Cooler unit with active temperature control

Abstract

A cooler container with an active temperature control system is provided. The active temperature control system is operated to heat or cool a chamber sized to contain a liquid container (e.g., a metal can, such as a soda can, a beer can, etc.).

Description

[0001] Incorporate any priority claims by reference

[0002] Any and all applications that identify foreign or domestic priorities in the application data sheet filed with this application are incorporated herein by reference in accordance with 37 CFR 1.57 and should be considered part of this specification. Technical Field

[0003] The present invention relates to a portable cooler, and more particularly to a cooler with active temperature control, wherein a metal (e.g., aluminum) container (e.g., a can) can be contained therein for cooling the metal can and its contents. Background Technology

[0004] Many beverages (e.g., soda water, beer) are packaged in metal (e.g., aluminum) cans for personal consumption (e.g., at parties, picnics, outdoor activities, etc.). These beverages are typically consumed chilled or refrigerated (e.g., by placing the can in a refrigerator or on ice, such as in a cooler). However, once the can is removed from the refrigerator or ice, the temperature of the can and the beverage changes over time due to the heat of the user's hands while holding the can and due to exposure to ambient air. Cans (e.g., soda water cans, beer cans) are typically kept insulated within an insulating sleeve (often called a "beer cooler") made of flexible or deformable fabric or foam to insulate the beverage inside and keep it cool for a longer period. However, such a beer cooler cannot keep the beverage cool for very long. Summary of the Invention

[0005] Therefore, there is a need for an improved personal portable cooler that can house a metal (e.g., aluminum) container (e.g., a can) to cool the metal can and its contents (e.g., a beverage). The personal portable cooler can be sized to at least partially house a single metal container (e.g., a soda can, a beer can, for example, made of aluminum) within the cooler's chamber. The cooler can maintain the metal can and / or its contents in a cooled state for an extended period of time (e.g., 1 / 2 hour, 1 hour, 2 hours, 3 hours, etc.). In one example, the cooler can maintain the metal can and / or its contents at a desired temperature or temperature range.

[0006] The cooler features active temperature control and can hold metal (e.g., aluminum) containers (e.g., cans) to cool the metal cans and their contents.

[0007] According to one aspect, a personal portable cooler container with an active temperature control system is provided. In one example, the active temperature control system is operated to cool the chamber of the metal container or can containing the cooler.

[0008] According to another aspect, a cooler container with active temperature control is provided. The container includes a container body having a chamber defined by a base and an inner peripheral wall of the container body. The container also includes a temperature control system comprising: one or more thermoelectric elements configured to actively heat or cool at least a portion of the chamber; and circuitry configured to control the operation of the one or more thermoelectric elements to heat or cool at least a portion of the chamber to a predetermined temperature or temperature range. The chamber is sized to house at least a portion of a metal container (e.g., an aluminum can), and the temperature control system is configured to operate to raise or lower the temperature of the metal container and its contents (e.g., a beverage) or to maintain the temperature at or within the predetermined temperature or temperature range for an extended period of time (e.g., half an hour, one hour, two hours, three hours, etc.).

[0009] Optionally, the container may include one or more batteries configured to provide power to one or both of the circuitry and one or more thermoelectric elements.

[0010] Optionally, the circuit is also configured to communicate wirelessly with a remote electronic device (e.g., a mobile phone). Attached Figure Description

[0011] Figure 1 This is a cross-sectional view of the cooler container.

[0012] Figure 2 This is a cross-sectional view of another cooler container.

[0013] Figure 3 This is a cross-sectional view of another cooler container.

[0014] Figure 4 This is a schematic block diagram illustrating communication between a cooler container and a remote electronic device.

[0015] Figure 5 This is a cross-sectional view of the cooler container. Detailed Implementation

[0016] Figure 1A cooler container assembly 100 (“cooler”) is illustrated. Cooler 100 may include an insulated cylindrical vessel 10 having an open top and a closed bottom, the bottom having an opening (e.g., a central opening) passing through it. In one embodiment, vessel 10 may be double-walled, with an outer peripheral wall (e.g., an outer cylindrical wall) spaced apart from an inner peripheral wall (e.g., an inner cylindrical wall) by a gap. In one example, the gap may be filled with air. In another example, the gap may be filled with an insulating material (e.g., foam). In yet another example, the gap may be under vacuum. Advantageously, the inner peripheral wall is insulated from the outer peripheral wall (e.g., so that heat from the hand of a user holding cooler 100 is not transferred to the inner peripheral wall, thereby preventing heat transfer to the metal can and its contents within the cooler). In another embodiment, vessel 10 may be single-walled. In one embodiment, vessel 10 is made of an insulating material (e.g., plastic, other polymeric materials, other non-metallic materials).

