Food warmer

The warming box design with a top-open shaft, flap, removable heating element, and air spacers addresses operational complexity and inefficiency, ensuring safe, uniform heating and easy maintenance.

DE102023116882B3Active Publication Date: 2025-01-02OTECGO ENERGIEEFFIZIENTE KUCHENSYSTEME GMBH
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Patent Information

Application Number
DE102023116882
Authority / Receiving Office
DE · DE
Patent Type
Patents
Current Assignee / Owner
Filing Date
2023-06-27
Publication Date
2025-01-02
Estimated Expiration
2043-06-27

AI Technical Summary

Technical Problem

Existing food warming boxes are complex, difficult to operate, and inefficient in heating and maintaining temperature uniformity, with limited accessibility for cleaning and maintenance, and pose risks of injury.

Method used

A warming box with a basin-shaped shaft that is open at the top, featuring a flap for easy insertion and removal of food containers, a removable heating element, and air gap-forming spacers for convection, along with a temperature sensor for precise temperature control and easy maintenance.

Benefits of technology

Facilitates easy and safe handling of food containers, ensures homogeneous heating, reduces energy consumption, and simplifies cleaning and maintenance, while minimizing the risk of injury and overheating.

✦ Generated by Eureka AI based on patent content.

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Abstract

A food warming box with an open-topped, basin-shaped compartment. The compartment floor, which is permanently attached to the compartment walls, is heated by a heating element. The compartment is equipped with a flap on one operating side. When the flap is open, a food dispensing container can be inserted into the compartment, ensuring that at least a gap exists between the upper edge of the food dispensing container and the upper edge of the compartment. This gap allows air to escape from the compartment when a food dispensing container is inserted. A removable mounting plate is provided below the flap on the operating side of the compartment, allowing the heating element to be installed and removed solely from the operating side.For this purpose, a temperature sensor is provided on the side of the flap facing the shaft, with which the temperature of the air in the shaft or that of the food dispensing container can be measured during operation of the warming box, so that an exact temperature setting in the shaft is possible by means of a temperature setting device arranged in the flap or in the mounting plate.
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Description

[0001] The invention relates to a food warming box with a basin-shaped shaft that is open at the top and whose shaft base can be heated by a heating element. Such warming boxes serve, for example, to accommodate a food serving container, in particular a Gastronorm container (hereinafter: GN container), which is usually made of stainless steel.

[0002] German utility model DE 299 18 672 U1 discloses a heat-holding box in which a height-adjustable heating device is arranged on a shaft floor for dry heating. A heating device for wet heating of the shaft is also integrated into the shaft floor.

[0003] DE 24 42 852 A1 discloses a component for a commercial kitchen or a food serving container, which comprises a frame into which a tray is integrated, into which a food serving container, in particular a Gastronorm container, can be suspended. The tray has individual infrared heating elements arranged in the immediate vicinity of an inserted Gastronorm container and serve to heat it.

[0004] DE 10 2018 123 803 A1 discloses a food heating arrangement having a receiving space into which a food container can be inserted. A radiant heating device with at least one infrared heating element is arranged beneath a floor of the receiving space, which is arranged in an associated reflector. The receiving space has a flap on a front side.

[0005] EP 0 635 225 A1 discloses a hot food dispenser comprising a housing with a cutout for accommodating at least one food dispensing container for food to be kept warm. The housing has a height-adjustable heating device for heating the dispensing container.

[0006] DE 201 08 268 U1 discloses a hot food dispenser with a duct, in which a heating device is provided to heat the air in the duct. A food container can be inserted into the duct. An open gap is provided between an upper edge of the food container and an edge of the upper opening of the duct, allowing air to circulate between the duct and the surrounding area.

