ES2945383A1 - CONTROL SYSTEM FOR VERTICAL ROASTER AND ASSOCIATED METHOD (Machine-translation by Google Translate, not legally binding) - Google Patents

Abstract

Vertical toaster comprising at least one control unit configured with at least one operational function of preheating the heating element (4); and a slice toasting function; at least one cavity or receptacle to receive the toast, with at least one temperature sensor; a heating element (4); a toast holder platform, with at least two operating positions and at least one mechanism to vary between the two positions; an interior position, in which the toast holder platform is inside the cavity or receptacle to receive the slices; and an outer position, in which the toast holder platform is outside of the cavity or receptacle. (Machine-translation by Google Translate, not legally binding)

Description

DESCRIPTION _

CONTROL SYSTEM FOR VERTICAL ROASTER AND ASSOCIATED METHOD

TECHNIQUE SECTOR

The present invention relates to procedures and devices for the purpose of toasting and/or reheating edible agri-food products, by exposure to infrared radiation, and more specifically, a vertical toaster.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Generally, the food preparation machines present in the state of the art have a heating element that transfers heat to the container where the preparations are carried out, which, in turn, transfers heat by conduction to the food inside. of him, to carry out the cooking tasks.

Conventional toasters each include one or more arrays of heating elements, eg, arrays of nichrome wire elements wound on mica formers, and mechanisms for holding one or more slices of bread in spatial proximity to one or more arrays.

Document US6267044B1 belongs to the state of the art, which presents a batch-type domestic toaster that has a receptacle for sliced bread away from the toasting compartment and that automatically retains the bread in that receptacle until the toasting elements reach a temperature efficient roasting. Only when these elements have reached the optimal temperature, the receptacle lowers and some gates in the upper part close, creating an oven. In this way the heat is concentrated inside the appliance, being transferred to its surfaces. Thus, the outer surface of the toaster will absorb a large part of the internal temperature, and may cause a burn to the user during use of the appliance and even once the cooking process has finished.

With the configuration proposed in the present invention, a closure is not generated of the cavity, so that heat does not accumulate inside the device and, therefore, the temperature of its outer surfaces is reduced with respect to the previously described document.

On the other hand, the document US2005178757A1 refers to a toaster that totally encloses the food product that is being toasted. The toaster has an opening through which the elements are introduced inside, once it is closed the food is already inside and a progressive heating curve is produced. As a result, there is a loss of moisture inside the slice, losing a large part of the water that forms it. This toasting sequence is precisely the one that is intended to be avoided with the current invention, since it prevents the product from being present in the cavity during the heating curve. In this way, a toast that does not lose internal moisture is ensured, while an optimal degree of toasting is achieved on the outer surface.

Lastly, document AU2015275269A1 is presented, presenting a toaster with active control of the temperature inside the cavity. Depending on the initial temperature measured, a formula calculates the final temperature that will cause optimum roasting. On the other hand, certain heating elements inside the cavity are turned on or off depending on the temperature that is measured at the initial moment. In the case of the present invention, it will be necessary to make an active control of the temperature to know the optimal temperature for the start of toasting.

The main difference is that controlling the temperature does not prevent the inside of the slice from drying out, nor does it prevent the loss of moisture when toasting starts at just the right moment.

EXPLANATION OF THE INVENTION

The present invention intends to solve the problem that resides in the loss of moisture inside the toasts when a progressive heating curve is carried out during toasting.

In conventional upright toasters, slices of bread are inserted into the inside the cavity from the first moment, when its temperature is equal to the ambient temperature. Therefore, when heating the cavity occurs, simultaneously drying or loss of moisture occurs both on the surface of the toast and inside it.

The operation of a toaster starts from the generation of heat, which in this case occurs by taking advantage of the effect of conduction of electricity through a resistance. Broadly speaking, infrared radiation is used to heat the piece of bread. At the moment in which a slice is introduced, a coiled wire will be observed that glows and will turn red. The coiled wire is what produces infrared radiation. However, this radiation does not reach its maximum level instantly, but requires a settling and/or preheating time.

