Abstract:
The invention relates to a portable cordless hand held device and method for heating or reheating food directly in a dish such as a plate, bowl, cup, platter or serving bowl with steam, hot air or their mix and applying this steam and/or heat to foods conveniently and at anytime needed or desired after the food has been served to the consumer at the table or otherwise.

Description:
This Application relates to a Provisional Patent Application No. 61/068,245 dated Mar. 6, 2008, the priority of which is claimed 
    
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     More particularly, the present invention relates to a cordless hand held device and method for heating food directly in a dish such as a plate, bowl, cup, platter or serving bowl with steam, hot air or their mix and applying this steam and/or heat to foods conveniently at the table after the food has been served to the consumer. A portable and convenient hand held device for the reheating of food is particularly useful in that the inevitable cooling of foods, that are served hot, can be reversed and therefore consumed at the foods most desirable condition at a timely pace dictated by the consumer and not the ambient room temperature, the length of the eating experience, or other cooling factors that may exist. 
     1. Background of the Invention 
     Since the beginning of hot foods, the problem has existed that the food served desirably hot, would cool down and lose the preferred taste. The approach has been to either reheat the food, to consume the food at a fast pace before the food has the time to cool down, or to accept the inevitability and eat cooled food. Today, the heating or reheating of food is mostly done with microwave ovens due to their speed and convenience. The well-known drawbacks for microwave ovens include the partial hardening or drying of the food and the time and inconvenience of transporting the food to and from the microwave which is generally located away from the table where the food is being consumed. There exist many steaming devices that are capable of heating or reheating foods but they are generally cumbersome, inconvenient, and not applicable, not designed, nor intended to address the purpose and claims of the present invention. Furthermore, after the meal the consumers have to clean the numerous components of these steaming or heating devices, which normally include a cooking basket for holding food, a cooking container to receive the cooking basket, a water container/boiler for supplying steam, a condensate collector if the condensate is not to be re-boiled and a removable lid. Thus, it is highly desirable for the users or consumers to have a device that is relatively lightweight, convenient to maneuver and operate, desirable and attractive when placed around food, and provides an easy method of reheating the food at the time and the place the food is being consumed. Therefore, in light of the foregoing deficiencies in the prior art, applicant&#39;s invention is herein presented. 
     2. Description of the Prior Art 
     Because of the need to reheat food after it has been initially prepared or cooked, there have been numerous mechanisms developed to achieve a desirable thermal conditioning of prepared foods. Most popular among these has been the microwave oven as originally described in Parker (U.S. Pat. No. 3,422,240). Numerous advancements and improvements have been developed and patented since this original device. The list of patents applicable to the microwave oven is numerous, cumbersome, and specifically unrelated to the present invention. The present invention overcomes the well-known drawbacks for microwave ovens such as the partial hardening or drying of the food and the time and inconvenience of transporting the food to and from the microwave which is generally located away from the table where the food is being consumed. There also exist many steaming devices that are capable of cooking, heating or reheating foods but they are generally cumbersome, inconvenient, and not applicable, not designed, nor intended to address the purpose and claims of the present invention. Since the inception of steam to cook foods as described in Davis (U.S. Pat. No. 385,794) to devices designed to heat food such as the steamer of Bratton (U.S. Pat. No. 4,495,432) and Hirsh (U.S. Pat. No. 4,897,525), these devices speak of an apparatus designed to cook or heat food by steam and are large fixtures powered by alternating electric current. Lastly, hot prepared foods commonly are thermally sustained by infrared heating devices. Wilcox (U.S. Pat. No. 2,601,011) and Fitzgerald (U.S. Pat. No. 2,863,979) utilize infrared heating lamps to maintain the thermal temperature of hot prepared foods. 
     The present invention obviates the disadvantages associated with the previous attempts of the prior art by providing the consumer an appealing, portable, convenient and economical method of reheating prepared foods. 
