The United States of America As Represented by the Secretary of

Wolfgang K Heiland

Richard P Konstance

James C Craig, Jr

Michael F Kozempel

E Richard Radewonuk

Dennis J O'Brien

Paul Magidman

Glenn R Dalby

John F Sullivan

The present invention is drawn to various aspects of automated excision of undesirable material (and optionally excision of bone) from meat, and automated production of starting material for restructured meat, including: (a) an apparatus and method generally drawn to, optical detection of the location of undesirable material in meat, communication of information regarding the location of the undesirable material to a control means, and excision of the undesirable material from the meat using a high pressure water jet controlled by the control means; (b) a bone location sensor and method of bone location sensing, each employing a plurality of needles, and; (c) a multiple blade slicer.

Automated excision of undesirable material and production of starting

An attached growth biological reactor for the growth and harvesting of filamentous fungi. The reactor contains a rigid cylinder which is partially submerged and rotated in a biological medium containing nutrients for fungal growth and which as been inoculated with a filamentous fungal medium. The filamentous fungi attaches itself to and grows upon the cylinder wherein it is removed by use of a doctoring blade. The reactor can be operated in a continuous mode by continuously supplying oxygen and nutrients to the reactor.

Attached growth biological reactor

An automatic apparatus for the continuous freeze concentration of liquids. The apparatus includes a heat exchanger for freezing the liquid to form a slurry of ice crystals and concentrated liquid. Communicating with the heat exchanger via a line or pipe is at least one, and preferably two, separating and rinsing columns, connected in parallel, to which the slurry is pumped for separating the concentrated liquid from the ice and subsequently rinsing the ice to remove any residual liquid therefrom. First and second receptacles are provided for collecting the concentrated liquid and the ice from the columns, respectively.

Twin rinse columns for freeze concentration of rinsable concentrates

An apparatus and method for separating particulate solids from a liquid suspension relies upon a hydrocyclone having two radially and vertically spaced inlets in the upper portion thereof for establishing throughout the hydrocyclone concentric flow patterns of a fluid stream containing the particulate solids and a stream of wash fluid which are separately fed into the hydrocyclone through the inlets. The particles are efficiently separated and washed by passing laterally from one stream to the other as a result of inherent centrifugal or centripedal forces. Multiple hydrocyclone units arranged in a countercurrent series achieve a high product recovery per unit ratio. The invention is particularly suitable for freeze concentration of high value food products.

Hydrocyclone for washing particles in liquid suspension

Disclosed are processes and apparatus utilizing, choke means at least partially providing restriction to passage of material and measurement of magnitude of force(s) exterted on said choke means by passage of material, to provide: (1) an indication of characteristics of the material, and/or; (2) control of said passage of material and/or control or processes or apparatus associated with said passage of material in response to the magnitude of the measured force(s).

Process and apparatus for extrusion utilizing force measurement means

An apparatus and method for transferring semiautomatically cattlehides from one hide transport conveyor to a second faster moving transport conveyor.

Hide transfer apparatus

An apparatus for loading cattlehides and like materials automatically onto carrier bars.

Automatic hide processing apparatus

A device for detecting contraband in closed luggage is provided. The device is especially useful for detecting fruits, vegetables, foodstuffs and other materials that give off carbon dioxide.

Shielded sniffing device

An apparatus and method comprised of a plurality of doctoring units, each of which is a pivotally supported combination doctor blade and V-shaped member, is described. In each unit the leading edge of the doctor blade is parallel to the plane of the surface of a processing belt conveying the material to be dried and the leading edge formed by the two plane faces of the V-shaped member is generally perpendicular to the plane of the belt when the unit is in doctoring position. In addition to doctoring, the apparatus and method imparts a tumbling action to the material being dried by the plowshare action of the V-shaped member. Comestibles dried with this method and apparatus can be transferred directly from the method to a puffing operation, thereby eliminating the usual time consuming equilibration period.

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Trevose, PA, United States of America

Wolfgang K Heiland