HEISSLUFTFRITTEUSE

Description

technical field

[0001] The present invention relates to a cooking device of the hot air fryer type and relates particularly to the support system for a basket in a tank of the hot air fryer. State of the art

[0002] Air fryers are well-known to those in the know. These appliances significantly reduce, or even eliminate, the amount of fat needed when cooking foods of plant or animal origin, such as French fries or fish. Cooking is achieved with little or no oil thanks to hot air circulating in a cooking chamber, resulting in healthier food that is crispy on the outside and tender on the inside. Because oil is reduced or eliminated during cooking, these appliances produce less odor and grease, and cleaning is also easier.

[0003] An air fryer typically consists of a removable bowl designed to hold a basket in which the food to be cooked is placed. Once the basket is in the bowl, the entire assembly is inserted into a chamber where hot air is blown by a built-in fan. This hot air circulates through the chamber and the bowl containing the basket and food, ensuring that the food is cooked.

[0004] To ensure even cooking of food, the bottom of the basket must be kept away from the bottom of the tank and the circulation of hot air must be adequate in the tank.

[0005] The German utility model published under number DE202017103259U is known, describing a hot air fryer in which the bottom of the tank has raised shapes and the basket includes, on its upper front part, a handle with a first tab that rests on the upper rim of the tank and, on its lower rear part, two second tabs that rest at specific points on two protruding parts of the raised bottom of the tank. Although this design promotes a homogeneous distribution of hot air in the tank and around the basket and ensures the stability of the basket placed in the tank, it presents several drawbacks.Indeed, when placing the basket in the tank, the user must ensure that the basket handling handle is engaged on the rim of the tank while correctly positioning the second legs against the raised areas of the tank bottom; any play in the area where the handling handle engages the tank can cause the two second legs to be incorrectly positioned on the two raised areas of the tank bottom. Furthermore, friction between the second legs and the tank bottom can damage the bottom. A cooking appliance of the air fryer type, comprising a hot air blowing system, a tank (2) and a basket (4), is known from document CN204636063U. The basket includes a front side on which is arranged a handling handle (3) equipped with a leg (see . figure 2) and the tank comprising a top rim and a front side on which is arranged a receiving area for the handling handle (see figure 2 ), the leg resting on the upper edge and the handling handle fitting into the receiving area when the basket is positioned in the tank (see figure 2), the basket comprising an outer wall provided with at least one first assembly piece (31) and the tank comprising an inner wall provided with at least one second assembly piece (21), the at least one first assembly piece and the at least one second assembly piece being configured to cooperate and ensure the lateral guidance of the basket when positioning the basket in the tank until the handling handle is positioned in its receiving area and a centered support position of the basket in the tank allowing the bottom of the basket to be kept away from the bottom of the tank and the basket to be laterally wedged in the tank so as to position the basket in a functional cooking position.

[0006] However, such a device does not allow lateral guidance of the basket inside the tank. Summary of the invention

[0007] The present invention implements a hot air fryer type cooking device which allows a homogeneous distribution of hot air in the tank in order to properly cook all the food placed in the basket, while ensuring precise, intuitive and stable positioning of the basket in the tank, without risk of damage to the bottom of said tank.

[0008] The invention is defined by the attached claims.

[0009] To this end, the invention relates to a cooking appliance of the air fryer type, comprising a hot air blowing system, a tank, and a basket. The cooking appliance also includes other features traditionally found on such an appliance, namely a chamber for receiving the tank with the basket housed within it. The hot air blowing system allows hot air to be blown into the chamber and the tank. According to the invention, the basket includes a front edge on which a handle with a tab is arranged, and the tank includes an upper rim and a front edge on which a receiving area for the handle is arranged. The tab rests against the upper rim, and the handle fits into the receiving area when the basket is positioned in the tank.

[0010] The front side is defined by the position of the handling handle, located on the front of the cooking appliance once the bowl and basket have been inserted into the chamber of said appliance, the insertion being done from front to back by action on said handling handle and vice versa for removal.

