GB2586919A

GB2586919A - Improvements in or relating to food delivery containers

Info

Publication number: GB2586919A
Application number: GB2013879.8A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Nuttall Alan; Steel Michael
Original assignee: Alan Nuttall Ltd
Current assignee: Alan Nuttall Ltd
Priority date: 2019-09-03
Filing date: 2020-09-03
Publication date: 2021-03-10
Also published as: GB201912626D0; GB202013879D0

Abstract

The invention claimed is a container 110 suitable for the storage and transport of heated or cooled packaged food products. The container comprises a base, top, sides and a lockable closure which may be a hinged lid (Fig 2). The container is provided with an aperture 136 for warm or chilled air to be introduced, one or more internal flow passages 134 which enable circulation of air within the container for the purpose of heating or cooling the contents and an air outlet 138. The container may be provided with additional features to secure and identify the contents such as a scanner, keypad (fig 2 24) or display (Fig 2 26). A folding handle may also be provided (fig 2 23). Additionally, there is disclosed a docking station (Fig 6) configured to circulate warmed or chilled air throughout the container. The docking station may be provided with additional features to identify and track the contents of the container such as GPS or a display (fig 3 32).

Description

Improvements in or Relating to Food Delivery Containers The present invention relates to a delivery container for cooked and packaged food products. The present invention further relates to a docking station for use in conjunction with such a container.

Changes in working patterns have led to changes in eating habits particularly with respect to what might be called the traditional evening meal where a family sits around a table and eats home-cooked food. It is now becoming increasingly commonplace for convenience meals to be eaten in the evening while watching television from an easy chair.

There has thus been an increase in the ordering of cooked food products via the internet for home delivery. Typically a consumer will utilise the services of an online food delivery business to have food from a consumer specified restaurant delivered to their home. Delivery to the consumer may be undertaken by delivery drivers or cyclists who collect the cooked food products from a kitchen. The kitchen may be the kitchen of a restaurant. Alternatively the kitchen may be what is termed a 'Ghost kitchen' dedicated to the provision of restaurant style cooked food products for home delivery.

The delivery drivers or cyclists are provided with apparatus such as insulated containers which retard the cooling of the cooked food products during the delivery phase. There has however been observed a deterioration in the quality of the cooked food products, especially where there is an extended delivery time. The present invention thus seeks to provide a better solution to the use of mere insulated delivery containers.

According to a first aspect of the present invention there is provided a container for the storage and transport of a heated or chilled packaged food product, the container having a base, a top, sides and a lockable closure, the container having an interior space that is accessible via the closure, wherein the container is further provided with a heated or chilled air inlet port, a heated or chilled air outlet port, and one or more internal flow passages which enable heated or chilled air entering the container through the inlet port to pass to, and circulate within, the interior space, and thereafter exit the container through the outlet port.

The circulation of heated or chilled air within the interior space of the container will, in use, circulate over and around packaged food products located within the interior space. This maintains the food products at a desired temperature during storage and transport.

The closure may be a hinged closure. The interior space of the container may be provided with at least one support arrangement for packaged food product. In such an embodiment the at least one support arrangement may be a resiliently biased shelving plate.

The container may further be provided with an external carrying handle. Such a handle may be movable between a stored position and a deployed position. In the stored position, the carrying handle may be located within a recess in the surface of the container. In an alternative embodiment, the carrying handle may be provided on the closure of the container.

The container may further be provided with a display. In such an embodiment the container may further provided with a display controller having a memory for the storage of data for presentation on the display.

The container may further be provided with a user operable keypad. Additionally or alternatively, the container may further be provided with an optical scanner. The keypad and scanner may be used to input code to the container which unlocks the closure and thus permits access to the interior space of the container.

The container may include a data connection port.

According to another aspect of the present invention there is provided a docking station for use with a container of the type as hereinbefore described, wherein the docking station includes a seat configured to releasably receive and support a container, the docking station further including a heated or chilled air outlet connectable to the heated or chilled air inlet port of the container, a heated or chilled air inlet connectable to the heated or chilled air outlet port of the container, and means to heat or chill air and move heated or chilled air into and out of the container through the heated or chilled air inlets and outlets of the container.

The docking station may be provided with a display. The display may be used to present information relating to a container that is received upon and supported by the docking station.

The docking station may include a data connection operable to send data to a container received upon and supported on the seat. The data connection may be a wireless data connection. In an alternative embodiment the data connection may be a wired data connection including a data connector that is received in a data connection port of the container when the container is received upon and supported by the seat.

