Patent Document

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS  
       [0001]     This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/202,866, filed on Aug. 12. 2005, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,260,944. 
     
    
     STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT  
       [0002]     N/A  
       COPYRIGHT NOTICE  
       [0003]     A portion of the disclosure of this patent document contains material that is subject to copyright protection. The copyright owner has no objection to the facsimile reproduction by anyone of the patent document or patent disclosure as it appears in the Patent and Trademark Office patent file or records, but otherwise reserves all copyrights rights whatsoever.  
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0004]     1. Field of the Invention  
         [0005]     The present novel invention relates generally to the field of food and beverage containers and to processes for manufacturing such containers with cryogenic high pressure refrigerant cooling apparatus. More specifically the present invention relates to a self-cooling beverage container apparatus containing a beverage or other food product, a method of storing cryogenic gases which then cool said food products, and to methods of assembling and operating the apparatus. The terms “beverage,” “food,” “food products” and “container contents” are considered as equivalent for the purposes of this application and used interchangeably. The term “container” refers to any storage means for a beverage or food product.  
         [0006]     2. Description of the Prior Art  
         [0007]     There have previously been invented many self-cooling apparatus for cooling the contents of a beverage or food container. These apparatus sometimes use flexible and deformable receptacles or rigid receptacle walls to store a refrigerant. The present inventor has invented a variety of such devices and methods of manufacturing these containers. These earlier inventions do not satisfy all the needs of the beverage industry and they do not use cryogenic refrigerants. In fact they are so structurally different from the present invention, that one skilled in the art cannot possibly transcend from the prior art to the present invention, without an inventive process. In an effort to seek a cost effective and functioning apparatus to self-cool a beverage container, the present inventor has done a variety of experiments to arrive at the present novel method. The prior art fails to address the real issues of manufacturing and beverage plant operations that are crucial for the success of a self-cooling beverage container program. All prior art designs fail to show how to incorporate high pressure gases and effectively release them without danger. The problem stems from the extreme high pressure of the suitable cryogenic gases such as carbon dioxide or CO 2 . Many trials and designs have been done to obtain the present configuration of the disclosed receptacle of this invention. No prior art teaches how to manufacture a self-cooling beverage plastic bottle as a simple integrated and manufacturable unit that will conform to the standards of the beverage industry.  
         [0008]     For example prior art teaches how to make high pressure containers made from steel or small diameter tubing. Since such receptacles are generally made from thick-walled metallic materials for containing high pressure, rapid heat transfer is limited and almost impossible. Even with prior designs of co-seamed internal receptacles such as that described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,065,300 to the present inventor the problem was still not solved. Also, the high speed beverage plants require high speed compatible operations for manufacture of an online self-cooling beverage container. For example, prior art designs do not address easy insertion, self-aligning of the receptacle with the container and so on, particularly when the container is a plastic bottle. Further, most prior art relies on a separate un-integrated manufacturing process for the attachment of the receptacle to the container. The prior art differs from the current disclosed invention in that they all require complicated valving for activation of the cooling process. Most use complicated gaskets and expensive attachment means. The present invention does not require a special valving system. Just a few parts that form the receptacle and the attachment means to the bottle suffice to form a self-acting valve based on the opening of the container for consumption.  
         [0009]     This invention is an improvement over prior art and discloses a novel technology for bottles and cans (metal containers) also with the additional aspect of using cryogenic propellant mixtures such as carbon dioxide. The reason for the improvement is that no other technology addresses the high pressure container costs associated with the manufacture of metal containers.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0010]     The present invention accomplishes the above-stated objectives, as well as others, as may be determined by a fair reading and interpretation of the entire specification. For the preferred of several possible embodiments, the apparatus includes a modified conventional beverage or food container such as a plastic bottle or a metal can for containing a product to be consumed. In the first embodiment, the bottle container is an injection-stretch-blown plastic bottle with a conventional unified bottom wall and a cylindrical side wall terminating in a wide threaded open bottle neck. The bottle is cut into two separate parts that can then be thermally sealed together using the refrigerant canister assembly of the present invention. The bottle is laser or knife cut into a top bottle member and a bottom bottle member. The top bottle member consists of an open threaded neck sealingly and contiguously connected to a top bottle member cylindrical wall terminating on a uniform circular bottle cut edge. The bottle bottom member consists of a bottle base dome and walls that are contiguously connected to a series of base protrusions that form a stand for the bottle. The bottle base dome has a central bottle base dome hole. The base protrusions connect contiguously as a unified wall to a bottle base member cylindrical wall that terminates on a uniform circular bottle cut edge.  
         [0011]     A specially designed high pressure refrigerant receptacle assembly comprises of a cylindrical canister member sealing threaded unto a canister cap member. The canister member can be made from a suitable food grade plastic such as glass reinforced polyethylene-teraphthalate (PET) or pure PET. It could also be casted from aluminum of suitable grade. The canister member has contiguously cylindrical wall with a sealed canister base and an open canister threaded neck. The canister member has a through concentric canister central support tube member that fluidly connects the inside of the canister member to the canister top outer surface. The canister central support tube has a closed-off end at the canister open threaded neck end and an open end at the canister base. Further, several thin-walled canister webs connect the canister central support tube member to the inside canister cylindrical wall, so that the canister member is structurally supported against lateral and hoop stresses due to high pressure forces. A small central cylindrical cut on of material is removed from these canister webs to form a rubber sleeve seat for a cylindrical rubber sleeve to seat.  
         [0012]     Further, the canister outer wall has canister hoop support bands for supporting hoop stresses. The canister member also has a canister top cylinder that protrudes from its canister top surface. The canister top cylinder is open ended terminating at a canister top cylinder edge. A small refrigerant port passes through the canister base, off-set from the center of the canister member and terminates at either end on a canister outer seal seat and a canister inner seal seat respectively so that there is fluid communication between the inside of the canister member and the outside of the canister member to form a refrigerant port for the receptacle assembly. The canister outer seal seat and the canister inside seal seat are preferably tapered but could be any shape depending on whether a ball valve or a different topology seal is used on either seal.  
