Adjustable ice cooler

Abstract

An adjustable ice-cooling device is disclosed, comprising: an open bucket, an open cover, a bracket, a turntable, at least one trolley, and at least one cooling assembly. The open cover is detachably attached to the open bucket and has a limiting groove; the bracket is detachably attached to the open cover and has a sliding groove; the turntable is disposed between the open cover and the bracket and has a lever and a guide groove, the lever protruding from the limiting groove; the trolley includes: a buckle, a slide rail, and a guide rod, the slide rail being disposed on the buckle and embedded in the sliding groove, and the guide rod being disposed on the slide rail and embedded in the guide groove; the cooling assembly includes: a carrier plate, a cold storage bag, and an insert, the cold storage bag and the insert being disposed on opposite sides of the carrier plate, and the insert being detachably connected to the buckle; rotating the turntable with the lever causes the guide groove to move the trolley and the cooling assembly along the sliding groove, thereby adjusting the size of the accommodating space inside the open bucket.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an ice-cooling device, and more particularly to an adjustable ice-cooling device. [Previous Technology]

[0002] Many beverages are suitable for drinking at lower temperatures, especially beer and wine. In many catering occasions (such as outdoor banquets), in order to keep these beverages at a low temperature, the beverage containers are placed in ice buckets filled with ice to chill the beverages. When users take out the beverages, the outside of the beverage containers will be covered with ice water, which needs to be wiped before drinking. This not only increases the user's operation steps, but also causes trouble for storage and organization of the wiped tissues or cloths.

[0003] Currently, a type of flexible cooler bag is being developed on the market. It mainly consists of several cold-storage packs placed inside an open-faced bag made of flexible plastic. Before use, the bag is frozen for several hours. When needed, the bag is removed from the freezer, the beverage bottle / can is placed inside, and the bag is then tightened, ensuring the cold-storage packs adhere tightly to the beverage container to cool it. While this type of flexible cooler bag eliminates the problem of ice water adhering to beverage containers, the insulation of the open-faced bag is poor, resulting in limited cooling effect and a short cooling time. Therefore, the main objective of this invention is to solve the problems associated with existing methods for chilling and keeping beverages cold. [Summary of the Invention]

[0004] To achieve the above objectives, the present invention provides an adjustable ice-cooling device, comprising: an open bucket, an open cover, a hanging bracket, a turntable, at least one trolley, and at least one cooling assembly. The open cover is detachably attached to the open bucket and has a limiting groove; the hanging bracket is detachably attached to the open cover and has a sliding groove; the turntable is disposed between the open cover and the hanging bracket and has a lever and a guide groove, the lever protruding from the limiting groove; at least one trolley includes: a buckle, a slide rail, and a guide rod, the slide rail being disposed on the buckle and embedded in the sliding groove, and the guide rod being disposed on the slide rail and embedded in the guide groove; at least one cooling assembly includes: a carrier plate, a cold storage bag, and an insert, the cold storage bag and the insert being disposed on opposite sides of the carrier plate, and the insert being detachably connected to the buckle; by rotating the turntable with the lever, the guide groove drives the trolley and the cooling assembly to move along the sliding groove, thereby adjusting the size of the accommodating space inside the open bucket.

[0005] In one embodiment, the materials of the above-mentioned opening cover and the above-mentioned opening bucket include acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) copolymer and thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU).

[0006] In one embodiment, the bracket is detachably attached to the opening cover by screws.

[0007] In one embodiment, the guide groove is arc-shaped.

[0008] In one embodiment, the number of the above-mentioned trolley and the above-mentioned cooling group is between 1 and 10.

[0009] In one embodiment, the adjustable ice-colder further includes: two magnetic elements, respectively attached to the plug and the fastener, wherein the plug is detachably connected to the fastener via the magnetic attraction of the two magnetic elements.

[0010] In one embodiment, the cooling assembly further includes: a handle and a support plate, the handle being located on the carrier plate on the same side as the cold storage bag, the support plate being located on the carrier plate on the same side as the plug, and the support plate being adapted to support the lower edge of the buckle.

[0011] In one embodiment, the adjustable ice-cold insulator further includes: a hub and a handle, the hub being located on the limiting groove and connected to the lever, and the handle being disposed on the open barrel.

