Cooking oven

Abstract

The invention relates to a cooking oven for cooking food products. A modular cooking oven herein disclosed may include a plurality of modules arranged in end-to-end relationship, with partitions between adjacent modules. A continuously moving conveyor belt extends longitudinally through the oven from an inlet end to an outlet end. Hot cooking gas is continuously circulated in a closed path which is generally perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the oven. A hot gas is circulated downwardly and then is directed through a plurality of axially spaced transversed slots, both above and below the conveyor, toward the conveyor belt and food cooking thereon. Spent gasses are then deflected away from the conveyor belt into a recirculation path, and are reheated in this return path prior to recirculation in a further cycle. Air and steam inlets are provided at various points, and are so arranged that an operator can provide either similar or different conditions of temperature and humidity in different modules. Within any given module, conditions are highly uniform both along the longitudinal axis of the oven and from side-to-side along the conveyor belt. The oven interior may be cleaned by introducing a full strength cleaning solution through nozzles at various points arranged to contact all surfaces which may accumulate any cooking residue, and washing the cleaning solution down with water, while the oven is warm but not in use.