JP7787038B2 - Fryer and method for controlling the same - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a fryer and a method for controlling a fryer.

Conventionally, some fryers are equipped with an automatic oil supply system that adds new frying oil (cooking oil) to an oil tank (fry vat) (see Patent Document 1). This fryer includes an oil tank that stores frying oil, an oil level sensor that detects the oil level in the oil tank, and a pump that delivers frying oil from the oil container to the oil tank. In this fryer, whenever the oil level sensor detects that the oil level in the oil tank has dropped by a predetermined amount, the pump is activated to deliver frying oil to the oil tank. In this way, frying oil can be automatically replenished in the oil tank.

Patent No. 5340962

However, with conventional fryers, the frying oil is replenished during the frying process in the oil tank, which poses the risk of oil splashing onto the worker's arms or face during the oil replenishment process, and also creates the problem of reduced cooking accuracy of fried foods due to the temperature of the frying oil dropping during the oil replenishment process.

The present invention therefore aims to provide a fryer and a method for controlling a fryer that can prevent defects caused by oil replenishment during frying operations.

To achieve the above-mentioned objectives, the present invention provides a fryer comprising an oil tank that stores frying oil and immerses food in the oil for frying, and an oil replenishment processing means, wherein the oil replenishment processing means comprises an oil supply unit that performs the oil replenishment process by replenishing the frying oil in the oil tank, an oil replenishment control unit that controls the oil replenishment unit, an oil amount determination unit that determines whether the amount of frying oil stored in the oil tank is equal to or less than a predetermined amount, and a frying operation determination unit that determines whether the frying operation is in progress using the oil tank, and wherein the oil replenishment control unit performs the oil replenishment process using the oil supply unit when the oil amount determination unit determines that the amount of oil is equal to or less than the predetermined amount and the frying operation determination unit determines that the frying operation is not in progress.

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the present invention also provides a method for controlling a fryer equipped with an oil tank that stores frying oil and immerses food in the oil for frying, and an oil supply unit that performs an oil supply process to replenish the oil in the oil tank, the method comprising: an oil amount determination step that determines whether the amount of frying oil stored in the oil tank is equal to or less than a predetermined amount; a frying operation determination step that determines whether the frying operation is currently being performed using the oil tank; and an oil supply step that performs the oil replenishment process using the oil supply unit if the oil amount determination step determines that the oil amount is equal to or less than the predetermined amount and the frying operation determination step determines that the frying operation is not currently being performed.

The fryer and fryer control method of the present invention can reduce defects caused by oil replenishment during frying operations.

1 is a configuration diagram showing a configuration example of a flyer according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing an oil maintenance operation. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a configuration example of a fryer according to a second embodiment. 10 is a flowchart showing an oil maintenance operation in the fryer of the second embodiment. 10 is a flowchart showing a first modified example of the oil maintenance operation in the fryer of the second embodiment. 10 is a flowchart showing a second modification of the oil maintenance operation in the fryer of the second embodiment. 10 is a flowchart showing a third modified example of the oil maintenance operation in the fryer of the second embodiment.

A fryer and a method for controlling a fryer according to one embodiment of the present invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. This fryer is a cooking device that performs frying operations by cooking fried foods using frying oil. In particular, this fryer is equipped with an automatic oil replenishment function that automatically replenishes frying oil in an oil tank, and employs control to prevent dangers and reduced cooking accuracy that may arise from the automatic oil replenishment function. Note that this embodiment is intended to cook fried foods such as tempura, French fries, and croquettes, and the fryer is intended to be installed in, for example, fried food specialty stores, convenience stores, fast food restaurants, etc.

[First embodiment]
(Flyer configuration)
As shown in FIG. 1 , the fryer 1 includes an oil tank 11 for storing frying oil and performing frying operations, a heater 12 for heating the frying oil stored in the oil tank 11, an oil supply unit 13 for replenishing the frying oil in the oil tank 11, an imaging unit 14 for imaging the oil surface of the frying oil stored in the oil tank 11, and a control unit 15 for controlling the heater 12 and the oil supply unit 13.

The oil tank 11 is disposed above the housing (not shown) and stores frying oil for frying. The oil tank 11 is also configured to allow a frying basket (not shown) into which fried foods are placed, as needed. The operator of the fryer 1 places the frying basket containing the fried foods into the oil tank 11, or places the foods directly into the oil tank 11, thereby placing the fried foods in the frying oil stored in the oil tank 11 and immersing them in the oil. The fried foods are cooked by immersing them in the frying oil heated by the heater 12. Hereinafter, the process of immersing fried foods in frying oil and cooking them will be referred to as the "frying process."

The heater 12 is a heating means that heats the frying oil stored in the oil tank 11 so that the temperature of the oil reaches a set temperature. The heater 12 may be installed in or on the outer wall of the oil tank 11. Alternatively, the heater 12 may be replaced by, for example, a gas burner, electromagnetic induction heating, or the like.

The oil supply unit 13 includes a frying oil tank 21 that stores frying oil to be supplied to the oil tank 11, a supply pipe 22 that supplies the frying oil stored in the frying oil tank 21 to the oil tank 11, and a supply pump 23 and a supply pipe on-off valve 24 that are arranged on the supply pipe 22. The nozzle of the supply pipe 22 is preferably arranged above the surface of the stored frying oil to prevent backflow. Furthermore, to prevent frying oil from splashing when the oil is being replenished, the nozzle of the supply pipe 22 is preferably installed within a few centimeters above the surface of the stored frying oil in the oil tank 11. However, if only the splashing of frying oil when the oil is being replenished is a consideration, the nozzle of the supply pipe 22 may be installed in the frying oil.

