JP3229495B2 - Food heater - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a food heater for heating retort foods and the like.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, elderly people living alone have been increasing with the aging of society. According to a survey, the population of senior citizens aged 65 and over in the country in 1992 was 16.24 million (13% of the total population), and in 2020, 32.74 million (25.5% of the total population) It is expected to increase until. On the other hand, with the advancement of women in society, cooking at home has become less common, and the tendency for meals to be instantaneous has increased.

[0003] In light of these phenomena, food manufacturers have developed and released foods that can be eaten immediately after opening the container or cooked foods (hereinafter referred to as retort foods) that can be eaten simply by warming the whole container. ing. In particular, the latter is often used with the spread of microwave ovens (see, for example, JP-A-4-231920 and JP-A-4-48406).

Further, as shown in Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 63-45221, for example, a retort food is placed in a substantially rectangular flat vertical type main body having a double structure insulated between an inner wall and an outer wall and having an open upper surface. A heating device has been devised that stores the baskets stacked one on top of another, covers the opening, covers the opening, adjusts the power to the heater with a timer or temperature controller as necessary, and heats the retort food. It had a thin, vertically long structure and was easy to fall over.

[0005]

However, it is difficult for an elderly man whose activity range has been narrowed due to a decrease in physical strength to use a convenient microwave oven every day.
This is because the installation place is limited due to the fact that the microwave oven is heavy and cannot be easily moved, and the necessity of grounding,
The reason is that it cannot be placed in a familiar place. Also,
The electromagnetic cooker, which is used as a safe cooker that does not use fire, also requires a metal container, which makes the container heavy and the heated container hot, making it easy for the elderly to use. It is hard to say an appliance.

[0006] In addition, retort foods that are widespread in terms of simplicity, when a cooking device other than a microwave oven is used as a heating device, must be heated for a long time or fall down as in the above-mentioned conventional example. The fact is that there are no products that are easy to handle and have a high risk of burns that can be handled conveniently and safely by the elderly.

For example, as an existing product, an electric warmer (see, for example, Japanese Utility Model Application Laid-Open No. 4-17730) is one that can safely heat food without the main body becoming hot when used. Since this is commercialized for the purpose of keeping warm once heated, it is necessary to heat the cooled food for at least one hour to warm it to an appropriate temperature. Considering the operation of warming and eating, it is considered that the heating time is ideally within 30 minutes. To simply shorten the heating time, it is sufficient to double the heater power. However, since the temperature of the outer periphery of the main body becomes high, there is a risk of burns. In order to solve this, there is a method of suppressing the heat transfer by increasing the gap between the heating chamber and the outer shell of the main body. However, the outer shape of the vessel becomes large, which causes trouble in handling.

[0008] In view of the above problems, an object of the present invention is to provide a safe and easy-to-use food heater in which an elderly person can easily warm a retort food and eat.

[0009]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and has a heating chamber equipped with a heater for heating food, a plastic body case for housing the heating chamber, and In a food heater provided with a control means for setting an energization time of a heater, a concave lower surface is formed on an upper surface of a main body case, and a plurality of food containers filled with cooked food are loaded in the concave lower surface into a heating chamber. Drill a plurality of insertion holes in a horizontal row, and place the heating chamber on the upper wall, side wall,
It is composed of a bottom wall, a plurality of openings are arranged concentrically on the upper wall of the heating chamber according to the number of insertion holes, and a plurality of heating chambers are located close to the food container on the side walls of the heating chamber according to the plurality of openings. A plurality of heating chambers are connected to each other at a communication portion to form a single heating chamber, and these communication portion side walls form a gourd-shaped recess, and the heating chamber side wall is configured as a continuous circular wall, and the heating chamber and the heating chamber are connected to each other. A gap is provided in the main body case, a heat insulating material is laid in the gap, a sheet heater is closely mounted around the entire back surface of the heating chamber side wall, and operating means is provided on a side face of the main body case. It is.

[0010]

[Function] The food containers to be heated are arranged in a horizontal line in the heating chamber, and the shape of the main body is elongated, so that it is easy to hold and move, and the loading and unloading of the food containers can be operated easily with just the front. After the food is warmed, it is possible to eat while the container is loaded in the main body.

Further, the heating chamber is configured to enclose a plurality of food containers in a gourd shape, and a planar heater is provided in close contact with the entire back surface of the side wall of the heating chamber. The room has the minimum capacity, the product can be small and light, and the heat conduction to the food is good, so the temperature of the food rises quickly. The same temperature can be achieved even when only three or three are used at the same time. In addition, the heating chamber and the main body case are insulated so that the main body case is affected by the radiant heat and conduction heat from the heater attached to the heating chamber. High temperatures can be suppressed.

