Patent Description:
The present disclosure generally relates to cooling enclosures within an aircraft, and more specifically to assembly, apparatus, and a method of manufacture of in-seat mini-bar of a cooling system configured for enclosures within, for example, an in-seat passenger compartment onboard an aircraft.

Premium class passengers that include first class and business are generally considered the most profitable passenger segment for carriers, and therefore carriers' desire to provide the premium class passengers with the highest comfort and service. This includes extending the class of service to not only commonly considered options such as passenger seating and space, but also to other services provided including providing chilled refreshments in a mini bar in the aircraft galley or in an in-seat passenger seating compartment. It has not been feasible to station compact refrigerator-type compartments in an aircraft mini-bar, galley monument, seat station or other smaller enclosures in the aircraft interior. <CIT> relates to personal beverage warmers and coolers for vehicle seats. An example apparatus to regulate the temperature of a beverage near a seat of a vehicle is disclosed. The apparatus includes: a base including a thermally conductive material that conducts heat in a direction that is at least one of to or from a container seated thereon, a thermoelectric device thermally coupled with the base and to be energized to exchange heat with the base, and a heat exchanger thermally coupled with the thermoelectric device and a liquid medium to exchange heat therebetween.

In an embodiment, an in-seat mini-bar assembly configured in an aircraft seating module for receipt in a compartment integrated in the aircraft seating module, according to claim <NUM>, is provided.

In various embodiments, the in-seat mini-bar assembly further includes a door for access to the container with a latching mechanism responsive to a manual action to cause the door to open for access to the interior cavity wherein the door is configured with a transparent insert to enable viewing inside the interior cavity.

In various embodiments, the in-seat mini-bar assembly further includes a heat sink that receives the outside air uniformly via the circular cross-sectional area of the duct across a set of fins configured with the heat sink.

In various embodiments, the outside air is radially expelled by the heat sink to one or more exterior vents.

In various embodiments, the in-seat mini-bar assembly further includes a rear assembly configured with a compact integration of a set of components having a reduced depth to enable the housing to conform to the compartment of the aircraft seating module.

In various embodiments, the in-seat mini-bar assembly's set of components further includes a blower configured with a low-profile motor to integrate within the heat sink to expel warmer air.

In various embodiments, the interior cavity is configured to store at least a set of multiple <NUM> (<NUM>-ounce) soda cans.

In various embodiments, the housing is configured as a stand-alone module which is swappable for replacement in the compartment in the aircraft seating module.

In various embodiments, the micro-chiller unit is configured to operate with a low voltage DC power supply of the aircraft seating module.

In various embodiments, the micro-chiller unit is configured to operate with a polarity in a forward direction to cool the interior cavity, and to operate with the polarity in a reverse direction to warm the interior cavity.

In various embodiments, the conductive rear plate is configured in a range of <NUM> to <NUM> millimeters in thickness.

In various embodiments, a method to manufacture of an in-seat mini-bar apparatus according to claim <NUM> is provided.

While these various embodiments are described in sufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art to practice the disclosure, it should be understood that other embodiments may be realized and that changes may be made without departing from the scope of the claims. , Also, any reference to attached, fixed, connected, or the like may include permanent, removable, temporary, partial, full or any other possible attachment option.

Referring to <FIG> illustrates an example in-seat mini-bar module that includes a micro-chiller unit configured to fit in a compartment/monument in a passenger seating module in accordance with various embodiments that fall within the scope of the claims. The example in-seat mini-bar module <NUM> includes a micro-chiller enclosure system housed in an exterior housing <NUM> with an interior compartment <NUM> (container or interior cavity), a door <NUM>, rear assembly <NUM> (with exterior venting), and a latching mechanism <NUM>. The example in-seat mini-bar module <NUM> is a standalone module configured to seamlessly integrate into a monument or compartment configured in a seating module of an aircraft.

