FOOD WARMING DEVICE
THIS INVENTION relates to a food warming device.
According to an aspect of the invention there is provided a food warming device which comprises a slab of natural stone having upper and under-sides, and a wire or cable like heating element which is recessed in a groove in the underside.
The natural stone may be granite or marble.
The configuration of the heating element may be such that the amount of heat per volume of the slab transferred in use from the heating element to the slab, is greater at the periphery of the slab than it is at the centre of the slab. Thus, the heating element may extend along a series of spaced grooves in the underside, the spacing between adjacent grooves being smaller in a peripheral region of the slab than it is at a central region of the slab.
According to another aspect of the invention there is provided a food warming device which includes: a two-part slab of natural stone, comprising a central part and a peripheral part disposed peripherally of the central part; and a heating element disposed for heating the central part; an expansion gap being defined between the central part and the peripheral part, to allow for differential thermal expansion and contraction of the central part in relation to the peripheral part.
The expansion gap may at least partly be filled with a resiliently deformable sealant.
The device may further include a mobile support structure attached to the underside. The support structure may be a trolley mounted on castors.
The invention will now be described in more detail, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings.
In the drawings:
Figure 1 is a top plan view of a food warming device in accordance with the invention;
Figure 2 is a detail section on ll-ll in Figure 1;
Figure 3 is an underneath view of a central part of the food warming device;
Figure 4 is a detail section on IV-IV in Figure 3; and
Figure 5 is a three-dimensional view of the food warming device of Figure 1 mounted on a trolley.
Referring now to the drawings in more detail, reference numeral 10 generally indicates a food warming device which comprises a two-part slab preferably of granite, the slab having a central part 12 and a peripheral part 14 which extends peripherally of the central part. The central part 12 is provided with a heating element 16, and there is an expansion gap 18 between the central part 12 and the peripheral part 14, to allow for thermal expansion and contraction of the central part 12 with respect to the peripheral part 14.
Although the central part 12 is shown in the drawings to be rectangular, it is to be understood that it can have any desired shape. For example, it may be round or oval.
The parts 12 and 14 may be of the same granite material. Alternatively, if desired, the parts 12 and 14 may be of different granite materials, to give a
decorative effect, or may be marble.
The central part 12 is supported on a number of stainless steel plates 20 which are secured to the underside of the peripheral part 14. The stainless steel plates 20 are secured to the peripheral part 14 adhesively, by means of a suitable epoxy adhesive. In addition, they are secured by means of threaded stainless steel studs 22 and nuts 24. The studs 22 are set into the underside of the peripheral part 14 by having their upper ends inserted into holes drilled in the underside of the peripheral part 14, the holes being filled with an epoxy - resin 26. The protruding ends of the studs pass through openings in the plate 20, and have the nuts 24 tightened thereon.
At least an upper part of the gap 18 is filled with a polyurethane or silicone sealant 28, this being of a resiliently deformable nature, allowing for expansion and contraction of the central part 12 of the slab with respect to the peripheral part 14.
The heating element 16 is preferably a heating cable of the type that is available from Hemstedt in Germany, as type: HEM - GS1S1 4.8; manufacturing type: NH 2GM2G - 150. It is recessed into the underside of the central part 12, by being laid into grooves 30 that are cut into the underside of the central part 12 by means of a circular cutting blade. After the heating element 16 has been placed in position, the grooves 30 are filled with a suitable epoxy resin 32, the heating element 16 thus becoming embedded in the epoxy resin 32. To minimize heat loss on the underside of the central part 12, a sheet of heat insulating material (e.g. "Isoplan 750", 3 mm thickness - not shown in the drawings) is bonded to the underside.
In use, the heating element 16 is connected to a centrals power supply via a control device (not shown) whereby the temperature of the warming device 10
can be adjusted. The warming device 10 is provided with a pair of temperature sensors (not shown), which serve as thermo-switches to prevent the temperature of the central part 12 from exceeding 85DC.
In a typical example, the slab will have a thickness of about 30 mm. A gap 18 which has a width of between 2 and 5 mm has been found to be satisfactory.
The grooves 30 have a width of about 10 mm, and a depth of about 14 mm.
The spacing between adjacent grooves 30 at the periphery of the central part 12 is smaller than that between the grooves that are closer to the centre of the central part 12. Thus, in the example illustrated, the spacing between the first and second groove (counting from the outside inwardly) at each end of the central part 12 is in the order of 30 mm (centre to centre), whereas the spacing between adjacent pairs of the recentraling grooves at that end is in the order of 45 mm (centre to centre). On each side of the central part 12, the spacing between the first and second 'groove 30 and between the second and third groove (counting from the outside inwardly) is 30 mm, whereas the spacing between adjacent pairs of the recentraling grooves on that side is in the order of 45 mm (centre to centre). The effect of this arrangement is that more heat per volume of the slab is transferred from the heating element 16 to the slab at the periphery of the slab than it is at the centre of the slab. It has been found that this particular arrangement of the heating element allows the slab to be heated to a sufficiently high temperature for use as a food warmer, without the granite material cracking.
Referring to Figure 5 of the drawings, the slab is mounted on a mobile support structure in the form of a trolley 34, being attached to the underside of the slab. The trolley 34 is mounted on castors 36.
The invention illustrate holds the advantages of providing a food warming device 10 which allows food to be kept warm, while being aesthetically pleasing, and avoiding unsafe conditions by providing for differential thermal expansion between the central part 12 and the peripheral part 14, thereby to avoid cracking, and by preventing leakage of fluids through the expansion gap 18 onto the heating element 16 and mains power supply, which are electrically powered. The embodiment of the device shown in Figure 5 of the drawings can be conveniently moved to a desired location, such as a storage location or a serving location.