Patents Examined by Steven Leff
  • Patent number: 8826808
    Abstract: A device for roasting food of fire, the device designed to mimic a fishing pole and having a rod, a wire, and a flipping mechanism. The wire is attached to an end of the rod and extends a fixed length culminating in a bifurcation at its end. The bifurcation includes apertures to receive a shaft of the flipping mechanism. The flipping mechanism includes a pair of rails and skewers located at the ends of the shaft and a weight centrally located on the shaft between the bifurcation, wherein the weight acts as a counter balance to flip the flipping mechanism when the rod is moved up and down or tilted.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 27, 2012
    Date of Patent: September 9, 2014
    Inventor: Robert S. Hurt
  • Patent number: 8808772
    Abstract: The method for cooking a food product in an oven comprising elements, the operations of which determine cooking set-points, is remarkable in that: cooking set-points are captured for defining an associated and determined cooking mode; the food product is located in the oven; the cooking operation is initiated; the operation of the elements is monitored and, should one of such elements be defective, the operation of the cooking mode associated with the oven is automatically switched to a degraded cooking mode, having at least one of its associated set-points differing from the captured set-point.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 31, 2011
    Date of Patent: August 19, 2014
    Assignee: Thirode Grandes Cuisines Poligy TGCP
    Inventors: Yves Lubrina, Fabrice Laget
  • Patent number: 8802177
    Abstract: Preparing soluble oat or barley flour in one-step using an extrusion (continuous cooking) process to dextrinize and gelatinize cook the oat or barley flour.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 4, 2008
    Date of Patent: August 12, 2014
    Assignee: The Quaker Oats Company
    Inventors: Robert Chatel, Yongsoo Chung, Justin French
  • Patent number: 8800436
    Abstract: A heating device of a food material that can heat a food material while preventing oxidation reaction and the like of the food material as much as possible is provided. A food material 8 is held under a reductive atmosphere where air is eliminated by filling superheated steam in a heating chamber 10 at a pressure exceeding an atmospheric pressure. Thus, because the food material 8 is heated under the reductive atmosphere where air is eliminated by filling the superheated steam, not under a conventional atmosphere where oxygen and nitrogen exist. Therefore, a Maillard reaction and an oxidation reaction can be suppressed, and a thermochemical reaction which could not be caused in the conventional heating method is caused in the food material 8. Thereby, it can be expected that the heated food material 8 acquires a characteristic which did not exist in the past, with less degradation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 17, 2011
    Date of Patent: August 12, 2014
    Assignee: Nepuree Corporation
    Inventors: Tsutomu Kano, Toshio Wakamatsu, Masateru Yamashita
  • Patent number: 8795754
    Abstract: Preparing soluble oat or barley flour in one-step using an extrusion (continuous cooking) process to dextrinize and gelatinize cook the oat or barley flour.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 8, 2009
    Date of Patent: August 5, 2014
    Assignee: The Quaker Oats Company
    Inventors: Robert Chatel, Yongsoo Chung, Justin French
  • Patent number: 8784918
    Abstract: In some implementations, a banded discharge removes or rejects comestibles from a production line when the comestibles have a diameter less than a minimum value. The banded discharge may include two or more support members and each pair of adjacent support members may be spaced apart a distance W. When a comestible with a diameter about the same as or less than the distance W moves onto the banded discharge, the banded discharge may remove the comestible from the production line. For example, the comestible may fall between two adjacent support members.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 19, 2011
    Date of Patent: July 22, 2014
    Assignee: Lawrence Equipment, Inc.
    Inventor: Pedro Armando Arevalo
  • Patent number: 8778436
    Abstract: Apparatus for producing a serving of frozen confectionery product is characterized by a supply of liquid gas, a support for removably carrying a disposable container that holds a volume of unfrozen confectionery mix, and a holder for releasably holding a disposable agitator, such that the agitator extends into confectionery mix in the container. A valve controllably dispenses liquid gas into the confectionery mix in the container while relative motion is imparted to the container and agitator to agitate and admix the confectionery mix and liquid gas while the liquid gas mix evaporates to cool and freeze the confectionery mix, through a transfer of heat from the confectionery mix to the liquid gas and through the latent heat of evaporation of the liquid gas, to produce the frozen confectionery product.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 12, 2010
    Date of Patent: July 15, 2014
    Inventors: David Waletzko, Daniel Celotta, Jonathan Paul Robelia, Micah Todd Cook, Rupa Kilaparti, Paul Joseph Henry, Daniel Theodore Noes, William K. Durfee
  • Patent number: 8771775
    Abstract: A pet chew may be manufactured by co-extruding multiple compositions to form a layered construction. Separate extruders may be provided to tailor processing conditions to heat and/or shear sensitive compositions, such as nutritional additives, and the respective extrudates may be combined such that relatively higher levels of nutritional compositions may be provided as an outer layer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 13, 2009
    Date of Patent: July 8, 2014
    Assignee: T.F.H. Publications, Inc.
