Flyer

Abstract

To grasp an oil amount in an oil tank at a low cost and to execute additional supply of oil at an appropriate timing.SOLUTION: A fryer 1 includes: an oil tank 3 capable of storing cooking oil in first and second rating oil amounts whose top face is open; a pulse combustor 4; a temperature sensor 13 for cooking; first and second oil surface temperature sensors 11 and 12; an additional oil supply tank 45; additional oil supply means (an additional oil supply pipe 49, an additional oil supply pump 50, and an additional oil supply electromagnetic valve 51) for replenishing cooking oil in the oil tank 3 from the additional oil supply tank 45; and a burner controller 70. In a first cooking mode, the burner controller 70 monitors a difference in detection temperature by the temperature sensor 13 for cooking and by the first oil surface temperature sensor 11, and actuates the additional oil supply means when the difference in the detection temperature is a predetermined first temperature difference or more. In a second cooking mode, the burner controller monitors a difference in detection temperature by the temperature sensor 13 for cooking and by the second oil surface temperature sensor 12, and actuates the additional oil supply means when the difference in the detection temperature is a predetermined second temperature difference or more.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a commercial fryer that heats cooking oil in an oil tank with an open top and cooks food by placing it in the oil tank. [Background technology]

[0002] The fryer heats cooking oil contained in an oil vat to a predetermined cooking temperature using heating means such as a burner or pulse burner, thereby cooking food such as potatoes placed in the oil vat. As the number of cooking times increases, the amount of cooking oil in the oil tank decreases due to the oil being absorbed into the food being cooked. Therefore, Patent Document 1 discloses a fryer in which a 18L can containing cooking oil (solid oil) is placed inside the appliance and kept warm by an electric heater, and an oil level thermistor is installed in the oil tank to detect the position of the oil level, and when a drop in the oil level is confirmed by a drop in the temperature detected by the oil level thermistor, a pump installed in the piping connecting the 18L can to the oil tank is operated to add a predetermined amount of cooking oil. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2016-120291 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] In the above-mentioned fryer, the amount of oil consumed each time the food is heated and cooked is approximately constant, so in actual stores, the fryer may be operated so that oil is automatically added after the same cooking operation has been performed a certain number of times to keep the amount of oil in the oil tank within a certain range. However, since there may be cases where a cook refills cooking oil from a 18L can directly into the oil tank, if oil is automatically added according to the number of times cooking is done, the amount of oil in the oil tank will be excessive and cannot be accurately detected with a single oil level thermistor.It is possible to install two oil level thermistors at different heights, one above the other, to detect the oil level and to control the system to stop automatic oil addition if the oil level is too high, but this would increase costs.

[0005] Therefore, an object of the present disclosure is to provide a fryer that can grasp the amount of oil in an oil tank at low cost and add oil at the appropriate time. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] In order to achieve the above object, the present disclosure provides an oil tank capable of accommodating a predetermined rated amount of cooking oil and having an open top; A heating means provided in the oil tank for heating cooking oil; a cooking temperature sensor provided in the oil tank to detect the temperature of the cooking oil; an oil surface temperature sensor that is provided in the oil vat at a position higher than the cooking temperature sensor and at an upper portion of the cooking oil of the rated oil volume to detect the temperature of the cooking oil; An oil tank installed outside the oil tank for storing cooking oil; an oil replenishing means for replenishing cooking oil from the oil replenishing tank into the oil tank; a control means for controlling the heating means and the oil supply means, The control means controls the heating means based on the temperature detected by the cooking temperature sensor, and determines whether or not the volume of cooking oil in the oil vat has decreased based on the temperature detected by the oil surface temperature sensor, and controls the oil adding means. on the other hand , The control means monitors the difference in temperature detected by the cooking temperature sensor and the oil surface temperature sensor, and activates the oil adding means when the difference in the detected temperatures is equal to or greater than a predetermined temperature difference. A flyer, The control means is capable of executing a first cooking mode in which the heating means is controlled with a predetermined first rated oil amount to heat and cook the food to be cooked, and a second cooking mode in which the heating means is controlled with a second rated oil amount that is greater than the first rated oil amount to heat and cook the food to be cooked, The oil surface temperature sensor is a first oil surface temperature sensor that is disposed in the oil vat below the oil surface position at the first rated oil amount and detects the temperature of the cooking oil; a second oil surface temperature sensor disposed in the oil tank above the oil surface position at the first rated oil amount to detect the temperature of the cooking oil; The control means is characterized in that when the first cooking mode is being executed, it monitors the difference in detected temperature between the cooking temperature sensor and the first oil surface temperature sensor, and when the second cooking mode is being executed, it monitors the difference in detected temperature between the cooking temperature sensor and the second oil surface temperature sensor. [Effects of the Invention]

