JP2001269272A - Food service cart - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To control the temperature of food, which is kept inside a food service cart 1 having an electromagnetic induction heating device 5, properly by the least possible electricity. SOLUTION: When the plates 8 on the table 7 are heated by the electromagnetic induction heating device 5, unlike the conventional way in which the heating sources 11 mounted on all the shelves 4 are driven simultaneously, but this food service cart is set to be driven by time-sharing the plural heating sources 11 individually or a block unit-wise with a group of plural sources, therefore, it is possible to lessen the consumption of wasteful electricity and also heat the food on the plates 8 properly.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a serving truck used for transporting meals.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a storage box for storing meals in a catering vehicle has a plurality of upper and lower shelves, and a required number of meals can be put in and out of a plurality of places on each of the shelves. There is a type in which tableware placed on a table set on each shelf is directly heated by an electromagnetic induction heating device.

[0003] The tableware is made of a metal base such as copper coated on a pedestal at the bottom of the tableware. A coil of an electromagnetic induction heating device is installed on a shelf of a storage for each table arrangement area. The metal film formed on the tableware on the table generates an eddy current due to the magnetic field generated from the coil, generates heat due to the Joule heat, and the entire tableware is heated, and the contents of the tableware are heated. Will be warmed.

[0004] Among the foods to be placed on the table, foods that need to be heated are put in the above-described metal-coated tableware, and those that are better to be cooled are those not coated with the above-mentioned metal film. , It is possible to selectively heat a plurality of foods to be placed on the table.

[0005]

In the above-mentioned conventional serving truck, coils are installed in each of the upper and lower shelves, and when a power switch is turned on, all the coils are energized at the same time and are supplied to the storage. A heating operation is performed on the stored dining table.

In such a conventional example, since the heating operation is always performed on all the shelves,
It can be said that electricity is supplied to the shelves where no meals are placed, and that power consumption is wasted. There is room for improvement here.

[0007] In view of such circumstances, an object of the present invention is to make it possible to appropriately control the temperature of food in a serving truck having an electromagnetic induction heating device with as little power as possible.

[0008]

Means for Solving the Problems A first serving truck according to the present invention comprises:
A required number of dishes on which a plurality of dishes are placed is stored and transported, and a storage having a shelf on which a plurality of dishes can be taken in and out, and up and down, left and right, and tableware in a state where the dishes are placed on the shelf. An electromagnetic induction heating device for generating heat on the metal film formed on the pedestal, wherein the electromagnetic induction heating device includes a shelf for each table arrangement area, or a block in which a set of shelves of each stage is arranged or one row for each row. It is characterized in that the heating operation is performed in a time-sharing manner for each set of blocks.

According to a second serving car of the present invention, in the first configuration, the electromagnetic induction heating device includes a plurality of coils installed in a serving area of each shelf, and a drive circuit for energizing each coil. A switching unit for switching between a conducting state and a non-conducting state between a drive circuit and a coil group installed on each coil or a shelf of each stage or a coil group installed on a shelf of each row, and when performing a heating operation. And control means for controlling the switching means.

[0010] A third serving truck of the present invention stores and transports a required number of dishes on which a plurality of dishes are placed, and has a shelf having shelves on which a plurality of dishes can be placed in and out of up, down, left and right. An electromagnetic induction heating device for generating heat on a metal film formed on the tableware pedestal in a state where it is placed on a shelf, wherein a door is attached to the entrance of the dining table in the storage box so as to be openable and closable. The door is characterized in that the inside of the storage is made visible from the outside and the outside of the electromagnetic wave is prevented from leaking out during the heating operation.

In a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the third configuration, the door is formed of a magnetic metal plate, and a plurality of small holes are provided in a required area of the door. .

A fifth serving truck according to the present invention stores and transports a required number of dishes on which a plurality of dishes are placed, and has a shelf having shelves on which a plurality of dishes can be loaded and unloaded in upper, lower, left and right directions. And an electromagnetic induction heating device for generating heat from a metal film formed on the tabletop in a state of being placed on the shelf, wherein the electromagnetic induction heating device is installed corresponding to the table arrangement area of each shelf. And a displacing means for displacing the coil relative to each of the shelves is provided.

