Automatic food frying and dispensing apparatus
First Claim
1. Automatic food frying and dispensing apparatus, said apparatus comprising:
- a cabinet adapted to be supported at a suitable working height and having a predetermined number of panels, at least one of said panels being configured to allow access to the interior of said cabinet;
a container positioned within said cabinet for holding a supply of cooking oil;
means for maintaining the temperature of said cooking oil sufficiently high for cooking successive batches of food products;
means positioned within the cabinet for supporting the food product;
means for an operator to manually select a length of time for the food product to be cooked;
means for allowing the food product to be manually deposited by said operator into said means for supporting, said means for allowing including a lid which is movably mounted to a predetermined one of said panels of said cabinet with said lid being movable between a closed position and an open position, an aperture formed in said one of said panels and positioned in operative alignment with said lid and a chute which is operatively positioned in said cabinet to guide the food product from said aperture to said means for supporting;
means for automatically lowering the means for supporting the food product into the supply of cooking oil to a cook position upon the manual selection of the length of time for the food product to be cooked;
means for determining the termination of the selected length of time for the food product to be cooked;
means for automatically raising the means for supporting the food product to a discharge position upon the termination of the length of time manually selected by said operator for the food product to be cooked;
a food collection station positioned in a predetermined portion of said cabinet and capable of supporting a food container placed therein by said operator; and
means for guiding the food product from the means for supporting to said food container positioned in said food collection station by said operator.
4 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Automatic food frying and dispensing apparatus is disclosed which is housed in a supporting cabinet and includes a device for holding a supply of cooking oil and a heating device for maintaining the temperature of the cooking oil at a predetermined temperature. A fan assembly exhausts air through the top of the cabinet. A derated precipitator, a flame arrester and a charcoal filter are positioned upstream of the fan assembly and in the path of air flow. A switch device is positioned in the path of air flow and shuts off the heating device if the air flow drops below a predetermined value. Food handling apparatus automatically lowers the food to be cooked into the cooking oil when a customer selects a desired cooking time and automatically raises the food from the cooking oil and dumps the food into a container positioned at the food collection station at the end of the preselected cooking time.
61 Citations
20 Claims
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1. Automatic food frying and dispensing apparatus, said apparatus comprising:
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a cabinet adapted to be supported at a suitable working height and having a predetermined number of panels, at least one of said panels being configured to allow access to the interior of said cabinet; a container positioned within said cabinet for holding a supply of cooking oil; means for maintaining the temperature of said cooking oil sufficiently high for cooking successive batches of food products; means positioned within the cabinet for supporting the food product; means for an operator to manually select a length of time for the food product to be cooked; means for allowing the food product to be manually deposited by said operator into said means for supporting, said means for allowing including a lid which is movably mounted to a predetermined one of said panels of said cabinet with said lid being movable between a closed position and an open position, an aperture formed in said one of said panels and positioned in operative alignment with said lid and a chute which is operatively positioned in said cabinet to guide the food product from said aperture to said means for supporting; means for automatically lowering the means for supporting the food product into the supply of cooking oil to a cook position upon the manual selection of the length of time for the food product to be cooked; means for determining the termination of the selected length of time for the food product to be cooked; means for automatically raising the means for supporting the food product to a discharge position upon the termination of the length of time manually selected by said operator for the food product to be cooked; a food collection station positioned in a predetermined portion of said cabinet and capable of supporting a food container placed therein by said operator; and means for guiding the food product from the means for supporting to said food container positioned in said food collection station by said operator. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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16. Automatic food frying and dispensing apparatus, said apparatus comprising:
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a cabinet adapted to be supported at a suitable working height and having a predetermined number of panels, at least one of said panels being configured to allow access to the interior of said cabinet; a container positioned within said cabinet for holding a supply of cooking oil; means for maintaining the temperature of said cooking oil sufficiently high for cooking successive batches of food products; means positioned within the cabinet for supporting the food product; means for an operator to manually select a length of time for the food product to be cooked; means for allowing the food product to be manually deposited by said operator into said means for supporting; means for automatically lowering the means for supporting the food product into the supply of cooking oil to a cook position upon the manual selection of the length of time for the food product to be cooked; means for determining the termination of the selected length of time for the food product to be cooked; means for automatically raising the means for supporting the food product to a discharge position upon the termination of the length of time manually selected by the operator for the food product to be cooked; blower means positioned within said cabinet for circulating air through the automatic food frying and dispensing apparatus along a predetermined path and exiting at a predetermined location; and a flame arrester positioned in said predetermined air path and downstream from said container for holding a supply of oil, said flame arrester configured to prevent flames from traveling past said flame arrester toward said blower means. - View Dependent Claims (17)
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18. Automatic food frying and dispensing apparatus, said apparatus comprising:
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a cabinet adapted to be supported at a suitable working height and having a predetermined number of panels, at least one of said panels being configured to allow access to the interior of said cabinet; a container positioned within said cabinet for holding a supply of cooking oil; means for maintaining the temperature of said cooking oil sufficiently high for cooking successive batches of food products; means positioned within the cabinet for supporting the food product; means for an operator to manually select a length of time for the product to be cooked; means for allowing the product to be manually deposited by said operator into said means for supporting; means for automatically lowering the means for supporting the food product into the supply of cooking oil to a cook position upon the manual selection of the length of time for the food product to be cooked; means for determining the termination of the selected length of time for the food product to be cooked; means for automatically raising the means for supporting the food product to a discharge position upon the termination of the length of time manually selected by the operator for the food product to be cooked; blower means positioned within said cabinet for circulating air through the automatic food frying and dispensing apparatus along a predetermined path and exiting at a predetermined location; and switch means physically positioned in the predetermined path of circulating air and capable of being operated to an "on" condition by the circulating air, said switch means being operatively coupled with respect to said means for maintaining the temperature of said cooking oil such that said means for maintaining the temperature of said cooking oil will not function unless said switch means is in the "on" condition.
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19. Automatic food frying and dispensing apparatus, said apparatus comprising:
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a cabinet adapted to be supported at a suitable working height and having a predetermined number of panels, at least one of said panels being configured to allow access to the interior of said cabinet; a container positioned within said cabinet for holding a supply of cooking oil; means for maintaining the temperature of said cooking oil sufficiently high for cooking successive batches of food products; means positioned within the cabinet for supporting the food product; means for an operator to manually select a length of time for the food product to be cooked; means for allowing the food product to be manually deposited by said operator into said means for supporting; means for automatically lowering the means for supporting the food product into the supply of cooking oil to a cook position upon the manual selection of the length of time for the food product to be cooked; means for determining the termination of the selected length of time for the food product to be cooked; means for automatically raising the means for supporting the food product to a discharge position upon the termination of the length of time manually selected by the operator for the food product to be cooked; blower means positioned within said cabinet for circulating air through the automatic food frying and dispensing apparatus along a predetermined path and exiting at a predetermined location; and a charcoal filter positioned in said predetermined air path, said charcoal filter comprising an upper portion of serpertine shape forming a succession of hills and valleys, a lower portion of serpentine shape forming a succession of hills and valleys, said lower portion being positioned in mating relationship with said upper portion and a predetermined distance therefrom, side portions operatively connected between said upper portion and said lower portion, around the periphery thereof, to form a volume therewithin, and charcoal particles contained within said volume. - View Dependent Claims (20)
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Specification