Abstract:
A compact scalable food preparation center ( 10 ) is adapted for the preparation of custom ordered pizzas on a walk-in or drive-through basis. The center has a base unit ( 12 ) with a food preparation surface ( 14 ), a refrigerated storage unit ( 16 ) under the food preparation surface, and a refrigerated topping storage area ( 18 ) on the food preparation surface, the topping storage area having a cover ( 19 ). An oven ( 20 ) is positioned on top of the base unit with a solid cooking surface and heating elements spaced above the solid cooking surface. The oven is controlled to cook non-frozen raw pizzas with toppings in less than 4 minutes.

Description:
[0001]     This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/561,639, filed Apr. 13, 2004. 
     
    
     TECHNICAL FIELD  
       [0002]     This invention relates to food preparation centers, and more particularly to food preparation centers including refrigerated storage and an oven.  
       BACKGROUND  
       [0003]     It is desirable to cook foods quickly while also obtaining a proper texture in the foods after cooking. Standard ovens and brick ovens tend to give the proper texture but take longer than desired. Microwave ovens are known for fast cooking, but bread dough and other foods do not achieve proper texture when cooked in a microwave. Convection ovens may achieve the proper texture for some foods and are quicker than standard ovens, but are not fast enough for walk-up service as in a convenience store or fast food restaurant.  
         [0004]     As an example, there are no commercial ovens known that can cook a raw pizza of standard size from a raw state to a properly browned and crisp state in less than four minutes.  
         [0005]     Additionally, it is desirable to have a compact preparation center that allows for the refrigerated storage for all necessary components of a food product as well as the means to prepare and cook the food products in a timely fashion.  
       SUMMARY  
       [0006]     A compact scalable food preparation center is adapted for the preparation of custom ordered pizzas on a walk-in or drive-through basis. The center has a base unit with a food preparation surface, a refrigerated storage unit under the food preparation surface, and a refrigerated topping storage area on the food preparation surface, the topping storage area having a cover. One or more ovens, which may be similar to the oven described by U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/029,754 is positioned on top of the base unit with a solid cooking surface and heating elements spaced above the solid cooking surface. The oven is controlled to cook non-frozen raw pizzas and partially cooked pizzas with toppings.  
         [0007]     The details of one or more embodiments of the invention are set forth in the accompanying drawings and the description below. Other features, objects, and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the description and drawings, and from the claims. 
     
    
     DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS  
       [0008]      FIG. 1  is a front view of a food preparation center.  
         [0009]      FIG. 2  is a top view of the food preparation center of  FIG. 1 .  
         [0010]      FIG. 3  is a side view of the food preparation center of  FIG. 1 .  
         [0011]      FIG. 4  is a perspective view of an alternative food preparation center. 
     
    
       [0012]     Like reference symbols in the various drawings indicate like elements.  
       DETAILED DESCRIPTION  
       [0013]     As shown in  FIGS. 1, 2  and  3 , a food preparation center  10  includes a base unit  12  with a food preparation surface  14  and a storage area  16  that may be refrigerated. A topping storage area  18  may be recessed into the food preparation surface  14 . The topping storage area  18  may also be refrigerated, non-refrigerated, and/or covered by a topping storage cover  19 . An oven  20  is positioned on top of the base unit  12 . Peel storage  22  is attached to the side of base unit  12 , and peels  24  are stored in peel storage  22 . As shown in  FIGS. 1, 3  and  4 , two ovens may be included in the food preparation center  10 . Multiple ovens may be configured in a stacked or side-by-side configuration, or any other suitable configuration. Topping storage cover  19  may be connected to the food preparation surface  14  by hinges or simply placed over the topping storage area  18  to reduce or prevent contamination and/or reduce the amount of cooling necessary to maintain the refrigeration of the contents of the topping storage area  18 .  
