Air fry cooking method and apparatus
AssigneeElectrolux Home Products, Inc.
InventorsSteven M. Swayne, Timothy Turner
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A method is disclosed for cooking food in an oven cavity, where air is the cooking medium. Using a predetermined cooking algorithm, a temperature of the oven cavity is adjusted in a plurality of temperature and/or time regulated cooking stages. An initial pre-heat stage targets a first target temperature including a user-selected oven cavity temperature plus a first offset. A subsequent post-heat stage targets a second target temperature including the user-selected temperature plus a second offset different from the first offset. Two or more heating elements and a fan are operated during the post-heat stage according to a duty cycle controlled via a hysteresis temperature control algorithm or a PID temperature control algorithm.
Claims24
A cooking appliance, comprising:
- an oven cavity;
- a plurality of heating elements for heating the oven cavity;
- and
- a controller adapted to separately control operation of each heating element of the plurality of heating elements according to hysteresis control or proportional-integral-derivative (PID) control, wherein the controller is configured to:
- receive a user selection to activate a cooking mode including at least a first heating stage and a second heating stage,
- receive a setpoint temperature from a user,
- operate one or more of said plurality of heating elements during the first heating stage based on a first target temperature, wherein the first target temperature is offset from the setpoint temperature such that the first target temperature is equal to the setpoint temperature adjusted by a first offset, and
- operate one or more of said plurality of heating elements during the second heating stage based on a second target temperature, wherein the second target temperature is offset from the setpoint temperature such that the second target temperature is equal to the setpoint temperature adjusted by a second offset.
A cooking appliance, comprising:
- an oven cavity;
- a plurality of heating elements for heating the oven cavity, the plurality of heating elements comprising a bake heating element and a convection heating element;
- a convection fan for circulating heated air within the oven cavity;
- and
- a controller adapted to separately control operation of the convection fan and each heating element of the plurality of heating elements according to hysteresis control or proportional-integral-derivative (PID) control, wherein the control is configured to:
- receive a user selection to activate an air fry mode for frying an item in the oven cavity, the air fry mode including at least a first heating stage and a second heating stage,
- receive a setpoint temperature from a user,
- separately operate the convection fan and one or more of the plurality of heating elements during the first heating stage based on a first target temperature, wherein the first target temperature is offset from the setpoint temperature such that the first target temperature is equal to the setpoint temperature adjusted by a first offset, and
- separately operate the convection fan and one or more of said plurality of heating elements during the second heating stage based on a second target temperature, wherein the second target temperature is offset from the setpoint temperature such that the second target temperature is equal to the setpoint temperature adjusted by a second offset,
- wherein the controller is configured execute the second heating stage for an indefinite period of time.
A method for cooking food with a cooking appliance having an oven cavity and a plurality of heating elements for heating the oven cavity, the method comprising:
- receiving a user selection to activate a cooking mode including at least a first heating stage and a second heating stage;
- receiving a setpoint temperature from a user;
- and
- separately controlling operation of one or more of said plurality of heating elements according to hysteresis control or proportional-integral-derivative (PID) control during the first heating stage based on a first target temperature, wherein the first target temperature is offset from the setpoint temperature such that the first target temperature is equal to the setpoint temperature adjusted by a first offset;
- and
- separately controlling operation of one or more of said plurality of heating elements according to hysteresis control or proportional-integral-derivative (PID) control during the second heating stage based on a second target temperature, wherein the second target temperature is offset from the setpoint temperature such that the second target temperature is equal to the setpoint temperature adjusted by a second offset.
A method for air frying a food item with a cooking appliance comprising an oven cavity, a convection fan, and a plurality of heating elements for heating the oven cavity, the plurality of heating elements including a bake heating element and a convection heating element, the method comprising:
- receiving a user selection to activate an air frying mode including at least a first heating stage and a second heating stage;
- receiving a setpoint temperature from a user;
- separately controlling operation of each of the bake heating element, the convection heating element, and the convection fan according to hysteresis control or proportional-integral-derivative (PID) control during the first heating stage based on a first target temperature, wherein the first target temperature is offset from the setpoint temperature such that the first target temperature is equal to the setpoint temperature adjusted by a first offset;
- and
- separately controlling operation of the bake heating element, the convection heating element, and the convection fan according to hysteresis control or proportional-integral-derivative (PID) control during the second heating stage based on a second target temperature, wherein the second target temperature is offset from the setpoint temperature such that the second target temperature is equal to the setpoint temperature adjusted by a second offset,
- wherein the second heating stage is continued for an indefinite period of time.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.