[0012] In one embodiment, the carrier plate and the inner wall of the open barrel are kept at a gap.

[0013] The adjustable chiller of the present invention includes an open bucket, an open cover, a hanging rack, a turntable, a trolley, and a cooling unit. The turntable is disposed between the open cover and the hanging rack. The trolley is embedded in the hanging rack and the turntable. The cooling unit is detachably connected to the trolley. Rotating the turntable can move the trolley and the cooling unit to adjust the size of the internal space of the open bucket, so that the cooling unit can fit closely to the surface of beverage containers of different sizes. The open bucket can effectively reduce the heat exchange between the external environment and the cooling unit. Therefore, the adjustable chiller of the present invention is not only suitable for beverage containers of different sizes, but also can shorten the time for lowering the temperature of beverages and extend the time for chilled beverages to recover temperature, achieving excellent chilling and cold preservation performance.

Implementation Method

[0014] The embodiments of the present invention will be described in more detail below with reference to the drawings and component symbols, so that those skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains can implement the present invention after reading this specification.

[0015] Figure 1 is an exploded view of an adjustable chiller according to an embodiment of the present invention; Figure 2A is an exploded view of the opening cover, bracket, and turntable of an adjustable chiller according to an embodiment of the present invention; Figure 2B is an exploded view of the trolley and cooling assembly of an adjustable chiller according to an embodiment of the present invention; Figure 2C is a schematic diagram of the combination of the bracket, turntable, trolley, and cooling assembly of an adjustable chiller according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in Figures 1, 2A, 2B, and 2C, the adjustable chiller 1 includes: an opening barrel 10, an opening cover 11, a bracket 12, a turntable 13, a trolley 14, and a cooling assembly 15. The opening cover 11 is detachably attached to the opening barrel 10 and has a limiting groove 111. The bracket 12 is detachably attached to the opening cover 11 and has a sliding groove 121. A turntable 13 is positioned between the open cap 11 and the hanging bracket 12, and includes a lever 131 and a guide groove 132. The lever 131 protrudes from the limiting groove 111. The trolley 14 includes a buckle 141, a slide rail 142, and a guide rod 143. The slide rail 142 is mounted on the buckle 141 and embedded in the slide groove 121, while the guide rod 143 is mounted on the slide rail 142 and embedded in the guide groove 132. The cooling assembly 15 includes a carrier plate 151, a cold storage bag 152, and a plug 153. The cold storage bag 152 and the plug 153 are respectively positioned on opposite sides of the carrier plate 151, and the plug 153 is detachably connected to the buckle 141. Rotating the turntable 13 with the lever 131 causes the guide groove 132 to move the trolley 14 and the cooling assembly 15 along the slide groove 121, thereby adjusting the size of the space inside the open bucket 10 for placing beverage containers.

[0016] In this embodiment, the materials of the opening cover 11 and the opening barrel 10 include acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) copolymer and thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU). The hanger 12 and the turntable 13 are annular pieces with multiple protrusions. The protrusions of the hanger 12 and the turntable 13 are staggered vertically. The sliding groove 121 and the guide groove 132 are respectively formed on the protrusions of the hanger 12 and the turntable 13. The sliding groove 121 is arranged radially along the opening cover 11 and the opening barrel 10, and the guide groove 132 is arc-shaped. The material of the carrier plate 151 includes ABS resin. The outer bag material of the cold storage bag 152 can be nylon plus polyethylene (PA / PE). The cold storage bag 152 is filled with an environmentally friendly water-based cold insulator that can circulate heat release / absorption. The number of trolleys 14 and cooling groups 15 is between 1 and 10, for example, 2 to 8.

[0017] The steps of assembling the adjustable ice-cooling and heat preservation unit 1 include: inserting the slide rail 142 of the trolley 14 into the slide groove 121 of the bracket 12, and inserting the guide rod 143 of the trolley 14 into the guide groove 132 of the turntable 13; aligning the lever 131 of the turntable 13 with the limiting groove 111 of the opening cover 11, inserting the combined bracket 12, turntable 13 and trolley 14 into the opening cover 11, and protruding the lever 131 out of the limiting groove 111; placing the opening cover 11 on the opening barrel 10, placing the bracket 12, turntable 13 and trolley 14 into the opening barrel 10, and combining the opening cover 11 and the opening barrel 10; placing the cooling unit 15 into the opening barrel 10 and connecting it to the buckle 141 of the trolley 14.

