Abstract:
An egg roaster for roasting eggs using an electric heater is disclosed. An internal air circulator is provided in an insulation chamber in which is mounted guide shelves for egg loading and forcing circulation and diffusion of an internal air to evenly roast the eggs. An air discharge unit forceably discharges the internal air to prevent egg burning and dewing from moisturel. An external air influx member administers the supply of external air.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0001]    The present invention relates to a roaster. More particularly, the present invention relates to an improved egg roaster improving nutrition factors in eggs by roasting unpeeled eggs using air circulation mechanism.  
           [0002]    Eggs are known to contain substantial amount of proteins, carbohydrates, fats, vitamins and others. Among the kinds of eggs, rooster eggs and quail eggs apply to commercial mass production.  
           [0003]    Raw eggs include relatively large amounts of moisture which makes it feasible for germs to easily propagate and decrease storage period due tot the ease of decay. As such, raw eggs need care to maintain freshness. Since eggs serve as an important low-cost source of nutrition, they are a critical part of the diet for many millions of individuals.  
           [0004]    Boiled eggs or fried eggs are no better than raw eggs in terms of storage period and vulnerability to germs. In order to prevent the problems, Korea Patent Publication No. 93-8103 discloses an egg processing method, wherein eggs are soaked in solution mixed and diluted at the ratio of water 100 weight %, carbon magnesium 2-3 weight %, carbon natrium 3-4 weight %, NaCl 1.5-2.5 weight % and processed for at least 18 days at relatively low temperature of 23-28 Celsius degrees and then steamed at 35-42 Celsius degrees, thereby enabling egg storage for about three months at room temperature. However, the length of egg processing period lowers productivity and hinders commercial application.  
           [0005]    Also, Korea Patent Publication No. 98-43797 discloses soaking and maturing for a predetermined time period using yellow soil and herbs. Although this may improve medication effects, extension of storage period is not expected.  
           [0006]    None of the prior art roaster discloses a device as taught in the present invention.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0007]    Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an egg roaster which effectively roasts bulk quantities of egg.  
           [0008]    To achieve the above-described object, the egg roaster according to the present invention comprises an egg roaster for roasting eggs using an electric heater, an internal air circulator provided in an insulation chamber in which is mounted guide shelves for egg loading and forcing circulation and diffusion of an internal air to evenly roast the eggs, an air discharge unit for forceably discharging the internal air to prevent egg burning and dewing from moisture, and an external air influx member for adjusting the supply of air entering from the external environment. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0009]    These and other features, aspects and advantages of the present invention will become better understood with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein:  
         [0010]    [0010]FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an egg roaster according to the present invention;  
         [0011]    [0011]FIG. 2 is a horizontal cross-sectional view of FIG. 1;  
         [0012]    [0012]FIG. 3 is a vertical cross-sectional front view of FIG. 1;  
         [0013]    [0013]FIG. 3 a  is a partial enlarged view of the corresponding portion shown in FIG. 3;  
         [0014]    [0014]FIG. 4 is a vertical cross-sectional side view of FIG. 1 showing the inner wall of FIG. 3A; and,  
         [0015]    [0015]FIG. 4 a  is a partial enlarged view of the corresponding portion shown in FIG. 4. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0016]    With reference to the accompanying drawings, the present invention will now be described. As shown in FIGS.  1 - 4 , the present invention is provided with a heating chamber  10  defined by a door set  11  consisting of one or more doors and walls comprising of a top wall  8 , bottom wall  9 , and vertical walls  12 . The heating chamber  10  is of a predetermined volume. Each wall  8 ,  9 ,  12  is filled with an insulation material. Within the heating chamber  10  are provided a plurality of guide shelves  13  to load eggs thereon. Further, each vertical wall  12  has an inner wall  14  having holes  15  therethrough, wherein the guide shelves  13  are mounted on each inner wall  14  in an horizontal multi-story alignment.  
         [0017]    Spaced from the vertical walls  12  are formed air vents  17 . An electric heater  20  serving as a heat source is disposed in an upper portion of the heating chamber  10 , wherein the upper portion of the heating chamber  10  communicates with the air vents  17 .  
         [0018]    In another upper portion of the chamber  10  are provided a fan  30  and a motor  50 , wherein the motor  50  is fixed to an exterior portion of the top wall  8  and the fan  30  is axially engaged to the motor  50  so that the fan  30  and the motor  50  become placed in an air passage  17   a  communicating with the air vents  17  to serve as an air circulation device.  
         [0019]    An air discharge hole  40  communicating with the chamber  10  is formed to the rear of a central portion of the top wall  8 . An air influx member  45  is formed to the front of the central portion of the top wall  8  to administer the influx of air flowing in from the external atmosphere, wherein an air influx hole  46  in the air influx member  45  communicates with the chamber  10 .  
