Patent Description:
In convection cooking, heated air is circulated rapidly through the cooking compartment to break up insulating, stagnant layers of air around the food, thereby increasing the rate of heat transfer. Higher velocity air typically increases the rate of heat transfer from the air to the food by further disrupting the insulating, stagnant layers of air around the food, as does striking the largest surface of the food with air delivered from a generally perpendicular direction to the food, since perpendicular air is more disruptive to such insulating, stagnant layers of air than air gliding across the largest surface of the food. Improved convection cooking can be obtained by supplying streams of heated air directly to food, for example, through air jets placed in shelves above and below the food being cooked.

Professional kitchens are often called upon to simultaneously prepare a wide variety of dishes requiring cooking for different periods of time at different cooking temperatures and optimally according to a schedule that enables multiple different dishes to emerge from the oven at the same time. <CIT>, describes a multizone convection oven having shelves with separate passageways communicating with upwardly and downwardly directed air jets. In this way, the shelves can not only deliver streams of heated air directly under and over the food in each zone, but can deliver these heated airstreams at different temperatures and velocities for each zone allowing the cooking of multiple dishes having different temperature requirements with the benefits of localized convection flow.

<CIT> also assigned to the assignee of the present invention describes an improvement in this design allowing the shelves between the different zones to be removed to combine separately controllable zones into a larger cooking cavity for large foods. When a shelf is removed, the air channels feeding heated air to the removed shelf are closed to prevent this heated air from adversely disrupting airflow distribution of the cavity. The closing of these air channels may be performed by a pull knob at the front of the oven or by electromechanical actuators. <CIT> discloses a convection oven having removable air plenums.

The present invention provides a multizone oven allowing for the removal of a shelf without complex electromechanical mechanisms for closing the air channels feeding the shelf or the need for the user to remember to close these air channels manually. The design allows insertion of the shelf to automatically open a shutter providing air to the shelf and removal of the shelf to automatically close that shutter preventing disruption of the heating pattern. In this way, airflow is properly controlled without the risk of the user forgetting to open or close the shutters or the need for complex electromechanical operators.

Specifically then, in one embodiment, the invention provides a multi-cavity oven having a housing with inner walls defining an oven cavity. At least one removable shelf fits within the oven cavity and provides an upper and lower passageway through the removable shelf communicating respectively with upwardly directed and downwardly directed air jets of the removable shelf, the shelf separating the oven cavity into an upper and lower cooking chamber. First and second air outlets through an inner wall of the oven cavity communicate with the upper and lower passageways of the removable shelf respectively when the removable shelf is installed within the oven cavity. At least one removable shelf fits within the oven cavity and provides a horizontally extending passageway through the removable shelf communicating with air jets directed outwardly along one horizontal surface of the removable shelf. A removable baffle plate fits within the removable shelf to define one side of the horizontally extending passageway. The baffle plate, when fit within the removable shelf, has a curve to provide a reduced cross-sectional area of the horizontally extending passageway as one moves away from the air outlet to provide more uniform airflow through the air jets.

It is thus a feature of at least one embodiment of the invention to provide an improved mechanism for ensuring that undesirable heated air does not flow onto the food directly when the shelf is removed.

The multi-cavity oven may include first and second shutters that are positioned at the first and second air outlets respectively to be movable between an opened state allowing air passage out a respective one of the first and second outlets and a closed state blocking air passage out of the respective one of the first and second outlets. At least one operator communicates between the removable shelf and the first and second shutters to move the first and second shutters between the closed state and opened state with insertion of the removable shelf into the oven cavity. The first and second shutters may each provide a flap hingeably attached over the first or second air outlets respectively to swing inward away from the oven cavity and into the first or second air outlets in the opened state and to swing outward toward the oven cavity to block the first and second air outlets in the closed state.

It is thus a feature of at least one embodiment of the invention to provide a shutter mechanism that is resistant to binding at high temperatures or with contamination.

The flaps may extend downwardly from sleeves having horizontal bores receiving hinge pins allowing the sleeves to swing about horizontal axes of the hinge pins.

It is thus a feature of at least one embodiment of the invention to provide simple and reliable gravity assisted movement of the flaps.

At least one stop surface may be provided to prevent a swinging outward of the first and second flaps into the oven cavity from the closed state.

It is thus a feature of at least one embodiment of the invention to further enlist air pressure of the oven air for closure of the flaps, stopping the air flaps at the closed state.

The operator may be a rearwardly extending finger attached to a rear edge of a removable shelf so that this operator presses at least one of the first and second shutters inward.

