Mobile kitchen

A mobile kitchen comprises a housing disposed atop one or more wheel axles and a plurality of appliances disposed within the housing. Each appliance is heated by combustion of a distillate fuel. One or more air channels are disposed about each of the appliances, such that each air channel substantially isolates excess heat from combustion of the distillate fuel from a workspace within the housing. One or more first air blowers are associated with the air channels, and each is adapted to force air through the air channels and vent the excess heat to the exterior of the housing. One or more second air blowers are coupled to the housing, and each second air blower is adapted to vent a predetermined volume of air from within the workspace at least once per minute.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The field of the present invention is mobile kitchens.

Presently, mobile kitchens come in a couple of different varieties. A first type, which is mobile only through considerable efforts, has the kitchen necessities, including appliances, food, serving equipment, etc. packed up in a trailer. For use, everything must be removed from a trailer and set up in a separate building or tent. In order to move the kitchen, everything must be packed up, back into the trailer for transport. Convenience of use is not a strong point for these types of mobile kitchens.

A second type of mobile kitchen has all the appliances and other kitchen necessities arranged in a trailer for use within the trailer. While this type of kitchen is more mobile, it too can have its drawbacks. Because space within such a trailer is necessarily confined, heat from the cooking appliances can remain trapped within the trailer, sometimes raising the temperature within the kitchen to well over 120° F. This problem can be exacerbated by cooking appliances that make use of noisy, open flame burners to cook food, or otherwise have an uncontrolled excess noise and/or heat output, or when the mobile kitchen is used in hot climates. Another issue that sometimes arises with these mobile kitchens is the production and entrapment of smoke, noxious gases, and carbon build-up within the trailer. These undesirable elements are most frequently produced either because of the type of fuel burned, or the combustion process is incapable of fully burning the fuel that is used, and because the cooking appliances most commonly installed in these mobile kitchens use open flames as a heat source.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is directed toward a mobile kitchen. A housing is disposed atop one or more wheel axles, and a plurality of appliances are disposed within the housing. Each appliance is heated by combustion of a distillate fuel. One or more air channels are disposed about each of the appliances, with each air channel being adapted to substantially isolate excess heat from combustion of the distillate fuel from the workspace within the kitchen. One or more first air blowers are associated with the air channels, and these air blowers are adapted to force air through the air channels so that the excess heat is vented to an exterior of the housing. One or more second air blowers are coupled to the housing, with each of these second air blower being adapted to replace a predetermined volume of air from within the workspace at least once per minute.

Additional options may be incorporated into this mobile kitchen. As one option, a single air channel may be disposed about multiple appliances. As another option, the air channels vent to an underside of the housing. As yet another option, at least one of the first air blowers draws air from the underside of the housing. As yet another option, the exhaust channel for each appliance vents to an exterior of the housing on a different side from where the first air blowers draw air. As yet another option, each appliance vents to a top side of the housing. As yet another option, within the housing, the exhaust channels for the appliances comprise double-walls. Where double-walls are used, space between the walls may be cooled by air from one or more of the air channels. As yet another option, at least one of the first air blowers may be positioned to direct air directly into one of the liquid fuel burners used to heat one of the appliances. As yet another option, the mobile kitchen may include a storage space having a base wall formed by a conveyor belt system. As yet another option, the mobile kitchen may include separate potable and grey water reservoirs. Additional options will be evident from the detailed description below. Any of the options may be incorporated into the mobile kitchen individually or in combination with any of the other options.

Accordingly, an improved mobile kitchen is disclosed. Advantages of the improvements will appear from the drawings and the description of the preferred embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Turning in detail to the drawings,FIG. 1illustrates an exemplary floor plan for a mobile kitchen11. This mobile kitchen11is constructed as a towable trailer which has an outer shell or housing13placed atop multiple wheel axles15and wheels17. Such trailers are commonly known to those of skill in the art and may have any form of construction to suit particular application needs. As shown, the mobile kitchen11includes a towing extension19and hitch21on the forward end23and a fold down gate or ramp25on the rearward end27. In addition, a side door29is included, along with a service window31, a secondary window33, and an exterior awning35. In order to provide electricity to the mobile kitchen11, a generator37is mounted on the exterior forward end above the tow extension19. An electrical junction box (not shown), including breakers, may also be mounted next to the generator37to aid in providing shore power and distributing electricity throughout the trailer. Similarly, dual fuel tanks39,41are disposed on the tow extension19. One of the fuel tanks39provides fuel for the generator, while the other fuel tank provides fuel to each of the various appliances within the trailer which require fuel for operation. In the event that a single type of fuel source will always be used for both the generator and the appliances, a single fuel tank may be used. More than two fuel tanks may also be used.