The supply pump 23 is a liquid transfer pump that transfers frying oil contained in the frying oil tank 21 to the oil vat 11, and the supply pipe on-off valve 24 is an electromagnetic valve located downstream of the supply pump 23 and opens and closes the supply pipe 22. The oil supply unit 13 supplies the frying oil contained in the frying oil tank 21 to the oil vat 11 by driving the supply pump 23 with the supply pipe on-off valve 24 open. This completes the oil supply process of replenishing the oil vat 11 with frying oil. Note that, while this embodiment is configured to supply frying oil to the oil vat 11 using the pressure of the supply pump 23, it may also be configured to position the frying oil tank 21 higher than the oil vat 11 and supply frying oil to the oil vat 11 using hydraulic head pressure.

The imaging unit 14 is composed of a CCD camera, CMOS camera, or the like, and captures an image of the oil level in the oil vat 11 from diagonally above the oil vat 11. As will be described in detail later, the image captured by the imaging unit 14 is used to determine the amount of frying oil stored in the oil vat 11, as well as to determine whether frying is currently being performed in the oil vat 11.

The control unit 15 is composed of a CPU (Central Processing Unit), RAM (Random Access Memory), ROM (Read Only Memory), flash ROM, etc., and controls the heater 12 and oil supply unit 13 (the supply pump 23 and supply pipe opening/closing valve 24). The control unit 15 also executes a predetermined program to function as an oil level determination unit 31, a frying operation determination unit 32, and an oil supply control unit 33. In the present fryer 1, the oil level determination unit 31, the frying operation determination unit 32, and the oil supply control unit 33, along with the oil supply unit 13 and the imaging unit 14, constitute an automatic oil supply function (automatic oil addition function) that automatically replenishes the oil tank 11 with the amount of frying oil absorbed by the fried food during the frying operation. The oil supply processing means is composed of the oil supply unit 13, the oil level determination unit 31, the frying operation determination unit 32, and the oil supply control unit 33.

The oil level determination unit 31 analyzes the image capture results from the imaging unit 14 to determine whether the amount of frying oil stored in the oil vat 11 is equal to or less than a first oil level (predetermined oil level), which corresponds to a reduced-liquid state. That is, by determining whether the oil level is equal to or less than the first oil level, the oil level determination unit 31 determines whether the frying oil is in a reduced-liquid state. Specifically, for example, the image capture results from the imaging unit 14 are analyzed to obtain the oil level (height of the oil surface) of the frying oil stored in the oil vat 11, and the determination is made by comparing the oil level with the first oil level. Note that, while the present embodiment is configured to determine the oil level by analyzing the image capture results from the imaging unit 14, this is not limiting. The oil level may also be determined based on, for example, the detection results of a weight sensor, the measurement results of an oil level meter, or the detection results of an oil level sensor, as will be described in more detail below. That is, the "amount of frying oil" determined by the oil level determination unit 31 is not limited to the oil level of the frying oil, but may also be, for example, the weight of the frying oil. In the following, the amount of frying oil stored in the oil tank 11 will be simply referred to as the "amount of oil in the oil tank 11."

The frying operation determination unit 32 analyzes the image capture results from the imaging unit 14 to determine whether frying is currently being performed in the oil vat 11. Specifically, for example, the imaging unit 14 analyzes the image capture results to determine whether a fried food has been added. If a fried food has been added to the frying oil stored in the oil vat 11, the unit determines that frying is currently being performed in the oil vat 11. If no fried food has been added to the frying oil stored in the oil vat 11, the unit determines that frying is currently being performed in the oil vat 11. The determination of whether a fried food has been added may be made, for example, by acquiring the time when the fried food is added and the time when the fried food is removed, and making the determination based on these, or by determining whether bubbles are generated from the added fried food. Note that in this embodiment, the unit analyzes the image capture results from the imaging unit 14 to determine whether frying is currently being performed, but this is not limiting. As will be described in more detail below, the unit may also determine whether frying is currently being performed based on, for example, the detection results of a weight sensor, a sound sensor, a vibration sensor, the operation results of the operation panel, a cooking schedule, or the like.

The oil replenishment control unit 33 performs the oil replenishment process based on the determination results of the oil level determination unit 31 and the frying operation determination unit 32. That is, when the oil level determination unit 31 determines that the amount of oil in the oil tank 11 is equal to or less than the first oil level and the frying operation determination unit 32 determines that frying operation is not currently being performed in the oil tank 11, it controls the replenishment pump 23 and replenishment pipe opening/closing valve 24 of the oil supply unit 13, and the oil replenishment process is performed by the oil supply unit 13. In this way, when the amount of oil in the oil tank 11 has decreased to or less than the first oil level, the oil replenishment process is performed only when frying operation is not currently being performed, thereby preventing the oil replenishment process from being performed during frying operation.

Furthermore, in the oil replenishment process, frying oil is replenished until the amount of frying oil stored in the oil vat 11 reaches or exceeds a second oil amount, which corresponds to a full liquid state. That is, the replenishment pump 23 is driven while the replenishment pipe on-off valve 24 is open, and frying oil is replenished to the oil vat 11 until the image capture by the image capture unit 14 determines that the amount of oil in the oil vat 11 has reached or exceeds the second oil amount. The second oil amount is greater than the first oil amount. Note that the first oil amount and the second oil amount may be the same. Furthermore, instead of replenishing frying oil until the amount of frying oil stored in the oil vat 11 reaches or exceeds the second oil amount, a fixed amount of frying oil may be replenished.

(Oil maintenance operation)
2, the oil maintenance operation performed by control unit 15 will be described. This oil maintenance operation is performed at regular intervals (e.g., every second) while fryer 1 is running, and monitors the state of frying oil stored in oil vat 11 and maintains the state of the frying oil. In this embodiment, the amount of oil in oil vat 11 is monitored, and the amount of oil in oil vat 11 is kept equal to or greater than the first oil amount. The oil maintenance operation is an example of a method of controlling fryer 1.

