Food service wagon

Abstract

To provide a food service wagon capable of improving palate feeling and taste of food stored in the food service wagon, and easily moving.SOLUTION: A food service wagon including a food service wagon body 2 having a cart housing chamber 10, and a cart 3 housed in the cart housing chamber 10 of the food service wagon body 2 is such that: the cart 3 has a partition wall 15 formed in a width central portion; and the one side of the partition wall 15 is a hot-cold chamber 11 where heating with steam and cooling with cool air are performed, and the other side is a cooling chamber 12 where only cooling by cool air is performed. The upper part of the food service wagon body 2 is disposed with a cooling device 41 for supplying cool air to the hot-cold chamber 11 and the cooling chamber 12, and steam supply means 36 for supplying steam to the hot-cold chamber 11. The hot-cold chamber 11 is disposed with a switching dumper 35 for switching between supply of cool air supplied from the cooling device 41, and supply of steam supplied from the steam supply means 36.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 6

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a food serving cart used to provide meals to patients and residents in hospitals, nursing homes, etc. [Background technology]

[0002] Generally, a food serving cart is divided into a hot storage compartment for storing foods that are to be heated, such as rice and miso soup, and a refrigerated compartment for storing foods that are to be served cold, such as salads and desserts.In the hot storage compartment, the foods are heated to a predetermined temperature using a heating means such as a heater, and in the refrigerated compartment, the foods are cooled to a predetermined temperature range using a cooling device.

[0003] More specifically, for example, in the case of a food serving cart having two hot storage compartments and two refrigerated compartments, the main body of the food serving cart is divided into two compartments, left and right, by an intermediate wall that communicates with the cooling device and also serves as a duct for circulating cold air, and further, in the central part of each of these compartments, partition wall members are lined up in the vertical direction, with one side being the refrigerated compartment and the other being the hot storage compartment.

[0004] A duct section with a built-in heater is formed on one side wall of each warming chamber, and a blower unit having a sirocco fan is detachably disposed on the ceiling. An ozone generator, an ozone generating circuit section, and a small fan are provided in the ozone generating chamber of each blower unit to supply ozone to the intake port of the blower unit. The ozone generated by the ozone generator is supplied to the intake port of the blower unit, and is sent from the intake port of the blower unit to the intake port of the duct section by the sirocco fan of the blower unit, and is supplied into the warming chamber from the through holes on both side edges of the heat panel and the exhaust port at the bottom end. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0005] [Patent Document 1] JP 2005-95313 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0006] In the food serving cart with the above-mentioned structure, the ozone generating means is provided in the main body of the air blowing unit that is removably mounted on the ceiling of the warming compartment, and the ozone generated from the ozone generating means is supplied to the warming compartment along the hot air flow path by the air blowing means of the air blowing unit, so there is no need to provide a dedicated ozone sending fan or piping for sending ozone into the warming compartment, which makes it possible to reduce manufacturing costs.In addition, because the ozone generating means is provided in the main body of the air blowing unit that is removably mounted on the ceiling of the warming compartment, the ozone generating means can be easily inspected and repaired. However, in order to supply ozone as described above, in addition to a heating means such as a heater and a cooling device, the above-mentioned ozone generating means and the like are required, which leads to problems such as the complexity of the air supply duct.

[0007] In addition, in other food serving carts of this type, the ozone generating means is provided in a flow path formed in the main body of the blower unit which is arranged in the ceiling of the warming compartment, and the ozone generated from the ozone generating means is blown into the intake port of the blower unit by the ozone blowing means, and then supplied to the duct section by the blowing means and circulated into the warming compartment along the warm air flow path, eliminating the need to provide a dedicated ozone sending fan or piping for sending ozone into the warming compartment, thereby enabling manufacturing costs to be reduced. However, in the case of such a food serving cart, ozone can be supplied while circulating only the air inside the warming compartment using the blowing means of the blower unit, which improves the efficiency of deodorizing the warming compartment and suppressing the growth of bacteria, but there is a problem in that it is difficult to secure space to install the ozone generating means in the food serving cart. In addition, since the ozone generating means is disposed in the flow path formed in the air blowing unit, by stopping the ozone blowing means provided near the air exhaust port of this flow path, it is possible to prevent the hot air in the warming compartment from directly hitting the ozone generating means, thereby extending the life of the ozone generating means. Furthermore, since ozone can be supplied while circulating only the air in the warming compartment by the blowing means of the air blowing unit, the efficiency of deodorizing the warming compartment and suppressing the growth of bacteria can be improved.

[0008] However, in all of the food serving carts mentioned above, the problem was that they only achieved efficient ozone supply and reduced manufacturing costs, and were unable to improve the texture or taste of the food stored in the food serving cart.