Regarding the typical way to produce infrared radiation, use is usually made of a nichrome wire wrapped around a mica sheet. It is necessary to highlight that the nichrome wire is an alloy of nickel and chromium, which presents appropriate characteristics with which it dissipates heat well.

In summary, in toasters that have a vertical structure, the slices of bread to be toasted are first lowered into the toasting position, either manually or automatically, the toast elements that are initially at room temperature, then they are slowly heated to a roasting temperature. Normally, during this preheating process, the food is partially dehydrated before the toasting process begins. The process of toasting or browning bread further dehydrates the food, and the degree of dehydration depends largely on the time it takes to brown the bread. If toasting takes more than 3 minutes, the bread can be severely dehydrated and the result is a very dry product.

The retention of moisture inside the bread is of vital importance to ensure a pleasant texture and flavor for users. Therefore, it is necessary that the preheating time is as short as possible or that the product to be roasted spends the minimum amount of time in a hot environment until the optimal roasting temperature has been reached.

Thus, the present invention refers to a vertical toaster that has a receptacle for depositing the slices of bread that are to be toasted. This receptacle has a toast holder platform, with at least two positions, the cavity preheating position, in which the platform is substantially outside the receptacle; and the toasting position in which the slices of bread carried by the platform and the toast-holding platform itself are inside the receptacle. This receptacle has the relevant heat generation means to toast the slice inside the receptacle.

The toast holder platform is capable of moving between both positions thanks to the action of an electric actuator and, if necessary, the PCB or control unit. In the preheat position, the toast holder platform is located on the outside of the slot through which the slices are inserted. The base of the platform has a V profile; It has a specially designed shape to recirculate the heat that rises from the inside of the rack to the sides, in such a way that the heat generated during preheating does not affect the humidity inside the slice.

The invention comprises a platform base, with a V-shaped pattern extruded along the inlet grate to the roaster cavity. The food is located in the internal part of the extrusion, so the heat that rises from the heating means is diverted to the sides, avoiding premature drying of the toast during the preheating process.

Inside the cavity there is a temperature sensor that is capable of actively measuring the temperature at which the toaster cavity is located at any moment. When detecting that the preheating temperature of the cavity is reached, the electric actuator is activated, lowering the products that the user intends to toast to the toasting area. In this way, the toasting process of the slices occurs when the internal temperature of the cavity is optimal for it, for which reason the toaster includes in its control unit or PCB, information previously established on working temperatures.

On the other hand, the lowering of the products from the outer zone to the inner zone must take place quickly enough to prevent the bread from beginning to dry out during this transport process.

Once this transport has been carried out, the toasting process begins, which depends on the internal temperature of the cavity and the time that the product resides inside. The preheating process will take longer if you intend to cook toast when the cavity temperature is equal to room temperature. Because the internal preheat temperature setting time will be longer than if it were the second batch of toast to be made. In which, the initial temperature of the cavity is higher and, therefore, the establishment time of the optimized temperature for the preheating of the cavity will be less.

In this way, the total roasting time is dependent on the initial temperature of the cavity and the ambient temperature, because if the roaster is in a warm environment it will need less time to establish a high internal temperature.

On the other hand, in the event that the toaster is in a cold environment, it will need more power and time to establish the previously established cavity preheat temperature. Therefore, the operation of the toaster is not governed by toasting times or power but by working temperatures.

Thus, faster, moister and tastier toasting of the product is achieved when the toast is introduced into the cavity. The result obtained is that the outer surface of the bread is crunchy, while the inner crumb has retained a large percentage of the moisture it initially had.

The following proposal solves the problem raised above. The components that make up the invention are an electric actuator, which allows the transport of the bar that holds the products from the preheated position to the toasting position, the bar that has just been mentioned that is in charge of transporting the products introduced. in the toaster Two metal rods are installed on this bar which, connected to springs, are capable of imprisoning the lower part of the products when they are in the preheated position.