As shown in FIG. 2, in the oil maintenance operation, the control unit 15 first determines whether the current oil level in the oil tank 11 is equal to or less than the first oil level (S1) (oil level determination process) using the oil level determination unit 31. For example, the control unit 15 analyzes the image capture results from the image capture unit 14 to determine whether the oil level in the oil tank 11 is equal to or less than the first oil level. If the determination result indicates that the oil level in the oil tank 11 is not equal to or less than the first oil level (S1: No), the oil maintenance operation is terminated.

On the other hand, if it is determined that the amount of oil in the oil vat 11 is equal to or less than the first oil amount (S1: Yes), the frying operation determination unit 32 determines whether frying is currently being performed in the oil vat 11 (S2) (frying operation determination process). For example, the image capture results from the image capture unit 14 are analyzed to determine whether frying is currently being performed in the oil vat 11. If it is determined that frying is currently being performed in the oil vat 11 (S2: Yes), the oil maintenance operation is terminated without performing the oil replenishment process.

If it is determined that the amount of oil in the oil vat 11 is equal to or less than the first oil amount (S1: Yes) and it is determined that frying operations using the oil vat 11 are not currently being performed (S2: No), the oil replenishment control unit 33 performs an oil replenishment process (S3) (oil replenishment process). That is, frying oil is replenished into the oil vat 11 until the amount of oil in the oil vat 11 reaches the second oil amount. This completes the oil maintenance operation. In this manner, the oil replenishment process is performed automatically. As a result, the amount of frying oil absorbed by the fried food is automatically replenished into the oil vat 11. Furthermore, even if the frying oil in the oil vat 11 is discarded and the oil vat 11 is empty, frying oil is automatically replenished up to the second oil amount. Furthermore, because new frying oil is periodically replenished into the oil vat 11, the tocopherol in the new frying oil enhances the antioxidant function of the frying oil stored in the oil vat 11, thereby suppressing deterioration of the frying oil.

Second Embodiment
3 and 4, a fryer 1A according to a second embodiment will be described, focusing on only the differences from the first embodiment. The fryer 1A according to the second embodiment has an automatic oil change function and an automatic oil filtering function in addition to an automatic oil supply function.

(Configuration of the flyer of the second embodiment)
For example, as shown in FIG. 3 , the fryer 1A of the second embodiment includes, in addition to the components shown in FIG. 1 , a waste oil section 41 for disposing of frying oil stored in the oil tank 11, and a filtration section 42 for filtering the frying oil stored in the oil tank 11.

The waste oil section 41 has a waste oil pipe 51 that discards the frying oil stored in the oil tank 11, and a waste oil pipe on-off valve 52 arranged in the waste oil pipe 51. The waste oil pipe on-off valve 52 is an electromagnetic valve that opens and closes the waste oil pipe 51. In the waste oil section 41, waste oil processing is performed by disposing of the frying oil stored in the oil tank 11 by opening the waste oil pipe on-off valve 52.

The filtration section 42 includes a filter 61 that filters fried food debris from the frying oil, a filtration pipe 62 that circulates the frying oil through the filter 61, and a filtration pump 63 and a filtration pipe on-off valve 64 that are disposed in the filtration pipe 62. The nozzle of the filtration pipe 62 is disposed above the surface of the frying oil stored in the oil tank 11.

The filtration pump 63 is disposed upstream or downstream of the filtration filter 61 and is a liquid feed pump that feeds frying oil stored in the oil tank 11 to the filtration filter 61 and also feeds frying oil that has passed through the filtration filter 61 back to the oil tank 11. The filtration pipe on-off valve 64 is disposed upstream of the filtration filter 61 and is an electromagnetic valve that opens and closes the filtration pipe 62. In the filtration unit 42, the filtration pipe on-off valve 64 is opened while the filtration pump 63 is driven, thereby feeding the frying oil stored in the oil tank 11 to the filtration filter 61, where it passes through the filtration filter 61 and is then fed to the oil tank 11. This performs a filtration process to filter out fried food debris from the frying oil. Note that a filtration screen may be used instead of the filtration filter 61. The filtration unit 42 may also be configured to further include a filtration tank disposed downstream of the filtration filter 61 in the filtration pipe 62 for temporarily storing filtered frying oil.

In addition, the control unit 15 in the fryer 1A of the second embodiment controls the heater 12 and oil supply unit 13, as well as the waste oil unit 41 (its waste oil pipe on/off valve 52) and the filtration unit 42 (its filtration pump 63 and filtration pipe on/off valve 64), and by executing a predetermined program, functions as the oil amount determination unit 31, the frying operation determination unit 32, the oil supply control unit 33, the deterioration determination unit 72, the waste oil control unit 73, the fried residue amount determination unit 74, and the filtration control unit 75. The waste oil treatment means is made up of the waste oil unit 41, the deterioration determination unit 72, and the waste oil control unit 73, and the filtration treatment means is made up of the filtration unit 42, the fried residue amount determination unit 74, and the filtration control unit 75.

The deterioration determination unit 72 analyzes the image capture results from the imaging unit 14 and determines whether the deterioration index of the frying oil stored in the oil tank 11 is equal to or greater than a preset threshold (predetermined threshold). Specifically, from the image of the frying oil surface captured by the imaging unit 14, the color of the frying oil and the amount of frying oil foaming (such as the amount of frying oil foaming relative to the amount of fried food) are determined as deterioration indexes of the frying oil, and it is determined whether the determined color of the frying oil and the amount of frying oil foaming are equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold (predetermined color and amount of frying oil).

In this embodiment, the imaging results of the imaging unit 14 are analyzed to obtain a deterioration index, and deterioration determination is based on this. However, a sensor that comes into contact with the frying oil may be used to determine the acid value of the frying oil, the viscosity of the frying oil, the amount of viscosity increase in the frying oil, the anisidine value of the frying oil, the amount of polar compounds in the frying oil, the carbonyl value of the frying oil, the iodine value of the frying oil, the tocopherol content of the frying oil, etc., and these may be used as deterioration indicators to determine deterioration. Alternatively, a sensor that detects substances volatilized from the frying oil may be used to obtain the amount and composition of volatile components in the frying oil, and these may be used as deterioration indicators to determine deterioration.

