Patent ID: 6233966
Filing Date: 2001-05-22
Classification: F25D,G06M

Abstract:
A plant for the treatment of food products comprising:a. an apparatus for cooling food products by bringing the products into contact with a cryogenic fluid,b. a conveyor for introducing the products into the apparatus and for extracting said products from said apparatus,c. a detector which determines at least one of (i) a value representative of the quality and (ii) the quantity of products treated by said apparatus, said detector comprising:i. a camera suitable for producing a digital image of a section of the conveyor intended for transporting the products, said digital image revealing said products carried by said section of the conveyor,ii. a data processing unit which includes an image processor suitable for determining the at least one of (i) the value representative of the quality and (ii) the quantity of products treated by said apparatus from said digital image,iii. a measuring device which measures the quantity of cryogenic fluid with which the products are brought into contact, connected to said data processing unit, wherein said data processing unit computes the temperature of each product leaving said apparatus depending on the value representative of the quantity of products treated and on the measured quantity of cryogenic fluid.