Patent Description:
Fryers are widely used in kitchens in homes and restaurants for cooking food by frying. They generally comprise a housing and an inner pot arranged in the housing and used for holding oil and food. To separate food residues produced during frying from the used oil, it is known to provide an oil filtering means at the bottom of the inner pot, as well as an oil collector in communication with the oil filtering means inside the housing. Used oil is filtered and collected by means of the oil filtering means and the oil collector. The document <CIT> discloses a fryer.

In the existing fryer, after the oil collector is placed into the housing, the oil filtering means of the inner pot is generally opened by means of a knob. The transmission structure is relatively complicated and it is also inconvenient to operate. The cooperation between parts may easily fail due to improper handling, for example, removing the oil collector while the oil filtering means is still in an open state, thus causing oil leak.

An objective of the present invention is to overcome the above-described shortcomings of the prior art by providing a fryer that has a simplified structure and is easy to operate.

To this end, the present invention provides a fryer comprising a housing, a pot and an oil collector respectively arranged in the housing. The oil collector is arranged below the pot.

A discharge assembly is arranged between the pot and the oil collector. The fryer is characterized in that the discharge assembly comprises:.

Thus, the present invention provides a fryer that uses a button as a filtering trigger means.

A user can push the oil guide horizontally to the second position where oil is filtered by pressing the first button. This operation is simple, convenient, and has a determined course, which prevents incorrect positioning of parts caused by improper handling. In addition, the locking assembly is provided to lock the oil guide. Further, the unlocking assembly is provided to unlock the locking assembly, enabling the user to stop oil filtering at any time and increasing the recognizability and repeatability of the operation of stopping oil filtering. Thus, the fryer according to the present invention is capable of achieving oil filtering and the stopping of oil filtering with a simpler structure and is convenient to handle with high repeatability.

According to a mode of realization, the locking assembly comprises a positioning pin arranged at the housing and a pin slot arranged at the oil guide. The positioning pin is configured to move when the oil guide moves, and to engage in the pin slot when the oil guide moves to the second position so as to lock the oil guide in the second position.

Thus, the locking of the oil guide in the second position is achieved by means of the insertion of the positioning pin in the pin slot. It is ensured that the spring valve of the oil filtered is in a stable open position until the user deems that oil filtering should be stopped. The duration of the oil filtering is thus controllable. According to a mode of realization, the positioning pin is movably mounted in the housing and extends downward into the course of the oil guide. In the oil guide's course of moving from the first position to the second position, the positioning pin is capable of moving relative to the housing and thus will not obstruct the smooth movement of the oil guide. At the second position of the oil guide, the positioning pin engages with the pin slot arranged on top of the oil guide, thus achieving the locking of the oil guide at a determined position. Of course, the location of the positioning pin and the pin slot can be interchanged. That is, the positioning is located at the oil guide while the pin slot is arranged at the housing. Alternatively, the positioning pin may be located at the housing below the oil guide and extends upward, while the pin slot is arranged at the bottom of the oil guide.

Optionally, the movement direction of the positioning pin is perpendicular to the movement direction of the oil guide. For example, when the oil guide is configured to move along a horizontal direction, the positioning pin is configured to move along a vertical direction. This arrangement has a simple structure and is easy to realize. Of course, a movement direction of the positioning pin may form an inclined angle relative to a movement direction of the oil guide, instead of being perpendicular to it.

According to a mode of realization, a second return spring is sleeved to the positioning pin. When the oil guide is pushed from the first position towards the second position, the positioning pin moves against a return force exerted by the second return spring. Thus, when the positioning pin is unlocked from the pin slot, the positioning pin returns to an initial position under the effect of the second return spring. Alternatively, the positioning pin can fall back to the initial position by gravity.

According to a mode of realization, the oil guide is provided with a second ramp which abuts against the positioning pin, and the pin slot is arranged at the top of the second ramp. When the oil guide is pushed from the first position towards the second position, the positioning pin is pushed from the bottom of the second ramp towards the top of the second ramp. That is, at its initial position, the positioning pin protrudes downward relative to the housing, and the second ramp is configured to be higher outside and lower inside. Thus, in the oil guide's course of moving inward horizontally, the second ramp may always (or starting from a certain position) abut against the positioning pin. As the upper surface of the second ramp rises gradually, the positioning pin moves upward while opposing the return force of the second return spring, until it engages with the pin slot arranged at the top of the second ramp, thereby locking the oil guide in the second position. Alternatively, the second ramp may not be provided. Instead, an abutting plane is provided to maintain the position pin in a position where it does not protrude during the oil guide's course of sliding, and when the oil guide reaches the second position, the position pin protrudes and inserts into the pin slot.

