초록 ▼

An oven for heating food is disclosed. The oven has at least one heating compartment with a left side wall, a right side wall, a back wall, a top wall, a bottom wall, and an open front, without a door, in open communication with a surrounding environment outside the oven. Gas flow openings are provi

An oven for heating food is disclosed. The oven has at least one heating compartment with a left side wall, a right side wall, a back wall, a top wall, a bottom wall, and an open front, without a door, in open communication with a surrounding environment outside the oven. Gas flow openings are provided in the left and right side walls. The oven includes a blower for blowing gas through the gas flow openings into the heating compartment, and a heater for heating gas blowing into the heating compartment through the openings. In certain embodiments, the gas flow openings are configured such that substantially all of the gas blowing into the heating compartment is directed generally away from the open front of the compartment.

대표청구항 ▼

1. An oven for heating food, comprising a housing having a left side, a right side, a top, a bottom, a back, and a front,an oven cavity inside the housing comprising at least one heating compartment for heating food placed in the compartment,the heating compartment having a left side wall, a right s

1. An oven for heating food, comprising a housing having a left side, a right side, a top, a bottom, a back, and a front,an oven cavity inside the housing comprising at least one heating compartment for heating food placed in the compartment,the heating compartment having a left side wall, a right side wall, a back wall, a top wall, a bottom wall, and an open front, without a door, in open communication with a surrounding environment outside the oven,gas flow openings in at least one of the left and right side walls,a blower for blowing gas through the gas flow openings in at least one of the left and right side walls into the heating compartment,a heater for heating gas blowing into the heating compartment through the gas flow openings, andwherein the gas flow openings are configured such that substantially all of the gas blowing into the heating compartment is directed generally away from the open front of the compartment. 2. The oven set forth in claim 1, wherein said back wall has gas flow openings for exit of gas from the at least one heating compartment. 3. The oven set forth in claim 2, wherein the heating compartment is a left heating compartment, and wherein the oven further comprises a right heating compartment, the right heating compartment having a left side wall, a right side wall, a back wall, a top wall, a bottom wall, and an open front, without a door, in open communication with a surrounding environment outside the oven, the oven further comprising an intermediate gas plenum between the left and right heating compartments, said intermediate gas plenum having a left wall defined by the right side wall of the left heating compartment and a right side wall defined by the left side wall of the right heating compartment. 4. The oven set forth in claim 3, further comprising a left gas plenum adjacent the left side wall of the left heating compartment, a right gas plenum adjacent the right side wall of the right heating compartment, a back gas plenum adjacent the back walls of the left and right heating compartments, and a top gas plenum adjacent the top walls of the left and right heating compartments, said left and right gas plenums, back gas plenum, top gas plenum, and intermediate gas plenum communicating with one another to define flow paths for circulating gas through said left and right heating compartments. 5. The oven set forth in claim 4, wherein said back gas plenum comprises a left gas flow channel communicating with the left heating compartment and top gas plenum, and a right gas flow channel, separate from the left gas plenum channel, communicating with the right heating compartment and the top gas plenum. 6. The oven set forth in claim 5, wherein said left and right gas flow channels include respective upper and lower ends, and wherein said blower is a left blower located adjacent the upper end of the left gas flow channel, and wherein said oven further comprises a right blower located adjacent the upper end of the right gas flow channel. 7. The oven set forth in claim 6, wherein said heater is a left heater located in the top gas plenum generally above the left heating compartment for heating gas discharged from the left blower, and wherein said oven further comprises a right heater located in the top gas plenum generally above the right heating compartment for heating gas discharged from the right blower. 8. The oven set forth in claim 1, wherein said gas flow openings are located in the left and right side walls of the heating compartment and arranged between the top and bottom walls of the heating compartment such that gas is delivered substantially uniformly into the heating compartment from adjacent the top wall of the heating compartment to adjacent the bottom wall of the heating compartment. 9. The oven set forth in claim 1, wherein said blower operates to deliver heated gas into the heating compartment via said gas flow openings at a velocity sufficient for the moving gas to contact food located midway between the left and right side walls of the compartment. 10. The oven set forth in claim 1, wherein the blower blows gas through the gas flow openings in one of the left and right side walls into the heating compartment, and the gas flow openings in the other of the left and right side walls is for exit of gas from the at least one heating compartment. 11. The oven set forth in claim 1, wherein the heating compartment has a side-to-side width of no more than about 14 inches. 12. The oven set forth in claim 1, further comprising supports in the oven for supporting trays at vertically spaced elevations in the heating compartment, and wherein the gas flow openings are grouped in a plurality of arrays extending generally in front-to-back direction with respect to the heating compartment, said arrays being spaced at vertical intervals corresponding to said elevations at which the trays are supported such that heated gas discharged through the gas flow openings of an array flows across the top of any tray immediately below the array and flows across the bottom of any tray immediately above the array. 13. The oven set forth in claim 12, wherein said supports are configured for supporting the trays at an angle of inclination that extends upward and rearward in the heating compartment, and wherein the gas flow openings of the arrays are arranged with respect to one another to provide each array with a shape extending generally at said angle of inclination upward and rearward in the heating compartment. 14. The oven set forth in claim 1, further comprising an air deflector at the top of the open front of the heating compartment for deflecting heated air into the heating compartment, said air deflector being movable between a lowered operative position and a raised position. 15. The oven set forth in claim 14, wherein the air deflector in its lowered position extends down over only an upper portion of the open front of the heating compartment. 16. The oven set forth in claim 14, wherein the air deflector comprises a transparent panel extending across the open front of the heating compartment, and at least one support for supporting the panel in its lowered operative position in which the panel slopes down and forward away from the open front of the compartment. 17. An oven for heating food, comprising a housing having a left side, a right side, a top, a bottom, a back, and a front,an oven cavity inside the housing comprising at least one heating compartment for heating food placed in the compartment,the heating compartment having a left side wall, a right side wall, a back wall, a top wall, a bottom wall, and an open front, without a door, in open communication with a surrounding environment outside the oven,gas flow openings in at least one of the left and right side walls,a blower for blowing gas through the gas flow openings in at least one of the left and right side walls into the heating compartment,a heater for heating gas blowing into the heating compartment through the gas flow openings, anda movable air deflector at the top of the open front of the heating compartment for deflecting heated air into the heating compartment,said air deflector being movable between a lowered operative position and a raised position, andsaid air deflector in its lowered position extending down over only an upper portion of the open front of the heating compartment. 18. The oven set forth in claim 17, wherein the air deflector comprises a panel extending across the open front of the heating compartment, and a mechanism for supporting the panel in its lowered operative position in which the panel slopes down and forward away from the open front of the compartment. 19. An oven for heating food, comprising a housing having a left side, a right side, a top, a bottom, a back, and a front,an oven cavity inside the housing comprising at least one heating compartment for heating food placed in the compartment,the heating compartment having a left side wall, a right side wall, a back wall, and an open front, without a door, in open communication with a surrounding environment outside the oven,gas flow openings in at least one of the left and right side walls,a blower for blowing gas through said gas flow openings in at least one of the left and right side walls into the heating compartment,a heater for heating gas blowing into the heating compartment through said gas flow openings in at least one of the left and right side walls,gas flow openings in the back wall of the heating compartment, andwherein gas blows into the heating compartment via said gas flow openings in at least one of the left and right side walls and gas exhausts from the heating compartment via said gas flow openings in the back wall of the heating compartment.