Patents by Inventor Charles A. Triplett

Charles A. Triplett 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).

  • Patent number: 6740349
    Abstract: An apparatus and method is provided for forming shaped food products from an emulsion or batter. A stuffing tube includes a wall defining a central passage for emulsion, and a treating fluid passage positioned within the wall and radially outside of the central passage. The stuffing tube is slideably mounted coaxially within a mold tube. Emulsion and treating fluid are deposited into the mold tube during retraction of the stuffing tube from the mold tube, where the depositions occur substantially without relative motion between the emulsion and the treating fluid, or between the emulsion/treating fluid and the inside of the mold tube. A production machine incorporating an array of stuffing tubes can be indexed with a plurality of arrays of mold tubes.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 30, 2002
    Date of Patent: May 25, 2004
    Assignee: The Dial Corporation
    Inventors: Rodney L. Franklin, Marvin J. Mentjes, Richard A. Mueller, Charles A. Triplett, Andrew C. Harvey
  • Patent number: 6733812
    Abstract: An apparatus and method is disclosed for forming an emulsion or batter into shaped food products without the use of a casing. The apparatus includes a hollow stuffing tube connected to a source of suitable proteinaceous emulsion, and a molding tube mounted about the stuffing tube, the molding tube having an open end and a closed end. A supply of emulsion is conveyed under pressure into the stuffing tube to form a continuous length of shaped emulsion. Then, the shaped emulsion is directed into the molding tube, where the pressure of the emulsion bears against the closed end of the molding tube and causes the molding tube to move relative the stuffing tube. A treating fluid is directed to the interior surface of the molding tube, such that the interior surface is continuously wetted and evenly coated by the treating fluid, thereby forming a proteinaceous skin about the shaped emulsion.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 3, 2002
    Date of Patent: May 11, 2004
    Assignee: The Dial Corporation
    Inventors: Rodney L. Franklin, Marvin J. Mentjes, Richard A. Mueller, Charles A. Triplett
  • Publication number: 20030082284
    Abstract: An apparatus and method is disclosed for forming an emulsion or batter into shaped food products without the use of a casing. The apparatus includes a hollow stuffing tube connected to a source of suitable proteinaceous emulsion, and a molding tube mounted about the stuffing tube, the molding tube having an open end and a closed end. A supply of emulsion is conveyed under pressure into the stuffing tube to form a continuous length of shaped emulsion. Then, the shaped emulsion is directed into the molding tube, where the pressure of the emulsion bears against the closed end of the molding tube and causes the molding tube to move relative the stuffing tube. A treating fluid is directed to the interior surface of the molding tube, such that the interior surface is continuously wetted and evenly coated by the treating fluid, thereby forming a proteinaceous skin about the shaped emulsion.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 3, 2002
    Publication date: May 1, 2003
    Applicant: The Dial Corporation
    Inventors: Rodney L. Franklin, Marvin J. Mentjes, Richard A. Mueller, Charles A. Triplett
  • Publication number: 20020197368
    Abstract: An apparatus and method is provided for forming shaped food products from an emulsion or batter. A stuffing tube includes a wall defining a central passage for emulsion, and a treating fluid passage positioned within the wall and radially outside of the central passage. The stuffing tube is slideably mounted coaxially within a mold tube. Emulsion and treating fluid are deposited into the mold tube during retraction of the stuffing tube from the mold tube, where the depositions occur substantially without relative motion between the emulsion and the treating fluid, or between the emulsion/treating fluid and the inside of the mold tube. A production machine incorporating an array of stuffing tubes can be indexed with a plurality of arrays of mold tubes.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 30, 2002
    Publication date: December 26, 2002
    Applicant: The Dial Corporation
    Inventors: Rodney L. Franklin, Marvin J. Mentjes, Richard A. Mueller, Charles A. Triplett, Andrew C. Harvey
  • Patent number: 6444248
    Abstract: The present invention relates to apparatus and method for forming a proteinaceous emulsion or batter into shaped food products such as sausages without the use of a casing. A supply of suitable proteinaceous emulsion is provided and such emulsion is conveyed under pressure into an elongated hollow stuffing tube to form a continuous length of shaped emulsion. Thereafter the shaped emulsion is directed into a molding tube which is slideably mounted about the stuffing tube. As the emulsion enters the molding tube, the pressure of the emulsion causes the molding tube to move away from the stuffing tube. A treating fluid, such as a diluted food grade acid, is directed to the interior surface of the molding tube at about the point where the emulsion first enters the molding tube. The treating fluid is directed to the interior of the molding tube in such a manner that the interior of the molding tube is continuously wetted by the treating fluid as the molding tube moves relative to the stuffing tube.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 17, 2000
    Date of Patent: September 3, 2002
    Assignee: The Dial Corporation
    Inventors: Rodney L. Franklin, Marvin J. Mentjes, Richard A. Mueller, Charles A. Triplett