U.S. patent application number 10/870792 was filed with the patent office on 2005-12-22 for self-heating/cooling arrangement for beverage and/or food.
Invention is credited to Campbell, G. Edward, Leonzo, Fernando O..
Application Number | 20050279106 10/870792 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 35479154 |
Filed Date | 2005-12-22 |
United States Patent
Application |
20050279106 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Leonzo, Fernando O. ; et
al. |
December 22, 2005 |
Self-heating/cooling arrangement for beverage and/or food
Abstract
An arrangement for heating or cooling a pre-sealed container for
beverage and/or food includes a reaction vessel with a reaction
volume in which first and second reactants intermix when desired to
change the temperature in the reaction volume. A pre-sealed
beverage and/or food container thermally contacts the reaction
volume, and has a generally tubular shape with a bottom, and a top
with means for opening the container. A lid surrounds, and is
sealed to, the top portion of the container, for enclosing part of
the reaction volume. Confronting surfaces of the top portion of the
container and the lid have respective cooperating, portions shaped
in an overall tapering manner, more narrow towards the top of the
container, so that downward pressure from the lid towards the
container substantially aids in holding the container against a
bottom support for the container. A seal is positioned between the
confronting surfaces.
Inventors: |
Leonzo, Fernando O.; (New
York, NY) ; Campbell, G. Edward; (Ventura,
CA) |
Correspondence
Address: |
BRUZGA & ASSOCIATES
11 BROADWAY, SUITE 715
NEW YORK
NY
10004
US
|
Family ID: |
35479154 |
Appl. No.: |
10/870792 |
Filed: |
June 17, 2004 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
62/4 ;
126/263.06; 126/263.08 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B65D 81/3484 20130101;
F25D 31/005 20130101; F25D 2331/805 20130101; F25D 2331/809
20130101; F25D 5/02 20130101; F24V 30/00 20180501; F25D 2500/02
20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
062/004 ;
126/263.06; 126/263.08 |
International
Class: |
F25D 005/00; F24J
001/00; F24J 003/00 |
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. An arrangement for heating or cooling a pre-sealed container for
beverage and/or food, comprising: a) a reaction vessel with a
reaction volume in which first and second reactants intermix when
desired to change the temperature in the reaction volume; b) a
pre-sealed beverage and/or food container in thermal contact with
the reaction volume; the container having a generally tubular shape
with a bottom, and a top with means for opening the container; c) a
bottom support for supporting the bottom of the container; d) a
lid, surrounding the top portion of the container, for enclosing
part of the reaction volume; e) confronting surfaces of the top
portion of the container and the lid having respective cooperating,
portions shaped in an overall tapering manner, more narrow towards
the top of the container, so that downward pressure from the lid
towards the container substantially aids in holding the container
against the bottom support; and f) a seal between the confronting
surfaces.
2. The arrangement of claim 1, wherein the confronting surfaces of
the container and the lid are so shaped that downward pressure from
the lid towards the container substantially fully holds the
container against the bottom support.
3. The arrangement of claim 1, wherein the seal comprises a
compressible gasket.
4. The arrangement of claim 3, wherein seal is principally formed
by squeezing the gasket between a shoulder portion of the container
and an adjacent portion of the lid.
5. The arrangement of claim 3, wherein, in its initial unflexed
state, the gasket is a flat annular band whose inner diameter is
sufficiently smaller than the top portion of the container over
which the gasket extends, so that the gasket forms a substantially
unpleated skirt when initially placed over the top portion of the
container.
6. The arrangement of claim 5, wherein the compressible gasket
comprises foamed plastic.
7. The arrangement of claim 6, wherein the compressible plastic
comprises foamed polyethylene.
8. The arrangement of claim 7, wherein the foamed polyethylene is
at least about 20 mils thick in its initial, uncompressed state
before being placed on the container.
9. The arrangement of claim 1, wherein the seal is free of
adhesive.
10. The arrangement of claim 9, wherein the seal further comprises
compressible material.
11. The arrangement of claim 1, wherein the top portion of the
container comprises a necked-in region and a double-seamed end
above the necked-in region.
12. The arrangement of claim 11, wherein the can is made from
aluminum.
13. The arrangement of claim 1, further comprising a removable
spritz guard placed over a location on the top of the container
from which contents of the container can be removed.
