Abstract:
An apparatus for preparing fried food chips includes a slicer for slicing whole foodstuffs into unfried chips, a cooking bath defined by a trough containing heated cooking medium, unfried chips being dispensed from the slicer into the cooking bath, the trough providing a cooking path, a submersion screen movable to receive the dispensed chips thereunder and moving along with the chips during at least a portion of the cooking to maintain the dispensed chips submerged, a motor system for mechanically communicating with and driving the submersion screen, and an output from the machine for receiving the cooked chips, wherein the cooking path is non-linear with portions disposed at a distance defining a central portion, and the motor system is mechanically connected with the submersion screen between the two cooking path portions in the central portion. A control system is provided for calculating production and a division of revenue based thereon.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
       [0001]    The application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. Ser. No. 10/963,409, filed Oct. 12, 2004, the entirety of which is incorporated herein. 
     
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    The invention relates to a machine and methods for frying comestibles and, in particular, to a small-scale, small-production, and point-of-sale machine for all steps of preparing and frying potatoes for potato chips. 
       BACKGROUND 
       [0003]    Currently, many machines are known for frying foodstuffs or comestibles. These machines include large, commercial machines used for mass production and packaging of potato chips for downstream distribution to retailers and, ultimately, to consumers. These machines also include smaller-scaled machines designed to produce fried foodstuffs, such as donuts or potato chips, in smaller retail establishments, enabling consumers to purchase product straight out of the machine and as freshly cooked as possible. 
         [0004]    U.S. Pat. No. 2,615,485 describes a machine for cooking waffle batter for waffle cookies. The machine includes a circular oil bath and a central driven rod having a plurality of arms extending radially therefrom each of which includes a waffle iron. An annular or cylindrical portion is provided intermediate the irons and the driven rod, and the arms rest on and ride along the top surface of the cylinder. The top surface is shaped to have peaks and troughs so that the rotation of the arms cause the arms to rise and fall along with the top surface, thus enabling the waffle irons to be dipped in batter, rotated through the oil bath, and then lifted to have the cooked waffle cookie cleared from the iron. Accordingly, the entire impetus for circulating the oil is the motion of the waffle irons through the oil. 
         [0005]    A similar device for cooking waffle cookies is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,026,202. The device includes a rectangular oil bath so that the irons take an oval or racetrack path. The heating elements are electrical elements that extend longitudinally along the extent of the rectangular cooking bath. 
         [0006]    U.S. Pat. No. 1,629,355 shows an automatic potato chip maker. The device includes an input which includes a slicer or chipper for dispensing raw slices or chips into the cooking medium supported by a trough. The trough forms a non-linear path having four straight sections that double back upon each other with semi-circular portions joining each pair of straight sections, the trough terminating at a conveyor for lifting the chips from the trough. The sections are separated only by a thin partition. In order to direct the oil forward, the machine includes an impeller, something like a paddle wheel, driven by a motor and resting partially in the cooking medium. The heating elements are located below the trough so that the cooking medium must be heated therethrough. 
         [0007]    U.S. Pat. No. 1,690,104 also shows a non-linear path for the potato chips and shows six straight sections connected by semi-circular portions. This patent shows a number of separate paddles in the respective straight sections for directing chips forward. 
         [0008]    U.S. Pat. No. 3,280,723 shows a potato chip cooking machine having a non-linear path (with an upwardly extending divider) and having an enclosure. The machine includes a pump and a jet nozzle for directing the oil around the non-linear path of the trough. 
         [0009]    Each of these machines utilizes and benefits from a non-linear cooking path, meaning that the cooking path does not follow simply a straight line. This allows the machine to be more compact. 
         [0010]    More specifically, foodstuffs such as potato chips require a particular dwell time in the cooking medium before being removed. The rate of movement and the length of the cooking path determine the dwell time realized by a machine. The overall length of the machine, for a constant rate of movement, can be significantly shorter (nearly half) when the cooking path doubles back on itself. Alternatively, one may say that the rate of movement may be doubled if the cooking path is doubled, as can occur if the overall length of the machine is maintained by the cooking path returning. A higher rate of movement allows more chips to be in the cooking path at any particular time and results in a greater total production capability. 
