RU2809792C2 - Deep frying system and method for controlling delivery of edible oil from two or more containers into a frying bath - Google Patents

Abstract

FIELD: frying systems.

SUBSTANCE: frying system (100) essentially includes a frying bath (108A) containing frying agent. The frying bath (108A) may be supplied from two or more oil containers (104A, 104N) to form a desired mixture of different oils from the two or more oil containers (104A, 104N). The sensor (124A) may be used to provide data indicative of the frying characteristics of the frying bath (108A). Formation of the mixture may include automatic control based on data received from a sensor configured to obtain measurement information related to one or more attributes of the fryer in the frying bath (108A).

EFFECT: improving the quality of the oil, maintaining the quality of the oil for a longer time, controlling the cost of frying or modifying the mixture due to changes in oil demand.

21 cl, 5 dwg

Description

Cross reference to related application

This application claims priority to Provisional Application No. 62/813,990, filed March 5, 2019, entitled FRYING OIL BLENDING AND PERFORMANCE OPTIMIZATION SYSTEM and Provisional Application No. 62/909,346, filed October 2, 2019, entitled OIL BLENDING SYSTEM , the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.

Scope of the description

This document relates essentially, but not by way of limitation, to the field of cooking methods, systems and apparatus for deep-frying edible food products.

Prerequisites for creating the invention

Fried food offerings including, but not limited to, deep-fried potatoes, chicken nuggets, chicken patties, fish patties, onion rings, deep-fried cheese, vegetable protein patties and other similar offerings are staples for fast food restaurants. service and buffets, as well as many traditional catering establishments. Oil management is a challenge faced by operators seeking to provide their customers with a consistent quality fried food product. A wide range of fryers are available and have a range of frying properties. A frying equipment operator typically selects a specific fryer for a specific fried product or application or relies on a fryer supplier to provide the specified fryer composition. For example, replenishing oil in frying equipment along with selecting a specific fryer can be essentially done manually.

Statement of the essence of the description

Equipment operators or service providers may use various open-loop schemes to control frying applications. As noted above, such management may include logistics related to purchasing and storing fresh oil supplies, dispensing fresh oil to individual frying stations, filtering the fryer after some time in use, and removing the oil from use, including management of associated storage and disposal. In its simplest design, such control might involve ordering a fixed volume of oil changes, including different types of oil, such as on a periodic basis, and initiating operations such as fryer cleaning, oil filtration, or oil changes based solely on attributes such as the absolute age of the oil , duration of use at frying temperature, number of frying basket dips, or type of food being cooked. Topping up can be initiated in response to volumetric (or mass-determined) loss of oil during submergence of the frying basket.

The present inventors have recognized, among other things, that a point-of-use mixing pattern may be advantageous to produce a fried product with desired characteristics, for example, in response to changing consumption patterns or needs, or to maintain consistent quality of the fried food product. For example, a particular oil blend may be formulated at the point of operation in a restaurant or buffet, for example, automatically, in part using data received from the fryer, or in response to other attribute data. For example, the apparatus and techniques described herein may allow the formation of oil mixtures at the point of application that can be tailored to the specific needs of the operator.

Such blending techniques can be used to facilitate one or more of improving oil quality, maintaining oil quality over a longer period of time compared to other approaches, controlling frying costs, or modifying the blend due to changes in oil demand (e.g., due to volume preparation or type of food). The sensor may be used at least in part to monitor one or more characteristics of the oil, such as to assist in controlling an oil mixing pattern. Edible oils used for frying may also be subject to end-use controls (eg, regulatory requirements), and such requirements may be specific to certain geographic regions. Such a sensor may be configured to monitor the characteristics of a mixture of oils in a manifold or other location at which the oils are mixed, or of oil from a frying bath into which the mixed oils are supplied.

As an illustrative example, the mixture formed using the techniques described herein may include a combination of a premium oil and a less expensive oil, for example, to ensure consistent food quality. In another example, blend compositions can be adjusted to reduce oil adaptation time to impart the full flavor of the oil. In another example, appropriate mixtures may be formed for different food products, which would otherwise require the operator to pre-order such mixtures, pre-mixed from a supplier, and manually initiate replacement or top-up of the appropriate frying baths at the appropriate frying stations. The apparatus and techniques described herein can be used with a minimum of two different oil containers as sources and a minimum of one frying bath. In another example, the apparatus and techniques described herein may be used to control oil mixing to operate multiple fry baths on site, for example, providing on-site mixing to form appropriate (e.g., different) mixtures for different fry baths. frying.

In one example, a frying system may comprise a frying bath containing frying food located in the frying bath, a plurality of frying containers containing at least a first frying material in a first frying container and a second frying material in a second frying container, each of the plurality of frying containers for deep frying, configured to selectively deliver deep fat to the frying bath, a sensor configured to receive measurement information related to one or more attributes of the deep frying material in the frying bath, and a control system configured to receive measurement information from the sensor, as well as determine based on at least specified measurement information of the desired mixture of the first fryer and the second fryer to be added to the frying bath, and selectively delivering the desired mixture of the first fryer from the first frying vessel and the second frying mixture from the second frying vessel to the frying tank. For example, appropriate mixtures may be formed at least in part in response to received data indicating at least one attribute from a list including, by way of illustrative examples, the following: time of day, time of week, time of month, time of year, period of time since the last oil change, the period of time since the oil was last filtered, or the period of time since the fryer was last cleaned.

