Abstract: Apparatus for holding cooked food transiently in a warm condition pending service of the food, e.g., in restaurant settings, includes a housing structure defining a food holding area, and a heating device positioned adjacent the food holding area to apply radiant warming heat directly to food in the holding area. The housing structure defines a continuous air circulation path with a first portion of the path extending over the heating device and a second portion of the path extending through the food holding area. A fan is disposed outside the food holding area to produce recirculating movement of air in the air circulation path. The combination of direct radiant heating by the heating device and recirculation of air through the food holding area is effective to maintain cooked food against degradation in edibility for a period of time substantially extended beyond the heating of the cooked food alone.

Abstract: A programmable control system for a cooking apparatus having a housing defining a cooking chamber with one or more food transport conveyors traveling there-through between opposing cooking elements. A food probe is provided for insertion into cooked food items to ascertain the internal cooked temperature and a control program to automatically call for the probing of temperature readings of food items on a predefined schedule, and to record the temperature readings. The control program also compensates for temperature degradation when the apparatus is under significant cooking loads. The control program also compensates for the malfunction in the cooking elements, wherein if one cooking element on one side of the conveyor path malfunctions, a corresponding heating element on the opposite side of the conveyor is deactivated and simultaneously the conveyor speed is slowed to compensate for the reduction in heating to maintain balanced cooking of the food.

Abstract: A loader for a conveyorized cooking apparatus having a transverse partition spaced from an endless loading belt. The loader may include several longitudinal partitions defining a plurality of dispensing stations for loading hamburger patties and like food items. The transverse partition is spaced above the endless loading belt by a distance slightly greater than the typical thickness of a patty to be cooked. The endless loading belt has at least one transverse outwardly extending cleat. As the loading belt travels, the outwardly extending cleat comes into contact with the lowermost patty of each stack of patties on the loading belt and pushes the lowermost patty through the space between the transverse partition and the endless loading belt and into the cooking apparatus. A conveyorized cooking apparatus and a method of loading food patties into a conveyorized cooking apparatus are also disclosed.

Abstract: An apparatus for conveyorized toasting of sandwich buns and like bread and food items simultaneously on opposite sides comprises a central heated platen with two bun transport conveyors traveling in spaced relation along opposite sides of the platen and with a pair of auxiliary heating elements disposed outwardly of the respective food transport runs of the conveyors in facing relation to the opposite sides of the platen. An anti-friction web, e.g., a sheet of polytetrafluoroethylene, is suspended over an enlarged nose element at the upper end of the platen to hang at a spacing from the opposite sides of the platen when food items are not being transported therealong. Static electricity is actively generated in the vicinity of the two conveyors to assist in attracting the suspended portions of the web away from the platen whenever food items are not being toasted. In this manner, heat degradation of the web by the platen is mitigated to extend the useful life of the web.

Abstract: An apparatus for conveyorized toasting of sandwich buns and like bread and food items simultaneously on opposite sides comprises a central heated platen with two bun transport conveyors traveling in spaced relation along opposite sides of the platen and with a pair of auxiliary heating elements disposed outwardly of the respective food transport runs of the conveyors in facing relation to the opposite sides of the platen. Each conveyor is biased toward the platen by a pair of parallel pivot arms urged by springs into pivoted engagement against the transport run of the respective conveyor to define a predetermined desirable spacing to the facing side of the platen.

Abstract: A conveyorized charcoal cooking apparatus comprises two sets of horizontally aligned gas-fueled burner assemblies arranged in staggered facing relation to one another, between which a food conveyor travels at a controlled speed, the lower burner assemblies beneath the conveyor having racks on which charcoal briquettes are supported to impart charcoal cooking and flavoring to the food in addition to the cooking energy emitted by the burners. Preferably, the briquettes are of the so-called reusable type having a ceramic binder holding the charcoal material together so as to achieve substantially more extended life of the briquettes in comparison to conventional charcoal.

Abstract: An apparatus for conveyorized griddle-like cooking of food products simultaneously on two opposed product sides comprises a pair of cooking elements arranged in opposed spaced facing relation to emit thermal cooking energy toward one another and two endless food transport conveyors driven to travel between the cooking elements along respective food-conveying runs in a common transport direction in sufficient closely spaced, generally parallel relation to transport the food products to be cooked simultaneously on opposite sides. Each conveyor is preferably in the form of a belt having a substantially continuous imperforate food contacting surface so as to provide griddle-like contact with the opposite sides of the food product during cooking. Differing embodiments of the apparatus are contemplated to accommodate cooking of differing food products, e.g.

Abstract: Apparatus and method for handling and preparing whole chickens for consumption involves severing a chicken carcass along the breast bone and opening it into a generally flat condition and suspending the chicken carcass by its legs with the legs sufficiently spread from each other to maintain the chicken in the opened generally flat condition. Embodiments of the invention in a conveyorized cooking apparatus and in a kiosk-style warming apparatus are disclosed.