The docking station may include a latching mechanism operable to releasably secure a container to the seat.

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying figures in which: Figure 1 shows a perspective view of a food delivery container according to an aspect of the present invention; Figure 2 shows a perspective view of the food delivery container of figure 1 with an open access door; Figure 3 shows a plurality of food delivery containers and a docking station; Figure 4 shows a sectional plan view of the food delivery container of figure 1; Figure 5 shows a front view of a vehicle docking station according to an aspect of the present invention; Figure 6 shows a side view of the vehicle docking station; Figure 7 shows a plan view of the vehicle docking station which illustrates air flow paths; Figure 8 shows a plan view of two vehicle docking stations with food delivery containers docked thereto; Figure 9 shows a front view of the vehicle docking stations and food delivery containers of figure 9; Figure 10 shows a perspective view of an alternative embodiment of a food delivery container according to an aspect of the present invention; Figure 11 shows a cross-sectional view of the food delivery container of figure 10; and Figure 12 shows a cross-sectional view of a docking station configured for use with the food delivery container of figures 10 and 11.

Referring firstly to figures 1 to 4 there is shown a food delivery container, generally designated 10, according to an aspect of the present invention. As will be described in greater detail below, the container 10 is used to transport cooked and packaged food products 11 from a first location to a second location. The first location may be a food preparation location such as, for example, a restaurant kitchen or a 'Ghost kitchen'. A Ghost kitchen will be understood to refer to kitchen which prepares restaurant branded food products for home or enterprise delivery. The second location may generally be a location occupied by the intended consumer of the cooked and packaged food products 11, such as a residential dwelling place or at a collection point or desk in an enterprise, or an enterprise holding or preparation kitchen.

The container 10 of figures 1 to 4 is constructed in the form of a cuboid having a base 12, a top 14 and three walls 16. The container 10 is further provided with a closure in the form of a hinged door 18 which permits access to an interior space of the container 10. The door 18 is provided with a locking arrangement (not shown) which can restrict access to the interior space 20 of the container 10. Access to the interior space 20 may be restricted until after a predetermined code has been communicated to the container 10 as will be described in greater detail below.

The top 14 of the container 10 is provided with a carrying handle 22, a keypad 24 and a display 26. The carrying handle 22 is provided so as to facilitate easy transport of the container 10 by hand. The carrying handle 22 may be movably or pivotably mounted to the top 14 of the container 10 and able to be placed in a recess 23 provided on the top 14 of the container 10 when not in use.

The keypad 24 may, for example, be a ten key numeric key pad. The keypad 24 is provided so that the intended recipient of the packaged food products 11 within the container 10 can input a pre-supplied numeric code. The input of such a code deactivates the locking arrangement and enables the door 18 of the container 10 to be opened. Alternatively, or in addition to the keypad 24, the container 10 may be provided with an optical scanner (not shown). In such an embodiment the intended recipient of the packaged food products 11 may be provided with a scanable code, such as a QR code, in order to deactivate the locking arrangement and thereafter enable the door 18 of the container 10 to be opened. In an alternative embodiment, the container 10 may be provided with a biometric data entry device (not shown) which may be utilised in order to deactivate the locking arrangement and enable the door 18 of the container 10 to be opened. The biometric data entry device may be, for example, a fingerprint scanner or a camera.

The display 26 may be utilised to display information relating to the contents of the container 10 and the order placed by the recipient. For example, the display 26 may list the packaged food products 11 contained within the container 10 and the associated order number as assigned by the order system used to place the food delivery order. The display 26 may also indicate the temperature within the interior space 20 of the container 10. The display 26 may additionally provide information for the person responsible for the delivery of the packaged food products 11 to the second location. Such information may include, for example, the delivery address, the name of the intended recipient, and a countdown timer indicating the time remaining for the delivery to be made. The display 26 is provided with a power source and a memory. The container 10 is further provided with a data connection port (not shown) which allows information to be written to the memory of a display controller for reproduction on the display 26. In an alternative embodiment the container 10 may be configured such that information can be written to the memory of the display controller wirelessly. The container 10 is further provided with a latch arrangement 27 which enables the container 10 to be secured to a docking station.

The container 10 is intended to maintain the packaged food products 11 at a required temperature during the time it takes to transport the container 10 from the first location to the second location. The interior space 20 of the container 10 is maintained at the required temperature by the circulation of heated air within the interior space 20. The heated air passes over and around the packaging of the packaged food products 11. The temperature and manner in which the heated air is circulated prevents the cooling of the packaged food products 11 and further prevents further cooking of the food products while in transit. The packaged food products 11 are thus maintained at an optimum temperature that ensures they reach the second location in the best possible state.

