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User avatar
By Steve
#8180
This one is a typical party problem: the fridge is full of drinks, and on the outside they are all cold. But in reality, some have only been placed in the fridge 20 minutes ago, and you don't really want to pick one of those where the drink inside is still fairly warm.

The solution: put a temperature sensor on the can/bottle with a thin wire towards the middle of the beverage. It would work like the modern batteries which have a power sensor built in. Of course the material used for this one would need to be REALLY cheap, so not sure if it's feasible.

Reward: Free beer.
User avatar
By Michael D. Grissom
#8242
WOW!.. you just gave me a really great idea Steve! As you know, I am negotiating with beer and soft drink companies for my new automatically REsealable can poptop. After reading your topic above it gave me the idea of designing a 'dimple' into the top (warmest) part of the can. If designed properly it would add no material to the can and the dimple would be concave when cold and convex when warm. It would also cause a 'click' sound when transitioning from warm to cold and back.

I tried to google search the pressure diff between cold and warm in the can but only found that there was one.. not how much. I'll keep searching because if the pressure diff is great enough then this would be possible to do. If there isn't enough pressure diff I will try to design the dimple to operate thermally without adding any parts or weight.

As for a chemical means of doing it, there are chemical paper dots that could be affixed to the top of the can that would be red for warm, blue for cold, green for ice cold (or the like). I don't think that in the aftermarket world people would be willing to take the time to put the stickers on the can tops before putting into the refrig but, in manufacturing it might give them a competitive advantage. This is one of those grey areas when it comes to patentability. I'm thinking that you might trade the IDEA (no patent needed) to them for a lifetime supply? hmmm Imagine BEER FOR LIFE FOR FREE!!! WOW!

I can see after be being away for so long that I have a lot of catching up to do!
User avatar
By Steve
#8244
Interesting approach to go via the pressure! I don't think the chemical paper dots would work because they would only measure the temperature close to the outer side, but with the dimple you may indeed be up to something! ;-D ;-D ;-D
User avatar
By cynet
#8249
That would also be great for vendors.
I don't know how many times I been searching around the open refridgeator at our local grocery stors feeling for a cold beverage.
Half the time I am reaching way in the back, to get someing cold.
The dimple could also have some sort of change in color then it could be very visible.

For instance if the product is facing you, and the dimple is down for cold you see the back side which is blue. B-)

If the dimple is out, the front side could be painted red: meaning -
not ready for consumsion :-#
By mike123
#8253
i havent been able to find it on the internet but i know somthing along the lines of this has been done, kokanee beer has already done this. when your beer reaches a certain temp their logo shows up in the white circle to know that its cold enough to drink.
User avatar
By Steve
#8255
Dumb question - is the pressure higher or lower when the drink is cold? Because in a warm drink, I believe the gas will have more pressure, but in a cold drink the drink itself will expand, thus leaving less room for the gas and thus increasing the pressure as well. :-?
By xanado
#8274
Mike123 is right. In Portugal there a beer called Super Bock Cool Beer, there is a blue star on the label that only shows when the beer is cold.

In conclusion, the paper dots idea must be great, because someone is using it!
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