Refrigeration – Processes – Congealing flowable material – e.g. – ice making
Reexamination Certificate
2000-08-24
2001-11-06
Tapolcai, William E. (Department: 3744)
Refrigeration
Processes
Congealing flowable material, e.g., ice making
C062S371000, C062S457400
Reexamination Certificate
active
06311499
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to the field of refrigeration equipment. Specifically, the present invention relates to refrigeration equipment designed to hold beverage containers and to simultaneously provide two temperatures for those containers: a sub-freezing temperature for a portion of the container and an above-freezing temperature for a portion of the container. Such refrigerating equipment allows a portion of the beverage in the container to be frozen while the majority of the beverage remains unfrozen. When removed from refrigeration, the frozen beverage in the container keeps the unfrozen beverage cool.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION AND RELATED ART
Application Ser. No. 09/339,713 describes a container having one end specifically designed to hold frozen beverage while the rest of the container would hold unfrozen beverage. Such a container has the desirable characteristic that the frozen beverage will keep the unfrozen beverage cool for an extended period of time. The patent application also described special dual-temperature refrigeration equipment that would be used to freeze such a container. Such refrigeration equipment is described in more detail herein. In order to freeze a portion of a beverage within a container, it is necessary to provide an environment for a portion of the container that is below the freezing temperature of the beverage. To simultaneously keep the rest of the beverage unfrozen, the rest of the container must be exposed to an environment that is above the freezing temperature of the beverage.
Equipment for providing such dual-temperature environments can come in many varieties. For example, the simplest version is a heated enclosure within a freezer. The heated enclosure surrounds the majority of the beverage container, but a portion of the container protrudes out of the heated enclosure into the sub-freezing environment of the freezer. Thus the portion of the container within the heated enclosure is maintained at above-freezing temperatures, while the portion of the container protruding out of the enclosure sees the sub-freezing temperatures needed to freeze a portion of the beverage. Other types of dual-temperature refrigerated equipment include: walk-in coolers, freezers, and display cases, reach-in coolers, freezers, and display cases, vending machines, transport refrigeration and domestic refrigerator/freezers.
Refrigeration equipment that simultaneously provides two different temperatures, one above freezing and one below freezing, are extremely common and well known. For example, the typical domestic refrigerator/freezer provides freezing temperatures for frozen goods in one compartment while simultaneously providing above-freezing temperatures for beverages and other non-frozen perishables in an adjacent compartment. Likewise, refrigeration equipment in grocery and convenience stores for frozen goods and for refrigerated (non-frozen) goods is often found side-by-side, and may be part of a common refrigeration system. However, such equipment does not provide an opening between the two compartments necessary to expose a single container to both compartments at the same time so that a portion of the container's contents can be frozen while the rest is maintained unfrozen.
The primary objective of this invention is to provide a dual-temperature environment for one or more containers so that a portion of the contents of the container(s) is caused to freeze while the rest of the contents remain unfrozen.
Another primary objective of this invention is to provide a dual-temperature refrigeration device that is suitable for use in grocery, convenience store and other retail locations.
Another primary objective of this invention is to provide a dual-temperature environment within a beverage-container vending machine.
Another primary objective of this invention is to provide such a dual-temperature refrigeration device that can be used to freeze or keep frozen beverage containers while they are being transported.
Another primary objective of this invention is to provide a dual-temperature environment within a domestic refrigerator/freezer.
It should be understood that nothing stated herein, including without limitation reference to my previous application, is admitted to be “prior art” but is instead described to help place the present invention in context.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
As used herein, the term “beverage” shall not be limited to liquids for drinking, but shall include any fluid, including water. Likewise the terms “water” and “ice” are used for convenience herein to refer to the liquid and solid phases of any beverage, and “freezing” and “32° F.” are used to refer to the liquid-solid phase change temperature for such a beverage in whatever ambient conditions a device or method according the present invention is employed. The term “container” shall include bottles, cans, cartons and other types of containers.
The present invention provides a dual-temperature environment for one or more beverage containers so that a portion of the beverage within each container may be frozen while the remaining contents of each container will remain unfrozen. The device can take many forms, depending on its intended use. The container with which the invention is used may or may not be specially configured for this purpose.
All of the various forms of this invention contain three main parts: 1.) a compartment or zone held at a temperature above the freezing temperature of the beverage in the container(s), 2.) a compartment or zone held at a temperature below the freezing temperature of the beverage in the container(s), 3.) aperture(s) or opening(s) between the two compartments in which the beverage containers will be located. By placing a container in the aperture so that a portion of the container is located within the “cold” compartment or zone and a portion is located in the “warm” compartment or zone, it is possible to freeze a portion of the beverage while keeping the rest unfrozen. The refrigerated device may also include some sealing device (e.g., a gasket) at the aperture to seal around the container and thus minimize unwanted heat transfer between the two compartments. Another sealing device (e.g., a door or curtain) may also be used to close the aperture when a container is not present.
There are four basic forms that this invention may take. Those four forms are: 1.) a heated compartment within a freezer, 2.) a freezer compartment within a refrigerator or cooler, 3.) two side-by-side compartments, one cold and one warm, and 4.) a freezer configured to use the surrounding ambient air temperatures as the “warm” zone. Each of these four forms also includes apertures or openings so that a beverage container can be located simultaneously in both the cold and warm parts of the device. An example of the first form is a heated, insulated box located inside a freezer. Heat for the device is provided, for example, by an electrical resistance heater, a lamp, a fan, or from heat leakage (or air infiltration) from the environment outside of the freezer.
An example of the second form of the invention is an enclosure within a refrigerator, the enclosure having a separate source of refrigeration that allows it to be at temperatures below freezing. This second source of refrigeration is, for example, a totally separate refrigeration system, or a low-temperature segment of the main refrigeration system, or it is achieved by piping-in cold air from an existing, nearby freezer.
An example of the third form of the invention is a refrigerator/freezer with an opening between the refrigerator and freezer compartments. Placing a container in the opening allows the container to be simultaneously exposed to the two temperature environments to achieve the desired freezing.
An example of the fourth form of the invention is a freezer having openings in it into which beverage containers are inserted. The containers are inserted so that part of the container sits inside the freezer, and part protrudes outside the freezer. The cold temperatures ins
Gibson Dunn & Crutcher, LLP
Tapolcai William E.
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