As will be described in greater detail below, the container 10 does not include systems which heat and circulate air within the interior space. This functionality is provided by a docking station 28 which is configured to receive and support the container 10. The container 10 is however provided with internal flow passages 29, 31 (see figure 4), an inlet port 33 and an outlet port 35 which permit heated air (indicated by arrows) to be moved from the docking station 28 into the container, over and around the packaged food products 11 and then out of the container 10 and back to the docking station 28. The top 12, base 14, walls 16 and door 18 of the container 10 are formed from a material or materials that have thermal insulation properties.

Figure 3 shows a docking station 28 configured to receive and support three containers 10. The docking station 20 includes three seats or platforms 30, each of which can receive and support a single container 10. Each platform 30 includes a data connector which connects to the data connection port of a container 10 when the container 10 is received in a platform 30. Each platform 30 further includes a heated air outlet and a heated air inlet which connect to the respective inlet and outlet ports of the container 10. The docking station 28 is further provided with three displays 32 which can display information relating to containers 10 that are docked to each platform 30.

The docking station 28 of the type shown in figure 3 may be used at the aforementioned first location, which is to say a food preparation location such as, for example, a restaurant kitchen or a dark kitchen. The docking station 28 may thus be utilised to support containers 10 after they have been loaded with packaged food products 11 and before they have been collected by a delivery driver. Heated air is thus circulated within the interior space 20 of the container before the container 10 is collected so as to ensure that the temperature and quality of the packaged food products 11 is maintained. A similarly configured docking station is provided in or on the delivery vehicle so as to ensure that heated air continues to be circulated within the interior space 20 of the container 10 during transit of the container 10 from the first location to the second location.

The interior space 20 of the container 10 is further provided with arrangements which, in use, prevent the movement of the packaged food products 11 relative to both one another (where multiple packaged food products 11 are located within the interior space 20) and to the walls of the interior space 20. Such arrangements may include, for example spring loaded shelving plates.

Referring now to figures 5 to 9 there is shown a vehicle docking station generally designated 60. The docking station 60 is intended to be fitted to a food delivery vehicle. More specifically, the docking station 60 may be fitted to the cargo carrying space of a food delivery vehicle.

The docking station 60 includes a base 62, opposing side walls 64, a rear panel 66 and a top panel 68. The base 62, walls 64 and panels 66,68 define a space 70 within which a container 10 can be accommodated.

The interior of the rear panel 68 includes an inlet chamber 72 and an outlet chamber 74. The inlet chamber 72 is provide with an inlet aperture 76 and the outlet chamber 74 is provided with an outlet aperture 78. The inlet and outlet apertures 76,78 are provided in respective projections 80 which extend from the rear panel 66 into the space 70. In use, the projections 80 are received within the inlet and outlet ports 33,35 of a container 10 fitted to the docking station 60.

The interior of the rear panel 68 is further provided with a heating element 82 and a fan 84. In an alternative embodiment the interior of the rear panel 68 may be provided with a cooling element, or both a heating element and a cooling element. Where both a heating element and a cooling element are provided, these may be operated separately depending upon the nature of the food located within the container 10.

In use, the fan 84 is operable to draw air into the inlet chamber 72 through the inlet aperture 76. The air is then moved by the fan 84 over the heating element 82. The heated air is then moved by the fan 84 into the outlet chamber 74 and out of the outlet aperture 78. This airflow is indicated by arrows on figure 7. It will be understood that when a container 10 is fitted to the docking station 60 the fan circulates heated air into and through the container 10.

The top panel 68 is provided with a display screen 86 and a control panel 88 into which instructions for the operation of the docking station 60 can be entered.

Figures 8 and 9 show a pair of docking stations 60 in a side by side arrangement.

Each docking station 60 is shown with a container 10. As described above, each docking station 60 operates to circulate air at a predetermined temperature within the container 10 fitted thereto. This ensures that the packaged food product or products provided within the container 10 are maintained at a desired temperature during transit and delivery.

Power for the docking station may be provided by the electrical system of the delivery vehicle. Alternatively, the delivery vehicle may be provide with a separate dedicated electrical system for the or each docking station 60.

