Morris Associates, Inc.

Other

Terry A Wright

Robert E Cathey

William F Morris, Iii

John P Shell

Garry L Miller

James Poindexter

Robert Chatham

A rocker chiller includes a chilling tank and a baffle assembly. The baffle assembly includes a drive shaft, a baffle blade extending along a bottom of the tank and a plurality of spaced-apart and elongate baffle members extending in a radial direction from the drive shaft towards the bottom of the tank. The elongate baffle members contact the drive shaft at spaced-apart locations along the drive shaft and define a plurality of openings therebetween. The elongate baffle members are sized and shaped to push at least a majority of the carcasses laterally through the heat exchanging liquid in a direction generally orthogonal to a lengthwise forward movement of the carcasses from the first end of the tank to the second end of the tank.

Rocker chiller with baffle assembly

A rocker chiller includes a tank having a bottom wall and a dasher assembly, which includes an axle extending in a lengthwise direction and a dasher blade extending adjacent the bottom wall. The dasher blade is mechanically coupled to the axle by a plurality of support arms extending in a radial direction between the axle and the dasher blade. A carcass deflector is provided, which is attached to the axle so that each back-and-forth oscillation of the axle and dasher blade during operation of the rocker chiller causes a back-and-forth oscillation of the carcass deflector in unison with the back-and-forth oscillation of the axle and dasher blade. The carcass deflector is spaced longitudinally along a longitudinal axis of the axle and has a carcass deflection region therein that extends above a top surface of the axle and in a plane that is generally orthogonal to the longitudinal axis of the axle.

Rocker chiller with drive-shaft carcass deflectors

A rocker chillerincludes a tankwith a dasher assemblythat oscillates across the curved bottom wall of the tank. A series of central deflectorsare positioned at intervals along the length of the tank and another series of side deflectorsare mounted at intervals along the upwardly extending side wallsandof the tank. The side deflectors are offset longitudinally with respect to the central deflectors. The offset relationship of the side deflectors and central deflectors creates serpentine paths through the elongated tank on both sides of the tank that require the carcasses to move through more of the heat exchanging liquid and which reduces the tendency of carcasses passing each other.

Rocker chiller with central and side deflectors

The rocker chillerincludes a semi-cylindrical tankfilled with heat exchanging liquid and a baffle assemblythat rocks back and forth across the bottom wall of the tank. The baffleof the baffle assemblydefines baffle openingsthat are sized and shaped to pass the heat exchanging liquid through the openings in response to the rocking of the baffle, but small enough so that the baffle engages and retards the movement of at least some of the carcasses from moving through the baffle, thereby massaging the carcasses and increasing the moisture retained in the carcasses.

Rocker chiller with improved product moisture retention

The post chill decontamination tank assemblyusually is positioned at the exit end of a chillerof a poultry processing line. Eviscerated birds fall into the decontamination tankand the paddlesA-D of the paddle assemblyrevolve in the tank about the axisand collect and lift the birds through the liquid and discharge the birds from the tank. An antimicrobial is added to the liquid for treating the exposed surfaces of the birds.

Post chill decontamination tank

Birds are moved through chilled water by bird moving means such as an auger or by a series of paddles. The birds tend to accumulate in a predetermined path in the water. Streams of water that include an antibacterial additive are directed toward the predetermined path and engage and disperse the birds, and wash the birds with the streams of water and the antibacterial additive, thereby increasing the rate of heat transfer from the birds and increasing the effectiveness of the antibacterial properties of the agents in the chilled water.

Poultry chiller with improved product distribution and antibacterial count

The chiller includes a semi-cylindrical tank () that conforms to the perimeter of its auger () so that the water can be raised to a water level () high above the auger shaft (). Streams of water () are directed from the pulling side () across the lower portion of the tank beneath the auger shaft () to the dead sideof the tank at intervals along the tank so as to disperse the lower portion of the masses () of buoyant birds () from the more crowded pulling side () of the tank, beneath the auger shaft () toward the more vacant dead side () of the tank, thereby distributing the products more evenly throughout the tank and causing more water turbulence in the tank, thereby increasing the rate of heat transfer from the birds and avoiding having the birds cross over the auger shaft moving backward in chiller into a following flight of the auger.

Chiller with improved product distribution

In an auger-type product chiller having an auger including a series of successive flights that form a generally helical structure that, when rotated, moves product through cold water for chilling the product, control elements extending from faces of the flights at a non-zero angle. The control structures prevent 'clumping' and packing of poultry product, break up any 'clumps' and packs of the product that may develop, and improve product uniformity. In this manner, the advantages of proper agitation, as well as rapid, predictable and even product cooling and moisture introduction, are achieved. Implementations of the control elements include sets of rods extending from the flights at 30.degree. angles from radial lines of affixation to the flights, flat plates extending from the flights at 30.degree. angles from radial lines of affixation to the flights, and sets of rods extending between successive flights near peripheries of the flights.

Auger type poultry chiller with clumping prevention

An ultrasonic, transcutaneous blood flow detector. A protective mounting cup is positionable against the skin of a patient for the transfer of ultrasonic energy into and out of the patient's body. The detector utilizes only a single piezoelectric transducer with a first face in juxtaposition with an interior face of the cup. A film of viscous semifluid material is positioned between the transducer first face and the cup's interior face to couple ultrasonic energy between the transducer and the cup. A resilient spring or foam member resiliently biases the transducer first face into engagement with the cup's interior face with the semifluid material therebetween, thus permitting substantially uninhibited deformation of the transducer in response to a drive signal. A transmitter supplies a continuous wave drive signal to the transducer, and a detector circuit operating concurrently therewith detects the Doppler frequency shifted electrical signal generated by the transducer as a result of the Doppler frequency shifted acoustic energy reflected back to the transducer. The transmitter provides the drive signal to the transducer with an output voltage automatically variable in response to loading of the transducer with reflective energy. An amplifier and audio binaurals provide a variable pitch audible tone to the user.

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Cary, NC, United States of America

Terry A Wright