It is thus a feature of at least one embodiment of the invention to provide a simple operator mechanism operating directly on the shutters without complex linkages or the like subject to binding.

A shutter may include a tooth extending outwardly from a surface facing the finger to engage the finger.

It is thus a feature of at least one embodiment of the invention to facilitate movement by the shutters of greater than <NUM>° for improved airflow in the opened state.

The removable shelf may provide a separable upper and lower shelf portion providing the upper passageway or lower passageway respectively where each of the shelf portions provides a finger pressing a respective one of the first and second shutters inward.

It is thus a feature of at least one embodiment of the invention to allow tailoring of the operator for different shutter movement of the first and second shutters.

Each finger may provide a first portion closest to the holes of the shelf portion and respectively extending rearward further than a second portion of the finger further from the holes of the shelf portion so that the upper shelf portion having upwardly facing holes provides a greater angular swing in the shutter than the lower shelf portion having downwardly facing holes.

It is thus a feature of at least one embodiment of the invention to provide a single finger design that can work with upper or lower shelf portions.

The first and second air outlets may communicate with ductwork behind the inner wall away from the oven cavity connected with independent heating elements and the ductwork may include pockets for receiving the first and second shutters flush with a duct wall when the first and second shutters are in the opened state.

It is thus a feature of at least one embodiment of the invention to minimize airflow resistance from the shutter mechanism.

An inner wall of the housing adjacent to a shutter may provide an access area bounded by perforations, the wall of the access area selectively removable by prying action-breaking material between the perforations to remove material of the access area to provide access to the shutter.

It is thus a feature of at least one embodiment of the invention to provide occasional access to the shutters without the burden of removable access panels for each shutter.

The inner wall may further include pilot holes outside of the access area for receiving and attaching a patch plate sized to cover the access area once the material of the access area has been removed.

It is thus a feature of at least one embodiment of the invention to allow a reduced number of patch plates to be used for occasional repairs of selected shutters.

The housing may provide outer walls spaced from and outside of the inner walls and the outer wall may also provide an access area bounded by perforations, the wall of the access area of the outer wall selectively removable by prying action-breaking material between the perforations to remove material of the access area of the outer wall to provide access to the access area of the inner wall.

It is thus a feature of at least one embodiment of the invention to provide cost efficient access to the shutters through multiple walls of a typical oven.

As noted, the passageway through the shelf that conducts air from an outlet in the wall of the oven cavity through air jets covering the surface of the shelf may provide a curved baffle plate that reduces the cross-sectional area of this cavity as one moves away from the oven wall outlet to improve airflow uniformity. Such a baffle plate must hold a precise curvature, for example, as insured by rivets or the like attaching the baffle plate to the shelf. As so attached, however, the close passageway of the shelf can be difficult to clean, for example, when food materials fall through the air jets into the shelf cavity.

In one embodiment, the present invention provides an easily removed baffle plate, having on opposite edges, upwardly and downwardly extending tabs which cooperate with channels on the shelf to bend the baffle plate into the proper form as it is inserted into the channel. The points of contact between the baffle plate and the shelf are reduced to small areas minimizing adhesion between the surfaces by food and debris.

The removable shelf may provide horizontally extending channels for receiving the opposed edges of the removable baffle plate. The horizontally extending channels may be opposed C-channels opening toward each other.

It is thus an object of at least one embodiment of the invention to provide a baffle plate that can hold precise curvature while remaining easily removable.

The baffle plates may provide a substantially planar rectangular sheet. The baffle plates may include tabs extending upwardly and downwardly at the edges of the baffle plate to bend the baffle plate into the curve as the tabs are inserted into the channels.

It is another object of the invention to provide a readily manufactured baffle plate having a precise curvature which can be defined by the tab outlines rather than complex forming steps and supporting frameworks.

A vertical extension of the tabs may change as a function of position toward a front or rear of the baffle plates.

It is another object of the invention to define the precise curvature of the baffle plates to improve the uniformity of airflow through the removable shelf.

It is another object of the invention to allow for bending action of the baffle plates without the tabs cracking.

A front edge of the baffle plates may include upwardly extending bosses minimizing a contact area between the front edge of the baffle plates and the removeable shelf.

It is another object of the invention to permit easy removal of the baffle from the removable shelf by separating the baffle from the removeable shelf surface at ends where there may be no tabs.

