Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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SUPERCOOLED BEVERAGE CRYSTALLIZATION SLUSH DEVICE WITH
ILLUMINATION
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
This application is a Continuation-In-Part of U.S. Patent Application Serial
No. 14/298,117 filed June 6, 2014, and this application claims the benefit of
priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Serial No. 61/999,812 filed
August
7,2014 and U.S. Provisional Patent Application Serial No. 62/176,031 filed
February 9, 2015. The entire disclosure of each of the applications listed in
this
paragraph are incorporated herein by specific reference thereto.
FIELD OF INVENTION
This invention relates to supercooled beverages being instantly
transformed into from a liquid state to ice-crystal 'slush' beverages inside
sealed
containers, beverages in fountain dispensers, beverage merchandisers and
vending machines, desserts, and food items, and in particular to methods,
processes, apparatus, devices, kits and systems for crystallizing supercooled
liquid to form slush inside of supercooled to below 32F, such as between
approximately 15F to approximately 26F, in beverage bottles or cans, beverages
in fountain dispensers, desserts, and foods by transmitting ultrasonic signals
in
short time spans, with or without illuminating the crystallization effects.
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BACKGROUND AND PRIOR ART
Bagged ice has been popular to be used in portable coolers to chill
canned and bottled beverages, where the bags generally comprise loose ice
cubes, chips, that are frozen fresh water. The user places the bag(s) in
coolers
and adds canned and/or bottled beverages, to the coolers of packaged-ice.
Due to the melting properties of fresh-water ice, canned and bottled
beverages placed in ice cannot be chilled below 32 degrees Fahrenheit for any
significant length of time, which is the known general freezing point.
Ice-melters such as salt have been known to be used to lower the melting
point of fresh-water ice. Sprinkling loose salt on packed-ice in a cooler to
produce lower temperatures for canned and bottled beverages placed inside.
Sprinkling salt has been tried with beer, since beer will not freeze at 32
degrees
due to its alcohol content. However, sprinkling loose salt has problems.
Due to the uneven spread of salt on ice, it is impossible to know or control
the precise resulting temperate below 32 degrees on various ice-cubes in the
cooler obtained by sprinkling of salt. Salt sprinkling has resulted in some
beverages "freezing hard" while others remain liquid and sometimes at above 32
degrees. The spreading of salt or other ice-melters on packaged-ice in a
cooler
to obtain temperatures less than 32 degrees is impractical to know and control
precisely the resulting temperature of ice-cubes in a cooler environment
Some devices rely on traditional refrigeration and/or placing ice inside the
beverage to obtain cold temperatures. At home devices such as SODASTREAM
0 by Soda-Club (CO2) Atlantic GmbH, and KEURIG COLD TM by Keurig Green
Mountain Inc. rely on basic methods for cooling, and each has drawbacks.
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Traditional refrigeration offers a relatively slow and inefficient method of
cooling, requiring hours to obtain approximately 40 F drinking temperatures.
Ice inside of liquid is also popular to cool beverages. However, placing ice
inside a liquid has the drawbacks of: 1) watered-down flavoring, 2)
introducing
impurities, 3) causing premature de-carbonation of carbonated beverages.
Non-traditional method of cooling cans/bottles rapidly by spinning on their
axis while the can/bottle is in contact with ice or 'ice-cold' liquid (usually
fresh
water at or near approximately 32 deg-F) was also attempted. U.S. Patent
5,505,054 to Loibl et at. describes beverage cooling that attempts to reduce
beverage cooling times from hours to close to a minute without putting ice
inside.
SPINCHILL TM, www.spinchill.com use portable type drills with a suction
cup to attach to a canned beverage with 'cooling times' of 60 seconds or less
for
canned beverages spun at roughly 450rpm in a standard ice-cooler containing
ice and/or iced-water, though the term `cooling' is used loosely and generally
describes a beverage temperature between 40 - 50 F or so.
Some non-traditional beverage cooling devices generally spin cans/bottles
at a constant rpm(revolutions per minute)rate in one-direction only, and
expose
the can/bottle again and again to ice or cold liquid to rapidly cool the
beverage.
These devices seek to minimize agitation inside the canned or bottled
beverage by spinning them at relatively mild rates of 350 - 500 rpm which,
they
believe, is optimal for rapid cooling and prevents undesirable foaming of
carbonated beverages and beer.
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These devices require up to several minutes of spinning in a cooling
medium to obtain Ice-cold' drinking temperatures, and do not automatically
indicate when a beverage has reached optimal or lowest drinking temperature.
Alcoholic and non-alcoholic bottled and canned beverages of all varieties,
including bottled water, has been known to be super cooled below 32 deg-F
while remaining liquid for short periods of time. What is not generally known
is
how to cool these beverages rapidly to precise super cooled temperatures which
allow for enjoyable 'slush-on-demand' drinking experiences while preventing
unwanted or premature freezing which results in undesirable effects such as 1)
premature foaming or release of carbonation in an undesirable way, and 2) hard
frozen or 'chunky' frozen beverages which are difficult to consume.
Prior art does not describe supercooling beverages below 32-degrees
and/or below their freezing point while keeping a liquid state allowing
previously
impossible beverage options, such as creating instant milkshakes from super
cooled milk beverages and creating instant smoothies from super cooled fruit
and vegetable juices without the need to blend-in chopped-ice into the
smoothie.
Supercooled beverages are increasingly popular due to the ability to
create instant "slushy drinks" by nucleating the supercooled beverage and
causing instant soft ice-crystal formation throughout the beverage.
