WO2011041641A1 - Method and apparatus for frying food - Google Patents

Abstract

A method and apparatus are provided for cooking The method includes the steps of providing a bowl and a cooking basket within the bowl for food to be cooked within the cooking basket, said cooking basket having at least one vertical divider extending from a center of the cooking basket to an outer edge, pumping oil into the bowl, heating the oil within the bowl, rotating the basket around a vertical axis within the heated oil, draining the heated oil from the bowl at the end of a predetermined cooking period, filtering the oil as the oil drains from the bowl and spinning the basket to centrifugally remove oil from food within the basket after draining the bowl

Description

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR FRYING FOOD

Field of the Invention

The field of the invention relates to food preparation and more particularly to methods of frying food.

Background of the Invention

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Number 61/278,076 filed on October 2, 2009, U.S. Provisional Patent Application Number 61/281,318 filed on November 16, 2009 and U.S. Provisional Patent Application Number 61/374,720 filed on August 18, 2010 (pending) and all incorporated herein by reference.

Devices for deep frying foods are well known. Such devices typically include a bowl of oil with a heater immersed in the oil or connected to a bottom of the bowl. A thermometer may be provided as an indicator of the temperature of the oil.

A basket is provided that fits inside the bowl of oil. Typically food is placed within the basket and then lowered into the hot oil for cooking.

A timer may be provided to indicate completion of the cooking cycle. Once the cooking cycle is complete, the basket may be raised and secured to the edge of the bowl in order to allow excess oil to drain back into the bowl.

While such devices work relatively well, they are subject to a number of difficulties. For example, uneven heat distribution may cause uneven cooking of the food within the basket. Even when even heat distribution within the oil is present, the fool may stick together or aggregate during cooking resulting in portions that are raw or undercooked.

In addition, the oil in which the food is cooked is a known health risk, both from the fat and debris within the oil. In many commercial food preparation situations, the oil remains in the bowl for an extended period of time, going through a number of cooking cycles. During each cooking cycle debris accumulates in the oil. The debris may degrade over time, resulting in carbonization of the debris and the accumulation of potential carcinogens within the oil. The degraded debris may remain in the oil or some portion of the oil may adhere to the cooked food at the completion of the cooking cycle. While newer deep fryers sometimes provide a mechanism for spinning the basket after cooking to remove excess oil, these devices often present a health risk to the cook from splattered oil. Accordingly, a need exists for better methods of protecting both the cook and consumer of food from risks associated with such devices.

Brief Description of the Drawings

FIGs. 1 A-B depict front perspective views of the frying apparatus in accordance with an illustrated embodiment of the invention;

FIGs. 2A-C depict oil flows within the system of FIG. 1 under a number of different operating conditions;

FIG. 3 depicts heater elements located on an exterior of the temporary oil tank of

FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 depicts a side view of the frying apparatus of FIG. 1 with the side covers removed;

FIG. 5 depicts a user interface panel of the apparatus of FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 depicts an in-bowl heater used by the system of FIG. 1;

FIG. 7 depicts details of a spin-drive system used by the apparatus of FIG. 1; FIG. 8 is an electrical schematic of the apparatus of FIG. 1;

FIG. 9 depicts in-bowl details of the apparatus of FIG. 1;

FIG. 10 depicts the filtration tray of the apparatus of FIG. 1 ;

FIG. 11 depicts a foot pedal that may be used for manual control of the process of spinning the basket of FIG. 1 ;

FIG. 12 depicts details of the frying basket used with the frying device of FIG. 1; FIG. 13 depicts details of a lid used with the frying device of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 13 show details of a counterweight used with the lid of FIG. 13.

Detailed Description of an Illustrated Embodiment

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of device 10 for frying foods shown generally in accordance with an illustrated embodiment of the invention. In this regard, FIG. 1 A is a right-side perspective view of the frying device 10 and FIG. IB is a left side perspective view with the side covers removed. FIGs 1 A-B and 2 show a device 10 with two frying bowls 12, 14. However, it should be understood that the device 10 may be constructed with only a single cooking bowl. While the description provided below will be directed to operation of only a single bowl, it should be understood that the second bowl would operate in substantially the same manner.

It should also be understood that where two frying bowls 12, 14 are provided, it is intended that the two frying bowls 12, 14 of the figures may be used simultaneously. Alternatively, the two frying bowls 12, 14 allow for continuous use of the device 10 by allowing one of the two frying bowls 12, 14 to be shut down for cleaning while the other is in use.

