Abstract:
A conveyor oven having a conveyor belt that extends through an oven chamber for carrying food products for cooking in the oven chamber. A scraping device is positioned near an exit end of the oven chamber to remove any of the food products that stick to the conveyor belt.

Description:
RELATED APPLICATION 
       [0001]    This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 61/308,567, filed Feb. 26, 2010, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. 
     
    
     BACKGROUND 
       [0002]    1. Field of the Disclosure 
         [0003]    The present disclosure relates generally to a conveyor oven and a method and, in particular, to removal of non-seared food product from a conveyor belt. 
         [0004]    2. Description of Related Art 
         [0005]    Conveyorized ovens, particularly finishing toasters, include a conveyor belt that moves food from a position where a user places the food on a conveyor belt through an oven cavity where the food is cooked and then transported out of the oven cavity to be retrieved by the user. Moist food sticks to its cooking platform, e.g., conveyor belt, until the food product reaches the same temperature as the cooking platform. In today&#39;s food industry, the food needs to be served faster and faster in order to meet the customers&#39; demands. At these extreme times it is nearly impossible for the food to become equal in temperature to the conveyor. This causes the food to stick to the conveyor belt and, thus, there is a need to remove the food that is still adhered to the conveyor belt. 
         [0006]    Unfortunately, some of the food product which is being transported on the conveyor belt becomes stuck or affixed to the conveyor belt and cannot be removed by gravitational forces alone. This is undesirable as the stuck or affixed food will remain on the conveyor belt as it returns to the starting or food loading position, resulting in charring or damaging of the food product. Additional, such stuck or affixed food product can get permanently dislodged within the conveyor belt or the conveyorized oven itself, thus causing a fire or damage to the conveyor oven. Finally, the stuck or affixed food product can be dropped into a crumb or waste tray, thus resulting in a loss of food product and thus a loss in revenue to the operator. 
         [0007]    Accordingly, there is a need for a conveyor oven that provides for removal of non-seared food product from a conveyor belt. 
       SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE 
       [0008]    In one embodiment of the cooking oven of the present disclosure, the conveyor oven comprises a housing defining an oven chamber with an inlet. A conveyor extends through the inlet into the oven chamber and comprises a conveyor belt driven to transport food product into the oven chamber. A scraper is supported by the housing at an exit end of the oven chamber in close proximity to the conveyor belt to separate the food product from the conveyor belt. 
         [0009]    In another embodiment of the cooking oven of the present disclosure, the scraper is positioned just prior to the conveyor belt making a turn for a return toward the inlet end of the oven chamber. 
         [0010]    In another embodiment of the cooking oven of the present disclosure, a tray is disposed below the conveyor belt near the exit end of the oven chamber to thereby deliver food product separated from the conveyor belt to the tray. 
         [0011]    In another embodiment of the cooking oven of the present disclosure, the scraper is attached to at least one side wall of the housing. 
         [0012]    In another embodiment of the cooking oven of the present disclosure, the scraper scrapes any of the food product, which is stuck to the conveyor belt, away from the conveyor belt. 
         [0013]    In another embodiment of the cooking oven of the present disclosure, the scraper has an angled port that is in close proximity to the conveyor belt to separate the food product from the conveyor belt. 
         [0014]    In one embodiment of the method of the present disclosure, the method moves the food products with a conveyor belt through an oven chamber of the conveyor oven and separates the food products from the conveyor belt near an exit end of the oven chamber. 
         [0015]    In another embodiment of the method of the present disclosure, the food product is separated from the conveyor belt just prior to making a turn for a return toward an inlet end of the oven chamber. 
         [0016]    In another embodiment of the method of the present disclosure, the food product separated from the conveyor belt is delivered to a tray. 
         [0017]    In another embodiment of the method of the present disclosure, the tray is located below the conveyor belt at the exit end of the oven chamber. 
         [0018]    In another embodiment of the method of the present disclosure, the scraper scrapes any of the food product, which is stuck to the conveyor belt, away from the conveyor belt. 
         [0019]    In another embodiment of the method of the present disclosure, the scraper has an angled port that is in close proximity to the conveyor belt to separate the food product from the conveyor belt. 
         [0020]    The above-described and other advantages and features of the present disclosure will be appreciated and understood by those skilled in the art from the following detailed description and drawings. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0021]      FIG. 1  is a top side perspective view of a conveyor oven according to the present disclosure. 
           [0022]      FIG. 2  is a schematic top view of the conveyor oven of  FIG. 1 . 
           [0023]      FIG. 3  is a schematic side view of the conveyor oven of  FIG. 1 . 
           [0024]      FIG. 4  is a schematic front view of the conveyor oven of  FIG. 1 . 
           [0025]      FIG. 5  is a bottom side perspective view of the conveyor oven of  FIG. 1  with the top portion tilted open to allow for cleaning of the components in a bottom compartment thereof. 
           [0026]      FIG. 6  is a bottom front perspective view of the conveyor oven hinged open, thereby showing an internal view of the oven and the bottom fan thereof. 
           [0027]      FIG. 7  is a schematic top side perspective view of the conveyor oven of  FIG. 1  having a first side wall removed. 
           [0028]      FIG. 8  is a schematic top side perspective view of the conveyor oven of  FIG. 1  having a second side wall removed. 
