Countertop rapid cooler for rapidly cooling food, drink, and other items

Abstract

A countertop rapid cooler is disclosed for rapidly cooling food, drink, and other items using at least convection cooling. the cooler includes: a thermally insulated enclosure with a door and sized to fit on a countertop; a fan; and a convective heat exchanger for cooling air blown by the fan toward an item within the enclosure. The convective heat exchanger is capable of receiving coolant from a neighboring refrigeration unit (such as a refrigerator), and returning the coolant to the neighboring unit after use. In some embodiments, expanded coolant can be delivered from the neighboring unit's expansion valve. In other embodiments, unexpanded coolant can be delivered from the neighboring unit, to be expanded by a separate expansion valve located within the countertop rapid cooler. By not including its own compressor or condenser, the countertop rapid cooler is lighter, and uses less space, than currently available rapid cooling devices.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A cooling device for rapid cooling of items, the cooling device comprising:
 a thermally insulated enclosure, the enclosure having a thermally insulated door, the enclosure being sized so as to fit on a countertop, and being sized so as to enclose at least one item to be rapidly cooled;   a fan located within the thermally insulated enclosure;   a convective heat exchanger, the convective heat exchanger being capable of receiving coolant from a neighboring refrigeration unit and being capable of cooling air to be blown by the fan toward the item to be cooled;   a coolant input, the coolant input being capable of delivering the coolant to the convective heat exchanger from the neighboring refrigeration unit; and   a coolant output, the coolant output being capable of returning the coolant to the neighboring refrigeration unit from the convective heat exchanger.   
     
     
         2 . The cooling device of  claim 1 , wherein an inside space of the thermally insulated enclosure is of a volume that falls within a range of volumes of inside spaces of typical microwave ovens. 
     
     
         3 . The cooling device of  claim 1 , wherein the coolant input is adapted to receive expanded coolant from an expansion valve of the neighboring refrigeration unit. 
     
     
         4 . The cooling device of  claim 3 , further comprising:
 at least one flow valve coupled to the coolant input and configured to enable and disable flow of coolant from the expansion valve of the neighboring refrigeration unit.   
     
     
         5 . The cooling device of  claim 1 , wherein the coolant input is adapted to receive compressed coolant from a neighboring refrigeration unit, and wherein the coolant input includes an expansion valve for expanding the coolant, the expansion valve being located:
 within the thermally insulated enclosure; and   prior to the convective heat exchanger.   
     
     
         6 . The cooling device of  claim 1 , wherein the convective heat exchanger is a tube-and-fin system. 
     
     
         7 . The cooling device of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 a sensor capable of sensing a temperature of the item to be cooled; and   a coolant flow module capable of adjusting coolant delivery to the cooling device based on the temperature sensed by the sensor.   
     
     
         8 . The cooling device of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 a control input capable of receiving a value corresponding to at least one of:
 a desired temperature; and 
 a desired cooling time for the item to be cooled; and 
   a coolant flow module capable of adjusting coolant delivery to the cooling device based on the at least one of:
 the desired temperature; and 
 the desired cooling time of the item to be cooled. 
   
     
     
         9 . The cooling device of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 a sensor capable of sensing a temperature of the item to be cooled; and   a fan control module capable of adjusting air flow from the fan to the item to be cooled based on the temperature of the item sensed by the sensor.   
     
     
         10 . The cooling device of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 a control input capable of receiving a value corresponding to at least one of:
 a desired temperature; and 
 a desired cooling time for the item to be cooled; and 
   a fan control module capable of adjusting air flow from the fan to the item to be cooled based on the at least one of:
 the desired temperature; and 
 the desired cooling time of the item to be cooled. 
   
     
     
         11 . The cooling device of  claim 3 , wherein:
 the neighboring refrigeration unit includes a compressor and a coolant line; and   the coolant input is coupled to the expansion valve via a coolant line tap downstream of the expansion valve, the cooling device further including:   a signal line configured to transmit control signals to the neighboring refrigeration unit, the control signals for controlling compressor activation.   
     
