Abstract:
A liquid heating cooker comprises a container having an access portion that is covered by a removable cover. A vat containing a heating medium is positioned within the container, and a combustion burner, provided to heat the medium, is positioned within the container such that a combustion surface of the burner opposes an outer wall surface of the vat. Guide means are also provided for sliding the burner in and out of the container via the access portion, such that the burner is removable and attachable with respect to the container. A combustion chamber is defined by the combustion surface of the burner and the opposing outer wall surface of the vat, and a portion of the burner defines a partitioning wall partitioning the combustion chamber into left and right chambers with respect to the sliding direction of the burner.

Description:
This application claims the benefit of Japanese Application 2002-000208, filed Jan. 7, 2002, the entirety of which is incorporated herein by reference. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to liquid heating cookers such as fryers and noodle boilers in which a heating medium such as cooking oil or water that has been filled into a vat is heated by a burner so as to cook foods such as French fries or noodles. 
     2. Description of the Related Art 
     A conventional fryer  100  is shown in FIG.  6 . The fryer is provided with a vat  110  into which cooking oil for deep frying foods, such as French fries and chicken, is filled, and the cooking oil in the vat is heated from the outside of the vat  110  through the combustion of a burner  120 . 
     Broadly speaking, the vat  110  includes left and right side wall portions  115  that oppose each other, a front wall portion formed vertically (not shown), a rear wall portion  114  in opposition to the front wall portion, and a bottom wall portion  111 . 
     The side wall portions  115  of the vat  110  include an upper side wall portion  115   c  forming a vertical wall, a middle side wall portion  115   b  sloping downward from the upper side wall portion  115   c,  and a lower side wall portion  115   a  extending vertically from the bottom end of the middle side wall portion  115   b.  The region enclosed by the upper side wall portion  115   c,  the middle side wall portion  115   b,  the front wall portion, and the rear wall portion  114  is a cooking zone X. 
     A relatively narrow deep well portion  112  is formed in the lower part of the vat  110 , surrounded by the left and right lower side wall portions  115   a  and the bottom wall portion  111 , and extending in the depth direction. 
     A pair of ceramic burners  120  for heating the cooking oil are provided on the left and right lower side wall portions  115   a.  The region below the burners  120  in the well portion  112  is formed as a cold zone Y that is only slightly heated. The cold zone Y is capable of holding oil sediment generated from the foods during cooking, thereby preventing deterioration of the cooking oil. 
     Outside panels  131  are provided the outside of the vat  110  to the left and right at a certain distance from the middle side wall portions  115   b.  The upper part of the outside panels  131  is bent and fixed to the upper side wall portions  115   c.  An exhaust duct  130  is formed between the outside panels  131  and the middle side wall portions  115   b.  The exhaust duct  130  conveys combustion gas from the burners  120  to the rear wall portion  114  via the middle side wall portions  115   b,  and discharges the combustion gas out of the fryer. 
     The burners  120  are caulked to an upper fixed panel  116   a  and a lower fixed panel  116   b , each having a bracket-shaped cross section. Due to the caulking, a hermetic combustion chamber  129  is formed between the burners  120  and the lower side wall portions  115   a,  thereby preventing leakage of the combustion gas. 
     Because the burners  120  are fixed by caulking, however, if complications such as cracking in the ceramic plates forming the combustion wall occur, the burners  120  cannot be removed from the fryer  100  and replaced. Thus, it is necessary to replace the entire vat  110 , which is formed in a single unit with the burners  120 . Accordingly, maintenance costs are very high. 
     The liquid heating cooker of the present invention solves this problem, and it is an object thereof to reduce maintenance costs for the burners. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     According to a first aspect of the present invention, and in order to solve the foregoing problems, a liquid heating cooker is provided, comprising: 
     a vat in which a heating medium is filled; 
     a burner for heating the heating medium within the vat by combustion so as to cook foods; and 
     a container for containing the burner so that its combustion surface is in opposition to an outside wall surface of the vat; 
     wherein a guide means for sliding the burner in and out and an access portion for the burner are formed in the container, so as to make the burner removable and attachable with respect to the container. 
