Freezing of material into blocks
First Claim
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1. An apparatus for freezing material into blocks comprising:
- cooling means that includes a refrigeration panel for freezing the material;
at least one material receiving mold comprising a sheet or belt that acts as a base and at least one open compartment that has top and bottom openings, the mold being sufficiently resilient to withstand bending or twisting forces;
means for conveying the mold past the refrigeration panel for freezing at least a portion of the material in the mold as it moves over the refrigeration panel; and
bending means to bend the mold to release the block from the compartment.
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Abstract
The present invention relates to a method and an apparatus for freezing of material into fully or partially frozen blocks. The apparatus includes a refrigeration panel and a sheet or belt which is passed along the refrigeration panel. The apparatus includes at least one flexible, material receiving mold having at least one open compartment, where the sheet or belt provides a base for the compartment. The compartment is conveyed along the refrigerating panel to freeze the material, and then is subject to bending and/or twisting forces release the block(s) from the compartment.
21 Citations
18 Claims
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1. An apparatus for freezing material into blocks comprising:
- cooling means that includes a refrigeration panel for freezing the material;
at least one material receiving mold comprising a sheet or belt that acts as a base and at least one open compartment that has top and bottom openings, the mold being sufficiently resilient to withstand bending or twisting forces;
means for conveying the mold past the refrigeration panel for freezing at least a portion of the material in the mold as it moves over the refrigeration panel; and
bending means to bend the mold to release the block from the compartment. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 16, 17)
- cooling means that includes a refrigeration panel for freezing the material;
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11. A method for freezing material into blocks comprising the steps of:
- depositing the material into at least one open compartment of a mold having top and bottom openings, the mold positioned upon a supporting sheet or belt which acts as a base of the compartment(s);
conveying the material and mold along the refrigerator panel while the sheet or belt is moved over the refrigeration panel to freeze the material into blocks, and bending the mold to release the block(s) from the compartment(s).
- depositing the material into at least one open compartment of a mold having top and bottom openings, the mold positioned upon a supporting sheet or belt which acts as a base of the compartment(s);
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12. A method for freezing a material into blocks comprising the steps of:
- depositing the material into a plurality of compartments, wherein the compartments comprise a first endless belt which defines a base of the compartments and a second endless belt which defines sides of the compartments;
moving the first and second endless belts along a path while freezing the material inside the compartments into blocks; and
releasing the blocks from the compartments by separating the first and second endless belts. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15)
- depositing the material into a plurality of compartments, wherein the compartments comprise a first endless belt which defines a base of the compartments and a second endless belt which defines sides of the compartments;
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18. An apparatus for freezing a material into blocks comprising:
- cooling means;
a sheet or belt;
moving means to pass the sheet or belt along the cooling means;
at least one flexible, material receiving mold comprising at least one upwards and downwards open compartment;
conveying means to convey the mold along the cooling means on top of the sheet or belt that acts as a base for the open compartment(s) while they contain the material; and
bending means to bend the molds to release the frozen blocks formed in the compartment(s).
- cooling means;
Specification