Fryer apparatus including pressure assist feature

Abstract

A fryer apparatus is disclosed herein for rapidly increasing pressure in a pressure fryer cooking chamber during a cooking cycle. Such fryer apparatus may determine whether a pressure output in the cooking chamber is closed. The fryer apparatus also determines a pressure of the cooking chamber, compares the pressure of the cooking chamber to a predetermined optimal pressure to determine whether the pressure of the cooking chamber is less than the optimal pressure, and activates a filter pump that supplies air from a drain pan into the cooking chamber in response to determining that the pressure output is closed and the pressure of the cooking chamber is less than the optimal pressure. The fryer apparatus further deactivates the filter pump when the pressure within the cooking chamber is equal to or greater than the optimal pressure.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A fryer apparatus, comprising:
 a cooking chamber configured to be selectively pressurized to a predetermined optimal pressure;   a pressure sensor configured to sense a pressure within the cooking chamber;   a pressure output configured to vent at least one of air and steam out of the cooking chamber, thereby regulating a pressure therein;   a drain pan connected to the cooking chamber via a drain valve, the drain pan receiving a cooking medium from the cooking chamber when the drain valve is open;   a filter pump that operates to supply the cooking medium and/or air from the drain pan into the cooking chamber; and   a controller comprising one or more processors and a memory, the controller operating during a cooking cycle to cause the fryer apparatus to:
 determine whether the pressure output in the cooking chamber is closed or open; 
 determine the pressure within the cooking chamber in response to an input from the pressure sensor; 
 compare the pressure within the cooking chamber to the optimal pressure to determine whether the pressure within the cooking chamber is less than the optimal pressure; 
 in response to determining both that the pressure output is closed and that the pressure within the cooking chamber is less than the optimal pressure, activate the filter pump to supply air from the drain pan into the cooking chamber to further pressurize the cooking chamber; 
 deactivate the filter pump when the pressure within the cooking chamber is equal to or greater than the optimal pressure; and 
 perform a filtration for the cooking medium by opening the drain valve to move the cooking medium from the cooking chamber to the drain pan, and activating the filter pump to return the cooking medium from the drain pan back to the cooking chamber. 
   
     
     
         2 . The fryer apparatus according to  claim 1 , wherein the controller also operates the fryer apparatus to, prior to activating the filter pump:
 in response to determining that the pressure within the cooking chamber is equal to or greater than the optimal pressure, not activate the filter pump.   
     
     
         3 . The fryer apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the controller also operates the fryer apparatus to:
 in response to determining that the pressure output is open, determine whether a predetermined amount of time remains until an end of the cooking cycle, and also determine whether the cooking cycle is cancelled; and   in response to determining that the predetermined amount of time remains until the end of the cooking cycle and/or determining that the cooking cycle is cancelled, not activate the filter pump during the cooking cycle.   
     
     
         4 . The fryer apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the controller also operates the fryer apparatus to:
 after activating the filter pump, determine whether a maximum pump time for the filter pump is exceeded; and   in response to determining that the maximum pump time is exceeded, deactivate the filter pump for a remainder of the cooking cycle.   
     
     
         5 . The fryer apparatus of  claim 4 , wherein the controller also operates the fryer apparatus to:
 after activating the filter pump, determine whether the pressure output is open; and   in response to determining that the pressure output is open, deactivate the filter pump for a remainder of the cooking cycle.   
     
     
         6 . The fryer apparatus of  claim 5 , wherein the controller also operates the fryer apparatus to:
 after activating the filter pump, determine whether a predetermined amount of time remains until an end of the cooking cycle; and   in response to determining that the predetermined amount of time remains until the end of the cooking cycle, deactivate the filter pump for a remainder of the cooking cycle.   
     
     
         7 . The fryer apparatus of  claim 6 , wherein the controller also operates the fryer apparatus to:
 after activating the filter pump, determine whether the cooking cycle is cancelled; and   in response to determining that the cooking cycle is cancelled, deactivate the filter pump.   
     
     
         8 . The fryer apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the controller also operates the fryer apparatus to:
 determine whether the drain valve in the cooking chamber is closed after determining that the pressure output is closed and prior to activating the filter pump; and   activate the filter pump only after determining that the drain valve is closed.   
     
     
         9 . The fryer apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the pressure output comprises a pressure solenoid. 
     
     
         10 . The fryer apparatus of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 a top off pump configured to supply the cooking medium from a reservoir into the cooking chamber,   wherein the controller further operates the fryer apparatus to perform a filtration by:
 determining that a volume of the cooking medium in the cooking chamber is less than an optimal volume; and 
 in response to determining that the volume of cooking medium in the cooking chamber is less than the optimal volume, activating the top off pump to supply the cooking medium from the reservoir into the cooking chamber. 
   
     
     
         11 . A fryer apparatus, comprising:
 a cooking chamber configured to be selectively pressurized to a predetermined optimal pressure;   a pressure sensor configured to sense a pressure within the cooking chamber;   a pressure output configured to vent at least one of air and steam out of the cooking chamber, thereby regulating a pressure therein;   a pressure source that operates to supply additional gas into the cooking chamber; and   a controller comprising one or more processors and a memory, the controller operating during a cooking cycle to cause the fryer apparatus to:
 determine whether the pressure output in the cooking chamber is closed or open; 
 determine the pressure within the cooking chamber in response to an input from the pressure sensor; 
 compare the pressure within the cooking chamber to the optimal pressure to determine whether the pressure within the cooking chamber is less than the optimal pressure; 
 in response to determining both that the pressure output is closed and that the pressure within the cooking chamber is less than the optimal pressure, activate the pressure source to supply gas into the cooking chamber to further pressurize the cooking chamber; and 
 deactivate the pressure source when the pressure within the cooking chamber is equal to or greater than the optimal pressure. 
   
     
     
         12 . The fryer apparatus of  claim 11 , wherein the controller also operates the fryer apparatus to:
 in response to determining that the pressure output is open, determine whether a predetermined amount of time remains until an end of the cooking cycle, and also determine whether the cooking cycle is cancelled; and   in response to determining that the predetermined amount of time remains until the end of the cooking cycle and/or determining that the cooking cycle is cancelled, not activate the pressure source during the cooking cycle.   
     
     
         13 . The fryer apparatus of  claim 11 , wherein the controller also operates the fryer apparatus to:
 after activating the pressure source, determine whether a maximum pump time for the pressure source is exceeded; and   in response to determining that the maximum pump time is exceeded, deactivate the pressure source for a remainder of the cooking cycle.   
     
     
         14 . The fryer apparatus of  claim 13 , wherein the controller also operates the fryer apparatus to:
 after activating the pressure source, determine whether the pressure output is open; and   in response to determining that the pressure output is open, deactivate the pressure source for a remainder of the cooking cycle.   
     
     
         15 . The fryer apparatus of  claim 14 , wherein the controller also operates the fryer apparatus to:
 after activating the pressure source, determine whether a predetermined amount of time remains until an end of the cooking cycle; and   in response to determining that the predetermined amount of time remains until the end of the cooking cycle, deactivate the pressure source for a remainder of the cooking cycle.   
     
     
         16 . The fryer apparatus of  claim 15 , wherein the controller also operates the fryer apparatus to:
 after activating the pressure source, determine whether the cooking cycle is cancelled; and   in response to determining that the cooking cycle is cancelled, deactivate the pressure source.