Abstract: The frequency of an electronic oscillator is controlled by a crystal located in the oven. The heaters in the oven include resistance elements for quick warm-up, and steady state. The circuit allows the quick warm-up power to be reduced incrementally as the set temperature is approached and effects a smooth transition to the steady-state heater. This is accomplished by circuit features which reduce the control loop gain when high power is applied to the heaters and increase the gain as the warm-up power decreases.

Abstract: A self-standing cooking apparatus is disclosed which consists of a pressurizable vessel having a door which can be latched and sealed, an integral steam-pressure source and integral upper and lower heating rod elements which serve as broil elements and bake elements, respectively, and a water-filled tray which can be disposed above the upper heating rod. An electrical control circuit enables selective energization of the bake and broil heat elements by continuous or controlled duration pulses of current which control the proportion of infrared energy that will be produced by the heating rods. The oven can be operated under pressure with the heating rods applying infrared radiation to the foodstuff being cooked in order to obtain browning or crisping of the foodstuff which is cooked at elevated pressure. The oven can also be operated in a conventional bake mode, a conventional broil mode, a steam cooking mode, a sealed cooking and warming mode and a toasting mode.

Abstract: This electric cooking oven for domestic use incorporates an electric circuit controlling the pyrolytic cleaning operation and comprising a pivoted blade-shaped shutter connected to a first control thermostat and to the cooling turbine connected in turn to a second thermostat so adjusted as to close at a predetermined critical temperature beyond which the turbine must be protected against overheating by ventilation, the second thermostat when open being coupled in turn to a resistance adapted to provide the heat necessary for performing the pyrolytic operation, so that the turbine is started automatically by the closing of the second thermostat at the critical temperature to cause the shutter to pivot to a position in which the shutter maintains the supply of electric power for energizing the turbine when the second thermostat opens, that is, when the oven temperature has dropped to a value lower than the predetermined critical temperature.

Abstract: The invention relates to a process for preparing a plurality of portions of food in a like plurality of microwave ovens, and to an electronic system in which the process is carried out. The system includes a memory for accepting and storing the time values representing the processing time of respective portions in respective ovens, a clock, and a processor for calculating and selecting the longest of the time values. The processor also counts down the time remaining in the longest time value as clocked off by the clock, and compares, at predetermined intervals, each time value, one at a time, with the time remaining. A respective one of the ovens is turned on when its time value is equal to the time remaining. The processor will also turn off all ovens when the time remaining has reached zero.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for controlling the heating of toast in a toaster oven broiler. The adjustment shaft for the thermostat which controls the baking and broiling modes receives a circular dial having toast color indications thereon corresponding to light, medium and dark toast colors. The dial is rotatable on the thermostat shaft under the control of a bimetal strip which responds to temperature changes in the oven cavity. As the oven temperature increases during each successive toasting cycle, the dial rotates and at the end of the cycle indicates the thermostat setting that will achieve the desired toast color for the next toasting cycle.

Abstract: An L-shaped hooked end of a latch rod, rotatably supported by a range body, engages a door-supported cam surface as the rod is rotated on its longitudinal axis by a motor to effect oven door locking. The cam surface is fixed at and radially spaced from the center of an elongated member whose ends are fastened to the oven door. As the latch hook engages and rides the cam surface, the elongated member is placed in torsion to provide a biasing force that maintains the locked oven door in tight sealing engagement with the range body. The motor rotating the latch rod to effect oven door locking and unlocking is actuated solely by operator manipulation of the oven thermostat control apart from the oven selector and timer controls.

Abstract: A temperature control system for an electronically-controlled thermal cooking oven having a single oven temperature sensor, which system facilitates varying the calibration set point in the field for normal cooking modes, without affecting the self-cleaning temperature calibration which is factory preset. A sensor-developed analog voltage is employed to control self cleaning temperature in the oven, with the oven temperature during normal cooking modes, such as bake and broil, controlled by the same voltage modified by an independently developed offset value or signal. The required summing of the sensor voltage and the offset voltage preferably is done by means of a suitably-programmed microprocessor-based control system. With this arrangement, the offset can be changed to vary the set point for normal cooking modes without affecting the self-cleaning temperature which is detected solely by the sensor, and cannot be readily varied by field adjustment.

Abstract: Baking oven including chamber walls defining a baking oven chamber, a door for closing off the chamber, a broiler heating element and at least one further heating element being disposed in vicinity of opposite chamber walls, and air blowing and guiding means disposed between the heating elements for generating an air stream being in the middle of the chamber and at least approximately parallel to and maintained at a given distance from the chamber walls.

Abstract: A latch control arrangement for a self-cleaning oven or similar thermostatically controlled apparatus is provided to efficiently and safely control the locking and unlocking of the oven door. The self-cleaning oven is of the type that includes an oven temperature control circuit having a sensing element arranged to sense the temperature of the oven cavity. The oven temperature control circuit is responsive to manually operable selector arrangements of the oven including oven temperature and oven mode selection arrangements. In one arrangement, the oven controls are provided by a rotatable selector control. The latch control arrangement in one embodiment includes a locking member to lock a manually operable oven door latch. A locking member verification switch is provided to sense the portion of the locking member that extends into interfering relationship with the latch member.

Abstract: In a skin packaging machine, a method and apparatus for maintaining a film heating oven at a low temperature wherein during a very short repeating duty cycle, e.g., less than a minute, the power to the oven heaters is applied for a short period and is shut down for the remainder of the period through solid state relay switching.

