CA2232961A1 - Apparatus for heating articles of food by way of the dry method - Google Patents

Abstract

An apparatus (10) comprises a heating room (11) for the articles of food, heating means (14) and a ventilator (16) for creating a hot air current, and further comprises means (17, 19, 20, 22, 24, 26, 28) which can subject the heating room to a rocking movement around a horizontal axis (13). The heating room (11) is nearly closed and the heating means (14) and ventilator (16) are inside the heating room (11) and are fixedly connected to the heating room (11) so that the relative distance between the heating means and the articles of food does not change during the rocking movement.

Description

CA 0223296l l998-03-25 APPARATUS FOR HEATING ARTICLES OF FOOD BY WAY OF THE DRY
METHOD

Field of ffle inv~
5 The invention relates to an appa.dlus for heating of various kinds of articles of food by way of the so~alled dry m~ll-o~l. The term 'heating' means in what follows l-e~ii..g up, baking, flying, grilling, as well as unfreezing.
The appa. &lus accc . ~Ji. .~ to the invention may serve for the heating of different kinds of articles of food such as french fries, croquettes, bread, pouHry, pizza...
10 State of ff~e ar~
The so-called dry method for the frying of articles of food stands in ~--I.~dh.liun with the wet ...~ll.od. In the dry ...ell,od the articles of food are not i...~.,er:,ed in a bath of oil or fat, but have been baked beforehand or have been provided with the required quantity of fat. During the heating no s4~.,ule .-snla,y quantity of fat 15 or oil is neede~
A l-eali".a appdldlus for car~ing out such a dry method has already been ~1;5~ ~osed in WO-A-86/07648 (Hoeberigs J.M.M.), WO-A-89/10085 (Hoeberigs R.), EP-A-0 504 968 (Hoeberigs J.M.M.) and US-A-4,203.357 (Tournus).
During the heating of e.g. french fries by way of the dry ll-ell-ucl the french fries 20 must be continuously subjected to a movement such that the french fries are browned at all sides.
In WO-A-86/07648 hanging organs in the app~.dl.Js take care of the movement of the french fries. In WO-A-89/10085 and EP-A-0 504 968 the bottom upon which the french fries lie is provided with roughnesses and has been ~,lalal~ly 25 carried out. The lula~ movement and the roughnesses take care of the movement of the french fries. In US-A-4,203,357 the french fries are situ~ted ina healiny room that is s~ ;s~ted to a rocking movement. The .uuki,.~ movement takes care of the movement of the french fries.

W O 97/11628 PCT~EP96/042~7 The apparatus a~ording to US-A~,203,357, however, shows a number of )olldnl drawbacks.
First the french fries to be heated are always in the lower half of the heating room under the influence of the rocking movement and, cc nsa4-lently, far 5 remoted from the heating source. This has as a consequence that the heating does not occur in an erri~,~erll way and, conse4ilently, takes a longer time, which dries eventually up the french fries.
Another d.~ is that the heating room has fKed di...ensioris and cannot be enld.yed. This is a slJLsldnlidl limitation for the number of kinds of arlicles of 10 food that can be heated by means of the a,~p&.dlus.
A further drawback is that the a~-pa,al.ls can only be emptied by taking the recipient which fonns the heating room, out of the a~ dl~ s. This must occur on co. .dition of taking precf~ ~tionary measures such as the use of a special handle or glove to prevent the hands from being bumt.
15 Summary of ffle invenffon.
It is an object of the invention to avoid the drawbacks of the prior art.
It is an object of the ~.~senl invention to provide for an a~-p~ s which can be made in a simpls way and autornated way, and which can be easily kept in repair.
20 The invention provides for an ~ppA,~lus for the he~li..g of articles of food by way of the dry ..-~ od. The appa,~ s com~--iaes a he~ .y room whera the articles of food are brought, I)e~li..y means and a v~r.lihtor for c.~ali-ly a hot air current, and further cc,.ll~,.iaes means which rnay subject the heating room to a rocking rnovement around a ho-i~o,-ldl axle. The heating room is nearly closed 25 and the heating mearls and the v~nlildlor are inside the heating room and arefKedly connected to the heating room.
The terrns "nearly closed" refer to a l~e2lli..9 room that is completely closed except for possible holes used for blowing off steam which may be created during the I .eali. .~..

