Cooling System and Method

Abstract

A cooling system having a cooling chamber including a surface defining one or more openings. A surface is configured to hold at least one container. An access door provides access to the cooling chamber. A refrigeration system is configured to cool the cooling chamber by forcing cool airflow through the one or more openings in the surface. The airflow through each of the one or more openings may be similar.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A cooling system comprising:
 a cooling chamber including at least one surface defining one or more openings; and   a refrigeration system configured to cool the cooling chamber by forcing cool airflow through the one or more openings.   
     
     
         2 . The cooling system of  claim 1 , wherein the airflow through each of the one or more openings is substantially similar. 
     
     
         3 . The cooling system of  claim 2 , wherein the cooling system is configured to provide a substantially uniform temperature distribution in the cooling chamber. 
     
     
         4 . The cooling system of  claim 2 , wherein the at least one surface comprises a surface configured to hold at least one container. 
     
     
         5 . The cooling system of  claim 2 , wherein the at least one surface comprises a sidewall. 
     
     
         6 . The cooling system of  claim 2 , wherein each of the one or more openings are sized to provide substantially similar airflow through each of the one or more openings. 
     
     
         7 . The cooling system of  claim 2 , wherein each of the one or more openings are shaped to provide substantially similar airflow through each of the one or more openings. 
     
     
         8 . The cooling system of  claim 2 , wherein each of the one or more openings are spaced to provide substantially similar airflow through each of the one or more openings. 
     
     
         9 . The cooling system of  claim 4 , wherein the at least one surface comprises a packed bed. 
     
     
         10 . The cooling system of  claim 2 , wherein at least some of the one or more openings are circular. 
     
     
         11 . The cooling system of  claim 2 , further comprising a cool air duct, wherein the refrigeration system is configured to cool the cooling chamber by forcing cool airflow through the cool air duct and through the one or more openings. 
     
     
         12 . The cooling system of  claim 11 , further comprising one or more baffles located in the cool air duct, wherein the one or more baffles are configured to adjust the airflow within the cool air duct. 
     
     
         13 . The cooling system of  claim 12 , wherein the cool air duct includes a substantially vertical portion located at least partially adjacent to the cooling chamber and a substantially horizontal portion located at least partially below the floor. 
     
     
         14 . The cooling system of  claim 2 , further comprising a temperature sensor and wherein the refrigeration system is configured to turn on or off in response to a temperature sensed by the temperature sensor. 
     
     
         15 . The cooling system of  claim 2 , wherein the cooling system is configured to cool beverage bottles in the cooling chamber from a range of about 30° C.-50° C. to a range of about 10° C.-0° C. in 1.5 to 6 hours. 
     
     
         16 . The cooling system of  claim 2 , wherein a cooling chamber temperature increases less than about 10° C. to about 15° C. after about six hours without usage of the refrigeration system. 
     
     
         17 . A cooling system comprising:
 a cooling chamber including at least one surface defining one or more openings, the surface further including at least a first region with one or more openings having at least a first opening characteristic and a second region with one or more openings having at least a second opening characteristic different from the first opening characteristic, wherein the surface is configured to hold at least one container;   a refrigeration system configured to cool the cooling chamber by forcing cool airflow through one or more openings; and;   wherein the airflow through each of the one or more openings is substantially similar.   
     
     
         18 . The cooling system of  claim 17 , wherein at least a portion of the one or more openings of the first region are substantially similar in shape to at least a portion of the one or more openings of the second region. 
     
     
         19 . The cooling system of  claim 17 , wherein at least a portion of the one or more openings of the first region are substantially similar in size to at least a portion of the one or more openings of the second region. 
     
     
         20 . The cooling system of  claim 17 , wherein at least a portion of the one or more openings of the first region have a substantially similar spacing arrangement to at least a portion of the one or more openings of the second region. 
     
     
         21 . The cooling system of  claim 17 , wherein the first one or more openings each have a first shape and the second one or more openings each have a second shape; wherein the first shape is different than the second shape. 
     
     
         22 . The cooling system of  claim 17 , wherein the first one or more openings each have a first size and the second one or more openings each have a second size; wherein the first size is different than the second size. 
     
     
         23 . The cooling system of  claim 17 , wherein the first one or more openings each have a first spacing arrangement and the second one or more openings each have a second spacing arrangement; wherein the first spacing arrangement is different than the second spacing arrangement. 
     
     
         24 . The cooling system of  claim 17 , the refrigeration system further comprising a condenser, a compressor, an evaporator, a fan, an air intake vent in a top portion of the cooling chamber, and a cool air duct, wherein the cool air duct includes a substantially vertical portion located at least partially adjacent to the cooling chamber and a substantially horizontal portion located at least partially below the surface, wherein the refrigeration system is configured to cool the cooling chamber by forcing cool airflow through the cool air duct and through the one or more openings 
     
     
         25 . The cooling system of  claim 17 , wherein the cooling chamber includes at least one sidewall defining at least one sidewall opening, wherein the refrigeration system is configured to cool the cooling chamber by forcing cool airflow through the at least one sidewall opening. 
     
     
         26 . A method for cooling a plurality of beverages comprising:
 providing a cooling chamber including a substantially horizontal surface defining a one or more openings, wherein the surface is configured to hold at least one container;   providing a refrigeration system including a cool air duct, wherein the refrigeration system is configured to produce a cool airflow,   forcing the cool airflow through a cool air duct and through the one or more openings, and   wherein the airflow through each of the one or more openings is substantially similar.   
     
     
         27 . The method of  claim 26 , wherein the surface includes at least a first region with a first set of one or more openings having at least a first opening characteristic and a second region with a second set of one or more openings having at least a second opening characteristic different from the first opening characteristic. 
     
     
         28 . The method of  claim 27 , wherein at least a portion of the first set of one or more openings of the first region are substantially similar in shape to at least a portion of the second set of one or more openings of the second region. 
     
     
         29 . The method of  claim 28 , wherein the first set of one or more openings each have a first size and the second set of one or more openings each have a second size; wherein the first size is smaller than the second size. 
     
     
         30 . The method of  claim 29 , wherein the refrigeration system further comprises a condenser, a compressor, an evaporator, a fan, an air intake vent in a top portion of the cooling chamber, and a cool air duct, wherein the cool air duct includes a substantially vertical portion located at least partially adjacent to the cooling chamber and a substantially horizontal portion located at least partially below the at least one surface 
     
     
         31 . The cooling system of  claim 26 , wherein the cooling chamber further comprises at least one sidewall defining at least one sidewall opening, and wherein the step of forcing the cool airflow through a cool air duct and through the one or more openings further comprises forcing cool airflow through the at least one sidewall opening.