FOOD WARMING DEVICE AND SYSTEM

• US 20090095736A1
• Filed: 10/10/2007
• Published: 04/16/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 10/10/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Cooktek Induction Systems, LLC (Middleby Corporation)
• Original Assignee: CookTek, LLC
• Inventors: Graber, Warren S., Metz, Reinhard
• Granted Patent: US 8,344,296 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 219/625
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 2213/07 Heating plates with temperature control means
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 6/062 for cooking plates or the like

Abstract

An apparatus, system and method for warming food by controlled heating of heat retention objects such as cookware items or pellets located on a trivet positioned on a countertop, using heating control units, such as induction heating units, remotely located beneath the countertop. The preferred trivet insulates the countertop against damages, and also includes circuitry enabling the indication or display of its proper positioning on the countertop, and also indicating whether the heating unit is heating the heat retention object.

Claims

1. An apparatus for measuring and controlling the temperature of a heat retention object used to warm or to keep warm a food item, comprising:

a trivet in contact with the heat retention object, the trivet resting on a countertop and acting as an insulator to limit the amount of heat transferring from the heat retention object through the trivet to the countertop; and

a tag associated with the trivet, the tag being capable of communication with a reader associated with a heating control unit located below the countertop, enabling controlled heating of the heat retention object.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the trivet includes electronic circuitry to facilitate the indication of its proper positioning on the countertop, so as to allow proper heating of an object by the heating control unit.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the heating control unit comprises an induction heating unit which transmits magnetic waves to the heat retention object.

4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the heat retention object comprises an item of cookware.

5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the heat retention object comprises either a food container or a heat retentive pellet.

6. The apparatus of claim 4, further comprising a magnetic detachable coupler carrying the tag, the coupler being removably attached to the cookware item.

7. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the trivet includes channels and/or cavities.

8. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the electronic circuitry located on the trivet is located within the channels or cavities.

9. The apparatus of claim 2, further comprising processor means communicating with sensors and displays to indicate operating conditions of the heating control unit or the heat retention object to the user.

10. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the tag comprises an RFID tag and the reader comprises an RFID reader.

11. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the countertop is made from one or more of the following materials:

stone;

composites;

formica;

glass;

ceramic;

or wood.

12. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the magnetic coupler comprises a housing in which the tag is located, and a tongue portion having a temperature sensor.

13. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the tongue portion is in abutting contact with the cookware item when the magnetic coupler is magnetically coupled to the cookware item.

14. The apparatus of claim 6, further comprising an antenna associated with the heating unit and facilitating communication between the tag and the reader, and wherein a housing of the coupler has a length sufficient to allow positioning of the tag within the housing at a location which is within a reception area of the antenna.

15. The apparatus of claim 6, further comprising an adhesive means attached to the coupler, permitting the tag to be attached to non-metal cookware items.

16. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the trivet includes an indicating means showing a user when the trivet is properly positioned within the magnetic field of the induction heating unit.

17. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein the indicating means also displays whether the induction heating unit is currently heating the heat retention object, and the indicating means comprises an LED.

18. An apparatus including an induction heating control unit positioned beneath a countertop for measuring and controlling the temperature of a heat retention object to be indirectly heated, comprising:

a trivet supporting the heat retention object, the trivet resting on the countertop and acting as an insulator to limit the amount of conducted and radiated heat transferring from the heat retention object through the trivet to the countertop;

wherein the trivet has associated with it an RFID tag, the tag being capable of communication with an RFID reader associated with the induction heating control unit.

19. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein the trivet includes electronic circuitry indicating when the trivet is properly positioned on the countertop within the magnetic field range of the induction heating control unit, to allow controlled heating of the heat retention object.

20. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein the heat retention object comprises either a food container or an item of cookware.

21. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein the trivet includes an insulating lower portion and a metallic upper portion to which the RFID tag is attached.

22. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein the RFID tag is attached to the trivet using a detachable coupler carrying the tag, the coupler being removably magnetically attached to the trivet.

23. A system for measuring and controlling temperatures of heat retention objects used to warm or to keep warm food items, comprising:

a trivet supporting the heat retention object, the trivet resting on a countertop and acting as an insulator to limit heat transferring from the heat retention object through the trivet to the countertop;

a tagging object associated with either the trivet or the heat retention object; and

a heater control unit in communication with a reader capable of receiving information from the tagging object, enabling directly controlled heating of either the trivet or the heat retention object.

24. The system of claim 23, wherein induction heating is employed to heat either the trivet or the heat retention object using information provided by the tagging object that has been communicating with the reader.

25. The system of claim 23, wherein the heat retention object comprises either a food container or an item of cookware.