Abstract:
In a low-oil fryer ( 1 ), a heating cover ( 10 ) includes a cover body ( 11 ), an actuator ( 12 ), a heater ( 15 ), and a speed-reducing mechanism ( 14 ). The actuator ( 12 ) is mounted inside the cover body ( 11 ) and has a driving shaft ( 121 ). The heater ( 15 ) is mounted below the actuator ( 12 ) and has a partitioning disk ( 151 ) connected to the cover body ( 11 ) and a heating element ( 152 ) fixed to the partitioning disk ( 151 ). The speed-reducing mechanism ( 14 ) is disposed on the partitioning disk ( 151 ) and has a speed-reducing gear set ( 142 ) rotatably driven by the driving shaft ( 121 ) and a transmission shaft ( 143 ) rotatably driven by the speed-reducing gear set ( 142 ). The transmission shaft ( 143 ) is detachably assembled with a stirring member ( 30 ) for stirring food materials in pot ( 20 ). The structure is simple, easy to operate and clean, and efficient in reducing the accumulation of oil on the internal components. Thus, the lifetime thereof can be extended.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    1. Field of the Invention 
         [0002]    The present invention relates to a low-oil fryer, and in particular to a low-oil fryer having a heating cover. 
         [0003]    2. Description of Prior Art 
         [0004]    With the advancement of science and technology, various kinds of novel electric products are proposed for cooking utensils to replace the traditional cooking means, a gas oven, whereby people can feel more convenient in cooking. 
         [0005]    For example, there has been a low-oil fryer including an outer pot, an inner pot received in the outer pot, a motor mounted below the inner pot, a stirring blade protruding from the bottom surface of the inner pot and rotatably driven by the motor, a hot-air generator disposed outside the inner pot, and a cover covering the outer pot. The hot-air generator generates high-temperature airflow and blows the high-temperature airflow into the inner pot. With little amount of oil, the food materials received in the inner pot can be cooked deeply by means of the high-temperature airflow and the stirring action of the stirring blade. 
         [0006]    However, in practice, such a low-oil fryer has problems as follows. First, the whole structure is complicated. Since the motor is mounted below the inner pot, a speed-reducing mechanism has to be additionally connected to the motor for driving the stirring blade. Further, since the hot-air generator is located outside the inner pot, partitions or channels have to be provided for guiding the airflow from the hot-air generator into the inner pot. As a result, the whole volume of the low-oil fryer and its occupied space are inevitably increased, which may restrict the available volume of the inner pot and the allowable amount of food materials received in the inner pot. 
         [0007]    Second, such a low-oil fryer utilizes the high-temperature airflow to cook the food materials, so that intake channels and venting channels have to be provided, which not only complicates the whole structure, but also increases the difficulty in cleaning the inner pot and the outer pot. 
         [0008]    Third, the vented airflow contains oil, so that the oil may be accumulated on the components in the fryer through the venting channels or other apertures. As a result, the components may suffer damage, reducing the lifetime of the low-oil fryer. 
         [0009]    Therefore, it is an important issue for the present Inventor to solve above-mentioned problems. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0010]    The present invention is to provide a low-oil fryer, which is simple in structure, easy to operate and clean, and efficient in reducing the accumulation of oil on the internal components. Thus, the lifetime thereof can be extended. 
         [0011]    The present invention is to provide a heating cover of a low-oil fryer, which includes: a cover body; an actuator mounted inside the cover body and having a driving shaft; a heater mounted below the actuator, the heater comprising a partitioning disk connected to the cover body and a heating element fixed to the partitioning disk; and a speed-reducing mechanism disposed on the partitioning disk, the speed-reducing mechanism comprising a speed-reducing gear set rotatably driven by the driving shaft and a transmission shaft rotatably driven by the speed-reducing gear set. 
         [0012]    The present invention is to provide a low-oil fryer, which includes: a pot having an accommodating chamber and an opening formed atop the accommodating chamber; a heating cover covering the opening of the pot, the heating cover including: a cover body; an actuator mounted inside the cover body and having a driving shaft; a heater mounted below the actuator, the heater comprising a partitioning disk connected to the cover body and a heating element fixed to the partitioning disk; and a speed-reducing mechanism disposed on the partitioning disk, the speed-reducing mechanism comprising a speed-reducing gear set rotatably driven by the driving shaft and a transmission shaft rotatably driven by the speed-reducing gear set; and a stirring member disposed in the accommodating chamber and rotatably driven by the transmission shaft. 