[0007] The object of the invention is to provide a warming box for food that has a further simplified design and operation compared to the prior art. In particular, a warming box is to be provided that homogeneously heats and / or keeps warm food, for example, stored in Gastronorm containers (GN). Loading the warming box with GN containers should be simple and convenient. To this end, the object of the invention is to make the interior of the shaft easily accessible. Furthermore, the components of the warming box, in particular the heating device, should be easily accessible for cleaning, maintenance, and servicing, while minimizing the risk of injury.

[0008] These objects are achieved with a warming box having the features of claim 1. Advantageous embodiments of the warming box according to the invention are specified in the subclaims.

[0009] A warming box for food according to the invention has a basin-shaped shaft that is open at the top, the shaft floor of which is firmly connected to the shaft walls and can be heated from below by a heating element. The shaft is provided on one operating side with a flap through which, when the flap is open, a food serving container, preferably a GN container, can be inserted into the shaft in such a way that a gap exists between an upper edge of the food serving container and the upper edge of the shaft through which gap, when a food serving container is inserted into the shaft, air can escape from the shaft. On the operating side below the flap of the shaft, a removable mounting panel is provided, which enables the installation and removal of the heating element from the operating side alone.A temperature sensor is provided on the side of the flap facing the shaft, which can be used to measure the temperature of the air in the shaft or that of the food serving container or GN container when the warming box is in operation, so that an exact temperature setting in the shaft and / or in the food serving container is possible by means of a temperature setting device arranged in the flap or in the panel.

[0010] The above-described design of the operating side (front) of the warming box, using a flap and a temperature sensor accommodated therein, makes it particularly easy to insert food serving containers, in particular Gastronorm containers, with food to be warmed, as they can be easily "slid in." They can also be easily removed by simply pulling them out, with spillage of the food largely prevented by the cooking staff securely holding them. This avoids the often cumbersome "levering out" or "dropping" the last centimeter into the container holder. By providing a flap, the food container can be inserted and removed from the warming box according to the invention with a secure grip.In a preferred embodiment, the food container filled with hot food can be moved to the warming box using a type of serving trolley and simply inserted into the warming box's slot with the lid open. Empty or partially emptied food containers can also be removed again in reverse order. In both cases, this allows for guided insertion or removal of a food container into or from a warming box according to the invention. Hands-free handling of the often not-so-lightweight food containers—especially when filled with liquid foods—can thus be avoided.

[0011] The temperature sensor located in the flap makes it easier and more effective to determine the temperature in the food, as the temperature sensor, for example, measures the container temperature in the upper area of ​​the compartment / food without contact, i.e. at a point that is particularly important when removing the food and subsequently consuming it. The temperature measurement at the bottom of the container, which is often common in the state of the art, often results in cold food on top. To prevent the food from sticking or burning at the bottom, the bottom temperature must be set accordingly low and is therefore often not sufficient to sufficiently heat or keep the upper layers of the food warm. Raising the temperature can then lead to the food sticking or burning to the bottom of the container.

[0012] Furthermore, the sensors and control elements incorporated into the front flap according to the invention allow the operating parameters of the warming box to be advantageously monitored and adjusted. This also makes it possible to permanently install the warming box, for example, in a surrounding piece of furniture or display counter, while still ensuring full operability, easy cleaning, and flexibility with regard to equipping the warming box with different heating devices and / or different food serving containers (Gastronorm containers).

[0013] A removable panel on the front / operating side of the warming box according to the invention enables easy assembly / disassembly of the heating element. This allows the heating element of the warming box to be pushed under the shaft floor from the operating side, with lateral guides for the heating element being designed to guide the heating element towards the side facing away from the operating side so that the heating element rests on the underside of the shaft floor on the side opposite the operating side and is held to the operating side only by fasteners. This allows for a drawer-like installation and replacement of various heating elements in a simple manner. In the event of servicing, a defective heating element can be replaced quickly within a few minutes, if necessary without removing the food container.For these and other cases, the arrangement of a removable panel below the container flap provides a simple, yet easily accessible, means of attaching the heating element. At the same time, comprehensive maintenance and repair options are provided, as all components of the inventive warming box are accessible from the operator side. This eliminates the need for laborious disassembly of the warming box from the display counter, as well as the disassembly of the counter itself. Since access to the warming box from the rear or side is also eliminated, counters in which the inventive warming box is to be installed can be designed to be more space-efficient, particularly in terms of depth. This also improves the cleaning capabilities of such counters.