The availability of two frying bowls 12, 14 provides a number of advantages when used simultaneously. For example, one bowl 12, 14 may be used for frying one food (e.g., fish) while the other bowl 12, 14 is used for frying a different food (e.g., chicken). In this case, the processing of the oil 16 in the two frying bows 12, 14 is completely separate and allows the oil 16 that is used to fry fish to be handled and filtered separately from the oil 16 that fries chicken thereby preventing cross-contamination of the oils 16.

Included within each of the bowls 12, 14 is a frying basket 30 (FIG. 4). Also included within each frying bowl 12, 14 is a submersible heater 34 such as that shown in FIG. 6. As shown in FIG. 6, the heater 34 is hinged to a housing of the device 10 along the edge of the housing of the device 10. In a first position, the heating element of the heater 34 is located in a normal position at a bottom of the bowl 12, 14. However, the heater 34 may be rotated upwards and out of the bowel 12, 14. This configured allows debris to be easily removed from the bowl 12, 14 once the bowl 12, 14 is drained as described below.

FIG. 12 depicts details of the basket 30 and a set of detachable handles 68. As shown, each of the basket handles 68 includes a set of set of wire clips 70 that engage a lower portion of an upper flange 74 of the basket 30. A thumb paddle 72 allows a user to twist the handle 68 into positive engagement with the flange 74. The use of the handles 68 give the user exceptional control over a hot basket 30 when dumping large quantities of food. The detachable handles 68 allow for use of left or right handles for right or left handled people. In addition, the basket 30 has an 8 pound frying capacity and allows for the use of both handles 68.

Each bowl 12, 14 may also include a lid 32. The lid 32 may be made of a transparent material that allows a user to observe the cooking process without removal of the lid 32.

FIGs. 13 and 14 show further details of the lid 32. As shown, the lid 32 may include one or more notches 76 that allow the lid 32 to be closed around the handles 68 and held in a closed position by a latch. A rubber flap 78 extending partially around the notches 76 substantially seals the lid 32 to the housing of the device 10 and reduces splatter of hot oil from the bowl 12, 14. A release pushbutton 84 may be used to release the lid 32. An interlock associated with the latch may be used to disable device 10 until the lid 32 is closed.

As shown in FIG. 13, the lid 32 may include a spring 80 that reduces the effort required to lift the lid 32 to an upright position. Once raised to an upright position, a tab 82 prevents the lid from falling backwards away from the vertical. As shown in FIG. 14, a counterweight 86 may be used to assist lifting the lid 32.

Coupled to each basket 30 is a spin motor 36 (FIG. 7). The spin motor 36 may be a stepper motor or a direct current (DC) motor with encoder feedback. As shown in FIG. 7 A, the spin motor 36 may be coupled to the basket 30 via a belt 38 and drive shaft 42 extending through the bottom of the bowl 12, 14. A spline 40 on the upper end of the drive shaft 42 couples the drive shaft 42 to a splined hole inside a hub of the basket 30.

Under illustrated embodiments of the invention, the device 10 drains the hot oil 16 from the bowl 12, 14 at the end of each cooking cycle. This has significant advantages both in terms of safety and also because it allows the oil 16 to be filtered at the end of each cooldng cycle. On a first level, the filling of the bowl 12, 14 with hot oil at the beginning a cooking cycle and draining of the oil from the bowl 12, 14 at the end of the cooking cycle ensures that the user is never exposed to the danger of hot oil.

On another level, the draining of the oil after each cooking cycle allows the oil to be filtered after each cooking cycle. The cycling of the oil from the frying bowl 12, 14 to a reservoir through a filter allows for the constant filtration of the oil for prolonged oil life and enhanced food flavor. In order to control the flow of oil 16 into and out of the bowls 12, 14, the device 10 includes a pump 18 and a number of valves 20, 22, 24, 26. A controller 100 and user interface 102 may be provided in order for a user to enter a set of operating

characteristics and frying steps for control of food preparation using the device 10.

Before initiation of a frying cycle, the oil 16 is retained within a temporary oil tank 28. While retained within the temporary oil tank 28, the oil 16 may be heated via an electric heater 30, 32 (FIG. 3) attached to an outer surface of the temporary oil tank 28 or immersed within the oil 16 inside the temporary oil tank 28.