CA 0223296l l998-03-2~

W O 97/11628 PCT~EP96/04257 A configuration according to the invention has as an advantage that the heating means and vèlllildlor follow the same rocking movement of the heating room since they are fKedly col"~e..led thereto such that the ~ ldl,ce between the heating means and th~ articles of food remains limited and nearly equal during 5 the whole heating period such that this he~li"-a period can be kept limited. The consequence is that tha articles of food do not dry up and that they are crisp.
The heating room of the: ~pp~ s acco,.li..g to the invention has a bottom which is prere,a~ly carried out in pivotable way with respect to the rest of theheating room. The pivoting of the bottom facilitates the filling and emptying of10 the heating room with articles of food without having to take the heating room out of the appa.al.ls.
The bottom can be p.t:rer~bly hOOIi?l:l in and out with respect to the rest of the heating room so that a cleaning may occur easily.
Fu,ll,e"no,e, the bottom is presrer~Lly provided with a supl:!e "enla~y heating, a 15 bottom heating to further limit the heating time.
In case of the hG~lillg of articles of food that consist of sepd,t~le small palli-.les such as french fries or crocluettes the bottom is p,ererably provided with roughnesses that prevent the articles of food from falling all at once from one side of the heating room to the other side during the rocking movement.
20 In an~l,er pléfe~L,ly embo~i",enl of an ap~,a,~lus according to the inventionthe heating room has a double walls, one wall of which may slide out with respect to the other wall in order to adjust the volume of the heating room without steps. This has as an advanlage that articles of food of .lirrerenl ske may be heated by means of the sarne appa,~ s in an err,~.ier,l way for the 25 volume of the heating room is always adapted and kept as small as possible.

In still another, -~r~l LI~ embodimant of an d~J~Jdldlus according to the invention the appa.dlus cGr .~,.ises means which can adiust the amplitude of therocking rnovement. In this way the ampiitude of the rocking movement can be adapted to the kind of articles of food which must be heated. The smaller the 5 articles of food, the y.e:dlerthe most suitable amplitude, and vice versa. French fries e.g. are ~)r~ref~l~ly subjected to a rocking rnovement with a relatively large amplitude. Wth croguettes the amplitude may be ~ sted to a lower value.
In an advan~n!~eo~ls and flexible el.,bodi,.,enl of an a~ dldl.ls according to the invention, the bottom is suL ~ ed into two or more segrnents and each 10 segment is ,r ~ ~ Ie of containing one or more Ixi.lions of articles of food. In this appdldlus which is suitable for use in res~ rlts one or more ~.o.lions of articles of food may be heated at the same time.
rl~:re~L5y each sey.,.el.l is pivotable with respect of the rest of the boffom in order to allow for filling and emptying with the articles of food.
15 In an aulom~led version the a~pdrdlus further cc"~ ,-iaas means for opening and closing the se~ lel~la before and after each hedti--~ period.

Short description of the dra-Mn~s.
The invention will now be explained on the basis of drawings wherein 20 - Figure 1 is a side view of an al~p~ s according to the invention;
- Figure 2 is a front view of an a~ a~dt.ls according to the invention;
- Figures 3 and 4 each show a s~l.e"~lio view of an a~ d~dlus according to the invention, where the d~ Idt.ls has a bottom that is sul,di~ led into more than one seS~,..e.ll.

CA 02232961 1998-03-2~
W O 97/11628 PCT~EP96/042~7 Detailcd descripffon of a, ~ rable em~c E!~.t Rerer~nce is made simultaneouslyto Figures 1 and 2. An appd.dl.ls 10 for hedli"y articles of food by way of the dry m~lhod ccjn-~,riaes a he~ ,9 room 11 which takes the form of a box with a rectangular cross-section. The heating room 11 is hung on a frame 12 by means of a hGli~outal axle 13.
Heating means 14, e.g. infrared radiators and/or ele~l,ical resislances, are just as a roof 15 and a ve, llilalor 16, fKed to the ceiling of the heating room 11. The ver,lilalor 16 sucks in air from the centre, and blows this air along the heating means sid9w -ds to the bottom. A small eleclli~l motor 17 is fKedly connected 10 to a block 18 above the he~ling soom. The electrical motor 17 drives by meansof a driving belt 19 and a pulley 20 that is fKedly connected to a disc 22. A rod 24 makes a ~,.ne~,lioo between the disc 22 and the frame 12 by means of two a~de pins 26-28 and in this way takes care of a rocking movement of the heating room 11, if the el~,1lical motor 17 is tuming.
If rod 24 would be connected by means of axle pin 29 instead of a~de pin 26, a rocking movement with a s"~ r a,-" ' m~ie is obtained.
Under in the hedti.,y room 11 is a bottom 30. The bottom 30 has hooks 32 in the rear which match the holes of the back wall of heating room 11. The function of the hooks is hrl~r.'-' First the hooks 32 allow the bottom to pivot 20 with respect to the rest of heating room 11 so that the heating room 11 can be filled and ~llerrl-~ds emptied with articles of food. Second the bottom 30 can be l .c ~ ked in and out by means of the hooks 32 so that the bottom can be cleaned sep~ tely and easily.

W O 97/11628 PCT~EP96/04257 The bottom is provided with a bottom heating 34 which, next to the heating means 14 which serve as main he~li..g, takes care of an additional heating and takes care for a crisp underside of the pizzas in case of heating of pizzas. The5 bottom heating 34 forms one unity with the bottom and is e.g. a Idd;dlion sourc of 400 to 500 Watt which ,~didles to one side which is the side of the heating room. An isoldli. ,-J layer or plate 3ff is provided under the bottom heating 34.
In case the articles of food which are to be heated consist of se~,d,~le smsll ,~al L ' ~, the bottom 30 is provided with roughnesses which may e.g. take the lO form of a metal mesh 38 which is lain on the bottom.
A bolt 40 which may be G~.er~led manually by means of a knob 42, locks the bottom to the heating room during the hsating. The knob 42 is carried out in a heat-isobli"~3 In~ ial. A push to the knob 42 allows the bottom 30 to pivot open. The movemant of the bottom 30 is hera limited by means of a support 44 15 in the forrn of a hook the heigm of which may be adjusted by means of a screw nut 46 that is fixed in a slot at the back side of the heating room.
After the frying of the french fries or cro~uettes the ~.osilion of the pivoted bottom 30 is such that it is inclining downwards and to the front side, so that the french fries or crocluett~s slide or fall under the influence of their own weight in a 20 tray 48.
A push to knob 50 which is fixedly con"e~led to the bottom 30, allows to close the heating room.
The he~li,..a room 11 con",,i~es a double wall 52 - 54 which may slide in each other. Easily operable butterf y-nuts are at the outer side of the outer wall 52.
25 In the inner wall 54 are vertical slots inside of which the butter~y-nuts 56 may move while the two walls 52 and 54 slide over sach other during the adjustment of the desired volume of the heating room 11. In this way a volume of a heating room that can be Adj~sted continuously is obtained over a ran3e varying from 100% (both walls slid in each other as much as possible) until 170% (both walls 30 slid out of each other as much possible).