Abstract: A control arrangement is provided for a self-cleaning oven or similar thermostatically controlled apparatus. The self-cleaning oven in one arrangement is of the type that includes a manual latching arrangement operated by a handle for latching a pivotally mounted front door of the oven. The self-cleaning oven also includes a temperature control circuit having a sensing element arranged to sense the temperature of the oven cavity. The oven temperature control circuit is responsive to manually operable selector arrangements of the oven including oven temperature and oven mode selection arrangements. In one arrangement, the oven controls are provided by a rotatable selector control. The control arrangement includes a locking arrangement for the door latch to automatically lock the door latch arrangement whenever the oven door latch is closed and to unlock the door latch predetermined operating modes when the oven temperature is below a predetermined temperature.

Abstract: An electrically heated oven has three heater elements, two of which are used together for broiling. Switches provide for connecting selected heating elements in different parallel, series or series-parallel arrangements to provide different temperature levels and heat distribution for broiling, baking or cleaning, all from a single-voltage power source.

Abstract: An automatic cleaning arrangement for a glass-ceramic cooking surface which is adapted to remove baked-on soils from the surface regions surrounding the individual cooking areas by the process of oxidation. Additional thin film heaters are located under the regions to be cleaned and are activated by a timer controlled power supply circuit. An interlock switch in the cook heater line disables the cook heater when the cleaning operation is in progress. The power supply circuit for the thin film heaters is arranged to disable automatically the cooking heaters when a break occurs in the glass-ceramic surface in the region of the thin film heaters.

Abstract: An oven is disclosed adapted to heat a food item of the type having a crust portion and a filler portion lying on the crust portion, characterized in that a first electrical heating member, adapted for substantially constant heating operation at a predetermined temperature, is stationed in the oven adjacent the crust portion, and a second heating member, having a greater thermal intensity than the first heating means and adapted for substantially brief heating operation at a temperature higher than the predetermined temperature, is stationed in the oven adjacent the filler portion.

Abstract: Regulation of the temperature of a pyrolitically cleaned cooking oven during cleaning to avoid local overheating of the oven base plate enamel. A heating-up power level is used until near the pyrolitic temperature, and then a lower power level is used for maintaining the oven at about the pyrolitic cleaning temperature. The change over takes place preferably at about 470.degree. C.

Abstract: A baking oven having a baking chamber preferably divided into a plurality of baking compartments disposed in a vertical stack separated from one another by a deck and enclosed by a cabinet having an access door. Each such deck comprises top and bottom plates with a space therebetween and a heating element therein spaced from said plates. The deck is provided with a narrow vent to said space across its width adjacent the access door. A sensing bulb or other temperature sensing means of a thermostat is located in the said space with the sensing tip of the sensing means being substantially at said vent. The top surface of the bottom plate is selectively blackened and the heating element is located to provide progressively less heating toward the back of the baking compartments. The top side of the baking chamber is defined by a like deck and the bottom side of the baking chamber is defined by a similar deck which does not have a blackened lower plate.

Abstract: A control for cooking ovens having bake and broil burners is disclosed which includes a support base, three switches supported by the base which are electrically connected in controlling circuits for the burners, a manually operable selector mechanism for selecting desired oven functions and oven temperature levels, a thermostatic actuator which coacts with first and second of the switches and the selector mechanism to govern burner operation in response to sensed temperature levels, and an oven function control actuator which coacts with a plurality of the switches and the selector mechanism for enabling operation of the selected burners.The selector mechanism includes an operating member which is supported by the base for rotation about an axis by a control knob or dial. The function control actuator includes a cam member supported for rotation by the operating member and a cam blade supported for rotation by the cam member as well as for tipping or rocking motion by the cam member.

Abstract: The disclosed cooking device has a cooking cavity with an access opening and a door for closing same, and has a rack in the cavity to support the food to be cooked. The device has electric heating elements in the cavity, and control means that energize the heating elements approximately 10 to 45% of potential high level heat outputs thereof. The total power input of the low level energized heating elements is in the range of 15 to 30% maximum and thus provides heating of air in the cavity only to within the range of 220.degree. to 300.degree. F maximum, without food load, and at a low rate so that the cavity air temperature generally will only exceed the temperature of the food by 20.degree. to 50.degree. F aproximately during a sustained cooking cycle. This low temperature method of cooking does not require personal tending to the food and minimizes the chances of burning the food.

Abstract: A broiling oven formed by an oven liner and an access door. Two electric radiant heating elements are located beneath the top wall of the oven liner. A hinged reflective plate is supported at each side of the innermost heating element. When these plates are lowered they form a miniature broiling compartment using the innermost heating element. When they are raised both heating elements may be operated together or separately.

Abstract: A control for selectively energizing a plurality of electrically operable devices in a refrigeration apparatus. The control senses an ambient condition and correspondingly controls the energization of the electrical devices. In the disclosed embodiment, the electrical devices comprise stile and mullion heaters for controlling condensation on the refrigeration unit cabinet with the control being responsive to the ambient humidity conditions in effecting control of the energization of the heaters. The control is arranged to selectively energize both heaters with full operating current, or only one of the heaters and at reduced current, depending on the sensed humidity and temperature conditions. In the illustrated embodiment, the control utilizes rectifiers in effecting the current control with one of the rectifiers being a gated rectifier responsive to the sensed ambient air conditions.