MODULAR COLD STORAGE SYSTEM AND METHOD

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

As those skilled in the art will readily appreciate, methods of cold storage ^' are known in the art. Perhaps one of the most common is the typical home refrigeration unit. The typical home refrigeration unit contains several levels of shelving in which to place food articles. The food articles are typically stored in containers of various shapes and sizes. As more and more food articles are stored in the unit, some of the food articles are obviously pushed towards the rear of the unit. If the desired food article is located in the rear of the unit, it is often difficult to gain access to the food article. Typically, the food articles towards the front of the unit must be removed in order to gain access to those food articles stored towards the rear of the unit. This, of course, is time consuming and inconvenient. Alternatively, one can attempt to access the rearward placed articles without removing the frontward placed articles, but this is also inconvenient, difficult and oftentimes can lead to knocking over (and spilling) the forward placed food articles.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

There is thus a need in the art for a cold storage system and method that avoids the foregoing problems of the prior art. Such a system and method would provide for convenient and easy access to a plurality of food articles. The present invention is directed to such a system and method.

In one aspect of the invention, a combination of a cold storage environment and a modular cold storage system is provided. The modular cold storage system comprises at least two cold storage containers and at least one rotatable platform for receiving the cold storage containers. The system may be rotated until the cold storage container with the desired food article is readily and easily accessible. In another aspect of the invention, the modular cold storage system additionally comprises at least two or more rotatable platforms.

Jn another aspect of the invention, a modular cold storage system is provided that can be easily converted between a disassembled configuration for shipment and an assembled configuration for use. The system comprises at least to cold storage containers, two rotatable platforms especially adapted for receiving the cold storage containers, and a connector especially adapted for physically connecting the two platforms in a manner such that the force associated with the rotational movement of one platform is translated through the connector to impart rotational movement to the other platform.

Jn another aspect of the invention, a method of cold storage is provided in which at least four cold storage containers and at least two rotatable platforms for receiving the plurality of cold storage containers are placed within a refrigeration unit. The method further comprises the step of placing food articles in a cold storage container and placing the cold storage container into the modular cold storage system within the refrigeration unit.

In another aspect of the invention, the rotatable platform has a plurality of radially extending ribs on a top surface, and an underside of the cold storage containers have a plurality of radially extending ribs adapted to engage the ribs on the rotatable platform.

In yet another aspect of the invention, the rotatable platform has a series of reinforcement ribs for providing additional support.

In another aspect of the invention, the cold storage containers are made from a transparent material that is preferably food-grade. The containers also preferably have handles. These handles assist in removing the cold storage containers from the modular cold storage systems within the refrigeration units.

In yet another aspect of the invention, a plurality of cold storage containers of varying size are provided such that they are stackable within each other for shipping purposes.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a modular cold storage system according to one aspect of the invention.

Figure 2 is a top plan view of one of the rotatable platforms of the modular cold storage system illustrated in Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a close-up view of some of the pivotally mounted tabs of the platform illustrated in Figure 2.

Figure 4 is a perspective view of one of the pivotally mounted tabs illustrated in Figure 3.

Figure 5 illustrates the manner in which the connector attaches the rotatable platforms according to one aspect of the invention.

Figure 6 is a perspective view illustrating the manner in which a platform receives a cold storage container according to one aspect of the invention.

Figure 7 is a perspective view of a cold storage container according to one aspect of the invention.

Figure 8 illustrates how a cold storage container is removably received by a rotatable platform according to another aspect of the invention.

Figure 9 is a perspective view of a base portion according to one aspect of the invention for providing rotational functionality to the modular cold storage system and method.

Figure IO is an exploded view of the elements of a base portion illustrated in Figure 9.

Figure 1 1 is a perspective view of an underside of one of the platforms showing the reinforcing ribs.

Figure 12 is a side view of a modular cold storage system according to one aspect of the present invention configured for shipping.

Figure 13 is a perspective view of a modular cold storage system according to one aspect of the invention configured for shipping.

