A control method for an air fryer

Abstract

The present invention provides a control method for an air fryer, comprising the following steps: in the preheating stage, turn on the heating element and keep the hot air fan in the off state until the temperature of the food cooking chamber is higher than the first preset temperature, then start the drive motor of the hot air fan; in the cooking stage, control the heating power of the heating element according to the cooking mode input by the user, and keep the hot air fan rotating; and after cooking is completed, turn off the heating element and keep the hot air fan rotating until the temperature of the food cooking chamber is lower than the second preset temperature, then stop the hot air fan. By making the start and stop times of the hot air fan lag behind those of the heating element, the air fryer has higher efficiency in the preheating stage and can continuously cool the electronic components after cooking is completed, thereby improving the working efficiency and durability of the air fryer.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a control method for an air fryer. Background Art

[0002] An air fryer is a common kitchen appliance on the market. It forms a hot air circulation with a heating element and a hot air fan to conduct air frying heating on the food in the food cooking chamber. The air fryer dehydrates the surface of the food through the hot air circulation to form a fried texture, reduces the fat content of the food, and is healthier for the human body, so it is widely loved by consumers.

[0003] In order to prevent the food cooking chamber from having too high a pressure and causing danger, during the cooking process of the air fryer, the food cooking chamber is usually not sealed. While the hot air fan forms the internal hot air circulation of the food cooking chamber, it continuously discharges hot air to the outside through the cooling air duct, thereby reducing the temperature in the food cooking chamber. In the prior art, the air fryer matches the heating power of the heating element with the cooling power when the hot air fan exhausts and cools, so as to maintain the food cooking chamber within an appropriate temperature range.

[0004] It can be seen that the main functional components of the air fryer include a heating element and a hot air fan. In the prior art, the control method for the air fryer usually focuses on the power control of the heating element. For the control of the hot air fan, the hot air fan is usually started and stopped synchronously with the cooking process: the motor is started at the beginning of the cooking process to drive the hot air fan to rotate, and the rotation of the hot air fan is immediately stopped after the cooking process ends.

[0005] In the prior art, the control of the hot air fan in the air fryer is relatively simple, and there is a lack of interaction between the heating element and the hot air fan, which makes the heating efficiency of the air fryer low, the food is unevenly heated, and the food cooking effect is relatively single, unable to meet the user's demand for diversified food cooking. Summary of the Invention

[0006] In view of this, the present invention provides a control method for an air fryer. By controlling the start and stop time of the hot air fan, the air fryer has higher efficiency in the preheating stage and can continuously cool the electronic components after cooking, thereby improving the working efficiency and durability of the air fryer; and the present invention makes the food be heated more evenly by controlling the rotation direction of the driving motor. In addition, the present invention also realizes steam frying cooking of the food by making the heating power of the heating element interact with the rotation speed of the hot air fan.

[0007] In one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a control method for an air fryer, including the following steps:

[0008] During the preheating stage, turn on the heating element and keep the hot air fan off until the temperature of the food cooking chamber is higher than the first preset temperature, then start the drive motor of the hot air fan;

[0009] During the cooking stage, control the heating power of the heating element according to the cooking mode input by the user, and keep the hot air fan rotating; and

[0010] After cooking is completed, turn off the heating element and keep the hot air fan rotating until the temperature of the food cooking chamber is lower than the second preset temperature, then stop the hot air fan.

[0011] Preferably, the second preset temperature is lower than the first preset temperature.

[0012] Preferably, the control method further includes the following steps:

[0013] During the preheating stage and the cooking stage, when the air fryer is connected to an external power supply, charge the rechargeable battery; and

[0014] After cooking is completed, when the air fryer is disconnected from the external power supply, the rechargeable battery powers the drive motor to keep the hot air fan rotating until the temperature of the food cooking chamber is lower than the second preset temperature.

[0015] Preferably, during the cooking stage, when the temperature of the food cooking chamber is between the first preset temperature and the third preset temperature, control the drive motor to rotate at the first rotation speed, and when the temperature of the food cooking chamber is higher than the third preset temperature, control the drive motor to rotate at the second rotation speed;

[0016] Wherein, the third preset temperature is greater than the first preset temperature, and the first rotation speed is less than the second rotation speed which is less than or equal to the rated rotation speed of the drive motor.

