Self-heating hot beverage serving urn and method

• US 6,606,937 B2
• Filed: 04/24/2001
• Issued: 08/19/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 04/25/2000
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Food Equipment Technologies Company
• Original Assignee: Food Equipment Technologies Company
• Inventors: Lassota, Zbigniew G.
• Primary Examiner(s): ALEXANDER, REGINALD
• Application Number:
  US09/841,399
• Publication Number:
  US 20020083840A1
• Time in Patent Office: 847 Days
• Field of Search: 992/75, 992/79, 993/233, 99D/IG.14, 992/90, 220/592.22, 220/592.23, 220/592.28, 220/592.16, 219/439, 219/438, 219/387, 219/386, 219/385, 219/621
• US Class Current: 99/290
• CPC Class Codes: A47J 31/50 Urns with devices for keeping beverages hot or cool
• CPC Class Codes: A47J 41/0044 comprising heat or cold storing elements or material, i.e. energy transfer within the vessel
• CPC Class Codes: F24V 30/00 Apparatus or devices using heat produced by exothermal chemical reactions other than combustion
• CPC Class Codes: F28D 20/02 using latent heat
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 60/14 Thermal energy storage

Abstract

A self-heating urn (10) is provided with a warmer packs (18) which are rapidly heated during the brewing process and then gradually release their heat to the brewed beverage within the urn after it is removed from the brewing location to a serving location at which electrical powered for heating is not available. The warmer pack (18) are formed of ceramic materials, high density liquids, PCM'"'"'s or the like which are capable of being rapidly heated during the brewing process but then gradually release their heat to the beverage in the urn. Alternatively, the warmer packs (18) are removably mounted within a compartment (68) within the self-heating urn (10) and are heated apart from the brewing process and then inserted into the self-heating urn (10) when it is moved to a serving location.

Claims

1. A self-heating beverage urn, comprising:

an urn body with

an outer housing protectively containing a liner for storage of hot beverage, and

a compartment for containing a heat pack; and

a heat pack within the compartment and in heat transferring relationship with the liner for transferring heat from the heat pack to the liner and any beverage contained within the liner, in combination with

a brewer having means for heating the heat pack during a brew cycle.

2. The self-heating urn of claim 1 in which the compartment is located beneath the liner.

3. The self-heating urn of claim 1 in which the compartment has a doorway for receipt and removal of a heat pack.

4. The self-heating urn of claim 3 including a door for closing the doorway.

5. The self-heating urn of claim 3 in which the heat pack is a removable heat pack with structural integrity that is independent of external support by the compartment.

6. The self-heating urn of claim 1 in which the brewer includes one of (a) a radiant heater, (b) an electrical connector for powering an electrical heating element contained within the body, (c) a microwave heater, and (d) a heat conductive member in contact with a bottom surface of the body.

7. The self-heating urn of claim 1 in which the heat pack is removably mounted within the body and in combination with means for heating a heat pack when outside of the body.

8. The self-heating urn of claim 1 in which the heat pack is one of (a) a ceramic, (b) high density liquids within a liquid impervious case, (c) a phase-change material, and (d) a zeolite-like material.

9. The self-heating urn of claim 8 in which the phase-change material is paraffin.

10. The self-heating urn of claim 8 in which the phase-change material is a zeolite-like material and including means to add water vapor to the phase change material to initiate an exothermic phase-change reaction.

11. A self-heating beverage urn, comprising:

an urn body with

an outer housing protectively containing a liner for storage of hot beverage, and

a compartment for containing a heat pack; and

a heat pack within the compartment and in heat transferring relationship with the liner for transferring heat from the heat pack to the liner and any beverage contained within the liner, and in which

the heat pack is fixedly mounted within the compartment, and including

means for heating the heat pack while mounted within the compartment from an external source of power.

12. The self-heating urn of claim 11 in which the means for heating the heat pack includes means for transferring heating power from the outside of the urn body to the heat pack.

13. The self-heating urn of claim 11 in which the transferring means includes a metal, heat conductive bottom defining a bottom of the compartment supporting the heat pack.

14. The self-heating urn of claim 13 in which the transferring means includes a heat conductive leg extending from the compartment to a bottom of the body to transfer heat from the bottom to the interior of the compartment and the heat pack.

15. The self-heating urn of claim 11 in which the heating means includes an electrical heating element contained within the compartment.

16. The self-heating urn of claim 15 in which the heating means includes means mounted to an outside of the surface of the body for making electrical contact between the electrical heating element and a source of electrical power.

17. The self-heating urn of claim 16 including a brewer with an operative urn position for the urn to receive brewed beverage from the brewer and an electrical connector positioned relative to the operative urn position for making mating electrical connection with electrical contact making means of the urn automatically when the urn body is moved into the operative urn position.

18. The self-heating urn of claim 15 in which the heat pack includes a hollow ceramic-like, hollow body within which the electrical heating element is contained.

19. The self-heating urn of claim 11 in which the means for heating includes means for conveying microwave radiation to the heat pack from an external source.

20. The self-heating urn of claim 19 in which the coveying means include a non-metallic window to the compartment that is transparent to microwave energy.

21. A self-heating beverage urn, comprising:

an urn body with

an outer housing protectively containing a liner for storage of hot beverage, and

a compartment for containing a heat pack; and

a heat pack within the compartment and in heat transferring relationship with the liner for transferring heat from the heat pack to the liner and any beverage contained within the liner, and in which

the heat pack includes a zeolite-like material that is one of (a) a hydrated salt, and b) a eutectic salt, and including

means to add water vapor to the zeolite-like material to initiate an exothermic phase change reaction.

22. A self-heating beverage urn, comprising:

an urn body with

an outer housing protectively containing a liner for storage of hot beverage, and

a compartment for containing a heat pack; and

a heat pack within the compartment and in heat transferring relationship with the liner for transferring heat from the heat pack to the liner and any beverage contained within the liner said heat pack being one of (a) a ceramic, (b) high density liquids within a liquid impervious case, (c) a phase-change material, and (d) a zeolite-like material, and in which the ceramic is a ceramic sandwich having an interior ceramic core with a relatively high rate of heat transfer contained within an outer envelope layer of ceramic of relatively low rate of heat transfer.

23. The self-heating urn of claim 22, including means for conveying heat directly to the ceramic core.