In various embodiments, the latching mechanism <NUM> can fasten the door to the exterior housing <NUM> to hold the door with a clasping action and can be opened with a one-handed manual operation that unlatches the door <NUM> from the exterior housing <NUM> by a pull action on a handle configured within the latching mechanism <NUM>. In various embodiments, the passenger can pull the handle (integrated in the latching mechanism <NUM>) and the door <NUM> would unlatch from the exterior housing <NUM> and open. In various embodiments, the latching mechanism <NUM> can enable a springloaded action of the door <NUM> to open the door <NUM>, to enable reaching (via a one-hand operation) into the interior cavity upon the unlatching action of the latching mechanism <NUM> from the exterior housing <NUM>. In this way, it may not be necessary to perform a two-step process of manually open the door and holding it open, and then reaching into the interior cavity for retrieving a beverage as the door <NUM> opens in one action for convenience upon the unlatching action. This operation follows other compartments such as the baggage compartments above the passenger seating module that open upon the unlatching action of the locking mechanism. Next, upon closure, to keep the door closed, a force is applied to actuate the latch operation to latch the door to the exterior housing <NUM>. In this way, the door <NUM> is latched shut when the door is closed and latched. If the door is shut and the mechanism is not latched, then the door will open so notice is provided that the door has not been properly closed. In embodiments, a sensor or other notification may be configured to notify the passenger or other user that the door <NUM> has not be closed properly.

The door <NUM> includes a transparent insert (i.e., insert <NUM>) that may be composed of a plexiglass material (e.g., polycarbonate) that has insulative properties. The insert <NUM> may also be composed of other non-opaque material, or semi-opaque material, or configured in glass. The insert <NUM> provides a window in the door <NUM> so the passenger can view the contents stored in the in-seat mini-bar module <NUM>. In various embodiments, the insert can be constructed with more opaqueness and have a layering of a non-reflective or tinted film for an aesthetic covering of the exterior housing. This may also enable improvements in the thermal management of the cavity temperature caused by light exposure. In various embodiments, the door <NUM> attached to the exterior housing <NUM> is made of a combination of insulative material with a see-through insulated double-glazed polycarbonate insert (i.e., insert <NUM>) that enables a convenient viewing of products stored in the interior compartment <NUM> of the exterior housing <NUM> without the need to open the latching mechanism <NUM> and door <NUM> to expose the interior contents. In various embodiments, at least one side of the in-seat mini-bar module <NUM> (excluding the door that incorporates a glass or other non-opaque material) are lined with insulation and may also include an optional cosmetic face sheet (e.g., stainless steel fascia) for aesthetics and protection. In various embodiments, the additional layer of insulation may reduce operational noise of the micro-chiller unit for passenger comfort as the in-seat mini-bar module <NUM> is placed close to the seated location of the passenger.

<FIG> illustrates another perspective of the in-seat mini-bar module <NUM> in which multiple canned refreshments are stored in accordance with various embodiments. The in-seat mini-bar module <NUM> can be configured with a shelf <NUM> that allows for storing and holding of multiple canned beverages. Even though <FIG> illustrates the storage of three <NUM> (<NUM>-oz) fluid cans in the interior of the in-seat mini-bar module <NUM>, it is contemplated that the in-seat mini-bar module <NUM> dimensions can be changed to accommodate different size beverage canisters including bottles and cartons. In various embodiments, the interior cavity of the compartment <NUM> and shelf can be configured to support larger bottles, milk cartons, wine bottles, and other items. In various embodiments, sensors may be integrated into the shelf to notify flight crew when a canister is empty or removed.

In various embodiments, the internal volume of the enclosed space of the compartment <NUM> is configured in dimensions of approximately or in the range of <NUM> inches (<NUM>) in height, <NUM> inches (<NUM>) in width and <NUM> (<NUM>) inches depth. In various embodiments, the compartment <NUM> (interior space) of the micro-chiller unit in the exterior housing <NUM> can store about <NUM><NUM>-fluid-ounces (<NUM>) cans of beverages (ex. , soda can about <NUM> inches (<NUM>) in diameter and <NUM> inches (<NUM>) in height). It is contemplated, that the exterior housing <NUM> for the in-seat mini-bar module <NUM> can be configured in a variety of sizes and shapes configured to fit within particular aircraft in-seat compartments, galley carts, and other aircraft monuments.

