Patents
US 8668948 B2: Apparatus, systems and methods for manufacturing food products
- Granted
- 2014-03-11
- Filed
- 2013-07-10 application 13938542
- Type
- Utility · 6 claims
- Elsewhere
- Google Patents ↗ · USPTO patent document ↗ · USPTO Patent Center record ↗
Abstract
Apparatus, systems and methods are disclosed for manufacturing semi-moist meatballs. An illustrative embodiment provides a method of manufacturing generally spherical pet treats comprising: (a) providing a ground mix of proteinaceous material, flavor enhancers and preservatives to a portioning device that divides said mix into smaller portions of roughly uniform volume, (b) placing said portions on a first belt of a first conveyor moving at a first speed in a longitudinal direction, (c) periodically pressing said portions with a second belt of a second conveyor, where said second belt operates in a plane at a height above, and substantially parallel to, said first belt, said second belt moving at a second speed in substantially the same longitudinal direction as said first belt, while also oscillating back and forth in a lateral direction that is at an angle to said longitudinal direction, such that said portions are transformed into generally spherical shapes.
Source: PVGPATDIS, file of 2026-04-10 (ipg140311.xml).
Assignees
| Assignee | Type | Place | Also on furp.org | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Del Monte Corporation 16 patents | US company or organization | Morenci, AZ | DEL MONTE CORPORATION State business registration EXACT high confidence: identical full name and state DEL MONTE CORP SEC filer FUZZY low confidence: same name (legal endings aside), one of each nationally | PVGPATDIS, file of 2026-04-10 |
Inventors
| Inventor | Place | Patents | Person page | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Davor Juravic | Rancho Palos Verdes, CA | 11 | PVGPATDIS, file of 2026-04-10 | |
| Yomayra Alvarez | Long Beach, CA | 5 | PVGPATDIS, file of 2026-04-10 | |
| Oscar Ortiz | Hawthorne, CA | 11 | PVGPATDIS, file of 2026-04-10 | |
| Dwayne P. McDowell, II | Rancho Palos Verdes, CA | 5 | PVGPATDIS, file of 2026-04-10 | |
| Geoffrey Chase Thornhill | San Francisco, CA | 5 | PVGPATDIS, file of 2026-04-10 |
CPC categories
| Subclass | Category | First group | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| A23K | Fodder | A23K40/25 | PVGPATDIS, file of 2026-04-10 |
| A23L | Foods, foodstuffs or non-alcoholic beverages, not otherwise provided for; preparation or treatment thereof | A23L13/67 | PVGPATDIS, file of 2026-04-10 |
| A23P | Shaping or working of foodstuffs, not fully covered by a single other subclass | A23P30/10 | PVGPATDIS, file of 2026-04-10 |
| B30B | Presses in general | B30B5/06 | PVGPATDIS, file of 2026-04-10 |
Cooperative Patent Classification, as currently assigned (one row per subclass).
Assignments and security interests
| Recorded | What | From | To | Reel/frame | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016-05-25 | Assignment Assignment of assignor's interest | BIG HEART PET BRANDS, LLC signed 2016-04-30 | BIG HEART PET, INC. ORRVILLE, OH | 38810/86 | PASDL, file of 2026-10-15 |
| 2016-05-13 | Name change Change of name | BIG HEART PET BRANDS signed 2016-04-30 | BIG HEART PET BRANDS, LLC ORRVILLE, OH | 38687/149 | PASDL, file of 2026-10-15 |
| 2015-03-23 | Release of security interest Release of security interest | JPMORGAN CHASE BANK, N.A. signed 2015-03-23 | BIG HEART PET BRANDS SAN FRANCISCO, CA | 35231/235 | PASDL, file of 2026-10-15 |
| 2014-03-31 | Security interest Security interest Security interest | BIG HEART PET BRANDS signed 2014-03-06 | JPMORGAN CHASE BANK, N.A., AS COLLATERAL AGENT NEW YORK, NY | 32565/323 | PASDL, file of 2026-10-15 |
| 2014-03-07 | Name change Change of name | DEL MONTE CORPORATION signed 2014-02-18 | BIG HEART PET BRANDS SAN FRANCISCO, CA | 32412/133 | ECORSEXC, file of 2026-09-25 |
| 2013-07-12 | Assignment Assignment of assignor's interest | MCDOWELL, DWAYNE P, II signed 2011-04-19 ALVAREZ, YOMAYRA signed 2011-04-25 ORTIZ, OSCAR signed 2011-04-25 JURAVIC, DAVOR signed 2011-05-02 THORNHILL, GEOFFREY CHASE signed 2011-06-16 | DEL MONTE CORPORATION SAN FRANCISCO, CA | 30785/831 | ECORSEXC, file of 2026-09-25 |
Documents recorded with the USPTO Assignment Recordation Branch that list this patent. A security interest is a lender’s claim on the patent as collateral; a release ends it.
USPTO bulk data: PatentsView granted patents, disambiguated (PVGPATDIS) for patents, assignees, inventors, places and CPC categories; the USPTO Patent Assignment Dataset (ECORSEXC) for assignments and security interests. Patents filed in the last 20 years. No claims or full text. Links to other records are by name (and state): EXACT means the identical full name and state; FUZZY means a looser name match, with the confidence shown.