FI76242B - FOERFARANDE OCH ANORDNING FOER TRANSPORT AV KOETTSORTIMENT I EN KANAL MEDELST TRYCKDIFFERENS. - Google Patents

Description

76242

The present invention relates to a method for transferring meat assortments in a duct by means of a pressure difference, wherein the meat assortment and air are fed to one end of the transfer duct and at the opposite end the meat assortment is separated from the transport air.

The invention further relates to a device for transferring meat assortments by means of a pressure difference, the device having a transfer tube with means at one end for supplying the meat assortment and air to the transfer tube and a separating device at the opposite end for separating the meat assortment from the transport air.

In this context, the term "meat assortment" means cut and sorted meat and pre-processed assortment mixtures.

Existing meat product plants are not designed for continuous production processes. Production facilities are thus often cramped, maze-like and even multi-layered solutions. Therefore, the different stages of the production process have had to be scattered in different rooms around the production plant. For the reasons mentioned above, setting up a functioning production line requires a lot of in-process material transfers from one production stage to another.

In the production of meat products, previously known transfer methods and equipment include pool carts, basins and cages that are moved by forklifts or by hand, various conveyors such as belt, screw and cup conveyors, and pumping along pipelines. All of these transfer methods and equipment are very expensive 76242 2 and in many cases also impractical.

Efforts have been made to eliminate the disadvantages of the above-mentioned transfer methods and equipment by transferring meat assortments in pipelines by means of a pressure difference. In slaughterhouses, for example, compressed air and steam cannons have been used to transfer waste and edible fats. However, experiments have shown that if an attempt is made to transfer meat assortments in the pipelines by means of overpressure, the overpressure generated in the pipelines breaks the structure of the meat and at the same time impairs its shelf life.

However, it has now surprisingly been shown that the above-mentioned difficulties can be avoided by the invention, which is characterized in that the assortment of meat is transferred by suction transport in the transfer channel. This result was completely surprising and in no way expected based on past experience.

The most important advantages of the invention are that the preservation and quality of the meat assortments are improved and the losses are reduced.

The vacuum transfer method (vacuum) is a closed system and does not require people to work in cold rooms. The storage temperature can be lowered from +6 C to approx. +0 C.

Washing is easier, automatic rotary washing (CIP) can be introduced.

The vacuum transfer method is a flexible part of the production process as the production lines can be built according to the requirements of the production space, workers and machines (temperature, noise, etc.). The material to be transferred can be from large pieces of meat (particle size recommendation <0.5 x inner diameter of the tube) to water.

The need for space is small, as only one transmission pipe has been built between the different stages of the production process, which can cross in the production room if necessary.

Il · 3 76242

The above-mentioned transfer method is an automable part of the production process, because no workers are required for the transfer of material flows between the process machines.

The invention will be described in more detail below with reference to the accompanying drawing, in which Figure 1 schematically shows a meat assortment transfer system according to the invention and Figure 2 shows a cross-sectional side view of an initial part of a preferred embodiment of the device according to the invention.

In Fig. 1, the transfer tube of the meat assortment is marked with the reference number 2. A feed funnel 1 is attached to the beginning of the transfer tube 2, to which the meat assortment is fed together with air. At the opposite end of the transfer tube 2 there is a separating device 3, in which the meat assortment separates from the transport air due to centrifugal force and falls to the bottom of the separating device. The transport air is sucked from the separator 3 through the suction pipe 4 to the vacuum center 5. At the end of the transport, the bottom door of the separator 3 is opened and the meat mass falls into the next processing stage of the process.

As can be seen in more detail in Figure 2, the hopper 1 can be provided with a feed screw 6, the power unit of which is generally indicated by reference number 7. The feed screw 6 allows the meat assortment to be fed into the transfer tube 2 in a controlled manner.

In order to adjust the amount of transport air and prevent clogging of the transfer tube 2, an adjustable air bypass connection 8 is arranged in the hopper 1 after the feed screw 6, with which the ratio between the transport air and the meat assortment can be fine-tuned.

Claims (4)

76242 A method for transferring meat assortments in a duct by means of a pressure difference, wherein the meat assortment and air are fed (1) to one end of the transfer duct (2) and at the opposite end the meat assortment is separated (3) from transport air, characterized in the meat assortment is transferred by suction. A device for transferring meat assortments by means of a pressure difference, the device having a transfer tube (2) with means (1, 6, 7) at one end for supplying the meat assortment and air to the transfer tube and at the opposite end a separating device (3) for separating the meat assortment from the transport air; means (4, 5) for connecting a pressure difference between its ends are connected to the transfer tube, characterized in that the means for creating a pressure difference between the ends of the transfer tube (2) are a vacuum center (5) connected to the separation device (3) via a suction pipe (4). Device according to claim 2, characterized in that the means for supplying the meat assortment and air to the transfer tube (2) comprise a hopper (1) connected to said other end of the transfer tube, preferably provided with a feed screw (6) with power devices (7). Device according to claim 3, characterized in that an adjustable air bypass connection (8) is further arranged at said other end of the transfer tube (2) after the supply screw (6) in order to prevent clogging of the transfer tube (2). Il