         [0011]    U.S. Pat. No. 4,195,559 shows a machine that may be used for cooking sliced food utilizing conveyor belts. However, the food is bacon and the screens are used to support the bacon, not to hold the bacon down from floating on top of a cooking medium. The screens do serve to advance the bacon along the cooking path. 
         [0012]    A number of problems are associated with the prior art machines. For instance, the &#39;202 patent shows the heating elements extending longitudinally from end, which results in uneven heating along the heating element and, thus, along the cooking path. For a continuously operating system in which the cooking medium is well-circulated, the uneven heating may not be an issue. However, the food may be too quickly or too slowly cooked at a particular point. Additionally, the uneven heating makes it difficult if not impossible to control the cooking on-demand, that is, for a point-of-sale machine that is activated for a particular batch when ordered as the machine would require some time to reach a point of stasis. 
         [0013]    Other machines utilize heating elements located outside, i.e. below, the heating trough. This requires a significantly greater amount of energy to bring the cooking medium to temperature. 
         [0014]    Another detriment of many of these machines is the manners in which the cooking medium and chips are advanced along the cooking path. For instance, the &#39;723 patent uses a “jet nozzle” for directing the cooking medium around the path. Nozzles or other pump-based mechanisms suffer from potential clogging and require cleaning that is more extensive than cleaning of paddles, for instance. For many of the prior art systems, a paddle is used as the sole means for directing the cooking medium along the path, which is limited in force due as hazardous or messy splashing may result from a quickly moving paddle. 
         [0015]    While the &#39;559 patent discloses using a conveyor belt that assists in moving food forward along the cooking path, the &#39;599 patent (assigned to General Foods Corporation) is for a large-scale commercial production of foodstuffs that are “fragile.” More importantly, the &#39;559 patent is not directed to food stuffs that tend to float, and the conveyors are not used to submerge the food thereunder. As can be seen therein, the overall size of the machine is not an issue, and a linear path is utilized. 
         [0016]    U.S. Pat. No. 6,602,533 discloses a linear potato chip machine and discloses wheels used to submerge the chips at least during a portion of the cooking path. Disclosed but not illustrated is use of a conveyor to submerge the chips. 
         [0017]    Accordingly, there has been a need for an improved small-scale machine for making potato chips such as at a point-of-sale establishment. 
       SUMMARY 
       [0018]    In accordance with an aspect, an apparatus for preparing fried food chips from whole foodstuffs is disclosed, the apparatus including an input for providing whole foodstuffs to the apparatus, a slicer for slicing the whole foodstuffs into unfried chips, a cooking bath containing heated cooking medium, wherein the unfried chips are dispensed from the slicer into the cooking bath, and the cooking bath is defined by a trough thereof for supporting the cooking medium, the trough providing a cooking path, a submersion screen movable to receive the dispensed chips thereunder after an initial stage of cooking, the submersion screen moving along with the chips during at least a portion of the cooking and serving to maintain the dispensed chips submerged during said portion of the cooking, a motor system for mechanically communicating with and driving the submersion screen, and an output from the machine for receiving the cooked chips, wherein cooking path is non-linear and at least two portions thereof are disposed at a distance defining a central portion, and the motor system is mechanically connected with the submersion screen between the two cooking path portions in the central portion. 
         [0019]    In some forms, the two cooking path portions are respective straight portions, and each straight portion is provided with a submersion screen. The respective straight portions may be parallel. The submersion screens may be endless belts of a conveyor system. 
         [0020]    In some forms, the apparatus further includes heating elements, the heating elements extending laterally outward from the central portion. 
         [0021]    In some forms, the central portion houses at least a first motor for driving the submersion screen, the mechanical connection therebetween being located on an upper surface of the central portion. 
         [0022]    In some forms, the apparatus further includes a slicer having a rotating wheel with a blade secured thereto, a propulsion device for directing cooking medium of the cooking bath forward, the cooking medium carrying the dispensed unfried chips forward in an initial stage of cooking, the propulsion device being a paddle, and an output conveyor for removing cooked chips from the cooking bath. 
         [0023]    In some forms, the apparatus further includes a blower assembly for removing excess cooking medium at an output of the apparatus. 
         [0024]    In some forms, the apparatus further includes a heat-activated fire suppressions system. 
