US 5,078,120 A · Cooking oven for slow cooking of food products

Abstract

The invention relates to a cooking oven for mass production of food products and a method for cooking food products. The oven includes an enclosure housing which forms a cooking chamber, having an endless pervious conveyor therein upon which food products are transported through the cooking chamber. The conveyor is arranged to provide a helically extending path over which food products will travel to increase dwell time within the cooking chamber while taking less floor space. A heated gaseous cooking medium is introduced into the cooking chamber and is circulated through an annulus formed by the helically extending conveyor to achieve high heat transfer to the food products being cooked. The oven can utilize steam and/or heated air to achieve varied cooking characteristics as desired and allows substantial versatility in the cooking process.

Claims20

Dependent claims

A cooking oven for the heating of food products comprising,

a cooking chamber defined by an enclosure having at least one inlet and at least one outlet formed therein, said cooking chamber being divided into high pressure and low pressure regions,
a pervious conveyor arranged in said cooking chamber providing a helically extending path on which said food products will travel in said cooking chamber from said inlet to said outlet,
means to provide a heated gaseous cooking medium within said cooking chamber,
fan means for circulating said heated gaseous cooking medium from said high pressure region to said low pressure region in said cooking chamber, wherein said conveyor is constructed such that said gaseous cooking medium can circulate through said conveyor and around said food products positioned on the conveyor in a continuous manner for efficient heat transfer from said heated gaseous cooking medium to said food products.

1 more element

A cooking oven for mass cooking of food products comprising;

a cooking chamber having top and bottom walls, and at least one side wall defining a substantially closed enclosure with at least one inlet and an outlet formed in said at least one side wall,
pervious conveying means for conveying food products through said cooking chamber from said inlet and exiting through said outlet wherein said food products are conveyed in a spiral path on a plurality of superimposed helically extending tiers forming a pervious annulus within said cooking chamber,
heater means extending into said cooking chamber for providing a heated gaseous cooking medium in said cooking chamber,
fan means for circulating said heated gaseous cooking medium in said cooking chamber through said pervious annulus,
said cooking chamber being divided into at least a high pressure and a low pressure region with said fan means adapted to circulate said heated gaseous cooking medium
from said high pressure region to said low pressure region around said food products positioned on said pervious conveying means in a continuous manner for efficient heat transfer from said heated gaseous cooking medium to said food products.

3 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Cooking oven for slow cooking of food products

Life of this patent

Cooking oven for slow cooking of food products

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims20