Oven for heating food

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12465174-B2
Application number	US-202117216783-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 30, 2021
Priority date	Mar 31, 2020
Publication date	Nov 11, 2025
Grant date	Nov 11, 2025

Abstract

An oven for heating food and associated components and methods. The oven includes a food heating compartment bounding a food holding space for holding food to be heated. The food holding space has an open top. A bottom wall of the food heating compartment supports food in the food holding space and has gas flow inlets. A gas supply plenum is disposed below the food holding space and is in fluid communication with the food holding space via the gas flow inlets. A gas supply duct defines a gas supply passageway disposed below and fluidly coupled to the gas supply plenum. A heater heats the gas as the gas flows through the gas supply passageway. A blower blows the gas through the gas supply passageway, into the gas supply plenum and through the gas flow inlets into the food holding space for heating the food.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1 . An oven for heating food, the oven comprising:
a food heating compartment bounding a food holding space sized and shaped to receive the food to be heated, the food heating compartment having opposite first and second side walls and a bottom wall having a bottom wall forward portion and a bottom wall rearward portion, the food holding space having an open top in open communication with a surrounding environment outside the oven, the bottom wall having a plurality of gas flow inlets and defining a food support surface for supporting food in the food holding space, the bottom wall including a bottom wall valley portion defining a valley in the bottom wall, the bottom wall forward portion sloping downward and rearward to the bottom wall valley portion, the bottom wall rearward portion extending upward from the bottom wall valley portion, the bottom wall forward portion having a greater horizontal length than the bottom wall rearward portion, the bottom wall forward portion including a first perforated area including a first group of the gas flow inlets, the bottom wall rearward portion including a second perforated area including a second group of the gas flow inlets, and the bottom wall valley portion including a third perforated area including a third group of the gas flow inlets, the first group of gas flow inlets providing the first perforated area with a first percentage of cumulative gas flow area per area of the first perforated area, the second group of gas flow inlets providing the second perforated area with a second percentage of cumulative gas flow area per area of the second perforated area, and the third group of gas flow inlets providing the third perforated area with a third percentage of cumulative gas flow area per area of the third perforated area, the third percentage being less than the first percentage; a gas supply plenum disposed below the food holding space and in fluid communication with the food holding space via the plurality of gas flow inlets, the gas supply plenum including a gas supply plenum forward portion below the bottom wall forward portion and including a gas supply plenum rearward portion below the bottom wall rearward portion; a gas supply duct defining a gas supply passageway disposed below the gas supply plenum, the gas supply passageway fluidly coupled to and upstream from the gas supply plenum; a heater configured to heat the gas; and a blower configured to blow the gas through the gas supply passageway into the gas supply plenum and through the plurality of gas flow inlets into the food holding space.

2 . The oven of claim 1 , wherein the third percentage is less than the second percentage.

3 . The oven of claim 1 , wherein the food support surface bounds a bottom of the food holding space, wherein the bottom wall forward portion and the bottom wall rearward portion each form a portion of the food support surface, and wherein the gas supply plenum forward portion is below the food support surface and the gas supply plenum rearward portion is below the food support surface.

4 . The oven of claim 1 , wherein the first and second side walls and the bottom wall bound the food holding space, and the bottom wall bounds the gas supply plenum.

5 . The oven of claim 1 , wherein the gas supply plenum forward portion is below the food holding space and the gas supply plenum rearward portion is below the food holding space.

6 . The oven of claim 1 , wherein the heater is in the gas supply duct and is arranged to heat the gas as the gas flows along the gas supply passageway.

7 . The oven of claim 1 , further comprising a gas intake spaced apart from the food holding space, the blower and the gas intake arranged relative to one another such that the blower draws the gas from an exterior environment surrounding the oven through the gas intake.

8 . The oven of claim 1 , wherein
the plurality of gas flow inlets are arranged to permit gas to flow upward into the food holding space from the gas supply plenum.

9 . The oven of claim 1 , wherein the gas supply duct is configured to deliver gas to the gas supply plenum forward portion.

10 . The oven of claim 9 , wherein at least one of the gas supply duct or the bottom wall is configured to direct the gas rearward toward the bottom wall rearward portion when the gas enters the gas supply plenum.

11 . The oven of claim 10 , wherein the bottom wall forward portion comprises a region substantially free of openings through which gas can pass from the gas supply plenum into the food holding space, said region overlying an outlet of the gas supply duct to deflect flow of gas in the gas supply plenum downward and rearward.

12 . The oven of claim 1 , wherein the gas supply duct includes a gas supply duct rearward section disposed below the gas supply plenum rearward portion and a gas supply duct forward section downstream of the gas supply duct rearward section.

13 . The oven of claim 12 , wherein gas flows in a generally forward direction through the gas supply duct rearward section and under the food holding space, in a generally upward direction through the gas supply duct forward section and in a generally rearward direction through the gas supply plenum.

14 . The oven of claim 13 , wherein the bottom wall further includes a bottom wall valley portion defining a valley in the bottom wall, the bottom wall forward portion sloping downward and rearward to the bottom wall valley portion, the bottom wall rearward portion extending upward from the bottom wall valley portion, the bottom wall forward portion having a greater horizontal length than the bottom wall rearward portion.

15 . The oven of claim 1 , wherein the gas supply passageway has a substantially uniform cross-sectional gas flow area along a length of the gas supply passageway.

16 . The oven of claim 15 , wherein the gas supply duct tapers as the gas supply duct extends downstream such that a width of the gas supply passageway increases as the gas supply passageway extends downstream and a height of the gas supply passageway decreases as the gas supply passageway extends downstream.

17 . An oven for heating food, the oven comprising:
a food heating compartment bounding a food holding space sized and shaped for receiving the food to be heated, the food heating compartment having opposite first and second side walls and a bottom wall having a bottom wall forward portion and a bottom wall rearward portion, the food holding space having an open top in open communication with a surrounding environment outside the oven, the bottom wall having a plurality of gas flow inlets and defining a food support surface for supporting food in the food holding space, the bottom wall including a bottom wall valley portion defining a valley in the bottom wall, the bottom wall forward portion sloping downward and rearward to the bottom wall valley portion, the bottom wall rearward portion extending upward from the bottom wall valley portion, the bottom wall forward portion having a greater horizontal length than the bottom wall rearward portion, the bottom wall forward portion including a first perforated area including a first group of the gas flow inlets, the bottom wall rearward portion including a second perforated area including a second group of the gas flow inlets, and the bottom wall valley portion including a third perforated area including a third group of the gas flow inlets, the first group of gas flow inlets proving the first perforated area with a first percentage of cumulative gas flow area per area of the first perforate

Assignees

• Duke Mfg Co

Inventors

• Mcgaha Michael
• Meyer Dean
• Degreeff Alyssa
• Rand Tom

Classifications

• A47J36/2483 Primary

  with electrical heating means · CPC title

• A47J39/006

  for either storing and preparing or for preparing food on serving trays, e.g. heating, thawing, preserving · CPC title

• A47J39/003 Primary

  with forced air circulation · CPC title