         [0025]    In some forms, the apparatus further includes an air filtration system including a plurality of selectively removable filtration elements. 
         [0026]    In some forms, the apparatus further includes a microprocessor-based electronic main control for controlling electrical operation of the apparatus. 
         [0027]    In some forms, the apparatus further includes a removable cooking medium reservoir for removal and replacement of the cooking medium. 
         [0028]    In another aspect, an apparatus for preparing fried food chips from whole foodstuffs is disclosed, the apparatus including an input for providing whole foodstuffs to the apparatus, a slicer for slicing the whole foodstuffs into unfried chips, a cooking bath containing heated cooking medium, wherein the unfried chips are dispensed from the slicer into the cooking bath, and the cooking bath is defined by a trough thereof for supporting the cooking medium, the trough providing a cooking path, a submersion screen movable to receive the dispensed chips thereunder after the initial stage of cooking, the submersion screen moving along with the chips during at least a portion of the cooking and serving to maintain the dispensed chips submerged during said portion of the cooking, a motor system for mechanically communicating with and driving the submersion screen, and an output from the machine for receiving the cooked chips, wherein the input is proximate the output so that the cooking bath trough includes at least two cooking path portions with opposite directions of movement during cooking, the two cooking path portions separated by a distance, and the motor system being mechanically connected with the submersion screen between the two cooking path portions. 
         [0029]    In some forms, the apparatus further includes a propulsion device for directing cooking medium of the cooking bath forward, the cooking medium carrying the dispensed unfried chips forward in an initial stage of cooking. 
         [0030]    In another aspect, an apparatus for preparing fried food chips from whole foodstuffs is disclosed, the apparatus including an input for providing whole foodstuffs to the apparatus, a slicer for slicing the whole foodstuffs into unfried chips, a cooking bath containing heated cooking medium, wherein the unfried chips are dispensed from the slicer into the cooking bath, and the cooking bath is defined by a trough thereof for supporting the cooking medium, the trough providing a cooking path, a submersion screen movable along the cooking path to receive the dispensed chips thereunder after an initial stage of cooking, the submersion screen moving along with the chips during at least a portion of the cooking and serving to maintain the dispensed chips submerged during said portion of the cooking, a motor system for mechanically communicating with and driving the submersion screen, and an output from the machine for receiving the cooked chips, wherein cooking path is non-linear and at least two portions thereof are disposed at a distance defining a central portion, and the motor system is mechanically connected with the submersion screen between the two cooking path portions in the central portion. 
         [0031]    In another aspect, a system including an apparatus for preparing fried food chips and a control for operating said apparatus is disclosed, the system including the apparatus having an input for dispensing food chips, a cooking bath for supporting and retaining cooking medium, the cooking bath receiving the dispensed food chips, a heating system for heating the cooking medium, and an advancing system for advancing the food chips along a cooking path of the cooking bath, and the control including a main control for controlling the input, the heating system, and the advancing system. 
         [0032]    In some forms, the main control is microprocessor-based. The main control may communicate with a remote operator via a communication line. The main control may communicate production totals for the apparatus to the remote operator. The control calculates a revenue division based on the production totals. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0033]    In the Figures,  FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a small-scale foodstuff frying machine of the present invention including a non-linear path around a central portion for supporting submersions screens and heating elements, the machine having an enclosure portion with transparent sides, having an air assembly with outer portions being shown in phantom to illustrate internal components thereof, and having a base portion with side doors being shown in phantom to illustrate internal components therein; 
           [0034]      FIG. 2  is a side elevational view of the machine of  FIG. 1  showing a drain for communicating with an opening of a cooking medium reservoir; 
           [0035]      FIG. 3  is a perspective view of a trough and cooking pan portion of a cooking assembly of the machine of  FIG. 1  showing a U-shaped path for foodstuffs, and showing heating elements extending from and mounted with the central portion for heating cooking medium located in the trough; 
