A metering apparatus (1) for metering frozen piece goods, comprising a housing (10) which defines a refrigerated chamber (11), wherein a piece goods container (3), a first conveyor unit (4), and a weighing unit (5) are arranged in the refrigerated chamber (11), wherein piece goods can be transported from the piece goods container (3) via the first conveyor unit (4) to the weighing unit (5), wherein an airlock (13) is arranged below the weighing unit (5), through which piece goods can pass out of the refrigerated chamber (11).

The present invention provides an automatic oil filtering fryer comprising: a frying oil container filled with oil; a heating unit heating the oil; an oil filtering container receiving the oil from the frying oil container through an oil discharging pipe; an oil level and filtration control valve installed on the oil discharging pipe and controlling an oil level and filtration; a filtering device installed inside the oil filtering container and including a filtering mesh and a frame to filter debris in the oil; a filtering paper installed inside the oil filtering container and filters remaining debris in the oil; an oil supplying pipe transferring the filtered oil from the oil filtering container into the frying oil container; and a propeller pump pumping the filtered oil upward to the frying oil container and equipping with blades pulverizing remaining debris in the filtered oil while rotating.

A fryer with a vessel, that contains a hot fluid-bath with a fluid level, and which includes one or more belts which transport products to be fried through the hot fluid-bath; a submerge belt that hinders the products from floating to the fluid level, and a floating particles removing device. A surface of the belts on which the products are located during transportation in the fryer has a submerged section being submerged in the hot fluid-bath. The submerge belt has a submerged section being submerged in the hot fluid-bath. The floating particle removing device is located vertically above the submerged section of the submerge belt and/or of the submerge section of the surface of the belts.

A fryer includes a cooking chamber for holding a cooking medium, at least one heating element positioned within the cooking chamber, and a chain conveyor for selectively advancing food product through the cooking chamber along a movement path. The chain conveyor includes first and second chains coupled together by a plurality of baskets extending therebetween. The movement path includes a series of legs, including a first leg wherein the food product moves substantially vertically from above the cooking medium to a greatest depth within the cooking medium and including a second leg subsequent to the first leg wherein the food product moves substantially horizontally at the greatest depth within the cooking medium. Automated filtering systems and methods for removing debris from cooking medium are also provided.

Methods for adjusting the pressure in a cooking chamber of a pressure fryer are provided. The pressure inside the cooking chamber is determined in response to detecting closure of a valve that vents the cooking chamber. The pressure in the chamber is compared to a predetermined pressure. If the pressure in the chamber is less than the predetermined pressure, a pressure assist system is activated. The pressure assist system includes an air pump and/or pressure source, and when activated, supplies a gas to the cooking chamber to increase the pressure in the cooking chamber. The pressure may be determined at a predetermined time after closure of the valve, and an amount of gas to be added to the cooking chamber determined based on a difference between the measured pressure and the predetermined pressure.

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.

A characteristic of edible oil used for frying operations may be determined using a sensor such as a spectrometer or capacitive sensor. Other attributes indicative of a prior, present, or future frying operations can be specified, and an analytical model indicative of a composite aging parameter can be applied using one or more attributes along with data obtained from the sensor indicative of oil degradation. Application of the analytical model may be used to trigger various actions relating to oil management, such as ranging from automatically generating a notification to an operator or automatically initiating oil management operations such as top-off, oil removal, or oil replacement in a frying apparatus.

A system for transporting and measuring the quality of cooking oil exiting a fryer unit using a portable oil transport apparatus. The portable oil transport apparatus has at least one sensor for measuring the quality of oil passing through the system. The portable apparatus may be connected to a storage receptacle for disposing of spent cooking oil, or may be connected back to the fryer unit to reuse the oil, based upon the measured quality of the oil. The portable oil transport apparatus may have an oil filter for filtering out unwanted components contained in the cooking oil. The oil quality sensor is capable of measuring the electrical properties of the oil to determine whether the oil should be reused or disposed of.

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 fryer includes a cooking chamber for holding a cooking medium at least one heating element positioned within the cooking chamber, and a chain conveyor for selectively advancing food product through the cooking chamber along a movement path. The chain conveyor includes first and second chains coupled together by a plurality of baskets extending therebetween. The movement path includes a series of legs, including a first leg wherein the food product moves substantially vertically from above the cooking medium to a greatest depth within the cooking medium and including a second leg subsequent to the first leg wherein the food product moves substantially horizontally at the greatest depth within the cooking medium. Automated filtering systems and methods for removing debris from cooking medium are also provided.