Provided is an electrical fryer including an inner pot configured to contain oil, an oil filter configured to filter oil and drain oil contained in inner pot, an electrical heater. The electrical fryer further includes: a knob mechanism comprising a knob presenting an oil filtering position and at least one heating position; an oil filtering control mechanism connected between the knob mechanism and the oil filter; a temperature control mechanism comprising a switch assembly being drivingly connected with the knob mechanism; wherein, the knob is turned so as to switch between the oil filtering position and said at least one heating position, and when the knob is turned to the oil filtering position, the knob mechanism drives the oil filtering control mechanism to open the oil filter and the knob mechanism controls the switch assembly to switch it off so that the electrical heater is not energized, and when the knob is turned to said at least one heating position, the knob mechanism controls the switch assembly to switch it on so that the electrical heater heats the inner pot.

A robotic kitchen assistant for frying includes a robotic arm, a fryer basket, and a robotic arm adapter assembly allowing the robotic arm to pick up and manipulate the fryer basket. The robotic arm adapter includes opposing gripping members to engage the fryer basket. A utensil adapter assembly is mounted to the handle of the fryer basket, and the opposing gripper members are actuated to capture a three-dimensional (3D) feature of the utensil adapter assembly. The robotic arm adapter assembly can include an agitator mechanism to shake the fryer basket or another utensil as desired. Related methods are also described.

The present invention is a cooking-oil filtration system for automated cooking apparatus which has a solids-removing filter for cleaning cooking oil from the food-fryer and returning oil to the cooking apparatus. The system comprises a solids-removing filter enclosure which includes a plurality of doors having electronically controlled locks with lock-state feedback, a controller including memory and software for controlling the system and a user interface, a number of electrically-controlled pumps, valves, actuators and sensors, the user interface comprising screens with icons representing system set-up, status, and actions. The screens include a main screen, an operator controls screen with controls including door-lock controls displaying door-lock status and controls to lock and unlock the doors, such unlocking permitted only when at least one pump is off and the filter-chamber pressure is below a predetermined pressure, one or more status screens displaying filter operation status, and one or more setup screens.

A substantially closed loop filtration and convection system is configured to move fluid/oil volume within a fryer vat. The vat has a flow directed inlet, which directs flow of cooking fluid in a direction across the bottom of the vat directing the flow of oil and crumbs/debris across the vat, up and across a flow separation portion toward and into a cleaning zone portion of the vat. A crumb tray or crumb/debris catch system is disposed in the cleaning zone adjacent to the vat.

A frying oil filtration apparatus for safely recycling cooking oil includes a housing having a base portion and a cylindrical sidewall with a hose aperture extending therethrough. A vacuum hose is coupled to the hose aperture to pull used cooking oil through a filter coupled to the housing. A collection pan coupled within the sidewall draws the oil through a vacuum pump to a one-way valve. A reservoir has a reservoir bottom, a reservoir sidewall, and a reservoir rim. The reservoir bottom has a fill aperture extending therethrough and the reservoir sidewall conforms to a reservoir cavity of the filter to be selectively engageable within the filter. The fill aperture is in fluid communication with the one-way valve to allow the reservoir to fill with filtered oil. The reservoir has a pair of reservoir handles coupled to the reservoir rim.

A multi-bank cooking system includes multiple discrete cooking systems sharing common plumbing and integrated safety features. The multi-bank cooking system may include two or more rack-fryer systems, each with discrete frypots, operating mechanisms and cooking controllers. Each of the discrete cooking systems, may share a common plumbing system with integrated valves and controls receiving coordinated safety signals to facilitate safe and efficient operation of the system.

A sensor assembly for determining the level of oil in a filter pan is disclosed herein. The assembly includes a load cell for sensing the amount of oil in the filter pan. The filter pan is pivotable about an end of the pan within a frame for supporting cooking equipment. The load cell is attached on one end to the frame. The assembly also includes a lever pivotable about a fulcrum, such that the first end of the lever supports the other end of the oil filter pan, and the second end of the lever urges against the load cell.

A fryer for frying pizza includes a flying tank designed to contain cooking oil, immersion means and pushing means. The frying tank includes an input and an outlet. The input houses a first conveyor belt arranged to introduce a product in the tank. The outlet houses the first conveyor belt or a third conveyor belt to extract the product from the tank. The immersion means are arranged to regulate immersion of the product in the cooking oil during at least a portion of a relative path from the input to the outlet of the tank. The pushing means are configured for moving the product from the input to the outlet.

A robotic kitchen assistant for frying includes a robotic arm, a fryer basket, and a robotic arm adapter assembly allowing the robotic arm to pick up and manipulate the fryer basket. The robotic arm adapter includes opposing gripping members to engage the fryer basket. A utensil adapter assembly is mounted to the handle of the fryer basket, and the opposing gripper members are actuated to capture a three-dimensional (3D) feature of the utensil adapter assembly. The robotic arm adapter assembly can include an agitator mechanism to shake the fryer basket or another utensil as desired. Related methods are also described.

The present invention provides an automatic oil filtering fryer comprising: a frying oil container; an oil discharging pipe transferring used oil to the first oil filtering device; a first oil filtering device located below the frying oil container and filtering and grinding the used oil to form a first filtered oil; an oil transferring pipe transferring the first filtered oil up to a second oil filtering device by using a pump; the pump raising and transferring the first filtered oil upward to the second oil filtering device; the second oil filtering device located above the frying oil container and filtering the first filtered oil to form a second filtered oil; and an oil supplying pipe supplying the second filtered oil to the frying oil container.