         [0014]     An implementation of one type of oven  20  is described in more detail in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/029,754, with the title “Air Control for a Brick Oven,” as well as U.S. Pat. No. 6,114,663, U.S. Pat. No. 6,355,914, and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/077,250, all incorporated herein by reference. As such, the illustrated oven  20  has a solid cooking surface, upper heating element, lower heating element, fan, and a control unit. The “solid” cooking surface may include a surface that has a substantially non-apertured surface, a hollow portion with a substantially planar surface, a partially apertured surface, or other suitable surface. In a preferred implementation, the solid cooking surface includes a smooth, substantially un-apertured surface, such as a baking stone. The oven  20  described in the above patents is capable of cooking a raw pizza with toppings in less than four minutes with a crispy crust and browned cheese. An additional oven  20  may be provided above the first oven, as shown in  FIGS. 1 and 3 . It should be understood that other types of ovens may be substituted for the oven  20  described above, such as a conventional oven, microwave oven, conveyor oven, or other suitable types of ovens.  
         [0015]     The food preparation center  10  provides a station for preparing and cooking custom food products, such as pizza, calzones, stromboli, and other food products, in a timely manner for walk-up or drive-through service. Additionally, the food preparation center  10  may be located in a restaurant, department store, convenience store, outdoor or indoor kiosk, or other suitable location.  
         [0016]     As shown in  FIGS. 1 and 3 , the peel storage  22  may be on the side of the food preparation center  10 . A peel  24  may be employed by an operator/cook to provide a movable surface upon which to prepare a pizza or other food item to be cooked in the oven  20 . The peel  24  may also be used to insert and remove the food item into and from, respectively, one of the ovens  20 . The peel  24  may be removed from the peel storage  22  and placed on the food preparation surface  14 . A raw pizza crust or other food item may then be removed from the refrigerated storage  16  in the base unit  12 .  
         [0017]     In the case of a pizza crust, sauce and cheese may already be pre-applied to the crust, or the cheese, sauce, and/or other toppings may be stored in the refrigerated storage unit  16  or in another storage area, such as the topping storage area  18 . The pizza crust may be placed on the peel  24 , on the food preparation surface  14 , or directly in one of the ovens  20 . If additional toppings are desired, toppings may be chosen from the topping storage area  18  and placed on the pizza crust to form a pizza tailored to a customer&#39;s order. The peel  24  may then used to place the raw pizza into one of the ovens  20 .  
         [0018]     A cooking code may be entered into a control unit  40  on the front of an oven  20  into which the raw pizza is placed. Various codes may be used for different types of foodstuffs. The cooking codes may correspond to the relative amount of cooking applied to pizzas and/or other types of food items, such as sandwiches, calzones, and other types of foods. The cooking codes may also determine the ratio of heat between multiple cooking elements in the convection oven(s) as well as the amount of convection applied within the oven while cooking a food item. The cooking codes, which may be entered into the control unit  40  by a user, may be a programmed cooking sequence resident in the control unit  40 , and correspond to cooking programs that allow pizzas to be fully cooked in less than four minutes, or allow rapid cooking of other types of raw foodstuffs. In most cases the pizza will be completely assembled and cooked in less than four minutes as the oven may require as little as two and a half minutes to cook a raw pizza.  
         [0019]     Shelves  28  may be provided for storage of non-refrigerated items, such as pizza boxes or spices. Alternatively, additional ovens  20  may be added above or below the ovens  20  shown in  FIGS. 1 and 3 . Additional ovens may also be attached to either side of the food preparation center  10  to increase the cooking capacity.  