         [0020]    The air influx member  45  includes a cover  49 , a knob  47  and a disk  48 . The cover  49  has a hole  49  therethrough and is fixed to an external portion of the top wall  8 . The knob  47  is provided on and above the cover  49 . The disk  48  includes a through hole  48   a . In this construction, the knob  47  and the disk  48  are axially engaged to each other to cover the air influx hole  46 .  
         [0021]    The air passage  17   a  is formed in a substantially triangular arrangement spreading from the fan  30  in order enable the maximize the spreading of the air by the fan  30  to the heater  20 .  
         [0022]    Meanwhile, a partition plate  60  is formed spaced from and over a lower end of the air influx hole  46 . The partition plate is positioned to lead air drawn in through the air influx hole  46  toward the fan  30  without mixing with the air already contained within the chamber and promoting the circulation of air in the chamber  10 . Here, the reference numeral  70  denotes a control box.  
         [0023]    The thusly constituted present invention will now be explained in further detail.  
         [0024]    In the egg roaster according to the present invention, target eggs for roasting are loaded on egg plates and mounted on each guide shelf  13  to fill the chamber  10 . According to experiments, approximately 4,000 to 5,000 eggs are appropriate for commercial egg roasting so the loadable number of eggs in the chamber  10  may be determined accordingly.  
         [0025]    When the eggs are loaded in the chamber  10 , the door set  11  is closed and an egg roasting program becomes applied using the control box  70  to start the egg roasting.  
         [0026]    The egg roasting temperature becomes gradually heightened and continues for about 20 to 30 minutes in accordance with a predetermined set of steps. The electric heater  20  is employed as heat source. The holes  15  formed between guide shelves  13  serve to supply heat wave therethrough. The fan  30  powered by the motor  50  serves to draw in and diffuse air in the chamber  10  into the air passage  17   a  so that the diffused air becomes heated as it passes the heater  20 . The heated air is supplied through air vents  17  and at the same time diffused through the holes  15  on the inner wall of the vertical walls  12  and into the chamber. Such a repeated air circulation within the chamber  10  leads to egg roasting.  
         [0027]    At this time, a discharge fan (not shown) may be provided at the air discharge hole  40  to intermittently, repeatedly discharge the air in the chamber  10 . In order to supplement the external atmosphere into the chamber  10 , the knob  47  of the air influx member  45  can be turned and adjusted to enable the hole  49   a  in the cover  49  to communicate with the hole  48   a  of the disk  48 , thereby inhaling a desired amount of external atmosphere into the chamber  10 .  
         [0028]    Either to circulate and discharge the internal air or to inhale the external atmosphere is to prevent egg crusts from cracking due to high heat and obtain quality-roasted eggs.  
         [0029]    The air inhaled for such a circulation in the chamber  10  turns to a heated air while passing the heater  20 . The temperature variations due to the influx of the external atmosphere into the chamber  10  may result in the undesired type of roasted eggs so the partition plate  60  is provided to direct the influx air toward the fan  30 .  
         [0030]    The roasted eggs obtained using the egg roaster according to the present invention prove to contain low cholesterol with more calcium and protein while substantially realizing increased storage hours. The egg ingredients comparison table according to FDA analysis is as follows:  
                                                                                     Roasted Egg               Ingredients   by This Roaster   Raw Egg                                        Calories   70       75               Total fat   4.5   g   4.5   g           Saturated Fatty Acid   1.6   g   1.5   g           Cholesterol   185   mg   215   mg           Sodium   75   mg   65   mg           Total Carbohydrate   0   g   1   g           Dietary Fiber   0   g           Sugars   0   g           Proteins   7   g   6.25   g           Vitamin A   3%       6%           Calcium   4%       2%           Vitamin C   0%       0%           Iron   16%       4%           Ash   0.48   g   0.47   g           Moisture   27.7   g   37.7   g           Polyunsaturated Fat   0.68   g   0.68   g           Monounsarurated Fat   1.92   g   1.91   g           Monosaccharides   0.03   g           Disacchrides   0   g           Other Carbohydrate   0.16   g                      
 
         [0031]    The above-specified egg ingredients analyses are based on one egg weighing 40 g. As shown in the above table, the increase of calcium and protein is substantially increased, whereas cholesterol is substantially lowered, in the roasted egg according to the present invention. The roasted egg becomes thoroughly sterilized and its storage becomes extended accordingly. Also, the acidity of the roasted egg is about pH 7.224. The food with acidity of over ph 7.5 is not sellable as edible. Further, the substantially decreased moisture prevents germ propagation.  
         [0032]    As discussed above, the egg roaster according to the present invention enables even roasting of bulk eggs, thereby satisfying commercial demand while reserving productivity in egg roasting. Further, the egg roaster realizes a thorough sterilization without damaging eggs by use of air circulation mechanism and substantially extends storage period.  
         [0033]    Although the invention has been described in considerable detail with reference to certain preferred versions thereof, other versions are possible by converting the aforementioned construction. Therefore, the scope of the invention shall not be limited by the specification specified above and the appended claims.