     According to a second aspect of the present invention, a liquid heating cooker according to the first aspect is provided, wherein the guide means is arranged so that the burner can be slid in the front to back direction, the access portion is arranged at a front surface of the container, and a cover for covering the access portion is provided in such a way that it can be removed from the container. 
     According to a third aspect of the present invention, a liquid heating cooker according to the second aspect is provided, wherein the combustion surface of the burner faces upwards and heats a bottom surface of the vat. 
     According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, a liquid heating cooker according to the third aspect is provided, wherein the container, by containing the burner, is partitioned into a combustion chamber formed between the combustion surface of the burner and the bottom surface of the vat and a non-combustion chamber formed between the bottom surface of the burner and the bottom surface of the container, and wherein a linking route for linking the non-combustion chamber with an air supply route of a blower for supplying combustion air to the burner is provided. 
     According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, a liquid heating cooker according to any of the second to fourth aspects is provided, wherein when the burner is contained in the container, a combustion chamber partitioning wall for partitioning a combustion chamber, which is formed between the combustion surface of the burner and the outside wall surface of the vat, into left and right chambers is formed in the sliding direction of the burner. 
     According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, a liquid heating cooker according to any of the first to fifth aspects is provided, wherein an all primary air burner is used for the burner. 
     With the liquid heating cooker according to the first aspect of the present invention configured as above, foods within the vat are cooked by heating the vat from the outside with the burner. 
     Should the burner break down, then it can be slid along the guide means and removed/inserted through the access portion of the container. As a result, it is possible to repair only the burner or to replace it with a new burner. 
     With the liquid heating cooker according to the second aspect of the present invention, to remove the burner, the blocking panel at the front surface of the cooker is removed and the burner is pulled out toward the cooker operator from the access portion of the container. 
     With the liquid heating cooker according to the third aspect of the present invention, the burner is provided below the vat, where there is available space, and thus the cooker does not become as large as when the burner is provided to the front, back, left, or right of the vat. 
     Additionally, the heating medium within the vat is heated from below, so that the heating medium is circulated while rising smoothly. 
     With the liquid heating cooker according to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the non-combustion chamber and the blower are linked via the linking route, and thus air pressure from the blower acts upon the non-combustion chamber. Accordingly, combustion gas from the burner does not flow to the non-combustion chamber, even if airtightness is not maintained between the combustion chamber and the non-combustion chamber. 
     With the liquid heating cooker according to the fifth aspect of the present invention, the combustion chamber partitioning wall is formed in the direction in which the burner slides, and thus when the burner is contained within the container, the combustion chamber is partitioned into left and right chambers. 
     With the liquid heating cooker according to the sixth aspect of the present invention, an all primary air burner is used, so that combustion is performed with primary air only and the burner can be operated at any angle, including sideways and downward orientations. Consequently, with the liquid heating cooker according to claim 6, there is a large degree of freedom as to the orientation of the combustion surface, making the arrangement of the burner easy. 
     Accordingly, there are few limitations as to the direction at which the burner is inserted and removed, which allows the access portion to be provided in a direction at which the burner is easily removed and also allows the burner to be arranged at a location where favorable cooking is achieved. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a portion of a liquid heating cooker (e.g., a fryer) according to one embodiment of the present invention. 
     FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional front view of a liquid heating cooker (e.g., a fryer) according to one embodiment of the present invention. 
     FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional side view of a liquid heating cooker (e.g., a fryer) according to one embodiment of the present invention. 
     FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional front view of a burner and the surrounding components according to one embodiment of the present invention. 
     FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional side view of a portion of a liquid heating cooker (e.g., a fryer) according to one embodiment of the present invention. 
     FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional front view of a portion of a conventional fryer. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     To further clarify the configuration and the operation of the present invention as explained above, a preferred embodiment of the liquid heating cooker of the present invention is described below. 
     A commercial fryer is described as an embodiment of the present invention with reference to FIGS. 1 to  6 . 
