Refrigeration – Container cutter or punch-type opening means
Reexamination Certificate
1998-11-09
2001-01-09
Tapolcai, William E. (Department: 3744)
Refrigeration
Container cutter or punch-type opening means
C062S371000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06170283
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the field of food and beverage containers. More specifically the present invention relates to a self-cooling container apparatus containing a beverage or other food item and to methods of assembling and operating the apparatus. The terms “beverage”, “food item” and “container contents” are considered equivalent for purposes of this application and used interchangeably.
For the first several preferred embodiments, the apparatus includes a container such as a can containing a beverage and having a conventional unified bottom and side container wall terminating in an upper sealing flange referred to hereinafter as a container rim. A refrigerant receptacle is provided including a receptacle cup having a cup wall having an expandable portion and having a cup sealing flange, hereinafter referred to as a cup rim, which extends laterally from the cup wall. As an alternative to the cup with an expandable wall, a secondary vessel is placed within the container to contain the beverage and to define a narrow annular refrigerant chamber between the container and vessel, providing an broad surface area for heat transfer. A conventional beverage can lid is further provided, including a lid panel with a lid opener mechanism and a lid lateral edge.
A method of apparatus assembly is provided including the steps of lowering the cup through the container rim so that the cup displaces some of the beverage in the container; resting the cup rim on top of the container rim; placing the lid on top of the cup so that the lid lateral edge rests on the cup rim; and crimping the lid lateral edge and cup rim onto the container rim. Either before or after the lid is placed onto the cup, a refrigerant chilled to a liquid state is introduced into the cup. After crimping, the refrigerant is warmed to ambient temperature, whereupon it partially evaporates and develops internal pressure against the cup wall and the lid.
A method of operation is provided in which the consumer operates the lid opener mechanism to open the lid and thereby releases vaporized refrigerant from the receptacle cup. The remaining liquid refrigerant progressively boils into a vapor state and escapes through the opener mechanism, drawing heat out of the beverage through the cup wall. Once all of the refrigerant has been released, the cup wall is opened with a cup wall opener mechanism to permit the beverage to flow into the cup, and then out of the container through the lid opener mechanism for consumption.
2. Description of the Prior Art
There have previously been self-cooling containers for food items including refrigerant receptacles with widely spaced apart, rigid receptacle walls. The receptacle is opened when cooling is desired and the refrigerant is progressively discharged from the receptacle, extracting heat from the container contents. A problem with this construction is that, as the volume of the liquified refrigerant falls during discharge, the refrigerant surface area in thermal contact with the walls of the receptacle diminishes, so that progressively colder refrigerant is in contact with a progressively smaller conductive surface area. The result is an exponentially falling refrigerant evaporation rate.
It is thus an object of the present invention to provide a self-cooling container apparatus containing a refrigerant receptacle with either expandable or narrowly spaced apart walls for a rapid and efficient transfer of heat out of the container contents.
It is another object of the present invention to provide such an apparatus in which a smaller volume of cold refrigerant is exposed to a larger heat transfer surface area such as by corrugating the refrigerant receptacle wall, to increase the evaporation rate of the liquid refrigerant.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide such an apparatus which both releases refrigerant and opens passage for the container contents with a single action by the consumer.
It is finally an object of the present invention to provide such an apparatus which is inexpensive to manufacture, safe and reliable.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention accomplishes the above-stated objectives, as well as others, as may be determined by a fair reading and interpretation of the entire specification.
A rapid refrigeration apparatus is provided including a container having a container upper end, a container wall with a container opening in the container upper end bordered by a container rim, the container liquid container contents; a receptacle extending within the container and containing a refrigerant, the receptacle including a cup portion sized to fit into the container opening, a cup flange sized to rest against and sealing secured to, the container rim and a cup wall, at least a portion of which is expandable, the cup wall having cup wall opening mechanism for releasing the container contents into the receptacle;
and a lid sealingly secured to the cup flange and including a lid opening mechanism for releasing the refrigerant from the receptacle into the atmosphere and for releasing the container contents from the receptacle for consumption; the lid opening mechanism including a lid opening mechanism activation mechanism for voluntarily opening the lid opening mechanism at a selected moment in time.
The cup wall opening mechanism preferably includes a cup wall port and a cup wall port plug positioned immediately adjacent to the container wall so that the plug is dislodged from the cup wall port by pressing against and bowing the container wall inwardly. The cup wall opening mechanism includes a cup wall rupture region of sheet material which ruptures upon activation of the lid opening mechanism due to the resulting loss of pressure within the receptacle with the release of the refrigerant and the simultaneous creation of a pressure differential between the interior of the receptacle and the interior of the container outside the receptacle. The expandable portion of the cup wall includes a cone with the cone apex oriented away from the lid and having an undulating cone wall, where the undulations flatten as the cone wall expands.
The lid opening mechanism preferably includes a container contents release port having container contents release port removable closure mechanism and a refrigerant release port having refrigerant release port removable closure mechanism. The refrigerant release port preferably includes an outwardly protruding nozzle portion having a nozzle passageway sized to release a stream of gaseous refrigerant at a release speed which is greater than the gaseous refrigerant combustion speed and where the refrigerant release port removable closure mechanism includes a nozzle passageway plug. The nozzle portion plug preferably includes a plug shaft having a conical nozzle entry tip and a thumb flange for pressing the conical nozzle entry tip into and through the nozzle portion. The thumb flange preferably includes a laterally extending flexible pull tab for gripping to remove the plug shaft from the nozzle passageway.
A rapid refrigeration apparatus is also provided including a primary container having a primary container upper end, a primary container wall having an inwardly beveled primary upper wall portion surrounding a primary container opening, the primary container opening being bordered by a primary container rim; a secondary container smaller than and positioned within the primary container, the secondary container having a secondary container upper end, a secondary container wall having an inwardly beveled secondary upper wall portion surrounding a secondary container opening and having a cup wall opening mechanism, the secondary container opening being bordered by a secondary container rim, so that the secondary container rim rests against and is sealingly secured to the primary container rim and so that an annular refrigerant receptacle chamber is defined between the primary and secondary container walls; refrigerant contained within the annular refri
Oltman Flynn & Kubler
Tapolcai William E.
LandOfFree
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