Traditional
methods for nucleating supercooled liquid beverages involve 1) disturbing the
beverage container via shaking, slamming, or hitting the beverage container
with
enough force to cause ice-crystals to begin forming, or 2) opening the
beverage
container and exposing the liquid to air and then disturbing the liquid in
hopes of
creating a nucleation site for ice crystals to being forming. Another method
for
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nucleating supercooled beverages involves opening the beverage and pouring
the supercooled liquid into a cup or glass containing seed crystals of ice,
which
starts the nucleation process and creates an instant slushy drink in a glass.
Of
all of these methods, none of them can reliably and consistently cause
nucleation-on-demand for all varieties of supercooled beverages in sealed
containers without the containers being opened.
For example, if a supercooled carbonated beverage is purchased from a
vending machine or merchandiser, there are limited options to start the
nucleation process. Shaking or slamming may cause the desired ice-crystal
nucleation of the beverage, but can also cause unwanted foaming due to the
carbonation within the beverage. So choices are limited to exposing it to air
(opening the beverage) which has a high probability of failure in inducing ice-
crystal nucleation or pouring the liquid into a glass containing ice crystals
which
may be undesirable or impractical in many point of purchase situations.
Furthermore, due to the temperatures required for nucleation to occur,
users have roughly 90-120 seconds to begin the ice-crystal nucleation process
once the beverage is removed from the supercooled refrigerated environment of
a typical home freezer or that of a specialized merchandiser or vending
machine,
or the supercooled beverage may become too warm for ice-crystal nucleation to
occur. Ideally, the supercooled beverage should either be nucleated before
being dispensed by the vending machine, or by the consumer immediately upon
removing the beverage from the specialized supercooling merchandiser or
vending machine without having to open the bottle/can and with no unwanted
foaming occurring when opening the container.
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In addition, the ice-crystal nucleation process can be spectacular and
exciting to watch inside of a see-through bottle, and the ability to
illuminate or
back-light the liquid during ice-crystal nucleation can add significant visual
excitement for the consumer at the point of purchase as well as a convenient
way to verify that the ice-crystal nucleation or 'slushing' process was
successful.
Thus, the need exists for solutions to the above problems with the prior
art.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
A primary objective of the present invention is to provide methods,
processes, apparatus, devices, kits and systems for crystallizing liquid to
form
slush inside of supercooled to below 32F beverage bottles and cans, beverages
in fountain dispensers, desserts, and food items by transmitting ultrasonic
frequencies with or without illuminating the rapid crystallization effects.
A secondary objective of the present invention is to provide methods,
processes, apparatus, devices, kits and systems for crystallizing liquid to
form
slush inside of supercooled to below 32F closed beverage bottles or cans with
nucleation-on-demand in without the need to open the beverage bottles or
cans..
A third objective of the present invention is to provide methods,
processes, apparatus, devices, kits and systems for crystallizing liquid to
form
slush inside of supercooled to below 32F in the closed beverage bottles or
cans
without causing unwanted foaming of carbonated beverages upon opening the
bottles of cans.
A fourth objective of the present invention is to provide methods,
processes, apparatus, devices, kits and systems for crystallizing liquid to
form
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slush inside of supercooled to below 32F closed beverage bottles or cans, as
an
integral part of a vending machine or as a stand-alone electric or battery
operated nucleation device to allow store clerks, restaurant servers, or
consumers to nucleate sealed beverage bottles or cans without opening the
bottles or cans.
A fifth objective of the present invention is to provide methods, processes,
apparatus, devices, kits and systems for crystallizing liquid to form slush
inside of
supercooled to below 32F sealed or closed beverage bottles, by illuminating
the
ice-crystal nucleation on-demand in a closed bottle by providing backlighting
and/or side-lighting and/or front-lighting and/or top-lighting and/or bottom
lighting
via LED's, florescent, neon, or other light sources and types while the
beverage
is in the bottle.
The invention can be used with closed beverage bottles, that include
glass bottles and plastic bottles, as well as canned beverages, such as those
in
aluminum cans, and the like. It can also be used with beverages or cold
liquids
stored in sealed packages of cardboard, waxed paper, or of other construction
of
sealed and unsealed beverage containers.
A preferred embodiment uses an ultrasonic transducer (28khz, 40khz,
60khz, or higher or lower khz value) to produce ultrasonic waves though a
liquid
medium which may be in direct contact with the beverage container or in direct
contact with a thin membrane which is subsequently in direct contact with the
beverage container.
An electronic timer allows for short-duration burst(s) of ultrasonic waves
produced by the ultrasonic transducer (between approximately one-tenth of a
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second and approximately two seconds or more or less) when a firing switch is
activated. The firing switch can either an automatic detector that senses the
presence of a beverage container (and possibly the size and type of beverage)
or a manually operated push-button switch to fire the ultrasonic transducer.
An ultrasonic pulse within the liquid medium that is in direct or indirect
contact with the beverage container will cause cavitations within the
molecules of
the supercooled beverage which result in small areas of ice-crystal nucleation
within the beverage which will spread throughout the supercooled beverage due
to the properties of molecular structure of supercooled liquids, resulting in
the
subsequent "slushing" of the entire supercooled beverage within a relatively
short
period of time of between 2 and 60 seconds depending on the type of beverage
and it's ingredients (non-sugared beverages generally have quicker 'slushing
times' than heavily sugared beverages) . By carefully controlling the timing
(and
number) of the ultrasonic pulse or pulses, a carbonated beverage can be
nucleated for ice-crystal formation without causing unwanted foaming
(carbonation nucleation) of the beverage upon opening.
