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US 4,554,437 AGranted
Tunnel oven
AssigneePet Incorporated
InventorsDennis L. Wagner, Harold D. Wells
Life of this patent
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AssigneePet Incorporated
InventorsDennis L. Wagner, Harold D. Wells
Estimating the term…
An infrared tunnel oven includes one or more oven tiers each having a horizontal cooking tunnel with entrance and exit at opposite ends, the tier(s) being supported by a base. Each tunnel is divided along its length into multiple heating zones. The roof and hearth surfaces of each tunnel are heated by electrical heating panels for direct IR emission from the roof and hearth for direct absorption by food products conveyed through the tunnel by a continuous speed-controllable conveyor. Microprocessor-controlled circuitry monitors, by a thermocouple arrangement, the temperature of the roof and hearth in each zone, controlling the electric heating panels to maintain preselected roof and hearth temperatures in each such zone. The microprocessor also controls the conveyor speed for conveying of products along the length of the tunnel within a preselected cooking time. User selection of temperatures in the different zones and cooking time, as well as other functions, is provided by keypad entry. Temperatures and cooking times and other information are displayed to the user. Lateral zoning in addition to longitudinal zone is provided by other embodiments. The oven provides a method of profiled cooking of food products.
In an infrared tunnel oven for cooking of food products by infrared radiant energy, including at least one tunnel over tier having a tunnel-form cooking chamber having an entrance and exit at opposite ends, the chamber having a roof and a hearth, a plurality of infrared heating means extending above the roof and beneath the hearth for respective heating of roof and hearth to predetermined temperatures for direct emission from the roof and hearth of infrared radiant energy for absorption by food products conveyed through the chamber, a speed-controllable conveyor for carrying food products through the chamber, the chamber being longitudinally divided into a plurality of different heating zones, the improvement comprising electronic control circuit means including temperature sensing means and conveyor speed sensing means and a single microprocessor, responsive both to the temperature sensing means and the speed sensing means, for simultaneously controlling the heating means and the conveyor for causing the food products to be heated according to a preselected cooking profile while carried by the conveyor through the chamber.
In an infrared tunnel oven for cooking of food products by infrared radiant energy, including at least one tunnel oven tier having a tunnel-form cooking chamber having an entrance and exit at opposite ends, the chamber having a roof and a hearth, a plurality of infrared heating means extending above the roof and beneath the hearth for respectively heating of roof and hearth to predetermined temperatures for direct emission from the roof and hearth of infrared radiant energy for absorption by food products conveyed through the chamber, a speed-controllable conveyor for carrying food products through the chamber, the chamber being longitudinally divided into a plurality of different heating zones, the improvement comprising electronic control circuit means including temperature sensing means and conveyor speed sensing means and a single microprocessor, responsive both to the temperature sensing means and the speed sensing means, for simultaneously controlling the heating means and the conveyor for causing the food products to be heated according to a preselected cooking profile while carried by the conveyor through the chamber, said microprocessor:
In an infrared tunnel oven for cooking of food products and the like by infrared radiant energy, including at least one oven tier defining a tunnel-form cooking chamber having an entrance and exit at opposite ends, the chamber having a roof and a hearth, a plurality of infrared heating means extending above the roof and beneath the hearth, respectively, for heating of the roof and hearth to predetermined temperatures for direct emission from the roof and hearth of infrared radiant energy for absorption by food products conveyed through the chamber, speed-controllable conveyor means for carrying food products through the chamber, the chamber being longitudinally divided into a plurality of different heating zones, the improvement comprising electronic control circuit means, including temperature sensing means and conveyor speed sensing means and a microprocessor, responsive both to the temperature sensing means and the conveyor sensing means, for:
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.