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:
Apr. 30, 2002
Filed:
Mar. 22, 2000
Joseph William Kelly, Grapevine, TX (US);
Debra Anne Kiner, Plano, TX (US);
Larry Carl Swarvar, Dallas, TX (US);
Recot, Inc., Pleasanton, CA (US);
Abstract
An improved method and apparatus for the formation of food clusters by using a fingerwheel to break a bed of food product into clusters of a uniform size. After the food product, such as popcorn, and the coating that is placed on the product is mixed together, a bed of the mixture is formed. The bed is then forced through stationary fingers by the fingerwheel at an optimum temperature for forming clusters, thus breaking the bed into individual clusters. The average size of the clusters is determined by the spacing between the fingers on the fingerwheel and the stationary fingers when they are meshed together. Once the clusters are broken up, the clusters are sent to a sifter/cooler where the clusters are cooled and sifted before being combined