Patent ID: 9683747
Date: 2017-06-20
CPC Classifications: A21B,F24C

Claim:
1. A combination oven comprising: an oven housing defining a cooking volume and having a door providing access to the cooking volume and sealing the cooking volume when the door is in a closed position; a convection heater assembly communicating with the cooking volume and providing a convection heater element, a steam generator, and a fan for circulating convection air and steam into and out of the cooking volume along a first path; a catalyst chamber assembly communicating with the cooking volume to conduct bypass air along a second path, different from the first path, wherein the second path conducts bypass air from the cooking volume into an inlet of the catalyst chamber, through the catalyst chamber, and out of an outlet of the catalyst chamber to the cooking volume, the catalyst chamber including a catalytic element treating the bypass air and a bypass heater separate from the convection heater element heating at least one of the bypass air and catalyst to a catalytic activation temperature; and an electronic controller executing a stored program upon selection of a preprogrammed cooking schedule for cooking a particular food at time-defined cooking temperatures by a user through a user interface that communicates with the electronic controller; wherein the catalyst chamber provides a floor sloping downward toward the outlet to drain condensation or other liquids from the catalyst chamber into the cooking volume; and wherein the electronic controller executes the stored program to: (i) detect a cooking temperature of the oven to produce a cooking temperature signal; (ii) deactivate the bypass heater element based on the cooking temperature signal when the convection heater element is on and the cooking temperature is above an ambient temperature but below a fume generation temperature providing substantial cooking fumes; (iii) activate the bypass heater element based on the cooking temperature signal when the convection heater element is on and the cooking temperature is above the fume generation temperature but below a catalyst activation temperature; and (iv) deactivate the bypass heater element based on the cooking temperature signal when the convection heater element is on and the cooking temperature is above the catalyst activation temperature.