Quick-chill beverage cooler with post-chill storage chamber
Methods and apparatuses are provided for cooling of beverages containers, such as cans or bottles, quickly, or on demand. An apparatus may provide for quickly cooling a number of beverage containers when power is available and for storing them, once they have been cooled. The apparatus may include a thermoelectric cooler configured to rapidly cool a beverage container in a cooling cell. The methods may include detecting the presence of a beverage container in a cooling cell and cooling the beverage container to a selected temperature. The availability of external power may be detected and a rapid cooling of a beverage container may begin when power becomes available.
1. A quick-chill beverage cooler comprising:
a frame configured for placement in a retail store;
a cooling engine supported by the frame and comprising a plurality of cooling cells, each cooling cell comprising:
a cup holder configured for holding a beverage container entirely within the cooling engine, the cup holder comprising a thermally conductive material; and
a cooling device affixed to an outer surface of the cup holder, the cooling device in thermally conductive contact with the outer surface;
an insulated storage container supported by the frame, wherein the container is configured to store beverage containers after the beverage containers are cooled in the cooling engine to prevent warming; and
a processor, configured to control the cooling engine,
wherein the cooling engine is mounted to the frame outside of the insulated storage container.
2. The quick-chill beverage cooler of claim 1 , wherein the cooling device comprises a thermoelectric cooler.
3. The quick-chill beverage cooler of claim 1 , wherein the cooling device comprises a vapor compression cooling device.
4. The quick-chill beverage cooler of claim 1 , the cooling cell further comprising:
a thermally conductive gap filler, positioned in an interior of the cup holder, the thermally conductive gap filler in thermally conductive contact with the inside of the cup holder.
5. The quick-chill beverage cooler of claim 4 , wherein the thermally conductive gap filler comprises a liquid filled bag or a gel filled bag.
6. The quick-chill beverage cooler of claim 1 , further comprising:
a temperature sensor in proximity to at least one of the plurality of cooling cells.
7. The quick-chill beverage cooler of claim 1 , further comprising:
an indicator, configured to indicate a cooling state of at least one of the plurality of cooling cells, the indicator comprising an audible indicator or a visual indicator.
8. The quick-chill beverage cooler of claim 1 , the cooling cell further comprising:
a beverage container detector configured to detect a presence of the beverage container in the cup holder.
9. The quick-chill beverage cooler of claim 1 , wherein the processor is configured to control the cooling engine according to a time of day.
10. The quick-chill beverage cooler of claim 1 , further comprising a refrigeration system configured to cool the insulated storage container.
11. The quick-chill beverage cooler of claim 1 , further comprising a thermoelectric cooler configured to cool the insulated storage container.
12. The quick-chill beverage cooler of claim 1 , further comprising a removable cover configured to insulate a top portion of the cooling engine.
13. The quick-chill beverage cooler of claim 1 , the cooling cell engine further comprising two differently sized, thermally conductive gap fillers, each gap filler positioned in an interior of a respective cup holder and in thermally conductive contact with the inside of the respective cup holder.
14. The quick-chill beverage cooler of claim 1 , each cooling cell further comprising an insulating material disposed around the cup holder that insulates the cup holder from ambient air.