PRODUCT REFRIGERATION APPLIANCES.

Abstract

Refrigerators for cooling pet food products and related methods are disclosed. In one embodiment, the present invention provides a refrigerator comprising a chamber having a product inlet, a product outlet, and an air outlet, and at least one air duct having an outlet opening constructed and arranged to provide airflow toward the product outlet.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates generally to pet food technologies. More specifically, the present invention relates to refrigerators designed for refrigerating pet food and methods for using them. In one embodiment, the present invention provides a refrigerator comprising a chamber having a product inlet, a product outlet, and an air outlet. The refrigerator comprises at least one air duct having an outlet opening constructed and arranged to provide airflow toward the product outlet. In one configuration, the air from the air duct provides the only airflow to the product outlet, In one embodiment, the refrigerator comprises at least one panel 15 attached to the air duct to direct the airflow from the air duct outlet opening towards the product outlet of the chamber. In one embodiment, the refrigerator comprises a conveyor located below the product outlet, In one embodiment, the refrigerator comprises at least one added panel, wherein the added panel is fixed to the air duct and the conveyor, and wherein the added panel and the conveyor form an air chamber to direct the airflow from the air duct towards the product outlet of the chamber. In one mode, the air chamber is isolated from the external atmosphere. In one configuration, the conveyor is of a type selected from the group consisting of screw conveyors, drag conveyors, electromechanical vibrators, and combinations thereof. In one configuration, the air duct is attached to the chamber. In one mode, air flows in one direction from the air duct outlet opening through the product outlet to the chamber air outlet. In another embodiment, the present invention provides a refrigerator comprising a chamber having a roof and a plurality of walls. The lower portions of the chamber walls form a product outlet. In addition, there is a product inlet and an air outlet in the chamber. The refrigerator also includes one or more air ducts with an outlet opening, constructed and arranged to provide airflow toward the product outlet. In one modality, the lower portions of the chamber walls form a product outlet in the shape of a rectangle that has a length and a width, the length being greater than the width. In one embodiment, the air duct was constructed and arranged so as to provide airflow along the entire length and width of the product outlet towards the product outlet. In one configuration, at least one of the lower portions of the walls slopes inwards towards the product outlet. In an alternative embodiment, the present invention provides a pet food refrigerator comprising a chamber 25 having a product inlet, a product outlet, and an air inlet; at least one air duct having an outlet opening constructed and arranged to provide airflow toward the product outlet; and a conveyor located below the product outlet. The air duct and the conveyor form an air chamber for directing airflow from the air duct 5 toward the product outlet of the chamber. In another embodiment, the present invention provides a method for manufacturing a pet food product. For example, the method comprises transferring the pet food product to a cooling chamber having a product inlet, a product outlet, an air outlet, and a conveyor located below the product outlet. The pet food product is deposited into the chamber through the product inlet and accumulates in the chamber and onto the conveyor via the product outlet. Airflow is provided to the product outlet of the cooling chamber as the pet food product settles onto the conveyor. Airflow passes through the pet food product exiting the product outlet and through the pet food product accumulated in the chamber. The pet food product that has settled on the conveyor is removed after it has cooled sufficiently. An advantage of the present invention is that it provides a refrigerator that can refrigerate pet food at a high speed while maintaining the desired holding time inside the refrigerator. Another advantage of the present invention is that it provides a pet food refrigeration appliance that requires less maintenance than conventional refrigerators. Yet another advantage of the present invention is that it provides a pet food refrigeration appliance that requires less cleaning effort between production cycles. Another advantage of the present invention is that it provides an easy-to-operate refrigerator that does not require mechanical or hydraulic slats for its operation. Another advantage of the present invention is that it provides a refrigerator that can handle pet-coated foods and particulate materials from these without contamination problems. Yet another advantage of the present invention is that it provides a refrigerator that can refrigerate pet-coated foods and particulate materials thereof without diminishing its cooling rate efficiency. Additional features and advantages are described in this description and will become apparent from the following detailed description and figures. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES Figure 1 is a perspective view of the refrigerator in one embodiment of the present invention. Figure 2 is a side view of the refrigerator in another embodiment of the present invention. Figure 3 is a side view of the refrigerator illustrating the direction of airflow in an alternative embodiment of the present invention. 