US 6,578,471 B2Granted

Apparatus for form-frying snack food product

AssigneeRecot, Inc.

InventorsLawrence Graham, Ponnattu Kurian Joseph, Todd Charles McNeel, Kenneth R. Brocker, Stephen N. Forti, Edward J. Goldman, Malcolm E. Taylor, Edward L. Dickinson, Patsy Anthony Coppola, Richard F. Terrazzano, Andrew C. Harvey

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Abstract

Apparatus and method for cooking snack food pieces features a drum-type fryer which transports individual, die-cut piece preforms through hot oil contained within a cooking tank defined between the periphery of the drum and a housing in which the drum is contained. Vacuum transfer and feed rollers transfer the individual piece preforms from a die-cutting roller assembly onto the drum for cooking, and a similar roller transfers the cooked snack food pieces from the drum to a take-away conveyor for subsequent, downstream processing. The pieces are retained by suction against molding surfaces of frying mold elements distributed over the periphery of the frying drum.

Claims12

Dependent claims

A frying mold element for use in frying snack food piece preforms to make cooked snack food pieces, said frying mold element comprising:

a stem portion configured to permit air to pass therethrough;
and
a mold portion attached to said stem portion, said mold portion having a perforated, open mold surface through which suction forces can act to draw a snack food piece preform thereagainst, said mold surface having a predetermined surface contour which is to be imparted to the snack food piece preforms, wherein said mold surface has a series of grooves or channels formed therein, said grooves or channels being sufficiently dimensioned to permit a cooking medium to circulate therethrough, whereby the cooking medium is able to pass between said mold surface and a snack food piece preform held thereagainst.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 09/998,441Filed 3 Dec 2001 · division
Priority: 24 Apr 2000
Published: US 2002/0035930 A128 Mar 2002
Granted: 17 Jun 2003
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification9 codes

A21B 5/08
Baking apparatus for special goods; Other baking apparatus: apparatus for baking in baking fat or oil, e.g. for making doughnuts
A23L 5/11
General methods of cooking foods, e.g. by roasting or frying: using oil
A23L 7/13
Flakes or other shapes of ready-to-eat type; Semi-finished or partly-finished products therefor: snacks or the like obtained by oil frying of a…
A47J 37/1214
Deep fat fryers, e.g. for frying fish or chips: the food being transported through an oil-bath