14. The arrangement of claim 13, wherein the spritz guard comprises
a removable, pressure-sensitive label.
15. An arrangement for heating or cooling a pre-sealed container
for beverage and/or food, comprising: a) a reaction vessel with a
reaction volume in which first and second reactants intermix when
desired to change the temperature in the reaction volume b) a
pre-sealed beverage and/or food container in thermal contact with
the reaction volume; the container having a generally tubular shape
with a bottom, and a top with means for opening the container; c) a
membrane for separating the first and second reactants prior to
intermixing the reactants in the reaction volume; d) a breaching
member for breaching the membrane, to initiate intermixing of the
reactants, when desired; e) the mid-ring being interposed between
the bottom of the pre-sealed container and the membrane; the
mid-ring supporting the bottom of the container; and f) stop
structure within the reaction vessel providing a stop to downward
movement of the mid-ring.
16. The arrangement of claim 15, wherein the top of the container
comprises a necked-in region and a double-seamed end above the
necked-in region.
17. The arrangement of claim 16, wherein the container rests
against the mid-ring without being affixed thereto and the mid-ring
rests against the stop structure without being affixed thereto.
18. The arrangement of claim 17, wherein the container rests
directly against the mid-ring.
19. The arrangement of claim 15, wherein the membrane is supported
on the stop structure; the stop structure comprising an annular
surface on the interior of the reaction vessel.
20. The arrangement of claim 15, wherein the mid-ring is configured
to allow reactants to be transported through substantial channels,
when desired, from one side of the mid-ring to the other when the
container bottom is supported by the mid-ring.
21. The arrangement of claim 15, wherein the mid-ring serves to
provide substantially the entire support for the bottom of the
container.
22. The arrangement of claim 21, wherein the mid-ring presses the
container upwardly within the reaction vessel without being affixed
to the container.
23. The arrangement of claim 22, wherein the mid-ring is not
affixed to the stop structure that stops downward movement of the
container.
24. The arrangement of claim 15, wherein the mid-ring presses the
container upwardly within the reaction vessel.
25. The arrangement of claim 15, wherein the mid-ring overlies the
membrane, and has a generally vertical aperture for receiving the
breaching member when breaching of the membrane is desired; the
aperture overlying a partial area of the membrane, substantially
less than the full area of the membrane, to reduce the extent of
movement of the breaching member required for breaching the
membrane.
26. The arrangement of claim 25, wherein flow of liquid reactant
from the reaction volume to below the membrane is slowed by
restricting the liquid reactant to a principal path from laterally
outside the lower edge of the container, through channel regions in
the mid-ring below the container, and, via the aperture of the
mid-ring, to a volume below the mid-ring.
27. The arrangement of claim 25, wherein the partial area is less
than about 25 percent of the full area of the membrane.
28. The arrangement of claim 27, wherein the partial area is less
than about 15 percent of the full area of the membrane.
29. The arrangement of claim 25, wherein the maximum horizontal
dimension of the breaching member is at least about 60 percent of
the maximum horizontal dimension of the generally vertical aperture
of the mid-ring.
30. The arrangement of claim 25, wherein the maximum horizontal
dimension of the breaching member is at least about 75 percent of
the maximum horizontal dimension of the generally vertical aperture
of the mid-ring.
31. An arrangement for heating or cooling a pre-sealed container
for beverage and/or food, comprising: a) a reaction vessel with a
reaction volume in which first and second reactants intermix when
desired to change the temperature in the reaction volume; b) a
pre-sealed beverage and/or food container in thermal contact with
the reaction volume; the container having a generally tubular shape
with a bottom, and a top with means for opening the container; c) a
bottom support for supporting the bottom of the container; d) a
lid, surrounding the top portion of the container and sealed to the
top portion of the container, for enclosing part of the reaction
volume; the lid including an upper, outwardly-facing, lip-receiving
surface that surrounds a top portion of the container; the
lip-receiving surface receiving a portion of a lower lip of the
mouth of a person consuming the contents of the container.
32. The arrangement of claim 31, wherein the wherein the top
portion of the container comprises a double-seamed end.
33. The arrangement of claim 32, wherein the top portion of the
container comprises a necked-in region below the double-seamed
end.
34. The arrangement of claim 32, wherein the container is made of
metal.