The interior of the trailer includes several kitchen appliances, such as a stock pot cooker45, a griddle47, a convection oven49, a refrigerator51, a tray ration heater53, and a sanitation unit55. Of course, the number and type of appliances placed within the mobile kitchen may be changed, rearranged, or altered according to any desired specific purpose for the mobile kitchen. An exemplary stock pot cooker is described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/173,895, filed on Jul. 16, 2008. An exemplary griddle is disclosed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/167,338, filed Jul. 3, 2008. An exemplary convection oven is disclosed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/167,330, filed Jul. 3, 2008. An exemplary tray ration heater is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,100,599, while an exemplary sanitation unit is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,453,487. Each of the aforementioned patent applications and patents is incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.

The liquid fuel burner, which may be used to heat each of these appliances, is preferably of the type generally described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,298,338. Advancements in this type of liquid fuel burner may be found in U.S. Pat. No. 4,507,076, U.S. Pat. No. 4,573,904, and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/173,902, filed Jul. 16, 2008. The disclosures of each of these patents and patent application, pertaining to liquid fuel burners and advancements therein, are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety. Such liquid fuel burners are available from Babington Technology of McLean, Va., and are advantageous because they can burn any distillate fuel efficiently and cleanly without smoke, odor, or carbon monoxide emissions.

Also included in the mobile kitchen11are a small hand washing sink57to one side of the sanitation unit and a refrigerator51disposed adjacent the convection oven. The refrigerator51may be a combination refrigerator/freezer, a full freezer, or any other combination of refrigeration and freezer according to particular needs. A service counter61is disposed adjacent the service window31, and overhead cabinets63are included above the service window31and service counter61. Additional lower storage cabinets65are included beneath the service counter61, one of which houses a potable water reservoir67. These lower storage cabinets65may be insulated, as desired, and used for hot storage, cold storage, dry storage, or for any other desired purpose. For hot or cold storage, appropriate equipment may be included in the lower storage cabinets (or in any other cabinet) to regulate temperature. In the mobile kitchen11shown, a single long storage space69is included underneath the service counter61, behind the lower storage cabinets65and adjacent the trailing housing13, with access adjacent the side door29. This storage space69is configured to store portable water tanks, although it may be sized for any other purpose as well. In order to make storage of portable water tanks more convenient in the long storage space69, a conveyor belt system is used as the base wall of the storage space69, so that several portable water tanks may be easily placed in, and subsequently retrieved from the storage space69by forward or reverse activation of the conveyor belt system. Finally, an informational computer system71are placed just above the service counter61and adjacent the service window31. The computer71may be electronically connected to each of the appliances, tanks, generators, etc. to monitor statistics such as heat, fuel consumption, fuel levels, water levels, running times, and any other desired measurable parameter. The computer is preferably not used to control any of the appliances or blowers (see below), since it is desired that the appliances and blowers should remain operative and active, even in the event that the computer fails or encounters an error causing one or more of the computer applications to crash. However, safeguards could be put in place to prevent a computer crash from melting the appliances and blowers, if the computer is set to control operation of these devices.

FIG. 2shows the interior back wall101of the mobile kitchen11with the sanitation unit55. The sanitation unit55includes a three partition sink103, each partition with its own spigot105. A fourth sink107and water spigot105are included for hand washing. Each of the water spigots105draws water from the potable water tank67and drains into the gray water storage tank109placed in the space below the sanitation unit55. The sanitation unit55includes a fuel burner113which directs the products of combustion into a heating channel115designed to heat water within each sink103of the sanitation unit55. Again, the details of design and operation of the sanitation unit are described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,453,487. After the products of combustion are used to heat water in the sanitation unit55, they are directed to the exterior of the mobile kitchen11through a vent117. In order to help attenuate noise and contain the heat generated by the fuel burner, one or more cover panels are placed over the front and underside of the sanitation unit55so that the grey water tank109and fuel burner113are concealed from view and separated from the workspace within the trailer. The covers also create an additional layer over the sides of the sinks103so that the entire side of the sanitation unit55is cool to the touch. Even a simple stainless steel panel suffices to significantly reduce the noise created by the fuel burner and create an air channel to help keep excess heat out of the workspace. However, without more than just the panels, heat would still build up in this space and eventually spill over into the workspace. Therefore, an air blower119is included within this space to draw air from within the workspace, through an aperture123in the panel, into the air channel created by the cover panel. Alternatively, air may be drawn directly from the exterior of the mobile kitchen11. A second vent121connects this air channel to the exterior of the mobile kitchen11so that air drawn in by the blower119is forced out of the vent121. With this arrangement, air is continuously circulated through air channel and excess heat from the fuel burner113is directed toward the exterior of the mobile kitchen11.

