Method and apparatus for predicting the equalized temperature of a food product
US6357911B1 · kind B1 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Dec 16, 1999 |
| Grant date | Mar 19, 2002 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Dec 16, 2019 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC F)Mechanical Engineering; Lighting; Heating
- CPC primaryF25D2700/16
- WIPO fieldMeasurement
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
In the processing of an item, particularly a food item, where the final equalized temperature is important to the processing a method and apparatus for predicting the equalized temperature is disclosed. A series of infrared sensors is used to measure the rate of change of the surface temperature of an item after the item is exposed to a known thermal shock such as heating or cooling. The predicted equalized temperature can be calculated from the series of surface temperatures using least squares, non-linear regression techniques. One means for applying a thermal shock to an item would be the use of cryogens such as liquid nitrogen, carbon dixoide snow or synthetic liquid air (SLA).
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.