[0017] Preferably, the control method further includes the following steps:

[0018] During the cooking stage, take the first preset duration as the forward rotation period and the second preset duration as the reverse rotation period, and control the drive motor to cycle between the forward rotation period and the reverse rotation period.

[0019] Preferably, the hot air fan in the air fryer is an axial flow fan, and the first preset duration is greater than the second preset duration.

[0020] Preferably, between the forward rotation period and the reverse rotation period, take the third preset duration as the stop rotation period, and control the drive motor to stop driving the hot air fan until the rotation speed of the hot air fan drops to zero speed.

[0021] Preferably, when the cooking mode input by the user is the steam frying cooking mode, the cooking stage further includes the following steps:

[0022] Control the heating element to operate at a first heating power, and control the hot air fan to rotate at a first speed;

[0023] When the humidity in the food cooking chamber is higher than the preset humidity, control the heating element to operate at a second heating power, and control the hot air fan to rotate at a third speed; and

[0024] After a fourth preset time period, control the heating element to operate at the first heating power, and control the hot air fan to rotate at the first speed.

[0025] Preferably, the second heating power is less than the first heating power which is less than or equal to the maximum heating power of the heating element, and the third speed is less than the first speed.

[0026] Preferably, in the steam frying cooking mode, the time length of the fourth preset time period is adjusted according to the weight of the food in the food cooking chamber.

[0027] Therefore, in the present invention, by controlling the start and stop time of the hot air fan to lag behind that of the heating element, the air fryer has higher efficiency in the preheating stage and can continuously cool the electronic components after cooking, thereby improving the working efficiency and durability of the air fryer; the present invention also controls the rotation direction of the drive motor to periodically reverse the air circulation direction in the air fryer, making the food heated more evenly; in addition, the present invention also realizes the steam frying cooking of the food by interlocking the heating power of the heating element with the speed of the hot air fan, so that the food achieves the cooking effect of being tender and juicy inside and golden and crispy outside. Description of the Drawings

[0028] The drawings are used to provide a further understanding of the technical solutions of the present application, and constitute a part of the specification. They are used together with the embodiments of the present application to explain the technical solutions of the present application, but do not constitute a limitation to the technical solutions of the present application.

[0029] Figure 1 It is a schematic structural diagram of the air fryer of the present invention;

[0030] Figure 2 It is a temperature-time schematic diagram of the control method of the air fryer of the present invention in the preheating stage and the cooking stage.

[0031] Description of the reference numerals:

[0032] 1 - Heating element 2 - Hot air fan 3 - Food cooking chamber

[0033] 4 - drive motor 5 - controller 6 - temperature sensor Detailed implementation manners

[0034] Various exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. The description of the exemplary embodiments is merely illustrative and is not intended to impose any limitation on the present invention and its application or use. The present invention can be implemented in many different forms and is not limited to the embodiments described herein. These embodiments are provided to make the present invention clear and complete and to fully convey the scope of the present invention to those skilled in the art. It should be noted that: unless otherwise specifically stated, the relative arrangements and numerical values of the components and steps set forth in these embodiments should be construed as merely exemplary and not as a limitation.

[0035] As Figure 1 shown, the air fryer includes a food cooking chamber 3, a heating element 1, and a hot air fan 2. The heating element 1 is located at the top of the food cooking chamber 3 and is used to heat the air. The hot air fan 2 is located above the heating element 1 and is used to blow the hot air around the heating element 1 towards the bottom of the food cooking chamber 3 for air - frying the food.

[0036] The working process of the air fryer is mainly divided into two stages, namely the pre - heating stage and the cooking stage. In the pre - heating stage, the temperature inside the food cooking chamber 3 gradually rises from room temperature to the cooking temperature. Subsequently, the air fryer emits a prompt message. After the user receives the prompt message indicating the end of the pre - heating stage, the user puts the food into the food cooking chamber 3 and then presses the start - cooking command button to make the air fryer enter the cooking stage. The setting of the pre - heating stage enables the food to be fried by high - temperature air when it enters the food cooking chamber 3, so that the air - frying of the air fryer on the food is closer to the process of the food being directly put into the oil pan and instantly heated during frying, avoiding the situation that the food is put into the food cooking chamber 3 before reaching the cooking temperature and affecting the air - frying taste.

