Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
BACKGROUND_OF THE I~VE~T}o~
This invention relates to new and useful
2s improvements in pans and covers particularly adapted
for use in the smoking or cooking of an extruded pro-
:: duct such as a bacon analogue or the like.
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104~ 79
Such products are normally process by pas~-
ing them through a smokehouse having a continuoua
conveyor with a plurality of hangers secured to the
conveyor upon which product is normally engaged,
Such product is often in the form of sausage,
` hams or the like so that the hangers are relatively
close together,
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. When it is desired to process flat pans or
.: trays of product, it is not practical to remove han-
~ 10 gers and substitute hangers specifically designated ..
.~ to hold such pans or trays in a horizontal position,
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~ SUMM~RY OF THE INVENTION
;. This invention overcomes these disadvantages :- .
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'~ by providing processing trays and covers which are
adapted to be suspended vertically from a bar attach-
ment readily secured to existing hangers so that han-
gers do not have to be removed and/or repositioned
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~ for processing such products.
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Furthermore, the device is adapted to permit
further trays and covers to be ~uspended below the
uppermo~t trays and covers so that if desired, two
or three such trays and covers can be ~uspended ver-
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1~4~ 75~
tically from a single hanger.
One aspect of the invention is to provide aproduct processing pan comprising a base and including at
least a pair of spaced and parallel upstanding side walls
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one on each opposite side edge of said base, a detachable
cover for said pan, said cover including a planarmain panel
covering the open upper side of said pan when installed
thereon, cover engaging means formed on said side walls of
said pan, pan side wall engaging means formed on each lon- -
gitudinal side edge of said main panel of said cover, said ~ :
.~ means on said cover co-operatively engaging said means on
said pan to detachably secure said cover in substantially --
sealing relationship upon said pan, said cover engaging
means on one of said side walls of said pan comprising an --
upwardly curved longitudinally extending portion formed on
~i one side wall, said portion curving through approximately
:~ 180. -
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,~ - ".It is a further advantage of the invention to -~
provide means whereby product processing pans may be suspen- -
ded vertically upon conventional hangers normally provided - :
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on an endless conveyor passing through a smokehouse or cook-
inghouse.
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Still another advantage of the invention is to
i` provide a device of the character herewithin described
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` 1~3'1f~79
which is simple in construction, economical in manufacture
and otherwise well suited to the purpose for which it is
designed.
With the foregoing in view, and other advantages
` 5 as will become apparent to those skilled in the art to
which this invention relates as this specification proceeds,
my invention consists essentially in the arrangement and
; construction of parts all as hereinafter more particularly
described, reference being had to the accompanying drawings
in which:-
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DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Figure 1 is a top plan view of the pan or tray
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~ per se.
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s Figure 2 is a side elevation of Figure 1.
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Figure 3 is a cross sectional view of Figure 1
along the line 3-3 thereof with the cover shown in phantom.
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J Figure 4 is an isometric view of the pan per se.
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44479
Figure 5 i~ a plan view of the lid or
cover per se,
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Figure 6 is a side elevation of Figure 5.
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` Figure 7 is an end view of the lid per se.
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Figure 8 is an isometric view of the lid ; --
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; Figure 9 shows a fragmentary portion of
a conveyor showing a plurality of pans, in section,
suspended therefrom.
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In the drawings like characters of reference - -
~ indicate corresponding parts in the different figures.
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DETAILED DESCRIPTIoN
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Proceeding therefore to describe the inven- :
tion in detail, it consists primarily of a pan col- -
; 15 lectively de~ignated 10 and a lid or cover collectively
~ designated 11.
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1~49~79
In detail, the pan, in this embodiment, in-
cludes a substantially rectangular base panel 1~ ha-
ving a pair of longitudinally extending upwardly formed
side walls 13 and 14, together with one upstanding end
wall 15 extending between the ends of the side walls
13 and 14 at one end of the pan or tray. The opposite
end is open to facilitate the extrusion of the product
(not illustrated) into the pan prior to processing,
However, if other methods of filling are provided,
then a further end wall (not illustrated) may be pro-
vided at the other end of the tray,
What are defined as cover engaging means are
: provided on the upper edges of each of the side walls
13 and 14.
~he cover engaging means on the upper edge
of side wall 13 includes a first longitudinally ex-
tending flange 16, extending substantially at right - ;
angles from the upper edge of the side wall 13. his : -
flange is then angulated upwardly and inwardly to form
a second flange 17 and it then terminates with a
third longitudinally extending flange 18 which lies .
substantially spaced and parallel from the first ~-
1ange 16, Slotted portions 19 may be provided par-
t~cularly in the second and third flanges 17 and 18
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,
79
~: to facilitate the formation of the flanges during
- construction.