         [0013]     The canister cap member is essentially a cylindrical unit with an open canister cap threaded-end that sealingly mates to the canister member open threaded neck to form a sealed refrigerant receptacle. The canister cap member has a sealing ring member attached to the main canister cap body by a series of small sealing ring support members. The outer surface of the sealing ring member fits slidingly inside the bottom bottle member inner cylindrical wall surface. A central cylindrical canister cap stud protrudes centrally from the outer surface of the canister cap member. A small canister cap stud hole passes through the canister cap stud to make fluid communication between the inside and the outside of the canister cap member. A central cylindrical canister cap sealing sleeve protrudes centrally inside the canister cap member, so that the canister cap stud hole breaks into it. This canister cap sealing sleeve member fits loosely and concentrically around the open end of the canister central tube member and acts as a refrigerant passage way through the assembled receptacle when needed.  
         [0014]     Before the canister member and the canister are sealingly mated, a small inner rubber seal member is inserted to seat on the canister inner seal seat. A cylindrical rubber sleeve is also inserted around the canister cap sealing sleeve. The canister cap member is threaded unto the canister member and the cylindrical rubber sleeve forms a seal between the canister cap sealing sleeve and the canister central support tube. The rubber sleeve seat on the canister webs act as a support seat for the rubber sleeve. Thus, advantageously, the refrigerant passageway formed by the canister central support tube and the canister cap sealing sleeve is not yet in fluid communication with the inside of the canister member. A continuous refrigerant passageway can thus be created right through the assembled receptacle unit by simply puncturing this seal. Advantageously before sealing the canister member and the canister cap member, refrigerant in the form of dry-ice or a liquefied cryogen may then be filled into the canister member before sealing with the canister cap member. This has the advantage of easy charging and handling of the high pressure refrigerant. Alternatively, the unit could be charged with liquefied refrigerant mixtures through the canister cap stud member hole by pumping refrigerant through the rubber sleeve which then acts as a one-way-valve for the refrigerant to enter the receptacle, but not leave the receptacle. Since, the canister central support tube member is closed-off at the enclosed end within the receptacle, no refrigerant will pass through the refrigerant passageway during liquid phase charging. In either case, the inner rubber seal member will seal off the refrigerant port by means of pressure holding it in place against the canister inner seal seat so that no refrigerant can escape from the receptacle assembly.  
         [0015]     An actuation cap member is designed to be slidingly placed over the canister top cylinder member to act as part of an actuation valve system for the unit. The actuation cap member is a cup shaped member with an open-ended cylindrical wall contiguously connected to a top wall.  
         [0016]     An actuation cap protruding stud member protrudes from the inner bottom surface of the actuation cap member. A protruding actuation pin projects centrally from the actuation stud member to form an actuation pin. The top concentric surface of the actuation cap protruding stud member, acts as an actuation cap seal seat for the outer rubber seal member. Before assembling the actuation cap with the assembled receptacle unit, the outer rubber seal is placed by piercing it through the actuation pin and seating said outer rubber seal on the actuation cap seal seat. In case an o-ring is used, no piercing is needed, since the actuation pin can easily passed over the o-ring hole.  
         [0017]     The actuation cap member is slidingly fitted over the canister top cylinder, to form a sealed actuation chamber. At the same time, the actuation pin is also inserted into the refrigerant pin to fit snugly inside it and the outer rubber seal is made to just contact the canister outer seal seat. The outer rubber seal is compressible, but during assembly it is not in a compressed state but just makes contact with the actuation cap seal seat and the canister outer seal seat. The actuation pin just contacts the inner rubber seal.  
         [0018]     In the first embodiment for bottles, the receptacle assembly is then inserted into the open bottom bottle member so that the sealing ring member fits slidingly inside the bottom bottle member inner cylindrical wall surface and the canister cap stud projects sealingly through a bottom base dome hole. The sealing ring member top edge should be at least an eighth of an inch or so below the bottle cut edge. Heat is applied to the bottle base outer cylindrical shrink surface just around the region where the sealing ring member is located while the subassembly is spun. The bottle base shrink inner and outer walls shrink rapidly so that the shrink inner surface clamps sealingly unto the seal ring by compression. The bottle cut edge of the bottle base member forms a heat-shrunk bottle base sealing curl around the canister cap sealing ring member. The bottle top member is then placed so that it bottle cut edge lies approximately an eighth of an inch below the canister cap sealing ring member. Heat is applied while the bottle top member heat shrink outer surface, while the bottle subassembly is spun. Since the material the bottle is made from is an injection stretch-blown material, it will tend to shrink when heat is applied to its enlarged expanded blown diameter. The bottle top shrink inner and outer walls shrink rapidly so that the shrink inner surface clamps sealingly unto the seal ring by compression. The bottle top member cylindrical edge then also forms a bottle top sealing curl over the bottom of the canister cap member sealing ring member.  
         [0019]     This way, the receptacle assembly is sealing attached to the bottle top member and the bottle bottom member forming a contiguously sealed beverage bottle.  
         [0020]     The completed bottle assembly is similar in shape and size to conventional plastic beverage bottles, but with the receptacle assembled within it.  
         [0021]     The original bottle is preferably made from a suitable plastic material such as Polyethylene-Teraphthalate, (PET) that can be injection-stretch-blown, so that it is a heat shrinkable material. However, it could also be injection molded and put together using a shrink sleeve band. Thus, the assembly can handle a tremendous amount of pressure stresses.  
         [0022]     The high pressure receptacle is designed to store high pressure liquefied cryogenic gases, such as carbon-dioxide, mixtures of aerosol propellants and carbon-dioxide, or a matrix held aerosol propellants with smell ingredients such as a combination of CO 2  and carbon atoms. The refrigerant used for the cooling process may be designed as a slurry of an activated carbon matrix with CO 2  gas trapped inside the matrix.  
         [0023]     The apparatus further comprises a conventional bottle cap for sealing off the beverage products after being filled.  
