U.S. patent application number 14/581495 was filed with the patent office on 2016-06-23 for modular refrigerator.
The applicant listed for this patent is Dane Glasgow, Matthew Bret MacLaurin, David Ramadge, Corinne Elizabeth Sherman. Invention is credited to Dane Glasgow, Matthew Bret MacLaurin, David Ramadge, Corinne Elizabeth Sherman.
Application Number | 20160176568 14/581495 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 56128589 |
Filed Date | 2016-06-23 |
United States Patent
Application |
20160176568 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Glasgow; Dane ; et
al. |
June 23, 2016 |
MODULAR REFRIGERATOR
Abstract
Various embodiments of the present disclosure include, in
combination, a modular refrigerator having a door and providing at
least one refrigerated compartment accessible when the door is
open, and one or more removable food shipping containers configured
to be received within the refrigerated compartment, the
refrigerated compartment comprising a plurality of container bays
corresponding to each of a multiplicity of food shipping container
delivery times, each of the plurality of container bays being
configured to hold a food shipping container; the food shipping
container further being configured to comply with a postal or
courier regulation and to contain food items selected to remain
comestible before a food item expiry date; the food shipping
container or the container bay including indicia for designating a
food shipping container delivery time, or the food item expiry
date.
Inventors: |
Glasgow; Dane; (Los Altos,
CA) ; MacLaurin; Matthew Bret; (Santa Cruz, CA)
; Sherman; Corinne Elizabeth; (San Jose, CA) ;
Ramadge; David; (San Jose, CA) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Glasgow; Dane
MacLaurin; Matthew Bret
Sherman; Corinne Elizabeth
Ramadge; David |
Los Altos
Santa Cruz
San Jose
San Jose |
CA
CA
CA
CA |
US
US
US
US |
|
|
Family ID: |
56128589 |
Appl. No.: |
14/581495 |
Filed: |
December 23, 2014 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
312/404 ;
206/459.5 |
Current CPC
Class: |
F25D 2500/06 20130101;
B65D 5/4212 20130101; F25D 25/005 20130101; F25D 23/04
20130101 |
International
Class: |
B65D 5/42 20060101
B65D005/42; F25D 25/00 20060101 F25D025/00; F25D 23/02 20060101
F25D023/02 |
Claims
1. For use with a modular refrigerator having a door and providing
at least one refrigerated compartment accessible when the door is
open: one or more removable food shipping containers configured to
be received within the refrigerated compartment, the refrigerated
compartment comprising a plurality of container bays corresponding
to each of a multiplicity of food shipping container delivery
times, each of the plurality of container bays being configured to
hold a food shipping container; the food shipping container further
being configured to: comply with a postal or courier regulation;
and contain food items selected to remain comestible before a food
item expiry date; the food shipping container or the container bay
further including indicia for designating a food shipping container
delivery time, or the food item expiry date.
2. The food shipping container of claim 1, wherein the food
shipping container is slidable within the container bay in the
modular refrigerator.
3. The food shipping container of claim 1, wherein the food
shipping container is insulated, or includes insulation
material.
4. The food shipping container of claim 1, wherein insertion of the
food shipping container into the container bay in the modular
refrigerator generates an identification of the food shipping
container delivery time, and/or the food item expiry date.
5. In combination, a modular refrigerator having a door and
providing at least one refrigerated compartment accessible when the
door is open, and one or more removable food shipping containers
configured to be received within the refrigerated compartment, the
refrigerated compartment comprising a plurality of container bays
corresponding to each of a multiplicity of food shipping container
delivery times, each of the plurality of container bays being
configured to hold a food shipping container; the food shipping
container further being configured to comply with a postal or
courier regulation and to contain food items selected to remain
comestible before a food item expiry date; the food shipping
container or the container bay including indicia for designating a
food shipping container delivery time, or the food item expiry
date.
