EP1574786B1 - Device for preparing food, in particular a field kitchen, and a corresponding process - Google Patents

Abstract

The mobile field kitchen with an oven module (18) for preparation of food has a base cooking module (12) with four legs. It has a heating burner (24) and a fuel supply (26). The rectangular oven module stands on top of the base and has fittings for trays and grills. The oven has a door at the front and a fan at the rear. Air flows behind a conductive sheet at the back. It flows between the bottom of the oven and a conductive floor sheet (48) and emerges through a slit (54) at the front.

Description

The present invention relates to a device for preparing food, in particular as a mobile field kitchen, with a cooking module and a baking module, wherein the cooking module has a cooking plate and a trained for heating the hotplate heating source, wherein the baking module is optionally coupled to the cooking module and a baking chamber which is closable with a flap to the front, and wherein the hotplate acts as a heat exchanger for heating air in the oven when the baking module is coupled to the cooking module.

The invention further relates to a baking module for such a device.

A device and a baking module of this kind are made US 2,095,745 known.

Mobile kitchen kitchens are needed especially when a large number of people need to be cared for over a long period of time away from civilization. Classic applications are military exercises or deployments of larger troop units, but also humanitarian applications, for example as part of disaster relief in an earthquake area. The field kitchens must be mobile for such applications on the one hand, ie they must be transported with limited effort in the field and built there. On the other hand, the field kitchens should enable a professional preparation of food for a variety of people. It is desirable that the field kitchens have different cooking options, so that a variable and varied food preparation is possible.

The applicant offers for this purpose a number of field kitchens, which are equipped differently extensive. Simpler field kitchens, in particular the modular field kitchen system MFK, are relatively easy to transport. However, they are limited in favor of easy storability in terms of variability in food preparation. More complex systems, which offer virtually all the cooking options that professional gastronomy uses, place greater demands on transportation.

The simpler and smaller field kitchens often lack an oven for reasons of space and weight, which limits the variability in the preparation of the food. Out EP 0 685 161 B1 is known an oven that is heated with combustion gases. Such heating is basically suitable for use in the context of a field kitchen, since field kitchens for the required autonomous operation are often operated with fuel-operated heat sources, in particular diesel burners. The well-known oven is conceptually too expensive for an easily transportable field kitchen.

The aforementioned US 2,095,745 discloses a portable stove with a cooking module in the form of a box-shaped base, in which two combustion chambers are housed, which can be loaded from the front with combustible material. Between the two combustion chambers is a so-called. Furnace chamber, which is separated by bulkheads of the two combustion chambers. In the oven chamber are rails for receiving baking sheets or the like. The furnace chamber is connected via openings to the combustion chambers, wherein an insertion part is provided to selectively close these openings. Above the two combustion chambers is a cover plate with individual hotplates, which are designed as removable cover. The well-known stove also includes a cuboid hood, which can be placed from above on the hotplates. The hood has two doors towards the front, can be introduced through the food with the hood attached in the space area, which is bounded by the cooking plates and the hood. This known device has no means for targeted circulation of hot air and is therefore only partially suitable for a modern preparation of food.

Out DE 27 18 292 A1 is known a mobile field kitchen, which has a cooking area that can be heated from below with the aid of a gasoline-powered burner. Between the burner and the cooking area a cavity is arranged, in which either a hot air device for baking or a pressure pot in horizontal or vertical alignment can be adjusted. The hot air device has a fan and baffles to circulate the air in the hot air device, which is heated by the hot gases of the burner.

Out GB 1,418,819 Further, an electric cooking plate is known, which is constructed in sandwich technique, wherein a middle layer of aluminum or copper between two stainless steel layers is arranged.

Against this background, it is an object of the present invention to provide a device for preparing food, which is particularly suitable as a mobile field kitchen and allows a variable preparation of food, in particular during baking as uniform and efficient heat transfer is to be achieved.

This object is achieved according to one aspect of the present invention by a device and a baking module of the type mentioned, in which the baking module has a baffle arrangement which is adapted to direct an air flow through the hotplate and from there into the oven, wherein the Guide plate assembly includes a bottom plate that is approximately parallel and largely congruent with the cooking plate with coupled baking and cooking module, and wherein the bottom plate has a depth that is slightly less than the depth of the cooking plate, so that in the flap a front gap remains, which extends over the width of the floor panel.