           [0036]      FIG. 4  is a perspective view of a slicer assembly and feed tube of the machine of  FIG. 1 ; 
           [0037]      FIG. 5  is a perspective view of a portion of the machine of  FIG. 1  with certain components removed to permit recognition of placement of other components as illustrated including conveyor assemblies having submersion screens, and a paddle wheel for initial impetus and propulsion of the sliced floodstuffs; 
           [0038]      FIG. 6  is a perspective view of a conveyor assembly having a submersion screen; 
           [0039]      FIG. 7  is an enlarged portion of the view of  FIG. 5  showing an adjustment mechanism for positioning a leading end of a conveyor assembly; 
           [0040]      FIG. 8  is an enlarged portion of the machine of  FIG. 1  with components removed to expose an output conveyor assembly for removing cooked foodstuffs from the cooking bath and depositing same in an bowl at an output; and 
           [0041]      FIG. 9  is a perspective view of the air assembly of the machine of  FIG. 1 . 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0042]    Referring initially to  FIG. 1 , a chip producing machine  10  is illustrated, the machine  10  being of a small scale for use at a point-of-sale such as a restaurant, grocery store, convenience mart, convention center, fair or carnival, park, concession stand, and the like. As will be discussed in greater detail herein, the machine  10  includes a non-linear path in which the path has portions separated by a distance, the distance providing a location for operating submersion screens  190 ,  200  ( FIGS. 5 and 6 ) and heating elements  132  ( FIG. 3 ) while maintaining a small-scale and other features of the machine  10 . While the term “screen” is used, such is intended to refer to mesh, screen, or wire, for instance, that permits fluid flow therethrough. As an example of use, the machine  10  slices whole foodstuffs (raw potatoes, pitas, raw sweet potatoes, etc.) into chips, and cooks the chips in a cooking medium such as oil and, in the preferred form, peanut oil. 
         [0043]    In greater detail, the machine  10  includes a frame  20  for supporting components and subassemblies of the machine  10 . The frame  20  includes four vertically oriented posts  22  defining a base portion  32  and having a caster and wheel  24  at a lower end  22   a  thereof, the wheels  24  allowing the entire machine  10  to be moved easily. Proximate the lower ends  22   a , the posts  22  are connected horizontally by four horizontally oriented stretchers  26  forming a rectangular shape with a longitudinal direction extending to an operation end  28  for the machine  10 . Integral with the stretchers  26  or secured therewith is a horizontal support structure  30  in the form of bars, though a plate may be used. 
         [0044]    Extending from posts  22  located at the operation end  28  is a pair of struts  36 , angled upwardly and outwardly generally proximate or near the lower ends  22   a . The struts  36  support a stage  38  mounted horizontally from the operation end posts  22 . The stage  38 , inter alia, supports a scale  40  and a bowl  42  thereon for measuring (weighing) cooked potato chips (not shown) from an output  44 , detailed below. 
         [0045]    Below the stage  38  and between the struts  36  is an access  50  to an area or volume  52  defined within the posts  22 . More specifically, the access  50  includes an access door  54 , behind which and within the volume  52  is a cooking medium filtration and disposal system, referred to herein simply as the filtration system  60 . 
         [0046]    As can be seen in  FIGS. 1 and 2 , the filtration system  60  is generally box-like to define a cooking medium reservoir  62 . A drain  66  is provided and, with further reference to  FIG. 3 , is mounted in a cooking bath  70  and, specifically, in a bottom pan  72  of a trough  74 . The bottom pan  72  includes drain opening  66   a , viewable in  FIG. 3 . The drain  66  is positioned over an opening  78  to the reservoir  62  and, when opened, allows the cooking medium from the cooking bath  70  to drain into the reservoir  62 . 
         [0047]    The filtration system  60  includes filter elements  80  and a pump  82  that draws cooking medium from the reservoir  62  (via a pump feed line located in the bottom of the reservoir, not shown) and directs the cooking medium through a return feed line  84 , the output  85  ( FIG. 3 ) of which is positioned in the trough  74 . In the preferred form, the output  85  includes a pair of oppositely oriented ports  85   a ,  85   b  for directing the cooking medium in two different directions of the trough  74 , as best illustrated in  FIG. 3 . Each of two longitudinal sides  90  of the base portion  23  includes access doors  92 ,  94  which allow a user to expose the filtration system  60  and remove the reservoir  62 . 