         [0024]     The bottle assembly is then filled with carbonated product and then the bottle cap fitted to bottle top member open threaded end to seal off the product. The finished apparatus is then stored for later use or sale. During storage, carbonation pressure slowly compresses the actuation cap member because the sealed actuation chamber formed between the actuation cap member and the canister top cylinder is at atmospheric pressure due to the refrigerant passageway through the receptacle and through the canister cap stud hole. As carbonation pressure builds up, the actuation cap member slowly compresses the outer rubber seal forming a hermetic seal with the canister outer seal seat. Since the actuation cap member experiences a lot more force from carbonation pressure due to its larger surface area than the canister inner seal experiences from the refrigerant pressure, it compresses the outer rubber seal and forms a better seal between the outer rubber seal and the canister outer seal seat, so that slight leaks between the canister inner seal seat and the inner rubber seal will progressively make the inner rubber seal lose its effective pressure differential with the atmosphere and then it will fall away from the canister inner seal seat and drop to the bottom of the receptacle assembly by gravity. Since it will be deformed by the original acting pressure force of the refrigerant, it will not readily form a seal within the receptacle if it should again come into contact with the canister inner seal seat.  
         [0025]     When a consumer opens the beverage bottle, carbon pressure is released and the actuation cap member loses its holding force against the outer rubber seal. The outer rubber seal is pushed away from the canister outer seal seat and the refrigerant escapes from the receptacle into the actuation chamber. The actuation cap member is pushed upward slightly by pressure and the refrigerant is free to evaporate and remove heat from the beverage by expanding to the atmosphere through the refrigerant passage way at the center of the canister central support tube.  
         [0026]     In the case of a metal container, a cylindrical can is provided with a unified bottom dome and a top in the manner of a classic beverage container. A hole is made through the center of the dome to snugly hold the canister cap central stud member. The canister cap domed outer surface is designed to smoothly match the diameter and shape of the dome of the container. A Food and Drug Administration approved glue could be used to bond the receptacle to the container dome, but in general, the snug fitting of the canister cap stud and the container dome hole is enough, since after assembly, pressure from the carbonated product will firmly hold the canister cap domed outer surface to the container dome. After assembly, the container is filled with carbonated beverage and then sealed off with a conventional lid with an opening means.  
         [0027]     The finished apparatus is then stored for later use or sale. During storage, carbonation pressure slowly compresses the actuation cap member because the sealed actuation chamber formed between the actuation cap member and the canister top cylinder is at atmospheric pressure due to the refrigerant passageway through the receptacle and through the canister cap stud hole. As carbonation pressure builds up, the actuation cap member slowly compresses the outer rubber seal forming a hermetic seal with the canister outer seal seat. Since the actuation cap member experiences a lot more force from carbonation pressure due to its larger surface area than the canister inner seal experiences from the refrigerant pressure, it compresses the outer rubber seal and forms a better seal between the outer rubber seal and the canister outer seal seat, so that slight leaks between the canister inner seal seat and the inner rubber seal will progressively make the inner rubber seal loose its effective pressure differential with the atmosphere and then it will fall away from the canister inner seal seat and drop to the bottom of the receptacle assembly by gravity. Since it will be deformed by the original acting pressure force of the refrigerant, it will not readily form a seal within the receptacle if it should again come into contact with the canister inner seal seat.  
         [0028]     Again, as in the previous embodiment, when a consumer opens the beverage container by using the container opening means, carbon pressure is released from the container and the actuation cap member looses its holding force against the outer rubber seal. The outer rubber seal is pushed away from the canister outer seal seat and the refrigerant escapes from the receptacle into the actuation chamber. The actuation cap member is pushed upward slightly by pressure and the refrigerant is free to evaporate and remove heat from the beverage by expanding to the atmosphere through the refrigerant passage way at the center of the canister central support tube.  
         [0029]     A self-cooling container apparatus is further provided for retaining container contents such as food or beverages; and a container contents release mechanism for releasing the container contents from the container and also for effectuating the release of liquefied gas stored in a high pressure receptacle.  
         [0030]     It is an objective of this invention to disclose a novel high pressure receptacle for storing cryogenic fluids for use in self-cooling beverage containers.  
         [0031]     It is an objective of this disclosure to reveal a novel method of activating a high pressure receptacle using carbonation pressure.  
         [0032]     It is a further objective of this disclosure to reveal a method of assembling a high pressure cryogenic receptacle into a plastic beverage bottle with a conventional neck finish and into a metal can with a conventional lid without the need for expensive threaded parts.  
