The invention refers to a grilling oven, with rectilinear, speed, for cooking at scheduled times particular foods.

It refers more particularly to an oven for the grilling of meats and fishes at programmable times by means of a tunnel heated by heat sources.

Numerous systems of grilling of foods are known among which are included barbecue, roaster, gyros, etc.

Said systems mainly consist in preparing meats or other similar foods on skewers for roaster and gyros or gridirons for the barbecue, to be positioned near a heat source: the skewers are made to rotate around its own axle, horizontally in the case of the roaster, vertically in the case of the gyros, in order to obtain a uniform grilling.

In the fast food restaurants, after cooking, the foods are manually removed from inside the oven, operation that requires the presence of one or more operators that, as well as cooking, have also to deal with the positioning and the removal of the skewers or the gridirons, with a consequent waste of time.

In the fast food restaurants there is the necessity, required by the clients, to serve grilled foods promptly and in shortest times.

The prior art includes different types of ovens for cooking in continuous foods during the crossing through heat source.

The following patents are cited as examples:

- EP 1306042 entitled "Rotisserie oven" filed on 13.06.2002 by Cheung Chun Kong Ian;

- US 3734740 entitled "Continuous food cooking device" filed on 24.05.1971 by Steven Zenos; - WO 9609766 entitled "Continuous roast meat device" filed on 30.06.1995 by Dou Ligong and others;

- US 3789824 entitled "Cooking structure" filed on 04.12.1972 by Barbecue Ovens Inc;

- JP 6245865 entitled "Conveyer-type continuous grill for steak or the like" filed on 26.02.1993 by Suteeki Miya KK;

- EP 1929907 entitled "Device for continuous, uniform grilling and/or cooking of meat and/or meat products" filed on 03.12.2007 by Koers Ernst;

- DE 202004008271 entitled "Continuous cooker for meat grilling has paternoster chain conveyor with pins to hold meat for passage between lateral heaters" filed on 19.05.2004 by Koers Ernst;

- DE 2008666 entitled "Automatic meat cooking process" deposited in date 25.02.1970;

- US 4753216 entitled "Grilling apparatus" filed on 08.09.1987 by Nolten Well J;

- CN 2792374 entitled "Smokeless brazier with to rotate gridiron" filed on 04.02.2005 by Wang Xizhi;

- JP 2003250465 entitled "Method for cooking food and continuous electrical heating apparatus" filed on 28.02.2002 by Toyo Aluminium and Nakai Ritsuko;

- KR 100809668 entitled "Rotary meat roaster" filed on 27.04.2007 by Seol Sam Seok and Maeiikunkang Co Ltd;

- CN 2412505 entitled "Open type to rotate meat roaster" filed on 20.01.2000 by Dong Hongtao;

- IT 1275340 entitled "A. device for the lateral cooking between vertical gas-fed slabs of refractory and/or conductor materials, for skewer meat and similar" filed on 16.11.1994 by Giampietro Giuseppe Anthony.

Aim of the present invention is to furnish functional improvements to an oven installed in particular in fast food restaurants, steak houses and other similar commercial activities, that can reduce the employment of operators, permitting the grilling of meats, hamburgers, fish etc. in programmed scheduled times from the initial entry of the food in the oven and its discharge, without the presence of operators during its moving; in other terms by means of the sole presence of a single operator that places and picks up the food from the oven at the end of the cooking time.

Further aim of the invention is to furnish a grilling method of a natural type, without gas odour and harmful smokes caused by coal, gas, etc., used in the traditional procedures of barbecue cooking.

Another important aim is to furnish a straight-line speed oven, alternated by breaks in the advancement of the- food, so that, when discharged the result it is" cooked in the desired' manner: i.e. during a single crossing of the oven.

Still another aim is to furnish an oven which can reproduce the cooking on a grill comparable to that, an operator obtains when grilling with a traditional barbecue.

Another aim of the oven according to the invention is to reduce the automatic cooking times and consequently the waiting times for diners of fast food restaurants, self service, and other similar outlets, mamtaining, at the same time, tastes and organoleptic characteristics of the grilled foods cooked with traditional procedures.

The grilling oven according to the present invention is illustrated in two preferred embodiments by the figures of drawings attached that respectively illustrate:

figure 1 - an axonometric exploded view of an oven provided of a conveyor, with electric resistances and a plate for the picking up and burning of the fats fallen from the meats, fishes, etc., so to increase the cooking temperature;

figure 2 - a lateral view in section of the oven of figure 1 ;

figures 3 - a second embodiment of the oven provided of conveyor with a picking up plate for the fats falling from the meats, positioned in the middle of the superior and inferior parts of the conveyor grill and stoves situated below that make white hot the inferior part of conveyor grill before it returns back in the upper position;

figure 4 - a lateral view of the oven of figure 3.

