In the following specification the term'food'will be used to mean any potable or edible nourishment encompassing solids and liquids.

Any device for warming baby foods has to be capable of heating small amounts of food, to a temperature which is acceptable to a baby as quickly as possible. Also it is desirable that the food can be warmed in its own separate vessel which has already been sterilised or kept clean-and that the method of heating does not involve any of the heating device coming into contact with the food for reasons of hygiene.

Typically devices for warming baby food or milk use one of two methods.

One method uses hot water with a bowl of solid baby food or bottle of milk being partially submerged in water within the device. The water is heated by a heating element in the base of the device. The food is in turn warmed by the surrounding hot water. A thermostatic control offers a degree of control over the intended temperature of the food by controlling the temperature of the water.

The other method utilizes steam where a bowl or bottle sits above a reservoir of water within the warming device. The water is heated sufficiently to release steam which in turn rises past the walls of the bowl/bottle thereby transferring heat to the food.

Problems may arise with both methods since the devices have in the past been open and prone to spillage of hot water if knocked. The heating elements in the water and steam heated devices are often difficult to access and clean. Moreover heat transfer to the food can be slow for water type heaters.

Summary of the Invention According to the invention there is provided a food warmer comprising a first water heating compartment for containing a reservoir of water and including a water heating element, and a second food warming compartment for receiving a food containing vessel, having a door which when closed forms an enclosed space within the second compartment, and when opened allows entry or removal of a food containing vessel; the second compartment being adjacent the first compartment divided therefrom by a foraminous dividing member which allows steam to pass through it.

Thus the water is kept separate from the food to be heated. The enclosed space within which the food is warmed can be heated relatively quickly and efficiently.

Preferably the second compartment includes a pressure release system, typically in the form of a relief valve to ensure pressure build up within the second compartment remains within safe levels.

Although the first and second compartments could be side by side, preferably the second compartment is mounted directly above the first compartment so that the steam produced in the first compartment passes upwards into the second compartment. In this case the floor of the second compartment forms the dividing member.

The foraminous member may for example comprise a perforate plate or a mesh cage. This may comprise a planar member or may define a dished area for receiving a food vessel. The food warmer may conveniently be supplied with a set of food trays for use in the warmer. The foraminous member may be chosen such that it allows passage of steam but not water.

This helps to reduce spillage accidents. The choice of a suitable material would be readily apparent to the skilled addressee of the specification.

Preferably the food warmer includes a water inlet for topping up the water reservoir.

The food warmer may be arranged such that it may receive only dedicated food vessels for holding solid baby food which would allow the food warmer to be kept very compact. However, it is preferred that the food warmer is arranged such that the second compartment may receive a standard sized baby's milk bottle. This would then be large enough to receive a typical dish containing solid baby foods.

Because the second compartment may be heated so quickly it is possible to arrange the food warmer to be utilised also as a steriliser. Preferably therefore the food warmer may be heated to temperatures necessary for sterilising items. In this case the warmer may include a tray for removably mounting within the second compartment for receiving items for sterilisation. In such case, preferably the food warmer includes a timer for timing the duration of warming and when heating/sterilising should take place.

Consumer research has found that many parents steam sterilise items overnight or once when the container is full. Some items therefore tend to be left for more than 2 hours before use after which they are not deemed

to be sterile. Also opening the sterilizer to remove one item renders all other items contained therein non sterile.

Preferably the door to the second compartment includes a door opened sensor which is coupled to a user interface which would indicate that any items within are non sterile. The food warmer may be arranged such that the sterilising cycle is rerun after reclosing the door.

Preferably the warmer includes a user controllable interface to allow the user to control the timing of the heating. In the case where the warmer may also sterilize, preferably it can also be used to time the period from the completion of sterilisation to indicate when 2 hours has elapsed and the contents are no longer sterile.

Typically the heating element is positioned in the bottom of the unit.

Preferably the element is easily accessible and its form made suitable for ease of cleaning.

Preferably the door is in the form of a lid which attaches firmly to the warmer. This prevents a large proportion of the steam from escaping from the second compartment thereby allowing all wetted surfaces within the device to be raised to sterilising temperatures.

The lid is preferably clear to provide a window into the second compartment. More preferably the lid comprises 2 walls separated by an air gap to form a double skin which provides an insulating volume of air and maintain a safe outer temperature.

The electrical connection may be made through a standard dropin connector situated on the underside of the first container and a

corresponding base unit connected to the mains electrical supply. The warmer is therefore removable for transport to and from a water supply.

To increase portability the warmer may also include a battery receiving receptacle and means to recharge the battery. It may also include an adaptor to allow the warmer to be powered by an in-vehicle cigarette lighter adapter.

Brief Description of the Drawings A food warmer in accordance with the invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:- Figure 1 is a schematic section through a food warmer containing a dish of food; Figure 2 is a schematic section through the food warmer of figure 1, containing a bottle of milk; Figure 3 is a perspective view of the food warmer of figures 1 and 2; and, Figure 4 is a schematic block diagram illustrating the operation of the control and user interface of the food warmer.

Description of the Preferred Embodiment A food warmer 1 comprises a first water heating compartment 3 for containing a reservoir of water 5 and including a water heating element 7, and a second food warming compartment 9 for receiving a food containing vessel 11, having a door 13 which when closed forms an enclosed space within the second compartment 9 and when opened allows entry or removal of a food containing vessel, the second compartment 9 being adjacent the first compartment 3 divided therefrom by a foraminous dividing member 15 which allows steam to pass through it.

The door 13 is in the form of a transparent lid which allows the contents of the second compartment to be seen. A pressure release system in the form of a pressure relief valve 17 (depicted schematically) is also included in the lid. This ensures that the pressure within the second compartment 9 due to a build up of steam is kept below a threshold release value.

The second compartment 9 is mounted directly above the first compartment 3 with the floor 15 of the compartment comprising the foraminous dividing member. Here this comprises a perforate plate. This supports the food vessel but allows passage of steam.

The second compartment is shaped and sized so as to be able to receive a standard sized baby's bottle 19 as illustrated in figures 2 and 3. This then ensures that the compartment will be large enough to receive a typical dish of baby food.

The power to the heating element 7 is supplied via a dropin connector as depicted at 21 between the underside of the first compartment 3 and a base unit 23 from which the warmer 1 is removable for refilling the water reservoir 5.

The heating element 7 is readily accessible and removable for cleaning- situated at the bottom of the first compartment 3.

The warmer 1 includes a user interface 25 as shown in figures 3 and 4.

This comprises a series of user control buttons 27 and a display 29. The warmer includes control electronics 31 coupled to the user control buttons 27, display 29, the heater 33, a lid open sensor 35 and a temperature sensor 37.

The control electronics 31 include a timer (not shown) which allows the time of heating to be monitored and controlled. The warmer is capable of operating in two modes, warming and sterilising. Because the sealed compartment 9 heats quickly and effectively the same apparatus can also be used for sterilising a bottle or small items. In order to prevent the use of a non sterile item, the lid open sensor 35 senses when the lid has been opened to allow a message to be displayed on the display means 29 that the contents are now non sterile. Similarly after 2 hours after completion of sterilisation a similar message is displayed.

The warmer may be operated in automatic mode as selected by the user when the sterilization cycle reinitiates after 2 hours automatically or after the lid has been opened and then reclosed. The temperature sensor 37 senses whether the sterilisation has been carried out at the correct temperature and indicates whether resterilisation is required.