Although the configuration described above illustrates a configuration in which a deterioration index is directly acquired by the imaging unit 14 or a sensor, a configuration in which a frying oil deterioration index is estimated based on data acquired by the imaging unit 14 or a sensor, and a deterioration judgment is made based on the estimated deterioration index, may also be used. In such cases, correlation data between past data acquired by the imaging unit 14 or a sensor and the frying oil deterioration index is stored in advance, and a deterioration index is estimated based on newly acquired data and the correlation data. Alternatively, a configuration in which a data threshold is set based on the correlation data between past data and a deterioration index, and a deterioration judgment is made by determining whether newly acquired data is equal to or greater than the set threshold, may also be used. The deterioration indicator of frying oil used in the deterioration assessment is, for example, at least one of the acid value of the frying oil, the color of the frying oil, the viscosity of the frying oil, the amount of viscosity increase of the frying oil, the anisidine value of the frying oil, the amount of polar compounds in the frying oil, the carbonyl value of the frying oil, the iodine value of the frying oil, the smoke point of the frying oil, the amount of volatile components in the frying oil, the composition of the volatile components in the frying oil, the flavor of the frying oil, the tocopherol content and refractive index of the frying oil, and the foaming amount of the frying oil (e.g., the amount of foaming of the frying oil relative to the amount of fried food). Furthermore, the deterioration indicator of frying oil may also be, for example, the flavor of the fried food cooked with the frying oil or the amount of volatile components in the fried food.

Frying oil cooking time and cooking history (such as the type of fried food and number of fried items) may also be acquired based on cooking operation records obtained from operation results of the operation panel or a preset cooking schedule, and the deterioration index of the frying oil may be estimated based on the cooking time and cooking history. In such cases, correlation data between the cooking time and cooking history of the frying oil and the deterioration index of the frying oil may be stored in advance, and the deterioration index may be estimated based on the acquired cooking time and cooking history of the frying oil and the correlation data. Furthermore, a threshold value for the cooking time and cooking history of the frying oil may be set based on the correlation data, and the deterioration assessment may be performed by determining whether the newly acquired cooking time and cooking history of the frying oil are equal to or greater than the set threshold value.

In addition, for example, the system may be configured to detect the odor of the frying oil stored in the oil tank 11, the smoke point, the amount of polymers on the inner surface of the oil tank 11, the accumulated amount of decomposition products volatilized from the frying oil, and the sound emitted from the frying oil, and estimate the frying oil deterioration index based on the detection results. In addition, the system may be configured to obtain the power consumption and gas consumption of the fryer 1, and estimate the frying oil deterioration index based on these.

The waste oil control unit 73 performs waste oil treatment based on the determination result of the deterioration determination unit 72. That is, if the deterioration determination unit 72 determines that the frying oil deterioration index is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold, it controls the waste oil pipe opening/closing valve 52 of the waste oil unit 41, and the waste oil treatment is performed by the waste oil unit 41. Note that, because the presence of fried food residue in the frying oil can cause defects in the waste oil treatment, it is preferable that the waste oil control unit 73 perform a filtration process before the waste oil treatment. That is, if the deterioration determination unit 72 determines that the frying oil deterioration index is equal to or greater than the threshold, it is preferable that the waste oil control unit 73 control the filtration pump 63 and filtration pipe opening/closing valve 64 of the filtration unit 42 to perform the filtration process, and then control the waste oil pipe opening/closing valve 52 of the waste oil unit 41 to perform the waste oil treatment. Note that in this case, it is preferable that the waste oil unit 41 is not directly connected to the oil tank 11, but is connected to the pipe following the filtration filter 61 of the filtration unit 42 or to a filtration tank.

The fried residue amount determination unit 74 determines whether the amount of fried residue in the frying oil stored in the oil vat 11 is equal to or greater than a predetermined amount. The amount of fried residue can be determined, for example, by capturing an image of the bottom of the oil vat 11 using an imaging unit (not shown) installed below the oil vat 11 and calculating the amount of sediment from the captured image. Alternatively, the amount of fried residue can be estimated based on the cooking time and cooking history acquired using the frying oil. The amount of fried residue can be estimated by pre-storing correlation data between the cooking time and cooking history and the amount of fried residue, and using this correlation data to estimate the amount of fried residue for the current cooking time and cooking history. Note that this embodiment illustrates a configuration in which the amount of fried residue in the frying oil is estimated based on the cooking time and cooking history, but this is not limited to this. For example, the amount of fried residue in the frying oil can be estimated based on the cumulative cooking time of the frying operation, the power consumption of the fryer 1, the amount of gas consumed by the fryer 1, etc.

The filtration control unit 75 performs filtration processing based on the determination result of the fried residue amount determination unit 74. That is, if the fried residue amount determination unit 74 determines that the amount of fried residue in the frying oil is equal to or greater than a predetermined amount, it controls the filtration pump 63 and filtration pipe opening/closing valve 64 of the filtration unit 42, and performs filtration processing using the filtration unit 42.

(Oil maintenance operation in the second embodiment)
The oil maintenance operation of the fryer 1A of the second embodiment will now be described with reference to Figure 4. Similar to the first embodiment, this oil maintenance operation is performed at regular intervals (e.g., every second). As shown in Figure 4, in the oil maintenance operation of the second embodiment, the control unit 15 first determines whether the current oil level in the oil vat 11 is equal to or less than the first oil level (S11) (oil level determination step) using the oil level determination unit 31. If it is determined that the oil level in the oil vat 11 is not equal to or less than the first oil level (S11: No), the oil maintenance operation is terminated.

