Patent ID: 9693654
Date: 2017-07-04
CPC Classifications: A22C,A47J

Claim:
1. An automated cooker processing a plurality of bite-sized food pieces, comprising: a cooking chamber defining a closed cooking volume having an interior wall surface exposed to said cooking volume, said interior wall surface having a circular arc portion; a heating structure configured to raise a temperature of said interior wall surface to a desired cooking temperature, said desired cooking temperature in a range of ambient up to 400 degrees Fahrenheit; a tumbler blade disposed within said cooking volume and including a leading edge complementary to said circular arc, said tumbler blade having a first portion configured to tumble the food pieces in a first direction within said cooking volume in response to a relative movement between said tumbler blade and said interior wall surface, wherein said tumbler blade includes a second portion configured to tumble the food pieces in a second direction orthogonal to said first direction within said cooking volume in response to said relative movement, said directions evenly heating exterior surfaces of the food pieces, responsive to said cooking temperature, up to 225 degrees Fahrenheit; a drive mechanism coupled to said tumbler blade and said cooking chamber, said drive mechanism configured to produce said relative rotation between said tumbler blade and said interior wall surface; and a non-contact thermal probe, outside said cooking volume, configured to determine a surface temperature of said exterior surfaces through an aperture in said interior wall surface; and a controller, coupled to said non-contact thermal probe, said heating structure, and to said tumbler blade, to operate said heating structure and said relative rotation until said surface temperature represents an internal temperature of the food pieces.