[0009] In addition, because the above-mentioned food delivery cart has a one-piece overall structure, there was also the problem that in hospitals, nursing homes, etc., it required considerable effort to move it from the kitchen where the meals are prepared to the place where the meals are served.

[0010] An object of the present invention is to provide a food serving cart that can improve the texture and taste of food stored within the cart and is also easy to move. [Means for solving the problem]

[0011] The present invention described in claim 1 comprises a food serving cart main body having a cart storage compartment, and a cart stored in the cart storage compartment of the food serving cart main body, and a partition wall is formed in the center of the width of the cart, consisting of partition wall members extending in the front-to-rear direction and arranged in a vertical direction, one side of the partition wall being a hot / cold chamber where heating with steam and cooling with cold air are performed, and the other side being a cold chamber where cooling only with cold air is performed.In this food serving cart, a cooling device for supplying cold air to the hot / cold chamber and the cold chamber, and a steam supply means for supplying steam to the hot / cold chamber are provided at the top of the food serving cart main body, and a switching damper is provided for the hot / cold chamber to switch between the supply of cold air supplied from the cooling device and the supply of steam supplied from the steam supply means, and the switching damper allows cold air and steam to be selectively supplied from the top of the hot / cold chamber.

[0012] The present invention as described in claim 2 is characterized in that, for the food serving cart as described in claim 1, the switching damper comprises a square damper body, a steam passage port formed in the top wall of the damper body, a cold air passage port formed in the side wall of the damper body, and a switching plate whose base is rotatably supported at the corner where the top wall and side wall of the damper body intersect, and when the switching plate is in a horizontal position, the plate closes the steam passage port and opens the cold air passage port to supply cold air, and by rotating the switching plate 90 degrees, the plate opens the steam passage port and closes the cold air passage port to supply steam.

[0013] The present invention as described in claim 3 is characterized in that, in the food serving cart as described in claim 1 or claim 2, the steam supply means is a steam supply unit that integrates a fan that blows air, a steam generating device located adjacent to the fan, and heating means that is located adjacent to the steam generating device and heats the steam generated by the steam generating device and blown by the fan.

[0014] The present invention as set forth in claim 4 is characterized in that, in the food serving cart as set forth in claim 3, the heating means in the steam supply unit is a heater. Effect of the Invention

[0015] The cart-stored food serving cart of the present invention comprises a food serving cart body having a cart storage compartment, and a cart stored in the cart storage compartment of the food serving cart body, and the cart has a partition wall formed in the widthwise center portion thereof, the partition wall being made up of partition wall members extending in the front-to-rear direction and arranged in a vertical direction, one side of the partition wall being a hot / cold chamber in which heating with steam and cooling with cold air are performed, and the other side being a cold chamber in which cooling only with cold air is performed. In this cart-stored food serving cart, a cooling device for supplying cold air to the hot / cold chamber and the cold chamber, and steam supplying means for supplying steam to the hot / cold chamber are provided on the top of the food serving cart body, and the hot / cold chamber is supplied with cold air from the cooling device. A switching damper is provided which switches between the supply of cold air and the supply of steam supplied from the steam generating means, and this switching damper allows cold air and steam to be selectively supplied from the top of the hot / cold chamber.Therefore, when serving food, not only can the cart be pulled out of the cart storage chamber in the food serving cart body and the cart alone moved to the food serving location, but the steam supplying means provided at the top of the food serving cart body can supply steam from the top of the cart's tray storage chamber to heat the rice, main dish, side dish, etc. on the tray with steam, so that the foods do not dry out and it is possible to provide meals with excellent texture and taste. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0016] [Figure 1] FIG. 2 is a front view of the food serving cart according to the embodiment. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is an oblique view of the food serving cart of the same embodiment. [Diagram 3] 3 is a perspective view of the food serving cart body of FIG. 2 with the door open. [Figure 4] FIG. [Diagram 5] 3 is a front view of the food serving cart body of FIG. 2 with the door open. [Figure 6] A cross-sectional view of the food distribution cart body according to the embodiment. [Figure 7] 1A and 1B are cross-sectional views of a switching damper, in which (a) shows the cold air supply state and (b) shows the steam supply state. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0017] Next, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings, but the present invention is not limited to such an embodiment. (Embodiment 1)

[0018] As shown in FIGS. 1 to 5, a food delivery cart 1 according to this embodiment is made up of a food delivery cart main body 2 and a cart 3 that is accommodated in a cart accommodation chamber 10 of the food delivery cart main body 2. As shown in FIG.