     
         12 . The cooling device of  claim 1 , wherein:
 the neighboring refrigeration unit includes a compressor, a coolant line, and an electrically controlled T-valve on the coolant line downstream of the expansion valve; and   the coolant input is coupled to the neighboring refrigeration unit's expansion valve via the electrically controlled T-valve;   
       the cooling device further comprising:
 a signal line configured to transmit control signals to the neighboring refrigeration unit, the control signals for controlling:
 compressor activation; and 
 the electrically controlled T-valve. 
 
 
     
     
         13 . The cooling device of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 a conduction plate coupled to the coolant input and to the coolant output, the conduction plate being a conductive heat exchanger connected in parallel with the convective heat exchanger, the conduction plate being capable of facilitating rapid cooling of the item to be cooled by cooling the item via conduction cooling.   
     
     
         14 . The cooling device of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 a cradle within the enclosure,   the cradle being capable of receiving the item to be cooled,   the cradle also being capable of executing rocking motion about at least one axis, so as to enhance conductive cooling of a liquid within the item to be cooled.   
     
     
         15 . The cooling device of  claim 14 , further comprising a power source capable of powering the rocking motion of the cradle. 
     
     
         16 . The cooling device of  claim 1 , wherein the item to be cooled is a vessel having liquid contents, the cooling device further comprising:
 a turntable within the enclosure,   the turntable being capable of receiving the vessel,   the turntable also being capable of angular motion about a vertical axis, so as to cause relative motion between the liquid contents and an inner surface of the vessel.   
     
     
         17 . A cooling device for rapidly cooling an item, the device comprising:
 a thermally insulated enclosure, the enclosure having a thermally insulated door, the enclosure being sized so as to fit on a countertop, and being sized so as to enclose at least one item to be rapidly cooled;   a fan located within the thermally insulated enclosure;   a convective heat exchanger, the convective heat exchanger being capable of receiving coolant from a neighboring refrigeration unit and being capable of cooling air to be blown by the fan toward the item to be cooled;   a coolant input, the coolant input being capable of delivering the coolant to the convective heat exchanger from the neighboring refrigeration unit;   a coolant output, the coolant output being capable of returning the coolant to the neighboring refrigeration unit from the convective heat exchanger;   a sensor capable of sensing a temperature of the item to be cooled;   a control input capable of receiving a value corresponding to at least one of:
 a desired temperature; and 
 a desired cooling time for the item to be cooled; 
   a fan control module capable of adjusting air flow from the fan to the item to be cooled based on the at least one of:
 the desired temperature; and 
 the desired cooling time of the item to be cooled; 
   a coolant flow module capable of adjusting coolant delivery to the cooling device based on the at least one of:
 the desired temperature; and 
 the desired cooling time of the item to be cooled; 
   a controller capable of executing instructions so as control at least one of:
 the sensor; 
 the control input; 
 the fan control module; and 
 the coolant flow module; and 
   a memory in communication with the controller, the memory being capable of storing instructions to be executed by the controller.   
     
     
         18 . A system for rapidly cooling an item, the system comprising:
 a refrigeration unit;   a thermally insulated enclosure connected to the refrigeration unit, the enclosure having a thermally insulated door, the enclosure being sized so as to fit on a countertop, and being sized so as to enclose at least one item to be rapidly cooled;   a fan located within the thermally insulated enclosure;   a convective heat exchanger, the convective heat exchanger being capable of receiving coolant from a neighboring refrigeration unit and being capable of cooling air to be blown by the fan toward the item to be cooled;   a coolant input, the coolant input being capable of delivering expanded coolant from an expansion valve of the neighboring refrigeration unit to the convective heat exchanger from the neighboring refrigeration unit;   at least one flow valve coupled to the coolant input and configured to enable and disable flow of coolant from the expansion valve of the neighboring refrigeration unit; and   a coolant output, the coolant output being capable of returning the coolant to the neighboring refrigeration unit from the convective heat exchanger.