[0037] In the prior art, the air fryer usually starts the heating element 1 and the hot air fan 2 synchronously during the pre - heating stage. At this time, there is no food in the food cooking chamber 3 and the air temperature is low. The hot air fan 2 not only fails to produce an effective air - frying cooking effect, but also continuously discharges the gradually rising hot air from the cooling channel to the external environment, resulting in a low heating efficiency and a longer time consumption during the pre - heating stage. In view of this, the control method of the air fryer provided by the present invention turns on the heating element 1 during the pre - heating stage and keeps the hot air fan 2 in the off state until the temperature of the food cooking chamber 3 is higher than the first preset temperature, and then starts the drive motor 4 of the hot air fan 2.

[0038] Thus, by preventing the hot air fan 2 from rotating when the preheating temperature is lower than the first preset temperature, the present invention prevents excessive heat in the food cooking chamber 3 from being discharged to the external environment, thereby promoting the rapid heating of the food cooking chamber 3, saving energy consumption during the preheating stage, and reducing the waiting time of the user.

[0039] Moreover, the present invention monitors the temperature inside the food cooking chamber 3 in real time through the temperature sensor 6. When the temperature of the food cooking chamber 3 is higher than the first preset temperature, the drive motor 4 of the hot air fan 2 is started, causing the hot air fan 2 to start normal operation. Thus, the air circulation effect of the hot air fan 2 is utilized to make the temperature distribution inside the food cooking chamber 3 more uniform, and by matching the heat dissipation efficiency of the hot air fan 2 with the heat generation efficiency of the heating element 1, the internal temperature of the air fryer is maintained within a reasonable range in a dynamic balance manner, thereby optimizing the cooking effect on the food.

[0040] During the cooking stage, the air fryer controls the heat generation power of the heating element 1 according to the cooking mode input by the user and keeps the hot air fan 2 rotating, so that the food can be air-fried and heated at the most suitable cooking temperature, preventing the food from being undercooked or burnt, and improving the cooking effect of the food.

[0041] After cooking is completed, in the prior art, the heating element 1 and the hot air fan 2 of the air fryer are usually turned off synchronously. This makes the high temperature inside the food cooking chamber 3 can only be slowly reduced by natural heat dissipation, which not only easily poses a risk of scalding to the user, but also easily affects the reliability and service life of the electronic components arranged outside the food cooking chamber 3.

[0042] In view of this, the present invention turns off the heating element 1 after cooking is completed and keeps the hot air fan 2 rotating until the temperature of the food cooking chamber 3 is lower than the second preset temperature and then stops the hot air fan 2. Thus, by controlling the hot air fan 2 to continue working after cooking is completed, the temperature of the food cooking chamber 3 can be quickly reduced to below the second preset temperature, thereby avoiding the adverse effects of high temperature on the user and electronic components.

[0043] However, if the user directly cuts off the power after cooking is completed, then the hot air fan 2 cannot continue to rotate after the heating element stops working. In view of this, in a preferred embodiment, the air fryer further includes a rechargeable battery, which can be charged through an external power source during the preheating stage and the cooking stage, and after cooking is completed, when the air fryer is disconnected from the external power source, it supplies power to the drive motor 4 to keep the hot air fan 2 rotating until the temperature of the food cooking chamber 3 is lower than the second preset temperature.

[0044] Considering that the service life of a rechargeable battery is negatively correlated with the number of its charge and discharge cycles, the present invention is powered by the rechargeable battery only when the air fryer is disconnected from the external power supply after cooking, and continues to be powered by the external power supply when the air fryer remains connected to the external power supply after cooking, thereby effectively improving the durability of the rechargeable battery.

