Device for cooling objects, in particular a cooling mantle for beverage containers

The invention relates to a cooling device. The invention in particular relates to a cooling device for objects, in which cooling device cold energy can be stored, which energy can be delivered gradually.

In practice cooling devices such as ice packs are known, which devices can be placed in a refrigerator or freezer for some time, so that cold energy can be stored therein, which energy can be delivered at a subsequent point in time when the cooling device is held in contact with an object, a surface or a part of the body that is to be cooled. During said contact, the temperature of the cooling device will increase since heat is absorbed from the surface to be cooled, as a result of which the temperature of said surface will decrease .

The simplest and most frequently used form of such a cooling device is the use of water in a foil bag for plastic container. When such a bag or container is placed in a freezer, the water will freeze. During subsequent use, the ice thus formed will melt slowly due to the absorption of heat from the environment and in particular from the surface with which the ice is held in contact .

This known cooling device has the advantage that a relatively great deal of cold energy can be stored. A drawback, however, is the fact that ice is not flexible. An optimum contact between the ice and a surface to be cooled cannot be obtained and retained, therefore. This is in particular the case if said surface is not absolutely flat. Accordingly, a poor heat conduction and thus a less than optimum heat transfer is obtained. As a result, a great deal of energy will be lost during use.

It has already been proposed to solve this problem by using a potassium or sodium saline solution, usually in a gel-like mass, in such cooling devices. Said masses form a

eutectic, which can be controlled as regards a eutectic temperature to be obtained by varying the concentration of the saline solution. In such masses ice crystals are formed at the eutectic temperature, which ice crystals cause the gel- like mass to harden, so that it will not be optimally deform- able. Upon thawing, the temperature of said mass remains substantially the same, at a value around the eutectic temperature. As a result, a good temperature control is possible for a relatively short period of time.

It is an object of the invention to provide a cooling device of the kind described in the introductory paragraph which overcomes or at least alleviates at least a number of the aforesaid drawbacks of known cooling devices.

More in particular, it is an object of the invention to provide a device by means of which a good thermal contact between the device and a surface, at least an object, to be cooled can be obtained and maintained.

A further object of the invention is to provide a cooling device of the kind described in the introductory paragraph by means of which a good temperature control is possible for a relatively long period of time.

Another object of the invention is to provide a device of the kind referred to in the introductory paragraph by means of which temperature differences in a surface, at least an object, to be cooled can be set and/or maintained.

Yet another object of the invention is to provide a device by means of which surfaces, at least objects or mediums provided therein, can be cooled in a very simple manner, which device is easy to place and which can be used with various kinds of surfaces and/or objects to be cooled.

Furthermore it is an object of the invention to provide an assembly of a cooling device and an object to be cooled, in particular a container to be cooled containing a medium such as a liquid, a gas, a paste or a solid substance or mixture, a solution, a suspension, a dispersion or other combination thereof. The construction is furthermore suitable for cooling parts of human and/or animal bodies, for example in the case of an injury.

At least a number of the above and other objects are accomplished with a device and/or assembly according to the invention.

A cooling device according to the present invention is characterised by the features defined in claim 1.

In a cooling device according to the invention, a first and a second medium are present in an envelope. The first medium has a freezing point that is lower than the freezing point of the second medium. The first and the second medium are so composed that when the cooling device is placed in a freezer, the first medium will freeze at a later point in time than the second medium or it will not freeze entirely, or even not at all, whereas the second medium will actually freeze, at least substantially so. This makes it possible to utilise the heat storage capacity, at least the cooling capacity of the second medium, in a very advantageous manner, whilst the first medium will not harden, at least not entirely, due to freezing, so that it will remain deformable. As a result, a very good adaptation of the shape of the envelope can be obtained, whilst a very good cooling capacity is nevertheless realised.

The advantage achieved by using at least two masses, viz. a first and second medium, are used in a device according to the invention, is that it is possible to use a medium which can freeze substantially entirely to a hard shape and in which a very large cooling capacity can be realised, whilst the other medium remains relatively soft, at least liquid or gel-like and deformable, capable of conforming to the shape of a surface to be cooled.

The term cooling device as used herein is to be understood to mean at least a device that can be placed in a cold environment such that the device can take on the temperature of said environment, so that a cold capacity is stored in the device, which can be delivered to a surface to be cooled, preferably without the use of an external energy source being required.

