Apparatus for, and Method of, Conveying Food Slices
AssigneeFrito-Lay Trading Company GmbH
InventorsBob ABBAS, Richard BAILEY, Lindsay DOBSON, Oliver HERBERT, Peter David HERRING, Maria Alejandra TORRES
Life of this patent
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Abstract
An apparatus for conveying food slices, the apparatus comprising a conveyor element having an upper conveying surface, the conveying surface being downwardly inclined from an input end thereof towards an output end thereof, a vibratory actuator coupled to the conveyor element and adapted to cause vibratory motion of the conveying surface, the vibratory motion being at least partly in a direction along the conveying surface, and a liquid supply for supplying liquid onto the conveying surface to form a liquid film over at least part of the conveying surface.
Claims60
An apparatus for conveying food slices, the apparatus comprising a conveyor element having an upper conveying surface, the conveying surface being downwardly inclined from an input end thereof towards an output end thereof, a vibratory actuator coupled to the conveyor element and adapted to cause vibratory motion of the conveying surface, the vibratory motion being at least partly in a direction along the conveying surface, and a liquid supply for supplying liquid onto the conveying surface to form a liquid film over at least part of the conveying surface.
A method of conveying food slices, the method comprising the steps of:
- (a) providing a conveyor element having an upper conveying surface, the conveying surface being downwardly inclined from an input end thereof towards an output end thereof;
- (b) supplying liquid onto the conveying surface to form a liquid film over at least part of the conveying surface;
- (c) feeding food slices onto the input end of the conveying surface;
- (d) vibrating the conveyor element to cause vibratory motion of the conveying surface, a component of the vibratory motion being at least partly in a direction substantially along the conveying surface, the vibratory motion causing food slices on the liquid film to be slid downwardly towards the output end;
- and
- (e) outputting the food slices at the output end.
A flume for separating food slices in a flow of liquid, the flume comprising a tank having an input end of the tank upstream, with respect to flow of the liquid through the flume, of an output end of the tank, a sump portion at an upstream part of the tank, wherein a bottom wall of the tank has an upstream portion in the sump portion and a downstream portion downstream of the sump portion, wherein the upstream portion is upwardly oriented, in a downstream direction, a feed pipe suitable for flowing a supply of food slices in a flow of liquid into the sump portion, and, downstream of the sump portion, two opposed side walls of the tank forming an outwardly flaring configuration extending towards the output end.
(canceled)
A method of separating food slices in a flow of liquid, the method comprising the steps of:
- (a) feeding a supply of food slices in a supply of liquid into an upstream sump portion of a tank of a flume;
- (b) causing the food slices and liquid exiting the sump portion to mount an upwardly inclined ramp formed by an upstream portion of a bottom wall of the tank;
- and
- (c) downstream of the sump portion, flowing the food slices and liquid along a downstream portion of the bottom wall of the tank and between two opposed side walls of the tank which form an outwardly flaring configuration.
(canceled)
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.