         [0013]    In comparison with prior art, the present invention has advantageous features as follows. 
         [0014]    Since the heater of the heating cover is configured to heat up the food materials in the pot directly rather than using high-temperature airflow, no hot-air generator or air-blowing blade is to be provided. Also, the actuator and the speed-reducing mechanism are provided in the cover body rather than outside the pot, not only the structure of the pot is simplified, but also the internal volume of the pot is enlarged. 
         [0015]    Since the present invention only includes three separate parts—the heating cover, the pot and the stirring member, and the heating cover has the partitioning disk for separating the cover body from the pot and preventing the oil form splashing onto the internal components of the cover body, the user only needs to clean the pot, the stirring member and a portion of the heating cover, which simplifies the cleaning process after use. 
         [0016]    Furthermore, the heater of the present invention has a partitioning disk, whereby the cover body, the actuator, the speed-reducing mechanism and other components inside the cover body can be separated from the pot. Thus, the oil may not splash into the cover body to contaminate the interior of the heating cover. Thus, the lifetime of the present invention can be extended. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0017]      FIG. 1  is an assembled perspective showing a low-oil fryer of the present invention; 
           [0018]      FIG. 2  is an exploded perspective view showing a heating cover of the present invention; 
           [0019]      FIG. 3  is an exploded perspective showing the heating cover and a pot of the present invention; 
           [0020]      FIG. 4  is an assembled cross-sectional showing the low-oil fryer of the present invention; 
           [0021]      FIG. 5  is an exploded perspective view showing a heating cover according to another embodiment of the present invention; 
           [0022]      FIG. 6  is an exploded perspective view showing the heating cover, a stirring member and the pot according to another embodiment of the present invention; 
           [0023]      FIG. 7  is an assembled cross-sectional showing the low-oil fryer according to another embodiment of the present invention; and 
           [0024]      FIG. 8  is an assembled cross-sectional showing the low-oil fryer according to a further embodiment of the present invention. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0025]    The characteristics and technical contents of the present invention will be explained with reference to accompanying drawings. However, the drawings are illustrative only but not used to limit the present invention. 
         [0026]    Please refer to  FIGS. 1 to 4 , which show a first embodiment of the present invention. The present invention provides a low-oil fryer and a heating cover thereof. The low-oil fryer  1  includes a heating cover  10 , a pot  20  and a stirring member  30 . As shown in  FIG. 1 , when in use, a user puts food materials in the pot  20  and combines the heating cover  10  with the stirring member  30 . Then, the heating cover  10  together with the stirring member  30  covers the pot  20 , so that the stirring member  30  can stir the food materials in the pot  20 . 
         [0027]    As shown in  FIG. 2 , the heating cover  10  includes a cover body  11 , an actuator  12 , a heat-dissipating impeller  13 , a speed-reducing mechanism  14 , a heater  15 , and a protective plate  16 . 
         [0028]    The cover body  11  is constituted of a cover plate  111  and an operating portion  112  protruding from the cover plate  111 . The cover plate  111  is formed into a circular shape and has a central opening. The cover plate  111  is used to cover the pot  20 . The operating portion  112  ( FIG. 1 ) is a hollow cylinder with an upper surface having an operating panel  1121  and a handle  1122 . The operating panel  1121  has a plurality of buttons thereon for setting and controlling a desired temperature and a period of time during which the low-oil fryer  1  performs the heating action. The user can grip the handle  1122  to lift up the heating cover  10  or cover the heating cover  10  on the pot  20 . The periphery of the operating portion  112  adjacent to the cover plate  111  is provided with a plurality of heat-dissipating holes  1123  for dissipating the heat generated by the actuator  12  and the heater  15  in the operating portion  112  to the outside. 
         [0029]    The actuator  12  is mounted in the operating portion  112  of the cover  11 . In the present embodiment, the actuator  12  is a motor. The actuator  12  has a driving shaft  121  protruding toward the cover plate  111 . The middle section of the driving shaft  121  is provided with a pair of stopping pins and an outer thread  1211 . A free end of the driving shaft  121  is formed with a driving key  1212  of a reduced diameter. The driving key  1212  has a positioning section (not shown) for positioning and driving the speed-reducing mechanism  14  connected thereto. 
