Conveyors: power-driven – Conveyor section – Spiral
Reexamination Certificate
2002-06-13
2004-09-21
Ellis, Christopher P. (Department: 3651)
Conveyors: power-driven
Conveyor section
Spiral
C198S458000, C198S442000, C426S315000, C099S44300R
Reexamination Certificate
active
06793068
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to food treatment systems such as vertical rise dryers, smokers, curing chambers, ovens, warmers, coolers, and freezers.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Conventionally, several different food treatment system configurations have been proposed to smoke, cure, dry, cook, cool, or freeze food products (such as meat products) with the hope of increasing production capacity while attempting to limit the floor space required for carrying out same. In so doing, vertical rise systems have been used with spiral conveyors to move food vertically through the oven while exposing the food to certain processing conditions as it moves from top to bottom or bottom to top.
For example, the Northfield LST (Large Spiral Technology) freezer available from Frigoscandia Equipment (fmcfoddtech.com) is a high capacity non-self stacking spiral freezer that employs spiral conveyors with belts available in different widths. Ryson International Inc. of Newport News, Va., provides spiral conveyors that allegedly feature a small footprint and space savings over other brands with load capacities of up to 200 fpm.
Another example is the TURBO-Dryer® from Wyssmont (wyssmont.com). The TURBO-Dryer® uses a stack of slowly rotating circular trays. In operation, food is fed onto the top tray and, after one revolution, is wiped or swept onto the next lower tray where the operation is repeated. The trays are enclosed in a vertical enclosure that circulates heated air or gas about the food on the trays. All or selected levels in the enclosure may be held at a uniform temperature or the enclosure may be configured with zoned temperature regions having different temperatures.
Yet another example of vertical rise system is found in U.S. Pat. No. 5,942,265 which describes conveying pepperoni meat to a conventional spiral dryer which includes a number of tiers (typically about 38-42) according to the initial moisture level, the desired final moisture level, the relative humidity of the air, the total amount of water to be removed, the temperature, and the conveyor speed.
Recently, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/888,925 to Shefet et al. described an increased capacity food processing system that can limit the amount of dedicated floor space required to support the system in food processing facilities and/or that can increase the amount of food that can be processed through the food processing system over a production period. The contents of this application are hereby incorporated by reference as if recited in full herein.
Despite the above, there remains a need to provide food routing apparatus in food processing systems, particularly in high-speed mass production systems, that can effectuate food transfer along desired travel paths in an automated manner that promotes continuous movement and/or inhibits machine or system downtime.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention provides food transport or routing methods, systems, and apparatus that are suitable for commercial mass-production (high-capacity) substantially automated food processing systems.
In certain embodiments, the commercial and/or mass production transport systems, mechanisms, and guides for food processing are configured so as to automate food transport to direct food products to travel serially over side-by-side travel paths using a pick-up device and/or router guide with guide channels while also allowing food to be diverted to desired alternate paths. In certain embodiments, the systems are able to laterally translate the food products that may travel in the side-by-side travel paths so as to automatically move the food from a first travel path to a different second travel path while the food is being propelled forward so that the food travels greater than one, and typically a plurality, of revolutions about a tier or level in a food processing unit. In other embodiments, a food diverter can be configured to operate (with moving or stationary floors) to dislodge, pick-up, push, or pull the food item from a support substrate to a different support surface or member. That is, the food items can be stationary on a support floor (that can itself be stationary or movable) and the food diverter can be configured to move into the flooring under the support surface to dislodge, scoop, push, or pull the food item from the support surface onto the diverter.
The router guide can define a stationary or movable (linear) travel region with a stationary or moving floor that cooperates with stationary or moving floors (such as one or more conveyors) located on one or either side of the router guide. In certain embodiments, the router guide is stationary and resides in the line of travel of the food and is positioned between two moving floors to transfer food being advanced therebetween so as to provide the desired speed and inhibit collisions or disruptions in the transport process. In other embodiments, the router guide is dynamically configured to repetitively extend and retract into the travel path (either in-line with the travel lanes/paths of the food or positionally offset relative thereto).
The travel path can include a transfer zone and the transfer zone can be formed of one or more moving floors, stationary floors, or combinations of each. The router guide may also be stationary in the transfer zone or be dynamically locatable in its desired transfer position. Accordingly, the floors of the transfer region may be stationary, may move, and may cooperate with a dynamic or stationary router guide as desired for a particular application or food transfer need.
In certain embodiments, the moving floor proximate the router guide is configured with a support surface that has a gap portion that underlies a food product. The router guide can include a downwardly extending finger that, in operation, is received into the gap of the moving floor underlying the food to thereby direct, scoop, or lift the food onto or over the finger and through the router guide so as to automatically cause or direct the food to travel a desired travel path associated therewith. A portion of the adjacent downstream travel path (downstream of the finger) can be defined by the inclined or ramped portion of the router guide. As such, as described above, the finger and ramped router guide can direct the food upward or downward to a subsequent lateral path transition zone so as to advance the food in the processing system environment.
In other embodiments, the router guide finger can be configured to retract and extend to repetitively enter the gap portion(s) of the floor so as to engage with a stationary or moving floor, and, in operation, dislodge food items resting on the surface of the floor proximate the underlying finger of the router guide.
In certain embodiments, the food item travels over a plurality of tiers in a vertically stacked tier arrangement and the food item travels a plurality of revolutions about each tier before moving to the next tier. Such an arrangement can increase the amount of product that can be concurrently processed and/or reduce the unused volume in vertical rise systems over conventional designs.
The food processing system can be configured to provide separate temperature regulated (and moisture or humidity, air velocity, cooling, heating, sprinkling, gas, and the like) spaces over one or more tiers in the vertically stacked ovens (or over other spaces in non-stacked ovens).
Certain embodiments are directed to methods for routing food in a food processing system having a plurality of side-by-side predetermined travel lanes. The method includes: (a) advancing a food item over a first travel lane in the food processing system; then (b) directing the food item through a lateral router guide having a floor and opposing ingress and egress portions; and then (c) releasing the food item from the egress portion so that the food item continues forward to a second travel lane that is laterally spaced apart a distance from the first travel lane.
In particular embodiments, the advancing step may include conveying using
Chandler Lawrence Alan
Hawkins Richard Rodeheaver
Horvath, Jr. Frank Michael
Jones Larry
Phillips John Michael
ConAgra Foods Inc.
Deuble Mark A.
Ellis Christopher P.
Myers Bigel & Sibley Sajovec, PA
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