         [0033]     It is a further objective of this invention to disclose a novel method of coupling two parts of a plastic bottle to form a contiguous container by means of heat shrinking surfaces said two parts over a sealing ring. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0034]     Various other objects, advantages, and features of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the following discussion taken in conjunction with the following drawings, in which:  
         [0035]      FIG. 1  shows the beverage container assembly according to the preferred embodiment of this invention;  
         [0036]      FIG. 2  shows the beverage container assembly according to the preferred embodiment of this invention with a special time release cap opened;  
         [0037]      FIG. 3  shows the beverage container assembly according to the preferred embodiment of this invention with the bottle separated from the bottle cap, and the time release cap;  
         [0038]      FIG. 4  shows the high pressure receptacle assembly with the sleeve and high pressure receptacle, held to the grove of the bottle cap by the actuation cap;  
         [0039]      FIG. 5  shows some details of the canister cap member;  
         [0040]      FIG. 6  shows the canister of the present invention;  
         [0041]      FIG. 7  shows details of the canister of the present invention;  
         [0042]      FIG. 8  shows the canister and the canister cap in an assembly posture;  
         [0043]      FIG. 9  shows the high pressure receptacle assembly;  
         [0044]      FIG. 10  shows the actuation cap and the actuator pin;  
         [0045]      FIG. 11  shows the actuation cap and its external structure;  
         [0046]      FIG. 12  shows the actuation cap and its internal structure with the canister outer seal being positioned;  
         [0047]      FIG. 13  shows the actuation cap and the canister outer seal assembled;  
         [0048]      FIG. 14  shows the actuation cap member being assembled unto the receptacle assembly;  
         [0049]      FIG. 15  shows the receptacle assembly being attached to the bottle bottom part;  
         [0050]      FIG. 16  shows the receptacle assembly attached to the bottle bottom part by heat shrinking the bottle surface;  
         [0051]      FIG. 17  shows the structure of the bottle bottom part and the canister cap member stud protruding through it;  
         [0052]      FIG. 18  shows the two parts of the bottle being assembled;  
         [0053]      FIG. 19  shows a completed assembly of the bottle parts and the receptacle within it;  
         [0054]      FIG. 20  shows the apparatus filled with product and being sealed with a threaded cap member;  
         [0055]      FIG. 21  shows a cut-away view of the assembly and the beverage pressure forces acting on the canister cap member;  
         [0056]      FIG. 22  shows the beverage pressure being released by the consumer opening the cap and the refrigerant pressure pushing the actuation cap and an exploded view of the time release bottle cap with the serrated expandable dome and the threaded cap body;  
         [0057]      FIG. 23  shows beverage bottle apparatus with the refrigerant passing to atmosphere and cooling the beverage;  
         [0058]      FIG. 24  shows the completed receptacle being assembled into the metal container;  
         [0059]      FIG. 25  shows a cut-away view of the metal container with the receptacle attached to the base dome and the canister cap stud passing through the can dome hole;  
         [0060]      FIG. 26  shows a cut away view of the metal can with lid opening means opened for consumption and the receptacle assembly cooling the beverage contents;  
         [0061]      FIG. 27  shows the bottle top part and the bottle bottom part as injection molded versions, and a heat shrinkable band used to sealingly assemble the two parts together after assembly of the receptacle member;  
         [0062]      FIG. 28  shows details of the canister valves and their functional aspects;  
         [0063]      FIG. 29  shows the rubber sleeve valve in a sealed position;  
         [0064]      FIG. 30  shows the rubber seal valve opened by refrigerant being pumped through it;  
         [0065]      FIG. 31  is a perspective view of a plastic container adapted with an alternate embodiment cryogenic apparatus in accordance with the present invention;  
         [0066]      FIG. 32  is a perspective view thereof with a portion of the plastic container cut-away;  
         [0067]      FIG. 33  is a perspective view of the alternate embodiment cryogenic apparatus;  
         [0068]      FIG. 34  is perspective view of cartridge for use therewith;  
         [0069]      FIG. 35  is an exploded perspective view thereof;  
         [0070]      FIG. 36  is a partial side sectional view thereof;  
         [0071]      FIG. 37  is a side sectional view thereof;  
         [0072]      FIG. 38  is a perspective view of a retaining cap for use therewith;  
         [0073]      FIG. 39  is a perspective sectional view of the cryogenic gas release cap for use therewith; and  
         [0074]      FIG. 40  is a side view of a gas escape valve for use therewith.  
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
       [0075]     Referring initially to  FIGS. 1-30 , the preferred of several possible embodiments is disclosed. More particularly, apparatus  10  is a conventional beverage or food container such as a plastic bottle  100  or metal container  143  for containing product  141  to be consumed. In the first embodiment, the bottle container is an injection-stretch-blown plastic bottle  100  with a conventional unified bottom dome  110  and a cylindrical side wall  155  terminating in an open bottle threaded neck  101 . The bottle  100  is cut into two separate parts a bottle top member  10   a  and a bottle bottom member  10   b,  that can then be thermally sealed together using the refrigerant receptacle assembly  60  of the present invention. The bottle  100  is laser or knife cut into a bottle top member  10   a  and a bottle bottom member  10   b.  Alternately, either part can be injection molded from a suitable plastic material, so long as one of the bottle parts is made from a suitable heat shrinkable material. If the bottle top member  10   a,  and the bottle bottom member  10   b  are injection molded, then a heat shrink sleeve made from suitable plastic material can be used to fuse the two parts together later.  
         [0076]     The bottle top member  10   a  consists of an open threaded neck  101  sealingly and contiguously connected to the cut portion of the bottle cylindrical side wall  106   a  which now terminates on a uniform circular bottle cut edge  104   a.  The bottle bottom member  10   b  consists of a bottle base dome  110  and bottle side wall  106   b  that are contiguously connected to a series of base protrusions  107  that form a stand for the bottle  100 . The bottle base dome  110  has a central bottle base dome hole  109 . The bottle base protrusions  107  connect contiguously as a unified wall  102  to a bottle bottom member cylindrical wall  106   b  that terminates on a uniform circular bottle cut edge  104   b.    
         [0077]     A specially designed high pressure refrigerant receptacle assembly  60  comprises of a cylindrical canister member  40  threaded sealingly unto a canister cap member  30 . The canister member can be made from a suitable food grade plastic such as glass reinforced PET or pure PET. It could also be casted from aluminum of suitable grade. The canister member  40  has contiguously cylindrical wall  121  with a sealed canister base  124  and an open canister threaded neck  123   b.  The cylindrical canister member  40  has a through concentric canister central support tube  126  that fluidly connects the inside  160  of the canister member  40  to the canister top outer surface  118 . The canister central support tube  126  has a closed-off end  163  at the canister open threaded neck  123 b end and an open end  158  at the canister base  124   b.  Further, several thin-walled canister webs  125  connect the canister central support tube  126  to the inside canister cylindrical wall  154 , so that the canister member  40  is structurally supported against lateral and hoop stresses due to high pressure forces. A small central cylindrical cut  160  on of material is removed from these canister webs  125  to form a rubber sleeve seat  158  for a cylindrical rubber sleeve  149  to seat.  
         [0078]     Further, the canister outer wall  121  has canister hoop support bands  122  for supporting hoop stresses. The canister member  40  also has a canister top cylinder  118  that protrudes from its canister base  124 . The canister top cylinder  118  is open ended terminating at a canister top cylinder edge  151 . A small refrigerant port  119  passes through the canister base  124 , off-set from the center of the canister member  40  and terminates at either end on a canister outer seal seat  153  and a canister inner seal seat  152  respectively so that there is fluid communication between the inside  160  of the canister member  40  and the outside of the canister member  40  to form a refrigerant port  119  for the receptacle assembly  60 . The canister outer seal seat  153  and the canister inner seal seat  152  are preferably tapered but could be any shape depending on whether a ball valve or a different topology seal is used on either seal.  