In the above-described mode of realization, the unlocking assembly is configured to be capable of disengaging the positioning pin from the pin slot. Once the positioning pin disengages from the pin slot, the oil guide will move towards the first position under the effect of the first return spring, and other parts of the discharge assembly will also automatically return to position.

According to a mode of realization, the unlocking assembly is the oil collector and is configured to be capable of moving the oil guide by force under the effect of an external force so as to disengage the positioning pin from the pin slot. The user can operate the oil collector from outside the housing of the fryer by directly exerting a force on it, for example, pulling it outward, so as to move the oil guide by force. While the positioning pin inserted in the pin slot can lock the oil guide in the second position, the engagement between the two can be configured such that when the external force is sufficiently strong, the positioning pin can disengage from the pin slot. A person skilled in the art ca achieve this objective by adjusting the depth and/or shape of the pin slot. Thus, the fryer according to this embodiment allows the unlocking of the oil guide at the same time as pulling out the oil collector. The unlocked oil guide returns to the first position under the effect of the first return spring, thereby closing the spring valve and achieving automatic closing of the oil filter. In other words, the fryer according to this embodiment allows the simultaneity of the pulling out of the oil collector and the closing of the oil filter by one operation. This design ensures that when the oil collector is not in place, the oil filter is necessarily closed, so as to prevent oil leak caused by the inability to correctly close the oil filter due to improper handling in the prior art. It is consistent with utilization logic and simple and convenient to handle.

According to another mode of realization, the unlocking assembly comprises a second button and a driving arm connecting the second button and the oil guide. The driving arm is configured to be capable of moving the oil guide by force under the effect of an external force so as to disengage the positioning pin from the pin slot. In this mode of realization, the user exerts an external force on the driving arm by pressing the second button (i.e., "unlock button") to drive the oil guide to move. In the same way or a similar way as in the preceding embodiment, the engagement between the positioning pin and the pin slot is configured such that they can disengage from each other under the effect of an external force. This mode is easier to operate to some users.

Further, a first end of the driving arm is connected to the second button, and a second end is connected to the oil guide. When the second button is pressed, the driving arm rotates around an axe and pulls the oil guide towards the first position so that the positioning pin disengages from the pin slot. By "a first end of the driving arm is connected to the second button", it does not necessarily mean the two are fixedly connected. In some embodiments, the two can be connected by abutment. According to the present mode of realization, the first end and the second end of the driving arm are located respectively at two sides of the rotation axe. Thus, when the user pushes the second button inward, the oil guide moves outward under the pulling of the second end, i.e., moves towards its first position. This design is consistent with utilization habits. Of course, the second button can also be designed to be capable of directly pulling the driving arm outward and the driving arm directly pulls outward the oil guide.

Further, the unlocking assembly further comprises a third return spring sleeved to the second button. The second button, when pressed, moves against a return force exerted by the third return spring. Thus, when the user releases the second button, it will return to an initial position under the effect of the third return spring, which is convenient to handle and saves efforts. Alternatively, a torsion spring can be arranged at the driving arm so that it may return to an initial state when in unforced state, which also brings the second button back to its initial position.

According to a preferred mode of realization, the oil guide comprises a first ramp, and the spring valve comprises a valve body and an oil filtering spring. When the oil guide slides from its first position towards the second position, the valve body is pushed upward by the first ramp against a return force exerted by the oil filtering spring on the valve body so as to move the spring valve from the closed position to the open position. The first ramp is configured to have an upper surface that is high outside and low inside. When the oil guide is pushed inward, the upper surface of the first ramp rises gradually, pushing the valve body up gradually so as to move it away from a sealed position. Thus, the spring valve moves to the open position.

According to a mode of realization, the pot is removable from the housing, and/or the oil filter is removably mounted at the bottom of the pot. In general, the pot can be placed in and removed through a top opening of the housing. The pot can also be covered by a lid. Preferably, the oil filter is configured to be removable so as to facilitate cleaning and ensure hygiene. The oil filter can comprise a filter mesh used for filtering food residues in the pot.

