WO2011064264A1

WO2011064264A1 - Foil tray heating device

Info

Publication number: WO2011064264A1
Application number: PCT/EP2010/068146
Authority: WO
Inventors: Anita SCHØNING; Lars SCHØNING
Original assignee: Innovic Holding Aps
Priority date: 2009-11-24
Filing date: 2010-11-24
Publication date: 2011-06-03

Abstract

The present invention relates to a heating device (1) a foil tray (20) for a hearing device (1) and a method for heating foodstuff. The heating device (1) comprises an insulated casing (10) creating a cavity that can be heated. The cavity is suitable for receiving one or more trays (20) and an electrical heating source (40, 41) capable of heating the cavity is provided. The device (1) further comprises a receiving system (2, 11) for securing one or more trays (20) inside the cavity, a timer function for controlling the heating source (40, 41) and a thermostat for controlling the temperature.

Description

Foil tray heating device Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a heating device for heating foodstuff, said heating device comprising; an insulated casing creating a cavity that can be heated and suitable for receiving one or more trays; an electrical heating source capable of heating said cavity of said insulated casing; a receiving system for securing said one or more trays inside said cavity of said insulated casing; a timer function for controlling the heating source based on time and a thermostat for controlling the temperature inside said cavity of said insulated casing.

The present invention also relates to a tray for a heating device. Further the present invention relates to a method for heating foodstuff comprising; an insulated casing creating a cavity that can be heated and suitable for receiving one or more trays; an electrical heating source capable of heating the cavity of the insulated casing; a receiving system for securing the one or more trays inside the cavity of the insulated casing; a timer function for controlling the heating source based on time and a thermostat for controlling the temperature inside the cavity of the insulated casing, which method comprises the steps of: inserting said tray in said insulated casing; receiving said tray in said receiving system in said cavity of said insulating casing; heating said tray for an appropriate amount of time; and removing said tray from said heating device;

Background of the invention

Heating devices such as conventional ovens or microwave ovens are well kwon from the prior art. These ovens are suitable for heating a wide variety of objects of different size and character. Ovens often include timer functions for controlling the cooking time and preset programs for special types of defrosting or heating/cooking.

Convenience and ease of use is an important issue for many users such as for example teens, elderly or disabled persons. Having to set the appropriate cooking time and temperature can be a challenging task. This requires substantial knowledge about the foodstuff to be cooked or the ability to carefully read and understand the cooking instructions when such are available. Further the user need to be able to operate the heating device. A need thus ex- ists for a more convenient way of heating foodstuff such as convenience food.

Summary of the invention Disclosed herein is a heating device for heating foil trays. This is achieved by the heating device comprising a casing having means for receiving the one or more trays and the heating device further comprising a decoding device for decoding information about the one or more received trays. The information can for example be information on the content of the tray, cooking parame- ters such as cooking temperature and cooking time. Since the heating device is used for cooking, the term cooking device also can be used in relation to the heating device.

Also disclosed is a tray provided with a code, which code contains informa- tion for example about the content of the tray and/or cooking parameters such as cooking temperature, cooking time or other related parameters. The coded information can be decoded by the decoding device in the heating device. Disclosed herein is also a method for heating foil trays. This is achieved by the method comprising the step of the decoding device for decoding informa- tion about the inserted tray before the step of heating the tray and the information is used by the heating device to start the heating and subsequently stop the heating after an appropriate amount of time prescribed by the information contained in the code.

By using a decoding device in combination with a heating device for foil trays the level of convenience is greatly improved. A heating device capable of automatically setting cooking parameters based on information provided by a code placed in connection with the foil tray makes the use a lot less demand- ing. This will be of great advantage to people not capable of operating a heating device based on written instructions, prior knowledge of food preparation or the like. The device and method in combination with the tray could make it possible for some people to stay or become self-sufficing resulting in enhancement of the quality of life.