     As shown in FIG. 3, the fryer  1  includes a main housing  2  inside which the following components are provided: a box-shaped vat  10  into which cooking oil i.e., heating medium) is filled; a burner  20 , which is provided on the outside in opposition to a later-mentioned vat bottom wall portion  11  and is for heating the cooking oil; a container  80 , which is screwed to the bottom part of the vat  10 , for containing and supporting the burner  20 ; a supply portion  70  for supplying air for combustion and combustion gas to the burner  20 ; an exhaust duct  30  that conveys combustion gas from the burner  20  to the outside of the fryer while the cooking oil is heated at intermediate positions thereof; a controller (not shown) for controlling cooking times and the cooking temperature; and a filtration/circulation device  60  provided below the vat  10  for filtering the cooking oil. A door  2   a  is provided in the front surface of the main housing  2 . It should be noted that the left side in FIG. 3 corresponds to the front of the fryer  1 , and is the area where the fryer operator performs the task of cooking foods. 
     As shown in FIGS. 2 to  4 , the wall surface of the vat  10  can be broadly divided into a bottom wall portion  11 , an oil sediment holding portion  12 , a front wall portion  13 , a rear wall portion  14 , a left side wall portion  15 , and a right side wall portion  16 . 
     The left side wall portion  15  and the right side wall portion  16  of the vat  10  each have a step portion  15   a  and  16   a,  respectively, that form the exhaust duct  30 . The front wall portion  13  has a front sloped portion  13   a  that slopes downward toward the rear. 
     The bottom wall portion  11  of the vat  10  is a flat surface that slopes downward to the rear of the vat from the bottom end of the front wall portion  13 , and the oil sediment holding portion  12  for holding oil sediment is formed at the rear end of the bottom wall portion  11  between the bottom wall portion  11  and the rear wall portion  14 . The oil sediment holding portion  12  is formed in a groove shape extending sideways. 
     As shown in FIG. 3, the burner  20  is an all primary air burner with a ceramic plate  22  provided as the combustion surface, in which a plurality of burner ports are formed. The combustion surface of the burner  20  is provided opposing the outer surface of the bottom wall portion  11  of the vat  10  at a predetermined spacing from the bottom wall portion  11 , forming a combustion chamber  29  therebetween. An ignition electrode  51  is provided in the combustion chamber  29  and overlooks the ceramic plate  22 . Although explained in greater detail later, the burner  20  is provided so that it can be removed from and attached to the container  80 . 
     FIG. 4 is a front view in which the components of the burner  20  are shown in detail. 
     The burner  20  includes a flat, box-shaped burner unit  23  with open upper surfaces and ceramic plates  22  that cover the upper surface of the burner unit  23 . Also, a mixing chamber  21  for mixing the combustion gas and the air for combustion is formed between the burner unit  23  and the ceramic plates  22 . 
     The burner unit  23  has a step portion  23   a,  in which the entire circumference of the top end of the step portion  23   a  is bent to the outside. Further, the top ends of the step portion  23   a  are bent to the outside and form left and right end portions  23   b,  a front end portion  23   c,  and a rear end portion  23   d  (FIG.  3 ). 
     The left and right end portions  23   b  extend in the front to back direction on a horizontal plane and are welded to the bottom end surface  26   a  of left and right outside pressing panels  26 , which are described later, to form brim portions  20   a,  as shown in FIG.  4 . 
     The front end portion  23   c  and the rear end portion  23   d  each bend downward and form attachment surfaces, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 5. Grooves  23   e  (FIG. 1) are formed in the left and right ends of the attachment surface of the rear end portions  23   d,  and the rear end portion  23   d  is arranged so that the left and right end portions  23   b  do not come into contact with a later-described rail  90 . 
     Additionally, as shown in FIG. 1, packing members  87  for preventing combustion exhaust leaks are provided to the front and the rear of the burner  20 . 
     As shown in FIG. 4, a mixing chamber partitioning panel  24  for partitioning the mixing chamber  21  into left and right chambers are welded to the middle of the bottom surface of the burner units  23 . The ceramic plates  22  are divided in lengthwise and sideways directions into six plates, and mounted between the mixing chamber partitioning panel  24  to the middle and the step portion  23   a  to the outside on the left and right. 
