An air impingement conveyor oven incorporating a case having orthogonal walls, the case being opened by opposite end food passage ports; an air plenum mounted within the case; vertical pairs of forwardly extending finger ducts mounted to the plenum; a food conveyor extending between the finger ducts pairs and through the food passage ports; register plates having air jet matrixes, the register plates covering the finger ducts; and the matrixes air jets upon the register plates, the air jets being configured for air flow direction biasing both toward the rearward ends of the food passage ports and away from the forward ends of the food passage ports.

An air impingement conveyor oven incorporating a case having orthogonal walls, the case being opened by opposite end food passage ports; an air plenum mounted within the case; vertical pairs of forwardly extending finger ducts mounted to the plenum; a food conveyor extending between the finger ducts pairs and through the food passage ports; register plates having air jet matrixes, the register plates covering the finger ducts; and the matrixes air jets upon the register plates, the air jets being configured for air flow direction biasing both toward the rearward ends of the food passage ports and away from the forward ends of the food passage ports.

In one aspect, a cooking device includes independently controllable cooking zones. In one aspect, a cooking device includes a first cooking zone with heated air configured to move horizontally there through in a first direction and a second cooking zone with heated air configured to move horizontally there through in a second direction different than the first direction. In one aspect, the first and second directions are opposite directions. In one aspect, the heated air flows from one side of the cooking device.

In one aspect, a cooking device includes independently controllable cooking zones. In one aspect, a cooking device includes a first cooking zone with heated air configured to move horizontally there through in a first direction and a second cooking zone with heated air configured to move horizontally there through in a second direction different than the first direction. In one aspect, the first and second directions are opposite directions. In one aspect, the heated air flows from one side of the cooking device.

A thermal processing apparatus (20) includes a spiral conveyor system (22) configured into an ascending spiral stack (26). An air balance tunnel (40) includes a tunnel housing (76) positioned inside of a thermal processing chamber adjacent an outlet opening (36). A conveyor belt (24) travels through the housing on its way out of the processing chamber. An air pervious ejector assembly (78) is positioned within the housing at an elevation above the conveyor belt (24). An air pervious evacuation sheet (80) is located within the housing at a location beneath the conveyor belt (24). An air pervious cover assembly (150) is positioned over the conveyor belt (24) at a location just before the conveyor belt enters the air balance tunnel (40). The cover sheet (150) is connectable to the ejector assembly (78) so as to remove the ejector assembly from the tunnel housing (76) by manually moving the cover assembly (150).

Tunnel oven for the industrial production of baked goods; having a baking chamber with an air-permeable, endlessly circulating conveyor belt, which is set up for conveying baked goods in a conveying direction through the baking chamber; a plurality of bottom-heat air outlet nozzles, which are arranged below the conveyor belt and are directed towards the underside of the conveyor belt, wherein the bottom-heat air outlet nozzles generate a bottom-heat inlet air flow directed directly towards the underside of the conveyor belt; a plurality of bottom-heat air inlets, which are distributed in a planar manner below the conveyor belt, in order to discharge bottom-heat exhaust air below the conveyor belt; wherein the bottom-heat exhaust air is sucked off by means of a fan and is supplied heated by thermo oil as the bottom-heat inlet air flow, so that a bottom-heat convection circuit is generated.

A conveyor belt (36) is arranged in tiers at spiral stack conveyor unit (32) and/or (34). A ceiling or top sheet (58) is positioned over the spiral stack(s). A circulation fan (60, 62) draws thermal processing medium laterally from the tiers of the spiral stack, up the exterior of the stack and across the top of the stack above the ceiling or top sheet and through a heat exchanger (64). The treated thermal processing medium is then routed across the remainder of the diameter of the spiral stack and then down the side of the spiral stack diametrically opposite to the circulating fan thereby to enter the spiral stack in a lateral direction diametrically toward the circulating fan. At least one opening (70) is formed in the ceiling downstream of the heat exchanger and into the interior of the conveyor drive hub. The outer wall of the drive hub is partially open thereby to provide an alternative flow path for the thermal processing medium to enter the spiral stack from the interior of the drive hub.

A tortilla conveyor transfer system is configured to transfer product from a tortilla press to an oven. The tortilla press outputs batches of product to a press conveyor driven at a press speed. The oven then receives the batches of product at an oven conveyor driven at an oven speed that is slower than the press speed. The tortilla conveyor transfer system is interposed between the press conveyor and the oven conveyor. The tortilla conveyor transfer system has a first conveyor, a second conveyor, and a controller. The first conveyor is positioned in series with the press conveyor and the second conveyor, and the second conveyor is positioned in series with the first conveyor and the oven conveyor. In operation, the controller controls and varies the speed of the first conveyor and the second conveyor.

A tortilla conveyor transfer system is configured to transfer product from a tortilla press to an oven. The tortilla press outputs batches of product to a press conveyor driven at a press speed. The oven then receives the batches of product at an oven conveyor driven at an oven speed that is slower than the press speed. The tortilla conveyor transfer system is interposed between the press conveyor and the oven conveyor. The tortilla conveyor transfer system has a first conveyor, a second conveyor, and a controller. The first conveyor is positioned in series with the press conveyor and the second conveyor, and the second conveyor is positioned in series with the first conveyor and the oven conveyor. In operation, the controller controls and varies the speed of the first conveyor and the second conveyor.

Systems and methods for cutting and cooking a substance are disclosed. Exemplary implementations may: convey, via a primary conveying subsystem, a layer of food substance along a conveyance path along which the layer of food substance is conveyed; cut, via a cutter, the layer of food substance into food pieces; apply, via a primary pressurized fluid outlet, primary pressurized fluid such that the food pieces are released from the cutter; heat, via the heating mechanism, a chamber; apply, via a secondary pressurized fluid outlet, secondary pressurized fluid so that the food pieces are held flat to the primary conveying substrate, and hold, via a secondary conveying subsystem, the layer of food substance flat between the primary conveying substrate and a secondary conveying substrate for at least a portion of the chamber.