Classifications

• • G—PHYSICS
  • G07—CHECKING-DEVICES
  • G07F—COIN-FREED OR LIKE APPARATUS
  • G07F9/00—Details other than those peculiar to special kinds or types of apparatus
  • G07F9/10—Casings or parts thereof, e.g. with means for heating or cooling
  • G07F9/105—Heating or cooling means, for temperature and humidity control, for the conditioning of articles and their storage
• • G—PHYSICS
  • G07—CHECKING-DEVICES
  • G07F—COIN-FREED OR LIKE APPARATUS
  • G07F17/00—Coin-freed apparatus for hiring articles; Coin-freed facilities or services
  • G07F17/0064—Coin-freed apparatus for hiring articles; Coin-freed facilities or services for processing of food articles
  • G07F17/0078—Food articles which need to be processed for dispensing in a hot or cooked condition, e.g. popcorn, nuts
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H05—ELECTRIC TECHNIQUES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
  • H05B—ELECTRIC HEATING; ELECTRIC LIGHT SOURCES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; CIRCUIT ARRANGEMENTS FOR ELECTRIC LIGHT SOURCES, IN GENERAL
  • H05B6/00—Heating by electric, magnetic or electromagnetic fields
  • H05B6/64—Heating using microwaves
  • H05B6/80—Apparatus for specific applications
  • H05B6/808—Microwave heating adapted for vending machines

