Heat-holding apparatus

Claim 1

In heat-holding apparatus for food and the like, the combination comprising: an inner heat-holding compartment made of heat conductive material having bottom, top, opposed side and opposed front and rear imperforate walls connected in a box-like structure forming an inner substantially closed space, said front wall having an access opening, at least one movable door across the front wall for selectively closing off the compartment and providing access thereinto; a layer of heat insulation extending across the bottom of the compartment and a generally truncated, V-shaped deflector with inclined sides located below the layer of heat insulation and forming a closed air space therebetween to limit the heat upwardly through the bottom wall to the extent necessary to provide a substantially uniform temperature along and heat transfer through the bottom, top and side walls of the compartment; a source of heat under the deflector for producing heated gases; an outer jacket for the heating of the compartment including jacket wall portions spaced from the side walls of the compartment to provide side flow passages on each side thereof, an upwardly and outwardly inclined lower baffle on each side of the burner terminating at their upper ends at the lower ends of jacket wall portions to provide upwardly inclined lower flow passages communicating with the side flow passages and a top jacket wall portion spaced from the top wall to provide a top flow passage in communcation with the side flow passages and leading through a top outlet in the top jacket wall portion; and an outer housing and heat insulation outside the jacket to reduce heat loss from the inner compartment.