Abstract:
A heat sink comprises a food-safe structure having an inner surface and an outer surface defining a cavity in which there is a material with a high enthalpy of fusion. A cap sanitarily encloses the material within the cavity.

Description:
RELATED APPLICATION DATA 
       [0001]    This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/955,201, filed Mar. 18, 2014, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety. 
     
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    Disclosed are embodiments of the invention which relate to, among other things, devices which deliver heat out of their surroundings into which they are placed. 
       BACKGROUND 
       [0003]    In the course of preparing objects for handling, either in chemical processing, cooking, or manufacturing, it is known to use warm, hot, or extremely hot media into which the object or objects are placed. During such preparations, such object(s) may require rapid cooling while limiting the amount of disturbance to the object. 
         [0004]    It has been the method of the prior art to remove objects from warm, hot, or extremely hot media in order to limit the heat about the object, which results in disturbances to the object, the environment, and expenditure of additional effort. 
         [0005]    In the context of food preparation, inefficient or slow cooling of the surrounding media can lead to risks of foodborne illnesses. 
         [0006]    Prior art devices that have been used for cooling surrounding media have been made from materials that are fragile, poor heat conductors, or can be harmful to the contents of the warm media into which they are placed. In one particular example, a plastic container filled with ice placed into hot water holding food is susceptible to rapid expansion of the cool water, and could have its plastic exterior melt or disassociate into the surroundings near the food. Under this particular example, use of such a device can be a safety concern. 
         [0007]    The prior art devices also suffer from stability issues when placed into certain media. For example, such prior art devices must be propped up on their own by leaning them against other surfaces holding the high temperature media, limiting the placement of the prior art devices to the locus of heat to cool the medium. Additionally, the lack of self-stability can result in the device falling while in use or in storage. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0008]    A heat sink device comprises a structure having an inner surface and an outer surface, each with at least two differently shaped cross-sections and the inner surface defining a cavity in which there is a material with a high enthalpy of fusion. 
         [0009]    A heat sink device includes a cap enclosing cooling material within a cavity formed in the device, wherein the center of mass of the combination of the device, the material, and the cap is most proximal to the lowest-most surface of the device. The heat sink device and/or its cavity may be any form of polyhedron. 
         [0010]    A heat sink device may contain cooling material at a much lower temperature than a medium in which it may be placed, whereby placement of the heat sink device in the medium reduces the temperature of the medium at a faster rate than if the medium were allowed to reach that temperature under steady-state operation. 
         [0011]    In one aspect, a stainless steel conical, pyramidal, frusto-pyramidal, or adequately shaped device may be designed to cool liquid foods in the shortest period of time while being self-supporting in high temperature media. It may be placed within the media to best effect heat reduction from the surroundings. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0012]      FIGS. 1A-B  illustrate an outer and inner view of one exemplary embodiment of a heat sink device. 
           [0013]      FIGS. 1C-G  illustrate an isometric, top, bottom, and cross-sectional view of another exemplary embodiment of a heat sink device. 
           [0014]      FIGS. 2A-B  illustrate an outer and inner view of a second exemplary embodiment of a heat sink device. 
           [0015]      FIGS. 3A-B  illustrate an outer and inner view of a third exemplary embodiment of a heat sink device. 
           [0016]      FIG. 4A  illustrates an outer view of another exemplary embodiment of a heat sink device. 
           [0017]      FIG. 4B  illustrates an outer view of yet another exemplary embodiment of a heat sink device. 
           [0018]      FIGS. 5A-B  illustrate additional exemplary embodiments of a reconfigured heat sink device. 
           [0019]      FIGS. 6A-B  illustrate cross-sectional views of other exemplary embodiments of a heat sink device. 
           [0020]      FIG. 7  illustrates an exemplary operation of use of an exemplary heat sink device. 
       
    
    
       [0021]    In the drawings like characters of reference indicate corresponding and/or interchangeable parts in the different figures. 
       DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0022]    According to the illustrative embodiment of  FIGS. 1A-1G , a heat sink device  100  may be conically or rectilinearly shaped and possess an outer surface  5  which surrounds a cavity  25 . Heat sink device  100  may be closed at its apex by cap  15 , which may be received either through friction-type coupling, or mated by screw, magnet, or other mechanical means at reception point  16 , or any other means known to those skilled in the art for effectively sealing the contents of a container within the container. In a preferred embodiment, heat sink device  100  may be about 8 inches to about 24 inches in total height, including cap  15 . In a preferred embodiment, heat sink device  100  may be about 2 to about 6 inches in diameter at its base and about 1 to about 2 inches in diameter at its apex. In another preferred embodiment, cap  15  may form a substantially air-tight seal within heat sink device  100 . In yet another preferred embodiment, cap  15  may permit for pressure release of the materials contained within heat sink device  100 , e.g., check valve-type arrangement, to avoid boiling of the contained materials and increased heat absorption capabilities. In still another preferred embodiment, as disclosed elsewhere, the reception point  16  creates a sanitary environment between the outside and inside surfaces of the container to avoid spillage of the contents from inside the container to outside the container. 
         [0023]    An exemplary heat sink device  100  may be made of any thermally conductive material known to those skilled in the art, for example, aluminum, steel, stainless steel, or like alloys. Preferably, heat sink device  100  may be made of stainless steel to avoid oxidation in high temperature mediums. In another preferred embodiment, heat sink device  100  may be made of a food-rated stainless steel or food grade aluminum. Those skilled in the art will recognize the benefits of using materials that do not result in surface reactions that can be harmful to the surrounding contents of the medium into which a heat sink device  100  made of such material is placed, such as, for example, materials that will not adversely affect food products in the medium or will not react with chemicals in the medium. Cap  15  may be made of the same or similar materials to heat sink device  100 . Alternatively, cap  15  may comprise a material similar to that used for heat sink device  100  and other material, such as, for example, elastomer, vulcanized rubber, ceramic, or other structures that are resistant to high temperature mediums. 
         [0024]    Extending distally from surface  5  of heat sink device  100  may be one or more fins  10 . In the illustrative embodiment of  FIGS. 1A and 1B , an exemplary fin  10  may be disposed in a spiral formation about the circumference of heat sink device  100  at a pitch  12  and up to a height  14 . Alternatively, as in the illustrative embodiment of  FIGS. 2A and 2B , an exemplary fin  10  may be disposed about a single circumference of heat sink device  100 . As may be observed from the illustrative embodiments of  FIGS. 2A and 2B , a series of uni-circumferential fins  10  may be spaced apart by a distance  13  up to a height  14 . An exemplary fin  10  may have any number of cross sections and shapes and may be continuous or discontinuous about the surface of an exemplary heat sink  100 , as may be illustrated by rounded cross-sectional spiral fin  11  and discontinuous, rounded cross-sectional spiral fins  13  in  FIGS. 4A and 4B . Those skilled in the art would recognize that by increasing the number and surface area of a fin  10  would increase the heat transfer capabilities of heat sink  100 . 
         [0025]    In an exemplary embodiment, fin  10  may comprise a continuous spiral arrangement about the surface  5  of heat sink device  100 . According to this exemplary embodiment, fin  10  may begin at about the lowest portion of surface  5  and terminate at about the upper-most portion of surface  5  of heat sink device  100 . Alternatively, a continuous spiral fin  10  may begin and/or terminate at other distances on surface  5 . In a preferred embodiment, continuous spiral fin  10  may have a pitch between about 1.0 inch and about 3.5 inches over a surface height of approximately 10 inches. 
         [0026]    With reference to  FIG. 1B , the internal surface  20  of heat sink device  100  may be substantially smooth or contoured, depending on particular needs. Increasing con t ours on surface  20  may increase potential for heat transfer between the outside and inside of heat sink device  100 . According to the exemplary illustrative embodiment of  FIG. 1B , inside surface  20  may envelop a conical volume having a trapezoidal-like cross-section. In other embodiments, inside surface  20  may be dimensioned in any manner to fit within heat sink device  100  and permit introduction of materials to assist in cooling of surrounding media. 