     The left and right ends of the ceramic plates  22  are held down from above by an inside pressing panel  25 , which is mounted on the mixing chamber partitioning panels  24  and include a groove portion in their center, and the outside pressing panels  26 , which are welded to the left and right end portions  23   b  of the burner unit  23 . 
     A flame transfer panel  25   a  for transferring flames between the ceramic plates  22 , which are separated in the depth direction, is formed in the top portion of the inside pressing panels  25 . 
     A combustion chamber partitioning rod (combustion chamber partitioning wall)  27 , which is made of ceramic wool and is for partitioning the combustion chamber  29  into left and right chambers when the burner  20  is contained, is inserted into the center groove portion of the inside pressing panels  25  from above. 
     Throats  28  made of a throat upper panel  28   a  and a throat lower panel  28   b,  extending from the front surface of the burner unit  23  toward the center of the mixing chambers  21 , are provided inside the burner unit  23 . The throats  28  convey the combustion gas and the air for combustion to the middle of the burner  20  while mixing the gas and air. 
     A center guide panel  91 , which has a bracket-shaped cross section and is for guiding the combustion partitioning rod  27  and partitioning the combustion chamber  29  when the burner  20  is contained, is provided extending in the depth direction in the center of the bottom wall portion  11  of the vat  10 . 
     The container  80  is for fixing the burner  20  in a predetermined position. It is made of side panels  81  that oppose the side wall portions  15  and  16  of the vat  10  with a predetermined spacing between them, a lower panel  82  that is fixed to the bottom end of the side panels  81 , a front panel  83  (cover) that is fixed to the side panels  81  and the lower panel  82 , and covers the access portion  85  (FIG. 1) for the burner  20  that is formed in a front portion between the side panels  81  and the lower panel  82 , and a rear panel  84  that is fixed to the rear wall portion  14  of the vat  10  and bent at its top and bottom into the shape of a bracket. 
     The container  80  is formed hermetically by fixing its component panels  81  to  84  with nuts and bolts. The upper ends of the side panels  81  are fixed to the side wall portions  15  and  16  above the step portions  15   a  and  16   a.    
     An upper portion  83   a  of the front panel  83  is formed at a predetermined spacing from the front sloped portion  13   a  of the vat  10  and extends further upward than the side panels  81 , as shown in FIG.  3 . 
     Furthermore, the lower panel  82  is provided with a linking route  79  that is linked to a later-described air duct  72 . 
     As shown in FIG. 4, rails  90  (guide means) that extend in the depth direction on the inside of the side panels  81  and are for sliding the burner  20  back and forth are formed vertically on the side panels  81 . Lower rails  90   b  support the brim portions  20   a,  and upper rails  90   a  limit upward movement so that the burner  20  does not come into contact with the bottom wall portion  11  of the vat  10 . 
     The burner  20  is guided by the rails  90  and contained in the container  80 . 
     At this time, the container  80  is partitioned vertically by the burner  20  and the rails  90 . Also, the combustion chamber  29  is formed between the combustion surface of the ceramic plates  22  and the outer surface of the bottom wall portion  11  of the vat  10 , and a lower chamber  88  (non-combustion chamber) is formed between the outer bottom surface of the burner unit  23  and the inner surface of the lower panel  82  of the container  80 . 
     In addition, the combustion chamber  29  is partitioned into left and right chambers by the combustion chamber partitioning rod  27  when the burner  20  is contained. 
     The supply portion  70 , as shown in FIGS. 3 and 5, is provided with a fan  71 , the air duct  72  (air supply route), a tube  73 , and a mixture supply duct  74  having a gas inlet  74   a,  in that order from its upstream side, to serve as a route for supplying air for combustion to the burner  20 . The supply portion  70  is also provided with a gas control portion  75  for controlling the supply and the stopping of the fuel gas, a gas duct  76 , and a connection duct  77  provided with a gas nozzle  78  at its front end, in that order from its upstream side, to serve as a route for supplying fuel gas to the burner  20 . 
