Patent ID: 8887512

Claim:
A cooler comprising: a cooling chamber having a wall surface and a bottom surface; a polymer gel characterized by a thermal mass effective to extend the period of time in which the temperature of said cooling chamber is maintained within a target range without active cooling; means for confining said polymer gel in heat transfer relationship with said cooling chamber and separating said polymer gel from the storage space of said cooling chamber; means for insulating said polymer gel and said cooling chamber from ambient conditions; a thermoelectric heat transfer module having a heat absorbing cold side and an opposing heat emissive hot side; a thermal conductor situated between and in thermally conductive communication with said bottom surface and the cold side of said module whereby the cold side of said module thermally communicates with said bottom surface to cool said cooling chamber and said polymer gel when said module is energized, said thermal conductor defining a space between said bottom surface and the cold side of said module; thermal insulation surrounding said conductor the space defined by said thermal conductor between said bottom surface and the cold side of said module; a heat sink in thermally conductive communication with the hot side of said module; and a fan for cooling said heat sink.