[0045] In addition, the present invention makes the stop working time of the hot air fan lag behind that of the heating element, so that when the user disconnects the external power supply of the air fryer after cooking, they can judge that the hot air is still working based on the indicator light associated with the hot air fan 2, thus easily realizing that the internal temperature of the air fryer is still relatively high at this time. Therefore, the probability of being scalded by directly touching the high-temperature components inside the air fryer can be reduced, and the user can consciously keep the external power supply connected after cooking, enabling the air fryer to use its internal rechargeable battery less frequently.

[0046] In a preferred embodiment, the present invention controls the temperature inside the food cooking chamber 3 by varying the rotational speed of the drive motor 4, thereby reducing the fluctuation of the cooking temperature and making the food heat more evenly. Specifically, during the cooking stage, when the temperature of the food cooking chamber 3 is between the first preset temperature and the third preset temperature, the drive motor 4 is controlled to rotate at a first rotational speed; when the temperature of the food cooking chamber 3 is higher than the third preset temperature, the drive motor 4 is controlled to rotate at a second rotational speed; wherein, the third preset temperature is greater than the first preset temperature, and the first rotational speed is less than the second rotational speed which is less than or equal to the rated rotational speed of the drive motor 4.

[0047] Thus, the present invention makes the hot air fan 2 rotate at a relatively low first rotational speed when the temperature of the food cooking chamber 3 is within the normal temperature range, and makes the hot air fan 2 rotate at a relatively high second rotational speed when the temperature of the food cooking chamber 3 is higher than the critical high temperature, thereby accelerating the exhaust heat dissipation of the air fryer to the external environment and quickly reducing the temperature inside the food cooking chamber 3 to within the normal temperature range.

[0048] The adjustment of the rotational speed of the hot air fan 2 in the present invention can be achieved by adjusting the voltage frequency of the drive motor 4 through a frequency converter, which enables a relatively fast adjustment of the rotational speed of the hot air fan 2. In contrast, in the prior art, the speed of reducing the temperature of the food cooking chamber 3 by adjusting the heating power of the heating tube is relatively slow, which easily leads to a relatively long duration of the cooking temperature above the normal temperature range, having an adverse impact on the food cooking effect.

[0049] When the structure of the food cooking chamber 3 is the same, the hot air circulation direction inside the air fryer is determined by the air outlet and air inlet directions of the hot air fan 2, as Figure 1As shown, when the air outlet direction of the hot air fan 2 is upward and the air inlet direction is downward, the hot air will always flow from the outside to the inside at the bottom of the food cooking chamber 3, which causes the food placed at the bottom of the food cooking chamber 3 to form a fixed windward side and leeward side. At this time, if the user does not fully stir the food during cooking, the phenomenon of uneven heating of the food is likely to occur.

[0050] In view of this, in a preferred embodiment, the control method of the present invention further includes the following steps: during the cooking stage, with the first preset duration as the forward rotation cycle and the second preset duration as the reverse rotation cycle, control the driving motor 4 to cycle between the forward rotation cycle and the reverse rotation cycle.

[0051] Thus, through the cyclic switching of the forward and reverse rotations of the driving motor 4, the hot air fan 2 is driven to continuously cycle between forward and reverse rotations, thereby continuously changing the air circulation direction in the food cooking chamber 3 and making the heating of each surface of the food more uniform.

[0052] Furthermore, in order to make the hot air fan 2 have different air inlet and outlet directions during forward and reverse rotations, the hot air fan 2 is preferably an axial flow fan. The axial flow fan can blow air downward during forward rotation and upward during reverse rotation, so it can adjust the air circulation flow direction at the bottom of the food cooking chamber 3. And because the axial flow fan usually cannot take into account the efficiency during both forward and reverse rotations, the present invention makes the forward rotation duration of the hot air fan 2 longer than the reverse rotation duration, so that the more efficient forward rotation accounts for a higher proportion of the time during cooking, thereby improving the air flow intensity in the air fryer.

[0053] In order to prevent the driving motor 4 from switching too quickly between forward and reverse rotations and causing damage to the motor structure, the present invention uses the third preset duration as the stop rotation cycle between the forward rotation cycle and the reverse rotation cycle of the driving motor 4, and controls the driving motor 4 to stop driving the hot air fan 2 during the stop rotation cycle until the rotational speed of the hot air fan 2 drops to zero rotational speed.