35. The arrangement of claim 34, wherein the metal is aluminum.
36. The arrangement of claim 31, wherein the lip-receiving surface
extending upwardly at an angle from straight upward between about 5
and 45 degrees.
37. The arrangement of claim 31, wherein the angle is between about
10 and 20 degrees.
38. The arrangement of claim 31, wherein the lip-receiving surface
of the lid extends upwardly so as to allow more than about 5 mm of
the lower lip of a person to be received thereby.
39. The arrangement of claim 38, wherein the lip-receiving surface
of the lid extends upwardly so as to allow between about 5 to 15 mm
of the lower lip of a person to be received thereby.
40. The arrangement of claim 31, wherein the lid includes a further
lip-receiving surface located near the bottom of the
first-mentioned lip-receiving surface; the further lip-receiving
surface having a concave surface for receiving a portion of the
lower lip of the mouth of a person consuming the contents of the
container.
41. The arrangement of claim 40, wherein the further lip-receiving
surface includes a substantially horizontal surface below the
concave surface for receiving a portion of the lower lip of the
mouth of a person consuming the contents of the container.
42. The arrangement of claim 31, wherein the upper surface of the
lid is so shaped as to form a trough for collecting spilled
contents of the container; one wall of the trough comprising a
lower part of the lip-receiving surface.
43. The arrangement of claim 42, wherein a 10-centimeter length of
the trough holds a volume of more than about 1 milliliter of volume
of contents from the container when the container is vertically
upright.
44. The arrangement of claim 43, wherein the volume is less than
about 3 milliliters.
45. The arrangement of claim 42, wherein the trough has a drain
region for allowing contents of the trough to flow into the mouth
of a person consuming the contents of the container.
46. The arrangement of claim 45, wherein the drain region has a
concave surface for receiving a portion of the lower lip of the
mouth of a person consuming the contents of the container.
47. The arrangement of claim 46, wherein the drain is so
constructed that substantially all the contents of the trough would
flow through the drain if the arrangement is placed on a level
surface.
48. The arrangement of claim 46, wherein the drain further includes
a substantially horizontal surface below the concave surface for
receiving a portion of the lower lip of a person consuming the
contents of the container.
49. An arrangement for heating or cooling a pre-sealed container
for beverage and/or food, comprising: a) a container for beverage
and/or food whose temperature is desired to be substantially
changed to a temperature before being consumed; b) a reaction
vessel with a generally tubular exterior surface; the vessel having
a reaction volume in which first and second reactants intermix when
desired to change the temperature in the reaction volume; the
reaction volume being in thermal contact with the beverage and/or
food container in such manner as to change the temperature of the
beverage and/or food at least about 50 degrees F. before the
beverage and/or food is consumed; and c) a label on the generally
tubular exterior surface of the reaction vessel; the label being
affixed to the exterior surface substantially only by heat
shrinking, so as to minimize thermal transfer from the reaction
volume to the surface of the label; d) the reaction vessel and the
label being so constructed that the temperature of the outside of
the label does not exceed about 120 degrees Fahrenheit.
50. The arrangement of claim 49, the reaction vessel and the label
are so constructed that the temperature of the outside of the label
does not exceed about 115 degrees Fahrenheit.
51. The arrangement of claim 49, wherein the polystyrene has a
thickness of less than about 60 mils.
52. The arrangement of claim 51, wherein the polystyrene has a
thickness of less than about 30 mils.
53. The arrangement of claim 49, wherein the reaction volume
thermally contacts the beverage and/or food container in such
manner as to change the temperature of the beverage and/or food
from 70 degrees Fahrenheit at least about 70 degrees Fahrenheit
higher before the beverage and/or food is consumed.
54. The arrangement of claim 49, wherein the reaction vessel is
made of high impact polystyrene.
55. The arrangement of claim 49, wherein the label is made of
polyvinyl chloride.
56. The arrangement of claim 55, wherein the label is at least
about 2.7 mils thick.