[0019] The food distribution cart body 2 has a cooling device 40 and a steam supply unit 36, which will be described later, on its upper part 5, and is provided with a pair of left and right doors 13 in a double door configuration that can freely open and close the front opening.

[0020] Additionally, legs 15 are provided at the bottom of the food distribution cart body 2 for stationary said food distribution cart body 2 on the floor surface or the like, and suction cup-shaped fixing body 44A is attached to the bottom end of the legs 15. Additionally, rollers 14 for moving said food distribution cart body 2 are rotatably attached to the four corners of the outer bottom surface of the food distribution cart body 2.

[0021] The cart 3 has top and bottom walls 4 and 3b and left and right walls 3c and 3d, and has casters 16 on the four corners of its outer bottom surface, allowing it to be stored in and pulled out of the cart storage room 10 of the food distribution cart body 2 for serving food. The cart 3 also has a pair of left and right double doors 14B on the front side that can be opened and closed using a pair of left and right handles 18.

[0022] In addition, a cart entrance opening 17 is formed in the bottom wall 8 of the food distribution cart body 2, through which the casters 16 of the cart 3 can enter.

[0023] Furthermore, in the widthwise center portion of the tray storage chamber 30 of the cart 3, partition wall members 15A extending in the front-rear direction are vertically arranged in a row to form a partition wall 15. One side of the partition wall 15 is a hot / cold chamber 11 in which cooling with cold air and heating with steam are performed, and the other side is a cold chamber 12 in which cooling only with cold air is performed. A tray T is inserted between the partition wall members 15A adjacent to each other vertically.

[0024] 6, the structure for supplying steam and cold air to the cart 3 housed in the cart storage room 10 of the food delivery cart body 2 will be described. In this embodiment, hot and cold air outlets 31A and cold air outlets 32A are provided at both ends of the upper wall 4 of the cart 3, hot and cold air inlet 33A and cold air inlet 34A are provided at the center of the upper wall 3a, and the ceiling wall 10a of the cart storage room 10 in the food delivery cart body 2 is formed with hot and cold air outlet 31B communicating with the hot and cold air outlet 31A and cold air outlet 32B communicating with the cold air outlet 32A. Furthermore, the ceiling wall 10a of the cart storage room 10 in the food delivery cart body 2 is formed with hot and cold air inlet 33B communicating with the hot and cold air inlet 33A and cold air inlet 34B communicating with the cold air inlet 34A.

[0025] In addition, cylindrical rubber members R are interposed between the hot / cold air outlet 31A and the hot / cold air outlet 31B, between the cold air outlet 32A and the cold air outlet 32B, between the hot / cold air inlet 33A and the hot / cold air inlet 33B, and between the cold air inlet 34A and the cold air inlet 34B, so that the opposing openings communicate with each other. The mounting form of the cylindrical rubber member R is not particularly limited, but in this embodiment, the cylindrical rubber member R is fixed to the ceiling wall 10a side of the cart storage room 10 with adhesive or screws, and each opening of the upper wall 3a of the cart 3 abuts against the cylindrical rubber member R, so that the openings communicate with each other.

[0026] A switching damper 35 for switching between the cold air from the cooling device 40 and the steam from the steam supply unit 36 ​​is provided above the hot / cold air outlet communication port 31B.

[0027] As shown in Fig. 7, the switching damper 35 includes a damper body 41 having a generally cubic shape, a steam passage 43 formed in an upper wall 42 of the damper body 41, a cold air passage 45 formed in a right side wall 44 of the damper body 41, and a switching plate 46 whose base is rotatably supported at a corner where the upper wall 42 and the right side wall 44 of the damper body 41 intersect. When the switching plate 46 is in a horizontal position, the steam passage 43 is closed and the cold air passage 45 is opened by the plate 46 to supply cold air, and when the switching plate 46 is rotated by 90 degrees, the steam passage 43 is opened and the cold air passage 45 is closed by the plate 46 to supply steam. In the figure, reference numeral 48 denotes an air supply port formed in a lower wall 47 of the damper body 41.

[0028] That is, the switching damper 35 includes a damper body 41, a steam passage port 43 formed in an upper wall 42 of the damper body 41, a cold air passage port 45 formed in a right side wall 44 of the damper body 41, a switching plate 46 rotatably supported at a corner of the damper body 41 by a shaft CP, and a motor (not shown) for rotating the switching plate 46. The switching plate 46 is adapted to rotate 90° with the corner side of the damper body 41 as a fulcrum CP.

[0029] Further, to the upper side of the switching damper 35, a steam supply unit 36, which will be described later, is connected.

