TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to an oven tray that allows for the homogeneous cooking of food items by permitting free circulation on all surfaces.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Oven trays are generally made from a monolithic sheet coated with enamel. The tray is placed in an empty cooking chamber within the body of an oven, aligning transversely and being removable along its edges. The oven tray creates a convection current around all food surfaces in the heating cooking chamber during cooking. Typical oven trays, extending transversely throughout the cooking chamber, block the hot air flow that enables homogeneous cooking by dividing the cooking chamber. Therefore, there is no homogeneous hot air distribution around the product on the tray.

US2017030588A1 publication discloses an oven to evenly cook food products. It generally involves a lightweight oven tray covered with a fluoropolymer, such as PolyTetraFluoroEthylene or silicone compound, etc., providing a low friction coefficient and high-temperature resistance, and constructed from a glass fiber layer or other non-metallic heat-resistant grid. The grid has sufficiently wide intervals, so an air gap exists between the warp and weft strips to facilitate air circulation. The oven tray enhances the quality of cooked food items in various high-temperature environments by increasing the ventilation provided to the food item. The oven tray is both lightweight and has low thermal conductivity. To increase the rigidity of the material, individual grid strips are aligned with the main axes of the tray.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The object of the invention is to provide a perforated oven tray that enables roasting within an oven.

To achieve the mentioned objective, the invention involves an oven tray comprising a singlepiece metal sheet tray body made from flat metal sheet; comprising a first side edge and a second side edge having a support wall extending from the bottom and located on the opposite side border of a middle part of the body. The middle part of the tray has multiple array of holes longitudinally provided in the middle part allowing air passage through. The body is enamel-coated with a thickness value between 70-150 microns, and the closest distance between the two holes is set between 2 and 4 mm. The oven tray is disposed within a cooking chamber of the oven, and the substance to be cooked placed on the tray is heated with a hot air flow provided by a turbofan. The holes located in the middle part of the tray body allow the hot air supplied by the fan passes through the tray and is distributed evenly over the substance to be cooked. This leads every side of the substance to be cooked evenly and crisply. The oven tray is enamel coated, and it has been found that the enamel coating does not cause cracking or breaking around the holes when the distance between two holes is set at the chosen values. An effective cooking performance cannot be achieved above the given range, and cracks form around the holes below it. With holes having intermediate distances at the selected values, the enamel coating is ensured to have a sufficient bonding surface. The highest efficiency of hot air permeability is achieved by equipping the enameled sheet tray with holes having a maximum distance of 4 mm.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the holes distributed end-to-end in the middle part are arranged in a matrix structure in an array. This ensures the distribution of hot air over the substance to be cooked. In addition, the matrix structure increases the resistance of the tray in the cooking chamber against thermal stresses and prevents dimensional changes.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the holes are set in a closed geometric structure chosen from a polygon group consisting of a circle, triangle, quadrilateral, pentagon, and hexagon. In this way, a metal sheet can be cut with the desired precision in a closed geometry to form the tray. Closed geometry holes allow the hot air flow to act on the substance to be cooked on the tray without changing the flow characteristics of the hot air, like a diffuser.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the holes are in a honeycomb structure. This maximizes the area affected by air passage and increases the thermal resistance of the tray to cooking temperatures.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the area of each hole on the body is 70-95 mm2, preferably 80-88 mm2. It also ensures that the area where the airflow affects the food product is not restricted. It has been found that a tray with a hole area in this range comes out clean in a standard compliant manner from the dishwasher. It has been found that the tray body shows a diffuser effect separating the cooking chamber by passing hot air, at least 100 degrees Celsius, preferably between 150 and 300 degrees Celsius, through the holes in this range and cooks the food products on it homogeneously.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the body is made from cold-formed flat and flat metal sheet and contains an enamel coating in the range of 70-150 microns, particularly 80- 130 microns. The flat metal sheet is shaped with the help of a mold and is coated with enamel in the specified range.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the total area of the holes to the body is between 40% and 50%. Surprisingly, Test results show that this range is optimum permeability for homogeneous cooking of food products.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the body has a wall extending in a sloping manner from the middle to the edge. Thanks to the sloping wall, resistance is created against a possible deformation that may occur due to expansion caused by hot air, and deformation caused by temperature in the cooking chamber is prevented.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the height of the sloping wall is between 15 and 20 mm. In this way, the effect of the pressure difference caused by the hot air on the cooking time and the maximization of the surface affected by the hot air are ensured.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the body includes a frame part surrounding the holes in the middle. The frame part creates a cooking area where the substances to be cooked will come into contact over the holes. In this way, homogeneous cooking can be ensured.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the first and second side edges are in strip form. In this way, its structural integrity against thermal stresses is maintained.

A preferred embodiment of the invention is an oven containing a tray according to the above embodiments.

A preferred application of the invention comprises the process steps of forming a body by cutting from a single-piece metal sheet, sending the formed body to a mold station, and obtaining multiple rowed holes with the help of a mold at the mold station. In this way, a tray is obtained that is durable, lightweight, and allows food products to cook homogeneously and crisply. A preferred application of the invention comprises the process step of enameling the formed body at a coating station. In this way, the body's resistance increases, and a long product life is ensured.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Figure 1 is a front view of a fan oven with a representative structure of the oven tray on which a subject matter invention is disposed.

