Dry well food warmer assembly and method

A dry well food warmer assembly for warming food located within a serving pan, the serving pan having a closed bottom and side walls extending up from the closed bottom, said food warmer comprising:

• a housing forming a well having a generally rectangular shape, the well including a bottom wall with a floor surface, and a well outer wall structure located upwardly of the bottom wall, wherein the closed bottom is installed within the well and the well is configured to receive at least a portion of the side walls of the serving pan so as to define a closed heating space;
• a heating element configured to heat air and mounted within the well, wherein the heating element is arranged in the closed heating space and generally oriented in a plane that is generally parallel to the floor;
• a blower rotatably mounted relative to the well to rotate about an axis that is generally perpendicular to the well floor surface, the blower having a plurality of blades configured to blow air generally outwardly, the heating element being positioned so that the blower is capable of blowing air outwardly around the heating element to heat the air and toward the well outer wall structure;
• wherein the closed bottom of the serving pan is configured to reflect the heated air so that the heated air is isolated and circulates within the closed heating space thereby heat the food contained in said serving pan;
• a baffle plate mounted within the well and arranged in the closed heating space, the baffle plate generally extending in a plane that is generally parallel to the floor and generally parallel to the plane of the heating element;
• the baffle plate having an upper side and a lower side, the lower side having a substantial portion located above the heating element, the baffle plate being configured to direct heated air discharged by the blower upwardly against at least a portion of the closed bottom of the serving pan for heating food therein;
• the baffle plate having a plurality of intake openings extending through the baffle plate and located generally over the blower;
• and
• the baffle plate being somewhat smaller than the well and having two longitudinal edges and two transverse end edges spaced from the adjacent sides of the well defining spaces between the edges of the baffle plate and the sides of the well, the baffle plate having one or more outlet openings spaced outwardly from the plurality of intake openings so that when the food warmer is in operation air discharged by said blower passes over the heating element so as to be heated, and then passes through the space between the edges of the baffle and the sides of the well and through said one or more outlet openings in the baffle plate such that heated air contacts at least the closed bottom of the pan thereby to heat the food within the pan, wherein air from within the well above the upper surface of the baffle plate is returned to the blower via the plurality of intake openings.

A method of warming human food contained in a serving pan located within a housing, comprising the steps of:

• energizing a heating element to heat air in a closed heating space and located within a wall structure of a well of the housing above a floor of the well, wherein the serving pan includes a closed bottom and a side wall, which are configured to define the closed heating space with the floor and the wall structure of the well;
• energizing a blower rotatably mounted relative to the well to rotate the blower about an axis that is generally perpendicular to the well floor surface, the heating element arranged in the closed heating space and being positioned to the outside of the blower, the blower having blades adapted to force air outwardly;
• the blower having blades configured on the blower to be capable of blowing air outwardly from the blower toward the well outer wall structure and toward the heating element such that the heated air circulates within the closed heating space;
• blowing air generally outwardly from the blower beneath a baffle plate arranged in the closed heating space, past the heating element to heat the air, and forcing the heated air outwardly toward the well outer wall structure and upwardly above the upper side of the baffle plate;
• and
• reflecting the heated air by the closed bottom of the serving pan to heat at least the closed bottom of the serving pan, and then to return the heated air within the closed heating space from above the baffle plate back to the blower so that the blower thence again, blows the heated air past the heating element and force the heated air upwardly into contact with the closed bottom of the serving pan.