A BEVERAGE CONTAINER WITH TEMPERATURE CHANGING DEVICE AND A METHOD FOR MAKING SUCH A CONTAINER

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates in general to a container for beverages which container may be adapted to changing temperature of the beverage therein. The present invention also relates to a method for making such a beverage container.

BACKGROUND ART

A variety of self-heating or self-cooling containers have been proposed. Generally, however, the proposals have required entirely new configurations of containers to be provided which cannot be used on existing lines of filling up beverages. Such containers thus require heavy investments by beverage manufacturers.

A conventional container for beverage, i.e. beer comprises a tubular peripheral wall defining two spaced apart open ends, one open end being closed by a top member and the other end being closed by a base member. The peripheral wall, the top member and the base member define an internal cavity for containing a beverage. One of the top or base members may comprise an external cavity which extends within the internal cavity substantially along the longitudinal axis of the container, but separated from the wall.

The external cavity is provided in any conventional container without affecting the external configuration or size of the container, although it reduces the capacity thereof.

An elongate insert is retained within the external cavity. The insert is selected from a plurality of different inserts whereby one design of

container is arranged to be self-heating or self-cooling depending on the insert chosen. If cooling of the content is required, the insert may comprise freezable material, for example, water, heavy water or a freezable gel. The cooling element may also be a gas cylinder.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

With the above and following description in mind, then, an aspect of some embodiments of the present invention is to provide a self cooling beverage container which seeks to mitigate, alleviate or eliminate one or more of the above-identified deficiencies in the art and disadvantages singly or in any combination.

An aspect of the present invention relates to a container for temperature changing beverage included therein comprising at least one side wall, an open top end and spaced there from a sealed bottom end defining an internal cavity, a first sealing member for sealing said bottom end of said container and a second sealing member for sealing said top end of the container. Any of said first and second sealing members further comprising an external cavity with an open top end and a closed bottom end, wherein the external cavity extends within said internal cavity of the container. The container further comprises a temperature changing device for cooling said beverage provided within said external cavity and a third sealing member for sealing said open top end of said external cavity.

The container may further comprise activating means for interacting with said temperature changing device.

The activating means may be provided in close contact with said temperature changing device. The activating means may be provided at said third sealing member.

The temperature changing device may be mounted on or below said activating means.

The activating means may be adapted for activating said temperature changing device by being pushed, pressed or screwed towards said temperature changing device.

The temperature changing device may be an aerosol container. The aerosol container may be adapted to manage an internal pressure of 50-

70 Bar. The aerosol container may be adapted to self release at an internal pressure of 50 Bar. The aerosol container may comprise a valve for releasing said aerosol, provided at the bottom end of said external cavity.

The temperature changing device may be adapted for cooling or chilling said beverage. The effect of cooling or chilling may be 12 degrees reduction of temperature in about 60 seconds.

An aspect of the present invention relates to a method for producing a container for temperature changing beverage included therein comprising the steps of producing said container having an open top end and spaced there from a sealed bottom end forming an internal cavity, filling said internal cavity of said container with a beverage. The method further comprises the steps of producing a first sealing member comprising an external cavity with an open top end and a closed bottom end and which is extending a specified length from said top end, sealing said container by sealing said top end with said first sealing member, wherein said external cavity is extending within said internal cavity, providing a temperature changing device within said external cavity and sealing said open top end of said external cavity with a second sealing member.

The method may further comprise the step of providing an activating means for interacting with said temperature changing device.

The method may further comprise the step of providing said activating means in close contact with said temperature changing device.

The method may further comprise the step of providing said activating means at said third sealing member.

The temperature changing device may be provided on or below said activating means.

The activating means may be adapted for activating said temperature changing device by pushing, pressing or screwing said activating means towards said temperature changing device.

The temperature changing device may be an aerosol container. The aerosol container may be adapted to manage an internal pressure of 50- 70 Bar. The aerosol container may be adapted to self release at an internal pressure of 50 Bar.

The aerosol container may comprise a valve for releasing said aerosol, provided at the bottom end of said external cavity.

The temperature changing device may be adapted for cooling or chilling said beverage. The effect of cooling or chilling is 12 degrees reduction of temperature in about 60 seconds.

Some embodiments of the invention provide an improved container for cooling beverage contained inside the container. It is an advantage with some embodiments of the invention that they may allow for an improved production method of container for cooling beverage provided inside the container.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Further objects, features and advantages of the present invention will appear from the following detailed description of the invention, wherein embodiments of the invention will be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a cross-section of a container according to the present invention;

Fig. 2 illustrates a cover comprising an external cavity according to the present invention;

Fig. 3 illustrates a cooling device according to the present invention;

Fig. 4 illustrates the mounting process of a container with a cooling device according to the present invention;

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Embodiments of the present invention relate, in general, to the field of cooling different type of beverage, such as beer, soft drink and iced tea, contained in a container. A preferred embodiment relates to a portable container, such as a common beer can, including a cooling insert. However, it should be appreciated that the invention is as such equally applicable to larger beverage containers, which are not portable. However, for the sake of clarity and simplicity, most embodiments outlined in this specification are related to common beverage containers.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which embodiments of the invention are shown. This invention may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein. Rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art. Like reference signs refer to like elements throughout.

