Article dispensing – Cellular magazine type – Conveyer type
Patent
1987-04-16
1989-06-13
Bartuska, F. J.
Article dispensing
Cellular magazine type
Conveyer type
99348, 99357, 221150A, 221203, 366231, A47J 3700
Patent
active
048384550
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
This invention relates to an equipment for heating food, notably pre-cooked French fries.
It does more particularly pertain to an equipment built into a vending machine for heated food and mostly cooked French fries.
Due to the technical and safety problems encountered in equipments where heating and notably cooking food occurs in oil or fat, there has been considered for obviating such drawback, using as heating source, hot air and/or infrared radiation.
A known equipment of this kind comprises a substantially horizontal drum revolving about the axis thereof wherein the goods to be heated are constantly retained in movement during the heating operation.
Such an equipment has however for drawback that the food is raised to some height to fall back thereafter on a stack formed on the drum bottom. It is noted that when the food is comprised of French fries, such a relatively rough treatment often results in shredding same and as the fries pile up on the drum bottom, this does prevent homogeneously heating or cooking the French fries.
On the other hand, the drum volume is relatively large relative to the amount food being heated in a single operation, and heating is generally unefficient, in such a way that the cooking time required is rather long.
One of the essential objects of this invention is to obviate such drawbacks and notably to provide an equipment allowing to stir substantially continuously the food over a heating surface, while insuring a perfect distribution thereof on said surface, without any danger of damaging the food.
For this purpose, the heating equipment according to the invention comprises at least one tray wherein the food to be heated is fed, and flexible members hanging freely above said tray with the lower ends thereof contacting the tray bottom, means being provided to move said tray and members relative to one another, in such a way that the free lower ends of said members drag over the tray bottom and retain food to be heated constantly moving while stirring same and distributing the food substantially uniformly in the tray.
Advantageously, the tray has a substantially flat bottom.
In an advantageous embodiment of the invention, the tray is rotatably mounted about an axis lying substantially at right angle to the tray bottom by means of a driving mechanism.
In a particularly advantageous embodiment of the invention, the tray bottom is mounted on a mechanism for tilting about a substantially horizontal axis, while cooperating with said driving mechanism to allow subjecting the tray to a revolution about the axis at right angle to the bottom thereof during a tilting movement.
The invention further relates to a feeder device for food portions to a heating equipment, notably the above-described equipment.
Said device has for feature to comprise at least one storage cylinder open at both ends thereof and divided into compartments along substantially identical circular sectors, said cylinder being rotatable about a substantially vertical axis above a fixed disk which forms the compartment bottom, a recess being provided in said disk to allow emptying the food-containing compartments by bringing same in sequence above said recess by rotating said cylinder about the axis thereof.
The invention further pertains to a device for feeding containers which will contain food portions as provided by a food-processing equipment, notably a food-heating equipment, such as for heating pre-cooked French fries, which comprises at least one tank for storing superimposed containers, with an opening wherethrough said containers may be discharged one by one.
According to the invention, said device is so designed as to contain folded containers the side walls of which are folded-back inwards by forming elements in the shape of plates which are slightly bulging on the folded-back wall side, said opening being comprised of a slot provided sidewise in the tank with a size which corresponds substantially to the cross-section of the plate-shaped elements to allow removing same one by one through said opening, re
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