         [0027]    Exemplary cooling materials that may be found within an exemplary heat sink device  100  may be liquids or mixtures with high enthalpies of fusion, such as, for example, water, water-alcohol mixtures, water-gel mixtures, refrigerants, and ethylene glycols. Adding materials to a liquid with a high enthalpy of fusion may be utilized to increase the capability of the material to absorb and contain heat from the surroundings, e.g., water with hydroxyethyl cellulose, water and vinyl-coated silica gels, water and aluminum particles, and water-salts/calcium combinations. For industrial applications, heat sink device  100  may contain refrigerants or anti-freeze materials. 
         [0028]    In a preferred embodiment, the material in heat sink device  100  may be pre-prepared at temperatures less than 0 degrees Celsius. In yet another preferred embodiment, a water-filled heat sink device  100  may be placed in a freezer before use. In yet another preferred embodiment, the contents of heat sink device  100  may be frozen before being placed in t o the warm, hot, or extremely hot media. 
         [0029]    With reference to the exemplary embodiment of  FIGS. 2A and 2B , a heat sink device  100  may comprise a series of discrete fins  10 , each having a unique circumference about heat sink device  100  outer surface  5 . According to a preferred embodiment, fin  10  may be of rounded cross-section and about 0.25 inches to about 0.75 inches in thickness. 
         [0030]    With reference to the illustrative embodiments of  FIGS. 3A and 3B , a heat sink device  200  may comprise a spherical shaped outer surface  5  and/or a spherically shaped inner surface  20  containing a volume  25 . A stem  17  may extend away from spherical surface  20  to create a flask-like shaped heat sink device  200 . According to such an embodiment, a heat sink device  200  may not be perfectly spherical, and may be formed into any number of rounded shapes. 
         [0031]    The illustrative heat sink device  200  of  FIGS. 3A and 3B , has at the terminus  16  of stem  17 , a cap  15 , which may be received therein to close the inside of heat sink device  200  according to one or more of the same or similar closing mechanisms described previously with respect to cap  15  of heat sink device  100 . According to the illustrative embodiment of heat sink device  200  in  FIGS. 3A and 3B , a spiral fin  10  extending distally form outer surface  5  of the device begins about the lowest portion of the device up to a distance  14 , e.g., about the beginning portion of stem  17 , at a pitch  12 . According to the illustrative embodiment of  FIGS. 3A and 3B , spiral fin  10  of a spherical heat sink device  200  may have multiple pitches  12  to accommodate the spherical surface contours of the device. 
         [0032]    Like fin  10  of the embodiments related to heat sink device  100 , fin  10  may be of any cross section. While not shown, an exemplary fin or series of fins  10  may be disposed about the surface of heat sink device  200  in any manner previously described with respect to fins  10  of heat sink device  100 . Those skilled in the art may also recognize that such fins  10  may also extend about stem  17  of heat sink devices  200  configured with spherical bases. 
         [0033]    As previously discussed, an illustrative heat sink device  100 , as illustrated in  FIGS. 4A and 4B  may have an assortment of configuration of fins  10  about surface  5  of the heat sink device  100 . As shown in  FIG. 4B , a series of fins  10  may be disposed in a spiral arrangement about the outer surface  5  of heat sink device  100 . As illustrated, multiple fins  10  provide additional surface area by which heat from surrounding media may transfer from surface  5  of heat sink  100  to surface  20  of heat sink  100 . 
