Oven slot cover

An oven system comprising:

• an oven chamber defined by side walls and a top wall, the oven chamber having a slot that extends longitudinally along a length of the top wall, the top wall having a first edge portion and a second edge portion that defines a width of the slot;
• a conveyor rail extending longitudinally along the slot at a position outside of the oven chamber, the conveyor rail defining a conveyance path;
• a conveyor hanger coupled to and movable along the conveyance path of the conveyor rail, the conveyor hanger being configured to extend through the slot of the oven chamber to support a workpiece within the oven chamber;
• a first plurality of connection tabs and spaced at intervals along the length of the top wall proximate the first edge portion of the top wall;
• a second plurality of connection tabs spaced at intervals along the length of the top wall proximate the second edge portion of the top wall;
• and
• a closure mechanism coupled to the first and second pluralities of connection tabs to inhibit heat from escaping from the oven chamber, the closure mechanism comprising:
• a first plurality of plates coupled to the first plurality of connection tabs;
• and
• a second plurality of plates coupled to the second plurality of connection tabs, the first and second pluralities of plates cooperate with each other to close the slot, each of the first plurality of plates and the second plurality of plates having a connection portion defining a connection aperture, an angled portion extending downward from the connection portion within the slot of the oven chamber, and an engagement portion extending downward from the angled portion to form an engagement surface, the connection aperture of each of the first and second pluralities of plates are respectively configured to engage with at least one of the first and second pluralities of connection tabs, the first and second pluralities of plates are respectively configured to pivot relative to the first and second pluralities of connection tabs to selectively close the slot of the oven chamber,
• wherein the first and second pluralities of plates cooperate to define a first pair of plates and a second pair of plates positioned downstream of the first pair of plates in an operational direction of the conveyor hanger, wherein the first and second pairs of plates each include one of the first plurality of plates coupled to the first plurality of connection tabs and one of the second plurality of plates coupled to the second plurality of connection tabs.