FORCED-CONVECTION GAS COOKING OVEN

Abstract: A forced-convedtion gas cooking oven comprises a fan (17) and a heat exchanger (25) for creating a circulation of hot air about foods placed in the cooking chamber (13) of the oven. According to the invention, the heat exchanger (25) is composed of a plurality of pipes (36) bent to a "U"-shape and distributed symmetrically and uniformly in concentric arrangement about the periphery of the fan (17), the ends of said pipes communicating respectively with two concentric collectors (24,53; 26,54) themselves communicating with a burner (24, 50) and with a combustion gas outlet port (45), respectively. In particular, one said collector (24) may be integrated with said burner, provided with openings for the passage of the gases towards the ends (37) of said U-shaped pipes (36), while the other collector (26) may be connected to a blower (43), and optionally to an injector nozzle(48), acting to aspirate the combustion gases from the collector and discharging them to the outside.

Description: The present invention relates to a forced-convection gas cooking oven provided with a heat exchanger for ensuring the cooking of foods at elevated temperatures uniformly distributed within the cooking chamber of the oven. Forced-convection gas cooking ovens of a known type comprise a fan mounted on the rear wall of the cooking chamber and adapted to be rotated by an electric motor disposed externally of the cooking chamber, and a heat exchanger composed of a plurality of vertical rectilinear pipes disposed adjacent the fan and traversed by a flow of combustion gases generated by at least one gas burner disposed in a combustion chamber located below the cooking chamber and separate therefrom, the upper ends of the pipes being connected to a chimney devised for discharging the combustion gases to the outside (see for instance the EP-A-0244927). These vertical pipes, which in an alternative embodiment of a cooking oven of this type are of semicircular shape so as to laterally embrace the fan, thus perform the function of heating the air in the cooking chamber of the oven, the thus heated air being circulated by the fan about the foods placed on different shelves within the cooking chamber for thereby cooking the foods. Known cooking ovens of this type suffer from various shortcomings. In the first place, because the pipes of the heat exchanger are disposed at different spacings from the outer circumferential edge of the rotor of the fan instead of being disposed at a uniform distance from this circumferential edge, as would in fact be more rational, it is practically not possible to obtain a hot air flow of uniform velocity and volume over the full area of the cooking chamber, as a result of which it is not possible to achieve a uniform and satisfactory cooking of all the foods placed on the various shelves of the oven. A further factor leading to the non-uniform cooking of foods in ovens of this type is the uneven distribution of the radiant heat energy along the vertical pipes of the heat exchanger due to the progressive cooling of the hot combustion gases as they flow upwards through the pipes. These ovens finally present the additional drawback that it is impossible to stock one or more ovens of this type above one another due to the presence of the gas discharge chimney rising above the ceiling of the cooking chamber, and of the combustion chamber projecting from the lower portion of the cooking chamber. It is therefore an object of the present invention to overcome the drawbacks and shortcomings of conventional cooking ovens of this type, and to provide a cooking oven provided with a heat exchanger of a construction ensuring uniform heating of the foods with an increased thermal efficiency. These and other objects are attained according to the invention in a forced-convection gas cooking oven comprising a box-shaped metal housing enclosing a chamber for cooking foods by a forced circulation of hot air created by at least one fan adapted to be rotated by an associated electric motor, said chamber being separated by at least one perforate partition from a further chamber housing said fan and electric motor together with at least one gas burner and heat exchanger means adapted to heat the air circulating in said cooking chamber and traversed by a flow of combustion gases generated by said burner, and also adapted to permit the discharge of said combustion gases to the outside through associated discharge means. According to the invention, a cooking oven of this type is characterized in that said heat exchanger means comprises a plurality of pipes bent to a U-shaped configuration and distributed symmetrically and uniformly in a concentric arrangement about the periphery of said fan, said pipes being mounted in such a manner that their first and second ends communicate respectively with at least a first and a second collector, preferably of circular shape, disposed at concentric positions relative to one another and communicating respectively with said burner and said discharge means. The invention will be more clearly understood from the following description, given by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein: fig. 1 shows a diagrammatic top plan view, in horizontal section, of a cooking oven according to a first embodiment of the invention, fig. 2 shows a sectional sideview of the oven shown in fig. 1, taken along the line A-A in this figure, fig. 3 shows a front view of a structural detail of the present cooking oven, in section along the line B-B in fig. 1, figs.4 and 5 show longitudinally sectioned diagrammatical illustrations of a second and a third embodiment of the present oven, figs. 6, 7, 9, 9 show sectional sideviews of the present cooking oven according to further embodiments of the invention, and figs. 10 and 11 show a front view and a sideview, respectively, of a further structural detail of the present cooking oven. With reference to figs. 1 and 2, there is shown a forced-convection gas cooking oven according to the invention, for use preferably in a community kitchen or the like, and comprising a box-shaped