Abstract:
The condensation-free and bacteria-free pan system provides hygienic cover for a food preparation area. The system includes at least one pan having a top cover sheet, a heating element, a layer of thermal insulation and a bottom pan sheet. The top cover sheet is formed from a corrosion resistant material and is adapted for catching contaminants falling from overhead. The layer of thermal insulation is sandwiched between the top cover sheet and the heating element, and the bottom pan sheet is formed from a thermally conductive, corrosion resistant material, the bottom pan sheet having a lower wall and at least one sidewall. The top cover sheet, the layer of thermal insulation and the heating element are disposed above the bottom pan sheet to form a multilayer pan.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
     This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/136,497, filed Sep. 9, 2008. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to food pan, trays and the like, and particularly to a condensation-free and bacteria-free pan system that prevents condensation and kills bacteria over a production line in the food and beverage industry. 
     2. Description of the Related Art 
     Typically, food preparation services and industries, such as restaurants, meat processing plants, and poultry processing plants, for example, have a problem with condensation forming on overhead pipes, concrete ceilings, drop-ceiling panels and the like during normal operation. This condensation is often contaminated (and must be assumed to be contaminated for safety and hygienic reasons) and will instantly contaminate any surface upon which it makes contact. Additionally, other debris may fall from overhead, potentially contaminating a food preparation area. Recently, state and federal food inspectors have required, in some applications, that stainless steel plates or pans be placed overhead in a food preparation area in order to prevent contaminated condensation from accumulating, or to prevent debris from falling on the food preparation areas. These steel plates or pans, however, do not prevent the condensation from forming, but merely catch already-formed condensation. In most applications, the use of such plates or pans will actually cause an increase in condensation formation. Thus, the use of such steel plates or pans in overhead-type ceiling arrangements is not sanitary. 
     Thus, a condensation-free and bacteria-free pan system solving the aforementioned problems is desired. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The condensation-free and bacteria-free pan system provides hygienic cover for a food preparation area. The system includes at least one pan having a top cover sheet, a heating element, a layer of thermal insulation and a bottom pan sheet. The top cover sheet is formed from a corrosion resistant material and is adapted for catching contaminants falling from a ceiling. The layer of thermal insulation is sandwiched between a lower surface of the top cover sheet and an upper surface of the heating element, and the bottom pan sheet is formed from a thermally conductive, corrosion resistant material. The bottom pan sheet has a lower wall and at least one sidewall. The top cover sheet, the layer of thermal insulation and the heating element are disposed within the bottom pan sheet so that a lower surface of the heating element rests on an upper surface of the bottom pan sheet. 
     A controller is provided for powering the heating element, and the at least one pan is mounted above the food preparation area. Preferably, the controller actuates the heating element at random times, and also provides for user-selectable temperature control for controlling the temperature of the lower surface of the bottom pan sheet. 
     Preferably, the bottom pan sheet is rectangular, having a pair of laterally opposed sidewalls and a pair of longitudinally opposed sidewalls. One of the longitudinally opposed sidewalls thereof is substantially J-shaped to form a trough for receiving the contaminants. A drainage pipe is further provided, in communication with the trough for draining the contaminants. Preferably, the system includes a plurality of pans, with each drainage pipe draining into a single drainage conduit. Adjacent pans are secured to one another and, preferably, one of the laterally opposed sidewalls of each pan has a substantially inverted J-shape so that an upper angled flanged portion thereof extends over the corresponding lateral sidewall of an adjacent one of the pans. 
     These and other features of the present invention will become readily apparent upon further review of the following specification and drawings. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is an environmental, perspective view of a condensation-free and bacteria-free pan system according to the present invention. 
         FIG. 2  is an exploded view of a single pan of the condensation-free and bacteria-free pan system according to the present invention. 
         FIG. 3  is a section view drawn along lines  3 - 3  of  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 4  is a section view drawn along lines  4 - 4  of  FIG. 1 . 
     
    
    
     Similar reference characters denote corresponding features consistently throughout the attached drawings. 