DETAiLED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

With respect to Figure 1 , a modular cold storage system 10 according to a preferred aspect of the invention is illustrated. The system includes twelve cold storage containers, of which nine are shown, e.g., 12, 14, 16, 18, 20, 22, 24, 26 and 28. The cold storage containers are preferably made from materials that are suitable for cold storage of food articles. The term cold storage means storage temperatures below room or ambient temperature, and more preferably at temperatures typically found in a refrigeration or freezer environment for storing food. More specifically, the term cold storage includes within its scope temperatures below about 60 degrees F. and more preferably below about 45 degrees F. Even more preferred cold storage temperatures are below about 38 degrees F and also include storage temperatures below freezing, i.e., below 32 degrees F. The cold storage containers are preferably made from food grade materials such as food grade plastic. Most preferably, the cold storage containers are made from a transparent food grade material so that the contents may be viewed without opening the container.

As mentioned above, in one preferred aspect of the invention, there are 12 containers per system. Four of the containers will be of the 60 ounce size, four of the 90 ounce size, and four of the 120 ounce size. However, all variations and iterations on the concept of having numerous differently sized cold storage containers are contemplated. Thus, there may be any number of different sizes, although as presently contemplated three different sizes should be sufficient for most applications. These three different sizes may generally be referred to as relatively large-sized, relatively medium-sized and relatively small-sized. As used herein, the term relatively large-sized means larger than the relatively medium- sized container, ^" and relatively medium-sized means larger than the relatively small-sized container. The different sized containers will be configured to have a slight draft angle so that the smaller sized containers can be partially stacked or nested within the relatively larger sized containers as illustrated in Figures 12 and 13. Thus, the system can be disassembled into a more compact configuration for

shipping purposes. Again, it should be kept in mind, however, that the system 10 may contain any number of cold storage containers and platforms, depending on the desired size of the system.

The system 10 also includes at least one rotatable platform, and preferably comprises two or more platforms. At least three platforms is most preferred. Still with reference to Figure 1, the platforms are illustrated at 30, 32, 34 and 36, respectively. The platforms are preferably positioned in a vertically spaced apart relationship. The platforms preferably have shoulders or ridges 31 , 33, 35 and 37, respectively, around the circumference of the platforms 30, 32, 34 and 36. The shoulders assist in retaining the individual cold storage containers on the platforms by countering the influence of the centrifugal force that acts upon the containers as the unit 10 is rotated. The platforms are preferably made from materials suitable for exposure to a cold storage environment, such as, for example, food grade . materials such as food grade plastic.

The cold storage container system 10 of the present invention allows for easy access to the desired food item by simply rotating the system until the container containing the desired food item is easily accessible. The desired food item may be obtained by simply removing the container having the desired item from the system.

One manner by which the platform receives the cold storage containers is illustrated in Figures 2 and 3. On the top surface of each platform, a plurality of pivotally mounted tabs 40, 42, 44, 46, 48, 50, 52 and 54 are provided. The tabs preferably pivot from a flush position to a vertical position. When a tab is not needed for retaining a cold storage container, it is placed in a flush position as illustrated by tabs 42, 44, 50 and 54. Alternatively, when needed to assist in retaining a cold storage container, the tab is placed in a vertical position as illustrated by tabs 40, 46, 48 and 52. As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, any number of tabs and tab configurations may be provided on the platforms to accommodate any number and various shapes of cold storage containers.

Figure 4 provides further detail about how the pivotally mounted tabs are attached to the platform according to a preferred aspect of the invention. The tab

52 comprises resilient arms 52a and 52b. Arms 52a and 52b, respectively, have apertures 55a and 55b. The tab 52 further includes a shoulder section 52c. The platform 30 has a cavity 53 for receiving the tab 52. The cavity has prongs 53a and 53b that are sized to fit within apertures 55a and 55b of arms 52a and 52b of tab 52. Specifically, arms 52a and 52b have a resiliency such that they may be manually "squeezed" and inserted into cavity 53 such that apertures 55a and 55b are in alignment with prongs 53a and 53b, respectively, of cavity 53. Once the manually applied pressure is released, resilient arms 52a and 52b expand outwardly such that the apertures 55a and 55b receive prongs 53a and 53b thereby releasably. attaching tab 52 to platform 30. Moreover, prongs 53a and 53b and tab 52 are preferably made from materials that provide the desired friction between the prongs 53a and 53b and the internal walls of apertures 55a and 55b so that the tabs can be pivoted between a vertical and flushed position without too much effort while at the same time allowing for the tabs to remain in a vertical position under the forces to which they will typically be exposed during normal operation of the system 10. Preferably, prongs 53a and 53b and tab 52 (including the internal walls of apertures 55a and 55b) are made from food-grade plastic materials. As will be readily apparent, tab 52 and cavity 53 are preferably shaped such that the platform can receive tab 52 in a flushed relationship or manner when the tab is not needed for retaining a cold storage unit on the platform. As illustrated in figure 4, the cavity 53 has a shoulder 53c that is positioned in a face- to-face relationship with shoulder 52c when the tab is in its flush position.

