Separator for a food-product grinding machine with metering auger

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2018071747-A1
Application number	US-201715690683-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Aug 30, 2017
Priority date	Sep 12, 2016
Publication date	Mar 15, 2018
Grant date	—

Abstract

A grinding machine for grinding food-products, such as meat or the like, includes an orifice plate at the outlet of a grinding head. The orifice plate has collection passages that discharge a mixture of soft material and hard material through the orifice plate. A separator assembly, including a separator screw, separation chamber, metering auger, and metering cone, is located downstream of the orifice plate for separating the soft material from the hard material. The metering auger is fixedly coupled to a distal end of the separator screw and has a reduced diameter relative to the separator screw. The metering auger advances in a downstream direction the hard material of the mixture of soft material and hard material. The metering cone includes an internal conical portion and a metering passageway formed therein, where the metering auger is in communication with the metering passageway, and where a selected diameter of the metering auger defines an amount of the hard material that is advanced in the downstream direction through the metering passageway toward a discharge end.

First claim

We claim:

1 . A metering auger assembly for a grinding machine having a grinding head in communication with a cylindrical separator chamber, the auger assembly comprising:
the cylindrical separator chamber having a sidewall including a plurality of apertures; the separator chamber having an inlet end and an outlet end, the inlet end configured to receive a mixture of soft material and hard material from an upstream portion of the grinding head; a separator screw disposed within the separator passage of the separator chamber, the separator screw having a body portion and a distal end; a metering auger operatively coupled to the distal end of the separator screw and having a reduced diameter relative to the separator screw, the metering auger configured to advance in a downstream direction, the hard material of the mixture of soft material and hard material; and a metering cone having an internal conical portion and a metering passageway formed therein, the metering auger in communication with the metering passageway, wherein a selected diameter of the metering auger determines an amount of the hard material that is advanced in the downstream direction through the metering passageway toward a discharge end.

2 . The metering auger assembly of claim 1 , wherein metering auger includes a nose portion having a plurality of radially extending grooves that facilitate grinding down or reducing in size, the hard material that is too large to pass through the metering passageway.

3 . The metering auger assembly of claim 1 , wherein metering auger is removeably coupled to the distal end of the separator screw.

4 . The metering auger assembly of claim 1 , wherein metering auger is permanently fixed to or integrally formed with the separator screw.

5 . The metering auger assembly of claim 1 , wherein metering auger has a body portion and metering auger threads.

6 . The metering auger assembly of claim 5 , wherein the metering auger threads have a variable pitch.

7 . The metering auger assembly of claim 5 , wherein a first portion of the metering auger threads have first pitch, and a second portion of the metering auger threads have second pitch, wherein the first pitch is different than the second pitch.

8 . The metering auger assembly of claim 1 , wherein the internal conical portion of the metering cone includes a plurality of radially directed recesses or flutes that facilitate grinding down or reducing in size, the hard material.

9 . The metering auger assembly of claim 1 , wherein the metering passageway includes a spiral groove formed in an internal surface thereof.

10 . A metering auger assembly for a grinding machine having a grinding head defining an opening, the auger assembly comprising:
a separator assembly in communication with the grinding head, including:
a cylindrical separator chamber having an inlet end, and an outlet end, and a sidewall that defines a constant diameter separator passage;
the inlet end configured to receive a mixture of soft material and hard material from an upstream portion of the grinding head;
a separator screw disposed within the separator passage of the separator chamber, the separator screw having a body portion and a distal end;
a metering auger operatively coupled to the distal end of the separator screw and having a reduced diameter relative to the separator screw, the metering auger configured to advance in a downstream direction, the hard material of the mixture of soft material and hard material; and a metering cone having an internal conical portion and a metering passageway formed therein, the metering auger in communication with the metering passageway, wherein a selected diameter of the metering auger determines an amount of the hard material that is advanced in the downstream direction through the metering passageway toward a discharge end.

11 . The metering auger assembly of claim 10 , wherein metering auger includes a nose portion having a plurality of radially extending grooves that facilitate grinding down or reducing in size, the hard material that is too large to pass through the metering passageway.

12 . The metering auger assembly of claim 10 , wherein metering auger is removeably coupled to the distal end of the separator screw.

13 . The metering auger assembly of claim 10 , wherein metering auger is permanently fixed to or integrally formed with the separator screw.

14 . The metering auger assembly of claim 10 , wherein the internal conical portion of the metering cone includes a plurality of radially directed recesses or flutes that facilitate grinding down or reducing in size, the hard material.

15 . A metering auger assembly for a grinding machine comprising:
the grinding machine including:
a grinding head defining an opening;
a rotatable food-product advancement member contained within the grinding head;
an orifice plate located within the opening of the grinding head, wherein the orifice plate defines an upstream surface and a downstream surface, and includes a plurality of outer grinding openings extending between the upstream surface and the downstream surface for discharging soft material through the orifice plate upon rotation of the rotatable food-product advancement member, and one or more collection passages extending between the upstream surface and the downstream surface for discharging a mixture of soft material and hard material through the orifice plate upon rotation of the rotatable food-product advancement member;
a separator assembly located downstream of the orifice plate, wherein the separator assembly includes:
an upstream inlet that receives the mixture of soft material and hard material from the collection passages;
a cylindrical separator chamber having a sidewall that defines a constant diameter separator passage, wherein the separator passage receives the mixture of soft material and hard material from the upstream inlet, and wherein the sidewall of the separator chamber includes a plurality of apertures;
a separator screw disposed within the separator passage of the separator chamber, the separator screw having a major diameter and a minor diameter along a body portion thereof, wherein the separator screw is interconnected with the rotatable food-product advancement member and is rotatable within the separator passage in response to rotation of the rotatable food-product advancement member, wherein rotation of the separator screw causes separation of soft material from the mixture of soft material and hard material, and forces the soft material through the apertures in the sidewall of the separator chamber, and advances the hard material in a downstream direction toward a discharge end;
a metering auger operatively coupled to a distal end of the separator screw and having a reduced diameter relative to the separator screw, the metering auger configured to advance in the downstream direction, the hard material of the mixture of soft material and hard material; and
a metering cone having an internal conical portion and a metering passageway formed therein, the metering auger in communication with the metering passageway, wherein a selected diameter of the metering auger determines an amount of the hard material that is advanced in the downstream direction through the metering passageway toward the discharge end.

16 . The metering auger assembly of claim 15 , wherein metering auger includes a nose portion having a plurality of radially extending grooves that facilitate grinding down or reducing in size, the hard material that is too large to pass through the metering passagew

Assignees

• Provisur Technologies Inc

Inventors

• Wight E William
• Hahn Timothy
• Schinkowsky Kyle
• Albrecht Christopher
• Levande Nathan

Classifications

• A22C17/0026

  Mincing and grinding meat (mincing machines B02C18/30) · CPC title

• B02C18/305

  Details · CPC title

• B02C18/302

  with a knife-perforated disc unit · CPC title

• B02C18/365

  Perforated discs · CPC title

• B02C2018/308

  with separating devices for hard material, e.g. bone · CPC title