Fluent material handling – with receiver or receiver coacting mea – With conveying means to supply successive receivers
Reexamination Certificate
1999-08-26
2001-07-10
Huson, Gregory L. (Department: 3751)
Fluent material handling, with receiver or receiver coacting mea
With conveying means to supply successive receivers
C141S258000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06257286
ABSTRACT:
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention is in the field of food dispensing valves and apparatuses.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to a spray valve and dispensing apparatus for dispensing a viscous food product.
It is often desirable to be able to provide thin, uniform sprays of viscous, liquid food products, such as in applications where it is desirable to provide coatings of glazes, syrups, and colloidal materials. These applications may be in the areas of bakery, confectionery, frozen yogurt, and dairy products. Coatings may be provided on a variety of surfaces, but the present invention is particularly applicable to providing a coating on the inner surface of containers such as baked ice cream cone shells.
One of the problems faced in the dispensing of viscous food products is to maintain the consistency of flow during dispensing.
Another challenge is to provide a viscous, liquid food product dispensing system that resists fouling during periods when the system is idle.
Still another challenge is to provide a system for dispensing viscous, liquid food products which has minimal parts and disassembles easily.
Yet another challenge is to provide a system for dispensing viscous, liquid food products which is sanitary and is comprised of stainless steel and/or FDA approved plastics.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Preferred embodiments of the present invention overcome some or all of the above challenges. The present invention includes valves, dispensing apparatuses, and methods of dispensing a food product.
In general terms, the valve comprises: (A) a food product chamber, the food product chamber comprising a cylinder and a piston adapted to move within the cylinder, the cylinder having an inlet and an outlet; (B) a fluid chamber adapted to actuate the piston in a reciprocating motion comprising an uptake stroke and an expulsion stroke; (C) an inlet valve adapted to open the inlet during the uptake stroke, and to close the inlet during the expulsion stroke; and (D) an outlet valve adapted to open the outlet during the expulsion stroke, and to close the outlet during the uptake stroke; wherein the diameter of the food product chamber is less than the diameter of the fluid chamber.
Preferably, the food product chamber has a bottom in which the inlet and the outlet are located. In addition, it is preferred that the fluid chamber includes an adjustment mechanism so as to be able to control the distance of the uptake stroke and/or the expulsion stroke. It is preferred that the expulsion stroke ends with the piston at the bottom of the food product chamber in order to fully empty the food product chamber at the bottom of every expulsion stroke. For example, it is preferred that the valve is an anti-seizing valve that can be set by a top adjustment stem to bottom out, thereby expelling substantially all of the viscous food product at the end of the expulsion stroke.
The fluid chamber may be a gas or hydraulic cylinder. In the preferred embodiment, the fluid chamber has a bore step-down ratio from 3 inches to ⅞ inch.
The valve preferably uses pressure, without injecting air into the food product, in order to dispense the food product. For example, a pressure of about 700 to about 800 pounds per square inch (psi) may be used to atomize and dispense a relatively viscous food product. On the other hand, a lower pressure may be used to dispense a relatively thin food product. By using only pressure to dispense the food product, preferred embodiments of the present invention provide an improved coating of the food product on a desired surface, e.g., the inside of an ice cream cone shell. In particular, the coating is more uniform. It also provides several other benefits. For example, it eliminates the need to filter the injected air to remove contaminants. Moreover, it wastes less food product. Specifically, the food product splatters less when it is dispensed, and less food product is lost to the atmosphere. When air is injected into the food product, a significant amount of the food product is lost to the atmosphere when it is dispensed, e.g., about 1 to 2 grams of chocolate is lost to the atmosphere when it is sprayed on the inside of an ice cream cone shell using known techniques.
Optionally, the valve has an outlet conduit which includes a removable insert portion comprising an outlet nozzle. This may be a removable spray body/channel portion.
In some applications, heating the food product may provide a benefit such as reduced viscosity. In such instances, the valve may include a heater to heat the food product chamber.
The present invention also includes a reciprocating valve for providing reciprocation during the dispensing of the product. This valve may be provided with the optional or preferred features of the above-described valve. In broadest terms, the reciprocating valve comprises: (A) a food product chamber, the food product chamber comprising a cylinder and a piston adapted to move within the cylinder, the cylinder having an inlet and an outlet, the food product chamber having a bottom and the outlet being located in the bottom of the food product chamber so as to provide a food product outlet direction; (B) a fluid chamber adapted to actuate the piston in a reciprocating motion comprising an uptake stroke and an expulsion stroke, the diameter of the fluid chamber being greater than the diameter of the food product chamber; (C) an inlet valve adapted to open the inlet during the uptake stroke, and to close the inlet during the expulsion stroke; (D) an outlet valve adapted to open the outlet during the expulsion stroke, and to close the outlet during the uptake stroke; and (E) a reciprocating mechanism adapted to raise and lower the reciprocating valve in a reciprocating motion along an axis substantially parallel to the food product outlet direction.
The reciprocating mechanism may be any appropriate mechanical reciprocating mechanism for use in the desired application. For example, the reciprocating mechanism may be selected from the group consisting of reciprocating cam-driven mechanisms and reciprocating fluid-driven mechanisms.
The present invention also includes a dispensing apparatus using any of the valves of the present invention in their many fundamental and optional embodiments. The apparatus may be used for distributing a spray of a food product into a series of containers. One embodiment of the apparatus comprises: (A) a container transport apparatus adapted to transport the containers in a series to and beyond a filling position; (B) a filling apparatus positioned so as to fill one of the containers when the container is in the filling position, the filling apparatus comprising a valve, the valve comprising: (1) a food product chamber, the food product chamber comprising a cylinder and a piston adapted to move within the cylinder, the cylinder having an inlet and an outlet; (2) a fluid chamber adapted to actuate the piston in a reciprocating motion comprising an uptake stroke and an expulsion stroke; (3) an inlet valve adapted to open the inlet during the uptake stroke, and to close the inlet during the expulsion stroke; and (4) an outlet valve adapted to open the outlet during the expulsion stroke, and to close the outlet during the uptake stroke; wherein the diameter of the food product chamber is less than the diameter of the fluid chamber.
The container transport apparatus may be any appropriate container transport apparatus for use in the desired application. For instance, the container transport apparatus may be selected from the group consisting of linear transport apparatuses and turntable transport apparatuses.
The apparatus may also include a food product circulation pump adapted to supply the inlet with a flow of the food product. The apparatus of the present invention may be used with pressure amplifiers in order to provide reliable flow and discrete dispensing of the food product.
The present invention also includes another embodiment of an apparatus for distributing a spray of a food product into a series of con
Huson Gregory L.
Huynh Khoa
Norse Dairy Systems, Inc.
Standley & Gilcrest LLP
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