Preferably, a eutectic mixture is used for at least one of the media, as a result of which a predetermined tern-

perature can be maintained for a relatively long period of time.

The second medium may be water, for example, which freezes easily. Ice has a very advantageous cold energy storage capacity, so that a large cooling capacity can be obtained. The first medium may be a gel-like mass that is known per se, a solution of Na or K salts or a water/glycol mixture, for example.

An advantageous embodiment of a cooling device according to the invention is characterised by the features defined in claim 3.

In such an embodiment, the second medium is contained in a second part of the cooling device, which part is surrounded by or in contact with a first part containing the first medium. Several first and second parts may be provided, of course. Such a device has the advantage that the first and the second medium can be easily separated from each other by placing the first medium in the first part and the second medium in the second part. In an alternative embodiment, the first and the second medium may also be provided in mixed form, of course .

Preferably, the or each first part and the or each second part are arranged in such a manner with respect to each other and/or with respect to the envelope that in use the first parts can be placed in contact with an object to be cooled, possibly with the interposition of a wall of the envelope, whilst the or each second part is screened therefrom by the (a) first part . Accordingly, cold will be transferred to the object to be cooled from the cold second part at all times, at least heat will be extracted from said surface at least via the first medium. Part of the second medium, in particular a relatively small part thereof, may be in contact with or be located near the surface to be cooled, of course.

Preferably, the second medium has a high cold storage capacity in comparison with the first medium and, in addition, the second medium preferably has a high coefficient of thermal conductivity.

The first medium is preferably a gel or a medium that is gellable, in particular at temperatures at which the second medium freezes. Preferably, the first and the øecond medium are selected so that the second medium will freeze and the first medium will not freeze, at least not entirely, at an ambient temperature of less than 4 ⁰ C, more in particular a temperature between 0 ⁰ C and -30 ⁰ C, even more in particular a temperature between 0 ⁰ C and -25 ⁰ C.

In a very advantageous embodiment, the cooling device is provided with a wall that is flexible at least on a side thereof that faces inwards during use, at least the side that is intended to be in contact with the surface or object to be cooled, so that it is capable of optimally conforming to the shape of a surface to be cooled, also if said surface is doubly curved.

The first medium preferably comprises solid particles, in particular solid metal particles such as flakes, for example. More in particular, relatively small aluminium particles may be used. Such solid particles have the advantage that an improved cold transfer by the first medium is obtained, whilst said medium remains sufficiently flexible, also at low temperatures .

In another advantageous embodiment, the solid particles are not uniformly distributed over the first medium, at least not provided in the same concentration all over the device. This makes it possible, for example, to influence the cold transfer locally, so that a first part of a surface to be cooled is cooled more quickly or, on the contrary, more slowly than another part thereof. Thus it is possible, for example when the device is used for cooling a beverage container, to cool a lower part of the container more quickly than a higher part thereof, as a result of which cooled liquid can be tapped from a lower part of the container relatively quickly.

The device may be provided with, in particular be built up of, a series of interconnected first and/or second parts filled with the first and/or the second medium. In use, said parts preferably form a tubular cooling device, which

can be slipped over a container or other surface to be cooled, for example. The device may be substantially strip- shaped and be folded into a tubular shape with the aid of closure means such as Velcro. This makes it possible to adapt the device to a desired size at all times and realise a good contact therewith.

The invention furthermore relates to an assembly of a cooling device according to the invention and a container containing a medium to be cooled, in particular a beverage.

The invention further relates to a method of manufacturing a cooling device.

The invention moreover relates to the use of at least two different mediums, at least masses having different freezing points.

The subclaims define a number of further advantageous embodiments of the cooling device, the assembly, the method and the use according to the invention.

To provide a better understanding of the invention, a number of embodiments of the invention will now be described in more detail with reference to the drawing. In the drawing:

Fig. 1 is a (partially sectional) view of a cooling device according to one embodiment of the invention, seen from a side which, in use, faces towards the surface to be cooled, showing the device in the flat condition thereof;

Fig. 2 shows the device of Fig. 1, seen from a side that faces outwards in use;

Fig. 3 is a schematic, sectional plan view of the cooling device according to one embodiment of the invention;

Figs. 4A-4C show a cooling device whose inner mantle and outer mantle are detachably interconnected;

Fig. 5 is a sectional view of a part of a device comparable to the device that is shown in Fig. 1, showing an alternative embodiment of a compartment thereof;

Fig. 6 is a perspective view of a cooling device according to one embodiment of the invention, which is provided round a container; and

Figs. 7A and 7B show an alternative variant of the cooling device according to the invention.

