Serpentine food processing with closed-loop recirculation
US5253569A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Nov 4, 1991 |
| Grant date | Oct 19, 1993 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Nov 4, 2011 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC A)Human Necessities
- CPC primaryA23B2/803
- WIPO fieldFood chemistry
- WIPO sectorChemistry
Abstract
A food processing system (100) includes a food processing chamber (102) for processing a food product, a serpentine conveyor (104) having a plurality of parallel flights connected at their ends by U-shaped bends, and a recirculation system for supplying a processing medium to the chamber and recirculating the processing medium along a closed-loop unidirectional recirculation path having a supply path portion (106) along and parallel to a first set of flights (108), and a return path portion (110) along and parallel to a second set of flights (112). A blower (114) has a high pressure supply side (116) supplying the processing medium to the supply path portion, and a low pressure return side (118) drawing the processing medium from the return path portion. The processing medium acts on the food product in both the supply and return path portions, and the food product on the flights travels both with and against the direction of flow of the processing medium during each of the supply and return path portions without reversing the direction of flow of the processing medium along the closed-loop recirculation path.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.