Methods and apparatus for forming loose meat into lumps
First Claim
Patent Images
1. Apparatus for forming loose meat into lumps, comprising:
- a hopper for storing loose meat, said hopper having a downwardly opening discharge,a vertical injection conduit having a lower inlet and an upper outlet,a transfer conduit communicating said discharge with said inlet,means for displacing loose meat through said transfer conduit and into said injection conduit,a mold plate disposed above said outlet of said injection conduit and having first and second ends, each end including a set of downwardly facing cavities,each of said cavities including a base wall having a hole therethrough,means for shifting said mold plate such that said sets of cavities are alternately situated at injecting and ejecting stations, the set of cavities at said injecting station being communicable with said outlet of said injection conduit,a plunger in said injection conduit for pushing loose meat through said outlet and into said cavities which are disposed at said injecting station,a gas eject member positioned at said ejecting station above said mold plate, and including gas port means communicating with upper ends of said holes of the set of cavities disposed at said ejecting station,gas pressure means communicating with said gas port means to supply pressurized gas downwardly through said last-named holes to eject meat lumps from the associated cavities, andsealing means for forming a seal around said cavities at said injecting station and around the upper ends of said holes of the cavities situated at said ejecting station.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Loose meat such as crabmeat is formed into lumps by pushing the loose meat upwardly into mold cavities while simultaneously pushing air and moisture through holes in back walls of the cavities, and while a releasable seal is effected around the mold cavities. The mold cavities are displaced to an ejecting station where pressurized air is supplied through the holes to eject meat lumps from the cavities. Diffusers in the holes diffuse the case into dispersed air streams which act against the back of each meat lump. After the meat lumps have been ejected, pressurized air at a higher pressure is directed through the diffusers to clean meat from the diffusers.
41 Citations
36 Claims
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1. Apparatus for forming loose meat into lumps, comprising:
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a hopper for storing loose meat, said hopper having a downwardly opening discharge, a vertical injection conduit having a lower inlet and an upper outlet, a transfer conduit communicating said discharge with said inlet, means for displacing loose meat through said transfer conduit and into said injection conduit, a mold plate disposed above said outlet of said injection conduit and having first and second ends, each end including a set of downwardly facing cavities, each of said cavities including a base wall having a hole therethrough, means for shifting said mold plate such that said sets of cavities are alternately situated at injecting and ejecting stations, the set of cavities at said injecting station being communicable with said outlet of said injection conduit, a plunger in said injection conduit for pushing loose meat through said outlet and into said cavities which are disposed at said injecting station, a gas eject member positioned at said ejecting station above said mold plate, and including gas port means communicating with upper ends of said holes of the set of cavities disposed at said ejecting station, gas pressure means communicating with said gas port means to supply pressurized gas downwardly through said last-named holes to eject meat lumps from the associated cavities, and sealing means for forming a seal around said cavities at said injecting station and around the upper ends of said holes of the cavities situated at said ejecting station. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. Apparatus for forming loose meat into lumps, comprising:
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an injection conduit having an opening therein for receiving loose meat, and an outlet for discharging such loose meat, a mold plate having a set of cavities opening toward said outlet, a plunger in said feed conduit for pushing loose meat from said injection conduit and longitudinally into said cavities, a pressure plate longitudinally slidably mounted on said injection conduit for movement relative to said injection conduit toward and away from said mold plate, and means for pushing said pressure plate toward said mold plate relative to said injection conduit to seal around said cavities during the injection of loose meat thereinto. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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- 20. Apparatus for forming loose meat into lumps comprising:
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21. a mold plate having a plurality of cavities therein,
each cavity opening in a forward direction and having a back wall with at least one hole therethrough, means for inserting loose meat into said cavities to form lumps, means for directing pressurized gas into a rear end of each said hole whereby the gas enters said cavity to eject the lumps, and a diffuser element disposed in each hole and including a plurality of passages oriented to diffuse the gas into a dispersed pattern of streams entering each said cavity.
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27. Apparatus for forming loose meat into lumps, comprising:
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a hopper for storing loose meat, said hopper having a downwardly opening discharge, a transfer conduit comprising a vertical section communicating with said discharge, and a horizontal section communicating with said vertical section, said horizontal section terminating in an outlet, an auger disposed in said hopper discharge for displacing loose meat from said hopper through said transfer conduit, a vertical injection conduit having an inlet in a side thereof, said inlet communicating with said outlet of said transfer conduit to receive loose meat therefrom, said injection conduit terminating upwardly in an outlet, a mold plate disposed above said outlet of said injection conduit and mounted for limited axial movement along a vertical axis and for rotation about said vertical axis, said mold plate including first and second ends located at opposite sides of said vertical axis and carrying first and second sets of downwardly facing cavities, respectively, such that one of said sets of cavities is situated at an injecting station in alignment with said outlet of said feed conduit, and the other of said sets of cavities is situated at an ejecting station, each of said cavities including a base wall having at least one hole therethrough which contains gas diffuser means having a plurality of convoluted passages communicating with said passage and oriented to emit gas in a dispersed pattern of streams, a plunger in said injection conduit for pushing loose meat through said outlet thereof and simultaneously into said one set of cavities, a gas eject plate positioned at said ejecting station above said mold plate, and including gas duct means communicating with upper ends of said holes of said other set of cavities, gas pressure means communicating with said duct means to supply pressurized gas through said convoluted passages of said diffuser elements and into said other set of cavities to eject meat lumps from said other set of cavities, a pressure plate slidably mounted on said injection conduit for movement toward and away from said mold plate, and means for pushing said pressure plate upwardly against said mold plate to raise said mold plate into engagement with said gas eject plate, whereby a seal is created between said outlet of said feed conduit and said one set of cavities during injection, and between said gas eject plate and said upper ends of said holes of said other set of cavities during ejection.
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29. Apparatus for forming loose meat into lumps, comprising:
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a hopper for storing loose meat, said hopper having a discharge opening, an injection conduit having an inlet and an outlet, said inlet communicating with said discharge opening, means for displacing loose meat through said discharge opening and into said injection conduit, a pressure plate surrounding said outlet of said injection conduit, a mold plate facing said outlet of said injection conduit and having first and second ends, each end including a set of cavities arranged in a generally annular pattern, means for shifting said mold plate such that said sets of cavities are alternately suituated at injecting and ejecting stations, the set of cavities at said injecting station being arranged such that radially inner portions of said cavities are communicable with said outlet of said injection conduit, the remaining portions of said cavities being covered by said pressure plate, a plunger in said injection conduit for pushing loose meat through said inner portions of said cavities disposed at said injecting station, such that the loose meat fills said cavities, sealing means for forming a seal around said cavities at said injecting station, and means for ejecting meat lumps from said cavities at said ejecting stations.
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34. A method for forming loose meat into lumps comprising the steps of forcing loose meat into a plurality of cavities in a mold plate to form lumps therein, and directing pressurized gas through holes in back walls of said cavities and through diffusers located in such holes whereby the gas travels through convoluted passages in said diffusers and emerges as a dispersed pattern of streams which eject lumps of meat from said cavities.
Specification