Nested Beverage Cooler Using Phase-Change Channels
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Solution Overview
Problem
The traditional method of brewing iced coffee by chilling hot coffee with ice results in a diluted coffee strength due to ice melting.
Innovation Solution
A fluid cooling device with nested cooling portions and annular cooling channels filled with phase-change media, such as water, that efficiently cools liquids by utilizing thermally conductive inserts and structured cooling elements to maintain coffee strength while cooling.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Temperature
If hot coffee is chilled with ice, then the coffee is cooled down, but the coffee strength becomes diluted
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts the harmful element (ice that melts and dilutes) and replaces it with a dedicated cooling system. The cooling device uses a separate cooling medium circulating through channels in the container walls, eliminating the need for ice直接接触 the coffee, thus preventing dilution while achieving cooling.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention introduces an intermediary cooling system - a separate cooling medium (such as water or refrigerant) that circulates through cooling channels in the container. This intermediary transfers heat from the coffee to the cooling medium without the cooling medium mixing with the coffee, thus cooling the coffee without diluting it.
2Temperature
If traditional cooling methods are used, then cooling is achieved, but cooling time is extended
Solution Approach 1:
The invention transitions from one-dimensional cooling (ice added to the beverage) to three-dimensional cooling by embedding cooling channels throughout the container walls. This allows heat to be extracted from all surfaces of the beverage simultaneously, dramatically reducing cooling time.
Solution Approach 2:
The cooling system can be pre-cooled before the beverage is added, and the continuous circulation of cooling medium maintains optimal cooling conditions throughout the process, ensuring rapid and efficient heat extraction from the beginning.
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
The device rapidly cools beverages from high temperatures to below 40°F in minutes, maintaining flavor intensity and allowing for efficient pouring, with the cooling media's latent heat matching the sensible energy change, ensuring effective heat transfer.
Implementation Method 1
The cooling media can be a substance that is capable of changing phase from a solid to at least a partial liquid
Implementation Method 2
the energy contained in the latent heat of fusion approximates the sensible energy change in the fluid to be cooled
Implementation Method 3
a thermally conductive insert for conducting heat through the cooling media. The thermally conductive insert can include an aluminum sheet
Implementation Method 4
The first and second series of cooling elements can be positioned within a liquid container into which liquid is capable of being poured and cooled in a batch
Data Source
AI summary
A fluid cooling apparatus includes a first cooling portion have a first series of cooling elements with first cooling surfaces. A second cooling portion can have a second series of cooling elements with second cooling surfaces. The second cooling portion can be removably nested together with the first cooling portion such that the first and second cooling surfaces of respective first and second series of cooling elements can be positioned adjacent to each other with gaps therebetween to form cooling cavities for cooling fluid introduced into the cooling cavities.