Figure 2 is a schematic front view of a representative structure of the oven tray according to the invention.

Figure 3 is a perspective view of a structure of the oven tray with a honeycomb structure hole application.

Figure 4 shows the holes in the oven tray given in Figure 3 from above.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

In this detailed explanation, the subject of the invention is explained with references to examples for better understanding without any restrictions.

In Figure 1 , an oven tray disposed in a cooking chamber of an oven is shown from a front perspective. The oven comprises a cavity (1 ) defining a cooking chamber. A fan (30) is located on the rear wall of the cavity (1 ). The fan (30) is chosen as a turbofan in the preferred structure. The rotation speed of the fan (30) is preferably selected as 1200 rpm. In an alternative structure, the rotation speed of the fan placed in the oven can be preferred as 1600 rpm. Multiple cooking functions are performed in the cooking chamber depending on the selected cooking mode with the oven tray. Examples are frying, roasting, or baking. The frying process with the oven tray is carried out in a temperature range of 170 to 220 degrees Celsius. The oven tray includes a one-piece metal sheet body (10). The body (10) is cut from a flat and straight metal sheet and formed in one piece with a press. The oven tray is placed in a cavity (1 ) of the oven to match an edge extension (20) located inside the cavity. The edge extension (20) is positioned to correspond to each other and supports the tray along two different edges. The edge extension (20) is fixed on the side wall of the cavity (1 ). A first side edge (14) extending from the opposite edges of the body (10) and a second side edge (16) are provided on the edge extension (20) so that the oven tray can be removed by pulling it out. In Figure 2, the oven tray is shown schematically from the front. There is a middle part (12) of the oven tray. The lateral boundaries of the middle part (12) are the first side edge (14) and the second side edge (16). On the bottom face of the first side edge (14) that extends lengthwise to contact the edge extension (20) shown in Figure 1 , there is a flat first support wall (142). On the bottom face of the second side edge (16) extending lengthwise in contact with the edge extension (20) shown in Figure 1 , there is a flat second support wall (162). The first side edge (14) and the second side edge (16) are provided in the form of a flat strip. There is an inclined wall (19) extending from the middle part (12) towards the first side edge (14) and the second side edge (16). The inclined wall (19) creates resistance in the expansion case. The height (h) of the inclined wall (19) is preferred to be in the range of 15 to 20 mm. In the preferred structure, the height (h) is chosen as 18 mm. Thus, the area affected by hot air is increased.

In Figure 3, the oven tray is shown in a top perspective. The body (10) in the oven tray is rectangular. On the middle part (12) of the body (10), there are multiple hexagonal holes (18). The holes (18) are obtained by transferring the body (10) to a mold station with the help of a mold after the body (10) is formed and then enameled at a coating station. The thickness of the enamel coated on the body (10) is preferably selected in the range of 80 to 130 microns in the preferred structure. The holes (18) are arranged in a row in a honeycomb position. This supports the homogeneous cooking of the matter to be cooked. The holes (18) are hexagonal-like in the preferred structure. In an alternative structure, the holes (18) could be any shape selected from a polygon group consisting of triangles, quadrilaterals, pentagons, and circles. Thanks to the fan (30) shown in Figure 1 , an air flow rate of 15 to 18 m3/h is provided through the holes (18). There is a frame part (15) surrounding the holes (18) located in the middle part (12) of the body (10). The frame part (15) directs the hot air flow created by the hot air provided by a turbofan (not shown) over the body (10) to the sequential holes and filters it around the substances to be cooked. The frame part (15) is in a rectangular-like form. Moreover, the frame part (15) fully encircles the holes (18) without leaving space by sloping outwards from the edge points.

In Figure 4, the holes in the oven tray are shown from above. The holes (18) on the body (10) are opened at a certain distance (a) from each other. In the preferred structure, the distance is chosen as 2 to 4 mm, more preferably 3.5 mm, between each hole (18) and its neighboring hole (18). In this way, a sufficient gripping surface is provided for the enamel coating after the holes (18) are opened. The area of any hole (18) located on the body (10) is preferably chosen as approximately 86 mm2 in the preferred structure. Surprisingly, this area increases the cooking efficiency and provides a sufficient circumference length for the enamel coating. In the preferred structure, 676 holes (18) are opened. In the preferred structure, the total area of the body (10) is determined as approximately 130,000 mm2, and the total area of the holes (18) is approximately 60,000 mm2. The ratio of the holes (18) to the body (10) area is determined as 45% in the preferred structure. Thus, the necessary ratio for homogeneous cooking of foodstuffs is achieved.

REFERENCE NUMBERS

1 Cavity

10 Body

12 Middle Section

14 First side edge

142 First Support Wall

15 Frame Part

16 Second Edge

162 Second Support Wall

18 Hole

19 Sloped Wall

20 Edge Extension

30 Fan h Height a Distance