Cooling arrangement, particularly for beverages

Claim 1

In a cooling device for fluids, particularly beverages, the combination comprising: (a) a vessel for accommodating a body of fluid, said vessel having an upper portion and a lower portion; (b) fluid inlet and outlet means for admitting fluid into and withdrawing fluid from said vessel; (c) a thermally insulating jacket closely surrounding said vessel; (d) cooling means for said vessel intermediate the latter and said jacket and overlapping a substantial part of the surface area of said vessel, said cooling means having an upper cooling section which contacts said upper portion and a lower cooling section which contacts said lower portion, and said cooling means having an inlet and an outlet and being arranged for flow of a cooling fluid therethrough from said inlet to said outlet; and (e) supply means for passing a cooling fluid through said cooling means, said supply means comprising: (1) a base; (2) a thermally insulated water container supported by said base; and (3) a refrigeration system, the prominent parts of which are contained within said base, said refrigeration system including an evaporator located within and in heat exchanging relationship with the interior of the container, first conduit means including pump means connecting the water container with the inlet and the outlet, and second conduit means connecting the prominent parts of the refrigeration system with the evaporator, said second conduit means having portions which extend through a wall of said container to a height exceeding the maximum permissible filling level of the latter and further comprising a pipe which surrounds said conduit portions, said pipe being substantially watertight in said container and extending through said wall in substantially watertight relationship.