57. An arrangement for heating or cooling a pre-sealed container
for beverage and/or food, comprising: a) a reaction vessel with a
reaction volume in which first and second reactants intermix when
desired to change the temperature in the reaction volume; b) a
membrane for separating the first and second reactants prior to
intermixing the reactants in the reaction volume; c) a breaching
member for breaching the membrane, to initiate intermixing of the
reactants, when desired; d) a pre-sealed beverage and/or food
container in thermal contact with the reaction volume; the
container having a generally tubular shape with a bottom, and a top
with means for opening the container; e) a lid, surrounding the top
portion of the container and sealed to the top portion of the
container, for enclosing part of the reaction volume; f)
confronting surfaces of the top portion of the container and the
lid having respective cooperating, portions shaped in an overall
tapering manner, more narrow towards the top of the container, so
that downward pressure from the lid towards the container
substantially aids in holding the container against the bottom
support; and g) a seal between the confronting surfaces; h) a
mid-ring, separate from the reaction vessel and being positioned
generally mid-way between top and bottom of the reaction vessel;
the mid-ring supporting the bottom of the container; the mid-ring
being interposed between the bottom of the pre-sealed container and
the membrane; and i) stop structure within the reaction vessel
providing a stop to downward movement of the mid-ring.
58. The arrangement of claim 57, wherein the lid includes an upper,
outwardly-facing, lip-receiving surface that surrounds a top
portion of the container; the lip-receiving surface receiving a
portion of a lower lip of the mouth of a person consuming the
contents of the container.
Description
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0001] The present invention relates to an arrangement for beverage
and/or food in which the beverage and/or food can be heated or
cooled by self-contained structure in the arrangement.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] A variety of arrangements for self-heating or self-cooling
beverage and/or food have been proposed in the prior art. The
arrangements typically include a reaction volume in which liquid
and solid reactants combine, when desired, to create heat or cold,
which is then imparted to a container for beverage and/or food.
Often, such containers for beverage and/or food are proprietary in
design. This usually increases the overall expense of manufacture
since government regulations or standards must be specially met for
the proprietary container.
[0003] Other prior art arrangements do use containers that are
pre-sealed, and possibly are not proprietary in design. But, such
arrangements, as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,002,235, for instance,
have a somewhat complicated construction, which increases their
cost.
[0004] It would, therefore, be desirable to provide arrangements
for self-heating or self-cooling beverage and/or food that use
standard, commercially available containers for the beverage and/or
food, and which are simple in construction.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0005] In one embodiment, the invention provides an arrangement for
heating or cooling a pre-sealed container for beverage and/or food
includes a reaction vessel with a reaction volume in which first
and second reactants intermix when desired to change the
temperature in the reaction volume. A pre-sealed beverage and/or
food container thermally contacts the reaction volume, and has a
generally tubular shape with a bottom, and a top with means for
opening the container. A lid surrounds, and is sealed to, the top
portion of the container, for enclosing part of the reaction
volume. Confronting surfaces of the top portion of the container
and the lid have respective cooperating, portions shaped in an
overall tapering manner, more narrow towards the top of the
container, so that downward pressure from the lid towards the
container substantially aids in holding the container against a
bottom support for the container. A seal is positioned between the
confronting surfaces.
[0006] In another embodiment of the invention, a mid-ring, separate
from the reaction vessel is positioned generally mid-way between
top and bottom of the reaction vessel. The mid-ring supports the
bottom of the container and is interposed between the bottom of the
pre-sealed container and the membrane. Stop structure within the
reaction vessel provides a stop to downward movement of the
mid-ring.
[0007] The foregoing embodiments of the invention provide
arrangements for self-heating or self-cooling beverage and/or food
that can use standard, commercially available containers for the
beverage and/or food. Such arrangements can beneficially have a
simple construction.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0008] FIG. 1 is a side view, partially cutaway, partially in cross
section and with portions removed, of an exemplary
self-heating/cooling arrangement for beverage and/or food according
to the invention.
[0009] FIG. 2 is a side view, partially cutaway, of a container of
the arrangement of FIG. 1.
[0010] FIG. 3 is an exploded, top perspective view of the inventive
arrangement of FIG. 1, without the temperature-changing reactants
shown.
[0011] FIG. 4a is an enlarged side view, partially in cross
section, of an upper portion of the arrangement of FIG. 1, without
the temperature-changing reactants shown; and FIG. 4b is an
enlargement of the circled area in FIG. 4a labeled FIG. 4b.
[0012] FIG. 5 is a side view, partially in cross section, of a
lower portion of the arrangement of FIG. 1
[0013] FIG. 6 is s top perspective view of the mid-ring shown in
FIG. 5.