On the other hand, if it is determined that the amount of oil in the oil vat 11 is equal to or less than the first oil amount (S11: Yes), the deterioration determination unit 72 determines whether the deterioration index of the frying oil currently stored in the oil vat 11 is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold (S12) (deterioration determination process). If, as a result of the determination, it is determined that the deterioration index of the frying oil stored in the oil vat 11 is equal to or greater than the predetermined threshold (S12: Yes), the waste oil control unit 73 performs waste oil processing (S13) (oil waste process), and the oil maintenance operation is terminated.

On the other hand, if it is determined that the deterioration index of the frying oil stored in the oil tank 11 is below the predetermined threshold (S12: No), the fried residue amount determination unit 74 determines whether the amount of fried residue in the frying oil currently stored in the oil tank 11 is equal to or greater than the predetermined amount (S14) (fried residue amount determination process). If the result of the determination is that the amount of fried residue in the frying oil stored in the oil tank 11 is equal to or greater than the predetermined amount (S14: Yes), the filtration control unit 75 performs a filtration process (S15) (filtration process), and the oil maintenance operation is terminated.

On the other hand, if the amount of fried debris in the frying oil stored in the oil vat 11 is less than the predetermined amount (S14: No), the frying operation determination unit 32 determines whether frying is currently being performed in the oil vat 11 (S16) (frying operation determination process). For example, the image capture results from the imaging unit 14 are analyzed to determine whether frying is currently being performed in the oil vat 11. If the determination determines that frying is currently being performed in the oil vat 11 (S16: Yes), the oil maintenance operation is terminated without performing oil replenishment processing.

On the other hand, if it is determined that frying is not currently being performed in the oil vat 11 (S16: No), the oil replenishment control unit 33 performs an oil replenishment process (S17) (oil replenishment process). That is, frying oil is replenished into the oil vat 11 until the amount of oil in the oil vat 11 reaches the second oil amount. This ends the oil maintenance operation. In this way, in addition to the oil replenishment process, waste oil disposal and filtration processes are automatically performed. When waste oil disposal is performed, the amount of frying oil stored in the oil vat 11 falls below the first oil amount, so the oil replenishment process is automatically performed, and therefore the frying oil replacement process is automatically performed in the oil maintenance operation.

(Actions and Effects of the Embodiments)
As described above, according to the configurations of the above-described embodiments, when it is determined that the amount of oil in the oil vat 11 is equal to or less than the first oil amount, the oil replenishment process is performed only when it is determined that frying is not in progress, thereby preventing the oil replenishment process from being performed during frying. This prevents situations in which frying oil splashes onto the worker's arms or face during the oil replenishment process, and situations in which the cooking accuracy of fried foods is reduced due to a drop in the temperature of the frying oil caused by the oil replenishment process, thereby suppressing problems caused by performing the oil replenishment process during frying.

Furthermore, according to the configuration of each of the above embodiments, the image capture results of the imaging unit 14 are analyzed to determine the amount of oil in the oil vat 11 and whether frying is in progress. This eliminates the need for separate detection means to make each of these determinations, and allows these determinations to be made with a simple configuration. Note that the fryer 1 may also be configured to include a weight sensor, instead of the imaging unit 14, that detects the weight of frying oil stored in the oil vat 11, and to analyze the detection results of the weight sensor to determine the amount of oil in the oil vat 11 and whether frying is in progress.

Furthermore, according to the configuration of the second embodiment, in addition to the oil supply unit 13, oil amount determination unit 31, and oil supply control unit 33, the system is equipped with a waste oil unit 41, a deterioration determination unit 72, and a waste oil control unit 73, allowing the frying oil replacement process to be performed automatically.

Furthermore, according to the configuration of the second embodiment, the filtering unit 42, the fried residue amount determination unit 74, and the filtering control unit 75 are provided, allowing for automatic filtering of frying oil.

(Other embodiments)
Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the invention according to the claims is not limited to the above-described embodiments. It should be noted that not all of the combinations of features described in the embodiments are necessarily essential to the means for solving the problems of the invention. The present invention can be implemented by modifying it as appropriate within the scope of its spirit.

For example, in the first embodiment, the fryer 1 may further include an external output unit that outputs one or more pieces of information selected from the determination information of the oil level determination unit 31, the determination information of the frying operation determination unit 32, and the oil replenishment process information of the oil replenishment control unit 33. Also, in the second embodiment, the fryer 1A may further include an external output unit that outputs one or more pieces of information selected from the determination information of the oil level determination unit 31, the determination information of the frying operation determination unit 32, the determination information of the deterioration determination unit 72, the determination information of the fried residue amount determination unit 74, the oil replenishment process information of the oil replenishment control unit 33, the waste oil disposal information of the waste oil control unit 73, and the filtration process information of the filtration control unit 75. In such cases, the externally output information can be analyzed to analyze the frying oil usage status and set an optimal cooking schedule, optimal frying oil, etc. Furthermore, information from multiple fryers 1 and 1A can be compared, and fryers 1 and 1A with abnormal values can be inspected and maintained. The term "external output" as used herein refers not only to transmitting the above information to another information terminal, but also to notifying the operator (by display, audio output, etc.). The external output unit may be configured to output one or more types of information selected from the determination information of the oil amount determination unit 31, the determination information of the frying operation determination unit 32, the determination information of the deterioration determination unit 72, the oil replenishment process information of the oil replenishment control unit 33, and the waste treatment information of the waste oil control unit 73, or the external output unit may be configured to output one or more types of information selected from the determination information of the oil amount determination unit 31, the determination information of the frying operation determination unit 32, the determination information of the fried residue amount determination unit 74, the oil replenishment process information of the oil replenishment control unit 33, and the filtration process information of the filtration control unit 75.

