Cooler composed by an outer tank, within which a cooling tank and a useful tank are housed, among which there is an array of thermal energy accumulators, and within the tank useful there are temperature compensation chambers.

Refrigerative shelving arrangement comprising a heat-absorbing shelf (10) formed from a panel having first and second main faces containing plural passages (50) for conveying a working fluid in both liquid and gaseous states around an interior portion of the shelf (10); and a condenser (35) in fluid communication with the heat-absorbing shelf (10), wherein the heat-absorbing shelf (10) and the condenser (35) form a hermetically sealed system configured to allow the working fluid to circulate between the heat-absorbing shelf (10) and the condenser (35) without a compressor.

A phase change thermal storage unit having has at least one conformational feature selected from (i) a fill port located proximate a corner of the of the panel, (ii) internal contouring that alters the thickness of the phase change material retention chamber for creating an average thickness of the chamber within a central portion of the chamber which is less than the average thickness of the chamber within a peripheral portion of the chamber, and (iii) fingertip indentation handles proximate each and every edge.

A thermally insulated container for storing a scoopable frozen confectionery and serving a scoop thereof to a consumer, and suitable for mounting within a service cart, the container comprising: a thermally insulated housing having at least one openable portion to allow access to an enclosed insulated chamber; a product storage assembly mounted within the enclosed insulated chamber and defining an internal product storage chamber that is accessible via the openable portion of the thermally insulated housing, the outer surface of the product storage assembly being substantially parallel to but spaced away from substantially all of the inner surface of the thermally insulated housing, the average spacing being from 1 to 10 mm; at least one reservoir of phase change material located in the enclosed insulated chamber; at least one scoopable frozen confectionery container support positioned in the internal product storage chamber, the frozen confectionery container support being withdrawable from the internal product storage chamber via the openable portion of the thermally insulated housing; and wherein at least one frozen confectionery container is supported on the at least one frozen confectionery container support, the frozen confectionery container comprising a removable lid and containing a source of scoopable frozen confectionery; the arrangement being such that, in use, the openable portion can be opened to permit the withdrawal of the frozen confectionery container support and the frozen confectionery container from the internal product storage chamber, the lid of the frozen confectionery container being removable to expose the scoopable frozen confectionery, for enabling a scooped serving of the frozen confectionery to be removed from the source of scoopable frozen confectionery and serving to a consumer.

A thermally insulated container for storing and sewing frozen confectionery items, and suitable for mounting within a service cart, the container comprising: a thermally insulated housing having an inner surface, defining an enclosed insulated chamber, and an outer surface for mounting engagement with a service cart, the thermally insulated housing having at least one openable portion to allow access to the enclosed insulated chamber through both the inner and outer surfaces; a product storage assembly, mounted within the enclosed insulated chamber, having an outer surface and an inner surface, the inner surface defining an internal product storage chamber, the internal product storage chamber being accessible via the openable portion of the thermally insulated housing, and the outer surface being substantially parallel to but spaced away from substantially all of the inner surface of the thermally insulated housing, the average spacing being from 1 to 10 mm; at least one frozen confectionery item support positioned in the internal product storage chamber, the frozen confectionery item support having an outer surface facing away from a supported item in use and an inner surface facing towards a supported item in use, and wherein a reservoir of phase change material is provided between the inner and outer surfaces of the product storage assembly and/or between the inner and outer surfaces of the at least one frozen confectionery item support.

The present invention is directed to a system (100) maintaining chilled temperature in a cold storage (102) comprising: a plurality of coolant layers 104 uniformly placed on the roof of said storage (102); each coolant layer comprising multiple coolant plates (106) stacked in rows and columns; a compressor (110) generating airflow and circulating airflow in a circular pattern from top to bottom in said (storage 102); thereby maintaining temperatures in the range −25° C. to +25° C. in said storage; said plurality of coolant layers (104) being placed in close proximity to said compressor (110) for effectively circulating airflow; a coolant holder frame (108) for uniformly adjusting said multiple coolant plates (106) in said plurality of coolant layers (104), and allowing efficient airflow from top to bottom in said storage (102); base of said storage being provided with, holes (112), throughout for sucking the air circulated by said compressor (110) to improve the circulation of airflow in said storage (102); and said storage (102) being insulated to increase the thermal insulation coefficient to maintain the desired temperature in said storage, thereby freezing said coolant layers.

A measuring system for automatically determining and/or monitoring the quality of a liquid or viscous foodstuff, including a housing with an interior space for a product container for the foodstuff, the product container has a product space for the foodstuff and a lid provided with a probe with a thermometer, a heating and cooling device for the interior space, a sensor device for determining a non-temperature quality-related parameter value of the foodstuff, and a control unit designed to control the measuring system, measure, store, process and/or export the measured parameter values, and to control the heating and/or the cooling system according to a desired time-temperature program. The cooling system includes a cold buffer, a cooler for the cold buffer, and a separate refrigerant circuit. The cold buffer includes a buffer holder with a phase-transition material, wherein the refrigerant circuit includes a cooling circuit with a pump.

The disclosure relates to a heating and/or cooling system having an energy conversion device included in a refrigerant circuit and having reducing means for reducing and/or removing solidified phase change material from a component of a heat transfer circuit, wherein the reducing means are driven by energy provided from the energy conversion device. The disclosure also relates to a corresponding method for reducing or removing solidified phase change material.

A thermal capacitor includes a shell and a PCM. The shell includes a first major surface that is configured to contact a container including media to be frozen. The shell defines a cavity in which the PCM is disposed. The PCM has a transition temperature in a range of −80 degrees Celsius to −50 degrees Celsius and is configured to rapidly freeze media from room temperature to −60 degrees Celsius with the container including the media in contact with the shell in an enclosed space.

Systems and methods are provided for bimodal refrigeration, which uses a combination of mechanical refrigeration and phase change material (PCM) cells to provide cooling for one or more units of storage, such as freezers, coolers, storage or display cases, open cases (without doors), closed cases (with doors), rack systems (with compressors located remotely), self-contained refrigeration systems (with embedded compressors), in an optimal and efficient manner. In some embodiments, the systems and methods employ intelligent controls which may monitor and receive input for system conditions, time of day, and other conditions, and turn on/off the mechanical refrigeration as appropriate to provide for efficient and cost-effective use of energy.