Cooler and modular refrigeration unit therefor

Abstract

A cooler cabinet separated into an upper compartment and a lower compartment by a divider panel having a supply air opening and a return air opening therethrough, a modular refrigeration unit insertable into the lower compartment, and a gasket assembly coupled to the divider panel in registration with the supply air opening and the return air opening to provide a mechanical sealing contact with the modular refrigeration unit. The modular refrigeration unit includes an evaporator assembly, a condenser located forward of the evaporator assembly, and a compressor located between the evaporator assembly and the condenser. The gasket assembly includes a normally-expanded sealing gasket that is in permanent sealing contact with the divider panel around the supply and return air openings and forms a sealing contact with the evaporator assembly when the refrigeration unit is in the inserted position.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A cooler comprising:
 a cooler cabinet having an upper compartment and a lower compartment;   a divider panel separating the upper compartment from the lower compartment, the divider panel having a supply opening and a return opening therethrough;   a modular refrigeration unit insertable into the lower compartment and movable horizontally therein between a withdrawn position and an inserted position without any substantial vertical movement component, the modular refrigeration unit including inlet and exhaust openings and a normally-expanded, compressible lower gasket secured to the perimeters of the inlet and exhaust openings, the inlet opening being configured for alignment with the supply opening in the divider panel and the exhaust opening being configured for alignment with the return opening in the divider panel when the modular refrigeration unit is in the inserted position;   a gasket assembly coupled to the divider panel, the gasket assembly including a normally-expanded, compressible, upper gasket having an upper surface in permanent sealing contact with the lower surface of the divider panel around the supply opening and the return opening, the gasket assembly having a raised state in which the modular refrigeration unit is insertable into and withdrawable from the lower compartment and an lowered state for providing a sealing contact between the lower gasket of the modular refrigeration unit and the supply and return openings in the divider panel when the modular refrigeration unit is in the inserted position; and   camming means for moving the gasket assembly between the raised and lowered states.   
     
     
         2 . The cooler of  claim 1 , wherein the gasket assembly further includes a rigid gasket frame affixed to the lower surface of the upper gasket, and wherein the cooler further includes means for coupling the gasket assembly to the upper wall of the divider panel with the rigid gasket frame being vertically movable while the upper surface of the upper gasket is retained in sealing contact with the lower surface of the divider panel around the supply opening and the return opening. 
     
     
         3 . The cooler of  claim 2 , wherein the camming means includes camming plates extending upwardly from the modular refrigeration unit and having camming sections for selectively engaging the gasket frame to move the gasket assembly between the raised and lowered states. 
     
     
         4 . The cooler of  claim 3 , wherein the gasket frame has side flanges with forward and rearward slots corresponding in size and position with the forward and rearward raised camming sections. 
     
     
         5 . The cooler of  claim 2 , wherein the gasket frame has vertical slots on either side thereof the means for coupling includes a gasket frame bracket attached to the lower surface of the divider panel on each side of the gasket frame, and the gasket frame brackets have inwardly extending fingers engaging with corresponding ones of the vertical slots of the gasket frame, the inwardly extending fingers being vertically movable within the vertical slots between raised and lowered positions corresponding to the raised and lowered states, respectively, of the gasket assembly. 
     
     
         6 . The cooler of  claim 2 , wherein the camming means includes camming rods mounted inside the lower cabinet for engaging the gasket frame and moving the gasket assembly between the raised and lowered states. 
     
     
         7 . The cooler of  claim 6 , wherein the means for coupling includes a channel attached to each side of the gasket frame, each channel having inside, upper and lower walls, and each camming rod having a camming section extending through a respective one of the channels and being rotatable therewithin between a raised position of the camming section, in which the camming section engages the inside, upper wall to bring the gasket assembly into the raised state, and a lowered position of the camming section, in which the camming section engages the inside, lower wall of its corresponding channel to bring the gasket assembly into the lowered state. 
     
     
         8 . The cooler of  claim 2 , wherein the upper gasket and the gasket frame have respective rectangular perimeters with respective horizontal cross-pieces configured to correspond to the perimeters of the inlet and exhaust openings of the modular refrigeration unit. 
     
     
         9 . The cooler of  claim 2 , wherein the upper gasket has a bottom section configured to fasten to the gasket frame and a top section that engages with the lower surface of the divider panel to provide a heat break around the perimeters of the supply air opening and the return air opening in the divider panel. 
     
     
         10 . The cooler of  claim 9 , wherein the upper gasket has a dual durometer construction, with the bottom section being made of an extruded, rigid PVC, and the top section being made of an extruded, flexible PVC.