# US 2010/0166397 A1 · Wire Mesh Thermal Radiative Element and Use in a Radiative Oven > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 2010/0166397 A1 - Document ID: US20100166397A1 - Status: Published application - Kind: A1 - Application number: 12/345,939 - Filed: 2008-12-30 - Published: 2010-07-01 - Earliest claimed: 2008-12-30 - Assignees: De Luca Oven Technologies, LLC - Inventors: Nicholas P. De Luca - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US20100166397A1 ## CPC - H05B 3/0076: {for cooking, e.g. in ovens (lamps specially adapted for non-metallic cooking plates H05B3/742, H05B3/744)} - A47J 37/08: Bread-toasters - F24C 7/043: {Stoves} - F24C 7/065: {with reflectors (reflectors per se F24C15/22)} - F24C 7/081: {on stoves} - F24C 7/088: {on stoves} - H05B 3/24: heating conductor being self-supporting - H05B 2203/032: Heaters specially adapted for heating by radiation heating - H05B: ELECTRIC HEATING; ELECTRIC LIGHT SOURCES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; CIRCUIT ARRANGEMENTS FOR ELECTRIC LIGHT SOURCES, IN GENERAL - A47J: KITCHEN EQUIPMENT; COFFEE MILLS; SPICE MILLS; APPARATUS FOR MAKING BEVERAGES - F24C: DOMESTIC STOVES OR RANGES (exclusively for solid fuels F24B); DETAILS OF DOMESTIC STOVES OR RANGES, OF GENERAL APPLICATION ## Abstract A high speed cooking apparatus employing a low voltage high current system for heating foods employing a novel wire mesh heating element. The system herein described providing the benefits of high speed cooking like that further described by U.S. Provisional Application 60/822,028 filed on Aug. 10, 2006, but yet providing significant cost benefit and simplicity over said system. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A radiant oven comprising: a cooking cavity configured for receiving a cooking load; a circuit for carrying current supplied by one or more stored energy devices; and a main heater comprising one or more wire mesh heating elements to be driven by the current, the one or more wire mesh heating elements being sized and positioned for heating the cooking load. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The radiant oven of claim 1, wherein the stored energy devices are batteries. ### Claim 3 (depends on 2) The radiant oven of claim 2, wherein the batteries have an energy storage capacity of at least 25 watt-hours. ### Claim 4 (depends on 2) The radiant oven of claim 2, wherein the batteries have a power discharge capacity of at least 3 kilowatts. ### Claim 5 (depends on 1) The radiant oven of claim 1, wherein the main heater comprises at least one wire mesh element. ### Claim 6 (depends on 1) The radiant oven of claim 1, wherein the main heater comprises multiple wire mesh elements arranged in parallel in at least one plane. ### Claim 7 (depends on 1) The radiant oven of claim 1, wherein the main heater comprises multiple wire mesh elements arranged in at least one planar matrix. ### Claim 8 (depends on 1) The radiant oven of claim 1, further comprising a charger for charging the one or more stored energy devices by drawing power from an external power supply. ### Claim 9 (depends on 1) The radiant oven of claim 1, further comprising: a tray for supporting the cooking load in the cooking region. ### Claim 10 (depends on 1) The radiant oven of claim 1, further comprising a relay for cycling the current connection to the main heater, and a control circuit for controlling the relay. ### Claim 11 (depends on 10) The radiant oven of claim 10, further comprising: a fan controlled by the control circuit for exhausting the cooking region; a temperature sensor in communication with the control circuit. ### Claim 12 (depends on 1) The radiant oven of claim 1, further comprising: a control circuit for controlling current to the main heater by cycling on and off at a duty ratio in response to a user input, or automatically in response to a measured parameter indicting a condition of the cooking load. ### Claim 13 (depends on 1) The radiant oven of claim 1, wherein at least one wire mesh heating element is movable relative to the cooking load. ### Claim 14 (depends on 1) The radiant oven of claim 1, further comprising: a tray for supporting the cooking load, and a rotator, the rotator being configured to move the tray in a concentric motion for evenly radiating the cooking load. ### Claim 15 (depends on 1) The radiant oven of claim 1, wherein the main heater comprises at least two wire mesh heaters, the at least two wire mesh heaters sharing a first bus and a second bus, wherein the first bus is in electrical communication with a positive portion of the current connection and the second bus is in electrical communication with a negative portion of the current connection. ### Claim 16 (depends on 1) The radiant oven of claim 1, further comprising two switches configured in series, wherein both switches must be turned on for the main heater to receive current from the current connection, and wherein the main heater will not receive current from the current connection if either switch is turned off. ### Claim 17 (depends on 1) The radiant oven of claim 1, further comprising a sensor for monitoring gases or particles emitted by the cooking load. ### Claim 18 (depends on 1) The radiant oven of claim 1, further comprising an energy calculation circuit for calculating an energy consumed by the main heater by integrating power with respect to time. ### Claim 19 (depends on 18) The radiant oven of claim 18, wherein the integrating is approximated based upon discrete periodic measurements of current and voltage supplied to the main heater. ### Claim 20 (depends on 1) The radiant oven of claim 1, further comprising a first bus and a second bus, wherein: the first bus comprises a tensioned support attached to one side of one or more mesh ends; and the second bus comprises a tensioned support attached to the opposite mesh end or ends. ### Claim 21 (depends on 1) The radiant oven of claim 1, further comprising a tray for supporting the cooking load, the tray being located between a top wire mesh heater and a bottom wire mesh heater, and the tray having an average thickness of less than one inch. ### Claim 