     It should be noted that the air duct  72  is branched upstream of the linking route  79  to supply fuel gas into each divided mixing chamber  21  from the burner  20 . Also, the supply portion  70  further downstream than the linking route  79  is provided as two parallel systems. 
     The connection duct  77  is connected to the gas inlet  74   a  of the mixture supply duct  74  via an upper coupler  77   a  and is connected to the gas duct  76  via a lower coupler  77   b.    
     Also, the mixture supply duct  74  is brought into contact with the throat  28  of the burner  20  so as to form a single unit with the slot  28  that serves as a mixture flow route. The mixture supply duct  74  is screwed to the burner unit  23  at its flange portion  74   b.    
     The exhaust duct  30  is for conveying combustion gas from the burner  20  to the outside of the fryer. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the exhaust duct  30  is made of left and right ducts  31 , which are linked to the combustion chamber  29  provided below the front part of the vat  10  and are provided to the left and right outside of the vat  10 , a rear duct  32  which is linked to the left and right ducts  31  and provided behind the vat  10 , and a vertically extending exhaust flue  33  which is linked to the rear duct  32  and is open at its upper end. 
     The left and right ducts  31  are formed by the space enclosed by the outer surfaces of the side panels  81 , the rear panel  84 , and the outer surfaces of the lower side wall portions  15  and  16  of the vat  10 , as shown in FIG.  2 . 
     On the other hand, the rear duct  32  is formed by the space enclosed by the outer surface of the rear wall portion  14  of the vat  10  and the inner surface of the rear panel  84 , as shown in FIG.  3 . 
     Side fins  41  are provided in the left and right ducts  31  and are welded to the side wall portions  15  and  16  of the vat  10  sloping upward to the rear. Rear fins  42  are provided in the rear duct  32  and are welded to the left and right sides of the rear wall portion  14  of the vat  10  in rows parallel to one another and sloping upward toward the center. The fins  41  and  42  are provided with L-shaped profiles, promoting the exchange of heat between the combustion gas and the cooking oil. It should be noted that fins having a bracket-shaped cross section can be included among the fins. 
     Insulating material  86  is provided around the entire perimeter of the vat  10  between the container  80  and the vat  10 . 
     The filtration/circulation device  60  includes an inlet pipe  61  for discharging oil from the center bottom portion of the front wall of the oil sediment holding portion  12 , a filter device  63  that is provided with a filter (not shown) and is for filtering the cooking oil that is discharged from the inlet pipe  61 , and a pump  64  for returning the filtered cooking oil to the vat  10  via an outlet pipe  66 . The inlet pipe  61  and the outlet pipe  66  are provided with valves  62  and  65 , respectively. 
     In the fryer  1  of the above-described configuration, once cooking oil has been filled into the vat  10 , the burner  20  is ignited and high temperature combustion gas is delivered from the combustion chamber  29  to the left and right ducts  31  and the rear duct  32 . Accordingly, the cooking oil is heated by heat exchange via the bottom wall portion  11 , the side wall portions  15  and  16 , and the rear wall portion  14  of the vat  10 , after which the combustion gas is discharged from the exhaust flue  33 . 
     The combustion exhaust inside the combustion chamber  29  does not leak into the lower chamber  88  at this time, because the air duct  72  and the lower chamber  88  are linked via the linking route  79 , and thus there is air pressure on the lower chamber  88  from the fan  71 . 
     Consequently, despite the fact that within the container  80  the combustion chamber  29  is separated from the lower chamber  88  via only the burner  20  (that is, the burner unit  23  and the brim portions  20   a ) and the rails  90 , a lower degree of airtightness in the lower portion of the combustion chamber  29  is not problematic. As a result, the rails  90  do not require airtightness, so that they can be configured simply, and manufacturing costs can be kept down. 
     When the burner  20  must be repaired after long term use of the fryer  1 , the door  2   a  on the front of the main housing  2  is firstly opened. 