The invention can also be designed to cause ice-crystal nucleation of
supercooled beverages from fountain drink or other free-flowing beverage
dispensing mechanisms (not shown) via direct or indirect contact between the
ultrasonic transducer and the free-flowing supercooled liquid beverage.
Additional embodiments allow for enhancing the visible beauty of ice-
crystal nucleation-on-demand in a sealed container beverage by providing a
backlighting and/or side-lighting and/or front-lighting and/or top-lighting
and/or
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bottom lighting via LEDs (light emitting diodes), florescent, neon, or other
light
sources and types while the beverage is undergoing 'slushing'.
Lights can be switched on manually or automatically with a pressure
switch or other switch mounted such to detect the presence of a bottled
beverage when placed in contact with the ultrasonic nucleator device.
An optional rotation device, can rotate the beverage container for a short
period of time (from approximately 0.2 sec to approximately 20 seconds, or
more
or less) prior to the ultrasonic nucleation pulse, which will provide
rotational
motion of the ice-crystal formation during nucleation. The device can be
equipped with multi-color lights, LED's, or flashing or 'moving' LED's or
other
light sources.
Backlighting and/or other lighting can enhance the visibility of ice-crystal
formation and subsequent 'slushing' of the entire bottled beverage and the
reflection and diffraction of light amongst the crystals as they form in the
beverage container. Once the beverage container is removed from the
nucleation device, the lighting can be switched-off manually or automatically
via
detection switch(s) or a pressure switch.
Additionally, a large arcade style button can be optionally incorporated to
allow the user to press and begin the rotation process and the ultrasonic
pulse
for ice-crystal nucleation to occur.
In another embodiment, Backlighting, side-lighting or other lighting can be
part of the nucleation device or separate from the device. Additionally, the
optional rotation mechanism can be a part of the nucleation device or separate
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from it. Additionally, an arcade style activation button can be part of the
nucleation device or separate.
All components of the invention can be constructed as part of the larger
assembly of a supercooling beverage merchandiser, supercooling vending
machine, or other supercooling capable refrigerated device, or can be made
separate and free-standing either individually or collectively.
Further objects and advantages of this invention will be apparent from the
following detailed description of the presently preferred embodiments which
are
illustrated schematically in the accompanying drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES
Fig. 1 is an upper front left perspective view of a first embodiment of a
device for
crystallizing liquid to form slush inside chilled bottles with an illumination
source.
Fig. 2 is another perspective view of the device of Fig. 1 with a bottle
mounted on
the device.
Fig. 3 is an exploded view of the device of Fig. 1.
Fig. 4 is another perspective view of the device of Fig. 1 with optional
rotation
capability.
Fig. 5 is a schematic of the electronic components for the device of Fig. 1
Fig. 6 is an upper rear right perspective view of a second embodiment device
for
crystallizing liquid to form slush inside chilled bottles with no illumination
source.
Fig. 7 is an upper left perspective view of the device of Fig. 1 attached to
the side
of refrigerated beverage merchandiser or other cooling device.
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Fig. 8 is an upper front left perspective view of a third embodiment device
for
crystallizing liquid to form slush inside chilled bottles with an illumination
source.
Fig. 9 is another perspective view of the device for bottles of Fig. 8 with a
bottle
mounted on the device.
Fig. 10 is an exploded view of the device of Fig. 9.
Fig. 11 is another perspective view of the device of Fig. 9 with bowl assembly
removed for cleaning.
Fig. 12 is another perspective view of another embodiment of a device for
crystallizing liquid to form slush inside chilled bottles using a side touch
'wand'
device attached to an ultrasonic transducer without the need for a bowl or
base
to set the bottle on.
Fig. 13 is an exploded view of the device of Fig. 12.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
Before explaining the disclosed embodiments of the present invention in
detail it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its
applications to
the details of the particular arrangements shown since the invention is
capable of
other embodiments. Also, the terminology used herein is for the purpose of
description and not of limitation.
In the Summary above and in the Detailed Description of Preferred
Embodiments and in the accompanying drawings, reference is made to particular
features (including method steps) of the invention. It is to be understood
that the
disclosure of the invention in this specification does not include all
possible
combinations of such particular features. For example, where a particular
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feature is disclosed in the context of a particular aspect or embodiment of
the
invention, that feature can also be used, to the extent possible, in
combination
with and/or in the context of other particular aspects and embodiments of the
invention, and in the invention generally.
In this section, some embodiments of the invention will be described more
fully with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which preferred
embodiments of the invention are shown. This invention may, however, be
embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the
embodiments set forth herein. Rather, these embodiments are provided so that
this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will convey the scope of
the
invention to those skilled in the art. Like numbers refer to like elements
throughout, and prime notation is used to indicate similar elements in
alternative
embodiments.
A list of components will now be described.
