Food table

Claim 2

A food storage and dispensing device comprising a housing having insulated walls, said housing having an opening at its top, a heat conductive food pan positioned in said opening and means supporting said food pan on said housing, said food pan projecting downwardly through the opening, a cavity formed in said housing, said cavity being positioned below said opening, said cavity being horizontally spaced from said opening, said cavity having insulated walls, air circulating means and heat transfer means within said cavity, said air circulating means being adapted to pass air over said heat transfer means in order to change the temperature of said air, circulate said air around said food pan and back to said air circulating means, whereby the air can be recirculated, and whereby debris falling into said housing from said food pans will not contact said air circulating means and said heat transfer means within said cavity.

Claim 3

The device of claim 1 and further including means formed on said housing at said opening for spacing said food pan from the walls of said housing in order to insure proper air circulation around said food pan.

Claim 4

The device of claim 2 wherein said spacing means comprises nibs on the walls of said housing.

Claim 5

The device of claim 1 and further including temperature sensing means within said housing, said temperature sensing means being positioned to sense the temperature of the air returning to said circulating means after contacting said food pan, whereby said temperature sensing means is adapted to sense the mean temperature of the food pan and its contents, and said temperature sensing means being adapted to control said heat transfer means.

Claim 6

The device of claim 1 wherein said heat transfer means comprises an electrical resistance heater.

Claim 7

The device of claim 1 wherein said heat transfer means comprises steam tubes.

Claim 8

The device of claim 1 wherein said heat transfer means comprises tubes carrying a refrigerant.

Claim 9

The device of claim 1 and further including first and second baffle means, said first baffle means being adapted to direct air which passes across said heat transfer means downwardly toward the bottom of said housing, and said second baffle means being adapted to direct the air which has contacted said food pan back to said air circulating means.

Claim 10

The device of claim 1 wherein said air circulating means comprises a fan, said fan being mounted on a motor shaft, said fan being positioned within an opening in a plate, said opening having an edge which is flared away from said motor, whereby said edge creates a Venturi effect to direct air in a direction away from said motor.

Claim 11

The device of claim 1 wherein said housing includes a bottom wall, said cavity having a bottom wall, with the bottom wall of said cavity being at a higher elevation than the bottom wall of said housing, whereby small amounts of liquid falling into said housing will not enter said cavity, and whereby air passing from said cavity will first be forced downwardly into said housing to mix with the air in said housing prior to contacting said food pans.

Claim 12

The device of claim 1 wherein said air circulating means and said heat transfer means are integrally connected as a unit, and said unit being removable from said cavity, whereby said cavity can easily be cleaned when said unit is removed, and whereby said device can be serviced by removing and replacing said unit when necessary.

Claim 13

The device of claim 11 wherein said unit has first electrical connection means thereon, said fan and said heat transfer means being connected to said first electrical connection means, said cavity having second electrical connection means secured on a wall thereof, said first electrical connection means being adapted to be electrically connected to said second electrical connection means when said unit is inserted in said cavity.

Claim 14

A food storage and dispensing device comprising a table, said table having a plurality of compartments mounted thereon, each compartment comprising a housing having insulated walls, said housing having an opening at its top, a heat conductive food pan positioned in said opening and means supporting said food pan on said housing, said food pan projecting downwardly through the opening, a cavity formed in said housing, said cavity being horizontally spaced from said opening, said cavity having insulated walls, air circulating means and heat transfer means within said cavity, said air circulating means being adapted to pass air over said heat transfer means in order to change the temperature of said air, circulate said air around said food pan and back to said air circulating means, whereby the air can be recirculated, and whereby debris falling into said Housing from said food pans will not contact said air circulating means and said heat transfer means within said cavity.

Claim 15

A food storage and dispensing device comprising a table, said table having a plurality of compartments mounted thereon, each compartment comprising a housing having insulated walls, said housing having an opening at its top, a heat conductive food pan positioned in said opening and means supporting said food pan on said housing, said food pan projecting downwardly through the opening, a cavity formed in said housing, said cavity being horizontally spaced from said opening, said cavity having insulated walls, air circulating means and heat transfer means within said cavity, said air circulating means being adapted to pass air over said heat transfer means in order to change the temperature of said air, circulate said air around said food pan and back to said air circulating means, whereby the air can be recirculated, and whereby debris falling into said Housing from said food pans will not contact said air circulating means and said heat transfer means within said cavity.

Claim 16

The device of claim 13 wherein each compartment is insulated from the other compartments.

Claim 17

The device of claim 13 wherein the heat transfer means within each compartment is thermostatically controlled, whereby the temperature of each compartment can be maintained at a different level from the levels in the other compartments.