Foods and beverages: apparatus – Subjecting food to an enclosed modified atmosphere – With sequential heating and cooling
Reexamination Certificate
2000-12-04
2001-08-28
Simone, Timothy F. (Department: 1761)
Foods and beverages: apparatus
Subjecting food to an enclosed modified atmosphere
With sequential heating and cooling
C099S448000, C099S451000, C099S468000, C099S483000, C062S003300, C062S246000, C062S457600, C165S048100, C165S902000, C165S918000, C219S386000, C219S621000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06279470
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention concerns a system for maintaining the temperature of prepared meals served on trays. More precisely, the system is portable and self-contained; ensures continuity of the cold chain for dishes that are consumed in the cool state during storage and transport; ensures continuity of the hot chain for dishes that are consumed in the hot state and carried out directly from the kitchen; reheats a dish that has been transported in the cold state just before its delivery and keeps the dish hot during its consumption. This system responds to the needs of the catering business as well as those of restaurants that provide meals for pick up or delivery.
BACKGROUND
Health regulations often require:
maintenance of cold conditions under 3° C. for long-term storage, and
a cool temperature below 12° C. for delivery two hours prior to consumption.
Health regulations also often apply to hot dishes:
a hot dish which is consumed in the hot state should not drop below 62.5° C. during the delivery phase. Maintenance of the hot state should not last more than two hours.
A hot dish which is transported in the cold state should:
be cooled in less than one hour, refrigerated and maintained under 3° C., and
be reheated above 65° just before consumption.
A hot delivered dish should be consumed above 62.5° C. for the best gustatory enjoyment. Thus, there is a requirement for the ability to maintain the temperature of the delivered dish while awaiting its consumption. These temperatures correspond to French regulations and are cited as examples.
These requirements are demanding and complicate the organization of take-out restaurants by imposing:
a very brief elapsed time between making the hot dish and its consumption, or alternatively,
transport of cold dishes in refrigerated vehicles which requires that delivery be made just prior to consumption, followed by reheating the dish back up to the required temperature on the consumer's premises assuming that an oven is available.
A self-contained, portable device that maintains dishes in the hot state or provides for their reheating by induction is disclosed and described in patent application FR 9614475 and patent application PCT FR 97/02125 by the same author. Plates heated by induction are described in design patent application FR 9706059 and patent application FR 9802066 by the same author, as well as examples of inductors. In addition, U.S. Pat. No. 3,408,481 describes portable devices for service using the Peltier phenomenon and patent application EP 0 818 169 describes meal trays with induction.
The present invention describes a more complete, improved version of the previously described devices intended for the applications cited in the introduction.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The invention relates to a food heating and cooling device including a tray, at least one main dish plate in the tray, at least one secondary dish plate in the tray, a cover associated with the tray for maintaining the food hot or cold, an inducer for heating, reheating or maintaining heat which is powered by an electronic generator circuit, thereby inducing currents in an armature located on or under the plates, a thermoelectric exchanger for maintaining the food cold or cool by extracting residual heat from the plates and compensates for thermal insulation leaks from the tray and cover, and rechargeable batteries connected to the inducer and the thermoelectric exchanger.
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Laligant Pascal
Le Blevennec Pierre
Simeray Janick
Biontronics S.A.
Schnader Harrison Segal & Lewis LLP
Simone Timothy F.
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