           [0029]      FIG. 10  is a schematic exploded view of the conveyor oven of  FIG. 1 . 
           [0030]      FIG. 11  is a schematic rear right side perspective view of the conveyor oven of  FIG. 1 . 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
       [0031]    Referring to the drawings and in particular to  FIGS. 1-4 , an exemplary embodiment of a conveyor oven according to the present disclosure is generally referred to by reference numeral  100 . Conveyor oven  100  comprises a conveyor  104 , a housing  120  and a conveyor frame  115 . Housing  120  has a first side wall  125 , a second side wall  130 , a first front wall  131 , a rear wall  132 , a second front wall  133 , a bottom wall  225  and a top wall  135  that define an oven cavity or oven chamber  200  having an inlet  201  and an outlet  323 . Housing  120  is connected to a bottom compartment  140 . Top wall  135  has apertures  145 . First side wall  125  covers a first compartment or side wall passage  150 . Second side wall  130  covers a second compartment or side wall passage  155 . A user interface  160  is disposed on first side wall  125 . A user can use user interface  160  to enter data for cooking instructions or other data for conveyor oven  100 . Conveyor  104  comprises a conveyor belt  195  that extends through inlet  201  into oven chamber  200  and is supported by housing  120 . Conveyor frame  115  surrounds at least a portion of conveyor belt  195  that is outside inlet  201 . 
         [0032]    Conveyor frame  115  is hollow as defined by an outer wall assembly  165  and an inner wall assembly  170  that form a frame compartment or passage  175  having an interior volume  180  therebetween. Outer wall assembly  165  has apertures  185  therethrough allowing fluid communication between interior volume  180  and an ambient environment surrounding conveyor frame  115 . Inner wall assembly  170  is connected to a drive shaft assembly  190 , which moves conveyor belt  195 . Food is placed on conveyor belt  195  by a user so that conveyor belt  195  moves the food from a position within conveyor frame  115  through oven chamber  200  to a rear tray  205 . Conveyor frame  115  may be connected above an external crumb tray  206  that collects any loose debris or particles from conveyor belt  195  due to the user placing food product on conveyor belt  195 . 
         [0033]    Referring now to  FIGS. 3-6 , bottom compartment  140  comprises a bottom housing  210  with a base wall  211  and a base side wall  212  forming a bottom interior volume  215  that houses a fan  220 . When bottom compartment  140  is connected to housing  120 , interior volume  215  is covered by a bottom wall  225  of housing  120  and a first bottom side wall  230  of first compartment  150  and a second bottom side wall  235  of second compartment  155 . First bottom side wall  230  has apertures  240  therethrough and second bottom side wall  235  has apertures  245  therethrough to provide fluid communication between interior volume  215  and side wall compartments  150  and  155 . 
         [0034]    Referring now to  FIG. 7 , first compartment  150  has a first back panel  265  surrounded by a first compartment side wall  270  forming a first compartment interior  271 . First back panel  265  has apertures  275  therethrough adjacent an edge that connects to first bottom side wall  230 . First compartment side wall  270  has an aperture  272  therethrough from first compartment interior  271  to interior volume  180  in conveyor frame  115 . 
         [0035]    Referring now to  FIG. 8 , second compartment  155  has a second back panel  250  surrounded by a second compartment side wall  255  forming a second compartment interior  256 . Second back panel  250  has apertures  260  therethrough adjacent an edge that connects to second bottom side wall  235 . Second compartment side wall  255  has an aperture  257  therethrough from second compartment interior  256  to interior volume  180  in conveyor frame  115 . 
         [0036]    Referring now to  FIGS. 9-11 , a scraper  300  comprises a flat metallic sheet  302  affixed to housing  120  of conveyor oven  100 . Preferably, scraper  300  is attached (e.g., by screws) to first and second compartment side walls  270  and  255 , respectively, at an exit end of conveyor oven  100 . Scraper  300  has an angled port  308  disposed at the top thereof, in close proximity to conveyor belt  195 , just prior to conveyor belt  195  making its turn at the exit side of conveyor oven  100  and between conveyor belt  195  and take off tray  205  (shown in  FIGS. 2 ,  3  and  9 ). Scraper  300  can be made of any suitable material. Preferably, the material is metal, e.g., sheet metal. 
         [0037]    Scraper  300  is placed in such a way that it separates food products from conveyor belt  195  as it makes a turn. In particular, scraper  300  gets between the food (not shown) and conveyor belt  195  to scrape or loosen any food product, which is stuck to conveyor belt  195 , thereby allowing the food to break away from conveyor belt  195  and slide down take off tray  205 . 
         [0038]    It will be apparent to those of skill in the art that scraper  300  may assume other geometries. For example, in some embodiments the slot shown in flat sheet  302  in  FIG. 11  may be eliminated. 
         [0039]    While the present disclosure has been described with reference to one or more exemplary embodiments, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes may be made and equivalents may be substituted for elements thereof without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. In addition, many modifications may be made to adapt a particular situation or material to the teachings of the disclosure without departing from the scope thereof. Therefore, it is intended that the present disclosure not be limited to the particular embodiment(s) disclosed as the best mode contemplated, but that the disclosure will include all embodiments falling within the scope of the appended claims.