ARRANGEMENT FOR FRYING OR WARMING ARTICLES OF FOOD

Abstract: An arrangement (1) is provided for the frying or warming of articles of food (24) which mainly comprise loose parts with respect to each other. The arrangement (1) comprises a recipient (3) wherein the articles of food (24) may be introduced. This recipient (3) comprises a bottom (4) which may be subjected to a rotation around a central, oblique axis (6). The bottom (4) comprises separate segments (41-46) which are separated from each other, at least a part of the bottom (4) of each segment (41-46) being jointable to empty the fried or warmed articles of food. The arrangement (1) may receive, fry or warm, and deliver separate portions of articles of food (24).

Description: ARRANGEMENT FOR FRYING OR WARMING ARTICLES OF FOOD. The invention relates to an arrangement for the frying or warming of articles of food which mainly comprise small parts which are loose with regard to each other. Examples of such articles of food are french fries, chips, little potato balls, croquettes, bake ware and similar. With the arrangement according to the invention the articles of food have already been fried beforehand and/or are provided with a small coating of fat; frying of warming according to the invention is done by means of infrared and/or hot air. Such an arrangement is known from patent application WO-A- 86/07648. The articles of food are fried or warmed in a recipient which rotates around a vertical axis. Organs hang in the recipient and take care that the articles of food are continuously in movement. The recipient, however, must make a downward movement before being filled with articles of food and, in order to be emptied, the recipient must make a downward movement and a rotation around a horizontal axis. Hence the filling and emptying requires a complex mechanism which harms the compactness of the arrangement. A similar arrangement is further known from patent application WO-A-89/10085. Here, the recipient rotates around an oblique axis. The bottom of the recipient is provided with roughnesses which take care for the continuous movement of the articles of food. The filling of the arrangement is done rather simply by means of a funnel and a blockable slide. This funnel and slide are above the obliquely arranged recipient. This increases the distance between heating elements and the articles of food and harms the thermal efficiency of the arrangement. On the other hand, a - although limited - rotation of the recipient is still necessary for the emptying of the recipient. This rotation is further only possible for a limited dimension of the recipient. Is the recipient greater, then it has to make a downward movement before rotation can start. This complicates the required mechanism and harms the compactness. Another drawback is that when the recipient returns to the frying position after emptying, the partitions of the recipient must form a good shutting off with the bell-glass, otherwise hot air gets lost during frying or heating. Such a shutting off is not always easy to realize. Still another drawback of the above-mentioned arrangements according to the state of the art is that the arrangements are only suited to fry or to warm one determined quantity of articles of food each turn. If one wishes to fry or to warm a greater quantity, more frying or warming turns are necessary. It is an object of the invention to avoid the above drawbacks. The present invention provides an arrangement for frying or warming articles of food which mainly comprise small parts which are loose with regard to each other. The arrangement comprises a recipient where the articles of food may be introduced. This recipient comprises a bottom which may be subjected to a rotation around a central, oblique axis. The bottom comprises separate segments which are separated from each other. At least a part of the bottom of each segment is jointable to empty the fried or warmed articles of food. The advantage of such an arrangement is that the arrangement may receive, warm or fry and deliver separate portions. The maximum number of portions which may be treated simultaneously is equal to the number of segments. But it is also possible to treat a smaller number of portions. According to a preferable embodiment of the invention, the arrangement is further provided with a stationary plate and with at least one bottom cut off valve. The stationary plate is underneath the bottom and comprises at least one recess which may allow the jointing of the bottom each segment. The bottom cut off valve is also underneath the bottom, is rotatable around the central axis and is able to prohibit the jointing of a segment if the bottom cut off valve is at the level of a recess. An example of method of working is as follows : The stationary plate comprises one recess. During the frying or warming the bottom cut off valve is situated at the level of the recess and, as a consequence, the bottoms of each segment cannot joint. The bottom cut off valve prohibits the jointing. During the frying or warming the motor which drives the bottom, rotates at a relatively high speed. After frying or warming the motor switches to a relatively low speed and the bottom cut off valve releases the recess. The subsequent segments come the one after the other above the recess and joint under the influence of their proper weight and the weight of the articles of food. The articles of food are released. Each time a