Storage box using a thermoelement and a cooling method for a storage box

Abstract

A storage box with a thermoelement is disclosed. This storage box is operable in a frozen-storage mode operation, in addition to a cool-storage mode and a hot-storage mode. During a cool-storage mode operation of the storage box, the main compartment (14) is primarily cooled by a main thermoelement (20) to be kept at a low temperature. The temperature difference between the areas around the two junctions (61, 62) of the sub-thermoelement (60) of a sub-storage unit (50) installed within the main compartment (14) is sufficiently smaller than that between the areas around the two junctions of the main thermoelement irrespective of a consideration of an addition of heat produced from heat exchanging units provided at the two junctions of each thermoelement. The sub-thermoelement (60) is thus significantly improved in its cooling capacity. The temperature of the sub-compartment (52) of the sub-storage unit (50) is thus reduced lower than 0° C., and so the sub-compartment is kept in a frozen-storage mode. The sub-storage unit (50) is removable from the main compartment (14), thus allowing a user to use it independently from the storage box in, for example, a car.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.