22 (depends on 21) The radiant oven of claim 21, wherein the cooking load has a thickness, and: the bottom wire mesh heater is located a first distance below the tray, the first distance being approximately equal to the thickness of the cooking load; and the top wire mesh heater is located a second distance above the tray, the second distance being approximately equal to twice the thickness of the cooking load. ### Claim 23 (depends on 1) The radiant oven of claim 1, further comprising a measurement device for measuring a thickness of the cooking load. ### Claim 24 (depends on 1) The radiant oven of claim 1, wherein a minimum distance from the cooking load to any wire mesh heater is not less than one half of an inch. ### Claim 25 (depends on 1) The radiant oven of claim 1, further comprising a tray for supporting the cooking load, the tray being movably attached to a chassis of the radiant oven for adjusting the position of the tray manually. ### Claim 26 (depends on 1) The radiant oven of claim 1, further comprising a tray for supporting the cooking load, wherein the tray is made of an electrically non-conductive material that is able to withstand high temperature. ### Claim 27 (depends on 1) The radiant oven of claim 1, further comprising one or more reflectors sized and positioned near the one or more wire mesh heaters to reflect radiation towards the cooking load. ### Claim 28 (depends on 1) The radiant oven of claim 1, further comprising an oven door, and one or more reflectors on or in the oven door for reflecting radiation towards the cooking load. ### Claim 29 (depends on 1) The radiant oven of claim 1, further comprising a control circuit for preheating the one or more wire mesh heaters using a small current. ### Claim 30 (depends on 1) The radiant oven of claim 1, further comprising a control circuit for estimating a cooking time using an initial voltage of the stored energy device as a parameter. ### Claim 31 (depends on 1) The radiant oven of claim 1, further comprising a control circuit configured for monitoring a condition of the cooking load by measuring one or more of the following parameters: a color of the cooking load, a moisture of the surface of the cooking load, a moisture of air in the oven. ### Claim 32 (depends on 1) The radiant oven of claim 1, wherein one wire mesh is configured to emit infrared light including a wavelength of at least one micron and not more than three microns. ### Claim 33 (depends on 1) The radiant oven of claim 1, further comprising a first wire mesh configured for operating at a first temperature and emitting a first light spectrum, and a second wire mesh configured for operating at a second temperature and emitting a second light spectrum. ### Claim 34 (depends on 1) The radiant oven of claim 1, further comprising a voltage control circuit configured for varying the voltage of a wire mesh. ### Claim 35 (depends on 1) The radiant oven of claim 1, further comprising a safety connection surface configured to electrically couple two stored energy devices and to block access to the two stored energy devices when the safety connection surface is in a first position, and configured to electrically decouple the two stored energy devices when the safety connection surface is in a second position. ### Claim 36 A radiant oven comprising: a cooking cavity for receiving a cooking load; one or more stored energy devices with an energy storage capacity of at least 25 watt-hours, and with a power discharge capacity of at least 3 kilowatts; a circuit for carrying current supplied by the one or more stored energy devices; and a heater in the circuit, the heater comprising a top array of wire mesh in a top horizontal plane, and a bottom array of wire mesh arranged in a bottom horizontal plane; a charger for charging the stored energy device; a switching device for electrically connecting and disconnecting the current connection with the heater; and a control circuit for controlling the switching device. ### Claim 37 (depends on 36) The radiant oven of claim 36, further comprising: a tray for supporting the cooking load, wherein the tray is located in a middle horizontal plane between the top horizontal plane and the bottom horizontal plane, and wherein the tray comprises materials for transmitting some infrared radiant energy from the bottom wire mesh heater to the cooking load. ### Claim 38 (depends on 36) The radiant oven of claim 36, further comprising: a sensor connected to the control circuit for monitoring the cooking load; and a fan connected to the control circuit for exhausting the cooking region. ### Claim 39 (depends on 36) The radiant oven of claim 36, wherein the charger is configured to draw power from an outlet rated at about 120 Volts Alternating Current (VAC) and 15 Amps. ### Claim 40 A cooking method, comprising the steps of: locating a cooking load into a heating cavity having one or more wire mesh heaters; and discharging current from a stored energy source through the one or more wire mesh heaters. ### Claim 41 (depends on 40) The cooking method of claim 40, in which the stored energy source comprises one or more rechargeable batteries. ### Claim 42 (depends on 1) The wire mesh heater of claim 1 in which the ratio of the radiative black body area to the resistance of the element is less than 2. ### Claim 43 (depends on 1) The wire mesh heater of claim 1 in which the wire mesh heater or wire mesh heater(s) have a combined weight of less than 500 g. ### Claim 44 (depends on 1) The wire mesh heater of claim 1 in which the wire mesh heater or wire mesh heater(s) have a combined resistance of less than 10 ohms. ### Claim 45 (depends on 1) The wire mesh heater of claim 1 in which the wire mesh heater or wire mesh heater(s) has a wire spacing of less than 5 times the radius of the wire. ### Claim 46 (depends on 1) The wire mesh heater of claim 1 in which the wire mesh heater or wire mesh heater(s) has a ramp up time to heat of less than 5 seconds. ### Claim 47 (depends on 1) The wire mesh heater of claim 1 in which the wire mesh heater or wire mesh heater(s) has a radiative black body area of at least 2 times the outer bounded area of the mesh.