segment leaves the place above the recess, the bottom of the segment closes again and the segment may be refilled - if desired. According to a particular embodiment of the invention, the arrangement is further provided with a supply main for filling the arrangement with articles of food. A partition which is perpendicular with respect to the bottom, is fixedly connected to the radial extremity of the bottom cut off valve in such a way that the partition may cut off the supply main while frying or warming and while emptying of a determined segment, and may free the supply main at other times. This embodiment has as an advantage that a determined segment may be emptied and subsequently filled in one and the same position by means of ery simple means of carrying out, without the bottom having to rotate between the emptying and the filling. For that purpose the bottom cut off valve only has to take three different positions : (1) During the frying or warming the bottom cut off valve is at the level of the recess in the stationary plate. The partition fixedly connected to the bottom cut off valve cuts off the main supply. (2) After frying or warming the bottom cut off valve releases the recess, but the partition still cuts off the main supply. The segment may be emptied but not yet filled. (3) After emptying of the segment, the bottom cut off valve closes the bottom of the valve and comes in a third position whereby the partition releases the main supply. The segment may now be filled without being able to joint. The invention will be further illustrated on the basis of the figures whereby - FIGURE 1 shows a front side of a preferable embodiment of an arrangement according to the invention; - FIGURE 2(a) to (d) show the working of a bottom cut off valve and a partition which is fixedly connected to the bottom cut off valve of a preferable embodiment of an arrangement according to the invention; - FIGURE 3 shows an alternative embodiment of an arrangement according to the invention. Referring to FIGURE 1, a preferable embodiment of the arrangement 1 for the frying or warming of articles of food is in a housing 2. The articles of food lie in a recipient 3 to be warmed or to be fried. The bottom 4 of the recipient 3 is rotatable around a central oblique axis 6. The angle this central axis 6 makes with respect to a vertical line is dependent upon the kind of articles of food : preferably 30° for croquettes, 45° for french fries and 60° for fine bake ware. The lighter the article of food, the greater the inclination. The bottom has roughnesses (not shown) which are carried out in such a way that the articles of food may at least partially roll over these roughnesses. Preferably, the roughnesses are ribs which extend substantially radially over at least a part of the bottom 4. More details about this bottom may be found in the already mentioned application WO-A-89/10085. A motor 7 acts upon the tooth engagements (not shown) of the bottom 4 by means of a toothed wheel 72 and makes the bottom 4 rotate. Two electric heating elements 8 are above the recipient 4. And a ventilator 10 takes care of the circulation of the hot air above the heating elements 8. An electric motor drives the ventilator 10. A dome or glass-bell 14 covers the warming or frying capacity. Further referring to FIGURE 2 which shows a bottom view of the arrangement 1, the bottom is subdivided into six segments 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46. These segments are separated by means of raised partitions 411, 421, 431, 441, 451 and 461. A stationary plate 16 (hatched in one direction) with a recess (not hatched) is under the rotatable bottom 4. The surface of the recess is greater than the surface of one segment of the bottom. And a rotatable bottom cut off valve 18 (doubly hatched) has been mounted under, the stationary plate 18. A raised partition 20 has been fixedly connected to the radial extremity of this bottom cut off ..-lve 18. The partition 20 is perpendicularly situated with respect to the bottom 4. Articles of food 24 may be filled up by way of a supply main 22. The emptying of the articles of food is done by the jointing of a segment 41-46 of the bottom in the recess of the stationary plate 16. This is preferably done when the relevant segment is in the uppermost position as illustrated by means of the dotted lines on FIGURE . 1. For a very compact embodiment of the arrangement 1 is possible in this way. The operation is as follows : FIGURE 2(a) shows the position of the bottom cut off valve 18 in the rest position or during the frying or warming. The bottom cut off valve is at the level or the recess. The partition 20 cuts off the supply main 22 so that the circulation of hot air and/or the infrared heating has a direct effect on the articles of food to be fried and such that no energy gets lost by way of the supply main 22. During the rotation of the bottom cut off valve in the sense of an hour hand the jointing segment 41 falls open and the articles of food 24 fall in a small tray 26 - see FIGURE 2(b). The partition 20 still closes the supply main 22. The rotation of the bottom cut off valve 18 in the sense of an hour hand is coupled with the rotation of the bottom 4, also in the sense of an hour hand. When the bottom cut off valve rotates in the opposite sense of an hour hand, the bottom 4 stands still . Once the articles of food 24 have left the segment, the bottom cut off valve rotates in the opposite sense