Abstract:
A frying device comprises a unit for conveying food to be fried, a frying drum and a feed device which takes food from a food container, weighing and conveying it to a drum.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0001]     The invention relates to a deep frying appliance for the ‘floating’ frying of portions of food and luxury foodstuffs.  
         [0002]     By ‘floating frying’ is meant the preparation of food or other luxury items (in the following referred to simply as ‘food’), characterised in that the food is cooked, ‘floating’ in hot fat, ie. appropriately cooked through for consumption. For this type of food preparation, the term “deep frying”, and for equipment for deep frying the term “deep fat frier” have also become accepted, and these are used in the following presentation of the invention. The deep frier in accordance with the invention is particularly suitable for the preparation of bulk items which are prepared in the form of equally sized strips.  
         [0003]     A bulk item of the type described often intended for consumption is potatoes which are prepared for consumption by deep frying. Such bulk items are generally known under the term “chip portions.” 
         [0004]     A device for the production of chip portions is established which produces the latter from a raw or pre-cooked bulk material automatically. The established device here essentially comprises a storage container for uncooked chips and a deep frying drum, whereby the storage container is connected to the frying drum by means of a pipe connection.  
         [0005]     A scooping device operating in the storage container forms a pile of the pre-determined quantity and feeds this into the pipe which conveys the bulk into the deep frying drum. In the deep frying drum, the bulk is cooked through in hot oil, and then carried out of the deep frying drum.  
         [0006]     In addition, a turning element is provided in the deep frying drum, and said turning element comprises radially projecting rakes around its circumference, positioned at equal distances around said circumference, which convey the bulk material through the hot frying fat for cooking, and then carry it out of the device.  
         [0007]     The scooping device is in the form of a scooping pipe with a rectangular cross-section which passes through the storage container containing, for example, raw or pre-cooked strips of potato (frying material) in a vertical direction, and extracts portions. On its upper open end, the scooping pipe has two pivoting flaps which in the direction going into the scooping pipe are at an angle to one another such that the latter is closed, and in this closed position, a surface is formed where a portion of frying material can be deposited. For the portion-wise filling of the deep-frying drum, the scooping pipe is lowered with closed flaps into the storage container, and then conveyed through the frying material with closed flaps, by means of which a portion is deposited on the flaps. In the upper elevated position, the flaps open, the frying material falls into the scooping pipe, from where it is conveyed into the pipe via a discharge opening which connects the storage container to the frying drum. This technique of portion-wise filling has been proven to be effective with regard to its mechanical features and also with regard to frying material in small pieces. With regard to the individual pieces of frying material, for example individual strips of potato, if the pieces are larger (cross-section, length), the described technique is flawed with the disadvantage that the scooped portions have greatly fluctuating values with regard to quantity and weight, which with the technique described can not be adjusted to the same or comparable values.  
         [0008]     It is an object of the invention to create a storage container with a scooping device (in the following referred to generally as “feed device”) which supplies subsequent portions of frying material which are of the same weight and volume, and for a storage container with a feed device  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0009]     The foregoing object is achieved by way of the present invention wherein a Deep frying appliance for the ‘floating’ frying of food portions comprises a deep frying drum and a feed device, which are connected to one another for the conveyance of the food portions by means of a feed pipe, the feed device has a housing with a tubular, stationary storage container accommodated in the housing, a rotatable feed wheel working in conjunction with the storage container at one end thereof to form an annular gap with the storage container, the housing with the feed wheel therein defines an annular space in which pushing elements of the feed wheel pass over a discharge opening in the floor of the housing, rotatably movable by means of a shaft, whereby the duration of the rotation is determined by scales located in the feed pipe between the feed device and the deep frying drum. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0010]     Further advantages, features and details of the invention are given in the following description of a preferred embodiment, given as an example, and the drawings:  
         [0011]      FIG. 1  shows a schematic representation of a deep frying appliance with a feed device, shown in section, designed in accordance with the invention  
         [0012]      FIG. 2  shows on overhead view of the pushing wheel accommodated in the feed device in accordance with  FIG. 1 . 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION  
       [0013]      FIG. 1  shows an appliance for the ‘floating’ frying of portions of food and luxury foodstuffs in the form of bulk goods, for example potatoes prepared as loose strips, referred to as a deep frying appliance  10  for short. The deep frying appliance  10  comprises a deep frying drum  11  and a feed device  12  which are connected to one another by means of a feed pipe  13 , ie. the feed pipe  13  conveys the portions issued by the feed device  12  to the deep frying drum  11 . The deep frying drum  11  comprises a housing containing liquid, heated cooking fat, wherein a turning device rotates, conveying the portions through the cooking fat, said portions then being carried out of the housing.  
