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US 9,989,300 B1Granted
Modular refrigeration device
AssigneeSupercooler Technologies, Inc.
InventorDouglas John Shuntich
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A refrigerator includes a refrigerating compartment configured to preserve food, the compartment including a plurality of walls forming a cavity, a door coupled to the compartment configured to cover the refrigeration space when in a closed position, and a passageway positioned on at least one of the walls and the door such that air within the cavity is in fluid communication with air outside the cavity when the door is in the closed position.
Claims20
A plurality of modular, stackable refrigerator units in a food preservation system, consisting of:
- a. a first modular refrigerator unit having an interior volume of approximately one cubic foot to approximately five cubic feet defined by a plurality of side walls defining a plurality of food compartments to store food, wherein the first modular refrigerator unit includes
- i. a temperature sensor disposed within each of the plurality of food compartments to sense a temperature within the respective food compartment;
- ii. at least one air circulating fan disposed within the interior volume and positioned to circulate air from one of the plurality of food compartments to a different one of the plurality of food compartments;
- b. a second modular refrigerator unit having an interior volume of approximately one cubic foot to approximately five cubic feet defined by a plurality of side walls defining at least one food compartment to store food, wherein the second modular refrigerator unit includes
- i. a temperature sensor disposed within the at least one food compartment to sense a temperature within the food compartment;
- ii. a first humidity sensor to sense a humidity level inside the at least one food compartment;
- iii. a second humidity sensor to sense a humidity level of the ambient atmosphere outside of the second modular refrigerator unit;
- iv. a plurality of gas sensors adapted to sense a gas level, associated with fresh food ripening or respiring, wherein at least one gas is selected from one of ethylene, carbon dioxide or oxygen inside the at least one food compartment;
- v. at least one aperture disposed in at least one of the plurality of side walls of the interior volume to provide fluid communication between the ambient atmosphere and the at least one food compartment;
- vi. at least one breathing fan disposed in and partially obstructing the at least one aperture in the at least one of the plurality of side walls of the interior volume to direct air through the at least one aperture in at least one direction to provide fluid communication between the interior volume and the ambient environment;
- vii. at least one air circulating fan disposed within the interior volume and positioned to circulate air within the at least one food compartment;
- and
- c. a controller that operates to preserve the food stored in the interior volume of the first modular refrigerator unit, and simultaneously preserve the food stored in the interior volume of the second modular refrigerator unit, wherein the first modular refrigerator unit and the second modular refrigerator unit are each stacked to fit securely in a frame by a locking mechanism.
10 more elements
A modular, countertop food preservation system, consisting of:
- a. a modular refrigerator unit having an interior volume defined by a plurality of side walls defining at least one food compartment to store food;
- b. a temperature sensor disposed within the at least one food compartments to sense a temperature within the food compartment;
- c. a plurality of air circulating fans affixed to the plurality of sidewalls within the interior volume;
- d. an ethylene gas filter using potassium permanganate pellets as an ethylene gas absorber to slow the ripening or decaying process of produce inside the unit;
- e. a first humidity sensor to sense a humidity level inside the at least one food compartment;
- f. a second humidity sensor to sense a humidity level of the ambient atmosphere outside of the modular refrigerator unit;
- g. at least one aperture disposed in at least one of the plurality of side walls of the interior volume to provide fluid communication between the ambient atmosphere and the at least one food compartment;
- h. at least one breathing fan in operative communication with at least one aperture in at least one of the plurality of side walls of the interior volume to direct air through the at least one aperture in at least one direction;
- and
- i. a controller that operates to preserve the food stored in the at least one food compartment responsive to the first humidity sensor, the second humidity sensor and the temperature sensors as a function of at least a type of the food stored in the at least one food compartment, wherein the controller is responsive to a predetermined humidity level of the at least one food compartment and the ambient air for actuating the at least one breathing fan to direct ambient air to the at least one food compartment when humidity inside the at least one food compartment is below a first predetermined humidity level and the ambient humidity is above the at least one food compartment humidity by a predetermined differential humidity.
7 more elements
A plurality of modular, stackable refrigerator units in a food preservation system comprising:
- a. a first modular refrigerator unit having an interior volume of approximately one cubic foot to approximately five cubic feet defined by a plurality of side walls defining a plurality of food compartments to store food, wherein the first modular refrigerator unit comprises:
- i. a temperature sensor disposed within each of the plurality of food compartments to sense a temperature within the respective food compartment;
- ii. at least one air circulating fan disposed within the interior volume and positioned to circulate air from one of the plurality of food compartments to a different of the plurality of food compartments;
- b. a second modular refrigerator unit having an interior volume of approximately one cubic foot to approximately five cubic feet defined by a plurality of side walls defining at least one food compartment to store food, wherein the second modular refrigerator unit comprises:
- i. a temperature sensor disposed within at least one food compartment to sense a temperature within the food compartment;
- ii. a first humidity sensor to sense a humidity level inside the at least one food compartment;
- iii. a second humidity sensor to sense a humidity level of the ambient atmosphere outside of the second modular refrigerator unit;
- iv. a plurality of gas sensors adapted to sense a gas level, associated with fresh food ripening or respiring, wherein at least one gas is selected from one of ethylene, carbon dioxide or oxygen inside the at least one food compartment;
- v. at least one aperture disposed in at least one of the plurality of side walls of the interior volume to provide fluid communication between the ambient atmosphere and the at least one food compartment;
- vi. at least one breathing fan disposed in and partially obstructing the at least one aperture the at least one of the plurality of sidewalls of the interior volume to direct air through the at least one aperture in at least one direction to provide fluid communication between the interior volume and the ambient environment;
- vii. at least one circulating fan disposed within the interior volume and positioned to circulate air within the at least one food compartment;
- and
- c. a controller that operates to preserve the food stored in the interior volume of the first modular refrigerator unit and simultaneously cool and control the humidity to preserve the food stored in the interior volume of the second modular refrigerator unit, wherein the first modular refrigerator unit and the second modular refrigerator unit are each stacked to fit securely in a frame by a locking mechanism.
10 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.