AIR FRYING SYSTEM FOR GAS OVEN COOKING APPLIANCE

A cooking appliance includes an air frying system. The air frying system may include a heating element. The air frying system may include a fan. The heating element and fan may be positioned over the top of an oven cavity. The air frying system may be in fluid communication with the oven cavity.

BACKGROUND

The present embodiments relate to a gas oven cooking appliance, with particular embodiments shown for a gas oven appliance with an air frying system.

Typical gas oven cooking appliances get warm, buoyant forces come into play, whereby a pressure gradient is established and the hot air and products of combustion rise. An exhaust vent is generally disposed near the top of the volume such that the hot air and combustion products flow out of the exhaust vent. This ultimately produces a stable, steady state flow pattern through the entire cooking appliance, whereby fresh air is drawn to the gas burner and a hot mix of excess air and combustion products flow up and out through the exhaust vent.

It has been found, however, that while the air flow is being established during the warmup phase and/or during operation, combustion may be less than optimal, as are the quality and stability of the flames established at the gas burner. This is partially due to an inefficient influx of fresh air and/or air flow available to the flames and/or an inefficient evacuation of combustion products from the oven cavity and/or burner box surrounding the gas burner when additional air flows (e.g. fans) are circulated/introduced within the cavity. Thus, there is a need for reducing/minimizing the effect of air flow (e.g. heated, forced) introduced to and/or removed from the oven cavity (e.g. via the air frying system), stabilize combustion product (e.g. quality and stability of the flames generated by the gas burner), and/or separate the pulled air to the heating element and/or the forced heated air from the heating element away from the combustion products of the gas burner vented through the exhaust vent of the oven cavity.

Therefore, a need continues to exist in the art for a manner of improving combustion of a gas oven burner (e.g. a steady state flow pattern, etc.), particularly during air frying and/or forced convection cooking modes.

SUMMARY

The herein-described embodiments address these and other problems associated with the art by providing a cooking appliance including an air frying system with venting of combustion products emitted by a gas burner disposed under the oven cavity.

In some embodiments, a cooking appliance may include a housing having an oven cavity. In various embodiments, the appliance may include an exhaust vent disposed proximate a top of the oven cavity. In some embodiments, the appliance may include a gas burner disposed under the oven cavity. In various embodiments, the appliance may include a heating element and/or a fan disposed over the top of the oven cavity. In some embodiments, the gas burner, the heating element, and the fan are configured to operate at the same time for air frying the contents within the oven cavity while maintaining a stabilized combustion product generated by the gas burner.

In addition, in some embodiments, the heating element and/or the fan may be disposed in a hood over the oven cavity. In various embodiments, the appliance may include a cover having a plurality of apertures positioned between the hood and the oven cavity. In various embodiments, the plurality of apertures of the cover may be at substantially the same elevation as the exhaust vent. In some embodiments, the plurality of apertures of the cover may be distal from the exhaust vent. In various embodiments, the plurality of apertures of the cover may include one or more exhaust apertures surrounding one or more intake apertures. In some embodiments, the one or more intake apertures may be centrally located within the cover. In various embodiments, the one or more exhaust apertures may be proximate opposing sides in a direction towards sides of the oven cavity and/or proximate a front side in a direction towards a front of the oven cavity. In some embodiments, the exhaust vent may be disposed proximate a back of the oven cavity. In various embodiments, the appliance may include a hood disposed over the top of the oven cavity and containing the heating element and the fan. In some embodiments, the hood may include a top wall with depending side walls connecting to the top of the oven cavity. In various embodiments, the hood side wall may be configured to direct air flow away from the exhaust vent. In some embodiments, the appliance may include a cover disposed over an opening defined by the depending side walls of the hood. In some embodiments, the cover may include an intake aperture and an exhaust aperture spaced outwardly from the intake aperture. In various embodiments, the exhaust aperture may be configured to direct air flow away from the exhaust vent. In some embodiments, the exhaust aperture may be spaced away from the exhaust vent in a direction towards a front of the oven cavity.