[0014] According to the invention, the upper edge of the shaft walls of the warming box has air-gap-forming spacers, which are, for example, designed like crenellations or perforated plates, or have lateral openings or at least means that can provide a vertical spacing. These spacers or spacing means support a food serving container in such a way that one or more air gaps remain above the shaft walls when a food serving container is inserted into the shaft. In a preferred embodiment, these air-gap-forming means are removably attached to the upper shaft edge, for example, pluggable, so that they can be easily and separately cleaned.In a further embodiment, the insertable or attachable spacers are designed in several parts, so that the individual parts are essentially flat and are therefore easier to handle, especially when cleaning them, since they can be easily placed in a dishwasher.

[0015] These spacers are preferably designed in such a way that they extend the shaft walls essentially vertically upwards so that a food container comes to rest on them with its upper, collar-like edge. Openings in the spacers allow the air volume remaining inside the shaft to communicate with the environment, i.e. when the warming box is in operation, convection develops between the warm shaft volume and the environment outside the warming box. This air convection often makes it possible to dispense with so-called "Baine Marie" warming boxes (water bath warming boxes) because, according to the invention, the temperature distribution inside the shaft can not only be finely adjusted due to the air convection, but large temperature differences between the shaft floor, shaft walls, container floor and container walls can also be avoided, which can usually only be achieved when using water bath warming boxes.The disadvantages of such water-bath warming boxes filled with large quantities of water are obvious, and not only to those skilled in the art. Along with this, it is also readily apparent that the warming box according to the invention requires less energy, since there is no need to heat and keep warm water with a high specific heat capacity, nor do high container bottom temperatures have to be achieved to keep the food warm in the warming box according to the invention. Furthermore, the risk of dry operation of water-bath warming counters is eliminated, which often occurs during extended operation of warming counters if the operating staff forgets to refill the water.

[0016] Theoretically, the spacers between the upper edge of the shaft and the food container can also be arranged horizontally, but this increases the installation space of the warming box or at least the installation space of the shaft, since the collar of a food dispensing container should not cover the openings in the spacers so that convection can develop during operation of the warming box.

[0017] Furthermore, it may be advantageous to provide additional air inlets in the flap, below the flap, and / or in the shaft walls above the floor to promote the development of a convection flow. In some cases, the free space / passage for the flap movement may be sufficient, allowing air to flow around the food container during operation of the warming box through the openings, e.g., gaps, provided on the top of the shaft between the inserted food container and the shaft wall.

[0018] With this free convection inside the shaft, food can be heated / kept warm more evenly, as there is no build-up of heat that could cause food to stick or even burn in certain areas. Air circulation enabled in this way allows food to be heated and kept warm evenly in the food container / GN container, thanks to good convection of the air surrounding the container as a heat transport medium. In particular, in conjunction with the upper gap, a lower opening can ensure that convection can develop in the shaft when the food container is inserted. The installation of an additional fan is also within the scope of the invention in order to be able to superimpose forced convection in addition to free convection, if necessary.The size of a computer fan should be sufficient to improve heat transfer to the food container, but it will not reduce the overall temperature level in the shaft.

[0019] The formation of upper openings or gaps can be achieved, for example, by arranging crenellations and / or holes, in particular elongated holes, horizontal slots, or similar, above the upper shaft edge. Preferably in the form of an insertable or attachable frame at the upper shaft opening. Such a frame is preferably attached in a removable manner and is designed as a single-part or multi-part frame. To avoid injuries and to facilitate cleaning of the frame itself and the shaft interior, the frame is preferably removable without the use of tools. The upper edge with the air gap-forming means is therefore preferably designed to be manually removable. A multi-part design increases its handling and enables easier cleaning, for example in a dishwasher. This facilitates cleaning of both the food serving container and the components of the warming box itself, in particular the shaft interior.

