Patent ID: 7305833

Claim:
A cooling and warming apparatus comprising: a housing having a top side, the top side comprising a plurality of apertures; a plurality of receptacles for receiving perishable items, each of the receptacles comprising a bottom end, a top end and a side wall defining a chamber that opens through one of the plurality of apertures in the top side of the housing, said one of the plurality of apertures being adjacent the top end of the receptacle; a plurality of thermally-conductive bases each being attached at a top side to the bottom end of one of the plurality of receptacles; a plurality of thermoelectric elements each being in thermal communication with a bottom side of one of the plurality of thermally-conductive bases; a heat sink having heat-dissipating fins, the heat sink being in thermal communication with at least one of the plurality of thermoelectric elements; a fan for drawing air into the housing, through the heat-dissipating fins of the heat sink, and out of the housing; and a temperature controller for controlling the operation of one of the plurality of thermoelectric elements for providing a first temperature in one of the plurality of receptacles, and for controlling the operation of a second of the plurality of thermoelectric elements for providing a second temperature in another of the plurality of receptacles.