This is achieved by a heating device with a casing having means for receiving said one or more trays and said heating device further comprising a decoding device for decoding information from said one or more received trays. In one embodiment according to the invention the means for receiving the one or more trays comprises one or more slots through which a tray can be inserted. In this way foil trays can be directly inserted into the heating device making use very easy and straight forward. Further the construction of the device will be simple and costs can be kept down.

In another embodiment according to the invention the cavity created by the insulated casing is formed with a shape to receive and at least partially enclose the foil tray. This is an alternative way of creating a device simple and straight forward to use. In an alternative embodiment the heating device can be provided with actuating means for actuating a loading mechanism. The loading mechanism is arranged in the heating device and an actuator can move the loading mechanism also called a tray loader out of the heating device in such a way that it is possible to place a tray in the loader. The loader can be configured as a kind of drawer, carrying the tray by its upper edges of its side walls, by the bottom part of the loader or a combination thereof.

The actuator for moving the tray loader out from and into the heating device is in one embodiment a gear motor, in engagement with a gear rack, which gear rack can be placed with one of the side walls on the tray loader. In a convenient embodiment, the rack is positioned on the underside of a guiding rail at each side wall extending in an outwardly direction in relation to the tray loader.

In still another embodiment according to the invention the decoding device for decoding information about the one or more inserted trays is capable of reading the size from a code of the one or more inserted trays. Reading the size of the tray or the quantity and type of content of the tray could be an im- portant parameter in determining the appropriate cooking time and possible also cooking temperature. Based on the size of the tray the heating device could automatically set cooking parameters.

The invention is further achieved by a tray for a heating device where the tray is provided with a code or a coding device which code is to be encoded by a decoding device in the heating device.

In still another embodiment according to the invention the tray is a foil tray with a special coating enhancing the heat absorbing capabilities. By using this special kind of foil tray the content of the tray can be heated faster and using less energy. The invention is also achieved by a method for heating foodstuff where the decoding system reads information from a code placed in connection with said inserted tray before said step of heating said tray and said information is used by said heating device to start said heating and subsequently stop said heating after an appropriate amount of time.

In an embodiment of the method the decoding system also reads from the code placed in connection with said inserted tray, information about the appropriate cooking temperature for said inserted tray and said information about temperature is used by said thermostat for controlling the temperature inside said cavity of said insulated casing

By being able to vary temperature according to a specific tray a better cooking results can be obtained.

It should be emphasized that the term "comprises/comprising/comprised of when used in this specification is taken to specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps or components but does not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, components or groups thereof.

Brief description of the drawings

In the following, the invention will be described in greater detail with refer- ence to embodiments shown by the enclosed figures. It should be emphasized that the embodiments shown are used for example purposes only and should not be used to limit the scope of the invention, where figure 1 shows a schematic drawing of the front side of a heating device ac- cording to one embodiment of the invention; figure 2 is a top view of a smaller tray according to one embodiment of the invention; figure 3 is a top view of a larger tray according to one embodiment of the in- vention; figure 4 shows an embodiment of the heating device provided with a tray loader; figure 5 shows a view of components of the tray loader; figure 6 shows a heating device with a tray placed in the tray loader; figure 7 shows a heating device with a lid or cover, where the lid or cover is closed;

figure 8 shows the heating device with an open lid or cover and the tray loader in retracted position, holding a tray; figure 9 shows an embodiment of the heating device provided with display, speaker/buzzer, buttons and light indicators; figure 10 shows a tray with more than one compartment; figure 1 1 shows an alternative embodiment of the heating device shown in figure 1 , where the tray can be inserted in accommodating slits; figure 12 shows a heating device with means securing correct positioning of a tray in the tray loader; figure 13 shows an embodiment where a bar code is provided in connection with the tray; figure 14 shows an alternative embodiment with a RFID tag provided in connection with the tray; figure 15 shows an embodiment with a larger tray loader for accommodating larger (higher) trays; figure 16 shows a standard tray placed in a tray loader intended for larger trays; figure 17 shows a perspective view of a cross section of the heating device with a tray placed in the cavity of the heating device; figure 18 shows a cross section of the heating device with a tray placed in the cavity of the heating device; figure 19 shows an embodiment of a tray with a lid; figure 20 shows a tray with two compartments and a code in form of a cut off corner or an oblique corner portion; figure 21 shows a tray with a lid and with a code in form of two cut off corners or two oblique corner portions; figure 22 shows an embodiment of a coding for a tray; figure 23 shows an embodiment of a larger tray; and figure 24 shows an embodiment of a larger tray provided with a lid. Detailed description of the embodiments