The temperature of the oil 16 within the temporary oil tank 28 may be controlled through the user interface 102 (FIG. 5). As shown in FIG. 5, the device 10 may be provided with dual controls that allow frying within each bowl 12, 14 to be controlled independently. In this regard, the user may sequentially activate one or more pushbuttons 106, 108 on a user interface 102 (FIG. 8) to set the temperature. For example, the user may activate a first FRY TEMP pushbutton 150 (FIG. 5) and then activate an up arrow button 152 or a down arrow button 154 while watching a temperature indicator 156 on a display 110 in order to establish a temperature set point 114 for the oil 16 in the temporary storage tank 28. Once the temperature set point 114 has been established, a temperature controller 112 within the control panel 100 may maintain the temperature of the oil 16 at the set point 114.

FIGs. 2A-C are plumbing schematic of the device 10 in various operating states controlled through the user interface 102 while FIG. 8 is an electrical schematic of the device 10. Reference will be made to the schematics of FIGs. 2 and 8 as appropriate to an understanding of the device 10.

In order to prepare food for frying, a user may remove the basket 30 from the unit and place the food within the basket 30 and then place the basket 30 and food within the empty bowl 12, 14. The user may also set a frying time by first activating a TIME button 158 (and up or down buttons 152, 154), a stir force for stirring the food during cooking by activating a STIR FORCE button 160 (and up or down buttons 152, 154) and a spin speed after cooking by activating the SPIN SPEED button 162 (and up or down buttons 152, 154). The setting of the frying time operates to enter a set point time 118 for frying into a frying timer 116. Similarly, setting of the stir force enters a set point 122 for stirring force into a stirring force controller 120 and a set point 126 for spin speed and also for the spin time into a spin speed controller 124.

The user may then activate a START button 164 to activate a programmed processor (e.g., a sequence processor 128) that controls a set of frying process steps. In this regard, the controller 100 may automatically perform the set of steps that fry the food placed in the basket 30 an accordance with parameters entered through the user interface 102. To this end, the controller 100 may activate the pump 18 and valve 1 22, valve 2 20 and valve 3 26 (or valve 1 22, valve 2 20 and valve 4 24) and begin pumping oil 16 from the temporary storage tank 28 into one of the bowls 12, 14. The controller 100 may also activate a second heater 34 in the bottom on the bowl 12, 14 to maintain the temperature of the oil 16 within the bowl 12, 14.

The controller 100 may also activate the spin motor 36 in accordance with the set point 122 to rotate the basket 30 during cooking via the belt 38 and shaft 42. It should be noted in this regard that the basket 30 has a divider 44 extending outwards from a center of the basket 30 to an outer edge. As shown in FIG. 7C, the divider 44 extends across the entire width of the basket 30. The divider 44 contacts the food during rotation causing the food to rotate 46 with the basket 30. The rotation of the food with the basket 30 reduces the effect of temperature differences within the oil 16 and produces a more even cooking of the food 48 within the basket 30.

The rotation 46 of the basket 30 within the oil 16 may be continuous or intermittent. Moreover, the stir force controller 120 and set point 122 may be arranged so as to reverse the direction of rotation in some periodic manner.

For example, the stir force controller 120 may include a motion processor that causes the basket 30 to perform an oscillating motion. The motion processor may be programmed to cause the spin motor 36 (and basket 30) to rotate 180° in a clockwise direction in 2 seconds, for example. After 2 seconds, the motion processor causes the spin motor 36 to reverse direction and rotating 180° counterclockwise. The process may then repeat.

The stir function is used to oscillate the basket 30 in a back and forth motion. This oscillating motion will stir or otherwise agitate the food while it is cooking thereby eliminating any need for human intervention such as by shaking the basket 30 during the cooking process.

As the food cooks, the controller 100 monitors and controls the temperature of the oil 16 within the bowl via the temperature controller 112 and heater 34. At the end of the cooking time (as determined by the timer 116 and set point 118), the sequence processor 128 of the controller 100 detects expiration of the enter frying time period, deactivates the heater 34 and drains the bowl 12, 14.

In this regard, once cooking has been completed, the sequence controller 128 of the controller 100 may activate the pump 18, and valves 20, 22 and 24 or 24 to pump the oil 16 back into the temporary oil tank 28 through an in-line filter 50. Alternatively, the controller 100 may simply activate the valves 20, 22 and 24 or 24 and allow gravity to pump the oil 16 back into the temporary oil tank 28 through the in-line filter 50. The inline filter 50 may have the shape similar to an automotive cartridge filter and be provided with a mesh screen filtering medium that removes most particles from the return oil 16. To drain the bowl, the sequence controller 128 may be programmed to activate the pump and valves for a predetermined time period or until a level sensor within the bowl 12, 14 indicates that the level of the oil 16 within the bowl 12, 14 has been reduced to a predetermined level or depth.

