Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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DEVICE FOR KEEPING WA~I OR
COOLING FOODS OR BEVERAGES
The invention relates -to a device for keeping
warm or cooling foods and/or beverages, with a container
for holding the food or beverage, e.g. a plate or a cup,
and with a hody releasably connected to the container in
contact therewith, this body consisting at least in part
of a material having heat storage capability wherein the
body joined to the container is fashioned as a disk and
is held in contact with the underside of the container by
means of magnetic forces. The magnets are inserted in the
body, for example, in the center thereof or in the zone of
the outer edge thereof.
It is known to preheat plates and like tableware
before filling same with food or beverage so that it does
not cool off too quickly during consumption. A drawback
15 of these conventional measures resides in that the plates,
after having been heated up, are so hot that they can be
seized manually only with difficulties, and the serving
personnel or the guest can burn their fingers on the
container. Also, it is frequently not of advantage for
the foods held by the tableware to come initially into
contact with tableware tha-t is too hot. Heretofore,
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it has been impossible to serve a correc-tly temperature-
controlled plate maintaining the temperature over the
entire time period of consumption of the meal.
It is furthermore known to utilize hot plates
heated in special appliances, or to use hot plates that
can be connected to an electrical outlet, on which dishes
and the like, carrying foods to be served at table, can
be placed to keep them warm. Also these hot plates present
the danger of burning one's fingers and, moreover, the
problem of keeping warm the plates from which the food is
eaten has not been solved.
Therefore, various suggestions have been advanced
for solving this problem.
U.S. Patent A-3,970,068 concerns a food container
wherein the food or beverage housed therein can be warmed
or cooled. For heating or cooling purposes, an exo-
thermic and, respectively, endothermic reaction is util-
ized; for this purpose, the container known from U.S.
Patent A-3,970,068 exhibits three chambers separated from
one another, wherein the chambers housing the substances
reacting with one another in endothermic or exothermic
reaction are initially separated from one another and,
if needed, can be placed in communication with one
another. For example, a needle is provided which can be
used to pierce a partition of the chamber wherein a liquid
reactant is contained.
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Bri~ish Patent A-180,056 discloses a plate for
keeping food warm wherein a dish like part can be attached
via resilient hooks to the underside of the plate, heated
water being provided in the space between the plate and
the dish-like part.
A similar arrangement is shown in DE-A-207,335
with the exception that the container for warm water
disposed on the underside of the plate is attached to the
plate by means of snap closures, rather than by means of
spring hooks.
The device for heating and keeping plates, dishes,
or the like warm as disclosed in DE-A-232,632 comprises a
metal plate provided laterally and on its underside with
an insulating jacket consisting of asbestos. I'his unit
of metal plate and insulating jacket is pressed into an
opening provided on the underside of the plate or dish.
Any additional measures for retaining the metal plate and
its asbestos insulation are not disclosed.
Swiss A-374,812 describes a base for plates or
the like, on which plates or the like can be placed.
A metal disk, for example aluminum, is housed in the base
and is heated, transferring its heat to the plate.
In this arrangement, the provision can also be made that
a steel wool pad or an asbestos pad with metal spring
inserts is arranged between the disk and the plate.
Swiss A-37~,812 does not disclose any measures for joining
the part receiving the heated metal disk to the plate;
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rather, the heated metal plate in its holder is first to
be placed on the table before the guest and only then is
the plate placed thereover (see Swiss A-374,812,
lines 56-59).
Austrian B-331,442 describes a plate which can be
attached to the underside of a dish or the like by way of
magnetic forces. Rings of metal are countersunk into this
plate. The plate proper consists of an insulating material.
This design has the disadvantage that, while heating the
metal rings, the insulating member is likewise heated up
so that it can no longer fulfill its actual function.
A base for tableware which can be affi~ed to the
tableware by way of magnetic forces is known from DE-
A-3,506,280. This base serves for preventing heat radiation
from the tableware onto a base surface (table or the like),
rather than serving for keeping warm or cooling foods or
beverages in a container.
The invention is based on the object of avoiding
the aforedescribed disadvantages and providing a container
for foods or beverages wherein foods or beverages can be
kept warm or cooled uniformly and without temperature peaks,
as well as over a relatively long period of time.
