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.SOLUTION: A food service wagon is composed of a food service wagon body 10 having a cart housing chamber 9 in the inside, and including steam supply means 36 for heating food in the cart housing chamber 9, and a cooling device 41 for cooling the food, and a food service cart 5 housed in the cart housing chamber 9 of the food service wagon body 10. Hotel bread or the like is arranged in multiple stages in the food service cart 5 by a pair of left and right cart stays 24. The upper part of the food service wagon body 10 is disposed with the cooling device 41 for supplying cool air to the cart body and the steam supply means 36 for supplying steam thereto, and a switching dumper 35 for switching between supply of cool air and supply of steam. Cool air and steam are selectively supplied from the upper part of the cart body by the switching dumper 35.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 6

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a food serving cart used to provide meals to patients, residents, etc. 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 therein and is also easy to move. [Means for solving the problem]

[0011] The present invention as described in claim 1 provides a food serving cart that includes a food serving cart body having a cart storage chamber therein and equipped with a heating device for heating food in the cart storage chamber and a cooling device for cooling the food, and a food serving cart that is stored in the cart storage chamber of the food serving cart body, wherein the cart storage chamber has an opening on the front side, and a body door is attached to the front edge of one side wall of the cart storage chamber so as to be freely opened and closed relative to the opening, and at least the food serving cart is movable on casters attached to the lower part, and the food serving cart has upper and lower walls and left and right walls, and is equipped with no partition wall with openings on the front and rear sides, and a cart door is attached to the front edge of one side wall of the left and right walls so as to be freely opened and closed relative to the opening of the cart body, and A pair of left and right internal cart stays, which are the same height, are provided on the inside of the left and right walls of the cart, at a predetermined distance in the vertical direction, the internal cart stays extend in the front-to-rear direction of the cart body and protrude from the left and right walls toward the center of the cart body, the pair of left and right internal cart stays allow hotel pans and / or trays to be arranged in multiple tiers within the food serving cart, and a cooling device which supplies cold air into the cart body at the top of the food serving cart body, a steam supply means which supplies steam, and a switching damper which switches between the supply of cold air supplied from the cooling device and the supply of steam supplied from the steam supply means are provided at the top of the cart body, and the switching damper allows cold air and steam to be selectively supplied from the top of the cart body.

[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 damper body having an approximately cubic shape, 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-accommodating type food serving cart according to the present invention is a food serving cart comprising: a food serving cart main body having a cart accommodation chamber therein and equipped with a heating device for heating food in the cart accommodation chamber and a cooling device for cooling the food; and a food serving cart accommodated in the cart accommodation chamber of the food serving cart main body, the cart accommodation chamber having an opening on its front side, and a main body door attached to the front edge of one side wall of the cart accommodation chamber in such a way that it can be opened and closed relative to the opening; the food serving cart main body and the food serving cart are movable on casters attached to the bottom of each; the food serving cart comprises a cart main body having top and bottom walls and left and right walls, and no partition wall with openings on the front and rear sides, and a cart door is attached to the front edge of one side wall of the left and right walls in such a way that it can be opened and closed relative to the opening of the cart main body; a pair of left and right cart internal stays of the same height are provided on the left and right walls of the food serving cart at a predetermined interval in the vertical direction, the cart internal stays extend in the front and rear direction of the cart main body and extend from the left and right walls to the center of the cart main body. The pair of left and right cart stays allow hotel pans and / or trays to be arranged in multiple tiers inside the food serving cart, and a cooling device for supplying cold air into the cart body at the top of the food serving cart body, a steam supply means for supplying steam, and a switching damper for switching between the supply of cold air from the cooling device and the supply of steam from the steam supply means are provided at the top of the cart body, and the switching damper allows cold air and steam to be selectively supplied from the top of the cart body.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 be moved to the serving location, but the steam supply means provided at the top of the food serving cart body can supply steam at an appropriate temperature from the top of the tray storage chamber of the cart to appropriately heat the rice, main dish, side dish, etc. on the tray with steam, so that the foods do not dry out and meals with excellent texture and flavor can be provided. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0016] [Figure 1] FIG. 2 is an oblique view of a food serving cart according to an embodiment. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is an enlarged oblique view of the lower part of the food serving cart according to the embodiment. [Diagram 3] This is a front view of the food serving cart of the embodiment with the main body door open, and shows the cart door of the food serving cart closed. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is a front view of the food serving cart of the embodiment with the main body door open, showing the cart door of the food serving cart open. [Diagram 5] FIG. 2 is an enlarged front view of the interior of the food serving cart. [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.