According to a mode of realization, the oil collector is removable from the housing, and/or the first button and the first return spring are both arranged at the oil collector. For example, the oil collector can be placed in and removed through a lateral opening of the housing. The oil collector is provided with an oil inlet. When the oil collector is placed in position, the oil inlet may be in communication with the oil filter. In another mode of realization, the oil guide is provided with an oil guiding hole. Only when the oil guide is in the second position can oil in the pot flow to the oil inlet via the oil guiding hole. On the contrary, when the oil guide is not in the second position, the oil filter is obstructed by the oil guide and not in communication with the oil inlet of the oil collector. This arrangement can further ensure that only when the user presses the first button to the correct position can oil normally flow into the oil collector. Alternatively, the first button and/or the first return spring can also be arranged at the housing. A person skilled in the art can conceive appropriate structure to control the movement of the oil guide.

It should be understood that the general description above and the following detailed description are merely exemplary and explanatory and cannot limit the present invention. Other characteristics, objectives, and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the specification, accompanying drawings, and the claims.

The present invention will be described further in detail below in reference to the accompanying drawings. A person skilled in the art can easily understand that the accompanying drawings are merely for the purpose of illustration and not intended to limit the scope of protection of the present invention. The same references in the accompanying drawings represent the same or similar parts. For the sake of clear illustration, those drawings may not be entirely drawn to scale.

A person skilled in the art can understand that the following embodiments only aim at describing the technical solutions of the present invention more clearly, and do not constitute any limitation to the scope of protection of the present invention.

It should be noted that, when an element is referred to as being "fixed" or "arranged" at another element, it may be directly on the other element, or indirectly on the other element. When an element is referred to as being "connected to" another element, it can be directly connected to the other element, or indirectly connected to the other element.

In addition, the terms "first" and "second" are used for descriptive purposes only and cannot be understood as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly indicating a number of indicated technical features. Thus, characteristics defined as "first" and "second" may explicitly or implicitly include one or more of these characteristics. In the description of the present application, "plurality" means two or more than two, unless otherwise explicitly and specifically limited. In addition, the terms "inside/outside" and "up/down" are descriptions in reference to an upright position of a cooking utensil itself.

<FIG> shows the overall structure of a fryer <NUM> according to a first mode of realization of the present invention. It comprises a housing <NUM> having an upper opening for receiving a pot <NUM>. In <FIG>, the upper opening is closed by a lid. The pot <NUM> is used for accommodating oil and food material and realizes a cooking step such as frying when heated. The housing <NUM> also comprises a lateral opening <NUM>. An oil collector <NUM> is received in the lateral opening <NUM> and capable of being pulled out. The housing <NUM> can be provided with a heating controller <NUM> that controls the temperature and/or duration of heating, for example in the form of a knob.

As shown in <FIG>, in the present embodiment, the oil collector <NUM> has an overall shape of a flattened cuboid and is preferably provided with a handle <NUM> at an outer end (the end visible from outside when received in the housing <NUM>). In addition, the oil collector <NUM> is provided with an oil inlet <NUM> at a top face and an openable oil discharge opening <NUM> used for pouring out used oil held inside the oil collector when necessary. When the oil collector <NUM> is received in the lateral opening <NUM> of the housing <NUM>, it is located below the pot <NUM>, with the oil inlet <NUM> aligned with an oil outlet <NUM> at the bottom of the pot <NUM>.

As can be seen more clearly in <FIG>, a discharge assembly is arranged between the pot <NUM> and the oil collector <NUM> in order to achieve controllable discharge of oil inside the pot. Specifically, the discharge assembly comprises an oil filter <NUM> arranged in the oil outlet <NUM> of the pot <NUM>, and an oil guide <NUM> slidably arranged at the upper surface of the oil collector <NUM>. The oil filter <NUM> comprises a shell <NUM> and a filtering mesh <NUM> and a spring valve mounted respectively in the shell <NUM>. The filtering mesh <NUM> allows filtering food residues in the pot <NUM> to prevent food residues from entering the spring valve and hindering its movement. The spring valve comprises, from top to bottom, an oil filtering spring <NUM>, a valve body <NUM>, and a sealing ring <NUM>. The oil filtering spring <NUM> is configured to exert a downward force on the valve body <NUM> in an unforced state so that the sealing ring <NUM>, sleeved to the valve body <NUM>, closely presses against the inner side of the shell <NUM> of the oil filter. In other words, the spring valve is overall in a closed position as shown in <FIG>.

The discharge assembly further comprises a first button <NUM> and a first return spring <NUM> respectively connected with the oil guide <NUM>. The upper surface of the oil collector <NUM> is provided with a sliding groove for mounting the oil guide <NUM>. The outer end of the oil guide <NUM> is fixedly connected with the first button <NUM>, for example by means of cooperation between a hook <NUM> and a slot <NUM>. One end of the first return spring <NUM> is connected with the oil collector <NUM>, and the other end is connected with the oil guide <NUM>. The first return spring <NUM> is configured to maintain the oil guide <NUM> in a first position in an unforced state. When a user presses the first button <NUM> inward, a return force exerted by the first return spring <NUM> on the oil guide <NUM> is opposed to, so as to push the oil guide <NUM> from the first position to a second position located further inward.

