Single and double sided ingredient holding system

Details Single and double sided ingredient holding system Single and double sided ingredient holding system

2001-01-16

2001-06-26

Simone, Timothy F. (Department: 1761)

Foods and beverages: apparatus

Subjecting food to an enclosed modified atmosphere

Automatic control or time means

C099S330000, C099S331000, C099S448000, C099S476000, C099S483000, C099S516000, C126S020000, C126S369000, C219S401000

Reexamination Certificate

active

06250215

ABSTRACT:

FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates generally to equipment, thermal equipment and more particularly to high efficiency equipment for controlling heat and humidity as well as to take advantage of the heat capacity, density and flow of humid air. The structural embodiment of the invention is an improved single and double sided hot ingredient holding system which utilizes the natural energy and mass flow of a steam or hot vapor source.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Thermal equipment, particularly thermal equipment in use in the food industry, will ideally require as precise a thermal and humidity control as possible. One problem involves the control and duplication of several pieces of equipment which may work against each other. Where each piece of equipment is separately contained and operated, the potential problems multiply, including more replacement parts, more electrical connections, more control electronics and the like. The more unified a series of equipments become, the more efficient is the overall operation.
Balancing energy in terms of utilization should also be considered. For example where one piece of equipment has a required ease of transport of food, most such equipment must have high user access, typically a rack of trays for quick removal for use in loading, bringing to temperature and maintaining temperature. Tray loading and storage usually requires a wide opening such as a door which provides a continual stream of upset to the internal environment and to the overall energy environment. A unit of equipment needs to have the ability to adjust from a condition of intermittent and continual usage. The food items recently added should come to a good temperature and humidity condition quickly, and the overall burden on the energy system should be eased.
Complicating this goal is the physics associated with the inside of the unit of equipment. Where hot air sources and heating elements are present, there is a danger that the dry heat will harden the food, and that the moist heat will condense on the food to make the food soggy. These are the extreme limits of wrong operation. More common are the closer limits of wrong operation in that food on horizontal racks for example, in the upper reaches overheats and dries out, whereas food on the lower reaches experiences condensation and is too cool.
Another problem is the delay time in bringing the food to temperature and humidity. Where electric heating of a separate water tank is used to provide steam or vapor, the electric elements have to be turned on well in advance of the actual need for the vapor, so that the electric elements can heat, followed by heating of the surrounding water, followed by a rise in temperature as to permit vapor and steam to be used.
The ability to use a large mass of water held at the optimum temperature is limited for many reasons, not the least of which is equipment spacing requirements, equipment designs militating against the proper proximity and orientation, and fact that current designs provide for limits based upon the surface area of containers, and typically provide a volume, mass and control scheme to serve specialized containers.
Physical and scientific limitations on multiple pieces of equipment are not only difficult to maintain, but monitoring in order that control may be effected is also problematic. In terms of moisture and humidity, temperature probes without more don't indicate moisture. One hundred eighty degrees of moist heat can cause heat and moisture penetration into food to bring the food to its final heated and moist condition more quickly. The same temperature of dry heat could cause hardening and spoilage of the food in a fraction of the time.
Distribution of heat is another problem. Where a pan is heated, no benefit is had unless it is certain that water is present, and unless it is certain that the humidity reaches the other areas of the cabinet. Where a dry heating element is energized, the amount of heat leaving the element before shut off depends upon the moisture, and therefore total heat capacity of the volume of air in the unit of equipment. Thus, temperature alone will not give an indication of how much thermal energy has been introduced. Humidity alone will not give an indication of how much thermal energy has been introduced, and neither will it enable a projection based upon usage of the equipment for quick additional moisture and thermal input.
Another problem with conventional equipment configuration is the vented cabinet. Where a vent is provided, the cabinet continuously emits a mixture of moisture and air to the surrounding room representing losses in energy due to the raised temperature of the exiting components compared to ambient temperature, and the energy which must be added to vaporize water to replace the humidity lost from the vent. Vented systems also have a physical limitation as to where they can be placed to insure that the vented exit does not cause condensation on other equipment or walls, and that the condensation exit is not blocked as it would upset the steady state temperature and moisture movements within the unit, and likely cause the food to become water laden or soggy.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The thermal environment equipment and process of the present invention is illustrated through structures and processes described with respect to a single and double sided hot ingredient holding system which utilizes a steam control flap mounted within a steam vent as a source of moist heat and moisture, and also utilizes a dry heating element combined with internal air circulation for evenness of distribution within the enclosure.
The components for full illustration, may include hot well, tank or well, wet heating elements within the tank, tank temperature probe, water inlet valve, water drain valve, water level sensors, water mass within the tank, an optimum water level range, various openings for food pans or ingredient pans, utility openings, one or more ingredient housings, dry heating elements within the ingredient housings or other dry heat source, upper temperature and/or humidity probes, middle temperature and/or humidity probes, lower temperature and/or humidity probes, air curtain and/or fans both to isolate the warm moist air inside from the dry cooler air outside, and to provide internal circulation to the internal environment more even, doorless entry window, customizable shelving and racks, entry windows—with and without doors for long term inactivity, steam vent, steam control flap, connection tube, and in the double housing a customizable wall to control the distribution of heat and moisture within the cabinet.
The ingredient housing box for the ventless system is preferably made of a rigid material such as metal or plastic and should be capable of safely holding hot water and steam with minimum ambient thermal loss through the ingredient housing walls. The ventless steam ingredient housing shape most commonly is box shape; however, for design efficiency or visual savvy can be any shape or size as long as it can hold its humidity and perform the function of producing steamy humid environment for the products contained within. Ventless indicates that there is no deliberate vent for vapor and hot air, and that any escape of heated vapor air mixture is with the removal of food, or through leakage from the doorless opening, mitigated by the air door or air guarding flow at the service opening.
In the large water holding tank, an inlet valve allows for the water to flow into the tank can be manually or electronically controlled both with regard to the ingredient housing's needs as well as well as other uses which draw from the main tank. The use of a main tank not only enables capacitance in terms of heat and vapor output content, but enables users of the heat and vapor to communicate such use to a central controlling computer so that such utilization losses can be compensated for in terms of both heat and water input long before depletion occurs to the extent that operability of the systems using the heat

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