Cooking medium level monitoring systems, methods, and fryer apparatus

A fryer apparatus, comprising:

• a cooking vessel configured to hold cooking media therein;
• a heating mechanism configured to transmit heat to cooking media in the cooking vessel in a first operation state;
• a plurality of temperature sensors providing data corresponding to sensed temperature, comprising:
• a first temperature sensor disposed at a first level of the cooking vessel, and
• a second temperature sensor disposed at a second level of the cooking vessel above the first level of the cooking vessel;
• and
• a controller configured to:
• receive data from said plurality of temperature sensors, calculate a temperature differential between the first temperature sensor and the second temperature sensor based on the received data, and switch to a second operation state in response to the temperature differential being calculated to be greater than or equal to a first threshold and less than a second threshold;
• wherein the heating mechanism is deactivated in the second operation state.

A method for monitoring the level of cooking media held in a cooking vessel, comprising:

• receiving data from a plurality of temperature sensors, the plurality of temperature sensors comprising:
• a first temperature sensor disposed at a first level of the cooking vessel, and a second temperature sensor disposed at a second level of the cooking vessel above the first level of the cooking vessel;
• calculating a temperature differential between the first temperature sensor and the second temperature sensor based on the received data;
• and
• switching from a first operation state to a second operation state in response to the temperature differential being calculated to be greater than or equal to a first threshold and less than a second threshold;
• wherein a heating mechanism transmits heat to the cooking media held in the cooking vessel in the first operation state, and the heating mechanism is deactivated in the second operation state.