In one example, a technique, such as an automated method, may include controlling the delivery of edible oil from two or more containers to a frying bath, the method comprising: obtaining data indicative of the frying characteristics of the frying bath as measured by a sensor, and in response to data indicative of the characteristic, controlling the delivery of a first oil from a first container of two or more containers, and controlling the delivery of a second oil from a second container of two or more containers to adjust the characteristics using the first oil and the second oil to form a certain mixture. For example, controlling delivery of a first oil from a first container of two or more containers and controlling delivery of a second oil from a second container of two or more containers may include receiving input from a user.

This summary is intended to introduce the subject matter of this patent application. It is not intended to provide an exclusive or exhaustive explanation of the invention. The detailed description is included as additional information about this patent application.

Brief description of graphic materials

In the drawings, which are not necessarily to scale, like numerals may describe like components in different views. Identical numbers with different letter suffixes may represent different instances of similar components. The drawings substantially illustrate various embodiments described herein by way of example and not by way of limitation.

In fig. 1 generally provides an example of a system that may include an oil container, such as a bath, in a fryer.

In fig. 2 essentially provides an example comprising control circuitry, for example, for controlling the use of edible oil in frying operations, and, in particular, for controlling the mixing of edible oils, for example, at the point of application.

In fig. 3 essentially presents a technique, such as a method, including obtaining data indicative of the characteristics of a fryer as measured by a sensor, and in response producing a specific fryer mixture, for example, at a point of application.

In fig. 4 essentially presents a technique, such as a method, including obtaining data indicative of a fryer characteristic according to sensor measurements, obtaining the attribute data, and in response, determining a fryer mixture composition.

In fig. 5 is a block diagram of an example comprising a machine that can perform one or more of the techniques (eg, methodologies) described herein.

Detailed description

As mentioned above, various edible oils can be mixed at the point of use, such as typically a work site in a restaurant or fast food establishment, or at a particular fryer location. The apparatus and techniques described herein can be used to provide or maintain a blended oil composition that meets the desired performance characteristics. The apparatus and techniques described herein may be implemented as part of a stand-alone frying system or may be added to or otherwise interfaced with existing frying systems.

In general, the apparatus and techniques described herein can be used to perform one or more of dynamic mixing or static mixing of edible oils. For example, the present invention may include a static mixing approach whereby a specific mixture composition is formed containing a fixed ratio of oils (defined by weight or volume) supplied from appropriate frying containers. In a dynamic mixing approach, this ratio or selected oils can be changed dynamically, for example in response to data provided by a sensor, for example to form or maintain a desired mixture. As an example, premium oil can be mixed with standard oil during high volume frying to enhance or maintain the quality of the food product during the frying process. Using premium oil in combination with standard oil can help compensate for or prevent degradation of standard oil. In another example, the present invention may include the use of a manually selected mixture composition. As illustrative examples, the relative proportion or proportion of each oil can be controlled by adjusting the valve position or the duration of valve opening or valve closing.

For example, the operator can manually set the mixture composition, for example, by selecting the mixture ratio between containers or by manually opening and closing or partially opening and closing valves for the respective containers. Such opening or closing or formation of a particular mixture composition may involve the use of a semi-automated scheme where the user enters the required mass or volume proportions into the user interface or selects from pre-selected mixture options. In response, the control device receives input data and controls one or more valves to add or otherwise supply oil to the bath or mixing container. One or more specific blend compositions may be predefined such that respective roasting systems may have corresponding defined blend compositions (e.g., a first roasting system is assigned a first defined blend composition, and a second roasting system that is located at the same location is assigned another second defined mixture composition). In this case, the operator may apply a variety of mixtures, for example, prescribed (eg, regulated) in accordance with the type of food product being prepared or in anticipation of the need for a particular food product. Other examples include a feedback circuit that monitors data indicative of the characteristics of the oil and provides a specific mixture in response or otherwise controls the delivery of oil to the frying bath, the oil being selectively supplied from two or more oil sources.

In fig. 1 generally depicts an example of a system 100 that may include an oil container, such as a vat 108, in a fryer 130A. System 100 may include or be fluidly coupled to at least two oil sources (eg, containers), such as a first oil source 104A and a second oil source 104N. Thus, a specific frying mixture can be provided for use in the bath 108. The bath 108 can be selectively fluidly coupled to the first and second oil sources 104A and 104N such that such sources are dedicated to the bath 108, or such sources 104A-104N may be shared among multiple vats (eg, shared between fryer 130A and another fryer 130N having a corresponding vat 108N). The containers 104A and 104N may have different respective types of oils, for example, to dispense deep fat through respective valves 114A and 114N to a mixing apparatus, such as manifold 134, to supply a specific mixture of oils to the tank 108A, for example, manually in response to input from the user or automatically under the guidance of a control system (eg, controller 102). The controller 102 may be used in conjunction with one or more fryers, such as those shown as fryers 130A-130N.

