Cooling method

Abstract

In a display cabinet ( 21 ) articles such as food placed on a shelf ( 20 ) can be kept cooler by having a heat pipe in the shelf with one end of the heat pipe ( 20 a ) cooled by the cabinet's cooling system ( 22 ).

1 . Equipment for keeping articles cool which equipment comprises a cabinet incorporating at least one shelf or deck which shelf or deck incorporates a heat pipe there being a means to cool at least part of the heat pipe.  
     
     
         2 . Equipment as claimed in  claim 1  in which there are cooling means to cool the end of the heat pipe at the rear of the shelf or deck remote from the front of the cabinet.  
     
     
         3 . Equipment as claimed in  claim 1  or  2  in which the cooling means are means for by blowing cold air over the pipe from a cooling system.  
     
     
         4 . Equipment as claimed in any one of  claims 1  to  3  in which the shelf or deck is constructed as a heat pipe which is positioned through the display area back plate into a duct for the supply for cooled air.  
     
     
         5 . Equipment as claimed in any one of  claims 1  to  4  in which there are means to recirculate the air within the cabinet and the cooling means is a tube heat exchanger containing a low temperature refrigerant incorporating an evaporator which evaporator is in counterflow with the air.  
     
     
         6 . Equipment as claimed in any one of  claims 1  to  5  in which there is a convective cooling means which is supplemented by conductive heat transfer provided by a shelf cooling mechanism incorporating the heat pipe, the shelf being adapted to display an article placed upon it and to transfer heat from it to the cabinet cooling means.  
     
     
         7 . A method of cooling articles in a cabinet in which method the articles are positioned on shelf or deck in the cabinet which shelf or deck incorporates a heat pipe at least a part of which heat pipe is cooled.  
     
     
         8 . A method as claimed in  claim 7  for cooling food in which the article is placed on the shelf which incorporates the heat pipe and the end of the heat pipe at the rear of the shelf remote from the front of the cabinet is cooled.  
     
     
         9 . A method as claimed in  claim 8  in which the end of the heat pipe is cooled by blowing cold air over the pipe from a cooling means in the cabinet.  
     
     
         10 . A method as claimed in  claim 9  in which the cooling means is a cooling system in which air is recirculated within the cabinet where it is cooled by a plate fin and tube heat exchanger containing a low temperature refrigerant and the evaporator is in counterflow with the air.  
     
     
         11 . A method as claimed in any one of  claims 7  to  10  in which there is convective cooling which is supplemented by conductive heat transfer provided by the shelf cooling mechanism incorporating a heat pipe and the shelf is used to display the food and also to transfer heat from it to the cabinet cooling means.  
     
     
         12 . Equipment for cooling articles as claimed in  claim 1  as hereinbefore described with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4.