Patent ID: 8225616

Claim:
A method of operating a medicine cooler, comprising: receiving at least one medicine vial containing medicine to be cooled in a cavity in a shell having a grille and further having a door configured to provide access to said cavity; providing power to a thermoelectric cooler in a cooling and receiver structure, said cooling and receiver structure coupled to said shell and also including a heat sink with a hollow core and a vial receiver straddling said thermoelectric cooler, wherein said thermoelectric cooler connects said heat sink to said vial receiver; and controlling said power with electronic cooling control and medicine efficacy indication circuitry coupled to said cooling and receiving structure and including a processor, at least one temperature sensor configured to provide a signal to said processor indicating a temperature associated with said portable medicine cooler, a battery configured to provide power to said processor and located in said hollow core of said heat sink, and an indicator selected from the group consisting of at least one light-emitting diode and a liquid-crystal display and configured to provide an indication of an operation of said portable medicine cooler.