COMPLETE POULTRY CHILLER WITH CLEAN-IN-PLACE

Abstract

A poultry cooler comprises a tank with an internal conveyor for moving the poultry along its length. The tank has an opening extending along its length, and a cleaning system is included for automatically cleaning the tank's interior. This cleaning system comprises a plurality of distribution nozzles extending along the tank to direct cleaning fluid onto the tank's inner surface. Adaptation kits are provided for automating cleaning in place of the cooler tanks.

Claims

NOVELTY OF THE INVENTION Having described the present invention, it is considered novel and, therefore, the contents of the following are claimed as property. CLAIMS 1. A poultry cooler, characterized in that it comprises: a tank having a conveyor inside for pushing the poultry for movement along the tank, wherein the tank has an opening extending along a length of the tank; and a cleaning system for automatically cleaning the inside of the tank, the cleaning system comprising a plurality of distribution nozzles extending along the length of the tank for directing the cleaning fluid to the inner surface of the tank; a cleaning fluid reservoir,A recirculation pump having a pump inlet connected to a tank outlet and a recirculation pump outlet diverted to a heat exchanger and a plurality of distribution nozzles in the tank, and further comprising a programmable logic controller having a non-transient, computer-readable medium having instructions stored therein for controlling the recirculation pump, wherein the instructions execute the following steps: controlling the recirculation pump outlet to divert the heat exchanger to discharge the recirculation pump outlet to the distribution nozzles, using the recirculation pump, pumping cleaning fluid from the tank to the distribution nozzles, and using the recirculation pump, pumping cleaning fluid in the tank through the distribution nozzles, wherein after injection,The cleaning fluid is collected and returned to the inlet of a recirculation pump.

2. The poultry cooler according to claim 1, characterized in that it further comprises a second pump having a pump inlet connected to a tank outlet and a pump outlet connected to a reservoir inlet, wherein the non-transient computer-readable medium further has instructions stored therein to execute the following step: with the second pump, pump the cleaning fluid from the tank outlet to the reservoir inlet.

3. The poultry cooler according to claim 1, characterized in that it further comprises a second pump having a pump inlet connected to a tank outlet and a pump outlet connected to a reservoir inlet, the tank outlet being switched to a drain and the second pump inlet, and wherein the non-transient, computer-readable medium 1 has additional instructions stored therein to execute the following steps: (a) switching the tank outlet to the second pump inlet; (b) switching the recirculation pump outlet to divert the heat exchanger to discharge the recirculation pump outlet to the distribution nozzles; (c) pumping the reservoir cleaning fluid into the tank through the distribution nozzles with the recirculation pump;(d) pump the cleaning fluid into the tank from the tank outlet to the tank inlet, and (e) carry out steps (c) and (d) for a period of time to clean the tank.; 4. The poultry cooler according to claim 3, characterized in that the non-transient computer-readable medium further has instructions stored therein to execute the following step: after step (e), carry out step (f) which changes the tank outlet to the drain to empty the tank of the cleaning fluid.

5. The poultry cooler according to claim 4, characterized in that the non-transient computer-readable medium further has instructions stored therein to execute the following step: (g) pumping water from the reservoir outlet into the tank through the distribution nozzles with the recirculation pump to rinse the tank of the cleaning fluid.

6. The poultry cooler according to claim 3, characterized in that the non-transient computer-readable medium further has instructions stored therein to execute the following steps: before step (a), change the tank outlet to the drain; and pump the water from the reservoir outlet into the tank through the distribution nozzles with the recirculation pump to pressure wash the tank.

7. The poultry cooler according to claim 1, characterized in that the tank opening extends laterally from a first side wall to a second side wall of the tank; and the poultry cooler further comprises: a cover over the opening, wherein the cover has distribution nozzles that are directed into the interior of the tank.

8. The poultry cooler according to claim 7, characterized in that it further comprises a recirculation pump with an inlet and an outlet, wherein the pump inlet is connected to a tank outlet and the pump outlet is connected to the distribution nozzles.

9. The poultry cooler according to claim 7, characterized in that it further comprises distribution nozzles in the first and second side walls of the tank.

10. The poultry cooler according to claim 9, characterized in that the distribution nozzles are placed in the tank facing inwards and do not extend beyond the inner diameter of the tank.

11. The poultry cooler according to claim 9, characterized in that the distribution nozzles are placed in a row extending longitudinally along the tank on both the first and second side walls.

