GB1587726A - Conveyor mechanisms - Google Patents

Conveyor mechanisms Download PDF

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Publication number
GB1587726A
GB1587726A GB2620276A GB2620276A GB1587726A GB 1587726 A GB1587726 A GB 1587726A GB 2620276 A GB2620276 A GB 2620276A GB 2620276 A GB2620276 A GB 2620276A GB 1587726 A GB1587726 A GB 1587726A
Authority
GB
United Kingdom
Prior art keywords
carrier
conveyor mechanism
station
stations
chilling
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Expired
Application number
GB2620276A
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Jackstone Froster Ltd
Original Assignee
Jackstone Froster Ltd
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Jackstone Froster Ltd filed Critical Jackstone Froster Ltd
Priority to GB2620276A priority Critical patent/GB1587726A/en
Publication of GB1587726A publication Critical patent/GB1587726A/en
Expired legal-status Critical Current

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Classifications

    • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
    • F25—REFRIGERATION OR COOLING; COMBINED HEATING AND REFRIGERATION SYSTEMS; HEAT PUMP SYSTEMS; MANUFACTURE OR STORAGE OF ICE; LIQUEFACTION SOLIDIFICATION OF GASES
    • F25D—REFRIGERATORS; COLD ROOMS; ICE-BOXES; COOLING OR FREEZING APPARATUS NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • F25D25/00—Charging, supporting, and discharging the articles to be cooled
    • F25D25/04—Charging, supporting, and discharging the articles to be cooled by conveyors
    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A23—FOODS OR FOODSTUFFS; TREATMENT THEREOF, NOT COVERED BY OTHER CLASSES
    • A23B—PRESERVING, e.g. BY CANNING, MEAT, FISH, EGGS, FRUIT, VEGETABLES, EDIBLE SEEDS; CHEMICAL RIPENING OF FRUIT OR VEGETABLES; THE PRESERVED, RIPENED, OR CANNED PRODUCTS
    • A23B4/00—General methods for preserving meat, sausages, fish or fish products
    • A23B4/06—Freezing; Subsequent thawing; Cooling
    • A23B4/066—Freezing; Subsequent thawing; Cooling the materials not being transported through or in the apparatus with or without shaping, e.g. in the form of powder, granules or flakes
    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A23—FOODS OR FOODSTUFFS; TREATMENT THEREOF, NOT COVERED BY OTHER CLASSES
    • A23L—FOODS, FOODSTUFFS, OR NON-ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES, NOT COVERED BY SUBCLASSES A21D OR A23B-A23J; THEIR PREPARATION OR TREATMENT, e.g. COOKING, MODIFICATION OF NUTRITIVE QUALITIES, PHYSICAL TREATMENT; PRESERVATION OF FOODS OR FOODSTUFFS, IN GENERAL
    • A23L3/00—Preservation of foods or foodstuffs, in general, e.g. pasteurising, sterilising, specially adapted for foods or foodstuffs
    • A23L3/16—Preservation of foods or foodstuffs, in general, e.g. pasteurising, sterilising, specially adapted for foods or foodstuffs by heating loose unpacked materials
    • A23L3/18—Preservation of foods or foodstuffs, in general, e.g. pasteurising, sterilising, specially adapted for foods or foodstuffs by heating loose unpacked materials while they are progressively transported through the apparatus
    • A23L3/185—Preservation of foods or foodstuffs, in general, e.g. pasteurising, sterilising, specially adapted for foods or foodstuffs by heating loose unpacked materials while they are progressively transported through the apparatus in solid state
    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A23—FOODS OR FOODSTUFFS; TREATMENT THEREOF, NOT COVERED BY OTHER CLASSES
    • A23L—FOODS, FOODSTUFFS, OR NON-ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES, NOT COVERED BY SUBCLASSES A21D OR A23B-A23J; THEIR PREPARATION OR TREATMENT, e.g. COOKING, MODIFICATION OF NUTRITIVE QUALITIES, PHYSICAL TREATMENT; PRESERVATION OF FOODS OR FOODSTUFFS, IN GENERAL
    • A23L3/00—Preservation of foods or foodstuffs, in general, e.g. pasteurising, sterilising, specially adapted for foods or foodstuffs
    • A23L3/36—Freezing; Subsequent thawing; Cooling
    • A23L3/361—Freezing; Subsequent thawing; Cooling the materials being transported through or in the apparatus, with or without shaping, e.g. in form of powder, granules, or flakes

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  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Chemical & Material Sciences (AREA)
  • Life Sciences & Earth Sciences (AREA)
  • Polymers & Plastics (AREA)
  • Food Science & Technology (AREA)
  • Nutrition Science (AREA)
  • Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
  • Wood Science & Technology (AREA)
  • Zoology (AREA)
  • Combustion & Propulsion (AREA)
  • Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
  • Thermal Sciences (AREA)
  • General Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Warehouses Or Storage Devices (AREA)

