Heated air-circulating oven

• US 5,671,660 A
• Filed: 07/09/1996
• Issued: 09/30/1997
• Est. Priority Date: 12/12/1994
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Zesto Food Equipment Manufacturing
• Original Assignee: Zesto Food Equipment Manufacturing
• Inventors: Moshonas, Georges
• Primary Examiner(s): Simone, Timothy F.
• Application Number:
  US08/680,527
• Time in Patent Office: 448 Days
• Field of Search: 99/339, 99/340, 99/357, 99/386, 99/401, 99/446-450, 99/473-476, 99/483, 99/443 R, 99/443 C, 219/388, 219/400, 126/21 A, 126/39 D, 432/59, 432/145, 432/144, 432/152, 432/176, 34/224, 34/229
• US Class Current: 99/443.00C
• CPC Class Codes: A21B 1/245 with a plurality of air nozzles to obtain an impingement effect on the food

Abstract

A heated air-circulating oven is disclosed, having a baking chamber in open communication with one or more suction chambers. One or more blowers draw air from the baking chamber through the suction chambers. The drawn air then passes through a blowing chamber and through a plurality of blown air distributors in open communication with the baking chamber so as to reinject the air drawn and blown by the blowers back into the baking chamber. The oven also has a heater external to the baking chamber so as to heat the air drawn by the blowers.

Claims

1. A heated air-circulating oven comprising:

a baking chamber in which food can be inserted for baking, said baking chamber having two opposite sidewalls, an end wall, a top wall and a bottom wall;

two air suction chambers in open communication with said baking chamber, one of said two air suction chambers is adjacent to the bottom wall of the baking chamber, the other one of said two air suction chambers is adjacent to the top wall of the baking chamber, both of said air suction chambers are in open communication with each other via at least one intermediate chamber adjacent to one of said opposite sidewalls, both of said air suction chambers being also in open communication with the baking chamber via a plurality of apertures operatively positioned onto said top and bottom wall;

at least one blower mounted outside the baking chamber for drawing air from said baking chamber through the suction chambers;

a blowing chamber at least in part adjacent to said end wall and in open communication with said two air suction chambers via said at least one blower and in which the air drawn by said at least one blower passes;

a plurality of blown air distributors extending within the baking chamber on the top and bottom walls thereof and being positioned so as to not face said plurality of apertures of the air suction chambers, said blown air distributors being in open communication with the blowing chamber and the baking chamber so as to reinject the air drawn and blown by said at least one blower back into the baking chamber; and

heating means external to said baking chamber for heating the air which is drawn from the baking chamber before it is blown back into said baking chamber, said heating means comprising a heating chamber operatively connected to one of said two air suction chamber so as to heat the air drawn through said one air suction chamber.

2. The oven according to claim 1, wherein the blown air distributors are extending from the one opposite end wall to which the blowing chamber is adjacent, to the other opposite end wall, each of said blown air distributors having a decreasing cross-section over its length and being provided with a plurality of evenly spaced outlet openings.

3. The oven according to claim 2, comprising two of said at least one blower externally mounted onto opposite sidewalls of said baking chamber, each blower being operatively connected to said two air suction chambers and said blowing chamber.

4. The oven according to claim 3, wherein the baking chamber has two opposite end openings through which a food-receiving conveyor passes so as to move the food to be baked inside the baking chamber.

5. A heated air-circulating oven comprising:

a baking chamber in which food can be inserted for baking, said baking chamber having two opposite sidewalls, an end wall, a top wall and a bottom wall;

two air suction chambers in open communication with said baking chamber, one of said two air suction chambers is adjacent to the bottom wall of the baking chamber, the other one of said two air suction chambers is adjacent to the top wall of the baking chamber, both of said air suction chambers are in open communication with each other via at least one intermediate chamber adjacent to one of said opposite sidewalls, both of said air suction chambers being also in open communication with the baking chamber via a plurality of apertures operatively positioned onto said top and bottom wall;

two blowers mounted outside the baking chamber, for drawing air from said baking chamber through a corresponding air suction chamber, each of said blowers being respectively in communication with a corresponding suction chamber;

a blowing chamber at least in part adjacent to said end wall and in open communication with said two air suction chambers via said two blowers and in which the air drawn by said two blowers passes;

a plurality of blown air distributors in open communication with the blowing chamber and the baking chamber so as to reinject the air drawn and blown by said two blowers back into the baking chamber, said plurality of blown air distributors being positioned so as to not face said plurality of apertures extending within the baking chamber on the top and bottom walls thereof from the one opposite end wall to which the blowing chamber is adjacent, to the other opposite end wall, each of said blown air distributors having a decreasing cross-section over its length and being provided with a plurality of evenly spaced outlet openings; and

heating means external to said baking chamber for heating the air which is drawn from the baking chamber before it is blown back into said baking chamber, said heating means comprising a heating chamber operatively connected to the air suction chamber adjacent to the bottom wall so as to heat the air drawn through said air suction chamber.