Figure 5 illustrates one preferred manner in which platforms, such as platform 34 (see Fig. 1), are attached within the system 10. Platform 34 has aperture 134 with a bridge 135 extending across the aperture 134. Connectors 136 and 144 are provided. Preferably, connectors 136 and 144 are exact duplicates of each other. With reference to connector 136, it preferably comprises an outer conical section 137 and an inner cylindrical section 138. The inner cylindrical section 138 has shoulders 139a and 139b for receiving bridge 135 of platform 34. At the opposite end of connector 136, inner cylinder 138 has shoulders 139c and 139d (shown in phantom) for receiving the bridge section of a platform (not

shown) vertically spaced below platform 34. For the sake of clarity, connector 144 illustrates the manner in which the lower end of a connector attaches to a platform positioned below the connector in the stacked system 10 illustrated in Figure 1. Connector 144 likewise has an inner cylinder 145 with shoulders 145c and 145d (shown in phantom) for receiving bridge 135 of platform 34.

Turning now to Figure 6, the manner in which a cold storage container 220 is retained on platform 232 according to one preferred aspect of the invention is illustrated. The combination of shoulder 233 around the circumference of platform 232 and vertically positioned tabs 236 and 238 retain cold storage container 220.

Figure 7 illustrate a cold storage container according to one preferred embodiment of the invention. The cold storage container comprises a body 320, a removable lid 321 and a handle 322. The body is preferably constructed from a transparent, food-grade plastic material. The lid 321 and the handle are likewise preferably constructed from a food-grade plastic material.

Figure 8 illustrates another preferred embodiment of the invention for removably securing a cold storage container 420 to a rotatable platform 400. In this embodiment, the underside surface 422 of container 420 has a plurality of radially extending ribs 422a and the top side of platform 400 has a plurality of complimentary radially extending ribs 402a. Preferably, the radially extending ribs 402a are spaced apart every 7.5 degrees. When the container 420 is placed on platform 400, the complimentary ribs 402a of the platform engage the radially extending ribs 422a of the container 420 in a side-by-side abutting relationship. The cooperating radially extending ribs in combination with ridge 404 around the circumference of platform 400 serve to removably secure container 420 on platform 400.

In addition, as illustrated in Figure 11, the underside of the platform 400 preferably has several radially extending reinforcement ribs 401 that are designed to provide a stiffening effect for the potential uneven weight distribution of the cold storage containers resting on the top side of platform 400. The upper most platform (e.g., the top or ceiling tray) may optionally omit the radially extending

ribs on the top side because the top tray may be designed without the need for accepting a cold storage container. However, stiffening ribs may still be included on the bottom side of the upper most platform (or top or ceiling tray) in the event other items are placed on top of the modular cold storage unit (assuming space permitting in the refrigeration unit).

Figures 9 and 10 illustrate a rotatable base portion 500 for providing the rotational functionality to the modular cold storage system and method of the present invention. The base portion 500 comprises base platform 500a and a rotating element 500b. The rotating element 500b has wheels 500c for imparting rotational functionality to the system. A platform 502, as previously described, is mounted on the rotating element 500b via connector 504 into aperture 505 of the base portion 500. The connector 504 is retained in the aperture 505 via a friction fit. As those skilled in the art will appreciate, additional platforms (not shown) can be added via additional connectors (not shown) as previously described.

Figures 12 and 13 illustrate another aspect of the invention whereby the cold storage containers 602, 604, 606, 608, 610, 612, 614, 616, 618, 620, 622, and 624 are sized in a manner such that are stackable within each other, as are the rotatable base portion 601 and platforms 603, 605, and 607, for shipment purposes. Also included for shipment are connectors 611 and 613.