WO1998007331A1

WO1998007331A1 - Food warming cabinet

Info

Publication number: WO1998007331A1
Application number: PCT/US1997/012003
Authority: WO
Inventors: Robert J. Wenzel
Original assignee: Cleveland Range, Inc.
Priority date: 1996-08-21
Filing date: 1997-07-10
Publication date: 1998-02-26
Also published as: AU3881397A

Abstract

A food warming cabinet that includes a housing (10) having an inner compartment (12), a plurality of drawers (14) movably disposed within the compartment, each drawer having a front door, a rear wall, and a pair of side walls disposed between the front door and the rear wall, a first heater (34) for heating air within the compartment, a fan system (36, 37) for circulating heated air within the compartment, and a humidifier (20, 38) for humidifying air within the compartment.

Description

FOOD WARMING CABINET

The present invention relates to a cabinet for keeping cooked food items warm. In particular, it relates to a multi-drawer food warming cabinet capable of keeping cooked food items, either on rotisserie spits or in trays, warm and moist.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Restaurants have long sought a way to keep cooked food warm and fresh for short periods of time after cooking is complete. Because some foods cook faster than others, there is a need to store cooked food until all items ordered are prepared. This problem is of even greater significance for restaurants specializing in take-out foods or for those restaurants emphasizing fast service. Consumers expect food to be ready when they order it, whereas the restaurants must provide for varying order levels. For example, orders may be rapid and numerous during lunch, but slow at 4 p.m.

Thus, such restaurants have sought a way to store cooked food items in a ready-to-serve condition. Food can be placed in an oven at low heat, but this tends to overcook and dry out the food. Heat lamps are a familiar method for keeping foods warm, but these lamps have an undesirable appearance and also allow the food to dry out and harden. U.S. Patent No. 3,999,475 to Roderick discloses a display apparatus case for cooked food. It has a single door giving access to the displayed food items. Each time a food item is to be removed, then, the door would be opened, releasing a considerable amount of heat and moisture. A rotating rack is mounted in the display case. It is comprised of V-shaped pan supporting shelves and is awkward to load and unload. Trays must be properly balanced on the V- shaped supports.

The present inventor discloses a food warming cabinet that overcomes the limitations of the prior art. In particular, the present invention is directed to a unique food holding cabinet which is capable of holding food, e.g., roasted poultry, on rotisserie spits while the food remains on the spit or is removed from the spit and placed on a food tray There are four primary features of the present invention which distinguish it over what is known in the art (1) a plurality of independent draws in a single heating chamber allowing easy access to the food products, that also keep heat loss to a minimum since only one draw is opened at a time, (2) draws are capable of holding food disposed on a rotisserie spit, (3) a sihcone heater disposed outside of the heating chamber is used to heat the water contained inside the chamber, thereby preventing burn out even if water is not contained in the water pan; and (4) soft convection is supplied to the heating chamber by a fan motor and air baffles disposed about the sides of the heating chamber

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A food warming cabinet is disclosed that includes a housing having an inner compartment, a plurality of drawers movably disposed within the compartment, each drawer having a front door, a rear wall, and a pair of side walls disposed between the front door and the rear wall, a first heater for heating air within the compartment, a fan system for circulating heated air within the compartment, and a humidifier for humidifying air within the compartment.

The cabinet can also include a pan support disposed about the bottom of each side wall, capable of having a pan seated thereon At least one of the drawers can further include oppositely disposed notches in the side walls for holding spits containing food thereon.

The humidifier can include water disposed in a container disposed below the drawers but within the inner compartment The humidifier is heated by a second heater independent from the first heater. The second heater can be located externally to the inner compartment thereby preventing burn out when water is absent from the humidifier, and can be a sihcone heater The fan system can include a soft convection system further including a fan and at least one air baffle disposed about a top inner surface of the cabinet. The cabinet can further include a temperature control and display panel.

A rotisserie oven assembly is disclosed that includes a rotisserie oven containing a first drain conduit, and a food warming cabinet having a housing with an inner compartment, a plurality of drawers movably disposed within the compartment, each drawer having a front door, a rear wall, and a pair of side walls disposed between the front door and the rear wall, a first heater for heating air within the compartment, a fan system for circulating heated air within the compartment, a humidifier for humidifying air within the compartment, and a second drain conduit, wherein the first drain conduit and the second drain conduit are in fluid communication with one another.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a front view of a preferred embodiment warming cabinet of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a cutaway cross-section side view of the cabinet of FIG. 1 along the lines 2-2' viewed in the direction of the arrows; and

FIG. 3 is a front view of a rotisserie oven which can be mounted on top of the warming cabinet of FIG. 1.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

A preferred embodiment food warming cabinet of the present invention is depicted in FIGS. 1 and 2. The food warming cabinet consists of a stainless steel housing 10 having five substantially enclosed surfaces and a sixth, front panel. Within housing 10 is an enclosed heating chamber 12. Three drawers 14 are slidably mounted within housing 10 and heating chamber 12 via the front panel. Each drawer 14 has a handle, or draw 16. Handles 16 are formed as lips extending downward from the upper edge of the drawer and along its length. This provides a sturdy handle, and allows the operator to open the drawers easily, using hands or rotisserie tools. The multi-drawer construction helps conserve heat inside heating chamber 12. When food is accessed, only one drawer is opened, leaving the heating chamber 12 open only partially to ambient temperatures. Drawer 20 is a shallow water pan. Control panel 50 on the front face of housing 10 includes an on-off switch as well as displays showing actual and set temperatures of heating chamber 12.

