Foodstuff processing line systems and methods
AssigneeFresh Mark, Inc.
InventorsIsaac Genshaft, Anthony Lang, Dwight Jellison, Bill Yeager
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A process that includes receiving, by a trimmer via a conveyor system, a foodstuff, automatically trimming, by the trimmer and based on trimming instructions, the foodstuff that results in trimmings and a trimmed foodstuff. The process also includes advancing, via the conveyor system, the trimmings of the foodstuff to a trimmings collector, and advancing, via the conveyor system, the trimmed foodstuff out of the trimmer. The trimmer is provided on the conveyor system prior to an injector such that the trimmer performs the automatic trimming of the foodstuff prior to injecting the foodstuff with a liquid solution by the injector.
Claims20
A foodstuff processing line method, comprising:
- changing, using a servo depositor, a foodstuff on a conveyor system from a short edge leading to a long edge leading on the conveyor system prior to being received by an injector coupled to the conveyor system;
- injecting, by the injector coupled to the conveyor system and based on injection instructions, liquid solution into the foodstuff to generate an injected foodstuff, wherein the foodstuff is in a fat-side-down orientation during injection;
- advancing, by the conveyor system, the injected foodstuff out of the injector;
- receiving, by a flip system coupled to an output of the injector via the conveyor system, the injected foodstuff;
- flipping, by the flip system, the injected foodstuff from the fat-side-down orientation to a fat-side-up orientation;
- advancing, by the conveyor system, the injected foodstuff in the fat-side-up orientation out of the flip system;
- receiving, by a cooker via the conveyor system, the injected foodstuff in the fat-side-up orientation;
- cooking, by the cooker and based on cooking instructions, the injected foodstuff that results in a cooked foodstuff, wherein the cooker is spirally configured such that a belt that is included in the cooker and that is coupled to the conveyor system rotates, raises, and lowers the injected foodstuff while the injected foodstuff is being cooked by the cooker;
- and
- advancing, via the conveyor system, the cooked foodstuff out of the cooker.
A foodstuff processing system comprising:
- a conveyor system;
- an injector that is coupled to the conveyor system and that is configured to:
- receive, via the conveyor system, a foodstuff in a long edge leading orientation and a fat-side-down orientation;
- inject, based on injection instructions, liquid solution into the foodstuff to generate an injected foodstuff;
- and
- advance, via the conveyor system, the injected foodstuff out of the injector;
- a flip system that is coupled to an output of the injector via the conveyor system and that is configured to:
- receive the injected foodstuff;
- flip the injected foodstuff from the fat-side-down orientation to a fat-side-up orientation;
- and
- advance, via the conveyor system, the injected foodstuff in the fat-side-up orientation out of the flip system;
- and
- a cooker that is coupled to an output of the flip system via the conveyor system and that is configured to:
- receive the injected foodstuff in the fat-side-up orientation;
- cook, based on cooking instructions, the injected foodstuff that results in a cooked foodstuff, wherein the cooker is spirally configured such that a belt that is included in the cooker and that is coupled to the conveyor system rotates, raises, and lowers the injected foodstuff while the injected foodstuff is being cooked by the cooker;
- and
- advance, via the conveyor system, the cooked foodstuff out of the cooker.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.