The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Jul. 23, 2002
Filed:
Aug. 15, 2001
Sheldon W. Mandel, East Galesburg, IL (US);
Behrooz Mohebbi, Peoria, IL (US);
Xiaoyong Fu, Galesburg, IL (US);
Maytag Corporation, Newton, IA (US);
Abstract
A refrigeration appliance includes a large capacity refrigeration system for developing a flow of cold air that is impinged, preferably through top and side nozzles, upon food items placed within an internal cavity of the appliance to quickly freeze or chill the food items. An additional small capacity refrigeration system is provided to maintain a desired temperature within the cavity when the rapid cooling is not needed. Preferably, an impingement air diffuser arrangement is provided to direct the air flow and includes partition members to divide the internal cavity into subspaces for different food packages, with varying cooling rates being permissible between the various sub-spaces. A vertically adjustable shelf is provided which cooperates with blocking plates which move up and down with the shelf and function to block air flow through nozzles arranged below the shelf such that all of the developed air flow is used for direct impingement on the food product.