In many different industries, most notably, the airline catering industry, food products must be transferred from one area to another after preparation and before service. Food products after preparation are generally hot, for example, 170xc2x0 F. The food products are then placed on trays which, in turn, are placed on a movable rack. The rack is then usually placed within a cabinet cooler, to reduce the temperature of the food products to a desired temperature of, for example, 40xc2x0 F. Thereafter, the rack can be removed from the cabinet cooler and moved into a conventional walk-in cooler for the final reduction in temperature of the food products to a temperature of, for example, 38xc2x0 F. When the user is ready to process the food products, the rack is removed from the walk-in cooler for final processing of the food products by the user.
Problems have arisen, though, with the movement of the food products after preparation, to the walk-in cooler, and then to their final destination, i.e., airline carts. The food products will not maintain the desired temperature as they must be moved from place to place outside of a controlled environment of the desired temperature. Generally, the cabinet cooler is stationary and is connected to an intricate plumbing system, or requires the use of liquid nitrogen or liquid CO2. These cabinet coolers also generally require the user to push the rack onto a ramp in order to insert the rack within the cabinet cooler. Such a setup can cause safety problems.
Therefore, there is a need for an effective cabinet cooler that is portable such that it can move by itself, or in conjunction with a rack holding food products therein. There is also a need for an effective cabinet cooler that is capable of sealing cooled air therein when the rack is positioned therein. The present invention provides such a cabinet cooler. Other advantages of the present invention will become apparent upon reading the attached specification in combination with a study of the drawings.
A primary object of the invention is to provide a novel portable container system which is used for cooling of in-process food that is particularly applicable to the airline catering industry.
Another object of the invention is to provide a portable cabinet cooler that does not require a ramp for the rack to be rolled therein.
Yet another object of the invention is to provide a cabinet cooler which uses dry ice, as opposed to liquid nitrogen or liquid CO2.
Still another object of the invention is to provide a cabinet cooler that requires no fixed plumbing, but only a 100 v plug in.
Another object of the invention is to provide a cabinet cooler having elongated slots in a lower wall thereof to allow the legs of a rack to wheeled therein and to act as guides for the rack legs.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide flexible seals along the length of the elongated slots which conform to the legs of the rack when the rack is positioned therein for sealing the bottom of the cabinet cooler.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a cabinet cooler that is capable of rapidly cooling the inside thereof.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a cabinet cooler which allows a rack to roll directly into the cabinet cooler without any additional devices or modifications to the rack.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a cabinet cooler where the fans and driving means can be easily serviced and cleaned.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a cabinet cooler that can operate as either a cooler/freezer or, if desired, as an isothermal container to maintain the temperature within the cabinet cooler.
Briefly, and in accordance with the foregoing, the present invention provides a novel cabinet cooler. The cabinet cooler has an open housing defined by a lower wall, a rear wall, opposite side walls, and a top wall. The lower wall has a plurality of wheels positioned on a bottom thereof so that the cabinet cooler can be easily moved. The lower wall also has a pair of slots therethrough having flexible seals therein such that a wheeled rack can be rolled into the opening of the housing. A door attached to one of the side walls can then close the housing once the rack is wheeled into the housing. A plurality of fans pull air over dry ice cell(s) to cool the air within the housing and force the cooled air over the rack, which can hold a plurality of trays capable of holding food.