The new device thus has a modular design, the cooking module allows the preparation of food on a hotplate in a conventional manner. Moreover, the new device incorporates a baking module, which, however, is passive in nature, i. it does not have a heat source sufficient to heat the air in the oven. For heating the air in the oven rather the heat source of the cooking module is used. However, the present invention goes beyond the mere coupling of baking module and heat source in the cooking module by the cooking plate of the cooking module serves as a heat exchanger for the baking module. Due to this configuration, the baking module can be equipped with a considerably smaller heat exchanger or, what is preferred, it does not have its own heat exchanger. As a result, the weight and the size of the baking module can be significantly reduced. This also simplifies loading and transport. On the other hand, the baking module according to the invention increases the breadth of variation when preparing the food.

In addition, the baking module according to the invention can be produced quite simply and inexpensively, so that the overall price of the new device is relatively low despite the greater variability.

With the baffle arrangement, the heating of the oven is even more efficient. The heat emitted by the hotplate is thereby selectively transported into the baking chamber, wherein the air flow can be assisted or caused by a blower (which is preferred) or else can be a consequence of the thermal air movement. In addition, such a baffle arrangement improves the heat distribution within the baking chamber and thus leads to a more uniform and faster preparation of the food.

The floor panel has proved to be a very effective solution for efficient heat transfer. Between bottom plate and hotplate is a relatively narrow air volume, which is heated very efficiently via the hotplate. The heated air can then be directed specifically and with high efficiency in the oven. In addition, the base plate, due to its own heating, contributes to even more even and faster heating of the baking chamber.

In one embodiment of the invention, the baking module for coupling is placed on the cooking module, that the baking chamber is arranged above the cooking plate.

This embodiment leads to a particularly efficient heat exchange and thus to a fast and energy-saving baking process. In addition, the baking module is automatically in an ergonomically favorable position during operation.

In a further embodiment, the baking chamber has a base area whose size corresponds to the cooking plate.

By this embodiment, the energy utilization is further improved. In addition, this results in a particularly even heat distribution in the oven, which facilitates the preparation of food.

In a further embodiment, the baking module has a housing surrounding the baking chamber, and the cooking module has a frame surrounding the cooking plate at least partially, wherein the housing is designed so that it can be placed on the frame.

This embodiment has the advantage that no additional frame is needed for the commissioning of the baking module. As a result, the total weight of the new device is further reduced. The new device is thus even easier to load and transport.

In a further embodiment, the baking chamber has an at least partially open bottom.

This embodiment is particularly advantageous when the baking module is placed on the cooking module for operation. Due to the at least partially open bottom, the heat can be very easily and directly out of the cooking plate in the oven. Such direct heat transport improves the energy balance by eliminating losses at junctions and elements that otherwise function as latches.

In a further embodiment, the baking module has a fan, which is designed to circulate the air in the oven. Preferably, the fan draws the air from the oven and leads it to the hotplate.

By means of such a fan, the baking module operates as a convection oven, which makes it possible to cook a larger amount of food at the same time. In the preferred embodiment, a very uniform and steady flow of air is generated via the hotplate, resulting in a particularly efficient heating of the oven.

In a further embodiment, the cooking plate is a sandwich plate with an upper layer of stainless steel and a middle layer of a more thermally conductive material, in particular of a copper or aluminum material, the latter being preferred.

Such a cooking plate makes it possible to cook food even without cookware directly on the plate. The scope of the new device is therefore increased again. In addition, such a hot plate has been found to be very well suited to act as a heat exchanger for the baking module. The use of an aluminum material for the middle layer is preferred, since aluminum has a low weight with high thermal conductivity, so that further simplifies the transport of the device in the preferred embodiment.

In a further embodiment, the cooking module has a heating space in which the heating source is arranged, wherein the cooking plate closes the boiler room upwards.

In this embodiment, the cooking plate is the only "wall" that separates the baking module from the heating chamber of the cooking module. Since the hotplate acts as a heat exchanger, a very direct path from the heat source to the oven is realized. Losses at interfaces between different materials are largely minimized. Accordingly, this embodiment further improves the energy balance and the efficiency in preparing food in the baking module.

In a further embodiment, the heating source is a fuel-powered heat source, in particular a multi-fuel or diesel burner.

A fuel-powered heating source is particularly well suited for the present application. It can heat up a large hotplate very quickly, which enables a quick and efficient start-up of the baking module. In addition, fuel-fired heating sources are independent of electricity connections and / or the availability of generators.

It is understood that the features mentioned above and those yet to be explained below can be used not only in the particular combination given, but also in other combinations or in isolation, without departing from the scope of the present invention.

Fig. 1

eine vereinfachte Darstellung eines Ausführungsbeispiels der neuen Vorrichtung, wobei die einzelnen Module getrennt voneinander sind,

Fig. 2

die Vorrichtung aus Fig. 1 im betriebsfähigen Zustand, und

Fig. 3

einen Querschnitt des Backmoduls aus Fig. 2 entlang der Schnittlinie III-III.