With reference to the drawings in general and to FIG. 1 in particular there is shown a heating or cooking system comprising a heating device 1 and trays 20 such as but not limited to foil trays in different sizes. The foil trays 20 can be inserted into the heating device 1 through one or more slots 1 1 . In one embodiment of the invention the system could be used for heating food such as convenience food. The heating device 1 is an electrical heating device that can be plugged into a domestic power supply.

FIG. 1 shows a schematic drawing of the front side of one embodiment of the heating device 1 . The heating device 1 comprises a casing 10 with one or more slots 1 1 . The casing 10 is suitable for containing heated objects and preferably includes an insulating material. Inside the casing 10 a heating source for heating the inserted foil trays 20 and their content is arranged. The heating source provides radiant heating directed towards the object to be heated. The radiant heating is reflected on the inner surfaces of the casing 10 to reduce power consumption. The heating device 1 further comprises a receiving system for receiving and holding in place the one or more foil trays 20 inside the casing 10. When a foil tray is inserted into the heating device 1 the receiving system secures the foil tray during heating. A decoder system is provided as a part of the heating device 1 . The decoder system is capable of reading through a decoding device whether or not a foil tray is inserted into the heating device 1 . Further the decoding device is capable of reading information from a code 30 placed in connection with a tray 20, giving information through the decoding device such as information about the size of the foil tray e.g. if it is a single, double or triple size foil tray or it the tray 20 is provided with more chambers. According to one embodiment of the invention the decoder system placed in connection with the heating device 1 is capable of detecting detailed information about the content of the foil tray and cooking instructions could also be provided. The decoder system comprises a decoding device for decoding a code 30 e.g. a magnetic code, an optic code, a code represented by a shape of the tray or by a part of a shape of the tray, perforations in an edge portion of the tray which codes 30 can carry information about, weight or shape or information about the foil tray 20 inserted into the heating device 1 . The code 30 could e.g. carry information on what kind of foodstuff the tray 20 contains and based on cook- ing information stored in the cooking device or provided via the code 30, set the appropriate cooking time and temperature.

The code 30 can be a geometrical coding in shape of a cut off corner of a tray or the code 30 can be one or mode notches placed at certain places or at a certain interval i.e. in an upper rim or edge of the tray 20. The code 30 can be placed on the tray 20 or on a lid 21 for the tray 20.

Coding of the corners of a tray 20 can be used to ensure a certain orientation of the tray 20 in the cooking device 1 .

The code 30 may also be a hole in one or more corners, Hereby is achieved that a user cannot just bend a corner to try to make the tray 20 fit into the cooking device 1 . The tray loader 2 can in an embodiment be provided with a feature 31 for triggering a geometrical fit for a certain orientation of the tray 20 in the cooking device 1 . The feature 31 can be a part of the decoding device. An example can be seen in figure 12. Further embodiments comprising coding and decoding means can be a bar code 30 on the tray 20 or the lid 21 of the tray 20 and a bar code scanner on the cooking device 1 , a RFID tag on tray 20 or lid 21 and a RFID scanner 32 on the cooking device 1 .

For controlling the heating process a timer function is provided in the heating device 1 . The timer function is capable of starting and stopping the heating process by turning on and off the heating source. The timer can be controlled either manually by setting a desired time or automatically based on the information provided by the sensor system. If a single size foil tray is for example detected by the sensor system, the timer function will automatically set the appropriate cooking time based on foil tray size and preset values for cooking time. If the sensor system detects a different size foil tray, a different cooking time will be applied. This way, the heating system is capable of applying an appropriate amount of heat to the content of a foil tray with a minimum of effort required by the user.

