Robert G Nothum

8096259, Jan 17, 2012

Feb 12, 2007

11/705551

Robert M. Nothum - Springfield MO, US

B05C 19/04

118 13, 118 19, 118 24, 118308, 118312, 118600, 118602

Apparatus for coating food products with breading material has an excess breading-material circulation/re-circulation system, which itself has a main, central product-intake conveyor scraping across an up-sloping bottom panel flanked by left and right elevators that course through up-sloping gutters astride the central conveyor's bottom panel. The central conveyor is relatively broad but shallow for only carrying a relatively light load that becomes a bottom bed of breading material for conveyance of food product thereon. In contrast, the elevators are relatively deep but thin in order to carry relatively-substantial streams of breading material, and disproportionate to their thin width, which are ultimately elevated to a topcoat-applicator and becomes a top-coating of breading material. One or more plows are arranged in the overhead space above the central conveyor to divert a main stream of excess breading material into one or more diverted streams aimed at the flanking elevators.

20050092014, May 5, 2005

Jan 9, 2003

10/339175

Robert Nothum - Willard MO, US

F25D025/04

062380000

A spiral freezer for continuous duty in continuous food process lines has a freezer compartment enclosing a double-helix arrangement, of which there is a helical run of a food-carrying conveyor in combination with a helical ramp or slideway for the food-carrying conveyor's helical run to ascend or descend on. The helical ramp is an assembly of numerous heat exchanger tubes, each wound helically and positioned in set lanes in the overall assembly of the ramp. An external refrigerant-circulating system is connected to circulate refrigerant through the heat exchanger tubes in order that hot components like compressors and condensers be kept outside of the freezer compartment for better energy efficiency. The foregoing conveyor and heat exchanger arrangement provides close proximity between the source(s) of heat in the food product on the conveyor and the sink of that heat to the refrigerant flowing inside the heat exchanger tubes.

20050092730, May 5, 2005

Jan 9, 2003

10/339176

Robert Nothum - Willard MO, US

F27D011/00

219388000

A spiral oven for continuous duty in continuous food process lines has an oven compartment enclosing a double-helix arrangement, of which there is a helical run of a food-carrying conveyor in combination with a helical assembly of heat-delivery elements. Accordingly, the double-helix arrangement provides close proximity between the food product on the conveyor and the heat-delivery elements.

20060032382, Feb 16, 2006

Feb 22, 2005

11/063339

Robert Nothum - Willard MO, US

G07F 9/10

099357000

An integrated food process system has a several cells, each having a track forming a horizontal circuit or pathway for a series of product-carrying trays to travel in laps around. The cells afford stacking together in vertically-stacked combinations, multi-variously as desired, to form a tower. The enclosed centers of the cells cooperatively define a hollow core for the tower, which provides space for a drive system that motivates the trays in laps around the tracks, after which the trays are tipped to dump their contents into a corresponding tray in a lower level. There are an assortment of delivery systems for associating with one or more of the cells in order to allow a variety of tower constructions, any one of which can process an infeed of food product through a sequence of operations including combinations of any of cooking, pre-dusting, batter application, breading, frying, freezing, and/or packaging.

20060207436, Sep 21, 2006

Feb 22, 2006

11/359879

Robert Nothum - Willard MO, US

A23B 4/052

099352000

A cellularly-integrated food process line () is a combination of several diverse cells (), which are diverse because each performs non-identical operations. Such cells () are configured to perform at least one sub-process as marinade, form, cook, dust coat, batter coat, crumb coat, fry, sear, grill mark or freeze, as well as any two or several of those sub-processes in combination. The cells () are also configured to stack vertically in interchangeable combinations, as desired, to form a tower. Changing the combination or sequence of such cells () correspondingly changes the end result on food product () processed by such combination. Each cell has its own conveying apparatus () for motivating food product () along a pathway, which may collectively be driven by a common drive system ().

59377445, Aug 17, 1999

Oct 5, 1998

9/166315

Robert G. Nothum - Springfield MO
Robert G. Nothum - Willard MO

A23L 122
A23G 300
A47J 4400
B05C 1900

99494

A convertible drum-type coating apparatus for applying breading material to food products includes an in-line breader section, a rotary drum section, and an outflow section. The rotary drum is mounted on an elevator for lowering and lifting between a low use position and a high non-use position. The low use position is involved with tumbling the breading material and food product together to enhance the coating by the breading material, and in a sense the tumbling gives the appearance of dusting off excess breading material. The coating apparatus is convertible in that the rotary drum can be lifted out of the way to the high non-use position to allow substitution in favor of a bypass conveyor. Bypass of the drum is desired when running "formed" food products and the like, such as patties (eg. , beef) or cakes (eg.

61583324, Dec 12, 2000

Jun 18, 1999

9/336874

Robert G. Nothum - Springfield MO
Robert G. Nothum - Willard MO

A23L 122
A23G 300
A47J 4400
B05C 1900

99494

A convertible drum-type coating apparatus for applying breading material to food products includes an in-line breader section, a rotary drum section, and an outflow section. The rotary drum is mounted on an elevator for lowering and lifting between a low use position and a high non-use position. The low use position is involved with tumbling the breading material and food product together to enhance the coating by the breading material, and in a sense the tumbling gives the appearance of dusting off excess breading material. The coating apparatus is convertible in that the rotary drum can be lifted out of the way to the high non-use position to allow substitution in favor of a bypass conveyor. Bypass of the drum is desired when running "formed" food products and the like, such as patties (eg. , beef) or cakes (eg.

63052741, Oct 23, 2001

Dec 20, 2000

9/742897

Robert G. Nothum - Springfield MO
Robert G. Nothum - Willard MO

A47J 3700
A47J 3712

99404

A hot oil fryer for continuous frying duty in continuous food process lines has a conveyor belt that has an upper food-carrying upper run and a lower return run. Heat input is provided by rectangular or square heat exchanger tubes that are placed directly underneath the food-carrying run in order to support it from sagging as well as cut-down the span between the source of heat flowing inside the heat exchanger tubes and the sink of heat in the food product that is transported on top of the conveyor's food-carrying run. The conveyor includes an entrant ramp section having at least high and low operative positions. The cooking channel at the intake end is provided with a series of gutters as well as sediment drains to afford collection and filtration of floating debris as well as sinking debris.