Hot air oven for food-loaded cartridges
US4112916A · kind A · utility
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | Mar 11, 1977 |
| Grant date | Sep 12, 1978 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Mar 11, 1997 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC Y)Emerging Cross-Sectional Technologies
- CPC primaryY10S220/13
- WIPO fieldThermal processes and apparatus
- WIPO sectorMechanical engineering
Abstract
A hot air oven for heating food-loaded cartridges, each constituted by a stack of sealed trays nested within an open carton whose side walls have holes therein to admit heated air, the trays containing pre-cooked meals. The oven includes a rotating turntable provided with a raised annular shelf for supporting a circular array of cartridges, the side walls of which define a hollow center core. A driven propeller is disposed within the core, the space between the shelf and the turntable forming a restricted flow passage whose inlet communicates with the core and whose outlet lies at the periphery of the turntable. A heater assembly above the cartridge array produces heated air which is sucked by the propeller into the hollow core. Because of the flow restriction, a substantial portion of the heated air is forced through the holes of the cartons to heat the food in the trays. The remaining portion of the heated air passes through the flow passage, the air discharged from the outlet thereof being drawn upwardly by the suction force of the propeller to create an air curtain around the cartridge array. Thus a toroidal loop of heated air fully envelops the heated trays and serves to isola…
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.