Partial-Immersion Deep Fryer for Low-Oil Cooking
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional deep frying devices have limitations in capacity, safety, efficiency, and convenience, including the need for large quantities of cooking oil, which poses safety hazards and is costly, and they often require substantial space and complex handling procedures.
Innovation Solution
The design incorporates a cooking pot with insufficient capacity to fully immerse food, allowing for partial submersion and using a method of multiple cook cycles to ensure thorough cooking, reducing oil usage and enabling safer, more efficient cooking with less space requirement.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If large quantities of cooking oil are used to fully immerse food, then food can be cooked thoroughly, but safety hazards increase and operating costs rise
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies partial action by using only enough oil to partially submerge the food item rather than fully immersing it. The food is positioned vertically in the pot with the lower portion submerged in hot oil for cooking while the upper portion remains exposed. This eliminates the need for large quantities of oil, reducing safety hazards associated with handling and storing large amounts of hot oil, while still achieving thorough cooking through extended cooking time and rotation of the food item.
2Reliability
If large quantities of cooking oil are used to fully immerse food, then food can be cooked thoroughly, but operating costs increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses partial submersion of food in oil, requiring significantly less oil than traditional full immersion methods. Only the lower portion of the vertically positioned food item is submerged in hot oil during each cooking cycle. This partial action approach maintains cooking quality through extended cooking time and rotation while dramatically reducing oil consumption and associated costs.
3Reliability
If a cooking pot with sufficient capacity to fully immerse food is used, then food can be cooked thoroughly, but space requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs partial submersion cooking where food is vertically positioned in the pot with only the lower portion submerged in oil. This eliminates the need for a large-capacity pot required for full immersion, allowing use of a compact pot that occupies minimal counter space while still achieving thorough cooking through extended time and rotation of the food item.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent transitions from horizontal full immersion to vertical partial submersion cooking. The food item is positioned vertically rather than horizontally, with the lower end submerged in hot oil and the upper end extending above the oil surface. This dimensional change allows thorough cooking in a compact pot size, reducing the volume requirement of the cooking device.
4Reliability
If oil is changed frequently to maintain quality, then food safety is improved, but time and effort increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses partial submersion cooking with significantly reduced oil quantities, which heats up faster and reaches cooking temperature more quickly. The reduced oil volume allows for faster oil changes and heating cycles. Additionally, the compact pot design facilitates easier and quicker oil removal and replacement, reducing the time and effort required for maintenance while maintaining food safety through fresh oil usage.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This approach reduces oil consumption, enhances safety, lowers operating costs, and optimizes space usage while maintaining food quality through efficient cooking temperatures and reduced handling risks.
Implementation Method 1
a heating source to bring the oil to frying temperature
Implementation Method 2
hot cooking oil can present substantial safety hazards
Implementation Method 3
immerse the food into the hot oil
Implementation Method 4
the cooking process can take anywhere from a few minutes to more than an hour
Implementation Method 5
the oil can erupt with boiling, and/or sputtering
Implementation Method 6
the oil can erupt with boiling, and/or sputtering
Data Source
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Figure 12~15
AI summary
A deep fryer including a cooking vessel formed to simultaneously accept within it articles of food and frying oil, a heat source positioned to heat articles of food and frying oil within the cooking vessel, directions specifying a unitary food article to be cooked within the cooking vessel, the directions also specifying an amount of frying oil to be used to cook the specified unitary food article, the specified frying oil amount being of insufficient volume to fully immerse the specified unitary food article when the unitary food article is in cooking position, a support which is in constant contact with the unitary food article and does not move during cooking.