Patent application number | Description | Published |
20120024125 | LOOP CUTTER KNIFE FIXTURE WITH REPLACEABLE BLADES - A loop cutter knife fixture for cutting vegetable products such as raw potatoes into spiral or helical loops. The knife fixture includes a circular blade holder adapted to be rotatably driven within a vegetable product flow path. The blade holder includes a central core cutter in combination with a spiral base plate defining a radial slot between axially spaced upstream and downstream ends thereof. Small slits are formed in this base plate for seated reception of preferably multiple U-shaped strip blades, which are in turn overlaid and clamped in place beneath a generally pie-shaped slab blade having a sharpened knife edge exposed at the base plate radial slot and held in place by preferably multiple clamp screws. The strip blades and/or the slab blade are formed from an inexpensive material, such as sheet metal or the like, whereby blade changeover is quick and economical. | 02-02-2012 |
20120167737 | LATTICE CUTTING MACHINE - A lattice cutting or slicing machine includes a multi-knife lattice cutting plate mounted in-line along an hydraulic flow path through which vegetable products such as potatoes are propelled in single file by a hydraulic fluid such as water. The lattice cutting plate is orbitally driven for engaging in succession each of the multiple knives thereon with the vegetable product to form lattice cut slices wherein successive generally corrugated cuts are angularly oriented typically perpendicular to each other, and further wherein the depths or troughs of the corrugated cuts on opposite sides of each slice intersect in the preferred form to define a pattern of corrugations interrupted by small openings. | 07-05-2012 |
20130087032 | ROTARY KNIFE FIXTURE FOR CUTTING SPIRAL, TEXTURED POTATO PIECES - A rotary knife fixture for cutting vegetable products such as raw potatoes into spiral shapes. The knife fixture includes a ring-shaped blade holder driven rotatably within a hydraulic product flow path. The blade holder includes at least one cutting blade, wherein the blade is twisted from a generally longitudinally aligned center axis outwardly in opposite circumferential directions with a sharpened leading edge set at a desired pitch angle. By controlling the pitch angle of the blade in relation to the blade rotational speed and velocity at which the potato travels along the hydraulic flow path, the resultant spiral cut shape is selected. By using multiple cutting blades at known axially spaced positions and selecting the angular position of each cutting blade in succession, the number of spiral shapes cut from each potato is selected. The blades can have a nontextured straight-cut edge, or a textured crinkle-cut edge, or a combination. | 04-11-2013 |
20130205965 | LATTICE CUTTING MACHINE SYSTEM - A cutting machine for cutting a vegetable product includes a frame, supporting a product flow path, at least three links, pivotally attached to the frame, a cutting plate, pivotally attached to each of the three links at three pivot points and oriented substantially perpendicular to the flow path, a plurality of cutting knives, carried by the cutting plate, each having a generally corrugated configuration defining adjacent peaks and troughs, the cutting knives oriented angularly with respect to each other, and a drive motor, coupled to rotationally drive at least one of the links with respect to the frame, whereby the cutting plate moves in an orbital motion in a plane substantially perpendicular to the flow path, thereby moving the cutting knives sequentially and repeatedly across the product flow path. | 08-15-2013 |
20140360326 | CUP CUTTER AND METHOD - A cutting head for a food product cutting system includes a generally cylindrical rotatable body, having a radius and configured to rotate about an axis, and a plurality of spatially separated, generally parallel elongate cutting blades, arranged in a circular array centered on the axis and defining a perimeter of the body. Each blade has a long dimension and an outwardly-oriented cutting edge. The generally cylindrical rotatable body is connectable to a driving mechanism configured to rotate the cutting head about the axis, and is positionable adjacent to a food product delivery mechanism, whereby food product that contacts the cutting edges of the array of blades in a direction generally perpendicular to the axis is cut by the blades into slices having a repeatable curvature. | 12-11-2014 |
20150246456 | ROTARY KNIFE FIXTURE FOR CUTTING SPIRAL, TEXTURED POTATO PIECES - A rotary knife fixture for cutting vegetable products such as raw potatoes into spiral shapes. The knife fixture includes a ring-shaped blade holder driven rotatably within a hydraulic product flow path. The blade holder includes at least one cutting blade, wherein the blade is twisted from a generally longitudinally aligned center axis outwardly in opposite circumferential directions with a sharpened leading edge set at a desired pitch angle. By controlling the pitch angle of the blade in relation to the blade rotational speed and velocity at which the potato travels along the hydraulic flow path, the resultant spiral cut shape is selected. By using multiple cutting blades at known axially spaced positions and selecting the angular position of each cutting blade in succession, the number of spiral shapes cut from each potato is selected. The blades can have a nontextured straight-cut edge, or a textured crinkle-cut edge, or a combination. | 09-03-2015 |
Patent application number | Description | Published |
20140240146 | Wireless Vehicle Detector Aggregator and Interface to Controller and Associated Methods - Embodiments of systems and methods of the present invention include efficient, reliable aggregation and transfer of one or more sensor pods detect status to the base station and then the traffic controller. An embodiment of an access point maintains a sensor state array, which is the current status of the sensor pods in communication with the access point. The access point can maintain the sensor state array in its memory and relay the sensor state array to the base station. An embodiment of a base station can use the sensor state array information to generate and update a vehicle detector array, which is the current status of all the sensor pods in the wireless vehicle detector network. An embodiment of the base station emulates one or more bus interface units and uses the vehicle detector array to relay detector information to the traffic controller periodically or when polled. | 08-28-2014 |