[0017] Cooler 100 may optionally have an inner circumferential liner 20 (“liner”) that is in thermal communication (e.g., thermal contact, direct contact) with a beverage container inserted into a chamber of liner 20. Liner 20 will optionally contact the inner circumferential wall (e.g., inner cylindrical wall) of vessel 10. Liner 20 may optionally extend substantially to the top of vessel 10. Liner 20 may extend substantially co-located with vessel 10. Liner 20 may extend from an open top end to a closed bottom end having an opening therethrough (e.g., a central opening). Optionally, the opening in the bottom end of liner 20 may be aligned with the opening in the bottom end of vessel 10 (e.g., having the same width, having the same diameter).

[0018] Liner 20 may be made of a material with high thermal conductivity. In one example, liner 20 may be made of aluminum. In another example, liner 20 may be made of another material with high thermal conductivity. Liner 20 defines a chamber sized to accommodate at least a portion of a metal can (e.g., a soda can, a beer can, etc.) 200. The chamber may have a nominal diameter of 65.5 mm ± 2 mm. However, the chamber may have other suitable dimensions to accommodate beverage containers of different sizes.

[0019] The cooler may optionally have a heat-conducting slug 30 (“slug”) disposed at the bottom of the chamber. In one example, the slug 30 may have a raised shape facing the open end of the vessel 10. In one embodiment, once the metal can 200 is inserted into the vessel 10, the raised shape of the slug 30 substantially matches the concave base of the metal can 200, thereby allowing the slug 30 to substantially contact the entire area of ​​the concave base of the metal can 200, which advantageously facilitates heat transfer between the slug 30 and the metal can 200 (e.g., heat transfer from the metal can 200 to the slug 30 for cooling the metal can 200).

[0020] In one embodiment, the plug 30 is in thermal communication (e.g., thermal contact, direct contact) with at least a portion of the liner 20. In one example, the plug 30 and the liner 20 are separate components attached together. In another example, the plug 30 and the liner 20 are integral (e.g., a monolithic piece, manufactured or molded as a single seamless part). The plug 30 may be made of a material with high thermal conductivity. In one example, the plug 30 is made of the same material as the liner 20. In one example, the plug 30 is made of aluminum.

[0021] At least a portion of the plug 30 may extend at least partially through an opening (e.g., a central opening) in the liner 20 and / or the vessel 10. Optionally, the plug 30 substantially seals the opening (e.g., a central opening) in the liner 20 and / or the vessel 10.

[0022] The bottom end of the plug 30 may contact the top side of the thermoelectric element (e.g., a Peltier element) 40. In one example, the thermoelectric element 40 contacts the plug 30 but not the liner 20. In another example, the thermoelectric element 40 contacts both the plug 30 and the liner 20. In yet another example, the plug 30 is excluded and the thermoelectric element 40 contacts at least a portion of the liner 20. There may be multiple thermoelectric elements 40. The bottom side of the thermoelectric element 40 may optionally contact the heat sink 50. Optionally, the heat sink 50 may have one or more (e.g., multiple) heat sink fins.

[0023] The housing beneath the vessel 10 may have a cavity that houses at least a portion of the thermoelectric element 40, circuitry, battery 60 (e.g., multiple batteries, rechargeable batteries), and fan 70. The housing may have one or more vents 80 therein to allow airflow between the cavity and the external environment. Optionally, the circuitry may operate the thermoelectric element 40 and / or fan 70 to raise, lower, or maintain the temperature of the metal can and its contents (e.g., a beverage) at a setpoint (e.g., a user-selected temperature, a predetermined temperature) or within a temperature range. Optionally, the circuitry may communicate (e.g., wirelessly) with a remote electronic device (e.g., a mobile phone, tablet, smartwatch, etc.). For example, the circuitry may receive a temperature setpoint from the remote electronic device and operate the thermoelectric element 40 and / or fan 70 to raise, lower, or maintain the temperature of the metal can and its contents (e.g., a beverage) at the setpoint, as discussed further below.

[0024] In operation, a user can insert a metal can 200 (e.g., a soda can, a beer can) into the cavity of the liner 20 such that the outer wall of the metal can 200 approaches (e.g., is adjacent to, contacts) the liner 20 to facilitate thermal communication between the liner 20 and the metal can 200. As described above, the metal can 200 can be inserted such that the plug 30 contacts the concave base of the metal can 200. In one embodiment, a circuit operates a thermoelectric element 40 (e.g., automatically, such as upon sensing that the metal can 200 has been inserted into the cavity of the liner 20) to absorb heat from the plug 30 and from the liner 20 (e.g., via the plug 30 which is in thermal contact with the liner 20). The liner 20 and the plug 30 absorb heat from the metal can 200, which in turn absorbs heat from its contents (e.g., a beverage), thereby cooling the metal can 200 and / or the beverage. The heat is transferred by the thermoelectric element 40 to a radiator 50 for dissipation. Optionally, the circuit operates a fan 70 to draw air through a radiator 50, thereby dissipating heat from the radiator 50. The air can be drawn into the cavity through one or more vents 80 and above at least a portion of the radiator 50 to remove heat from the radiator, and the heated air can be exhausted from the cavity through the fan 70 via one or more vents 80. Advantageously, the cooler 100 can raise or lower the temperature of the metal can 200 or maintain it for an extended period of time (e.g., half an hour, one hour, two hours, three hours, etc.).