Abstract: Burning and other overcooking of sensitive areas of food products, e.g., a chicken's fatty thigh and back area or a pizza's crust area, is prevented in broiling, baking or otherwise cooking food products on an automated conveyorized commercial restaurant basis by interposing a screen, cover, or like element between a heater panel or other source of cooking energy and the sensitive area of the food product to selectively modify the cooking energy received by the food product's sensitive area in order to subject such area to a modified amount of cooking.

Abstract: Apparatus for broiling whole chickens which have been severed along the breast bone for opening into a generally flat condition includes a housing having opposing laterally spaced sets of upright gas-fueled infrared heaters defining therebetween a cooking chamber and an endless chain conveyor for transporting chickens suspended by their legs through the chamber. Plural pairs of support forks are spaced along the conveyor for suspending one chicken carcass by its legs from each fork pair with the legs sufficiently spread from each other to maintain the chicken in the opened generally flat condition. A spaced pair of deflector plates are provided along the conveyor following the cooking chamber for discharging both legs of each chicken simultaneously from the pair of support forks suspending the chicken.

Abstract: Apparatus and method for broiling whole chickens which have been severed along the breast bone for opening into a generally flat condition includes a housing having opposing laterally spaced sets of upright gas-fueled infrared heaters defining therebetween a cooking chamber and an endless chain conveyor for transporting chickens suspended by their legs through the chamber. Plural pairs of support forks are spaced along the conveyor for suspending one chicken carcass by its legs from each fork pair with the legs sufficiently spread from each other to maintain the chicken in the opened generally flat condition. A spaced pair of deflector plates are provided along the conveyor following the cooking chamber for discharging both legs of each chicken simultaneously from the pair of support forks suspending the chicken.

Abstract: Apparatus for broiling whole chickens which have been severed along the breast bone for opening into a generally flat condition includes a housing having opposing laterally spaced sets of upright gas-fueled infrared heaters defining therebetween a cooking chamber and an endless chain conveyor for transporting chickens suspended by their legs through the chamber. To maintain generally constant air temperature within the cooking chamber, the opposed sets of infrared heaters are staggered with respect to one another with reflector plates arranged between each pair of adjacent heaters in each set in facing relation to a heater of the other set, and a hood structure is provided for creating an exhaust air flow from the cooking chamber.

Abstract: This invention relates to conveyorized cooking apparatus and methods of cooking in such apparatus, and more particularly to such apparatus and methods useful in a commercial environment such as a fast service restaurant in which rapidly changing variable cooking loads must be accommodated. In accordance with the invention, cooling of the cooking zone after deenergization of electrical heaters which supply the thermal energy for cooking proceeds at a rate represented by a particular mathematical equation, as a result of the use of heaters of low thermal mass. By the use of such heaters and method, overcooking is avoided in conditions of low thermal load such as when cooking is on a light duty cycle.

Abstract: Apparatus and method for broiling whole chickens which have been severe along the breast bone for opening into a generally flat condition includes a housing having opposing laterally spaced sets of upright gas-fueled infrared heaters defining therebetween a cooking chamber and an endless chain conveyor for transporting chickens suspended by their legs through the chamber. To prevent burning and promote uniform cooking of the chicken meat, a screen is interposed between one set of heater panels and the path of movement of the chickens in the region of the chicken thighs and back, which have a sub-skin concentration of fat, to modify the cooking energy emitted from the laterally adjacent region of the heater panels.

Abstract: This invention relates to conveyorized cooking apparatus and particularly to such apparatus useful in a commercial environment such as a fast service restaurant in which rapidly changing variable loads must be accommodated. This invention accomplishes conveyorized cooking of servings of foodstuffs in such a way that the effects of variations in load are minimized or eliminated by eliminating or reducing the infuence of stored thermal energy on cooking capabilities so that stored energy may be esentially ignored as being ineffective to cause variation in product quality. This is accomplished by using heaters of low thermal mass such that the rate of thermal decay or temperature fall in the absence of thermal load imposed by servings of foodstuffs prevents the cyclical storage of thermal energy and thereby avoids the overcooking of foodstuffs during periods of light usage. The rates of thermal decay are variously characterized in the detailed specification.

Abstract: A cooking apparatus and method, particularly for baked goods foodstuffs such as pizza and the like, in which a foodstuff conveyor extends through a cooking zone defined within a housing. The cooking zone is heated by heat sources emitting infrared radiation and convectively heating air. More uniform cooking is accomplished by tempering the effect of the heat sources by interrupting reflection of infrared radiation and agitating air.

Abstract: An apparatus and method for preparing foodstuffs, and particularly sausages and buns such as hot dogs. A reservoir containing heated water is provided and sausages are immersed in and moved through the heated water by a conveyor while buns are moved through heated vapor from the heated water to heat the sausages and buns to a desired serving temperature.

Abstract: A cooking apparatus in which an endless conveyor moving through a heated cooking zone along a closed path of travel having upper and lower runs is cleaned by engagement with a guide which directs the lower run along a sinuous path. The cooking zone is enclosed by a housing having air flow passages which cooperate with a particular air flow circulating arrangement for cooling portions of the apparatus while minimizing loss of conditioned air from the building in which the apparatus is located. Provision is made for accommodating varying usage loads by selection of conveyor speed and heating levels.