The grilling oven with rectilinear speed according to the invention permits the cooking of foods, such as beef, chicken, swine, fish, etc., by means of a single crossing of the heat source and through a further natural cooking furnished by the flames that are emitted during the combustion of the fats produced by the meats, caused by the principal heat source.

In the first embodiment of the invention, illustrated in figures 1 and 2, the conveyor 1 is formed by the mobile grill 2, gearing with cog rolls 3.1, 3.2 supported by shafts 4.1, 4.2 positioned at both ends of the conveyor. ···· - -··—- -·· - · - -

The conveyor is laterally delimited by guides 5.1, 5.2 and it is operated by means of an electric motor 6.

The mobile grill 2 of the conveyor 1, in stainless steel or in other similar material, has the function to allow a hygienic support to the raw foods to be grilled/roasted along their passage through the sources of heat of the oven; the structure of the grill permits the passage and falling for gravity of the fats expelled by the foods during their cooking.

Above the conveyor 1 is situated the first electric resistance 7 for the superior cooking of the foods positioned on the conveyor; below, a plate 8 is positioned for the picking up of the fats produced by the foods in cooking and dripping through the grill.

Under the steel plate 8 is situated a second electric resistance 9 to make white hot said plate causing the burning of the fats of the meats during cooking and being picked up from the same.

The burning through the flames emitted by the combustion of the fats expelled by the meats, permit a natural cooking, without gas odour and harmful smokes. Said electric resistances 7, 9 are insulated from the frame of the oven support, by means of plates in refractory material respectively superior 10 and inferior 11.

Figures 3 and 4 illustrate ^' a second embodiment of the oven according to the invention in which the mobile grill 2 forming the conveyor 1 is made white hot to facilitate the fast cooking of the foods positioned in direct contact with the grill.

To such aim a steel plate 12 for the picking up of the fats is situated between the superior surface 2.1 and the inferior surface 2.2 of the mobile grill 2 in order to prevent the fats to fall on flames 15 of the stoves 13 of the tubular frame 14 ,which, by means of the same flames 15 make white hot the inferior surface 2.2 of the grill 2 of the conveyor 1.

In s wa the irrferiorjsiirface 2.2.of~the grill-2,- ihat-moves-to the upper surface position 2:1 ^" directly contributes to the cooking of the meat reducing the times of cooking and simulating perfectly the traditional grilling.

In this embodiment the flames 20 caused by the combustion of the fats on the white hot steel plate 12, directly lick up the superior surface 2.1 of the mobile grill 2 without the interposition of the inferior surface 2.2 of said grill, thus better contributing to the cooking of the meats. In the zone of discharge of the grilled meats, where the mobile grill reverses its moving speed by means of cog roll 3.2, a brush 16 in metallic or other materials, is transversally applied to the movement of the same grill, preferably at the beginning of the inferior surface of the mobile grill 2 in order to scrape off the fats and the oily substances preventing them to fall on the stoves 13 of the frame 14 and pick up them in small container 17.

Below the tubular frame 14, fed by a gas heat source, a metallic plate 22 is positioned in order to pick up further fats eventually falling from the inferior surface of the grill 2.

In both the embodiments, the conveyor 1 is limited by metallic carters respectively at the head 18 and the tail 19 of the grill provided with plates 18.1, 19.1 to facilitate the positioning of the raw foods at the beginning of the cooking and also at the end of the cooking in order to facilitate their removal.

Also in the second embodiment, the oven is superiorly heated by an electric resistance 7 above the conveyor 1 for the superior cooking of the meats by means of radiation.

The thermal and electric insulation are obtained through plates 10, 11 in refractory material. The grill conveyor in both embodiments has a varying width from 120 to 180 millimetres, a height of 70 millimetres and a length of around 1,2 meters permitting the crossing of the entire cooking tunnel, leaving 10 centimetres of the grill at the inlet and at the outlet, in order to permit the positioning of the food and their later removal without the need for the operator to put his handsinside the oven room. - ^· ·— ^· -- —— ^< — — - ——

All the materials of the conveyor grill are suitable to carry food being resistant to high temperature (up to around 400°C).

The inlet and outlet of the oven are closed by means of doors 21.1, 21.2 in inox steel horizontally superiorly pivoted, opening with the passage and contact with the food.

The electric resistances 7 and 9 are mounted on dielectric material to avoid short accidental circuits. ¾

The cooking process of the food inside the oven according to the present invention can be so resumed:

- transport of foods (meat, fish, etc.) inside the tunnel oven;

- cooking by means of suitable heat sources (electric resistances and gas stoves);

- grilling by means of flames produced by the burning of the fats expelled by the meat or similar foods during the cooking, falling through the mobile grill on underlying white hot plates due to their proximity to the heat sources below, said flames permitting to grill the food, that in the presence of only electric heat sources, is completely natural The present invention has been illustrated by reference to two preferred embodiments, however, it is understood that the purpose of the claims attached to this description should not be limited only to the embodiments described above. On the contrary, the rights in accordance with the present invention must include all changes, corrections included within the attached claims.