According to the invention, this object has
been attained in a device for keeping warm or cooling
foods or beverages of the aEoredescribed type by providing
that the body of a material with heat storage capability
adheres by way of at least one magnet to a foil of
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magnetically conductive material attached to the under-
side of the container; and that the body of a material
with heat storage capability is associated, on its surface
facing away from the container, with a removable cover of
heat-insulating material.
In the device according to the invention,
attachment is possible in a simple way; the body of
material having heat storage capability (e.g. a ceramic
material) need not by itself be seized by hand. Since the
cover of heat-insulating material is removable, this
cover can be removed from the body of material wlth
heat storage capability during the warming up or cooling
of this body, and the insulating cover, differently from
Austrian B-331,442, for example, is not concomitantly
heated or cooled during the warming up or cooling steps.
The invention offers the advantage that the
body joined to the container can be warmed up or cooled
and connected to the container immediately prior to use of
the latter, so that the material to be kept warm or to be
cooled (food or drink) remains warm or cool for use in the
container over the required time period (time of consump-
tion).
The problem in the conventional suggestions
sometimes resides not only in the fact that the plates
are possibly too hot when served (fingers get burned, the process
of servingis uneconomical since only 2-3, rather than
4-5 plates can be carried) but also in that protein is
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burned into the porcelain. Thereby, the porcelain is
soiled. In most cases, the plates are also too cold
because correct temperature control o~ the plates is
practically impossible to achieve during the serving process
(using heretofore known warming up devices).
Even if a plate was carefully preheated so that
one's fingers will not get burned, the time span from
arranging the meal on the plate up to serving this plate
simply is too long to provide still an acceptably correct
temperature during eatiny. And if, in addition, the food
will be served in the open air, a really warm meal cannot
anymore be expected. In contrast thereto, in the system of
this invention, no cumbersome manipulations need to be
handled. On the contrary, the chef can place the plate,
at normal temperature, in the direct vicinity of the
cooking or serving station or stations, and the food
can thus be made ready to serve and, accordingly, even
time and distance to reach the customary warm~keeping
cabinets and the like is likewise saved.
For example, it suffices to set the plate down
at a site, e.g. previously marked, of an appliance for
warming up or cooling of the heat-storing bodies, where
the latter will automatically adhere to the plate. The
serving personnel then takes the plate, and sets it down
on a previously marked place where the insulating is
attached, preferably automatically. Accordingly, -there is
no added work for the kitchen or the serving operation;
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on the contrary, a more economical technique evolves for
the kitchen. The serving personnel needs no protection
from carrying hot dishes, need not grapple with reheaters
for the table, and there will be no complaints any longer
about plates that are too cold. In most cases, under
practical conditions, the dishes bearing the prepared meals
will never be carried to the table immediately, anyway.
In the system according to this inven~ion, the
plates will reach the correct eating temperature precisely
at this point in time.
The body to be joined to the container can be
adapte`d in its configuration to the shape of the container
with which it is to be connected. Normally, the body will
have the shape of a disk attached from the bottom to the
container. The attachment to the underside of the con-
tainer also affords the advantage that the body of heat-
storing material is received in the customary, downwardly
open indentation of the container, for example a plate,
and thus will not come into direct contact with the
tablecloth, or the table surface.
In this way, the heat is transferred initially
directly to the con-tainer from the body, and is then
transmitted from the container to the material to be kept
warm, i.e. indirectly, or in a reverse process when foods
or beverages are kept cool.
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The attachmant, according to the invention, o~ the
heat-storing or heat-absorbing body at the container permits
rapid and simple mounting and, respectively, dismounting of
the body to and ~rom the container.
The body of heat-storing material, detached from
the container, can be warmed up or cooled in any desired way.
For example, heating can take place in a microwave appliance
with the aid of an in~rared source, a steam or hot water
heater, or also on or in an ordinary oven or range. In
principle, it is also possible to insert in the heat-storing
body an electrical heating wire and directly heat same
electrically. Finally, heating by a chemical process (i.e.
exothermic reaction of at least two chemical compounds inside
or outside of the body, e.g., chemical insert in the disk) is
also possible. Analogously, cooling is also possible by an
endothermic reaction. Cooling of the body having heat
storage capability can also be performed in refrigerators or
other cooling units.
