Automatic french fryer

An apparatus for continuously feeding pieces of potato into hot cooking liquid at a predetermined rate, for frying pieces of potato in the liquid, and for discharging cooked pieces of potato from the liquid automatically, said apparatus comprising:

• a frame;
• a reservoir mounted on said frame for holding a predetermined amount of cooking liquid;
• means for heating said cooking liquid in said reservoir including means for producing combustion flames and at least one elongate burner tube for containing said combustion flames along with incoming air within said reservoir below the surface of the cooking liquid;
• said burner tube defining an inlet and an outlet opening exterior of said reservoir;
• a sealed inlet plenum around at least a portion of said reservoir and communicating with said inlet opening of said burner tube;
• hopper means mounted on said frame adjacent said reservoir for holding a supply of said pieces of potato, said hopper means defining an inlet aperture through which said supply of potato pieces can be loaded into said hopper means and further defining a hopper discharge aperture spaced from said cooking liquid through which said potato pieces are passed;
• first conveyor means in said hopper means for removing said potato pieces from the bottom of said supply of said potato pieces in said hopper means and for transporting said potato pieces to said hopper discharge aperture and discharging said pieces through the hopper discharge aperture into said cooking liquid;
• and
• second conveyor means in said reservoir for transporting said potato pieces through said hot cooking liquid, said second conveyor means adapted for moving generally equal amounts of potato pieces per unit length of said conveyor means through said cooking liquid and for moving said potato pieces out of said cooking liquid after the pieces have been cooked.

An apparatus for continuously feeding pieces of potato into hot cooking liquid at a predetermined rate, for frying pieces of potato in the liquid, and for discharging cooked pieces of potato from the liquid automatically, said apparatus comprising:

• a frame;
• a reservoir mounted on said frame for holding a predetermined amount of cooking liquid;
• means for heating said cooking liquid in said reservoir;
• hopper means mounted on said frame adjacent said reservoir for holding a supply of said pieces of potato, said hopper means defining an inlet aperture through which said supply of potato pieces can be loaded into said hopper means and further defining a hopper discharge aperture spaced from said cooking liquid through which said potato pieces are passed;
• first conveyor means in said hopper means for removing said potato pieces from the bottom of said supply of said potato pieces in said hopper means for transporting said potato pieces to said hopper discharge aperture and discharging said pieces through the hopper discharge aperture into said cooking liquid;
• second conveyor medans in said reservoir for transporting said potato pieces through said hot cooking liquid, said second conveyor means adapted for moving generally equal amounts of potato pieces per unit length of said conveyor means through said cooking liquid and for moving said potato pieces out of said cooking liquid after the pieces have been cooked;
• enclosure means for covering said reservoir, said enclosure means defining an enclosure discharge aperture at one end of said second conveyor means to allow the discharge of cooked pieces of potato and defining an enclosure inlet aperture for allowing the passage of said pieces of potato dropping from said hopper means into said reservoir;
• and
• water vapor extraction duct means communicating with said reservoir via said enclosure inlet aperture for receiving the water vapor generated upon contact of frozen pieces of potato with the hot cooking liquid.

An apparatus for continuously feeding pieces of food into hot liquid at a predetermined rate, for frying the food pieces in the liquid, and for discharging cooked food pieces from the liquid automatically, said apparatus comprising:

• a frame;
• hopper means mounted on said frame for holding a supply of said food pieces, said hopper means defining an inlet aperture through which said supply of food pieces can be loaded into said hopper means, and said hopper means having at least one downwardly slanted bottom wall and further defining a hopper discharge aperture through which said food pieces are passed;
• an endless loop first conveyor means in said hopper means defining a conveying path at an angle relative to said one slanted bottom wall for lifting said food pieces from the bottom of said supply of said food pieces to the top of said supply and dropping said food pieces through said hopper discharge aperture at a generally predetermined rate;
• a reservoir on said frame below said hopper means for holding said cooking liquid spaced from and below said hopper discharge aperture for receiving said dropping food pieces;
• means for heating said cooking liquid in said reservoir;
• and
• second conveyor means for collecting said food pieces dropped into said cooking liquid and for transporting said food pieces through said cooking liquid, said conveyor means having a first portion adapted for moving generally equal amounts of food pieces per unit length of said conveyor means through said cooking liquid and having a second portion for moving said food pieces out of said cooking liquid after the pieces have been cooked.