[0018] As shown in Figure 2A, in this embodiment, the inner side of the opening cover 11 facing the turntable 13 is provided with a plurality of screw seats 112, and the protrusion of the bracket 12 is provided with a through hole 122. The screw 110 passes through the through hole 122 of the bracket 12 and the space between the two protrusions on the turntable 13, and the screw 110 is screwed into the screw seat 112 of the opening cover 11, so that the bracket 12 can be attached to the opening cover 11, while the turntable 13 can still rotate between the opening cover 11 and the bracket 12.

[0019] As shown in Figure 2B, in this embodiment, the adjustable chiller 1 further includes two magnetic components 144 and 154, respectively disposed on the fastener 141 and the insert 153. Through the magnetic attraction of the magnetic components 144 and 154, the insert 153 is more easily engaged with the fastener 141. Furthermore, the cooling assembly 15 further includes a handle 155 and a support plate 156. The handle 155 and the cold storage bag 152 are located on the same side of the carrier plate 151, and the support plate 156 and the insert 153 are located on the same side of the carrier plate 151. The handle 155 allows the user to easily install or remove the cooling assembly 15; the support plate 156 is adapted to support the lower edge of the fastener 141, which can more securely hold the cooling assembly 15 and prevent the cooling assembly 15 from rotating or shaking during position adjustment.

[0020] As shown in Figure 2C, the insert of the cooling assembly 15 is embedded in the buckle 141 of the trolley 14. The cooling assembly 15 is fixed to the trolley 14 by the magnetic attraction of the magnetic component 144 and the support plate 156 supporting the lower edge of the buckle 141. The guide rod 143 of the trolley 14 is embedded in the guide groove 132 of the turntable 13, and the slide rail 142 of the trolley 14 is embedded in the slide groove 121 of the bracket 12.

[0021] The internal space of the open barrel of the adjustable chiller 1 is adjusted as shown in the top views of Figures 3A and 3B. Rotating the turntable 13 with the lever 131 (counterclockwise as indicated by the arrow in Figure 3A) causes the guide groove 132 to slide the guide rod 143 to one end close to the wall of the open barrel, maximizing the internal space of the open barrel, which facilitates the installation or removal of the cooling assembly 15. Rotating the turntable 13 with the lever 131 (clockwise as indicated by the arrow in Figure 3B) causes the guide groove 132 to slide the guide rod 143 away from the wall of the open barrel, which moves the cooling assembly 15 toward the center of the open barrel, thereby reducing the internal space of the open barrel.

[0022] Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of the use of an adjustable chiller according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in Figure 4, in this embodiment, the adjustable chiller 1 may further include: a hub 16 and a handle 17. The hub 16 is located on the limiting groove 111 and connected to the lever 131. The handle 17 is set on the open bucket 10. The hub 16 makes it easier for the user to control the lever 131 to adjust the position of the cooling group 15. The handle 17 makes it easy for the user to move the adjustable chiller 1. When using the adjustable chiller 1 of the present invention, first put the cooling group 15 into the refrigerator to freeze for a period of time (more than 1 hour, for example, 4 hours). Then, embed the frozen cooling group 15 into the buckle 141 of the trolley 14. Put the beverage container 100 into the open bucket 10 through the opening of the opening cap 11. Adjust the position of the cooling group 15 according to the size of the beverage container 100, and make the cold storage bag 152 clamp the surface of the beverage container 100 to chill and keep the beverage cold.

[0023] It is worth mentioning that the carrier plate 151 maintains a gap with the inner wall of the open bucket 10 (at least the length of the buckle 141 or the support plate 156 along the radial direction of the open bucket 10). This gap can effectively slow down the heat exchange rate between the external environment and the cold storage bag 152 inside the open bucket 10. As a result, the adjustable ice-cold insulator 1 of the present invention can shorten the time for the beverage temperature to drop and prolong the time for the iced beverage temperature to rise.