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     The condensation-free and bacteria-free pan system, generally indicated by the numeral  10  in the drawings, prevents condensation and kills bacteria over a production line or food preparation area in commercial and industrial food and beverage plants or establishments without the use of harsh or toxic chemicals. System  10  may be used to protect any production line or food preparation area in the food and beverage industries where food goes through a cooking process. As shown in  FIG. 1 , the system  10  may include multiple pans  12   a ,  12   b ,  12   c  that are interlocking and can be customized to fit any project, length, width, area, or need. 
     Although the system  10  is described for safety in the food preparation industries, it should be understood that the system  10  may be used wherever it is necessary or desirable to heat materials in a condensation-free and bacteria-free environment, such as in the medical or pharmaceutical fields. Further, it should be understood that the number of pans (three pans  12   a ,  12   b  and  12   c  in  FIG. 1 ) is shown in the drawings for exemplary purposes only, and that any desired number of pans may be used. Up to fifty such pans, for example, may be used. Further, the particular relative dimensions and configuration of the pans  12   a ,  12   b  and  12   c  are shown in the drawings for exemplary purposes only. 
     The condensation and bacteria-free pans  12   a ,  12   b ,  12   c  of system  10  may be formed from stainless steel or any other suitable corrosion resistant material. The system  10  includes a controller  14 , which may be any suitable type of controller, such as a computer or a programmable logic controller. For example, the controller  14  may be an Allen-Bradley MicroLogix 1200 or SLC 500, manufactured by Rockwell Automation, Inc. It should be understood that the type, configuration and size of controller  14  depends upon the number of pans required by the production line. Thus, the Allen-Bradley controller  14  is merely representative of a type of controller used in the preferred embodiment. 
     An Allen-Bradley PanelView Plus™ 1000 (also a product of Rockwell Automation, Inc.) ten-inch color LCD touch screen  16  is preferably connected to the controller  14 . It should be understood that any suitable type of display and/or user interface may be utilized, and that the touch screen  16  is only an example of one type of combined display and interface. The controller  14  and the touch screen  16  are shown diagrammatically in  FIG. 1 , it being understood that the exact mounting or positioning of components  14  and  16  depends upon the production line or food preparation area. 
     Wiring from the condensation and bacteria-free pans  12   a ,  12   b ,  12   c  is routed into a main electrical connection conduit  18 . Each pan  12   a ,  12   b ,  12   c  has its own readily detachable subconduit  19   a ,  19   b ,  19   c , respectively, that connects to main electrical connection conduit  18 . From the main electrical connection conduit  18 , the wiring feeds into a control panel  20  that houses the controller  14 , the touch screen  16 , and any other desired control components, as shown in  FIG. 1 . As noted above, the controller  14  and touch screen  16  are shown in  FIG. 1  for exemplary and illustrative purposes only, and controller  14  and touch screen  16  may, alternatively, be located in separate and distinct positions, depending upon the environment. However, in the preferred embodiment, the components  14  and  16  are mounted in a single housing or, more specifically, the control panel  20 , for easy access. 
     The controls for the condensation/bacteria-free pans  12   a ,  12   b ,  12   c  have a multitude of possible arrangements available, due mostly to individual customer request and/or applications. As previously noted, the single cabinet or control panel  20  may be built as large as necessary to house the electrical components. In one application, as an example, there could be a new factory being built, and one single control point can be installed for hundreds of the condensation/bacteria-free pans  12   a ,  12   b ,  12   c . It should be understood that there could be many different sizes of controllers, such as controller  14 , used in the system  10 . The types of controller, interfaces, displays, and the overall configuration of system  10 , including the number, shape and size of the pans, depend upon the environment and the use of the system  10 . Thus, a single controller  14  could control between one and a hundred of pans, for example, and the panel view  16  could interface with one or multiple pans, as needed. 
     Alternatively, a particular application of system  10  may require only a single bacteria-free pan and a corresponding controller with a much more simple design. In this alternative, a thermal PID loop controller could replace the controller  14  for each single unit. As a further alternative, the thermal PID loop controller could replace either the Allen-Bradley MicroLogix 1200 or SLC 500 controllers. This smaller type of design is based on the cost of the controller, as compared to the cost of the thermal PID loop controller. At the four-unit to five-unit range, the cost-effectiveness of the single unit controller surpasses the cost of a single controller for a group of the condensation and bacteria-free pans  12   a ,  12   b ,  12   c.    