[0020] For convenience, the height of the warming box is designed to allow a gap between the bottom of a food serving container and the bottom of the compartment. This also prevents food from accidentally burning / scorching / overheating in the Gastronorm container and allows air to circulate around the food container, which also promotes convection of warm air inside the compartment and around the food serving container.

[0021] The heating element is preferably a resistance heater and can be inserted as a unit in the manner of a heating cartridge into a slide-in shaft below a shaft base of the shaft through the mounting panel arranged below the serving flap according to the invention. According to the invention, the shaft base is preferably formed by a glass ceramic plate. A glass ceramic plate belonging to the warming box and, for example, firmly connected to the shaft, which forms the shaft base, makes it easy to insert and remove easily replaceable heating elements below the glass ceramic plate into a slide-in shaft in the warming box according to the invention. The interior of the warming box remains unchanged regardless of the heating device currently in use, meaning that an induction heating device, a radiant heating element, or a gas or liquid fuel element can also be used, if desired.However, with induction heating devices, care must be taken to ensure that the shaft bottom or the bottom of the food container comes into contact with the induction heating device so that heat can be transferred into the shaft or food container.

[0022] Electronically / electrically operated heating elements have the advantage that their heat output is relatively easy to adjust and control, and they are all clean and emission-free. They are therefore preferable to gas- and liquid-burning heat sources, which are also less adjustable in terms of heat output. Therefore, the invention preferably uses a resistance heater, as this can be very sensitively controlled simply by adjusting its power consumption.

[0023] For the purpose of energy-saving design of the warming box, it is preferable to design both the shaft walls and the flap, at least above the shaft floor, to be thermally insulated from the environment and / or warming counter.

[0024] When creating several shaft volumes in a warming box, it can be provided that the shaft volume can be divided by vertically insertable partition walls and the shaft floor can be heated by several separately adjustable heating elements so that, for example, each partial volume can be tempered separately.

[0025] In a particularly user-friendly design of the warming box, the temperature in the shaft can be adjusted using a temperature adjustment device in the flap or in the mounting panel. This can be done, for example, using a rotary dial or push buttons, or even a touchpad to raise or lower the temperature in the shaft.

[0026] In particular, to enable communication with wireless or wired data processing devices, the warming box can be equipped with a communication interface that enables remote communication, e.g., with the Internet. Control signals for adjusting the temperature control device can be conveniently transmitted via the communication interface.

[0027] The invention is explained in more detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. They show: Fig. 1: a perspective view of a warming box according to the invention; Fig. 2a: a front view of the operating side of the warming box according to the invention without a food serving container / catering container inserted; Fig. 2b: a longitudinal section through a warming box according to the invention along the line AA from Fig. 2a; Fig. 3a: a front view of the operating side of the warming box according to the invention with inserted food serving container / catering container; Fig. 3b: a longitudinal section through a warming box according to the invention along the line AA from Fig. 3a; Fig. 4: a longitudinal section through a warming box according to the invention along the line AA from Fig. 3a with an open flap.

[0028] Fig. 1 shows a perspective view of a warming box 1 according to the invention, in which no food serving container 26 is inserted. The warming box 1 according to the invention (see also Fig. 1 to 4) has a shaft 2 which is open at the top in a vertical direction and is delimited by shaft walls 3. Vertically at the bottom, the shaft 2 is delimited by a shaft bottom 4, which according to the invention is preferably formed by a glass ceramic plate 19. Below the shaft bottom 4 is a heating element 5 (cf. Fig. 2b, Fig. 3b and Fig. 4) is inserted into a slot 6. An operating side 7, which is assigned to an operator / service person during operation of the warming box 1, is closed above the slot bottom 4 by a flap 8. The flap 8 can be opened in the direction of the arrow 9 shown and closed again in the opposite direction of the arrow 9. This can be done, for example, with spring-loaded locking positions, as is known, for example, from ovens. Fig. 2b & 3b show the warming box 1 according to the invention in longitudinal section with the flap 8 closed. Fig. 4 shows the warming box 1 in longitudinal section with the flap 8 at least partially open.

