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US 4,378,729 AGranted
Apparatus for preparing pizza in a baking oven
OwnerRichard L. Pierickinventor
Life of this patent
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OwnerRichard L. Pierickinventor
Estimating the term…
A method is provided for uniformly heating chilled pizza within an oven by supporting the pizza in a horizontal position, guiding or directing a stream of hot air upwardly onto the center of the pizza while shielding its periphery from radiation emanating from the oven heat source. An oven appliance is provided including a grill portion at the top composed of openwork for supporting the pizza and a connected, usually integral base spaced below the outer, i.e. periferal portion of the grill and a baffle having a central vent opening for funneling a stream of hot air upwardly onto the middle of the lower surface of the pizza. The baffle also acts as a heat shield interposed between the infrared radiating heat source and the periphery of the pizza. The grill portion preferably comprises a plurality of vertically disposed radially arranged flanges or webs extending upwardly from the baffle and having coplanar upper edges defining a food support surface.
An oven appliance for heating pizza comprising a base including a baffle with a vent opening of smaller cross sectional dimension than the diameter of the pizza, a plurality of upwardly extending risers integral with the baffle and having coplanar upper edges defining a pizza supporting surface above the base in a position to enable the pizza to be centered thereon directly over the vent opening in the baffle, the supporting surface being open to allow air to flow freely across the lower surface of the pizza, and the baffle serving as a shield means surrounding the vent opening and positioned below the support surface to shield the peripheral edge of the pizza from infrared radiation arising from beneath said baffle, the hot air rising through the vent opening will strike the center of the lower surface of the pizza to thereby disrupt and reduce stagnant boundary layer air whereby the pizza will be heated uniformly thereby.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.