The first and second oil sources 104A and 104N may include tanks or other types of containers. For example, oil may be delivered or processed in a jerry-in-a-box (JIB) container unit that may be fluidly coupled to the fryer system and act as a frying container. It should be understood that reference to JIB units also covers any type of bulk tank used for storing oil. The plurality of oil sources 104A-104N may correspond to a plurality of JIB units functioning as respective frying vessels. Corresponding JIB units may contain different types of fryer, or any number of JIB units may contain the same fryer or a mixture of fryers. Any number of JIB units can be connected to the system 100 to act as a frying container. JIB units may have different sizes or volumes depending on the type of frying agent or other frying component contained in the JIB unit. The intended volume of such a fryer or frying component may be used, in part, to set the size or volume of a particular JIB unit. For example, a relatively large JIB unit may contain a base fryer that is intended to be used as a primary fryer. The second JIB unit may be smaller in size and may contain, for example, an additive for mixing with the frying material from the first JIB unit (eg, periodically or in another controlled manner). Typically, depending on the required mixture composition, any combination of JIB units with different JIB unit sizes can be supported.

As shown in FIG. 1, first and second oil sources 104A and 104N may be in fluid communication with manifold 134, for example, through respective valves 114A and 114N. The use of a single manifold 134 allows varying amounts of oil to be mixed, for example, in response to control signals provided by the controller to valves 114A and 114N. Alternatively or additionally, a mixing tank or other manifolds may be added, for example, to accommodate certain oil mixtures separately from the manifold 134 associated with the oil bath 108A. A valve may be located between manifold 134 and oil bath 108A to allow mixed oil to be added or dispensed to oil bath 108A without requiring valves 114A or 114N to be opened simultaneously.

In the system 100 shown in FIG. 1, one or more sensors may be included to provide data indicative of frying characteristics, such as collected by a sensor monitoring parameters of one or more mixing apparatuses (eg, manifold 134) or oil from oil bath 108A. For example, controller 102 may receive logged data from the sensor and, based at least in part on the logged data, determine a desired mixture of first fryer (e.g., from first oil source 104A) and second fryer (e.g., from second oil source 104N) to add to vat 108A for frying. This may include selectively delivering a desired mixture of the first fryer from the first fryer source 104A and the second fryer from the second fryer source 104N to the fryer via manifold 134.

The characteristics of the edible oil used in the frying apparatus 130A can be monitored by an oil temperature sensor 112 (eg, a temperature transmitter) or an oil level sensor 110 (eg, a level transmitter). Oil temperature sensor 112 and oil level sensor 110 may be communicatively coupled to controller 102 so as to regulate one or more of oil level or oil temperature associated with oil bath 108A, for example, using controller 102 or a separate controller . Such temperature or level monitoring can also be used to obtain data indicating duration of application at a particular temperature or volume loss to assist in controlling the dosing of a particular oil mixture in accordance with such attribute data.

As discussed elsewhere herein, one or more of the other characteristics of the edible oil used in the fryer 130A may be monitored. For example, in one approach, pass-fail tracking can be accomplished using chemical test strips or a portable electronic testing device, for example, to provide an indication of one or more oil characteristics indicative of oil degradation. Such test strips or portable electronic device may provide a value that can be manually compared with the limit value, and based on such comparison, the edible oil placed in the oil bath 108A may be filtered or replaced, for example, by using a specific mixture of oils obtained from the first and second sources of 104A and 104N oils.

Typically, the system 100 shown in FIG. 1 may provide a semi-automated or fully automated control scheme for the application of edible oil used in the frying apparatus 130A, including point-of-use mixing. For example, system 100 may include a sensor (eg, one or more of a measurement transmitter 124A for monitoring oil mixture parameters from manifold 132 or a measurement transmitter 124B for monitoring oil parameters from oil bath 108A). Meter transmitter 124A or meter transmitter 124B may be communicatively coupled to controller 102 or other parts of system 100, for example, to provide controller 102 with data indicative of the characteristics of edible oil used in fryer 130A.

As shown in FIG. 1, sensing transmitter 124B may be in fluid communication with oil bath 108, such as through a sensing loop powered by circulation pump 122. Other configurations may be employed, such as including sensing transmitter 124B as part of a filtration loop or placing sensing transmitter 124B in place direct observation of the oil in the 108A oil bath. As shown in FIG. 1, sensing transmitter 124A is configured to monitor the characteristics of the oil mixture produced by controller 102 from a mixing apparatus (e.g., a manifold), and sensing transmitter 124A may be located at another location, such as in fluid communication with a mixing vessel or other collector.

Controller 102 may implement oil application control circuitry, for example, using information received by meter transmitters 124A or 124B, as well as one or more other attributes (such as oil level, oil temperature, oil level or temperature trends, or attribute information relating to past, present or future transactions).

The various elements of the system 100 may be connected to each other to communicate, for example, via a wired or wireless communication link. Wireless communications may be established in accordance with a wireless communications standard such as Bluetooth® (e.g. Bluetooth® Low Energy (BLE), as described in the Bluetooth Core Specification version 5.0 published on December 6, 2016 by the Bluetooth® Interest Group. Kirkland, Washington, USA) or in accordance with one or more other standards (for example, by way of illustrative examples, the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 family of standards known as Wi-Fi®, mobile communications standards, for example, those related to 4G / Long Term Evolution (LTE) standards or the IEEE 802.15.4 family of standards). The controller 102 may be communicatively coupled with other parts of the system 100, such as a data processing system 120 (eg, as illustrative examples, a local server or centralized local management system, or a remote system such as a cloud-based management system). Data processing system 120 may be used to obtain information about attributes relating to past, current, or future transactions.

