A chest insert for a freezer is disclosed. The chest insert is placed inside a freezer and food is placed inside the chest insert. Several sides of the chest insert comprise a gap which is partially filled with a refrigerant gel. These gaps are slanted such that the gel can expand into a wider gap as it expands while freezing, lessening the risk of uneven freezing causing the refrigerant gel to press against the walls of the chest insert. The use of the disclosed subject matter reduces freezer burn by stabilizing humidity. Further, the chest insert maintains the temperature inside the chest insert for extended periods if the freezer fails or the power to the freezer is interrupted.

A bottle storage includes a housing portion that houses a bottle therein, a cooling-warming portion that is provided around the housing portion, a sensor which detects insertion of the bottle into the housing portion, an image capture portion that captures an image of the bottle housed in the housing portion, a controller that causes the image capture portion to perform image capture for capturing the image of the bottle when the bottle is sensed to be inserted into the housing portion by the sensor, an information manager that identifies at least a brand of the bottle, based on recognition result of the bottle image captured by the control of the controller, and an output portion that outputs characteristics of a beverage of the brand identified by the information manager.

Product transport containers are disclosed. Such containers can provide one or more advantages compared to existing containers. For example, product transport containers described herein can maintain a product at a desired temperature for an extended period of time, including without the use of an active heating or cooling component. Such product transport containers described herein may also provide improved breathability, thermal insulation, and/or mechanical strength or dimensional stability. Such containers can include a plurality of walls defining an interior volume and a selectively openable side permitting movement of the product into and out of the interior volume of the container. The walls can be formed from a thermoformed non-woven fabric.

A container with active temperature control is provided. The container has a body with a chamber that receives a liquid. A temperature control system housed in the portable body has one or more heating element in thermal communication with at least a portion of the chamber to heat the liquid. Control circuitry controls the operation of the one or more heating elements and one or more power storage elements to provide electrical energy to the one or more heating element and/or control circuitry. The control circuitry controls the one or more heating elements to add heat to the liquid in the receiving portion to maintain the temperature of the liquid at a predetermined temperature or increase the temperature of the liquid above said predetermined temperature. The container can have a cooling element (e.g., a phase change material) that can remove heat from the liquid poured into the chamber.

The present invention provides a thermally insulated shipping container comprising a thermally insulating layer defining a first void, a main layer containing phase change material (main PCM layer) within the first void and defining a second void within the first void, a barrier layer containing phase change material (barrier PCM layer) within the second void and distinct from the main PCM layer, the barrier PCM layer defining a third void within the second void, the container being arranged to receive a product for transportation inside of the third void, wherein the main PCM layer has an average thickness greater than the average thickness of the barrier PCM layer, the barrier PCM layer comprises of an envelope in which the phase change material of the barrier PCM layer is contained and the barrier PCM layer is configured to maintain the phase change material with a relatively even distribution within the envelope.

A chest insert for a freezer is disclosed. The chest insert is placed inside a freezer and food is placed inside the chest insert. Several sides of the chest insert comprise a gap which is partially filled with a refrigerant gel. These gaps are slanted such that the gel can expand into a wider gap as it expands while freezing, lessening the risk of uneven freezing causing the refrigerant gel to press agains the walls of the chest insert. The use of the disclosed subject matter reduces freezer burn by stabilizing humidity. Further, the chest insert maintains the temperature inside the chest insert for extended periods if the freezer fails or the power to the freezer is interrupted.

Cooler beverage inserts may include an insert container having an insertion surface and a container retrieval surface opposite the insertion surface. A container interior may extend between the insertion surface and the container retrieval surface. The container interior may be configured to contain a cooling medium. At least one receptacle interior may extend from the insertion surface through the container interior to the container retrieval surface and open to the insertion surface and the container retrieval surface. The at least one receptacle interior may be sized and configured to accommodate a plurality of beverage containers. The at least one receptacle interior may have a uniform width or diameter from the insertion surface to the container retrieval surface. Accordingly, the plurality of beverage containers may be sequentially removable from the at least one receptacle interior without removal of the insert container from the cooler.

An apparatus is described herein for storing and transporting food and beverages, comprising a rigid housing configured to fit within a container, the housing comprising a base and a wall extending outwardly from the base, the wall having an inner layer and an outer layer defining a space therebetween, a refreezable material disposed in the space, and a divider panel configured to be removably mounted in the housing. Other products, systems and methods also are disclosed.

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.

The present invention provides a thermally insulated shipping container comprising a thermally insulating layer defining a first void, a main layer containing phase change material (main PCM layer) within the first void and defining a second void within the first void, a barrier layer containing phase change material (barrier PCM layer) within the second void and distinct from the main PCM layer, the barrier PCM layer defining a third void within the second void, the container being arranged to receive a product for transportation inside of the third void, wherein the main PCM layer has an average thickness greater than the average thickness of the barrier PCM layer, the barrier PCM layer comprises of an envelope in which the phase change material of the barrier PCM layer is contained and the barrier PCM layer is configured to maintain the phase change material with a relatively even distribution within the envelope.