The heating device 1 further comprises a thermostat for controlling the temperature inside the heating device 1 . When the desired temperature is reached the thermostat triggers a deactivation of the heating source. When the temperature subsequently falls below the desired temperature the ther- mostat once again triggers the activation of the heating source.

According to the sensor system used, the heating device 1 could also be capable of automatically controlling the desired heating temperature. Based on the inserted foil tray the sensor system might detect both the appropriate cooking time and desired temperature. This information is used to set the cooking time and temperature.

The heating system also comprises special designed foil trays 20 capable of being inserted into the heating device 1 . Referring to FIG. 2, FIG. 3, and FIG. 1 1 there is shown examples of such foil trays 20. The foil trays 20 are suitable for containing foodstuff e.g. convenience or precooked food by is not limited here to. The foodstuff is arranged in the foil tray and the foil tray is subsequent covered by a lid material 21 e.g. equal to the material of the foil tray. The foil tray 20 comprises a flap 22 placed in one end, suitable for handling the foil tray 20. During heating when the foil tray 20 is inserted into the heating device 1 , the flap 22 is arranged such it will only receive a minimum of heat. This way the flap 22 can be used for pulling the foil tray 20 out of the heating device 1 after the foil tray 20 has been properly heated. FIG. 1 1 shows an embodiment of a tray 20 without a flap. In one embodiment according to the invention the heating device 1 further comprises a mechanism for ejecting the one or more foil trays. When an inserted foil tray has been properly heated, the foil tray is pushed back out through one of the slots 1 1 by the ejecting mechanism (not shown). In an alternative embodiment of the heating device 1 , the tray 20 does not need to be provided with a flap 22 since the heating device 1 is provided with a loading mechanism or tray loader 2 as shown in FIG. 4. The tray loader 2 is arranged in the heating device 1 and an actuator 7 can move the tray loader 2 out of the heating device 1 in such a way that it is possible to place a tray 20 in the loader 2. The loader 2 can be configured as a kind of drawer, carrying the tray 20 by upper edges 4 provided on side walls 3 of the loader 2, by a bottom part of the loader 2 or a combination thereof.

The actuator 7 for moving the tray loader 2 out from and into the heating de- vice 1 is in one embodiment a gear motor 7 provided with a gear wheel 6 able to be in engagement with a gear rack 5, which gear rack 5 can be placed with one of the side walls 3 on the tray loader. In a convenient embodiment, the rack 5 is positioned on an underside of a guiding rail 4. The guiding rails 4 are provided at each side wall 3 extending in an outwardly di- rection in relation to the tray loader 2. The actuator 7 only needs to be in engagement with a gear rack 5 in one of the guiding rails 4 , therefore only one of the guiding rails 4 needs to be provided with a gear rack 5 even though both guiding rails 4 can be provided with a gear rack 5.

In another embodiment according to the invention the heating device 1 com- prises a casing 10 having a lid or cover 9 that can be opened and closed. Further the inside of the heating device 1 i.e. the cavity created by the insulated casing 10 is formed with a shape to receive and at least partially enclose the foil tray 20. According to this embodiment of the invention the lid or cover 9 has to be opened before the foil tray 20 can be inserted into the heat- ing device 1 . When the lid or cover 9 is in an open position the foil tray 20 is placed in the receiving system in form of the slit 1 1 or in form of the tray loader 2. Subsequently the lid 9 is closed and the heating of the foil tray 20 and it content will commence. The slit 1 1 or the tray loader 2 can be arranged at a front end 12 of the cooking device 1 .

In the opening or slit 1 1 for receiving a tray 20, the embodiment without the tray loader 2 is provided with side grooves 8, which side grooves 8 is arranged to receive upper edges of the tray 20. Hereby it is possible to insert a tray 20 in such a way the tray 20 will be supported by the side grooves 8.

In a simpler embodiment the tray 20 can simply slide on a bottom part of the cavity of the cooking device 1 .