On the other hand, additional grids are necessary, located inside the toaster cavity, which imprison the entire body of the products when they are transported to the roasting zone. This structure that is formed to carry the toasts is called a toast-holding platform, which includes at least some guides that allow relative movement, at least enough to differentiate between an exterior position, where the toast-holding platform is outside.

To control the temperature of the cavity, it is necessary to install a thermocouple that is capable of measuring the internal temperature of the toaster cavity at all times. This information is processed through a control unit, also known as a PCB which, depending on the temperature of the cavity, causes some actions or others by the mechanisms of the toaster. Also, two limit switches are needed to mark that the carrier bar has reached the highest or lowest position. Once activated, the direction of rotation of the electric actuator is changed to raise or lower the products.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

To complement the description that is being made and in order to help a better understanding of the characteristics of the invention, a set of drawings is attached as an integral part of said description, where, with an illustrative and non-limiting nature, what has been represented has been following:

Figure 1.- Exploded view of parts of the proposed system

Figure 2.- Proposed system without external body.

Figure 3.- Toast transport mechanism.

Figure 4.- Sectional section of the toaster body.

PREFERRED EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION

In a preferred embodiment, the present invention describes a vertical toaster, which comprises an autonomous toasting system, made up of several elements, among which there will be at least one heating element (4), a toast holder platform to carry the toasts (3) with at least two positions, in which an outer position is preheating, in which the toast holder platform is in the receptacle exterior; and the other position is for toasting, in which the toast holder platform is inside the receptacle; the toast holder platform remains in the outer position during the preheating time of the cavity that is inside the main body (1), an actuator or electric motor (7) and a mechanism that is responsible for transporting the toasts. toast (3) from the preheating area to the toasting area, which is where the heating elements (4) that provide the optimum temperature for toasting the toast (3) are stored, the toast-holding platform includes trapping grids ( 5) that keep the toasts (3) upright during the toasting period, clamping rods that keep the toasts (3) upright during the preheating period, a process control system (6) and a temperature sensor (11). ).

The actuator or electric motor (7) must be connected to a connecting rod (8) that will be responsible for transforming the rotary movement of the electric actuator (7) into a vertical transport movement of the toast-holding platform that carries the toast (3).

Both the trapping grids (5) and the trapping rods (9) must be connected to an elastic element in such a way that they have a rest position and an actuation position. In the case of the imprisonment grids (5), the rest position will be the complete opening of the same, at the moment in which the receptacle (10) goes down to the toasting position, it will activate the elastic element to bring the trapping grids (5) up to its actuation position.

On the other hand, as for the imprisonment rods (9), their rest position will consist of being in contact with each other in the geometric center of the appliance, so that when the toasts (3) are inserted between them, they submit enough pressure to keep them upright.

In another preferred embodiment, the invention comprises at least one outer body of the toaster (1), the side surfaces (2), the toasts (3) that are inserted into the body (1), the heating elements (4) that are the in charge of preheating and toasting the food products that are introduced, the imprisonment grids (5) that are in charge of squeezing the products so that they have a toasting position fixed, the control unit or PCB (6) where all the electronics necessary to develop the proposed software are stored, the electric actuator (7) in charge of exerting the necessary force to transport the toasts (3) from the waiting area to the toasting zone, the connecting rod (8) that is connected to the electric actuator (7) and to the receptacle (10), being in charge of transforming the rotary movement of the motor to a vertical movement of rise and fall, the upper imprisonment rods ( 9) that are in charge of holding the toasts (3) in a vertical position when they are deposited in the waiting receptacle (10) during the preheating time and, finally, the receptacle (10) where the toasts (3) and which has a specific design in charge of redirecting the heat generated by the heating elements (4) towards the sides, avoiding premature drying of the toasts (3).