In one embodiment of the invention, double doors may be provided on the front of the oven to provide improved oven cavity access in spaces where a single swinging door would be unwieldy. A compact linkage and slider mechanism coordinates opening and closing of the double doors using a handle on one of the doors while offsetting the closure of the doors for improved door locking, gasketing, and reduced gap between the doors when they are closed.

More specifically, one embodiment of the invention may provide a multi-cavity oven having a housing with inner walls defining an oven cavity accessible through an oven opening and providing a left and right oven door for access to the oven cavity. The left and right doors may hinge about vertical hinge axes on opposite sides of the oven opening to provide opposing doorframe edges moving into close proximity when the left and right doors are in a closed position and moving away from each other when the left and right doors are in an opened position. A door linkage joins the left and right doors to move both the left and right doors between the opened and closed state with the movement of either of the left and right doors such that the left door reaches a closed position before the right door during a closing of the left and right doors.

It is thus a feature of at least one embodiment of the invention to provide improved operation of double doors on an oven.

These particular objects and advantages may apply to only some embodiments falling within the claims and thus do not define the scope of the invention.

Referring now to <FIG>, a multizone oven <NUM> may provide for a housing <NUM> having upstanding right and left outer side walls 14a and 14b and upstanding rear wall 14c extending therebetween. These three walls <NUM> join generally opposed upper and lower walls 14d and 14e, the latter providing support so that the oven <NUM> may rest on a cart or the like (not shown).

The walls <NUM> enclose a generally rectangular cooking volume <NUM> having an opening <NUM> through a front wall 14f to provide access to the cooking volume <NUM> receiving food for cooking. The cooking volume <NUM> is defined by inner walls <NUM> spaced inwardly from each of the outer walls <NUM>. The cooking volume <NUM> may be subdivided into cooking cavities 20a, 20b, and 20c (for example) from top to bottom, by means of shelf assemblies <NUM> as will be described in more detail below.

The perimeter of the oven opening <NUM> and a front edge of each shelf assembly <NUM> support an elastomeric gasket <NUM> that may seal against an inner surface of a glass panel <NUM> providing an inner surface of a door <NUM>. The door <NUM> hinges about a vertical axis at the front edge of wall 14b to move between open and closed states, the latter sealing the cavities 20a-c with respect to the outside air and with respect to each other. The door <NUM> may be held in the closed state by a latch mechanism and handle <NUM> as is generally understood in the art. In one embodiment the glass panel <NUM> of the door <NUM> extends as a continuous surface over the openings of each of the cavities <NUM>; however, the invention also contemplates separate glass panels or separate doors associated with each of the cavities <NUM>.

An upper portion of the front wall 14f may support user controls <NUM> including input control such as one or more dials and an output display such as an LCD display for communicating with the user. A condensation tray <NUM> may extend forward from a lower edge of the front wall 14f to catch condensation from the inner surface of the glass panel <NUM> when the door <NUM> is being opened or closed.

Referring now to <FIG>, each shelf assembly <NUM> may include an upper shelf unit <NUM> and the lower shelf unit <NUM> being generally mirror images of each other and separately removable as supported on guide rails <NUM> attached to the inner walls <NUM> of the cooking volume <NUM>. Each of the shelf units <NUM> and <NUM> may have a set of outwardly exposed jet ports <NUM> (on the upper horizontal surface of shelf unit <NUM> or lower horizontal surfaces of shelf unit <NUM>). These jet ports <NUM> provide heated cooking to an upper cavity 20a (with respect to the jet ports <NUM> on shelf unit <NUM>) or a lower cavity 20b (with respect to the jet ports <NUM> on shelf unit <NUM>).

The heated air for the jet ports <NUM> on each shelf unit <NUM> and <NUM> is received from an internal channel in the respective shelf unit <NUM> and <NUM> (to be described below) which in turn is sourced from separate air discharge apertures <NUM> and <NUM> in a rear inner wall <NUM> in the cooking volume <NUM>. More specifically, air from air discharge aperture <NUM> passes through the shelf unit <NUM> and air from air discharge aperture <NUM> passes through the shelf unit <NUM>. Return air passing out through the jet ports <NUM> of the shelf units <NUM> and <NUM> may be received by air vents <NUM> in the rear inner wall <NUM> in the cooking volume <NUM>, located between the air discharge apertures <NUM> and <NUM>. The air vents <NUM> may span substantially a horizontal width of the air discharge apertures <NUM> and <NUM> and substantially a vertical height between the air discharge apertures <NUM> and <NUM>.

