Countertop deck oven with advanced conduction elements

Abstract

A countertop deck oven has advanced conduction elements to cook according to an optimum thermal spectral profile of a selected food by selectively using an etched foil heating element and a secondary heating technology element both disposed within the baking chamber. A controller independently controls the etched foil heating element and the secondary heating technology element according to a selected thermal profile having different levels of heating assigned to each of the heating elements. Thereby the oven heats a particular food in the baking chamber according to its associated spectral heating requirement.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . An oven comprising:
 a baking chamber;   an etched foil heating element disposed within the baking chamber;   a first thermal control circuit in electrical communication with the etched foil heating element to selectively drive an electrical current through the etched foil heating element;   a secondary heating technology element disposed within the baking chamber;   a second thermal control circuit in electrical communication with the secondary heating technology element to selectively activate the secondary heating technology element;   a memory containing more than one thermal profile having different levels of heating assigned to each of the etched foil heating element and the secondary heating technology element to address differing spectral heating requirements for different foods; and   a controller in communication with the memory, the first thermal control circuit and the second thermal control circuit and comprising a processor to execute instructions according to a selected thermal profile to configure the oven to heat a particular food in the baking chamber according to an associated spectral heating requirement.   
     
     
         2 . The oven of  claim 1 , wherein the etched foil heating element is positioned to heat an upper surface of the particular food in the baking chamber and the secondary heating technology element is positioned to heat an undersurface of the particular food in the baking chamber, the oven further comprising:
 a user interface that includes an upper temperature affordance to receive an upper temperature setting for the etched foil heating element and includes a lower temperature affordance to receive a lower temperature setting for the secondary heating technology element.   
     
     
         3 . The oven of  claim 2 , wherein the secondary heating technology element comprises an etched foil heating element. 
     
     
         3 . The oven of  claim 1 , wherein the secondary heating technology element comprises an inductive heating element. 
     
     
         3 . The oven of  claim 1 , wherein the secondary heating technology element comprises a convection technology element. 
     
     
         4 . The oven of  claim 1 , wherein the secondary heating technology element comprises a wire coil element. 
     
     
         5 . The oven of  claim 1 , wherein the secondary heating technology element comprises a microwave heating element. 
     
     
         6 . The oven of  claim 1 , wherein the secondary heating technology element comprises a steam-assist heating element. 
     
     
         7 . The oven of  claim 1 , further comprising a support surface, wherein one of the etched foil heater element and the secondary heating technology element are positioned below a support surface to cook an undersurface of a food article placed on the support surface. 
     
     
         8 . The oven of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 a housing that encompasses the baking chamber and includes more than one upper surface receiving apertures; and   removable legs to support the oven and attached to attachment contours formed on an under surface of the housing that are spaced to correspond to a pattern of the more than one upper surface receiving apertures of another oven for stacking with the removable legs removed.   
     
     
         9 . The oven of  claim 8 , further comprising a door that pivots above a horizontal hinge attached proximate to one of a top edge and a bottom edge of a front opening in the baking chamber, the door sized to move between an open and closed position without contacting a door of another oven stacked on or under the oven. 
     
     
         10 . An oven comprising:
 a baking chamber;   an upper etched foil heating element disposed within the baking chamber above a support surface;   a first thermal control circuit in electrical communication with the upper etched foil heating element to selectively drive an electrical current through the upper etched foil heating element;   a lower etched foil heating element disposed below the support surface within the baking chamber;   a second thermal control circuit in electrical communication with the lower etched foil heating element to selectively activate the lower etched foil heating element;   a user interface; and   a controller in communication with the user interface, the first thermal control circuit and the second thermal control circuit and comprising a processor to execute instructions to configure the oven to:
 present an upper temperature affordance and a lower temperature affordance on the user interface; 
 receive a first user input selecting an upper temperature setting via the upper temperature affordance; 
 receive a second user input selecting a lower temperature setting via the lower temperature affordance; and 
 heat a particular food on the support surface in the baking chamber according to the upper and lower temperature settings. 
   
     
     
         11 . The oven of  claim 10 , wherein the lower etched foil heater element is integrally attached to the support surface that portions a bottom portion of the baking chamber. 
     
     
         12 . The oven of  claim 10 , wherein:
 the support surface comprises a suspended surface; and   the lower etched foil heating element is attached to a bottom surface of the baking chamber to radiate heat through the suspended porous surface.