         [0014]     The feed device  12  comprises a housing  15 , wherein a storage container  16  and a rotatable feed wheel  17  are accommodated. On one side the housing is securely sealed by a floor  18 , whereas the side  19  opposite the floor  18  is open and can be closed by means of a removable lid (not shown). The housing  15 , ie. the floor  18  and the circumference wall  20  of the housing  15  can be designed in such a way that cooling devices (not shown), which keep the frying material  21  cool, can be accommodated therein. In this instance, the side  19  is closed by means of an insulated cover. The storage container  16  is located in the housing  15  concentrically to the housing  15 . The storage container  16  is a pipe element, open on both sides, which extends axially to a lesser extent than the inner space of the housing  15 . On its end facing the side  19  of the housing  15  the outer surface  22  of the storage container  16  is in contact with the inner surface  23  of the housing  15 . (The inner space  28  of the housing  15  is cylindrical in form). In addition, around the circumference of the inner surface  23 , preferably three excentrics  25 , spaced equally apart from one another, are provided, which are connected at the one end to the inner surface  23  of the housing  15  by means of an excentric disc  26 , and at the other end to the outer surface  22  of the supply container  16  by means of a rod  27 . The storage container is therefore suspended from the rods  27 , free and concentric, in the inner space  28  of the housing  15 . The purpose of the excentrics  25  is to provide a storage container  16  in the inner space  28  of the housing  15  in such a form that it can be moved axially and be fixed to the floor  18  or feed wheel  17 , preferably in two axial movement positions. In  FIG. 1  the excentric  25  is shown in two positions, and dependent upon how the excentricity of the excentric disc  26  is disposed, the storage container  16  in the housing  15  can be lifted to the side  19  or lowered in the direction of the floor  18  by manipulating the excentric lever  29 . The storage container  16  has an outer diameter which is smaller than the inner diameter of the inner space  28 , by means of which an annular space  30  is formed between the housing  15  and the storage container  16 .  
         [0015]     In a perpendicular direction, axially and concentrically, a rotatable shaft  32  passes through the storage container  16 , one end of said shaft being linked to the floor  18 , (and passing through said floor), by means of a bearing bush  33 , and the other end being located in a support  34  which in turn is linked to the inner surface  23  of the housing  15 . The feed wheel  17  is engaged with this shaft  32 . The feed wheel  17  comprises a sleeve  36  which encloses the shaft  32 , and has a diameter greater than the shaft  32 , and which runs in the same direction as the shaft  32 , from the floor  18  to near to the support  34 . The sleeve  36  engages with the shaft  32  by means of perforated discs  37 . The feed wheel  17  is linked to the sleeve  36 , said feed wheel consisting of a feed cone  38  and a pushing wheel  39 , whereby the feed cone  38  is linked to the sleeve  36 , and the pushing wheel  39  is engaged with the sleeve  36  by means of catches  40 . By turning the shaft  32 , driven by the electric motor  41 , the sleeve  36 , the pushing wheel  39  and the feed cone  38  turn with the shaft  32 . The feed cone  38  is a straight circular cone through which the sleeve  36  passes, the base circle of which has a slightly greater diameter (approx. 5 to 10%) than that of the tubular storage container  16 .  FIG. 1  shows the storage container  16  in elevated position. Between the cladding surface  43  of the feed cone  35  and the open base of the storage container  16 , an annular gap  44  is thus created—limited by the cladding surface  43  of the feed cone  38  and the outer surface  22  of the storage container  16 —through which frying material  21  passes out of the storage container  16  into the annular space  30 . If the storage container  16  is lowered by adjusting the excentrics  25 , the circumference wall of the storage container  16  then rests on the cladding surface  43  of the feed cone  38  which extends into the storage container  16 , and the annular gap  44  is closed. The annular gap  44  is closed when, with the shaft  32  remaining still, the storage container  16  is filled with frying material  21 , so as to prevent the frying material  21  from sliding into the annular space  30  during the filling process. On the cladding surface  43  of the feed cone  38 , ribs  45 , and preferably three ribs  45 , which run radially and stick out from the cladding surface, can be provided on the cladding surface  38 , the purpose of which is to loosen frying material  21  lying on the cladding surface  43  while the feed wheel  17  is turning. The pushing wheel  39  is located between the floor  18  and the base of the feed cone  38 , revolving with the feed cone  38 , separated from the floor  18 . The pushing wheel  39  has a cylindrical wheel section  46 , open on one side towards the base of the feed cone  38 , from the circumference surface of which pushing elements  47  project radially, spaced evenly over the surface of the circumference, and engaging in the annular space  30 . The diameter of the cylindrical wheel section  46  corresponds to that of the base of the feed cone  38  so that frying material  21  is conveyed from the cladding surface  43  between the pushing elements  47 , and in this way the spaces between the pushing elements  47  are kept filled. The pushing elements  47  move the frying material  21  in the annular space  30  until it passes over a discharge opening  48  to which the feed pipe  13  is connected, and into which the frying material  21  falls in a pre-determined quantity, ie. in a portion. The portioning of frying material  21  is achieved by means of scales  50  which, by means of the electric motor  41 , determine the duration of the rotation of the feed wheel  17  and so the quantity of frying material  21  discharged from the discharge opening  48 . If the deep frying drum  11  is to be loaded with frying material  21 , the electric motor  41  starts up and turns the feed wheel  17 , discharging frying material  21  from the discharge opening  48  and passing over the scales  50  integrated into the feed pipe  13 , until the scales  50  have weighed the pre-set portion weight and have sent the motor  50  a signal to cease rotation, by means of which the discharge of frying material from the discharge opening  48  comes to a halt.