[0011] Remarkably, according to the invention, the basket comprises an outer wall equipped with at least one first assembly piece, and the tank comprises an inner wall equipped with at least one second assembly piece. The at least one first assembly piece and the at least one second assembly piece are configured to cooperate and provide lateral guidance of the basket during its positioning within the tank until the handle is positioned in its receiving area and the basket is centered in the tank, thus keeping the bottom of the basket away from the bottom of the tank and laterally securing the basket within the tank so as to position the basket in a functional cooking position.

[0012] According to an initial design of the cooking appliance, only one first assembly part and one second assembly part are used. The basket has a rear side with a first assembly part on its outer face, and the tank has a rear side with a second assembly part on its inner face. The first and second assembly parts are configured to cooperate and provide lateral guidance for the basket during its placement in the tank until it reaches a centered support position within the tank. This position keeps the bottom of the basket away from the bottom of the tank and secures the basket laterally within the tank.

[0013] According to a second design of the cooking appliance, two primary and two secondary assembly parts are used. The basket comprises two side panels, each equipped on its outer face with a primary assembly part, and the tank comprises two side panels, each equipped on its inner face with a secondary assembly part. The primary and secondary assembly parts are configured to cooperate and provide lateral guidance for the basket during its placement in the tank until it reaches a centered support position within the tank. This position keeps the bottom of the basket away from the bottom of the tank and secures the basket laterally within the tank.

[0014] We could consider other design variants of the cooking appliance with a variable number of first assembly parts and second assembly parts, and whose positions will depend, for example, on the shape of the outer wall of the basket and the shape of the inner wall of the tank.

[0015] The guidance and centering system ensures intuitive placement of the basket in the tank until it reaches a secure position, where the basket is firmly wedged in place while the handling handle is positioned in the receiving area. This wedge maintains a constant gap between the basket and the tank around their entire perimeter, ensuring a uniform flow of hot air around the basket's edge. The positions of at least one first assembly piece and at least one second assembly piece on the external and internal walls, respectively, ensure that the basket remains securely in the tank without needing to rest against the tank's bottom, thus preventing any scratches during basket handling.

[0016] According to a preferred embodiment of the cooking appliance, each first assembly member comprises two guide arms extending upwards and approaching each other until they form a peak. Furthermore, each second assembly member comprises a protruding element that is positioned between the two arms when the basket is placed in the tank. In other words, the two arms form roughly an inverted V, the flared part of the V facilitating the insertion of the protruding element between the two arms; then the narrowing of the inverted V allows the arms to guide the basket relative to the protruding element in order to center the basket in the tank, until they reach the apex of the inverted V where the arms are wedged and supported against the protruding element.

[0017] One could consider a design opposite to the aforementioned preferred embodiment. Indeed, the first assembly piece on the basket can include the protruding element and the second assembly piece on the tank can include the two branches which, in this case, extend downwards - and not upwards - coming together to form a small basin, the protruding element being lodged between the two branches until it comes to rest in the small basin, when the basket is positioned in the tank.

[0018] According to this preferred embodiment, and for implementation of the cooking appliance according to the first design mentioned above, the lower ends of the guide arms are extended towards the front of the appliance, i.e., towards the operating handle, by two deflectors arranged at right angles to said arms, said deflectors extending under the bottom of the basket. These deflectors direct the flow of hot air within the cooking chamber during cooking. Thus, the hot air circulates in a controlled manner within the chamber and the basket, ensuring optimal cooking of the food. These two deflectors form a point directed towards the front of the chamber. Preferably, the arms and the deflectors are formed from a single piece. Preferably, the arms and the deflectors are made of plastic.The deflectors are configured to remain away from the bottom of the tank when the basket is housed in said tank, i.e. when the top between the two arms is wedged on the protruding element, in order to avoid any risk of scratching the bottom of the tank.

[0019] According to this preferred embodiment of the cooking appliance implemented according to the first design, the second design, or any other design variant, each protruding element is formed by a boss on the inner wall of the tank. Alternatively, each protruding element may be formed by a piece attached to the inner wall of the tank.

