Hatco Corporation

Hateo Corporation

Fei Shang

Nick Bassill

Ishan Shah

Mark Gilpatric

Edward Nunn

John P Scanlon

Max Walker

Gerhard H Wenzel

Jefferson Leach

Ronghua Yu

Dave Rolston

Brad Stoeckel

Jackey Chen

John Scanlon

An induction system includes a single power inverter, a plurality of power branches coupled to the single power inverter in parallel, and a controller. Each of the plurality of power branches includes an induction coil, a capacitor coupled to the induction coil to form a resonant circuit, and a power switch coupled in series with the resonant circuit. The controller is configured to regulate an output power of the resonant circuit of each of the plurality of power branches by varying a switching frequency of the single power inverter to adjust the output power of the resonant circuit of all of the plurality of power branches and/or selectively transmitting a signal to the power switch of a respective power branch of the plurality of power branches to turn-on and turn-off the power switch of the respective power branch to individually adjust the output power of each of the plurality of power branches.

Induction heating system

An induction heating system includes a housing, a heating surface, a first power inverter disposed within the housing, a second power inverter disposed within the housing, a first plurality of working coils, and a second plurality of working coils. The first plurality of working coils is connected in series. The first plurality of working coils is disposed within the housing and electrically coupled to the first power inverter. The second plurality of working coils is connected in series. The second plurality of working coils is disposed within the housing and electrically coupled to the first power inverter. The first plurality of working coils and the second plurality of working coils are configured to receive power from the first power inverter and the second power inverter, respectively, to produce magnetic fields that interact with a ferrous material of cooking vessels or of the heating surface to generate heat in the ferrous material.

Multi-coil induction warming system

A food preparation appliance includes a housing, a conveyor, a thermal element, a first sensor, a second sensor, and a third sensor. The housing defines an inlet, an outlet, and a processing zone between the inlet and the outlet. The conveyor is configured to move a food product from the inlet, through the processing zone, and to the outlet. The thermal element is positioned within the processing zone. The first sensor is positioned proximate the inlet of the housing and along a lateral side of the conveyor or along a first cantilever arm extending laterally across the conveyor. The second sensor is positioned within the processing zone. The third sensor is positioned proximate the outlet of the housing and along a lateral side of the conveyor or along a second cantilever arm extending laterally across the conveyor.

Pattern recognizing appliance

A temperature-regulating appliance includes a top portion, a base, a temperature sensor, and a mounting adapter. The top portion has an upper surface and a lower surface. The base includes a housing defining an internal compartment and a thermal element disposed within the internal compartment of the housing. The temperature sensor is positioned outside of the internal compartment, between the housing and the lower surface of the top portion. The mounting adapter extends between the top portion and the housing. The mounting adapter detachably couples the base to the top portion.

Temperature-regulating appliance with removable base

A temperature-regulating unit includes a base, a thermal element, a contactless sensing assembly, and a controller. The base is configured to support at least one of a pan or a food product. The thermal element is positioned to thermally regulate the at least one of the pan or the food product. The contactless sensing assembly is positioned to acquire sensor data regarding the at least one of the pan or the food product. The controller is configured to receive the sensor data from the contactless sensing assembly and adaptively control the thermal element based on the sensor data.

Sensor and control systems for food preparation

A temperature-regulating appliance includes a top portion, a base, and a mounting adapter. The top portion has an upper surface and a lower surface. The top portion is configured to be mounted to a countertop. The base includes a housing defining an internal compartment and a thermal element disposed within the internal compartment of the housing. The mounting adapter extends from the lower surface of the top portion to the housing. The mounting adapter detachably couples the base to the top portion.

An induction heating system includes a power inverter, an induction circuit, and a control circuit. The power inverter includes one or more transistors configured to receive a direct current (DC) input and produce an alternating current (AC) output. The induction circuit includes at least one working coil configured to receive the AC output and produce a first magnetic field, wherein the first magnetic field interacts with a ferrous material to generate heat in the ferrous material. The control circuit includes a processor and memory. The memory having instructions stored thereon that, when executed by the processor, cause the control circuit to receive an input, from a user, indicating a temperature set point, measure an inductance of the induction circuit, determine a resonant frequency of the induction circuit based on the inductance, and control the one or more transistors of the power inverter based on the resonant frequency and the temperature set point.

A food preparation appliance includes a processing mechanism, a thermal element, a sensor positioned to acquire identifying data regarding identifying characteristics of a food product to be processed by the food preparation appliance, and a processing circuit. The processing circuit is configured to receive the identifying data from the sensor, identify a type of the food product based on the identifying data, and automatically set a predefined operating parameter of at least one of the processing mechanism and the thermal element to provide target processing of the food product based on the type and the identifying characteristics.

A food pan well includes a base defining an internal cavity and a temperature regulating system disposed within the internal cavity. The temperature regulating system includes an internal enclosure and at least one of a cooling assembly and a warming assembly. The internal enclosure is positioned within the internal cavity. The internal enclosure includes a bottom wall and a sidewall that extends around a periphery of the bottom wall. The bottom wall and the sidewall cooperatively define a temperature regulated cavity. The base is configured to support one or more food pans such that the one or more food pans are selectively suspendable within the temperature regulated cavity. The cooling assembly is positioned to facilitate cooling at least one of the one or more food pans and the warming assembly is positioned to facilitate warming at least one of the one or more food pans.

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Milwaukee, WI, United States of America

Fei Shang