Patents by Inventor Jeremy B. Estes
Jeremy B. Estes 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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Publication number: 20220167635Abstract: An automated chicken deboner system and method. The system includes a conveyor system to move the front-half of the chicken through the different deboning stations, including a loading station where the bird is placed on a cone, a press station to align the front half of the chicken on the cone, a skin cutter station to cut the skin and fat located at the base of the neck of the chicken, a wing cutter station to remove the wings, a scapula cutter station to separate the breast meat from the scapula, a wishbone cutter station to separate the breast meat from the wishbone, a breast plow station to separate the breast meat from the ribs, a wishbone paddle station to further separate the breast meat from the wishbone, a breast removal station to completely remove the breast meat, and a tender cutter station to remove the two tenders.Type: ApplicationFiled: November 27, 2020Publication date: June 2, 2022Inventors: Andrew C. Estes, Jeremy B. Estes
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Patent number: 11278032Abstract: A support for carrying a front-half of a chicken through a deboning process, including an upper portion, a lower portion, and a base for attaching to a conveyor belt. The upper portion includes a first shelf and a second shelf for resting under the shoulder knuckles of the front-half of the chicken and a protrusion positioned between the first shelf and the second shelf for spreading the shoulder knuckles. The lower portion of the support has two sections for resting under the breast meat of the front-half of the chicken. The first section of the lower portion of the support slopes downward and outward from the upper portion, while the second section of the lower portion slopes downward and inward from the first section.Type: GrantFiled: November 27, 2020Date of Patent: March 22, 2022Assignee: ACE, LLCInventors: Andrew C. Estes, Jeremy B. Estes
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Patent number: 10609932Abstract: A rocker-type poultry chiller, including a tank for receiving poultry carcasses and holding chilled water, an axle mounted in the tank, a main paddle connected to the axle, and a side paddle connected to the axle. The oscillation of the main paddle and the side paddle urges the carcasses upwardly and laterally, which contributes to the cooling of the carcasses as a result of their thorough contact in the chilled water. The movement of the paddles also gently massages the carcasses by gently bumping them against the paddle blades and the wall of the tank. The repeated compression of the carcasses tends to tenderize the meat. The side paddles ensure more predictable and consistent contact between the paddles and all of the carcasses, which causes more agitation of the carcasses and more effective washing of the carcasses.Type: GrantFiled: November 11, 2014Date of Patent: April 7, 2020Assignee: John Bean Technologies CorporationInventors: Lucas M. Miller, Jeremy B. Estes, J. Barton Langley, Michael E. Miller
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Patent number: 9839867Abstract: An auto-cleaning marination filter for a poultry injector system including an outer housing having a liquid inlet and outlet, a screen that allows passage of liquids and impedes passage of solid particles, and a wiper surrounded by said screen for removing solid particles attached to the screen by reverse flow of the liquid through a gap in the wiper.Type: GrantFiled: March 14, 2014Date of Patent: December 12, 2017Assignee: John Bean Technologies CorporationInventors: Andrew C. Estes, Jeremy B. Estes
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Publication number: 20170127691Abstract: A method for rapidly cooling poultry carcasses during processing by injecting the carcasses with a composition including water and an antimicrobial agent. The composition may be in slush ice form or liquid form. The antimicrobial agent, such as peroxide, plays a critical role in this method. The antimicrobial agent serves to lower the freezing point of the chilled water of the composition below 32 degrees F., which allows greater heat exchange when the chilled water composition is injected into the warm interior of the carcasses. The antimicrobial agent also prevents bacterial contamination of the carcasses as a result of the possible transfer of bacteria from the exterior surface of the carcasses into the interior of the carcasses during injection.Type: ApplicationFiled: November 11, 2014Publication date: May 11, 2017Applicant: John Bean Technologies CorporationInventors: J. Barton Langley, Trevor W. Nelson, Lucas M. Miller, Andrew C. Estes, Jeremy B. Estes
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Patent number: 9271509Abstract: An auger-type poultry chiller having an auger with multiple long-pitch auger blades. The blades of the auger create pockets that spiral around the auger shaft and extend the length of the auger. While the product in the chiller is locked into a certain pocket, it is not locked into a certain spot lengthwise in the chiller. The product, therefore, is able to distribute evenly along the length of the chiller within its pocket even if there are gaps in loading time or if unloading stops momentarily.Type: GrantFiled: June 24, 2015Date of Patent: March 1, 2016Assignee: Cooling & Applied Technology, Inc.Inventors: Jeremy B. Estes, Michael E. Miller
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Publication number: 20150289526Abstract: An auger-type poultry chiller having an auger with multiple long-pitch auger blades. The blades of the auger create pockets that spiral around the auger shaft and extend the length of the auger. While the product in the chiller is locked into a certain pocket, it is not locked into a certain spot lengthwise in the chiller. The product, therefore, is able to distribute evenly along the length of the chiller within its pocket even if there are gaps in loading time or if unloading stops momentarily.Type: ApplicationFiled: June 24, 2015Publication date: October 15, 2015Inventors: Jeremy B. Estes, Michael E. Miller
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Patent number: 9089149Abstract: An auger-type poultry chiller having an auger with multiple long-pitch auger blades. The blades of the auger create pockets that spiral around the auger shaft and extend the length of the auger. While the product in the chiller is locked into a certain pocket, it is not locked into a certain spot lengthwise in the chiller. The product, therefore, is able to distribute evenly along the length of the chiller within its pocket even if there are gaps in loading time or if unloading stops momentarily.Type: GrantFiled: March 14, 2014Date of Patent: July 28, 2015Assignee: Cooling & Applied Technology, Inc.Inventors: Jeremy B. Estes, Michael E. Miller