<FIG> illustrates a configurations of the in-seat mini-bar module <NUM> in an arm rest section of a passenger seating module <NUM> in accordance with various embodiments. In <FIG>, the in-seat mini-bar module <NUM> is positioned in the passenger seating module <NUM> above an arm rest <NUM> (or passenger seat divider) with a frontal face <NUM> positioned adjacent to the passenger seat <NUM> so the door <NUM> of the exterior housing <NUM> (of <FIG>) is easily accessible (within arm reach by a passenger) to perform manually the unlatching of the latching mechanism (of <FIG>) to open the door <NUM> and retrieve a cooled refreshment product without assistance, and at a time of choosing. In various embodiments, a tray <NUM> may be positioned or attached in the front of the in-seat minibar module <NUM> for convenient placement of the cooled refreshment product.

In various embodiments, the in-seat mini-bar module <NUM> is configured with power systems available in the seating module of the aircraft. For example, this can include low voltage DC power supplies and AC power supplies that are available for passenger's mobile devices and for on-screen monitors integrated in the seating module. The in-seat mini-bar module <NUM>, as an example, has an internal AC/DC converter, or a DC/DC regulator to receive power from a <NUM> volts (<NUM> hertz) AC current or a <NUM>/<NUM> volts DC current from a battery.

In various embodiments, the in-seat mini-bar module <NUM> includes a compartment <NUM> configured as a container (e.g., aluminum chill-pan) comprising a conductive material like aluminum that generally composed of five sides (e.g., a top side <NUM> (Y'-Z', Y'-X'), a bottom side <NUM> (Y-Z', X-X'), a left side <NUM> (Y-Y', Z-Z'), a right side <NUM> (X'-Z', Y-Y'), a back side <NUM> (Z'-X', Y'-Z').

In various embodiments, the in-seat mini-bar module <NUM> is an igloo style micro-chiller unit that comprises a set of thermo-electric elements (e.g., Peltier elements) with a heat sink mounted on a radially concentric set of fins for heat dissipation with a blower mounted onto the top of the compartment. In implementation, the top wall of the compartment <NUM> is encapsulated by an aluminum plate of approximately <NUM>-<NUM> thick. The in-seat mini-bar module <NUM> in operation enables a cooling of the aluminum plate (via one or more Peltier modules), which cools the interior compartment <NUM>. To provide increased cooling and power performance, the aluminum sheet may be extended and folded down over additional sides of the compartment and if a cosmetic face sheet is used, the cosmetic face sheet is bonded or riveted or otherwise coupled to the aluminum with, for example, an adhesive such as a thermal epoxy. The aluminum plate forms a barrier that prevents or at least lessens (intercepts) the heat entering the cooling compartment before it mixes with the internally distributed air flow or is expelled to the exterior by the channeled distributed air.

In various embodiments, the assembly of the in-seat mini-bar module <NUM> configured with multiple layers, a distributed channel of cooled air across each side, provides a compact, low-noise, modular, extensible architecture for chilling small spaces in an in-seat monument. In various embodiments, the in-seat mini-bar module <NUM> is a solid-state unit configured with no moving parts (common in a refrigeration unit) on either the beverage, food, or user (passenger) facing side of the system because the chilling operation is performed by cooling of the aluminum plate. In various embodiments, the only moving part of the assembly that makes up the in-seat mini-bar module <NUM> is a fan, which is placed behind the monument (container) structure of the exterior housing <NUM> and is out of view, and not accessible by the user.

In various embodiments, the in-seat mini-bar module <NUM> is an eco-friendly chilling unit (reducing the emission of ozone-depleting refrigerants into the atmosphere) that is a self-contained unit (i.e., the micro-chiller unit) that can be configured with opening of the door <NUM> in either direction (i.e., clockwise or counterclockwise) dependent on which side of the passenger seat <NUM> it is positioned, and dividers that conform to the cans, bottles and other refreshments for holding the items securely in the interior cavity of the compartment <NUM> in response to motion of the aircraft (especially during landing and take-off). The in-seat mini-bar module <NUM> can be configured to be easily insertable and swappable with a compartment of passenger seating module <NUM> to enable efficient repair by replacement of the entire module saving maintenance time and aircraft operational downtime.