[0030] In the steam supply unit 36, a heater 37 such as a coil heater is disposed on the switching damper 35 side, a steam generator 38 is provided adjacent to the heater 37, and a fan 39 is further provided adjacent to the steam generator 38. According to the steam supply unit 36 ​​configured as above, the fan 39 is rotated to send the steam generated in the steam generator 38 to the heater 37 side, and the steam is heated to a predetermined temperature by the heater 37. In this case, the steam temperature is not particularly limited, and steam of various temperatures such as saturated steam or superheated steam can be supplied as necessary depending on the output setting of the heater 37.

[0031] 7(a), cool air is sent from the cooling device 40 installed on the ceiling wall 10a of the cart storage room 10 in the food service cart main body 2 to the switching damper 35 side via a built-in fan (not shown), and the cool air can be supplied into the cart 3 via the switching damper 35. In this case, the cool air is supplied into the tray storage room 30 of the cart 3 in the cart storage room 10 via the hot / cold air outlet 31A and the hot / cold air outlet communication port 31B.

[0032] On the other hand, when steam is supplied, with the switching plate 46 of the switching damper 35 in the state shown in Fig. 7(b), steam at a predetermined temperature is sent out from the steam supply unit 36 ​​and the steam can be supplied into the cart 3 via the switching damper 35. In this case as well, the steam is supplied into the tray storage chamber 30 of the cart 3 in the cart storage chamber 10 via the hot / cold air outlet 31A and the hot / cold air outlet communication port 31B.

[0033] In addition, the cold air and steam sent into the hot / cold room 11 are recovered via the hot / cold air intake port 33A and the hot / cold air intake communication port 33B, and are circulated to the steam supply unit 36 ​​side and the cooling device 40 side via a duct not shown.

[0034] Furthermore, in this embodiment, cold air is sent from the cooling device 40 into the cooling room 12 of the cart 3 through the cold air outlet 32A and the cold air outlet communication port 32B, and the cold air is collected through the cold air inlet 34A and the cold air inlet communication port 34B. In this case, the cold air is also collected into the cooling device 40 through a collection duct (not shown). [Industrial Applicability]

[0035] According to the food serving cart of the present invention, cold air and steam at a predetermined temperature can be supplied with a relatively simple configuration, and therefore it is expected to be used widely in the field of school lunches. [Explanation of symbols]

[0036] 1 Serving car 2 Food delivery cart body 3 Cart 4 Cart ceiling wall 5. Top of food delivery cart 10 Cart Storage Room 10a Cart Containment Room Ceiling Wall 15 Partition wall components 31A Hot and cold air outlet 31B Hot and cold air outlet 32A Cold air outlet 32B Cold air outlet 33A Hot and cold air intake 33B Hot and cold air intake vent 34A Cold air intake 34B Cold air intake vent 35 Switching damper 36 Steam Supply Unit 37 Heater 38 Steam Generator 39 Fans 41 Damper body 46 Switching plate

Claims

1. A cart-stored food serving cart comprises a food serving cart main body having a cart storage compartment, and a cart that is stored in the cart storage compartment of the food serving cart main body, and a partition wall is formed in the widthwise center of the cart, the partition wall being composed of partition wall members extending in the front-to-rear direction and arranged in a vertical direction, one side of the partition wall being a hot / cold chamber where heating with steam and cooling with cold air are performed, and the other side being a cold chamber where cooling only with cold air is performed.In this cart-stored food serving cart, a cooling device that supplies cold air to the hot / cold chamber and the cold chamber, and a steam supply means that supplies steam to the hot / cold chamber are provided on the upper part of the food serving cart main body, and a switching damper is provided for the hot / cold chamber to switch between the supply of cold air supplied from the cooling device and the supply of steam supplied from the steam generating means, and the switching damper allows cold air and steam to be selectively supplied from the upper part of the hot / cold chamber.

2. 2. The food serving cart of claim 1, wherein the switching damper comprises a damper body having an approximately cubic shape, a steam passage port formed in the upper wall of the damper body, a cold air passage port formed in the side wall of the damper body, and a switching plate whose base is rotatably supported at the corner where the upper wall and side wall of the damper body intersect, and when the switching plate is in a horizontal position, the plate closes the steam passage port and opens the cold air passage port to supply cold air, and when the switching plate is rotated 90 degrees, the plate opens the steam passage port and closes the cold air passage port to supply steam.

3. A food serving cart as described in claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the steam supply means is a steam supply unit that integrates a fan that blows air, a steam generating device arranged adjacent to the fan, and a heating means arranged adjacent to the steam generating device and that heats the steam generated by the steam generating device and blown by the fan.

4. 4. The food serving cart according to claim 3, wherein the heating means in the steam supply unit is a heater.

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