[0024] Figure 5 is a temperature-time performance diagram of an adjustable chiller according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in Figure 5, with the initial temperature of the beverage at 25°C, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10 cooling groups (cold storage packs) were used to chill and keep the beverage cold. The actual test results showed that different numbers of cooling groups could rapidly lower the temperature of the beverage from the start of chilling; after about 60 minutes of chilling, the temperature of the beverage reached its lowest point, after which the temperature slowly rose; after about 120 minutes of chilling, the temperature of the beverage remained below the initial temperature. Therefore, it can be seen that the adjustable chiller of the present invention does indeed have excellent chilling and cold-keeping performance.

[0025] In summary, the adjustable chiller of the present invention includes an open bucket, an open cover, a hanging rack, a turntable, a trolley, and a cooling assembly. The turntable is disposed between the open cover and the hanging rack. The trolley is embedded in the hanging rack and the turntable. The cooling assembly is detachably connected to the trolley. Rotating the turntable can move the trolley and the cooling assembly to adjust the size of the internal space of the open bucket, so that the cooling assembly can fit closely to the surface of beverage containers of different sizes. The open bucket can effectively reduce the heat exchange between the external environment and the cooling assembly. Therefore, the adjustable chiller of the present invention is not only suitable for beverage containers of different sizes, but also can shorten the time for lowering the temperature of beverages and extend the time for chilled beverages to recover their temperature, achieving excellent chilling and cold preservation performance.

[0026] The above embodiments are merely illustrative of the principles and effects of the present invention and are not intended to limit the present invention. Any person skilled in the art can modify, combine, and alter the above embodiments without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Therefore, all equivalent modifications, combinations, or alterations made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and technical principles disclosed in the present invention should still be covered by the scope of the patent applications of this invention. [Simplified Explanation of the Diagram]

[0027] [Figure 1] is an exploded view of an adjustable chiller according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Figure 2A] is an exploded view of the opening cover, hanging bracket, and turntable of an adjustable chiller according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Figure 2B] is an exploded view of the trolley and cooling assembly of an adjustable chiller according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Figure 2C] is a schematic diagram of the combination of the hanging bracket, turntable, trolley, and cooling assembly of an adjustable chiller according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Figure 3A] and [Figure 3B] are top views of the internal space of the adjustable opening barrel of an adjustable chiller according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Figure 4] is a schematic diagram of the use of an adjustable chiller according to an embodiment of the present invention; and [Figure 5] is a temperature versus time performance diagram of an adjustable chiller according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Claims

1. An adjustable ice-cooling and chilling device, comprising: An open cover, detachably attached to an open container, has a limiting groove; a bracket, detachably attached to the open cover, has a sliding groove; a turntable, disposed between the open cover and the bracket, has a lever and a guide groove, the lever protruding from the limiting groove; at least one trolley, including: a buckle, a slide rail and a guide rod, the slide rail being disposed on the buckle and embedded in the sliding groove, the guide rod being disposed on the slide rail and embedded in the guide groove; and at least one cooling assembly, including: a carrier plate, a cold storage bag and a plug, the cold storage bag and the plug being respectively disposed on opposite sides of the carrier plate, the plug being detachably connected to the buckle; by rotating the turntable with the lever, the guide groove causes the at least one trolley and the at least one cooling assembly to move along the sliding groove, thereby adjusting the size of the accommodating space inside the open container.

2. The adjustable chiller as claimed in claim 1, wherein the materials of the opening cover and the opening barrel include acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) copolymer and thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU).

3. The adjustable chiller as claimed in claim 1, wherein the bracket is detachably attached to the opening cover by screws.

4. The adjustable ice-cooling insulator as described in claim 1, wherein the guide channel is arc-shaped.

5. The adjustable ice-cooling device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the number of the at least one trolley and the at least one cooling unit is between 1 and 10.

6. The adjustable chiller as described in claim 1, further comprising: Two magnetic components are respectively attached to the plug and the buckle. The plug is detachably connected to the buckle by the magnetic attraction of the two magnetic components.

7. The adjustable chiller as claimed in claim 1, wherein the at least one cooling unit further comprises: A handle and a support plate, the handle being located on the same side of the carrier plate as the cold storage bag, the support plate being located on the same side of the carrier plate as the insert, the support plate being adapted to support the lower edge of the buckle.

8. The adjustable chiller as described in claim 1, further comprising: A pivot is located on the limiting groove and connected to the lever; a handle is provided on the open barrel.

9. The adjustable chiller as claimed in claim 1, wherein the carrier plate maintains a gap with the inner wall of the open barrel.

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