As shown in <FIG>, the oil guide <NUM> comprises a first ramp <NUM> and an oil guiding hole <NUM>. The upper surface of the first ramp <NUM> is configured to be low inside and high outside and is positioned to be capable of engaging with the spring valve at the bottom of the pot <NUM>. To this end, as shown in <FIG>, the bottom of the shell <NUM> of the oil filter comprises a lateral incision <NUM> through which the first ramp <NUM> can extend so as to engage with the valve body <NUM>. When the oil guide <NUM> is in the first position, as shown in <FIG>, the upper surface of the first ramp <NUM> is not in contact with the valve body <NUM> of the spring valve, and the valve body <NUM> is in a closed position under the effect of the oil filtering spring <NUM>. When the oil guide <NUM> is pushed by the first button <NUM> to slide from the first position towards the second position, the first ramp <NUM> moves inward, and its upper surface comes in contact with the valve body <NUM> and rises gradually. Thus, the valve body <NUM> is pushed by the first ramp <NUM> to move upward and compresses the oil filtering spring <NUM>. As shown in <FIG>, due to the upward movement of the valve body <NUM>, the sealing ring <NUM> leaves its sealing position in which it seals the shell <NUM> of the oil filter, so that oil in the pot <NUM> can flow out of the pot <NUM> via the oil filter <NUM>, passing through the oil guiding hole <NUM>, and flow into the oil collector <NUM> via the oil inlet <NUM> of the oil collector, thereby completing an oil filtering operation.

In addition, the discharge assembly further comprises a locking assembly <NUM> capable of locking the oil guide <NUM> in the second position. In the present embodiment, the locking assembly <NUM> comprises a positioning pin <NUM> arranged at the housing <NUM> and a pin slot <NUM> arranged at the oil guide <NUM>. Specifically, above the lateral opening <NUM>, the housing <NUM> comprises a mobile positioning pin <NUM> extending downward and capable of moving up and down in a vertical direction. Preferably, the housing <NUM> comprises a box <NUM> comprising a cavity used for receiving the positioning pin <NUM>. In the present embodiment, two positioning pins <NUM> are provided, and a second return spring <NUM> is sleeved to each positioning pin <NUM>. The two ends of one second return spring <NUM> abut against respectively the positioning pin <NUM> and the box <NUM>. The second return springs <NUM> are configured to maintain the positioning pin <NUM> in a position in which its bottom end extends out of the box <NUM> in an unforced state. Correspondingly, the oil guide <NUM> comprises two pin slots <NUM>. As shown in <FIG>, the pin slots <NUM> are shaped as a depression into which a positioning pin <NUM> can be inserted. Specifically, the pin slots <NUM> are positioned so that when the oil guide <NUM> is moved to the second position, the pin slots <NUM> are located right below the positioning pins <NUM>, and the oil guide <NUM> is locked in the second position by insertion of the positioning pins <NUM> into the pin slots <NUM>.

In the present embodiment, the oil guide <NUM> further comprises a second ramp <NUM> arranged at the inner side of the pin slots <NUM>. Its upper surface is high outside and low inside. When the oil guide <NUM> is pushed to move inward, the second ramp <NUM> can abut against the downward protruding positioning pin <NUM> from the beginning, or abut against the positioning pin <NUM> starting from a certain moment, and then push the positioning pin <NUM> against the return force of its second return spring <NUM> to move upward, until the top end of the second ramp <NUM> reaches the location of the positioning pin <NUM> where the positioning pin <NUM> engages with a pin slot <NUM>, thus locking the oil guide <NUM> in the second position.