         [0048]    In operation, the cooking medium is easily filtered of particulate matter or entirely changed. The user may select (or the machine  10  may be programmed, as described below), filtration cycles so that the drain  66  is opened and the cooking medium empties (via gravity) into the reservoir  62  through the filter elements  80 . The pump  82  may then operate to return the filtered cooking medium to the trough  74 . Additionally, the filtration system  60  may filter the cooking medium multiple times in a single filtration operation by cycling the cooking medium multiple times, successively flushing and rinsing the trough  74 . 
         [0049]    Alternatively, as the cooking medium typically has a limited useful life, the cooking medium may be changed. To do so, one of the access doors  54 ,  92 ,  94  is opened to expose the filtration system  60 . The reservoir  62  is removed including the cooking medium disposed therein. In various forms, the pump  82  (and an associated feedline, not shown) may be disconnected from the reservoir  62 , while in other forms the pump  82  and return line  84  may also be removed for cleaning, or both. In the present form, the support structure  30  serves as rails for sliding the reservoir  62  through the access  50 . In other forms, the reservoir  62  may simply be removed from the longitudinal side access doors  92 ,  94  so as not to interfere with the stage  38 , for instance, which may hinder the usability of the machine during the reservoir removal. 
         [0050]    Upper portions  22   b  of the posts  22  support a cooking assembly  100  including the above-noted cooking bath  70 . Generally speaking, the cooking assembly  100  includes a pan  102  having four sides  104  secured with the posts  22 . The four sides  104  are secured with and support a generally horizontal pan plate  106  which in turn supports the cooking bath  70 . As can be seen in  FIG. 3 , the cooking bath  70  includes a trough  74  defined by an outer sidewall  108 , the bottom pan  72 , and an inner island  110 . The sidewall  108  includes an operation endwall  110  and a U-shaped wall  112 . As will be discussed below, the cooking path for a potato chip includes dispensing chips into the trough  74  at a position generally aligned with a first lateral end  110   a  of the endwall  110 , then travel along a first straight  74   a  of the trough  74  to a curve  74   b  of the trough  74 , then travel therefrom along a return portion or second straight  74   c  so that the cooking path is non-linear, that is, does not follow a straight line. The chip then exits the trough  74  at a second lateral end  110   b  of the endwall  110  via a conveyor  120  (discussed below) for which a notch  114  is formed in the endwall  110 , thus partially defining the output  44 . 
         [0051]    As can also be seen in  FIG. 3 , a heating system  130  is provided for heating the cooking medium. The heating system  130  includes heating elements  132  extending laterally across the cooking path of the trough  74  and longitudinally through the straights  74   a ,  74   c , resulting in more evenly-distributed heating as well as allowing the machine  10  to bring the cooking medium up to temperature quickly as a great majority of the cooking medium (located in the trough  74 ) is in close proximity to the heating elements  132 . The heating elements  132  extend from electrical components  134  (such as transformers) mounted on a top surface  111  of the island  110 . Brackets  136  are provided in the trough  74  for mounting and supporting the heating elements  132 . Temperature probes  137  also extend into the trough  74  and are mounted with the components  134 . The electrical components  134  are controlled (via supply and control lines (not shown) encased by conduit  138 ) by a main control  200  ( FIG. 1 , discussed below) that continually monitors the temperature of the cooking medium via the probes  136 . To facilitate cleaning, the heating system  130  (other than the conduits  138 ) may be entirely lifted or raised relative to the island  110  and the trough  74 , though this should only be done with the machine  10  and cooking medium cooled. 
         [0052]    With continued reference to  FIG. 1 , the pan  102  supports a secondary set of posts  140  that, inter alia, define an enclosure  142 , support a slicer assembly  144 , support air assembly  146 , and support a portion of a fire suppression system  148 , each of which is discussed below. 
         [0053]    The enclosure  142  is generally box-like and includes four sides  150 . Longitudinal sides  152  may include sliding doors  154 , and a distal endwall  156  as well as the longitudinal sides and doors  154  are preferably a heat-resistant transparent material so that an operator or a consumer may view therethrough to observe and monitor the production of the chip. The sliding doors  154  allow an operator to make minor corrections during operation, such as by removing or dislodging a potato chip that has become stuck. 
         [0054]    One of the sides  150 , specifically input/output side or I/O side  160  is at the operation end  28  of the machine  10 . The I/O side  160  supports the slicer assembly  144  and, thus, defines an input. More specifically, the slicer assembly  144  shown in  FIG. 4  includes a feed tube  162  which is a wire tube in the present embodiment, though may be of any construction including a hopper. 
