Patent ID: 8413646

Claim:
A conveyor oven having a cooking configuration and a self-cleaning configuration, the conveyor oven comprising: a housing defining a cooking chamber having at least one opening through which food product enters the oven, wherein the at least one opening is open when the oven is in the cooking configuration and closed when the oven is in the self-cleaning configuration; a conveyor for moving food product through the cooking chamber; a blower having a high pressure side and a low pressure side, the blower propelling air on the high pressure side into the cooking chamber and drawing air from the cooking chamber into the low pressure side; a vent tube in fluid communication with the high pressure side of the blower, the vent tube providing a bypass route for air from the high pressure side of the blower to the outside of the housing without entering the cooking chamber; and a vent valve operatively associated with the vent tube, wherein the vent valve is closed when the oven is in the cooking configuration and is open when the oven is in the self-cleaning configuration.