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.

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 seal system and method for a bolted track such as a baking system conveyor track. The seal system provides a seal between a pair of track pieces being coupled end-to-end to one another. The seal system includes flanges attached near the ends of the track pieces and a gasket compressed between the flanges when the track pieces are coupled to form a seal. In example embodiments, the gasket is attached to a track plate. The track plate is coupled between the flanges and is configured to shield the gasket from heat and direct flame. The seal system optionally also includes a joint cover affixed to the bottom of the coupled flanges to form a secondary seal.

A new and improved automated bun handling and toasting system and method are disclosed comprising a plurality of horizontally oriented bun storage tubes mounted upon a carousel, and an indexing system operatively connected to the carousel so as to rotate the carousel in a predetermined incremental manner and thereby dispose a particular one of the plurality of horizontally oriented bun storage tubes at a predetermined discharge position such that a bun can be discharged from the particular bun storage tube. The discharged bun has a vertical orientation, however, a bun separator separates the bun into its crown and heel bun segments which then attain horizontal orientations with the internal surface portions facing upwardly so as to pass through a toaster appliance so as to be toasted.

An oven system to heat a moving item includes a conveyor capable of moving at more than one speed along a path of movement; a heat source positioned along the path of movement; a baseline heating profile for heating the moving item at a constant velocity; a sensor to detect energy available for the heat source at a particular moment or over a period of time; and a system to dynamically modify, based on the energy available, the baseline heating profile into a modified heating profile including a variable conveyance speed, where, when the moving item exits the oven system, the energy supplied by the heat source to the moving item equals the energy to be supplied per the baseline heating profile.

An oven system to heat a moving item includes a conveyor capable of moving at more than one speed along a path of movement; a heat source positioned along the path of movement; a baseline heating profile for heating the moving item at a constant velocity; a sensor to detect energy available for the heat source at a particular moment or over a period of time; and a system to dynamically modify, based on the energy available, the baseline heating profile into a modified heating profile including a variable conveyance speed, where, when the moving item exits the oven system, the energy supplied by the heat source to the moving item equals the energy to be supplied per the baseline heating profile.

An automated production system is disclosed herein. One aspect of the present technology, for example, is directed toward an automated system for the continuous production of baked bread. The system can include a priming assembly having a dry ingredients priming unit and a wet ingredients priming unit. The dry ingredients priming unit can include a vertically-oriented hopper and a screw positioned within an interior region of the hopper, wherein the first screw extends along the central longitudinal axis of the hopper and is configured to rotate about its own central longitudinal axis. The system can also include a mixing assembly, a forming assembly, an oven, and a controller. The controller can be coupled to the priming assembly and configured to adjust the amount of dry ingredients delivered from the hopper to the mixing chamber by controlling rotation of the screw.

An automated production system is disclosed herein. One aspect of the present technology, for example, is directed toward an automated system for the continuous production of baked bread. The system can include a priming assembly having a dry ingredients priming unit and a wet ingredients priming unit. The dry ingredients priming unit can include a vertically-oriented hopper and a screw positioned within an interior region of the hopper, wherein the first screw extends along the central longitudinal axis of the hopper and is configured to rotate about its own central longitudinal axis. The system can also include a mixing assembly, a forming assembly, an oven, and a controller. The controller can be coupled to the priming assembly and configured to adjust the amount of dry ingredients delivered from the hopper to the mixing chamber by controlling rotation of the screw.

A material processing system includes an oven that cooks or bakes, with electrical resistance, dough contained within containers. The oven can include a frame defining, devices mounted, in a preselected pattern, on the frame for a reciprocal movement in a vertical direction during use of the system, each device configured to connect voltage to a respective container so as to cook or bake the dough with the electrical resistance, and one or more powered members configured to move the devices in the vertical direction. Conveyors are also provided to convey a plurality of rows of containers with a plurality of containers in each row along a material conveyance path, the conveyors disposed in a series with each other and with the oven along the material conveyance path, one of the conveyors disposed within the oven so as to position a batch of the containers in an alignment with the devices.

A material processing system includes an oven that cooks or bakes, with electrical resistance, dough contained within containers. The oven can include a frame defining, devices mounted, in a preselected pattern, on the frame for a reciprocal movement in a vertical direction during use of the system, each device configured to connect voltage to a respective container so as to cook or bake the dough with the electrical resistance, and one or more powered members configured to move the devices in the vertical direction. Conveyors are also provided to convey a plurality of rows of containers with a plurality of containers in each row along a material conveyance path, the conveyors disposed in a series with each other and with the oven along the material conveyance path, one of the conveyors disposed within the oven so as to position a batch of the containers in an alignment with the devices.