         [0055]    As can be seen in  FIG. 4 , the feed tube  162  is gravity-assisted to feed foodstuffs such as raw potatoes (i.e., whole potatoes, though partial potatoes or skinned potatoes may be used) to a slicer wheel  164 . The slicer wheel  164  is driven by a motor  166  positioned to a side of the feed tube  162 , the motor  166  being controlled by the main control  200 . For instance, machine  10  can be user-programmed to rotate the slicer wheel  164  a specific number of times (generally correlating to a specific number of potato slices) and then to pause for a specific time period. 
         [0056]    The slicer wheel  164  supports and mounts a removable, replaceable, and adjustable blade  166 . This allows a dull blade to be removed and either sharpened, honed, or replaced, allows different blades to be used such as for a wavy profile chip, and allows different thicknesses to be provided for the chips/slices. 
         [0057]    As can be seen in  FIG. 5 , initial propulsion for the cooking medium and impetus for the slices is from a propulsion device in the form of a paddle wheel assembly  170 . Once sliced, the raw chips fall into the cooking bath  70  and trough  74  proximate the endwall end  110   a . The paddle wheel assembly  170  includes a paddle wheel  172  having a plurality of vanes  174  radially extending from an axle  176 . The paddle wheel  172  is mounted so that the vanes  174  enter and exit the cooking medium in the trough  74  without the axle  176  entering the cooking medium. In one form, the height of the axle  176  is user adjustable (not shown). The paddle wheel axle  176  is driven at a drive end  176   a  by a motor (not shown), the drive end  176   a  being located at the island  110 , and the motor may be located within the island  110  or below the cooking assembly  100 . 
         [0058]    The potato chips are preferably cooked in a submerged manner, though the chips themselves have a tendency to float. Generally speaking, the aforementioned submersion screens  12  provide a majority of the submersion for the chips, though the paddle wheel  172  may cooperate to assist. More specifically, the paddle wheel  172  often contacts the potato chips at the initial cooking path portion, and its action forces the chips downward. At this early stage, the chips are soft and relatively pliable. 
         [0059]    In greater detail, the machine  10  includes the first submersion screen  190  and a second submersion screen  200 . In the preferred form, each of the screens  190 ,  200  are endless belt screens of respective conveyor assemblies  202 . 
         [0060]    Turning to  FIG. 6 , the second submersion screen  200  is illustrated as part of a conveyor assembly  202 . The conveyor assembly  202  includes a driven sprocket roller  204 , a dead sprocket roller  206 , and a pair of dead rollers  208 . The driven sprocket roller  204  is mounted at each end  204   a ,  204   b  with side plates  203 , and the inward end  204   a  (i.e., toward the island  110 ) is driven by a chain  212 . The chain  212  itself is driven by a conveyor drive axle  214  supported at an inner end  214   a  by the island  110  on bushing  215  ( FIG. 3 ), driven by a motor (not shown) and a pinion connection  209  therewith. The dead sprocket roller  206  is supported at its ends by brackets  218  of pair of spring-loaded tensioners  219  for maintaining the submersion screen  200  in tension around the rollers  204 ,  206 ,  208 . The dead rollers  208  are positioned lower than the sprocket rollers  204 ,  206  so that the latter may be positioned above a level of the cooking medium, which reduces the cleaning required of the sprockets of the sprocket rollers  204 ,  206 , and the chain  212 . Provided the chain  212  remains clean, the drive axle  214  also need not be cleaned. It should be noted that the submersion screens  190 ,  200  rapidly heat and cool as they enter and exit the cooking medium, and the tensioners  219  accommodate these changes (which also create expansion and contraction of the submersion screens  190 ,  200 ). 