[0012] Further, by providing a concave lower surface on the upper surface of the main body case, when spilling the broth or the like at the time of meal, it is prevented from flowing out to the outside, and the operating means is arranged on the side surface of the main body. In addition, the spilled broth is prevented from penetrating from the operating means into the electric parts of the internal organ of the main body.

[0013]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment according to the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. FIG. 1 is a top view of a food heater to which one embodiment of the present invention is applied, FIG. 2 is a front vertical cross-sectional view (AA ′ cross section of FIG. 1) of the food heater, and FIG. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view (a cross-sectional view taken along the line BB ′ in FIG. 2), and FIG. 4 is a side view of the operation unit.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes a main body case, which is composed of an upper case 2 and a lower case 3 made of plastic (for example, polycarbonate, polyester containing glass fiber, etc.). The upper case 2 and the lower case 3 are provided with mounting bosses 2a and 3a for fixing the heating chamber 6, respectively.

The heating chamber 6 is made of a metal plate such as stainless steel and has a configuration in which an upper wall 7, a side wall 8, and a bottom wall 9 are combined. 3 kinds of retort food 15 from 1 to 3
The heating chamber 6 forms three heating chambers 10, 11, 12 so that the pieces can be heated simultaneously, and three insertions for loading three retort foods 24, 25, 26 into the three heating chambers respectively. Holes 5 a, 5 b, 5 c are formed in a row in a hollow lower surface 5 formed on the upper surface 4 of the main body 1, and these insertion holes 5
Three openings 7a, 7b, 7c are arranged concentrically on the upper wall 7 of the heating chamber in accordance with a, 5b, 5c. Heating cabinet 10,
Numerals 11 and 12 form a heating chamber 6 by communicating with each other. The heating chamber side wall 8 connects the communicating portions 13 and 14 with the gourd-shaped concave portion 18.
Is formed as a continuous orbiting wall.

On the back surface of the side wall 8 of the heating chamber, a sheet heater 30 is provided in close contact with substantially the entire circumference. Outdoor flange portions 7d and 9a are respectively provided on the upper wall 7 and the bottom wall 9 of the heating chamber, and these flange portions 7d and 9a are respectively attached to the mounting bosses 2a and 3a of the upper case 2 and the lower case 3 by screws or rivets. Several places (four places in this example) are fixed by the fastening means 19. At this time, the gap 20 is provided so that the distance between the heating chamber 2 and the back surface of the main body case 1 is approximately 5 mm or more,
A heat insulating material 21 made of glass wool or ceramic is laid in the gap 20.

An operating means (knob in this embodiment) 27 is arranged on the short front side surface 1a of the main body case 1, and the operating means 27 is stored in the main body case 1 by a control means 28.
(In this example, a timer). Reference numeral 29 denotes an operation lamp connected to the control means 28. The control means 28 includes a heat shield wall 2 provided in the main body case 1.
3, heat insulation protection is provided so as not to be damaged by the influence of radiant heat or conduction heat from the heating chamber 6, and a function of sounding an end notification sound after heating for a set time has elapsed.

Next, an operation example of the present embodiment having the above configuration will be described.

For the convenience of daily meals, retort foods are prepared as "rice" 24, "boiled" 25, "miso soup" 26
3 types were heated at the same time so that they could be eaten. After inserting the plug of the power cord extending from the main body into an outlet (not shown), the retort foods 24, 25, 26 are inserted into the heating chambers 10, 1 through the insertion holes 5a, 5b, 5c, respectively.
The heating time is set by operating the operation means 27. The heating operation may be started by a power switch, but the operation is simplified and the number of parts is reduced.
The operation lamp 29 is turned on at the same time when the control means 28 is started with only the knob, and the heater 30 is energized.

Since the retort food is stored indoors, the initial temperature is different between summer and winter, so that the same heating time results in hotter summer. In this example, the temperature of the food is set to be about 50 ° C. so that the elderly can eat safely. Equipped with a temperature sensor and a control device, and by making full use of them, it is possible to automatically finish the food at an appropriate temperature regardless of the initial temperature of the food, but the product becomes expensive and the burden on the elderly increases.

In order to manufacture at low cost, there is a method of setting a designated heating time indicated on an instruction manual or a main body by a timer. In this example, as shown in FIG. 4, a set position is displayed near the operation means 27 so that the control means 28 having a timer function can select three places, "summer", "spring / autumn" and "winter". . However, even if misconfigured (“Winter” is set in summer), the food is set at a level that is slightly hotter for safety.

