Rotating Beverage Chiller With Forced Airflow for Faster Cooling
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing rapid chilling devices for beverage containers in refrigerators are inefficient in temperature transfer and often require external cooling sources or complex mechanisms, and there is a need for a device that can quickly chill containers using cooling air developed within the refrigerator.
Innovation Solution
A device comprising a base portion, an outer body portion, and a rotatable carriage with openings for airflow, a fan to draw and direct cooling air, and a motor to rotate the carriage, allowing for efficient cooling of beverage containers by impinging cool air perpendicular to the container surface.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of time
If a beverage container is placed in a refrigerator to chill, then the container will eventually cool down, but the chilling process takes many hours which is too time consuming
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses a fan to generate forced convection airflow that directs cooling air onto the beverage container. This pneumatic approach accelerates heat transfer from the container to the cooling air, reducing chilling time from hours to minutes while maintaining safe cooling rates.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs a rotatable carriage that rotates the beverage container during the chilling process. This dynamic rotation ensures all surfaces of the container are exposed to cooling air, maximizing heat transfer efficiency and reducing overall chilling time compared to static placement.
2Productivity
If a beverage container is placed in a freezer to speed up cooling, then the chilling process is accelerated, but the contents can freeze and expand resulting in bursting of the container
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses a fan-controlled airflow system that can be adjusted to provide optimal cooling parameters. The forced convection provides rapid cooling while maintaining air temperature above freezing point, achieving fast chilling without the harmful freezing effect that causes container bursting.
3Loss of energy
If air currents are directed over the surface of a beverage container, then cooling is achieved, but the energy transfer is not efficient because the air currents run parallel to the container surface
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses a rotatable carriage that spins the beverage container, ensuring cooling air impinges on all surfaces of the container including the curved sides. This rotational approach maximizes surface area exposure to cooling air and creates efficient convective heat transfer from all container surfaces.
Solution Approach 2:
The rotating carriage provides periodic exposure of different container surfaces to the cooling air stream. This continuous rotation ensures uniform cooling across all surfaces and maintains optimal heat transfer coefficients throughout the chilling process.
4Productivity
If a rapid chilling device uses ice or gas to alter temperature, then quick chilling is achieved, but the device requires motors to rotate the container and reservoirs for holding ice or pumps for generating spray
Solution Approach 1:
The patent utilizes the refrigerator's existing cooling air as the cooling source, eliminating the need for separate ice reservoirs, pumps, or external cooling systems. The fan and rotatable carriage work with the ambient refrigerated environment to achieve rapid chilling without additional complex components.
Solution Approach 2:
The device uses the refrigerator's existing cooling environment for multiple purposes: the cooling air serves both as the temperature control medium and as the heat transfer medium. The fan and rotatable carriage are simple components that work with the existing refrigerator infrastructure rather than requiring separate cooling systems.
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 lowers the temperature of beverage containers by combining rotation and directed airflow, reducing chilling time without the need for external cooling sources and minimizing storage space in the refrigerator.
Implementation Method 1
A fan is provided that draws in cooling air from the refrigerator that is then directed through the air channel into the carriage
Implementation Method 2
The support wall is provided with a plurality of openings that allow cooling air to flow from the air channel into the article receptacle
Implementation Method 3
The motor is selectively activated to rotate the carriage in the central cavity. A plurality of rollers, at least one of which is driven by the motor, support and drive the carriage about a substantially horizontal axis
Implementation Method 4
The combined rotation and airflow impingement rapidly lowers a temperature of the container
Data Source
AI summary
A device for rapidly chilling containers in a refrigerator includes a base portion, an outer body portion and a carriage. The outer body portion includes an outer shell defining a central cavity. The carriage is rotatably supported in the central cavity and spaced from the outer shell so as to define an air channel. The carriage includes a support wall that defines an article receptacle. The support wall includes a plurality of openings that open to the air channel. A fan is provided to establish a cooling airflow that is directed through the air channel into the carriage. A motor is employed to selectively rotate the carriage. A plurality of rollers, at least one of which is driven by the motor, support and drive the carriage to rotate through the cooling airflow to rapidly lower the container temperature.