Lamb Weston, Inc.

Lamb-weston/meijer V.o.f.

Mark Alan Fow

Samuel Monk

Grayden Howard

John C Julian

Christopher M Smith

Tayler Wonders

Roger Samoray

Jake Fischer

Michael Scot Jacko

Dirk Jacob Van Dijk

Danelle Roan

Daniel L Banowetz

A food cutter assembly can include a spindle body defining an interior passage for receiving a food product. A cutting tool can be connected to an end of the spindle body for cutting the food product. The food cutter assembly can also include a housing for rotationally mounting the spindle body. Rotation of the spindle body can be controlled by one or more magnets mounted to the spindle body and by a stator and/or pulley magnetically or electromagnetically coupled with the magnet to drive the one or more magnets about a rotational axis, which in turn spins the spindle body about the rotational axis, driving the rotational cutting motion of the cutting tool.

Water bearing and food cutting assembly with magnetically rotated cutting head

A tension knife includes an elongate knife body with a thin, flat profile. The tension knife defines first and second mounting points at opposing ends of the knife body. The knife body has a characteristic width across a length of the knife body between the first and second mounting points. The characteristic width of the knife body defines a centerline between a leading edge of the knife body and a trailing edge of the knife body. One or more of the first and second mounting points has a focus between the centerline of the knife body and the leading edge. A frame can be configured to support and tension the tension knife to form a tension knife assembly. Clamp blocks can be used to mount the tension knife to the frame at the first and second mounting points, where one or more of the clamp blocks is configured to rotate with respect to the frame to tension the leading edge of the tension knife.

Tension knife for cutting food products

A vegetable knife includes a pulverizing coring pin for pulverizing a core of a vegetable, where the pulverizing coring pin can be a generally cylindrical tube. The pulverizing coring pin can define one or more pulverizing tubes that extend from a first end of the pulverizing coring pin to a second end of the pulverizing coring pin opposite the first end. The vegetable knife also includes at least one vegetable shaping blade that extends radially outwardly from the pulverizing coring pin, where the at least one vegetable shaping blade supports the pulverizing coring pin at a location generally central with respect to the vegetable knife. The vegetable knife may also include an outer flange for coupling the vegetable knife to a rotatable cutting assembly. The vegetable shaping blade can be connected between the outer flange and the pulverizing coring pin for supporting the pulverizing coring pin.

Vegetable knife having a pulverizing coring pin

Pusher for food products cutter

A food product cutting system can include a food product carrier for carrying food product circumferentially around an axis of rotation, where the food product carrier includes food cutters each having a knife and a corresponding pusher. Each knife is for receiving and engaging with food product, and each pusher is slidably coupled with a knife and movable for pushing food product out of engagement with the food cutter. The food product cutting system can also include a track oriented generally circularly with respect to the food product carrier. The track can be arranged at varying radial distances from the axis of rotation and coupled with followers. Each follower can be connected to a corresponding pusher. In operation, food product moved into the knife of a food cutter and carried around the axis of rotation is incrementally pushed out of engagement with the food cutter by the corresponding pusher.

Hydro-mechanical cutter

Cut potato product

Cutter for food products

A food cutter assembly can include a spindle body defining an interior passage for receiving a food product. The food cutter assembly can also include a thrust disc connected to the spindle body. The thrust disc can include opposing surfaces extending radially from the rotational axis of the spindle body and a circumferential surface between the opposing surfaces. A cutting tool can be connected to an end of the spindle body for cutting the food product. The food cutter assembly can also include a housing for rotationally mounting the spindle body, where the housing includes a radial bearing to be positioned proximate to the thrust disc. The spindle body and the housing can define fluid passages extending from a port in the housing through the radial bearing to the spindle body and across the opposing surfaces and the circumferential surface to the spindle body.

Water bearing and food cutting assembly

A method for lubricating a radial bearing of a food cutter assembly is disclosed. The method can include receiving a supply of water at a housing for rotationally mounting a spindle body having a rotational axis, where the housing includes a radial bearing proximate to a thrust disc of the spindle body. The thrust disc can include opposing surfaces extending radially from the rotational axis of the spindle body and a circumferential surface between the opposing surfaces. The water can be directed through fluid passages extending from a port in the housing through the radial bearing to the spindle body and across the opposing surfaces and the circumferential surface to the spindle body. The spindle body may be rotated while the water is directed through the fluid passages to create a water film between the housing and the spindle body that reduces friction between the housing and the spindle body.

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Kennewick, WA, United States of America

Mark Alan Fow