    Inventors: Glen S. Axelrod, Ajay Gajria
  • Patent number: 8758843
    Abstract: The present invention relates to a process for the manufacture of an animal feed block according to a target constituent formulation. The process eliminates spoiling of product by inconsistent and fluctuating levels of active ingredient and wet ingredients so as to ensure repeatability from one batch to another.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 1, 2012
    Date of Patent: June 24, 2014
    Assignee: Carrs Agriculture Limited
    Inventors: Nigel John Hillyer, Edward Atherton
  • Patent number: 8753700
    Abstract: A method for heating a food item includes providing a structure for supporting a food item, a heater capable of heating the structure and the food item, a sensor for sensing a temperature of at least one of the structure and the food item, and a controller for controlling the operation of the heater. The sensor senses the temperature of at least one of the structure and the food item. In one embodiment, the heater is operated on a rethermalization cycle to raise the temperature sensed by the sensor to a cook temperature. The rethermalization cycle may be initiated manually or automatically upon the temperature sensed by the sensor falling below a lower limit temperature. The heater is operated to cook the food item on a cook duty cycle as a function of the temperature sensed by the sensor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 1, 2010
    Date of Patent: June 17, 2014
    Assignee: Haven Innovation, Inc.
    Inventors: Donald W. Wisner, Dennis V. Rupar, Terry L. Plumert
  • Patent number: 8753702
    Abstract: Printing on delicate surfaces, such as flowable food products, is described.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 20, 2004
    Date of Patent: June 17, 2014
    Assignee: FUJIFILM Dimatix, Inc.
    Inventors: Richard Baker, Howard T. Baldwin, Edward T. Chrusciel
  • Patent number: 8709517
    Abstract: A method for manufacturing a snack food with from a non-cohesive homogeneous blend of ingredients using an ultrasonic horn and an anvil to form an agglomerated, cohesive and portable snack without the use of additives, including but not limited to preservatives, plasticizers, binders and fluidizers.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 18, 2012
    Date of Patent: April 29, 2014
    Assignee: Creative Resonance, Inc.
    Inventor: Roberto Capodieci
  • Patent number: 8691308
    Abstract: Embodiments of the invention generally provide methods and systems that distribute an additive in solid carbon dioxide in an interior of food processing equipment. The additive may be injected into a flow of liquid carbon dioxide upstream of an expander at or adjacent to the interior. Injection of the additive into the interior may be alternated with directing a flow of expanded carbon dioxide into the interior. In some embodiments, the freezing point of the additive with or without a diluent composition and/or additive(s) is lower than a temperature of the liquid carbon dioxide.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 21, 2009
    Date of Patent: April 8, 2014
    Assignees: American Air Liquide, Inc., Air Liquide Industrial U.S. LP
    Inventors: David C. Braithwaite, Meenakshi Sundaram, Vasuhi Rasanayagam
  • Patent number: 8652552
    Abstract: The present invention relates to an apparatus for estimating the air humidity within an oven cavity (14) by using ultrasound waves with at least two different frequencies (f1, f2). Said apparatus comprises at least one ultrasound transmitter (10) for generating the ultrasound waves, at least one ultrasound receiver (12) for receiving the ultrasound waves and at least one phase detecting device for detecting the phase (?1, ?2) of the ultrasound wave at the ultrasound receiver (12) relative to the same ultrasound wave with the same frequency (f1, f2) at the ultrasound transmitter (10).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 18, 2010
    Date of Patent: February 18, 2014
    Assignee: Electrolux Home Products Corporation N.V.