[0013] In a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the fourth or fifth configuration, the coils are installed in each of the dining area arrangement areas of each shelf, and the displacement means individually controls the coils. It is characterized by being raised and lowered.
In the seventh serving car of the present invention, in any one of the fourth to sixth configurations, the coil is provided for each table serving area of each shelf, and the displacement unit moves the coil for each row. Is divided into a set of blocks and moved up and down in block units.

[0014]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The details of the present invention will be described based on embodiments shown in the drawings.

FIGS. 1 to 6 show an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a front view showing a serving car, FIG. 2 is a top view showing the serving car partially cut away, FIG. 3 is a circuit diagram showing an electromagnetic induction heating device of the serving car, and FIG. FIG. 5 is a timing chart for explanation, and FIG.
FIG. 6 is a partially enlarged view of a punching plate attached to an opening window of a door.

The serving car 1 shown in the figure has a configuration in which wheels 3 are attached to four corners of a bottom surface of a rectangular box-shaped storage 2. Inside the storage 2, shelves 4 in a horizontal position are provided in four rows in front, rear, left and right and at seven steps at equal intervals in the vertical direction, and an electromagnetic induction heating device 5 is provided. Openings for putting in and out the dining table 7 are provided on four front, rear, left and right sides of the storage 2, and doors 6 for opening and closing them are attached to all these openings.

The electromagnetic induction heating device 5 drives the heating source 11 by using a power source such as a battery, so that the storage 2
Heats the tableware 8 on the dining table 7 stored therein, and comprises a plurality of heating sources 11, a drive circuit 12, a plurality of relays 13 as switching means, and a controller 1 as control means.
4 is provided.

The heating source 11 is composed of a pair of large and small coils 11a and 11b which are respectively embedded and installed in a region surrounded by a circle in FIG. With respect to the plurality of heating sources 11, two heating sources 11 installed on two shelves 4 arranged in the front row and the rear row of the storage 2 are arranged as a set of blocks. 2 each divided by block
One heating source 11 is connected in series.

The drive circuit 12 supplies current to the plurality of heating sources 11 and is controlled by the controller 14. The drive circuit 12 is connected in parallel with the paired heating sources 11 divided into blocks.

The relay 13 switches between a state in which the heating source 11 and the drive circuit 12 of each of the divided blocks are electrically connected and a state in which the heating circuit 11 is not electrically connected.

The controller 14 controls the respective relays 13 to execute the heating operation in a time-division manner for each block when executing the heating operation. Specifically, for example, the relays 13 are sequentially turned on / off in accordance with the timing shown in FIG. 4 so that the heating operation is sequentially performed from the upper block to the lower block. As a result, a pair of coils 11a and 11b of each block are energized for a period during which the relay 13 is turned on to generate an electromagnetic field,
Only the tableware 8 having the metal film formed on the pedestal on the table 7 receives the electromagnetic field and generates heat by Joule heat, so that the food in the tableware 8 is heated. 3 and 4, only the coils 11a and 11b of the heating source 11 installed on the shelf in the front row are described, and the description of the heating source 11 in the rear row is omitted.

As described above, in the serving car 1 of the present embodiment, when performing the heating operation, the heating sources 11 installed on all the shelves 4 are not simultaneously driven with a small heating power as in the related art, but a plurality of heating sources 11 are used. Is divided into a plurality of blocks, and a large heating power is driven in a time-division manner in units of blocks, so that the same heating performance can be obtained in a certain period of operation, and a shelf to be heated by the controller 14 can be selected. Is also possible. In addition, by adjusting the ratio of the energization time to each block, it is possible to control the strength of the finish to a certain extent, and it is possible to provide a control system capable of controlling at a fine temperature as a whole.