In another example, such as the illustrative example in FIG. 1, controller 102 may be communicatively coupled to one or more valves, such as fresh oil supply valves 114A through 114N or oil drain valve 116. Controller 102 may open one or more oil supply valves 114A through 114N or oil drain valve 116 in a controlled manner, such as in response to measurement data provided by sensors such as meter transmitters 124A or 124B, or in response to other triggers such as an indicator stability or oil degradation. Such an indicator may indicate the current condition of the oil in the oil bath 108A or a predicted future condition.

Oil sources 104A-104N, such as fresh oil containers including corresponding JIB units or groups of JIB units, can be monitored using corresponding level sensors 126A-126N. Likewise, the level of used oil 106 can be monitored using level sensor 128 . One or more of the following: level sensors 126A-126N or level sensor 128 may be communicatively coupled to controller 102 or data processing system 120.

In response to one or more of the following: recorded information, obtained oil stability or degradation indicators, or predicted future indicators, the data processing system 120 or other parts of the system 100 may initiate replenishment of oil sources 104A-104N, disposal of used oil 106, or both. and other. For example, in response to such tracking or such forecast, a request or dispatch of rolling stock 132 for oil supply or disposal may be initiated. As an illustrative example, if the obtained or predicted oil consumption is trending upward, the data processing system 120 may generate or adjust a forecast of fresh oil demand or waste oil generation for use in scheduling or dispatching rolling stock for oil replenishment or resource disposal. In an example, historical data such as time of day, time of month, time of year, holidays or time relative to holidays, or seasonal information may be provided as attribute information, or such information may be included regarding other oil degradation attributes for future application, for example to provide predictive capabilities for controller 102.

Attribute information in addition to logged information provided by measurement transmitters 124A or 124B may be stored in controller 102. Such attribute information may be received from one or more operator interfaces (e.g., client machines 118A or 118N, such as computers, tablets , laptops or fixed operator terminals having a display and an input device). As described below in FIG. 2, the attribute information may include specific attribute data related to the oil (eg, temperature, volume), fryer 130, food attributes, storage attributes, or operator attributes. The data processing system 120 may implement an advanced analysis or control circuit, and the controller 102 may be configured to implement a simplified control circuit setup for use in controlling edible oil in the fryer 130A.

According to various examples, controller 102 may initiate actions that require operator intervention (e.g., provide notifications regarding one or more of the following: adding oil to the fry vat or replenishing JIB units, removing oil from the oil vat or oil sources 104A through 104N, filtering the oil in the vat 108A, or changing the oil in the vat 108A, or preventing the use (eg, blocking) of the fryer), or the controller 102 may automatically perform one or more such actions. In one example, as described elsewhere herein, controller 102 may modify one or more operating conditions, for example, to maintain oil quality in frying tank 108A, for example, in a closed-loop mode (e.g., in real time or near real time). The use of the phrase "real time" does not require a millisecond level response time and generally refers to the use of a closed-loop circuit in which one or more sensors, such as meter transmitters 124A or 124B, provide data indicative of an oil characteristic, which is then used to initiating one or more of the above actions, at least including supplying a certain mixture of oils to the oil bath 108A.

As mentioned above, the levels of the first and second oil sources 104A and 104N may be communicatively coupled to an oil inventory management system (eg, provided by data processing system 120). Such an inventory management system may receive information indicating the amount of oil consumed, a change in volume, or an expected demand, or such a system may be used to identify the context of an oil order based on various parameters, and in response, the system 120 may automatically initiate an order for replenishment of oil containers or consolidation one or more additional oil containers. Depending on the volume and context, one or more containers may be ordered with one or more types of fryers, while other containers with other types of fryers may have sufficient volume or margin so that the system 120 does not trigger an order for such fryers. Likewise, as mentioned above, system 120 may initiate a message to collect recycled oil (eg, waste oil 106). System 120 may also monitor attributes of the recycled oil to determine the potential value of the used oil.

The topology of the system 100 facilitates the collection of data and the preparation of analytics to support tracking or reporting. For example, the reporting capability of the data processing system 120 (or clients of such a system) facilitates the creation of reports on various roasting system performance attributes representing specific activities or general aggregate data. The following are examples of performance attributes and reporting metrics that may be provided, but are only examples and do not limit the reporting capabilities of the present subject matter, namely: cost savings, quality control, food uniformity, food to oil ratio, oil blend application, historical oil blend data, proactive planning, fryer specific reports, peer-to-peer comparisons, regional or brand comparisons, system-wide or global reports, aggregated industry peer data, multi-oil supplier comparisons, customer segmentation, oil disposal points , volume of oil used, volume of oil recovered, oil credits used, interconnected data systems between roasting locations served by a central warehouse or distribution system, or other parameters.