Definitions

• the present embodiment regards a fast food warmer module to be attached to the bottom or base of a known type of equipment for distribution of only fast food fresh or preserved in situ, by replacing the part on the provision of conventional fast food, so as to convert the said known equipment in an automated equipment for the combined distribution of hot fast food.
• fast food an expression which translates literally as "quick food” will indicate a category of food quick to prepare and consume, consisting of a kitchen that is mainly made up of sandwiches, cakes, dumplings, croissants, hot dogs, sandwiches, pizzas, but also derived from other foods and bakery products generally classified as fast bakery filled or not.
• more common dispensers for example there are those who provide the administration of fast food as it is, how it can be a roll or a sandwich at room temperature or slightly cold, stored in a refrigerated way mostly in modified atmosphere in its packaging, for example such as a wrap.
• the goodness of the fast food does not depend only on the intrinsic quality of ingredients, how could it be the bread, and sliced vegetables in it, but also on the fragrance of the main food. Touch and smell, are changing, you know, and there is nothing better for your palate to enjoy a sandwich or other fast food, snack or junk food, warm rather than cold, especially in those cases where, usually, we're passing by being able to allow for only brief and impromptu stops. In other words, it is reasonably more valued and most certainly of improvement the service that includes the ability to deliver hot fast food . [0003] In places frequented by large numbers of visitors, such as railway stations, airports, businesses, using the conventional vending machines are nowadays dispensed products that for most are hot drinks and cold drinks.
• a typical vending machine can briefly include, a storage area of products stored at low temperature, selective means of collecting the products stored at low temperature to be placed inside of a microwave oven, and finally at the end of the cooking process, means of delivery of the hot meal.
• the microwave oven substantially composed of a cooking chamber, inside of which are launched in a guided way microwaves through the means of a source such as a magnetron.
• a turntable which is usually located in a central position with respect to the base of the cooking chamber, has finally the purpose of allowing support, above the facade facing upward, of a container which contains the food or packaging of food to be given.
• D1 is a frozen food vending machine with an adjacent module microwave, which is connected to said vending machine.
• the microwave module is to be adjacent to the equipment than food distribution in the form D10 microwave oven is positioned at the top of the equipment combined, or superimposed above the refrigeration compartment / conservation and distribution of food.
• Both D1 D10 require the user to pick selected food and its introduction into the kiln to be heated.
• D2 suggests a distributor of hot food. It includes a payment device, a cooling compartment, a device to the delivery of one or more frozen food and microwave ovens.
• Those microwave ovens include a device driver whose operation is regulated on the basis of reading a barcode located on the packaging of food purchased
• D3 describes a vending machine sandwich-type baguette or French bread, and chilled in sealed packaging distributor.
• the device shall transfer the sandwich to a refrigerated compartment oven to heat food and toast bread. The user picks a snack but can not access the oven.
• 04 describes a device for distribution to the payment of food preserved in a frozen condition and capable of being served hot in situ.
• This equipment consists of a container fitted with a door, inside which is a unit of storage provided with doors and support elements connected to the compressor unit and an engine.
• the storage unit is equipped trucks supported by guides fixed on a plurality of hooks agents such as electric heaters.
• At the bottom is a hopper connected to the upper entrance of a furnace equipped with upper doors and a front door.
• the storage unit contains products packaged in plastic
• [001 1 ] D5 is a vending machine that includes a refrigerated compartment mounted on a microwave oven containing a carrier. The food containers issued through the openings on the bottom of the refrigerated compartment fall vertically in the oven for side discharge by the carrier once the heating is completed.
• [001 2] D6 is a device for distributing edible foods such as popcorn, comprising a compartment for storage of edible products in packets, means rotating the warehouse for the submission of a compartment of choice to the rear of a microwave oven, means of conveying the package through the lower flap of the oven, automatic heating of the oven for a predetermined time and temperature, after which the bottom of the oven opens being hinged to the fall of the pack
• a second drawback is that, because of the polygonal section of the interior of the cooking chamber of the known solutions, you can not make a proper disinfection of surfaces. In principle, the presence of corners in articles intended for food, is an excellent repository of bacteria, just as difficult to access remote areas, preventing proper cleaning. This seems more necessary than that regulated by specific laws, in the case of automatic equipment for the administration of food, such as the case described, which are usually structured to operate large amounts of food for long periods and often in special environmental conditions . [0017] It is also known that the best solution for extremely even heating of foods in microwave ovens is the rotation of the support plate therein during the action of microwaves.
• a fast food heater module coupled with an automated equipment of sales and distribution of fast food fresh or preserved and to an automated equipment of sales and distribution of hot fast food