In the meantime, the serving car 1 of this embodiment has a structure in which each door 6 allows the inside of the storage 2 to be seen from the outside, and prevents external leakage of electromagnetic waves during a heating operation.

Specifically, the entire door 6 is formed of a magnetic metal plate, and a required area (see hatching in FIG. 1) is provided with an opening window 6a as shown in FIG. I have. As shown in FIG. 6, a punching plate 6b having a large number of small holes 6c is welded to the opening window 6a.
Alternatively, it is attached by caulking or the like, and a sealing plate 6d made of transparent glass or synthetic resin is stacked on the outside of the punching plate 6b and bonded together with a caulking agent 6e such as silicon to seal it. . Further, a resin sheet 6f for preventing contamination is adhered to the inner surface of the punching plate 6b.

As a base material of the punching plate 6b, for example, a magnetic metal plate such as JIS standard SUS430 is used.
The plate thickness is 0.2 mm, the vertical pitch P1 of the small holes 6c is 0.9 mm, and the pitch P of every other row of the small holes 6c is P.
2 is 1.56 mm, the diameter of the small hole 6c is 0.7 mm, and the aperture ratio of the entire small hole 6c to the entire punching plate 6b is about 5
Each is set to 5%. In the punching plate 6b made of a magnetic metal material, an eddy current flows in the metal main body due to the electromagnetic field generated by the heating source 11, generating Joule heat and generating heat, and electromagnetic waves leak from the small holes 6c to the outside. Never do.

If such a configuration is adopted, the door 6
You can visually check the inside of the storage 2 without opening the
The door 6 does not need to be opened and closed unnecessarily, which is advantageous in keeping the temperature inside the storage 2 constant.

It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to only the above embodiment, and various applications and modifications are conceivable.

(1) In the above embodiment, the two heating sources 11 arranged on the front side and the two heating sources 11 arranged on the rear side in each of the upper and lower stages of the storage 2 are each a block, and Is driven in a time-sharing manner, but all of the heating sources 11 may be driven in a time-sharing manner. In addition, the four heating sources 11 installed in each of the upper and lower seven stages of the storage 2 may be configured as one block to be driven in a time-division manner for each of the upper and lower stages, or may be arranged in four front, rear, left and right columns. The seven heating sources 11 to be installed may be configured as one block and driven in a time-division manner for each of the front, rear, left, and right columns.

(2) In the above embodiment, the punching plate 6b is attached to the door 6, but the door 6 may not be used. Although the punching plate 6b is partially attached to the door 6, the entire door 6 may be configured as a punching plate 6b.

(3) In the above embodiment, the heating source 11
In order to make it possible to adjust the distance between the table and the pedestal of the tableware 8 placed on the dining table 7, lifting devices 20, 30 as shown in FIGS. 7 to 9 can be used. In this case, the heating source 11 is not embedded in the shelf 4 as in the above embodiment, but is embedded in the plate 9 separate from the shelf 4 as shown in the illustrated example. In the elevating device 20 shown in FIG. 7, all the plates 9 in each row of each stage are individually raised and lowered in the vertical direction. On the other hand, in the elevating device 30 shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, the seven plates 9 installed in each of the front, rear, left, and right rows are taken as one block, and the plate is moved up and down in blocks divided into front, rear, left, and right columns. ing. The latter lifting device 30 is configured to include a stepping motor 31, a power transmission mechanism 32 using a ball nut, a gear, and the like, and a lifting operation guide mechanism 33 such as a guide rail. If such an elevating device 20 or 30 is provided, the metal film formed on the pedestal and the heating source 1 are adjusted according to the height of the pedestal provided on the bottom of the tableware 8.
Since the distance between the first and second heaters can be arbitrarily adjusted, the degree of heating can be appropriately adjusted.