The second interior wall149of the mobile kitchen11, which includes the service window31is shown inFIG. 3. The side door29is shown on the left and includes an air curtain blower151above it. The four overhead cabinets63for storage space are included above the service window31, and the monitor153for the computer system71is set into the wall just to the right of the service window31. The service counter61has four lower storage spaces65below it, the rightmost of which includes the potable water tank155and a pump157for the potable water. The potable water may be pumped to any spigot within or outside of the mobile kitchen11as desired. The potable water pump157is configured to activate and provide water pressure to any spigot on demand. The other three lower storage spaces65have access doors, but do not run the full depth of the service counter61. Instead, as previously indicated, another storage space69, preferably configured for portable five gallon water tanks, is included under the service counter61adjacent the housing wall. The access point for this additional storage space is adjacent the door29, and the base wall of the storage space69is formed by the conveyor system159, which may have its activation switch (not shown) disposed at any convenient location, but preferably immediately adjacent the access door for this storage space69. On the right side is the tray ration heater53, as described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,100,599, which is secured above another storage space161. This additional storage space161may be appropriately sized for any purpose, but as shown is configured for storage of up to three foldable tables (not shown). The tray ration heater53includes a cover163over the fuel burner165, which provides heat to the appliance. The cover163is preferably interiorly lined with sound and/or heat insulation to aid in isolating the burner165from the workspace within the mobile kitchen11. A blower167is also included within the cover163, drawing air from within the workspace, though an aperture in the cover163, and directing it into and around the fuel burner. Exhaust from the burner165for the tray ration heater53is vented through an exhaust column169, which runs up to the roof of the mobile kitchen11. This exhaust column169is double walled, with the interior walls171forming the primary exhaust channel, and the exterior walls173providing primarily a protective and cosmetic cover.

The third interior wall201of the mobile kitchen11is shown inFIG. 4. On the right side of this wall201, which would be adjacent the hand sink on the back wall, are a small storage cabinet203above the secondary window33. Next to that is the refrigerator51, then the convection oven49, a small food preparation counter205, the griddle47, and then the stock pot cooker45. The stock pot cooker45includes a water spigot239which draws from the potable water source, so that a stock pot may be easily placed on the cooker45and filled with water. For each of the heated appliances, the fire box and liquid fuel burner are shown underneath the appliance. Like the sanitation unit, the lower portion of each appliance has a cover to isolate the air space underneath the appliance from the general workspace. The covers, which may be as simple as a stainless steel sheet, aid in isolating excess heat and noise generated by the fuel burner from the general workspace within the mobile kitchen11. The food preparation counter205also includes a cover panel to create a separate space beneath it as well. Further, each of these separate spaces is fluidically connected by apertures207in the walls209adjoining each of the appliances. By linking these chambers, an air channel211is created that runs from beneath the convection oven49, through the space underneath the food preparation counter205, continuing through the space underneath the griddle47, and into the space underneath the stock pot cooker45. The vent port213connects the space underneath the stock pot cooker45with the underside of the mobile kitchen11, so that air flowing through this air channel211can be vented to the underside of the mobile kitchen11.

Air is drawn into the channel211through several different air blowers. Underneath the convection oven, a blower215draws air from within the workspace, through an aperture217in the cover, and directs that air onto and about the fire box219and fuel burner221having a heating channel220downstream from the fire box219, for the convection oven49. A second, larger air blower223, disposed underneath the food preparation surface205, pulls air from the underside of the mobile kitchen11through an aperture225in the floor and directs that air into the space underneath the griddle47. A third blower227, disposed underneath the griddle47, pulls air from the workspace, through an aperture229in the panel placed over the underside of the food preparation surface205. This blower227directs air onto the fuel burner231under the griddle47. This is done because it was discovered that as hot air proceeds from the space underneath the convection oven49into the space underneath the griddle47, it is heated and drawn in by the liquid fuel burner for use as part of the combustion process. However, because that air is heated, the liquid fuel burner tends to run hotter than desired. Therefore, the third blower227directs air from the workspace within mobile kitchen11directly onto the liquid fuel burner231, so that the liquid fuel burner231has a cooler air source to draw from and runs closer to a desired temperature. This configuration also has another beneficial effect in that it creates positive air pressure going into the liquid fuel burner231, so that, whether combustion is occurring or not, while the blower227is on, air flows through into the blower and through the griddle47. Heat flow within the griddle47, therefore, is always in the direction of the exhaust, as described in further detail below. The fourth air blower233, disposed underneath the stock pot45, serves a similar purpose. It draws air from the workspace within the mobile kitchen11, through an aperture235in the cover for the griddle47, and directs that air onto the fuel burner237, which provides heat to the stock pot cooker45.