It is not always necessary to heat three retort foods at the same time, and even one can be heated to the same temperature as in the case of three. Further, the control means 28 emits an end notification sound after a lapse of the set time, stops the energization, turns off the operation lamp 29, and notifies completion of heating.

As described above, the retort foods 24, 25, and 26 are arranged in a horizontal line in the heating chamber 6, so that after the heating is completed, the food can be eaten while the food is loaded, and the heating chamber 6 is shaped like a gourd. , A plurality of foods 24, 25, and 26 are wrapped around, and the sheet heater 30 is provided in close contact with the entire back surface of the heating chamber side wall 8, so that the configuration is simple and the heating chamber 6 is minimum. In addition to reducing the size and weight of the product, the heat conduction to the food was improved and the food warmed quickly, and the retort food could be heated in 20 minutes.

[0024]

As described above, according to the present invention, since the insertion holes formed in the recessed lower surface of the upper surface of the main body case are arranged in a horizontal line, the loading and unloading of the food container can be performed only by the user. It is easy to handle, it is possible to eat with the container loaded after warming the food, and the main body is horizontally long, so that it is easy to carry and easy to carry.

Further, the heating chamber is configured to wrap a plurality of foods in a gourd shape, and a planar heater is provided in close contact with the entire back surface of the side wall of the heating chamber. Therefore, the configuration is simple, and the heating chamber is simple. The minimum capacity is enough, the product can be small and lightweight, and the heat conduction to the food is good, so the food warms up quickly, and since the three heating chambers are connected, the heating chamber has a constant atmospheric temperature, Food from one to three
Even when the individual pieces are heated at the same time, they can be finished to almost the same temperature in the same heating time, and a gap is provided between the surroundings of the heating chamber and the main body case, and a heat insulating material is laid in the gap, so radiation from the heater attached to the heating chamber This has the effect of preventing the surface of the main body case from becoming hot due to the influence of heat and conduction heat, and eliminating the risk of burns.

In addition, the provision of the concave lower surface on the upper surface of the main body case makes it possible to prevent the broth or the like from flowing out even when spilled on the upper surface during a meal.
By arranging the operating means on the side of the main body, it is possible to prevent the spilled broth from entering the electric parts of the internal organ of the main body from the operating means, thereby preventing failure of the parts and electric shock. As described above, it is possible to provide a food heater that can be easily and safely used by elderly people.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a top view of a food heater according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a front vertical sectional view of the same.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the same.

FIG. 4 is a side view of the same.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Main body case 4 Upper surface 5 Depressed lower surface 5a, 5b, 5c Insertion hole 6 Heating chamber 7 Upper wall 7a, 7b, 7c Opening 8 Side wall 9 Bottom wall 10, 11, 12 Heating chamber 13, 14 Communication part 18 Gourd-shaped recess 20 Gap Part 21 heat insulating material 24, 25, 26 food container 27 operating means 28 control means 30 heater

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (58) Field surveyed (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) A47J 36/24

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] 1. A heater for heating food (30)
, A plastic body case (1) accommodating the heating chamber (6), and a heater (3).
In a food heater provided with control means (28) for setting the energization time of (0), a plurality of food containers (2) in which cooked food is packed on the upper surface (4) of the main body case (1).
A plurality of insertion holes (5a), (5b) and (5c) for loading 4), (25) and (26) into the heating chamber (6).
The heating chamber (6) has an upper wall (7),
The upper wall (6) has a plurality of openings formed concentrically in accordance with the number of the plurality of insertion holes (5a), (5b) and (5c). (7a), (7b),
(7c), and the side wall (8) is provided with a plurality of heating chambers (10), (11) and (12) according to the plurality of openings (7a), (7b) and (7c). Container (2
4), (25), and (26) are formed close to each other, and the plurality of heating chambers (10), (11), and (12) communicate with their neighbors at communication sections (13) and (14), respectively. Thus, a single heating chamber (6) is formed, and the side walls of the communicating portions (13) and (14) form a gourd-shaped recess (18) to form the side wall (8) of the heating chamber as a continuous orbiting wall. (6) and the main body case (1) form a gap (20), a heat insulating material (21) is laid in the gap (20), and a planar heater is provided on the back surface of the side wall (8) of the heating chamber. A food heater characterized in that (30) is arranged in close contact with substantially the entire circumference. 2. A concave lower surface (5) is formed on an upper surface (4) of the main body case (1), and the plurality of insertion holes (5a), (5b) and (5c) are laterally formed on the concave lower surface (5). A plurality of holes are formed in a line, and operating means (2) is provided on the side surface (1a) of the main body case (1).
The food heater according to claim 1, wherein 7) is provided.