# US 10,245,619 B2 · Foodstuff sieve station > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 10,245,619 B2 - Document ID: US10245619B2 - Status: Granted - Kind: B2 - Application number: 15/038,067 - Filed: 2014-11-25 - Published: 2016-10-20 - Granted: 2019-04-02 - Earliest claimed: 2013-11-26 - Assignees: Electrolux Professional S.p.A. - Applicants: Electrolux Professional S.p.A. - Inventors: Alessio Ambroset; Omar Fracas; Deny Longo; Maurizio Scacco - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US10245619B2 ## CPC - B07B 1/22: Revolving drums - A21C 9/00: Other apparatus for handling dough or dough pieces - A23P 20/12: Apparatus or processes for applying powders or particles to foodstuffs, e.g. for breading; Such apparatus combined with means for pre-moistening or battering - A23P 30/00: Shaping or working of foodstuffs characterised by the process or apparatus (A23P10/00, A23P20/00 take precedence) - B07B: SEPARATING SOLIDS FROM SOLIDS BY SIEVING, SCREENING, SIFTING OR BY USING GAS CURRENTS; SEPARATING BY OTHER DRY METHODS APPLICABLE TO BULK MATERIAL, e.g. LOOSE ARTICLES FIT TO BE HANDLED LIKE BULK MATERIAL (wet separating processes, sorting by processes using fluent material in the same way as liquid B03; combinations of dry separating apparatus with wet separating apparatus B03B; using liquids B03B, B03D; sorting by magnetic or electrostatic separation of solid materials from solid materials or fluids, separation by high voltage electric fields B03C; centrifuges or vortex apparatus for carrying out physical processes B04; hand sorting, postal sorting, sorting by switching or other devices actuated in response to detection or measurement of some feature of articles or samples of material B07C) - A21C: MACHINES OR EQUIPMENT FOR MAKING OR PROCESSING DOUGHS; HANDLING BAKED ARTICLES MADE FROM DOUGH - A23P: SHAPING OR WORKING OF FOODSTUFFS, NOT FULLY COVERED BY A SINGLE OTHER SUBCLASS ## Abstract A foodstuff sieve station includes a hopper to pour floury foodstuff and an electrically-operated sifting assembly to sift it for separating impurities from still-usable foodstuff. The sifting assembly includes a hopper-shaped with bell-shaped, rotatable sieve housed/recessed inside the casing. The sieve has-an axis tilted with respect to the vertical and an upward mouth underneath an outlet of the hopper to receive foodstuff therefrom. An electric motor assembly rotates the sieve about the axis. The sieve prevents the foodstuff having a grain size higher that a threshold value to flow through, and has an inwardly protruding assembly that projects from the inner surface and extends on a helical-shaped path from the bottom of the sieve to the mouth of the sieve. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A foodstuff sieve station comprising a sifting assembly which is structured to receive a floury foodstuff preparation to be sifted, and to sift said floury foodstuff preparation for separating the dough balls and/or other impurities from the still-usable floury foodstuff preparation; wherein the sifting assembly comprises: a substantially hopper-shaped, outer casing which is arranged with the upper inlet mouth of the casing faced upwards to receive the floury foodstuff preparation to be sifted; a substantially bell-shaped, rotatable sieve member which is housed/recessed inside said substantially hopper-shaped, outer casing substantially coaxial to a given reference axis tilted to the vertical by an angle greater that 0° and lower that 90°; with the mouth of the bell-shaped sieve member faced upwards, so as to receive the floury foodstuff preparation to be sifted; and a motor assembly which is capable of driving into rotation the bell-shaped sieve member about said reference axis; the bell-shaped sieve member being structured/designed to prevent the dough balls and/or other impurities to freely flow through the body of the same sieve member, and being moreover internally provided with at least one inwardly protruding, substantially helical-shaped assembly that projects from the inner surface of the bell-shaped sieve member and extends along the same inner surface of the bell-shaped sieve member according to a substantially helical-shaped path substantially from the bottom of the sieve member up to the mouth of the same sieve member. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The foodstuff sieve station according to claim 1, further comprising an upper hopper wherein the user is allowed to pour the floury foodstuff preparation to be sifted; the sifting assembly being arranged beneath the upper hopper with the upper inlet mouth of the substantially hopper-shaped, outer casing at least partially underneath the outlet mouth of the upper hopper so as to receive the floury foodstuff preparation poured into the upper hopper; the rotatable sieve member being housed/recessed inside the substantially hopper-shaped, outer casing with the mouth arranged upwards at least partially underneath the outlet mouth of the upper hopper, so as to receive the to-be-sifted floury foodstuff preparation coming out from said hopper. ### Claim 3 (depends on 1) The foodstuff sieve station according to claim 1, wherein said reference axis is tilted to the vertical by an angle ranging between 50° and 60°. ### Claim 4 (depends on 1) The foodstuff sieve station according to claim 1, wherein the sifting assembly comprises a catch member which is arranged at the upper mouth of said substantially bell-shaped sieve member, and is structured so as to collect the dough balls and/or other impurities coming out from the mouth of the bell-shaped sieve member when the latter rotates. ### Claim 5 (depends on 4) The foodstuff sieve station according to claim 4, wherein the sifting assembly is structured to separately convey the dough balls and/or other impurities and the still-usable floury foodstuff preparation into two distinct storage containers located underneath the same sifting assembly; the first storage container being located underneath the lower outlet mouth of said substantially hopper-shaped, outer casing. ### Claim 6 (depends on 5) The foodstuff sieve station according to claim 5, wherein the catch member is structured so as to channel said dough balls and/or other impurities towards the second storage container. ### Claim 7 (depends on 6) The foodstuff sieve station according to claim 6, wherein the catch member comprises a drain chute having the upper end-portion structured to locally tangentially surround at least part of the rim of the bell-shaped sieve member, so as to collect almost all dough balls and/or other impurities jumping out from the mouth of said sieve member, and is sloped downwards so as to channel by gravity the collected dough balls and/or other impurities away from the bell-shaped sieve member. ### Claim 8 (depends on 1) The foodstuff sieve station according to claim 1, wherein the bell-shaped sieve member is fitted into the substantially hopper-shaped outer casing approximately at the upper inlet mouth of the same outer casing, and in a stable, though manually removable manner. ### Claim 9 (depends on 1) The foodstuff sieve station according to claim 1, wherein the bell-shaped sieve member comprises a substantially cylindrical, bell-shaped rotatable drum which has a perforated or meshlike structure designed so to prevent the dough balls and/or other impurities to freely flow through the body of the same rotatable drum, and which is housed/recessed inside the substantially hopper-shaped, outer casing substantially coaxial to said tilted reference axis, with the mouth of the drum arranged upwards and at least partially immediately underneath the outlet mouth of the upper hopper. ### Claim 10 (depends on 9) The foodstuff sieve station according to claim 9, wherein the rotatable drum is internally provided with at least one protruding rib or winglet that cantilevered juts out from the inner cylindrical surface of the rotatable drum, and extends from substantially the bottom of the drum up to the mouth of the drum according to a substantially helical path. ### Claim 11 (depends on 1) The foodstuff sieve station according to claim 1, wherein the electric motor assembly is capable of driving into rotation the bell-shaped sieve member selectively and alternatively on both rotation directions. ### Claim 12 (depends on 1) The foodstuff sieve station according to claim 1, further comprising a rigid supporting framework structured for resting on the floor, and an upper worktop arranged substantially horizontal on said supporting framework; the upper hopper being recessed into said worktop. ### Claim 13 (depends on 12) The foodstuff sieve station according to claim 12, wherein the upper worktop is provided with a recessed sink which is located next to the upper hopper. ### Claim 14 (depends on 5) The foodstuff sieve station according to claim 5, wherein the sifting assembly comprises two container housings, one structured to accommodate in easy manually removable manner the first storage container and the other structured to accommodate in easy manually removable manner the second storage container. ### Claim 15 (depends on 1) The foodstuff sieve station according to claim 1, wherein the inlet mouth of the upper hopper is shaped/structured so as to accommodate in manually removable manner a substantially basin-shaped breading lug.