[0014] FIG. 7 is a top perspective view of the lid of the
arrangement of FIG. 1.
[0015] FIG. 8 is a fragmentary view, partially in cross section, of
a lid, taken at Arrows 8-8 in FIG. 7.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0016] FIG. 1 shows an overview of an inventive arrangement 10 for
heating or cooling beverage and/or food in accordance with the
invention. Arrangement 10 includes a beverage and/or food container
12 that may have a pop top 13 for opening the container, may be
pre-sealed, and may be made of aluminum. Arrangement 10 also
includes a reaction vessel 14, preferably of plastic. Reaction
vessel 14 includes a reaction volume 16 in thermal contact with
container 12, for heating or cooling the contents of the container,
depending on the composition of liquid 18 and solid 20 reactants.
Reactants 18 and 20 are normally separated from each other by a
membrane 58 (FIG. 5), but intermix with each other when membrane 58
is breached by a breaching member 22. A lid 24 is sealed to the top
portion of container 12, and is specially contoured to facilitate
easy consumption of the contents of the container. The bottom
portion of the container may rest, directly or indirectly, against
a so-called "mid-ring" 26 (i.e., a shortened version of "mid-vessel
ring"). A label 28, preferably of heat-shrink construction, covers
the outside of generally tubular reaction vessel 14, and can
provide enough thermal insulation to prevent a user's hand holding
the label from uncomfortable temperatures.
[0017] A spritz guard 29 is mounted over pop-top 13 for containing
an outburst, or spritz, of beverage from container 12 that may
occur after shaking the container in an operation (described below)
for heating or cooling the contents of container 12. Spritz guard
29 preferably comprises a removable, pressure-sensitive label that
is supple. One example is 2 mil thick polypropylene. A user pulls
upwardly on tab 29a--which lacks adhesive--to remove the spritz
guard. This would be accomplished, as written on the spritz guard
itself, by instructions such as: "Break open the Pop Top [13]
before peeling of this Spritz Guard consumer protection label." As
will be apparent from the present specification, a consumer would
open pop top 13 after a heating or cooling operation has
occurred.
[0018] Reaction vessel 14 and mid-ring 26 preferably comprise high
impact polystyrene. Spritz guard 29 preferably comprises a
pressure-sensitive, removable label.
[0019] A typical heating or cooling operation of arrangement 10
proceeds in the following sequence: Invert the arrangement (i.e.,
turn it upside-down), and then breach membrane 58, which is
explained below, which causes liquid reactant 18 to start
intermixing with solid reactant 20. Then, shake the arrangement
vigorously for at least about 45 seconds, which assists in thermal
transfer between the reactants and the contents of container 12, so
that the contents more uniformly become heated or cooled to a
desired temperature. The beverage and/or food in the container will
typically reach a desired temperature for consumption within a few
minutes.
[0020] The following description elaborates on the foregoing
aspects of the inventive arrangements under the following three
topics: (1) mounting of container 12; (2) novel lid topology; and
(3) thermally insulative label.
1. Mounting of Container 12
[0021] Container 12 is preferably mounted in arrangement 10 through
mechanical pressure, and preferably without adhesive. Such mounting
can occur by suitable shaping of the container and associated lid
24 (FIG. 1).
[0022] Container 12 is preferably a pre-sealed aluminum can, such
as commercially prevalent for soft drinks or beer. By being
pre-sealed, containers can be used in the inventive arrangement
that have already passed all governmental regulations and standards
for safely sealing beverage and/or food. Referring to FIG. 2,
container 12 has a bottom portion 12a and a top portion 12b. Top
portion 12b has a so-called "necked-in" region 30 below a
double-seamed end 32, and a "shoulder" portion 12e below necked-in
region 30. Double-seamed end 32 connects a top 12c of the container
to a main body 12d of the container. The necked-in region causes
top portion 12b of the container to be shaped in an overall
tapering manner, more narrow towards the top of the container.
Manufacturers of aluminum cans often reduce the amount of metal
required to make a main body (e.g., 12d) of a can, below a
double-seamed end (e.g., 32), by accentuating the amount of
necking-in of the can. If the main body of the can is thin, the
accentuated necking-in at the top of the can assures the presence
of adequate metal required to form a proper double-seamed end. In
any event, cans shaped in the desired, overall tapering manner are
commercially quite prevalent.