[0025] Figure 2 A cross-sectional view of a cooler container assembly 100A (“cooler”) is shown. Some features of the cooler 100A are similar to... Figure 1 The features of the cooler 100. Therefore, the reference numerals used to indicate the various components of the cooler 100A are consistent with those used to identify... Figure 1 The corresponding parts of the cooler 100 are labeled with the same reference numerals, except that an "A" is added to the reference numerals. Therefore, in addition to the description below, Figure 1 The structure and description of the various features of the cooler 100 in the text should also be understood to apply to the cooler 100. Figure 2 The corresponding features of the cooler 100A in the middle.

[0026] The difference between cooler 100A and cooler 100 is that the bottom side of thermoelectric element 40A is in thermal contact (e.g., direct contact) with the heat transfer block 50A below thermoelectric element 40A. Heat transfer block 50A may have a plate shape. However, heat transfer block 50A may have other form factors. In one embodiment, heat transfer block 50A may extend co-exist with thermoelectric element 40A (e.g., having the same contact area). In another embodiment, heat transfer block 50A may have a larger area than thermoelectric element 40A. Heat transfer block 50A may be made of a material with high thermal conductivity (e.g., a metal, such as aluminum, copper, etc.). In another embodiment, heat transfer block 50A may have a phase change material (PCM) incorporated within a housing to suppress thermal fluctuations caused by the operation of thermoelectric element 40A.

[0027] Cooler 100A optionally includes a heat pipe 65A, which is in thermal communication (e.g., thermal contact, direct contact) with at least a portion of heat transfer block 50A at a portion of the heat pipe 65A. In one embodiment, heat pipe 65A and heat transfer block 50A are separate components attached together. In another embodiment, heat pipe 65A and heat transfer block 50A are integral parts (e.g., integral, molded, or manufactured as a single seamless piece). Heat pipe 65A may be made of a material with high thermal conductivity (e.g., metals such as aluminum, copper, etc.). In another embodiment, heat pipe 65A may be a hollow heat pipe having an internal wicking structure and a heat transfer fluid for rapid heat transfer. Heat pipe 65A optionally has in thermal communication (e.g., thermal contact, direct contact) with at least a portion of radiator 68A at another portion of the heat pipe 65A. Radiator 68A optionally has one or more fins. In one embodiment, heat transfer block 50A, heat pipe 65A, and radiator 68A may be a single structure (e.g., integral, single seamless piece). In another embodiment, the heat transfer block 50A, heat pipe 65A, and radiator 68A may be separate components that are thermally connected to each other (e.g., in thermal contact, in direct contact). The cooler 100A may have a fan 70A that is close to at least a portion of the radiator 68A (e.g., close to the heat sink fins).

[0028] like Figure 2 As shown, heat pipe 65A may extend substantially parallel to at least a portion of the bottom surface of vessel 10A and at least a portion of the outer side surface of vessel 10A, but spaced apart from them. However, heat pipe 65A may be located at other positions along the bottom surface and / or sides of vessel 10. Although not shown, container 100A may have an outer casing or vessel, a heat sink 68A, and a fan 70A arranged around vessel 10 and heat pipe 65A. The outer casing may define a housing and cavity below vessel 10, which may accommodate electronic components (e.g., circuitry, batteries, sensors, etc.) of container 100A.

[0029] In operation, a user can insert a metal can 200 (e.g., a soda can, a beer can) into the cavity of the liner 20A of container 100A, such that the outer wall of the metal can 200 approaches (e.g., is adjacent to, contacts) the liner 20A to facilitate thermal communication between the liner 20A and the metal can 200. As described above, the metal can 200 can be inserted such that the plug 30A contacts the concave base of the metal can 200. In one embodiment, the circuit operates a thermoelectric element 40A (e.g., automatically, such as upon sensing that the metal can 200 has been inserted into the cavity of the liner 20A) to absorb heat from the plug 30A and from the liner 20A (e.g., via the plug 30A in thermal contact with the liner 20A). The liner 20A and the plug 30A absorb heat from the metal can 200, which in turn absorbs heat from its contents (e.g., a beverage), thereby cooling the metal can 200 and / or the beverage. The heat is transferred by thermoelectric element 40A to heat transfer block 50A, which in turn transfers the heat to heat pipe 65A. Heat pipe 65A then transfers the heat to radiator 68A for heat dissipation. Optionally, a circuit-operated fan 70A draws air through radiator 68A, thereby dissipating heat from radiator 68A. Although not shown, the air may be drawn into the outer casing of container 100A through one or more vents and above at least a portion of radiator 68A to remove heat from radiator 68A, and the heated air may be exhausted from the casing through fan 70A via one or more vents. Advantageously, cooler 100A can raise, lower, or maintain the temperature of metal can 200 for an extended period of time (e.g., half an hour, one hour, two hours, three hours, etc.).