         [0034]    According to the illustrative embodiments of  FIGS. 5A and 5B , exemplary heat sink devices  125  and  225  may be configured to lean at a certain angle from the vertical. According to  FIG. 5A , a heat sink device  125  may comprise an outer surface  6 , with or without fins  10 , and a foot  8  at its base. Foot  8  may be a substantially flat surface formed out of the conical cross-section of heat sink device  125 . Foot  8  may permit heat sink device  125  to lean to its side without having to tilt it on the substantially round edges of its conical base. According to  FIG. 5B , heat sink device  225  may comprise an outer surface  6 , with or without fins  10  or a stem  17 , and a foot  8  at its base. Like an exemplary heat sink device  125  of  FIG. 5A , an exemplary heat sink device  225  of  FIG. 5B  may have a foot  8  that may be substantially flat and formed out of the spherical cross-section of heat sink device  125 . While foot  8  may be used to allow heat sink device  225  to lean to one side at an angle from the vertical, depending on the contour of inner surface(s)  20  and volume  25  of heat sink device  225 , heat sink device  225  may be capable of leaning with substantial stability without resort to use of a foot  8 . An exemplary foot  8  may be formed by machining or extrusion techniques. In a preferred embodiment, an exemplary foot  8  for either of an exemplary heat sink device  125  or  225  may be laser cut from a finished heat sink device  125  or  225 , 
         [0035]    As illustrated in  FIG. 6A , an exemplary heat sink device  150  may have a substantially ovular outside surface  5  and substantially ovular inside surface  20  to hold cooling material  30  within volume space  25 . According to the illustrative embodiment, the spacing of volume  25  within heat sink device  150  may be such to allow a majority of weight of the device to be located at weight focus region  18 . Thus, heat sink device  150  may have a substantially non-flat base, but maintain erect positioning in a media due to distribution of its center of mass. In other words, heat sink device  150  may be configured to reduce rotation, e.g., stand, about any angle from the vertical just by shifting the weight focus region  18  from the center of the device to peripheral portions of the heat sink device  150 . In this way, an exemplary heat sink device  150  may be able to lower its center of mass closer to or in overlapping relationship with weight focus region  18 . 
         [0036]    Alternatively, heat sink device  150  may be configured to shift the focus of its weight to the location in volume  25  where cooling material  30  may be located, as shown in  FIG. 6B . In another alternative embodiment, the tilting of heat sink device  150  may be due to weight distribution of cap  15 , e.g., cap  15  may be positioned such that when placed on heat sink device  150 , heat sink device  150  may lean at a particular angle to the vertical or that a certain number of revolutions of cap  15  may result in different positions of heat sink device  150 . Those skilled in the art may understand that heat sink device  150  may be configured in other manners to achieve standing stability, such as, for example, by including heavier materials between outer surface  5  and inner surface  20  about the device. Thus, an exemplary heat sink device  150  may be configured to lower its center of mass when filled with cooling material and closed with cap  15  such that the center of mass is closest to the base of heat sink device  150 . This optimization of location of center of mass may be applicable to any of the embodiments disclosed herein. 
         [0037]    According to the illustrative embodiment of heat sink device  225  in  FIG. 6B , volume  25  may be configured within heat sink device  225  such that a content focused region  19  may be formed between outer surface  5  and inner surface  20 . According to this exemplary embodiment, volume  25  may be configured such that cooling material  30  may be focused at region  19  to allow heat sink device  225  to tilt at a certain angle from the vertical. As previously described, those skilled in the art may recognize other possible methods of achieving positioning of heat sink device in a medium by virtue of weight location between inner surface  20  and outer surface  5 , cap  15  configuration and location, and/or combinations of the two, The positions of the cooling material and cap in an exemplary heat sink device  225  may be such to achieve a lowered center of mass of the heat sink device  225  towards the surface of the device in closest contact with the surface or surfaces on which it is placed. As illustrated in  FIG. 6B , content focused region  19  may also double as a heightened heat transfer area, whereby less material between cooling material and the surrounding media permits greater transference of heat from the media to the cooling material, thereby cooling the surrounding media. 
         [0038]    It may be understood that content focused regions  19  may be used in any of the other embodiments of  FIGS. 1A-G ,  2 A-B,  3 A-B,  4 A-B, and  5 A-B to achieve additional heat transfer benefits. For example, rather than be solid in cross section, fins  10  of any of the aforementioned figures and associated disclosures may be hollow and fillable with cooling material  30 . According to such embodiments, heat transfer from surrounding media through hollow fins  10  to cooling media  30  may be increased by making the fins  10  a content focused region  19  and thereby utilize the high surface area of fins  10  and minimal heat impedance between outer surface  5  and inner surface  20 . 
         [0039]    While several embodiments have referred to conical, spherical, or ovular heat sink devices, those skilled in the art may recognize that an exemplary heat sink device may be a polyhedron or prism with angular faces, e.g., bases without rounding such as in a conical or spherical object. For example, an exemplary heat sink device may be a dodecahedron to allow it to be tilted in a number of manners to achieve adequate positioning in a desired media. Accordingly, a heat sink device may not require a foot  8  or weight focused region  18  or content focused regions  19  to achieve ideal positioning. 
