초록 ▼

A cooling apparatus for such things as convenience foods and beverages has a tilted, open faced bed from which persons may select objects. The apparatus is self-contained, and may run from a standard, single phase electrical outlet. It may be carried by two people, and is suitable for mounting eithe

A cooling apparatus for such things as convenience foods and beverages has a tilted, open faced bed from which persons may select objects. The apparatus is self-contained, and may run from a standard, single phase electrical outlet. It may be carried by two people, and is suitable for mounting either on its own base in a recess in a checkout counter or other similar installation. The open faced be may have a channel depth of section that is relatively deep as compared with to its width, the flow path length, or the depth of the flow released to run along the channel, thereby tending to discourage mixing of the cooled flow with the surrounding ambient environment. The apparatus may include a two piece molded housing that defines the structural skeleton for both the cooling bed and a lodgement for various elements of the cooling system. The bed may include a porous deck, or drain panels, that may tend to encourgare cooled air to drain toward a cooling plenum intake panel. The bed may include a pooling region adjacent to the air intake plenum in which cooler, less buoyant air may collect.

대표청구항 ▼

We claim: 1. A cooling apparatus comprising: a plenum having an inlet and an outlet, the outlet being located higher than the inlet and being offset in a lateral direction therefrom; a heat exchanger mounted in said plenum between said inlet and said outlet; at least one air moving device mounted

We claim: 1. A cooling apparatus comprising: a plenum having an inlet and an outlet, the outlet being located higher than the inlet and being offset in a lateral direction therefrom; a heat exchanger mounted in said plenum between said inlet and said outlet; at least one air moving device mounted in said plenum in series with said heat exchanger, said air moving device being operable to draw air in at said inlet, and to compel air to pass through said heat exchanger and to exit said plenum at said outlet; an open faced bed mounted between said outlet of said plenum and said inlet of said plenum; said bed having a pooling zone to which relatively cooler air may drain, said inlet of said plenum being mounted to draw from said pooling zone; and said bed having an air drain manifold mounted therein, said drain manifold being located in said bed in a position to facilitate movement of air to said pooling zone. 2. The cooling apparatus of claim 1 wherein said cooling apparatus is a self contained cooling apparatus further including a housing, said open bed being defined within said housing; said housing having an upper portion and a lower portion, and at least one intermediate mounting fitting, said upper portion standing upwardly of said mounting fitting, and said lower portion extending downwardly of said mounting fitting. 3. The cooling apparatus of claim 2 wherein said mounting fitting is a peripheral mounting array. 4. The cooling apparatus of claim 3 wherein said peripheral mounting array includes at least one shoulder. 5. The cooling apparatus of claim 2 wherein said upper portion has a first peripheral footprint, said lower portion has a second peripheral footprint, at least a portion of said first peripheral footprint extending proud of said first peripheral footprint, and said mounting fitting including at least one shoulder between said upper and lower portions of said housing. 6. The cooling apparatus of claim 1 wherein: said cooling apparatus is a self-contained cooling apparatus further including a housing, said open bed being defined within said housing, and said plenum being contained within said housing; a vapour cycle cooling system is mounted within said housing, said heat exchanger being an evaporator of said vapour cycle cooling system; and said cooling apparatus is contained in a volumetric envelope of less than 15, 000 cubic inches. 7. The cooling apparatus of claim 1 wherein said cooling apparatus is a self-contained cooling apparatus having an upper portion, a lower portion, and a mounting fitting, said mounting fitting being placed between said upper portion and said lower portion, said upper portion having a first height, said lower portion having a second height, and a ratio of said first height to said second height being in the range of 1:5 to 1:3. 8. The cooling apparatus of claim 1 wherein said apparatus has a width and said plenum extends across at least half of said width. 9. The cooling apparatus of claim 8 wherein said plenum extends across more than 80% of said width. 10. The cooling apparatus of claim 1 wherein a portion of said plenum downstream of said heat exchanger has a width, W, and a depth, D, and an aspect ratio of said width to said depth of greater than 8:1. 11. The cooling apparatus of claim 10 wherein said aspect ratio is greater than 12:1. 12. The cooling apparatus of claim 1 wherein said plenum has a narrowed region downstream of said heat exchanger, and a wider, deceleration region downstream of said narrowed region adjacent said outlet. 13. The cooling apparatus of claim 1 further comprising a resistance array mounted athwart said outlet. 14. The cooling apparatus of claim 1 wherein said bed has a base wall, said base wall of said bed also forming a wall of said plenum downstream of said heat exchanger. 15. The cooling apparatus of claim 1 wherein said open bed has raised sidewalls extending between said outlet of said plenum and said inlet of said plenum. 16. The cooling apparatus of claim 15 wherein said bed included an inclined base wall. 17. The cooling apparatus of claim 1 and further including a removable cover for enclosing said open bed. 18. The cooling apparatus of claim 1 and further comprising a molded plastic housing, said housing bounding said bed, and defining a lodgement for a vapour cycle cooling system, said heat exchanger being an evaporator of said vapour cycle cooling system, said moulded plastic housing including an insulated wall between said lodgement and said plenum. 19. The cooling apparatus of claim 1 having a weight of less than 80 lbs., and falling within an envelope less than 30 inches wide, 30 inches high, and 36 inches deep. 20. The cooling apparatus of claim 1 wherein 1 said apparatus causes a cooling flow to pass through said bed, and said cooling flow has a nominal Reynolds number in the range of 2500 to 10,000. 21. The cooling apparatus of claim 1 wherein said plenum and said bed are separated by a bed plate, said bed plate forming a wall of said plenum, and, in operation, downstream of said heat exchanger, said bed plate flow interacting with said bed plate within said plenum has a nominal Nusselt number in the range of 10 to 25.