[0030] Figure 3 A cross-sectional view of the cooler container assembly 100B (“cooler”) is shown. Some features of the cooler 100B are similar to... Figure 1 The features of the cooler 100 in the middle. Therefore, the reference numerals used to indicate the various components of the cooler 100B and the reference numerals used to identify... Figure 1 The corresponding parts of the cooler 100 are labeled with the same reference numerals, except that "B" is added to the reference numerals. Therefore, in addition to what is described below, Figure 1 The structure and description of the various features of the cooler 100 in the text are understood to also apply to... Figure 3 The corresponding features of the cooler 100B in the middle.

[0031] The difference between cooler 100B and cooler 100 is that thermoelectric element 40B and radiator 50B are located in a ring at the top of container 100B. This ring can be detachably attached to the top of container 100B (e.g., the ring can have a threaded portion 90B that threadedly engages with a threaded portion 95B of container 100B). The threaded portion 95B can optionally be defined by one or more surfaces of liner 20B.

[0032] Container 100B may have a housing that defines a cavity below the vessel 10B, the cavity accommodating a fan 70B, one or more batteries 60B, and other electronic devices (e.g., circuitry, sensors, etc.). The housing may define a gap between the outer surface of the vessel 10B and the outer surface of the housing, the gap providing an airflow path 80B toward the top of the container 100B.

[0033] When the ring is attached to the top of the container 100B, one side of the thermoelectric element 40B may be in thermal communication (e.g., thermal contact, direct contact) with at least a portion of the liner 20B (e.g., via threaded connections 90B, 95B). The radiator 50B may be in thermal communication (e.g., thermal contact, direct contact) with the opposite side of the thermoelectric element 40B. Although not shown, the thermoelectric element 40B may be powered via electrical contacts between the ring and the top of the container 100B. The electrical contacts on the top of the container may optionally be connected via one or more wires to a circuit and / or a battery 60B below the container 10B.

[0034] In operation, a user can insert a metal can 200 (e.g., a soda can, a beer can) into the cavity of the liner 20B of container 100B, such that the outer wall of the metal can 200 approaches (e.g., is adjacent to, contacts) the inner surface 22B of the liner 20B to facilitate thermal communication between the liner 20B and the metal can 200. As described above, the metal can 200 can be inserted such that the stopper 30B contacts the concave base of the metal can 200. A ring can be attached to the top of container 100B before or after the can 200 is inserted into the cavity. In one embodiment, the circuit operates a thermoelectric element 40B (e.g., automatically, such as when the metal can 200 is sensed being inserted into the cavity of the liner 20B) to absorb heat from the liner 20B (and via the liner 20B from the stopper 30B). The liner 20B and the stopper 30B absorb heat from the metal can 200, which in turn absorbs heat from its contents (e.g., a beverage), thereby cooling the metal can 200 and / or the beverage. The heat is transferred to the radiator 50B via the thermoelectric element 40B. Optionally, the circuit operates a fan 70B to draw air into the outer casing of the container 100B via one or more vents and to direct the air along an airflow path 80B toward the top of the container 100B. The air flows over at least a portion of the radiator 50B to dissipate heat from the radiator 50B and exits from one or more exhaust ports in the container 100B. In one embodiment, as... Figure 3 As shown, the vent is located at the top of container 100B. However, in other embodiments, the vent may be located at other locations on container 100B. Advantageously, cooler 100B can raise or lower the temperature of metal can 200 or maintain it for an extended period of time (e.g., half an hour, 1 hour, 2 hours, 3 hours, etc.).

[0035] Regarding containers 100, 100A, and 100B, the circuitry may optionally operate thermoelectric elements 40, 40A, and 40B to cool the metal can 200 and / or the beverage therein to a desired temperature (e.g., a temperature setpoint). In one embodiment, the desired temperature is a predetermined temperature (e.g., stored in memory within containers 100, 100A, and 100B in communication with the circuitry). In another embodiment, the desired temperature is a user-selected temperature. Optionally, the user-selected temperature may be manually provided by the user via a user interface on containers 100, 100A, and 100B. In yet another embodiment, the user-selected temperature may be wirelessly provided by the user via a remote electronic device, as discussed further below. Optionally, containers 100, 100A, and 100B may have one or more sensors in communication with the circuitry, which operates one or both of the thermoelectric elements 40, 40A, and 40B and fans 70, 70A, and 70B based at least in part on sensing information provided by the one or more sensors. The sensors may include temperature sensors to sense the temperature of liners 20, 20A, 20B and / or plugs 30, 30A, 30B and / or beverage container 200 and / or the surrounding environment. The sensors may also include pressure sensors, contact sensors, proximity sensors, load sensors, or other suitable sensors to sense the presence of a metal container (e.g., a metal can) within the chambers of containers 100, 100A, 100B.