Embodiments of the invention are illustrated in the drawings and are explained in more detail in the following description. Show it:

Fig. 1

a simplified representation of an embodiment of the new device, wherein the individual modules are separated from each other,

Fig. 2

the device of Figure 1 in the operable state, and

Fig. 3

a cross section of the baking module of Fig. 2 along the section line III-III.

In the figures, an embodiment of the new device is designated in its entirety by the reference numeral 10.

The device 10 includes a cooking module 12 with a base frame 14 and a removable therefrom cooking plate 16. In addition, a separately executed baking module 18 belongs to the device 10th

The base frame 14 has a frame 20 which delimits a trough-shaped heating chamber 22. In the heating chamber 22, a burner 24 is arranged, which is a diesel or multi-fuel burner in a preferred embodiment. Alternatively, this could be, for example, a gas burner. In addition, the present invention can be used in principle with other heating sources for heating the hotplate 16.

The burner 24 is controlled via a control panel 26. On the control panel 26 also connections (not shown here) for supplying the fuel are arranged. When burning the fuel, the burner 24 generates hot air 28, which can emerge from the cylindrical body of the burner 24 via nozzles, not shown. The hot air 28 heats the heating chamber 22 and thus the hotplate 16 when it rests on the heating chamber 22 and closes it upwards. The exhaust gases of the burner 24 are removed via a deduction not shown here from the heating chamber 22. For example, the trigger may be in the form of a chimney which is arranged on one side of the frame 20 and leads upwards therefrom.

The hotplate 16, in the preferred embodiments, is a sandwiched plate having an upper stainless steel sheet, a middle aluminum (alternatively copper) sheet, and a lower sheet, again made of stainless steel. The upper and middle layers of material are indicated in FIG. 3 at reference numerals 30 and 32.

The baking module 18 has a housing 34, which forms a baking chamber 36. In the baking chamber 36 rails 38 are arranged in a conventional manner, which serve to accommodate baking trays, grates and cooking shells (not shown here). In the preferred embodiment, the baking module 18 can accommodate up to six, preferably even eight or more, baking trays, wherein the rails 38 form two adjacent receiving columns. Towards the front of the baking chamber 36 is closed with a flap 40. In Fig. 2, the flap 40 is not shown for reasons of clarity. As can be seen in Fig. 3, the flap 40 is attached via hinges to a lower cross member 42 of the housing 34.

Furthermore, it can be seen from FIG. 3 that the housing 34 is open at the bottom, ie it has no closing housing bottom. Within the housing 34, however, a baffle arrangement 44 is provided. The baffle arrangement 44 includes a rear-side plate 46 and a bottom plate 48 arranged transversely thereto. In the rear-side plate 46, an opening 50 is recessed, behind which a fan 52 is arranged. Notwithstanding this, the blower 52 may also be arranged on another housing wall, for example on the upper side of the housing. This is preferred if the lateral outer dimensions (width and depth) of the housing 34 are already dimensioned in favor of a large baking chamber 36 so that further protrusions would make loading and transport of the baking module 18 more difficult.

When the baking module 18 is placed on the cooking module 12, the bottom plate 48 is largely congruent above the cooking plate 16. However, the depth of the bottom plate 48 is slightly less than the depth of the cooking plate 16, so that in the region of the flap 40, a front gap 54th remains, which extends over the entire width of the bottom plate 48. Through this gap 54, hot air that has been heated above the cooking plate 16, enter the baking chamber 36. This hot air is indicated in Figures 2 and 3 by block arrows 56. The air in the baking chamber 36 is sucked in via the blower 52 and guided to the cooking plate 16 with the help of the baffle arrangement 44. There, the air heats up and enters at the front end through the gap 54 back into the oven 36. Thus, a circulating through the baking chamber 36 air flow is generated, which leads in the embodiment shown to a very uniform and efficient heating of the oven 36.

If the baking module 18 is not needed, it is only removed from the cooking module 12, which is indicated in Fig. 1 by the arrow 58. Thereafter, the hot plate 16 is in a conventional manner for cooking food available, 16 meals can be fried on the hotplate due to the sandwich construction also directly. Alternatively, the food can be cooked in a pot, not shown here, which is placed on the hotplate 16. For ease of cleaning the hotplate 16 can be removed from the frame 20, in which case the boiler room 22 is easily accessible.

