Drinking water cooler

Abstract

A liquid cooling system comprising: a liquid inlet and outlet; one or more liquid reservoirs in fluid communication with the liquid inlet and outlet; an evaporative element in fluid communication with a liquid reservoir; and a fan in flowable communication with a surface of the evaporative element is provided. The liquid cooling system can cool drinking water. The liquid cooling system can be powered by AC power, DC power, solar power or a combination. The liquid cooling system can be used in-line in a hydration system, for example.

1 . A liquid cooling system comprising:
 a liquid inlet and outlet;   one or more liquid reservoirs in fluid communication with the liquid inlet and outlet;   an evaporative element in fluid communication with a liquid reservoir; and   a fan with air flow in flowable communication with a surface of the evaporative element.   
     
     
         2 . The system of  claim 1 , further comprising a power source. 
     
     
         3 . The system of  claim 2 , wherein the power source is one or more selected from the group consisting of: a DC battery, a solar panel, a rechargeable battery and an AC power source. 
     
     
         4 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein an evaporative element is a porous material in fluid or gaseous communication with a portion of the liquid reservoir. 
     
     
         5 . The system of  claim 4 , wherein the porous material is selected from one or more of: expanded polytetrafluoroethylene (ePTFE), porous (e.g., sintered) plastic, ultra high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE), multi-layer laminate material and micro-porous ceramic membrane. 
     
     
         6 . The system of  claim 5 , wherein the porous material forms a surface of a liquid reservoir. 
     
     
         7 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein a reservoir is generally rectangular cuboid, ovoid, cylindrical, hollowed out cylindrical, toroidal, tubular or teardrop in shape. 
     
     
         8 . (canceled) 
     
     
         9 . The system of  claim 4 , wherein the porous material forms at least a portion of a length×width face of a rectangular cuboid liquid reservoir. 
     
     
         10 . The system of  claim 9 , wherein the porous material forms at least a portion of both length×width faces of a rectangular cuboid liquid reservoir. 
     
     
         11 . The system of  claim 4 , wherein the porous material forms at least 50% of the surface area of a reservoir. 
     
     
         12 . The system of  claim 4 , wherein the porous material forms less than 50% of the surface area of a reservoir. 
     
     
         13 . The system of  claim 9 , wherein the porous material on one of the length×width face of the rectangular cuboid is different than the evaporative element on the other length×width face of the rectangular cuboid. 
     
     
         14 . The system of  claim 9 , wherein the evaporative element on one of the length×width face of the rectangular cuboid is the same as the evaporative element on the other length×width face of the rectangular cuboid. 
     
     
         15 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein an evaporative element is a multi-layer laminate material where the layers may be the same or different materials. 
     
     
         16 . (canceled) 
     
     
         17 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the evaporative element is a single-layer porous hydrophobic material having the inner surface treated to create a hydrophilic layer. 
     
     
         18 . The system of  claim 15 , wherein the inner layer of the multi-layer laminate is hydrophilic. 
     
     
         19 . The system of  claim 18 , wherein the inner surface of a single-layer evaporative element or the inner layer of a multi-layer evaporative element is plasma treated to create a hydrophilic surface. 
     
     
         20 . (canceled) 
     
     
         21 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the system comprises a plurality of liquid reservoirs. 
     
     
         22 . The system of  claim 1 , further comprising a gas source in gaseous communication with the evaporative element. 
     
     
         23 . (canceled) 
     
     
         24 . The system of  claim 1 , further comprising a switch in electrical communication with the fan. 
     
     
         25 . The system of  claim 1 , further comprising a housing surrounding the one or more liquid reservoirs. 
     
     
         26 . The system of  claim 1 , further comprising airflow channels positioned on an evaporative element. 
     
     
         27 . The system of  claim 25 , wherein the housing provides airflow channels for the airflow. 
     
     
         28 . The system of  claim 1 , further comprising a screen or filter positioned adjacent to an evaporative element. 
     
     
         29 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the fan draws between 0.25-1 W of power. 
     
     
         30 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the liquid is water. 
     
     
         31 - 32 . (canceled) 
     
     
         33 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the housing is ruggedized. 
     
     
         34 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the system is inserted into the liquid supply line of a hydration system between the bladder and mouth piece. 
     
     
         35 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein in operation, the liquid is cooled by at least 8° F. in 5 minutes. 
     
     
         36 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein in operation, the liquid is cooled by at least 10° F. in 5 minutes. 
     
     
         37 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein in operation, the liquid is cooled by at least 15° F. in 5 minutes. 
     
     
         38 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein in operation, the liquid is cooled by at least 15° F. in 10 minutes. 
     
     
         39 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein in operation, the liquid is cooled by at least 20° F. in 10 minutes. 
     
     
         40 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein in operation, the liquid is cooled by at least 36° F. in 5 minutes. 
     
     
         41 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein in operation, the liquid is cooled by at least 36° F. in 10 minutes. 
     
     
         42 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein in operation, less than 10% of the reservoir volume is evaporated to produce the desired cooling effect. 
     
     
         43 - 44 . (canceled) 
     
     
         45 . A method of cooling liquid comprising:
 providing a liquid cooling system comprising:   a liquid inlet and outlet, one or more liquid reservoirs, a porous evaporative element attached to one or more surfaces of the liquid reservoir for evaporative cooling, and a fan that forces air across the surface of the evaporative element;   providing liquid in the liquid reservoir;   activating the fan; and   allowing evaporation to occur, whereby liquid in the liquid reservoir is cooled.   
     
     
         46 - 74 . (canceled) 
     
     
         75 . A device comprising:
 one or more porous liquid reservoirs; and a battery-powered fan;   wherein the device cools the liquid in the liquid reservoirs by evaporative cooling of the fan or flow over the porous liquid reservoirs.   
     
     
         76 . (canceled) 
     
     
         77 . The device of  claim 75 , which operates at an internal pressure of at least 1 psig without leaking water and an negative pressure of at least 1 psig without leaking air into the porous liquid reservoir. 
     
     
         78 . The device of  claim 75 , wherein at least a portion of the porous liquid reservoirs comprise a porous material or layered porous materials such that the evaporative cooling effect provides desired cooling performance. 
     
     
         79 . The device of  claim 78 , wherein the porous material or layered porous material comprises one or more of: expanded polytetrafluoroethylene (ePTFE), sintered porous plastic, and metallic and non-metallic screen to provide needed structural support. 
     
     
         80 . (canceled) 
     
     
         81 . The device of  claim 75  wherein the porous liquid reservoir comprises a single-layer porous hydrophobic material having the inner surface treated to create a hydrophilic layer. 
     
     
         82 . The device of  claim 79  wherein the porous liquid reservoir comprises a multi-layer porous hydrophobic material having the inner layer of the multi-layer laminate treated to create a hydrophilic layer. 
     
     
         83 . The device of  claim 75  wherein the inner hydrophilic surface of a single-layer evaporative element or the inner hydrophilic layer of a multi-layer evaporative element is plasma treated to provide a hydrophilic surface. 
     
     
         84 - 85 . (canceled) 
     
     
         86 . The device in  claim 75  which cools a small volume (2-3 oz) of water, initially at 120° F. in 120° F. air temperature/15% humidity, to below body temperature in less than 10 minutes. 
     
     
         87 . The device in  claim 75  which is scalable to cool the volume desired.