[0036] Batteries 60 and 60B may be rechargeable batteries. In one embodiment, batteries 60 and 60B can be recharged by placing containers 100, 100A, and 100B on a power base (not shown). In one embodiment, containers 100, 100A, and 100B may have electrical contacts on their bottom that contact electrical contacts on the power base, thereby transferring power from the power base to batteries 60 and 60B. In another embodiment, batteries 60 and 60B can be wirelessly recharged via inductive coupling when containers 100, 100A, and 100B are placed on the base (e.g., the circuitry of containers 100, 100A, and 100B may have a wireless power receiver that receives power from a wireless power transmitter in the power base). In another embodiment, cooler container assemblies 100, 100A, and 100B may have a connector to which a power cable can be connected, the other end of which can be connected to a power source (e.g., a wall socket, etc.). In one embodiment, batteries 60, 60B can be in a removable pack, thereby allowing batteries 60, 60B to be swapped out and / or recharged with another pack, thereby allowing cooler containers 100, 100A, 100B to have extended temperature control performance.

[0037] Figure 5A cross-sectional view of the cooler container assembly 100C (“cooler”) is shown. Some features of the cooler 100C are similar to... Figure 1 The features of the cooler 100. Therefore, the reference numerals used to indicate the various components of the cooler 100C are consistent with those used to identify... Figure 1 The corresponding parts of the cooler 100 are labeled with the same reference numerals, except that a "C" is added to the reference numerals. Therefore, in addition to the description below, Figure 1 The structure and description of the various features of the cooler 100 in the text should also be understood to apply to the cooler 100. Figure 5 The corresponding features of the cooler 100C in the middle.

[0038] Cooler 100C may include an insulated cylindrical vessel 10C (e.g., an outer vessel) having an open top and a closed bottom, the bottom having an opening (e.g., a central opening) passing through it. In one embodiment, vessel 10C may be double-walled, wherein an outer peripheral wall (e.g., an outer cylindrical wall) is separated from an inner peripheral wall (e.g., an inner cylindrical wall) by a gap. In one example, the gap may be filled with air. In another example, the gap may be filled with an insulating material (e.g., foam). In yet another example, the gap may be under vacuum. Advantageously, the inner peripheral wall is insulated from the outer peripheral wall (e.g., so that heat from the hand of a user holding cooler 100C is not transferred to the inner peripheral wall, thereby preventing heat transfer between the inner and outer peripheral walls). In another embodiment, vessel 10C may be single-walled. In one embodiment, vessel 10C is made of an insulating material (e.g., plastic, other polymeric materials, other non-metallic materials).

[0039] The vessel 10C defines a cavity therein, and the inner circumferential lining 20C (“lining”) may be arranged in thermal communication (e.g., thermal contact, direct contact) with the inner circumferential wall of the vessel 10C. The lining 20C may optionally extend substantially to the top of the vessel 10C (e.g., slightly below the top, such as 70%, 80%, or 90% of the height of the inner circumferential wall, or a height in between). The lining 20C may extend substantially together with the vessel 10C. The lining 20C may extend from the open top end to the closed bottom end 21C. At least a portion of the lining wall 22C of the lining 20C may be ribbed.

[0040] The liner 20C may be made of a material with high thermal conductivity. In one example, the liner 20C may be made of aluminum. In another example, the liner 20C may be made of another material with high thermal conductivity. The liner 20C defines a chamber sized to accommodate at least a portion of the beverage container 25. The beverage container 25 may be in thermal communication (e.g., thermal contact, direct contact) with at least a portion of the inner circumferential surface of the liner 20C. The beverage container 25 may be made of glass. However, the beverage container 25 may be made of another suitable material. In one embodiment, the beverage container 25 may protrude from the top of the vessel 10C and the liner 20C. In one embodiment, the beverage container 25 may have a lip or shoulder 26, which may be disposed on the edge of the vessel 10C (e.g., such that the top wall of the beverage container 25 is substantially aligned with the wall of the vessel 10C). In one embodiment, the beverage container 25 may be removed from the vessel 10C, for example, so that it can be washed. In another embodiment, the beverage container 25 may not be removed from the liner 20C.