In some embodiments, a cooking appliance may include a housing including an oven cavity. In various embodiments, the appliance may include an exhaust vent disposed proximate a top of the oven cavity. In some embodiments, one or more gas burners may be disposed under the oven cavity. In various embodiments, the appliance may include a hood disposed over the top of the oven cavity. In some embodiments, the hood may include a top wall and depending side walls extending from the top wall to the top of the oven cavity. In some embodiments, the hood and/or top wall may define an opening. In various embodiments, the appliance may include one or more covers with at least one intake aperture and/or at least one exhaust aperture may be disposed over the opening. In some embodiments, the cover may be proximate the top of the oven cavity to position at least one exhaust aperture at or above the top wall containing the exhaust vent. In various embodiments, the appliance may include a heating element and/or a fan disposed over the top of the oven cavity within the hood.

In addition, in some embodiments, the cover may be without at least one exhaust aperture between at least one intake aperture and the exhaust vent. In various embodiments, the exhaust vent may be adjacent a rear of the oven cavity, and wherein at least one exhaust aperture may be adjacent a side of the oven cavity and/or a front of the oven cavity, and not adjacent the rear. In some embodiments, an air flow from at least one exhaust aperture may be directed radially outward and/or downwardly from the cover but not towards the exhaust vent. In some embodiments, in a direction from a rear of the oven cavity towards a front of the oven cavity, the exhaust vent may be positioned in the top of the oven cavity, followed by at least one intake aperture in the cover, and then followed by at least one exhaust aperture in the cover. In various embodiments, at least one exhaust aperture may be at the same elevation as the top wall containing the exhaust vent. In some embodiments, a plurality of the exhaust apertures may be adjacent the side wall of the hood distal from the exhaust vent.

In some embodiments, a method of air frying in a gas range appliance may include providing a gas oven appliance having a housing including an oven cavity. In various embodiments, the appliance and/or method may include an exhaust vent disposed proximate a top of the oven cavity. In some embodiments, the appliance and/or method may include a gas burner disposed under the oven cavity. In various embodiments, the appliance and/or method may include a hood disposed over the top of the oven cavity. In some embodiments, the appliance and/or method may include a heating element and/or a fan positioned within the hood disposed over the top of the oven cavity. In various embodiments, the appliance and/or method may include a cover disposed proximate the top of the oven cavity and having a plurality of apertures in fluid communication between the hood and the oven cavity. In some embodiments, the method may include drawing air into the exhaust vent adjacent a first side of the oven cavity. In various embodiments, the method may include forcing heated air through the plurality of apertures from the hood adjacent a second side of the oven cavity different from the first side.

In addition, in some embodiments, drawing air into the exhaust vent may be upwardly along the first side of the oven cavity. In various embodiments, forcing air through the plurality of apertures from the hood may be downwardly along the second side of the oven cavity. In some embodiments, the method may include operating the heating element and/or the fan concurrently with the gas burner. In various embodiments, the method may include maintaining a stabilized combustion product generated by the gas burner. In some embodiments, the method may include reducing countercurrent flow from the forced heating air through the plurality of apertures relative to the air drawn into the exhaust vent. In various embodiments, the exhaust vent may be adjacent the top and the first side of the oven cavity without the plurality of apertures adjacent the top and the first side. In some embodiments, the plurality of apertures may be at substantially the same elevation as the exhaust vent.

These and other advantages and features, which characterize the invention, are set forth in the claims annexed hereto and forming a further part hereof. However, for a better understanding of the invention, and of the advantages and objectives attained through its use, reference should be made to the Drawings, and to the accompanying descriptive matter, in which there is described example embodiments of the invention. This summary is merely provided to introduce a selection of concepts that are further described below in the detailed description, and is not intended to identify key or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used as an aid in limiting the scope of the claimed subject matter.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Turning now to the drawings, wherein like numbers denote like parts throughout the several views,FIG.1illustrates an example cooking appliance10in which the various technologies and techniques described herein may be implemented. Cooking appliance10is a residential-type range, and as such includes a housing12, a stovetop or cooktop including a plurality of burners2, and/or an oven3defining an oven or cooking cavity14accessed via an oven door5. The housing12(e.g. one or more walls/sides) may include or define one or more cooking cavities or adjustable cooking volumes14. Cooking appliance10may also include a storage drawer6in some embodiments, or in other embodiments, may include a second oven, a broiler drawer, a warming drawer, or a cover (e.g. no drawer). Various cooking elements (not shown inFIG.1) may also be incorporated into cooking appliance10for cooking food in oven3, e.g., one or more electric or gas cooking elements. Cooking appliance10may include one or more air frying systems20, or portions thereof.

