Patent ID: 8362403

Claim:
In a baking oven comprising an oven drive mechanism that moves an endless conveyor between a drive end and a feed end of the baking oven, the endless conveyor for carrying goods through the oven, a monitoring system for monitoring integrity of the oven drive mechanism and controlling motion of the oven drive mechanism, the monitoring system comprising: a first sensor configured to sense a strain in a first element of the oven drive mechanism and to output a first electrical signal reflective of the strain, wherein the strain in the first element is indicative of drive load experienced by the oven drive mechanism; and a programmable control system in electrical communication with the first sensor, wherein the programmable control system is configured to continuously monitor the first electrical signal to detect a change in strain sensed by the first sensor, and wherein the programmable control system is configured to control the motion of the oven drive mechanism according to the change in strain in the first element.