It should be noted in this regard that the return connection inside the bowl 12, 14 to the pump has a lip (shown in FIG. 9) that extends upwards from the bottom of the bowl 12, 14. This lip retains a small amount of oil 16 within the bowl 12, 14 to cover the heater element 34 within the bowl 12, 14.

Alternatively, the bowl 12, 14 may be provided without the lip and with the return connection on the inside of the bowl is flush with the bottom of the bowl 12, 14. In this case, the oil 16 may be completely pumped out of the bowl 12, 14 for filtering and then a small amount of filtered oil 16 returned to the bowl (almost immediately) to cover the heater element 34.

Once the oil 16 has been drained from the bowl 12, 14, the sequence processor 128 of the controller 100 may detect the end of the draining step and proceed to a spin step. In this step, the programmed processor 128 may activate spin motor 36 via the spin speed controller 124 and set point 126. In this case, the rotation 46 of the basket 30 after draining of the oil 16 from the bowl 12, 14 removes any excess oil 16 on the food via centrifugal force. In this regard, the spin speed controller 124 and set point 126 may be configured as a programmed processor that starts at some low speed (e.g., 5

revolution/sec) and ramp up to some final speed (e.g., 100 revolutions/sec) and remain at that final speed for some time period under control of the spin timer of the programmed processor. In this case, the spinning of the basket 30 removes any excess oil 16 from a surface of the food before consumption by a person.

The controller 100 may also be provided with a set of pre-programmed cooldng functions that may be accessed through the MENU button 166 (FIG. 5). The menu items shown on the display 110 of FIG. 5, for example, show as selectable items FISH, FRENCH FRIES, CHICKEN NUGGETS and DRUMS. Selection of one of these items causes the processor 128 to load one of a set of programs including a set of operating parameters useable with the selected food items. In each case, the cooking process may be initiated by activating the START button 164.

Under another embodiment, the system 10 may be provided with an acoustic transducer 50 either located inside or adjacent the bowl 12, 14 to further aid in removal of the oil 16 from the food. In this case, the acoustic transducer 52 couples acoustic energy into the food within the basket 30 after the bowl 12, 14 has been drained and as the basket spins to further remove excess oil 16 from the food.

In one embodiment, the basket 30 may be tuned to approximately 25 kHz of ultrasonic motion. An ultrasonic driver board may be provided in the controller 100 as a power source for the transducer 52. The driver board may provide a power level of approximately 30 W at 30 kHz that drives the ultrasonic movement of the basket 30.

Typically cooking oil does not penetrate very deeply into the food and remains on or near a surface of the cooking food. Ultrasonic vibration from the transducer 52 releases the cooking oil in effect by throwing the oil off in the directions of ultrasonic motion. The combination of rotation of the basket 30 and application of ultrasonic energy causes the oil thrown off to migrate away from the food and onto the sides of the bowl 12, 14 where it drains into the temporary oil tank. It should be noted that the basket 30 remains in the same position (and level) during spinning (as during cooking) to facilitate the recovery of excess oil. The spinning of the basket 30 after cooking to remove oil by centrifugal force removes excess oil from food before it cools and condenses as fat. This process delivers healthier foods and significantly improves oil recovery from cooked foods yielding substantial cost savings for users.

The use of the in-line filter 50 provides a secondary filtration system that allows the oil 16 to be cleaned after each use. Once returned to the tank 28, the filtered oil 16 may be heated in preparation for the next cooking cycle.

Periodically, the use may activate a drain valve 22 to drain the bowls 12, 14 into a main filtration tray 54. The use of multiple filtration units within the frying device 10 enables frequent filtering to preserve the life of the oil or other cooking medium. The oil is constantly cycled through the system between the frying bowls 12, 14 and filtration systems to prevent contamination and carbonization in the oil or other cooking medium

As may be best seen in FIG. 10, the main filtration tray 54 include a crumb basket 56, an inner screen 58 and filtered oil tank 62. Filter paper 60 may be disposed on the inner screen 58 to further filter the oil 16 before descending into the tank 62. The filter paper 60 may be sprinkled or pre-treated with an absorbent powder or other absorbent material. Once the oil has been filtered, the controller may activate the pump 18 and valves 20, 22 to pump the oil back into the bowl 12, 14 from on outlet 64 as shown in FIG. 2C.

