Automatic frying apparatus for foodstuffs

Apparatus for frying foodstuffs comprising:

• a toroidal trough for holding a cooking oil;
• pump means for circumferentially circulating said oil in said trough;
• a foodstuff position regulating subassembly for foodstuffs in said trough, said position regulating subassembly comprising
• a circular plurality of circumferentially adjacent paddle members, said plurality being generally coaxial with said trough, each said paddle member of said plurality having a supporting arm with opposite end portions, a blade at one said end portion, and a mounting means at the other said end portion;
• motor means for rotating said plurality;
• and
• cam means for progressively radially tilting and arcuately turning each said blade in a predetermined pattern during such rotation of said plurality so that each said paddle member during said rotation orbits along a predetermined path that extends over and into said trough;
• whereby said paddle members guide and influence the position, residence time and exposure of foodstuffs moving in said cooking oil in said trough.

Apparatus for frying foodstuffs comprising:

• a platform means;
• a generally toroidally configured, generally horizontally oriented, open top trough for holding a cooking oil that is supported by said platform means;
• pump means for circumferentially circulating oil through and along said trough;
• a foodstuff position regulating subassembly comprising in combination:
• a ring gear that is generally coaxial with, exterior of, and radially inwardly adjacent to said trough, and that includes bearing mounts for peripherally holding and rotatably supporting said ring gear relative to said platform means,
• a support ring that is generally coaxial with and above said ring gear and that includes a plurality of support spacers interconnecting said support ring with said ring gear,
• a cam ring means that is generally coaxial with said trough, and that includes trunk means for holding said cam ring means upwardly from said platform means,
• a plurality of circumferentially adjacent paddle members, each said paddle member having a supporting arm, a broad, interiorly meshed, generally flattened blade fixed at one end portion of said supporting arm, and a mounting subassembly at an opposite end portion of said supporting arm,
• each said mounting assembly including mounting means for mounting said opposite end portion to said support ring, cam follower means for slidably moving over portions of said cam ring means, and positioning means for radially tilting and arcuately turning said supporting arm responsive to said movements of said cam follower means;
• and
• a motor drive, including a pinion for engaging said motor drive with said ring gear, for rotating said ring gear, said supporting ring, and said paddle members;
• the interrelationship between said trough and said foodstuff position regulating subassembly being such that during each revolution of said ring gear, each said blade follows a predetermined path that extends over, along and into selected portions of said trough, thereby to guide and influence the residence time and exposure of foodstuffs moving in said cooking oil in said trough.

An apparatus for automatically slicing, frying and separating sliced foodstuffs and the like comprising in combination:

• a toroidal trough subassembly for holding a cooking oil bath including pump means for circumferentially circulating oil in said trough and oil temperature regulating means;
• a foodstuff slicer subassembly including an associated foodstuff charging chute for receiving foodstuffs and a sliced foodstuff discharge orifice for sequentially depositing foodstuff slices into circulating oil in said trough;
• a movable circular paddle subassembly that is coaxial with said trough, that includes a plurality of paddle blades and that has associated motor means for rotating said paddle assembly;
• cam means for selectively tilting and arcuately turning individual timer paddles during rotation of said paddle subassembly so that said paddle blades move along a predetermined circular orbit that extends over and into said trough, thereby to manipulate said foodstuff slices in oil circulating in said trough, and
• a cooked foodstuff slice separation and delivery subassembly for sequentially removing cooked foodstuff slices from said circulating oil in said trough.

A method for automatically and sequentially preparing cooked foodstuff chips comprising the steps of:

• (a) progressively slicing a foodstuff;
• (b) sequentially depositing the so produced slices at a first position in a temperature regulated circulating oil bath in a toroidal tank;
• (c) advancing said so deposited slices through and along said toroidal tank in said oil bath while concurrently advancing timer paddles move along a pathway that extends over and into said tank and that sometimes contacts individual said slices in said oil whereby said so deposited slices undergo a desired cooking before said so deposited slices move circumferentially in said trough from said first position to a second position;
• and
• (d) separating and removing the resulting slices at said second position.

