초록 ▼

A cooled cabinet assembly for the storage of vials, beakers or the like is disclosed. The assembly comprises an insulating tray, a cooling element, and a fan. The insulating tray comprises a bottom wall and a plurality of side walls extending upwardly from a periphery of the bottom wall. The insulat

A cooled cabinet assembly for the storage of vials, beakers or the like is disclosed. The assembly comprises an insulating tray, a cooling element, and a fan. The insulating tray comprises a bottom wall and a plurality of side walls extending upwardly from a periphery of the bottom wall. The insulating tray has an open upper end and defining an insulated cavity. The cooling element is positioned in air flow communication with the insulated cavity. The fan is configured to circulate air over the cooling element and into the insulated cavity and the drip pan is positioned to capture condensate from the cooling element. In one embodiment, an inside surface of the bottom wall inclines downwardly toward a drip pan to provide for gravity flow of condensate from the cavity to the drip pan. An insulating lid is provided to close of the cabinet when not in use. Insulating bands or rings are provided for positioning on the vials upper ends to reduce heat and moisture infiltration into the cabinet.

대표청구항 ▼

1. A cabinet assembly comprising an insulating tray body having side walls and a bottom wall constructed to provide insulation of at least R-2 per inch, said insulating tray body having an open upper end, wherein the insulating tray body defines a tray-shaped cavity,an insulating closure body sized

1. A cabinet assembly comprising an insulating tray body having side walls and a bottom wall constructed to provide insulation of at least R-2 per inch, said insulating tray body having an open upper end, wherein the insulating tray body defines a tray-shaped cavity,an insulating closure body sized to completely cover the open upper end of insulating tray and form an insulated closed cavity, said insulating closure body constructed to provide insulation of at least R-2 per inch,a liner lining the tray-shaped cavity and forming a shallow box which is open at the upper end and has a bottom wall,a cooling element positioned in air flow communication with the tray-shaped cavity,a fan to circulate air over the cooling element and into the tray-shaped cavity, anda drip pan positioned beneath the cooling element to capture condensate from the cooling element,wherein an inside surface of the bottom wall of the liner inclines downwardly toward the drip pan to provide for gravity flow of condensate from the cavity to the drip pan,an apertured plate assembly positioned in the liner, said apertured plate assembly including a perforated face plate positioned near the open upper end of the liner and near parallel to the bottom wall and a perforated insulating plate serving as substrate for the perforated face plate, the perforations of the face plate being aligned with the perforations in the insulating plate, the perforated insulating plate being formed from a material having an R value in the range of from 2 to 20 per inch, wherein a cooled chamber is defined between the perforated insulating plate of the plate assembly and the inside surface of the bottom wall of the liner. 2. The cabinet assembly as in claim 1 wherein the insulating tray body and the insulating closure body comprise expanded foam. 3. The cabinet assembly as in claim 1 wherein the fan is positioned to draw air from the cooled chamber, circulate the air over the cooling element to form cooled air, and discharge the cooled air into the cooled chamber. 4. The cabinet assembly in claim 1 wherein the apertured plate assembly further comprises a support grate positioned parallel to the perforated insulating plate, the insulating plate being positioned between the support grate and the perforated face plate, and a plurality of spacers to space the support grate apart from the insulating plate,wherein the support grate has a framework to support cylindrical objects sized to fit the perforations in the perforated face plate and the perforated insulating plate. 5. The cabinet assembly as in claim 4 further comprising a replaceable strip slidably mounted in a track formed in the perforated face plate, for labeling the aperture rows. 6. The cabinet assembly as in claim 1 further comprising an imperforate insulating filler plate positioned in the tray assembly alongside the apertured plate assembly, a portion of the cooled chamber being defined between the imperforate insulating filler plate and the bottom wall, wherein the imperforate insulating filler plate has an R-value of at least 2. 7. The cabinet assembly as in claim 1 further comprising a plurality of vial assemblies carried by the apertured plate assembly, one vial assembly per aperture, wherein each vial assembly has a generally cylindrical vial body having a mouth at one end, and a vial end closure covering the covering the mouth of the vial body and sealing an inside of the vial body from an outside of the vial body, each vial assembly further comprisingan insulating ring or band surrounding the vial body near the mouth, said insulating ring or band having an outside diameter which is greater than an outside diameter of the vial body, and being formed from a material having an R value in the range of from 2 to 20 per inch, wherein the generally cylindrical body of each vial is closely received by an aperture of the apertured plate assembly and the insulating ring or band is positioned against the perforated face plate and forms a substantially air tight seal. 8. A cabinet assembly comprising an insulating tray body having side walls and a bottom wall constructed to provide insulation of at least R-2 per inch, said insulating tray body having an open upper end,wherein the insulating tray body defines a tray-shaped cavity,a liner lining the tray-shaped cavity and forming a shallow box which is open at the upper end and has a bottom wall,a cooling element positioned in air flow communication with the tray-shaped cavity,a fan to circulate air over the cooling element and into the tray-shaped cavity, anda drip pan positioned beneath the cooling element to capture condensate from the cooling element,wherein an inside surface of the bottom wall of the liner inclines downwardly toward the drip pan to provide for gravity flow of condensate from the cavity to the drip pan,an apertured plate assembly positioned in the liner, said apertured plate assembly including a perforated face plate positioned near the open upper end of the liner and near parallel to the bottom wall and a perforated insulating plate serving as substrate for the perforated face plate, the perforations of the face plate being aligned with the perforations in the insulating plate, the perforated insulating plate being formed from a material having an R value in the range of from 2 to 20 per inch, wherein a cooled chamber is defined between the perforated insulating plate of the plate assembly and the inside surface of the bottom wall of the liner,wherein the cooling element is a part of a Peltier refrigeration system, said Peltier refrigeration system comprisinga Peltier device mounted in an insulating wall, said device having a cold side facing upward and a hot side facing downward,a cold side heat sink mounted to the cold side of the Peltier device, said cold side heat sink having upwardly extending fins and constituting the cooling element,a hot side heat sink mounted to the hot side of the Peltier device, said hot side heat sink having downwardly extending fins and constituting a heating element,a cold side fan to circulate air over the cold side heat sink, and flow cooled air into the cooled chamber, anda hot side fan to circulate air over the hot side heat sink. 9. The cabinet assembly as in claim 8 further comprising a liquid level sensor operably associated with the drip pan, andan audible alarm electrically connected to the level sensor to alarm in the event a liquid level in the drip pan exceeds a predetermined level. 10. The cabinet assembly as in claim 8 further comprising a plurality of temperature sensors positioned in the bottom wall, said temperature sensors being selectively electrically connected to a temperature display. 11. The cabinet assembly as in claim 10 further comprising an audible alarm electrically connected to the temperature display to alarm in the event that a sensed temperature exceeds a predetermined temperature. 12. The cabinet assembly as in claim 8 wherein the cold side heat sink has an upwardly facing surface with a downward inclination to provide for gravity flow of liquid condensate toward the drip pan. 13. The cabinet assembly as in claim 12 wherein the cold side fan circulates air across the cold side heat sink in the direction of the downward inclination. 14. The cabinet assembly as in claim 8 wherein the hot side fan circulates air across the hot side heat sink and then across the surface of any condensate accumulated in the drip pan.