         [0030]    The heat-dissipating impeller  13  has a central through-hole  131  and a plurality of blades  132  extending outwards from the central through-hole  131  in a radial direction. With the driving shaft  121  passing through the central through-hole  131  until the pair of the stopping pins is abutted, a locking nut  133  is threadedly connected to outer thread  1222  on the middle section of the driving shaft  121 , whereby the heat-dissipating impeller  13  can be fixed to the driving shaft  121  to rotate synchronously with the driving shaft  121 . The profile of the blades  132  is configured to draw in external cold air into the cover body  11  through the heat-dissipating holes  1123  when the blades  132  are rotating. The airflow is vented through venting holes between the cover plate  111  and the operating portion  112 , thereby dissipating the heat generated by the actuator  12  to the outside and keeping the working temperature of the actuator  12  in a normal range. 
         [0031]    As shown in  FIG. 4 , the speed-reducing mechanism  14  comprises a casing  141 , a speed-reducing gear set  142  located in the casing  141  and rotatably driven by the driving shaft  121 , and a transmission shaft  143  rotatably driven by the speed-reducing mechanism gear set  142 . The upper surface of the casing  141  has a central perforation (not shown) for allowing the driving shaft  121  to be inserted therein, so that the driving key  1212  at the distal end of the driving shaft  121  can drive the speed-reducing gear set  142  inside the casing  141  to rotate. The lower surface of the casing  141  also has a central perforation for allowing the transmission shaft  143  to protrude outside the casing  141 . The speed-reducing gear set  142  is constituted of a plurality of gears and idle wheels of different diameters. The driving key  1212  of the driving shaft  121  is inserted into a shaft hole of one gear to drive this gear. The other gear is fixed to the transmission shaft  143 . The shaft hole of each idle wheel is penetrated by a pivot. With the gear ratio between the gears and the idle wheels, a good speed-reducing effect can be achieved between the driving shaft  121  and the transmission shaft  143 . 
         [0032]    The heater  15  comprises a partitioning disk  151  and a heating element  152  fixed to the partitioning disk  151 . The partitioning disk  151  is assembled to the inner edge of the cover plate  111  of the cover body  11  by screws. The center of the top surface of the partitioning disk  151  is formed with a trough  1511  for receiving the speed-reducing mechanism  14  and a through-hole  1512  for allowing the transmission shaft  143  to penetrate. In the present embodiment, the heating element  152  is a halogen heating pipe configured as a ring to correspond to the partitioning disk  151 . Since the heating speed of the halogen heating pipe is very fast, it consumes less electricity than the conventional electric heating pipe. Further, the photo-thermal energy generated by the halogen heating pipe can be transmitted in three different ways including heat conduction, heat convection, and heat radiation, so that the oil distributed on the surfaces of the food materials can be heated up to a high temperature quickly. Further, the photo-thermal energy can penetrate the surfaces of the food materials to cook the food materials. In addition, the surface of the partitioning disk  151  reflects the photo-thermal energy generated by the heating element  152  to increase the heating efficiency. Thus, the heating efficiency of the heater  15  of the present invention utilizing a halogen heating pipe is much better than that of a conventional electric heater or hot-air heater. 
         [0033]    The protective plate  16  is mounted under the bottom surface of the partitioning disk  152  of the heater  15 , thereby protecting the heating element  152  from burning the user. The protective plate  16  is formed into a disk-like shape. The protective plate  16  has a central hole  161  for allowing the transmission shaft  143  to pass through and a plurality of meshes  162  provided on its surface. The photo-thermal energy generated by the heating element  152  can pass through the meshes  162  to heat up the food materials under the protective plate  16 . 
         [0034]    Please refer to  FIGS. 2 and 3 . In the present embodiment, the distal end of the transmission shaft  143  of the speed-reducing mechanism  14  is connected with a stirring member  30  by means of a nut  40 . The free end of the transmission shaft  143  has a positioning section  1431  and an outer thread  1432 . The center of the stirring member  30  is provided with a restricting hole  31  and a blade  32  formed around the restricting hole  131 . The profile of the restricting hole  31  corresponds to that of the positioning section  1431  of the transmission shaft  143 . Thus, after the nut  40  fastens the stirring member  30  to the free end of the transmission shaft  143 , the positioning section  1431  of the transmission shaft  143  can drive the restricting hole  31  of the stirring member  30 , so that the stirring member  30  can rotate in synchronization with the transmission shaft  143  with its blade  32  stirring the food materials. In this way, the food materials can be heated uniformly. 
