Foods and beverages: apparatus – Cooking – Boiler or deep fat fryer type
Reexamination Certificate
2000-10-06
2002-07-02
Alexander, Reginald L. (Department: 1761)
Foods and beverages: apparatus
Cooking
Boiler or deep fat fryer type
C099S408000, C099S410000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06412401
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to a household fryer, of the type which includes a bowl which is adapted to receive an oil reserve up to a maximum filling level, a fry basket adapted to receive the food to be fried, a filtering vessel adapted to receive the fry basket and to slide inside the bowl along a downward course and between a high position for which the bottom of the vessel is higher than the maximum filling level of the bowl, and a low position for which at least the major portion of the basket, which is received in the vessel, is lower than the filling level. The filtering vessel can also move along an upward course. Additionally, the filtering vessel has a bottom wall in which at least a portion of the bottom wall forms a filter.
2. Description of Background and Relevant Information
A fryer of this type is disclosed, for example, in FR-A-2 479 677. In the patent, a removable waste filter
34
is inserted between a pan
32
and a basket
12
, which basket can be displaced between its high position and its low position in the pan, and inversely, without any concurrent displacement of the waste filter. If the waste filter can be removed from the pan so as to eliminate of the waste retained therein, it is by implementing a specific manual step. In the absence of this implementation, the waste filter, along with the waste which it contains, remains immersed in the frying oil from one frying operation to the next. Moreover, when this operation is implemented, the waste filter is lifted directly from its immersed position in the oil toward the outside of the pan, inevitably with oil drippings on the cooking surface and risks of burning if the oil is hot. This unpractical system can urge the user not to extract the waste filter after each frying operation, in which case food debris build up in the waste filter, resulting in a further carbonization of these debris each time and an accelerated degradation of the oil.
Also contributing to this degradation is the fact that the free surface of the oil is almost entirely exposed to the ambient air.
Furthermore, a fryer has been proposed in FR-A-2 086 562, in which elastic means formed by a spring (
9
) takes support on the bottom of a first container, or pan (
4
), and on the bottom of a blind cylindrical boss (
10
) provided in the bottom of a second container, or fry basket (
6
), which spring biases the basket away from the bottom of the pan. The fryer also includes a means for temporary locking of the fry basket in low position.
This fryer is designed to maintain the basket in low position as long as the cooking of the food has not reached a certain stage. To this end, it is by means of an originally raw piece
18
of the food involved, fixed on skewers
19
attached to the cover, that the spring
9
is compressed when the cover is closed, which enables the basket to move and be maintained in a low position. When the piece of food inserted breaks or becomes too soft under the cooking effect, to keep the spring compressed, the latter expands and the basket rises. At this point, the food is supposed to be properly cooked.
This fryer comprises a bottom, or plate
22
, on which the fry basket rests. If it is understood that this plate is lowered when the basket is lowered against the force of the spring, the patent is silent with respect to the means that enable the plate to rise with the basket: indeed, it is clearly indicated in the description of this patent that the spring does not push on the plate but on the basket (the plate necessarily having, to this end, a central cutout for the passage of the spring). Therefore, when the basket rises, there is no reason for the plate to follow along. In addition, the cylinder
11
, that is affixed to the cover and into which penetrates the boss
10
of the bottom of the basket in high position thereof, prevents the opening of the fryer by pivoting of the lid about the hinge
14
when the fry basket is in this high position. This opening is possible only when the boss
11
is not engaged with the cylinder
10
, i.e., in the low position of the basket, in other words, with the food immersed in the oil. The draining of the cooked food, subsequent to the automatic lifting of the basket, is done to no purpose.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention overcomes the disadvantages of the prior art by proposing a fryer that is simple and safe. The flyer provides for filtering of oil and includes an elastic mechanism which supports the bottom of the filtering vessel instead of the fry basket.
Thus, the invention provides for filtering the oil each time the filtering vessel/fry basket assembly rises. Moreover, this is accomplished without any member being an obstacle to the opening of the flyer when the fry basket is in a high position, i.e., in a position which allows it to drain.
In operation, the elastic mechanism biases the filtering vessel upward and/or away from the bottom of the bowl. In at least one embodiment, this biasing mechanism can be constituted by a spring.
The invention therefore provides for a fryer for frying food comprising a fry basket adapted to receive the food to be fried, a vessel adapted to receive the fry basket, a bowl adapted to receive the vessel and a quantity of oil, at least one of the fly basket and the vessel being adapted to move between a first position above the oil and a second position which is at least partially within the oil, a filter adapted to be disposed inside the bowl, a biasing mechanism adapted to be disposed within the bowl, and a retaining mechanism for retaining one of the fry basket and the vessel in the second position.
The vessel may comprise a filtering vessel. The filter may be disposed between a bottom of the fry basket and a bottom of the filtering vessel. The filter may be disposed between the fry basket and a bottom inside surface of the bowl. The retaining mechanism may be adapted to temporarily lock the vessel in the second position. The biasing mechanism may engage a bottom of the vessel and a bottom of the bowl. The fryer may be adapted for household use and the bowl may be adapted to receive an oil reserve up to a maximum filling level. Each of the fry basket and the filtering vessel may be adapted to slide within the bowl. The biasing mechanism may bias one of, the filter, the fry basket, and the filtering vessel away from a bottom of the bowl. The first position may comprise a bottom of the vessel being disposed above a maximum filling level of the bowl and the second position may comprise the bottom of the vessel being disposed below the maximum filing level of the bowl. A bottom wall of the vessel may comprise the filter. The biasing mechanism may bias each of the filter, the vessel, and the fry basket away from a bottom of the bowl such that the filter, the vessel, and the fry basket are supported above the oil in the first position.
The biasing mechanism may comprise a spring. The vessel may comprise a bottom having at least one oil draining opening. The filter may comprise a fine-mesh netting arranged adjacent the oil draining opening. The filter may comprise a fine-mesh netting arranged adjacent at least one oil draining opening disposed in a bottom of the vessel. The at least one opening may be centrally disposed in the bottom of the vessel and wherein the fine-mesh netting comprises an area which is greater than an area of the at least one oil draining opening. A solid area of the bottom of the vessel may be at least 5-7 times greater than an area of the at least one oil draining opening. A fine-mesh area of the filter may be at least 5-7 times greater than an area of the at least one oil draining opening. The fryer may further comprise a cover. The cover may comprise the retaining mechanism. The cover may be adapted to be disposed within the bowl. The cover may be adapted to rest against the vessel and to slide within the bowl. The retaining mechanism may be adapted to lock the vessel in the second position after the cover is slid to a predetermined de
Alexander Reginald L.
Greenblum & Bernstein P.L.C.
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