The invention also relates to a cooling device, particularly for a bar or counter, which is useful for the cooling and display of the above-mentioned confectionery products and to its use for the above-mentioned purposes.

The confectionery products to which the invention relates are products in general which are subject to deterioration of their organoleptic and structural properties when they are exposed to heat, for example, to temperatures above 25- 26°C, for more or less extended periods of time and include, but are not limited to: - pralines, optionally including a creamy or liquid, possi- bly hydrated, filling, - pralines with wafer shells coated externally with choco- late or the like and optionally including a filling of the above-mentioned type, and - confectionery products in general, including: a filling having a liquid, creamy or pasty consistency at ambient tem- perature (25°C) and possibly a covering (coating) with an un- finished product having a liquid, creamy or pasty consis- tency at ambient temperature (25°C).

More generally, the products concerned are products the or- ganoleptic characteristics of which are best at temperatures of between 15 and 25°C and which are intended to be consumed at these temperatures.

These products undergo substantial deterioration of their organoleptic properties when they are exposed to tempera- tures generally above 26°C ; with reference to products con- taining chocolate, the typical deterioration phenomenon is due to softening with consequent blooming of fats which oc- curs at temperatures of the order of 27-28°C or above.

With reference to filled products, in particular with hy- drated or liquid fillings in general, the tendency of the filling to evaporate as a result of exposure to heat leads to an unacceptable deterioration of the product.

For the reasons set out above, the retail sale of the above- mentioned products is generally limited to periods that are characterized by a temperate climate whereas, in summer, it is necessary to withdraw these products from sale both to prevent their deterioration and, for commercial reasons, to prevent the sale of products that may have deteriorated giv- ing rise to dissatisfaction on the part of the consumer, thus damaging the image of the product.

The problem of the retail marketing of these products in hot periods has not yet been solved successfully. The preserva- tion of such products in a refrigerated environment is clearly not satisfactory both because conventional refrig- erators are not arranged to maintain a temperate range of temperatures, which is necessary for these products, and be- cause preservation in a refrigerated environment, which does not make the products visible, is not suitable for promoting their sale.

Moreover, preservation in a refrigerated environment, which is generally at temperatures of between 2 and 8°C, causes the products not to be suitable for consumption immediately af- ter they have been removed from the refrigerator.

To overcome the above-mentioned problems, a subject of the invention is a method for the preservation in a cooled con- dition of loose confectionery products which can be damaged by heat, for the purpose of permitting the retail sale thereof, characterized in that the products are displayed, preferably loose, in a cooled container into which a flow of cooled air is supplied, by means of a fan disposed outside the container, through openings in the bottom of the con- tainer, and is caused to flow continuously through the tor- tuous passageways between the products, the air-flow being at least partially extracted from the container in order to be caused to flow (without exchange of matter with the out- side environment) in contact with a cold dissipator element (for example, of a Peltier-effect thermoelectric module) disposed on the intake side of the fan.

Another subject of the invention is a device suitable for implementing the above-described method, intended particu- larly for cooling and displaying loose confectionery prod- ucts which can be damaged by heat and comprising: - a base container including in its interior a thermoelec- tric module, interposed between a heat dissipator element and a cold dissipator element, - a first fan and a second fan adjacent the hot-side dissi- pator and the cold-side dissipator, respectively, for gener- ating air-flows flowing in contact with the dissipators, and - an upper container arranged for containing and for dis- playing the confectionery products, the container having a bottom wall associated with the base container so as to de- fine in the base container a lower chamber in which the heat dissipator and the respective at least one fan are housed, the lower chamber communicating with the atmosphere through at least one first opening defined between the upper edge of the mouth of the base container and the side wall and/or the bottom wall of the upper container, and through at least one second opening formed in the bottom of the base container, so that the operation of the fan brings about an air-flow flowing in contact with the heat dissipator from the first opening to the second opening, and in which the bottom wall of the upper container defines a second chamber which is not in communication with the first chamber and which includes in its interior the cold dissipator and the respective fan, the said chamber communicating with the interior of the up- per container through at least one first opening adjacent the output side of the fan and at least one second opening adjacent the intake side of the fan, so that the operation of the fan produces a cooled air-flow circulating inside the upper container and flowing in the second chamber from the second opening to the first opening.