[0029] The vertically upper ends of the shaft walls 3 and the flap 8 form an upper edge 10 of the shaft 2. In the area of ​​the upper edge 10 of the shaft 2, spacers 11 are arranged, which project vertically upwards a little above the upper edge 10 of the shaft 2 with a free edge 12 and form the upper edge of the warming box 1 according to the invention, onto which a collar of a food serving container 26 can be placed (see Fig. 3a, Fig. 3b & 4).

[0030] In the partial areas of the spacer 11 projecting beyond the edge 10, a plurality of openings 13 are provided, which serve to ventilate the interior of the shaft 2 when the food serving container 26 is inserted (see Fig. 3a, Fig. 3b & 4) with the external environment 14 of the warming box 1, so that warm air from the interior of the shaft 2 can escape through the openings 13. Thus, during operation of the warming box according to the invention, free convection can develop between the remaining air volume between the shaft walls and the walls of the food serving container 26 and the environment 14 outside the warming box. This is indicated by the arrows 30 in Fig. 3b indicated.

[0031] During operation of the warming box 1, a collar 27 of a food serving container 26, designed, for example, as a Gastronorm container, rests on the free edges 12 of the spacers 11. The upper edge / collar 27 of the food serving container 26, due to the raised arrangement of the free edge 12 of the spacer 11, together with the openings 13 in the spacer 11, forms one or more gaps 15 for air exchange between the interior of the shaft 2 and the external environment 14 of the warming box 1.

[0032] Below the flap 8 there is a slot 6 for a heating element 5 (see Fig. 3a & 3b) are closed by a mounting panel 16. The mounting panel 16 faces the operator and includes an operating device 17, which, in addition to operating elements, may also include display elements, such as a screen and / or a display. The operating device 17 may also optionally include connection means for electrically connecting the warming box 1 to a power supply.

[0033] Furthermore, the operating device 17 can provide a communication interface by means of which - wired or wireless - a data exchange between the warming box 1, in particular its electrical control device 18 and an external data receiver (not shown) is enabled.

[0034] Furthermore, on the operating side 7, there is arranged, for example, a flap securing device 28, in particular a rotary latch, with which an unintentional opening of the flap 8 can be prevented.

[0035] The shaft base 4 is designed, for example, as a glass ceramic plate 19, which is arranged on the heating element 5 or which is firmly connected to the shaft walls 3 within the shaft 2. In the latter embodiment, the heating element 5 can be removed, for example, as an assembly from the insertion shaft 6, and the glass ceramic plate 19, which forms the shaft base 4, remains as the shaft base 4 within the shaft 2 of the warming box 1.

[0036] The flap 8 has, for example, bearing pins 20, by means of which the flap 8 is pivotally mounted in adjacent shaft walls 3. On a side 21 of the flap 8 facing the shaft 2, a temperature sensor 22 is provided for measuring the temperature inside the shaft 2 (see also Fig. 3a, Fig. 3b & 4). In contrast to the Fig. 1 and Fig. In the embodiment shown in Figure 2, the operating device 17 and the flap securing device 28 can also be mounted on the flap 8 or integrated into the flap 8, whereby the mounting panel 16 can be designed without any openings. As a further consequence, the control device 18 can also be accommodated in the flap 8, which further simplifies assembly and disassembly of the heating element 5. In addition, a control device 18 arranged in the flap 8 is subject to less temperature stress and can therefore, if necessary, be designed without increased temperature protection or shielding measures.