         [0079]     The canister cap member  30  is essentially a cylindrical unit with an open canister cap threaded-end  123   a  that sealingly mates to the canister member  40  open threaded neck  123   b  to form a sealed refrigerant receptacle assembly  60 . The canister cap member  30  has a sealing ring member  113  attached to the main canister cap body by a series of small sealing ring support members  115 . The gaps between the sealing ring support members  115  forms contents passageways  114  for the beverage or food product  141 . The outer surface of the sealing ring member  113  fits slidingly inside the bottom bottle member inner cylindrical wall surface  105 . A central cylindrical canister cap stud  111  protrudes centrally from the outer surface  137  of the canister cap member  30 . A small canister cap stud hole  116  passes through the canister cap stud  111  to make fluid communication between the inside  160  and the outside of the canister cap member  30 . A central cylindrical canister cap sealing sleeve  150  protrudes centrally in the inside  160  the canister cap member  30 , so that the canister cap stud hole  116  breaks into it. The canister cap sealing sleeve  150  fits loosely and concentrically around the closed-off end  163  of the canister central tube member  126  and acts as a refrigerant passage way  117  through the assembled receptacle assembly  60  when needed.  
         [0080]     Before the canister member  40  and the canister cap member  30  are sealingly mated, a small inner rubber seal member  149  is inserted to seal on the canister inner seal seat  152 . A cylindrical rubber sleeve  149  is also inserted around the canister cap sealing sleeve  150 . The canister cap member is threaded unto the canister member  40  and the cylindrical rubber sleeve  149  forms a seal between the canister cap sealing sleeve and the canister central support tube  126 . The rubber sleeve seat  158  on the canister webs  125  act as a support seat for the rubber sleeve  149 . Thus, advantageously, the refrigerant passageway  117  formed by the canister central support tube  126  and the canister cap sealing sleeve  150  is not yet in fluid communication with the inside  160  of the canister member  40 . A continuous refrigerant passageway  117  can thus be created right through the assembled receptacle  60  unit by simply puncturing this seal. Advantageously before sealing the canister member  40  and the canister cap member  30 , refrigerant R in the form of dry-ice or a liquefied cryogen may then be filled into the canister member  40  before sealing with the canister cap member  30 . This has the advantage of easy charging and handling of the high pressure refrigerant. Alternatively, the unit could be charged with liquefied refrigerant mixture R through the canister cap stud member hole  116  by pumping refrigerant mixture R to pass through the rubber sleeve  149  which then acts as a one-way-valve for the refrigerant R to enter the receptacle assembly  60  through refrigerant passageway  117 , but not exit from the receptacle assembly  60 . Rubber sleeve  149  clamps tightly around the canister central support tube  126  and the canister cap sealing sleeve  150  so that refrigerant can expand the rubber sleeve  149  and pass into the receptacle assembly will compresses it and seals it shut again. Since, the canister central support tube  126  member has a central tube closed-off end  163  within the receptacle assembly  60 , no refrigerant will pass through the refrigerant passageway  120  to the outside of the apparatus or into the actuation chamber  142  during liquid phase refrigerant R charging. In either case, the canister inner seal  161  will seal-off the refrigerant port  119  by means of pressure holding it in place against the canister inner seal seat  152  so that no refrigerant can escape from the receptacle assembly  60 .  
         [0081]     If the refrigerant is in the form of dry-ice, or cryogenic liquid that can be poured into the canister member  40  before sealing said canister member with canister cap member  30 , then the central tube closed-off end  163  should first be drilled open so that there is fluid communication between the atmosphere and the actuation chamber  142 . In this case the refrigerant will be trapped inside  160  of the canister member  40 , since the rubber sleeve  149  and the canister inner seal  161  are in place.  
         [0082]     An actuation cap member  50  is designed to be slidingly placed over the canister top cylinder  118  to act as part of an actuation valve system for the unit. The actuation cap member  50  is a cup shaped member with an open-ended cylindrical wall  129  contiguously connected to a top wall  127 . Top wall  127  is reinforced with ribs  128  to make it flex less under pressure.  
         [0083]     An actuation cap protruding stud member  133  protrudes from the inner bottom surface  132  of the actuation cap member  50 . A stepped stud member  135  acts a s a shaft sealing surface. A protruding actuation pin  130  projects centrally from the actuation stud member  135 . The top concentric surface of the actuation cap protruding stud member  135 , acts as an actuation cap seal seat  134  for the canister outer seal  136 . Before assembling the actuation cap member  50  with receptacle assembly  60 , the canister outer seal  136  is placed by piercing it using the actuation pin  130  and seating said canister outer seal  136  on the actuation cap seal seat  134 . In case an o-ring is used, no piercing is needed, since the actuation pin  130  can easily passed over the o-ring hole. Preferably, canister outer seal  136  is a rubber ball of small diameter.  
         [0084]     The inside surface  128  of actuation cap member  50  is slidingly and sealing fitted over the canister top cylinder  118 , to form a sealed actuation chamber  142 . At the same time, the actuation pin  130  is also inserted into the refrigerant port  119  to fit snugly inside it and the canister outer seal  136  is made to just contact the canister outer seal seat  153 . The canister outer seal  136  is compressible but during assembly it is not in a compressed state but just makes contact with the actuation cap seal seat and the canister outer seal seat  153 . The actuation pin  130  just contacts the canister inner seal  161 .  