[0054] Thus, the driving motor 4 can use the stop rotation cycle as a buffer during the forward and reverse rotation switching process, without generating a rotational driving force on the hot air fan 2, so that the hot air fan 2 gradually reduces its rotational speed until it stops under the combined action of rotational inertia, mechanical resistance, and air resistance. Furthermore, when the driving motor 4 starts in the next cycle, it does not need to overcome the inertia of the hot air fan 2, making the start of the driving motor 4 more stable.

[0055] Based on the control of the rotational speed of the hot air fan 2 and the heating power of the heating element 1 in the above embodiment, in a preferred embodiment, the air fryer of the present invention can enrich the food cooking modes of the air fryer by coordinating the rotational speed of the hot air fan 2 with the heating power of the heating element 1.

[0056] When the cooking mode input by the user is the steam frying cooking mode, the control method of the air fryer further includes the following steps: controlling the heating element 1 to operate at a first heating power and controlling the hot air fan 2 to rotate at a first speed; when the humidity in the food cooking chamber 3 is higher than a preset humidity, controlling the heating element 1 to operate at a second heating power and controlling the hot air fan 2 to rotate at a third speed; and after a fourth preset time period, controlling the heating element 1 to operate at the first heating power and controlling the hot air fan 2 to rotate at the first speed.

[0057] Different from the air fryer with a steam generating component in the prior art, the steam frying cooking mode of the present invention utilizes the water vapor generated by the food itself, so that not only can the related structure of the steam generating component be omitted, but also the cooking sequence of steaming first and then frying can be achieved, enabling the food to obtain a cooking effect of being tender and juicy inside and golden and crispy outside.

[0058] Specifically, in the steam frying cooking mode, the air fryer first heats the food in a normal state. At this time, the heating power of the heating element 1 is the first heating power, and the rotation speed of the hot air fan 2 is the first speed. As the cooking process progresses, the water vapor in the food gradually evaporates due to heat, increasing the humidity in the food cooking chamber 3. When the humidity detected by the humidity sensor is higher than the preset humidity, the air fryer enters a low-power state. The hot air fan 2 reduces its rotation speed to reduce the speed at which water vapor is discharged from the air fryer through the cooling channel with the hot air, while the heating element 1 reduces its own heating power to cooperate with the hot air fan 2, so that the cooking temperature of the air fryer continues to be maintained within the normal temperature range. At this time, the heating power of the heating element 1 is the second heating power, and the rotation speed of the hot air fan 2 is the third speed. When the steaming duration reaches the fourth preset time period, the air fryer returns from the low-power state to the normal state to perform air frying heating on the food.

[0059] The steam frying cooking mode can endow meat and starchy foods with a better taste compared to the traditional air frying cooking mode. For meat foods, steaming first can make the inside of the meat foods mature and juicy, and then air frying can make the skin of the meat foods crispy. For foods with a high starch content such as potatoes and sweet potatoes, the starch gelatinization reaction will occur at a relatively high humidity and a relatively low temperature, making the food have a "floury" taste. Therefore, steaming first and then frying can also optimize the cooking effect of starchy foods.

[0060] In a preferred embodiment, the second heating power is less than the first heating power which is less than or equal to the maximum heating power of the heating element 1, and the third speed is less than the first speed. Thus, the cooking temperature of the air fryer in the steam frying cooking mode can be maintained within the temperature range above the boiling point of water and below the boiling point of oil, thereby promoting the evaporation of water in the food and preventing the food from being fried at a high temperature.

[0061] In a preferred embodiment, in the steam frying cooking mode, the present invention can adjust the time length of the fourth preset duration according to the weight of the food in the food cooking chamber 3, steam-heat heavier food for a longer time, and reduce the steam heating time for lighter food, so that the cooking duration is closer to the actual requirement and energy consumption is saved on the premise of ensuring the food cooking effect.