In addition, while the above embodiments are configured to analyze the image capture results of the image capture unit 14 to determine the amount of oil in the oil vat 11, this is not limited to this. For example, the fryer 1, 1A may be configured to include the weight sensor and analyze the detection results of the weight sensor to determine the amount of oil in the oil vat 11. Alternatively, the fryer may be configured to include an oil level meter that measures the oil level using a float and analyze the measurement results of the oil level meter to determine the amount of oil in the oil vat 11, or to include an oil level sensor that detects the oil level using laser radio waves (microwaves), ultrasound, etc. and analyze the detection results of the oil level sensor to determine the amount of oil in the oil vat 11.

In addition, in each of the above embodiments, the imaging results of the imaging unit 14 are analyzed to determine whether frying is occurring in the oil vat 11, but this is not limited to this. For example, the fryer 1, 1A may be equipped with the weight sensor and the detection results of the weight sensor may be analyzed to determine whether frying is occurring in the oil vat 11. Alternatively, the fryer 1, 1A may be equipped with a sound sensor that detects the sound of frying oil stored in the oil vat 11 and the detection results of the sound sensor may be analyzed to determine whether frying is occurring in the oil vat 11. Alternatively, the fryer 1, 1A may be equipped with a vibration sensor that detects vibrations in the oil vat 11 or the frying oil and the detection results of the vibration sensor may be analyzed to determine whether frying is occurring in the oil vat 11. Alternatively, the fryer 1, 1A may be equipped with a configuration that determines whether frying is occurring in the oil vat 11 based on the operation results of the operation panel. Alternatively, the fryer 1, 1A may be equipped with a configuration that determines whether frying is occurring in the oil vat 11 based on the cooking schedule.

Furthermore, in each of the above embodiments, the fryer 1, 1A is configured to have only one oil tank 11, but this is not limited to this. In other words, the fryer 1, 1A may be configured to have multiple oil tanks 11.

In addition, in the first embodiment described above, the oil level is determined (S1) and then a determination is made as to whether frying is in progress (S2). However, the oil level may be determined after a determination is made as to whether frying is in progress. In such a case, the oil level is determined only if it is determined that frying is not in progress.

In the second embodiment, the oil maintenance operation is performed at regular intervals (e.g., every second), and after determining the oil level (S11), a determination is made as to whether frying is in progress (S16). Between the oil level determination (S11) and the determination as to whether frying is in progress (S16), a determination is made as to whether the frying oil has deteriorated (S12) and the amount of fried debris (S14). However, the order of the determinations is not limited to this. For example, as shown in FIG. 5, the oil maintenance operation may be performed at regular intervals (e.g., every second), and after determining whether frying is in progress (S16), a determination is made as to whether the oil level (S11) has deteriorated (S12) and the amount of fried debris (S14) may be performed between the determination as to whether frying is in progress (S16) and the determination as to the oil level (S11). In such a case, if the deterioration index of the frying oil stored in the oil vat 11 is determined to be equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold and if it is determined that frying is not currently being performed in the oil vat 11, the waste oil control unit 73 is configured to perform waste oil treatment. This prevents waste oil treatment from being performed during frying, thereby avoiding situations in which the oil level of the frying oil stored in the oil vat 11 fluctuates during frying or the waste oil piping 51 is clogged with fried food. Furthermore, if it is determined that the amount of fried food debris in the frying oil stored in the oil vat 11 is equal to or greater than a predetermined amount and if it is determined that frying is not currently being performed in the oil vat 11, the filtration control unit 75 is configured to perform filtration. This prevents filtration from being performed during frying, thereby minimizing problems that would occur if filtration were performed during frying.

6, the oil maintenance operation may be performed at regular intervals (e.g., every second), and the determination of whether frying is in progress (S16) may be performed after the determination of frying oil deterioration (S12), the determination of the amount of fried debris (S14), and the determination of the oil level (S11). That is, if the deterioration index of the frying oil stored in the oil vat 11 is determined to be equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold (S12: Yes), if the amount of fried debris in the frying oil stored in the oil vat 11 is determined to be equal to or greater than a predetermined amount (S14: Yes), or if the amount of oil in the oil vat 11 is determined to be equal to or less than a first oil level (S11: Yes), a determination of whether frying is in progress in the oil vat 11 is made (S16). If the determination results in a determination that frying is not in progress in the oil vat 11 (S16: No), the respective processes are performed. In this case, similar to the oil maintenance operation in Figure 5, if the deterioration index of the frying oil stored in the oil tank 11 is determined to be equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold and it is determined that frying operations are not currently being performed in the oil tank 11, waste oil treatment is performed, and if the amount of fried food residue in the frying oil stored in the oil tank 11 is determined to be equal to or greater than a predetermined amount and it is determined that frying operations are not currently being performed in the oil tank 11, filtration is performed. This makes it possible to prevent problems that would occur if waste oil treatment or filtration were performed during frying operations.

Furthermore, in the oil maintenance operation shown in FIG. 6, as shown in FIG. 7, if it is determined that the deterioration index of the frying oil stored in the oil tank 11 is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold (S12: Yes) and it is determined that frying is in progress in the oil tank 11 (S16: Yes), a frying operation termination process (S21) may be performed, followed by waste oil disposal (S13). The frying operation termination process may, for example, notify the operator that the frying operation has ended and stop the heater 12, thereby ending the frying operation by the operator.

Note that if waste oil disposal or filtration is performed after oil replenishment, the frying oil newly replenished to the oil tank 11 during the oil replenishment process will be lost. Therefore, as in the oil maintenance operations shown in Figures 4 to 7, it is preferable to determine the deterioration of the frying oil (S12) and the amount of fried residue (S14) before the oil replenishment process (S17).