<FIG> illustrate components of the in-seat mini-bar module that includes the micro-chiller unit of <FIG> in accordance with various embodiments that fall within the scope of the claims. <FIG> illustrates a set of aluminum spacers <NUM> which can be formed with standardized machining. The spacers are generally composed of a metal alloy (e.g., aluminum and alloys thereof) in a block form with high thermal conductivity for transferring changes in temperature to the desired space, container, or chill-pan to be cooled. The spacers <NUM> are selected of sufficient thickness to ensure consistent thermal connection with a set of thermo-electric elements (or Peltier elements) on which the spacers <NUM> are mounted and are not of an excessive thickness to produce any thermal inertia. The thermo-electric elements dissipate the extracted heat to outside the housing in a forward polarity arrangement, and in a reverse polarity heat the internal cavity. The spacers <NUM> add a protective layer to stresses and strains that may be experienced by a container wall from the cooling (and heating) effects on which the micro-cooler unit is mounted and are applied by the thermoelectric elements of the unit when current is applied. In various embodiments, the spacers <NUM> conduct thermal properties such as cooling by the thermo-electric elements at the surface of a wall of the container within the housing.

<FIG> illustrates a diagram of a high-level view of the set of components that make up the exterior portion (i.e., non-viewable components) of the assembly of the in-seat mini-bar module. The components shown of the assembly <NUM> are mounted on the exterior wall of the internal container and may include the radially configured heatsink <NUM>, blower <NUM>, support brackets <NUM>, duct <NUM>, cover for duct <NUM>, and an exterior venting plate <NUM> attached to the rear of the container.

<FIG> illustrates a diagram of a radially configured heatsink <NUM> mounted to the aluminum spacers <NUM> illustrated in <FIG>. The radially configured heatsink <NUM> is attached on the outside or hot side of the container (i.e., within the housing) with the aluminum spacers <NUM> and attached to one side of the container (i.e., one of the <NUM> sides of the interior cavity). The interior side of the container attached to the micro-chiller unit is the cold side separated by a plate <NUM> that conducts the thermal cooling (conductive cooling) to the interior of the compartment. Other sides of the container may include an insulative layer to protect against heat seepage.

In various embodiments, the radially configured heatsink <NUM> includes parallel oriented fins <NUM> with a blower <NUM> in the center. The fins <NUM> are circularly arranged around the blower <NUM> to reduce local disturbances in cooling flow and to provide parallel air flow through the fins. The duct of the assembly in <FIG> is clamped or otherwise coupled to the mounting plate on which the heatsink <NUM> is also mounted to act as a conduit for the airflow to the heatsink <NUM>. The fins <NUM> provide heat dissipation for heat transfer (away from the container) from the cooling airflow. The radially configured heatsink <NUM> can use a low voltage DC power source. In various embodiments, if the micro-chiller unit is configured in an in-seat housing, a power source (typically a DC power source) that is already available or connected to the aircraft seat can power the radially configured heatsink <NUM>, and the other thermo-electric elements used. Because of the absence of refrigerant or supplied liquid coolant, the micro-chiller unit can be mounted with flexibility with any orientation including horizontally or at an angle without concern for liquid (such as refrigerant, water, or oil) circulation or interference from external refrigerator connections or condensation hoses.

<FIG> is a diagram of the assembly of <FIG> configured in a rear assembly of a single-sided chiller unit with an in-seat mini-bar module in accordance with various embodiments. The components described in <FIG> are assembled and fitted in the rear assembly <NUM> mounted on the back of the in-seat mini bar module (attaching to the frame consisting of the assembly <NUM> of the front facing door connected to the exterior housing casing) in an unobstructive manner without significant protrusion to extend the depth of the unit given the limited space in the seating module.

<FIG> illustrate perspectives of the components that make up the assembly of the micro-chiller unit of the in-seat mini-bar module attached to the rear of the in-seat mini-bar module in accordance with various embodiments that fall within the scope of the claims. In <FIG>, there is shown a diagram of the set of components that make up the core of the micro-chiller unit in the in-seat mini-bar module that include the cover <NUM>, the blower <NUM>, the motor adapter <NUM>, the (radially configured) heat sink <NUM>, the set of thermo-electrics (TE) (or Peltier elements) <NUM>, the set of aluminum spacers (thermally conductive material) <NUM>, and the motor <NUM> typically a low type profile motor to include in the limited enclosure space in the seating module. In <FIG>, there is shown a diagram of a compact assembled module <NUM> of the set of individual components illustrated in <FIG> that can be affixed to an inside wall of the in-seat mini-bar module that allows to thermal cooling of a rear plate of the in-seat mini-bar module and for reduced depth and protrusion in the limited space of the compartment in the seating module that the in-seat mini-bar module is inserted.