[0031]

According to the first and second aspects of the present invention, when performing the heating operation, the heating sources installed on all the shelves are not driven simultaneously as in the conventional case, but a plurality of heating sources are individually or collectively assembled. Since the block is driven in a time-division manner in units of blocks, it is possible to reduce wasteful power consumption and to avoid the occurrence of problems such as moderate heating of food and overheating of food to change the taste. Become like In this way, it is possible to provide a serving truck with a kind design.

According to the third and fourth aspects of the present invention, the inside of the storage can be visually checked without opening the door, and external leakage of electromagnetic waves during the heating operation can be prevented. In this case, the door does not need to be opened and closed unnecessarily, which is advantageous in keeping the temperature inside the storage box constant.

Further, according to the inventions of claims 5 to 7, the distance between the metal film formed on the pedestal and the heating source can be arbitrarily adjusted according to the height of the pedestal provided on the bottom of the tableware. Even if various types of tableware having different pedestal heights are used, the degree of heating for all of them can be adjusted as appropriate, which can contribute to improvement in usability.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view showing a serving truck according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a top view showing the serving truck partially broken away;

FIG. 3 is a circuit diagram showing an electromagnetic induction heating device of a serving car.

FIG. 4 is a timing chart for explaining a heating operation;

FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along line (5)-(5) of FIG.

FIG. 6 is a partially enlarged view showing a punching plate attached to an opening window of a door.

FIG. 7 is a front view showing a plate elevating mechanism in a serving truck according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a serving truck according to still another embodiment of the present invention,
Front view showing plate lifting mechanism

9 is a sectional view taken along line (9)-(9) of FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

 REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 serving car 2 storage 4 shelf 5 electromagnetic induction heating device 6 door 7 table 8 tableware 11 heating source 11a coil 11b coil 13 relay 14 controller

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. A serving truck for storing and transporting a required number of dishes on which a plurality of dishes are placed, comprising: a storage box having a shelf on which a plurality of dishes can be taken in and out, and up and down and left and right; An electromagnetic induction heating device for heating a metal film formed on a tableware pedestal in a placed state, wherein the electromagnetic induction heating device arranges the shelves in each of the table arrangement areas or the shelves of each stage as a set. The heating operation is performed in a time-division manner for each block that has been performed or for each block in which each row is paired,
A serving car characterized by the following. 2. The serving car according to claim 1, wherein the electromagnetic induction heating device includes a plurality of coils installed in a table arrangement area of each shelf, a drive circuit for energizing each coil, and each coil or each stage. Switching means for switching between a coil group installed on a shelf or a coil group installed on a shelf of each row and a drive circuit between a conductive state and a non-conductive state,
A control means for controlling the switching means when performing a heating operation. 3. A serving car for storing and transporting a required number of dishes on which a plurality of dishes are placed, comprising: a storage having a shelf on which a plurality of dishes can be taken in and out, and up and down and left and right; An electromagnetic induction heating device for generating heat from a metal film formed on the pedestal of the tableware in a placed state, wherein a door is attached to the entrance of the dining table in the storage box so as to be openable and closable, A serving truck, wherein the inside of the storage box is made visible from the outside and the outside leakage of electromagnetic waves is prevented during the heating operation. 4. The catering truck according to claim 3, wherein the door is formed of a magnetic metal plate, and a plurality of small holes are provided in a required area thereof. 5. A serving car for storing and transporting a required number of dishes on which a plurality of dishes are placed, comprising: a storage having shelves on which a plurality of dishes can be taken in and out; An electromagnetic induction heating device for generating heat in a metal film formed on the tableware in the mounted state, wherein the electromagnetic induction heating device is installed corresponding to the table arrangement area of each shelf. A catering car comprising a coil, and a displacing means for displacing the coil with respect to each of the shelves. 6. The serving car according to claim 4, wherein the coils are provided for each of the serving areas on each shelf, and the displacement means moves the coils individually up and down. A serving car characterized by: 7. A serving car according to claim 4, wherein said coils are installed in each of the serving areas of each shelf, and said displacement means sets said coils in a set for each row. A serving truck, which is divided into divided blocks and is moved up and down in block units.