Exhaust from each of the three heated appliances on this wall201is directed up through one of three exhaust columns241. Each exhaust column241is triple walled, with the interior most walls245enclosing and carrying the products of combustion from the associated liquid fuel burner. The space enclosed by the interior most walls245and the secondary walls247is connected directly to the air channel211underneath the appliances, such that the same air that is used to carry excess heat to the exterior of the mobile kitchen11is also used to aid in cooling the products of combustion as they rise up through the exhaust columns241. Finally, the exterior most walls249of the exhaust columns241serves as both a cosmetic feature and as protective covers over the double walled interior portion, making them cool to the touch.

As described above, a single air channel211is created which substantially isolates the excess heat and sound generated by each of the liquid fuel burners associated with the heated appliances on this wall, so that most of that excess heat and sound does not escape into the workspace within the mobile kitchen11. Rather, the sound is deadened by the covers used to help form the air channel211, and the excess heat is carried out of the air channel211by the air drawn in the blowers and forced to the exterior of the mobile kitchen11through both the vent to the underside of the mobile kitchen11and the exhaust columns241.

The roof251of the mobile kitchen11is shown inFIG. 5. Two air curtain blowers253are positioned to direct air curtains down over the opening created when the rear gate is lowered. Seven blowers255are disposed on the roof251to draw air from within the workspace and vent that air to the exterior of the mobile kitchen11. Each blower255is positioned over the primary heat sources within the mobile kitchen, with one blower255each being disposed over each of the tray ration heater, the stock pot cooker, and the convection oven, and two blowers255being located over the griddle and the sanitation unit. Each blower255is selected to vent a predetermined volume of air from within the workspace at least once every minute. Preferably, this predetermined volume is equal to the volume of the workspace, however, more or fewer blowers may be used depending on the particular specifications of the blowers installed and blowers with greater or lesser volume displacement may be used. In addition, each blower255preferably displaces air at a low enough velocity so as not to draw grease particles up to the interior ceiling of the mobile kitchen. By appropriate selection of blowers (and blower velocity), grease particles will not be drawn up and out of the mobile kitchen, and will instead tend to settle on walls near open cooking appliances, such as the stock pot cooker and the griddle, and on the interior walls of other cooking appliances, such as the convection oven, where it can be easily cleaned up following use of the mobile kitchen11.

As shown, the seven blowers255effectively change the air within the workspace seven times per minute, such that excess heat that may be created through the cooking process, or which escapes from the air channels into the workspace, is significantly reduced by the constantly changing air within the workspace. The positioning of each of the vents257from the exhaust columns is also shown. While the products of combustion from the liquid fuel burners are very clean and non-toxic, in order to ensure that no issues arise from mixing the products of combustion with air drawn into the workspace of the mobile kitchen, exhausts from each of the appliances is preferably placed onto a different side of the trailer from any air intake port.

As described above, the most significant source of heat in the mobile kitchen is radiative heat from each of the appliances. The air channels formed around the heat sources for each of the appliances, namely the burners and the fire boxes, aid in removing the excess heat from the mobile kitchen. In addition, during operation of the appliances, the blowers are configured to continue running even after the appliances have been turned off and combustion is no longer ongoing. This serves two purposes. First, residual heat continues to flow from the various fire boxes, through the respective appliances, and up through the exhaust columns. Thus, even when the burners are initially turned off, heat retained within the fire boxes continues to heat the appliances and enable further cooking. Through this heat dissipation mechanism, residual heat is purged out of the mobile kitchen11. Importantly, the residual heat does not escape into the workspace of the mobile kitchen11because the blowers continue to direct air currents through the fire boxes, up through the appliances and out through the exhaust columns. Further, air continues to flow around the fuel burners and fire boxes and out to the underside of the mobile kitchen11. Thus, radiative heat from the fire boxes continues to be dumped to the underside of the mobile kitchen11, and also does not escape into the workspace. It has been found that, even during operation of the appliances that the panels used to form the air channels remain extremely cool to the touch, indicating that little to no radiative heat from the fuel burner or the fire boxes escapes into the workspace of the mobile kitchen11. Thus, substantially all of the excess heat generated by the fuel burners and fire boxes is kept out of and isolated from the workspace. With the above-described design, forced convective heating is substantially, if not entirely, eliminated from within the mobile kitchen11, rendering a workspace that stays cooler than mobile kitchens known in the prior art.