The air provided from these separate air discharge apertures <NUM> and <NUM> may have separate temperature control, for example, as described in <CIT>; <CIT>; and <CIT>. As depicted, shelf units <NUM> and <NUM> represent only one example shelf assembly <NUM> and this general construction is repeated for other cavities <NUM> as appropriate.

Referring still to <FIG>, each of shelf units <NUM> and <NUM> provides horizontally opposed side channels <NUM> C-channels opening toward each other and extending along front to back on the right and left edge of the shelf units <NUM> and <NUM>). The side channels <NUM> receive corresponding baffle plates <NUM> that serve to segregate the airflows within each of the shelf units <NUM> and <NUM> from each other. The inner surfaces of the shelf units <NUM> and <NUM> are otherwise open so that, but for the baffle plates <NUM>, the air would flow in a shared cavity of the shelf units <NUM> and <NUM>.

Referring now to <FIG>, the baffle plates <NUM> in a relaxed state provide a substantially planar rectangular sheet <NUM> of constructive material, that in at least one embodiment is represented by stainless steel. A front edge of the sheet <NUM> may have upwardly extending bosses <NUM>, for example, having a height of approximately <NUM>/<NUM> inch embossed in the metal of the sheet <NUM>. A rear of the sheet <NUM> may have one or more welded upstanding vanes <NUM> which serve to control the air distribution to provide for more flow of air from left to right across the surface of the baffle plate <NUM> during use.

The left and right edges of the baffle plate <NUM> toward the rear of the baffle plate <NUM> provide for tabs <NUM> extending vertically upward from a plane of the baffle plate <NUM>. Likewise, toward the rear of the baffle plate <NUM>, the left and right edges of the baffle plate <NUM> provide downwardly vertically extending tabs <NUM>. The vertical extension of these tabs <NUM> and <NUM> from a plane of the baffle plate <NUM> changes as a function of position toward the front or rear of the baffle plate <NUM> to define the curvature of the baffle plate <NUM> as it is inserted into the side channels <NUM>.

When the baffle plate <NUM> is inserted between the side channels <NUM> of a respective shelf unit <NUM>, the vertically extreme edges of the tabs <NUM> and <NUM> engage the horizontally extending legs of the channels <NUM> to bend the baffle plate <NUM> according to the vertical extent of the tabs <NUM> and <NUM>. Referring to <FIG>, in this regard, the upper edge of the forward tabs <NUM> press against the lower inner surface of the upper horizontally extending leg of the channel <NUM> pressing the sheet <NUM> downward to provide a maximum opening aperture <NUM> toward the rear of the unit <NUM>. The lower edge of the rearward tabs <NUM>, conversely, press against the upper inner surface of the lower horizontally extending leg of the channel <NUM> pressing the sheet <NUM> upward to reduce the cross-sectional area of the air passage above the sheet <NUM> as one moves toward the front of the shelf unit <NUM>. The frontmost edge of sheet <NUM> presses against the inner side of the upper surface of the shelf unit <NUM> closest to the jet port <NUM> riding on the upwardly extending surfaces of the bosses <NUM>. The relatively small contact areas between the inner surfaces of the shelf unit <NUM> and the tabs <NUM> and <NUM> and bosses <NUM> allow easy removal of the baffle plate <NUM> for cleaning or the like. The tabs <NUM> (and <NUM>) may have vertical slots <NUM> to allow the desired bending action and may be spaced inwardly from the vertical inner surfaces of the channels <NUM> to prevent adhesion between these broad surfaces. The baffle plate <NUM> for the shelf unit <NUM> is generally identical, however, installed in an inverted manner in the mirror image of inverted shelf unit <NUM>.

It is understood that in at least one embodiment, the shelf units <NUM> and <NUM>, shown in <FIG>, are interchangeable and can substitute as lower and upper positioned shelf units, respectively, by inverting the shelf units <NUM> and <NUM>. In this respect, manufacturing of the shelf units <NUM> and <NUM> is simplified.

Referring now to <FIG> and <FIG>, the air discharge apertures <NUM> and <NUM> in the rear inner wall <NUM> of the cooking volume <NUM>, providing heated air to the shelf units <NUM> and <NUM>, support shutters <NUM> and <NUM>, respectively, each providing a gravity-actuated door flap <NUM> that may swing like a pendant under the force of gravity about a pivot axis <NUM> or <NUM>, respectively, positioned at the upper edges of air discharge apertures <NUM> and <NUM> respectively. In a first closed state, the door flaps <NUM> are substantially vertical and block the air discharge apertures <NUM> and <NUM>. Further clockwise motion of the door flaps <NUM> from the vertical configuration shown in <FIG> is prevented by interference between the lower edges of the door flaps <NUM> and, for example, the structure of the ducting <NUM> conducting air to the air discharge apertures <NUM> and <NUM> or by contact with the other of the door flaps <NUM> as depicted, each providing stop surfaces. In the closed state, normal airflow out of the air discharge apertures <NUM> and <NUM> indicated by arrows <NUM> is blocked, and air pressure from airflow indicated by arrows <NUM> and gravity serve to bias the door flaps <NUM> to this closed state.

