DEEP-FRYING OIL AND/OR DEEP-FRYING FAT SENSOR FOR DETERMINING A DEEP-FRYING OIL AND/OR DEEP-FRYING FAT QUALITY

• US 20200132614A1
• Filed: 03/19/2018
• Published: 04/30/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 04/28/2017
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Testo SE & Co. KGaA
• Original Assignee: Testo SE & Co. KGaA
• Inventors: STALLMANN, Siegfried, MUNZER, Markus, GOTZ, Meinrad
• Granted Patent: US 11,287,393 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: A47J 37/1233 the frying liquid being heated outside the frying vessel, e.g. by pumping it through a heat exchanger
• CPC Class Codes: A47J 37/1266 Control devices, e.g. to control temperature, level or quality of the frying liquid
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 27/221 by investigating the dielectric properties using microwaves G01N22/00; measuring loss factors or dielectric constants per se G01R27/26
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 27/226 Construction of measuring vessels; Electrodes therefor
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 33/03 Edible oils or edible fats

Abstract

A frying oil and/or frying fat sensor (1) for determining a frying oil and/or frying fat quality, having a conductor structure (2) that is fixedly connected, at a proximal end, to an electronics part (5), wherein the conductor structure (2) has an inner conductor (6) and an outer conductor (7) that are arranged coaxially with respect to one another and are both connected fixedly to the electronics part at the proximal end. The inner conductor (6), at at least one free end, is guided so as to be able to move relative to the outer conductor (7) in the axial direction in order to compensate temperature-induced mechanical stresses.

Claims

1. A frying oil and/or frying fat sensor (1) for determining a frying oil and/or frying fat quality, the frying oil and/or frying fat sensor comprising:

a conductor structure (2) including an inner conductor (6) and an outer conductor (7) that are arranged coaxially with respect to one another,

an electronics part (5) arranged on a proximal end of the conductor structure (3), and

the inner conductor (6) is guided so as to be able to move in an axial direction at least at one end thereof to compensate for temperature-induced mechanical stresses.

2. The frying oil and/or frying fat sensor (1) according to claim 1, further comprising a floating support (8), and the inner conductor (6), at the at least one end that is guided for movement in the axial direction, is guided by the floating support (8), which said end being supported only radially.

3. The frying oil and/or frying fat sensor (1) according to claim 1, wherein the inner conductor (6), at a proximal end thereof, is connected to the electronics part (5) in a positionally fixed manner by a fixed support (9) and, at a distal end, is guided for movement in the axial direction.

4. The frying oil and/or frying fat sensor (1) according to claim 1, wherein the frying oil and/or frying fat sensor (1) comprises a capacitive sensor that is configured to measure a capacitance that is dependent on the quality of the oil and/or of the fat, between the inner conductor (6) and the outer conductor (7), wherein the oil and/or the fat is adapted to form a dielectric whose permittivity is dependent on a usage time of the oil and/or of the fat.

5. The frying oil and/or frying fat sensor (1) according to claim 1, further comprising a measurement chamber (13) in which a measurement channel (14) is formed between the outer conductor (7) and the inner conductor (6), said measurement channel is configured such that, when the frying oil and/or frying fat sensor (1) is put into use, the oil and/or fat is adapted to flow through in at least one of a radial or axial direction.

6. The frying oil and/or frying fat sensor (1) according to claim 5, wherein the measurement chamber (13) has an inflow opening (16) and an outflow opening (17), and the measurement chamber (13) is configured such that, when the frying oil and/or frying fat sensor (1) is put into use, the oil and/or fat is adapted to flow through the inflow opening (16) into the measurement channel (14) and exits the measurement chamber (13) at the outflow opening (17).

7. The frying oil and/or frying fat sensor (1) according to claim 1, further comprising a first insulating element (18) on a distal end of the conductor structure (4) and a second insulating element (19) on a proximal end of the conductor structure (3) that electrically separate the outer conductor (7) and the inner conductor (6) from one another.

8. The frying oil and/or frying fat sensor (1) according to claim 7, further comprising a floating support (8) formed by the first insulating element (18) on the distal end of the conductor structure (4).

9. The frying oil and/or frying fat sensor (1) according to claim 7, wherein the first insulating element on the distal end of the conductor structure (4) is made from plastic or ceramic.

10. The frying oil and/or frying fat sensor (1) according to claim 1, wherein a proximal end of the outer conductor (7) is fixedly connected to the electronics part (5) by a fixed support (9).

11. The frying oil and/or frying fat sensor (1) according to claim 1, wherein the inner conductor (6), at the at least one end that is guided, is guided for movement relative to the outer conductor (7).

12. The frying oil and/or frying fat sensor (1) according to claim 3, wherein the inner conductor (6) tapers to a mandrel (11) in a fixing region (10) of the fixed support (9) and the inner conductor (6) is fixedly connected to the electronics part (5) by a fixing element (12) via the mandrel (11).

13. The frying oil and/or frying fat sensor (1) according to claim 5, wherein an inside diameter of the measurement channel (14), in an inflow direction (15), is wider than an inside diameter, running perpendicular to the inflow direction (15), of the measurement channel (14).

14. The frying oil and/or frying fat sensor (1) according to claim 7, wherein the first insulating element is fixed on the distal end of the outer conductor (7).

15. The frying oil and/or frying fat sensor (1) according to claim 7, wherein the second insulating element on the proximal end of the conductor structure (3) is made from plastic or ceramic.