     OBJECTS AND ADVANTAGES 
     Accordingly, several objects and advantages of the present advantage: 
     a. to provide a cordless and convenient device and method for heating or reheating of food. 
     b. to provide a device and method for reestablishing the most desirable thermal condition of a prepared and served food at any time during the eating experience thus reversing the inevitable cooling of the food. 
     c. to provide a device and method for reestablishing the most desirable thermal condition of a prepared and served food at any time during the eating experience thus eliminating the need to eat faster in order to enjoy the food hot. 
     d. to provide a device and method for reestablishing the most desirable thermal condition and moisture of a prepared and served food at any time during the eating experience thus reinvigorating the food with any moisture that may have dissipated over time. 
     e. to provide a device and method for reheating food that is significantly easier to use than current heating appliances including microwave ovens. 
     f. to provide such a device that is relatively lightweight and easy and convenient to maneuver and operate. 
     g. to provide such a device that is desirable and attractive when placed around food or at the serving table. 
     h. to provide a device and method for reheating food that requires little or no cleaning work after the device is used. 
     i. to provide device and method for reheating food having a detachable water reservoir that is easily filled. 
     j. to provide such a device and method for reheating food that can operate independently of any other devices or attachments. 
     k. to provide such a device and method for reheating food that operates with at least one container attachment for containing and expediting operations on various foods and serving dishes. 
     l. to provide such a device and method for reheating food wherein the container attachments can be utilized independently providing additional heat retention to the hot foods being served. 
     m. to provide such a device that uses different voltages that may be found in various countries. 
     Other objects, features, and advantages of the present invention will become clear from the following description of the preferred embodiment when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and claims. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     A cordless hand held device for reheating food with steam or hot air is provided. The food thermal conditioning device of the present invention includes a rechargeable power source, a multi-function discharge switch, a fan, a heater, a steam generator or boiler, and a removable water tank or reservoir. The first embodiment of the present invention preferably includes functionality to provide a consistent application of steam, heat or combination thereof to food directly or in concert with the container attachments described below. 
     The device includes a discharge outlet designed to conform to and insert in attachments provided and designed to encase the steam or hot air with the food to be heated. These attachments aid in expediting the heating or reheating of the food. These attachments are provided in various shapes and sizes to adapt to different types and sizes of serving containers. Also these container attachments may be utilized independently as a cover to keep the food hot or warm when initially served. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING 
       The accompanying drawing illustrates diagrammatically non-limitative embodiment of the invention, as follows: 
         FIG. 1  is a side view of a first embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 2  is a top view of a first embodiment of the present invention  FIG. 3  is side section of the first embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 4  illustrates the head portion of the front section and particularly the nozzle discharge apparatus. 
         FIG. 5  is a front illustration of the head portion and the nozzle discharge apparatus  FIG. 6  is a side view of the present embodiment with a detachable handle. 
         FIG. 7  is a side illustration of the power recharging unit with the handle housing the rechargeable battery inserted. 
         FIG. 8  is a side illustration of another embodiment of the present invention wherein the device and the separate charger are reconfigured to provide power to the boiler and heater in advance of removing the device from the charging unit. In this embodiment, the handle is permanently attached to the housing and the charger is configured to engage the device conveniently as shown. 
         FIG. 9  is a side illustration of another embodiment of the present invention wherein the device and charger are powered by both battery cells and gas. 
         FIG. 10  is a side elevation the first embodiment of the present invention with at least one container attachment. 
         FIG. 11  is the top view illustrating the first embodiment of the present invention with at least one container attachment. 
         FIG. 12  is a side view of the head portion and the attachment illustrating the insertion of the head portion into the attachment causing the attachment door/flap to open to allow the steam/heat discharge to enter into the attachment. 