10 device for crystallizing liquid to form slush inside of supercooled to
below
32F closed beverage bottles or cans with illumination source
stand(base)
ultrasonic transducer
Top cover for base
20 45 neck cover for ultrasonic transducer
50 bowl for bottle
60 thin membrane transmission membrane over transmission
medium(liquid,
water, gel)
70 fill nozzle
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80 power source such as power cord with plug to 120 volt power supply
or
internal batteries
85 mounting bridge and force sensitive resistor (pressure switch)
90 push button switch
100 schematic of electronic components
101 pressure switch(85)
102 Arduino or IC(integrated circuit) smart board electronics
103 Ready LED to indicate button may be pushed
104 DIG (direct current) relay
105 beverage bottle illumination source (220)
106 push button switch(s) (90)
107 solid state relay
108 40khz ultrasonic transducer power electronics board (40)
109 ultrasonic transducer (30)
110 sound output electronics and speaker
111 power source
205 closed or sealed beverage bottle or container
210 back wall for illumination source
215 start of nucleation(crystallization) in liquid inside
220 illumination source(LEDs)
240 side mount for refrigerated beverage merchandiser or cooler
250 flanges for attaching device base to side mount
260 refrigerated beverage merchandiser or other cooling device
310 second embodiment device with illuminator source
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315 bottled container
320 stand
330 illumination source
340 removable bowl/bowl assembly
345 sealed transmission medium
347 wafer style ultrasonic transducer
348 bowl base
349 contacts for transducer
350 touch sensitive push button to fire ultrasonic transducer
360 ready indicator LED
370 touch sensitive push button to power-on the system
380 power-on indicator LED
400 Wand embodiment
410 ultrasonic transducer
420 ultrasonic power and control electronics board
425 ultrasonic transducer holder and force sensitive resistor (pressure
switch)
430 bottle design plate with back lighting LED's
440 wand attachment
450 watertight transmission medium(water or gel)
460 mounting box
The invention is to be used with beverage containers, such as bottles or
cans whose contents have be supercooled to below at least approximately 32F,
such as to between approximately 15F to approximately 26F. Such techniques
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for reaching these temperatures has been described, and shown in parent patent
applications to the same inventor in U.S. Patent Application Serial No.
14/298,117 filed June 6, 2014, which claims the benefit of priority to U.S.
Provisional Application Serial No. 61/966,106 filed February 18, 2014, which
are
incorporated by reference in its' entirety.
Other techniques for supercooling the beverage containers to these
temperatures are also shown and described in additional parent patent
applications to the same inventor, which include U.S. Patent Application
Serial
No. 14/163,063 filed January 24, 2014, which claims the benefit of U.S.
Provisional Patent Application Serial No. 61/849,412 filed January 28, 2013,
which are also incorporated by reference in their entirety.
The invention takes these supercooled beverage containers and activates
an ice-crystallization of the liquid inside to turn the liquid into a slush
with the
container remaining sealed if desired.
Fig. 1 is an upper front left perspective view of a first embodiment of a
device 10 for crystallizing liquid to form slush inside chilled bottles with
an
illumination source 220. Fig. 2 is another perspective view of the device 10
of
Fig. 1 with a bottle mounted 205 on the device 10.
Fig. 3 is an exploded view of the device 10 of Fig. 1.
Fig. 4 is another perspective view of the device 10 of Fig. 1 with optional
rotation capability.
Fig. 5 is a schematic of the electronic components 100 for the device 10
of Fig. 1.
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Referring to figures 1, 3 and 5, a device 10 for crystallizing liquid to form
slush inside of a supercooled to at least below approximately 30F closed
beverage bottles or cans, can include a stand 20 which is a small base, such
as
a rectangular box or cube, having a housing formed from plastic or metalõ for
housing electronic components 100 inside. In front of the base 20 can be an
activation switch 90 such as a large push button switch, and the like.
The stand 20 with base can be of approximate size of approximately 4
inches wide by approximately 4 inches tall by approximately 5 inches deep or
bigger or smaller in any dimension but generally of size which can
conveniently
be moved or placed on a taller stand or apparatus to bring the bottle viewing
area and LED's 220 to eye level for convenient viewing of the ice-crystal
nucleation.
On top of the base 20 can be a removable or non-removable bowl or plate
50, such as a cylindrical dish made of various materials such as stainless
steel,
UHMW, plastics or other alloys or materials which holds an amount of water or
other liquid or ultrasonic-transmitting gel of volume approximately 1/2oz to
approximately 4oz.
The liquid water, substance or ultrasonic transmitting gel can be in direct
or indirect contact with the ultrasonic transducer, bowl, and a beverage
bottle
which may be placed in the bowl. The purpose of the liquid water, liquid
substance or ultrasonic transmitting gel is to uniformly transmit and/or
amplify the
ultrasonic frequency vibrations from the ultrasonic transducer and/or bowl or
plate to the beverage bottle or container placed on the apparatus.
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A water-tight thin membrane or cap 60 that allows for and/or amplifies the
transmission of ultrasonic frequencies can be used to prevent the beverage
bottles or containers placed in the apparatus from making direct contact with
the
liquid or gel ultrasonic transmission medium.
An example of a liquid ultrasonic transmission medium can include a
liquid or a gel. The liquid can include but is not limited to be tap water or
sterilized water with preservatives to prevent mold or bacterial growth or
water
with added substances to enhance ultrasonic frequency transmission. An
example of a gel medium can include but is not limited to be a pharmaceutical
ultrasonic gel pad used widely in the medical industry
The water-tight thin membrane or cap can be made of flexible plastic,
vinyl, or other material generally capable of making adequate surface contact
area with the beverage bottle placed on the apparatus to allow for
transmission
of the ultrasonic frequency vibrations into the liquid beverage. The thin
membrane or cap can be puncture resistant.
If a liquid transmission medium inside the bowl 50 can be used along with
a membrane or cap 60, it can be filled and topped off via a fill nozzle 70.
If a gel transmission medium is used along with a membrane or cap 60,
the membrane or cap can be removed in order to insert a gel pad. If a liquid
or
gel transmission medium is used without a membrane or cap, the liquid or gel
can be poured or placed in the bowl or on the plate.
Beneath the membrane, medium, bowl or plate is an ultrasonic transducer
30. An example of the ultrasonic transducer can include but is not limited to
a
100W 40khz Piezoelectric ultrasonic cleaning transducer as used in ultrasonic
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cleaning tanks. See for example, U.S. Pat. 4,979,994 to Dussault et al. and
U.S.
