Conveyor oven apparatus and method
AssigneeThe Middleby Corporation
InventorsJohn H. Wiker, Mohan K. Panicker, Magdy A. Albert, William S. Schjerven, Sr.
Life of this patent
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Abstract
An oven according to some embodiments includes an oven chamber in which food is cooked, a heating element, a fan, a sensor for sensing the temperature of the oven chamber, a remote input device, and a controller configured to receive a signal from the remote input device and to change the fan or heating element based at least in part upon the signal received from the remote input device. In a method of operating the oven according to some embodiments, the oven enters an operating mode from an energy-savings mode responsive to receiving an signal from a remote device.
Claims34
A conveyor oven for cooking food product, the conveyor oven comprising:
- a tunnel;
- a conveyor extending into and movable within the tunnel to convey food product within the tunnel;
- a heating element operable to generate heat to be provided to the tunnel;
- a fan operable to move air in the tunnel;
- a sensor positioned to detect at least one of a temperature within the oven and the presence of food product upon the conveyor;
- and
- a controller that
- controls at least one of the fan, the heating element, and the conveyor, and
- changes operation of the oven to an energy saving mode, in which the fan moves air in the tunnel at a reduced speed, in response to (i) detection of the absence of food product in the tunnel based at least in part upon operation of the sensor and
- (ii) passage of a period of time indicating the absence of food product from the tunnel wherein in the energy saving mode the controller changes operation of the heating elements to generate heat to be provided to the tunnel at a reduced level of intensity while substantially maintaining a cooking temperature of the oven.
A conveyor oven for cooking food product, the conveyor oven comprising:
- a tunnel;
- a conveyor extending into and movable within the tunnel to convey food product within the tunnel;
- a heating element operable to generate heat to be provided to the tunnel;
- a fan operable to move air in the tunnel;
- a sensor positioned to detect at least one of the presence of food product on the conveyor and a temperature within the oven;
- a controller that controls at least one of the fan, the heating element, and the conveyor, and
- changes operation of the oven to an energy saving mode, in which the fan moves air in the tunnel at a reduced speed and the heating element generates heat to be provided to the tunnel at a reduced intensity while substantially maintaining a cooking temperature of the oven, in response to detection of the absence of food product in the tunnel based at least in part upon operation of the sensor and (ii) passage of a period of time indicating the absence of food product from the tunnel;
- and
- a user interface coupled to the controller, the user interface comprising
- a touch screen;
- a plurality of displays adapted to be displayed upon the touch screen, each of the plurality of displays having at least one user-manipulatable control to receive user commands via the touch screen;
- wherein at least one of the plurality of displays includes a user-manipulatable control by which a period of time is adjustable.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.