As indicated in the illustration in Fig. 1, the base frame 14, the hotplate 16 and the baking module 18 are three modular parts of the device 10, which are separated from each other are executed. In particular, in the presently preferred embodiment, the baking module 18 is not welded or otherwise connected to a bottom plate corresponding to the cooking plate 16. On the contrary, as shown in Fig. 3, the baking chamber 36 is separated from the boiler room 22 only by the removable hotplate 16. This basically makes it possible to heat the baking chamber 36 directly from the heating chamber 22 with the hot air 28. However, the use of the intervening hotplate 16 as a heat exchanger is preferred in order to prevent the flue gases of the burner 24 from flowing around the food in the oven 36. On the other hand, a heat transfer takes place only on the good heat-conducting hotplate 16, so that hardly any losses occur through further heat transfer and heat-storing intermediate elements.

The housing 34 of the baking module 18 is double-walled in a conventional manner in order to achieve a good insulation and thus a fast and energy-efficient cooking of food in the oven 36. The weight of the baking module 18 is less than 50 kg, which is achieved in particular by omitting an integrated heat exchanger. In order to ensure safe operation, the baking module 18 may have a latch, not shown here, which makes it possible to fix the baking module 18 in a defined position on the cooking module 12.

In a further modification of the embodiment shown, which, however, adheres to the principle shown here, the baking module 18 is smaller than the cooking plate 16, so that even when using the baking module 18, a portion of the cooking plate 16 remains free and can be used for cooking food ,

Claims (10)

1. A device for preparing food, in particular as mobile field kitchen, comprising a cooking module (12) and an oven module (18), wherein the cooking module (12) comprises a cooking plate (16) and a heat source (24) configured for heating the cooking plate (16), wherein the oven module (18) can optionally be coupled to the cooking module (12) and forms an oven volume (36), which can be closed at a front side by a door (40), and wherein the cooking plate (16) operates as heat exchanger for heating air (56) within the oven volume (36), when the oven module (18) is coupled to the cooking module (12), characterized in that the oven module (18) has a baffle arrangement (44) which is designed to guide a flow of air via the cooking plate (16) and subsequently into the oven volume (36), wherein the baffle arrangement (44) comprises a bottom sheet (48) which is arranged substantially parallel and substantially congruent to the cooking plate (16), when the oven module and the cooking module are coupled, and wherein the bottom sheet (48) has a depth which is somewhat smaller than the depth of the cooking plate (16), such that a front gap (54) remains in the area of the door (40), which gap extends along the whole width of the bottom sheet (48).
2. The device according to claim 1, characterized in that the oven module (18) is adapted to be put onto the cooking module (12) for coupling, such that the oven volume (36) is arranged above the cooking plate (16).
3. The device according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the oven volume (36) has a base area, the size of which corresponds to that of the cooking plate (16).
4. The device according to one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the oven module (18) comprises a housing (34) enclosing the oven volume (36), and the cooking module (12) comprises a frame (20) which surrounds the cooking plate (16) at least partially, wherein the housing (34) is designed for being put onto the frame (20).
5. The device according to one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the oven volume (36) has a bottom which is at least partially open.
6. The device according to one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the oven module (18) comprises a fan (52), which is designed to circulate the air (56) within the oven volume (36), wherein the fan (52) preferably withdraws the air from the oven volume (36) and supplies it to the cooking plate (16).
7. The device according to one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that the cooking plate (16) is a sandwich plate having an upper layer (30) made of stainless steel and a middle layer (32) made of a more heat conductive material, in particular made from a copper or aluminum material.
8. The device according to one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that the cooking module (12) comprises a heating space (22), in which the heat source (24) is arranged, wherein the cooking plate (16) closes the heating space (22) at the top.
9. The device according to one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that the heat source (24) is a fuel-operated heat source, in particular an omni fuel burner or diesel fuel burner.
10. An oven module for a device according to one of claims 1 to 9, comprising a housing (34) forming an oven volume (36) which can be closed by a door (40) at the front, and which oven volume can optionally be coupled with a cooking module (12), the cooking module having a cooking plate (16) and a heat source (24) designed for heating the cooking plate (16), wherein the cooking plate (16) operates as a heat exchanger for heating the air in the oven volume (36), when the oven module (18) is coupled to the cooking module (12), characterized in that the oven module (18) comprises a baffle arrangement (44) designed to guide a flow of air via the cooking plate (16) and subsequently into the oven volume (36), wherein the baffle arrangement (44) comprises a bottom sheet (48), which is arranged substantially parallel and substantially congruent to the cooking plate (16) when the oven module and the cooking module are coupled, and wherein the bottom sheet (48) has a depth which is somewhat smaller than the depth of the cooking plate (16), such that a front gap (54) remains in the area of the door (40), which gap extends along the whole width of the bottom sheet (48).

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