     System  10 , equipped with the above-described Allen-Bradley MicroLogix 1200 or SLC 500 controllers or similar controllers, has many optional functions available. These controllers permit a networking option, wherein multiple standalone arrays are connected together. In addition, one or all of the units can be connected to a monitoring point. Typical monitoring points could be located in a local office, a maintenance department, a remote office or headquarters, and even the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). With the system  10  so equipped, networking into the system  10  to receive e-mails, control signals, or other information, generally indicated as diagrammatic signals by numeral  21  in  FIG. 1 , is relatively easy. The signals  21  may include an indication or alarm that pan conditions are such that bacterial growth is forming or condensation is being collected therein. Thus, the e-mails or other communications carried by signals  21  can include system reports or failure reports that also can be printed locally. 
     The system  10  has a power consumption monitor feature that can trend the use of kilowatt-hours (KWH) used and cost per hour to run the system  10 . This option allows for individual tuning of the system  10  for maximum efficiency because each condensation and bacteria-free pan  12   a ,  12   b ,  12   c  of the system  10  operates on 480 V, single-phase power, pulling nine amps each during a heat cycle (as an example). The system  10  operates as a real-time system that can run based on individual scheduling. In other words, the system  10  can be set in real clock time, including being set to run at specific times and being set to shut off at specific times. This allows for maximum efficiency and also eliminates any need of operator input. 
     Additionally, each pan  12   a ,  12   b ,  12   c  is connected to a main overpan drip line  22 . This drip line  22  is individually and detachably connected to each pan  12   a ,  12   b ,  12   c  with a drip drain  24   a ,  24   b ,  24   c . The overpan drip line  22  will be explained in more detail below, with particular reference to  FIG. 3 . 
     The temperature of each pan  12   a ,  12   b ,  12   c  has adjustable set points according to conditions in the environment for eliminating condensation. The pans  12   a ,  12   b ,  12   c  are controlled by the controller  14 , which preferably has a ladder logic program programmed thereon, that randomly heats each of the pans  12   a ,  12   b ,  12   c  to keep the overall power demand down for a more energy efficient system. Further, the condensation and bacteria-free pans  12   a ,  12   b ,  12   c  can be ramped to a high preset temperature for a preset time to kill any bacterial growth that is not desired.  Listeria, E. coli , and  salmonella  are examples of major bacteria and viruses that affect or upset the food industry. The condensation-free and bacteria-free pan system  10  eliminates these bacteria, along with many others, over a food production line. There is further an automatic set-point control option that includes thermal monitoring of the ambient temperature of the controlled area, as well as an auto-setting of the temperature of the condensation-free and bacteria-free pan system  10 , thus preventing condensation by controlling a condition that varies while eliminating the need of operator input. 
     Each condensation and bacteria-free pan is positioned at an angle when it is secured above the food preparation area so that the pans  12   a ,  12   b ,  12   c  serve to collect overhead debris and drippings. The pans  12   a ,  12   b ,  12   c  can also be linked or releasably locked together to form any length or width of overhead shielding that is desired. A typical pan may be approximately forty-four inches by ninety inches and is substantially rectangular. The top of each pan also serves as a drip pan. 
     As shown in  FIG. 2 , each pan preferably has four layers, including a bottom pan sheet  28 , which may be formed from stainless steel, a heating element layer  27 , a layer of insulation  26 , and a top cover sheet  25 , which may also be formed from stainless steel. The four layers are laminated or otherwise joined together to form the pan (pan  12   a  in  FIG. 2 , though it should be understood that all pans of the system are substantially identical). 
     The top cover sheet  25  is designed to act as a drip catcher for catching any inadvertent drips or debris that may accumulate and drop from overhead. The top cover  25  is not heated, and remains at room temperature. An insulating layer  26  is mounted below the top cover  25 , sandwiched between top cover  25  and heating element  27 . The heating element  27  is electrically connected to control electronics through the readily detachable subconduit  19   a , which passes through openings  25   a  and  26   a , connecting to the heating element  27  at connection point  27   a . The readily detachable subconduit  19   a  is detachably connected to main conduit  18 . The heating element  27  may include a thermocouple connected thereto that can be monitored and regulated by controller  14 . 
