Point-of-use holding cabinet
A point-of-use food holding cabinet keeps food products hot and cold in different compartments, which are heated and refrigerated respectively. Solid state heat pumps such as Peltier devices absorb heat on one side and emit heat on the other. By configuring the solid state heat sinks appropriately, one compartment or shelf of a holding cabinet can be refrigerated while an adjacent compartment can be kept warm.
1. A point-of-use, food holding cabinet comprising:
a chassis having a front face and an opposing rear face;
a first food holding compartment within the chassis, the first food holding compartment having at least a first opening, the first opening being located at the front face of the chassis, the first opening of the first food holding compartment being configured to allow food items to be placed into and removed from the first food holding compartment;
a second food holding compartment within the chassis, the second food holding compartment having at least a first opening, the first opening of the second food holding compartment being located at the front face of the chassis, the first opening of the second food holding compartment being configured to allow food items to be placed into and removed from the second food holding compartment;
a shelf located between and defining the first and second food holding compartments, the shelf comprising a first side and a second side, the first side facing into the first food holding compartment, the second side facing into the second food holding compartment;
a Peltier device having a cold side and a hot side, the cold side being thermally coupled to the first side and the hot side being spaced apart from the second side, thereby creating an inter-plate space between the second side and the Peltier device;
a fan configured to drive air from outside the cabinet, through the inter-plate space between the Peltier device and the second side; and,
a controller operatively coupled to the Peltier device, the controller being configured to operate the Peltier device to absorb heat from the first side and to provide heat to the inter-plate space.
2. The food holding cabinet of claim 1 , wherein the shelf comprises first and second thermally conductive plates, the first and second plates being separated from each other by a first distance.
3. The food holding cabinet of claim 2 , wherein the first, thermally-conductive plate comprises a glass-ceramic.
4. The food holding cabinet of claim 2 , wherein the first, thermally-conductive plate comprises ultra-low expansion glass.
5. The food holding cabinet of claim 1 , wherein the chassis comprises an open front face and a closed rear face.
6. The food holding cabinet of claim 1 , further comprising:
a semiconductor temperature sensor within the chassis and operatively coupled to the controller.
7. The food holding cabinet of claim 6 , wherein the temperature sensor is thermally coupled to at least one of the first food holding compartment and the second food holding compartment.
8. The food holding cabinet of claim 1 , wherein the first food holding compartment further comprises a second opening, the second opening of the first food holding compartment being located at the rear face of the chassis, the second opening of the first food holding compartment being configured to allow food items to be placed into and removed from the first food holding compartment.
9. The food holding cabinet of claim 8 , wherein the second food holding compartment further comprises a second opening, the second opening of the second food holding compartment being located at the rear face of the chassis, the second opening of the second food holding compartment being configured to allow food items to be placed into and removed from the second food holding compartment.