Thermally-conditioned beverage holder

Abstract

A cooling system comprises a container that is conductively coupled or convectively coupled to a thermoelectric device to selectively cool and/or heat the container. A climate controlled container system for a vehicle includes a container or cavity and a conduction element configured to cool the cavity. In some embodiments, the cooling system comprises a housing, a housing inlet, a fluid passage and one or more thermoelectric devices and fluid transfer devices positioned within the housing.

1 - 10 . (canceled) 
     
     
         11 . A thermally-conditioned beverage holder comprising:
 at least one cavity configured to receive a beverage container, the at least one cavity defined by at least one wall;   a temperature conditioning system configured to heat or cool the at least one cavity; and   a sensor configured to detect a presence of a beverage container within the at least one cavity;   wherein activation and deactivation of the temperature conditioning system is controlled based on, at least in part, the detection of a beverage container within the at least one cavity by the sensor.   
     
     
         12 . The beverage holder of  claim 11 , wherein the sensor comprises at least one of a temperature sensor, a contact sensor and a weight sensor. 
     
     
         13 . The beverage holder of  claim 11 , wherein the sensor comprises a contact switch, the beverage holder further comprising a protruding member extending within the at least one cavity, the protruding member being operatively coupled to the contact switch. 
     
     
         14 . The beverage holder of  claim 11 , wherein the temperature conditioning system comprises a thermoelectric device. 
     
     
         15 . The beverage holder of  claim 11 , wherein the temperature conditioning system is configured to heat or cool at least a portion of the at least one wall defining the at least one cavity. 
     
     
         16 . The beverage holder of  claim 11 , wherein the temperature conditioning system is configured to deactivate when the sensor detects a change from a presence of a beverage container in the at least one cavity to an absence of a beverage container from the at least one cavity. 
     
     
         17 . The beverage holder of  claim 11 , wherein the temperature conditioning system is configured to activate when the sensor detects a change from an absence of a beverage container from the at least one cavity to a presence of a beverage container in the at least one cavity. 
     
     
         18 . A thermally-conditioned beverage holder comprising:
 at least one cavity configured to receive a beverage container, the at least one cavity defined by at least one wall;   a temperature conditioning system configured to cool or heat the at least one cavity; and   a sensor configured to determine at least one property of a beverage container positioned within the at least one cavity;   wherein the beverage holder is configured to automatically select an operational mode for the temperature conditioning system based on, at least in part, the at least one property of the beverage container determined by the sensor.   
     
     
         19 . The beverage holder of  claim 18 , wherein the at least one property of a beverage container relates to, at least in part, an exterior shape of the beverage container. 
     
     
         20 . The beverage holder of  claim 18 , wherein the at least one property of a beverage container relates to, at least in part, a weight of the beverage container. 
     
     
         21 . The beverage holder of  claim 18 , wherein the at least one property of a beverage container relates to, at least in part, a temperature of the beverage container. 
     
     
         22 . The beverage holder of  claim 18 , further comprising a manual override feature configured to permit a user to manually select the operational mode for the temperature conditioning system. 
     
     
         23 . The beverage holder of  claim 18 , wherein the operational mode of the temperature conditioning system is automatically selected based on previous operational information. 
     
     
         24 . The beverage holder of  claim 23 , wherein the previous operational information comprises an operational mode previously used for a beverage container. 
     
     
         25 . The beverage holder of  claim 23 , wherein the previous operational information comprises a previous operational mode based on the least one property determined by the sensor. 
     
     
         26 . The beverage holder of  claim 18 , wherein the sensor comprises at least one of a temperature sensor, a contact sensor and a weight sensor. 
     
     
         27 . The beverage holder of  claim 18 , wherein the sensor comprises a contact switch, the beverage holder further comprising a protruding member extending within the at least one cavity, the protruding member being operatively coupled to the contact switch. 
     
     
         28 . The beverage holder of  claim 18 , wherein the temperature conditioning system comprises a thermoelectric device. 
     
     
         29 . The beverage holder of  claim 18 , wherein the temperature conditioning system is configured to conductively or convectively cool or heat the at least one cavity. 
     
     
         30 . The beverage holder of  claim 18 , wherein the temperature conditioning system is configured to heat or cool at least a portion of the at least one wall defining the at least one cavity.