Food preparation apparatus and methods
AssigneeDuke Manufacturing Co.
InventorsRobert J. Reese, Philip Gregory Geerling, Jeffrey A. Stafford, Gregory Glen Stettes, Thomas E. Kieffer, Kim Charles Fietsam
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Food preparation apparatus and associated methods. In one method, dough is proofed in an oven compartment and then baked in the same oven compartment. Temperature and/or humidity can be controlled during proofing and/or baking cycles. A blower may be used, for example, to exhaust gas to ambient to reduce heat and/or moisture in the compartment. For example, the blower may be used between proofing and baking cycles to prepare an environment in the oven compartment for the baking cycle.
Claims19
A food preparation apparatus comprising:
- a food conditioning compartment sized and shaped to receive a food product;
- a door opening in communication with the food conditioning compartment and arranged to allow the food product to be inserted and removed from the food conditioning compartment by moving the food product through the door opening;
- a door to the food conditioning compartment, the door movable between a closed position where the door closes the door opening to the food conditioning compartment and an open position where the door allows access to the food conditioning compartment via the door opening;
- an exhaust opening in fluid communication with the food conditioning compartment and arranged to permit gas from the food conditioning compartment to move through the exhaust opening to ambient atmosphere surrounding the food preparation apparatus;
- an exhaust valve arranged relative to the exhaust opening to adjust a flow of gas through the exhaust opening from the food conditioning compartment, the exhaust valve including a valve member movable between a first position and a second position, the valve member being arranged to permit a greater flow rate of the flow of gas in the first position than in the second position;
- and
- an exhaust blower configured to exhaust gas from the food conditioning compartment out of the exhaust opening when the valve member is in the first position.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.