Cooking appliance10may also include various user interface devices, including, for example, control knobs7and/or a control panel8for controlling the oven3, air frying system20, and/or burners2. It will be appreciated that cooking appliance10may include various types of user controls in other embodiments, including various combinations of switches, buttons, knobs and/or sliders, typically disposed at the rear or front (or both) of the cooking appliance. Further, in some embodiments, one or more touch screens may be employed for interaction with a user and/or a display for providing visual feedback as to the activation state of the cooking appliance. As such, in some embodiments, the display may be touch sensitive to receive user input in addition to displaying status information and/or otherwise interacting with a user. In still other embodiments, cooking appliance10may be controllable remotely, e.g., via a smartphone, tablet, personal digital assistant or other networked computing device, e.g., using a web interface or a dedicated app.

The display may also vary in different embodiments, and may include individual indicators, segmented alphanumeric displays, and/or dot matrix displays, and may be based on various types of display technologies, including LEDs, vacuum fluorescent displays, incandescent lights, etc. Further, in some embodiments audio feedback may be provided to a user via one or more speakers, and in some embodiments, user input may be received via a spoken or gesture-based interface.

As noted above, cooking appliance10ofFIG.1is a range, which combines both a stovetop and one or more ovens, and which in some embodiments may be a standalone or drop-in type of range. In other embodiments, however, cooking appliance10may be another type of cooking appliance, e.g., a wall oven or freestanding oven. In general, a cooking appliance consistent with the invention may be considered to include any residential-type appliance including a housing and one or more cooking elements disposed therein and configured to generate energy for cooking food within one or more oven cavities. Further, for example, the cooking appliance may be included in a recreational vehicle.

In turn, a cooking element may be considered to include practically any type of energy-producing element used in residential applications in connection with cooking food, e.g., employing various cooking technologies such as electric, gas, light, microwaves, induction, convection, radiation, etc. In the case of an oven, for example, one or more cooking elements therein may be gas, electric, light, or microwave cooking elements in some embodiments, while in the case of a stovetop, one or more cooking elements therein may be gas, electric, or inductive cooking elements in some embodiments. Further, it will be appreciated that any number of cooking elements may be provided in a cooking appliance (including multiple cooking elements for performing different types of cooking cycles such as baking, air frying, and/or broiling, including multiple bake and/or multiple broiler cooking elements, as well as one or more convection cooking elements), and that multiple types of cooking elements may be combined in some embodiments, e.g., combinations of microwave and light cooking elements in some oven embodiments. In the one embodiment shown, the cooking element may include at least a gas burner element13.

A cooking appliance consistent with the invention also generally includes one or more controllers configured to control the cooking elements and otherwise perform cooking operations at the direction of a user.FIG.2, for example, illustrates an example embodiment of a cooking appliance40including a controller42that receives inputs from a number of components and drives a number of components in response thereto. Controller42may, for example, include one or more processors44and a memory46within which may be stored program code for execution by the one or more processors. The memory may be embedded in controller42, but may also be considered to include volatile and/or non-volatile memories, cache memories, flash memories, programmable read-only memories, read-only memories, etc., as well as memory storage physically located elsewhere from controller42, e.g., in a mass storage device or on a remote computer interfaced with controller42.

As shown inFIG.2, controller42may be interfaced with various components, including various cooking elements48used for cooking food (e.g., various combinations of gas, electric, inductive, light, microwave, light cooking elements, air fryer heating element, among others), one or more user controls50for receiving user input (e.g., various combinations of switches, knobs, buttons, sliders, touchscreens or touch-sensitive displays, microphones or audio input devices, image capture devices, etc.), and a user display52(including various indicators, graphical displays, textual displays, speakers, etc.), as well as various additional components suitable for use in a cooking appliance, e.g., lighting54and/or one or more fans56(e.g., convection fans, cooling fans, air fryer fan, etc.), among others. For cooking elements48implemented as gas burners13, controller42may be interfaced with one or more gas valves for regulating gas flow to the gas burners, as well as one or more ignitors for igniting gas supplied to the gas burners; however, these components are not illustrated separately inFIG.2.