         [0035]    Please refer to  FIGS. 3 and 4 . The pot  20  is a hollow cylinder having an accommodating chamber S inside the pot  20  and an opening  21  formed atop the accommodating chamber S. The periphery of the opening  21  is formed with a flange  22  for supporting the cover plate  111  of the cover body  11 . After the above-mentioned components of the heating cover  10  are assembled together with the stirring member  30 , the heating cover  10  can be put to cover the opening  21  of the pot  20 . The depth of the pot  20  allows the stirring member  30  to be put into the accommodating chamber S without hindering the rotating and stirring action of the stirring member  30 . 
         [0036]    Please refer to  FIGS. 5 to 7 , which show another embodiment of the present invention. The difference between the present embodiment and the previous embodiment lies in that the stirring member  30  is a separate element and not fixedly connected to the heating cover  10 . The advantage of a separate element lies in that it is much easier to clean and exchange the stirring member  30 . Since the other components in the previous embodiment are substantially the same as those in the previous embodiment, the description thereof is omitted for clarity. 
         [0037]    In the present embodiment, the way of connecting the stirring member  30  and the heating cover  10  is as follows. The free end of the transmission shaft  143  of the speed-reducing mechanism  14  is provided with the outer thread  1422 , and the free end is threadedly connected to a coupling member  50 . The coupling member has an inner thread hole  51  threadedly engaged with the outer thread  1432  and a driving tooth  52  opposite to the inner thread hole  51 . The profile of the driving tooth  52  corresponds to that of the restricting hole  31  of the stirring member  30 . By this arrangement, the transmission shaft  143  can drive the coupling member  50  to rotate. Then, the driving tooth  52  of the coupling member  50  can in turn drive the stirring member  30  to rotate accordingly. 
         [0038]    On the other hand, since the stirring member  30  is a separate element, in order to make the stirring member  30  to be driven stably by the driving tooth  52 , the center of the bottom surface of the pot  20  is formed with a central post  23  at a position corresponding to that of the coupling member  50 . The central post  23  has a through-hole which a positioning rod  24  and a bolt  25  ( FIG. 7 ) penetrate and are connected thereto. The top of the positioning rod  24  is formed with an insertion pin  241  of a reduced diameter. A supporting surface  242  is formed between the insertion pin  241  and the positioning rod  24 . The stirring member  30  is formed with a positioning post  33  under the restricting hole  31 . The positioning post  33  has a hole into which the insertion slot  231  can be inserted. By this arrangement, the positioning post  33  of the stirring member  30  can be supported on the supporting surface  242  of the positioning rod  24  to thereby rotate stably on the bottom surface of the pot  20 . By means of precise design in dimensions, when the stirring member  30  is put on the positioning rod  24  of the pot  20  and the heating cover  10  covers the pot  20 , the driving tooth  52  of the coupling member  50  can be inserted into the restricting hole  31  of the stirring member  30  to drive the stirring member  30  to rotate, thereby stirring the food materials in the accommodating chamber S of the pot  20 . 
         [0039]    Please refer to  FIG. 8 , which shows a further embodiment of the present invention. The difference between the present embodiment and the previous two embodiments lies in that the heating cover  10  is connected to one side of a housing  60  by means of a pivot  17 , while the pot  20  is supported in the housing  70 , thereby forming a whole structure. 
         [0040]    Although the present invention has been described with reference to the above-mentioned preferred embodiments, the present invention is not limited thereto and equivalent modifications can be still made to the illustrated embodiments. For example, in the above-mentioned embodiments, the heat-dissipating impeller  13  is provided between the actuator  12  and the speed-reducing mechanism  14 . In addition to this arrangement, the heat-dissipating impeller  13  may be provided above the actuator  12  to draw hot air out of the cover body  11 , thereby dissipating the heat generated by the actuator  12 . The profile of the stirring member  30  can be modified as other forms and even has a plurality of blades. Alternatively, the center of the stirring member  30  protrudes downwards to form a hollow shaft into which the central post  23  on the bottom surface of the pot  20  can be inserted. In this way, the stirring member  30  can be supported directly and rotate stably on the central post  23  of the pot  20 . 
         [0041]    It should be noted that, although the potato strip is used as an example for the food material in the specification, other small-sized food materials can be also used in the low-oil fryer of the present invention, such as beans, grains of sweet corns, small cubes cut from ham, potato balls, chicken cubes or chips, short sausages, or the like. 
         [0042]    According to above, the low-oil fryer and the heating cover thereof according to the present invention really demonstrate industrial applicability, novelty and inventive steps. Further, the structure of the present invention has not been seen in the products of the same kind and let in public use. Thus, the present invention conforms to the requirements for a utility model patent.