         [0040]    With reference to the illustrative embodiment of  FIG. 7 , an exemplary use of an exemplary heat sink device  300  may be shown diagrammatically. While heat sink device  300  may be illustrated as conical in shape, it should be understood that heat sink device  300  may not only be conical, but spherical, trapezoidal, rectilinear, prismatic, and other such polyhedral shapes with both round and rectilinear cross-sections. The heat sink device  300  may have a cap  15  enclosing a volume  25  in which a cooling material  30  is located. Heat sink device  300  may be placed in holding unit  85 , which may be a basin, pot, or drum, in the same locus as object  50  in a media  75 . 
         [0041]    According to the exemplary diagrammatical representation of heat sink device  300  operation shown in  FIG. 7 , the temperature of media  75  may be such that the temperature of cooling media  30  is substantially lower. To achieve equilibrium, media  75  may transfer heat ( 32 ) through outer surface  5  to inner surface  20  of heat sink device  300  to cooling material  30 . According to this exemplary embodiment, heat sink device  300  may serve to cool media  75 . In conjunction with any of the aforementioned heat transfer efficiencies from use of fins, content focusing regions, and positioning, heat sink device  300  may further cool media  75  at a faster rate. As illustrated in  FIG. 7 , the exemplary heat sink device  300  is tilted at an angle against holding unit  85  to allow its raised end of the base to act as a fin for additional heat transfer from its outer surface  5  to inner surface  20 . 
         [0042]    In another exemplary embodiment illustrated by  FIG. 7 , an object  50  heated by media  75  may also be cooled by use of heat sink device  300 . While heat sink device  300  extracts heat from media  75 , as previously discussed, heat sink device  300  may also cause the heat of object  50  to be extracted by cooling media  75 . Thus, by heat sink device  300  acting as a heat sink for media  75 , media  75 &#39;s reduced temperature may serve to make media  75  a heat sink for the heat of object  50 . In this way, heat sink device  300  may indirectly cool object  50  without having to contact object  50 . 
         [0043]    In one preferred embodiment, an exemplary heat sink device  300  may be a hollow conical structure having a series of non-spiral, uni-circumferential fins about its outer surface  5  with a ceramic cap  15  and a rubber coating for handling. In another preferred embodiment, heat sink device  300  may be placed in boiling water containing an edible product, such as a fruit, vegetable, or animal product. As is known to those skilled in the art, edible products which are present in media having temperatures of between about 140° F. to about 40° F. for about more than four hours may be susceptible to bacteria growth or chemical changes that could adversely affect their edibility. According to this preferred embodiment, an exemplary heat sink device may be inserted into the media so that any edible product which is also present in the media spends as little time in a range of temperatures that may affect its edibility. In one alternative, the exemplary heat sink device may be placed in the media while the media continues to receive heat in order to hold the temperature at relatively lower value. In another alternative, a media that is no longer heated may receive an exemplary heat sink device to expedite the cooling of the media thereafter. In a preferred aspect of either alternative, the exemplary heat sink device may be placed in the media when the media is at a temperature of about 140° F. Accordingly, the heat sink device may rapidly relieve heat from the media so that the temperature of the media transitions from about 140° F. to a minimum achievable temperature, for example, between about 100° F. to about 80° F. In another preferred aspect of either alternative, the same or additional heat sink device may be placed in the media when the media is at a temperature between about 100° F. to about 80° F., to thereafter reduce the temperature in the media to below about 80° F. 
         [0044]    Those skilled in the art may appreciate that one or more exemplary heat sink devices described herein may be used with any of the illustrative embodiments and their alternatives and equivalents. Numerous heat sink devices may be employed to reduce heat at a given time interval or a cascade of heat sink devices may be applied to a medium over a period of time in order that in combination, the heat sink devices may increase the rate of heat withdrawal from the medium. 
         [0045]    The above examples should be considered to be exemplary embodiments, and are in no way limiting of the present invention. Thus, while the description above refers to particular embodiments, all of which are interrelated, it will be understood that many modifications may be made without departing from the spirit thereof.