Filtration apparatus for use with a meat-piece fluid injector

Fluid filtration apparatus, for use in conjunction with the reservoir of a fluid-injecting machine for meat pieces, comprising:

• a pressurized water source;
• a plurality of mesh-bottomed filter receptacles assembled in a vertical circular ensemble having an innermost direction, an outermost direction, and uppermost direction, and a lowermost direction;
• whereby the mesh bottoms are disposed in said innermost direction;
• an outflow port in communication with the fluid-injecting machine;
• an upper exhaust-fluid nozzle fixedly mounted above an uppermost one of said plurality of filter receptacles and connected to said outflow port of the fluid-injecting machine so that unfiltered fluid may be dumped into said uppermost one of said plurality of receptacles,
• a set of trays disposed in a direction below said uppermost one of said plurality of filter receptacles and within said circular ensemble so as to capture filtered fluid emanating from said uppermost one of said plurality of receptacles;
• a rotatably mounted pipe disposed within said circular ensemble;
• a fluid delivery means communicating between said set of trays and the reservoir of the fluid-injecting machine,
• a lowermost one of said plurality of filter trays being in an inverted position;
• a plurality of lower nozzles mounted on said rotatably mounted pipe within said circular ensemble, and in a direction below said set of trays, and in a direction above said lowermost one of said plurality of filter receptacles, and connected to said pressurized water source, and
• a drive means including a linear hydraulic motor, arranged to rotate said circular ensemble at one speed while simultaneously rotating said rotatably mounted pipe and said plurality of lower nozzles at a different speed and on a regularized intermittent basis so as to cause effluent from said upper exhaust-fluid nozzle to run substantially completely over the mesh bottom of said uppermost one of said plurality of filter receptacles while pressurized water from said plurality of lower nozzles sweeps over the mesh bottom of said lowermost one of said plurality of filter receptacles.