[0007] According to the present disclosure, it is possible to determine the amount of oil in an oil tank at low cost by using an existing cooking temperature sensor and oil surface temperature sensor, and to add oil at the appropriate time based on the difference in the temperatures detected by the two temperature sensors. especially By using the first and second oil surface temperature sensors separately, the volume reduction of the first and second rated oil amounts can be grasped. Therefore, even when the first and second cooking modes, which have different rated oil amounts, are being executed, oil can be added at the appropriate time. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] FIG. [Figure 2] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a fryer. [Figure 3] FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of an operation panel. [Figure 4] (A) shows the cooking oil storage state in the first cooking mode, and (B) shows the oil storage state in the second cooking mode. [Figure 5](A) shows the state in which cooking oil is being dropped into the filtering tank, and (B) shows the state in which cooking oil has overflowed from the oil tank. [Figure 6] 10 is a flowchart of oil addition control. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0009] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings. Fig. 1 is a perspective view showing an example of a fryer, and Fig. 2 is a schematic diagram of the fryer. This fryer 1 has a pair of left and right oil vats 3, 3 with open tops in the upper part of a vessel body 2. A pair of left and right pulse combustors 4, 4 serving as heating means is provided at the bottom of each oil vat 3. Each pulse combustor 4 has a combustion chamber 5 provided in the inner wall at the front of the oil vat 3 and a tail pipe 6 connected to the combustion chamber 5 and routed in a serpentine manner within the oil vat 3. The oil tanks 3 and their combustion and exhaust systems have the same configuration on both sides, so the following description will mainly focus on the oil tank 3 on the left side of FIG.

[0010] The oil vat 3 has a first cooking section 7 and a second cooking section 8. The first cooking section 7 is formed above the pulse burner 4 and is a rectangular tube with an opening area that does not change in the vertical direction. The second cooking section 8 is located above the first cooking section 7 and is formed with an inverted taper that widens in all directions as it moves upward from the top of the first cooking section 7. The cooking oil is stored in the area up to the top of the second cooking section 8. A basket 9 containing food to be cooked, such as potatoes, can be placed in the oil vat 3. A net 10 for receiving the basket 9 is provided above the pulse burners 4, 4. A first oil surface temperature sensor 11 is provided below the upper end surface of the first cooking section 7. A second oil surface temperature sensor 12 is provided above the upper end surface of the first cooking section 7 and below the upper end surface of the second cooking section 8. A cooking temperature sensor 13 is provided in the oil vat 3 near the tail pipe 6 of the pulse burner 4. A thermistor is used for each temperature sensor. An electric heater 33 is provided on the outer peripheral surface of the lower part of the oil vat 3.

[0011] An oil booster tank 14 for storing cooking oil is provided at the top of the appliance body 2, behind the oil vat 3. An oil booster pipe 15, which is connected to the second cooking section 8 at the rear of the oil vat 3, is connected to the underside of the oil booster tank 14. The oil booster pipe 15 is provided with an oil booster valve 16 that can be opened and closed manually. The oil booster valve 16 is provided with an oil booster open / close detector (e.g., a reed switch) 55 that detects the open / close state. An oil booster temperature sensor 17 is provided inside the oil booster tank 14 to detect the temperature of the cooking oil stored therein. An overflow section 18 is provided on the front surface of the fuel tank 14. The overflow section 18 is formed by piping connected to the front surface of the fuel tank 14, a flow path formed in the vertical direction to the front surface of the fuel tank 14, etc. The upper end of the overflow section 18 is connected to and hangs down from an opening formed at the upper front surface of the fuel tank 14, and the lower end of the overflow section 18 is connected to the rear inner surface of the oil vat 3 via an outlet 19. Therefore, when the cooking oil in the fuel tank 14 exceeds the lower edge of the opening, the overflowing cooking oil flows from the outlet 19 along the rear inner surface of the oil vat 3 and into the oil vat 3.

