Container Cooling with Closed Air Circulation and Swirling Flow
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing devices for cooling or frosting drinking glasses or mugs rely on harmful refrigerants like CO2, posing environmental concerns and inefficiencies.
Innovation Solution
A device that uses ambient air as a refrigerant, circulating it through an annular chamber to cool the inner surface of the glass or mug, utilizing fans for efficient air flow and a closed system with a cooler block to achieve low temperatures without external heat intake.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Temperature
If harmful refrigerants like CO2 are used for cooling containers, then effective cooling is achieved, but environmental harm increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the harmful refrigerant (CO2) from the cooling system and replaces it with ambient air. The air inlet introduces ambient air into the annular chamber, which then flows through the container to provide cooling without environmental harm. This extraction of the harmful substance and substitution with a benign alternative directly resolves the contradiction between cooling effectiveness and environmental harm.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the physical parameter of the cooling agent from a chemical refrigerant (CO2) to a physical gas (ambient air). By controlling the temperature of the ambient air through the cooler block and adjusting air flow parameters via fans, the system achieves effective cooling while eliminating the environmental harm associated with harmful refrigerants.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If ambient air is used as cooling agent, then environmental compatibility and cost efficiency improve, but cooling effectiveness may be reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by pre-cooling the ambient air in the cooler block before it enters the annular chamber and contacts the container. The cooler block pre-cools the air to a low temperature, ensuring that when the air subsequently flows through the container, it provides sufficient cooling effectiveness. This preliminary cooling action resolves the contradiction by preparing the ambient air to achieve the required cooling performance.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent utilizes pneumatic principles by employing fans to create forced convection air flow through the annular chamber and container. The fans generate sufficient air flow velocity and pressure to enhance heat transfer efficiency, ensuring that ambient air can achieve effective cooling despite its lower thermal conductivity compared to liquid refrigerants. This pneumatic approach maintains cooling effectiveness while using environmentally compatible ambient air.
3Loss of energy
If air is circulated through annular chamber with swirling flow, then heat exchange efficiency increases, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs curvature by designing the air flow path as an annular chamber rather than a straight channel. The swirling air flow follows the curved annular path, creating centrifugal forces that enhance heat exchange efficiency between the air and container surface. This curved geometry naturally generates the desired swirling flow pattern without requiring complex mechanical components, thus improving heat exchange while limiting complexity increase.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies self-service by allowing the air flow system to generate its own swirling motion through the tangential inlet configuration. The air enters the annular chamber tangentially, and the chamber geometry itself generates the swirling flow pattern without requiring additional mechanical swirl generators or complex control systems. This self-generating flow pattern improves heat exchange efficiency while keeping the device relatively simple.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enables environmentally friendly and cost-efficient cooling or frosting of containers, maintaining low temperatures with minimal energy consumption and maximizing heat exchange through swirling air flow and closed air circulation.
Implementation Method 1
the device further comprises a cooler block in which the air is cooled down to a predetermined temperature, wherein the predetermined temperature is lower than - 10°C
Implementation Method 2
by the centrifugal force with which the air is forced through the container to be cooled, an optimal heat exchange can take place
Implementation Method 3
the swirling upward air flow which due to the so-called Coanda effect is led as a thin layer along the inner surface of the glass lowers the temperature of entire inner surface of the glass or mug very efficiently
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2a
Figure 2b
AI summary
The invention relates to a device (1) for cooling or frosting at least one container (2), in particular a glass or mug, by means of cold air, the device (1) comprising at least one container receiving portion (3) with at least one air inlet (5) for introducing air into an annular chamber (7) so as to achieve an air flow which is led upwards on the inner surface (8) of the at least one container (2) being placed on the container receiving portion (3), thereby cooling or frosting the container (2), wherein the container receiving portion (3) comprises an air outlet portion (10) comprising a pipe (9) extending upwards into the at least one container (2), the pipe (9) being configured to suck the air out of the at least one container (2).