[0020] According to the cooking appliance of the invention, a locking system is arranged between the handle and the receiving area to keep the basket and the bowl assembled. This locking system can be deactivated by a control button to separate the basket from the bowl. These features are already known in fryer-type cooking appliances. Brief description of the figures

[0021] The following description of a non-limiting embodiment of the air fryer-type cooking apparatus highlights the features and advantages of the present invention. This description is supported by figures, including: There figure 1 illustrates a basket housed within a vat, the basket and the vat being joined together; The figure 2 shows a side cross-sectional view of the figure 1 ; There figure 3 A perspective view, from above, shows the tank alone; The figures 4 And 5show the basket alone in perspective, from two different viewpoints, the bottom of the basket not being shown on the figure 5 ; There figure 6 shows in perspective a preferential realization in one piece, of the first assembly piece and the deflectors. Detailed description

[0022] THE figures 1 to 6 These illustrations do not depict the entire air fryer-type cooking appliance, but only the features of the invention relating to the tank and basket. The other features (hot air blowing system, chamber in which the tank and basket are inserted, etc.) of such an appliance are already known, which is why they are not described below. Those skilled in the art can refer to air fryers already available on the market.

[0023] THE figures 1 and 2 show a basket 1 placed in a tank 2 and assembled with it. As illustrated by the figures 1 to 3The tank 2 comprises an upper rim 3, a bottom 4, a front side 5, a rear side 6, two side sides 7, 8, and a front panel 9 arranged on the front side 5. A receiving area 10 is provided on the front panel 9. The upper rim 3 includes a small notch 11 positioned opposite the receiving area 10. The receiving area 10 includes an opening 12 in its lower part 10a. As illustrated by the figures 1, 2 , 4 And 5The basket 1 comprises a front side 13, a rear side 14, two side sides 15, 16, a base 17, and a handling handle 18 which is attached to the front side 13 by means of a tab 19 having a curved shape. The handling handle 18 comprises a body 20 with dimensions adapted to the receiving area 10 and a gripping handle 21. A control button 22 is arranged in the upper part of the handle 21 to actuate a transmission mechanism 23 acting on a latch 24 to unlock the basket 1 from the tank 2. When the basket 1 is placed in the tank 2, the tab 19 is positioned in the small notch 11, the body 20 is positioned in the receiving area 10 and the latch 24 enters the opening 12 and engages under the rear edge 25 of this opening 12, ensuring the locking of the basket 1 on the tank 2.Activating the button 22 releases the latch 24 from the rear edge 25 of the opening 12, to unlock the basket 1 and remove it from the tank 2. Two fingers 26, 27 are arranged on the lateral sides 20a, 20b of the body 20 and are positioned in guide notches 28, 29 arranged on the lateral sides 10b, 10c of the receiving area 10; when the fingers 26, 27 are lodged in the notches 28, 29, the basket 1 is wedged in translation from front to back relative to the tank 2 and the front side 13 of the basket 1 is wedged in translation laterally relative to the front side 5 of the tank 2.

[0024] Thus, the transmission mechanism 23, the latch 24 and the rear edge 25 form a locking system arranged between the handling handle 18 and the receiving area 10 so as to keep the basket 1 and the tub 2 assembled in a functional cooking position, said locking system being deactivated by a control button 22 so as to separate the basket from the tub.

[0025] As illustrated by the figures 4 to 6, basket 1 includes a first assembly part 30 which is preferably made of plastic material, for example a polyphenylene sulfide (PPS). This part 30 is attached to an outer face 31 of the rear side 14 and to a lower face 32 of the bottom 17 by means of three assembly points 33, 34, 35, said assembly being made by screwing onto the contour 17a of the bottom and onto the rear side 14. The part 30 comprises two guide arms 36, 37 whose lower ends 36a, 37a are flared and whose upper ends 36b, 37b meet at a vertex 38. The two arms 36, 37 are arranged against the outer face 31 of the rear side 14. The part 30 also comprises two deflectors 39, 40 which are arranged at right angles to the arms 36, 37 and under the lower face 32 of the bottom 17.The rear ends 39a, 40a of the deflectors 39, 40 extend from the lower ends 36a, 37a of the arms 36, 37, and the front ends 39b, 40b of the deflectors 39, 40 meet to form a point 41. The arms 36, 37 are arranged symmetrically with respect to the median plane of the basket 1, with the apex 38 located in this median plane. Similarly, the deflectors 39, 40 are arranged symmetrically with respect to the median plane of the basket 1.

