Patent ID: 8281779

Claim:
A conveyor oven for cooking food product, the conveyor oven comprising: a tunnel within which food product is cooked; a conveyor movable to convey food product through the tunnel; a heating element operable to generate heat to be provided to the tunnel; a fan operable to move air in the tunnel; an input device remote from the oven by which information reflecting food product to be cooked is transmitted; and a controller that controls at least one of the fan and the heating element, the controller changes operation of the oven to an energy saving mode, in which the fan moves air in the tunnel at a reduced speed, in response to passage of a period of time indicating the absence of food product from the tunnel, the controller also changes the output of the heating element in response to a change in oven temperature to maintain the oven substantially at a cooking temperature after the oven enters the energy saving mode, and the controller also changes operation of the at least one of the fan and the heating element from the energy saving mode to a cooking mode prior to food product being placed on the conveyor in response to a signal initiated by the input device.