20140244145 | WIRELESS VEHICLE DETECTION SYSTEM AND ASSOCIATED METHODS HAVING ENHANCED RESPONSE TIME - Embodiments of the invention include a wireless vehicle detection systems and associated methods with extended range and battery life. The wireless vehicle detection system can include a plurality of sensor pods in communication with an access point without repeaters. Embodiments of the sensor pod can include a vehicle detector controller adapted to determine the presence of vehicles and a communication controller connected to the vehicle detector and adapted to transmit data 300 feet or more to an access point, which in turns communicates with the base station. To extend the battery life of the sensor pod, the sensor pod can be adapted to detect received communication signal strength and adjust transmitting power based upon said strength to thereby conserve power. Embodiments of the sensor pod can also include a battery connected in parallel to an HLC capacitor to further extend the life of the battery. | 08-28-2014 |
20150046075 | WIRELESS VEHICLE DETECTION SYSTEM AND ASSOCIATED METHODS HAVING ENHANCED RESPONSE TIME - Embodiments of the invention include a wireless vehicle detection systems and associated methods with extended range and battery life. The wireless vehicle detection system can include a plurality of sensor pods in communication with an access point without repeaters. Embodiments of the sensor pod can include a vehicle detector controller adapted to determine the presence of vehicles and a communication controller connected to the vehicle detector and adapted to transmit data 300 feet or more to an access point, which in turns communicates with the base station. To extend the battery life of the sensor pod, the sensor pod can be adapted to detect received communication signal strength and adjust transmitting power based upon said strength to thereby conserve power. Embodiments of the sensor pod can also include a battery connected in parallel to an HLC capacitor to further extend the life of the battery. | 02-12-2015 |
20150194056 | WIRELESS VEHICLE DETECTION SYSTEM AND ASSOCIATED METHODS HAVING ENHANCED RESPONSE TIME - Embodiments of the invention include a wireless vehicle detection systems and associated methods with extended range and battery life. The wireless vehicle detection system can include a plurality of sensor pods in communication with an access point without repeaters. Embodiments of the sensor pod can include a vehicle detector controller adapted to determine the presence of vehicles and a communication controller connected to the vehicle detector and adapted to transmit data 300 feet or more to an access point, which in turns communicates with the base station. To extend the battery life of the sensor pod, the sensor pod can be adapted to detect received communication signal strength and adjust transmitting power based upon said strength to thereby conserve power. Embodiments of the sensor pod can also include a battery connected in parallel to an HLC capacitor to further extend the life of the battery. | 07-09-2015 |
Patent application number | Description | Published |
20090017178 | Method for Reducing the Oil Content of Potato Chips - A method is disclosed which reduces the oil content of a potato chip. The method teaches that a steeper, faster temperature drop upon initial introduction of the potato slice to the fryer, followed by a longer period of exposure to lower temperatures before increasing to standard frying temperatures, reduces oil content of a potato chip. The invention further discloses a pre-treatment method which involves submerging the potatoes in a hot water bath which results in decreased oil content. Additionally, the invention discloses a post-treatment method involving subjecting the potato chip to superheated steam that further reduces oil content. The two pre and post-treatment methods, combined with the primary temperature scheme method for reducing oil content, yield a potato chip with significantly reduced oil content. | 01-15-2009 |
20090130292 | Sweet Potato Flake Process - The present invention discloses formulations for sheeted, baked sweet potato chips that have a light, crispy texture similar to a white potato chip. The ingredients are combined with water and oil to make a dough, which is then sheeted and cut into pieces. The pieces are baked to produce sweet potato snack chips. | 05-21-2009 |
20100112177 | OIL STRIPPING FRYER UNIT - A continuous oil fryer used to fry food slices, such as potato chips, having an internal oil stripping capability. The fryer accumulates the steam produced by the frying process in a hood and utilizes such steam, after superheating the steam by passing it through a heat exchanger, to strip oil from product immediately upon removal from the hot oil bath by passing the superheated steam through a product bed while on an output conveyor. The superheated steam removes oil from the product on the output conveyor without increasing the moisture level of the product. The fryer therefore accomplishes the same function as a low-oil stripper without increasing the footprint of the frying unit and with less energy. | 05-06-2010 |
20110281005 | METHOD FOR REDUCING THE OIL CONTENT OF POTATO CHIPS - A method is disclosed which reduces the oil content of a potato chip. The method teaches that a steeper, faster temperature drop upon initial introduction of the potato slice to the fryer, followed by a longer period of exposure to lower temperatures before increasing to standard frying temperatures, reduces oil content of a potato chip. The invention further discloses a pre-treatment method which involves submerging the potatoes in a hot water bath which results in decreased oil content. Additionally, the invention discloses a post-treatment method involving subjecting the potato chip to superheated steam that further reduces oil content. The two pre and post-treatment methods, combined with the primary temperature scheme method for reducing oil content, yield a potato chip with significantly reduced oil content. | 11-17-2011 |