Identical or corresponding parts will be indicated by identical or corresponding numerals in the present description. The embodiments as shown and described herein merely function by way of illustration and must not be construed as being limitative. The illustrated embodiments are based on a cooling device for cooling a beverage container, for example of substantially cylindrical or barrel-shaped container, but it is also possible to cool other objects and parts of the body with such a cooling device or a comparable cooling device.

Fig. 1 shows a cooling device 1 according to the invention, seen from a side that faces inwards in use, in which connection the term "inwards" is to be understood to mean a side which, in use, faces towards a surface to be cooled. The opposite side will be referred to below as "outwards". Fig. 2 shows the same device 1, seen from the outside. It will be apparent that the device 1 can be placed in a flat condition, for example in the form of a strip that is provided with first closure means 3 at one end 2, whilst the opposite end 4 is provided with second closure means 5 arranged for mating with the first closure means 3. The first and the second closure means 3, 5 may be configured as Velcro strips. This makes it possible to give the strip a closed shape, for example for cylindrically surrounding a bottle, cask or the like.

Fig. 3 shows a part of a device 1 according to Figs. 1 and 2 in sectional view. The device 1 comprises an inner mantle 6 and an outer mantle 7. In Fig. 3 the inner mantle 6 is fixed to the outer mantle 7 by means of spaced- apart joints 8, for example welded joints 9 in the form of linear welds. Between the inner mantle 6 and the outer mantle 7, a first part in the form of a chamber 10 is formed between each pair of adjacent welds 9, which chamber is closed at or near a bottom side 11 and an upper side 12 of the device 1 in that the inner mantle 6 and the outer mantle 7 are fixed together by means of a welded joint 9. Provided within each

chamber 10 is a second part, for example a cylindrical chamber 13, which, is in itself closed and which may be fixed to a bottom side 11 and an upper side 12. Of course several first chambers 10 with second chambers 13 may be provided both beside and above each other.

The outer mantle 7 is preferably thermally insulating. Thus, the outer mantle 7 may be made of plastic material, for example. In the embodiment that is shown in Fig. 3, the outer mantle 7 has a sandwich-like construction built up of an outer layer 18 and an inner layer 19, with an insulating layer, for example a foam layer 20, provided therebetween. Thus, an inner layer 19 and/or an outer layer 18 may be made of aluminium-coated PE foil, for example, whilst the intermediate layer may be made of PE foam. The inner layer 19 may at least partially be made of a slightly or highly moisture-absorbing material so as to prevent condensation exiting the device 1, which may have an adverse effect on the cooling capacity. The mantle 7 may be slightly elastic. The inner mantle 6 is preferably slightly elastic, for example made of a foil, in particular PE or PA foil or a foil made of a PE/PA mixture. Also other materials may be used, of course, provided they are capable of withstanding the desired temperatures . Because of the elastic nature of at least the inner mantle 6, the cooling device can readily conform to the shape of a surface to be cooled. Preferably, the outer mantle 7, at least one or more layers thereof, is suitable for being provided with visual graphics, such as advertising comprising letters/words and/or figures, logos and the like, by means of a printing process or other application process.

The first chamber 10 surrounding the second chamber 13 is filled with a first medium 14. The second chamber is filled with a second medium 15. The second medium has a freezing point higher than that of the first medium 14. The term "freezing point" as used herein is to be understood to mean a temperature at which or a temperature range within which the medium in question freezes. What is important is that when the device 1 cools down strongly in use, the first medium 14 is not frozen yet, at least not entirely so, when

the second medium 15 is already frozen, at least has taken on a solid shape .

Preferably, the second medium is selected to have a freezing point between 0 ⁰ C and -20 ⁰ C, more in particular between 0 ⁰ C and -15 ⁰ C. The second medium is preferably selected to have a freezing point below -5 ⁰ C, more in particular below -8 ⁰ C. The first medium 14 and/or the second medium 15 are preferably eutectic mediums. Especially the first medium 14 is preferably a eutectic medium. This makes it readily possible to obtain a preselected temperature for a surface to be cooled.