Referring now also to <FIG>, a rear edge of each of the shelf units <NUM> and <NUM> may have a rearwardly extending finger <NUM>. This finger <NUM> cooperates with a corresponding tooth <NUM> on a front side of each door flap <NUM> to fully open the door flap <NUM> when the corresponding shelf unit <NUM> and <NUM> is fully installed in the oven rearwardly as positioned against a stopping surface of the rear inner wall <NUM>.

The amount of desired angular swing in the opening of each of the door flaps <NUM> is different for the shutters <NUM> and <NUM> because of the angulation of the ducts <NUM> leading to the particular air discharge apertures <NUM> and <NUM>. Accordingly, the fingers <NUM> provide for a greater rearward extension on the side of the shelf unit <NUM> or <NUM> having the jet ports <NUM> and a lesser rearward extension on the opposite side of the finger <NUM> to accommodate this difference. In this way the door flap <NUM> of the shutter <NUM> provides for a greater angular opening motion to conform with the upwardly diverging duct <NUM> associated with the air discharge aperture <NUM>. Conversely, door flap <NUM> of shutter <NUM> provides for lesser angular opening motion to conform with the downwardly diverging duct <NUM> associated with the air discharge aperture <NUM>. Conversely, this difference may be provided by changes in the forward extension of <NUM>. When open, door flaps <NUM> may fit within corresponding pockets <NUM> in the ducting substantially flush with adjacent duct walls so as to minimize disruption of the airflow when fully open.

Referring now to <FIG> and <FIG>, generally the door flaps <NUM> may have an upper sleeve <NUM> providing a horizontal bore receiving a horizontally extending hinge pin <NUM> so that the sleeve <NUM> may rotate about the hinge pin <NUM> (protecting the latter against contamination) to provide for the necessary angular movement of the door flaps <NUM>. Occasionally, it may be necessary to have access to the shutters <NUM> and <NUM> through the outer side wall <NUM> and inwardly spaced inner side wall <NUM> of the oven, for example, to free the shutters <NUM> and <NUM> from obstructing food splatter or the like that cannot be easily accessed from within the cooking volume <NUM>. Accordingly, the inner wall <NUM> and adjacent outer wall 14a may include access areas <NUM> and <NUM> surrounded by perforations <NUM> and <NUM>, respectively. The material of these access areas <NUM> and <NUM>, can be broken free, for example, by insertion of a screwdriver tip <NUM> or the like into perforations <NUM> and <NUM> and prying the material of the access areas <NUM> or <NUM> outwardly to break the tabs remaining between the perforations <NUM> and <NUM>. Ideally these perforations are implemented through a laser cutting process providing narrow retention tabs between slot-like perforations, for example, the tabs having a width less than the thickness of the material of the walls 14a or <NUM> and, for example, less than <NUM> inches.

Pilot holes <NUM> may be cut at four corners outside the perforation <NUM> and <NUM> to allow a repair panel <NUM> having corresponding aligned pilot holes <NUM> to be installed with self tapping machine screws <NUM> over the openings left by the removal of the material from the access areas <NUM> and <NUM> after completion of any necessary repair of the shutters <NUM> and <NUM>. This approach provides access to multiple locations at a low incremental cost in proportion to likely rarity of a need to repair the shutters <NUM> and <NUM> in this manner. The perforation <NUM> and the pilot holes <NUM> have sufficiently small size as to not materially affect airflow or heat loss out of the cooking volume <NUM> because of high turbulence in these narrow channels and their small area.

Referring now to <FIG>, in one embodiment, the oven <NUM> may have two doors 28a and 28b each providing a rectangular frame of peripheral rails <NUM> holding a center glass panel <NUM>. The doors 28a and 28b may be hinged about their outer edges along vertical <NUM> hinge axes providing maximum unobstructed access to the oven opening <NUM>. A handle <NUM> may be placed on an inner vertical rail of only one door 28a to allow movement of this door 28a directly. Door 28a communicates with an internal mechanism <NUM> causing both doors 28a and 28b to move together when a single door is moved.