A subcombination apparatus for use in a chip frier or the like comprising in combination:

• a toroidal trough subassembly for holding a cooking oil bath including pump means for circumferentially circulating oil comprising said bath through the trough and trough oil heating and temperature regulating means;
• a rotatable paddle subassembly that is generally coaxial with said toroidal trough and wherein individual paddles thereof travel along a predetermined pathway extends over and into said and is adapted to manipulate chips in said bath including motor means for rotating said paddle subassembly;
• and
• cam means for selectively tilting and arcuately moving said individual paddles during rotation thereof.

A method for frying foodstuffs comprising the steps of:

• (a) depositing successively foodstuff bodies at a first location in a generally toroidal trough that holds a heated cooking oil bath which is circumferentially circulating and advancing in said trough at a flow rate that is at least sufficient to move said so deposited foodstuff bodies along said trough and in said oil bath in chosen direction of flow of said oil bath;
• and
• (b) circumferentially advancing a circularly arranged plurality of paddles, said plurality being generally coaxial with said trough, said circumferentially advancing being in the same direction as said direction of flow of said oil bath, and said plurality of paddles extending at predetermined locations in and over said oil bath,
• whereby, as said plurality of paddles so circumferentially advances, each said paddle moves along, over and in said oil bath through a predetermined pathway, thereby to accomplish at least one of the following actions to a predetermined extent relative to said oil bath and to said foodstuff bodies:
• retard circumferential movement of said foodstuff bodies in said oil bath relative to the circumferential flow rate of said oil bath,
• submerge said foodstuff bodies in said oil bath below the surface of said oil bath, and
• advance circumferential movement of said foodstuff bodies in said oil bath relative to the circumferential flow rate of said oil bath;
• and
• (c) removing successively the resulting said foodstuff bodies at a second location in said trough, said second location being circumferentially spaced from said first location, the interrelationship between said depositing, said circumferentially circulating oil bath, said circumferentially advancing plurality of timer paddles, and said removing being such that said foodstuff bodies are fried in the distance and time needed for each said foodstuff body to traverse in said oil bath the distance between said first location to said second location.

A method for automatically making potato chips comprising the steps of:

• (a) slicing potatoes into slices with an automatically operating slicer;
• (b) depositing successively said slices at a first location in a generally toroidal trough that holds a heated cooking oil bath that is circumferentially circulating and advancing in said trough at a flow rate that is at least sufficient to move said so deposited slices along said trough and in said oil bath circumferentially in the direction of flow of said oil bath;
• (c) circumferentially advancing a plurality of paddles, said circumferential advancing being in the same circumferential direction as the direction of flow of said oil bath, and said plurality of timer paddles extending at locations in and over said oil bath,
• said paddles being circumferentially adjacent to each other,
• each said paddle during each
• 360 degrees of rotation of said plurality of timer paddles being
• radially, arcuately, and longitudinally moveable relative to said trough, whereby each said paddle is raisable and lowerable through a maximum distance that extends in the range from a first position which is located below the surface of said oil bath to a second position which is located above the surface of said oil bath, and
• tiltable about an axis that extends generally radially relative to said trough, whereby each said paddle is pivotable over a range that extends between a first position wherein each said paddle wheel is oriented generally laterally relative to the surface of said oil bath to a second position wherein each said paddle is oriented generally longitudinally relative to the surface of said oil bath,
• whereby, as said plurality of paddles so circumferentially advances, each said paddle moves along said oil bath through a predetermined pathway, thereby to accomplish at least one of the following actions to a predetermined a extent relative to said oil bath and to said potato slices:
• retard circumferential movement of said potato slices in said oil bath relative to the circumferential flow rate of said oil bath,
• submerge said potato slices in said oil bath below the surface of said oil bath, and
• advance circumferential movement of said potato slices in said oil bath relative to the circumferential flow rate of said oil bath;
• and
• (d) removing successively the resulting said potato slices at a second location in said trough, said second location being circumferentially spaced from said first location, the interrelationship between said depositing, said circumferentially circulating oil bath, said circumferentially advancing plurality of paddles, and said removing being such that said potato slices are fried in the distance and time needed for each said potato slice to traverse in said oil bath the distance between said first location to said second location.