MODULAR FOOD HOLDING SYSTEM

• US 20170071409A1
• Filed: 09/10/2015
• Published: 03/16/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 09/10/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Marmon Foodservice Technologies Incorporated (Berkshire Hathaway Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Prince Castle LLC (Berkshire Hathaway Incorporated)
• Inventors: Veltrop, Loren J.
• Granted Patent: US 10,455,983 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: A47J 39/006 for either storing and preparing or for preparing food on serving trays, e.g. heating, thawing, preserving

Abstract

A modular food holding system includes a plurality of individual modularized food holding chambers, each of the plurality of food holding chambers being physically and communicatively removably connected to one another. Each of the food holding chambers includes a food holding cavity and at least one of a heating element and/or a cooling element for heating or cooling the food holding cavity. A chamber base is physically and communicatively removably connected to one of the food holding chambers and operation of at least one food holding chamber is controlled by the chamber base.

Claims

1. A modular food holding system comprising:

a plurality of individual modularized food holding chambers, each of the plurality of food holding chambers being physically and communicatively removably connected to one another, each of the food holding chambers comprising a food holding cavity and at least one of a heating element and a cooling element for heating or cooling the food holding cavity;

a chamber base physically and communicatively removably connected to one of the food holding chambers in the plurality of food holding chambers; and

a smart sensor operatively coupled to at least one food holding chamber in the plurality of individual modularized food holding chambers, the smart sensor directly sensing a characteristic of a food holding environment within at least one food holding chamber.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the smart sensor is located under a cover of a food pan stored within one food holding chamber.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the smart sensor is located in a handle of a food pan stored within one food holding chamber.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the smart sensor comprises one of a humidity sensor, a temperature sensor, an electronic nose sensor, or a load sensor.

5. The system of claim 4, wherein the smart sensor is an electronic nose sensor that senses food decomposition products.

6. The system of claim 5, wherein the food decomposition products include one or more of sulphur, amines, aldehydes, ethanol, ethylene, and metal oxides.

7. The system of claim 5, wherein the electronic nose sensor uses one or more of gas chromatography, olfactometry, or mass spectrometry to detect the food decomposition products.

8. The system of claim 7, further comprising a display screen operatively connected to the smart sensor and the display screen displays an indication of the quality of the food product stored in the food holding chamber based on a level of food decomposition products detected by the electronic nose.

9. The system of claim 4, wherein the sensor is a load sensor that detects the presence and amount of food products stored within one food holding chamber.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein the load sensor is one of a load cell, a sonar detector, and an optical detector.

11. The system of claim 1, wherein the sensor sends sensed information to the chamber base and the chamber base controls environmental conditions within the food holding chamber to maintain a food item in a stasis mode.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein the stasis mode includes maintaining the food item at a temperature of less than 40°

F. or greater than 140°

F.

13. The system of claim 1, wherein the smart sensor is wirelessly connected to the chamber base.

14. The system of claim 1, wherein the smart sensor is wired to the chamber base.

15. The system of claim 1, wherein the smart sensor includes a load sensor and at least one of a humidity sensor or a temperature sensor.

16. The system of claim 1, wherein the smart sensor includes a load sensor, a humidity sensor and a temperature sensor.