[0037] The mounting panel 16 is preferably fastened by means of fastening means 23 and closes off the insertion shaft 6 towards the operating side 7. The insertion shaft 6 is delimited vertically downwards by a base 24. The insertion shaft 6 is thus delimited in the vertical direction by the glass ceramic plate 19 or the shaft base 4 at the top and by the base 24 at the bottom. The heating element 5 thus acts on an underside of the shaft base 4 when inserted. The heat acting thereon is conducted through the shaft base 4, preferably a glass ceramic plate 19, into the interior of the shaft 2 or, if the shaft base 4 is designed to be suitably permeable to heat radiation, heat can also be transferred from the heating element 5 into the interior of the shaft 2 through the shaft base 4 via radiation, for example infrared radiation.The heating element 5 is preferably designed as a resistance heating element, but can also be an induction heating element, a radiant heating element or a fuel element.

[0038] With the warming box 1 according to the invention, it is possible in a particularly simple and user-friendly manner to provide a combination of advantageous operating arrangements and nevertheless to provide easy exchangeability of the food serving container 26 and the heating element 5 as well as simplified accessibility to the shaft interior of the shaft 2 for inserting and removing food serving containers 26, for example Gastronorm containers, as well as for cleaning the shaft walls 3. This is particularly evident from the Fig. 3a & 4, which show a longitudinal section of a warming box 1 according to the invention with an inserted food serving container 26. Here, it can be seen that the heating element 5 is replaceable even when the food serving container 26 is inserted. Only the mounting panel 16 needs to be removed and the control device 18 taken out of the insertion slot 6 in order to be able to remove and (re)insert the heating element 5. The insertion slot preferably has guide rails along which the heating element 5 can slide during replacement. Thus, if the heating element fails, it can be replaced without having to dismantle the entire warming box 1, as is common in the prior art, or even without having to remove the warming box 1 from a counter.

[0039] As especially with Fig. 4, a food serving container 26 can be inserted simply by opening the flap 8 or pushed onto the upper edge 10 of the spacers 11. As is known, such food serving containers 26 have an upper edge 27 which projects in the shape of a collar and holds the food serving container 26 suspended in the shaft 2 of the warming box 1. This eliminates the need for the food serving container 26 to be inserted vertically, as is common in the prior art. This is somewhat tricky, as is easy to imagine, when all four sides of the shaft are vertical, since the last part of the food serving container 26 is then inserted in free fall. This requires particular attention in the case of filled food serving containers 26, such as e.g.Gastronorm containers require not only skill but also a certain amount of strength, as such Gastronorm containers filled with food can easily weigh 10 kg or more and are also hot, which means that heat protection equipment must be worn when handling them, which makes vertical insertion or removal of the food serving containers even more difficult.

[0040] According to the invention, the temperature sensor 22 arranged in the flap 8 for easy maintenance (see Fig. 2b, Fig.3b & 4) the temperature in the shaft can be easily checked and adjusted, whereby in particular the openings 13 provided in the spacers 11 ensure a more homogeneous temperature distribution in the shaft interior by enabling free convection. The control device 18 can thus be finely adjusted and adapted to the desired temperature level via the operating device 17. Purely by way of example, the temperature sensor 22 in the illustrated embodiments is arranged in the central region of the flap 8 purely for illustration and better visibility. A person skilled in the art will, however, immediately recognize that such a temperature sensor 22 or several such temperature sensors can also be arranged in the upper and / or lower region of the flap 8. Flush integration in the flap 8, i.e. less protruding, is also encompassed by the inventive concept.

[0041] In conclusion, it can be said that the warming box 1 according to the invention provides a warming box which is improved compared to the prior art and whose operation, cleaning and maintenance are greatly simplified and which at the same time allows a more homogeneous temperature distribution around an inserted food serving container 26.

