Conveyor Tunnel Oven
AssigneeWolfe Electric, Inc.
InventorsChad Jones, Justin Strodtman
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A conveyor tunnel oven incorporating a main baking chamber having a longitudinal end wall and an oppositely longitudinal end wall; and food item intake and output ports respectively opening the main baking chamber at the longitudinal and oppositely longitudinal end walls; the conveyor tunnel oven further incorporating a food conveyor extending through the ports and the main baking chamber; conveyor tunnel oven further incorporating an auxiliary baking chamber and mounting plate combination attached to the main baking chamber, the mounting plate positioning the auxiliary baking chamber over a conveyor end selected from the group consisting of the food conveyor's longitudinal end and the food conveyor's oppositely longitudinal end.
Claims20
A conveyor tunnel oven comprising:
- a. a baking chamber having a longitudinal end wall and an oppositely longitudinal end wall;
- b. a food item intake port and a food item output port, said ports respectively opening the baking chamber at the longitudinal and oppositely longitudinal end walls;
- c. a food conveyor having a width, the food conveyor extending through the baking chamber, said conveyor having a longitudinal end extending longitudinally from the food item intake port, and said conveyor having an oppositely longitudinally end extending oppositely longitudinally from the food item output port;
- d. a first auxiliary baking chamber having a width less than the food conveyor's width;
- and
- e. first mounting means attaching the first auxiliary baking chamber to the baking chamber, the first mounting means positioning the first auxiliary baking chamber over a conveyor end selected from the group consisting of the food conveyor's longitudinal end and the food conveyor's oppositely longitudinal end.
A baking time adjusting adaptor for attachment to a conveyor tunnel oven, said oven having a plurality of food passage ports, said adaptor comprising:
- a. A first mounting plate adapted for removable attachment above one of the food passage ports;
- and
- b. A first auxiliary baking chamber fixedly attached to and cantilevering from the first mounting plate.
A method for lengthening an effective baking time at a lateral end of a tunnel oven's food conveyor, said oven having a food intake and output ports respectively receiving longitudinal and oppositely longitudinal ends of said conveyor, said method comprising step of:
- a. Providing a first auxiliary baking chamber having an upper wall, a lateral wall, and an oppositely lateral walls, said wall defining an interior space;
- b. Attaching the first auxiliary baking chamber to the tunnel oven so that the first auxiliary baking chamber overlies the lateral end of the tunnel oven's food conveyor, and so that the first auxiliary baking chamber's interior space communicates with the tunnel oven's food intake port;
- c. Placing a food item upon the continuous loop conveyor longitudinally from the first auxiliary baking chamber;
- and
- d. Operating the food conveyor to carry the food item successively through the first auxiliary baking chamber and through the tunnel oven.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.