[0018] 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.

[0019] In addition, in the food serving cart of the present invention, front / rear, left / right, and up / down are based on Fig. 3, with front referring to the front side of the drawing plane of Fig. 3 and rear referring to the back side of the drawing plane of Fig. 3. Furthermore, left referring to the left side of Fig. 3 and right referring to the right side of the drawing plane of Fig. 3. Furthermore, up referring to the top of Fig. 3 and down referring to the bottom side of the drawing plane of Fig. 3.

[0020] As shown in Figures 1 to 3, the food serving cart 1 of the present invention is composed of a food serving cart main body 10 having a cart storage chamber 9 therein and equipped with a heating device (not shown) for heating food in the cart storage chamber 9 and a cooling device (not shown) for cooling the food, and a food serving cart 5 stored in the cart storage chamber 9 of the food serving cart main body 10.

[0021] The cart storage chamber 9 has an opening 9a on the front, and a main door 2 is attached to the opening 9a so as to be freely opened and closed via hinges 3 provided on the upper and lower parts of the front edge of one side wall of the cart storage chamber 9, and a gasket 2a for airtightly closing the main door 2 is attached in a rectangular frame shape to the inner surface of the main door 2.

[0022] The food distribution cart body 10 is also provided with body casters 4 at the four corners of its bottom surface for easy movement, making it freely movable.

[0023] As shown in Figures 3 to 5, the food serving cart 5 has upper and lower walls 17 and 18 and left and right walls 19 and 20, and comprises a cart body 5a without a partition wall with an opening 5b on the front and rear sides. A cart door 6 is capable of being opened and closed freely via hinges 6a provided on the upper and lower parts of the front edge of the left wall 19, relative to the opening 5b of the cart body 5a, and cart casters 7 are attached to the four corners of the underside of the bottom wall 18 of the cart body 5a.

[0024] In this embodiment, a pair of left and right in-cart stays 8 having the same height are provided on the left and right walls 19 and 20 of the food serving cart 5 at a predetermined interval in the vertical direction.

[0025] In this embodiment, the cart interior stay 8 extends from the left and right walls 19 and 20 of the cart body 5a toward the center of the cart body 5a and has a step 22 in the center of the stay width, with a lower step 23 being the portion from the step 22 toward the center of the cart body 5a and an upper step 24 being the portion from the step 22 opposite to the center of the cart body 5a. In this embodiment, the cart interior stay 8 has a hanging wall 8a formed at its base, and the hanging wall 8a is fixed to the left and right walls 19 and 20 with bolts B, thereby attaching the cart interior stay 8 to the left and right walls 19 and 20. Furthermore, in this embodiment, the cart interior stay 8 has a row of through holes 21 arranged at regular intervals along its length. According to the cart interior stays 8 of the above-described structure, the pan body 11b of the hotel pan 11 having the flange 11a can be placed on the lower tier 23 of the left and right cart interior stays 8, and by placing hotel pans 11 in a similar manner on the lower tiers 23 of the pair of left and right cart interior stays 21 on each tier, the hotel pans 11 can be stored in multiple tiers inside the serving cart 5.

[0026] Furthermore, according to the aforementioned in-cart stays 8 of this embodiment, the tray 12 can be stored within the cart body 5a by hooking the left and right portions of the flange 12a of the tray 12 onto the upper stage portions 24 of a pair of left and right in-cart stays 21 instead of the hotel pan 11, and by similarly hanging the tray 12 on each of the upper stage portions 24 of a pair of left and right in-cart stays 8 on each stage, the trays 12 can be stored in multiple stages within the food serving cart 5.

[0027] In summary, according to the food serving cart of this embodiment, the food serving cart 5 can accommodate multiple hotel pans 11 or multiple trays 12, or can accommodate both the hotel pans 11 and the trays 12. The cooked food placed on the hotel pans 11 or the trays 12 can be refrigerated or heated by supplying a heating medium such as superheated steam or hot air or cold air from the rear wall 9b of the food serving cart body 10. After reheating the food by the heating, the main body door 2 of the food serving cart body 10 can be opened and the cart door 6 of the food serving cart 5 can be closed, and the food serving cart 5 can be moved to a food serving location in a hospital or nursing facility to provide meals to hospitalized patients or residents. The cart doors 6 of the food serving cart 5 are attached to the front and rear of the food serving cart 5 via hinges 6a, respectively, and when the food serving cart 5 is accommodated in the food serving cart body 10, each cart door 6 is opened.