[0012] An air chamber 20 is provided outside the front side of the oil tank 3. A mixing chamber (not shown) communicating with the combustion chamber 5 is provided within the air chamber 20. A gas conduit 21 equipped with a gas solenoid valve 22 is connected to the mixing chamber to supply fuel gas. An air intake pipe 23 is also connected to the mixing chamber. The air intake pipe 23 is connected to a fan 24 provided at the bottom of the vessel body 2 to supply combustion air. The tail pipes 6, 6 of the pulse combustors 4, 4 are arranged in a serpentine shape below the oil tank 3 and then connected to exhaust pipes 25, 25 drawn out from the air chamber 20. These exhaust pipes 25, 25 have mufflers 26, 26 arranged at the rear of the vessel body 2. The mufflers 26, 26 are arranged facing upward while in contact with the rear surface of the fuel tank 14, allowing the exhaust gas from combustion to be discharged. The fuel tank 14 and mufflers 26, 26 are covered by exhaust pipe covers 27 provided on the body 2. Protective covers 28 are provided on the front of the left and right exhaust pipe covers 27, 27. Basket hangers 29, 29 for suspending and supporting the baskets 9, 9 are fixed to the protective covers 28. The outlet 19 of the overflow section 18 is provided below the basket hangers 29.

[0013] A filtering tank 30 with a filter at the bottom is provided at the bottom of the vessel 2. An oil drain pipe 31 is connected to the bottom of the oil vat 3, and cooking oil in the oil vat 3 can be drained through the oil drain pipe 31 into the filtering tank 30. The oil drain pipe 31 is provided with an oil drain valve 32 that can be opened manually. A filtering pump 35 is provided at the bottom of the device body 2. The suction side of the filtering pump 35 is connected to the bottom of the filtering tank 30 via a suction pipe 36. The discharge side of the filtering pump 35 branches into a first fuel supply pipe 37 and a second fuel supply pipe 38. The first fuel supply pipe 37 is connected to the fuel supply pipe 15 upstream of the fuel supply valve 16. The first fuel supply pipe 37 is provided with a first fuel supply valve 39 that can be opened and closed manually. The first fuel supply valve 39 is provided with a fuel supply open / close detector (e.g., a reed switch) 56 that detects the open / close state. The second oil supply pipe 38 is connected to the lower part of the oil tank 3. The second oil supply pipe 38 is provided with a second oil supply valve 40 that can be opened and closed manually.

[0014] An oil top-up tank 45 using a 18L can is provided below the oil tank 3. The oil top-up tank 45 is placed on a stand 46 provided on the vessel body 2. The stand 46 is provided with a heat retention heater 47 for heating the oil top-up tank 45 and a tank temperature sensor 48 for detecting the temperature of the oil top-up tank 45. The lower end of an oil addition pipe 49 is inserted into the oil addition tank 45. The upper end of the oil addition pipe 49 is connected to the oil tank 3 above the second cooking section 8. An oil addition pump 50 and an oil addition solenoid valve 51 are provided in the oil addition pipe 49 from the upstream side.

[0015] A fry controller 60 is provided on the upper front surface of the appliance body 2. The fry controller 60 has an operation panel 61. As shown in Fig. 3, the operation panel 61 is provided with a power switch 62, a plurality of cooking buttons 63, 63..., displays 64, 64 for the selected cooking mode and maintenance menu, etc., as well as a mode selection button 65 for selecting the cooking mode and rated amount indicator lamps 66A, 66B for displaying the rated amount. The rated amount indicator lamp 66A corresponds to the first rated amount, and the rated amount indicator lamp 66B corresponds to the second rated amount. A burner controller 70 is provided at the bottom of the appliance body 2. The burner controller 70 includes a timer 71 and a memory unit 72, and controls the ON / OFF of the pulse combustor 4 according to the cooking mode commanded by the fry controller 60 and based on a program stored in the memory unit 72, thereby cooking food such as potatoes. Detection signals from the first and second oil surface temperature sensors 11 and 12, the cooking temperature sensor 13, the oil addition temperature sensor 17, the tank temperature sensor 48, the oil addition on / off detection unit 55, the oil supply on / off detection unit 56, etc. are input to the burner controller 70. Based on these detection signals and commands from the operation panel 61, the burner controller 70 controls the pulse combustor 4, the gas solenoid valve 22, the fan 24, the electric heater 33, the filtering pump 35, the heat retention heater 47, the oil addition pump 50, the oil addition solenoid valve 51, etc.

