Donald L. Smith
Architects at Travis St, Dallas, TX

4750276, Jun 14, 1988

Jun 27, 1986

6/879848

Donald P. Smith - Dallas TX
Virgil L. Archer - Dallas TX
William W. Plumb - Dallas TX
Jarald E. High - Grand Prairie TX
Robert W. Foreman - Euless TX

F26B 1514

34149

Impingement heating or cooling apparatus that employs an axial flow fan, a plenum, collector and a columnating assembly for directing jets of a temperature controlled gas against the surface of a food product. Means for contacting a first layer of food products with impinging jets of a temperature controlled gas and for simultaneously contacting a second layer of food products with an alternating, convective flow of a temperature controlled gas is also provided.

4834063, May 30, 1989

May 28, 1987

7/055127

Yong Y. Hwang - Huron OH
Donald P. Smith - Dallas TX

Stein Associates, Inc. - Sandusky OH

A21B 2100

126 21A

An oven for cooking food products comprising a substantially closed enclosure except for an inlet and an outlet in the end walls of the oven. A heater means extends through the top wall of the enclosure into the cooking chamber for producing a gaseous cooking medium and suction fan means are provided on the enclosure top wall on either side of the heater means and in relatively closely spaced relation to the outlet of the heater means, and a source of moisture is disposed between the heater means outlet and the suction side of each of the fans for mixing moisture with the heated medium from the heater means. A conveyor is adapted to receive food products and move the products through the oven from the inlet to the outlet thereof, and duct fingers are provided both above and below the conveyor for directing and impinging the heated gaseous cooking medium onto the food products being moved by the conveyor through the oven. A second chamber separate from the cooking chamber is provided in communication with the pressure side of each of the fans and connected to the duct fingers for directing the mixture of heated gaseous medium and moisture withdrawn from the cooking chamber by the fans to the duct fingers to then be applied thereby to the food product. Recycling of the cooking medium is accomplished and the oven is so constructed that cleaning thereof is materially facilitated.

4492839, Jan 8, 1985

Aug 13, 1982

6/407943

Donald P. Smith - Dallas TX

H05B 906

219 1055R

Apparatus and method for imparting thermal energy to food products, the apparatus comprising a heating section with microwave generating apparatus and impingement heating apparatus for either sequentially or sequentially and simultaneously thermally treating the interior and surface portions of food products and further comprising apparatus for controlling the moisture content of the impingement air jets within the heating section so as to avoid localized overheating and overbrowning of the food products by the microwaves.

5310978, May 10, 1994

Jul 2, 1992

7/909077

Donald P. Smith - Dallas TX
Michael J. Dobie - Dallas TX
Alden B. Sparman - Plano TX
John R. Norris - Plano TX

Patentsmith Corporation - Dallas TX

H05B 680, H05B 664, B23K 1510

219681

A method and apparatus for vending a hot food product wherein a sealed container is moved from a protective sleeve and deposited in an oven where heat is transferred to the container for initially melting a protective sealing film and then heating the food product. After the food product has been heated, the container is removed from the oven and reinserted into the protective sleeve prior to dispensing the heated food product.

5449888, Sep 12, 1995

May 9, 1994

8/239724

Donald P. Smith - Dallas TX
Michael J. Dobie - Dallas TX
Alden B. Sparman - Plano TX
John R. Norris - Plano TX

Patentsmith Technology, Ltd. - Dallas TX

H05B 664

219681

A method and apparatus for vending a hot food product wherein a sealed container is moved from a protective sleeve and deposited in an oven where heat is transferred to the container for initially melting a protective sealing film and then heating the food product. After the food product has been heated, the container is removed from the oven and reinserted into the protective sleeve prior to dispensing the heated food product.

5539187, Jul 23, 1996

Mar 24, 1995

8/410486

Donald P. Smith - Dallas TX
Michael J. Dobie - Double Oak TX
Alden B. Sparman - Plano TX
John R. Norris - Plano TX

Patentsmith Corportion - Dallas TX

H05B 664

219681

Apparatus for transferring heat between temperature controlled air dispensed from a pair of oscillating ducts and a food product in a cabinet having an interior compartment bounded by front, side and rear walls. A foraminous partition, having a central portion and extremities, is mounted to divide the interior of the cabinet into a cooking chamber and an air conditioning chamber. It is configured to encircle a portion of the cooking chamber such that the air conditioning chamber extends around a major part of the periphery of the cooking chamber wherein air is drawn along multiple paths toward side walls and toward the rear wall from the cooking chamber.

5423248, Jun 13, 1995

Jan 26, 1994

8/187113

Donald P. Smith - Dallas TX
Jarald E. High - Grand Prairie TX
Michael J. Dobie - Dallas TX

Patentsmith Corporation - Dallas TX

A23L 300, A21B 100, F27B 904, F27B 928

99443C

A method and apparatus for heating a product which includes a plurality of tapered ducts in a cabinet above and below a conveyor to form streams which are directed toward the product. Spent air is drawn through return ducts which have intake openings centered between entrance and exit openings in the cabinet and centered between lateral edges of a conveyor and between the tapered ducts to provide a balanced flow of spent air in the cabinet to the return opening. Temperature controlled gas is delivered at an angle through an array of openings adjacent opposite edges of an opening through which a conveyor extends to cause most of the heated air to be drawn to the return duct opening and to maintain internal pressure in the cabinet to prevent ingress and egress of air through the opening.

4479776, Oct 30, 1984

Jan 22, 1982

6/341640

Donald P. Smith - Dallas TX

F27B 900

432144

Apparatus for imparting thermal energy to or removing thermal energy from a food product, said apparatus comprising intensive and semi-intensive thermal treatment sections and at least one equilibrating section.