[0026] As illustrated by the figure 3 The inner face 42 of the rear side 6 of the tank 2 includes a second assembly piece comprising a protruding element 43 which is implemented by creating a boss on said rear side 6. However, a stud (not shown) could be screwed onto this inner face 42 in order to implement said protruding element 43. The protruding element 43 is located in the median plane of the tank 2.

[0027] As illustrated by the figures 1 and 2 During the placement of basket 1 in tank 2, the lower ends 36a, 37a of the arms 36, 37 are positioned on either side of the protruding element 43. The flared shape of the arms 36, 37 facilitates the insertion of the protruding element 43 between said lower ends 36a, 37a. During the insertion of basket 1 into tank 2, the narrowing of the gap between the arms 36, 37 allows the apex 38 to be recentered with respect to the protruding element 43, until said apex 38 comes to rest against said protruding element 43. In this abutment position illustrated in the figures 1 and 2, the bottom 17 of basket 1 is away from the bottom 4 of tank 2 and positioned in a functional cooking position. Similarly, the deflectors 39, 40 are out of contact with the bottom 4 of the tank 2. Furthermore, the protruding element 43 is wedged between the upper ends 36b, 37b of the arms 36, 37, which blocks the lateral translation of the rear side 14 of the basket 1 relative to the rear side 6 of the tank 2. As described previously, once the body 20 of the handling handle 18 is inserted into the receiving area, the fingers 26, 27 of said body 20 are wedged back and forth in the notches 28, 29 on said receiving area, which blocks any back and forth translation (and vice versa) between the basket 1 and the tank 2 and, thus, ensures that the top 38 remains against the protruding element 43. In other words, the protruding element 43 cannot disengage from the two arms 36, 37.Lateral translational positioning of the front 13 and rear 14 sides of basket 1 vis-à-vis the front 5 and rear 6 sides of tank 2 and front-to-back (and vice versa) translational positioning of basket 1 vis-à-vis tank 2 make it possible to keep basket 1 centered vis-à-vis tank 2 and, thus, to maintain a constant space 44 between the periphery of basket 1 and the periphery of tank 2.

[0028] Thus, the precise placement of basket 1 in tank 2 is intuitive thanks to the arms 36, 37 and the protruding element 43 which guide the insertion of basket 1 into tank 2. The constant space 44 between the periphery of basket 1 and the periphery of tank 2 ensures a homogeneous distribution of hot air in tank 2, around basket 1. Keeping the bottom 17 of basket 1 away from the bottom 4 of tank 2 also ensures homogeneous circulation of hot air under basket 1. The presence of deflectors 39, 40 under basket 1 allows the flow of hot air to be directed and circulated properly in tank 2 and basket 1.

[0029] Other features are conceivable without going outside the scope of the invention.

[0030] As illustrated by the figures 1, 2 , 4 And 5The base 17 of basket 1 is removable to facilitate cleaning, or even to change the base 17 depending on the type of food to be cooked. For this purpose, the base 17 rests on the rim 17a and is held in position by elastic strips 45, 46.

[0031] The handling handle 18 is removable from basket 1 to facilitate cleaning of basket 1. For this purpose, as illustrated in the figures 2 And 5 , the body 20 of the handling handle 18 includes on its lateral sides 20a, 20b two triggers 47, 48 which can be actuated to move a bolt 49 on the body 20 and out of a strike plate 50 arranged on the lug 19, so as to unlock the lug 19 vis-à-vis the body 20 and to allow downward clearance of the handling handle 18 relative to the lug 19.

[0032] Design variations of the invention are possible.

[0033] For example, a protruding element similar to protruding element 43 can be arranged on the outer face 31 of the rear side 14 of basket 1, and two branches of similar design to branches 36 and 37, but with their orientation reversed so that the apex 38 is at the bottom and forms a small recess into which the protruding element of basket 1 fits when it is placed in tank 2. In this case, the deflectors 39 and 40 will be implemented by means of a separate part, in a position similar to that illustrated in figure 4 .