[0016] In the fryer 1 configured as described above, the amount of food to be cooked at one time is defined as two types: a predetermined first rated amount and a larger second rated amount, and cooking is possible in a first cooking mode corresponding to the first rated amount and a second cooking mode corresponding to the second rated amount. The oil tank 14 is filled with cooking oil (additional oil amount). (Cooking mode 1) First, when cooking a first rated amount of food, cooking oil (first rated oil amount) is stored in the oil vat 3 up to the top of the first cooking section 7, as indicated by the diagonal lines in FIG. 4(A). In this state, when the cook turns on the power switch 62 on the operation panel 61, the burner controller 70, which detects the cooking oil up to the top of the first cooking section 7 using the first oil surface temperature sensor 11, rotates the fan 24 for a predetermined time to supply air, and then intermittently burns the mixed gas in the combustion chamber 5, causing the pulse burner 4 to perform ON / OFF operation. Specifically, the mixed gas is ignited in the combustion chamber 5, causing it to explode and burn. The resulting increase in pressure within the combustion chamber 5 forces the exhaust gas to be discharged into the tailpipe 6. Then, fuel gas and combustion air are drawn into the combustion chamber 5, which is now under negative pressure due to the discharge of the exhaust gas. This ON / OFF operation is repeated, heating the cooking oil stored in the oil vat 3. Burner controller 70 monitors the detected temperature obtained from cooking temperature sensor 13. When it is confirmed that the temperature of the cooking oil has reached a predetermined cooking temperature (e.g., 160°C), fry controller 60 notifies the user by, for example, outputting a message indicating that cooking is OK on display 64 of operation panel 61.

[0017] Next, the cook selects the first cooking mode using the mode selection button 65. Then, the fry controller 60 displays on the display unit 64 that it is in the first cooking mode, and lights up the rated amount display lamp 66A to indicate that the first rated amount is being used. When this notification is given, the cook places the basket containing the first rated amount of food into the oil vat 3. At this time, the first cooking mode is displayed on the display unit 64 of the operation panel 61, and the rated amount display lamp 66A is lit, so the cook is less likely to put in the wrong amount of food. When the cook presses the cooking start button (here, the leftmost cooking button 63), the burner controller 70 heats and cooks the food for a first cooking time preset in the memory unit 72 corresponding to the first rated amount and with a first heat amount from the pulse burner 4. When the first cooking time counted by the timer 71 expires, the frying controller 60 sounds an alarm to notify the end of cooking. The cook then lifts the basket 9 from the oil tank 3. If the cook wishes to continue cooking at the first rated amount, the cook can simply add the food and press the cooking start button, and the same control process will be repeated.

[0018] (Switching from 1st cooking mode to 2nd cooking mode) When switching from the first cooking mode to the second cooking mode, it is necessary to increase the cooking oil from the oil increase tank 14. Therefore, when the cook manually opens the oil replenishing valve 16, the cooking oil in the oil replenishing tank 14 is supplied to the upper end of the second cooking section 8 of the oil vat 3 via the oil replenishing pipe 15, as shown by the diagonal lines in Figure 4(B), and the oil replenishing tank 14 becomes empty. The opening operation of the oil replenishing valve 16 is detected by the burner controller 70 via the oil replenishing opening / closing detection unit 55. When oil replenishing valve 16 is closed and this closing operation is detected by burner controller 70 via oil replenishing opening / closing detector 55, fry controller 60 displays on display 64 that the second cooking mode is active, turns off rated amount indicator lamp 66A, and turns on rated amount indicator lamp 66B, thereby announcing that the mode has been switched to the second rated amount. This mode switch notification may be made immediately upon detecting the opening and closing of oil replenishing valve 16, or may be made by counting a predetermined oil replenishing completion time (e.g., one minute) between the time the valve is opened and the time it takes to close the valve, and then confirming that the valve has closed after that time has elapsed. An oil replenishing completion time that continues to count for a while after the valve is closed may also be set.