         [0085]     In the first embodiment for bottles, the receptacle assembly  60  is inserted into the open bottom bottle member  10   b  so that the sealing ring member  113  fits slidingly inside the bottle bottom member  10   b  inner cylindrical wall surface  105  and the canister cap stud  111  projects sealingly through a bottom base dome hole. The sealing ring member top edge  113   a  should be at least an eighth of an inch or so below the bottle bottom member cut edge  104   b.  Heat is applied to the bottle bottom member cylindrical wall  106   b  just around the region where the sealing ring member  113  is located inside the bottle bottom member  10   b  while the subassembly  70  is spun for uniform heat distribution. The bottle bottom member cylindrical wall  106   b  shrinks rapidly so that the bottle bottom member  10   b  inner cylindrical wall surface  105  clamps sealingly unto the sealing ring member cylindrical surface  113   c  by compression. The bottle cut edge  104  of the bottle bottom member  10   b  forms a heat-shrunk bottle base sealing curl  139  around the canister cap sealing ring member top edge  113   a.  The bottle bottom member cylindrical wall  106   b  also form a sealing curl around the sealing ring member bottom edge  113   b.  The bottle top member  10   a  is then placed so that it slides over the shrunk bottle bottom member cylindrical wall  106   b.  The bottle top member cut edge  104   a  lies approximately an eighth of an inch below the sealing ring member bottom edge  113   b.  Heat is applied to the heat shrinkable region around the area of the sealing ring member  113  whilst the assembly  10  is spun. Since the material the bottle is made from is an injection stretch-blown material, it will tend to shrink when heat is applied to its enlarged expanded blown diameter. The bottle top member cylindrical wall  106   a  shrink rapidly so that it clamps sealingly unto the combined shrink surfaces of the bottle bottom member  10   b  and the sealing ring member  113 . The bottle top member cut edge  104   a  then also forms a bottle top sealing curl  140  over the bottom sealing ring member bottom edge  113   b  of the canister cap member sealing ring member  113 . This way, the receptacle assembly  60  is sealing attached to the bottle top member  10   a  and the bottle bottom member  10   b  forming a contiguously sealed beverage bottle assembly  10 . The completed bottle assembly  10  is similar in shape and size to conventional plastic beverage bottles, but with the receptacle assembly  60  within it.  
         [0086]     The original bottle  100  is preferably injection-stretch-blown material such as from a Polyethylene-Teraphthalate, (PET) so that it is a heat shrinkable material. However, it could also be made from two injection molded parts that are fused together by means of a heat shrink sleeve  162 . Thus, the assembly  10  can handle a tremendous amount of carbonation pressure stresses.  
         [0087]     The high pressure receptacle  60  is designed to store high pressure liquefied cryogenic gases, such as carbon-dioxide, mixtures of aerosol propellants and carbon-dioxide, or a matrix held aerosol propellants with smell ingredients such as a combination of CO2 and carbon atoms. The refrigerant R used for the cooling process may be designed as a slurry of an activated carbon matrix with CO 2  gas trapped inside the matrix.  
         [0088]     In the case when both the bottle bottom member  10   b,  and the bottle top member  10   a  are injection molded from a suitable plastic material, a heat shrink sleeve  162  can be used to fuse the two bottle parts together as shown in  FIG. 27 . Also, the canister member  40  and canister cap member  30  need not be made with threads. After following the method of assembly for which the canister inner seal  161  is inserted into the canister inner seal seat  152 , the canister member  40  and the canister cap member  30  can be fused together by means of over-molding or gluing with a chemical bonding agent. One skilled in the art will recognize that there are many ways, shapes and forms to make the bottle parts and the canister parts to achieve the aim of this invention without loss of generality.  
         [0089]     The apparatus further comprises a conventional bottle cap  80  for sealing off the beverage product  141  after being filled.  
         [0090]     The apparatus  10  is then filled with carbonated product  141  and then the bottle cap  80  fitted to bottle top member  10   a  open threaded end to seal off the product  141 . The finished apparatus is then stored for later use or sale. During storage, carbonation pressure slowly compresses the actuation cap member  50  because the sealed actuation chamber  142  formed between the actuation cap member  50  and the canister top cylinder  118  is at atmospheric pressure due to the refrigerant passageway through the receptacle assembly  60  and through the canister cap stud  111  hole. As carbonation pressure builds up, the actuation cap member  50  slowly compresses the canister outer seal  136  forming a hermetic seal with the canister outer seal seat  153 . Since the actuation cap member  50  experiences more force from carbonation pressure P bev , due to its larger surface area than the canister inner seal  161  experiences from the refrigerant R pressure, it compresses the canister outer seal  136  and forms a better seal between the canister outer seal  136  and the canister outer seal seat  153 , so that slight leaks of refrigerant R between the canister inner seal seat  152  and the canister inner seal  161  will progressively make the canister inner seal  161  loose its effective pressure differential P A  with the atmosphere and then it will fall away from the canister inner seal seat  152  and drop to the bottom of the receptacle assembly  60  by means of gravity. Since the canister inner seal  161  will be deformed by the original acting pressure force of the refrigerant P bev , it will not readily form a seal within the receptacle should it again come into contact with the canister inner seal seat  152 .  
         [0091]     One will find that the only way for refrigerant R to pass from the inside  160  of the canister  40  to the atmosphere is through refrigerant port  119 . This port is blocked off by the canister outer seal  136  which in turn must be held in place by the pressure force acting on the canister actuation cap member  50 . In the case when the refrigerant R charge must be done in liquefied form after the apparatus  10  is fully assembled, one must wait for the complete apparatus  10  to be assembled so that carbonation pressure within the apparatus  10  can seal the canister outer seal  136  against the canister outer seal seat  153  before charging to prevent refrigerant from flowing through the actuation chamber.  
         [0092]     In this case when one must charge after the beverage filling process, (as in the case of high temperature filling), one must first wait for enough carbonation pressure to build up on the inside of the apparatus so that the canister outer seal  136  seats firmly against the canister outer seal seat  153  to block off this passageway. Then, one charges refrigerant R through the canister cap stud hole  116  and after completion of charging, one drills through the closed-off end  163  of canister central support tube  126  to create fluid communication between the actuation chamber  142  and atmosphere.  
         [0093]     Advantageously, since for fermentation and bacterial removal, beer, juices and other food products are made at relatively high temperatures compared to chilled carbonated sodas, these high temperatures will be detrimental to a cryogenic liquefied gas. Then, the cryogen is charged through the canister cap stud hole  116  into the apparatus  10  after the complete apparatus  10  has been assembled and filled with beverage contents and has cooled down. This way, the apparatus  10  and its contents can first cool down to a suitable temperature, so that the cryogenic refrigerant can be easily charged in liquefied form through the canister cap stud-hole  116 . The carbonation pressure is then in place to keep canister outer seal  136  in the sealing position.  