The tray 20 can be provided with more than one compartment.

The cooking device 1 can also be made in an embodiment with a larger tray loader for accommodating larger (higher) trays. Hereby the cooking device is able to receive trays 20 larger than what is required for "one meal for one person". In example the tray 20 could be deeper and the slit 1 1 in the front portion 12 of the cooking device 1 could be higher.

This version of cooking device 1 and tray 20 could have the same features as already mentioned:

Such a tray 20 can be coded to compensate for the larger amount of food to be prepared in the cooking device 1 The embodiment for larger trays can still be used for cooking food in trays of "one meal for one person " size.

In figure 17 a perspective view of a cross section of the heating device shows a possible distribution of upper heating elements 40 and lower heating ele- ments 41 and in figure 18 also a temperature sensor 42 is indicated, which temperature sensor 42 surveiles the temperature of the tray 20. This information can be used to ensure the correct heating time and/or

temperature as it reads if the tray is taken directly from a freezer, a

refrigerator, from room temperature - or if it has just been heated once by another person.

Preferrably the temperature is measured on the tray 20 rather than on the lid 21 , as the lid 21 is less likely to be touching the food. Information about the tray temperature may be used to "disquallify" the tray 20 if it is not cold enough. An unexpected high temperature indicates that the food has already been cooked. In this case the cooking device 1 could push out the tray loader 2 and give a warning signal. The system may allow the user to overrule the warning and cook the food anyway - e.g. if the user presses a button 15, confirming that he has oberved the warning but insists on heating the food. When using a foil for manufacturing the trays 20, which foil is having a coating, where the applied coating may, in one embodiment, be applied via printing technology and may consist of minerals that are not black, but appear light and visually resemble aluminium. The minerals have the property that they are selected in particular for being able to absorb IR radiation within a given wavelength that corresponds to the radiation emitted from the heating device 1 . The coating may also be applied as a sandwich layer, wherein a first layer is configured for absorbing the IR radiation and a second layer is configured for reflecting the radiant heat that is emitted from a heated ele- ment wrapped in the foil to the effect that the heat from the element is reflected back to the element.

The materials are selected such that they cooperate to enable heat absorption across a wider spectre than if only one layer was concerned.

Thus, the one material may e.g. have good absorption of radiant heat within a spectre from a-b, another material from b-c, and optionally a third material from c-d. Thereby a material is accomplished that covers good heat absorption within a spectre from a-d.

In other words, the advantage may be cashed in on that it is possible to employ a material with an electromagnetic wavelength spectre that is e.g. within the lower half of an interval along with another material with an electromagnetic wavelength spectre that is e.g. within the upper half of the interval in order to thereby achieve a surface on the foil that has an electromagnetic wavelength spectre that utilises all of this interval.

The foil can comprise a layer of aluminium flakes, thereby providing a so- called internal reflection between the bottom layer and the top layer. By com- bining optimally matching coatings with a top layer that improves the internal reflection, higher temperatures have thus been measured on the inner side of the foil compared to what was obtainable via black surfaces (black body).

This means that, when the foil is used for heating food, the radiant heat will go through the IR absorbing layer and heat the food. When heated, it emits heat which is then reflected from the foil and back towards the food. The heat effect is thus used more to advantage compared to usual foils.

Use of the invention

Having described the apparatus in detail, its use and operation will be described in further detail.

The heating device 1 is plugged into a domestic power supply. Then one or more foil trays 20 are inserted into the heating device 1 either through the one or more slots 1 1 or by opening the lid or cover 9 or by placing the one or more foil trays 20 in the tray loader 2. When the one or more foil trays 20 are secured in the receiving system the decoder system reads e.g. the size of the one or more foil trays 20. Based on information from the decoder system the timer and the thermostat regulate the cooking process such that an appropriate amount of heat is applied for the desired amount of time.

