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 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 cooling system within the drawer. The cooling 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. The refrigeration system may be a thermoelectric cooling system.

A shelf for a refrigerator is provided, the shelf comprising: a first surface for receiving items when the shelf is in use; the first surface being spaced apart from a second surface to form a duct between the first and second surfaces; wherein the duct allows fluid communication between an air inlet and an air outlet, the duct being flared to form the air inlet such that the cross sectional area of the air inlet is larger than that of the duct.

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 cooling system within the drawer. The cooling 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. The refrigeration system may be a thermoelectric cooling system.

A cooler box with a temperature control function, the cooler box comprises a box body and a cryogenic medium container installed outside the cooler box for storing liquid carbon dioxide or other liquefied gas. The box body is equipped with a controller, a monitoring device, a controllable valve, and a chamber to reduce the speed of gas released and thus prevent sudden freezing and overcooling of temperature-sensitive cargo such as fresh food. The controllable valve is connected to the cryogenic medium container through a tube. The monitoring device measures the temperature inside the cooler box, and the controller controls the valve opening state and the duration time of maintaining the open state of the controllable valve according to the temperature measured by the monitoring device and the size of the cooler box. A temperature control method for the cooler box is also provided.

The present invention relates to a device that can be used for heating and/or refrigerating and/or maintaining the temperature of a receptacle. According to the invention, characteristically it comprises a base module which comprises: heat-producing means (5) and cold-producing means (7), said cold producing means comprising a reservoir (7) containing a fluid and possibly connected to an evaporator, said heat-producing means comprise a thermochemical reactor (5) connected to said reservoir (7) and containing a reagent able to react reversibly with said fluid during an exothermal reaction:—means forming a valve that allows said reservoir (7) or said evaporator to be connected to said thermochemical reactor (5) to produce heat in said reactor (5) as a result of said aforementioned exothermal reaction and simultaneously to produce cold in said reservoir (7), as the result of the expansion and/or evaporation of said fluid;—at least one receptacle (3) made of a thermally conducting material which has a first face able to house the foodstuff that is to be heated/refrigerated and a second face, opposite to said first face and arranged in contact with said heat-producing means (5) or said cold-producing, means (7);—an insulating element (15) which thermally insulates said heat-producing means (5) from said cold-producing means (7); and said reactor (5) and/or said receptacle (3) are removably mounted on said base module.

A refrigerated merchandiser including a case that defines a product display area and an access opening. The case has an air inlet and an air outlet, and a passageway fluidly connects the air inlet with the air outlet to direct a refrigerated airflow across the customer access opening in the form of an air curtain. The merchandiser also includes shelves that are coupled to the case. Each shelf includes an inlet, an outlet, a fan unit disposed in the shelf, and a heat exchanger. The fan unit is in communication with the passageway to draw air through the inlet to direct a portion of the airflow through the shelf toward the outlet. The heat exchanger is disposed in the shelf to cool the airflow in the shelf to provide independent zone cooling to a predetermined region of the product display area.

A supercooling refrigerator (1000) including: a refrigerator body (100); a door (200) for opening and closing one side of the refrigerator body (100); an accommodating portion (400) provided inside the refrigerator body (100) and seated with an object (M) to be stored; a cooling duct (600) including a fan for taking in air in the refrigerator body (100) and discharging the air, and an evaporator (630) for cooling the air discharged from the fan; and a cool air supply duct (700) formed with a cool air discharge port (710) through which the air cooled through the cooling duct (600) is discharged into the refrigerator body (100), the fan being a cross flow fan (620) including a plurality of discs (622), and a plurality of blades (623) disposed between the discs (622) along outer circumferential surfaces of the discs (622).

A display refrigerator or freezer comprises a refrigerated storage space. Air in the refrigerated storage space is separated from air exterior to the display refrigerator or freezer by an air curtain established by one or more fans which blow air towards one or more air outlets via a cooling heat exchanger and which recover air in the air curtain via one or more air inlets for recirculation to the one or more air outlets. The refrigerated storage space has a base shelf. One or more air inlet ducts are arranged between the one or more air inlets and the one or more fans such that the air recovered via the one or more air inlets is directed by the one or more air inlet ducts towards the one or more fans. The one or more air inlet ducts, in combination with at least a portion of the base shelf, define at least a portion of a cavity beneath the base shelf, the cavity being sealed from the air recovered via the one or more air inlet.

The present invention relates to a display cabinet (1) having an open face; an air circulation system comprising: an air inlet (9) located adjacent to a perimeter of the open front face; an air outlet (7) located adjacent to the perimeter of the open front face opposite the air inlet (9), and configured to blow air across the open front face toward the air inlet (9); an air conduit (11, 17) for conveying air from the air inlet (9) to the air outlet (7); and an air pump configured to draw air from the air inlet (9), move the air thus drawn through the air conduit (11, 17) to the air outlet (7); and at least one shelf (3) disposed within the display cabinet (1); wherein the air conduit (11, 17) is arranged such that at least a portion (19) of the air from the air inlet (9) follows a path that passes out from a wall of the display cabinet (1) through the at least one shelf (3), and back through said at least one shelf (3) to the wall of the display cabinet (1), before being passed to the air outlet (7).