     The heating element  27  is disposed below the inner cover  25  and the insulating layer  26 . The heated bottom pan sheet  28  encloses most of the other members  25 ,  26 , and  27  of the overall pan  12   a , and the bottom pan sheet  28  lies a short distance above the food preparation area when installed. The heated bottom pan sheet  28  further includes an over-drip trough  29 . The trough  29  is very similar to a conventional gutter in function and construction. The pan  12   a  is tilted toward the trough  29  so that any water condensation or debris from overhead will make its way to the trough  29 , drain through the drip drain  24   a , and pass though the overpan drip line  22 . 
     The bottom pan  28  is heated by the heating element  27  so that the surface of the bottom pan sheet  28  can be adjusted to a higher temperature. This function serves to kill bacteria, such as  listeria, salmonella , and  E. Coli  that come in contact with the surface of the bottom heated pan  28 . These germs can form on overhead surfaces of food processing or preparation areas due to debris or meat juices being sprayed from equipment, sanitation, or even blown from a fan. The heating element  27  of the pan  12   a  can be adjusted to varying temperatures that enable the heating element  27  to be used to kill bacteria and prevent condensation. The heating element  27  serves as an internal heating blanket and preferably has a “J” thermocouple installed to control temperature. The heating element  27  or blanket is between the high temperature insulation  26  and the stainless steel of the bottom pan sheet  28 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 3 , a majority of matter that drips onto top cover sheet  25  is typically in the form of moisture droplets  31 . The moisture droplets  31  drain into the trough  29 , following path  32 , and then into the associated drain  24   a , and then into the overpan drip line  22 . This drainage system is arranged to allow for the draining away of the condensed moisture  31  that has collected on the top cover  25  of pan  12   a . The heating element  27  can be adjusted to a desired temperature, and is designed to prevent condensation from forming on the pan bottom sheet  28 . 
     Steam  34  that rises from cooking of foods in the food preparation area normally rises and condenses on any overhead surface, but the condensation/bacteria-free pan system  10  is designed to heat bottom pan sheet  28  to a temperature comparable to the steam so that the rising steam  34  avoids the heated surface of the bottom pan sheet  28  as it rises, with the steam being diverted around the pan  12   a  by the heated air directly beneath layer  28 . The steam  34  may condense above pan  12   a  and drip onto the top cover  25  of the pan  12   a , where the moisture  31  flows (as indicated by the arrows  32 ) into the trough  29 , down the drain  24   a , and into the overpan drip line  22 . Thus, condensation due to the steam  34  from cooked foods, and hence contamination, is thereby avoided on the heated bottom pan sheet  28 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 4 , each pan  12   a ,  12   b ,  12   c  has a vertical sidewall and an opposing sidewall  30  having an inverted J-shape. The J-shaped sidewall  30  has a top flange that overlays the junction between the sidewalls of adjacent pans  12   a ,  12   b ,  12   c  when the pans are joined together so that any drips or condensation will be diverted into the neighboring pan instead of seeping through the joint between the sidewalls. Each sidewall is attached by way of aperture  42  with a standard bolt pattern, such as exemplary bolt  44  and mating nut  46 . 
     The condensation-free and bacteria-free pan system  10  is automated, self-sufficient, and virtually contamination-free. The condensation-free and bacteria-free pan system  10  eliminates a need for costly condensation collection crews. The pans are self-drying, thus no wiping is needed (wiping would cause unnecessary spreading of bacteria in the system). The equipment used by work crews on overhead objects, such as ceilings, water pipes, conduits, ductwork, etc., often contains water droplets and/or bacteria-infested debris that occasionally fall and contaminate food and beverage products. The condensation-free and bacteria-free pan system  10  eliminates this safety violation, reduces operating expenses, loss of product due to contamination, and promotes a clean, safe, and healthy food product. Pans  12   a ,  12   b  and  12   c  may be suspended from the ceiling, or above the work surface, by any suitable support or suspension mechanism. 
     The units described above are typical. The units are “built to suit” and can be typical or any size or shape within manufacturing capacity. The installations shown are typical. The units can be mounted “to suit” and can be used for many different locations or arrangements, for example, but not limited to, inside conveyor tunnels, under air control units, temperature bacteria walls, and many other applications where a difference in temperature causes unwanted condensation and bacteria. 
     It is to be understood that the present invention is not limited to the embodiment described above, but encompasses any and all embodiments within the scope of the following claims.