In one embodiment according to the invention, the heating device 1 might provide some kind of alert or signal to the user, indicating that the cooking process has terminated. The alert or signal could be in the form of a sound emitting buzzer 14 or a flashing light 16 but is not limited here to. The user can then retrieve the one or more foil trays 20 from the heating device 1 by either just pulling the one or more foil trays 20 out through the slots 1 1 in the casing 10 or by opening the lid or cover 9 and then retrieving the one or more foil trays 20. Alternatively the one or more foil trays 20 are pushed out through the slots 1 1 by the ejecting mechanism of the heating device. Further the tray loader 2 can open the lid or cover 9 while ejecting. This way the preparation of the content of the foil tray 20 is automatically stopped and the user can easily grab the prepared meal, making the use even more convenient.

The cooking device can further be provided with buttons 15 for example for starting and stopping cooking.

The buttons can be used for operating the tray loader or to add/adjust cook- ing time.

The light signals 16 can indicate ON or OFF or ERROR for operation of the cooking device. The sound signals from a speaker or a buzzer 14 can indicate COOKING BEGINS, COOKING FINISHED or ERROR.

The cooking device 1 can also be provided with a display 13 for displaying more complex information such as what kind of food is being prepared;

amount of food (weight); expiration date; nutritious information; temperature of content is not as expected; this tray has been placed in the oven before; current time; cooking time; or "Warning - the food and the tray may be hot"

The oven may preferrably distinguish between new trays 20 and trays 20 that have already been used. In this way it can be avoided that the user by accident cooks the food twice.

In an embodiment this can be done by destroying the code on the lid - e.g. by erasing the information , or by letting the temperture from the oven damage the code. It is to be noted that the figures and the above description have shown the example embodiments in a simple and schematic manner. The internal electronic and mechanical details have not been shown since the person skilled in the art should be familiar with these details and they would just unneces- sarily complicate this description.

Claims

1 . A heating device for heating foodstuff, said heating device comprising;

- an insulated casing creating a cavity that can be heated and suitable for receiving one or more trays;

- an electrical heating source capable of heating said cavity of said insulated casing;

- a receiving system for securing said one or more trays inside said cavity of said insulated casing ;

- a timer function for controlling the heating source based on time;

- a thermostat for controlling the temperature inside said cavity of said insulated casing;

characterized in said casing (10) having means (2, 1 1 ) for receiving said one or more trays (20) and said heating device (1 ) further comprising a decoding device (31 , 32) for decoding information from said one or more re- ceived trays (20).

2. A device according to claim 1 , characterized in that said means for receiving said one or more trays comprises one or more slots (1 1 ) through which a tray (20) can be inserted.

3. A device according to claim 1 , characterized in that said cavity is created by said insulated casing (10) is formed with a shape to receive and at least partially enclose the foil tray (20).

4. A device according to claim 1 , characterized in that the heating device (1 ) is provided with actuating means (7) for actuating a tray loader (2).

5. A device according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the decoding device (31 , 32) for decoding information about the one or more inserted trays (20) is capable of reading the size of the one or more inserted trays (20) from a code (30) arranged in connection with the one or more trays (20).

6. A tray for a heating device according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the tray (20) is provided with a code (30) or a coding device which code (30) is to be encoded by a decoding device (32) in the heating device (1 )

7. A tray according to claim 6, characterized in that said tray (20) is a foil tray with a special coating enhancing the heat absorbing capabilities.

8. A method for heating foodstuff according to any of the claims 1 -7, said method comprising the steps of:

- inserting said tray in said insulated casing;

- receiving said tray in said receiving system in said cavity of said insulating casing;

- heating said tray for an appropriate amount of time;

- removing said tray from said heating device;

characterized in said decoding system (32) reads information from a code (30) placed in connection with said inserted tray (20) before said step of heating said tray (20) and said information is used by said heating device (1 ) to start said heating and subsequently stop said heating after an appropriate amount of time.

9. A method according to claim 8, characterized in that said decoding system (32) also reads from the code (30) placed in connection with said inserted tray (20), information about the appropriate cooking temperature for said inserted tray (20) and said information about temperature is used by said thermostat for controlling the temperature inside said cavity of said insu- lated casing.