JP2002204720A - Food service cart - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To cool the interior of a food service cart just by putting it in a chillroom. SOLUTION: The food service cart comprises a stowage chamber opened or closed by doors 4 and divided into a plurality of compartments by heating plates 5 having induction heating coils embedded therein. The compartments respectively accommodate special trays 6 for carrying dishes of food. The stowage chamber comprises inside the side walls air passages 12 for providing vertical fluid communication among the compartments and a hollow mid-feather wall 10 for providing fluid communication between a control unit storage portion arranged on the stowage chamber and each compartment. The food service cart is put in the chillroom and a fan provided in the control unit storage portion sucks air from each compartment and discharges it outside while cooling the control unit. As a result, cool air in the chillroom is taken into the stowage chamber through gaps about the doors 4 and flows through each compartment.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a delivery / delivery cart used for delivering and serving meals in hospitals and the like.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art When feeding a hospitalized patient, it is necessary to prepare a meal according to the patient's condition. Therefore, the various dishes cooked at the cooking center are arranged individually on trays, stored in a delivery cart, and delivered to the hospital while cooling. In the hospital, keep it cool in the storage area until meal time, and when it is time,
After transferring the tray from the delivery cart to the serving cart for heating and heating the dishes, the entire cart is transported to the sickroom for serving.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a conventional method of cooling a delivery cart. 7, 20 is a delivery cart, 21 is a cooling unit, and 22 and 23 are ducts. When the delivery cart 20 arrives at the hospital, it is transported to a storage location, and the cooling unit 21 and each delivery cart 20 are connected by ducts 22 and 23. Then, cooling air is supplied from the cooling unit 21 to each of the delivery carts 20 through the ducts 22 and collected through the ducts 23, thereby cooling the inside of the delivery carts 20.

[0004] In the serving cart, when a predetermined time comes, foods on the tray are individually heated by a far-infrared heater by a timer device, and each dish is maintained at a predetermined temperature. In this way, various meals can be provided in a large amount and in a timely manner without any deterioration in taste.

[0005] As a conventional document relating to such a delivery / delivery cart, there is, for example, Japanese Patent No. 2644187 (A47B 31/02).

[0006]

However, in the above-mentioned conventional system, when cooling at the storage location, each delivery cart 20 and the cooling unit 21 are connected to the ducts 22 and 2.
However, there is a problem in that the connection is required by the connection 3 and the time and effort are required, and an extra space for piping the ducts 22 and 23 is required. In addition, it is necessary to transfer the food from a delivery cart to a serving cart in order to heat the dishes, which is also troublesome.

An object of the present invention is to solve such a problem, that is, to be able to cool the inside of a cart without connecting a duct. It is another object of the present invention to be able to heat food without transferring the food to a serving cart.

[0008]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a delivery / delivery cart according to the first aspect, wherein a storage room opened and closed by a door is divided into a plurality of compartments, and tableware containing ingredients is provided. It is stored in each compartment with it placed on a dedicated tray,
A delivery / delivery cart having a heating device capable of heating ingredients while being stored in each compartment at a predetermined time,
It is characterized in that external air is taken in from a gap formed between the door and the peripheral wall of the storage room, passes through each compartment, and is then discharged to the outside. In this case, the cart can be cooled only by putting the cart in the refrigerator compartment. In addition, the food can be heated without being transferred to a serving cart.

Further, the delivery / delivery cart according to claim 2 is characterized in that a ventilation groove is provided inside the side wall to vertically communicate the compartment. In this way, external air can be evenly taken into each compartment.

A delivery / delivery cart according to a third aspect of the present invention includes a control unit storage section for storing a control unit of the heating device in an upper part of a storage room, and the compartments and the control unit storage section are ducted. It is characterized in that a fan is provided in the control unit storage section so as to communicate with the control unit, and the fan performs cooling of the control unit and suction of air from each compartment. In this way, the cooling of the control unit and the suction of air from each compartment can be performed by one fan.

The delivery / delivery cart according to a fourth aspect of the present invention is characterized in that a middle partition that divides the inside of the storage room into two parts is hollow and used as the duct. With this configuration, the flow of the external air in each compartment can be made constant by effectively using the partition.

[0012]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a delivery / delivery cart. In FIG. 1, 1 is a control unit housing, 2 is a control panel, 3 is a hinge,
Is a door, 5 is a heating plate, 6 is a tray, 7 is a caster, and 8 is a handle.

The inside of the delivery / delivery cart has a heating plate 5 in which a plurality of induction heating coils 18 (see FIG. 6) are embedded.
, A plurality of compartments are provided, and each compartment accommodates a tray 6 on which tableware containing ingredients is placed. A control unit 15 (see FIG. 4) for controlling on / off of the induction heating coil 18 is stored in the control unit storage section 1 above the storage room, and the control unit 15 is operated by the control panel 2.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the delivery / delivery cart, and FIG. 3 is a partially enlarged view thereof. The reference numerals correspond to those in FIG. 1, 9 is a side wall, 10 is a middle partition, 11 is a stopper, 12 is a ventilation groove, and 13 is a louver. Hinge 3
Is mounted such that the rotation axis is outside. Therefore, the doors 4 and 4 are double-opened and can be largely rotated to a position where they come into contact with the side wall 9 so that the tray 6 can be easily taken in and out. The doors 4 and 4 are provided on the front and rear surfaces of the cart so that the tray 6 can be taken in and out from the front and rear.