[0062] Among them, the food weight can be manually input by the user into the controller 5 of the air fryer, or a weight sensor can be added to the lower side of the food cooking chamber 3 to achieve automatic weighing of the food.

[0063] In summary, the present invention makes the air fryer more efficient in the preheating stage and can continuously cool the electronic components after cooking by controlling the start and stop time of the hot air fan 2 to lag behind that of the heating element 1, thereby improving the working efficiency and durability of the air fryer; the present invention also makes the air circulation direction in the air fryer reverse periodically by controlling the rotation direction of the drive motor 4, so that the food is heated more evenly; in addition, the present invention also realizes steam frying cooking of the food by making the heating power of the heating element 1 and the rotation speed of the hot air fan 2 interact with each other, so that the food achieves a cooking effect of being tender and juicy inside and golden and crispy outside.

[0064] So far, some specific embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail by way of examples. However, those skilled in the art should understand that the above examples are only for illustration purposes and not for limiting the scope of the present invention. Those skilled in the art should understand that the above embodiments can be modified or some technical features can be equivalently replaced without departing from the scope and spirit of the present invention. The scope of the present invention is defined by the appended claims.

Claims

1. A control method for an air fryer, characterized in that, It includes the following steps: In the preheating stage, turn on the heating element (1) and keep the hot air fan (2) in the off state until the temperature of the food cooking chamber (3) is higher than the first preset temperature, then start the drive motor (4) of the hot air fan (2); In the cooking stage, control the heating power of the heating element (1) according to the cooking mode input by the user, and keep the hot air fan (2) rotating; and After cooking is completed, turn off the heating element (1), and keep the hot air fan (2) rotating until the temperature of the food cooking chamber (3) is lower than the second preset temperature, then stop the hot air fan (2), When the cooking mode input by the user is the steam fry cooking mode, the cooking stage further includes the following steps: Control the heating element (1) to work at the first heating power, and control the hot air fan (2) to rotate at the first rotational speed; When the humidity in the food cooking chamber (3) is higher than the preset humidity, control the heating element (1) to work at the second heating power, and control the hot air fan (2) to rotate at the third rotational speed which is less than the first rotational speed; and After a fourth preset duration, control the heating element (1) to work at the first heating power, and control the hot air fan (2) to rotate at the first rotational speed, The second heating power is less than the first heating power.

2. The control method according to claim 1, characterized in that The second preset temperature is lower than the first preset temperature.

3. The control method according to claim 1, characterized in that It further includes the following steps: In the preheating stage and the cooking stage, when the air fryer is connected to an external power supply, charge the rechargeable battery; And After cooking is completed, when the air fryer is disconnected from the external power supply, the rechargeable battery supplies power to the drive motor (4) to keep the hot air fan (2) rotating until the temperature of the food cooking chamber (3) is lower than the second preset temperature.

4. The control method according to claim 3, wherein In the cooking stage, when the temperature of the food cooking chamber (3) is between the first preset temperature and the third preset temperature, control the drive motor (4) to rotate at the first rotational speed, when the temperature of the food cooking chamber (3) is higher than the third preset temperature, control the drive motor (4) to rotate at the second rotational speed; Wherein, the third preset temperature is greater than the first preset temperature, the first rotational speed is less than the second rotational speed which is less than or equal to the rated rotational speed of the drive motor (4).

5. The control method according to claim 1, characterized in that It further includes the following steps: In the cooking stage, with the first preset duration as the forward rotation period and the second preset duration as the reverse rotation period, control the drive motor (4) to cycle between the forward rotation period and the reverse rotation period.

6. The control method according to claim 5, wherein The hot air fan (2) in the air fryer is an axial flow fan, and the first preset duration is greater than the second preset duration.

7. The control method according to claim 5, characterized in that Between the forward rotation period and the reverse rotation period, with the third preset duration as the stop rotation period, control the drive motor (4) to stop driving the hot air fan (2) until the rotational speed of the hot air fan (2) drops to zero rotational speed.

8. The control method according to claim 1, characterized in that, In the steam fry cooking mode, adjust the time length of the fourth preset duration according to the weight of the food in the food cooking chamber (3).

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