In fig. 2 generally provides an example comprising control circuitry 200, for example, for controlling the use of edible oil in frying operations, and, in particular, for controlling the mixing of edible oils, for example, at the point of application. The present inventors recognize that the open-loop or go/fail tracking schemes mentioned above can create various problems, such as inconsistent frying quality or inefficient use or management of edible oil inventories. For example, using an open-loop design may result in unnecessary waste if, due to regulatory or food quality constraints, oil changes are made more frequently than necessary (for example, if the design is overly conservative). In another example, an open-loop design may result in inconsistent results as the edible oil undergoes a broader sequence of degradation spectrum, spanning the quality range from new (e.g., unused) oil to oil that is not in optimal condition (e.g., due for replacement or approaching to that).

The use of fresh (e.g., unused) oil does not necessarily result in a fried food product having the highest sensory quality when evaluating that food product according to more subjective indicators such as taste, aroma, texture (e.g., mouthfeel), etc. To solve various problems mentioned above, the inventors of the present invention have developed an oil mixing circuit that can be used to provide feedback control of oil mixing from two or more oil sources. Such control may include a first circuit operative to provide logged oil characteristic data provided by one or more first sensors 224A. Such sensors 224A may detect an oil characteristic indicative of the condition, stability, or degradation of the oil.

Mixing controller 270 (eg, included as part of a centralized local control system or a controller associated with an individual frying system or group of frying systems) may provide control of frying system 230, such as those shown and described with reference to FIG. 1. For example, such control may include controlling one or more valves to introduce new oil into the frying bath, such as controlling one or more valves to supply a specific mixture of oils, defined by volumetric or mass proportions, from two or more respective oil sources . Thus, the mixing controller 270 can create or maintain a fry within the desired range of parameters. Typically, the purpose of such mixing control may include one or more of cost reduction, food quality optimization, food-specific optimization, cost and quality optimization, fryer life optimization, volume-specific optimization.

One or more other sensors 224B may provide another control loop, such as sensors providing data indicative of bath level, bath temperature, waste oil container level, oil source level, or other parameters. The blend controller 270 may respond to one or more inputs 280 from the user, such as manually selecting a blend composition, manually initiating oil release, filtering oil, or topping up the contents of a frying bath included as part of the frying system 230. The blend controller 270 may also produce a specific oil blend in response to historical data 262, such as the nature of previous needs, or other attribute data 264. Such historical data 262 may include data indicating oil or frying needs according to timing parameters such as time of day, time of week, time of month, time of year, or seasonal variations. Such a need may include data indicating the volume of oil consumed, butter containers consumed (e.g., number of JIB units), relative or absolute data indicating the types of foods being prepared, or the number of basket dips (or an alternative measure for such dips). such as temperature fluctuations) according to such timing parameters. Other attributes or contextual parameters may be used as input to mix controller 270, such as the duration since the last oil change, the duration since the last oil filter, or the duration since the last fryer cleaning. As illustrative examples, other contextual attribute data 264 may include detecting or obtaining information indicative of quiet periods, peak periods, predicted quiet periods, predicted peak periods, post-peak periods, cleaning preparation times, empty bath conditions, conditions of small bath volume, etc.

As an illustrative example, the mixing controller 270 may operate in a closed-loop mode to maintain frying stability in the frying bath of the frying system 230. One or more first sensors 224A may measure a frying oil parameter in the frying bath and associate the detected oil parameter with a stability attribute or determine such a stability attribute value based on the detected oil parameter. One or more frying vessels may then be used to create a mixture to be delivered to the frying bath to maintain or improve a certain stability attribute. One or more first sensors 224A or one or more second sensors 224B may be used to obtain data indicative of attributes of frying in the frying pan or frying from one or more frying vessels.

In fig. 3 substantially depicts a technique 300, such as a method including obtaining, at step 305, data indicative of a fryer's characteristics as measured by a sensor, and in response, at step 330, producing a specific mixture of fryers, for example, at the point of application. The technique 300 may be automatic, or certain tasks may be automated, such as operations related to collecting data indicative of frying characteristics. As such, the technique 300 may include the use of the circuit 200 shown in FIG. 2, for example, in relation to the system 100 shown in FIG. 1, or its variants. The sensor may include any sensor described in connection with the examples mentioned elsewhere in this document. At step 320, the method may optionally include obtaining an oil blend composition selection result or automatically selecting a blend composition, for example, in response to one or more criteria, as discussed above with respect to the control circuit 200 depicted in FIG. 2 (eg, in response to logged information, user input, historical data, or other attribute data indicative of the context of use of the roasting system).

At step 330, formation of the defined mixture may include one or more of a controlled delivery 310 of a first oil from a first container (e.g., powered by one or more JIB units) or a controlled delivery 315 of a second oil from a second container (e.g., powered by one or more other JIB units). The first and second oils may differ from each other. Controlling oil delivery may include opening or closing one or more valves, partially opening one or more valves, or controlling the duration of opening of one or more valves. Optionally, at step 325, the composition of the oil mixture can be monitored using a sensor that is similar to the sensor used at step 305, or that includes a different type of sensor. Such control can be used to facilitate blending control or to collect data for use in other aspects of the system, such as reporting or replenishment. In an illustrative example, technique 300 may be used to facilitate the addition or dispensing of oil to a frying bath in a frying system. Since deep frying in a deep frying tank is used to cook food, some of the deep frying volume is removed along with the cooked food product, resulting in the loss of some deep frying volume. Topping up may be performed to restore oil volume, the topping up being done from one or more oil containers. The present invention may include a volume or mass measurement system that can be used at least in part to automatically initiate refilling. The control circuit may include initiating or controlling a top-up operation resulting in the addition of a predetermined volume of a specified mixture of oils to the frying bath. A particular oil blend may be selected in response to one or more recorded parameters or other attribute data, as described in connection with other examples herein.