         [0020]      FIG. 4  shows an alternative configuration for a food preparation center  10 . The food preparation center  10 ′ includes many similar features as the food preparation center  10  depicted in  FIGS. 1-3 . The food preparation center  10 ′ includes ovens  20  in a side-by-side configuration. Such a configuration may allow for a larger food preparation surface  14 . Additionally, four or more ovens  20  (not shown) may be placed in a food preparation center  10 ′ such that the ovens  20  are stacked both vertically and horizontally in the food preparation center  10 ′. The food preparation center  10 ′ may include two topping storage areas  18 , each having a topping storage area cover  19 . Alternatively, the food preparation center  10 ′ may include only one topping storage area  18  such that the food preparation surface  14  is larger. Such a configuration may be advantageous if the food preparation center is manufactured as a cabinet-depth system which affords a smaller depth from the front of the preparation center to the rear of the preparation center.  
         [0021]     Similar to the food preparation center  10  illustrated in  FIGS. 1-3 , the food preparation center  10 ′ includes at least one base unit  12  with a food preparation surface  14  and a refrigerated storage  16 . Also, the topping storage area(s)  18  may be recessed into the food preparation surface  14 . One or more of the topping storage areas  18  may also be refrigerated, non-refrigerated, and/or covered by a topping storage cover  19 . An oven  20  is positioned on top of the base unit  12 . Peel storage  22  is attached to the side of base unit  12 , and peels  24  are stored in peel storage  22 . In certain implementations, the doors and covers, such as the doors for the ovens  20 , the refrigerated storage  16 , and or the covers for the topping storage areas  18  may be manufactured out of suitable materials, such as metals, plastics, wood, glass, or any combination of thereof. It may be desirable, in various implementations, to have glass, plastic, composite, or other suitable transparent or semi-transparent materials incorporated into barriers of the food preparation centers  10  and/or  10 ′ such as the doors and lids. Such transparent or semi-transparent materials may allow viewing of the contents behind the barriers, such as a cooking pizza or the contents of a refrigerated area(s) of the food preparation center.  
         [0022]     As illustrated in  FIGS. 1 and 3 , wheels  42  may be attached to the bottom of the food preparation center  10  to facilitate movement of the food preparation center  10  from one location to another. In various implementations, the food preparation center  10  may be used by street vendors, concessionaires, or other food providers that require the transportation of the food preparation center  10 . Accordingly, the wheels  42  may allow a user to load or unload the food preparation center  10  onto trucks, planes, or other suitable vessels. The wheels  42  may be traditional wheels, castors, rollers, or other suitable apparatus for facilitating the rolling of the food preparation center  10  from one location to another.  
         [0023]     As best illustrated in  FIGS. 1-3 , a shelf or shelves  28  may be attached via shelf supports  44 . In the implementation shown, the shelf supports  44  are shown as posts. In addition to posts, cylinders, a welded post, or blocks may be used as shelf supports  44 . The shelf supports may be securely attached to the underside or “bottom” of the shelf  28  by inserting the shelf supports  44  into indentations located on the bottom of the shelf  28 . Alternatively, the shelf supports  44  may be permanently or semi-permanently attached to the bottom of the shelf  28 . Permanent or semi-permanent attachment of the shelf supports  44  to the shelf  28  may be accomplished by welding, gluing, bolting, riveting, or other suitable method of attachment.  
         [0024]     The shelf supports  44  may also be insertable into indentations  46  on the top of the food preparation center  10 . The indentations  46  may be a pre-sized indentation corresponding to the diameter or shape of a shelf support  44 , or may be a general indentation that resists, but does not prevent, the removal of the shelf supports  44  when a force is applied thereto. Although the Figures illustrate the indentations  46  on the top surface of the oven  20  (which may be a heat shield), other implementations may include indentions or receivers at other suitable locations. For example, the indentations may be on the top surface of a permanently attached shelf  28 , on the food preparation surface  14 , or other suitable location. Additionally, the shelf supports  44  may be any suitable length for attaching a shelf to the food preparation center at a desired height.  
         [0025]     A number of embodiments of the invention have been described. Nevertheless, it will be understood that various modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. For example, conveyor ovens, conventional ovens, microwave ovens, toaster ovens, or other types of ovens may be substituted for the convection oven  20 . Accordingly, other embodiments are within the scope of the following claims.