Description
BACKGROUND
[0001] This application relates to a refrigerating apparatus and,
more particularly, to a modular refrigerator including a
refrigerator compartment having a plurality of removable food
shipping containers or modules adapted for being received therein.
In one example, the removable shipping containers comply with US
Postal regulations and can be used as part of a food delivery
service.
SUMMARY
[0002] The present inventors have recognized, among other things,
that a problem to be solved can include the inconvenience of
conventional food delivery and the waste of stale or expired
food.
[0003] The present subject matter can help provide a solution to
these problems, such as by providing a modular refrigerator which
includes a refrigerator compartment having a plurality of removable
food shipping containers or modules adapted for being received
therein. The removable food shipping containers may comply with US
Postal (or other delivery) regulations and can be used as part of a
postal or courier food delivery service.
[0004] In one example, a modular refrigerator has removable
sections that slide out entirely. The sections themselves can be
used as shipment containers for food delivery services. A user can
order food, and the food can come to the user's door organized in a
modular configuration allowing it to be inserted or slid into the
refrigerator with ease. Because of this, a user can more easily
keep track of where the food is located in the refrigerator, and,
more importantly, which modular sections hold food that will expire
sooner. The food that the user does not eat can be picked up when
the user leaves the modular section out for a delivery service to
pick up. This food can be sent to food banks or others that could
benefit from unused, stale, or expired food.
[0005] Further advantages and solutions can include those discussed
further below in this specification. These and other examples and
features of the modular refrigerator will be set forth in part in
the following Detailed Description. This Summary is intended to
provide non-limiting examples of the present subject matter. It is
not intended to provide an exclusive or exhaustive explanation. The
Detailed Description is included to provide further information
about the modular refrigerator.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0006] In the drawings, which are not necessarily drawn to scale,
like numerals can describe similar components in different views.
Like numerals having different letter suffixes can represent
different instances of similar components. The drawings illustrate
generally, by way of example, but not by way of limitation, various
embodiments discussed in the present document.
[0007] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a modular refrigerator with
the doors closed, according to an example embodiment.
[0008] FIG. 2 is a front elevation view of the modular refrigerator
of FIG. 1 with the doors open, according to an example
embodiment.
[0009] FIG. 3 is a front view of a compartment within the modular
refrigerator, the compartment including container bays, according
to example embodiments.
[0010] FIG. 4 is a side view of the compartment shown in FIG.
3.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0011] Referring now to the accompanying drawings, FIG. 1 is a
perspective view of a modular refrigerator 10 which includes a
front door 12 opening into a lower freezer compartment, an upper
door 14 opening into an upper freezer compartment, and a narrower
door 16 opening into a cooling compartment for maintaining foods in
an unfrozen condition. The modular refrigerator 10 is of an upright
configuration, but other configurations are possible, such as a
chest freezer configuration.
[0012] The modular refrigerator 10 is specially configured to
receive shippable food shipping containers 78 described more fully
below. In one example, the food shipping containers 78 are, in one
aspect, unlike conventional food storage containers in that they
are specially configured to conform to or comply with postal
regulations, for example US Postal Service or other
regulations.
[0013] Turning now to FIG. 2, the modular refrigerator 10 includes
container bays 76. The configuration and general dimensions of the
container bays 76 within the modular refrigerator 10 are such that
each container bay 76 can accommodate one or more food shipping
containers 78. The food shipping containers 78, and/or the
container bays 76, can be marked with the receipt dates of the food
shipping containers 78, or the times at which the food shipping
containers 78 are placed in the container bays 76. The dates and
times may be updated automatically based on a detected entry of a
food shipping container 78 into a container bay 76. Alarm means may
be incorporated into the modular refrigerator 10 such that the
approach of a food expiry date, based on a receipt date of a food
shipping container 78, may be flagged visually or audibly to a
user. In some examples, the calculation and flagging of food expiry
dates is carried out by processors within the modular refrigerator
10, or in other examples in association with a personal electronic
device, such as a smart phone, paired with the modular refrigerator
10 or a user.