    Inventors: Sergey Argudayev, Vladimir Gerasimov, Roberto Giordano
  • Patent number: 8642103
    Abstract: A process for the preparation of chewable honey without loss of its nutritional values and a honey chew bar obtained through such process, said chewable honey bar providing sustained energy to the consumer without loss of nutritional values and flavor of natural honey. During the process, an additional flavor may be added, comprising of additives, natural flavor, artificial flavor and nature identical flavor for example being selected of strawberry, vanilla, coffee, chocolate, rose, cloves or any other such flavor to the Honey.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 26, 2008
    Date of Patent: February 4, 2014
    Inventor: Prakash Kejriwal
  • Patent number: 8609171
    Abstract: Circumferential pasteurizers and related methods are disclosed. A circumferential pasteurizer includes a vessel having an inner guide surface, a thermal medium inlet disposed on a first side of the vessel, a thermal medium outlet disposed on a second side of the vessel, a food product inlet disposed on the second side of the vessel, a food outlet disposed on the first side of the vessel, and a rotating paddle wheel suspended for rotation in the vessel. The paddle wheel includes a hub and a plurality of paddles distributed around the hub and extending outwardly therefrom to adjacent the vessel inner guide surface to form food receiving pockets extending the length of the hub. The paddle wheel conveys the food product from the food product inlet to the food product outlet along the vessel inner guide surface and counter to the flow of the thermal medium.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 12, 2010
    Date of Patent: December 17, 2013
    Assignee: Fresh Express Incorporated
    Inventors: David K. Lewis, Ravi Kulkarni
  • Patent number: 8574648
    Abstract: A method and apparatus for smoking food products includes a method or apparatus configured to provide a pH level of a smoked food product. The determination of the pH level of the smoked product provides an objective measure of the amount of smoke received by the food product, as well as an indication of the agreeability of the flavor of the food product. Based on the determination of the pH level, the method and apparatus can be adjusted to provide a more consistent, high quality smoked food product.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 11, 2010
    Date of Patent: November 5, 2013
    Assignee: ConAgra Foods Lamb Weston, Inc.
    Inventors: Ghislaine M. Joly, Michael S. Leitner, Deborah Dihel, William J. Pack
  • Patent number: 8563060
    Abstract: The invention relates to a plant food material comprising at least one cryoprotective agent present in the intracellular space of the cells of said plant. The invention also relates to a freezing method for a plant food product comprising the steps of; providing a plant food material comprising at least 70% water, applying a pulsed electrical field to said plant food material, adding a cryoprotective agent to said plant food material, applying a pressure to said plant food material followed by, a resting period of at least 30 minutes and freezing said plant food material. Thereby it is for the first time possible to conserve a plant food material and maintaining the texture as well as the taste of the plant food material.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 3, 2008
    Date of Patent: October 22, 2013
    Inventors: Petr Dejmek, Ingegerd Sjöholm, Federico Gómez Galindo, Pui Yeu Phoon
  • Patent number: 8557317
    Abstract: The invention relates to a device 1 for detecting the internal temperature of a foodstuff 2, with at least one temperature sensor 3 that is arranged in a first housing section 4, which can be inserted into the foodstuff 2 for the measurement, while a second housing section 10 protrudes from the foodstuff 2. The autonomous device further comprises a voltage source 7, an electronic analyzing unit 6 for checking at least one predetermined temperature condition, and a temperature indicator 8. For precise, especially continuous measuring of the internal temperature of the foodstuff 2 during the preparation, in particular during a grilling process, the first housing section 4 is designed to remain within the foodstuff 2, and for this purpose, at least the analyzing unit 6 and the temperature indicator 8 are arranged in the first housing section 4, and the second housing section 10 is designed so that information shown by the analyzing unit 6 on the temperature indicator 8 can be perceived.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 11, 2012
    Date of Patent: October 15, 2013
    Assignee: Tecpoint GmbH
    Inventor: Horst Sonnendorfer
  • Patent number: 8551546
    Abstract: A CO-containing modified atmosphere packaging (MAP) gas is generated from a processing gas including CO2 and an optional inert gas by applying an electric field under conditions sufficient to generate non-thermal plasma. The fresh appearance of meat or seafood is maintained for a longer time by storing them in a container with the MAP gas.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 20, 2010
    Date of Patent: October 8, 2013
    Assignee: American Air Liquide, Inc.
    Inventors: Vasuhi Rasanayagam, Meenakshi Sundaram