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 thermal treatment and storage unit includes a housing with a thermal treatment chamber, and a support member secured to the housing and including a plurality of openings to receive and support food or beverage items such that a substantial portion of each of the food or beverage items is disposed within the housing chamber. Ports are disposed on at least one of the housing and support member. The ports 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 insulated and 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.

1 . A portable thermal treatment and storage unit comprising: 
 a housing including a thermal treatment chamber;    a support member secured to the housing and including a plurality of openings to receive and support food or beverage items such that a substantial portion of each of the food or beverage items is disposed within the housing chamber; and    a plurality of ports disposed on at least one of the housing and support member, 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 insulated and 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.    
   
   
       2 . The unit of  claim 1 , wherein at least one port is disposed on the support member and at least one port is disposed on the housing.  
   
   
       3 . The unit of  claim 2 , wherein some of the ports are defined on the support member as grooves that extend from the openings of the support member so as to provide an airflow path between the chamber and the surrounding environment when food or beverage items are placed within the openings of the support member.  
   
   
       4 . The unit of  claim 2 , further comprising: 
 a movable member disposed within the housing, wherein the movable member is selectively movable from a first position within the housing where the at least one port is open to a second position within the housing where the at least one port is closed.    
   
   
       5 . The unit of  claim 4 , wherein the movable member includes a tab that extends through the housing to facilitate movement of the movable member between the first and second positions.  
   
   
       6 . The unit of  claim 4 , wherein the movable member comprises a foam insulation material.  
   
   
       7 . The unit of  claim 4 , wherein the movable member is disposed adjacent a bottom wall of the housing, and the housing, support member and movable member are suitably dimensioned such that food or beverage items received and supported by the support member are suspended a selected distance from the movable member.  
   
   
       8 . The unit of  claim 1 , wherein the support member is removably secured to the housing and comprises a top wall that includes the openings and a plurality of side walls that fit within the chamber of the housing when the support member is secured to the housing.  
   
   
       9 . The unit of  claim 8 , wherein the support member further includes a foam insulation section secured to an underside of the top wall.  
   
   
       10 . The unit of  claim 1 , further comprising: 
 a plurality of cups configured to be received and retained within the openings of the support member, wherein each of the cups includes a food or beverage item disposed within the cups and a removable lid that encloses an opening in the cup, and the food or beverage item fills a selected portion of the cup while leaving an air gap between an upper portion of the food or beverage item disposed within the cup and an underside of the lid connected with the cup, the air gap having a thickness of between about 0.25 inch and about 0.5 inch.    
   
   
       11 . A portable thermal treatment and storage unit comprising: 
 a housing including a thermal treatment chamber;    a means for supporting food or beverage items such that a substantial portion of each of the food or beverage items is suspended within the 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.    
   
   
       12 . A method of thermally treating food or beverage items, the method comprising: 
 loading frozen food or beverage items in a unit such that a majority of 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.    
   
   
       13 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein the partially frozen food or beverage items comprises one of a slush beverage product and a partially frozen dairy product.  
   
   
       14 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein the partially frozen food or beverage item comprises a slush beverage product including at least one fruit juice and at least one of a nucleating agent, pectin, carrageenan, cellulose gum, cellulose gel, xantham gum, locust bean gum and guar gum.  
   
   
       15 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein the frozen food or beverage items have a temperature within the range of about 10° F. to about −40° F. when the food or beverage items are loaded within the unit.  
   
   
       16 . The method of  claim 15 , wherein the partially frozen food or beverage item comprises a slush beverage product that is maintained within a temperature range of about 20° F. to about 27° F. during the selected storage time period.  
   
   
       17 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein the air flowing from the environment surrounding the unit is at a temperature within a range of about 68° F. to about 85° F., and the temperature of air remaining in the unit chamber after the flow of air through the unit chamber achieves a temperature within a range of about 38° F. or less.  
   
   
       18 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein: 
 the unit comprises a housing that includes the chamber, a support member secured to the housing that supports the substantial portion of each of the food or beverage items within the chamber, and a plurality of ports disposed on at least one of the housing and support member, the ports providing a flow path between the chamber and the environment surrounding the unit to facilitate the flow of air into the housing, through the chamber, and out of the housing; and    the flow of air through the chamber is limited or prevented by closing at least one of the plurality of ports.    
   
   
       19 . The method of  claim 18 , wherein the unit further comprises a movable member disposed within the housing chamber, and the closing of the at least one port includes moving the movable member from a first position to a second position within the housing.  
   
   
       20 . The method of  claim 19 , wherein the support member includes openings configured to receive and retain the food or beverage items loaded in the unit, and some of the ports are defined on the support member as grooves that extend from the openings of the support member so as to provide an airflow path between the chamber and the surrounding environment when the food or beverage items are placed within the openings of the support member.  
   
   
       21 . The method of  claim 19 , wherein the movable member includes a tab that extends through the housing to facilitate movement of the movable member between the first and second positions.  
   
   
       22 . The method of  claim 19 , wherein the movable member comprises a foam insulation material.  
   
   
       23 . The method of  claim 19 , wherein the movable member is disposed adjacent a bottom wall of the housing, and the housing, support member and movable member are suitably dimensioned such that food or beverage items loaded into the unit are suspended a selected distance from the movable member.  
   
   
       24 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein the warming time period is no greater than about 3 hours.  
   
   
       25 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein the storage time period is at least about 1 hour.  
   
   
       26 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein the food or beverage items are disposed within a plurality of cups that are loaded within the unit such that a majority of each cup is disposed within the chamber, each cup includes a removable lid that encloses an opening in the cup, and the food or beverage item fills a selected portion of the cup while leaving an air gap between an upper portion of the food or beverage item disposed within the cup and an underside of the lid connected with the cup, the air gap having a thickness of between about 0.25 inch and about 0.5 inch.