     Then, the lower coupler  77   b  of the supply portion  70  is loosened and the screws in the flange portion  74   b  of the mixture supply duct  74  are removed, and the mixture supply duct  74  that has become a single unit with the connection duct  77  is removed from the gas duct  76 , the tube  73  that is provided at the end of the air duct  72 , the front panel  83 , and the burner unit  23 . The front panel  83  is then removed from the container  80 . 
     Next, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the brim portion  20   a  of the burner  20  glides on the lower rail  90   b  and the burner  20  is removed obliquely upward (on a substantially horizontal plane) from the access portion  85  (open portion) in the front surface of the container  80 . Then, repairs such as replacing the ceramic plate  22  are performed. 
     With the above-described fryer according to this embodiment, the burner  20  can be easily removed from the fryer  1  by simply removing the screws and nuts on the front surface of the container  80 , taking out the mixture supply duct  74  and the front panel  83 , and sliding the burner  20  forward. 
     Consequently, it is not necessary to replace the entire vat  10  with a new vat when the burner  20  is broken, and thus maintenance costs for the burner  20  can be reduced. 
     Moreover, it is not necessary to remove the lower panel  82  of the container  80 , so that the task of loosening the nuts from below is obviated and the burner  20  can be removed with ease. 
     This effort to realize the easy removal of the burner  20  is accompanied by a drop in the airtightness between the combustion chamber  29  and the lower chamber  88 , which are separated vertically by the burner  20 . However, because the linking route  79  has been provided, the combustion gas from the burner  20  does not flow to the lower chamber  88 . Consequently, heat can be favorably exchanged between the combustion gas and the cooking oil of the vat  10 , which raises the thermal efficiency and is economical. 
     Also, because the burner  20  slides substantially horizontally along the rails  90 , the burner  20  can be inserted and removed with less effort than a type of fryer in which the burner is raised directly upward. Moreover, due to the rails  90 , the positional relationship in the width direction between the burner  20  and the vat  10  is exact. Consequently, the vat  10  can be heated and foods can be cooked at appropriate locations. 
     Also, the burner  20  is an all primary air burner, which has few limitations as to the orientation of its combustion surface. As a result, the burner  20  is easily inserted and removed, and can be arranged in a position and/or orientation where favorable cooking performance can be maintained. 
     In general, very little space can be secured around the fryer  1  in a kitchen in a fast food restaurant, for example. With the fryer  1 , however, the burner  20  has been provided at the bottom wall of the vat  10 , allowing the fryer to be made compact. 
     Also, space for removing the burner does not have to be newly created, because the burner  20  is removed from the front of the fryer where the fryer operator performs the task of cooking foods. Consequently, there is a large degree of freedom as to where the fryer can be placed. Moreover, the cooking oil is heated from below the vat  10 , and thus convection thereof is smooth and foods can be cooked uniformly. 
     A sufficient heating area can be secured in the exhaust duct  30  that encloses the perimeter of the vat  10 , so that the cooking oil can be sufficiently heated even if a burner  20  is provided in only one location. Consequently, a plurality of burners is not required, which makes it possible to keep manufacturing costs down. 
     Furthermore, because the left and right ducts  31  are formed below the step portions  15   a  and  16   a  of the left and right side wall portions  15  and  16  of the vat  10 , they do not bulge from the side of the top portion of the vat  10 , and thus the fryer is compact. 
     Combustion gas from the burner  20  passes from the combustion chamber  29  through the exhaust duct  30 , and thus surrounds the entire perimeter of the bottom part of the vat  10 . As a result, a large area is heated by the combustion gas, which raises the heating efficiency and saves energy. 
     The L-shaped side fins  41  and the rear fins  42  are provided at the side wall portions  15  and  16  and the rear wall portion  14  in a sloping manner. Consequently, the rising high temperature combustion gas is conveyed to the rear duct  32  and is reliably brought into contact with the entire heat receiving surface of the fins  41  and  42 . As a result, the exchange of heat between the combustion gas and the cooking oil is greatly promoted and is efficient. 
     In the foregoing, one embodiment of the present invention was described, but the present invention is in no way limited to this particular embodiment, and may of course be embodied in various other forms within a scope that does not depart from the gist of the present invention. 