• the said module fast food heater consists of a structure designed to contain at least one module with at least two microwave magnetron and a sensor capable of detecting power generated by the magnetron inside its cavity, where the cavity of the microwave module that has a circular conformation is in communication with the storage compartment above the fast food fresh or preserved, automatic equipment of sales and distribution of fast food fresh or preserved through a conveyor and the top opening the cavity, through which falls vertically under gravity selected fast food to be heated, and where at the bottom of the cooking chamber there is a means of evacuation of the heated fast food at the end of the heating phase to be subsequently delivered through a supply drawer present in the fast food heater module.
• a first aim of this embodiment was to implement the original function of a conventional automated fast food sales and distribution apparatus, already existing, with the additional function of heating the said fast food fresh or preserved to give the food such as sandwiches, greater fragrance making bread more crispy and appealing without having to design a new vending machine and heating.
• a second aim consists in optimising the overall size of the microwave module, so that it can be easily coupled into the bottom of the automatic vending machine of sales and distribution of fast food fresh or preserved, in place of the original lower portion regarding the sole function of dispensing the fast food. Additionally it was decided to form a cylindrical cavity optimising the available area of fast food to be heated, and so as to avoid creating angles that can snag points for the material contained therein which rotates during the heating.
• a third aim was to make a more uniform the heating of food in a microwave oven equipped with a device capable of determining the rotation of the same during the action of microwaves.
• a microwave oven equipped with a device capable of determining the rotation of the same during the action of microwaves.
• both the "magnetron” were applied in recessed position or radio “gray areas", so to create a zone of mutual impedance load to the cavity they share.
• Another aim was to give greater reliability to the microwave oven module. More specifically, the prediction of at least one sensor capable of detecting power generated by the magnetron inside the cooking chamber, which communicates with the logical unit that controls the oven to adjust the heating time of the recipe, it allows always to have an optimum heating of the food, as well as facilitating the intervention of the maintainer.
• Drawing content Figure 1 is a view of one of the first solution with automated combined sales and distribution of fast food hot;
• Figure 2 is a view of an early solution of the cooking chamber and its hopper, the fast food heater module, where the bottom of the cooking chamber is hinged;
• Figure 3 is a view of a second solution of the cooking chamber and of the hopper, the fast food heater module, where the bottom of the cooking chamber is opened by shifting the same;
• Figure 4 is a sectional view of the bottom of the combined automatic machine of sales and distribution of hot fast food with the cooking chamber provided with open able top;
• Figure 5 is a plan view of a further evacuation device of fast food heated
• Figure 6 is a detailed view of the rotating bottom of the cooking chamber
• FIG. 7 and Figure 8 represent sequential operational views of the cooking chamber with hinged bottom opening as shown in Figure 2;
• Figure 9 is a detailed view of the hinged area of the bottom of the oven shown in Figure 8.
• An automated equipment combining sales and distribution of hot fast food (10), consists of two separate units coupled with each other and likely to talk to each other through a common logic unit, respectively an automated equipment for sales and distribution of fast food fresh or stored (1 00) for the top part, and a bottom part represented by the fast food heater module (200) (Fig. 1 ).
• the said automated apparatus for sales and distribution of fast food fresh or preserved (100) for example chilled, frozen or frozen and held in modified atmosphere wrappers capable of being heated by microwave is made in one case, of a machine body ( 101 ) comprising a selection system and payment for the supply of fast food or snack, usually a spiral or augers, a refrigerating or cooler group that exposes the products of the storage and distribution section (104) through the means of a refrigerated window(102), and in the lower part of the machine body ( 101 ) an original system of supply and withdrawal of fast food through a manual dispensing tray (103) (Fig. 1 ).
• a machine body ( 101 ) comprising a selection system and payment for the supply of fast food or snack, usually a spiral or augers, a refrigerating or cooler group that exposes the products of the storage and distribution section (104) through the means of a refrigerated window(102), and in the lower part of the machine body ( 101 ) an original system of supply and withdrawal of fast food through a manual dispens
• the fast food heater module (200) contains at least one module inside a microwave oven (210, 220, 230) (Figs. 2, 3 and 5) which has a cooking chamber (300) of cylindrical form that presents a circular wall (301 ) vertical a base (302) orthogonal to the circular wall (301 ), and upper entrance (303).
• the fast food heater module (200) is of the type fitted with an extractor steam / smoke device from the cooking chamber (300) and incorporates two magnetron (400, 401 ), which can be applied adjacent to the cavity of the cylindrical cooking chamber (300) provided in different positions so that they can not directly "see” one another to avoid wavelengths conflicts with each other.
• both the magnetron (400, 401 ), were applied in recessed position or radio "gray areas" in order to create a zone of mutual impedance load to the cavity they share.
• a conveyor (500) that in this case consists of a hopper cone, so that with its embossed portion of the wall (501 ) enters the lower part of the automatic equipment for sales and distribution of fast food fresh or preserved (100) going to partially take the place of the original mechanicals of the fast food dispensing tray that has been removed.
• the cooking chamber (300), in correspondence of the entrance (303) to the base of the conveyor (500) is sealed by a top opening (310) comprising a door which separates the cavity of the cooking chamber (300) from the above compartment storage of the fast food (104) of the refrigerated display (102).
