Antimicrobial packaging system
AssigneeNational Beef Packing Company, LLC
InventorsPhillip W. Blattner, James C. Graves, Gary B. Hersh, David M. Kalscheur, Steven J. Scott, Joaquin L Urias
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Abstract
Implementations of the present invention extend to sanitary systems, methods, and devices configured to package food items with an even coating of an accurate amount of sanitizing agent, such as an antimicrobial agent. In one implementation, an exemplary system comprises a combination of air nozzles, anti-bacterial spray nozzles or spray headers, metering valves, and timers to achieve uniform distribution of an antimicrobial solution into a product package, and subsequently provide a uniform distribution of the antimicrobial solution to the food item.
Claims18
A packaging system for packaging a food item and a sanitizing agent into a package, the packaging system comprising:
- a delivery portion having an entrance and an exit, the exit having a variable cross-sectional dimension that operatively couples to the package to deliver the food item into the package as the food item moves from the entrance through the exit;
- a programmable controller having computer-executable instructions that receives a food item characteristic associated with the food item and determines an amount of the sanitizing agent to apply to the package based on the food item characteristic;
- an air dispenser connected to an air supply, the air dispenser communicably connected to the programmable controller and positioned on the delivery portion to at least partially inflate the package with air when the package is at least partially positioned around the delivery portion;
- a liquid dispenser connected to a liquid supply, the liquid dispenser communicably connected to the programmable controller and positioned on the delivery portion to dispense the amount of the sanitizing agent determined by the programmable controller to the interior surface of the package before the food item is delivered into the package;
- and
- a flow control manifold connected to the air dispenser and the liquid dispenser, the flow control manifold communicably connected to the programmable controller to control an air flow rate from the air supply to the air dispenser and a liquid flow rate from the liquid supply to the liquid dispenser.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.