         FIG. 13  is a side view of the attachment with the opening door/flap closed to promote the insulating and heat retaining function of the attachment when and if it is utilized independently of the device. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     Referring to the figures and, in particular,  FIG. 3 , there is shown a preferred embodiment of a cordless hand held device generally represented by reference numeral  100 . Cordless device  100  has a removable handle  101  that encloses a rechargeable battery  110   a , and is attached and removed from housing  105  by means of a screw lock  114 . Housing  105  encloses a boiler  120 , a fan  125 , a heater  130 , and a detachable water reservoir  135 . Housing  105  has a nozzle  140  at a head portion end thereof. Said nozzle has 2 separate opening configurations.  141  represents small hole openings for the discharge of steam and  142  represents a open orifice for the discharge of hot air. Housing  105  is provided with cold air inlet grills  106  and rubber feet  107 . The rechargeable battery  110   a  is powered through inlets  112  and provides power to the present embodiment through spring loaded contacts  111 . Functionality is selectively applied through a multi-function switch  145  located at the top of the device. The multi-function switch  145  is attached to rechargeable battery  110   a , the heater  130 , the boiler  120 , and the fan  125  by insulated wires  113 . The switch permits three modes of functionality and a ‘power off’ position as indicated by indicator light  145   a  which illuminates when switch  145  is positioned in any one of the three functional modes requiring power. Switch  145  enables three functions; steam discharge, hot air discharge, or a combination of both. The steam discharge mode provides water from the reservoir  135  to the boiler  120  through water pipe  120   a . Boiler  120  uses electrical power to produce heat for converting the water from reservoir  135  to steam. Boiler  120  may be a “flash” boiler, capable of producing steam almost instantaneously upon the introduction of water from water pipe  120   a . The steam pressure generated in boiler  120 , section illustration  121 , is discharged (i.e., expelled) through a dedicated number of openings  141  disposed in an outer surface of the head portion  140  of the device. The hot air mode of selection switch  145  actuates fan  125  and heater  130 . The hot air current created is discharged through an orifice  142  disposed in an outer surface of the head portion  140  of the device. The combination mode actuates both the steam discharge, boiler  130 , and the hot air discharge, fan  125  and heater  130 , simultaneously providing an expedited moist heating of the food. Both the boiler  120  and the heater  130  are provided with safety switches,  116  and  121  respectively, which automatically cut off the power if the unit overheats. It should be appreciated that the boiler and or the heater may be varied to include any type of steam generator and or heat producing elements compatible with the other aspects of the present invention. Selection discharge switch  145  may operate to cause a variable amount of power to be applied depending upon the amount of actuation by a user. Also, switch  145  may be locked or fixed in position to cause a constant amount of electrical power to be applied without further actuation by a user and until user or safety switches stop the actuation. Water reservoir  135  is preferably detachable (i.e., removable) from housing  105 . In a preferred embodiment, reservoir  135  is connected to the device  100  at the front end of the device  136  and at the back portion of the reservoir at  137 . Reservoir  135  is selectively released by actuation of a reservoir release button  138 . Upon detachment from housing  105 , reservoir  135  may be conveniently filled with a liquid such as water. Reservoir  135  may be filled through a fill port  139   a . At fill point  139   a  and at pump feed point  139   b , the openings include plugs, or gaskets to prevent spillage while water tank  135  is disengaged from housing  105  and to prevent leaking when attached to housing  105 . In one aspect of the present invention, reservoir  135  is preferably at least partially translucent to facilitate a visual determination of the amount of water contained present in reservoir  135 . 
     Referring to  FIG. 4  and specifically  FIG. 5 , the head portion of the front section and particularly the nozzle discharge apparatus is shown. The front discharge apparatus contains dedicated number of openings  141  disposed in an outer surface of the head portion  140  of the device for the discharge of steam. Orifice  142  is disposed in an outer surface of the head portion  140  of the device for the discharge of hot air. The present invention includes a front discharge outlet designed to conform to and insert in attachments as shown in  FIGS. 10-13 . The attachments are provided and designed to encase the steam or hot air with the food to be heated. Referring to  FIG. 4  and  FIG. 5 , rubber or similar material is used to seal the junction of the front nozzle openings in the present embodiment with the attachments.  143 ,  143   a , and  143   b  represent the top, bottom and sides respectively of the rubber or gasket like material that is employed at the head portion of housing  105 . When inserted into the attachments,  FIG. 10-12 , the gasket like material provides a seal to help contain the steam and heat surrounding the food within the attachment  305 . 
