초록 ▼

A food temperature maintenance cart transports meals of hot and cold food items prepared at a meal assembly area to a meal serving area where the meals are to be served, while keeping hot foods hot and cold foods cold for extended periods of time. The cart includes a cabinet having tray storage comp

A food temperature maintenance cart transports meals of hot and cold food items prepared at a meal assembly area to a meal serving area where the meals are to be served, while keeping hot foods hot and cold foods cold for extended periods of time. The cart includes a cabinet having tray storage compartments for storing meal serving trays containing refrigerated and heated food items. Thermal barriers subdivide each of the tray storage compartments into a refrigerated compartment for maintaining refrigerated foods in a refrigerated state and a heated compartment for maintaining heated foods in a heated state. A refrigerated air delivery compartment separates adjacent refrigerated compartments and produces laminar flows of refrigerated air across refrigerated food items contained on the trays. A refrigeration blower pulls return air from the lower portion of the refrigerated compartments, up through a refrigeration return plenum containing a refrigeration coil which re-cools the air, and then forces the refrigerated air downwardly through refrigerated air supply plenums and out into the refrigerated compartments in laminar flow across the trays. Each of the heated compartments are heated by a vertically oriented, elongate resistance heating element positioned within a heated air supply plenum. A heater blower pulls return air from the upper portion of the heated compartment and forces the return air downwardly across the elongate heating element which re-heats the air. The heated air is then forced out of the heated air supply plenum into the heated compartment in laminar flow across the trays.

대표청구항 ▼

[ What is claimed is:] [1.] A food temperature maintenance apparatus for maintaining refrigerated food items placed on meal serving trays in a refrigerated state and for maintaining heated food items placed on the meal serving trays in a heated state, the apparatus comprising:a cabinet having a fron

[ What is claimed is:] [1.] A food temperature maintenance apparatus for maintaining refrigerated food items placed on meal serving trays in a refrigerated state and for maintaining heated food items placed on the meal serving trays in a heated state, the apparatus comprising:a cabinet having a front, a back, a top, and a bottom, said cabinet including:a first tray storage compartment for storing meal serving trays containing refrigerated and heated food items;a second tray storage compartment for storing meal serving trays containing refrigerated and heated food items, said second tray storage compartment separated from the first tray storage compartment by a refrigerated air delivery compartment;a first thermal barrier for thermally isolating refrigerated and heated food items on meal serving trays in the first tray storage compartment, said first thermal barrier dividing the first tray storage compartment into a first refrigerated compartment adjacent the refrigerated air delivery compartment for maintaining refrigerated food items on the meal serving trays in a refrigerated state and a first heated compartment for maintaining heated food items on the meal serving trays in a heated state;a second thermal barrier for thermally isolating refrigerated and heated food items on meal serving trays in the second tray storage compartment, said second thermal barrier dividing the second tray storage compartment into a second refrigerated compartment adjacent the refrigerated air delivery compartment for maintaining refrigerated food items on the meal serving trays in a refrigerated state and a second heated compartment for maintaining heated food items on the meal serving trays in a heated state;a first door adjacent the front of the cabinet for accessing the first tray storage compartment; anda second door adjacent the front of the cabinet for accessing the second tray storage compartment;a refrigerator for providing refrigerated air within the refrigerated air delivery compartment;said refrigerated air delivery compartment including:a first refrigeration supply plenum adjacent the first refrigerated compartment and including a plurality of through openings;a second refrigeration supply plenum adjacent the second refrigerated compartment and including a plurality of through openings;a refrigeration return plenum having an inlet adjacent the bottom of the cabinet for receiving air from the first and second refrigerated compartments;a refrigeration coil forming a part of said refrigerator and positioned in said refrigeration return plenum; anda refrigerator blower for producing and circulating refrigerated air through the first and second refrigerated compartments by causing air within the first and second refrigerated compartments to be passed across the refrigeration coil and provided to the first and second refrigeration supply plenums;wherein refrigerated air within the first refrigeration supply plenum is forced out of the plenum through the plurality of through openings and flows substantially laminarly across refrigerated food items on meal serving trays in the first refrigerated compartment, downwardly along a forward air return area between the front of the trays and the first door and a rearward air return area between the back of the trays and the back of the cabinet, and to the refrigeration return plenum inlet where the refrigerated air is cycled back across the refrigeration coil by the blower;wherein refrigerated air within the second refrigeration supply plenum is forced out of the plenum through the plurality of through openings and flows substantially laminarly across refrigerated food items on meal serving trays in the second refrigerated compartment, downwardly along a forward air return area between the front of the trays and the second door and a rearward air return area between the back of the trays and the back of the cabinet, and to the refrigeration return plenum inlet where the refrigerated air is cycled back across the refrigeration coil by the blower; andmeans for heating said first and second heated compartments.