Foods and beverages: apparatus – Subjecting food to an enclosed modified atmosphere – Including means to influence movement of gas within enclosure
Patent
1996-03-12
1997-10-14
Alexander, Reginald
Foods and beverages: apparatus
Subjecting food to an enclosed modified atmosphere
Including means to influence movement of gas within enclosure
99448, A47J 4714, A47J 3900
Patent
active
056760515
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a heated warming apparatus for food products.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Such a heated warming apparatus is known from the European Patent Application EP 0 481 352 A1, in which a heat insulating container comprising a lower part and an upper part to be put thereon, accomodates the food products. Said lower part is designed as a functional unit that comprises a heater and a rotor. The rotor serves to circulate the hot air heated by said heater, through the upper part. Said upper part is designed as a delivery bag for the food products and is removed from the lower part for the transport thereof.
If the food products are, for example, pizzas, these are laid immediately after the preparation in a conventionally flat pizza box with a cover. With closed covers, the pizza boxes are then stacked upon each other inside said upper part.
However, since the hot air can only pass along the exterior of the boxes, and said boxes mostly are made of cardboard which is a fairly bad heat conductor, the heat transfer from the hot air to the pizzas is accordingly low. Therefore, to maintain a satisfactory temperature of the pizzas, the air has to be heated intensively. But this requires a high heating power that, especially in case of the transported operation of the warming apparatus, cannot, or only with an exaggerated expense be provided.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a heated warming apparatus for food products, of the type mentioned at the beginning, which requires less heating power.
Since the hot air heated by the heater does not pass along the exterior of the food containers, but flows through the interior of each food container, the heat carried along with the hot air arrives at the food products that actually are to be heated, directly instead of a detour through the walls of the containers. By that, the air temperature, and thus the heating power and the energy consumption, too, can be reduced.
Advantageously, not only the discharge opening but also the suction opening of the hot-air fan is leading in the housing, and each food container is arranged in said housing such that at least one of its outlet holes is in fluid connection with the suction opening. By this means, a closed flow path is achieved for the hot air in the housing. This path extends from the discharge opening of the hot-air fan to the inlet holes in the food containers, through these holes into the interior of the containers and over the food products, as for example pizzas, from there through the outlet holes in the food containers, and to the suction opening of the hot-air fan. Since the air that leaves the food containers, has been indeed cooled down by transferring the heat to the food products, but its temperature is still higher than the ambient temperature existing exterior the housing, the hot-air fan needs not to warm up the cold ambient air, so that additional energy can be saved.
By means of a temperature- and/or humidity-sensor inside the hot-air fan, and of a control unit for controlling said hot-air fan in accordance with the signals of said temperature- and/or humidity-sensor, the climatic conditions inside the hosing can easily be controlled.
Next, two alternative preferred embodiments of the heated warming apparatus according to the invention will be presented, which are based on different courses of the hot-air flow. In the first alternative, the single flow paths through each food container are arranged in series, whereas in the second alternative, they are arranged in parallel.
The features of the first alternative embodiment are described. Accordingly, the hot air is guided successively through the single food containers stacked on each other. This arrangement makes it possible to keep the food products hot irrespective of the number of food containers contained in the housing, because the hot air is, so to speak passed on from one food container to the food container above it.
Preferably, each food container
REFERENCES:
patent: 4052589 (1977-10-01), Wyatt
patent: 4110916 (1978-09-01), Bemrose
patent: 4623780 (1986-11-01), Shelton
patent: 4779524 (1988-10-01), Wade
patent: 5355781 (1994-10-01), Liston et al.
patent: 5463940 (1995-11-01), Cataldo
patent: 5505122 (1996-04-01), Gerrit
Alexander Reginald
Primus Gastronomiebetriebe GmbH
LandOfFree
Heated warming apparatus for food products does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.
If you have personal experience with Heated warming apparatus for food products, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Heated warming apparatus for food products will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-1547687