[0041] Cooler 100C may optionally have a thermally conductive plug 30C (“plug”) extending through an opening (e.g., a central opening) in the bottom of vessel 10C and in thermal communication (e.g., thermal contact, direct contact) with liner 20C. In one embodiment, plug 30C is in thermal communication (e.g., thermal contact, direct contact) with at least a portion of liner 20C. In one example, plug 30C and liner 20C are separate components attached together. In another example, plug 30C and liner 20C are integral (e.g., monolithic piece, manufactured or molded as a single seamless piece). Plug 30C may be made of a material with high thermal conductivity. In one example, plug 30C is made of the same material as liner 20C. In one example, plug 30C is made of aluminum.

[0042] At least a portion of the stopper 30C may extend at least partially through an opening (e.g., a central opening) in the vessel 10C. Optionally, the stopper 30C substantially seals the opening (e.g., a central opening) in the vessel 10C.

[0043] The bottom end of plug 30C may contact the top side of thermoelectric element (e.g., Peltier element) 40C. In one example, thermoelectric element 40C contacts plug 30C but not liner 20C. In another example, plug 30C is excluded and thermoelectric element 40C contacts at least a portion of liner 20C. Thermoelectric element 40C may be multiple thermoelectric elements. The bottom side of thermoelectric element 40C may optionally contact heat sink 50C. Optionally, heat sink 50C may have one or more (e.g., multiple) heat sink fins.

[0044] The housing beneath the vessel 10 may have a cavity 90 that houses at least a portion of the thermoelectric element 40C, circuitry EM, battery 60C (e.g., multiple batteries, rechargeable batteries), and fan 70C. The housing may have one or more vents 80C, including inlets 82 and outlets 84 (e.g., separated by partitions such as flat structures 85), to allow airflow between the cavity 90 and the external environment. Optionally, the circuitry EM may operate the thermoelectric element 40C and / or the fan 70C to raise or lower or maintain the temperature of the beverage container 25 and its contents (e.g., a beverage) at a setpoint (e.g., a user-selected temperature, a predetermined temperature) or within a temperature range. Optionally, the circuitry EM may communicate (e.g., wirelessly) with a remote electronic device (e.g., a mobile phone, tablet computer, smartwatch, etc.). For example, the circuit EM can receive a temperature setpoint from a remote electronic device and operate the thermoelectric element 40C and / or the fan 70C to raise or lower or maintain the temperature of the beverage container 25 and its contents (e.g., the beverage) at the temperature setpoint, as discussed further below.

[0045] In operation, a user can pour a beverage into beverage container 25. If beverage container 25 is removable, the user can pour the beverage into it before or after inserting it into vessel 10C, thereby making it in thermal communication with liner 20C. In one embodiment, the circuit operates thermoelectric element 40C (e.g., automatically, such as when sensing that beverage container 25 is inserted into the chamber of liner 20C) to absorb heat from plug 30C and from liner 20C (e.g., via plug 30C in thermal contact with liner 20C). Liner 20C and plug 30C absorb heat from beverage container 25, which in turn absorbs heat from its contents (e.g., beverage), thereby cooling beverage container 25 and / or the beverage. The heat is transferred by thermoelectric element 40C to radiator 50C for dissipation. Alternatively, the circuit operates fan 70C to draw air through radiator 50C, thereby dissipating heat from radiator 50C. The air can be drawn into the cavity 90 through one or more air inlets 82 and placed above at least a portion of the radiator 50C to remove heat from the radiator, and the heated air can be discharged from the cavity 90 through one or more exhaust ports 84 via a fan 70. Advantageously, the cooler 100C can raise or lower the temperature of the beverage container 25 or maintain it for an extended period of time (e.g., half an hour, 1 hour, 2 hours, 3 hours, etc.).

[0046] The ribs 22C of the liner 20C provide a longer thermal bridge (e.g., a path) from the (e.g., cold) stopper 30C to the main thermal interface between the liner 20C and the beverage container 25 (e.g., near the top center of the container 25). This longer path inhibits (e.g., prevents) heating of the beverage when the thermoelectric element 40C is not operating, as the cold side of the thermoelectric element 40C begins to heat up slowly over time. Therefore, the ribs 22C of the liner 20C help maintain the temperature of the cold beverage in the beverage container 25 for a longer period.

[0047] Figure 4 A block diagram of a control system for (e.g., in conjunction with) the apparatus described herein (e.g., cooler container assemblies 100, 100A, 100B, 100C) is shown. In the illustrated embodiment, a circuit EM (e.g., control circuitry, a microcontroller unit MCU, a computer processor, etc.) may receive sensed information from one or more sensors S1-Sn (e.g., temperature sensors, battery charge sensors, load sensors, RFID or RFID readers, etc.). The circuit EM may be housed in a cavity beneath containers 10, 10A, 10B, 10C. The circuit EM may receive and / or send information (e.g., instructions) to one or more heating or cooling elements HC (such as thermoelectric elements 40, 40A, 40B, 40C) (e.g., operating the thermoelectric elements in heating and / or cooling modes, turning them off, on, changing their power output, etc.), and optionally, the circuitry may send information to one or more power storage devices PS (e.g., batteries 60, 60B, 60C, for charging the batteries or managing the power supplied by the batteries to the thermoelectric elements).