Further characteristics and advantages of the method and of the apparatus according to the invention will become clear from the following detailed description which is given with reference to the appended drawing, in which: Figure 1 is a schematic view showing a device according to the invention in vertical section, and Figure 2 is a schematic view showing in vertical section a second embodiment of the device of figure 1.

The drawing of figure 1 shows a cooling device 1 for a bar or counter, arranged for the display and cooling of confec- tionery products P.

The device comprises a base container 2 preferably having a cup-like or bowl-like shape with a side wall 4 and a bottom wall 6. The bottom wall 6 is supported on one or more sup- port elements 8 so that it is raised from the supporting surface and has one or more openings 10 which put the inte- rior of the base container into communication with the out- side environment.

An upper container for containing and displaying the confec- tionery products P is indicated 12. The upper container has a side wall 14, preferably made of transparent material, and preferably has a lid 16 which is preferably transparent and removable or hinged to the body of the container.

A bottom wall 18 of the upper container 12 defines, with the base container 2 and in the interior thereof, a chamber 20.

The bottom wall 18 preferably has a recess delimited by a side wall 22 and an upper wall 24 which project towards the interior of the upper container 12. The recess, delimited by the walls 22 and 24, also defines a chamber 26 which is thermally insulated and is not in communication with. the chamber 20 of the base container 2.

A Peltier-effect thermoelectric module 28, known per se, is disposed in the base container 2 and is formed by a matrix of pairs of semiconductors sandwiched between a lower dissi- pator 30 (hot plate) and an upper dissipator 32 (cold plate) which is optionally finned. The Peltier module 28 is sur- rounded by a thermally insulating element 34 in layer form.

Further characteristics of the Peltier thermoelectric module such as, for example, spacer elements and metallization lay- ers are not shown since they are conventional characteris- tics that are known per se.

A conventional finned heat dissipator (for example, made of aluminium), indicated 36, is positioned between the heat dissipator 30 (or hot plate) and one or more electrically- operated fans 38 supported on the bottom wall 6 of the base container 2. A further fan 40 is positioned in the chamber 26, adjacent the cold dissipator 32.

The chamber 26 defined by the bottom 18 of the upper con- tainer 12 has in its upper wall 24 a plurality of openings 42 which put the chamber 26 into communication with the in- terior of the upper container 12 ; openings 44, which are preferably slot-shaped, are also positioned in the side walls 22 delimiting the chamber 26.

The bottom of the upper container 12 is mounted in a leak- tight manner, bearing on the thermally insulating element 34, so that the chamber 26 is separated from the lower cham- ber 20.

When a direct current is applied to the Peltier module by means of an electrical connection 48 (the internal electri- cal connections are not shown) heat is absorbed by the dis- sipator 32, which is cooled, whilst heat is dissipated by the lower dissipator 30, which is heated. The finned dissi- pator 36 favours the further dissipation of heat.

The electrical supply to the device also operates the fans 38 and 40.

The upper container 12 defines, with the upper edge of the side wall 4 of the base container 2, at least one opening 50 which allows air from the outside environment to enter the chamber 20. The opening 50 is preferably an annular opening adjacent the profile of the upper edge of the wall 4 but may also be constituted by a plurality of angularly spaced-apart openings arranged in a ring.

The operation of the fan or fans 38 causes air to enter from the opening/s 50, producing a flow which flows in contact with the finned heat dissipator 36 and which emerges from the chamber 20 through the openings 10 in the bottom wall 6.

The operation of the fan 40 produces an air-flow which emerges from the chamber 26 through the openings 42 in the upper wall 24 and which flows through the spaces between the products P that are disposed in the upper container 12. The air-flow is at least partially recirculated inside the cham- ber 26 through the openings 44 formed in the side walls 22 of the chamber 26 and adjacent the intake side of the fan 40. The air-flow flowing through the chamber 26 is cooled in contact with the cold dissipator 32.

