摘要 |
This invention teaches a food storage refrigeration cabinet suited for operation either on a conventional refrigeration cycle or on a fast cool down refrigeration cycle. The disclosed cabinet has partition structure that separates a food storage space from a defined plenum, and the evaporator coil of the refrigeration system is located inside the plenum. The partition has inboard and outboard openings to define recirculating air flow paths over the evaporator coil from and to the food storage space. For use of the cabinet on a conventional refrigeration cycle, first fan means in the inboard openings draws air from the storage space and passes the same over the evaporator coil for discharge out the outboard openings back to the storage space, and the refrigeration system is cycled on and off in order to maintain the enclosure air within the proper temperature range. When the cabinet is operated on the cool down cycle, second fan means located in the outboard openings also are operated to discharge the chilled plenum air downstream of the evaporator coil from the outboard openings for highly turbulent circulation in the storage space. The cycle is terminated when the food itself as sensed by food probes reaches the desired storage temperature or after a set timed interval, and during the cycle the refrigeration system preferably runs continuously. The refrigeration system has at least twice and maybe three times the cooling capacity required to maintain the same storage space at the desired storage temperature, and the air in the storage space is extremely turbulent when all the fans are operating.
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