[0019] On the other hand, the burner controller 70 detects the opening operation of the oil addition valve 16 by the oil addition opening / closing detection unit 55, and switches the sensor that detects the oil level position to the second oil level temperature sensor 12. Therefore, when second oil surface temperature sensor 12 confirms that the cooking oil supplied to oil tank 3 has reached the upper end (second rated oil amount) of second cooking section 8, it monitors the detected temperature obtained from cooking temperature sensor 13. Then, when it confirms that the temperature of the cooking oil has reached the predetermined cooking temperature, fry controller 60 notifies the user by outputting a message indicating that cooking is OK on display 64 of operation panel 61, for example.

[0020] When this notification is given, the cook places the basket 9 containing the second rated amount of food into the oil vat 3. At this time, the second cooking mode is displayed on the display unit 64 of the operation panel 61, and the rated amount display lamp 66B is lit, so the cook is less likely to place the wrong amount of food. When the cook presses the cooking start button, the burner controller 70 heats and cooks the food for a second cooking time preset in the memory unit 72 corresponding to the second rated amount, and with a second amount of heat greater than the first amount of heat in the first cooking mode. This second amount of heat is obtained by operating the electric heater 33 in addition to the pulse combustor 4. However, the second amount of heat may be obtained by increasing the gas input only with the pulse combustor 4, without using the electric heater 33. When the second cooking time is up as counted by timer 71, fry controller 60 sounds an alarm to notify the completion of cooking. The cook then removes basket 9 from oil tank 3. If cooking continues at the second rated amount, the cook can add food and press the cooking start button, and the same control will be repeated.

[0021] (Switching from the second cooking mode to the first cooking mode) When switching from the second cooking mode to the first cooking mode with a lower oil volume, the cook opens the oil drain valve 32 from the second rated oil volume state shown in Figure 4(B) and drains all of the cooking oil in the oil tank 3 into the filtering tank 30, as shown by the diagonal lines in Figure 5(A). Next, the first fuel supply valve 39 of the first fuel supply pipe 37 is opened, the second fuel supply valve 40 of the second fuel supply pipe 38 is closed, and the fuel supply valve 16 of the fuel supply pipe 15 is closed. The burner controller 70 then detects that the first fuel supply valve 39 is open via the fuel supply open / close detection unit 56 and drives the filtering pump 35. Thus, the cooking oil in the filtering tank 30 is filtered and then supplied to the fuel supply tank 14 via the first fuel supply pipe 37 and the fuel supply pipe 15. When the fuel supply tank 14 is full, cooking oil is supplied to the oil tank 3 via the overflow unit 18, as shown in FIG. 5(B). Then, when filtering is performed until the filtering tank 30 is empty, as shown in Figure 4(A), the cooking oil of the second rated oil volume supplied to the oil reserve tank 14 is supplied to the oil vat 3 via the overflow part 18, leaving only the oil reserve from the first rated oil volume. In other words, the cooking oil of the first rated oil volume used in the first cooking mode is stored in the oil vat 3.

[0022] Then, when filtering is completed and the cook closes the first oil supply valve 39, and this valve closure is detected by the burner controller 70 via the oil supply opening / closing detection unit 56, the driving of the filtering pump 35 is stopped. Then, fry controller 60, which receives from burner controller 70 information indicating that first fuel supply valve 39 has been closed by fuel supply open / close detector 56, displays on display 64 that the mode is the first cooking mode, turns off rated amount indicator lamp 66B, and turns on rated amount indicator lamp 66A. This mode change notification may also be made immediately upon detecting the opening / closing of first fuel supply valve 39, or may be made after a predetermined fuel supply completion time (e.g., one minute) is counted from the time the valve is opened to the time it is closed, and after confirming that the valve has been closed after that time has elapsed. A fuel supply completion time that continues to be counted for a while after the valve is closed may also be set. Meanwhile, the burner controller 70 detects the opening operation of the first fuel supply valve 39 using the fuel supply opening / closing detection unit 56, switches the sensor that detects the oil level position to the first oil level temperature sensor 11, and executes the aforementioned first cooking mode.