In fig. 4, a methodology 400 is generally presented, such as a method including obtaining, at 405, data indicative of a fryer characteristic as measured by a sensor, obtaining, at a step 410, the attribute data, and in response, at a step 415, determining, at a step 415, the composition of the fryer mixture. Attribute data may include other logged information such as the number of basket dips, visual display systems observing the development of color changes, floating solids, frequency of oil surface scraping, or other contextual information related to the frying operation, as shown and described in connection with with other examples in this document. At step 415, in response to one or more of the received data received at step 405 or the attribute data received at step 410, a specific oil blend composition (eg, generated dynamically or selected from among predetermined options) may be determined. At step 420, a specific mixture composition may be used to control the delivery of oil from two or more containers to form the desired oil mixture. The parameters of the required mixture can be specified based on the characteristics of the oil in the oil bath or the characteristics of the mixture from the manifold or mixing vessel before mixing with the oil in the oil bath. A specific mixture composition may be created or maintained through other operations, such as releasing oil from the frying bath at step 425, initiating oil filtration at step 430, or initiating replenishment of oil containers (e.g., JIB units or other containers) at step 440.

In fig. 5 is a block diagram of an example comprising a machine 500 on which one or more of the techniques (eg, methodologies) described herein may be performed, such as the controller 102 depicted in FIG. 1, the data processing system 120 shown in FIG. 1, or the mixing controller 270 shown in FIG. 2. The machine 500 may be an integral part of the elements shown in the system 100 in FIG. 1. In various examples, machine 500 may operate as a standalone device or may be connected (eg, over a network) to other machines. When deployed in a network, machine 500 may function as a server machine, a client machine, or both machines in server-client network environments. In one example, machine 500 may act as a peer machine in a peer-to-peer (P2P) (or other distributed) network environment. Machine 500 may be a personal computer (PC), tablet device, personal digital assistant (PDA), mobile phone, web device, network router, switch or bridge, handheld (e.g., handheld) spectrometer, for example, with a microprocessor or microcontroller , or any machine configured to execute instructions (sequentially or otherwise) specifying actions to be performed by that machine. Additionally, although only one machine is illustrated, the term “machine” should also be understood to include any group of machines that individually or collectively execute a set (or multiple sets) of instructions to perform any one or more of the methodologies described herein, such like cloud computing, software as a service (SaaS), and other computer cluster configurations.

The examples described herein may include or operate on logic or a number of components or mechanisms. The term "circuit" essentially refers to a collection of circuits implemented in tangible objects that include hardware (eg, simple circuits, gates, logic gates, etc.). The composition of the circuit can be flexible depending on time and due to the possibility of hardware changes. Circuits include elements that can, individually or in combination, perform specific operations during operation. In an example, the circuit hardware may be immutably designed to perform a specific operation (eg, programmed). In one example, the hardware comprising the circuit may include variably coupled physical components (e.g., execution units, transistors, simple circuits, etc.), including computer-readable media, physically changeable (e.g., magnetically, electrically, e.g., by changing a physical state or transforming another physical characteristic, etc.) to encode commands for a specific operation.

When connecting physical components, the basic electrical properties of a hardware component can be changed, for example, from an insulating characteristic to a conductive characteristic or vice versa. Instructions allow embedded hardware (such as execution units or boot engines) to create circuit elements in the hardware through variable connections to perform parts of a particular operation at runtime. Accordingly, during operation of the device, the computer-readable medium is communicatively coupled with other circuit components. In an example, any of the physical components may be used in more than one element of more than one circuit. For example, in operation, the execution units may be used in a first circuit of a first circuit at one point in time and reused by a second circuit in the first circuit or a third circuit in a second circuit at another point in time.

Machine (e.g., computer system) 500 may include a hardware processor 502 (e.g., a central processing unit (CPU), a graphics processing unit (GPU), a hardware processor core, or any combination thereof), a main storage device 504, and a static storage device 506, some or all of which can communicate with each other over communication link 508 (eg, a bus). The machine 500 may further include a display unit 510, an alphanumeric input device 512 (eg, a keyboard), and a user interface (UI) navigation device 514 (eg, a mouse). In an example, display unit 510, input device 512, and navigation UI device 514 may be a touch display. The machine 500 may further include a data storage device 516 (e.g., a drive unit), a signal generating device 518 (e.g., a speaker), a network interface device 520, and one or more sensors 521, such as a global positioning system (GPS) sensor, a compass , accelerometer or other sensor. Machine 500 may include an output controller 528, such as a serial (e.g., universal serial bus (USB), parallel, or other wired or wireless (e.g., infrared (IR), near field communication (NFC), etc.) connection to communicate with or control one or more peripheral devices (such as a printer, card reader, etc.).