Description

(54) IMPROVEMENTS IN OR RELATING TO CONVEYOR MECHANISMS (71) We, JACKSTONE FROSTER LIM ITED, a British Company of 218 Victoria Street, Grimsby, do hereby declare the invention, for which we pray that a patent may be granted to us, and the method by which it is to be performed, to be particularly described in and by the following statement:- This invention relates to a conveyor mechanism for articles of foodstuffs, particularly though not exclusively for use in applications where heat is to be applied to or removed from such articles.
According to the invention there is provided a conveyor mechanism comprising a plurality of carrier means which are each adapted to carry at least one article of foodstuff and which are arranged to be moved from a loading position, whereat articles can be loaded onto said carrier means, to an unloading position having unloading means for causing articles carried by said carrier means to be unloaded therefrom automatically, through two or more vertically spaced stations which are disposed one above the other and through which the carrier means are moved substantially horizontally in operation of said conveyor mechanism, and drip tray means between each pair of stations for preventing contamination of articles in one station by those in the station thereabove.
In order that the invention may be well understood, a preferred embodiment thereof, which is given by way of example only, will now be described reference being had to the accompanying drawing which is a schematic side elevation of a conveyor mechanism in an apparatus for chilling poultry.
The conveyor mechanism I illustrated in the drawing is shown in an apparatus for chilling chickens, turkeys or other poultry and comprises a plurality of carriers 2 which move in the direction of the arrows 3. Each carrier is provided with a plurality of members formed as clip bars 4 (shown as four in number) which extend transverse the plane of the drawing. Each clip bar 4 is provided with a number of longitudinally spaced apart upstanding hook members onto which articles are hooked or clipped at a feed or loading position 5. In the embodiment each clip bar 4 is adapted to support up to twentyfive birds 6.
The carriers are indexed through the machine from the loading position 5 through a first station 6a of a chilling section of the chilling apparatus, up a first elevator 7, through a second station 8 of the chilling section, up an elevator 9, through a third station 10 of the chilling section, up an inclined path 11 past an unloading position 12, through an arc by a transfer mechanism at 13, along a return path 14, which includes a fourth station 15 above the chilling section, through an arc by a transfer mechanism at 16, and back to the loading position 5.
The birds 6 are automatically removed from the clip bars 4 at the unloading position by a fixed discharge bar 17 which engages the birds as the carriers pass and causes them to be pushed out of the bars. The birds fall into a discharge chute 18 by which they are discharged from the apparatus.
As illustrated, the stations of the chilling section are vertically spaced apart with plenum chambers disposed between them for directing chilled air onto the birds in the chilling section. In this way the tops of the Chambers act as drip trays and prevent contamination of the products on a lower level from the products or carriers above them as they are moved substantially horizontally through the stations.
In operation, the carriers are loaded up two bars at a time by an operator at the loading position, and the mechanism is indexed on so that the next two bars are presented to the operator for loading. More specifically, the operator loads up the first two bars of a carrier, operates a hydraulic control valve (not shown) to cause a hydraulic push-pull device 19, which is located with a first part alongside the elevator 9 adjacent the left-hand end of the stations and a second part alongside the elevator 7 adjacent the right-hand end of the stations (as viewed in the drawing), to extend by half a pitch of a carrier so that the remaining two bars of the carrier are presented for loading. The pushpull device is then operated to extend a further half a pitch of a carrier to a fully extended position so that the first two bars of the next carrier are presented to the operator.
As the -push-pull device extends, carriers are transferred rightwards (as viewed in the drawing) through the first and third stations 6a and 10 and those in the second & fourth stations remain stationary. Movement of a carrier past the discharge bar 17 causes birds to be discharged from the clip bars 4 of the carrier.