[0023] FIG. 3 shows various parts of arrangement 10 of FIG. 1 that
can mount container 12 by mechanical pressure. Lid 24, preferably
with the aid of a gasket 36, applies downward pressure onto the top
portion (12b, FIG. 2) of the container. Meanwhile, the bottom
portion (e.g., 12a, FIG. 2) of the container is pressed upwardly by
mid-ring 26. Mid-ring 26, in turn, may rest on an annular shelf in
the vicinity of stepped region 42 of reaction vessel 14.
[0024] Details of how lid 24 interacts with the top portion of
container 12 and how mid-ring 26 interacts with the bottom of the
container are now described.
[0025] As mentioned in connection with FIG. 2, top portion 12b of
container 12 is shaped in an overall tapering manner, more narrow
towards the top of the container. Referring to FIGS. 4a and 4b,
this is true in vertical region 46 of arrangement 10. In a
cooperating manner, surface 48 of lid 24, which confronts top
portion 12b of the container, is also shaped in an overall tapering
manner, more narrow towards the top of arrangement 10. The
mentioned configurations of the cooperating, confronting surfaces
of the lid (i.e., surface 48) and of top portion 12b of the
container are chosen with respective dimensions so that downward
pressure from the lid towards the container substantially aids in
holding the container against a bottom support for the container
e.g., mid-ring 26 (FIG. 3). Further, dimension 49 of lid 24 (FIG.
4a) may be about 40 mils less than dimension 47 of container 12.
This further causes the lid to hold the container downwardly in
arrangement 10.
[0026] Preferably, gasket 36 provides a watertight seal between top
portion 12b of the container and lid 24. Gasket 36 cooperates with
the cooperating, tapered configurations of the container and lid to
hold the container downwardly against mid-ring 26 (FIG. 3), for
example. As shown in FIG. 3, prior to installation, gasket 36 may
comprise a flat, annular band of compressible material, such as
foamed plastic (e.g., foamed polyethylene) with a typical thickness
between about 20 and 40 mils. Such material is commercially
available as Part No. F-217, with a density of 23-27 pounds per
cubic foot, from Tri-Seal, a division of TEKNIplex Co. of Blauvelt,
N.Y. Inner diameter 36a (FIG. 3) of unflexed gasket 36 preferably
is substantially smaller than diameter 47 (FIG. 4a) of the top
portion of the container. For instance, inner diameter 36a of the
gasket, before being stretched over the container, may be 1.5
inches, the outer diameter of the gasket, 2.225 inches, and
container diameter 47, 2.050 inches, using the 20-mil foamed
polyethylene gasket from TEKNIplex Co., as just discussed.
[0027] Making inner diameter 36a (FIG. 3) of the gasket
substantially smaller than outer diameter 47 (FIG. 4a) of the top
portion of the container yields a beneficial result. That is, the
gasket may be placed into the position shown in FIGS. 4a and 4b,
with the gasket forming a substantially unpleated skirt around the
top portion of the container. Such a shape avoids unwanted pleats
in the gasket that would interfere with obtaining a reliable,
watertight seal between lid 24 (FIG. 4) and the container.
[0028] For simplicity of manufacture, gasket 36 alone can fulfill
the requirement of obtaining a watertight seal between lid and
container. Thus, adhesive (not shown) need not be used in addition
to a gasket. However, adhesive could be used to obtain a watertight
seal, with or without a gasket, without departing from the
invention.
[0029] Referring to FIG. 4b, the seal between lid 24 and container
12 is preferably formed by the squeezing of gasket 36 between a
"shoulder" portion 12e of the container and an adjacent portion of
the lid.
[0030] Referring to FIGS. 4a and 4b, the upper portion of reaction
vessel 14 may be ultrasonically sealed to lid 24 in the areas shown
at 50. This will prevent accidental release of the contents of
reaction volume 16 from reaction vessel 14. A reliable weld can be
easily achieved especially with vessel 14 and lid 24 both made of
high impact polystyrene.