Storage device 516 may include computer-readable media 522 on which one or more sets of data structures or instructions 524 (eg, software) implementing or used by any one or more of the techniques or functions described herein are stored. Instructions 524 may also reside in whole or at least in part in main storage 504, static storage 506, or hardware processor 502 when executed by machine 500. In an example, one or any combination of hardware processor 502, main storage 504, static memory device 506 or data storage device 516 may be a computer-readable medium.

Although computer-readable media 522 is illustrated as a single media, the term “computer-readable media” may include a single media or a plurality of media (e.g., a centralized or distributed database and/or associated caches and servers) configured to store one or more instructions 524 .

The term "machine-readable medium" may include any medium configured to store, encode, or carry instructions for execution by machine 500, and by causing machine 500 to perform one or more of the techniques of the present disclosure, or configured to store, encode, or transfer of data structures used with or associated with such commands. Non-limiting examples of computer readable media may include solid state storage devices, as well as optical and magnetic media. Accordingly, computer-readable media are not transient propagated signals. Specific examples of mass-produced computer-readable media may include: non-volatile storage device such as semiconductor storage devices (eg, electrically programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM)) and flash memory devices; magnetic or other memory circuits with a change in phase transition or change of state; magnetic disks such as internal hard drives and removable drives; magneto-optical disks; and CD-ROMs and DVD-ROMs.

Commands 524 may optionally be sent or received over a communications network 526 using a transmission medium through a network interface device 520 using any of a variety of communications protocols (e.g., Frame Relay Protocol, Internet Protocol (IP), Transmission Control Protocol (TCP), user datagrams (UDP), hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP), etc.). Examples of data networks may include a local area network (LAN), a wide area network (WAN), a packet data network (e.g., the Internet), mobile telephone networks (e.g., cellular networks, for example, conforming to one or more standards , such as the 4G or 5G standard or the Long Term Evolution (LTE) standard). traditional telephone service (POTS) networks and wireless data networks (such as the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 family of standards known as Wi-Fi®, IEEE 802.15.4 peer-to-peer (P2P) family of standards, among others) In one example, network interface device 520 may include one or more physical connectors (e.g., Ethernet, coaxial, or telephone connectors) or one or more antennas for connecting to a data network 526. In one example, network interface device 520 may include includes a plurality of antennas for wireless communication using at least one of single input multiple output (SIMO), multiple input multiple output (MIMO), or multiple input single output (MISO) technologies. " includes any intangible medium configured to store, encode, or carry instructions for execution by machine 500, and includes digital or analog communications signals or other intangible media to facilitate transmission of such software.

Miscellaneous Notes

Each of the non-limiting aspects provided herein may be valid on its own or may be combined in various permutations or combinations with one or more other aspects or other subject matter described herein.

The foregoing detailed description includes reference to the accompanying drawings, which form part of the detailed description. The drawings show by way of illustration specific embodiments in which the invention may be practiced. These embodiments are also generally referred to as "examples". Such examples may include elements in addition to those shown or described. However, the inventors of the present invention also consider examples that present only those elements that are shown or described. Moreover, the present inventors also contemplate examples using any combination or permutation of the elements shown or described (or one or more aspects thereof), either with respect to a particular example (or one or more aspects thereof) or with respect to other examples (or one or more more aspects thereof) shown or described herein.

In the event of conflicting applications between this document and any documents incorporated by reference herein, the application in this document controls.

As used herein, the singular terms are used as commonly used in patent documents and include one or more than one, notwithstanding any other occurrence or use of the expressions “at least one” or “one or more.” As used herein, the term "or" is used to mean "without limitation, or", so that "A or B" includes "A but not B", "B but not A", and "A and B" if not specified otherwise. In this document, the terms “including” and “in which” are used as simple English equivalents of the corresponding terms “comprising” and “in which”. Additionally, in the following listed aspects, the terms “including” and “comprising” are non-limiting, i.e., a system, device, article, composition, composition or process that includes elements in addition to those listed after such term in the numbered aspect are still considered to fall within the scope of this claim. Moreover, in the subsequent numbered aspects, the terms "first", "second" and "third", etc., are used only as labels and are not intended to impose quantitative requirements on their subjects.

The method examples described herein may be at least partially implemented in hardware or on a computer. Some examples may include computer-readable media or computer-readable media encoded in instructions operable to configure an electronic device to perform the methods described in the above examples. An embodiment of such methods may include code such as microcode, assembly language code, higher level language code, or the like. Such code may include machine-readable instructions to perform various methods. Code may form fragments of computer software products. In an example, the code may further be physically stored on one or more volatile, non-transitory, or non-volatile, tangible computer-readable media, such as during execution or other times. Examples of these tangible computer-readable media may include, but are not limited to, hard disks, removable magnetic disks, removable optical disks (such as compact discs and digital video discs), magnetic cassettes, memory cards or flash drives, random access memory (RAM), read-only memory devices. storage devices (ROM), etc.