Referring now to figures 10 to 12 there is shown an alternative embodiment of a container 110 and docking station 128. Features described with reference to figures 1 to 3 are identified with like reference numerals prefixed with '1'. As with the previously described embodiment of the container 10 described with reference to figure 1, the container 110 has a generally cuboid form with a base 112, top 114, walls 116 and door 118, however the proportions of the container 110 differing from that of the originally described container 10. The container 110 of figures 10 and 11 is taller and narrower than that of figure 1. The container of figures 1 and 2 may be suitable for food items such as pizzas. The container 110 of figures 10 and 11 may, on the other hand, be suitable for cartons of food.

Whereas the closure 18 of the container 10 of figure 1 is hinged, the closure 118 of the container 110 of figures 4 and 5 is removable.

The cross-sectional view of figure 11 shows the internal flow passages, generally designated 134, which enable heated air to be circulated into and out of the interior space 120 of the container 110. Figure 5 also shows a heated air inlet port 136 and a heated air outlet port 138 which enable heated air to be passed into and out of the container 110 from an appropriately configured docking station. Both the inlet and outlet ports 136,138 include gates which are spring biased to a closed position. The container 110 is further provided with a display controller 140 which is connected to the display 126. A data connection port 142 is also provided which enables data to be written to and from a memory of the display controller 140. The display controller 140 is also connected to a temperature sensor 144 which is operable to determine the air temperature within the internal flow passages 134 of the container 110.

Referring now to figure 12, there is shown a cross-sectional view of a docking station 128. The docking station 128 includes a heated air outlet 146 and a heated air inlet 148 which are received, respectively, in the inlet and outlet ports 136,138 of the container 110 when the container 110 is fitted to the docking station 128. The docking station 128 is further provided with a data connector 150 that is received in the data connection port 142 of the container 110 when the container 110 is fitted to the docking station 110. The docking station 128 is also provided with a movable latch 152 which is operable to releasably retain a container 110 to the docking station 128. The docking station 128 is also provided with heating apparatus, generally designated 154, which is operable to heat air and move heated air into and out of the docking station outlet and inlet 146,148.

While the docking station 28 described with reference to figure 3 may be suitable for use at a food preparation location such as a kitchen, the docking station 128 of figure 12 may be suitable for mounting in a delivery vehicle.

While the embodiments described above relate to the circulation of heated air within the interior space of the container, it will be understood that the docking station may alternatively be configured to circulate chilled air within the interior space of the container.

Claims

Claims 1. A container for the storage and transport of a heated or chilled packaged food product, the container having a base, a top, sides and a lockable closure, the container having an interior space that is accessible via the closure, wherein the container is further provided with a heated or chilled air inlet port, a heated or chilled air outlet port, and one or more internal flow passages which enable heated or chilled air entering the container through the inlet port to pass to, and circulate within, the interior space, and thereafter exit the container through the outlet port.
2. A container as claimed in claim 1 wherein the closure is a hinged closure.
3. A container as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2 wherein the interior space of the container is provided with at least one support arrangement for packaged food product.
4. A container as claimed in claim 4 wherein the at least one support arrangement is a resiliently biased shelving plate.
5. A container as claimed as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the container is further provided with an external carrying handle.
6. A container as claimed in claim 5 wherein the carrying handle is movable between a stored position and a deployed position.
7. A container as claimed in claim 5 or claim 6 wherein the carrying handle is provided on the closure of the container.
8. A container as claimed in any of preceding claim wherein the container is further provided with a display.
9. A container as claimed in claim 8 wherein the container is further provided with a display controller having a memory for storage of data which is presented on the display.
10. A container as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the container is further provided with a user operable keypad.
11. A container as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the container is further provided with an optical scanner.
12. A container as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the container further includes a data connection port.
13. A docking station for use with a container as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the docking station includes a seat configured to releasably receive and support a container, the docking station further including a heated or chilled air outlet connectable to the heated or chilled air inlet port of the container, a heated or chilled air inlet connectable to the heated or chilled air outlet port of the container, and means to heat or chill air and move heated or chilled air into and out of the container through the heated or chilled air inlets and outlets of the container.
14. A docking station as claimed in claim 12 wherein the docking station is provided with a display.
15. A docking station as claimed in claim 12 or claim 13 wherein the docking station includes a data connection operable to send data to a container received upon and supported on the seat.
16. A docking station as claimed in claim 14 wherein the data connection is a wireless data connection.
17. A docking station as claimed in claim 14 wherein the data connection is a wired data connection including a data connector that is received in a data connection port of the container when the container is received upon and supported by the seat.
18. A docking station as claimed in any of claims 13 to 17 wherein the docking station includes a latching mechanism operable to releasably secure a container to the seat.