In another embodiment, the system 10 is provided with a spin speed pedal 64. The spin speed control pedal 64 allows the user to over ride the automatic settings of spin control provided by the controller 100. Using the pedal 64 a user can prolong the spin that removes oil from the food or may select a much higher speed than provided by the controller 100.

A specific embodiment of method and apparatus for frying food has been described for the purpose of illustrating the manner in which the invention is made and used. It should be understood that the implementation of other variations and

modifications of the invention and its various aspects will be apparent to one skilled in the art, and that the invention is not limited by the specific embodiments described.

Therefore, it is contemplated to cover the present invention and any and all modifications, variations, or equivalents that fall within the true spirit and scope of the basic underlying principles disclosed and claimed herein.

Claims

Claims

1. A method of cooldng comprising:

providing a bowl and a cooking basket within the bowl for food to be cooked within the cookmg basket, said cooking basket having at least one vertical divider extending from a center of the cooking basket to an outer edge;

introducing oil into the bowl for cooldng the food;

maintaining a heated temperature of the oil within the bowl during cooking;

rotating the basket to stir the food within the heated oil during cooldng;

draining the heated oil from the bowl at the end of a predetermined cooking period;

filtering the heated oil as the oil drains from the bowl; and

spinning the basket to centrifugally remove oil from food within the basket after draining the bowl.

2. The method as in claim 1 further comprising collecting the drained and filtered oil in a temporary oil tank and heating the drained oil in anticipation of a next use.

3. The method as in claim 1 further comprising applying ultrasound to the basket as the basket is spun to centrifugally remove the oil.

4. The method as in claim 1 further comprising retaining sufficient oil in the bowl after draining to cover a heating element.

5. The method as in claim 1 further comprising manually controlling a duration and speed of the spinning of the basket.

6. An apparatus for cooking comprising:

a housing;

a bowl located within the housing; a cooking basket within the bowl for food to be cooked within the cooldng basket, said cooking basket having at least one vertical divider extending from a center of the cooking basket to an outer edge;

means for pumping oil into the bowl;

a heater that heats the oil within the bowl;

means for rotating the basket around a vertical axis within the heated oil;

means for draining the heated oil from the bowl at the end of a predetermined cooking period; and

means for spinning the basket to centrifugally remove oil from food within the basket.

7. The apparatus as in claim 6 further comprising a filter that filters the oil as the heated oil drains from the bowl.

8. The apparatus as in claim 7 further comprising a temporary oil tank that collects the drained and filtered oil.

9. The apparatus as in claim 8 further comprising a heater within the temporary oil tank that heats the drained oil in anticipation of a next use.

10. The apparatus as in claim 6 further comprising an ultrasound transducer that applies ultrasound to the basket as the basket is spun to centrifugally remove the oil.

11. The apparatus as in claim 6 wherein the heater that heats the oil within the bowl rotates out of the bowl for cleaning of the bowl.

12. The apparatus as in claim 6 further comprising a controller that automatically controls the means for pumping, rotating, draining and spinning.

13. An apparatus for cooking comprising:

a housing; a bowl located within the housing;

a cooking basket within the bowl for food to be cooked within the cooking basket, said cooking basket having at least one vertical divider extending from a center of the cooking basket to an outer edge;

a pump that pumps oil into the bowl;

a heater that heats the oil within the bowl;

a spinning motor that rotates the basket around a vertical axis within the heated oil;

a plurality of solenoid valves that drain the heated oil from the bowl at the end of a predetermined cooking period; and

the spinning motor that spins the basket to centrifugally remove oil from food within the basket.

14. The apparatus as in claim 13 further comprising a filter that filters the oil as the heated oil drains from the bowl.

13. The apparatus as in claim 14 further comprising a temporary oil tank that collects the drained and filtered oil.

14. The apparatus as in claim 13 further comprising a heater within the temporary oil tank that heats the drained oil in anticipation of a next use.

15. The apparatus as in claim 13 further comprising an ultrasound transducer that applies ultrasound to the basket as the basket is spun to centrifugally remove the oil.

16. The apparatus as in claim 13 wherein the heater that heats the oil within the bowl rotates out of the bowl for cleaning of the bowl.

17. The apparatus as in claim 13 further comprising a controller that automatically controls the means for pumping, rotating, draining and spinning.

18. The apparatus as in claim 17 further comprising a speed control pedal that allows a user to manually control the spinning of the bowl after the oil has been drained from the bowl.

19. The apparatus as in claim 13 further comprismg a lip on a drain within the bowl that prevents draining the bowl below a predetermined level.

20. The apparatus as in claim 19 wherein the predetermined level is a height of the heater within the bowl.