Apparatus and method for preparing food

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11116359-B2
Application number	US-201515519872-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Oct 1, 2015
Priority date	Oct 23, 2014
Publication date	Sep 14, 2021
Grant date	Sep 14, 2021

Abstract

Air-based fryer including a food preparation chamber including an outer wall, an inner wall defining a food receiving space with an air inlet and an air discharge opening, and a circulation channel defined between the outer wall and the inner wall. The fryer includes an air heater for heating air in the food preparation chamber, a fan for moving a flow of hot air successively through the air inlet, the food receiving space, the discharge opening, and the channel. The fryer includes a steam generator including at least one nozzle extending into the food receiving space for spraying temperature-controlled steam onto the food; and a controller adapted to control the steam generator to spray steam to food placed in the food receiving space for a first predetermined period, and to control the air heater and the fan to circulate hot air to the food for a subsequent second predetermined period.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. An air-based fryer, comprising:
a food preparation chamber comprising an outer wall, an inner wall defining a food receiving space with an air inlet and an air discharge opening, and a circulation channel defined between the outer wall and the inner wall;
an air heater for heating air in the food preparation chamber;
a fan for moving a flow of the heated air successively through the air inlet, the food receiving space, the discharge opening, and the channel;
a steam generator comprising at least one nozzle extended downward in the food receiving space and configured to spray temperature-controlled steam onto the food; and
a controller configured by a predetermined program to control the steam generator to spray steam to the food placed in the food receiving space for a first predetermined period without performing hot air heating by the air heater during the first predetermined period, wherein the controller is configured by the predetermined program to control the first predetermined period and a temperature of the steam together to produce all major cooking results during the first predetermined period to occur at a surface of the food including to control the temperature of the steam to within 60° C.-100° C., and
wherein the controller is configured by the predetermined program to control the air heater and the fan to circulate the heated air to the food subsequent to the first predetermined period during a subsequent second predetermined period.

2. The air-based fryer according to claim 1 , wherein the controller is configured by the predetermined program to control the temperature of the steam to within 60° C.-80° C., and to control the temperature of the heated air to within 160° C.-250° C.

3. The air-based fryer according to claim 1 , wherein the steam generator comprises one or more downward and inward extending nozzles located in the food preparation chamber, and wherein the one or more nozzles extend downward with reference to an orientation of the air-based fryer during use and diagonally inward with reference to the food preparation chamber.

4. The air-based fryer according to claim 1 , wherein the outer wall of the food preparation chamber further defines a vent that extends through the outer wall to exhaust air from the outer wall to outside the fryer.

5. The air-based fryer according to claim 1 , wherein the food preparation chamber further comprises a division board that extends upward from a bottom portion of the inner wall during operation dividing the food receiving space into two horizontally adjacent food cooking areas, the steam generator is configured to be controllable to spray the steam onto the food located in any one or both of the two food cooking areas.

6. The air-based fryer according to claim 1 , wherein the steam generator comprises:
a water tank containing water;
a heater for heating the water to generate the steam; and
a temperature sensor positioned within the water tank and configured to sense temperature of the generated steam;
wherein the controller is configured by the predetermined program to control the steam generator to spray the generated steam through the nozzles only when the sensed temperature falls in a predetermined range.

7. The air-based fryer according to claim 1 , wherein the controller is configured by the predetermined program to control the air heater and the fan to circulate heated air to the food at a temperature between 160° C.-250° C. for a third predetermined period that is less than 30 seconds to reduce the surface moisture content, and wherein the third predetermined period is prior to the first predetermined period.

8. The air-based fryer according to claim 1 , wherein the controller is configured by the predetermined program to control the steam generator to spray steam to the food placed in the food receiving space and to simultaneously control the air heater and the fan to circulate heated air to the food for a third predetermined period that is between the first predetermined period and the second predetermined period.

9. The air-based fryer according to claim 1 , wherein the steam generator is contained within the food receiving space.

10. The air-based fryer according to claim 1 , comprising an air deflector positioned on a base of the outer wall, the air deflector comprising sloping walls to deflect air circulating in the circulation channel upward into the food receiving space.

11. The air-based fryer according to claim 1 , wherein the fan is a radial fan.

12. The air-based fryer according to claim 11 , wherein the outer wall of the food preparation chamber further defines a vent that extends through the outer wall to exhaust air from the outer wall to outside the fryer, and wherein the vent is formed in the outer wall on a line extending in a radial direction to an axis of rotation of the fan.

13. The air-based fryer according to claim 1 , comprising an outer shell that extends around the outer wall, wherein the controller is configured by the predetermined program to produce all the major cooking results at the surface of the food that includes at least one of a reduction in surface moisture content, surface smoothing, and sealing of intercellular pores at the surface of the food.

14. The air-based fryer according to claim 13 , wherein the food preparation chamber is divided into an upper part and a lower part, wherein the upper part is fixedly attached to the outer shell, and wherein the lower part is releasably attached to the upper part and is removable from within the outer shell to provide access to the food receiving space.

15. The air-based fryer according to claim 1 , wherein the predetermined program is one of a plurality of predetermined programs which control the steam generator to spray steam to the food placed in the food receiving space for the first predetermined period, and to control the air heater and the fan to circulate the heated air to the food for the subsequent second predetermined period, and wherein each of the plurality of predetermined programs varies one or more of the first predetermined period, the second predetermined period, a temperature of the sprayed steam, and a temperature of the circulated heated air.

Assignees

• Koninklijke Philips Nv

Inventors

• Chen Yun
• Zhou Ning
• Sun Wen
• Kui Xiaoyun

Classifications

• F24C15/003

  moisturising of air · CPC title

• A23L5/17

  in a gaseous atmosphere with forced air or gas circulation, in vacuum or under pressure · CPC title

• A23V2002/00

  Food compositions, function of food ingredients or processes for food or foodstuffs · CPC title

• A21B1/26

  by hot air · CPC title

• A47J27/004

  with integral electrical heating means (drinking cups with integral heating means A47J36/2466) · CPC title