[0014] The modular refrigerator 10 has a left-hand freezer section
including a lower section 18, which is closed by the front door 12,
and an upper section 20, to which access is gained through the
upper door 14.
[0015] A right-hand section, generally designated 22, for
containment of food items at non-freezing temperatures, is
accessible by the narrower door 16. The right-hand section 22 may
include a conventional crisper drawer 24 such as for containment of
vegetables and the like, and may include a lower drawer 26 for
containment of fruits and the like. An array of shelves 28 permits
storage of sundry food items and a larger cavity 30 can receive
taller items such as milk bottles, soda drinks, and the like. The
narrower door 16 is provided with shelves 32 for receipt of smaller
items, such as jam jars, condiments, and the like, and includes egg
trays 34 and a butter compartment 36.
[0016] Similarly, at the bottom of the lower section 18, a frozen
meat drawer 38 is provided, with a generalized frozen food drawer
40 for frozen vegetables and the like. The upper section 20
includes an icemaker 42, ice cube storage 44, an ice cream maker
46, and additional space 48 for receipt of smaller frozen items,
such as ice cream cartons, desserts, and the like. The front door
12 is provided with shelves 50, while the upper door 14 similarly
includes shelves 52, for the conventional purpose of storing
smaller frozen items.
[0017] A relatively large modular area in the form of a rectangular
compartment 54 is provided in the frozen food section of the
modular refrigerator 10. Further compartments 54' could be
appropriately configured and located in other locations within the
modular refrigerator 10. In some examples, one compartment 54 is
located in the frozen food section of the modular refrigerator 10,
while another compartment 54' (not shown) is located in the cooling
(non-freezing) section of the modular refrigerator 10.
[0018] The illustrated compartment 54 is configured to define an
array of container bays 76, each of which can receive a
correspondingly sized food shipping container 78. While the
container bays 76 are shown in the accompanying drawings to be of
regular and consistent size, other variations in the size and
spacing of the container bays 76 are possible. This allows receipt
and storage of food shipping containers 78 of varying sizes and
delivery configurations.
[0019] In the illustrated example, the compartment 54 is of
rectangular configuration and of relatively greater height than
width, and has several container bays 76 for receiving a number
food shipping containers 78. A food shipping container 78 can be
inserted into a container bay 76 with relatively little clearance
at its top, bottom, and sides.
[0020] FIGS. 3 and 4 of the accompanying drawings show respective
front and side views of an example compartment 54. For clarity,
other parts of the modular refrigerator 10 are not shown. It will
be seen that the interior of the compartment 54 is divided by a
central wall 72 into left and right halves, each of which is
provided with shelves 74. The shelves 74 as well as the wall 72 may
be formed from a tough plastic material of the type used in
conventional molded parts of conventional refrigerators. The wall
72 and shelves 74 define an array of container bays 76. Each of the
container bays 76 may have associated indicia 80 indicating dates
and/or times of receipt of respective food shipping containers 78.
The dates and/or times indicated by the indicia 80 may be updated
automatically by the detection of the insertion of a food shipping
container 78 into a respective container bay 76. In further
embodiments, the identification of a date and/or time of receipt of
a food shipping container 78 is based on a detection of a proximate
mobile device associated with a user of the modular refrigerator
10, or carried by a food delivery person.
[0021] As mentioned above, a food shipping container 78 may be
configured to be shipped readily by a courier or postal service,
such as the US Postal Service. As such, each food shipping
container 78 can be placed for delivery, without further
intervention of a user, by a postal service. The food shipping
containers 78 comply with weight and dimension regulations and are
fully sealed. This allows immediate transportation by a postal
service without further user intervention, or other actions such as
wrapping, packaging, and the like. In some examples, a food
shipping container 78 is insulated, which allows the delivery of
frozen food items. In other examples, a food shipping container 78
includes a non-metallic material, such as a temperature resistant
synthetic resin material, permitting heating of food items within
the food shipping container 78 by microwave oven heating.
