claim which is mounted on casters.

18. Cooling equipment substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Amendments to the claims have been filed as follows 1. Cooling equipment for cooling beverage containers including a cabinet defining intemally thereof a chilling compartment having therewith in support means for supporting the base of at least one beverage container at a preset depth within the compartment, said compartment being adapted to contain a low freezing point liquid for contact with the at least one container and being provided with cooling coils in the compartment and around the internal walls thereof, and means for circulating said liquid around the container, said cooling equipment also including a top having a number of apertures through which said at least one beverage container descends for partial immersion in said fluid upon insertion into the compartment, said cooling equipment including visual display means to indicate the progress of the cooling of the or each container.

2. Cooling equipment as claimed in claim 1 in which at least one of said apertures is provided with means for wiping the wall of a container as it is withdrawn therethrough during extraction from the compartment.

4. Cooling equipment as claimed in claim 2 or claim 3 in which the means for wiping the wall of the container consists of a synthetic rubber material.

5. Cooling equipment as claimed in any preceding claim in which a plurality of apertures are provided, said apertures having a range of sizes to accommodate different sizes of container.

6. Cooling equipment as claimed in any preceding claim including a refrigeration unit incorporating a liquid pump for circulating the low freezing point liquid.

7. Cooling equipment as claimed in any preceding claim in which the low freezing point liquid is monopropylene glycol (USP).

8. Cooling equipment as claimed in any preceding claim in which the low freezing point liquid is brine.

9. Cooling equipment as claimed in any preceding claim including a thermostat means which in use maintains the liquid between -1 80C and -210C.

10. Cooling equipment as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the fluid coolant from a refrigeration unit is circulated through the cooling coils within the compartment wherein the containers are placed.

13. Cooling equipment as claimed in any preceding claim in which the visual display of the display means consists of a number of light emitting diodes (LEDs) which progressively illuminate or extinguish to indicate the progress of the cooling operation.

14. Cooling equipment as claimed in any preceding claim including an audible alarm means for sounding automatically upon completion of the cooling operation.

15. Cooling equipment as claimed in any preceding claim in which the support means is in the form of a liquid permeable base on which the containers may rest.

16. Cooling equipment as claimed in any preceding claim which is mounted on casters.