Abstract: Frying apparatus including a fry pot and a filter system operable during a cleaning cycle for dislodging food particles which cling to the fry pot and for removing food particles suspended in the cooking oil is disclosed. The filter system includes a shower apparatus which discharges jets of cooking oil along the interior side surfaces of the fry pot to dislodge food particles clinging thereto. The cooking oil is drained into a drain pan, strained through a filter and means are provided for pumping the filtered cooking oil back to the fry pot where it is discharged through the shower apparatus. Food particles are continuously separated from the cooking oil as it is conveyed from the fry pot through the filter into the drain pot. In a preferred embodiment, a control circuit is provided for automatically turning off the fry pot heaters when the cooking oil is drained during the filter cycle.

Abstract: Frying apparatus including a fry pot and a filter system operable during a cleaning cycle for dislodging food particles which cling to the fry pot and for removing food particles suspended in the cooking oil is disclosed. The filter system includes a shower apparatus which discharges jets of cooking oil along the interior side surfaces of the fry pot to dislodge food particles clinging thereto. The cooking oil is drained into a drain pan, strained through a filter and means are provided for pumping the filtered cooking oil back to the fry pot where it is discharged through the shower apparatus. Food particles are continuously separated from the cooking oil as it is conveyed from the fry pot through the filter into the drain pot. In a preferred embodiment, a control circuit is provided for automatically turning off the fry pot heaters when the cooking oil is drained during the filter cycle.

Abstract: In apparatus for deep fat frying, control circuitry is provided for regulating the temperature of heating elements. During cooking the heating elements are immersed in cooking fluid and are maintained at a selected temperature by an operating thermostat. Two high limit thermostats are provided to turn off the heaters if the temperature exceeds a predetermined safe limit. For cleaning, the heating elements are raised out of the cooking fluid and automatically disconnected from the operation and first high-limit thermostats. The heaters are cyclically actuated and deactuated by a thermal time delay relay, gradually raising the heater temperature to achieve pyrolytic cleaning of the heating elements. The second high-limit thermostat turns off the heating elements when a predetermined temperature is reached, ending pyrolytic cleaning.

Abstract: A frying apparatus includes a frypot for containing cooking oil positioned in a support housing. Heating elements are pivotally attached to said housing and suspended within the frypot to heat the cooking oil for deep fat frying. A thermostat is mounted to the front of the housing to extend into the frypot above the heating elements to regulate the cooking oil temperature. The thermostat is separate from the heating elements so that the elements may be pivoted upward to a cleaning position. A biasing heater is mounted to the front of housing directly below the thermostat to compensate for the distance between the thermostat and the heating elements by providing additional heat to the thermostat. A temperature selector is provided on the outside front of the housing to allow adjustment of the thermostat without reaching over the frypot.

Abstract: The present invention is a device for sealing the door of a self-cleaning combination thermal and microwave oven from microwave energy leakage. The invented device provides in combination a wavelength choke, a conductive gasket and a microwave absorber. The choke and gasket suppress the ISM band radiation and most of the out of band radiation while the microwave absorber suppresses the balance of the out of band radiation which may result by improper door closure. The combination is particularly useful in combination microwave and thermal self-cleaning ovens where high temperatures cause expansion and stress not normally encountered in microwave ovens.

Abstract: A frying apparatus includes a frypot for containing cooking oil positioned in a support housing. Heating elements are pivotally attached to said housing and suspended within the frypot to heat the cooking oil for deep fat frying. A thermostat is mounted to the front of the housing to extend into the frypot above the heating elements to regulate the cooking oil temperature. The thermostat is separate from the heating elements so that the elements may be pivoted upward to a cleaning position. A biasing heater is mounted to the front of housing directly below the thermostat to compensate for the distance between the thermostat and the heating elements by providing additional heat to the thermostat. A temperature selector is provided on the outside front of the housing to allow adjustment of the thermostat without reaching over the frypot.

Abstract: A frypan cooking system is provided with a tilting mechanism to rotate the frypan forward and pour cooking fluid or cleaning water through a pouring lip on the frypan rim. A drain pan is removably mounted in front of the frypan in a fixed position beneath the edge of the pouring lip as a surge reservoir to receive the discharged liquid. The pivotal axis of the frypan is positioned in front of the frypan near the front rim and in alignment with the outer edge of the pouring lip so that the lip is maintained in a position overlapping the edge of the drain pan as the frypan is rotated. The drain pan has an outlet in the bottom connected to a swivel spout for directing the discharged liquid to an external reservoir or to a floor drain through extension tubing. An alternate embodiment includes a telescoping drain chute which can be extended to substantially encompass the end of the pouring lip and direct discharged liquid to a surge reservoir which in turn outlets the liquid to a floor drain.

Abstract: A system for cooking spaghetti and similar pasta products includes a cooking section and a storage section with means for supplying water alternately to either section. The cooking section is equipped with a cook pot having conventional electric or gas heaters for heating water to cook spaghetti. A cooking basket containing spaghetti is suspended in the cook pot by attachment to a basket lifter. Electrical timing means connected to the basket lifter automatically lower the cooking basket at the start of a preselected cook cycle and raise the basket out of the cook pot after the cooking period has ended. The storage section includes a storage tank for rinsing and storing cooked spaghetti in cold water. Multiple rows of nesting cups stacked vertically store individual serving portions of spaghetti in the storage tank. A cup rack is used to reconstitute the spaghetti by suspending the serving cups containing cooked spaghetti in the hot water of the cook pot.

Abstract: A cooking system includes a frypot comprising heat transfer walls which are spaced to facilitate cleaning of the frypot. Each heat transfer wall comprises a lower vertically extending portion and an upper outwardly curved portion shaped to cause wastes to flow to the bottom of the frypot. A plurality of burners are provided for maintaining combustion in zones adjacent to the vertically extending portions of the heat transfer walls. This causes heated products of combustion to flow upwardly along the vertically extending and outwardly extending portions of the heat transfer walls, whereby heat transfer is effected through the walls to cooking oil in the frypot. Each burner comprises two or more orifices for discharging mutually interacting gas jets and a target for deflecting the gas jets and entrained air toward the heat transfer walls and for reflecting heat into the combustion zone and through the heat transfer walls.

Abstract: In apparatus for deep fat frying, control circuitry is provided for regulating the temperature of heating elements. During cooking the heating elements are immersed in cooking fluid and are maintained at a selected temperature by an operating thermostat. Two high limit thermostats are provided to turn off the heaters if the temperature exceeds a predetermined safe limit. For cleaning, the heating elements are raised out of the cooking fluid and automatically disconnected from the operating and first high-limit thermostats. The heaters are cyclically actuated and deactuated by a thermal time delay relay, to gradually raising the heater temperature to achieve pyrolytic cleaning of the heating elements. The second high-limit thermostat turns off the heating elements when a predetermined temperature is reached, ending pyrolytic cleaning.

Abstract: A cooking system includes a frypot comprising heat transfer walls which are spaced to facilitate cleaning of the frypot. Each heat transfer wall comprises a lower vertically extending portion and an upper outwardly curved portion shaped to cause wastes to flow to the bottom of the frypot. A plurality of burners are provided for maintaining combustion in zones adjacent to the vertically extending portions of the heat transfer walls. This causes heated products of combustion to flow upwardly along the vertically extending and outwardly extending portions of the heat transfer walls, whereby heat transfer is effected through the walls to cooking oil in the frypot. Each burner comprises two or more orifices for discharging mutually interacting gas jets and a target for deflecting the gas jets and entrained air toward the heat transfer walls and for reflecting heat into the combustion zone and through the heat transfer walls.