<FIG> illustrates an assembly of a view of the in-seat mini-bar module that includes the micro-chiller unit and ingress and egress airflow in a housing, not according to the claims. In <FIG> there is shown the in-seat mini-bar module <NUM>, that includes a housing <NUM> that can be installed in an in-seat compartment or other aircraft monument. In various examples, the housing <NUM> includes the solid-state components for the cooling operation except for the blower unit moving parts. In various examples, the components are noncorrosive used in the cooling operation and can withstand vibrations and shaking experienced during aircraft operations.

In various examples, the described components of the assembly within the housing of the interior container (multi-sided container) that forms a cavity for cooling with an insulative layer configured on each side that prevent thermal seepage of exterior hotter air from the sides of the housing. In <FIG>, there is shown the atypically shaped duct <NUM>, that does not fall within the scope of the claims, and that is both curved and ringed (i.e., irregular shaped duct) with a cylindrical topology in which a proximal end is wider to enable a volume of outside air to be drawn in by the micro-chiller unit <NUM> attached to the rear wall of the interior container, and allows cool air circulated in the interior container. The micro-chiller unit expels warmer air radially rejected by the unit to the outside environment.

The curved, ringed, and/or irregular shaped duct (i.e., the duct <NUM>) is formed in a manner to efficiently drawn in the air and to prevent any re-ingesting or static motion of the air flow (as opposed to a cornered rectangular pitched box <NUM>) when drawn in by utilizing features in its configured topology that prevent air disturbances in the airflow. The topology of the atypical duct <NUM> can include the following features to streamline the airflow: an indentation towards the duct's distal end and a spherical hump configured before the duct's coupling with an outlet that expunges the air into the micro-chiller unit <NUM>. In various examples, via the vent <NUM>, outside air is drawn into the unit through the irregular shaped duct (i.e., the duct <NUM>), by a blower to the micro-chiller unit <NUM> configured with a radially configured heatsink that expels the hotter air (radially). The cooler air is circulated in the container using one or more thermocouple elements spaced apart by aluminum spacers that provide cooling to the container.

In various examples, the irregular shaped duct <NUM> channels the outside air into two pathways <NUM> in the micro-chiller unit <NUM>. Each pathway <NUM> provides a channel for air distribution across a set of fins of a radially configured heatsink within the micro-chiller unit <NUM>. Hence, the irregular shaped duct <NUM> routes or separates the air flow by its configuration to distribute the airflow more effectively across a cross sectional area exposed to the fins of the radially configured heatsink. This enables two paths <NUM> of circulation channels of air within the container <NUM> to uniformly cool the upper and lower parts of the container <NUM> with cool air of approximately or of a similar temperature gradient in the cooling operation. In various examples, the radially configured heatsink ingests air, generates centrally cooled air, and with a curved non-linear duct configuration enables a higher and more optimized throughput of the cool air to circulate internally in the container of the housing.

<FIG> illustrates a diagram of a side view of the in-seat mini-bar module <NUM> that includes the set of components for a single-sided configuration of the micro-chiller unit mounted on the rear wall of the interior cavity within the exterior housing in accordance with various embodiments that fall within the scope of the claims. In <FIG>, there is shown an in-seat mini-bar module <NUM> that includes the micro-chiller unit <NUM> and a container <NUM> with a slight inward tilt and that makes up the interior cavity in the exterior housing <NUM>; the tilting is to prevent liquid from opened containers (i.e., soda cans) from spilling out, such as from turbulence in flight, from the exterior housing <NUM> into the passenger seating area. In various embodiments, the container <NUM> tilting can configure an air curtain type barrier where the circulated cooler air is retained inside the container <NUM> by inward airflow caused by the container <NUM> wall angles. This can result in energy saving by keeping the cooler interior air of the container <NUM> from mixing with outside air when the door is opened at the frontal face <NUM> of the exterior housing <NUM>.

In various embodiments, the exterior housing <NUM> includes the heatsink <NUM> that repels the hotter air, and the micro-chiller unit <NUM> mounted to aluminum spacers <NUM> for conductively cooling the interior of the container <NUM>. In some embodiments, the curved, ringed, and irregular shaped duct (i.e., the duct <NUM>) exhibits an irregular topology for the fluidic flow of the outside air received from the vent <NUM>.

