Patent ID: 6305274
Filing Date: 2001-10-23
Classification: A47J

Abstract:
A hot oil fryer for continuous frying duty in continuous food process lines, comprising:a cooking channel having a bottom wall between spaced sidewalls and spaced end walls for containing cooking oil to a given fill level;a conveyor belt having an upper food-carrying run and a lower sediment-motivating run, which sediment-motivating run is disposed to traverse along the cooking channel bottom wall for motivating sediment in direction of one end of the cooking channel;wherein the conveyor belt is disposed in the cooking channel such that a majority of both runs can be sunk below the given fill level of the cooking oil;a bed of rectangular or square heat exchanger tubes arranged in spaced rows that extend parallel to the runs of the conveyor, wherein in cases of rectangular tubes each is disposed upright with the narrow sides being top and bottom and the broad sides being vertical, and wherein said bed of heat exchanger tubes is interposed between the conveyor belt's upper and lower runs such that the top sides of the tubes cooperatively support the upper food-carrying run against sagging and also cut-down the span between the source of heat flowing inside the heat exchanger tubes and the sink of heat in the food product that is transported on the food-carrying run; anda heat input system for servicing the heat exchanger tubes with a heat medium.