Preferably, solid particles 17, for example metal flakes, in particular aluminium flakes, are incorporated in the first medium 14. In this way a significant increase of the thermal conductivity of the first medium 14 can be achieved. By way of illustration, the coefficient of thermal conductivity of water is about 0.60 W/mK, that of ice is about 2.1 W/mk and that of aluminium is about 220 W/mk. Loose particles 17 are preferably in the form of flakes which can move through the first medium separately from each other but which may also be in contact with each other.

The second medium 15 is preferably a critical eutectic mixture, or preferably water, in particular distilled water. A water/glycol mixture or, for example, a K and/or Na saline solution may be used as the first medium. The first medium 14 for example consists of 15% glycol, 83% water and 2% thickener. The second medium 15 for example consists of 100% water. The first and/or the second medium may be slightly gel-like, so that the medium in question is prevented from flowing out when there is a small hole in one of the mantles 6, 7.

In the example that is shown in Fig. 1, each chamber 10, at least each second chamber 13, comprises a series of compartments 21 therein, for example eight compartments arranged one above the other, i.e. in a series between the bottom side 11 and the upper side 12. As a result, a different composition of the first medium 14 and/or the second medium 15 may be used in each of the compartments. Thus, com-

partments 21 located near the bottom side 11 may have a larger cooling capacity, contain more metal flakes or exhibit a different volume ratio between the first part 10 and the second part 13 than compartments 21 located closer to the upper side 12, or precisely the opposite. As a result, the cooling action of the device can be locally influenced. Preferably, a part 22 of the volume in each chamber is taken up by a gas, in particular air, as a result of which deformations and in particular volume changes of the first chamber 10 and/or the second chamber 13 can be offset .

Figs. 4A-4C show an alternative embodiment of the device 100, which device 100 comprises an inner mantle 102 and an outer mantle 103 that can be detachably interconnected. The inner mantle 102 comprises chambers 110, which may be of a design similar to that of the chambers 10 in Figs. 1-3. The chambers 110 may be closed on either side by a layer 106, for example consisting of a foil, in particular a PE or PA foil or a foil made of a PE/PA mixture. The outer mantle 103 may for example consist of layers 118, 119, 120 comparable to the layers 18, 19, 20 as shown in Fig. 3.

An advantage of the fact that the inner mantle 102 is detachable is that it will take up less space in a freezing compartment, for example, than in the situation in which the entire device 100 is to be cooled therein. Another advantage of the fact that the inner mantle 102 is detachable is that different outer mantles 103 provided with different graphics (e.g. advertising) may be used with the same inner mantle 102.

Several variants are conceivable for interconnecting the inner mantle 102 and the outer mantle 103 of the device 100. In the illustrated variant, cords 104 attached to the outer mantle 103 are used, which cords are passed between the chambers 110 as shown in Fig. 4A. Fig. 4B shows the single outer mantle 103 provided with the cords 104, seen from the side that faces towards the inner mantle 102. The cords 104 do not necessarily have to be passed between each of the chambers 110, of course. Alternative attachment variants comprise inter alia the use of elastic cords, press-studs, etc.

Fig. 5 shows an alternative embodiment of compartments 21 of a device 1, in which the compartment walls 23 extending between the bottom side Il and the upper side 12, which may formed by the joints 9, such as seals or welded joints, are formed in such a manner that they can readily adapt to changes in the vertical dimension between the upper side 12 and the bottom side 11 and/or changes in transverse direction. To that end the walls 23 comprise a curved central portion 24.

Fig. 6 shows a device 1 according to the invention, which is placed around an object 25 to be cooled, for example a wine, beer or soft drink bottle. The device is wound around the outer surface 26 of the object 25 as much as possible with a close fit, so that an optimum contact of the inner mantle 6 therewith is obtained. Because of the elasticity and possibly the deformability of the compartments 21, the chambers 10 and 13 and the mantles 6 and 7, this can be readily achieved. The device is fixed in position around the object by the mating closure means 3, 5.

Prior to the placement of the cooling device in the manner that is shown in Pig. 6, the entire device 1 is put in a further cooling device, such as a refrigerator or a freezer, in which a low temperature prevails, preferably a temperature below 0 ⁰ C, more in particular a temperature below -4 ⁰ C but above the freezing temperature of the first medium 14. The first medium 14 will cool down strongly but it will not freeze, at least not entirely, in said further cooling device. Preferably, the first medium 14 is and remains gel-like and thus deformable. The second medium 15 is cooled indirectly by the surrounding first medium 14, possibly aided by the presence of the solid particles 17, and will freeze at the prevailing ambient temperature. As a result, a very high cold capacity is obtained, which is in particular stored in, at least can be obtained from the second medium 15.