Furthermore, all or part of the control unit 15, oil amount determination unit 31, frying operation determination unit 32, oil replenishment control unit 33, deterioration determination unit 72, waste oil control unit 73, fried residue amount determination unit 74, and filtration control unit 75 do not need to be provided in the fryer 1, 1A, and all or part of these may be provided external to the fryer 1, 1A. If all or part of the control unit 15, oil amount determination unit 31, frying operation determination unit 32, oil replenishment control unit 33, deterioration determination unit 72, waste oil control unit 73, fried residue amount determination unit 74, and filtration control unit 75 are provided externally, they are connected to a single fryer 1, 1A or multiple fryers 1, 1A via wire, wireless, and/or network. All or part of the control unit 15, oil amount determination unit 31, frying operation determination unit 32, oil replenishment control unit 33, deterioration determination unit 72, waste oil control unit 73, fried residue amount determination unit 74, and filtration control unit 75 can be connected to multiple fryers 1, 1A and can control multiple fryers 1, 1A. In this case, the status of the multiple fryers 1, 1A can be compared, and an alarm can be issued if an abnormality is found.

(Summary of the embodiment)
Next, the technical concepts grasped from the above-described embodiments will be described using the reference numerals and the like in the embodiments. However, the reference numerals and the like in the following description do not limit the components in the claims to the members and the like specifically shown in the embodiments.

<1> An oil tank (11) for storing frying oil and for immersing food in the frying oil to perform frying, and oil supply processing means (13, 31, 32, 33), wherein the oil supply processing means (13, 31, 32, 33) includes an oil supply unit (13) for performing an oil supply process for supplying the frying oil to the oil tank (11), an oil supply control unit (33) for controlling the oil supply unit (13), and a device for determining whether the amount of the frying oil stored in the oil tank (11) is equal to or less than a predetermined oil amount. and a frying operation determination unit (32) that determines whether the frying operation is in progress in the oil tank (11), and the oil replenishment control unit (33) performs the oil replenishment process using the oil replenishment unit (13) when the oil amount determination unit (31) determines that the oil amount is equal to or less than the predetermined oil amount and the frying operation determination unit (32) determines that the frying operation is not in progress.
<2> The fryer (1A) according to <1>, further comprising waste oil treatment means (41, 72, 73), the waste oil treatment means (41, 72, 73) comprising a waste oil section (41) that performs waste oil treatment to discard the frying oil stored in the oil tank (11), a waste oil control section (73) that controls the waste oil section (41), and a deterioration determination section (72) that determines whether a deterioration index of the frying oil stored in the oil tank (11) is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold, and the waste oil control section (73) performs the waste oil treatment using the waste oil section (41) when the deterioration determination section (72) determines that the deterioration index is equal to or greater than the predetermined threshold.
<3> The fryer (1A) described in <2>, characterized in that the waste oil control unit (73) performs the waste oil processing using the waste oil unit (41) when the deterioration determination unit (72) determines that the deterioration index is equal to or greater than the predetermined threshold value and the frying operation determination unit (32) determines that the frying operation is not in progress.
<4> The fryer (1A) according to any one of <1> to <3> further comprises a filtering means (42, 74, 75), the filtering means (42, 74, 75) comprising a filtering section (42) that performs a filtering process to filter the frying oil stored in the oil tank (11), a filtering control section (75) that controls the filtering section (42), and a fried food residue amount determination section (74) that determines whether the amount of fried food residue in the frying oil stored in the oil tank (11) is equal to or greater than a predetermined amount of fried food residue, and the filtering control section (75) performs the filtering process using the filtering section (42) when the fried food residue amount determination section (74) determines that the amount of fried food residue is equal to or greater than the predetermined amount of fried food residue.
<5> The fryer (1A) described in <4>, characterized in that the filtration control unit (75) performs the filtration process using the filtration unit (42) when the fried residue amount determination unit (74) determines that the amount of fried residue is equal to or greater than the predetermined amount of fried residue and the frying operation determination unit (32) determines that the frying operation is not in progress.
<6> A fryer (1, 1A) described in any one of <1> to <5>, characterized in that it further has an external output unit that outputs one or more types of information selected from the judgment information of the oil amount judgment unit (31), the judgment information of the frying operation judgment unit (32), and the oil replenishment processing information of the oil replenishment control unit (33).
<7> A fryer (1A) described in <2> or <3>, characterized in that it further has an external output unit that outputs one or more types of information selected from the judgment information of the oil amount judgment unit (31), the judgment information of the frying operation judgment unit (32), the judgment information of the deterioration judgment unit (72), the oil replenishment processing information of the oil replenishment control unit (33), and the waste processing information of the waste oil control unit (73).
<8> A fryer (1A) described in <4> or <5>, characterized in that it further has an external output unit that outputs one or more types of information selected from the judgment information of the oil amount judgment unit (31), the judgment information of the frying operation judgment unit (32), the judgment information of the fried residue amount judgment unit (74), the oil replenishment processing information of the oil replenishment control unit (33), and the filtration processing information of the filtration control unit (75).
<9> A fryer (1, 1A) comprising: an oil tank (11) for storing frying oil and for immersing fried foods in the frying oil to perform frying; an oil supply unit (13) for performing an oil supply process for replenishing the frying oil in the oil tank (11); a control unit (15) for controlling the oil supply unit (13); an oil amount determination unit (31) for determining whether the amount of frying oil stored in the oil tank (11) is equal to or less than a predetermined oil amount; and a frying operation determination unit (32) for determining whether the frying operation is in progress using the oil tank (11); wherein the control unit (15) performs the oil supply process using the oil supply unit (13) when the oil amount determination unit (31) determines that the amount of oil is equal to or less than the predetermined oil amount and the frying operation determination unit (32) determines that the frying operation is not in progress.
<10> The fryer (1A) described in <9> further comprises a waste oil section (41) that performs waste oil treatment to discard the frying oil stored in the oil tank (11), and a deterioration determination section (72) that determines whether a deterioration index of the frying oil stored in the oil tank (11) is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold, wherein the control section (15) controls the waste oil section (41), and when the deterioration determination section (72) determines that the deterioration index is equal to or greater than the predetermined threshold, the fryer (1A) performs the waste oil treatment using the waste oil section (41).
[11] The fryer (1A) described in [10] is characterized in that when the deterioration determination unit (72) determines that the deterioration index is equal to or greater than the predetermined threshold value and the frying operation determination unit (32) determines that the frying operation is not in progress, the control unit (15) performs the waste oil processing using the waste oil unit (41).
<12> The fryer (1A) according to any one of <9> to <11>, further comprising a filtration unit (42) that performs a filtration process to filter the frying oil stored in the oil tank (11), and a fried-dry-dry-dry-dry-dry-amount determination unit (74) that determines whether the amount of fried-dry-dry-dry-dry-dry-dry-amount in the frying oil stored in the oil tank (11) is equal to or greater than a predetermined amount of fried-dry ...
<13> The fryer (1A) described in <12> is characterized in that the control unit (15) performs the filtering process using the filtering unit (42) when the fried residue amount determination unit (74) determines that the amount of fried residue is equal to or greater than the predetermined amount of fried residue and the frying operation determination unit (32) determines that the frying operation is not in progress.
<14> A control method for a fryer (1, 1A) equipped with an oil tank (11) for storing frying oil and for immersing fried foods in the frying oil to perform frying operations, and an oil supply unit (13) for performing an oil supply process for replenishing the frying oil to the oil tank (11), the control method for a fryer (1, 1A) comprising: an oil amount determination step (S1) for determining whether the amount of frying oil stored in the oil tank (11) is equal to or less than a predetermined oil amount; a frying operation determination step (S2) for determining whether the frying operation is in progress using the oil tank (11); and an oil supply step (S3) for performing the oil supply process using the oil supply unit (13) when the oil amount determination step (S1) determines that the oil amount is equal to or less than the predetermined oil amount and the frying operation determination step (S2) determines that the frying operation is not in progress.
<15> A method for controlling a fryer (1, 1A) according to <14>, characterized in that the amount of frying oil is the weight of the frying oil or the oil surface level of the frying oil.

