Fryer apparatus and method for improved heating control of a cooking chamber of the fryer apparatus
AssigneeHenny Penny Corporation
InventorsManouchehr SHIRALI, Tim A. LANDWEHR
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A fryer apparatus and method of frying food products includes a cooking chamber, a heater disposed external to the cooking chamber, a fuel system disposed external to the cooking chamber, a blower configured to propel an airflow toward a heater, and a fuel injector configured to inject fuel into the airflow to create an air-fuel mixture. The fuel system is configured to deliver an air-fuel mixture to the heater. The heater is configured to ignite the air-fuel mixture to provide an external heating source for the cooking medium within cooking chamber. The temperature of the cooking medium is controlled by varying the speed of the airflow.
Claims20
A fryer apparatus comprising:
- a cooking chamber configured to hold a cooking medium and configured to receive food product;
- a heater disposed external to the cooking chamber, wherein the heater is configured to heat the cooking medium;
- a fuel system disposed external to the cooking chamber, wherein the fuel system is configured to deliver an air-fuel mixture to the heater, the fuel system is configured to control the temperature of the heater, and the fuel system is configured to control a temperature of the heater by varying the velocity of an airflow;
- the fuel system comprising:
- a blower that activates to propel the airflow through a manifold and a distribution conduit to the heater;
- and a fuel injector configured to inject fuel into the airflow to create the air-fuel mixture, wherein the blower varies speed between a minimum rate and a maximum rate to selectively increase air volume flow and/or pressure through the heater to increase burn rate and heat energy generated at the heater, thereby varying the temperature of the heater accordingly.
A method of heating cooking medium of a fryer apparatus comprising:
- receiving an instruction to heat a cooking chamber configured to hold a cooking medium and configured to receive food product;
- in response to receiving the instruction,
- initiating a fuel system disposed external to the cooking chamber, wherein the fuel system comprises a blower configured to propel an airflow through a manifold and a distribution conduit to a heater, and a fuel injector configured to inject fuel into the airflow to create an air-fuel mixture;
- initiating the blower;
- initiating the fuel injector;
- initiating the heater disposed external to the cooking chamber, wherein the heater is configured to heat the cooking medium by igniting the air-fuel mixture;
- and
- wherein the step of initiating the blower comprises controlling a velocity of the airflow to control a temperature of the cooking medium in the cooking chamber, wherein the blower varies speed between a minimum rate and a maximum rate to selectively increase air volume flow and/or pressure through the heater to increase burn rate and heat energy generated at the heater, thereby varying the temperature of the heater accordingly.
A method of heating cooking medium of a fryer apparatus comprising:
- receiving an instruction to heat a cooking chamber configured to hold a cooking medium and configured to receive food product;
- creating an airflow external to the cooking chamber using a blower;
- adding fuel to the airflow, via a fuel injector, to create an air-fuel airflow;
- igniting the air-fuel airflow, via a heater, to heat the cooking chamber in accordance with the instruction;
- and
- wherein the step of creating the airflow comprises controlling a speed of the airflow to control a temperature of the cooking medium in the cooking chamber, wherein the blower varies speed between a minimum rate and a maximum rate to selectively increase air volume flow and/or pressure through the heater to increase burn rate and heat energy generated at the heater, thereby varying the temperature of the heater accordingly.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.