Once at least the second medium 15 is partially, preferably entirely, frozen, the device 1 is removed from said further cooling device and placed around the object to be cooled, as shown in Fig. 5. Since the first medium 14 is

still at least partially, preferably entirely, in a liquid state, it can readily conform to the shape of the object to be cooled, so that a very good contact between the inner mantle 6 and the aforesaid surface is obtained and retained. This enables an optimum energy transfer, so that the object 25 can be properly cooled. The second medium 15 mainly functions to supply the cold; the first medium mainly functions to transport the cold. In particular if the aforesaid particles 17 are incorporated therein, a very good conduction is obtained. Without wishing to be bound by any theory, the cooling capacity of a device 1 according to the invention appears to result mainly from the melting heat of the second medium 15. The advantage obtained by using eutectic mediums is that the object can be quickly cooled to a preselected desired temperature and be maintained at that temperature for a prolonged period of time. Thus it is possible, for example, to set a cooling temperature of, for example, 10 ⁰ C for white wine, a temperature of, for example, 6 ⁰ C for beer and a temperature of, for example, 0 ⁰ C for ice-cream.

For a better understanding of the invention, an example of the construction and dimensions of a device according to the invention will now be given, which example is merely given by way of illustration, however, and must not be construed as being limitative in any way.

A device 1 according to the invention has a width Bl between the first end 2 and the second end 4 of about 690 mm, for example, and a height Hl between the bottom side 11 and the upper side 12 of 250 mm, for example. All the joints 9 have a width of about 10 mm, for example. If eight compartments are provided for each chamber 10 and twelve chambers 10 are arranged side by side, as shown in Fig. 1, each chamber will thus have a height H2 of about 230 mm and a width B2 of about 45 mm. Each compartment 21 will then have a height H3 of about 30 mm. The inner mantle 6 is made of a thin, strong PE/PA foil, whilst the outer mantle 7 is a 3-5 mm thick multilayer, comprising an inner layer 18 and an outdoor layer of 19 of aluminium-coated PE foil with a PE foam layer 20 glued therebetween. The outer mantle 7 may also be just a foil,

identical to or comparable with the inner mantle 6. Each chamber 10 has a thickness Dl of, for example, about 20 mm, measured in a direction perpendicular to the outer mantle 7, within which the second chamber 13 having a width B3 of about 30 mm and a thickness D2 of about 12 mm is positioned. The second chamber 13 is preferably slightly oval in section, for example made of an extruded tube of PE foil having a diameter of about 18 mm. The compartments 21 have been formed therein by means of sealed joints 27, for example. The first medium is an Na and/or K saline solution, for example, containing aluminium flakes 17 and a gelling agent, whilst the second medium 15 is distilled water, for example. At room temperature about 10% of the total volume of each first and second chamber 10, 13 is filled with air, for example.

The invention is by no means limited to the embodiments as described and illustrated in the drawings. Many variations are possible within the scope of the invention as defined by the claims .

Thus, a device according to the invention may comprise a different number of first and/or second chambers, which may or may not be provided with compartments. The first and second parts, in particular chambers the 10, 13, may also be arranged one on top of the other instead of the second part 13 being surrounded by the first part 10. Other mediums, whether or not eutectic, may be used for the first and/or the second medium, whilst the first and the second medium may also be provided in mixed form in one space. When such a solution is used, ice crystals of the second medium are formed in the first medium whilst the latter is still in a liquid or gel-like or at least deformable state. Different solid particles 17, for example ceramic particles, may be incorporated in the mediums, in particular in the first medium. Different closure means may be used, whilst the mantles 6 and 7 may also have a closed structure, so that the device 1 is cylindrical, for example, and can- be placed around an object to be cooled through elastic deformation of the mantles 6, 7.

The above and many comparable variations, among which all combinations of parts of the illustrated embodi-

ments, shall be considered to fall within the scope of the invention.

A variant that is easy to manufacture is shown in Figs. 7A and IB, in which the second medium 15 is contained in a second chamber 13, which second chamber 13 is configured as a cup that fits in a first chamber 10 for the first medium 14. The whole is closed by an outer mantle 7 • The outer mantle 7 and the first chamber 10 and the second chamber 13 are fixed in position by a weld 9.