metal housing 12 enclosing a chamber 13 for cooking foods by means of a forced hot air circulation. Chamber 13 is adapted to be hermetically closed by a front door 14 and provided with a plurality of stacked shelves (not shown) for placing the foods thereon, and a vertical partition 15 separating it from a further chamber 16 for the accommodation of a fan 17 and an associated electric motor 18. In particular, partition 15 is provided with a flared center opening 19 and retracted a small distance from the respective sidewalls of chamber 13 so as to define respective passages 20 and 21 extending over the full height of cooking chamber 13 for the forced circulation throught the cooking chamber of hot air by the action of fan 17. Chamber 16 is provided with another vertical partition 22 extending over the full width and part of the height of the oven. Partition 22 carries the assembly formed of fan 17, electric motor 18 and an associated rotating shaft 23 so that fan 17 is disposed between the two partitions 15 and 22 in axial alignment with center opening 19. Vertical partition 22 serves the additional purpose of mounting thereon at least one gas burner 24 and a heat exchanger 25 adapted to be traversed by a flow of combustion gases generated by the burner and to permit these gases to be discharged to the outside, to thereby ensure heating of the air and the resultant cooking of the foods. In particular, gas burner 24 is conceived in the form of a tubular body of annular shape extending around electric motor 18 of fan 17 and contained in a circular collector 26 disposed in concentric alignment with the burner and provided with a circular passage 27 axially connected to a discharge conduit 28, for collecting the combustion gases generated by burner 24 and discharging them outside of the oven. A lower portion of burner 24 is connected to at least one tubular conduit 29 provided for purposes to be described later, said conduit being formed as a horizontal rectilinear pipe section 30. A further pipe section 33 connected to a gas supply source (not shown) extends through the rear wall 31 of chamber 16 and terminates a short distance from and opposite the free end of tubular conduit 29 for injecting the fuel gas therethrough and thus into burner 24. For permitting the combustion of this fuel gas, burner 24 is provided with a plurality of ports 34 (cf. fig.3) regularly distributed about its circumferential surface at the side facing towards partition 22. Associated to ports 34 is at least one conventional ignition device 35 operable to ensure the substantially simultaneous ignition of the primary flames at the location of ports 34 and of secondary flames at the location of secondary ports 351 formed in burner 24 at positions between primary ports 34. Heat exchanger 25 is composed of a plurality of pipes 36 bent to a U-shaped configuration and distributed symmetrically and uniformly in a concentric arrangement about the periphery of fan 17. Pipes 36 are secured in a conventional manner to partition 22 to extend therethrough, so that their first ends 37 are aligned with respective primary ports 34 of burner 24 at a short distance therefrom, while their second ends 38 communicate with circular passage 27 of combustion gas collector 26. Instead of being secured to vertical partition 22, U-shaped pipes 36 may advantageously be secured to a separate wall member 39 supporting the fan and the associated electric motor. After the pipes 36 have been attached to wall member 39, the latter may be secured to vertical partition 22, so that the ends of pipes 36 project through respective openings formed in the vertical partition. After the U-shaped pipes 36 have been thus mounted, circular collector 26 and burner 24 may be mounted on the opposite face of partition 22. In this manner it is possible to combine all of the named components in a unitary module which may be completely assembled prior to its installation in the oven. With reference now to fig. 3, it is noted that the U-shaped pipes 36 of heat exchanger 25 are secured to vertical partition 22 with their respective legs preferably parallel to one another in the axial direction and offset from one another at variable angles in the circumferential direction of fan 17. As also seen in this figure, an annular stator 40 secured to partition 22 and provided with a plurality of stator blades 41 at regular spacings in the circumferential direction is disposed between the circumferential boundary of fan 17 and U-shaped pipes 36, stator blades 41 being of arcuate cross-section and inclined at an angle opposite to that of the blades 42 of fan 17. Stator blades 41 serve the purpose of reducing the initial velocity of the air flow produced by the rotation of fan 17 and of rendering the pressure of the air flow passing through the arrangement of U-shaped pipes 36 more uniform, so that this air is effectively heated by the heat exchange with the combustion gases flowing through the pipes. The symmetrical arrangement of U-shaped pipes 36 around fan 17 and the provision of annular stator 40 thus result in an efficient heating of the air and in the creation of a uniform air flow at reduced pressure throughout the cooking chamber of the oven, so that the foods placed therein are uniformly and satisfactorily cooked with a high thermal efficiency. For ensuring an efficient combustion, the present cooking oven is further provided with at least one additional motor-driven fan 43 accommodated in a separate chamber 44 of circular shape provided internally of chamber 16 of the oven in proximity to a discharge port 45 surrounding discharge pipe 28. In particular, chamber 44 communicates with a conduit 46 for the passage therethrough of the air flow generated by fan 43, the horizontally extending end portion 47 of conduit 46 extending through discharge port 45 and being of a convergent shape concentrically surrounding discharge pipe 28 so as to form an injector nozzle 48. In the described embodiment, rotation of fan 43 results in an air flow directed outwwards of the oven as indicated by the arrow C. As a result, injector nozzle 48 acts to create a