[0034] It is also possible to provide several protruding elements similar to protruding element 43 arranged on the inner wall 51 of tank 2, and to provide as many branches similar to the two branches 36, 37 arranged on the outer wall 52 of basket 1 corresponding to the protruding elements. For example, two protruding elements are arranged on the inner faces 53, 54 of the lateral sides 7, 8 of tank 2, and two sets of two branches are arranged on the outer faces 55, 56 of the lateral sides 15, 16 of basket 1. In this case, the deflectors 39, 40 will be implemented by means of an independent part, in a position similar to that illustrated in figure 4 . It is also possible to reverse the positions of the protruding elements and branches on the internal wall 51 and external wall 52, as explained above.

Claims

1. A cooking apparatus of the hot air fryer type comprising a hot air blowing system, a bowl (2) and a basket (1), the basket (1) including a front side (13) on which is arranged a handling handle (18) equipped with a tab (19) and the bowl including an upper rim (3) and a front side (5) on which is arranged a receiving area (10) for the handling handle, the tab resting on the upper rim and the handling handle fitting into the receiving area when positioning the basket in the bowl, the basket (1) including an external wall (52) equipped with at least one first assembly piece (30) and the bowl (2) including an internal wall (51) equipped with at least one second assembly piece, the at least one first assembly piece and the at least one second assembly piece being configured to cooperate and ensure the lateral guidance of the basket when positioning the basket (1) in the bowl (2) until reaching the positioning of the handling handle (18) in its receiving area and a centered resting position of the basket in the bowl allowing to maintain the bottom (17) of the basket at a distance from the bottom (4) of the bowl and to laterally wedge the basket in the bowl in a manner to position the basket (1) in a functional cooking position, characterized by: • the basket (1) comprising a rear side (14) equipped on its external face (31) with a first assembly piece (30) and the bowl (2) comprising a rear side (6) equipped on its internal face (42) with a second assembly piece, the first assembly piece and the second assembly piece being configured to cooperate and ensure the lateral guidance of the basket during its placement in the bowl until reaching a centered resting position of the basket in the bowl allowing to maintain the bottom (17) of the basket at a distance from the bottom (4) of the bowl and to laterally wedge the basket in the bowl, or • the basket (1) comprises two lateral sides (15, 16) each equipped on their external faces (55, 56) with a first assembly piece and the bowl (2) comprises two lateral sides (7, 8) each equipped on their internal faces (53, 54) with a second assembly piece, the two first assembly pieces and the two second assembly pieces being configured to cooperate and ensure the lateral guidance of the basket during its placement in the bowl until reaching a centered resting position of the basket in the bowl allowing to maintain the bottom (17) of the basket at a distance from the bottom (4) of the bowl and to laterally wedge the basket in the bowl.

2. A cooking apparatus according to claim 1, in which each first assembly piece comprises two guiding branches (36, 37) extending upward by converging until forming a summit (38) and each second assembly piece comprises a protruding element (43) which fits between the two branches when positioning the basket (1) in the bowl (2).

3. A cooking apparatus according to claim 2, in which the lower ends (36a, 37a) of the guiding branches (36, 37) are extended forward of the apparatus by two deflectors (39, 40) disposed at right angles relative to said branches and extending beneath the bottom (17) of the basket (1), said deflectors allowing to guide the hot air circulation in the bowl (2).

4. A cooking apparatus according to claim 3, in which the two deflectors (39, 40) form a point (41) oriented forward of the bowl (2).

5. A cooking apparatus according to any one of claims 3 or 4, in which the branches (36, 37) and the deflectors (39, 40) are formed of a single piece (30).

6. A cooking apparatus according to any one of claims 3 to 5, in which the branches (36, 37) and the deflectors (39, 40) are made of plastic material.

7. A cooking apparatus according to any one of claims 3 to 6, in which the deflectors (39, 40) are configured to remain distant from the bottom (4) of the bowl (2) when the basket (1) is housed in said bowl.

8. A cooking apparatus according to any one of claims 2 to 7, in which each protruding element (43) is formed as a boss on the internal wall (51) of the bowl (2).

9. A cooking apparatus according to any one of claims 2 to 7, in which each protruding element (43) is formed as an added piece on the internal wall (51) of the bowl (2).

10. A cooking apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 9, in which a locking system (23, 24, 25) is arranged between the handling handle (18) and the receiving area (10) so as to keep the basket (1) and the bowl (2) assembled, said locking system being deactivatable by a control button (22) in order to separate the basket from the bowl.