Patent ID: 7192272

Claim:
A convection oven comprising: a fan chamber, an oven chamber, an egress pod and one or more ingress ports in fluid communication with said fan chamber and said oven chamber; and a fan disposed in said fan chamber to circulate an airflow in said fan chamber and said oven chamber via said egress port and said ingress ports, wherein said fan comprises a plurality of blades shaped to provide a substantially radial airflow at a high pressure side of said fan that results in a substantially uniform and substantially turoulence free airflow in said fan chamber and said oven chamber, wherein said fan comprises a first ring comprising a solid sheet that is flush mounted to a hub, a second ring that is disposed in spaced relation to said first ring and shaped to provide an intake port for axial airflow via said egress port, wherein each of said blades is substantially flat and comprises first and second opposed edges that without extending beyond outer peripheries of said first and second rings engage at least a portion of said first and second rings, respectively, wherein said first edge of each of said blades has a taper such that said radial airflow is substantially even across a periphery of said fan between said first and second rings, and wherein said axial airflow is turned into said substantially radial airflow without loss of airflow in a non-radial direction via said first and second rings when said fan is rotated.