An apparatus for continuously feeding pieces of frozen potato into hot cooking liquid at a predetermined rate, for frying pieces of potato within the liquid, and for discharging cooked pieces of potato from the liquid automatically, said apparatus comprising:

• a frame;
• a generally enclosed elongate reservoir mounted on said frame for holding a predetermined amount of cooking liquid, said reservoir including an inlet passageway at one end above said cooking liquid and a reservoir discharge aperture at the other end above said cooking liquid;
• a plurality of generally horizontally disposed combustion gas burner tubes mounted with said reservoir from one end of the reservoir to the other end and adapted to be submerged by said cooking liquid, said burner tubes defining inlet openings exterior of the reservoir on one end of said reservoir and defining outlet openings exterior of the reservoir on the other end of said reservoir, said reservoir being sealed around said burner tubes inwardly of said burner tube inlet and outlet openings;
• combustion gas supply means communicating with said burner tube inlet openings;
• intake air inlet duct means communicating between said burner tube inlet openings and the ambient atmosphere exterior of said apparatus;
• exhaust duct means communicating between said burner tube outlet openings and the ambient atmosphere exterior of said apparatus, said exhaust duct means arranged in thermally conductive contact with said intake air inlet duct means for exchanging heat from the hot exhaust gases to the cooler inlet air in said inlet duct means;
• hopper means mounted on said frame above said reservoir for holding a supply of said pieces of frozen potato, said hopper means defining a hopper inlet through which said supply of potato pieces can be loaded into said hopper means and further defining a hopper discharge aperture through which said potato pieces are passed, said hopper discharge aperture spaced above said cooking liquid at one end of said reservoir and in alignment with said reservoir inlet passageway;
• first conveyor means in said hopper means for lifting potato pieces from the bottom of said supply of said potato pieces in said hopper means and for transporting said pieces of potato through said hopper discharge aperture and through said reservoir inlet passageway into said cooking liquid;
• vapor extraction duct means communicating between said exhaust duct means and said reservoir inlet passageway for removing the water vapor generated upon contact of frozen potato pieces with the hot cooking liquid;
• a foraminous screen in said reservoir above said burner tubes, said foraminous screen having a first arcuate portion and a second straight, generally horizontal portion merging with said arcuate portion and a third upwardly sloping portion merging with said second portion and extending to said reservoir discharge aperture;
• and
• second conveyor means in said reservoir for transporting said potato pieces through said cooking liquid, said second conveyor means including an endless conveyor device mounted in said reservoir on horizontal transverse axes, one of said axes defining a loading end of the conveyor device located in said reservoir to provide a generally unobstructed free fall area below said reservoir inlet passageway for receiving said dropping potato pieces, said endless conveyor device including a generally flexible belt and transverse, foraminous paddles extending outwardly from said flexible belt defining a forward conveying path below the belt and a return path above the belt, said endless conveyor device defining longitudinally aligned first and second portions, said first portion arranged with said flexible belt disposed generally horizontally and submerged within said cooking liquid in the forward conveying path and above said cooking liquid said return path, said second portion angled upwardly with respect to said first portion and extending out of said cooking liquid to said reservoir discharge aperture, said paddles in said forward conveying path closely fitting within portions of the reservoir and with said foraminous screen whereby generally equal amounts of potato pieces per pair of adjacent paddles are carried by said paddles through said cooking liquid and are discharged from said apparatus out of said reservoir discharge aperture after the pieces have been cooked.