CA 02232961 1998-03-2~

It goes without saying that the vertical slots may also be made in the outer wall 52.
The apertures which ar~3 c..ealed by the slots 58 during the sliding out of the walls may if desired, be covered by small plates to limit the loss of heat. These 5 small plates are then also fKed by means of the butterfly-nuts 56.
The created apertures may also be used in some cases to blow off steam. If the walls are slid in each other, there are no apertures created by the slots 58 forthey are covered by the inner or outer wall. In such a case steam may be blown off by providing the ceiling of the he~li"y room 11 with coverable holes.
10 The appa~tus acc~,.l;..y to the invention further co~"" iaes a timing clock which may be tuned by means of a knob 60. The timing clock may control the various posilions of the heating room in r~ ~w;.I9 way: After the tuned heating period asmall barring rod 62 comes in a so-called barring posiliun by means of a mechanisn, 64 which reacts on the timing clock. One or more small horizontal rods 66 may be fKed to the turning disc 22. When a first small rod 66 comes at the level of the small barring rod 62 the turning rnovement of the disc 22 is stopped and so is the rocking movement of the heating room 11. The posaion of the small rod 66 which stops the movement determines in the disc 22 the posiliGn of the he~li..g room 11.
20 In this way ~ ing posilions of the heating room are created:
- uosilion 1: heating room slightly inclined with the front side upwards: for filling and emptying articles of food out of one piece such as pizzas; the Sli9m slope prevents the articles of food from sliding out of the heating room;
- UOsitiol1 2: heating room al,~,l.ger inclined with the front side upwards: for25 filling the heating room with french fries and croquettQs;
- uosilion 3: heating room inclined with the front side do~h"~- ds: for the emptying of french fries and croquettPs from the heating room.
The appa,~lus a :co,-~i"g to the invention furtller co"""iaes a knob 68 for the tuning of the desi~d temperature by means of a the""oalal.

W O 97/11628 PCT~EP96/042~7 For the heating of french fries and cro~uettes the heating room 11 is rocking upand down: with a great a,." ~de for french fries (pin 26 connecled to rod 24) with a .", - -r d~ll, "' Ide for cro~ue~es (pin 29 connected to rod 24). Furtherthe bottom is provided with rougl-nesses (mesh 38).
5 For the heating of pizas and pouHry the rocking movement is not necess~.~r or there is a limited a", ~de of the rocking movement and the heating room remains nearly ho~ Jnldl during the heatin~ period. Here roughnesses are not needed on the bottom since the articles of food do not move: the rnesh 38 can simply be removed from the bottom 30.
An a,(JpdldtUs a~,.li.,g to the invention has e.g. r,L ~U;.~5~ dimensions: -- minimum volume of heating roorn = 23 cm x 23 cm x 8 cm - maximum volume of ~ed~ room - 23 com x 23 cm x 13 cm - power of main hedli"g at the top = 200t) Watt - power of additional bottom heating = 500 Watt.
1~ Wth such di,..ensions the heating time of a portion of 500 g french fries takes not more than 145 seconJs.
It goes without saying that an appd,~l-ls accorl ~y to the invention consists ofsimple parts and that the manufactura of these parts as well as the assemL ly ofthe various parts may be easily aul~"-,dled.
20 Once in use the appdl~lus can be easily kept in repair and cleaned. The bottom 30 needs the greatest mainlenance and can be llo Dl'.CSI in snd out for that goal.
Once the bottom has been h~ 1 out, there are nowhere spots or parts that cannot be .u,ached.
The block 18 that is above ths he~li.,sa room 11, is fKedly connected to the 2~ csiling of the heating room. Care has been taken that there is a sufficient air gap and or icOI ~ Jn batY~ccn the block 18 where a number of parts are housed (feeding, ~le~ l.ical motor timing clock ...) and the healing room in order to prevent the block from becoming too hot during use of the appa.dlus.
-CA 02232961 1998-03-2~

In an aulo."~led version the ap~Jdldl-ls according to the invention may also be provided with a second motor which col ~ Jls the movement of the bottom 30 with, t:s~e~l to the rest of the heating room 11. In this case the bolt 40 and the support 44 are omitted. By means of this second motor, pOsaibly in cooperdlio"
5 with the first motor 17 which cc,,,l,uls the movement of the co", '~ ~ heatingroom 11 the above-",enliol-ed posilic,ns 1 to 3 for the filling and emptying of various kinds of articles of food can be realked in an aulor ,dled way.