Patent Application Publications: 2004/0112413 to Brunner et al.; and
2006/0191086 to Mourad et al., which show piezo transducers with or without
ultrasonic drivers, which are incorporated by reference in their entirety.
The base cover 35 and neck 45 provide protection to the ultrasonic
transducer and electronics contained in the base. The protection is from dust,
debris, and liquid that might be spilled from the bowl or onto the device from
the
top. The base cover 35 and neck 45 can be angled, ramped or slanted in order
to repel liquid in case of beverage spillage, rain, or other liquid spilling
on the
device. The base cover and neck can also contain grooves or drainage
structures to prevent liquid entering the electronics area of the base. A
waterproof seal (not shown) can be built-in to the base cover 35 and neck 45
to
protect the electronics from moisture.
For outdoor use all external surfaces can be treated with waterproof
sealant coatings and UV (ultra-violet) protecting coatings to prevent
discoloration
or damage from exposure to the sun or other sources of UV radiation.
Stand (base) 20 that houses internal components can be waterproofed or
sealed by rubber gaskets and the like to prevent water intrusion or damage
from
the environment.
The power supply 80 for the device 10 can be by a cord with plug to a 110
-120 volt power source or a 220v power source, or by batteries, and the like.
Batteries can include, but are not limited to, 9V, AA, AAA, C, D, or Li-ion or
Ni-
mh rechargeable batteries. Additionally, the device 10 can be powered from a
solar power panel.
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The low voltage power can be supplied remotely from an external power
converter such as a 12V cigarette lighter power adapter or a 110V/220V AC/DC
plug-in power adapter or other low voltage source such that no high voltage AC
current is brought to the device 10.
The transducer 30 can be activated by switch 90 such as a large push
button switch, toggle switch, and the like.
Alternatively, the transducer 30 can be automatically set off by a pressure
sensor 85, and the like, in the bowl 50 which can be set off by placement of
the
weight of beverage container 205 placed into the bowl 50.
The pressure sensor (such as but not limited to a force sensitive resistor)
85 activates the back-lighting LED 220 and the ready LED (not shown) in the
push button to indicate the presence of a bottled beverage or beverage
container. The push button switch 90 is pushed to activate the timing
electronics 100 which pulse the ultrasonic transducer 30 for a certain period
of
time creating one or more short pulses (approximately 0.1s to approximately
2.0s
or more or less) of ultrasonic frequency.
The pulses immediately transfer through the bowl and transmission
medium and start to crystallize the liquid via ice-crystal nucleation inside
the
closed beverage container 205 starting a slushing effect 215 inside the
beverage
container which rapidly transfers throughout all the liquid contents,
converting
them into a soft-slush or "hyperquenched, vitrified-liquid" state.
For beverage containers that are bottles, such as bottles of carbonated
soda, and the like, a novel illumination source 220 mounted to a backwall 210,
which can have a shape of a beverage container, such as the outer shape of a
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soda bottle, allows for easy placement of the bottled beverage and easy
viewing
of the ice-crystallization effects to be viewed by the user.
The backwall 210 and the illumination source 220 can be further treated
with waterproofing coatings or covers that are translucent and protect the
components from liquid and the environment.
When the switch 90 is pressed, the timing electronics in the electronic
components 100 create a short duration ultrasonic pulse from the transducer 30
which produces ultrasonic waves through the transmission medium(water or gel)
and to the thin membrane 60 and into the bottled beverage 205. Within the
bottled beverage 205, a small amount of supercooled liquid nucleates 215 which
will quickly spread and cause the entire beverage liquid to form soft ice-
crystals
throughout the container 205. When the beverage container 205 is opened, no
unwanted foaming will be present which allows the user to enjoy the
supercooled
'slushed' beverage without any negative effects.
Due to the beauty of the ice-crystal nucleation (freezing or slushing)
process, it is desirable to enhance the visible aspects of this process while
it is in
the device 10, such as backlighting, side-lighting, or bottom lighting of the
beverage within the container. The viewer watches the liquid in the bottle
turn
into a slushy ice-crystal formation over a period of seconds or tens of
seconds
depending on how much of the nucleation took place during the button press and
depending on the type of beverage ingredients that are present ¨ sugared
beverages generally taking longer than non-sugared beverages to complete the
slushing process. The ice-crystallization can be described as clouds,
crystals,
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glass, or slush and will be different based on supercooled temperature,
beverage
contents and beverage color.
Illumination can be designed to light-up automatically upon putting a
bottled beverage on the in the bowl 50 via a sensor such as a pressure sensor
85 or via push button switch 90, or may come-on via an ON/OFF switch. The
illumination can be designed to illuminate the beverage from the front, back,
sides, top or bottom or from multiple angles in order to see through and into
the
beverage so that the nucleation or 'slushing' of a supercooled beverage can be
fully observed. The illumination turn-off automatically when the beverage
bottle
is removed or via an ON/OFF switch. The device 10 can be designed smaller or
larger than illustrated with more or fewer illumination sources( such as more
or
less LEDs).
The device 10 can be mounted at eye level with the illumination source
next to the bottle container 205. The device 10 can operate as follows;
1. The device 10 is normally OFF and will not function until a bottled
beverage 205 is placed in the bowl 50 with transmission medium
membrane and transmission medium and/or on top of the ultrasonic
transducer 30 if no bowl is present. (the invention can be made with or
without a bowl, or with a plate or other mechanism for holding a bottled
beverage).
