Foods and beverages: apparatus – Means to treat food – By applying fluid
Patent
1997-11-13
1999-09-07
Simone, Timothy F.
Foods and beverages: apparatus
Means to treat food
By applying fluid
99472, 99517, 366139, 366228, 426281, 426518, 426614, 452141, A23L 100, A23L 131, A22C 900, A22C 1700
Patent
active
059470151
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of The Invention
The present invention relates to a massage plant for the processing of chunks of meat and of the type that comprises a rotatable container provided with conveyors with flow paths for a fluid for adjusting the temperature of the container contents.
2. The Prior Art
Massaging plants for the processing of meat chunks by massaging brine into the meat is well known, cf. e.g., WO 89/08982 and GB-A 2 085 742 and EP-B 0 127 608.
During the mechanical massaging process, a fairly substantial amount of heat is generated, and the ambient temperature also heats up the meat. In order to counteract such heating, the containers are typically provided with a cooling jacket. On the outside of the cooling jacket, however, an ice layer is formed which is undesirable from a sanitary point of view. To avoid such ice layer formation the container is in some cases provided with an external insulation. In addition to increasing the cost of and complicating the construction, the insulation is also undesired for veterinary reasons. Another way of keeping the meat chilled is by means of vacuum and evaporation of an inert gas in the container. It goes without saying that it is not always desirable to use a gas in direct contact with the meat. Moreover the operation of the plant is not without difficulty, and the construction in itself makes comparatively severe requirements. To avoid these problems, it has even been attempted to encapsulate the entire plant in an insulated cabinet, which obviously not only is cost-raising but also complicates the operation procedure, since access to the plant is restricted by a door in the cabinet.
However, one plant with conveyors in the form of two oppositely oriented spiralling vanes is known, cf. GB-A 2 085 742, wherein the further development described U.S. Pat. No. 4,994,294 performs a chilling operation by circulating a coolant through a labyrinth in the spiralling vanes.
However, there are several aspects to the case, such as cleaning and inspection of the container, which are difficult in case of a container with spiralling vanes since inaccessible surfaces exist behind the turns.
In order for the container to obtain the desired degree of loading, the size of the container opening is usually very small, which complicates the cleaning and inspection. In some cases the containers are even arranged in an inclined position to obtain adequate loading, cf. U.S. Pat. No. 4,994,294 whereby the frontmost portion of the container remains fairly inoperative during the massaging process since the meat will collect at the bottom of the container.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The invention provides a massage plant wherein the container is provided with axially extending or substantially axially extending conveyors, the cavities of which contain one or more separate channels on or adjacent to their inner surfaces for the conveyance of the temperature-adjusting fluid. This provides a simple and also very effective construction. Any leakage of fluid will occur inside the conveyor cavity where it may be detected, and not into the container's load of meat and brine which would otherwise be ruined. Moreover, all interior surfaces of the container are readily visible when inspection is to be carried out of the cleaning which is in itself more easily performed when the conveyors extend axially.
The channels may be conduits or sheet elements attached directly to the conveyors, or they may be in the form of an insert. According to a particularly preferred solution, the temp-plate elements known per se are used or vortex sheets (in the following jointly designated temp-plate elements).
Temp-plate elements are used for performing a wide variety of tasks within the heating/cooling technology for a wide variety of applications, e.g., for the slaughtering and brewing industries, for the dairy sector and for the chemo-technical industry. The temp-plate elements consist of two sheet components with spaces between close positioned point joinings. In one type spot welding
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Scanio A/S
Simone Timothy F.
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