[0028] As shown in Figure 6, the steam and cold air supply structure for the cart 5 stored in the cart storage room 9 of the food delivery cart main body 10 will be explained. In this embodiment, a hot and cold air outlet 31A is provided in the ceiling wall 17 of the cart 5, and a hot and cold air outlet communication port 31B that communicates with the hot and cold air outlet 31A is formed in the ceiling wall 10a of the cart storage room 9 in the food delivery cart main body 10. Between the hot / cold air outlet 31A and the hot / cold air outlet 31B, a cylindrical rubber member R is interposed which is fixed integrally to the periphery of the hot / cold air outlet 31B.

[0029] Furthermore, in this embodiment, a hot / cold air intake port 32A is formed in the ceiling wall 17 of the cart 5, and a hot / cold air intake communication port 32B that communicates with the hot / cold air intake port 32A is formed in the ceiling wall 10a of the cart storage room 9 in the food service cart main body 10. A cylindrical rubber member R that is fixed integrally to the periphery of the hot / cold air intake communication port 32B is also interposed between the hot / cold air intake port 32A and the hot / cold air intake communication port 32B.

[0030] A switching damper 35 is provided above the hot / cold air outlet 31B, and the switching damper 35 switches between steam and cold air.

[0031] As shown in Fig. 7, the switching damper 35 includes a substantially cubic damper body 41, a steam passage port 43 formed in an upper wall 42 of the damper body 41, a cool air passage port 45 formed in a right side wall 44 of the damper body 41, a switching plate 46 rotatably supported by a support CP at a corner 41a of the damper body 41, and a motor (not shown) for rotating the switching plate 46. The switching plate 46 is adapted to rotate 90° with the corner 41a side of the damper body 41 as a support CP. Fig. 48 shows an air supply port formed in a lower wall 47 of the damper body 41.

[0032] Further, to the upper side of the switching damper 35, a steam supply unit 36, which will be described later, is connected.

[0033] 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.

[0034] 7(a), cool air is sent from a 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 fan 42, 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.

[0035] 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.

[0036] 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 ​​and the cooling device 41 via a duct not shown. [Industrial Applicability]

[0037] 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, [Explanation of symbols]

[0038] 1 Serving car 10 Food delivery cart body 5 Cart 4 Cart ceiling wall 8 Stay in Cart 9 Cart Storage Room 10a Cart Containment Room Ceiling Wall 11 Hotel Pan 31A Hot and cold air outlet 31B Hot and cold air outlet 33A Hot and cold air intake 33B Hot and 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 food serving cart is comprised of a food serving cart body having a cart storage chamber therein and equipped with a heating device for heating food in the cart storage chamber and a cooling device for cooling the food, and a food serving cart stored in the cart storage chamber of the food serving cart body, wherein the cart storage chamber has an opening on its front side, and a body door is attached to a front edge of one side wall of the cart storage chamber relative to the opening so as to be freely opened and closed, and at least the food serving cart is movable on casters attached to the lower part, and the food serving cart has top and bottom walls and left and right walls, and is equipped with a cart body without partition walls having openings on the front and rear sides, and a cart door is attached to a front edge of one side wall of the left and right walls relative to the opening of the cart body so as to be freely opened and closed, and A pair of left and right internal cart stays, which are the same height, are provided on the walls at a predetermined interval in the vertical direction, the internal cart stays extend in the front-to-rear direction of the cart body and protrude from the left and right walls toward the center of the cart body, the pair of left and right internal cart stays allow hotel pans and / or trays to be arranged in multiple tiers within the food serving cart, and a cooling device which supplies cold air into the cart body at the top of the food serving cart body, a steam supply means which supplies steam, and a switching damper which switches between the supply of cold air supplied from the cooling device and the supply of steam supplied from the steam supply means are provided at the top of the cart body, and the switching damper allows cold air and steam to be selectively supplied from the top of the cart body.

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 provided adjacent to the fan, and a heating means provided 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 cart-type food serving vehicle according to claim 3, wherein the heating means in the steam supply unit is a heater.

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