In the accompanying drawings,
Figure 1 shows schematically and in a section view
a first embodiment of the device according to the invention;
and
Figure 2 shows a second embodiment thereof.
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In the embodiment illustrated in Fig. 1, the
container is fashioned as a plate 1. On the underside of
plate 1, an adhesive disk 2 of magnetically conductive
material is provided, fixedly connected to the plate, for
example a steel or soft-iron foil made to be self-adhesive.
Underneakh the adheslve disk 2, a body 5 fashioned as a slab
is provided, made up of a material having increased heat
storage capability, e.g. ceramic. At least one magnet 4 (in
the embodiment, two magnets) is inserted in the body 5. By
way of such magnet, the body 5 can be joined to the plate 1
flatly in contact with the adhesive disk 2. The number of
magnets 4 arranged in the body 5 is dependent on the size of
body 5.
It can furthermore be seen from the drawing that
the surfaces of the plate-shaped body 5 facing away from the
plate 1 are provided with a removable, heat-insulating cover
3. The cover 3 ensur~s that the heat from body 5 passes
primarily to the container 1 (plate) and is not radiated or
conducted away downwards, i.e. unused (or, conversely, that
no heat is absorbed from the surroundings).
Predominantly suitable materials for the slab 5 are
ceramics, for example clay, but also metal. The insulation 3
consists, for example, of a heat-insulating synthetic resin.
It can be seen that, in the device of this inven-
tion, the body 5 can be slightly preheated (or cooled) andcan then be simply joined to the plate 1. It can further be
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seen that the arrangement of body 5 according to the inven~
tion does not impede normal use of the plate 1 since the
latter can be placed on a table as usual, and the body,
if the rim of the container is adequately high, will not
come into direct contact with the tablecloth ox the table
surface. Another advantage is derived from the feature that
there is no need for energy supply at the table or for
any special need for space at the usage site (table).
The device of this invention is suitable, in par-
ticular, for gourmet restaurant business in order to keepfood warm during eating. The device disturbs neither the
guest nor the serving personnel since it is located under-
neath the container, constituted by a plate 1, for example,
and forms a unit with the latter during usage.
In order to clean the tableware, the body 5 can
be readily detached again from the plate 1 and preheated
for renewed usage.
When utilizing the device according to this
invention, tableware need no longer be preheated so that
there is no danger of receiving burns from excessively
preheated china.
One advan-tage of the device according to this
invention is also to be seen in that the heat transmitted
by the body of heat-storing material becomes effective
with a certain delay, due to the fact that a time period
will go by before the heat passes through the bo-t-tom of
the container, e.g. the plate 1, wherein the food is
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provided. In this way, the advantageous ef~ect ls
achieved that heat is supplied to the food on the plate
only when it threatens to cool off. Accordinyly, excess
heating of the meal at the beginning is effectively
precluded without taking expensive measures.
The body 5 can also be heated by means of an
installed Peltier element. This brings -the advantage that
the body 5 is heated on one side and cooled simultaneously
on the other side so that the body 5 can never become -too
hot on the underside facing the table. By turning over
a body 5 equipped with a Peltier element and attaching the
body to the container 1 in this way, the body serves for
cooling purposes. The Peltier element can simply be
connected to a correspondingly designed current supply.
In a modification of the embodiment shown in
Figure 1, the insulation 3 can also be larger and, as
indicated in Figure 2, can extend over the annular bead 6
arranged on the underside of the plate 1. Figure 2 also
shows an embodiment with only one magnet 4 in the body 5.
In this case, the foil 2, as illustrated, can also be
smaller.
The insulation 3 can be held at the body 5, for
example, also by the magnetic forces exerted by the
magnet 4; for this purpose, the insulation is provided on
its inside, for example, with a coating of low-retentivity
material, or carries a disk of low-retentivity material,
arranged in the zone of the magnet or magnets 4.
