Patents by Inventor Andi J. Mikelsons
Andi J. Mikelsons has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).
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Patent number: 8020487Abstract: A food processing system includes a food processing chamber for processing a food product, such as meat products such as hot dogs, sausages, poultry, fish, and other food items. A high speed serial to parallel loading station delivery system is provided. The food product is loaded onto a conveyor in the processing chamber having a plurality of two-piece food product cradles having openings receiving the food product at the loading station and discharging the food product at the unloading station and having gaps between food product carriers distally oppositely spaced from the openings and defining food product cavities therebetween, the width of the openings varying during traversal of the conveyor through the chamber from the loading to the unloading stations.Type: GrantFiled: January 9, 2008Date of Patent: September 20, 2011Assignee: Alkar-RapidPak-MP Equipment, Inc.Inventors: David C. Nordby, Dennis F. Conohan, Noel R. Johnson, Andi J. Mikelsons, Steve O. Schultz, Jerome P. Lehman, Seth T. Pulsfus
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Patent number: 8015917Abstract: A food processing system includes a food processing chamber for processing a food product, such as meat products such as hot dogs, sausages, poultry, fish, and other food items. A high speed serial to parallel loading station delivery system is provided. The food product is loaded onto a conveyor in the processing chamber having a plurality of two-piece food product cradles having openings receiving the food product at the loading station and discharging the food product at the unloading station and having gaps between food product carriers distally oppositely spaced from the openings and defining food product cavities therebetween, the width of the openings varying during traversal of the conveyor through the chamber from the loading to the unloading stations.Type: GrantFiled: October 16, 2009Date of Patent: September 13, 2011Assignee: Alkar-RapidPak-MP Equipment, Inc.Inventors: David C. Nordby, II, Dennis F. Conohan, Noel R. Johnson, Andi J. Mikelsons, Steve O. Schultz, Jerome P. Lehman, Seth T. Pulsfus
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Patent number: 7975603Abstract: A food processing system includes sweep belt transfer of food product from a conveyor to a food processor such as a cooker or chiller. The conveyor may include upstream conveyance around a turn having a moving fence. The system may include an upstream conveyor to conveyor transfer from a widening gap upper conveyor to a lower conveyor.Type: GrantFiled: March 14, 2005Date of Patent: July 12, 2011Assignee: Alkar-RapidPak-MP Equipment, Inc.Inventors: Andi J. Mikelsons, Noel R. Johnson, Dennis F. Conohan, Wendell J. Holl, Richard J. Jozwiak
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Publication number: 20090013880Abstract: A food processing system includes a food processing chamber for processing a food product, such as meat products such as hot dogs, sausages, poultry, fish, and other food items. A high speed serial to parallel loading station delivery system is provided. The food product is loaded onto a conveyor in the processing chamber having a plurality of two-piece food product cradles having openings receiving the food product at the loading station and discharging the food product at the unloading station and having gaps between food product carriers distally oppositely spaced from the openings and defining food product cavities therebetween, the width of the openings varying during traversal of the conveyor through the chamber from the loading to the unloading stations.Type: ApplicationFiled: January 9, 2008Publication date: January 15, 2009Applicant: Alkar-RapidPak, Inc.Inventors: David C. Nordby, Dennis F. Conohan, Noel R. Johnson, Andi J. Mikelsons, Steve O. Schultz, Jerome P. Lehman, Seth T. Pulsfus
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Patent number: 7416479Abstract: A high capacity food processing system, including for an elongated strand of food product such as hot dogs, sausage links, etc., has first and second loading stations with serial accumulators enabling intermittent stopping of the loading operation, which is a necessary and normal part of use, without disrupting a downstream thermal process, and enabling differential conveyor velocities through the loading stations, including a loading velocity for loading food product on the conveyor, a bypass velocity during intermittent non-loaded conveyor segments, and a transport velocity through the processing station, wherein the transport velocity is less than the bypass velocity and greater than the loading velocity, and where the transport velocity remains constant and the same during both of the loading and bypass velocities of the conveyor at the loading stations and also remains constant and the same during stopped movement of the conveyor at the loading stations.Type: GrantFiled: July 18, 2006Date of Patent: August 26, 2008Assignee: Alkar-RapidPak, Inc.Inventors: Noel R. Johnson, Luke A. Titel, Nicholas Cable, Wendell J. Holl, Donald J. Endres, David Nordby, Andi J. Mikelsons
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Patent number: 7325486Abstract: A food processing system includes a food processing chamber for processing a food product, such as meat products such as hot dogs, sausages, poultry, fish, and other food items. A high speed serial to parallel loading station delivery system is provided. The food product is loaded onto a conveyor in the processing chamber having a plurality of two-piece food product cradles having openings receiving the food product at the loading station and discharging the food product at the unloading station and having gaps between food product carriers distally oppositely spaced from the openings and defining food product cavities therebetween, the width of the openings varying during traversal of the conveyor through the chamber from the loading to the unloading stations.Type: GrantFiled: December 4, 2002Date of Patent: February 5, 2008Assignee: Alkar-RapidPak, Inc.Inventors: David C. Nordby, Dennis F. Conohan, Noel R. Johnson, Andi J. Mikelsons, Steve O. Schultz, Jerome P. Lehman, Seth T. Pulsfus
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Patent number: 7083509Abstract: A high capacity food processing system, including for an elongated strand of food product such as hot dogs, sausage links, etc., has first and second loading stations with serial accumulators enabling intermittent stopping of the loading operation, which is a necessary and normal part of use, without disrupting a downstream thermal process, and enabling differential conveyor velocities through the loading stations, including a loading velocity for loading food product on the conveyor, a bypass velocity during intermittent non-loaded conveyor segments, and a transport velocity through the processing station, wherein the transport velocity is less than the bypass velocity and greater than the loading velocity, and where the transport velocity remains constant and the same during both of the loading and bypass velocities of the conveyor at the loading stations and also remains constant and the same during stopped movement of the conveyor at the loading stations.Type: GrantFiled: October 10, 2003Date of Patent: August 1, 2006Assignee: Alkar-Rapid Pak, Inc.Inventors: Noel R. Johnson, Luke A. Titel, Nicholas Cable, Wendell J. Holl, Donald J. Endres, David Nordby, Andi J. Mikelsons
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Patent number: 7000816Abstract: A loading system is provided for loading an elongated strand of food product of given diameter on a moving transport conveyor. First and second loading conveyors are separated by a gap of dimension less than or equal to the diameter of the food product strand and convey the strand to a transfer ramp by an indexed drive.Type: GrantFiled: September 26, 2003Date of Patent: February 21, 2006Assignee: Alkar-Rapidpak, Inc.Inventors: Andi J. Mikelsons, Luke A. Titel, Jerome P. Lehman, Dennis F. Conohan