Portable thermal treatment and storage units for containing readily accessible food or beverage items and methods for thermally treating food or beverage items

Abstract

A portable refrigeration and insulation unit includes a hollow cartridge with a sealed cavity and a top wall including a plurality of wells extending from the top wall. The wells are configured to receive and thermally treat food or beverage items, in particular slush beverage products, where each well is suitably contoured so as to contact a majority of outer surface area portions of a food or beverage item that is placed within the well. The cartridge cavity includes a heat transfer material that surrounds portions of the wells and facilitates heat transfer from food or beverage items placed within the wells to the heat transfer material during operation of the portable unit. The unit further includes an outer insulating case that receives the cartridge and provides additional insulation features. The cartridge is cooled to achieve a suitable temperature, is loaded with food or beverage items, and is placed within the case for use in a foodservice environment.

1 . A portable thermal treatment and storage unit comprising: 
 a hollow cartridge including a top wall, a bottom wall, side walls and a sealed cavity defined between the walls of the cartridge, wherein the top wall includes a plurality of wells extending from the top wall and that are spaced apart from each other and configured to receive and thermally treat food or beverage items, each well being suitably contoured so as to contact a majority of outer surface area portions of a food or beverage item that is placed within the well, and the cartridge cavity includes at least one of an insulation material that surrounds portions of the wells and thermally insulates the food or beverage items placed within the wells and a heat transfer material that surrounds portions of the wells and facilitates heat transfer from food or beverage items placed within the wells to the heat transfer material during operation of the portable unit.    
   
   
       2 . The unit of  claim 1 , wherein the cartridge cavity of the hollow cartridge includes both the insulation section and the heat transfer material, the heat transfer material comprising a gel material.  
   
   
       3 . The unit of  claim 2 , wherein the insulation section is disposed within a lower portion of the cartridge cavity and proximate the cartridge bottom wall, and the gel material is disposed within an upper portion of the cartridge cavity and proximate the cartridge top wall.  
   
   
       4 . The unit of  claim 2 , wherein the unit is configured to receive and thermally treat cups of slush or milkshake beverage product, and the gel material has a phase transfer temperature that is lower than the freezing point of the slush beverage product by no more than about 10° F.  
   
   
       5 . The unit of  claim 2 , wherein the gel material has a phase transfer temperature within a range of about 22° F. to about 24° F.  
   
   
       6 . The unit of  claim 2 , wherein the cartridge includes at least one port that communicates with an upper portion of the cartridge cavity disposed proximate the cartridge top wall to facilitate filling of the cavity with the gel material.  
   
   
       7 . The unit of  claim 1 , further comprising: 
 an outer insulating case including a compartment that is suitably dimensioned to receive and retain the cartridge.    
   
   
       8 . The unit of  claim 7 , wherein the case includes an insulating space disposed between at least one inner wall of the case that forms a portion of the compartment and an outer wall of the case that is exposed to the surrounding environment in which the unit is disposed, and the insulating space minimizes or prevents heat transfer between the cartridge and the surrounding environment.  
   
   
       9 . The unit of  claim 8 , wherein the case compartment is defined by inner side walls and a bottom wall of the case, each inner side wall is separated from a corresponding outer side wall of the case to define a common insulating space extending between the inner and outer side walls of the case, and the bottom wall of the case is recessed within a lower portion of the case so as to define an insulating space between the bottom wall and a surface that supports the case.  
   
   
       10 . The unit of  claim 9 , wherein the insulating space is at least partially defined by a distance between the inner and outer walls of the case of between about 0.5 inch and 1.5 inches.  
   
   
       11 . The unit of  claim 7 , further comprising: 
 a cover that is suitably dimensioned to fit over the case and seal the case compartment from the surrounding environment in which the unit is disposed when the cartridge is received within the case compartment.    
   
   
       12 . The unit of  claim 7 , wherein the case includes outer walls that are tapered from a top portion of the case to a bottom portion of the case such that a cross-sectional dimension of the bottom portion of the case is greater than a cross-sectional dimension of the top portion of the case, and the tapered outer walls are further configured to facilitate stacking of a plurality of units on top of each other such that the bottom portion of one unit extends over and rests upon the top portion of an adjacently stacked unit.  
   
   
       13 . The unit of  claim 1 , wherein the cartridge cavity includes the heat transfer material, and the heat transfer material comprises a gel mixture including water, a polysaccharide gum and at least one of a salt and an acid.  
   
   
       14 . The unit of  claim 13 , wherein the polysaccharide gum comprises at least one of guar gum, xantham gum and locust bean gum, a salt comprising sodium chloride and an acid comprising citric acid.  
   
   
       15 . The unit of  claim 14 , wherein the salt further comprises calcium carbonate and sodium benzoate.  
   
   
       16 . The unit of  claim 2 , wherein the gel material fills from about 10% to about 50% of the volume of the cartridge cavity.  
   
   
       17 . The unit of  claim 1 , wherein an outer surface of the cartridge top wall includes shallow grooves that are aligned and communicate with the wells to permit access and removal of a food or beverage item from the cartridge by aligning at least one of a thumb and a finger within at least one groove so as to grip the food or beverage item within a corresponding well that is aligned with the at least one groove.  
   