Fig 1 is a cross section through a container 10 of the present invention. The container 10 has a substantially cylindrical wall 16 which is closed at one open end by a base member 15. A conventional container

would have a generally planar top member closing the other open end of the peripheral wall 16. However, as shown in fig 1 , the container 10 of the invention has a top member 14 formed from sheet material to define an elongated, external cavity 12 which extends within the peripheral wall 16 along the longitudinal axis, Z-axis, of the container 10. The peripheral wall 16 and the top and base members 14 and 15 of the container together define an internal cavity 18 in which beverage is received. It is shown in fig 1 that the external cavity 12 extends within the internal cavity 18 but is separated there from by the wall 19 of the external cavity 14. The external cavity is provided non-centric but it should be appreciated that variations may be made in positioning of the external cavity within the top member by those skilled in the art.

The container shown in fig 1 is constructed to have the same external dimension and shape as a standard 50 cl portable can for beverage. However the presence of the external cavity 14 reduces its capacity. The external cavity may use 10% of this volume, which in the case of a 50 cl container corresponds to 5 cl of beverage. Since the external dimensions are the same as for conventional cans, each can can be used and filled on existing filling lines.

The top member 14, shown in fig 2, or the base member (not shown) of the container 10 may be constructed as a sealing member of a conventional can provided with the external cavity 12. The length of the external cavity 12 may be i.e. 115 mm and the diameter may be i.e. 22 mm. The external cavity 12 is to be utilized to enclose a cooling device to effect cooling or heating of the beverage provided in the container.

The external cavity is sealed by an activating member. The activating member may be a bulb shaped cover, a cap, a lid or a button, which may be made of plastic or any other material. The activating member may be placed in connection or in close contact with the cooling device. The cooling device may be mounted directly on or under the activating member

and placed in the external cavity together with the activating member or placed directly in the external cavity separated from the activating member but in close contact with the activating member.

The cooling device may be an aerosol container 11 , shown in fig 3, containing CO2. The size of the aerosol container may be i.e. 38 mm and it may contain i.e. 5 cl CO2. Further the aerosol container may comprise a single or double aerosol valve 13. The valve/s may be provided in connection with the activating member. The aerosol container 11 may be adapted to manage an internal pressure of at least 70 Bar while the aerosol valve may manage at least an internal pressure of at least 50 Bar. As a precautionary measure the aerosol valve may be designed to self release the pressure at pressures above 50 Bar.

The aerosol container may be activated by using the activating device. The activating device may be pushed or screwed towards the aerosol container which pushes the aerosol container downwards towards the bottom of the external cavity, to a release position, which makes the valve release and start the gas flow. After activating the aerosol container an internal pressure of at least 70 Bar will be created.

When aerosol flows through the valve of the aerosol container, the aerosol is gasified and this may result in a desired cooling efficiency, i.e. the outlet temperature may be minus 73 ⁰ C. The valves will stay in the release position until the release process is finished. The effect of cooling may be a 12 degrees reduction of temperature in about 60 seconds.

The container 10 may be assembled, as shown in fig 4, by a manufacturer. Firstly a common container is constructed with one open end according to the common process of constructing a container of beverage, this is well known and will not be described any further. The container is then filled with some kind of beverage. The sealing member comprising the external cavity is constructed separately and then mounted on the container

after the container is filled up with beverage and sealed. The cooling device is placed directly into the external cavity or mounted on the activating device. Finally, the activating member, with or without the cooling device, is placed on the open top end of the external cavity and the opening is sealed.

The beverage container may be of many different shapes and material. The container may be a conventional paper pack, such as Tetra- Pak, with the external cavity provided at any of the, top, side or base members. The container may also be a conventional plastic bottle, such as PET bottle, with the external cavity provided at the top or base member.

A conventional portable can for beverage normally comprises 50 cl of beverage. The cooling device uses 10% of this volume, which, in this case, corresponds to 5 cl beverage.

The beverage container may also be painted with a temperature sensitive paint which shows when the cooling process is finished.

Unless otherwise defined, all terms (including technical and scientific terms) used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this invention belongs. It will be further understood that terms used herein should be interpreted as having a meaning that is consistent with their meaning in the context of this specification and the relevant art and will not be interpreted in an idealized or overly formal sense unless expressly so defined herein.

The foregoing has described the principles, preferred embodiments and modes of operation of the present invention. However, the invention should be regarded as illustrative rather than restrictive, and not as being limited to the particular embodiments discussed above. The different features of the various embodiments of the invention can be combined in other combinations than those explicitly described. It should therefore be appreciated that variations may be made in those embodiments by those

skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the present invention as defined by the following claims.