In various embodiments, the irregular shaped duct (i.e., the duct <NUM>) has a tapered or funnel type shape that enables it to be joined or mated to the vent <NUM> of the exterior housing <NUM> at its proximate end with a wide flange face <NUM> (i.e., a wider lip) for the outside air intake. The duct's <NUM> wider face is configured with a wider and flatter cross-sectional area (i.e., wider elliptical cross section area that can be configured with a greater width constrained to the width dimensions of the housing and a narrower height) to draw in the outside air uniformly. The duct <NUM> is then gradually changed in shape (resulting in changes in the ducting topology) or tapered to a circular cross-sectional area at the flange receptable <NUM> to target, funnel or direct the airflow to the micro-chiller unit <NUM>. In various embodiments, an indentation <NUM> is configured in an interior side of the duct to assist in the upward direction for the uniform distribution of airflow towards the center portion of the duct cavity. Also, a slight hump <NUM> is configured on the exterior side of the duct <NUM> to direct the direction of the airflow as it is angled towards the flange receptable <NUM> towards the micro-chiller unit <NUM> to attempt to maintain the airflow towards the center cavity of the duct <NUM> during the angling process flow.

In various embodiments, via the vent <NUM>, outside air is drawn into the unit through the irregular shaped duct (i.e., the duct <NUM>), by the blower unit to the micro-chiller unit <NUM> configured with a radially configured heatsink that expels the hotter air (radially <NUM>). The cooler air is circulated in the container <NUM> using one or more thermo-couple elements spaced apart by aluminum spacers <NUM> that provide cooling to the container <NUM>. The insulative layer <NUM> provides a barrier to heat seepage from outside warmer air and from any warmer air radially repelled by the micro-chiller unit <NUM>.

In various embodiment, the atypically configured duct (i.e., the duct <NUM>) is fitted within the exterior housing <NUM> of the in-seat mini-bar module <NUM>. The vents at the exterior of the exterior housing <NUM> enable hotter air to be dissipated from the unit radially expelled <NUM> by the heatsink <NUM>. In embodiments, the dimensions of the in-seat mini-bar module are approximately <NUM> inches (<NUM>) height, <NUM> inches (<NUM>) width, and <NUM> inches (<NUM>) in depth. The module is approximately <NUM> lbs. (<NUM> kgs) with <NUM>% of the weight constituting the micro-chiller unit <NUM>. The pull-down time is approximately <NUM> minutes for <NUM> degrees Celsius with an appropriate power level beneficial to maintain the temperature of approximately <NUM> watts and an outlet air temp less than <NUM> degrees Celsius.

<FIG> illustrates a flow diagram for configuring an assembly of the in-seat mini-bar module in a compartment of a seating module of the aircraft in accordance with various embodiments. The method for ease of description is described with forming of the duct, the heatsink and thermo-electric assembly, and container within the exterior housing to configure the in-seat mini-bar module. However, the description is not limited to assembly of the referred to components but can include other components and parts put together to build the in-seat mini bar module. In various embodiments, at step <NUM>, the in-seat mini-bar module is configured as a standalone unit that can be inserted into a compartment of a passenger seating module.

The compartment of the seating module is matched to accept the exterior housing that makes up the in-seat mini-bar module. For example, the in-seat mini-bar module can be swapped into an empty compartment area of the seating module and be held in with a cover plate or other bracket with little tooling or modification of the situs. The exterior housing of the in-seat mini-bar module can consist of a plate made up of an aluminum sheet or other lightweight conductive material with comparable properties of a thickness of <NUM>-<NUM> to maintain a rigid form within a certain light-weight criteria.

At step <NUM>, all (or as many as desired) the sides of the exterior housing (except for the door with a glass or plastic flexible non-opaque insert combined with an insulative layer), are lined with an insulative lay and an optional cosmetic face sheet. At step <NUM>, the in-seat mini-bar is configured as a single sided unit with a single micro-chiller unit mounted to a rear plate on its internal container, and this rear plate is cooled by conduction resulting in passive cooling of the internal cavity area. At step <NUM>, the (conductive) plate within the in-seat mini bar module may be configured to extended down and folded over additional sides of the internal cavity with a cosmetic sheet that can be bonded or riveted to the aluminum plate with an optional layer configured of thermal epoxy. The aluminum sheet will intercept any heat entering the housing in which the internal cavity is disposed before it causes any thermal seepage with the cooler air of the internal cavity.