Controller42may also be interfaced with various sensors58located to sense environmental conditions inside of and/or external to cooking appliance40, e.g., one or more temperature sensors, humidity sensors, air quality sensors, smoke sensors, carbon monoxide sensors, odor sensors and/or electronic nose sensors, among others. Such sensors may be internal or external to cooking appliance40, and may be coupled wirelessly to controller42in some embodiments. Sensors58may include, for example, one or more temperature sensors for sensing an air temperature within an oven cavity, including, for example, a temperature sensor for sensing temperature in a center of the oven cavity and/or one or more temperature sensors for sensing temperature in the top and/or bottom of the oven cavity, as well as one or more flame detectors, e.g., flame sense rods or other suitable types of flame detectors capable of sensing a flame emitted by a gas burner.

In some embodiments, controller42may also be coupled to one or more network interfaces60, e.g., for interfacing with external devices via wired and/or wireless networks such as Ethernet, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, NFC, cellular and other suitable networks, collectively represented inFIG.2at62. Network62may incorporate in some embodiments a home automation network, and various communication protocols may be supported, including various types of home automation communication protocols. In other embodiments, other wireless protocols, e.g., Wi-Fi or Bluetooth, may be used. In some embodiments, cooking appliance40may be interfaced with one or more user devices64over network62, e.g., computers, tablets, smart phones, wearable devices, etc., and through which cooking appliance40may be controlled and/or cooking appliance40may provide user feedback. Further, in some embodiments, cooking appliance40may be interfaced with one or more remote services66, e.g., cloud-based services, remote servers.

In some embodiments, controller42may operate under the control of an operating system and may execute or otherwise rely upon various computer software applications, components, programs, objects, modules, data structures, etc. In addition, controller42may also incorporate hardware logic to implement some or all of the functionality disclosed herein. Further, in some embodiments, the sequences of operations performed by controller42to implement the embodiments disclosed herein may be implemented using program code including one or more instructions that are resident at various times in various memory and storage devices, and that, when read and executed by one or more hardware-based processors, perform the operations embodying desired functionality. Moreover, in some embodiments, such program code may be distributed as a program product in a variety of forms, and that the invention applies equally regardless of the particular type of computer readable media used to actually carry out the distribution, including, for example, non-transitory computer readable storage media. In addition, it will be appreciated that the various operations described herein may be combined, split, reordered, reversed, varied, omitted, parallelized and/or supplemented with other techniques known in the art, and therefore, the invention is not limited to the particular sequences of operations described herein.

Numerous variations and modifications to the cooking appliances illustrated inFIGS.1-2will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art, as will become apparent from the description below. Therefore, the invention is not limited to the specific implementations discussed herein.

As noted above, in a cooking appliance10that relies on gas burners13as oven cooking elements, the appliance is generally designed to incorporate a path for drawing in fresh air for combustion and/or for venting the products of that combustion while air frying.FIGS.1-7, for example, illustrates an example cooking appliance10including a structure12defining an oven cavity14. Bake and broil gas oven burners13is disposed proximate the bottom of the oven cavity14. In some embodiments, a bake and broil gas oven burner, not shown, may be disposed proximate the top of the oven cavity. In some embodiments, broil gas oven burner, not shown, is disposed within the oven cavity14(e.g., under the top wall15thereof), while bake gas oven burner13is disposed under the oven cavity14(e.g. within a burner box110that is separated from the oven cavity14by an oven bottom16), which may be removable in some embodiments.

Each gas oven burner13may include an associated flame detector, igniter, and flame spreader. In addition, burner box110may also include one or more vents16aprovided in oven bottom16to vent the combustion products and excess air into oven cavity14.

