Meat injection machine

Details Meat injection machine Meat injection machine

2002-04-19

2002-12-24

Simone, Timothy F. (Department: 1761)

Foods and beverages: apparatus

Means to treat food

By applying fluid

C099S532000, C099S535000

Reexamination Certificate

active

06497176

ABSTRACT:

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
A meat injection machine is well known in the meat industry. It has a fluid manifold with a plurality of fluid reservoirs and group of injection needles associated with each reservoir. The purpose of these machines is to inject pickling solution into meat pieces at a pre-determined percentage rate.
Among the shortcomings of existing machines are wastage of injection fluid, often a brine material, lack of variable downward pressure on the meat product being injected; the absence of pneumatic power to move certain component parts; difficulty in cleaning and difficulty in filtering brine material causing a blockage of needles.
It is therefore a principal object of this invention to provide a meat product (meaning red meat, fish and poultry) injection machine that will overcome the above and other shortcomings of existing injection machines.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The meat injection machine
10
of this invention has a frame
12
with a horizontal conveyor
14
on the frame
12
for intermittently longitudinally moving meat products to be injected. A plurality of injector modules
16
are operatively associated with manifold
17
on a bridge
18
above the conveyor
14
and each has associated therewith a plurality of vertically disposed injection needles
50
which inject fluid into meat products. A stripper pad
20
on each module
16
cooperates with the needles
50
to hold the meat products in place and to facilitate the removal of the needles
50
from the meat products.
A first power means
22
is provided for raising and lowering a driven shaft
26
to permit insertion into and withdrawal of the needles
50
with respect to the meat products on the conveyor
14
. Cam means
24
on shafts
26
are provided for adjusting the flow of valves
25
via crank arms
25
A. Means are also provided for connecting the needles
50
with a source of fluid. The modules
16
are positioned in longitudinal and lateral staggered locations on the bridge
18
over the conveyor
14
. A second power means
23
is provided to operate the stripper pad
20
and may be a pneumatic power means.
A continuous filter belt
28
extends longitudinally across and below a discharge end of the conveyor
14
for continuously filtering brine material from the needles
50
so that the brine material can be recycled and used again in the injection process. (
FIGS. 1
,
2
,
8
, and
9
). This continuous filter belt
28
has one or more air knives
30
and
32
used to clean debris from the belt
28
and one or more water bars
34
also for cleaning which flush debris with cyclical bursts of water. The belt
28
is mounted to a subframe
29
of frame
12
by rollers
29
A and
29
B on opposite ends of the subframe
29
. The subframe
29
is detachable from frame
12
.
The tank
36
holding the brine contains within it a filter unit
36
A (FIG.
10
), to filter the brine before it enters the pump
38
.
A third part of the filter system is in-line filter
37
(FIGS.
2
and
11
). It is located after the pump
38
and before the needle modules
16
. This filter
37
is flanked by two pressure sensors
40
and
42
in the system that monitor the condition of the filter. Fluid is routed through the filter
37
and as the filter
37
begins to fill up with particles the pressure (or flow or velocity) drop is monitored by the electronic controller. The electronic controller compensates for pressure (or flow or velocity) drop by increasing the speed of pump
38
.
If the difference in pressures (and/or flow and/or velocity) reaches a programmably-predetermined variance, the operator screen
44
A of operator interface
44
(where in the operator interface
44
may be an electronic controller) indicates the filter
37
is clogged and the flow should be changed to the other inline filer. This change can be accomplished automatically or manually. Once the flow has been rerouted the monitoring cycle begins again.
The brine system has a “continuous fill” system. The level of brine in the brine tank
36
is monitored by a level sensor
46
(
FIGS. 1
,
2
, and
10
). Programmable “fill” and “full” levels can be set and as the fluid reaches either level the sensor
46
signals. This acts in conjunction with the electronic controller
44
to operate a solenoid
48
for the brine fluid inlet valve
47
.
The final stage of the filtration system is a mesh screen
27
inserted between the needle module
16
and the manifold head
17
.


REFERENCES:
patent: 3687058 (1972-08-01), Townsend
patent: 3922357 (1975-11-01), Townsend
patent: 4286510 (1981-09-01), Prosenbauer
patent: 4453460 (1984-06-01), Rabe et al.
patent: 4620478 (1986-11-01), Corminas
patent: 4622892 (1986-11-01), Corominas
patent: 5442997 (1995-08-01), Branz et al.
patent: 5881640 (1999-03-01), Raevsager
patent: 6386099 (2002-05-01), Otsuka et al.
patent: 0 396 847 (1989-10-01), None

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