Methods and apparatus for cooling liquids in portable containers

Abstract

An assembly for cooling a liquid inside a portable container. According to some implementations the portable container has a heat exchanger disposed therein with a cooling medium cartridge at least partially surround by the heat exchanger. According to other implementations a rechargeable cooling medium cartridge may be attached to an end of the portable container with an exhaust port of the rechargeable cartridge being in fluid communication with an inlet to a heat exchanger disposed inside the portable container.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A cooling apparatus comprising:
 a container,   a heat exchanger disposed in the container, the heat exchanger including a cooling medium conduit having an inlet and an outlet,   a chamber that is at least partially surrounded by the heat exchanger; and   a valve assembly comprising a housing and a valve member disposed in the housing, the housing having a first passage in fluid communication with the chamber and a second passage in fluid communication with the inlet of the cooling medium conduit of the heat exchanger, the valve member including a first flow path that connects an inlet of the valve member with the chamber when the valve member is in a first position, the valve member including a second flow path that connects the first passage with the second passage when the valve member is in a second position different than the first position.   
     
     
         2 . A cooling apparatus according to  claim 1 , wherein the heat exchanger has an inner body and an outer body with the cooling medium conduit being disposed between the inner and outer bodies. 
     
     
         3 . A cooling apparatus according to  claim 2 , wherein the chamber is disposed within the inner body of the heat exchanger. 
     
     
         4 . A cooling apparatus according to  claim 3 , wherein the chamber is formed, at least in part, by the inner body of the heat exchanger. 
     
     
         5 . A cooling apparatus according to  claim 1 , wherein the valve member is rotatable within the valve assembly housing, when in the first position the valve member has a first angular orientation and when in the second position the valve member has a second angular orientation different from the first angular orientation. 
     
     
         6 . A cooling apparatus according to  claim 1 , wherein the valve member is translatable within the housing between first and second translating positions, when in the first position the valve member is at the first translating position, when in the second position the valve member is at the second translating position. 
     
     
         7 . A cooling apparatus according to  claim 5 , wherein the valve member is translatable within the housing between first and second translating positions, when in the first position the valve member is at the first translating position, when in the second position the valve member is at the second translating position. 
     
     
         8 . A cooling apparatus according to  claim 6 , wherein the valve member is biased towards the second translating position. 
     
     
         9 . A cooling apparatus according to  claim 8 , wherein the valve member is biased towards the first translating position by a resilient member located within the valve assembly housing. 
     
     
         10 . A cooling apparatus according to  claim 1 , wherein the valve member is movable between the first and second positions and also a third position that is different from the first and second positions, when the valve member is in the third position no flow path is provided through the valve assembly. 
     
     
         11 . A cooling apparatus according to  claim 1 , further comprising a base rotatably coupled to an end of the container, the valve member being coupled with the base and rotatable between the first and second angular orientations by a rotation of the base. 
     
     
         12 . A cooling apparatus according to  claim 1 , further comprising a base rotatably coupled to an end of the container, when the base is in a first angular position at least a portion of the base is positioned to occlude the cooling medium conduit outlet, when the base is in a second angular orientation the cooling medium conduit outlet is unoccluded. 
     
     
         13 . A cooling apparatus according to  claim 1 , wherein the cooling medium conduit comprises interconnected ascending and descending coils, the cooling medium conduit inlet residing in the ascending coil and the cooling medium conduit outlet residing in the descending coil. 
     
     
         14 . A cooling apparatus according to  claim 1 , wherein the container is a hand-held liquid container. 
     
     
         15 . A cooling apparatus comprising:
 a container for receiving a substance to be cooled, the container having a top end and a bottom end,   a heat exchanger disposed in the container, the heat exchanger including a cooling medium conduit having an inlet and an outlet,   a base connected to the bottom end of the container, the heat exchanger being at least partially supported inside the container by the base,   a housing connected to the base,   a rechargeable cooling medium cartridge disposed within the housing, the rechargeable cartridge having a cooling medium charging port and a cooling medium exhaust port; and   a valve disposed between the exhaust port of the rechargeable cooling medium cartridge and the inlet of the cooling medium conduit, the valve transitional between a first position and a second position, when in the first position the valve occludes flow between the exhaust port of the rechargeable cooling medium cartridge and the inlet of the cooling medium conduit, when in the second position a flow path is established through the valve to communicate the exhaust port of the rechargeable cooling medium cartridge with the inlet of the cooling medium conduit.   
     
     
         16 . A cooling apparatus according to  claim 15 , wherein the valve comprises a resilient member that urges the valve towards the first position. 
     
     
         17 . A cooling apparatus according to  claim 15 , wherein the valve is transitional between the first and second positions by a rotational movement and/or a translational movement of the rechargeable cooling medium cartridge with respect to the base. 
     