[0048] Optionally, the circuit EM may include a wireless transmitter, receiver, and / or transceiver to communicate with one or more of the following (e.g., to send to it information such as sensed temperature and to receive from it information such as user commands or temperature setpoints): a) a user interface UI1 on the unit (e.g., on the body of container 10); b) an electronic device ED (e.g., a mobile electronic device such as a mobile phone, PDA, tablet computer, laptop computer, or electronic watch); c) via a cloud CL; or d) via a wireless communication system such as WiFi, broadband network, and / or Bluetooth BT. The electronic device ED may have a user interface UI2 that can display information associated with the operation of the cooler container assemblies 100, 100A, 100B, and 100C, and can receive information (e.g., commands) from the user and transmit said information to the cooler container assemblies 100, 100A, 100B, and 100C.

[0049] While certain embodiments of the invention have been described, these embodiments are presented by way of example only and are not intended to limit the scope of this disclosure. In fact, the novel methods and systems described herein can be embodied in a variety of other forms. For example, although the foregoing disclosure relates to metal containers inserted into containers 100, 100A, 100B, 100C, they need not be metal containers and can be made of other materials (e.g., plastic, such as plastic water bottles). Furthermore, although the components described above (e.g., batteries 60, 60B, 60C, thermoelectric elements 40, 40A, 40B, 40C, fans 70, 70B, 70C) can be described in the singular, those skilled in the art will recognize that this disclosure contemplates the use of multiple such components. Additionally, although the figures show cross-sectional views, those skilled in the art will recognize that in one embodiment, the shape factors of containers 100, 100A, 100B, 100C can be defined by rotating the cross-sections shown in the figures about a central axis (e.g., containers 100, 100A, 100B, 100C can be cylindrical). Furthermore, various omissions, substitutions, and changes may be made to the systems and methods described herein without departing from the spirit of this disclosure. The appended claims and their equivalents are intended to cover these forms or modifications that fall within the scope and spirit of this disclosure. Therefore, the scope of the invention is defined only by reference to the appended claims.

[0050] Features, materials, characteristics, or groups described in connection with a particular aspect, embodiment, or example should be understood to be applicable to any other aspect, embodiment, or example described elsewhere in this section or in this specification, unless incompatible therewith. All features disclosed in this specification (including any appended claims, abstract, and drawings) and / or all steps of any method or process so disclosed may be combined in any combination, except for combinations in which at least some such features and / or steps are mutually exclusive. Protection is not limited to the details of any of the foregoing embodiments. Protection extends to any novel feature or any novel combination of features disclosed in this specification (including any appended claims, abstract, and drawings), or to any novel step or any novel combination of steps of any method or process so disclosed.

[0051] Furthermore, some features described in this disclosure, in the context of individual embodiments, can also be implemented in combination in a single embodiment. Conversely, the various features described in the context of individual embodiments can also be implemented individually or in any suitable sub-combination in multiple embodiments. Moreover, although features may be described above as functioning in certain combinations, one or more features from a claimed combination can be removed from that combination in some cases, and the combination may be claimed as a sub-combination or a variation of a sub-combination.

[0052] Furthermore, while operations may be depicted in the accompanying drawings or described in the specification in a specific order, such operations do not necessarily need to be performed in the specific order shown or in a sequential sequence, or all operations need not be performed to achieve the desired result. Other operations not depicted or described may be incorporated into the example methods and processes. For example, one or more additional operations may be performed before, after, simultaneously with, or between any of the stated operations. Further, in other embodiments, operations may be rearranged or reordered. Those skilled in the art will understand that in some embodiments, the actual steps taken in the illustrated and / or disclosed processes may differ from the steps shown in the figures. According to embodiments, some steps in the above steps may be removed, and other steps may be added. In addition, the features and attributes of the specific embodiments disclosed above may be combined in different ways to form additional embodiments, all of which fall within the scope of this disclosure. Moreover, the separation of various system components in the above embodiments should not be construed as requiring such separation in all embodiments, and it should be understood that the components and systems can generally be integrated together in a single product or packaged into multiple products.

[0053] For the purposes of this disclosure, certain aspects, advantages, and novel features have been described herein. According to any particular embodiment, it is not necessary to achieve all of these advantages. Thus, for example, those skilled in the art will recognize that this disclosure may be embodied or performed in a manner that achieves one or a set of advantages as taught herein, rather than necessarily achieving other advantages as taught or suggested herein.

[0054] Unless otherwise specifically stated or understood in the context in which they are used, conditional language, such as “can,” “may,” or “may,” is generally intended to convey that certain embodiments include certain features, elements, and / or steps, while other embodiments do not include certain features, elements, and / or steps. Thus, such conditional language is not generally intended to imply that features, elements, and / or steps are required in any way for one or more embodiments, or that one or more embodiments must include logic for determining whether such features, elements, and / or steps are included in any particular embodiment or whether they are to be performed in any particular embodiment, with or without user input or prompting.