[0022] The example modular refrigerator 10 thus includes removable
sections in the form of food shipping containers 78 that can slide
in and out of appropriately sized container bays 76 within the
freezing or non-freezing sections of the modular refrigerator
10.
[0023] In using the system, a user can order food to be delivered
by a conventional postal or courier service (by dint of the special
postal compliance configuration of the food shipping containers
78), and the received food shipping containers 78 can be stored and
dated conveniently in the modular refrigerator 10. In order to
avoid food wastage, the indicia 80 allow ready visual inspection or
calculations of food expiry dates, and the convenient postal
configuration of the food shipping containers 78 allows the
re-collection of expired food in the same food shipping container
78 in which it was sent for delivery, for example, to a food bank
or other facility that can benefit from the receipt of unused
food.
[0024] While the inventive subject matter has been described with
reference to specific embodiments, it will be understood by those
skilled in the art that various changes may be made and equivalents
may be substituted for the elements thereof without departing from
the true spirit and scope of the claims. In addition, modifications
may be made without departing from the teachings disclosed herein.
Moreover, each of the non-limiting examples described herein can
stand on its own, or can be combined in various permutations or
combinations with one or more of the other examples.
[0025] The above Detailed Description includes references to the
accompanying drawings, which form a part of the Detailed
Description. The drawings show, by way of illustration, specific
embodiments in which the inventive subject matter can be practiced.
These embodiments are also referred to herein as "examples." Such
examples can include elements in addition to those shown or
described. However, the present inventors also contemplate examples
in which only those elements shown or described are provided.
Moreover, the present inventors also contemplate examples using any
combination or permutation of those elements shown or described (or
one or more aspects thereof), either with respect to a particular
example (or one or more aspects thereof), or with respect to other
examples (or one or more aspects thereof) shown or described
herein.
[0026] In the event of inconsistent usages between this document
and any documents incorporated by reference, the usage in this
document controls.
[0027] In this document, the terms "a" or "an" are used, as is
common in patent documents, to include one or more than one,
independent of any other instances or usages of "at least one" or
"one or more." In this document, the term "or" is used to refer to
a nonexclusive or, such that "A or B" includes "A but not B," "B
but not A," and "A and B," unless otherwise indicated. In this
document, the terms "including" and "in which" are used as the
plain-English equivalents of the respective terms "comprising" and
"wherein." Also, in the following claims, the terms "including" and
"comprising" are open-ended; that is, a system, device, article,
composition, formulation, or process that includes elements in
addition to those listed after such a term in a claim are still
deemed to fall within the scope of that claim. Moreover, in the
following claims, the terms "first," "second." "third," etc. are
used merely as labels, and are not intended to impose numerical
requirements on their objects.
[0028] The above description is intended to be illustrative, and
not restrictive. For example, the above-described examples (or one
or more aspects thereof) may be used in combination with each
other. Other embodiments can be used, such as by one of ordinary
skill in the art upon reviewing the above description. The Abstract
is provided to comply with 37 C.F.R. .sctn.1.72(b), to allow the
reader to quickly ascertain the nature of the technical disclosure.
It is submitted with the understanding that it will not be used to
interpret or limit the scope or meaning of the claims. Also, in the
above Detailed Description, various features may be grouped
together to streamline the disclosure. This should not be
interpreted as intending that an unclaimed disclosed feature is
essential to any claim. Rather, inventive subject matter may lie in
less than all features of a particular disclosed embodiment. Thus,
the following claims are hereby incorporated into the Detailed
Description as examples or embodiments, with each claim standing on
its own as a separate embodiment, and it is contemplated that such
embodiments can be combined with each other in various combinations
or permutations. The scope of the disclosure should be determined
with reference to the appended claims, along with the full scope of
equivalents to which such claims are entitled.
* * * * *