# US 12,004,552 B2 · Mould member with foreign object detection > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 12,004,552 B2 - Document ID: US12004552B2 - Status: Granted - Kind: B2 - Application number: 17/057,829 - Filed: 2019-05-28 - Published: 2021-07-15 - Granted: 2024-06-11 - Earliest claimed: 2018-05-28 - Assignees: Gea Food Solutions Bakel B.V. - Applicants: Gea Food Solutions Bakel B.V. - Inventors: Andreas Leonardus De Bijl; Paulus Johannes Verbruggen - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US12004552B2 ## CPC - A23P 30/10: Moulding - A22C 7/0038: {Demoulding means} - A22C 7/0069: {Pressing and moulding by means of a drum} - A23P: SHAPING OR WORKING OF FOODSTUFFS, NOT FULLY COVERED BY A SINGLE OTHER SUBCLASS - A22C: PROCESSING MEAT, POULTRY, OR FISH (preserving A23B; obtaining protein compositions for foodstuffs A23J1/00; fish, meat or poultry preparations A23L; disintegrating, e.g. chopping meat, B02C18/00; preparation of proteins C07K1/00) ## Abstract A method of moulding products from a mass of food stuff. The method includes providing a pump, which pumps the mass towards a mould member, providing detection means, which detects unwanted objects in the mass, removing a portion of the mass via a valve in case an unwanted object is detected, moving a mould cavity, which is part of the mould member past a feed channel, wherein the feed channel is connected to a feed pump, filling the mass into the mould cavity to form a product until a predetermined filling pressure is reached, ejecting a gas through a porous sidewall and/or a porous bottom of the mould cavity to eject the product, wherein no ejection gas is provided when the predetermined filling pressure has not been reached. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A method of moulding products from a mass of food stuff, comprising: providing a pump, which pumps the mass towards a mould member, providing detection means, which detects unwanted objects in the mass, removing a portion of the mass via a valve in case an unwanted object is detected, the valve is located in region between the detection means and the mould member, moving a mould cavity, which is part of the mould member, past a feed channel, wherein the feed channel is connected to a feed pump, filling the mass into the mould cavity to form a product until a predetermined filling pressure is reached, ejecting a gas through a porous sidewall and/or a porous bottom of the mould cavity to eject the product, wherein no ejection gas is provided when the predetermined filling pressure has not been reached after the removing step so that the product is not ejected from the mould cavity. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The method according to claim 1, wherein the mould member comprises a multitude of rows, and each of the rows comprises a multitude of cavities, which are filled simultaneously. ### Claim 3 (depends on 2) The method according to claim 2, wherein the cavities are filled such that the pump delivers an approximately needed volume to fill one row of the cavities simultaneously and that the filling pressure is then increased until the predetermined filling pressure is reached. ### Claim 4 (depends on 1) The method according to claim 1, wherein the detection means is provided between the pump and the valve and a position of the unwanted on its way towards the valve is known. ### Claim 5 (depends on 4) The method according to claim 4, wherein the filling of the mould cavity continues until the unwanted object has reached a vicinity upstream of the valve. ### Claim 6 (depends on 4) The method according to claim 4, wherein a discharge of the product from the mould member is stopped when the unwanted object is in a vicinity of the valve and that the valve is opened. ### Claim 7 (depends on 6) The method according to claim 6, wherein movement of the mould member remains unchanged during the ejecting and the step of not providing the ejection gas. ### Claim 8 (depends on 1) The method according to claim 1, wherein a predetermined volume of the mass is discharged via the valve. ### Claim 9 (depends on 1) The method according to claim 1, wherein a pressure in the feed channel upstream from the mould member and downstream from the valve is increased after a discharge of the unwanted object, until the predetermined filling pressure or a slightly higher filling pressure is reached. ### Claim 10 (depends on 1) The method according to claim 1, wherein a control system is provided which controls the pump, a motion of the mould member, a control valve for the gas and/or the valve. ### Claim 11 (depends on 1) The method according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined filling pressure provided by the pump is increased to fill the mould cavity with the mass and then decreased while or after the mould cavity has been filled based on a position of the mould cavity relative to the feed channel. ### Claim 12 (depends on 1) The method according to claim 1, comprising: determining and/or detecting a position of the mould cavity relative to the feed channel, and controlling of the pump according to the position of the mould member. ### Claim 13 (depends on 1) The method according to claim 1, comprising: determining and/or detecting a position of the mould cavity relative to an exit-position, and controlling of the ejection gas according to the position of the mould member. ### Claim 14 (depends on 1) The method according to claim 1, wherein the formed products are placed on conveyor means. ### Claim 15 (depends on 1) The method according to claim 1, wherein after the valve is opened to remove the portion of the mass if the unwanted object is detected in the mass, a valve configured to eject the gas through the mould cavity remains closed or will be closed until after the predetermined filling pressure in the mould cavity is reached. ### Claim 16 (depends on 1) The method according to claim 1, wherein the filing step takes place when the mould cavity is in a filing position, and after the step of not ejecting the gas, the mould cavity is rotated back to the filling position to complete the filing step until the predetermined filling pressure is reached. ### Claim 17 (depends on 1) The method according to claim 1, wherein after the removing step, a filling pressure is increased to a level higher than the predetermined filling pressure, and wherein the mould member is configured to rotate at a constant speed during the ejecting and not ejecting steps. ### Claim 18 (depends on 1) The method according to claim 1, wherein a control system is configured to follow and/or record the unwanted object until the unwanted object is in a vicinity of the valve and then the method comprises opening the valve to remove the unwanted object. ### Claim 19 A method of moulding products from a mass of food stuff, comprising: pumping the mass with a pump towards a mould member; detecting an unwanted object in the mass with a detection means; removing the unwanted object and a portion of the mass with a valve, the valve is located between the detection means and the mould member; moving a mould cavity of a mould member past a feed channel; filling the mass into the mould cavity to form a product; determining if a predetermined filling pressure in the mould cavity has been reached; wherein when the mould cavity is in a discharge position, the method comprises: i) ejecting a gas through a porous sidewall and/or a porous bottom of the mould cavity to eject the product from the mould cavity if the predetermined filling pressure is reached, or ii) not ejecting the gas through the porous sidewall and/or the porous bottom of the mould cavity so that the product is not ejected from the mould cavity if the predetermined filling pressure is not reached after the removing step; wherein the filing step takes place when the mould cavity is in a filing position, and after the step of not ejecting the gas, the mould cavity is rotated back to the filling position until the predetermined filling pressure is reached and then the ejecting step takes place after the mould cavity is moved into the discharge position. ### Claim 20 (depends on 19) The method according to claim 19, wherein the mould member is configured to rotate at a constant speed during the removing, filling, ejecting, and not ejecting steps.