Catering box with active climate control for transporting delicate food items

摘要

A catering box with active climate control is configured to transport “delicate” foods, such as grilled cheese sandwiches, hot dogs, and hamburgers, without inducing substantial sogginess in the bread of those food items. The catering box includes a heat mass configured to retain heat generated by a hot plate and to then radiate that heat, during transport, after the hot plate has been disconnected from a power source. In addition, the catering box includes an exhaust fan that actively controls internal specific humidity levels in order to prevent moisture from settling within the bread of stored food items. A microcontroller within the catering box monitors temperature and absolute humidity levels, computes the current specific humidity level, and then selectively engages or disengages the exhaust fan in response. With his approach, the catering box may limit the degree to which humidity settles within the bread of delicate food items stored within.

主权项

1. A food storage container, comprising:
a humidity sensor configured to measure a current humidity level within the storage container; an exhaust fan configured to remove air from the food storage container; a heating element coupled to a heat mass; and a microcontroller configured to:
cause the heating element to heat the heat mass during a first period of time;cause the heating element to cycle on and off during a second period of time;cause the exhaust fan to engage and disengage during the second period of time to control a humidity level within the food storage container; andcause the heating element to remain deactivated during a third period of time; andcause the exhaust fan to periodically engage and disengage during the third period of time to control the humidity level within the food storage container, wherein, during both the second period of time and the third period of time, the microcontroller is configured to control the humidity level within the food storage container by:
computing a humidity value based on sensor data that reflects the humidity level within the food storage container;determining that the humidity value exceeds an upper humidity boundary; andengaging the exhaust fan to remove air from the food storage container until the humidity value reaches a lower humidity boundary.