12. The poultry cooler according to claim 9, characterized in that the distribution nozzles of a cylindrical tank are placed at the 4 o'clock, 8 o'clock and 12 o'clock positions, wherein the nozzles at the 12 o'clock position are located on the cover.

13. The poultry cooler according to claim 7, characterized in that the opening is at the top of the tank.

14. The poultry cooler according to claim 1, characterized in that the tank opening extends laterally from a first side wall to a second side wall of the tank; and further comprising: a recirculation pump with inlet and outlet, wherein the pump inlet is connected to an outlet of the tank and the pump outlet is connected to an inlet of a heat exchanger, and the outlet of the heat exchanger is connected to an inlet in the tank, and the pump outlet is further connected to a plurality of distribution nozzles located in the tank.

15. The poultry cooler according to claim 14, characterized in that it further comprises one or more automated valves for configuring the pump outlet to divert the heat exchanger to the plurality of distribution nozzles.

16. The poultry cooler according to claim 14, characterized in that it further comprises a second pump with an inlet and an outlet, wherein the second pump inlet is connected to an outlet of the tank, and the tank outlet is switched from the second pump inlet to a drain.

17. An adaptation kit for installation in a poultry cooler tank having a conveyor inside, wherein the tank has an opening extending along a length of the tank and extending laterally from a first side wall to a second side wall of the tank, the kit is characterized in that it comprises: a cover having a plurality of distribution nozzles, the cover being configured to be installed over the tank opening, wherein the distribution nozzles are directed into the tank.

18. The adaptation kit according to claim 17, wherein the poultry cooler further comprises a recirculation pump with inlet and outlet, wherein the pump inlet is connected to an outlet of the tank and the pump outlet is connected to an inlet of a heat exchanger, and an outlet of the heat exchanger is connected to an inlet in the tank, and the pump outlet is further connected to the plurality of distribution nozzles in the tank or in the cover, and the adaptation kit is characterized in that it further comprises: one or more valves configured to change the discharge of the recirculation pump from the heat exchanger to one or more distribution nozzles in the tank or in the cover.

19. An adaptation kit for installation in a poultry cooler tank having a conveyor inside, wherein the tank has an opening extending along a length of the tank and extending laterally from a first side wall to a second side wall of the tank, the kit is characterized in that it comprises a programmable logic controller, having a non-transient computer-readable medium having instructions stored therein for executing the following step; changing an outlet of the recirculation pump of a heat exchanger to the distribution nozzles located in the tank to discharge the cleaning fluid inside the tank.

20. The adapter kit according to claim 19, characterized in that the non-transient computer-readable medium further contains instructions stored therein to execute the following steps: change one outlet of the tank from a drain to a second pump inlet; start the recirculation pump to pump the cleaning fluid in the tank through the distribution nozzles; and start the second pump to recirculate the cleaning fluid from the tank back to the recirculation pump.

21. The adapter kit according to claim 20, characterized in that the non-transient computer-readable medium further has instructions stored therein to execute the following steps: after a first period of time of operating the recirculation pump and the second pump to recirculate the cleaning fluid, change the tank outlet from the second pump inlet to the drain outlet to remove the cleaning fluid.

22. A method for cleaning a poultry cooler having a tank with a conveyor inside, a cleaning fluid reservoir, a recirculation pump having a pump inlet connected to a reservoir outlet and a pump outlet switched to a heat exchanger and a plurality of distribution nozzles in the tank, a second pump having a pump inlet connected to a tank outlet and a pump outlet connected to a reservoir inlet, the tank outlet switched to a drain and the second pump inlet, the method is characterized in that it comprises the following steps: (a) filling the reservoir with water; (b) switching the tank outlet to the drain; (c) switching the recirculation pump outlet to divert the heat exchanger to discharge the recirculation pump outlet to the distribution nozzles;(d) pump water from the reservoir into the tank through the distribution nozzles using the recirculation pump to pressure wash the tank; (e) fill the tank with cleaning fluid; (f) switch the tank outlet to the second pump inlet; (g) pump the cleaning fluid from the reservoir into the tank through the distribution nozzles using the recirculation pump; (h) pump the cleaning fluid from the tank into the reservoir using the second pump; (i) perform steps (g) and (h) for a period of time; (j) switch the tank outlet to the drain to empty the tank of cleaning fluid; (k) fill the tank with water; and (l) pump water from the reservoir into the tank through the distribution nozzles using the recirculation pump to rinse the tank of cleaning fluid.

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