The discharge assembly according to the present invention further comprises an unlocking assembly used for unlocking the locking assembly <NUM> and configured to disengage the positioning pin <NUM> from the pin slot <NUM> under the effect of an external force. In the embodiment shown in <FIG>, the unlocking assembly is constituted by the oil collector <NUM> itself. Specifically, a user may directly pull outward the oil collector <NUM> by the handle <NUM> located at the outer side of the oil collector <NUM> so as to move the oil guide <NUM> by force and disengage the positioning pin <NUM> from the pin slot <NUM>. To this end, the pin slots <NUM> are formed as for example relatively shallow slots, or with a more gentle slope at the inner side of the slots, so that under the effect of an appropriate horizontal force, the positioning pin <NUM> can smoothly disengage from the pin slot <NUM>. Once the positioning pin <NUM> disengages from the pin slot <NUM>, the oil guide <NUM> will move outward under the effect of the first return spring <NUM> and return to the first position. At the same time, the valve body <NUM> of the spring valve will no longer be subject to the pushing force of the first ramp <NUM> and will move downward under the effect of the oil filtering spring <NUM>, so that the sealing ring <NUM> presses the inner side of the shell <NUM> of the oil filter again and the oil filter <NUM> returns to its closed position. The positioning pins <NUM> will also move downward under the effect of the second return spring <NUM> and return to their initial position. In other words, a user only needs to exert an appropriate outward pulling initial force on the oil collector <NUM> to disengage the positioning pins <NUM> from the pin slots <NUM>. All other parts will return to position by themselves, and the operation is simple and requires little effort. In addition, this embodiment realizes the pulling out of the oil collector <NUM> and the closing of the oil filter <NUM> at the same time in one single operation, which ensures that the oil filter <NUM> is always closed when the oil collector <NUM> is not in position and prevents oil leak due to improper handling.

<FIG> shows the overall structure of a fryer <NUM>' according to a second mode of realization of the present invention. Similar to <FIG>, <FIG> shows a schematic exploded view of the discharge assembly in this embodiment. Parts having the same structure/function as in the first mode of realization will not be described again. Only parts different from the first mode of realization will be described.

As shown in <FIG>, the outer end of the oil collector <NUM> is provided with a first button <NUM> and a second button <NUM>. In this embodiment, the function of the first button <NUM> is the same as in the first mode of realization, i.e., to push the oil guide <NUM> to reach the second position so as to achieve oil filtering. Therefore, the first button <NUM> can also be referred to as an "oil filtering button". The second button <NUM> is used for unlocking the locking assembly <NUM> so that the oil guide <NUM> returns to its initial position under the effect of the first return spring <NUM>. Therefore, the second button <NUM> is also referred to as an "filtering stop button" or "unlock button". As shown in <FIG>, a third return spring <NUM> can be sleeved to the second button <NUM>.

The unlocking assembly further comprises a driving arm <NUM>. As more clearly shown in <FIG>, a first end <NUM> of the driving arm <NUM> abuts against an inner end <NUM> of the button <NUM>, while a second end <NUM> is connected with the oil guide <NUM>. The driving arm <NUM> further comprises a rotation axe <NUM> fixed with a mounting plate <NUM>, so that the driving arm <NUM> can rotate around the axe. When oil filtering is completed and the second button <NUM> is pressed by a user, it moves inward against the return force of the third return spring <NUM>. Its inner end <NUM> will push the first end <NUM> of the driving arm <NUM> to move inward. As the rotating axe <NUM> is fixed with the mounting plate <NUM>, the driving arm <NUM> will rotate around the axe <NUM>, so that the second end <NUM> at the other side rotates outward and pulls the oil guide <NUM> to slide outward, thus disengaging the positioning pin <NUM> from the pin slot <NUM> to unlock the locking assembly. When the positioning pin <NUM> disengages from the pin slot <NUM>, the movement of various parts and corresponding advantages are the same as in the first mode of realization and will not be described again here.

Claim 1:
A fryer (<NUM>) comprising a housing (<NUM>), and a pot (<NUM>) and an oil collector (<NUM>) respectively arranged in the housing, the oil collector (<NUM>) being arranged below the pot (<NUM>), a discharge assembly being arranged between the pot (<NUM>) and the oil collector (<NUM>),
wherein the discharge assembly comprises:
- an oil filter (<NUM>) arranged at the bottom of the pot (<NUM>) and comprising a spring valve having an open position and a closed position;
- an oil guide (<NUM>) arranged on the oil collector (<NUM>) and slidingly connected with the oil collector (<NUM>), characterized in that the oil guide (<NUM>) is capable of moving the spring valve from the closed position to the open position when sliding from a first position to a second position;
wherein the discharge assembly further comprises:
- a first button (<NUM>) and a first return spring (<NUM>) respectively connected with the oil guide (<NUM>), when being pressed, the first button (<NUM>) being capable of pushing the oil guide (<NUM>) from the first position to the second position by opposing a return force exerted by the first return spring (<NUM>) on the oil guide (<NUM>);
- a locking assembly (<NUM>) used for locking the oil guide (<NUM>) in the second position;
- an unlocking assembly used for unlocking the locking assembly (<NUM>).