초록 ▼

The present invention is directed to improving the conventional high-speed cooking oven based on a combination of hot air impingement and microwave heating by providing a time-dependent spatial variation in the net air impingement and/or net microwave energy applied to the food product in the oven.

The present invention is directed to improving the conventional high-speed cooking oven based on a combination of hot air impingement and microwave heating by providing a time-dependent spatial variation in the net air impingement and/or net microwave energy applied to the food product in the oven. This is aimed at optimizing heat transfer and microwave efficiencies in a high-speed cooking oven, thereby enabling the oven to deliver an optimal cooking efficiency in comparison to the conventional high-speed cooking oven. In addition, under the present invention, the cooking efficiency may be further optimized by dimensioning the nozzles for hot air impingement to tighten impingement plumes, subject to the space constraint of the oven's cooking chamber, and dimensioning the cooking chamber of the oven in integer multiples of the wavelength of the microwave energy to match the microwave load. With the optimized cooking efficiency provided by the present invention, the high speed cooking technology may now be extended to ovens operating on a power supply based on a voltage less than 220 volts, preferably between 110 and 125 volts, with more productive results, so that the high-speed cooking technology may find a wider applicability and customer base.

대표청구항 ▼

What is claimed is: 1. An oven for cooking a food product, comprising: a cooking chamber comprising a top and a support for receiving the food product for cooking; a conduit for providing a gas into the cooking chamber; a thermal energy source for heating the gas disposed in the conduit; a first no

What is claimed is: 1. An oven for cooking a food product, comprising: a cooking chamber comprising a top and a support for receiving the food product for cooking; a conduit for providing a gas into the cooking chamber; a thermal energy source for heating the gas disposed in the conduit; a first nozzle for causing a first impingement of the gas from the conduit into the cooking chamber; a second nozzle for causing a second impingement of the gas from the conduit into the cooking chamber; one or more magnetrons; a first microwave resonator for directing a first microwave energy generated by the one or more magnetrons into the cooking chamber; and a second microwave resonator for directing a second microwave energy generated by the one or more magnetrons into the cooking chamber, wherein the first nozzle is configured and positioned to direct the first impingement of the gas generally toward a first side of the support, the second nozzle is configured and positioned to direct the second impingement of the gas generally toward a second side of the support, the first and the second sides being generally opposite sides of the support, and the first and the second nozzles are further configured and positioned to respectively direct the first and the second impingements of the gas to meet each other above the food product on the support in the cooking chamber, and wherein the first microwave resonator is configured and positioned to direct the first microwave energy to propagate generally toward the first side of the support, the second microwave resonator is configured and positioned to direct the second microwave energy to propagate generally toward the second side of the support, and the first and the second microwave resonators are further configured and positioned to respectively direct the first and the second microwave energies to cross at a distance from the support in the cooking chamber. 2. The oven of claim 1, wherein the first side comprises a right edge of the support and the second side comprises a left edge of the support. 3. The oven of claim 1, wherein the first and the second microwave resonators are further configured and positioned to respectively direct the first and the second microwave energies to cross above the midpoint between the first and the second sides of the support in the cooking chamber. 4. The oven of claim 1, wherein the first and the second microwave resonators are further configured and positioned to respectively direct the first and the second microwave energies to cross above the food product on the support in the cooking chamber. 5. The oven of claim 1, wherein the first and the second microwave resonators are further configured and positioned to respectively direct the first and the second microwave energies to cross at the center of the food product on the support in the cooking chamber. 6. The oven of claim 1, wherein the cooking chamber is dimensioned to match a microwave load of the oven. 7. The oven of claim 1, wherein the cooking chamber is dimensioned in integer multiples of the wavelength of the first and the second microwave energies. 8. The oven of claim 7, wherein at least one of the length, width and height of the cooking chamber is sized in integer multiples of the wavelength of the first and the second microwave energies. 9. The oven of claim 1, wherein the respective directions of the first and the second microwave energies are at a substantially 90-degree angle with respect to each other. 10. The oven of claim 1, wherein the first and the second microwave resonators are directed at a substantially 45-degree angle with respect to the support. 11. The oven of claim 1, wherein the first microwave resonator is positioned at substantially near a first side of the top and the second microwave resonator is positioned at substantially near a second side of the top, the first and the second sides being opposite sides of the top. 12. The oven of claim 11, wherein the first side of the top comprises a left edge of the top and the second side of the top comprises a right edge of the top. 13. The oven of claim 1, further comprising a microwave modulator for controlling each of the first and the second microwave energies. 14. The oven of claim 13, wherein the microwave modulator is configured to provide a first periodic modulation in time of the first microwave energy and a second periodic modulation in time of the second microwave energy, the first and the second periodic modulations having substantially the same amplitude and period but differing in phase by 180 degrees. 15. The oven of claim 1, further comprising a support controller for modulating in time the distance of the support from the first and the second microwave resonators. 16. The oven of claim 1, wherein the first and the second nozzles are dimensioned to prevent microwave resonances within the nozzles. 17. The oven of claim 1, wherein the diameter of each of the first and the second nozzles is dimensioned to optimize the flow rate of the corresponding nozzle and to prevent entry of the first or the second microwave energy simultaneously. 18. The oven of claim 17, wherein the diameter of each of the first and the second nozzles is substantially 0.75 inches. 19. The oven of claim 1, wherein the oven is adapted to be powered by a voltage less than 220 volts. 20. The oven of claim 1, wherein each of the first and the second microwave resonators comprises an upper resonator coupled to the one or more magnetrons and a lower resonator with an opening to the cooking chamber. 21. The oven of claim 20, wherein at least one width of the lower resonator is substantially equal to the wavelength of a standing microwave in the upper resonator. 22. The oven of claim 1, further comprising an air modulator for controlling respective flow rates of the gas for the first and the second impingements. 23. The oven of claim 22, wherein the air modulator is adapted to cause a time-dependent spatial variation in the sum of the first and the second impingements of the gas applied to the food product in the cooking chamber. 24. The oven of claim 13, wherein the microwave modulator comprises a voltage regulator for modulating a voltage for the one or more magnetrons. 25. The oven of claim 13, wherein the microwave modulator is adapted to cause a time-dependent spatial variation in the sum of the first and the second microwave energies applied to the food product in the cooking chamber.