• the top opening (310) comprises a door with a thermal barrier function of closure (Fig. 4), and one or more sections in which case a guillotine, each which translates horizontally back and forth, each time the fast food, contained in the automatic equipment for sales and distribution of fast food fresh or preserved (100), is released to fall towards the bottom, falling by gravity into the conveyor (500) module fast food heater module (200).
• the top opening (310) of the cooking chamber (300) In a condition of release of fast food, the top opening (310) of the cooking chamber (300), is in a open state, so that the fast food falls, crossing the entrance (303), to position inside the cooking chamber (300), rotating at the bottom (320, 330, 340) present at the base (302) of the cooking chamber (300). Some time after the release of fast food or by detecting the food presence by means of a suitable sensor, inside the cooking chamber (300), the top opening (31 0) translates back into a closed condition thermally separating the above compartment storage of the fast food ( 104) from the underlying cooking chamber (300).
• the cooking chamber (300) in a microwave module (210) presents the rotating bottom (320) hinged flap (321 ) along the base (302) of the cooking chamber, so that at the end of the heating phase of the fast food, the logical drive automatic equipment combined of sales and distribution of hot fast food (10), gives the consent to the opening of the rotating bottom (320) that opening down, and dragging with it the motor (322) that moves the rotating bottom (320), so let fall into the dispensing drawer below (600) (Fig. 1 ), the fast food at recipe temperature.
• the said rotating bottom (320) closes.
• the revolving bottom (330) takes only a translation movement to and from in the horizontal plane, so that at the end of heating phase of fast food, the logical drive automatic equipment of combined sales and distribution of hot fast food (10), gives the consent to the rotating bottom opening (330), which traversed, so to let fall down into the dispensing tray below (600) (Fig. 1 ), the fast food at recipe temperature to then return to the closing conditions.
• Figure 5 is represented a cooking chamber (300) which suggests a different solution to evacuate the fast food heated by the cooking chamber (300).
• a device pusher / ejector (341 ) which operates above the rotating bottom (340), so as to eject sideways from the cooking chamber (300), at the end of reheating, fast food, then close again in a state of waiting.
• microwave module (210, 220, 230), is of a type which has at least one sensor capable of detecting power generated by the magnetron (400, 401 ) inside the cooking chamber (300 ). That sensor is in communication with the logic drive control of the combined automatic equipment for sales and distribution of hot fast food (10), so as to detect power variations caused by the poor or nonfunctioning of one of these magnetron (400, 401 ). Where is detected by the sensor a decrease of power below a certain threshold, the logic drive control of the combined automatic equipment for sales and distribution of hot fast food (10), shall automatically adjust the fast food heating time to the extent necessary to comply with the parameters originally set recipe.
• the automated combined sales and distribution of hot fast food (10) is loaded with fresh fast food products either chilled, frozen or frozen and held in modified atmosphere wrappers capable of being heated by microwave.
• the fast food is asked to fall vertically by gravity toward the bottom part of the combined automatic sales and distribution of hot fast food (10), to be guided through the conveyor (500) inside the cooking chamber (300), which occurs in a state of top opening (310) open.
• the top opening (310) closes, isolating thermally the cooking chamber (300) from the sector of distribution and storage (104 ), and simultaneously initiating the heating phase of fast food.
• the cycle ends, through evacuation of fast food processed by the rotating bottom (320, 330, 340) of the cooking chamber (300) with a vertical drop of or through a slide in an enabled delivery drawer (600).
• a variant of the automatically combined equipment for sales and distribution of hot fast food ( 10), may provide that the fast food heater module (200) is equipped with an internal scanner for the acquisition by the control logic unit of combined automated sales and distribution of hot fast food (10), information about the selected fast food, in which wrapping is given a code matrix in which data are encoded most of the information relating to food and administered such as for example: type of bread, if sliced baguette, or other whole-meal and composition such for example as: cheese, cold cuts, salad, etc., date and place of packaging, expiry date, "recipe” understood as a way of heating food that it considers a treatment cycle with indication of time and temperature.
• the fast food heater module (200) is equipped with an internal scanner for the acquisition by the control logic unit of combined automated sales and distribution of hot fast food (10), information about the selected fast food, in which wrapping is given a code matrix in which data are encoded most of the information relating to food and administered such as for example: type of bread, if sliced baguette, or other whole-me
• machine body fast food warming module (200) (210, 220, 230) microwave oven module

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• Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
• General Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
• Electromagnetism (AREA)
• Life Sciences & Earth Sciences (AREA)
• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Food Science & Technology (AREA)
• Vending Machines For Individual Products (AREA)
• Constitution Of High-Frequency Heating (AREA)

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Publications (1)

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Citations (14)

• 2009
  • 2009-04-29 IT ITTV2009A000084A patent/IT1394012B1/it active
• 2010
  • 2010-04-29 WO PCT/IB2010/001035 patent/WO2010125465A1/en active Application Filing

Patent Citations (14)

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