In some implementations, the appliance10and/or air frying system20may force (e.g. circulate) heated air towards (e.g. radially outward, downwardly, etc.) the contents to be air fried and/or towards the food container/drawer1, if used, containing the contents within. The heated/forced air (e.g. intake air A1, exhaust air A2relative to the air fryer system) may be incorporated before, during, and/or after the gas burner13is operating (e.g. combustion, flame, heating, exhausting oven cavity air A3). It will be appreciated that the heated air A2may be forced into the cavity14and/or air intake A1of the system20while the gas burner13is operating and/or when exhausting air A3from the cavity14via an exhaust vent11. For example, while not disrupting the combustion and/or air flow from the gas burner and exiting through the exhaust vent11. As shown in the Figures, the appliance10and/or air frying system20, or portions thereof, may include a hood or housing30positioning one or more heating elements70and a fan80therein. The hood30may position the one or more heating elements70and/or fan80proximate the top15(e.g. wall) of the cavity (e.g. above the oven cavity and/or top wall). The hood30, heating element70, and/or fan80may be positioned or disposed above/over the oven cavity14and/or top wall15of the oven cavity14. The hood30may be separated from the oven cavity14by the oven top15and/or a cover90. In some embodiments not shown, the hood30may be integral to the top wall15(e.g. deep drawn emboss). The heating element70and fan80may be disposed in the hood30over or above the cooking cavity14. The housing or hood30may include a top wall32and depending side walls34. The hood30, or portions thereof (e.g. top wall, side wall) may direct air flow away from the exhaust vent11. The side walls34(e.g. distal ends) may engage or connect or be proximate to the top15of the oven cavity14and/or cover90. The side walls34, cover90, hood30, and/or top15may define one or more openings22between the hood30and the oven cavity14. One or more covers90, if used, may be disposed on or over the opening22. The hood30, cover90, and/or top wall15may define or include a plurality of apertures92. The apertures92may be positioned or in fluid communication between the housing30and the oven cavity14. The cover90and/or one or more apertures92(e.g. intake93, exhaust94) are positioned proximate the top wall15and/or exhaust vent11. As shown in the one embodiment inFIGS.3-7, the apertures92of the cover90may include one or more intake apertures93and one or more exhaust apertures94. The exhaust apertures94may be spaced outwardly from the intake apertures93within the cover90. The exhaust apertures94may be configured to exhaust/direct air flow A2(e.g. heated, forced) away from the exhaust vent. The intake apertures may be configured to receive/direct air A1(e.g. pulled) from the oven cavity14into the hood30and/or towards the fan/heating elements80,70before being exhausted back into the oven cavity14via the exhaust apertures94. The apertures (e.g.93,94) and/or cover90may be a variety of shapes, sizes, quantities, positions, and constructions and still be within the scope of the invention. For example, although not shown, a partial cover or a cover partially disposed over the opening22may be used such that one or more apertures are defined by the top wall and the cover. For example, an outer periphery of the cover and the inner periphery of the opening and/or top wall define one or more apertures (e.g. intake, exhaust).

It should be understood that the hood30may be a variety of shapes, sizes, quantities, and construction and still be within the scope of the invention. The hood30is shown as having a planar top wall32, however the top wall may be domed in some embodiments. Further, the one or more depending side walls34of the hood may be vertically orientated rather than being flared/angled outwardly as shown in the one embodiment. Although the hood30is shown as rectangular in shape and opening downwardly to define the22, other shapes may be used such as, but is not limited to, circular, spherical, semi-spherical, or oval shape.

It will be appreciated that, when bake gas oven burner13is ignited and emitting a flame, a natural flow generally develops over time, in part due to the injection of gas and sometimes additional primary air to the internal volume of the appliance, which displaces the air within the volume. As the appliance gets warm, buoyant forces come into play, whereby a thermal gradient is established and the hot air and products of combustion rise. An exhaust vent11is generally disposed near the top of the volume or oven cavity14and/or proximate the back17of the oven cavity such that the hot air and combustion products A3flow out or are drawn out of the exhaust vent11. This ultimately produces a stable, steady state flow pattern, represented by the arrows inFIG.5, whereby fresh air is drawn into burner box110and/or hot air and combustion products A3flow out of the exhaust vent11. The fresh air is combusted with gas supplied to bake oven gas burner13, and a hot mix of excess air and combustion products flow from bake oven gas burner13out through vents of the burner box and into oven cavity14. The air flow A3then continues upwards and out through exhaust vent11.

In some implementations, upon operation of the air frying system20, or portions thereof, the gas movement/combustion may be less controlled, slower, or may be counter to the steady state flow pattern that is established to exhaust the combustion A3through the exhaust vent11. Embodiments consistent with the invention, however, may incorporate the hood30and/or cover90(e.g. aperture(s),93,94) to direct air flow into and/or out of the air frying system20(e.g. hood, apertures) to improve or maintain the steady state flow paths through the exhaust vent11. The air frying system20, or portions thereof, may assist in, but is not limited to, stabilizing the flame of the gas burner13, stabilize the combustion product generated by the gas burner13, and/or reduce the drag force of the countercurrent flow between air A3passing through the exhaust vent11from the oven cavity14and the air (e.g. force/heated, A1, and/or A2) in fluid communication (e.g. passing into and/or out of) with the air frying system20(e.g. cover, hood, exhaust apertures, intake apertures).