[0055] Unless otherwise specifically stated, connective language such as the phrase "at least one of X, Y, and Z" is understood in the context to generally convey that an item, term, etc., may be X, Y, or Z. Thus, such connective language is generally not intended to imply that some embodiments require the presence of at least one of X, at least one of Y, and at least one of Z.

[0056] As used herein, the terms “approximately,” “about,” “generally,” and “roughly” refer to values, quantities, or characteristics that are close to still performing the desired function or achieving the desired result. For example, the terms “approximately,” “about,” “generally,” and “roughly” can refer to quantities that are less than 10%, less than 5%, less than 1%, less than 0.1%, and less than 0.01%. As another example, in some embodiments, the terms “generally parallel” and “roughly parallel” refer to values, quantities, or characteristics that deviate from perfect parallelism by less than or equal to 15 degrees, 10 degrees, 5 degrees, 3 degrees, 1 degree, or 0.1 degrees.

[0057] The scope of this disclosure is not intended to be limited by the specific disclosure of preferred embodiments in this part or elsewhere in this specification, but may be defined by the claims in this part or elsewhere in this specification or future claims. The language of the claims should be interpreted broadly based on the language used in the claims and is not limited to the examples described in this specification or during the execution of this application, which should be interpreted as non-exclusive.

Claims

1. A cooler container with active temperature control, comprising: A container body having a chamber configured to contain a liquid container therein, the container body having an insulated vessel and a liner with high thermal conductivity in thermal communication with the inner surface of the insulated vessel, the liner defining the chamber; Temperature control system, the temperature control system comprising: Thermoelectric element, one side of which is in thermal communication with at least a portion of the lining, The heat sink is thermally connected to the other side of the thermoelectric element. A fan configured to direct airflow onto or above at least a portion of the heat sink, and A circuit configured to control the operation of one or both of the thermoelectric element and the fan. The temperature control system is operable to raise, lower, or maintain the temperature of at least a portion of the liquid container and / or the liquid therein by operating the thermoelectric element to absorb heat from the lining, wherein the lining in turn absorbs heat from the liquid container, the thermoelectric element is configured to transfer heat to the radiator, the fan is operable to dissipate the heat from the radiator, and the heated air is exhausted from the container body via one or more vents; and The insulated vessel is a double-walled insulated vessel with a gap between a pair of walls of the double-walled structure, the gap being under vacuum, the vessel having an open top and a closed bottom, and the cooler container including a heat-conducting plug in thermal communication with the lining, the heat-conducting plug extending through the opening in the closed bottom of the vessel to contact one side of the thermoelectric element.

2. The cooler container according to claim 1, further comprising one or more batteries.

3. The cooler container according to claim 1 or 2, wherein, The heat plug is configured to extend into the chamber and contact at least a portion of the base of the liquid container.

4. The cooler container according to claim 1 or 2, wherein, The heat-conducting plug has a raised shape that substantially matches the concave shape of the base of the liquid container.

5. The cooler container of claim 1, further comprising a heat pipe that thermally connects the thermoelectric element to the radiator.

6. The cooler container of claim 5, further comprising a heat transfer block between the thermoelectric element and the heat pipe.

7. The cooler container according to claim 1, wherein, At least a portion of the lining has a rib shape.

8. The cooler container according to claim 1, wherein, The liquid container is a metal can.

9. The cooler container according to claim 1, wherein, The liquid container is a beverage container made of glass.

10. The cooler container according to claim 1 or 2, wherein, The heat plug and the liner are an integral part.

11. The cooler container according to claim 1, wherein, The circuit is configured to communicate wirelessly with a remote electronic device.

12. A container with active temperature control, comprising: An insulated vessel having a chamber configured to receive a beverage therein; The housing, located below the insulated vessel, has a chamber for accommodating: A thermoelectric element, one side of which is in thermal communication with at least a portion of the chamber. A heat transfer block, thermally connected to the other side of the thermoelectric element, includes a phase change material housed within a casing to suppress thermal fluctuations caused by the operation of the thermoelectric element. One or more batteries, and A circuit configured to control the operation of the thermoelectric element. The thermoelectric element is operable to raise, lower, or maintain the temperature of at least a portion of the beverage within the chamber by absorbing heat from the chamber and transferring it to the heat transfer block or phase change material.

13. The container according to claim 12, wherein, The insulating vessel is a double-walled insulating vessel, with a gap between the two walls of the double-walled structure.

14. The container according to claim 13, wherein, The gap is under vacuum.

15. The container according to claim 12, wherein, The circuit is configured to communicate wirelessly with a remote electronic device.

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