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US 4,072,093 AGranted
Rotary food oven
AssigneeJeno F. Paulucci
InventorsElvis S. Zimmer, David A. Hassell
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A rotary food oven includes a heatable oven chamber, an annular trackway of helical form inside of the chamber and a rotatable reel for advancing food packages around the trackway, the trackway is formed of a disc of sheet metal having perforations for radiant and convective passage of heat and is of a simplified construction, the reel has drive rods rotatable about a circular path and about their own axis for imparting epicyclic movement of circular food packages around the trackway, and the reel and trackway are removable from the oven chamber for cleaning and service.
Claims41
A rotary food heating oven comprising:
- a. an insulated base;
- b. an insulated cover removably sitting upon the base and forming together with the base a heatable oven chamber;
- c. an upright vertical axis annular trackway in the oven chamber for supporting food packages thereon, the trackway having an open center section and being secured to the base;
- d. a motor mounted in the base and having a drive coupling portion operatively accessible from within the trackway center section;
- e. a drive reel positioned within the trackway center section and having
- 1. a lower end coupling portion operatively complemental and connectable to the motor coupling portion for connection of the reel to the motor for rotational movement of the reel within the trackway,
- 2. a journal at its upper end, and
- 3. means for engaging and advancing food packages around the trackway;
- and
- f. a bearing engaging the reel journal and aligning the reel with respect to the trackway, the bearing being removably secured to the trackway;
- and in which
- 1. the cover is liftably removable from the base,
- 2. the bearing is removable fromthe trackway when the cover is removed, and
- 3. the reel is disconnectable from the motor and removable upwardly out of the trackway, and is also installable in the trackway and connectable to the motor, when the bearing is removed, for assembly and service of the oven.
11 more elements
A rotary oven for heating a circular food package comprising:
- a. a heatable oven chamber;
- b. a vertical axis annular trackway in the chamber for supporting a circular food package to be heated, the trackway having an inner circular edge, an outer circular edge formed by an upright cylindrical rim for retaining the package on the trackway with a portion of the package overhanging the inner circular edge, and a radial end for unloading a heated package from the trackway;
- c. a drive reel positioned inside of the trackway inner edge and having a drive rod for engaging the overhanging package portion and a spider having an edge positioned at a level lower than the level of the trackway end for partially supporting a package during unloading of the package from the trackway, the reel being rotatable about the axis of the trackway for advancing the circular food package around the trackway;
- d. an upright barrier effectively extending the rim past the trackway end a radial amount at least equal to the radius of a circular package;
- e. an outlet chute positioned below the trackway end, the spider support edge and the barrier, for directing a heated package out of the chamber;
- and
- f. a physical geometry formed jointly by and between the drive rod, trackway, spider and barrier, in which the drive rod is operative for pushing the circular package partially off the trackway to a
- 1. first position in which the center of the package is past and off the trackway and the package is tilted downward off from the end of the trackway and is supported by the end and a point of contact between the package and the spider support edge, and to a
- 2. second position advanced from the first position and in which the package is supported by a first point of contact between the package and the spider support edge, a second point of contact between the package and the trackway end and a third point of contact formed frictionally between the package and the barrier with he center of the package being within a triangle formed by the three contact points, the package being downwardly pivotable about a line between the first and second points of contact, and to a
- 3. third position also having the said three points of contact and in which third position the moment of the package under the force of gravity about said line between the first and second points of contact is sufficient to overcome the friction of the third point of contact, for dropping the package off the trackway and spider and into the outlet chute.
7 more elements
A helical trackway for a rotary oven, comprising:
- a. a support track formed of an annular disc of flat perforated sheet metal, the perforations being open for convective and radiant passage of heat through the support track;
- b. a pair or radial ends on the support track, the ends facing each other and being formed by a physical split line extending from the inner circular edge to the outer circular edge of the annular disc;
- c. a separator attached to the support track at each end thereof and spacing apart the ends with one end relatively atop the other end forming the support track into a helical configuration;
- d. means for mounting of the support track in an oven cabinet.
1 more element
A rotary oven drive reel for imparting epicyclic motion to round food packages in a food oven having an annular trackway for the packages, comprising:
- a. a pair of spiders spaced from each other and rigidly connected together with a drive shaft, the spiders and drive shaft being co-rotatable about a common center;
- b. means in the connected spiders and drive shaft for driving the spiders co-rotatably about their center;
- c. a bearing in each spider, each bearing being spaced radially outward from the center of the respective spider, both bearings being in axial alignment with one another;
- d. an elongate round drive rod mounted in and between the spiders for engaging and advancing food packages as the reel is rotated, the drive rod having a pair of journals, each journal being in engagement with a respective bearing, and the drive rod being free to rotate about its own axis;
- and
- e. means for axially retaining the drive rod in the bearings.
3 more elements
A rotary oven for heating a circular food package, comprising:
- a. heatable oven chamber;
- b. a vertical axis annular trackway in the chamber and having a generally horizontal annular support surface for supporting thereon a circular food package, an inner circular edge on the support surface, an outer circular edge on the support surface, and a cylindrical rim extending upright from one of the support surface circular edges for retaining the circular food package upon the trackway with a portion of the package being on the support surface and a portion of the package radially overhanging off of the support surface;
- c. a drive reel mounted coaxially with the trackway and being rotatably drivable about the axis of the trackway;
- and
- d. a graphite surfaced drive rod mounted in the reel and presenting a low friction graphite surface generally parallel to the trackway axis, said graphite surfaced drive rod being spaced radially outward from the trackway axis and being revolvable through a circular path adjacent to the trackway for engaging the overhanging portion of a circular food package on the trackway support surface and biasing such package into frictional engagement against the trackway rim, for effecting an epicyclic motion in the package while simultaneously advancing the package around the trackway.
2 more elements
A rotary oven for heating a circular food package, comprising:
- a. an oven chamber having therein means for heating of the chamber;
- b. an annular trackway mounted and stationarily fixed within the chamber, said trackway having
- (1) an annular support surface formed of a flat sheet of perforated sheet metal for supporting food packages thereon with the perforations being open for convective and radiant passage of heat through the surface, and
- (2 ) a cylindrical rim fixed on and to the outer periphery of the annular support suface, said rim extending upright from and being generaly perpendicular to the annular support surface and having an inner friction surface facing toward the annular support surface for engaging and retaining a food package upon the annular support surface;
- c. means for advancing a circular food package around the annular trackway for heating of the package, said advancing means including means for biasing such circular food package frictionally against said outer peripherial rim so that said rim will rotate said package in an epicyclic motion over said perforated sheet metal annular support surface;
- and
- d. means providing access to the oven chamber for insertion and removal of a food package on the trackway.
4 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.