Vacuum pneumatic conveying apparatus and method for transferring food

Abstract

Vacuum pneumatic conveying apparatus and method are utilized to transfer food products, such as fish, from a boat to a processing factory directly or via a tender vessel. Fish products such as salmon, are withdrawn from a fishing boat through an intake nozzle of a pneumatic vacuum system and entrained in an air flow, upwardly through inlet or receiving conduits of a vacuum, pneumatic, conveying system, and on through a product separator of an in line assembly of an upper product separator and a lower liquid separator. Salmon continue on flying out of the product separator and commence their downwardly momentum and gravity induced travel through discharge conduits, encompassing essentially non flowing air maintained under continuing vacuum. They reach a lower exit volume and collect temporarily in an active changing group to intermittently force open, against barometric pressure, an otherwise self sealing, flexible discharge sleeve, to be discharged without injury and conveyed elsewhere in a fish processing factory. The air flow under vacuum in which the salmon are entrained eventually flows through an enlarged downwardly directed internal conduit within the product separator, to escape radially through a longitudinally grilled exit, and the salmon continue on via their momentum downwardly for discharge. The escaping air flow expands and reverses, separating its water and flows through a rotary positive displacement blower into the atmosphere.