         [0061]    As can be seen in  FIGS. 5 and 7 , the first submersion screen  190  and its associated conveyor assembly  202  are largely identical to that of the second submersion screen  200 . The first submersion screen  190  has a leading end  192  that is adjustable by an adjustment mechanism  194 . However, for the first submersion screen, the leading end  192  is the non-driven end, and the tensioner brackets  218  are connected to the adjustment mechanism  194 . In this manner, the leading end  192  may be raised or lowered to reduce the occurrence of the soft, pliable chips in the initial stage from becoming stuck to the submersion screen  190 , that is, by raising the leading end  192  so that it is above the chips and cooking medium and all chips pass thereunder. It should be noted that such a feature may also be provided for the second submersion screen  200 , though it is less of an issue as the chips partially are cooked when they reach the second submersion screen  200 . Also, the ability to raise or lower the conveyor assemblies  202  promotes cleaning of the machine. 
         [0062]    It should also be noted that the combination of the paddle wheel  172  and submersion screens  190 ,  200  (as well as an output conveyor  220 ) provide sufficient impetus for the cooking medium and chips that the chips continue through the curve trough section  74   b . The machine  10  need not utilize a pump or other device for circulating the cooking medium. However, in another form, a secondary paddle (not shown) may be provided such as in the curved trough section  74   b , the secondary paddle being driven by the pinion that is connected with the pinion connections  209  ( FIG. 5 ). 
         [0063]    After the chips have passed the second submersion screen  200 , the output conveyor  220  removes the chips from the cooking bath  70 . In the preferred form, the output conveyor  220  includes a screen/mesh/wire belt  222  so that cooking medium is permitted to drain. The output conveyor  220  has a leading end  224  with a dead sprocket or dead roller  226  on an axle  228  (with a tensioner  229 ), the leading end  224  positioned sufficiently within the level of cooking medium that chips do not pass thereunder and instead pass on top of the belt  222 . The output conveyor  220  is angled upwardly to lift the chips out of the cooking medium. 
         [0064]    Positioned above the output conveyor  220  is the air assembly  146  and, specifically, a motor driven fan  245  within a housing  246  ( FIGS. 1 ,  8 , and  9 ). In simple terms, the fan  245  forces air through opening  241  ( FIG. 1 ) so that air is forced through both upper vents  242  for exhaust and through a lower vent  243  towards the chips on the output conveyor  220 . In this manner, removal and drainage of the cooking medium from the chips on the output conveyor  220  is promoted. 
         [0065]    The chips are deposited at the output  44 , specifically, from the output conveyor  220  at a trailing end  230  and, more specifically, are deposited into the bowl  42  on the scale  40 , noted above (see also  FIG. 8 ). Thus, a user or operator is able to weigh or measure the amount of chips produced so that saleable portions may be allocated. Additionally, the scale  40  may be in communication with the main control  200  so that the main control  200  can track total production of chips. 
         [0066]    As shown in  FIGS. 1 and 9 , the air assembly  146  further includes an exhaust system  244  also relying on fan  245  located within a housing  246  for drawing hot and wet air from the enclosure  142 . The air is drawn through a series of one to four filter elements  248 , which are selectively removable allowing an operator to suppress smells from the machine or to stimulate the senses of consumers and potential customers by permitting a portion of the smells to emanate from the machine  10 . A trap  249  is positioned in the airflow before the filter elements  248  for removing cooking medium that may be in the air. 
         [0067]    The above-discussed enclosure  142  also provides measures of safety. Persons proximate to the machine are protected from splashing, splattering, or bumping of heating cooking medium, as well as are protected from emitted heat and vapors (such as steam from the cooking chips). Also noted above, a fire suppression system  148  is provided with the machine  10 . 
         [0068]    The fire suppression system  148  includes a canister  250  located in the volume  52  ( FIG. 1 ). The fire suppression system  148  utilizes a disbursement and monitoring line  252  including a first standpipe  251   a  with terminus  252   a  located in the in the exhaust air of the exhaust system  244  and including a temperature sensor  254  at the tip of a second standpipe  251   b  having a terminus  252   b . The fire suppression system  148  is heat activated; upon reaching a predetermined temperature (such as measured by the temperature sensor  254 ), the fire suppression system  148  automatically activates to douse any potential hazard with material (including fire suppression gas such as compressed CO 2 ) from the canister  250 . In a preferred form, the temperature sensor  254  is a mechanical device so that no electricity is involved, such as a device that includes a valve that is heat opened to allow the material in the canister to be released through the standpipe sections  251   a ,  251   b . Additionally, a heat-sensing cord may be located within the enclosure and distributed across a top surface therein to monitor heat levels throughout the space and report said levels to the main control  200 . The enclosure  142  also serves to limit the disbursement of this material and, thus, to protect anyone proximate to the machine  10  when the fire suppression system is activated. 