vaccume adjacent discharge pipe 28 effective to discharge the combustion gases generated by burner 24 and contained in annular collector 26 after having passed through ports 34 of burner 24 and U-shaped pipes 36. This vacuum created by the action of injector nozzle 48 is also effective to obtain and maintain the efficient combustion of the fuel gas over the total area of burner 24. The use of injector nozzle 48 finally permits the still hot combustion gases to be directly discharged from the oven without causing them to pass through fan 43. This permits the use of any conventional fan instead of a fan specifically designed to resist elevated thermal stresses. The fan may additionally be used for at least partially cooling the control panel (not shown) of the oven by causing the intake airflow of the fan to pass in proximity to the control panel. The thus deviced discharge of the combustion gases permits two or more cooking ovens of this type to be stacked above one another, with the resultant saving of floor space. This stacking of two or more cooking ovens is not possible in the case of conventional cooking ovens provided with combustion gas discharge chimneys extending upwards from the roof of the cooking chambers of such ovens. According to the invention, pipes 36 may be of other shapes than described and provided in different numbers, as long as their respective ends 37 and 38 are disposed in communication with primary ports 34 of burner 24 and annular passage 27 of collector 26. As an alternative, the two legs of each U-shaped pipe 36 may be provided with one or more guide blades (not shown) welded or soldered thereto and formed to suitably direct the hot air flow created by the fan. This solution would permit the annular stator 40 to be eliminated. With reference now to fig. 4, there is shown a second embodiment of the present cooking oven substantially composed of the same components as described above and therefore designated by the same reference numerals. In this example, fan 43 of the oven is enclosed in a separate chamber 44 of circular shape connected to discharge port 45 by a rectilinear conduit 49, the intake side of fan 43 being directly connected to discharge pipe 28 of annular collector 26. In this embodiment, the injector nozzle has thus been eliminated, and the combustion gases are directly discharged from the oven through fan 43, which has therefore to be of a construction capable of resisting the thermal stresses induced by the high temperature of the combustion gases. In the embodiment shown in fig. 5, a cooking oven is provided with a gas burner 50 of a conventional type instead of an annular burner as described with reference to the preceding embodiments. Burner 50 is accommodated in a combustion chamber 51 located in a power portion of chamber 16 and having gas supply conduit 33 connected thereto. An enlarged conduit 52 connects combustion chamber 51 to an annular distribution manifold 53 disposed concentrically within an annular combustion gas collector 54. In particular, manifold 53 communicates with collector 54 through U-shaped pipes 36 disposed in the manner described before, manifold and collector 53 and 54, respectively, being preferably designed so that their cross-sectional area decreases symmetrically in opposite directions to thereby ensure a circulation of the combustion gases resulting in a uniform heat distribution throughout the heat exchanger. Collector 54 is connected to fan 43 in the same manner as described with reference to fig. 4 to thereby ensure the discharge of the combustion gases from the oven. With reference to fig. 6, showing another embodiment of the present cooking oven, it is noted that this oven is designed with the same structural particulars as in fig. 5, which are therefore designated by the same reference numerals, with the exception of fan 43, which is in this case connected to an injector nozzle 48 identical to the one shown in fig. 2 and performing the same function. With reference to fig. 7, showing still another embodiment of the cooking oven according to the invention, it is noted that this oven is designed with the same structural particulars as in fig. 6, which are therefore designated by the same reference numerals, with the exception of fan 43, which is in this case replaced by an impeller 55 adapted to be rotated by the electric motor 18 driving fan 17 to provide cooling of the motor. Impeller 55 is enclosed in a circular chamber 56 surrounding motor 18 and connected to injector nozzle 48 through an air flow passage 46. The embodiment shown in fig. 8 is substantially similar to the one shown in fig. 7, except for the fact that annular chamber 56 enclosing impeller 55 is connected through a passage 46 to combustion chamber 51 containing burner 50, rather than to an injector nozzle 48 as in fig. 7. As a result of this connection impeller 55 creates an air flow in the direction of arrow D to thereby ensure an efficient combustion of the fuel gas at the location of burner 50 and the subsequent discharge of the combustion gases through annular collector 54 and discharge pipe 28 without requiring the employ of an additional fan and/or an injector nozzle. With reference to fig. 9, there is shown a still further embodiment of the present cooking oven composed of the same components as shown in fig. 8, which are therefore designated by the same reference numerals, except for the fact that burner 24 and annular collector 26 are of the same construction as in fig. 1. In this oven, chamber 56 enclosing impeller 55 is thus directly connected to annular burner 24, and fuel gas supply conduit 33 is arranged to open into the burner at right angles. In this embodiment impeller 55 thus performs the same function as in the embodiment according to fig. 8. With reference finally to figs. 10 and 11, there is shown a possible modification of the ventilation system shown in figs. 7, 8 and 9, wherein annular chamber 56 enclosing impeller 55 is of convolute shape and provided with an outlet conduit 46 which may selectively be connected to an injector nozzle 48, a combustion chamber 51 or to an annular burner 24.

Claims: 1. A forced-convection gas cooking oven comprising a box-shaped metal housing (12) enclosing a chamber (13) for cooking foods by a forced circulation of hot air created by at least one fan (17) adapted to be rotated by an associated electric motor (18), said chamber (13) being separated by at least one perforate partition (15) from a further chamber (16) adapted to accommodate said fan (17) and said electric motor (18), and at least one gas burner (24) and heat exchanger means (25) adapted to heat the air circulated through said cooking chamber (13) and to be traversed by the combustion gases generated by said burner (24) for the subsequent discharge of said gases through associated discharge means, characterized in that said heat exchanger means (25) comprises a plurality of pipes (36) bent to a U-shaped configuration and distributed symmetrically and uniformly in a concentric arrangement about the periphery of said fan (17), said pipes being mounted in such a manner that their first and second ends (37, 38) communicate respectively with at least a first and a second collector element (24,53; 26,54), preferably of annular shape, disposed at concentric positions relative to one another and communicating respectively with said burner (24,50) and said discharge means (43,48; 43; 55,48; 55). 2. A cooking oven according to claim 1, characterized in that said first collector element is formed by said burner (24) and provided with a plurality of ports (34) for the passage of the gas at uniformly distributed locations along the circumferential surface of said burner on the side thereof facing towards said first ends (37) of said U-shaped pipes (36). 3. A cooking oven according to claim 1, characterized in that said second collector element (26) is axially connected to at least one discharge conduit (28). 4. A cooking oven according to claim 1, characterized in that said first collector element (53) is connected to at least one combustion chamber (51) disposed at a lower location and containing said burner (50), and said second collector element (54) is axially connected to at least one discharge conduit (28), said first and second collector elements (53, 54) being preferably of a convergent configuration in opposite directions. 5. A cooking oven according to claims 3 and 4, characterized in that said discharge means comprises at least one additional fan (43) enclosed in an associated housing (44) connected to an air flow conduit (46) having a convergent end portion (47) concentrically surrounding said discharge conduit (28) to thereby act as an injector nozzle (48). 6. A cooking oven according to claims 3 and 4, characterized in that said discharge means comprises at least one additional fan (43) anclosed in an associated chamber (44) connected to a rectilinear conduit (49) leading directly to the exterior, said additional fan (43) itself being connected to said discharge conduit (28). 7. A cooking oven according to claim 5, characterized in that said discharge means comprise an impeller (55) adapted to be rotated by said electric motor (18) for cooling same, said impeller (55) being enclosed in an associated chamber (56) connected to said air flow conduit (46). 8. A cooking oven according to claim 7, characterized in that said air flow conduit (46) is connected to said injector nozzle (48). 9. A cooking oven according to claims 4 and 7, characterized in that said air flow conduit (46) is connected to said combustion chamber (51). 10. A cooking oven according to claims 2 and 7, characterized in that said air flow conduit (46) is connected to said burner (24). 11. A cooking oven according to claim 7, characterized in that said associated chamber (56) is of convolute configuration. 12. A cooking oven according to any of the preceding claims, characterized by at least one annular stator (40) disposed between the circumferential boundary of said fan (17) and said U-shaped pipes (36), said stator (40) comprising a plurality of stator blades (41) uniformly distributed about the circumferential boundary of said fan (17) and of arcuate cross-sectional shape inclined at an angle different to that of the corresponding blades (42) of said fan (17). 13. A cooking oven according to claim 12, characterized in that said fan (17), said electric motor (18), said heat exchanger means (25), said first and second collector elements (24,53; 26,54) and said annular stator (40) are adapted to be pre-assembled in a modular manner on a vertical wall member (39) itself adapted to be releasably secured to a further vertical wall portion (22) fixedly installed in said cooking oven.

Inventors: DEL FABBRO, CLAUDIO
Applicants: ZANUSSI GRANDI IMPIANTI S.P.A.
Application year: 1989
Main classification: F24C15
IPC codes: F28D7, F24C15