Cutting – With means to convey work relative to tool station – By fluid current
Reexamination Certificate
2002-02-09
2004-10-19
Yeung, George C. (Department: 1761)
Cutting
With means to convey work relative to tool station
By fluid current
C083S098000, C083S858000, C083S932000, C099S537000, C099S538000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06805030
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The invention relates to a food processing system with a deceleration element for decelerating food in a fluid medium after it is passed through a processing unit. More particularly, the invention relates to a food cutting system, such as for cutting potato strips, with a deceleration element that minimizes flow-vortices that would interfere with the optimum processing of the food or that would damage the processed food.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Over the years, the design and operation of food processing equipment has developed to faster process food with the goal of reducing processing costs. These savings are typically passed along to customers in the form of price reductions or maintenance of prices in times of inflation. Unfortunately, these enhancements in productivity are often obtained at the expense of efficiency and lower product quality.
For example, in typical systems for cutting potato tubers into strips in the manufacturing of french fries, in the cutting operation alone, greater than 10% of the solids are lost due to the liberation of raw starch and the generation of potato matter that does not meet the size specification for french fries. These solid pieces are generally referred to as slivers and nubbins, and while edible, must be converted into other products, thus incurring additional expense. In a high volume french fry manufacturing-operation, a small savings in recovery can lead to greatly enhanced yield of premium product and a large overall cost savings.
Some potato cutting systems move potatoes carried in water at a high speed through a water knife cutting system to cut the potatoes into strips. After passing through the water knife, the water and the carried strips are decelerated. In this deceleration process, however, the flow of the water tends to separate, which leads to increased strip breakage. This increases the waste produced by the system and decreases efficiency.
Traditional potato cutting machines also have a transition region between a primary deceleration stage and a dewatering station, where the water is drained from the cut potatoes. It is desirable to maintain back water pressure to keep the pipes in the system filled. Some transitions have included a C-shaped tube, elbow tube, or a flap near the exit of the tube to maintain back pressure. These devices, however, increase the likelihood of flow separation and breakage of the cut potato strips, which become the less desirable slivers or nubbins.
Accordingly, there is a need for a high volume manufacturing system that will efficiently cut french fries in long strips without excessive waste. The present invention now satisfies this need.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The invention relates to a food processing system. The preferred system is for cutting potatoes into french-fry strips, and has a fluid conduit configured for directing the food carried in a fluid medium along a food path. A food inlet is operatively associated with the fluid conduit for feeding the food into the conduit. A pump is operatively associated with the conduit for pumping the fluid through the conduit in a fluid stream direction, and a processor unit is associated with the conduit, disposed along the food path, and comprising a tool configured and associated with the conduit for performing a processing operation on the food. A deceleration element is operatively associated with the conduit and configured for decelerating the fluid and carried food along the food path while maintaining the fluid stream substantially free of recirculation vortices. Reducing or eliminating any significant recirculation vortices and the back flow associated therewith substantially increases the efficiency of the system, as a smaller fraction of the processed food, such as the cut potato strips, is broken.
In the preferred embodiment, the pump and conduit are configured such that the fluid enters the deceleration element at a first velocity. The deceleration element is configured for decelerating the fluid to a second velocity that is less than about 40% of the first velocity, and preferably less than about 20% of the first velocity.
To decelerate the fluid, which for cutting potatoes is preferably water, the deceleration element includes a tapered conduit having a longitudinal axis extending along the food path and an expansion angle of about 4.5° or less, more preferably about 3° or less, and most preferably about 2.5° or less. The preferred tapered conduit is substantially conical and substantially all of its wall portions are oriented at or below these angles to the stream direction.
The deceleration element is preferably configured to significantly reduce or eliminate substantially any back flow of the fluid of sufficient intensity and profile to significantly slow any of the carried food in relation to adjacent carried food disposed primarily outside the back flow. The deceleration element is also preferably configured to significantly reduce or eliminate back flow of the fluid that would be sufficient to substantially stop or cause the carried food to move backwards compared to the stream direction. Also, the deceleration element configuration is selected such that the fluid flow within the deceleration element is substantially free of flow separation, remaining substantially attached to the walls of the deceleration element.
The deceleration element in the preferred embodiment is disposed downstream from the processor unit along the food path and preferably substantially immediately downstream thereof. The preferred processor unit comprises a cutter, preferably with a plurality of stationary blades, disposed along the food path and configured for cutting the food as it passes therethrough. The pump and conduit are configured for pumping the fluid and carried food along the food path at a sufficient speed for cutting the food at the cutter.
The preferred embodiment of the invention additionally includes an alignment unit disposed upstream of the processor unit and configured for aligning and feeding the food in a predetermined orientation into to the processor unit. Furthermore, a separating unit is disposed along the food path and configured for separating the processed food from the fluid.
A transition portion of the fluid conduit preferably extends substantially from the deceleration element to the separating unit. The preferred transition portion is configured for maintaining the fluid flow substantially free of recirculation vortices. In one embodiment, any bends in the transition portion are configured to substantially prevent flow separation of the fluid. In another embodiment, the transition portion is substantially straight.
In the preferred method of processing the food, the food is introduced into the fluid, and the fluid is fed with the food through a food processor unit at a first velocity for conducting a food processing operation on the food. The fluid with the food is then decelerated to a second velocity without producing substantial back flow of the fluid.
The inventive system and method enable a significantly increased production of processed food, because breakage of processed food, at least during deceleration is reduced by a substantial amount.
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Englar James
Gonzalez Juan
Gottberg David
Howell Scott
J.R. Simplot Company
Kelly Lowry & Kelley LLP
Yeung George C.
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