As can be seen in Fig.2, we see the proposed system without the outer body (1) of the toaster, in order to better understand the internal mechanism. In it, it can be seen how the toasts (3) are trapped in the imprisonment rods (9) when the receptacle (10) is in the preheating position of the toasting chamber. The system remains in this position until the temperature sensor (11) detects that the temperature inside the chamber is optimal for toasting the toast (3). Once this has been detected, the electric actuator (7) is activated to transport the toasts (3) from the preheating position to the toasting position. Once it is lowered to this position, the trapping grids (5) are activated to keep the toasts (3) in a fixed position during the toasting process.

In Fig.3 we can see a toast transport mechanism (3) in the preheated position. The control unit or PCB (6) can be distinguished, which is in charge of indicating when the downward or upward movement must be started, which is carried out thanks to the action of the actuator or electric motor (7), in addition the receptacle ( 10) that is specially designed to redirect the heat from inside the cavity to the sides, thus preventing the toasts (3) from starting to lose moisture during the preheating process. In addition, it has some slits that are designed so that the trapping grids (5) can exert pressure on the toasts (3) when the receptacle is in the toasting position, in this way the toasts (3) will always have a constant upright position during the toasting process.

In Fig.4 a main body of the toaster (1), inside which are the relevant heating elements (4) and the toast trapping grids (5), which are at a sufficient distance for the receptacle ( 10) can be lowered without problem to the toasting area and, later, they are closed, imprisoning the toasts (3) so that they have a completely upright and constant position during the toasting process. On the other hand, while the toasts (3) are in the preheating position, they remain upright thanks to the action of the imprisonment rods (9) that hold the toasts (3) vertically until the transport from the area begins. of preheating.

In Fig.5 there is at least one button (13) to start the program, which will be controlled by a microcontroller (14). Additionally, a voltage converter (12) is shown to be able to go from 220V to 5V, which is the voltage at which this type of electrical appliance usually operates. In addition, a power regulator (15) can be inserted to change the power of the quartz rods (4). Finally, to carry out the aforementioned temperature control, a temperature sensor (11) is necessary, which will be in charge of sending the information on the temperature that exists in the cavity of the device at all times.

Claims (2)

Vertical toaster comprising at least - a control unit configured with at least one operating function of preheating the heating element (4); and a slice toasting function. - a cavity or receptacle to receive the toasts, with at least one temperature sensor; - a heating element (4); - a toast holder platform, with at least two operating positions and at least one mechanism to vary between the two positions; an interior position, in which the toast holder platform is inside the cavity or receptacle to receive the slices; and an outer position, in which the toast holder platform is outside the cavity or receptacle; and in turn includes, at least: - a base (10) of the toast holder platform; and, - a holding element for at least one piece of toast (5, 9); Characterized by comprising, at least, - a base (10) of the toast holding platform that has a concave profile, which can be U-shaped or V-shaped, on which at least one slice is placed; so that when the toast-holding platform is in the outer position, in the preheating process of the heating element (4) it dissipates the generated heat that is directed upwards, towards the toast-holding platform in its outer position, which carries at least one slice, preventing the heat from acting to cook the slice of bread (3), before the toast holder platform changes to its interior position, in a work operation ordered by the control unit. - The control unit is configured so that, with the platform in the outer position, it activates the heating element (4) up to a previously established temperature, creating a preheating function that, once the previously established temperature is reached, the toast-holding platform can access its interior position, allowing the toasting function, to cook at least one slice and obtain at least one piece of toast. 2. Operation method for a toaster according to claim 1, characterized by comprising, at least, the following steps, - Ignition of the toaster; - Place at least one slice of bread on the toast-holding platform in its outer position; - Start of the preheating phase, by activating the heating element (4) until a previously established temperature is reached; - Once the previously established temperature has been reached, the toast holding platform with the slice of bread changes from its outer position to its inner position, activating the toasting function; - The toast holder platform is in its interior position during the previously established toasting time; - The toast holder platform will return to the outer position to be able to extract at least one piece of toast; - Possibility of turning off the toaster or making at least another toast, taking advantage of the time reduction of the preheating phase, if applicable.