         [0069]    A light  260  is mounted within the enclosure  142 . The light  260  is powered by the main control  200 , which may be programmed to flash when the fire suppression system  148  is activated or other specified conditions. 
         [0070]    Turning now to operation of the machine  10 , the majority of activities are controlled by the main control  200  which, in the present embodiment, is mounted in the base volume  52 . Thus, the main control  200  is located in the least heat-susceptible portion of the machine  10 . The main control  200  operates and directs each of the motors and the heating elements  132 , as well as the air assembly  146 , and the slicer assembly  144 , and other components as discussed above. The main control  200  is microprocessor-based system utilizing hardware, firmware, and software for electronic control of the machine  10 . 
         [0071]    A user can communicate with the main control  200  in a number of manners. A user panel  280  is provided on the machine  10  along with a power-on throw  282  and a full-off throw  284 , the throws  282  and  284  being in the form of green and red push-buttons, respectively. The user panel  280  can be used to program a number of chips (turns of the slicer wheel  164 ), and a pause between sets of turns, and can be programmed for a particular product. For instance, different food stuffs may be cooked, such as pitas or sweet potatoes, and the temperature, inter alia, may be adjusted for other food stuffs. The user may indicate to the panel that a different food stuff is being cooked, and the main control  200  can adjust the speed of the conveyor assemblies  202  and temperature of the cooking medium accordingly. The main control  200  can also hold the slicer assembly  144  from slicing until the proper operating conditions for the programmed food have been reached, which includes a slice thickness for a potato chip. 
         [0072]    Furthermore, the main control  200  is provided with remote and wireless communication, such as Internet or Wi-Fi communications. While it should be clear that doing so allows a remote person to operate the machine  10 , there are a number of other benefits. 
         [0073]    In a method for operating the machine, the product of chips and the life cycle of the cooking medium are monitored. This allows a remote monitor to determine supply needs, such as potatoes or other foodstuffs and cooking medium, to determine when cooking medium should be filtered or changed, and to monitor operating conditions for potential malfunctions or maintenance work (or activation of the fire suppression system  148 ). 
         [0074]    Additionally, it allows a remote monitor to quantify an expected monetary output. For instance, in one business model, the machine  10  may be operated and located in a physical location, and the owner or operator of that location may agree to divide revenues with an owner of the machine  10 . The owner, being the remote monitor, can verify production and use of the machine  10  to accurately track the product, which can then be correlated to a monetary output based on a provided sales price. 
         [0075]    Returning to the specifics of the machine  10 , the island  110  is an important feature or, rather, the distance between the straights  74   a  and  74   c  of the trough  74  are important. As discussed, the reduced size of a machine that is available from having the non-linear path (as the usage is defined herein) has been recognized as beneficial. The present machine  10  utilizes this feature with the trough  74  that receives the sliced potato, and then submerges the potato slices along the straights  74   a  and  74   c  via the conveyor assemblies  202 . Heretofore, however, no prior art machine combined the non-linear path with the submerging of the chips during cooking. 
         [0076]    Moreover, the distance between the straights  74   a ,  74   c  overcomes a number of technical hurdles. This distance, defining the island  110 , supports the motor connections for the conveyor assemblies  202  so that a pair of conveyor assemblies  202  can be provided on the respective straights  74   a ,  74   c  with the overall size of the island no larger than is necessary for a single pinion connection  209  thereto. To be precise, the lateral size of the island  110  need only be such to provide for the pinion connections  209  and the heating elements  132 , for instance, though the illustrated embodiment is wider than necessary. It is preferred for the width of the machine  10  to permit the machine  10  to pass through a standard doorway of a commercial establishment, and the present invention enables a machine width smaller than such doorway while accommodating the conveyor assemblies  202  and heating system  130 . As an example, the width may be 36 inches. 
         [0077]    While the invention has been described with respect to specific examples including presently preferred modes of carrying out the invention, those skilled in the art will appreciate that there are numerous variations and permutations of the above described systems and techniques that fall within the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims.