Portable thermal treatment and storage units for containing readily accessible food or beverage items and methods for thermally treating food or beverage items
First Claim
1. A portable thermal treatment and storage unit comprising:
- a housing including a thermal treatment chamber; and
a plurality of ports disposed on the unit, the ports providing a flow path between the chamber and an environment surrounding the unit to facilitate a flow of air into the housing, through the chamber, and out of the housing;
wherein the unit is configured to selectively open and close at least one port to limit or prevent the flow of air into the housing and through the chamber such that, when the at least one port is opened, the unit facilitates heat transfer between the flowing air and the food or beverage items supported by the support member so as to change the temperature of the food or beverage items and, when the at least one port is closed, the unit insulates the food or beverage items to maintain the food or beverage items within a selected temperature range for a selected time period.
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Abstract
A portable thermal treatment and storage unit includes a housing with a thermal treatment chamber, and ports that provide a flow path between the chamber and an environment surrounding the unit to facilitate a flow of air into the housing, through the chamber, and out of the housing. The unit is configured to selectively open and close at least one port to limit or prevent the flow of air into the housing and through the chamber such that, when the at least one port is opened, the unit facilitates heat transfer between the flowing air and the food or beverage items supported by the support member so as to change the temperature of the food or beverage items. When the at least one port is closed, the unit insulates the food or beverage items to maintain the food or beverage items within a selected temperature range for a selected time period.
39 Citations
24 Claims
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1. A portable thermal treatment and storage unit comprising:
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a housing including a thermal treatment chamber; and
a plurality of ports disposed on the unit, the ports providing a flow path between the chamber and an environment surrounding the unit to facilitate a flow of air into the housing, through the chamber, and out of the housing;
wherein the unit is configured to selectively open and close at least one port to limit or prevent the flow of air into the housing and through the chamber such that, when the at least one port is opened, the unit facilitates heat transfer between the flowing air and the food or beverage items supported by the support member so as to change the temperature of the food or beverage items and, when the at least one port is closed, the unit insulates the food or beverage items to maintain the food or beverage items within a selected temperature range for a selected time period. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A portable thermal treatment and storage unit comprising:
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a housing including a thermal treatment chamber; and
a means for selectively opening and closing an airflow path between the chamber and an environment surrounding the unit, wherein opening of the flow path facilitates a flow of air into the housing, through the chamber, and out of the housing and a heat transfer between flowing air and the food or beverage items suspended within the chamber so as to change the temperature of the food or beverage items suspended within the chamber;
wherein the unit is suitably insulated such that, upon closing the airflow path after the food or beverage items to change the temperature of the food or beverage items, the unit maintains the food or beverage items within a selected temperature range for a selected time period.
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11. A method of thermally treating food or beverage items, the method comprising:
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loading frozen food or beverage items in a unit such that each food or beverage item is disposed within a chamber of the unit;
thermally treating the frozen food or beverage items by facilitating a flow of air from an environment surrounding the unit through the unit chamber, wherein the air is at a higher temperature than the frozen food or beverage items such that the frozen food or beverage items are warmed over a selected warming time period to form partially frozen food or beverage items at a selected temperature range that is higher than the temperature of the frozen food or beverage items; and
upon achieving the selected temperature range for the partially frozen food or beverage items, limiting or preventing the flow of air through the unit chamber so as to maintain the partially frozen food or beverage items within the selected temperature range for a selected storage time period. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24)
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Specification