2. The illumination sources 220 (LEDs) turn ON when a bottled
beverage 205 is placed in the bowl 50 (on the transducer) via a
'pressure-activated-switch 85
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3. The push-button switch 90 becomes ACTIVATED when a bottled
beverage 205 is placed in the bowl 50.
When the push-button 90 is pushed, an ultrasonic PULSE is sent from the
transducer 30 into the liquid or gel medium and through the transmission
medium 60 into the bottle 205, which nucleates "slushes" the supercooled
liquid
inside the beverage bottle 205. The push-button 90 is DE-ACTIVATED for a
period of time, such as 2-5 seconds in order to prevent multiple rapid pushes
of
the button. However, the Illumination source 220 (LEDs) can remain ON as long
as the bottle 205 is in the bowl 50 or on the transducer 30 or alternatively
for as
long as the bottle remains pressed against the wand assembly 440, 450 in the
side mounted configuration 400 of the apparatus.
The illumination source 220 can include a plurality of LEDs (Light emitting
diodes). A footprint of the illumination source can be for tall bottles(16
ounces to
1 liter), a height of approximately 4 1/2 inches to approximately 7 inches,
and a
width of approximately 1 inch to approximately 2 inches. A foot print of the
illumination source for short bottles (8 ounces to 14 ounces) can have height
of
approximately 2 inches to approximately 4 inches, and a width of approximately
1 inch to approximately 2 inches.
The intensity of the LEDs can be adjusted by size, weight, or type of the
beverage bottles being used. For example, bright LEDs or superbright LEDS
can be used and if a small bottle is detected based on it's weight against the
FSR 85, only the lower portion of the LEDs can illuminate.
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An optional dimmer switch can be used to control intensity levels. For
example a dark soda, such as colas can require maximum intensity of
superbright LEDs for proper viewing of the ice-crystal nucleation whereas a
clear
soda or bottled water may require dimmer LED backlighting when viewing.
In a preferred embodiment, a pattern of approximately 96 LEDs can be
used consisting of two 48 SMD LED 12V Dome Panels stacked vertically with all
LED's backlighting larger bottles and only the lower panel backlighting the
smaller bottles.
An alternative configuration can be used with waterproof strip SMD LEDs
such as 50/50 or 35/28 strips of LEDs using horizontal or vertical placements
of
small strips of LEDs.
The illumination source 220 can be placed approximately % inch to
approximately 1 inch spaced apart from the beverage bottle container 205.
The illumination source 220 can be multi-color, flashing, or moving LED's
to enhance the visual effects of the nucleation "slushing" process.
The Illumination sources 220 can be of any number, shape, size, color, of
LED's and can be made of other light sources than LED's, for example neon-
lights, halogen lights, florescent lights or other lighting mechanisms (not
shown in
drawings).
A schematic 100 for running the device 10 is shown in Fig. 5. Pressure
switch 101 is also the force sensitive resistor (FSR) pressure switch 85
previously described. An example of the FSR used can include but is not
limited
to be a 0.5 inch diameter round force sensitive resistor able to detect a wide
range of pressure applied to the sensitive area with a high degree of
precision,
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allowing the device to detect the difference between sizes and types of
bottles
placed on the apparatus.
Arduion or IC(integrated circuit) smart-board electronics 102 can be an
Arduino Uno, Mini, or Pro Smart Board or other version of the Arduino platform
of smart electronic computer boards, Microchip PIG microcontroller, Raspberry
Pi microcontroller, and the like. Various types of micro-electronics can be
used,
such as but not limited to Arduino boards used with ultrasonic transducers,
which
are described in U.S. Pat. 9,024,168 to Peterson (column 4) and U.S. Patent
Application Publication: 2014/0125577 (paragraphs 53-56) to Hoang et al. and
2015/0112451 to Dechev et al. (paragraph 112), which are incorporated by
reference in their entirety.
Ready LED 103 can be an imbedded LED within the push button that
illuminates the pushbutton from the inside allowing the user to know it is
ready to
be pressed.
D/C Relay 104 can be direct current relay such as a single DC/DC relay or
relay board.
Beverage bottle illumination LEDs 105 is also the illumination source 220
previously described.
Push button switch 106 is also the push button switch 90 previously
described.
Solid state relay 107 can include but is not limited to be a Berme BEM-
14840DA Solid-State Relay.
Ultrasonic transducer electronics 108 can be an ultrasonic transducer
driver board made for 110V, 100W, 40khz or similar, with the ultrasonic
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transducer 109 can be the transducer 30 previously described, such as but not
limited to a 100W, 40khz piezoelectric ultrasonic cleaning transducer or
similar.
Sound output module 110 can include but is not limited to be a piezo
speaker module or similar.
Power source 111 can include the power source 80 previously described.
Referring to Fig. 5 in relation to figures 1-4, the components interact as
follows:
Block Diagram Path A
Step 1: A supercooled beverage bottle 205 is placed in the bowl 50 which is in
contact with the ultrasonic transducer 30 and/or transfer medium (water,
liquid or
gel) or membrane 60.
Step 2 : The pressure switch 70 is activated by the weight of the bottle 205,
which sends a signal to the Arduino or IC Smart-board electronics 102 that a
bottle 205 is present. (In one embodiment, the pressure switch 85 and smart-
board electronics 102 can determine the size and type of beverage by weight.)
Step 3 : The Ready LED 103 is activated
Step 4 : The D/C Relay 104 is activated providing power to the Illumination
LEDs
105/220.
Step 5: The Illumination LED 105/220 are powered ON to shine through the
bottle 205 for the viewer.
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Block Diagram Path B
Step 6: The Push Button Switch 90 is pressed by the user sending a signal to
the Arduino or smart-board electronics 102.