         [0094]     Thus the apparatus can be used for beers and sodas, and can be charged before or after the beverage filling process. This also gives the advantage of programming the processes of transportation and supply of the apparatus as either a pre-filled cryogenic receptacle, or an empty receptacle. For example some small beverage companies require no part in the charging process of the refrigerant, so that a pre-filled apparatus can be supplied to them for simple beverage filling in a conventional beverage filling plant. Alternatively, the apparatus could be supplied empty to a beer filling plant, so that the beer is first filled and then the refrigerant is charged at a place where the beverages bottles will be sold. For this instance, a savings in transportation could be deemed of essential value if the cryogenic weight is subtracted. Further, the apparatus could be charged only when needed, to prevent long term loss of ingredients.  
         [0095]     When a consumer opens the beverage container by using unscrewing the lid member  80 , carbonation pressure P bev  is released from the apparatus  10  to atmospheric pressure P A  and the actuation cap member  50  looses its holding force against the canister outer seal  136 . The canister outer seal  136  is pushed away from the canister outer seal seat  153  by the refrigerant R pressure P ref , and the refrigerant R escapes from the receptacle assembly  60  into the actuation chamber  142 . The actuation cap member  50  is pushed upward slightly by pressure P ref  of the refrigerant R gas, and the liquefied refrigerant R stored in the form of a cryogenic fluid in the receptacle assembly  60  is now free to evaporate and remove heat from the beverage contents  141  by expanding to the atmosphere through the refrigerant passage way  119  at the center of the canister central support tube  126 , and then through the refrigerant port  116  to the atmosphere.  
         [0096]     In the case of a metal container, cylindrical can  143  is provided with a unified bottom dome  145  and a top sealing rim  146  in the manner of a classic beverage container. A hole  144  is made through the center of the dome  145  to snugly hold the canister cap central stud member. The canister cap domed outer surface is designed to smoothly match the diameter and shape of the dome of the container. A Food and Drug Administration approved glue could be used to bond the receptacle to the container dome, but in general, the snug fitting of the canister cap stud  111  and the container dome hole is enough, since after assembly, pressure from the carbonated product  141  will firmly hold the canister cap domed outer surface to the container dome. After assembling, the container is filled with carbonated beverage and then sealed off with a conventional lid with an opening means.  
         [0097]     The finished apparatus is then stored for later use or sale. During storage, carbonation pressure slowly compresses the actuation cap member  50  because the sealed actuation chamber  142  formed between the actuation cap member  50  and the canister top cylinder  118  is at atmospheric pressure due to the refrigerant passage way  120  through the receptacle and through the canister cap stud hole  116 . As carbonation pressure builds up, the actuation cap member  50  slowly compresses the canister outer seal  136  forming a hermetic seal with the canister outer seal seat  153 . Since the actuation cap member  50  experiences a lot more force from carbonation pressure due to its larger surface area than the canister inner seal  161  experiences from the refrigerant pressure, it compresses the canister outer seal  136  and forms a better seal between the canister outer seal seat  153  so that slight leaks between the canister inner seal seat  152  and the inner rubber seal will progressively make the inner rubber seal loose its effective pressure differential with the atmosphere and then it will fall away from the canister inner seal seat  152  and drop to the bottom of the receptacle assembly  60  by gravity. Since it will be deformed by the original acting pressure force of the refrigerant, it will not readily form a seal within the receptacle if it should again come into contact with the canister inner seal seat  152 .  
         [0098]     Again, as in the previous embodiment, when a consumer opens the beverage container by using the container opening means, carbonation pressure P bev  is released from the metal container to atmospheric pressure P A  and the actuation cap member  50  looses its holding force against the canister outer seal  136 . The canister outer seal  136  is pushed away from the canister outer seal seat  153  by the refrigerant R pressure P ref  and the refrigerant R escapes from the receptacle assembly  60  into the actuation chamber  142 . The actuation cap member  50  is pushed upward slightly by pressure P ref  of the refrigerant R gas, and the liquefied stored in the form of a cryogenic refrigerant R in the receptacle assembly  60  is now free to evaporate and remove heat from the beverage contents  141  by expanding to the atmosphere through the refrigerant passage way  120  at the center of the canister central support tube  126 , and then through the refrigerant port  116  to the atmosphere.  
         [0099]     In the case when the container contents  141  is not carbonated as in the case of water, a slight charge of nitrogen can be added to maintain a holding pressure P bev . Then the same process applies for either metal cans or plastic bottles.  
         [0100]     A self-cooling container apparatus is further provided for retaining container contents such as food or beverages; and a container contents release mechanism for releasing the container contents from the container and also for effectuating the release of liquefied gas stored in a high pressure receptacle.  
       A. Alternate Embodiment  
       [0101]      FIGS. 31-40  depict an alternate embodiment of a cryogenic apparatus for chilling food products, such as a beverage contained within a beverage container  200 . Beverage container  200  may comprise a conventional beverage or food container such as a plastic bottle or metal container for containing product to be consumed. Beverage container  200  may be fabricated from any suitable manufacturing process, including those disclosed herein above.  
         [0102]     As seen in  FIGS. 31 and 32 , beverage container  200  comprises a plastic bottle having a bottom  202 , and a side wall  204  terminating in an open top portion  206  having a an externally threaded neck  208  for mating engagement with an internally threaded cap  210 . At least one, and preferably a plurality, of high pressure refrigerant cylinders, referenced as  220  are inserted through open top portion  206  and neck  208  and received within beverage container  200 . This embodiment will be disclosed as using three such cylinders, however, it is noted that any suitable cylinder number is considered within the scope of the present invention. Each cylinder  220  is sized for insertion through neck  208  thereby allowing insertion into a plastic bottle manufactured in accordance with conventional manufacturing techniques. As discussed in more detail below, cylinders  220  are automatically activated to cause chilling of the food product contained withint container  20  upon removal of cap  210  and exposure of the cylinders to atmospheric pressure.  
