Methods and apparatus for processing expandable food materials

a technology of expandable food and food materials, applied in the direction of lighting and heating apparatus, fluid heaters, air heaters, etc., can solve the problems of high cost, inability to choose ingredients, inclusion of preservatives and other unwanted ingredients, etc., and achieves the elimination of overhead costs passed on by commercial cereal manufacturers, the effect of economical cost per batch and improved overall output quality

Inactive Publication Date: 2007-04-05
SHEAR GOODNESS
View PDF9 Cites 6 Cited by
  • Summary
  • Abstract
  • Description
  • Claims
  • Application Information

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0006] The invention generally relates to a low shear food cooker/extruder for the customized production of breakfast foods (such as cereals) and similar food products. In one embodiment, the invention relates to a counter-top breakfast cereal apparatus targeted for the consumer (home use) market. The cooker/extruder can be used to freshly produce ready to eat (RTE) breakfast cereal for the consumer. The cereal would be made on demand and, if preferred, preservative-free, with ingredients tailored to particular tast

Problems solved by technology

Mass-produced breakfast cereals, some of which use expandable food materials, have several disadvantages, for example, high cost, the inclusion of preservatives and other unwanted ingredients, and a lack of choice of ingredients.
A consumer with allergies, for example, is limited to certain selections and types of products.
Similar disadvantages exist for other mass-produced food products, such as, for example, snack foods, croutons,

Method used

the structure of the environmentally friendly knitted fabric provided by the present invention; figure 2 Flow chart of the yarn wrapping machine for environmentally friendly knitted fabrics and storage devices; image 3 Is the parameter map of the yarn covering machine
View more

Image

Smart Image Click on the blue labels to locate them in the text.
Viewing Examples
Smart Image
  • Methods and apparatus for processing expandable food materials
  • Methods and apparatus for processing expandable food materials
  • Methods and apparatus for processing expandable food materials

Examples

Experimental program
Comparison scheme
Effect test

Embodiment Construction

[0032] Embodiments of the present invention are described below. It is, however, expressly noted that the present invention is not limited to these embodiments, but rather the intention is that all equivalents and all modifications that are apparent to a person skilled in the art are also included. In particular, the present invention is not intended to be limited to any specific food material or end product.

[0033] The compression module includes the components listed and arranged as shown in FIGS. 1-4. FIGS. 8 and 9 show an electrical schematic representing one embodiment of a control unit for operating the apparatus. The dryer module includes the components listed and arranged as shown in FIGS. 5A-7. The operation of the various modules and components are described hereinbelow.

[0034] The invention also relates to a variety of methods of producing food products. Generally, the operation of the apparatus includes the following steps. Food materials of a particular recipe are inser...

the structure of the environmentally friendly knitted fabric provided by the present invention; figure 2 Flow chart of the yarn wrapping machine for environmentally friendly knitted fabrics and storage devices; image 3 Is the parameter map of the yarn covering machine
Login to view more

PUM

No PUM Login to view more

Abstract

The present invention relates in general to methods and apparatus for processing expandable food materials, and more particularly to methods and apparatus for low shear thermo-mechanical processing of food materials. The invention can include cooker and extruder apparatus for the customized production of food products, including a compression module, a dryer module, and a control unit.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS [0001] This application claims priority to and the benefit of U.S. provisional patent application Ser. No. 60 / 672,902, filed Apr. 19, 2005, the entire disclosure of which is hereby incorporated herein by reference.FIELD OF THE INVENTION [0002] The present invention relates generally to methods and apparatus for processing expandable food materials, in particular methods and apparatus for low shear thermo-mechanical processing of food materials. Additionally, the invention relates to a self-actuating die and poppet valve combination for use with the aforementioned methods and apparatus. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0003] Mass-produced breakfast cereals, some of which use expandable food materials, have several disadvantages, for example, high cost, the inclusion of preservatives and other unwanted ingredients, and a lack of choice of ingredients. A consumer with allergies, for example, is limited to certain selections and types of products. Sim...

Claims

the structure of the environmentally friendly knitted fabric provided by the present invention; figure 2 Flow chart of the yarn wrapping machine for environmentally friendly knitted fabrics and storage devices; image 3 Is the parameter map of the yarn covering machine
Login to view more

Application Information

Patent Timeline
no application Login to view more
IPC IPC(8): F24H3/00
CPCA21C11/16
Inventor HOYT, KEVINDESALVO, RICHARDSOUCY, ALAN
Owner SHEAR GOODNESS
Who we serve
  • R&D Engineer
  • R&D Manager
  • IP Professional
Why Eureka
  • Industry Leading Data Capabilities
  • Powerful AI technology
  • Patent DNA Extraction
Social media
Try Eureka
PatSnap group products

Browse by: Latest US Patents, China's latest patents, Technical Efficacy Thesaurus, Application Domain, Technology Topic.

© 2024 PatSnap. All rights reserved.Legal|Privacy policy|Modern Slavery Act Transparency Statement|Sitemap