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Conveyor oven with hybrid heating sources

  • US 7,800,023 B2
  • Filed: 04/24/2007
  • Issued: 09/21/2010
  • Est. Priority Date: 04/24/2007
  • Status: Expired due to Fees
First Claim
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1. An oven comprising:

  • a cavity having a top, a bottom, a first opening and a second opening;

    a first, electrically-powered burner which provides infrared energy;

    a second, gas-fired burner, which provides infrared energy across a spectrum of different infrared wavelengths the gas-fired burner comprised of;

    a burner plate screen below which a gas/fuel mixture at least partially combusts and which heats the burner plate screen, said burner plate screen configured to emit infrared energy, emitted infrared energy having a wavelength corresponding to the burner plate screen temperature;

    a conveyor that extends between the first opening and the second opening and which is between the first burner and the second burner;

    a gas valve, coupled between a gas source and the gas-fired burner; and

    a controller, operatively coupled to the gas valve, the controller being configured to control gas flow through the gas valve in order to cycle the burner plate screen temperature within a range of temperatures, the burner plate screen emitting correspondingly different maximum infrared energy intensities within the range of temperatures, the controllably cycled temperature of the burner plate thereby sweeping a food item with a continuously varying spectrum of infrared energy having maximum infrared energy intensities at wavelengths that are between about 1.0 and about 4.5 micrometers.

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