Portable cooler container with active temperature control
An actively heated or cooled food container can have a lid movable between an open and a closed position and an insulated body to which the lid can be attached. The insulated body can have a sidewall that defines a perimeter of the container body and a base, the sidewall and base defining one or more chambers that can be sealed by the lid. The food container can have a temperature control system that can include one or more heating or cooling elements in thermal communication with one or both of the sidewall and the base and operable to heat or cool one or both of the sidewall and the base to thereby heat or cool the one or more chambers in the food container.
1. A portable cooler container with active temperature control, comprising:
a movable insulated lid;
a square container body having vertical outer walls and a chamber defined by vertical inner walls and a base, the base being longer than the vertical inner walls, the vertical inner walls spaced inwardly from and vacuum insulated relative to the vertical outer walls, the chamber configured to receive and hold one or more containers of perishable liquid, the chamber configured to be selectively closed by the movable insulated lid, an outer surface of one or both of the container body and lid having an electronic ink display; and
a temperature control system, comprising
one or more thermoelectric modules configured to actively cool at least a portion of the chamber to cool the one or more containers of perishable liquid,
one or more batteries,
circuitry configured to control an operation of the one or more thermoelectric modules to cool at least a portion of the chamber to a predetermined temperature or temperature range, the circuitry further configured to wirelessly communicate with a cloud-based data storage system or a remote electronic device,
one or more temperature sensors configured to sense a temperature of the chamber and to communicate the sensed temperature to the circuitry, the circuitry configured to operate the one or more thermoelectric modules based at least in part on the sensed temperature information, and
an insulative layer spaced below the base of the chamber and configured to isolate the one or more thermoelectric modules from the circuitry and one or more batteries,
wherein the electronic ink display displays information received wirelessly by the circuitry from the remote electronic device or cloud-based data storage system.
2. The container of claim 1 , wherein at least a portion of the temperature control system is disposed in the container body and further comprises one or more heat sinks thermally coupled to the one or more thermoelectric modules and one or more fans operable to actively cool the one or more heat sinks.
3. The container of claim 1 , further comprising one or more sensors configured to detect when the one or more containers of perishable liquid are placed in the chamber and to communicate a detection signal to the circuitry, the circuitry configured to automatically turn on power to the temperature control system based on said detection signal.
4. The container of claim 1 , further comprising a user interface on a surface of the body.