[0042] Further modifications and improvements to the embodiments shown, which are within the skill of the person skilled in the art and have not been addressed here, are also intended to be encompassed by the inventive concept. List of reference symbols 1 warming box 2 shafts 3 shaft wall 4 shaft bottom 5 Heating element 6 Slot 7 Operating side / front 8 flap 9 Arrow direction 10 upper edge of the shaft 11 spacers 12 upper edge spacers 13 openings in spacers 14 Outdoor environment 15 Gap / Air gap 16 Mounting panel 17 Operating device 18 electrical control device 19 glass ceramic plate 20 bearing journals 21 Shaft-facing side of the flap 22 temperature sensors 23 fasteners 24 Floor warming box 25 floor food serving containers 26 food serving containers 27 upper edge / collar of the food serving container 28 Flap safety device

Claims

[1] A warming box (1) for food, comprising a basin-shaped shaft (2) open at the top, the shaft base (4) of which is firmly connected to the shaft walls (3) and can be heated by a heating element (5), wherein the shaft (2) is provided on an operating side (7) with a flap (8) through which, when the flap (8) is open, a food serving container (26) can be inserted into the shaft (2) in such a way that a gap (15) is present between a collar (27) of the food serving container (26) and the upper edge (10) of the shaft (2), through which gap, when a food serving container (26) is inserted into the shaft (2), air can escape from the shaft (2), and wherein a removable mounting panel (16) is provided below the flap (8) on the operating side (7), which enables the mounting and dismounting of the heating element (5) solely from the operating side (7), and wherein a temperature sensor (22) is provided on the side of the flap (8) facing the shaft (2),with which the temperature of the air in the shaft (2) or that of the food serving container (26) can be measured during operation of the warming box (1), so that an exact temperature setting in the shaft (2) is possible by means of an operating device (17) arranged in the flap (8) or in the mounting panel (16). [2] Warming box (1) according to claim 1, in which the heating element (5) can be pushed under the shaft base (4) from the operating side (7), wherein lateral guides for the heating element (5) are designed to guide the heating element (5) in the direction of the rear side facing away from the operating side (7) in such a way that the heating element (5) rests on the rear side and on the underside of the shaft base (4) and is held only on the operating side (7) by fastening means (23). [3] Warming box (1) according to claim 1 or 2, wherein at least one air inlet opening is provided in the flap (8) and / or in the shaft walls (3) above the shaft bottom (4). [4] Warming box (1) according to one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the shaft height is dimensioned such that a distance remains between the shaft bottom (4) of an inserted food serving container (26) and the shaft bottom (4). [5] Warming box (1) according to one of claims 1 to 4, in which the upper edge (10) of the shaft walls (3) has air gap (15) forming means which are crenellated, have lateral openings or at least spacers (11) which support a food serving container (26) in such a way that one or more air gaps (15) remain in the shaft walls (3) extended by spacers (11) when a food serving container (26) is inserted into the shaft (2). [6] Warming box (1) according to claim 5, wherein the spacers (11) with the means forming the air gap (15) are removable, preferably manually. [7] Warming box (1) according to one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the heating element (5) comprises a resistance heater, an induction heater, a radiant heater or a fuel element. [8] Warming box (1) according to one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the shaft bottom (4) is formed by a glass ceramic plate (19). [9] Warming box (1) according to one of claims 1 to 8, in which the shaft walls (3) as well as the flap (8) are thermally insulated at least above the shaft bottom (4). [10] Warming box (1) according to one of claims 1 to 9, in which the shaft volume can be divided by vertically insertable partition walls and the shaft bottom (4) can be heated by several heating elements (5) so that each partial volume can be tempered separately. [11] Warming box (1) according to one of claims 1 to 10, wherein the temperature in the shaft (2) is adjustable by means of an operating device (17) in the flap (8) or in the mounting panel (16) for controlling an electrical control device (18), for example by means of a rotary control or push buttons or by means of a touch pad for raising or lowering the temperature. [12] Warming box (1) according to one of claims 1 to 11, with a communication interface which provides remote communication, e.g. with the Internet, via which control signals for adjusting the electrical control device (18) can be transmitted. [13] Counter with one or more warming boxes (1) according to one of claims 1 to 12.

Citation Information

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