The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Jul. 10, 2001
Filed:
Feb. 05, 1999
Applicant:
Inventor:
Joost Veltman, Aptos, CA (US);
Assignee:
FMC Corporation, Chicago, IL (US);
Primary Examiner:
Int. Cl.
CPC ...
A23L 3/06 ;
U.S. Cl.
CPC ...
A23L 3/06 ;
Abstract
A transfer valve assembly (,) for use as a feed valve or a discharge valve includes a series of open-faced pockets (,) biased by leaf springs (,) off of a central hub (,) and an arcuate saddle piece (,) mounted at an opening (,) of a sterilizer vessel (,) for transferring containers from an infeed conveyor (,) onto an interior reel (,). The engagement of open-faced pockets (,) with saddle (,) creates a seal to prevent the escape of steam, but gaps are provided between pockets (,) which allow for a controlled escape of steam in a manner that allows the pressure within the sterilizer vessel to be maintained at a slightly elevated level.