     For example, the present invention can be applied to a noodle boiler in place of a fryer, as long as it is an apparatus that cooks foods using a liquid as the heating medium. 
     Also, a Bunsen burner can be employed as the burner in place of the fully aerated burner. There are no particular limitations as to the placement of the all primary air burner as long as it is located outside the vat. 
     Also, the location where the burner is inserted and removed is not limited to the front wall of the container, and can also be the left or right side wall, the rear wall, or the bottom wall. 
     The combustion surface of the burner can also be provided vertically. For example, the burner can be provided in front of the vat and slid to the left and right in the width direction of the vat. Alternatively, the burner can be provided to the left and right outside of the vat and removed from the front. 
     Furthermore, as the guide means, protruding portions can be formed on the bottom surface of the container and recessed portions that engage those protruding portions can be formed in the burner. 
     The fryer  1  according to the present embodiment is a full-vat type fryer in which the vat has not been partitioned, but the present invention can also be applied to a split-vat type fryer in which the vat is partitioned into left and right vats. In the fryer  1 , the combustion chamber  29  is partitioned into left and right chambers by the combustion chamber partitioning rod  27  and the mixing chamber  21  is partitioned into left and right chambers by the mixing chamber partitioning panel  24 . Consequently, simply by providing a gas control portion  75  that can control the supply of gas to the left and right separately, the present invention can be easily applied to a split vat type fryer, making it possible to cook foods using only one of the vats. 
     Therefore, the burner can be employed in both full-vat and split-vat type fryers, and thus manufacturing costs are inexpensive. Moreover, a split vat type fryer does not necessarily require the provision of two burners. 
     As described in detail above, according to the liquid heating cooker of the first aspect of the present invention, the burner can be removed from the container and slides along the guide means. Consequently, if complications arise in the burner, the entire vat or components surrounding the burner do not have to be replaced, as it is easy to remove only the burner by sliding it out through the access portion of the container and then repair or replace it. Hence, costs for repairs can be reduced. 
     Moreover, the vat can be heated and foods can he cooked while maintaining an exact positional relationship of the burner to the vat with the guide means. 
     Furthermore, according to the second aspect of the present invention, the burner slides out and is removed from the front area of the cooker, which is the space where cooker operators carry out the task of cooking foods, and thus it is not necessary to create additional space expressly for removing the burner. Consequently, the liquid heating cooker has few limitations as to where it can be placed. 
     Additionally, the cover is removably fixed to the front surface of the cooker and thus can be removed easily. Accordingly, the burner can be removed in a short time. 
     Further, according to the third aspect of the present invention, the burner is provided under the vat, so that the cooker can be made more compact than if the burner was provided to the front, back, left, or right of the vat. 
     Additionally, because the heating medium in the vat is heated from below, the heating medium is circulated smoothly, and foods can be cooked without cooking irregularities. 
     Further, according to the fourth aspect of the present invention, air pressure from the blower is applied to the non-combustion chamber via the linking route. Consequently, the combustion gas from the burner does not flow into the non-combustion chamber, and thus heat can be favorably exchanged between the combustion gas and the heating medium of the vat. Accordingly, the thermal efficiency is increased, which is economical. 
     Additionally, it is not necessary that the guide means is hermetic. 
     Further, according to the fifth aspect of the present invention, simply by positioning the burner within the container, the combustion chamber can be easily partitioned by the combustion chamber partitioning wall. 
     As a result, it is not necessary to provide separate left and right burners, even in the case of a split-vat type fryer in which the vat is partitioned into left and right vats, and the manufacturing costs for the burner can be kept down. Moreover, in the liquid heating cooker according to the fifth aspect of the present invention, the combustion chamber can be partitioned simply by sliding a single burner. 
     Further, according to the sixth aspect of the present invention, an all primary air burner, which has few limitations with regard the orientation of its combustion surface, is used, and thus by mounting the burner in a preferred orientation, the burner is easily inserted and removed. Also, food can be cooked favorably.