5 DETAILED DESCRIPTION The present invention relates generally to pet food technologies. More specifically, the present invention relates to refrigerators designed or cooling apparatus for cooling pet food products and to methods for using them. Pet food products may be, for example, any suitable pet food product requiring refrigeration or temperature regulation, such as extruded pet food, coated pet food, tablets, granules, etc. In an embodiment illustrated in Figure 1, the refrigerator 2 comprises a hopper, container, or chamber 4 having a product inlet, a product outlet, and an air outlet. The refrigerator further comprises one or more air ducts having an outlet opening constructed and arranged to provide airflow toward the product outlet.In an embodiment illustrated in Figures 1-2, the refrigerator 2 comprises a chamber 4 having a plurality of walls 14. The lower portions 16 of the walls 14 form a product outlet 22. A product inlet 24 is located in the chamber 4, and an air outlet 26 is also located in the chamber 4. It should be noted that the product inlet 24 and the air outlet 26 can be located in any suitable position in the chamber 4. For example, in the embodiment illustrated in Figure 2, the air outlet 26 is located in a ceiling 12 of the chamber 4, and the product inlet 24 is also located in the ceiling 12, so that the pet food product enters and the cooling air exits 25 through the top of the refrigerator 2. Any suitable fan, impeller, or exhaust system can be located at the air outlet 26 of chamber 4. The exhaust system, for example, induces a negative pressure in chamber 4, which draws air out of the chamber. In another configuration, at least one lower portion 16 of the walls 14 slopes inward or narrows toward the product outlet 22. For example, as illustrated in Figures 1-2, two opposing lower portions 16 narrow to form a narrower product outlet 22. This refrigerator design provides greater flexibility and control over the volume of pet food 10 entering the chamber 4 and passing through the product outlet 22. The refrigerator 2 further comprises one or more air ducts 32 having an outlet opening 34 constructed and arranged to provide airflow toward the product outlet 22. The direction of airflow through the air ducts 32 is represented in Figure 1, for example, by the large arrows. For instance, the outlet opening 34 may be located on the underside of the air ducts 32 and directed toward the product outlet 22 of chamber 4. Preferably, the air ducts 32 are constructed and arranged to provide airflow toward the product outlet 22 along the entire length of the product outlet 22. In one embodiment, two or more air ducts may be part of a single air duct that branches off and surrounds chamber 4.Air ducts can be connected to one or more sources capable of providing any suitable type of air depending on the desired requirements for the final pet food products, for example, air. 5 can have any suitable level of humidity or temperature. The air can be ambient air or chilled air. In an embodiment illustrated in Figure 1, the product outlet 22 is rectangular in shape, having a length and a width, the length being greater than the width. Furthermore, in this design, the air duct 32 can be constructed and arranged to provide airflow along the entire length and width of the product outlet 22 and into the product outlet 22. This provides an elongated product discharge area from chamber 4 and enables a larger volume of pet food to be cooled as it passes through the product outlet 22.In one embodiment, the air ducts 32 can be fixed to the walls 14 at any suitable location along the chamber 4. In another embodiment, the refrigerator 2 further comprises one or more add-on panels 42 fixed to the air duct 32 to direct the airflow 15 from the outlet opening 34 of the air duct 32 to the product outlet 22 of the chamber 4. For example, in the embodiments illustrated in Figures 1-3, the outlet openings 34 of the air ducts 32 are located at the bottom, and the add-on panels 42 enclose the outlet openings 34 to direct the airflow along the entire length of the product outlet 22. It should be appreciated that the air ducts 32 and the add-on panels 42 can comprise a single unit (e.g., the air ducts 32 extend all the way to the product outlet: 22) to achieve the same objective, for example, of providing air only to the product outlet 22 of chamber 4. In another embodiment illustrated in Figures 2-3, the refrigerator 2 further comprises a conveyor 52 located below the product outlet. 5.22. Typically, the conveyor 52 is covered as it extends outward from beneath the chamber 4 to prevent contamination of the food and to maintain the pet food at a specified humidity and temperature level. The conveyor 52 removes the chilled pet food product 72 from the cooling chamber 4 to a desired location such as a storage or bagging site for further processing. The conveyor 52 can be any suitable type of conveyor for removing the pet food from the refrigerator 2 after the pet food has been cooled. For example, the conveyor 52 can be any suitable type of conveyor such as a screw conveyor, drag conveyor, or electromechanical vibrator.Extruded or heated pet food products 72 are placed into the cooling chamber 4 through the product inlet 24 and accumulate at the bottom of the chamber 4 as they settle and flow 15 towards the conveyor 52. During this time, airflow is directed through the product outlet 22. The accumulation of pet food product 72 within the cooling chamber 4 can be monitored and controlled by intermittent or variable-speed operation of the product feed and / or the conveyor 52. The flow rate of the pet food product 72 is controlled