As seen in FIG. 2, drawers 14 include a lower rim 22 for supporting food trays 24. In this embodiment, the trays are standard sized bun trays (18" x 26"). Drawers 14 also include a raised edge 26 around rim 22. Pairs of notches 28 are formed in opposing sides of raised edge 26 to accept rotisserie spits 30 and hold cooked chickens or other food items still on spits 30. Such items are suspended within heating chamber 12 over food trays 24, which can double as drip trays. Trays 24 can also be removed to allow air and moisture to circulate more freely within heating chamber 12. Trays 24, when in place, can also accept other food items such as whole chickens, chicken parts, ham, turkey, meatloaf, ribs and bread products. Different drawers can, of course, have different configurations. This design allows great flexibility in storing cooked food products, or food products to be warmed. Trays 24 also act to stratify heat within each respective drawer 14, thereby minimizing energy loss when any other drawer 14 is opened to add or remove food. Drawer 20 also includes drain 32 for releasing water and drippings.

A Cal-Rod heater 34 is mounted at the rear of heating chamber 12 to heat the enclosed air and maintain the food stored therein at a proper temperature. Fan 36 is also mounted at the rear of heating chamber 12 to properly disperse and circulate the heated air. The attached fan motor 37 extends into the space between inner heating chamber 12 and outer housing 10. Air baffles 46 are located at the sides of heating chamber 12 as an auxiliary to the soft convection system that includes heater 34 and fan 36. The soft convection system is capable of maintaining the air inside heating chamber 12 at a very constant temperature. In addition, silicone heater 38 is mounted below water pan 20 but outside heating chamber 12 and is operated independently of heater 34 This arrangement allows heater 38 to adequately heat water pan 20 to generate moisture, but also prevents burn out should water vaporize completely or if water is not added to water pan 20 Silicone heater 38 generates approximately 1 watt per square inch of its surface area The heaters and fan are run by a 120V electrical system as is known in the art

In a further preferred embodiment, as shown in FIG 3, the cabinet can serve as a base for a conventional rotisserie oven 40 Housing 10 also includes drain valve 42 which is able to link to drain valve 44 on rotisserie oven 40 Drain hose access 48 is located behind a panel on the lower front face of housing 10, and provides access to the hose draining grease and other waste from heating chamber 12 and rotisserie oven 40 Housing 10 may also be mounted on swiveling wheels 52 to allow the warming cabinet to be moved easily

Claims

What is claimed is:

1 A food warming cabinet comprising:

(a) a housing comprising an inner compartment;

(b) a plurality of drawers movably disposed within said compartment, each drawer comprising a front door, a rear wall, and a pair of side walls disposed between said front door and said rear wall;

(c) a first heating means for heating air within said compartment;

(d) means for circulating heated air within said compartment; and

(e) means for humidifying air within said compartment.

2. The cabinet of claim 1, further comprising a pan-supporting means disposed about the bottom of each side wall, said pan-supporting means capable of having a pan seated thereon.

3 The cabinet of claim 1, wherein at least one of said drawers further comprises oppositely disposed notches in said side walls for holding spits containing food thereon

4. The cabinet of claim 1, wherein said means for humidifying comprises water disposed in a container.

5. The cabinet of claim 4, wherein said container is disposed below said drawers but within said inner compartment.

6 The cabinet of claim 1, further comprising a temperature control and display means

7 The cabinet of claim 1, wherein said means for humidifying is heated by a second heating means independent from said first heating means

8 The cabinet of claim 7, wherein said second heating means is disposed externally to said inner compartment, thereby preventing burn out when water is absent from said humidifying means.

9. The cabinet of claim 1, wherein said second heating means is a silicone heater

10. The cabinet of claim 1, wherein said means for circulating heated air within said cabinet comprises a soft convection means comprising a fan and at least one air baffle disposed about a top inner surface of said cabinet.

1 1 A rotisserie oven assembly which comprises

(a) a rotisserie oven containing a first drain conduit; and

(b) a food warming cabinet comprising: (i) a housing comprising an inner compartment;

(ii) a plurality of drawers movably disposed within said compartment, each drawer comprising a front door, a rear wall, and a pair of side walls disposed between said front door and said rear wall;

(iii) a first heating means for heating air within said compartment,

(iv) means for circulating heated air within said compartment,

(v) means for humidifying air within said compartment, and (vi) a second drain conduit; wherein said first drain conduit and said second drain conduit are in fluid communication with one another.