The mechanism automatically operates as follows. The elevator 7, which is located at the right hand end of the stations (as viewed in the drawing), rises with a carrier 2a to position the carrier (shown in dotted line) adjacent the second station 8. Simultaneously, the transfer mechanism at 13 which comprises a mechanical linkage (not shown) transfers an empty carrier 2b from the inclined path 11 through an arc to a horizontal position aligned with the fourth station 15. During the time the elevator 7 is rising the other elevator 9, without a carrier, is lowered from a position adjacent the third station 10 to a position adjacent the second station 8. The transfer mechanism at. 16, which comprises a mechanical linkage (not shown) moves through an arc without a carrier to a horizontal position in the return path 14.
On completion of the above operations the push-pull device retracts causing a carrier to be transferred from the second station 8 into the elevator 9 (as illustrated) and the carriers in the fourth station 15 and thereby those in the return path 14 to move leftwards (as viewed in the drawing) towards the loading position.
The elevator 9 then rises, transferring the carrier therein to the dotted line position adjacent the third station 10, and the transfer mechanism at 16 moves through an arc to transfer the carrier 2c which has just been fed thereinto from the horizontal position through an arc to an inclined position adjacent the loading position 5. As the elevator 9 rises with a carrier, the elevator 7 lowers without a carrier to a position adjacent the first station 6a, and the transfer mechanism at 13 moves through an arc, without a carrier, to an inclined position aligned with the path 11.
The cycle of operations is then repeated, causing the carriers to be indexed through the machine.
The cycle can be initiated by the operator pressing the button, or by the operation of a timer. When the operator initiates the functions, the chilling apparatus will become fully loaded, but the duration of the time the product is in the chilling section will vary, depending upon the production rate. Alternatively, if the conveyor mechanism functions are initiated by a timer the produce will be in the chilling section for a set time and the degree of chilling will be consistent, but the apparatus-may not be fully loaded.
By arranging the chilling section to comprise three sections 6a, 8 and 10 disposed one above the other rather than a single station, the overall length of the chilling apparatus for a given chilling section effective length is significantly reduced.
The illustrated apparatus has a feed end and a discharge end and intermediate thereof the chilling section. The chilling section can be made of any desired length, but no matter what the length of the chilling section, the feed and discharge ends can be made a fixed length.
It will be appreciated that use of the pushpull device to cause the carriers to be progressed through the chilling apparatus as opposed to, say, a chain drive, enables a high standard of hygiene to be achieved.
WHAT WE CLAIM IS: 1. A conveyor mechanism comprising a plurality of carrier means which are each adapted to carry at least one article of foodstuff and which are arranged to be moved from a loading position, whereat articles can be loaded onto said carrier means, to an unloading position having unloading means for causing articles carried by said carrier means to be unloaded therefrom automatically, through two or more vertically spaced stations which are disposed one above the other and through which the carrier means are moved substantially horizontally in operation of said conveyor mechanism, and drip tray means between each pair of stations for preventing contamination of articles in one station by those in the station thereabove.
2. A conveyor mechanism as claimed in Claim 1, wherein the carrier means are arranged to be cycled back to said loading position from said unloading position.
3. A conveyor mechanism as claimed in claim 1 or 2, including two elevators, one at each of the two ends of said vertically spaced stations, for transferring the carrier means between vertically adjacent stations.
4. A conveyor mechanism as claimed in claim 3, wherein said carrier means are arranged to be indexed from the loading position through the stations to the unloading position.
5. A conveyor mechanism as claimed in claim 4, comprising push-pull means for causing said indexing of the carriers.
6. A conveyor mechanism as claimed in claim 5, wherein the push-pull means is hydraulically operated.
7. A conveyor mechanism as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the carrier means include members from which the articles to be conveyed can be hung.
**WARNING** end of DESC field may overlap start of CLMS **.