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Publication number: 20150129170Abstract: A rocker-type poultry chiller, including a tank for receiving poultry carcasses and holding chilled water, an axle mounted in the tank, a main paddle connected to the axle, and a side paddle connected to the axle. The oscillation of the main paddle and the side paddle urges the carcasses upwardly and laterally, which contributes to the cooling of the carcasses as a result of their thorough contact in the chilled water. The movement of the paddles also gently massages the carcasses by gently bumping them against the paddle blades and the wall of the tank. The repeated compression of the carcasses tends to tenderize the meat. The side paddles ensure more predictable and consistent contact between the paddles and all of the carcasses, which causes more agitation of the carcasses and more effective washing of the carcasses.Type: ApplicationFiled: November 11, 2014Publication date: May 14, 2015Inventors: Lucas M. Miller, Jeremy B. Estes, J. Barton Langley, Michael E. Miller
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Publication number: 20150064319Abstract: A method for rapidly cooling poultry carcasses during processing by injecting the carcasses with a composition including water and an antimicrobial agent. The composition may be in slush ice form or liquid form. The antimicrobial agent, such as peroxide, plays a critical role in this method. The antimicrobial agent serves to lower the freezing point of the chilled water of the composition below 32 degrees F., which allows greater heat exchange when the chilled water composition is injected into the warm interior of the carcasses. The antimicrobial agent also prevents bacterial contamination of the carcasses as a result of the possible transfer of bacteria from the exterior surface of the carcasses into the interior of the carcasses during injection.Type: ApplicationFiled: November 11, 2014Publication date: March 5, 2015Inventors: J. Barton Langley, Trevor W. Nelson, Lucas M. Miller, Andrew C. Estes, Jeremy B. Estes
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Publication number: 20140272035Abstract: An auto-cleaning marination filter for a poultry injector system including an outer housing having a liquid inlet and outlet, a screen that allows passage of liquids and impedes passage of solid particles, and a wiper surrounded by said screen for removing solid particles attached to the screen by reverse flow of the liquid through a gap in the wiper.Type: ApplicationFiled: March 14, 2014Publication date: September 18, 2014Inventors: Andrew C. Estes, Jeremy B. Estes
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Publication number: 20140262152Abstract: An auger-type poultry chiller having an auger with multiple long-pitch auger blades. The blades of the auger create pockets that spiral around the auger shaft and extend the length of the auger. While the product in the chiller is locked into a certain pocket, it is not locked into a certain spot lengthwise in the chiller. The product, therefore, is able to distribute evenly along the length of the chiller within its pocket even if there are gaps in loading time or if unloading stops momentarily.Type: ApplicationFiled: March 14, 2014Publication date: September 18, 2014Inventors: Jeremy B. Estes, Michael E. Miller
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Patent number: 7541549Abstract: A vacuum transfer system having a weighing hopper mounted via at least one load cell to a frame. The weighing hopper is provided with an inlet connected via a product line to a product inlet hopper and a sliding outlet gate. An actuator valve is operatively connected to the weighing hopper and to a vacuum source. A controller is operatively connected to the actuator valve and also controls the opening and closing of the sliding gate. The product line comprises a flexible pipe section and a rigid pipe section pivotally mounted to the frame at a pivot disposed substantially vertically below the center of the flexible pipe section. In operation, the operator keys into the controller a target rate of product transfer and a target weight of product in the weighing hopper. The actuator valve applies vacuum to the weighing hopper in order to transfer the product from the inlet hopper to the weighing hopper.Type: GrantFiled: January 10, 2007Date of Patent: June 2, 2009Assignee: Cooling & Applied Technology, Inc.Inventors: Andrew C. Estes, Kyle A. Stobaugh, Mark A. Moody, Jeremy B. Estes, Ray W. Balaster, Kurt R. Danzy
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Publication number: 20090004346Abstract: An apparatus and method for continuous vacuum marination of a food product. A paddle assembly in a stationary vacuum chamber lifts and tumbles food product in a marinade. The paddles are formed into two subassemblies that are offset to smooth out the load on the paddles and the drive motor. The center about which the paddle assembly rotates is offset from the center of the vacuum chamber to avoid pinching and damaging the food product. The food product is introduced into the vacuum chamber periodically through an airlock type inlet assembly and removed by means of a similar airlock type outlet assembly. The outlet assembly includes an outlet chute for receiving the marinated food product. The outlet chute has a volume which is less than the volume of an internal chamber of the airlock outlet assembly so that closing the door to the outlet airlock door will not damage the food product. The food product is weighed into and out of the vacuum marinator.Type: ApplicationFiled: June 26, 2008Publication date: January 1, 2009Inventor: Jeremy B. Estes
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Publication number: 20080164075Abstract: A vacuum transfer system having a weighing hopper mounted via at least one load cell to a frame. The weighing hopper is provided with an inlet connected via a product line to a product inlet hopper and a sliding outlet gate. An actuator valve is operatively connected to the weighing hopper and to a vacuum source. A controller is operatively connected to the actuator valve and also controls the opening and closing of the sliding gate. The product line comprises a flexible pipe section and a rigid pipe section pivotally mounted to the frame at a pivot disposed substantially vertically below the center of the flexible pipe section. In operation, the operator keys into the controller a target rate of product transfer and a target weight of product in the weighing hopper. The actuator valve applies vacuum to the weighing hopper in order to transfer the product from the inlet hopper to the weighing hopper.Type: ApplicationFiled: January 10, 2007Publication date: July 10, 2008Inventors: Andrew C. Estes, Kyle A. Stobaugh, Mark A. Moody, Jeremy B. Estes, Ray W. Balaster, Kurt R. Danzy