Patent ID: 7748313
Filing Date: 2010-07-06
Classification: A47J

Abstract:
1. A pressurized cooking/blanching apparatus for processing and cooking/blanching of food products, comprising: a cooking/blanching chamber sealed from the external environment and capable of sustaining an interior pressure elevated above atmospheric pressure, an infeed weigh hopper for receiving and measuring an appropriate amount of food product, a first transfer device to receive food product from the infeed weigh hopper and transfer the food product from an environment at atmospheric pressure to an environment of elevated pressure within the cooking/blanching chamber, the first transfer device comprising a first transfer chamber and a second transfer chamber defining a void area therebetween; the first transfer chamber configured to move between a first position for receiving food product and a second position for transferring the food product to the second transfer chamber, the second transfer chamber configured to move between a first position for receiving the food product from the first transfer chamber and a second position for transferring the food product into the cooking/blanching chamber, the void area adapted to be vented to atmospheric pressure and to be actively pressurized to the interior pressure of the cooking/blanching chamber, each of the first and second transfer chambers adapted to independently form pressure seals with the void area when positioned in their respective first positions, a conveyor belt inside the cooking/blanching chamber to receive the food product from the first transfer device and to transport the food product within the cooking/blanching chamber, a second transfer device to receive the food product from the conveyor belt, transfer the food product from the elevated pressure environment to an atmospheric pressure environment and to discharge the food product from the cooking/blanching apparatus, the second transfer device comprising the third transfer chamber configured to move between a first position for receiving food product from the conveyor belt and a second position for transferring the food product to the fourth transfer chamber, the fourth transfer chamber configured to move between a first position for receiving the food product from the third transfer chamber and a second position for transferring the food product out of the cooking/blanching chamber, the second void area adapted to be actively pressurized to the interior pressure of the cooking/blanching chamber and to be vented to atmospheric pressure, each of the third and fourth transfer chambers adapted to independently form pressure seals with the void area when positioned in their respective first positions, and a system controller for electrically controlling the operation of the cooking/blanching apparatus.