         [0103]     As best seen in  FIGS. 35, 36 , and  37 , each cylinder  220  comprises a high pressure refrigerant receptacle assembly including a cylinder body  222  having an open end  224  with internal threads  226 . A refrigerant metering device  230  having a generally cylindrical lower end  232  adapted with external threads  234  is in threaded engagement with the open end  224  of cylinder body  222 , and an upper end  233 . Metering device  230  may further include an O-ring  236  received within a peripheral groove  238  defined on the lower end  232  of metering device  230 . Metering device further includes an axial aperture extending completely therertherough, which aperture is defined by an inner wall that converges from the lower end  232  to the upper end  233  to define an outlet. Metering device  230  may further include an elongate capillary tube  239  received within the axial aperture formed therein.  
         [0104]     A cap  240  is axially received in covering relation with the upper end  233  of metering device  230  and functions as an actuation valve as more fully discussed herein. Cap  240  includes a top end  241 , and an open bottom end  242  sized for insertion over the upper end  233  of metering device  230  and adapted to be secured relative thereto by press fit, or any other suitable securing means. Cap  240  further includes a mid-portion defining an accordion-type bellows  243  to allow for axial expansion of cap  240 . The top end portion  241  of cap  240  includes a first aperture  244  leading to an inverted V-shaped notch  245  and a spherical sealing member  246  sized for removable reception within notch  245 . V-shaped notch  245  and sealing member  246  function as a charging check valve to allow gas under pressure to enter cap  240  via aperture  244  while preventing gas therein from escaping when the pressure within the cap exceeds the pressure outside the cap thereby charging the apparatus with a positive pressure (e.g. pressure greater than atmospheric). Cap  240  further includes a generally cylindrical recess  247  sized for removably receiving the end of capillary tube  239 . Finally, cap  240  includes a radially offset, axially projecting tubular member  248  defining an axial opening  249  that places the interior of cap  240  in fluid communication with the exterior space.  
         [0105]     As noted above, a plurality of high pressure refrigerant cylinders  220  may be inserted into bottle  200  through neck  206 .  FIG. 32  illustrates a configuration wherein three cylinders, referenced as  220   a,    220   b,  and  220   c,  are disposed within bottle  200 . A retaining insert  250  is placed within the neck  206  of bottle  200 . As best seen in  FIG. 38 , retaining insert  250  comprises a generally hollow, open ended body having a generally cylindrical wall  252  having a plurality of longitudinally aligned smaller cylindrical wall structures, referenced as  254 , defined in peripheral proximity to wall  252 . Cylindrical wall structures  254  are sized for receiving a projecting tubular end member  248  projecting from cap  240  when operatively installed in a bottle  200  as depicted in  FIGS. 32 and 33 .  
         [0106]     In accordance with this embodiment, cryogenic cylinders  220  function to chill the beverage (or other food product) within container  200  as follows. First three cylinders  220   a,    220   b,  and  220   c,  are charged with refrigerant. As noted above, any suitable cylinder number is considered within the scope of the present invention. In a preferred embodiment, the refrigerant comprises compressed CO 2 . The pressure within each cylinder is referred to as P ref . Cylinders  220  are preferably pre-charged with compressed gas and assembled with metering device  230  and cap  240  installed in operative engagement. In that regard, it is noted that cap  240  is configurable from a first configuration wherein cap  240  is disposed in a longitudinally compact configuration whereby the projecting end of capillary tube  239  is sealingly received within cylindrical recess  247  so as to prevent the compressed gas from prematurely escaping. As should be apparent, cap  240  is capable of being configured in a longitudinally expanded configuration wherein the end of capillary tube  239  is uncovered thereby placing the compressed gas contents of cylinder  222  in fluid communication with the surrounding atmosphere via the interior of cap  240  and tubular member  248  via axial opening  249  as shown in  FIG. 37 .  
         [0107]     Once inserted within bottle  200 , pre-charged cylinders are secured therein by insertion of retaining insert  250  within neck  206  of bottle  200 . More particularly, axially projecting tubular member  248  of each cylinder cap  240  is received within cylindrical wall structures  254  of retaining insert  250  such that each cylinder cap  240  is capable of axial movement from the longitudinally compact configuration shown in  FIG. 36  to the longitudinally expanded configuration shown in  FIG. 37 . Cap  240  is initially maintained in the longitudinally compact configuration by press fit engagement between cap  240  and metering device  230  due in part to the relatively small surface area of cap  240  exposed to P ref  (pressure of the compressed gas) via capillary tube  239  received within recess  245 .  
         [0108]     The cryogenic apparatus is then charged to an activatable state when carbonated beverage is placed in bottle  200  and cap  210  is affixed thereby placing the contents of the container under a positive pressure (e.g. above atmospheric pressure). More particularly, the positive pressure within the container, referred to herein as P bev , dislodges sealing member  246  to allow gas at P bev  to enter cap  240  via aperture  244  thereby placing the internal volume bounded by cap  240  to a pressure equal to P bev  (e.g. above atmospheric) while the cap remains in the longitudinally compact configuration.  
         [0109]     Once bottle  200  is opened by the user pressure is released and the pressure within the bottle drops from Pbev to atmospheric (P A ). As a result, the elevated P bev  pressure within cap  240  forces cap  240  into the longitudinally expanded configuration shown in  FIG. 37  thereby allowing compressed gas (or liquid) to expand and escape to the atmosphere from cylinder  222  via metering device  230  (and/or capillary tube  239  if used) and tubular member  248  via axial opening  249  as shown in  FIG. 37 . Meanwhile cap  240  is retained within bottle  200  by retaining insert  250 . The expanding gas results in a temperature drop within cylinder  222  that allows for heat to be absorbed from the contents of the container thereby chilling the contents.  
         [0110]     The instant invention has been shown and described herein in what is considered to be the most practical and preferred embodiment. It is recognized, however, that departures may be made therefrom within the scope of the invention and that obvious modifications will occur to a person skilled in the art.

Technology Category: f