The above description is illustrative and not restrictive. For example, the examples described above (or one or more aspects thereof) can be used in combination with each other. Other embodiments may be utilized by one of ordinary skill in the art, for example, upon examination of the above description. An abstract is provided to enable the reader to quickly determine the nature of the technical description. The abstract is provided with the understanding that it will not be used to interpret or limit the scope or meaning of the claims. Moreover, in the above detailed description, various features may be grouped together for ease of description. The description should not be construed as an indication that an unstated described feature is essential to any claim. On the contrary, the subject matter of the invention having its features may consist of less than all the features of the particular embodiment described. Thus, the following aspects are included herein in the detailed description as examples or embodiments, each item being valid on its own as a separate embodiment, and it is contemplated that such embodiments may be combined with each other in various combinations or permutations. Therefore, the scope of the various embodiments should be determined by reference to the enclosed numbered aspects together with the full scope of equivalents to which such aspects apply.

Claims (28)

1. Deep frying system containing: a frying bath containing deep fat in the frying bath; a plurality of frying containers containing at least a first frying material in the first frying container and a second frying material in the second frying container, each of the plurality of frying containers being configured to selectively deliver frying material to the frying bath; a sensor configured to obtain measurement information related to one or more attributes of frying in the frying bath; And a control system configured to receive measurement information from the sensor, and to determine, based on said measurement information, a desired mixture of the first fryer and a second fryer to be added to the frying bath, and selectively deliver the desired mixture of the first fryer from the first fryer vessel; and of the second fryer from the second frying vessel into the frying bath. 2. The deep frying system according to claim 1, characterized in that the control system is separate from the frying bath. 3. Deep frying system according to any one of paragraphs. 1 and 2, characterized in that the control system is located at the place of work and is common to a plurality of frying baths. 4. The deep frying system according to claim 3, characterized in that the control system is configured to form appropriate mixtures among a plurality of frying baths. 5. Deep frying system according to claim 4, characterized in that the respective mixtures include at least two different mixtures. 6. Deep frying system according to any one of paragraphs. 4 and 5, characterized in that the respective mixtures are formed at least in part in response to received data indicating at least one attribute from a list including the following: time of day, time of week, time of month, time of year, period of time since the fryer was last changed, the period of time since the fryer was last filtered, or the period of time since the fryer was last cleaned. 7. Deep frying system according to any one of paragraphs. 4-6, wherein the respective mixtures are formed at least in part in response to received data indicating at least one attribute from a list including the following: time of day, time of week, time of month, time of year, time period since the fryer was last changed, the period of time since the fryer was last filtered, or the period of time since the fryer was last cleaned. 8. Deep frying system according to any one of paragraphs. 1-7, containing another sensor for measuring the characteristics of the mixture from the mixing apparatus. 9. A method of controlling the delivery of edible oil from two or more containers to a frying bath, the method comprising: obtaining data indicative of the characteristics of the fryer in the frying bath as measured by the sensor; in response to data indicative of the characteristic, controlling delivery of a first oil from a first container of the two or more containers, and controlling delivery of a second oil from a second container of the two or more containers to adjust the characteristic using the first oil and the second oil to form a specific mixture. 10. The method of claim 9, comprising obtaining data indicative of the frying characteristics of the frying bath after delivery of at least one of the first oil from the first container or the second oil from the second container. 11. Method according to any one of paragraphs. 9 and 10, including obtaining data indicative of the characteristics of a mixture of the first oil from the first container and the second oil from the second container. 12. The method according to claim 11, characterized in that obtaining data indicative of the characteristics of the mixture includes measuring the characteristics of the mixture from the mixing apparatus. 13. The method according to claim 11, characterized in that the sensor used to monitor the characteristics of the fryer in the frying bath is separate from the sensor used to monitor the characteristics of the mixture from the mixing apparatus. 14. Method according to any one of paragraphs. 9-13, characterized in that controlling the delivery of a first oil from a first container of two or more containers and controlling the delivery of a second oil from a second container of two or more containers to adjust the characteristic include receiving input data from a user. 15. The method of claim 14, wherein the input from the user includes input that initiates adding oil to the frying bath. 16. Method according to any one of paragraphs. 14 and 15, wherein the input from the user includes input that causes the edible oil to be released from the frying bath. 17. Method according to any one of paragraphs. 14-16, characterized in that the input data from the user includes input data for selecting the type of food product to be fried; And wherein controlling the delivery of the first oil and controlling the delivery of the second oil include selecting a mixture composition appropriate to the selected type of food product. 18. Method according to any one of paragraphs. 9-17, characterized in that controlling the delivery of a first oil from a first container of two or more containers and controlling the delivery of a second oil from a second container of two or more containers to adjust the characteristic includes automatically initiating delivery of at least one of the first oil or of the second oil into the frying bath. 19. Method according to any one of paragraphs. 9-18, characterized in that controlling the delivery of the first oil and the second oil includes determining the composition of the mixture in response to at least one attribute from a list including the following: time of day, time of week, time of month, time of year, period time since the last oil change, the period of time since the oil was last filtered, or the period of time since the fryer was last cleaned. 20. Method according to any one of paragraphs. 9-19, wherein controlling the delivery of the first oil and the second oil includes determining the composition of the mixture in response to at least an attribute from a list including the following: temperature, number of basket dips, or number of filtration operations. 21. Method according to any one of paragraphs. 9-20, including releasing oil from the frying bath at least in part in response to data indicative of a frying characteristic or mixture characteristic.