     Referring to  FIG. 6 , there is a device  100  in the preferred embodiment of the present invention with detached handle  101  containing rechargeable battery  110 . Screw lock  114  and screw receptor  114   a  is provided to attach and secure handle  101  to housing  105 . Screw lock  114  is engaged and disengaged from screw receptor  114   a  by twisting the handle  101  clockwise and counter clockwise respectively. Variations of means of attaching handle  101  to housing  105  are well known to those skilled in the art and can be provided in other embodiments of the present invention to achieve the same function. Rechargeable battery  110  is attached to battery charger  200  by removing handle  101  from housing  105  and inserting handle  101  into opening  205  as illustrated in  FIG. 7 . At opening  205 , the rechargeable battery contacts  112  will engage battery charger receptacles  112   a  to facilitate charging of battery  110 . In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, power for operations is derived solely from a rechargeable battery  110 . Said battery derives its power from battery charger  200  attached to an electrical power outlet by means of cord  215  as common in the art. Switch  210  facilitates a selection of different voltages that may be found in different countries (e.g., a range of about 100 VAC to about 230 VAC) 
     Referring to  FIG. 8 , in another embodiment of the present invention, device  100  and charger  200  are reconfigured to provide power to the charged boiler  120  and the charged heater  130  in advance of removing the apparatus from charging unit  200  thus minimizing the power requirements and maximizing the functional duration of the rechargeable battery  110 . The fan  125 , the status indicator light  145   a , and actuator switch  145  are powered by the rechargeable battery  110 . The boiler  120  and the heater  130  by means of contact with the charging unit  200 . In this embodiment, handle  101  is permanently attached to housing  105  and charger  200  is configured to engage handle  101  at the side of the unit so as to achieve easy coupling of the charger and the device  100 . Charging the battery, the boiler and the heater are accomplished by inserting device  100  into the charger  200 . Battery contacts  112  will engage battery charger receptacles  112   a  to charge the battery. Contacts  112   b  engage charger contact  112   c  to charge boiler  120  and heater. 130  through conduits  113   a  connected as illustrated at  120   a  and  130   a  respectively. 
     Referring to  FIG. 9 , in another embodiment of the present invention, device  100  is powered by battery cells  110   a  and by LPG or butane gas as represented by  110   g  and  110   i  respectively. In this embodiment, handle  101  is permanently attached to housing  105 . Battery cells  110   a  can be removed from handle  101  by means of door contact  110   b . Gas reservoir  110   g  is refilled by means of gas injecting valve  110   h  or replaceable butane gas cylinder  110   i  is removed via screw opening  110   j . Gas is provided to valves  147   b  through conduit  147   a . Actuator switch  146  may be a slide or other three way switch serving to open or close gas valves  147   b  serving burner  149   a  and burner  149   b  via conduits  147   c  and  147   d  respectively. Switch  146  also operates igniter  146   a , preferably an electrical means such as a piezo-electric device. The igniter  146   a  is connected to ignition plug  146   c  by means of wiring  146   b . The gas flow may include a valve only opened when the supply voltage is sufficient to operate the igniter. A flame or temperature detector may be included to operate fan  125  only when the burner is lit. Air intakes  148  allow air to mix with the gas to enable combustion in said burners. The gas reservoir or bottle gas  110   g  and  110   i , catalytic or flameless burner  149   a  and burner  149   b , igniter  146   a  and plugs  146   c , air inlets  148 , valves  147   b , operating switch  146 , fan  125 , thermal safety probes  116  and  121 , gas-interrupting sensor  147 , are all well known conventional elements which are commercially available. 
     Referring to  FIG. 10  side view and  FIG. 11  top view, the present embodiment  100  is shown with one type or design of attachment  300 . Attachment  300  includes container cover  305  and inlet  310 . Flexible flap  315  is provided at inlet  310  to close the opening providing containment of heat when attachment  300  is used independently of device  100 . As shown in  FIG. 12 , the flap  315  swings up, in the direction as illustrated in  315   a , opening inlet  310  when front nozzle  140  is inserted into attachment  300 .  FIG. 13  shows a side view of attachment  300  with inlet  310  illustrated with flap  315  hanging down in the closed position. These attachments aid in expediting the heating or reheating of the food. They are provided in various shapes and sizes to adapt to different types and sizes of serving containers such as dinner plates, dessert plates, bowls, bread baskets, and similar food serving wares. Also these container attachments may be utilized independently as a cover to keep the food hot or warm when initially served. The attachments can be manufactured with a light disposable type plastics, resilient plastics such polystyrene foam, commonly known as Styrofoam, or any other coated paper insulating material that provides an adequate insulating function at an economical cost. The flexible flap  315  can be produced and incorporated with the cover  300  by various methods familiar to those skilled in the art. 
     It should be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the particular device functions, design, and other aspects of the teachings herein are but examples of the present invention. Thus, they do not limit the scope or variety of applications that the present invention may be suitably implemented. Thus, it should be understood that the foregoing description is only illustrative of a present implementation of the teachings herein. Various alternatives and modification may be devised by those skilled in the art without departing from the present invention. Accordingly, the present invention is intended to embrace all such alternatives, modifications, and variances that fall within the scope of the disclosure herein.