Step 7: The Arduino or smart-board electronics 102 activates the solid-state
relay 107 to energize the ultrasonic transducer electronics 108 for a short-
duration pulse (approximately 0.1 to approximately 2.0 seconds). (note: if a
bottle 205 is not present on the pressure switch 85, the Arduino or smart-
board
electronics 102 will not activate the solid-state relay 107 when the push-
button
switch 90 is pressed.)
Step 8: The ultrasonic transducer electronics 108 energizes the ultrasonic
transducer 109/30 for the short duration pulse which nucleates the supercooled
beverage inside the bottle 205 and begins to create a slush. In addition, the
optional sound output module 110 creates a sound effect while the slush is
forming in the bottle 205, which may take between approximately 1 and
approximately 30 seconds.
The Illumination LEDs 220/105 remain ON while the bottle 205 is detected
in the bowl 50 for a duration of time (between approximately 30 seconds up to
several minutes). The Illumination LEDs 105/220 will switch OFF when the
bottle 205 is removed or the time setting expires.
Automated Delay
The Arduino or smart-board electronics 102 will force a delay (of
approximately 1 to approximately 5 seconds) before allowing a subsequent
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pressing of the push-button 90 to cause a subsequent ultrasonic pulse to be
sent. This feature will prevent repeated, rapid ultrasonic pulses being sent
to
the ultrasonic transducer 109/30 which can cause undesirable results such as
foaming overflow of sodas. Additionally, a longer automated delay (of
approximately 30 to approximately 60 seconds) will take place if a certain
number of ultrasonic pulses are sent to the same bottle 205 (between
approximately 3 and approximately 5) in a short period of time (approximately
10
to approximately15 seconds) in order to prevent undesirable overflow or
pressure due to possible CO2 (carbon dioxide) expansion inside a bottled
beverage 205 caused by the repeated ultrasonic pulsing.
The wattage (W) and time duration of the ultrasonic signals can be
adjusted based on having different transmission mediums(water, gel) , as well
as
different types of beverages, such as soda/juice and diet soda. The sugar in
soda/juice and non-sweeteners in diet soda can have different transducer
emitter
times as shown in Tables 1 and 2. The ranges of seconds can include the term
"approximatey" before each of the numerical values.
Table 1 shows a timing matrix for the nucleator(crystallization) pulse
power(wattage(W) in range of seconds for a water based transmission medium.
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TABLE 1
Beverage 15W 25W 35W 60W 100W 150W
Soda/ 0.3
- 1.5 0.3 - 1.0 0.2 - 0.9 0.2 - 0.8 0.1 - 0.6 0.1 - 0.4
Juice seconds seconds seconds seconds seconds seconds
Diet soda 0.2- 1.0 0.3 - 0.8 0.1 - 0.7 0.1 - 0.6 0.1 - 0.4 0.05 -
/Bottle seconds seconds seconds seconds seconds 0.3
Water
seconds
Table 2 shows a timing matrix for the nucleator(crystallization) pulse
power in range of seconds for a gel based transmission medium.
TABLE 2
Beverage 15W 25W 35W 60W 100W 150W
Soda/ 0.5 - 2.0 0.5 - 1.8 0.3 - 1.7 0.3 - 1.5 0.3- 1.2 0.2-
1.0
Juice seconds seconds seconds seconds seconds seconds
Diet soda 0.3-1.8 0.3-1.7 0.2
- 1.4 0.2 - 1.2 0.2 - 1.0 0.1 - 0.8
/Bottle seconds seconds seconds seconds seconds seconds
Water
Referring to Fig. 4, optional rotation of the beverage container can also be
used. Adding rotation or spinning to the base of the device 10 in order to
rotate
beverage bottles 2015 just prior or during the process of nucleating the
beverage
can further add additional excitement and visual enhancement to the visible
beauty of the nucleation (freezing/slushing) process.
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The rotation can be of slow RPM such as approximately 60 to
approximately 100 RPM of duration of a few seconds to a few tens of seconds in
order to move the liquid inside the beverage bottle in a circular motion just
prior
to ¨ and during ¨ ice-crystal nucleation. The benefit of the rotation is that
the
small ice-crystals that form at the beginning of ice-crystal nucleation are in
motion as they expand within the beverage to create the slushing effect. The
motion adds fascination and visual excitement to the process for the end user.
Fig. 6 is an upper rear right perspective view of a second embodiment
device 10 for crystallizing liquid to form slush inside chilled bottles with
no
illumination source. This embodiment works the same as the previous
embodiment with the exception of not having the illumination sources 220. This
embodiment can be used with beverages that are opaque such as milkshakes or
with canned beverages, and the like.
Device 10 can be stand-alone, on a pedestal, or mounted to a
supercooling refrigeration system, portable cooler, or other secondary device.
Fig. 7 is an upper left perspective view of the device 10 of Fig. 1 attached
to the side of refrigerated beverage merchandiser or other cooling device 260.
Commercial devices 260 can be a refrigerant display case in a retail store
that
supercools beverage containers such as bottles to less than approximately 30F.
A side mount 240 can be attached to the sides of merchandiser or cooling
device 260 by magnets or fasteners, such as screws and bolts. Flanges 250
extending from the sides of the base of device 10 can fasten the device 10 to
the
mount 240. The mount can be hollow with an access door (not shown) such that
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it can contain items such as ultrasonic gel pads, membranes, or liquid
transmission medium fluid.