The means on the upper edge of the other
side wall 14 consists of a longitudinally extending
flange 20 extending substantially at right angles
from the other edge which then curves downwardly and
inwardly as indicated by reference character 21, :
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through approximately 180 with the inner edge 22
terminating spaced from the side wall 14.
-"
The lid or cover 11 consists of a planar
- substantially rectangular main panel 23 with, in this
embodiment, one end wall 24 depending downwardly from
one end thereof corresponding to the open end of the -
tray 10.
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~ 15 Pan side wall engaging means are provided - --
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r` on each longitudinal edge 25 and 26 of the main panel : -
23 with the means on edge 25 comprising an upwardly - - :
and inwardly curved longitudinally extending portion
~, 27, said curved portion curving through approximately ~ -
', 20 180 and having a contour similar to the contour of
, the curved portion 21 of the pan 10.
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104~79
The means on the opposite side edge 26, is
formed on an extension of the main panel 23 beyond
the vertical edge 27 of the end wall 24 and comprises
a first longitudinally extending downwardly and inwardly
extending flange 28 and a second longitudinally extend-
ing flange 29 extending inwardly from flange 28, but
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lying substantially spaced and parallel to the main
cover portion 23 and terminating spaced from the ver-
tical edge 27 of the end wall 24,
Reference to Figure 3 will show the engage-
ment of the cover 11 with the pan 10 and it will be
observed that the curved portion 27 of the cover wedge-
engages with the angulated or flanged portion 16 of
; the pan. At the same time, the angulated flanged
' 15 portion of the cover wedge-engages over the curved : .
portion of the pan 10. When in position, the oppo-
site end edge 30 of the cover overlies a relatively --
. narrow horizontal flange 31 formed outwardly of the
end wall 15 of the pan or tray with the end wall 24
of the cover covering the end edges 32 and 33 of the
t~y base 12 and the side walls 13 and 14 respectively
thus giving a substantially sealed relationship to the
ebclosure with the cover in place which prevents leak-
age of product during the treatment thereof by means
o a ~mokehouse or cookinghouse depending upon the
product being processed.
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47~9
The wedging ef~ect of the cover with the
tray is further enhanced by the method of gu~pe~ding
the trays from the conveyor.
Figure 9 shows schematically a portion of
a conveyor collectively designated 34 including han-
gers 35 normally provided with hooks 36 upon which
product is suspended.
However, for this purpose, longitudinally
extending rods 37 are secured to the hangers and are
spaced therefrom so that the tray and cover combina- - .
tions can be engaged over the horizontally located ;
rods 37 to hang vertically therefrom as clearly shown
in Figure 9. ~, .
It will be seen from this view that the
weight of the tray and product act vertically and :-
assists in the wedge engagement of the tray cover
with the tray at the location over rod 37. -
It will also be seen that a further tray
and cover combination can be suspended vertically
rom the lower edge of the first tEy and cover com-
blnation with once again the weight of the tray and
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product enhancing the wedge action of the cover
with the tray~
After processing by passing through the
smokehouse or cooking area, the trays and covsrs
together with the product therein may either be air
cooled or brine chilled as desired, Brine chilling
can be used because of the close sealing relationship
of the cover with the tray so that brine does not en-
ter and spoil or contaminate the contents,
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Once chilled, the cover is easily removed
; by swinging the cover sideways relative to the tray
in the direction of arrow 38 (see Figure 1)~ If any --
slight product leakage has caused the cover to be-
. come adhered to the tray, reference should be made
to the cut-away portion 39 shown in Figure 1 which
` is overlapped by a corner 40 of the cover shown in
phantom in Figure 1. This overlapping corner por-
tion enables the cover to be pried or otherwise
jarred from engagement with the tray readily and .: -
y 20 easily ~o that the cover can be swung away for re-
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' moval of the product, ~
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Referring back to the open end of the tray,
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this facilitates the removal of the cooked or smoked
product from the tray without breakage occurring to
the product.
It should be stressed that the configuration
of the cover engaging side edges of the tray and the
side wall engaging edges of the cover permits a wedg-
ing and sealing engagement between the cover and the
tray when hung vertically as shown in Figure 9.
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Furthermore, it is desirable and preferable
that both the tray 10 and cover 11 be made from qtain- -
less steel for ease of cleaning and elimination of
corrosion or any interaction between the food product -
s and the tray and cover.
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" Since various modifications can be made in -
my invention as hereinabove described, and many appa- -
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rently widely different embodiments of same made with-
in the spirit and scope of the claims without depart-
ing from such spirit and scope, it is intended that
all matter contained in the accompanying specifica-
tion shall be interpreted as illustrative only and
not in a limiting sen;;
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