An actively heated or cooled food container can have a lid movable between an open and a closed position and an insulated body to which the lid can be attached. The insulated body can have a sidewall that defines a perimeter of the container body and a base, the sidewall and base defining one or more chambers that can be sealed by the lid. The food container can have a temperature control system that can include one or more heating or cooling elements in thermal communication with one or both of the sidewall and the base and operable to heat or cool one or both of the sidewall and the base to thereby heat or cool the one or more chambers in the food container.

A food or beverage item container cooling assembly for limiting warming of the food or beverage item includes a shell, which has an open top. The shell comprises an outer wall and an inner wall, which define an internal space. The internal space is substantially occupied by a substance having a latent heat of fusion that is equal to or greater than that of water. The shell can be positioned in a freezer to substantially fuse the substance. The shell is one of a plurality of shells, each having a respective shape and a respective size, thereby providing shells of a variety of shapes and sizes. A complementarily shaped container containing a food or beverage item is insertable into the shell. The substance absorbs heat from the complementarily shaped container to limit warming of the respective food or beverage item.

An article for holding foodstuff. The article comprises a receptacle (4) having a wall with an inner surface for holding the foodstuff and an opposite outer surface. The wall is formed of a first material, such as a ceramic material, having a first thermal conductivity. The articles also has a shell (1; 5) spaced apart from the outer surface of the receptacle such as to define an interstitial chamber (2, 3) between the shell and the outer surface of the receptacle. The shell is at least partially formed of a ceramic material with a second thermal conductivity. Within the interstitial chamber, there is disposed a phase change material which abuts with at least the outer surface of the wall of the receptacle. The first thermal conductivity being greater than the second thermal conductivity, so as to allow for heat transfer through the wall to the phase change material, which will accumulate the heat.

An apparatus (1) for the preparation and dispensing of bakery food products, in particular pizzas, comprising: a magazine (2) containing a plurality of food products (P) having a storage compartment (3) for storing said products (P) in a respective semi-cooked condition; cooling means (4) arranged inside the magazine (2) to keep the compartment (3) of said food products (P) at a predetermined freezing temperature; a supply line (15) for supplying said food products (P) extending between a product loading station arranged in the area of the magazine (2) and a dispensing station for dispensing the food products (P), packaging means (21), located in the area of said dispensing station to arrange each product (P) leaving the supply line (15) inside a respective package (C); said supply line comprising: a first oven (16) arranged downstream of the loading station and configured to thaw the food products (P) leaving the magazine (2); and a second oven (17) interposed between said first oven and said dispensing station and configured to cook the thawed food product at a given temperature depending on the type of the product (P) itself.

A double-walled insulated container including an outer member being formed of a metal material and comprising a substantially tubular sidewall having a first end to engage a first lid assembly and a second end comprising a recess to receive therein a second lid assembly, an inner member being formed of a metal material and including a substantially annular sidewall defining a receptacle having a first end and a second end, and a ledge formed in the sidewall between the first end and the second end and extending completely around and from the sidewall into the receptacle to define an upper portion of the receptacle to receive a beverage container supported by the ledge and a lower portion of the receptacle to receive a thermal transfer material, and an insulating member being formed of a metal material and disposed in an annular space defined between the sidewalls of the outer and inner members.

An actively heated mug, travel mug, baby bottle, water bottle or liquid container is provided. The mug, travel mug, baby bottle, water bottle or liquid container can include a body that receives a liquid therein and a heating or cooling system at least partially disposed in the body. The heating or cooling system can include one or more heating or cooling elements that heat a surface of the receiving portion of the body and one or more energy storage devices. The mug, travel mug, baby bottle, water bottle or liquid container can include a wireless power receiver that wirelessly receives power from a power source and control circuitry configured to charge one or more power storage elements and to control the delivery of electricity from the one or more power storage elements to the one or more heating or cooling elements. The mug, travel mug, baby bottle, water bottle or liquid container also can have one or more sensors that sense a parameter of the liquid or sense a parameter of the heating or cooling system and communicates the sensed information to the control circuitry. The control circuitry can turn on, turn off, and/or operate the heating or cooling element to actively heat or cool at least a portion of the body to maintain the liquid in a heated or cooled state generally at a user selected temperature setting based at least in part on the sensed parameter information. The mug, travel mug, baby bottle, water bottle or liquid container can also be paired with a remote device or mobile electronic device to send or receive communications or commands.

A container assembly has a soft-sided insulated wall structure. It has one or more internal chambers in which to place objects to be kept cool or warm. A first closure member governs access to the container assembly. The wall structure includes one or more accommodations in which to place a warming or cooling element, such as an ice pack. The accommodations in the outside walls are externally accessible without opening the main chamber, and have their own closure, and may be insulated. The inside is a thin web through which to transfer heat. An internal partition divides the container assembly into two chambers. The partition may have a thermal storage element. The container may be a collapsible foldable bag; a tote bag; back pack or a non-collapsible lunch box. The thermal storage elements may have a flat disk shape. The disks slide sideways into place in the respective accommodations.

A temperature-regulating apparatus which can rapidly chill a beverage by exposing it to a large surface area of the device interior which has a cooling gel embedded within its walls. The user pours their liquid into the device and monitors the projected temperature dropping until they reach an optimal temperature. Once optimal temperature is reached, the users will pour the liquid out of the device to end the cooling processes. Thus a superior liquid cooling solution is provided that can rapidly chill a beverage to an optimal temperature.

An actively heated or cooled food container can have a lid movable between an open and a closed position and an insulated body to which the lid can be attached. The insulated body can have a sidewall that defines a perimeter of the container body and a base, the sidewall and base defining one or more chambers that can be sealed by the lid. The food container can have a temperature control system that can include one or more heating or cooling elements in thermal communication with one or both of the sidewall and the base and operable to heat or cool one or both of the sidewall and the base to thereby heat or cool the one or more chambers in the food container.

An active temperature control module can be used with drinkware and plateware devices. The drinkware can be a mug made of metal, and optionally coated with a ceramic material. The active thermal control module can optionally be removably coupleable to a surface of the drinkware or plateware device. The module can include at least one heating element that can thermally communicate with a surface of the drinkware or plateware device to thereby effect heat transfer through the base to food stuff (e.g., a solid food, a liquid food) in the drinkware or plateware device. The module can include at least one sensor configured to sense a parameter of the foodstuff, and at least one power storage element configured to provide power to the at least one heating element. The module can include control circuitry configured to control operation of the one or more heating elements, and a transceiver configured to transmit operating information of the module to a remote electronic device and to receive operating instructions from the remote electronic device. Optionally, the module can include a heat transfer pack that can thermally communicate with the at least one heating element, and which can be interposed between the at least one heating element and a surface of the drinkware or plateware device.