1, 1A: Fryer, 11: Oil tank, 13: Oil supply unit, 31: Oil level determination unit, 32: Frying operation determination unit, 33: Oil supply control unit, 41: Oil waste unit, 42: Filtration unit, 72: Deterioration determination unit, 73: Oil waste control unit, 74: Fried food residue amount determination unit, 75: Filtration control unit

Claims (10)

an oil tank for storing frying oil and immersing food in the frying oil to perform frying;
an oil replenishment processing means,
The oil replenishment processing means
an oil supply unit that performs an oil supply process to supply the frying oil to the oil tank;
an oil supply control unit that controls the oil supply unit;
an oil amount determination unit that determines whether the amount of the frying oil stored in the oil tank is equal to or less than a predetermined oil amount;
a frying operation determination unit that determines whether the frying operation in the oil tank is in progress,
The oil replenishment control unit performs the oil replenishment process using the oil supply unit when the oil amount determination unit determines that the oil amount is equal to or less than the predetermined oil amount and the frying operation determination unit determines that the frying operation is not in progress. Further comprising a waste oil treatment means,
The waste oil treatment means comprises:
a waste oil treatment unit that performs waste oil treatment to discard the frying oil stored in the oil tank;
a waste oil control unit for controlling the waste oil unit;
a deterioration determination unit that determines whether a deterioration index of the frying oil stored in the oil tank is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold value,
The fryer according to claim 1, characterized in that the waste oil control unit performs the waste oil treatment using the waste oil unit when the deterioration determination unit determines that the deterioration index is equal to or greater than the predetermined threshold value. The fryer described in claim 2, characterized in that the waste oil control unit performs the waste oil processing using the waste oil unit when the deterioration determination unit determines that the deterioration index is equal to or greater than the predetermined threshold and the frying operation determination unit determines that the frying operation is not in progress. Further comprising a filtering means,
The filtration means is
a filtration unit that performs a filtration process to filter the frying oil stored in the oil tank;
a filtration control unit that controls the filtration unit;
a fried residue amount determination unit that determines whether the amount of fried residue in the frying oil stored in the oil tank is equal to or greater than a predetermined amount of fried residue,
4. The fryer according to claim 1, wherein the filtration control unit performs the filtration process using the filtering unit when the residue amount determination unit determines that the amount of residue is equal to or greater than the predetermined amount of residue. The fryer described in claim 4, characterized in that the filtration control unit performs the filtration process using the filtering unit when the residue amount determination unit determines that the amount of residue is equal to or greater than the predetermined residue amount and the frying operation determination unit determines that the frying operation is not in progress. The fryer of claim 1, further comprising an external output unit that outputs one or more types of information selected from the determination information of the oil amount determination unit, the determination information of the frying operation determination unit, and the oil replenishment process information of the oil replenishment control unit. The fryer described in claim 2, further comprising an external output unit that outputs one or more types of information selected from the determination information of the oil amount determination unit, the determination information of the frying operation determination unit, the determination information of the deterioration determination unit, the oil replenishment treatment information of the oil replenishment control unit, and the waste treatment information of the waste oil control unit. The fryer of claim 4, further comprising an external output unit that outputs one or more pieces of information selected from the determination information of the oil amount determination unit, the determination information of the frying operation determination unit, the determination information of the fried residue amount determination unit, the oil replenishment process information of the oil replenishment control unit, and the filtration process information of the filtration control unit. an oil tank for storing frying oil and immersing food in the frying oil to perform frying;
An oil supply unit that performs an oil supply process to replenish the frying oil in the oil tank,
an oil amount determination step of determining whether the amount of the frying oil stored in the oil tank is equal to or less than a predetermined oil amount;
a frying operation determination step of determining whether the frying operation is being performed in the oil tank;
an oil supply step of performing the oil supply process by the oil supply unit when the oil amount determination step determines that the oil amount is equal to or less than the predetermined oil amount and when the frying operation determination step determines that the frying operation is not in progress. The method for controlling a fryer according to claim 9, wherein the amount of frying oil is the weight of the frying oil or the oil surface level of the frying oil.