Further, the storage room is divided into two sides by a middle partition 10, and a stopper 11 is provided so as to protrude from a central upper surface of the heating plate 5 in the front-rear direction.
Four trays 6 are stored in the tier. The position of each tray 6 in the front-rear direction is determined by the stopper 11 and the door 4, and the position in the left-right direction is determined by the side wall 9 and the partition 10.
8 is always placed at a fixed position.

Various dishes cooked at the cooking center are individually arranged in trays, stored in a delivery / delivery cart, loaded in a refrigerator car, cooled and delivered to a hospital.
At the hospital, the food is stored in a refrigerator room until meal time, where it is stored while being cooled, and at the time, the induction heating coil 18 is turned on to heat the food. After heating is completed, the entire cart is transported to the sickroom and served.

In the delivery / delivery cart of the present invention,
In the refrigerator car and the refrigerator compartment, the foodstuffs in the refrigerator and the refrigerator compartment are cooled by directly taking in the cold air of the refrigerator or the refrigerator compartment into the delivery / delivery cart. For this reason, the door 4 is brought into contact with the peripheral wall of the storage room without interposing a packing, so that air can flow into the storage room from outside even when the door 4 is closed. In addition, a ventilation groove 12 is provided inside the side wall 9 to vertically communicate the compartments, and furthermore, the partition 10 is made hollow to communicate with the control unit storage unit 1 and a louver 13 is provided on the wall of the partition 10, Each compartment communicates with the control unit storage unit 1.

FIG. 4 shows the control unit storage section 1.
As shown in FIG. 1, a fan 14 is provided to cool the control unit 15 of the induction heating coil 18 and at the same time, to suck air in each compartment through the inside of the partition 10 and exhaust it to the outside through the exhaust port 16. Let it. As a result, as shown by an arrow in FIG. 4, cold air from a refrigerator car or a refrigerator compartment is sucked from a gap around the door 4 and passes through each compartment where a tray on which dishes are placed is placed. After entering the partition 10, it is sucked into the control unit storage section 1 and discharged from the exhaust port 16 into a refrigerator car or a refrigerator compartment.

The four control units 15 are provided in the control unit storage unit 1 corresponding to the four rows of compartments provided in the storage room in the up-down direction. Four fans 14 are also provided. The two fans 14 are provided outwardly at right and left sides. However, the present invention is not necessarily limited to this.
Each unit or one unit may be used.

FIG. 5 is a top side view of the delivery / delivery cart. The air outlets 16 are provided on both left and right side surfaces of the cart in correspondence with the fans 14 which are provided on the left and right two outwardly. Further, on one side surface, a power receiving port 17 for connecting a cable for supplying power to the fan 14, the induction heating coil 18 and the control unit 15 thereof is provided.

[0021]

Since the present invention is configured as described above, it has the following effects. That is, the delivery / delivery cart according to claim 1 can store the tableware containing the ingredients in each compartment with the dishes placed on a dedicated tray, and can heat the ingredients while being stored in each compartment at a predetermined time. In a delivery / delivery cart having a simple heating device, external air is taken in from the gap around the door, passed through each compartment, and then discharged to the outside. as a result,
The inside can be cooled without connecting a duct. Also,
Food can be heated without transferring to a serving cart.

In the delivery / delivery cart according to the second aspect of the present invention, a ventilation groove is provided inside the side wall to vertically communicate the compartments, so that external air can be uniformly taken into each compartment.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the delivery / delivery cart, the upper control unit storage section and each of the compartments communicate with each other by a duct, and a fan is provided in the control unit storage section. Since cooling and suction of air from each compartment are performed, cooling of the control unit and suction of air from each compartment can be performed by one fan.

In the delivery / delivery cart according to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the compartments that divide the compartment into two sides are hollow and used as ducts. , The flow of the external air can be made constant.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a view showing a delivery / delivery cart.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a delivery / delivery cart.

FIG. 3 is a partially enlarged view of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a partial longitudinal sectional view of a delivery / delivery cart.

FIG. 5 is an upper side view of the delivery / delivery cart.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of the delivery / delivery cart with the tray removed.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a conventional delivery cart cooling method.

[Description of Signs] 1 ... Control unit storage section 2 ... Control panel 3 ... Hinge 4 ... Door 5 ... Heat plate 6 ... Tray 9 ... Side wall 10 ... Interior partition 11 ... Stopper 12 ... Ventilation groove 13 ... Louver 14 ... Fan 15 ... Control unit 16 ... Exhaust port 17 ... Power receiving port 18 ... Induction heating coil

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A compartment opened and closed by a door is divided into a plurality of compartments, and tableware containing ingredients is stored in each compartment while being placed on a dedicated tray. A delivery / delivery cart having a heating device capable of heating foodstuffs in a storage state, wherein external air is taken in from a gap formed between the door and a peripheral wall of a storage room, passes through each compartment, and is then discharged to the outside. A delivery / delivery cart that is characterized by being made to work. 2. The delivery / delivery cart according to claim 1, further comprising a ventilation groove inside the side wall to vertically communicate the compartment. 3. A control unit storage section for storing a control unit of the heating device in an upper part of a storage room, the compartments and the control unit storage section are communicated with each other by a duct, and a fan is provided in the control unit storage section. The delivery / delivery cart according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the fan cools the control unit and sucks air from each compartment. 4. A hollow partition wall which divides the inside of a storage room into two sides and used as the duct.
Delivery / delivery cart described.