1. Field of the Invention
Home baking has retained its popularity and utility over the years to the present time, notwithstanding the wide availability of packaged, prebaked goods such as bread, dinner rolls, and so forth. Such home baking requires that the flour be mixed with yeast or other rising agents to form a dough and allowing the dough to stand at a temperature higher than ambient temperatures. Usually this procedure is accomplished by placing the dough in a dish close to a source of heat such as a heat register and covering the dough with a cloth or other means to somewhat control the heat loss. Often the dish containing the dough is placed in a second container of hot or warm water and allowing the dish to remain therein for the desired period of time. Needless to say, these procedures do not produce consistent results and often causes the novice baker to become discouraged and abandon efforts in this area.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The prior art directed to dough proofing devices comprises primarily those designed for commercial use. Exemplary of the patents covering such devices is U.S. Pat. No. 3,034,455. Obviously, these patents have no bearing on the novelty of the present devices. They merely describe the extent to which such devices have developed over the years.
There is no direct art relating to a foldable environmental chamber or device such as is described in the present disclosure. The nearest related art relates to devices which are used to hold foods such as bread rolls in a warm condition prior to eating. See U.S. Pat. No. 3,098,924. French Patent No. 1,155,108 relates to a foldable food covering device which is obviously used to protect food from dirt, flying insects, and so forth. U.S. Pat. No. 2,307,569 relates to another such device.
Analogous art relating to foldable devices is described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,148,688 (camping tent); 3,169,544 (collapsible frame); and 2,405,627 (collapsible receptacle). Other portable devices are described which may contain or are associated with heating means such as saunas (U.S. Pat. No. 2,466,490) and chicken brooders (U.S. Pat. No. 1,440,775). Such devices, however, do not have a heating means integrally associated with the chamber itself.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,739,792 describes an umbrella with heating means located in the ribs of the umbrella such as to heat and warm the holder of the device. Such a device is obviously open to the elements, at least on the bottom, and cannot be considered a chamber, especially one utilized advantageously for food uses.