Claims (14)

**WARNING** start of CLMS field may overlap end of DESC **. further half a pitch of a carrier to a fully extended position so that the first two bars of the next carrier are presented to the operator. As the -push-pull device extends, carriers are transferred rightwards (as viewed in the drawing) through the first and third stations 6a and 10 and those in the second & fourth stations remain stationary. Movement of a carrier past the discharge bar 17 causes birds to be discharged from the clip bars 4 of the carrier. The mechanism automatically operates as follows. The elevator 7, which is located at the right hand end of the stations (as viewed in the drawing), rises with a carrier 2a to position the carrier (shown in dotted line) adjacent the second station 8. Simultaneously, the transfer mechanism at 13 which comprises a mechanical linkage (not shown) transfers an empty carrier 2b from the inclined path 11 through an arc to a horizontal position aligned with the fourth station 15. During the time the elevator 7 is rising the other elevator 9, without a carrier, is lowered from a position adjacent the third station 10 to a position adjacent the second station 8. The transfer mechanism at. 16, which comprises a mechanical linkage (not shown) moves through an arc without a carrier to a horizontal position in the return path 14. On completion of the above operations the push-pull device retracts causing a carrier to be transferred from the second station 8 into the elevator 9 (as illustrated) and the carriers in the fourth station 15 and thereby those in the return path 14 to move leftwards (as viewed in the drawing) towards the loading position. The elevator 9 then rises, transferring the carrier therein to the dotted line position adjacent the third station 10, and the transfer mechanism at 16 moves through an arc to transfer the carrier 2c which has just been fed thereinto from the horizontal position through an arc to an inclined position adjacent the loading position 5. As the elevator 9 rises with a carrier, the elevator 7 lowers without a carrier to a position adjacent the first station 6a, and the transfer mechanism at 13 moves through an arc, without a carrier, to an inclined position aligned with the path 11. The cycle of operations is then repeated, causing the carriers to be indexed through the machine. The cycle can be initiated by the operator pressing the button, or by the operation of a timer. When the operator initiates the functions, the chilling apparatus will become fully loaded, but the duration of the time the product is in the chilling section will vary, depending upon the production rate. Alternatively, if the conveyor mechanism functions are initiated by a timer the produce will be in the chilling section for a set time and the degree of chilling will be consistent, but the apparatus-may not be fully loaded. By arranging the chilling section to comprise three sections 6a, 8 and 10 disposed one above the other rather than a single station, the overall length of the chilling apparatus for a given chilling section effective length is significantly reduced. The illustrated apparatus has a feed end and a discharge end and intermediate thereof the chilling section. The chilling section can be made of any desired length, but no matter what the length of the chilling section, the feed and discharge ends can be made a fixed length. It will be appreciated that use of the pushpull device to cause the carriers to be progressed through the chilling apparatus as opposed to, say, a chain drive, enables a high standard of hygiene to be achieved. WHAT WE CLAIM IS:
1. A conveyor mechanism comprising a plurality of carrier means which are each adapted to carry at least one article of foodstuff and which are arranged to be moved from a loading position, whereat articles can be loaded onto said carrier means, to an unloading position having unloading means for causing articles carried by said carrier means to be unloaded therefrom automatically, through two or more vertically spaced stations which are disposed one above the other and through which the carrier means are moved substantially horizontally in operation of said conveyor mechanism, and drip tray means between each pair of stations for preventing contamination of articles in one station by those in the station thereabove.
2. A conveyor mechanism as claimed in Claim 1, wherein the carrier means are arranged to be cycled back to said loading position from said unloading position.
3. A conveyor mechanism as claimed in claim 1 or 2, including two elevators, one at each of the two ends of said vertically spaced stations, for transferring the carrier means between vertically adjacent stations.
4. A conveyor mechanism as claimed in claim 3, wherein said carrier means are arranged to be indexed from the loading position through the stations to the unloading position.
5. A conveyor mechanism as claimed in claim 4, comprising push-pull means for causing said indexing of the carriers.
6. A conveyor mechanism as claimed in claim 5, wherein the push-pull means is hydraulically operated.
7. A conveyor mechanism as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the carrier means include members from which the articles to be conveyed can be hung.
8. A conveyor mechanism as claimed in
any one of the preceding claims, wherein the unloading means is arranged for engaging the articles on the carrier means to cause them to be automatically removed from the carrier means as the carrier means pass through the unloading station.
9. A conveyor mechanism as claimed in claim 8, wherein the unloading means comprises a member fixed relative to the carrier means at said unloading station.
10. A conveyor mechanism as claimed in any one of the preceding claims including means for controlling the rate at which the carrier means are moved through the stations.
11. Apparatus for applying heat to or removing heat from articles comprising a conveyor mechanism as claimed in any one of the preceding claims and means at said stations for applying heat to or removing heat from articles on said carner means.
12. A conveyor mechanism as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 10, wherein plenum chambers are disposed between said vertically spaced stations for directing chilled air onto articles carried on said carrier means in use of the conveyor mechanism.
13. A conveyor mechanism as claimed in claim 12, wherein the tops of the plenum chambers are formed so as to act as the drip tray means.
14. A conveyor mechanism substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawing.
GB2620276A 1977-06-15 1977-06-15 Conveyor mechanisms Expired GB1587726A (en)

Priority Applications (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
GB2620276A GB1587726A (en) 1977-06-15 1977-06-15 Conveyor mechanisms

Applications Claiming Priority (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
GB2620276A GB1587726A (en) 1977-06-15 1977-06-15 Conveyor mechanisms

Publications (1)

Publication Number Publication Date
GB1587726A true GB1587726A (en) 1981-04-08

Family

ID=10239955

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
GB2620276A Expired GB1587726A (en) 1977-06-15 1977-06-15 Conveyor mechanisms

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GB (1) GB1587726A (en)

Cited By (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
GB2203715A (en) * 1987-03-23 1988-10-26 Sig Schweiz Industrieges A conveyor system

Cited By (2)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
GB2203715A (en) * 1987-03-23 1988-10-26 Sig Schweiz Industrieges A conveyor system
GB2203715B (en) * 1987-03-23 1991-05-01 Sig Schweiz Industrieges A conveyor system

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PS Patent sealed
PCNP Patent ceased through non-payment of renewal fee