A device for dispensing items includes a cabinet, and a drawer within the cabinet. The drawer includes one or more compartments for storing items and a refrigeration system within the drawer. The refrigeration system is configured to maintain the one or more compartments in the drawer at a temperature below the temperature of the environment surrounding the cabinet. The drawer further includes thermal insulation at sides of the drawer and thermal insulation beneath the one or more compartments.

An improved frozen product dispenser wherein a product is placed into a cooled hopper and the product is then fed from the hopper into a freezing and dispensing chamber where it is frozen and dispensed.

An appliance having a storage tank disposed on its back surface wherein the storage tank includes a front cover and a back cover that matingly engages the front cover to form a liquid tight seal with the front cover. The storage tank further includes a phase-changing material disposed within the storage tank and a heat exchanger containing refrigerant tubing which transfers cooling from refrigerant tubing to the phase-changing solution. The storage tank, when fully charged with cooling capacity, maintains the food storage compartment at a temperature of 45 F. or less for at least 8 hours without activating a compressor.

Disclosed herein are a refrigeration cycle device and three-way flow rate control valve. In a refrigeration cycle device including a compressor, first and second coolers configured to cool first and second storage compartments at least, respectively, and a mixer configured to mix refrigerants that have passed through the first and second coolers, a refrigerant flow path is switched so that refrigerants of first and second flow rates are circulated to the first and second coolers, respectively, while the first and second storage compartments are being cooled, and a refrigerant flow path is switched so that a refrigerant of a specific flow rate, which is smaller than a first flow rate but is not zero, is circulated to the first cooler after cooling of the first storage compartment is completed.

Methods and systems for coordinated zone operation of the MTRS are provided. The method includes a MTRS controller determining whether a first zone environmental condition difference between a first zone measured environmental condition and a first zone desired set point environmental condition is greater than a first threshold. The method also includes the MTRS controller coordinating operation of the first environmental condition unit and the second environmental condition unit when the first zone environmental condition difference is determined to be greater than the first threshold.

A refrigerator includes a first refrigeration cycle unit that is configured to circulate a first refrigerant and that includes a first compressor, a first condenser, a first expansion device, and a first evaporator, a second refrigeration cycle unit that is configured to circulate a second refrigerant and that includes a second compressor, a second condenser, a second expansion device, and a second evaporator, a first valve unit installed at an outlet side of the first compressor, and a first hot gas path configured to extend from the first valve unit to the second evaporator and configured to supply the first refrigerant to the second evaporator.

The present invention relates to a system for cooling a quick-freezing chamber at 40 to 30 C., a freezing chamber at 20 to 15 C., a refrigerating chamber at 0 to 5 C., and the like and an energy-saving defrosting system for defrosting the quick-freezing chamber, the freezing chamber, and the refrigerating chamber using condensed waste heat.

A refrigeration appliance includes a fresh food compartment for storing food items in a refrigerated environment having a target temperature above 0 C., a freezer compartment for storing food items in a sub-freezing environment having a target temperature below 0 C., a system evaporator for providing a cooling effect to at least one of the fresh food compartment and the freezer compartment, and an ice maker disposed within the fresh food compartment for freezing water into ice pieces. The ice maker includes an ice mold with an upper surface comprising a plurality of cavities formed therein for the ice pieces, a heater disposed on the ice mold and an ice maker refrigerant tube abutting at least one lateral side surface of the ice mold and cooling the ice mold to a temperature below 0 C. via thermal conduction.

A refrigerator appliance includes a cabinet that defines a fresh food chamber and a freezer chamber. A door is rotatably mounted to the cabinet at a front portion of the fresh food storage chamber. The door includes an outer casing. The outer casing includes a thermally insulated wall that defines a flexible chamber. The door also includes a front panel rotatably mounted to the outer casing such that the front panel permits access to the flexible chamber when the door is in the closed position. The refrigerator appliance also includes a sealed cooling system. The sealed cooling system includes a first evaporator in fluid communication with the flexible chamber and the fresh food chamber. The sealed system also includes a second evaporator in fluid communication with the freezer chamber.

The method for controlling the refrigerator includes operating a first cooling cycle for cooling the first storage compartment to operate the compressor and operating a first fan for the first storage compartment, and switching the first cooling cycle to a second cooling cycle for cooling the second storage compartment to operate the compressor and operating a second fan when a stop condition of the first cooling cycle is satisfied. A temperature of each storage compartment is sensed at sampling time intervals in each cooling cycle. Further, a cooling power of the compressor is determined for each sampling time based on a sensed current temperature of the storage compartment, and the compressor is operated at the determined cooling power.