[0023] During operation in the first and second cooking modes, the burner controller 70 monitors the detected temperature obtained from the tank temperature sensor 48 and controls the ON / OFF of the heat retention heater 47 so that a predetermined heat retention temperature is maintained in the oil tank 45. Then, based on the program stored in the memory unit 72, when the burner controller 70 detects a decrease in the amount of cooking oil required in any of the cooking modes based on the temperatures detected by the first oil surface temperature sensor 11 or the second oil surface temperature sensor 12 and the cooking temperature sensor 13, depending on the cooking mode, it adds oil from the oil addition tank 45 to the oil vat 3. This oil addition control will be explained below based on the flowchart in Figure 6. First, when cooking starts, the selected cooking mode is confirmed in step (hereinafter referred to as "S") 1. If the selected cooking mode is the first cooking mode, the difference in temperature detected by cooking temperature sensor 13 and first oil surface temperature sensor 11 is monitored in S2. If the selected cooking mode is the second cooking mode, the difference in temperature detected by cooking temperature sensor 13 and second oil surface temperature sensor 12 is monitored in S3.

[0024] In the first cooking mode, in S4, it is determined whether the difference in temperature detected by cooking temperature sensor 13 and first oil surface temperature sensor 11 is equal to or greater than a predetermined first temperature difference. If the temperature difference is found to be equal to or greater than the first temperature difference, it is determined that the oil surface has lowered and the volume of cooking oil in first cooking section 7 has decreased. That is, as the oil surface approaches first oil surface temperature sensor 11, the air above the oil surface affects the temperature detected by first oil surface temperature sensor 11, lowering the temperature detected by first oil surface temperature sensor 11 and increasing the difference with the temperature detected by cooking temperature sensor 13. When this temperature difference exceeds the first temperature difference, it is determined that a considerable amount of cooking oil in first cooking section 7 has been consumed. Therefore, when completion of cooking in the first cooking mode is confirmed in S5, the first oil addition is executed in S6. This first oil addition drives the oil addition pump 50 to open the oil addition solenoid valve 51 for a predetermined first time. Then, cooking oil liquefied in the oil addition tank 45 is supplied directly to the oil vat 3 via the oil addition pipe 49.

[0025] If there is sufficient cooking oil in the oil vat 3 and the oil level is located far enough above the first oil surface temperature sensor 11, the ambient environments of the cooking temperature sensor 13 and the first oil surface temperature sensor 11 will not differ significantly, and the temperature difference between the two temperature sensors 13, 11 will also be small. Therefore, if the difference in detected temperature is not equal to or greater than the first temperature difference in S4, it is determined that the volume of cooking oil in the first cooking section 7 has not been reduced, and this control ends after confirmation in S7 that cooking in the first cooking mode has ended. If cooking has not ended, the comparison of the temperature difference in S4 continues.

[0026] On the other hand, when the cooking mode is the second cooking mode, S8 determines whether the temperature difference between cooking temperature sensor 13 and second oil surface temperature sensor 12 is equal to or greater than a predetermined second temperature difference. If the temperature difference is equal to or greater than the second temperature difference, it is determined that the oil level has lowered and the volume of cooking oil in second cooking section 8 has decreased. That is, as in the first cooking mode, as the oil level approaches second oil surface temperature sensor 12, the temperature detected by second oil surface temperature sensor 12 decreases, increasing the difference with the temperature detected by cooking temperature sensor 13. When this temperature difference is equal to or greater than the second temperature difference, it is determined that a considerable amount of cooking oil in second cooking section 8 has been consumed. Therefore, when completion of cooking in the second cooking mode is confirmed in S9, a second oil addition is performed in S10. This second oil addition drives the oil addition pump 50 to open the oil addition solenoid valve 51 for a predetermined second time. Then, the cooking oil liquefied in the oil addition tank 45 is supplied directly to the oil vat 3 via the oil addition pipe 49. If the detected temperature difference is not equal to or greater than the second temperature difference in step S8, it is determined that the volume of cooking oil in the second cooking section 8 has not been reduced, and this control ends after confirmation of the end of cooking in the second cooking mode in step S11. If cooking has not ended, the comparison of temperature differences in step S8 continues.