In some implementations, the cover90, hood30, and/or apertures92may reduce the effect on the exhaust air A3through the exhaust vent11and/or combustion (e.g. characteristics, desired, optimal), etc. The air intake and/or exhaust via the cover/hood/apertures (e.g. intake/exhaust)/fryer may not be in the immediate vicinity of the exhaust vent11. The cover90/hood30/apertures92/intake93/exhaust94/fryer, or portions thereof, may be at and/or above the exhaust vent11and/or top wall15(e.g. substantially the same elevation and/or above). The hood30/apertures92/cover90may be configured to direct air flow A2(e.g. heated) away from the exhaust vent11and/or reduce the effect on the gas/air A3exiting the exhaust vent. The hood30/apertures92/cover90may be configured to direct air flow A1(e.g. pulled) away from the exhaust vent11and/or reduce the effect on the gas/air A3exiting the exhaust vent. The hood30/apertures92/cover90may be configured to direct both air flow A1(e.g. pulled) and air flow A2(e.g. heated) away from the exhaust vent11and/or reduce the effect on the gas/air A3exiting the exhaust vent. As shown in the one embodiment, the plurality of apertures92(e.g. intake93, exhaust94) and/or cover90may be at substantially the same elevation as the exhaust vent11and/or top wall15of the oven cavity14. At least one exhaust aperture94may be at substantially the same elevation as the top wall15and/or exhaust vent11(e.g. defined/confined by the top wall). At least one intake aperture93may be at substantially the same elevation as the top wall15and/or exhaust vent11. The cover90, of portions thereof, may be at substantially the same elevation as the top wall15and/or exhaust vent11. The plurality of the apertures92(e.g. intake, exhaust, etc.) of the cover90and/or air flow A1/A2may be distal or spaced away from the exhaust vent11(e.g. in the horizontal plane) and/or air flow A3. For example as shown in the one embodiment, the exhaust aperture94may be spaced away from the exhaust vent11in a direction (e.g. horizontal) towards the front19of the oven cavity (e.g. in the horizontal plane). The one or more exhaust apertures94of the cover90may surround or be radially spaced outwardly from the one or more intake apertures93of the cover90(e.g. horizontally, in the horizontal plane) in some embodiments. In the one embodiment shown, the intake aperture93may be spaced away from the exhaust vent11in a direction (e.g. horizontal) towards the front19of the oven cavity (e.g. in the horizontal plane). The one or more intake apertures93may be centrally located within the cover90and/or distal/spaced from the exhaust vent11. Further for example, as shown in the one embodiment, the exhaust apertures94may be spaced away from the exhaust vent11in a direction (e.g. horizontal) towards one or more sides18(e.g. first side, second side) of the oven cavity14(e.g. in the horizontal plane). The one or more exhaust apertures94may be proximate the opposing sides or lateral sides18and/or the front19(e.g. side) in a direction towards the front of the oven cavity14. The one or more exhaust apertures94may be adjacent the one or more side walls34of the hood30distal from the back17of the oven cavity14and/or exhaust vent11, not the hood side wall adjacent the exhaust vent. The one or more intake apertures93may be adjacent the center of the hood30distal from the back17of the oven cavity14and/or exhaust vent11and/or not adjacent the hood side wall34adjacent the exhaust vent11. The one or more exhaust apertures94and/or intake apertures93may not be adjacent the back or rear17of the oven cavity14and/or air flow A3. Further, as shown in the one embodiment, the cover90may be without the exhaust aperture(s)94between (e.g. in a direction) the exhaust vent11and the intake aperture(s)93. In some embodiments as shown more clearly inFIGS.4and5, the air flow A2from the exhaust aperture(s)94may be directed radially outward and/or downwardly from the cover90and/or exhaust aperture and/or along one or more of the sides18and/or front19, but not towards the back17, air flow A3, and/or exhaust vent11. The air flow A1may be directed upwardly and/or centrally into the cover90and/or intake aperture(s)93, but not towards the back17, air flow A3, and/or exhaust vent11. Further as shown inFIGS.4and5, in a direction from the back17to the front19of the oven cavity14, the exhaust vent11may be positioned in the top15of the oven cavity, followed by the intake aperture(s)93of the cover90, and then followed by the exhaust aperture(s)94of the cover90.

