Holding cabinet and method and apparatus for controlling a holding cabinet
First Claim
1. A cabinet for maintaining containers of food within a predetermined temperature range for a period of time not exceeding a predetermined maximum time, comprising:
- a housing having a front panel and a passageway opening at said front panel, said passageway capable of receiving at least two containers of food;
a temperature element positioned in said passageway for maintaining said passageway within said predetermined temperature range;
a processing circuit for tracking the amount of time each container of food remains within said passageway and for providing a signal output indicating which container of food has been within said passageway the longest, and for providing an alarm signal when either container of food remains within said passageway beyond said predetermined maximum time; and
a display positioned on said housing proximate to said passageway for receiving said signal output and indicating which container of food has been within said passageway the longest, and for receiving said alarm signal and indicating which container of food has been within said passageway for a period of time exceeding said predetermined maximum time.
13 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A cabinet and control system for maintaining a food product within a predetermined temperature range for a holding period of time not exceeding a predetermined maximum time. The cabinet comprises a housing having a front panel and a passageway opening at the front panel. The passageway is capable of receiving at least two containers of the food product. A temperature element positioned in said passageway maintains the passageway within the predetermined temperature range. A processing circuit tracks the amount of time each container of food product remains within the passageway. The processing circuit provides a signal output indicating which container has been within said passageway the longest and an alarm signal when either container remains within said passageway beyond said maximum time. A display positioned on said housing proximate to said passageway receives the said signal output and indicates which container has been within the passageway the longest. The display also receives the alarm signal and indicates which one of the containers has been within the passageway for a period of time exceeding the predetermined maximum time.
119 Citations
57 Claims
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1. A cabinet for maintaining containers of food within a predetermined temperature range for a period of time not exceeding a predetermined maximum time, comprising:
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a housing having a front panel and a passageway opening at said front panel, said passageway capable of receiving at least two containers of food; a temperature element positioned in said passageway for maintaining said passageway within said predetermined temperature range; a processing circuit for tracking the amount of time each container of food remains within said passageway and for providing a signal output indicating which container of food has been within said passageway the longest, and for providing an alarm signal when either container of food remains within said passageway beyond said predetermined maximum time; and a display positioned on said housing proximate to said passageway for receiving said signal output and indicating which container of food has been within said passageway the longest, and for receiving said alarm signal and indicating which container of food has been within said passageway for a period of time exceeding said predetermined maximum time. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A cabinet for maintaining containers of a first food and containers of a second food within a first and second predetermined temperature range respectively for a period of time not exceeding a predetermined first and second maximum time respectively, comprising:
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a housing having a front panel, a first passageway and second passageway both opening at said front panel, said first passageway capable of receiving at least two containers of the first food and said second passageway capable of receiving at least two containers of the second food; a temperature element in each of said passageways for maintaining said first passageway within said first predetermined temperature range and said second passageway within said second predetermined temperature range; means for identifying the presence of said containers of food within said passageways; a processing circuit for tracking the amount of time each container of food remains within its respective passageway and for providing output signals indicating which container of food in each of said passageways has been in its respective passageway the longest and for providing an alarm signal when any container of food remains in its respective passageway beyond its respective predetermined maximum time; and a display positioned on said housing proximate to said passageways for receiving said output signals and for indicating which container of food in each of said passageways has been in its respective passageway the longest, and for receiving said alarm signal and for indicating which container of food has been within its respective passageway for a period of time exceeding its respective predetermined maximum time. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23)
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24. A control system for maintaining within a predetermined temperature range for a period of time not exceeding a predetermined maximum time at least two containers of food within a cabinet having a passageway capable of holding the containers of food, a heating device and a temperature sensor positioned in the passageway and a display mounted on the cabinet proximate to the passageway, said control system comprising:
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a temperature circuit for controlling the heating device and maintaining the passageway within the predetermined temperature range; and a processing circuit for tracking the amount of time each container of food remains within the passageway and for providing a signal output to the display indicating which container of food has been within the passageway the longest, and for providing an alarm signal to the display when any container of food remains within the passageway beyond the predetermined maximum time. - View Dependent Claims (25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31)
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32. A control system for use in a cabinet having a housing with a front panel, a first and second passageway opening at the front panel, a first heating device and first temperature sensor positioned in the first passageway, a second heating device and a second temperature sensor positioned in the second passageway, a first display positioned on the front panel proximate the first passageway and a second display positioned on the front panel proximate the second passageway, said control system maintaining at least two containers of a first food product within the first passageway within a first predetermined temperature range for a period of time not exceeding a first predetermined maximum time and at least two containers of a second food product within the second passageway within a second predetermined temperature range for a period of time not exceeding a second predetermined maximum time, said control system comprising:
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a temperature circuit for controlling the first heating device and the second heating device and maintaining the first passageway within the first predetermined temperature range and maintaining the second passageway within the second predetermined temperature range; a processing circuit for tracking the amount of time each container of food remains within its respective passageway and for providing output signals to the first display and the second display indicating which container of food in each of said passageways has been in the respective passageway the longest and for providing an alarm signal to the first display a second display when a container of food remains in its respective passageway beyond its respective predetermined maximum time. - View Dependent Claims (33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43)
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44. A method for maintaining within a predetermined temperature range for a period of time not exceeding a predetermined maximum time at least two containers of food within a cabinet having a passageway capable of holding the containers of food, a heating device mounted in the passageway and a display mounted on the cabinet proximate to the passageway, said method comprising the steps:
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maintaining the passageway within the predetermined temperature range; tracking the amount of time each container of food remains within the passageway; indicating on the display which container of food has been within the passageway the longest; and indicating on the display when a container of food remains within the passageway beyond the predetermined maximum time. - View Dependent Claims (45, 46, 47, 48)
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49. A method for maintaining at least two containers of a first food product within a first passageway of a cabinet within a first predetermined temperature range for a period of time not exceeding a first predetermined maximum time and at least two containers of a second food product within a second passageway of the cabinet within a second predetermined temperature range for a period of time not exceeding a second predetermined maximum time, said cabinet having a housing with a front panel, said first and second passageway opening at the front panel, a first heating device positioned in the first passageway, a second heating device positioned in the second passageway, a first display positioned on the front panel proximate the first passageway and a second display positioned on the front panel proximate the second passageway, said method comprising the steps:
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maintaining the first passageway within the first predetermined temperature range and maintaining the second passageway within the second predetermined temperature range; tracking the amount of time each container of food remains within its respective passageway; indicating which container of food in each of said passageways has been in its respective passageway the longest; and indicating when a container of food remains in its respective passageway beyond its respective predetermined maximum time. - View Dependent Claims (50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57)
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Specification