Turkey Fryer Pot Geometry for Large Capacity With Less Oil
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current indoor electric fryers are not designed to accommodate large food items like turkeys, limiting domestic users' ability to deep-fry such items safely and efficiently within a countertop setting.
Innovation Solution
A domestic electric fryer assembly with a cooking pot that decreases in peripheral cross-section to reduce cooking fluid volume while still accommodating large items, featuring a radial step-in section and a resistance heater bar, along with a basket for supporting turkeys, allows for deep-frying of 8 to 18 lb turkeys using a reduced cooking fluid volume.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Volume of moving object
If a conventional indoor electric fryer is used, then it can fry small food items, but it cannot accommodate large food items like turkeys
Solution Approach 1:
The cooking pot is divided into multiple sections with different diameters (first section with larger diameter, second section with smaller diameter). This segmentation allows the pot to accommodate large food items like turkeys in the upper section while maintaining a compact overall size through the narrower lower section.
Solution Approach 2:
The food basket is nested within the cooking pot, with the basket containing the food item and the pot providing the cooking environment. This nested arrangement maximizes the use of available space and allows the system to handle large items without requiring a proportionally large device footprint.
2Volume of moving object
If a large cooking pot is used to accommodate turkeys, then cooking capacity increases, but cooking fluid volume increases
Solution Approach 1:
The cooking pot's segmented design (first section with larger diameter, second section with smaller diameter) allows the cooking fluid to be contained in the lower section while providing adequate space in the upper section for large food items. This reduces the overall cooking fluid volume needed compared to a uniformly large pot.
3Volume of moving object
If outdoor fryers are used, then large food items can be fried, but they require outdoor locations and are affected by weather
Solution Approach 1:
The indoor electric fryer provides the capability to fry large food items (previously only achievable outdoors) while maintaining the advantage of indoor operation. The device combines the cooking capacity of outdoor fryers with the location independence and weather independence of indoor appliances.
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
Enables safe and efficient deep-frying of large food items like turkeys in a domestic setting with reduced cooking fluid volume, addressing the limitations of existing indoor fryers by providing a compact and effective solution for countertop use.
Implementation Method 1
a heat source positioned for heating a cooking fluid within said pot... the source is preferably a resistance bar
Data Source
AI summary
A domestic fryer assembly and method of using which includes interconnected shell and cooking pot with the shell having an interior cavity receiving the cooking pot. A heating unit as in a resistance bar heater unit is supported by the combination shell and cooking pot and extends down into the cooking pot and features a generally horizontal portion suspended above the cooking pot bottom and preferably having a configuration of a horse-shoe with outer curved sides that generally follow the curvature of the supporting pot. The cooking pot is designed to hold sufficient cooking fluid to provide for deep frying relatively large single item food pieces as in a whole turkey of, for example, 8 to 18 pounds. The food item is preferably retained in a cooking basket that is dimensioned for insertion into the cooking pot. The cooking pot also preferably includes one or more volume reduction step-ins such as a bottom or lower one for doubling as a cooking basket support and/or an upper annular ledge step-in in the pot.