In some implementations, the one or more intake apertures93may axially receive air A1from the oven cavity14(e.g. within the center of the cover/hood, not adjacent the exhaust vent11and/or air flow A3(e.g. vertically)) and/or one or more exhaust apertures94may exhaust forced/heated air A2radially outwardly and/or vertically into the oven cavity14(e.g. adjacent one or more side walls of the hood/cavity, not adjacent the exhaust vent11and/or air flow A3(e.g. vertically)).

In some implementations, the air frying system20and/or gas oven appliance10may draw air A3into the exhaust vent11adjacent a first side/portion (e.g. side(s)18, front19) of the oven cavity14and force heated air A2from the cover90and/or exhaust aperture(s)94and/or hood30(e.g. heating element, fan) adjacent a different or second side/portion of the oven cavity14different from the first side. Alone, or in combination with the air flow A2configuration, the system20and/or gas oven appliance10may pull air A1into the cover90and/or aperture(s)93and/or hood30(e.g. heating element, fan) adjacent a different or third side/portion of the oven cavity14different from the first/second side/portion or the same as the second side. The air frying system20(e.g. heating element, fan, cover), or portions thereof, may operate (e.g. exhaust air, intake air) when the gas burner13is concurrently operating. It is contemplated that the air frying system20may operate during a variety of operating conditions of the gas burner (e.g. not operating, operating after initial warm-up period, operating after steady-state natural convection has been established, timed operation, etc.). The fan and/or heating element may operate during, before, and/or after various operating states of the gas burner and/or portions of the oven. The air A3drawn into the exhaust vent11may be along the first side (e.g. back17) of the oven cavity14. The forced air A2may exhaust through the apertures94of the hood/cover30,90downwardly along the second side (e.g. side wall(s)18, front19, center) of the oven cavity14. The intake air A1may be pulled through the apertures93of the oven cavity14upwardly along the third/second side (e.g. side wall(s)18, front19, center, etc.) of the oven cavity14. When operating, the air frying system20may reduce the countercurrent flow or drag from the forced heated air flow A2through the aperture(s)/cover and/or drawn in air flow A1through the aperture(s)/cover relative to the air A3drawn into the exhaust vent11. In some embodiments, the exhaust vent11may be adjacent the top15and first side (e.g. back17) without the aperture(s) (e.g. exhaust, intake) being adjacent to or in the vicinity of the top15and first side (e.g. back17).

Although the heating element70is shown as a cal-rod type heating element, it should be understood that a variety of heating elements may be used and still be within the scope of the invention. For example, a heating tube with graphite element may be used in some embodiments. Further, for example, a heating tub with quartz element may be used. In some embodiments, the heating element may be positioned around the fan blade or in front of the fan blades to heat up the intake air. Although the heating element is shown in the one embodiment as circular, it should be understood that the heating element may be a variety of constructions or other geometries such as, but is not limited to, a rectangular shape or oval shape with different passes.

The fan or blowing structure80may be a variety of structure, constructions, positions, shapes, and sizes and still circulate air flow relative to the air frying system such as, but is not limited to, an impeller, a flow-through type fan, a turbine-type fan, etc. The motor driven fan80(e.g. blades), or portions thereof, may be inside and/or radially inward from the heating element70as shown, however the fan may be in a variety of positions relative to the one or more heating elements70and still be within the scope of the invention. The motor may be positioned over the hood30in some embodiments.

In some implementations, the air frying system20and/or appliance10may include a structure to reduce the volume of the cooking cavity acted upon by the air frying system. As shown in the one embodiment, a container/drawer1may be used to isolate the air frying volume/contents. The container1(e.g. rim, opening) may be adjacent the cover90, hood30, and/or top wall15. The opening of the container may be larger than the cover and/or radially outside the one or more apertures92(e.g. exhaust, intake). The container may be a variety of shapes, sizes, quantities, and constructions and still be within the scope of the invention.

It will be appreciated that various additional modifications may be made to the embodiments discussed herein, and that a number of the concepts disclosed herein may be used in combination with one another or may be used separately. Therefore, the invention lies in the claims hereinafter appended.