Abstract: In an improved food freezing tunnel, a freezing airflow apparatus, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,078,398, is further improved and rearranged in respect to the vertical in-line alignment of the freezing coils, the fans, and the food product porous conveyor, all of which are positioned in the upwardly flowing airflow. The air to be cooled enters at the bottom of the tunnel via an inlet air chamber, as before, and then is first drawn through the freezing coils of the freezing chamber before passing upwardly through the fan intakes into the fan chamber. Upon leaving the fans rotating about vertical axes, the freezing air flows radially and horizontally, as before. Then, vertical baffles spaced about each fan, modify this discharging airflow to prevent any excessive swirling or vortexing of the freezing airflow passing upwardly from the fan chamber through the moving food product porous conveyor.

Abstract: A continuous linear chain conveyor system operates throughout multiple tiers to transport a product which is being either cooled, frozen, warmed, heated, or dried and requires a retention time within a designated volume. The product is carried by multiple adjacent trays which are directly and pivotally attached on one end to opposite links of dual continuous moving sidechains, which are spaced apart, but otherwise follow identical direction paths. Moreover the chains and sprockets and most of their related components are all standard, available, components. In addition, all the components involved in critical areas of expansion and/or contraction during temperature changes, have similar coefficients of expansion and contraction. In the preferred embodiment, the conveyor trays are loaded with product outside the enclosure where the process is to take place.