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AssigneeAlkar-RapidPak-MP Equipment, Inc.
InventorsRobert Jeffrey Sprinkle, Jason M. Jeong, Donald A. Mather, Mark W. Taylor, Steven M. Harrington
Estimating the term…
A frying system for frying a food product is disclosed having an endless conveyor system for cooking product in a bath of hot cooking oil. The endless conveyor system includes a submerging conveyor, a main conveyor, and a sediment conveyor, permanently, successively linked to one another. The endless conveyor system is also permanently linked to a hood portion of the housing. The sediment conveyor includes a heat exchanger constantly connected thereto for heating the bath of hot cooking oil. The heat exchanger includes a plurality of elongated elliptical shaped conduits and further may include a baffle that may operate as an elongated fluid flow optimization member to re-direct the flow of fluid. The hood portion of the housing of the frying system is capable of being raised and lowered from a closed, operative position to an open, inoperative position, and to intermediate positions therebetween. Since the components of the conveyor system are permanently successively linked together and to hood, as the hood is raised, the components of the conveyor system may be removed from the bath or, alternatively, may remain in the bath while other portions are removed.
A fryer comprising a housing having a tank for holding a bath of cooking oil, a conveyor system carrying food product through the bath, a drive system driving the conveyor system, a heat exchanger heating the bath, said tank having a bottom surface and left and right sidewalls extending upwardly therefrom on laterally distally opposite sides of said conveyer system therebetween, said tank having an in-feed end and a discharge end, and comprising left and right pocket cut-outs in said left and right sidewalls, respectively, said left and right pocket cut-outs being intermediate said in-feed and discharge ends, and extending laterally outwardly away from said tank, such that said left pocket cut-out extends laterally outwardly away from said left sidewall and receives a portion of said bath of cooking oil therein, and said right pocket cut-out extends laterally outwardly away from said right sidewall and receives another portion of said bath of cooking oil therein.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.