   
       18 . A method of thermally treating a food or beverage item, the method comprising: 
 (a) providing a portable unit comprising a hollow cartridge including a top wall, a bottom wall, side walls and a sealed cavity defined between the walls of the cartridge, wherein the top wall includes a plurality of wells that extend from the top wall and that are configured to receive and thermally treat food or beverage items, each well being suitably contoured so as to contact a majority of outer surface area portions of a food or beverage item that is placed within the well, and the cartridge cavity includes a heat transfer material that surrounds portions of the wells and facilitates heat transfer from food or beverage items placed within the wells to the heat transfer material during operation of the portable unit;    (b) cooling the cartridge at a suitable temperature and for a suitable time period so as to achieve a selected temperature for the heat transfer material within the cartridge cavity;    (c) placing food or beverage items within the wells of the cartridge; and    (d) placing the portable unit at a location in which the food or beverage items are to be provided to consumers;    wherein the unit thermally treats the food or beverage items without the requirement of electrical energy and maintains the food or beverage items within a selected temperature range for a time period of at least one hour.    
   
   
       19 . The method of  claim 18 , wherein the cartridge is cooled such that the heat transfer material is at a temperature ranging from about 1° F. to about 10° F. below the freezing point of the food or beverage items to be thermally treated by the unit.  
   
   
       20 . The method of  claim 18 , wherein the food or beverage items comprise slush or milkshake beverage products that are in a partially frozen state.  
   
   
       21 . The method of  claim 20 , wherein the heat transfer material comprises a gel material having a phase transfer temperature within a range of about 22° F. to about 24° F.  
   
   
       22 . The method of  claim 21 , wherein the slush or milkshake beverage products are maintained within the unit at a temperature that is within a range of about 23° F. to about 29° F.  
   
   
       23 . The method of  claim 18 , wherein the food and beverage items include a liquid beverage product that is converted into a partially frozen slush beverage product upon placement of the liquid beverage product within the wells of the cartridge.  
   
   
       24 . The method of  claim 23 , further comprising: 
 (e) pre-chilling the liquid beverage product to a selected temperature that is above the freezing point of the liquid beverage product prior to placing the liquid beverage product in the wells of the hollow cartridge.    
   
   
       25 . The method of  claim 24 , wherein the liquid beverage product is pre-chilled to a temperature ranging from about 35° F. to about 42° F.  
   
   
       26 . The method of  claim 23 , wherein the liquid beverage product comprises a mixture of at least one fruit juice, a nucleating agent, pectin, and a polysaccharide gum including at least one of xantham gum and locust bean gum.  
   
   
       27 . The method of  claim 18 , wherein the cartridge cavity further includes an insulation material that surrounds portions of the wells and thermally insulates the food or beverage items placed within the wells, and the heat transfer material comprises a gel material.  
   
   
       28 . The method of  claim 27 , wherein the insulation section is disposed within a lower portion of the cartridge cavity and proximate the cartridge bottom wall, and the gel material is disposed within an upper portion of the cartridge cavity and proximate the cartridge top wall.  
   
   
       29 . The method of  claim 28 , wherein the hollow cartridge includes at least one port that communicates with an upper portion of the cartridge cavity disposed proximate the cartridge top wall, and the method further comprises: 
 (e) filling the upper portion of the cartridge cavity with the gel material.    
   
   
       30 . The method of  claim 27 , wherein the gel material fills from about 10% to about 50% of the volume of the cartridge cavity.  
   
   
       31 . The method of  claim 18 , wherein the heat transfer material includes a gel material formed from a mixture comprising water, a polysaccharide gum including at least one of guar gum, xantham gum and locust bean gum, a salt comprising sodium chloride and an acid comprising citric acid.  
   
   
       32 . The method of  claim 31 , wherein the mixture further comprises calcium carbonate and sodium benzoate.  
   
   
       33 . The method of  claim 18 , wherein the unit further comprises an outer insulating case including a compartment that is suitably dimensioned to receive and retain the cartridge, and the method further comprises: 
 after cooling the cartridge, placing the cartridge within the outer insulating case.    
   
   
       34 . The method of  claim 33 , wherein the case includes an insulating space disposed between at least one inner wall of the case that forms a portion of the compartment and an outer wall of the case that is exposed to the surrounding environment in which the unit is disposed, and the insulating space minimizes or prevents heat transfer between the cartridge and the surrounding environment.  
   
   
       35 . The method of  claim 34 , wherein the case compartment is defined by inner side walls and a bottom wall of the case, each inner side wall is separated from a corresponding outer side wall of the case to define a common insulating space extending between the inner and outer side walls of the case, and the bottom wall of the case is recessed within a lower portion of the case so as to define an insulating space between the bottom wall and a surface that supports the case.  
   
   
       36 . The method of  claim 34 , wherein the insulating space is at least partially defined by a distance between the inner and outer walls of the case of between about 0.5 inch and 1.5 inches.  
   
   
       37 . The method of  claim 33 , further comprising: 
 after insertion of the cartridge within the case compartment, placing a removable cover over a top portion of the case to seal the case compartment from the surrounding environment in which the unit is disposed.    
   
   
       38 . The method of  claim 33 , wherein the case includes outer walls that are tapered from a top portion of the case to a bottom portion of the case such that a cross-sectional dimension of the bottom portion of the case is greater than a cross-sectional dimension of the top portion of the case, and the method further comprises: 
 (e) stacking a plurality of units on top of each other such that the bottom portion of one unit extends over and rests upon the top portion of an adjacently stacked unit.    
   
   
       39 . The method of  claim 18 , wherein an outer surface of the cartridge top wall includes shallow grooves that are aligned and communicate with the wells to permit easy access and removal of a food or beverage item from the cartridge by aligning at least one of a thumb and a finger within at least one groove so as to grip the food or beverage item within a corresponding well that is aligned with the at least one groove.  
   
   
       40 . The method of  claim 18 , further comprising: 
 (e) upon removal of all of the food or beverage items from the cartridge, repeating steps (c) through (d) utilizing additional food or beverage items.