[0027] In this way, the difference in temperature detected by the two first and second oil surface temperature sensors 11, 12 and the cooking temperature sensor 13 is monitored for each cooking mode to confirm the reduction in volume of cooking oil and replenish cooking oil, making it possible to add oil at the appropriate time. Therefore, even if a cook refills cooking oil directly from the oil tank 14 or the oil tank 45 into the oil vat 3, oil will not be added unless the two temperature sensors confirm that the volume of the cooking oil has decreased. In other words, the amount of oil in the oil vat 3 will not become excessive. Therefore, if a control system is adopted that counts the number of cooking times in each cooking mode and automatically adds oil when a predetermined number is reached, it is possible to stop automatic oil addition if the two temperature sensors do not confirm a reduction in the volume of cooking oil.

[0028] As described above, the fryer 1 of the above-described form includes an oil tank 3 with an open top that can hold first and second rated oil volumes (predetermined rated oil volumes) of cooking oil, a pulse combustor 4 (heating means) that is provided in the oil tank 3 and heats the cooking oil, a cooking temperature sensor 13 that is provided in the oil tank 3 and detects the temperature of the cooking oil, first and second oil surface temperature sensors 11, 12 that are provided in the oil tank 3 at a position higher than the cooking temperature sensor 13 and above the cooking oil of the first and second rated oil volumes and detect the temperature of the cooking oil, an oil top-up tank 45 that is provided outside the oil tank 3 and stores the cooking oil, an oil top-up pipe 49, an oil top-up pump 50, and an oil top-up solenoid valve 51 (oil top-up means) that replenish cooking oil from the oil top-up tank 45 into the oil tank 3, and a burner controller 70 (control means) that controls the pulse combustor 4 and the oil top-up means. The burner controller 70 controls the pulse burner 4 based on the temperature detected by the cooking temperature sensor 13, and also determines whether or not the volume of cooking oil in the oil tank 3 has decreased based on the temperatures detected by the first and second oil surface temperature sensors 11 and 12, and controls the oil adding means. The burner controller 70 monitors the difference in temperature detected by the cooking temperature sensor 13 and the first and second oil surface temperature sensors 11, 12, and activates the oil adding means when the difference in detected temperature is equal to or greater than the predetermined first and second temperature difference. With this configuration, the amount of oil in the oil tank 3 can be determined at low cost by using the existing cooking temperature sensor 13 and the first and second oil surface temperature sensors 11, 12, and oil can be added at the appropriate time based on the difference in the detected temperatures of the two temperature sensors.

[0029] The burner controller 70 is capable of executing a first cooking mode in which the pulse burner 4 is controlled with a predetermined first rated oil amount to heat and cook the food to be cooked, and a second cooking mode in which the pulse burner 4 is controlled with a second rated oil amount that is greater than the first rated oil amount to heat and cook the food to be cooked. The oil surface temperature sensor also includes a first oil surface temperature sensor 11 that is positioned in the oil tank 3 below the oil surface position at the first rated oil volume and detects the temperature of the cooking oil, and a second oil surface temperature sensor 12 that is positioned in the oil tank 3 above the oil surface position at the first rated oil volume and detects the temperature of the cooking oil. When the first cooking mode is being executed, the burner controller 70 monitors the difference in the detected temperatures between the cooking temperature sensor 13 and the first oil surface temperature sensor 11, and when the second cooking mode is being executed, it monitors the difference in the detected temperatures between the cooking temperature sensor 13 and the second oil surface temperature sensor 12. With this configuration, the volume reduction of the first and second rated oil amounts can be grasped by selectively using the first and second oil surface temperature sensors 11, 12. Therefore, even when the first and second cooking modes, which have different rated oil amounts, are being executed, oil can be added at the appropriate time.