[0031] FIGS. 5 and 6 show details of mid-ring 26 to aid in
explaining its function of supporting bottom portion 12a of
container 12, as well as explaining further functions of the
mid-ring. As shown, mid-ring 26 is contoured to support bottom
portion 12a of the container. In particular, as shown in FIG. 6,
mid-ring 26 has an annular channel, e.g., 26a, that receives
lowermost, annular extension 54 (FIG. 5) of the container. This
provides a reliable hold on the container. At the same time,
channel regions 26b in the mid-ring, in cooperation with a central,
vertical aperture 26c (FIG. 6) in the mid-ring, enable passage of
liquid reactant, when desired, from one side of the mid-ring to the
other--or, from the perspective of FIG. 6, from below mid-ring 26
to above the mid-ring.
[0032] Mid-ring 26 provides another important function; that is, to
make breaching member 22 effective. As shown in FIG. 5, mid-ring 26
may rest, indirectly (via membrane 58), on an annular shelf 14a of
reaction vessel 14, in the vicinity of stepped region 42 of the
reaction vessel. Membrane 58, which may be a laminated induction
heat seal, may extend for 225 mils, for instance on annular shelf
14a. Other thicknesses for the membrane can be used, if desired.
Referring to FIG. 5, breaching member 22 can reliably breach the
membrane when moved upwardly in the reaction vessel, by having the
mid-ring 26, which may have an aperture 26c of dimension 60, rest
atop membrane 58. Breaching member 22 will move upwardly in the
vessel when a user presses upwardly on lower, concave surface 14b
of the reaction vessel.
[0033] Further, membrane 58 cannot resist breaching by bulging
upwardly as would be the case without the mid-ring over it, by
having mid-ring 26 situated atop membrane 58, with a relatively
smaller aperture 26c for passage therethrough by breaching member
22. Additionally, the membrane is more reliably pierced by
breaching member 22, allowing a thicker membrane to be used so as
to avoid premature piercing of the membrane.
[0034] In more detail, mid-ring 26 effectively reduces the
unsupported surface area of the membrane from that of dimension 62,
the maximum horizontal dimension of the unsupported part of the
membrane that is typically of 2.55-inch, to dimension 60, which is
typically one inch. With membrane 58 typically being 3 inches in
diameter, aperture 26c preferably covers less than about 25 percent
of the full area of the membrane, and more preferably less than
about 15 percent of the full area of the membrane. Further,
dimension 64 of breaching member 22, which is the maximum
horizontal dimension of the breaching member, is preferably at
least about 60 percent of dimension 60 of aperture 26c of the
mid-ring, and more preferably at least about 75 percent of such
dimension. This helps assure that breaching member 22 reliably
breaches the membrane with only a short distance of movement.
[0035] Mid-ring 26 is also designed to slow the flow of intermixed
reactants 18 and 20 from reaction volume 16 back below membrane 58
after the membrane has been breached by breaching member 22. This
is desirable to assure that: (1) liquid 18 and solid 20 reactants
intermix thoroughly to achieve the desired heating or cooling
reaction and (2) that the intermixed reactants 18 and 20 conduct
thermal transfer to the contents of container 12 for a prolonged
period of time. With reference to FIGS. 5 and 6, mid-ring 26 slows
down the flow of the intermixed reactants 18 and 20 through two
features. First, it restricts the flow of the intermixed reactants
to a principal path that includes peripheral portions 26d of
channel regions 26b, exterior to container 12, and, second, it
restricts such flow to aperture 26c, which has a smaller diameter
than the diameter of the mid-ring.
[0036] Suitable materials for membrane 58 will be apparent to those
of ordinary skill in the art. One possibility is a laminated
adhesive-aluminum foil-white paper sold by TRI-SEAL, a TEKNIplex
Company, of Flemington, N.J., as Part No. HS 405. Such membrane has
an adhesive thickness of about 2 mils, a foil thickness of about
0.35 mils, and a white paper thickness of about 3 mils, for a total
thickness of about 5.35 mils.
2. Novel Lid Topology
[0037] FIGS. 7 and 8 show additional details of a novel topology
for lid 24 of FIG. 1. As shown in FIGS. 7-8, lid 24 has an upwardly
and outwardly facing surface 24a that surrounds a top portion of
the container 12. FIGS. 4a and 4b show another cross section of the
lid, in which surface 24a can be seen surrounding container 12.
Surface 24a typically extends upwardly at an angle from straight
upward between about 5 and 45 degrees, and more preferably with a
lower angle of 10 degrees and a higher angle of 20 degrees. Some
portion of surface 24a beneficially receives the lower lip of the
mouth of a person consuming the contents of the container.