accordingly to enable it to remain in the cooling chamber 4 long enough to achieve the desired cooling.The conveyor 52 not only collects the pet food product 72 that falls through the product outlet 22 but also helps to direct the airflow from the air ducts 32 towards the product outlet 22. For example, the refrigerator 2 may comprise one or more panels. Added panel 42, which is attached to the air duct 32 and conveyor 52. The added panel 42 and conveyor 52 form an air chamber 56 to direct the airflow from the air duct 32 to the product outlet 22 of chamber 4. Similarly, the air duct 32 and conveyor 52 can form the air chamber 56 to direct the airflow from the air duct 32 to the product outlet 22 of chamber 4. In this way, the air chamber 56 can be isolated from the external atmosphere and thus allow only the air entering from the air ducts 32 to reach the product outlet 22 of chamber 4. For example, this provides control over the temperature and humidity of the cooling air, which will vary according to the desired final temperature and humidity levels of the pet food products. As illustrated in Figure 3, air flows in one direction from the outlet opening 34 of the air duct 32 through the product outlet 22 to the air outlet 26 of chamber 4. In this way, the air cools the pet food product 72 exiting through the product outlet 22 and cools the pet food product 72 remaining in chamber 4. As a result, the pet food product 72 is constantly exposed to the cooling air from the moment it enters chamber 4 all the way to the conveyor 52 through the product outlet 22. Furthermore, the cooling air can be in contact with all the material in the cooling chamber. This design provides greater cooling efficiency and cools the pet food at a significantly faster rate than current cooling technologies.The design of refrigerator 2 also minimizes, for example, elements that can become clogged by particulate or fine materials from pet food and dead space areas, where pet food products accumulate and are difficult to remove, which can result in spoilage and contamination problems. By way of example and not as a limitation, the following examples 5 illustrate various embodiments of the present invention. Typical airflow and temperature examples for refrigerator 2 are as follows: Airflow: 283.16-509.7 m3 / min (10,000-18,000 CFM) Incoming air temperature: -12-40eC (10-105SF) Outgoing air temperature: 10-43°C (50-110°F) Incoming product temperature: 40-40 C (105-120µF) Outgoing product temperature: 10-38°F (50-100°F) The typical minimum refrigeration retention time for refrigerator 2 is 12-15 minutes. The typical density of the pet food product being cooled is 352.4-448.5 kg / m3 (22-28 lbs / ft3). The volume of pet food that can be cooled with refrigerator 2 of the present invention ranges from 33.1 kilograms / minute to approximately 453.6 kilograms / minute (from 73 lbs / minute to approximately 1000 lbs / minute), which can produce up to 27215.5 kilograms / hour (60,000 lbs / hour). The final cooling rates will depend on variables such as the size and density of the pet food product, the initial product temperature, the temperature and humidity levels of the cooling air, the airflow rate, the product feed rate, and the conveyor speeds. It should be noted that the dimensions of chamber 25, such as height, width, length, and volumetric capacity, may vary depending on the available space. However, chamber 4 can have any suitable height, width, length, and volumetric capacity, along with the characteristics described above. In one embodiment, the present invention provides a method for manufacturing a pet food product 72. The method comprises the step of transferring the pet food product 72 to a cooling chamber 4 having a product inlet 24, a product outlet 22, an air outlet 26, and a conveyor 52 located below the product outlet 22. The pet food product 72 is deposited into the chamber through the product inlet 24 and accumulates in the chamber 4 and onto the conveyor 52 through the product outlet. Airflow is provided to the product outlet 22 of the cooling chamber while the pet food product 72 settles onto the conveyor 52.The airflow passes through the pet food product 72 exiting through product outlet 22 and through the pet food product 72 accumulated in the chamber, for example, as illustrated in Figure 3. The pet food product 72 that has settled on the conveyor 52 is removed after the product 72 has been sufficiently cooled. It should be understood that several changes and modifications to the 20 preferred embodiments currently described herein will be evident to those skilled in the art. Such changes and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of this material and without diminishing its anticipated advantages. Therefore, it is intended to encompass such changes and modifications with the appended claims. 25

Claims

1. A method for manufacturing a pet food product; the method comprises:

5. Transferring the pet food product to a refrigeration chamber having a product inlet, a product outlet, an air outlet, and a conveyor located below the product outlet, characterized in that the pet food product is deposited into the chamber through the inlet. 1Q product and accumulates in the chamber and on the conveyor through the product outlet; providing airflow towards the product outlet of the refrigeration chamber while the pet food product is positioned on the conveyor, characterized in that 15 The airflow passes through the pet food product exiting the product outlet and through the pet food product accumulated in the chamber; and remove the pet food product that has settled on the conveyor after the product has 20 sufficiently refrigerated.