Patent ID: 8839779

Claim:
A conveyor oven having a first mode and a second mode of operation, the conveyor oven comprising: a tunnel in which food is cooked; a conveyor moveable to convey the food through the tunnel; a first set of one or more heating elements to generate heat for the tunnel, wherein the first set of one or more heating elements is operable at a first output during the first mode of operation and is variable to a different output in the second mode of operation; a second set of one or more heating elements to generate heat for the tunnel, the second set of one or more heating elements operating at a first output during the first mode of operation and is turned off in the second mode of operation; and a controller responsive to the detection of the absence of food in the tunnel and to a temperature of the tunnel, wherein the controller (i) changes operation of the first set of one or more heating elements and the second set of one or more heating elements from the first mode of operation to the second mode of operation based at least in part upon the detection of the absence of food product from the tunnel, and (ii) adjusts the output of the first set of one or more heating elements based at least in part upon changes in the temperature of the tunnel to maintain the tunnel at substantially a steady state temperature in the second mode of operation.