Fig. 8 is an upper front left perspective view of a third embodiment device
310 for crystallizing liquid to form slush inside supercooled bottles with an
illumination source 330. Fig. 9 is another perspective view of the device 310
for
bottles of Fig. 8 with a bottle 315 mounted on the device 310. Fig. 10 is an
exploded view of the device 310 of Fig. 9. Fig. Ills another perspective view
of
the device 310 of Fig. 9 with bowl assembly 340 removed for cleaning.
Referring to figures 8-11, the device 310 works similar to device 10 with
an illumination source previously described. Here device 310 can include a
sleeker stand 320 being more aesthetically useful for home and/or private use
and resembles a cordless handheld phone. An illumination source 330 such as
LEDs (light emitting diodes), can operate similar to the previous embodiment
device 10. Power and operation can function similar to previous embodiment 10.
Component 340 refers to removable bowl assembly similar to bowl 50
previously described but containing a wafer-type ultrasonic transducer
attached
to the underside of a metal alloy or plastic plate or bowl.
Component 347 refers to wafer style piezoelectric ultrasonic of 15W,
25W, 35W or 50W power or similar.
Component 348 refers to a plastic bowl or plate that contains electrical
contacts to allow electrical transmission from the base connector 349 to the
piezoelectric ultrasonic transducer 347.
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Component 349 refers to base electrical connector for allowing the bowl
348 to be removed from the apparatus for cleaning or filling with water or
ultrasonic transmission fluid.
Component 350 refers to a touch sensitive button to fire the ultrasonic
transducer pulse.
Component 360 refers to a ready indicator LED to indicate the unit is
ready for button push.
Component 370 refers to a touch sensitive power-on button to turn the
device on and off.
Component 380 refers to a power-on indicator LED to show the unit is on
or off.
For operating the device, a beverage bottle or container is placed on the
bowl assembly 340, in contact with the liquid medium and the plate 345. The
power button 370 is pressed and the device is turned ON as indicated by the
power LED 380. The backlighting LED's 330 illuminate the beverage bottle.
The ready LED 360 turns on and the firing button 350 is pressed by the user.
The ultrasonic transducer 347 sends a short duration pulse through the plate
and
transmission medium into the beverage container. The supercooled beverage
inside the container will begin ice-crystal nucleation and the slushing
process will
begin as the user watches from the vantage point shown in Fig 9.
The embodiment of Figures 8-11 can also have optional rotation or
spinning of the beverage bottle similar to the rotating and spinning
capability
described in the previous embodiment.
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Fig. 12 is another perspective view of another embodiment of a device
400 for crystallizing liquid to form slush inside chilled bottles using a
contact
membrane 450 with liquid or gel transmission medium inside. The bottle
backlighting assembly 430 indicates where the bottle should be held and
pressed against by the user.
Fig. 13 is an exploded view of the side pressed embodiment. This
embodiment can use a wand 440 which includes an extension arm 440
connected securely to the ultrasonic transducer 410. A water-tight membrane
450 similar to the previous embodiments can be attached to the end of the wand
440 and is filled with liquid(such as water) or a gel. Timing electronics 420
such
as electronics 100 previously described can produce the ultrasonic pulse when
a
switch and/or a pressure sensor is activated. A pressure switch force
sensitive
resistor and support 425 is used to detect the presence of a bottle on the
device.
The wand end 450 can be placed in physical contact with a supercooled
beverage bottle (not shown) and will cause nucleation within the beverage when
the pulse is generated.
Component 430 refers to a bottle design back plate and LED housing.
Component 440 refers to a wand attachment to the ultrasonic transducer
and a liquid or gel medium and membrane.
A mounting box 460 can attach the wand embodiment 400 to a wall or
cabinet or merchandiser, and the like, by using conventional fasteners, such
as
screws or bolts through box flanges to the underlying vertical support.
In operation, the wand 440 is directly attached to the ultrasonic transducer
410 such that the ultrasonic frequency vibrations are transmitted to the end
of
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the wand and through the liquid or gel medium and membrane 450 into the
beverage container that is in contact with the membrane. The nucleation effect
is similar to that of the previously described embodiments.
The term "approximately" throughout the application can be +1- 10% of the
amount referenced. Additionally, preferred amounts and ranges can include the
amounts and ranges referenced without the prefix of being approximately.
The devices referenced above can be designed as a counter-top display
in TWO-PARTS, with the ultrasonic Nucleator being separate from the
Illumination LED's ¨ or even MULTIPLE-PARTS with multiple lighting sources
separate from the Nucleation device.
Although the drawings show devices, All components of the present
invention can be constructed as part of the larger assembly of a beverage
merchandiser, vending machine, or other supercooling capable refrigerated
device or they may be made separate and free-standing either individually or
collectively.
The invention can be used with beverage bottles that are sealed and not
opened, as well as can be with beverage bottles that are opened and closed
again.
The invention can be used with closed beverage bottles, that include
glass bottles and plastic bottles, as well as canned beverages, such as those
in
aluminum cans, and the like.
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The invention can be used with sealed beverage containers made of
cardboard, wax paper, plastic or multi-layer constructions. The invention can
also be used with re-usable containers with removable lids or caps.
The invention can be used with open beverage containers such as glass,
plastic or metal cups or containers.
The invention can be used with containers of liquids, gelatins, or
combinations of cold food ingredients such as ice-creams to create unique ice-
crystal nucleations or emulsions.
While the invention has been described, disclosed, illustrated and shown
in various terms of certain embodiments or modifications which it has presumed
in practice, the scope of the invention is not intended to be, nor should it
be
deemed to be, limited thereby and such other modifications or embodiments as
may be suggested by the teachings herein are particularly reserved especially
as
they fall within the breadth and scope of the claims here appended.
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