Preferably, surface 24a receives more than about 9.5 mm of a
consumer's lip, and may be extended to receive a greater extent of
a consumer's lip, such as 13 mm.
[0038] Referring to FIGS. 4, 7, and 8, surface 24b of the lid
cooperates with surface 24a to form a trough 24c, which
beneficially collects contents of the container that spill over the
top of the container. Typically, a 10-centimeter length of trough
24c can hold between about 1 and 3 milliliters of volume of
contents from the container when the container is vertically
upright.
[0039] To facilitate consumption of the contents of the container
without spilling the contents from arrangement 10, lid 24
preferably also includes another lip-receiving surface region 24d.
Region 24d includes a concave surface 24e, which is generally
vertical, and another surface 24f, which may be flat, for instance.
As best shown in FIG. 8, region 24d forms a drain from trough 24c,
which preferably can drain substantially all of the trough.
[0040] Regarding the foregoing novel topology of the lid, precise
shaping of surfaces 24a and 24b--and hence shaping of trough
24c--can be considerably varied within the scope of the invention.
Further, the precise shaping of lip-receiving region 24d can be
also considerably varied within the scope of the invention.
3. Thermally Insulative Label
[0041] FIGS. 1 and 3 show label 28, which, as mentioned above, is
preferably of heat-shrink construction. Label 28 beneficially may
perform a thermal-insulating function with respect to the reactants
18 and 20 that, when intermixed, undergo a change in
temperature.
[0042] As shown in the pre-assembly version of FIG. 3, label 28 may
be tubular in shape. Upon being shrunk in a known heating process
onto reaction vessel 14 and lid 24, label 28 appears as in FIG. 1,
and is generally tubular in shape. Label 28 may be formed of
polyvinyl chloride (PVC), for instance, preferably of at least
about 2.7 mils thickness before being heat shrunk, but can possibly
have a lesser thickness. Label 28 is preferably heat shrunk onto
reaction vessel 14 without adhesive.
[0043] Heat-shrink label 28, without adhesive, will aid in keeping
the lateral outside of the inventive arrangement--and more
particularly the outside of reaction vessel 14--from becoming
uncomfortably hot or uncomfortably cold. If adhesive is used, the
thermal isolative quality of the label drops considerably. The
thickness of the label and lack of adhesive for affixing the label
aids in providing robust thermal isolation from the heat or cold
generated within the reaction vessel.
[0044] The lateral outside of the inventive arrangement will stay
within a comfortable temperature range of below about 120 F., and
more preferably below about 115 F., by (1) applying a heat-shrink
label 28 from about 2.0 to 2.7 mils thick PVC, without using
adhesive; and (2) forming the lateral outside of reaction vessel 14
with 30- to 60-mil thick high-impact polystyrene, by way of
example. Materials other than high-impact polystyrene, which
apparently has a substantial content of rubber so as to reduce
thermal conductivity, can be used for the lateral outside of the
reaction vessel, as will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in
the art.
[0045] By way of example, if a solid reactant 20 (FIG. 1) of 148
grams calcium chloride (CaCl.sub.2) is mixed with 140 grams of
water as liquid reactant 18 (FIG. 1), the temperature of 6.5 ounces
of liquid beverage within container 12 will reach 140 F. (i.e., 140
degrees Fahrenheit) typically within a brief period of time (e.g.,
60 seconds). This represents a temperature change of about 70
degrees from a normal ambient temperature of 70 F. The calcium
chloride reactant may that identified as BRINERS Choice Anhydrous
94-97% Calcium Chloride Mini-Pellets, available from Dow Chemical
Company of Midland, Mich.
[0046] While the invention has been described with respect to
specific embodiments by way of illustration, many modifications and
changes will occur to those skilled in the art. For instance,
directions of the claimed arrangements, such as top and bottom,
downward and upward, and horizontal are relative directions used
for illustrative purposes only. It is contemplated that the claimed
arrangements may be used in positions other than vertically upwards
as shown in FIG. 1, for instance. Thus, a person of ordinary skill
in the art will readily realize that a statement such as "the lid
presses downwardly on the container" will still apply even though
the container is rotated 90 degrees from the position shown in FIG.
1. It is, therefore, to be understood that the appended claims are
intended to cover all such modifications and changes as fall within
the true scope and spirit of the invention.
* * * * *