Food processing apparatus
AssigneeDelaware Capital Formation, Inc.
InventorG. Robert Oslin
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A food processing apparatus includes a cabinet defining a food processing compartment accessible through a front access opening, and has a door hinged on the cabinet for movement between open and closed positions relative to the access opening. The door includes inner and outer door panels pivotally interconnected to enable access between the panels. The inner and outer door panels have aligned windows with the windows on the inner panel being larger so as to enable light from lights mounted on the inside of the outer panel to illuminate the processing compartment without glare to the operator. Other features of the invention enable better control of zoned heating within the processing compartment when used in either convection steam or convection hot air modes of operation.
Claims23
In a food processing apparatus of the type including a cabinet defining an internal food processing compartment having a front access opening and sized to receive food products for processing, and a door hinged on the cabinet adjacent the access opening for movement about a first vertical hinge axis between an open position enabling access to the compartment and a closed position sealed about the periphery of the access opening;
- the improvement wherein said door comprises an inner panel and an outer panel pivotally interconnected to each other for movement relative to each other about a second vertical hinge axis parallel to said first hinge axis, said outer and inner panels being movable between positions wherein the outer and inner panels are in closely nested relation and positions wherein the outer and inner panels are in spaced apart relation enabling access between the outer and inner panels, said outer panel having a window enabling viewing through said outer panel, said inner panel having a window of larger size than the window in the outer panel and aligned with the window in the outer panel, and a light carried on the outer panel spaced from the corresponding window but positioned to project light through the window in the inner panel so as to illuminate the food processing compartment when the inner and outer panels are in relative closed relation to each other and the door is closed relative to the access opening.
In a food processing apparatus of the type including a cabinet defining an internal food processing compartment having a front access opening and sized to receive food products for processing, and a door hinged on the cabinet adjacent the access opening for movement about a first vertical hinge axis between an open position enabling access to the compartment and a closed position closing the access opening;
- the improvement wherein said door comprises an inner panel and an outer panel pivotally interconnected to each other for movement relative to each other about a second vertical hinge axis parallel to said first hinge axis, said outer and inner panels being movable between positions wherein the outer and inner panels are in closely nested relation and positions wherein the outer and inner panels are in spaced apart relation enabling access between the outer and inner panels, said outer panel having a window enabling viewing through said outer panel, and said inner panel having a window aligned with the window in the outer panel to enable viewing of the food processing compartment when the inner and outer panels are in relative closed relation to each other and the door is closed relative to the access opening.
A food processing apparatus comprising, in combination a cabinet defining an internal food processing compartment having a bottom wall, laterally spaced upstanding sidewalls, a top wall and a front access opening, a door hinged on the cabinet adjacent the access opening for movement between an open position enabling access to the compartment and a closed position sealed about the periphery of the access opening, and a plurality of heat exchange tubes extending generally horizontally below said bottom wall, upwardly adjacent one of said upstanding sidewalls and generally horizontally above the top wall of the compartment to enable passage of a heated medium through said tubes, said one of said upstanding sidewalls being defined by at least one pair of panels having an inner panel defining a lateral boundary of said compartment and having air flow passages therethrough, and an outer panel generally parallel to said inner panel and defining an air plenum therebetween adapted to receive air heated by said heat exchange tubes, said inner panel having guide means operative to direct heated air from said plenum through said air flow passages into said compartment.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.