At step <NUM>, the outside rear assembly mounted to the exterior wall of the internal cavity is assembled and includes the components assembled together of the blower, thermo-electric elements, aluminum spacers, and the radially configured heatsink. The duct is configured with a tapered shape that funnels the airflow with changes in its cross-sectional area. In various embodiments, the duct is differently or irregularly in its body, and on one end it is attached to the assembly and on the other end, the duct is attached to an exterior vent to draw in the outside air with its particular atypical shape in a fluidic and uniform manner. The exterior vent is a front facing or proximately frontally located vent positioned near or within the frontal face of the in-seat minibar module and enables the intake of outside air forward of the in-seat mini-bar module. At step <NUM>, the venting of the expelled air is fashioned at the rear of the exterior housing or can be configured on the opposite frontal sides of the rear part of the compartment if the seating module does not provide venting. In various embodiments, separate venting channels can be configured with the seating module to vent the air across electronics in the vicinity (i.e., display monitors integrated in the seating module) to cool the electronics and provide efficient use of the expelled air. Other uses of the vented air may include more filtration of the expelled air in the seating module by airflow distribution from the in-seat mini-bar module.

At step <NUM>, the in-seat mini-bar module may be configured with various sensors to notify if the door is opened, the refreshments need to be re-stocked, or the cooling operation is malfunctioning. The in-seat mini-bar module can be configured in a variety of designs and colors by different cover plates to, in instances, match the seating module look and feel. Further, locking features can be added to limit access to alcoholic beverages that may be stored in the in-seat minibar.

In various embodiments, a credit card or other charging methods can be coupled to access to the in-seat mini-bar module via, an app on a smart device of the passenger or by other payment systems already in use with the passenger seating module (e.g., for example payment processors integrated with a display system in the seating module), to give access to the passenger to the in-seat mini-bar refreshments.

The scope of the disclosure is accordingly to be limited by nothing other than the appended claims. Moreover, where a phrase similar to "at least one of A, B, or C" is used in the claims, it is intended that the phrase be interpreted to mean that A alone may be present in an embodiment, B alone may be present in an embodiment, C alone may be present in an embodiment, or that any combination of the elements A, B and C may be present in a single embodiment; for example, A and B, A and C, B and C, or A and B and C.

Systems, methods, and apparatus are provided herein. Further, when a particular feature, structure, or characteristic is described in connection with an embodiment, it is submitted that it is within the knowledge of the one skilled in the art to affect such feature, structure, or characteristic in connection with other embodiments, as long as the resulting embodiment falls within the scope of the claims.

As used herein, the terms "comprises," "comprising," or any other variation thereof, are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises a list of elements does not include only those elements but may include other elements.

Claim 1:
An in-seat mini-bar assembly (<NUM>, <NUM>) configured in an aircraft seating module (<NUM>) for receipt in a compartment (<NUM>) integrated in the aircraft seating module, the in-seat mini-bar assembly comprising:
a housing (<NUM>, <NUM>)
that is insertable into the compartment (<NUM>) integrated in the aircraft seating module wherein the housing comprises:
a container (<NUM>, <NUM>) with an interior cavity that is conductively cooled by thermoelectric elements (<NUM>) of a micro-chiller unit (<NUM>) mounted on a conductive rear plate (<NUM>) that forms an exterior side of the container disposed in the housing; and
a duct (<NUM>, <NUM>);
a vent (<NUM>) configured proximate to a front section of the housing to receive outside air forward of the housing for channeling the outside air to a rear section of the housing using the duct (<NUM>, <NUM>) attached to the vent at the front section;
wherein the duct (<NUM>, <NUM>) comprises a frontal flange having a wide cross-sectional area to enable airflow of the outside air through the duct to the rear section, the duct being shaped for a fluidic intake of the outside air by a frontal flange;
wherein the duct cross-section tapers from the wide cross-section to a circular cross-sectional area to direct the airflow in a uniform manner towards the micro-chiller unit at the rear section for conductive cooling of the interior cavity.