The food products, particularly pralines, are preferably ar- ranged loosely, randomly piled up, one over the other, in- side the container 12, whereby tortuous air passageways are defined between the products.

The presence of food products P arranged loosely in the con- tainer 12 in fact promotes the recirculation of the air-flow from inside the upper container 12 through the openings 44 into the chamber 26, even when the container 12 is open at the top.

The cooled air stream fed inside the container through the openings 42 above the fan 40, flows through the passageways between the products and due to the pressure drop a relevant portion of the air stream is re-circulated back to chamber 26 through openings 44 (or 44a), whereby only a reduced fraction of the cooled air stream may exit. from the con- tainer when the lid is opened or when the container does not include a lid.

Typically, the temperature inside the container 12 is kept within the range of between 15 and 25°C, preferably between 18 and 22°C, temperature-control means optionally being pro- vided to permit thermostatic control of the desired tempera- ture.

The cooling device is intended particularly for use at re- tail points of sale of the confectionery products where the products can be displayed inside the container in a cooled condition, so as to promote their purchase.

From the aesthetic point of view, the container may adopt various configurations suitable for attracting the con- sumer's attention. A preferred configuration in relation to the preservation and sale of pralines is that in which the base container 2 has a bowl-like shape similar to the paper cups in which the pralines are normally inserted, in par- ticular, a bowl-like shape with grooved or pleated side walls; the upper container 2 in this case can preferably adopt a configuration similar to that of the confectionery product contained therein.

Naturally, although the structure of the Peltier-effect cooling means has been described schematically herein, the invention is intended to extend to any cooling means suit- able for achieving the above-described functional results.

For example, although in the embodiment shown in figure 1, the cooling means do not comprise a finned dissipator on the cold side, such a dissipator may be used if desired, thus being arranged between the fan 40 and the cold dissipator 32; alternatively, the cold dissipator 32 may itself be fin- ned.

Naturally, the principle of the invention remaining the same, the forms of embodiment and details of construction may be varied widely with respect to those described and il- lustrated by way of non-limiting example, without'departing from the'scope of the appended claims.

Thus, for example, the chamber 26 may have a configuration other than that described above ; the chamber 26 may be de- fined at the bottom by the bottom wall 18 of the upper con- tainer and at the top by a transverse partition (indicated partially in broken outline and indicated 52 in the drawing of figure 1) disposed above the fan 40 and having, in the region disposed above the fan, openings such as the openings 42 which put the chamber 26 into communication with the in- terior of the upper container 12, and peripheral openings or an annular opening 44a functionally similar to the openings 44 in the region of the partition that is adjacent the wall 14.

In the embodiment of figure 2, wherein features correspond- ing to features of figure 1 are indicated with the same ref- erence numbers, an auxiliary container 60 is associated in- side the upper container 12, so as to define with the walls of the upper container a chamber 26a for circulation of air.

The auxiliary container 60 comprises a base member 52a (e. g. corresponding to the transverse partition 52), which is as- sociated with the fan assembly 40, and a cup shaped member 54 (e. g. a frusto-conical member) connected on top of or in- tegral with the base member 52a. The walls of the cup shaped member preferably have heat-insulating properties.

The cup shaped member 54, together with the base member 52a define a volume for containing the products P.

The upper edge 56 of the cup shaped member 54 defines with the wall 14 of the upper container an annular opening 44b.

The base member 52a, has openings 42a at least in its region above the fan.

In this embodiment a finned cold dissipator 62 may be ar- ranged above the cold dissipator 32.

Between the auxiliary container 60 (namely between the side wall of the cup shaped member 54 and base member 52a) and the side wall 14 and bottom wall 18 of the upper container 12, there is defined a chamber 26a which communicates with the volume inside the auxiliary container through openings 42a and annular opening 44b.

In operation cooled air is fed through openings 42a inside the auxiliary container and is re-circulated back to the cold dissipator through the annular opening 44b.

The device may be provided with a lid and preferably has a lid with an aperture which is constantly opened to allow the introduction of one hand to take the products P.