Mechanism <NUM> provides a slider track <NUM> extending horizontally along a front to back axis beneath the doors <NUM>, the slider track <NUM> holding a slider pin <NUM> to move linearly along the track axis. The slider pin <NUM> pivotally holds two tie arms <NUM> and <NUM> whose remaining ends pivotally attach to lower horizontal rails <NUM> of each door <NUM>. Motion of door 28a (shown moving to an open configuration illustrated with dotted lines) causes movement of the slider pin <NUM> forward which moves the tie arm <NUM> providing corresponding opening motion of the door 28b.

The mechanism <NUM> provides that the door 28b closes slightly earlier than the door 28a to allow the inner vertical rail <NUM> of the door 28a to either slightly overlap the adjacent rail <NUM> of door 28b so that door 28a when locked holds door 28b closed or to allow a similar overlap of gasket structures for sealing the two doors together. This phasing of the closure of the doors <NUM> may be accomplished through a variety of means including a combination of using different lengths of tie arms <NUM> and <NUM>, adjustments of the distances <NUM> between the axes <NUM>, points of attachment between the tie arms <NUM> and <NUM> with the doors 28a and 28b, different horizontal widths <NUM> of doors <NUM>, and the like. Some spring biased resilience represented by spring <NUM> may be incorporated into the tie arm <NUM>, its attachment points, or the gasketing of the door 28b so that when door 28b closes, it first permits continued motion of the pin <NUM> rearward for closure of door 28a.

Referring now to <FIG>, this offsetting or phasing of closing of the doors 28a and 28b also provides for a closer clearance between the adjacent vertical rails <NUM> of the doors 28a and 28b. For example, when the doors <NUM> are set too close together as shown in <FIG>, leading edges <NUM> of each door <NUM> must be prevented from colliding. This collision is prevented by preventing trajectories <NUM> of the opposed edges of each door <NUM> from overlapping, a requirement that results in a substantial gap <NUM> between the doors <NUM> when they are closed.

On the contrary with the offsetting of the doors <NUM> per the present invention, the leading edge <NUM> of door 28a is ahead of the leading edge <NUM> of door 28b allowing a slight overlap of the trajectories <NUM> allowing closer positioning of the opposed edges of the doors <NUM> and providing a much narrower gap <NUM>.

Certain terminology is used herein for purposes of reference only, and thus is not intended to be limiting. For example, terms such as "upper", "lower", "above", and "below" refer to directions in the drawings to which reference is made. Terms such as "front", "back", "rear", "bottom" and "side", describe the orientation of portions of the component within a consistent but arbitrary frame of reference which is made clear by reference to the text and the associated drawings describing the component under discussion. Such terminology may include the words specifically mentioned above, derivatives thereof, and words of similar import. Similarly, the terms "first", "second" and other such numerical terms referring to structures do not imply a sequence or order unless clearly indicated by the context.

When introducing elements or features of the present disclosure and the exemplary embodiments, the articles "a", "an", "the" and "said" are intended to mean that there are one or more of such elements or features. The terms "comprising", "including" and "having" are intended to be inclusive and mean that there may be additional elements or features other than those specifically noted. It is further to be understood that the method steps, processes, and operations described herein are not to be construed as necessarily requiring their performance in the particular order discussed or illustrated, unless specifically identified as an order of performance.

Claim 1:
A multi-cavity oven (<NUM>) comprising:
a housing (<NUM>) having inner walls (<NUM>, <NUM>) defining an oven cavity (<NUM>);
at least one removable shelf (<NUM>) fitting within the oven cavity and providing an upper and lower passageway through the removable shelf communicating respectively with upwardly directed and downwardly directed air jets (<NUM>) of the removable shelf, the shelf separating the oven cavity into an upper and lower cooking chamber (20a, 20b);
a first and second air outlet (<NUM>, <NUM>) through an inner wall of the oven cavity and communicating with the upper and lower passageways of the removable shelf respectively when the removable shelf is installed within the oven cavity, wherein:
said upper and lower passageways are horizontally extending passageways; and
said air jets are directed outwardly along one horizontal surface of the removable shelf;
characterized in that said multi-cavity oven further comprises:
a removable baffle plate (<NUM>) fitting within the removable shelf to define one side of a horizontally extending passageway, the baffle plate when fit within the removable shelf having a curve to provide a reduced cross-sectional area of the horizontally extending passageway as one moves away from the air outlet to provide more uniform airflow through the air jets.