     
         18 . A cooling apparatus according to  claim 15 , wherein the valve is transitional between the first and second positions by a rotational movement and/or a translational movement of the housing that contains the rechargeable cooling medium cartridge with respect to the base. 
     
     
         19 . A cooling apparatus according to  claim 15 , wherein the outlet of the cooling medium conduit is in fluid communication with the ambient atmosphere via a first flow passage extending through at least a portion of the housing. 
     
     
         20 . A cooling apparatus according to  claim 19 , wherein the outlet of the cooling medium conduit and an inlet of the first flow passage are interconnected via a second flow passage in the base. 
     
     
         21 . A cooling apparatus according to  claim 15 , wherein the exhaust port of the rechargeable cooling medium cartridge comprises an axially extending protrusion, the axially extending protrusion translatable with the rechargeable cooling medium cartridge between a first translating position and a second translating position, when in the second translating position the protrusion acts on the valve to cause the valve to assume the second position, when in the first translating position the protrusion does not act on the valve. 
     
     
         22 . A cooling apparatus according to  claim 15 , wherein the container is a hand-held liquid container. 
     
     
         23 . A cooling apparatus comprising:
 a container,   a heat exchanger disposed in the container, the heat exchanger including a cooling medium conduit having an inlet and an outlet,   a cavity that is at least partially surrounded by the heat exchanger, the cavity configured to receive a cooling medium cartridge,   an actuator configured to act on the cooling medium cartridge to initiate a discharge of a cooling medium when the cooling medium cartridge resides in the cavity; and   a flow passage configured to direct the cooling medium to the inlet of the cooling medium conduit of the heat exchanger at least when the actuator acts on the cooling medium cartridge.   
     
     
         24 . A cooling apparatus according to  claim 23 , wherein the heat exchanger has a top end and a bottom end, the actuator being situated at or adjacent the top end. 
     
     
         25 . A cooling apparatus according to  claim 23 , wherein the heat exchanger has a top end and a bottom end, the actuator being situated at or adjacent the bottom end. 
     
     
         26 . A cooling apparatus according to  claim 23 , wherein the actuator comprises a protrusion configured to act on the cooling medium cartridge when the cooling medium cartridge resides in the cavity to initiate the discharge of the cooling medium. 
     
     
         27 . A cooling apparatus according to  claim 23 , wherein the flow passage is comprised in the actuator. 
     
     
         28 . A cooling apparatus according to  claim 27 , wherein the flow passage is connected with the inlet of the cooling medium conduit of the heat exchanger only when the actuator is in a position to act on the cooling medium cartridge to initiate the discharge of the cooling medium. 
     
     
         29 . A cooling apparatus according to  claim 23 , wherein the cavity has a longitudinal axis and the actuator is movable in a direction corresponding to the longitudinal axis of the cavity, the actuator movable between a first longitudinal position and a second longitudinal position. 
     
     
         30 . A cooling apparatus according to  claim 29 , wherein when the actuator is in the first longitudinal position the actuator is adapted to act on an outlet of the cooling medium cartridge to initiate the discharge of the cooling medium when the cooling medium cartridge resides in the cavity, and when the actuator is in the second longitudinal position the actuator does not act on the outlet of the cooling medium cartridge. 
     
     
         31 . A cooling apparatus comprising:
 a container for receiving a substance to be cooled,   a heat exchanger disposed in the container, the heat exchanger including a cooling medium conduit having an inlet and an outlet; and   a refillable cooling medium chamber that is at least partially surrounded by the heat exchanger and that is at least partially formed by a part of the heat exchanger.   
     
     
         32 . A cooling apparatus according to  claim 31 , further comprising a valve assembly comprising a housing and a valve member disposed in the housing, the housing having a first passage in fluid communication with the chamber and a second passage in fluid communication with the inlet of the cooling medium conduit of the heat exchanger, the valve member including a first flow path that connects an inlet of the valve member with the chamber when the valve member is in a first position, the valve member including a second flow path that connects the first passage with the second passage when the valve member is in a second position different than the first position. 
     
     
         33 . A cooling apparatus according to  claim 31 , wherein the heat exchanger comprises an inner elongate body and an outer elongate body, the cooling medium conduit being disposed between the inner and outer elongate bodies, the refillable cooling medium chamber being formed at least in part by the inner elongate body. 
     
     
         34 . A cooling apparatus according to  claim 31 , wherein the heat exchanger comprises an inner elongate body and an outer elongate body, the cooling medium conduit being disposed between the inner and outer elongate bodies, the refillable cooling medium chamber being formed at least in part by the outer elongate body. 
     
     
         35 . A cooling apparatus according to  claim 31 , wherein the heat exchanger comprises an inner elongate body and an outer elongate body, the cooling medium conduit being disposed between the inner and outer elongate bodies, the refillable cooling medium chamber being formed at least in part by the outer elongate body and the inner elongate body.