[0030] The following describes a modified example. In the above embodiment, the difference in temperature detected by the cooking temperature sensor and the first and second oil surface temperature sensors is compared with the first and second temperature differences for each cooking mode, but the temperature difference to be compared may be fixed to one for each cooking mode. The time for adding oil may also be the same for each cooking mode. Furthermore, it may be determined that the volume of cooking oil has been reduced if the difference in detected temperature remains equal to or exceeds a predetermined temperature difference for a predetermined period of time. In the above embodiment, two oil surface temperature sensors are provided corresponding to the two cooking modes, but even in the case of a fryer with a single cooking mode and one oil surface temperature sensor, the difference in detected temperature between the oil surface temperature sensor provided at the top of the cooking oil with the rated oil volume and the cooking temperature sensor can be compared with a predetermined temperature difference. In the above embodiment, when adding fuel to the tank, the fuel addition valve is opened manually, but the fuel addition valve may be an electromagnetic valve and the fuel addition valve may be automatically opened by operating the operation panel to perform the fuel addition operation. In addition, when reducing oil, the first oil supply valve is manually opened to return the filtered cooking oil to the oil tank via the oil tank, but this is not limited to this. For example, the oil drain valve and the first oil supply valve may be electromagnetic valves, and both valves may be automatically opened by operating the operation panel to filter the cooking oil. Furthermore, oil reduction may be an operation to reduce the cooking oil in the oil tank by manually opening or automatically opening only the oil drain valve.

[0031] The fryer is not limited to one provided with a fry controller and a burner controller separately, but may be one provided with a single controller having both the functions of a fry controller and a burner controller. The heating means may be formed solely by a pulse combustor or solely by an electric heater. The heating means may also be formed solely by a gas burner provided outside the oil vat. Furthermore, the heating means may be formed by a combination other than the combination of a pulse combustor and an electric heater. In the above embodiment, a pair of oil tanks are provided on the left and right sides, but the number of oil tanks may be one, or conversely, three or more. [Explanation of symbols]

[0032] 1·· Fryer, 2·· Vessel body, 3·· Oil tank, 4·· Pulse burner, 5·· Combustion chamber, 6·· Tail pipe, 7·· First cooking section, 8·· Second cooking section, 9·· Basket, 11·· First oil surface temperature sensor, 12·· Second oil surface temperature sensor, 13·· Cooking temperature sensor, 14·· Oil increase tank, 15·· Oil increase pipe, 16·· Oil increase valve, 18·· Overflow section, 22·· Gas solenoid valve, 30·· Filtering tank, 35·· Filter tarring pump, 37··First fuel supply pipe, 38··Second fuel supply pipe, 39··First fuel supply valve, 40··Second fuel supply valve, 55··Fuel supply on / off detection unit, 56··Fuel supply on / off detection unit, 60··Frying controller, 61··Operation panel, 62··Power switch, 63··Cooking button, 64··Display unit, 65··Mode selection button, 66A, 66B··Rated amount display lamp, 70··Burner controller, 71··Timer, 72··Memory unit.

Claims

[Claim 1] an oil tank capable of accommodating a predetermined rated amount of cooking oil and having an open top; A heating means provided in the oil tank for heating cooking oil; a cooking temperature sensor provided in the oil tank to detect the temperature of the cooking oil; an oil surface temperature sensor that is provided in the oil vat at a position higher than the cooking temperature sensor and at an upper portion of the cooking oil of the rated oil volume to detect the temperature of the cooking oil; An oil tank installed outside the oil tank for storing cooking oil; an oil replenishing means for replenishing cooking oil from the oil replenishing tank into the oil tank; a control means for controlling the heating means and the oil supply means, The control means controls the heating means based on the temperature detected by the cooking temperature sensor, and determines whether or not the volume of cooking oil in the oil vat has decreased based on the temperature detected by the oil surface temperature sensor, and controls the oil adding means; The control means monitors the difference in temperature detected by the cooking temperature sensor and the oil surface temperature sensor, and activates the oil adding means when the difference in the detected temperatures is equal to or greater than a predetermined temperature difference. The control means is capable of executing a first cooking mode in which the heating means is controlled with a predetermined first rated oil amount to heat and cook the food to be cooked, and a second cooking mode in which the heating means is controlled with a second rated oil amount that is greater than the first rated oil amount to heat and cook the food to be cooked, The oil surface temperature sensor is a first oil surface temperature sensor disposed in the oil vat below an oil surface position at the first rated oil amount and configured to detect the temperature of the cooking oil; a second oil surface temperature sensor disposed in the oil tank above the oil surface position at the first rated oil amount to detect the temperature of the cooking oil; A fryer characterized in that the control means monitors the difference in temperature detected by the cooking temperature sensor and the first oil surface temperature sensor when the first cooking mode is being executed, and monitors the difference in temperature detected by the cooking temperature sensor and the second oil surface temperature sensor when the second cooking mode is being executed.

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