Baking & Snack - December 2014 - 102

PATENTS

Improved bottom tray supports

Vacuum-assisted pressing

In stacks of filled bakery trays, the bottom tray is supported
by drag rails rather than the tray's feet, and the weight of the
trays above it bear on points outside these rails, causing the
sidewalls to twist outward. In the trays described in the patent, a projection from the wall of one tray interlocks with the
edge of an identical tray above it to resist outward deflection
of the wall of the lower tray.

To ensure uniform flatness and circumference of pressed
dough balls, tortilla platens must be adjusted periodically with
thin shims. Teflon platen covers are subject to wear during
normal operation. Replacing shims and platen covers is time
consuming. This invention uses vacuum to hold shim and
cover components in place yet facilitate access for adjusting
shims and replacing covers.

US Patent No. 8,763,809 (July 1, 2014), K.L. Baltz et al., assigned
to Rehrig Pacific Co., Los Angeles.

US Patent No. 8,746,133 (June 10, 2014), E. Lawrence, assigned to
Lawrence Equipment Co., South El Monte, CA.

Seasoning low-fat snacks

Segmented pastry product

To solve the problem of getting seasonings to stick to low-fat
potato chips or fried snacks, the process removes some of the oil
that the snack acquires during frying by putting them through a
centrifuge. This cuts total oil content from a range of 27 to 33%
to a range of 18.5 to 26.5%. The snack is then given a light coating of oil, increasing the product's oil content by 1.4 to 1.5%, and
the seasonings are applied.

A design patent describes the shape
of a pastry item.

US Patent No. 8,765,203 (July 1, 2014), J. McCarthy and C.
Richards Ottenheimer, assigned to Diamond Foods, Inc.,
Stockton, CA.

US Patent No. D708,419 (July 8,
2014), A.L. Fischback et al., assigned to General Mills, Inc.,
Minneapolis.

Extrudes foods with solids

Designed to flatten
dough pieces carried
on a continuously
moving conveyor,
this dough press uses
rack-and-pinion
technology to reduce
the overall size of the
drive mechanism.
The design simplifies
the number of moving parts and enhances operator safety.

Previously it was not possible to
co-extrude foods that contained
large solid particulates such
as nuts, dried fruits or seeds
without crushing the pieces.
The invention described fits a
transfer screw set inside a tube
that creates cells for delivering
the solid pieces in succession
to the extrudate at the outlet
die of the system. The transfer
device also allows injection
of stuffing paste containing
particulates into co-extruded
food products.

US Patent No. 8,770,960 (July 8, 2014), S. Mattias and J. Cotwell,
assigned to J.C. Ford Co., La Habra, CA.

US Patent No. 8,770,098 (July 8, 2014), L. Asensio et al., assigned
to Clextral, Firminy, France.

Moving head dough press

102 Baking & Snack December 2014 / www.bakingandsnack.com

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Baking & Snack - December 2014

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