Key Technology Corporation

Other

Conagra Foods Lamb Weston, Inc.

David W Hufford

Charles Denio Kirkbride

Greg Robert Lambier

Tracy L McGowen

Timothy Justice

Gerald Ray Richert

Peter T Jones

James Dale Ruff

Steve Crawford

Quentin F Kemph

Roydan T Tomlinson

Brandon T Hall

Jean-Francois Pellet

Rudy Sanchez

William Thomas Hockett

Frederick D Webb

Brian A Chapman

Ronald R Huff

Michael Christopher Metcalf

Timothy L Justice

Jean-François Pellet

There is shown a dispensing apparatus for use with pressurized containers of fluids, particularly carbonated beverages such as beer. A base that fits onto the container has a piston member slidably fitted to it, along with a compressed gas housing and a pickup tube or assembly. A handle moves the piston member with respect to the base against a spring bias. A gas flow path from the housing to the container passes through a valve, that is opened by the piston member as the handle is moved. Moving the handle opens both a liquid flow path as well as a gas flow path.

Beverage preservation and dispensing device

A fluid-based radial distribution system includes an internal passageway and a plurality of openings radially spaced around the internal passageway. A plurality of gate members are associated with at least some of the plurality of openings, with the gate members are configured to move between an open position that allows product to move through the opening associated with that gate member and a closed position that restricts product from moving through the opening associated with that gate member.

Fluid-based article distribution and sorting system

A radial distribution system includes a base member for receiving product for distribution to a plurality of conveyors, a plurality of gate members radially-spaced around the base member and configured to move between an open position and a closed position, and a vibration member configured to vibrate the base member. The vibration causes product received on the base member to move on the base member in a substantially circular manner.

Article distribution and sorting system

A sorting apparatus is described, and which includes a conveyor which transports a produce stream for inspection. A product separation surface is mounted near the distal end of the conveyor, and the produce stream passes over the product separation surface, and is slowed to a speed such that the produce stream falls substantially immediately vertically downwardly. An inspection zone is located downstream relative to the product separation surface. An imaging device is provided, and which images the produce stream passing through the inspection zone; an illumination device is provided for illuminating the produce stream passing through the inspection zone, and an ejector assembly is located downstream of the inspection zone and which removes unwanted solid material in the produce stream having undesirable characteristics.

Sorting apparatus

A sorting apparatus is described, and which includes a conveyor which transports a produce stream for inspection. The conveyor has various regions formed in part of ridges, troughs and apertures which reduce the weight of the produce stream, as well as reduces the vertical and horizontal components of motion of the produce stream, as the produce stream progresses from one end to the other.

A grape processing apparatus and method is described and which includes a screen, a cleated conveyor belt with a bottom flight and which is spaced from the screen, and a source of bunches of grapes which have associated stems, and which are fed into a predetermined space between the bottom flight of the cleated conveyor belt and the screen, and wherein the bunches of grapes move along the screen in a rolling and tumbling motion to separate the individual grapes from the associated stems, and wherein the individual grapes are collected thereafter.

Grape processing apparatus

A spring for a vibratory conveyor is described and which includes an elongated substantially planar main body which is mounted on a vibratory conveyor for moving a source of product, and which has a longitudinal axis, and a predetermined spring constant, and wherein the elongated main body can repeatedly flex and twist about the longitudinal axis without substantially degrading the spring constant of the elongated main body.

Spring for a vibratory conveyor

A diverter assembly for use with a vibratory conveyor having a product transporting bed is described and which includes a conveyor frame positioned in spaced relation relative to the product transporting bed; a drive assembly borne by the frame; and a product engaging member mounted in forced receiving relation relative to the drive assembly and movable along a given path of travel relative to the product transporting bed.

Diverter assembly for use with a vibratory conveyor

A vibratory conveyor employing an amplitude compensator to substantially impede the conveyor bed from moving beyond a given range of vibration amplitude is described. The amplitude compensator coacts with the conveyor bed as the vibrational amplitude of the bed increases in response to an increase in the mass of conveyed product, or to an increase in the vibrational force produced by the vibratory drive to impede or substantially eliminate premature wear or mechanical failure of leaf springs which support the bed.

Vibratory conveyor

A vibratory distributor 10 is described in preferred form having an elongated vibratory bed 16 for conveying bulk articles in a flowing stream past a plurality of metering gate stations 12 to selectively distribute the articles at the stations. A metering gate assembly 40 at each station includes a stationary upper metering plate 44 and a lower movable metering plate 46. Each of the plates 44, 46 have matching elongated metering apertures formed therein at evenly spaced center-to-center intervals across the width of the flowing stream. Each of the elongated apertures 62, 64 is oriented at a diagonal angle to the direction of flow with a segment of each aperture laterally overlapping an adjacent aperture. The apertures 62, 64 have parallelogram shapes. A screw gate drive 78 is connected to the lower metering plate 46 to move the plate 46 to adjust the relative alignment of the apertures to regulate the metering of the articles at each of the stations 12.

Vibratory distributor for bulk articles

The preferred embodiment described in this application is a forced-steam cooker/blancher (100) for cooking or blanching a depth of bulk food particles by supporting the food particles on an extended perforated particle support surface (122) and by forcing steam through said depth of bulk food particles and through perforated particle support surface (122). The cooker/blancher includes walls (138) extending upwardly from particle support surface (122). Particle support surface (122) is perforated to allow fluid passage therethrough. Pressure means is included for forcing steam through a depth of food particles (141) contained within walls (138) on support surface (122) and through perforated particle support surface (122).

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Walla Walla, WA, United States of America

David W Hufford