Ore-ida Foods, Inc.

Wayne L Covington

Glen R Green

Steven C Price

The present invention relates to a heating system which includes a product dispensing assembly, a heating basket mounted for rotation within a closed-loop air heating system, a separator for removing entrained particulates from the circulating air stream, and an air exchange system for refreshing air in the closed-loop air heating system. The product dispensing assembly accurately meters a portion of the product, and includes a hopper with an helix auger, a weigh scale and a trap door for dispensing the metered product into the heating basket.

Automatic air heating system for vending machines

A closed-loop air cooking system includes: a) a closed-loop air duct assembly; b) a cooking basket means mounted for rotation within the air duct assembly; c) fan means for forcing air through the air duct assembly; d) heating means for heating air that circulates within the air duct assembly; and e) separator means for removing entrained particulates from the air stream that circulates within the air duct assembly.

Automatic air cooking system for vending machines

A closed-loop air cooking system for use in a vending machine that vends french fried potatoes and the like, including: a) a closed-loop air duct assembly; b) a cooking basket mounted for rotation within the air duct assembly; c) a fan for forcing air through the air duct assembly; d) a separator for removing entrained particulates from the air stream within the air duct assembly; and e) a heater for heating air that circulates within the air duct assembly. In addition, the cooking system includes a separator for removing oil and other particulates from the closed-loop air stream.

Chopped or ground sausage meat or like material is extruded as a continuous column into the path of action of a set of wipers which individually sweep across different fractional portions of the extrusion opening, thereby tearing respective random size chunks of material from the column being extruded. The chunks are primarily useful as pizza topping and may be frozen and stored for that purpose. The set of wipers is preferably provided as a plurality of radial arms rotatably mounted at intervals about a common axis and offset laterally from one another, so that free extremities of the arms act as tearing fingers as they sweep past respective fractional portions of the extrusion opening.

Growing community of inventors

Boise, ID, United States of America

Wayne L Covington