Rerer~nce is now made to Figures 3 and 4 where two appdldl-ls 10 for use in a l0 restaurant are schematically shown.
In the embod;."ent of Figure 3 the bottom has been subdivided into ~NO
segments 70 and each segment may pivot around a holi~JIlldl axle 72. Each segment 70 may be provided with a sepa~dle bottom heating.
Before the heating starts, a posaio,) as shown in hatched lines at the right side 15 of Figure 3 is taken: the l~edlil-g room 11 is in a slightly inclined pOsaio." and one of the sey",enla 70 has pivoted out of the heating room 11 until a ho"~onlalpOsaio" so that one or two trays 74 e.g. made of aluminium filled wHh the articles of food 76 may be put into the appdldlus. The trays 74 may remain in the heating room 11 during the heating.
20 During the heating period the se~,..e"ls 70 are closed.
After the end of the heating period, a posilic", as shown in hatched lines at the left side of Figure 3 is taken: the heating room 11 is again slightly inclined. One of the sey",e"ls 70 is pivoted out of the heating room until it takes a greater slope of about 35~ to 40~ so that the trays 74 with the heated ar~icles of food 76 25 may slide out from segment 70.

The aulumdled control of the opening of the seylllG~Ila before and after the heating period may be done by means of a small cable 78 that is attached to the end 79 of segment 70 and that is ordered by means of a motor 80. The motor 80 is ~tu~t~d when flling the heating app~.dl-ls and after the end of the 5 heating period.
In the ei"L,odi.nant of Figure 4 the trays 74 do not longer remain inside the heating room 11 during the heating period. Each segment 70 has also a side palliliGn 82 that may also pivot with respect to the rest of the heating ap~ s.
The filling of the ~IJpdl~l~S iS done when the heating room 11 is inclined at 10 about 45~ and when side pallilion 82 is opened (see opened posaion of side pa.laio~ 82 in hatched lines and arrow 83).
The he~li."a of the articles of food 76 is done when both segments 70 and side pa, lilions 82 are closed.
The emptying of the articles of food 76 is done again when the heating room 11 15 is inclined at about 45~ and when segment 70 is pivoted open (see ~,osiliun of sey,..enl 70 in hatched lines and arrow 84).
The aulo~"~led control of the open;ny and closing of the segl"e,.la 70 may be carried out by means of Gle~ll ical motors 85 and a small rod 86 one end of which is fKed e,~ e"l,ically to a disc of the the G'le.,tliCal motors 85 and the other 20 end of which is fKed to the segments 70.
Tha aulu,,,~led control of the opening and closing of the segments side pa,lilions 82 may be carried out by means of &leclncal motors 88 and a small rod 90 one end of which is fKed eA. e"l,i~ ally to a disc of the ale~,ical motors 88 and the other end of which is fKed to the side pa,liliur,s 82

Claims (10)

Claims.

1. An apparatus (10) for heating articles of food by way of the dry method, the apparatus comprising a heating room (11) where the articles of food are brought, heating means (14) and a ventilator (16) for creating a hot air current, and further comprising means(17,19,20,22,24,26,28)which may subject the heating room to a rocking movement around a horizontal axle (13), characterized in that the heating room (11) is nearly closed and the heating means (14) and the ventilator (16) are located inside the heating room (11) and are fixedly connected to the heating room (11).

2. An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the heating room comprises a bottom (30), the bottom being pivotably carried out for filling and emptying thearticles of food.

3. An apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the bottom can be hooked in and out for easily cleaning.

4. An apparatus according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the bottom has been provided with a supplementary bottom heating (34).

5. An apparatus according to claim one of claims 2 to 4 wherein the bottom has been provided with roughnesses (38) which prevent the articles of food from falling all at once from one side to the other during the rocking movement.

6. An apparatus according to one of preceding claims wherein the heating room has a double wall (52,54), one wall of which can slide with respect to the other wall in order to be able to adjust the volume of the heating room continuously.

7. An apparatus according to one of the preceding claims wherein the apparatus further comprises means (29) which can adjust the amplitude of the rocking movement.

8. An apparatus according to claim 1 wherein the bottom (30) is subdivided into two or more segments (70), each segment being capable of containing one or more portions of articles of food (76).

9. An apparatus according to claim 8 wherein each segment (70) is pivotable with respect of the rest of the bottom in order to allow for filling and emptying with the articles of food.

10.An apparatus according to claim 9 wherein the apparatus further comprises means for opening and closing the segments.