of an hour hand and cuts off the segment 41 of the bottom. FIGURE 2(c) gives the position immediately after the closing of the segment. The partition still cuts off the supply main 22. FIGURE 2(d) shows eventually the extreme position of the bottom cut off valve 18 in the opposite sense of an hour hand. Here, the partition releases the supply main 22 now for the first time. As a consequence, the segment 41 which has just been emptied, may be filled now with articles of food 24 which are to be fried or to be warmed. As illustrated on FIGURE 1, the movement of the bottom cut off valve 18 is possible by the fact that the same electric motor 7 which drives the bottom 4, engages a handle 182 of the bottom cut off valve 18. The motor 7 takes care for the movement of the bottom cut off valve 18 between the three different positions which have been described hereabove. Preferably, a bake time mechanism (not shown) which cooperates synchronously with the rotation of the bottom 4 is provided. The six-segments-oven may fry or warm one to six portions at will simultaneously or with intervals. Therefore the drive mechanism is provided with six identification points (not shown) which cooperate with six time switches. A supply mechanism for the articles of food also cooperates with the time switches in such a way that the relevant time switch is switched on while entering the articles of food. At the end of the warming or frying period this switch has the bottom cut off valve work again exactly on the point of time that the relevant segment comes above the recess. Since the baking time - for that segment - has expired, the same time switch indicates that the same segment is empty so that the supply mechanism for the bake wares - if desired - may put immediately a new portions of articles of food into the segment and that the time switch may be put in working again. This applies, independently of one another, for each segment of the bottom. The advantage of the preferable embodiment which has been described hereabove is that the emptying and the filling of a segment is done without having to move the segment. FIGURE 3 represents an alternative embodiment of an arrangement according to the invention. Under the uneven bottom 4 which has also been divided into segments there is a jointing bottom 48 with a side partition 482 and thereunder a stationary plate 16 with two recesses. The recesses are facing one another over 180°, one in the lowest part and one in the highest part. The emptying of a segment is done in the lowest part : An electromagnet 49 draws the relevant segment of the jointing bottom 48 open (see dotted lines) and the articles of food 24 fall in a small tray 26. The filling of the segment is done in the highest part : For that purpose another electromagnet 49 draws the relevant segment of the jointing bottom 48 open in such a way that the raised partition 482 releases the supply main 22. A drawback with regard to the preferable embodiment described hereabove is that an emptied segment cannot be refilled immediately. The segment has first to be rotated over 180°. This requires a more complicated automaton. The invention may be applied to a warming or frying installation which may comprise two or more arrangements as here described. These arrangements may be separately switched on and off. In this way one has a modular system which is very flexible in use and which may warm or fry different ranges of portions simultaneously. The different arrangements may have one common oblique axis or they may have each their own separate oblique axis.

Claims: CLAIMS 1. An arrangement (1) for frying or warming articles of food (24) which mainly comprise small parts which are loose with regard to each other, said arrangement comprising a recipient (3) where the articles of food (24) may be introduced, this recipient (3) comprising a bottom (4) which may be subjected to a rotation around a central, oblique axis (6), characterized in that the bottom (4) comprises separate segments (41-46) which are separated from each other, at least a part of the bottom of each segment being jointable to empty the fried or warmed articles of food. 2. An arrangement (1) according according to claim 1, wherein the arrangement (1) is further provided with a stationary plate (16) and with at least one bottom cut off valve (18), said stationary plate (16) being underneath the bottom and wherein at least one recess is provided which may allow the jointing of each segment (41-46), said bottom cut off valve (18) being also underneath the bottom (4) and being rotatable around the central axis (6) and being able to prohibit the jointing of a segment (41-46) if the bottom cut off valve (18) is at the level of the recess. 3. An arrangement (1) according to claim 2, wherein the arrangement (1) is further provided with a supply main (22) for filling the arrangement (1) with articles of food (24) and with a partition (20), the partition (20) being perpendicular with respect to the bottom (4) and fixedly connected to the radial extremity of the bottom cut off valve (18) in such a way that the partition (20) may cut off the supply main (22) while frying or warming and while emptying of a determined segment (41-46) and may free the supply main (22) at other times.

Inventors: HOEBERIGS RUDOLF, HOEBERIGS, RUDOLF
Applicants: HOEBERIGS JEAN M M, HOEBERIGS, JEAN, M., M.
Application year: 1991
Main classification: G07F11
IPC codes: A47J37, G07F9, G07F11