20120156359 | OIL STRIPPING FRYER UNIT - A continuous oil fryer used to fry food slices, such as potato chips, having an internal oil stripping capability. The fryer accumulates the steam produced by the frying process in a hood and utilizes such steam, after superheating the steam by passing it through a heat exchanger, to strip oil from product immediately upon removal from the hot oil bath by passing the superheated steam through a product bed while on an output conveyor. The superheated steam removes oil from the product on the output conveyor without increasing the moisture level of the product. The fryer therefore accomplishes the same function as a low-oil stripper without increasing the footprint of the frying unit and with less energy. | 06-21-2012 |
20120207892 | FABRICATED FOOD PRODUCT MADE FROM FRESH POTATO MASH - A composition and method for providing a strong dough having a substantial quantity of fresh potatoes. Fresh potatoes are made into a mash and centrifuged to reduce the water content to about 70% by weight. Such potato mash can comprise over 50% by weight of the final dough. This dough can be used to make sheeted or extruded products. Such dough results in improved, more naturally-flavored products compared to products made entirely from dehydrated or partially-dehydrated potato derivatives. The method comprises finely slicing potatoes to form a potato slurry or mash; decanting excess water from the potato slurry; heating the potato slurry to a temperature no greater than about 190 degrees Fahrenheit; cooling the slurry to under 140 degrees Fahrenheit; and imparting a low amount of work input to a mixture of the slurry and other ingredients to form a shapeable dough. | 08-16-2012 |
Patent application number | Description | Published |
20090038939 | SYSTEM AND METHODS OF CHEMISTRY PATTERNING FOR A MULTIPLE WELL BIOSENSOR - Methods and systems for measuring the concentration of an analyte in a blood sample and, more particularly, to methods of chemistry patterning reagent layers for multiple well biosensors. A first capillary is first configured to receive a dispensed reagent layer such that the reagent layer is distributed in a substantially uniform manner within the first capillary. The first capillary may also configured to isolate the first capillary from other capillaries present in the biosensor. After the reagent layer has been dispensed and dried, the first capillary may then be reconfigured to allow the first capillary to receive a blood sample. | 02-12-2009 |
20090134024 | Embedded Strip Lot Autocalibration - An auto-calibration system for diagnostic test strips is described for presenting data individually carried on each test strip readable by a diagnostic meter. The test strip meter may provide a predetermined varying resistance on one strip or a plurality of varying resistances from strip lot to strip lot. | 05-28-2009 |
20100081968 | Test Strip With Integrated Lancet - The present disclosure provides methods and systems to collect blood from a patient using a lancet integrated with a test strip. The present disclosure provides integrated test strips having an integrated lancet, as well as meters for actuating the lancet integrated within a test strip. The analyte test strip comprises a first test strip substrate material and a second test strip substrate material. At least one test strip substrate material comprises an elongate cavity. The test strip further comprises a reaction test site for testing analyte concentrations in blood. The test strip further comprises at least one opening communicating with the at least one cavity. The test strip and integrated lancet can be sterilized and then sealed in a package. | 04-01-2010 |
20120241318 | SYSTEM AND METHODS FOR DETERMINING AN ANALYTE CONCENTRATION INCORPORATING A HEMATOCRIT CORRECTION - Methods and devices for determining the concentration of a constituent in a physiological sample are provided. The blood sample is introduced into a test strip with portions of the blood sample being directed to both a first capillary and a second capillary. The first capillary configured to electrochemically determine a concentration of a first analyte in a blood sample by measuring a signal across a set of electrodes. The second capillary is configured to determine a hematocrit value of the blood sample by measuring a signal across a second set of electrodes. | 09-27-2012 |
20150098865 | METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR CODING DIAGNOSTIC METERS - A system for diagnostic testing may include a meter for performing a diagnostic test on a sample applied to a test media, the meter having a housing and an interface for receiving a signal representing coding information, and a container configured to contain test media compatible with the meter, the container having a coding element associated therewith. Additionally, the system may provide a mechanism for removing the meter from an interconnected test container and reattaching it to a new container using on-container coding methods that can recalibrate the meter for the new container of test strips. | 04-09-2015 |
Patent application number | Description | Published |
20130066837 | RECOVERING STATEFUL READ-ONLY DATABASE SESSIONS - A process, apparatus, and computer-readable medium are provided for rebuilding a database session when a previous database session becomes unavailable and the commands previously sent for execution on the previous database session satisfy certain criteria. The process includes determining whether or not a set of commands sent by a client for execution on the previous database session is acceptable to replay based at least in part on whether or not the set of commands satisfies one or more criteria. The process further includes determining that the previous database session is unavailable. In response to determining that the previous database session is unavailable, if the set of commands is acceptable for replay, the set of commands is sent for execution on a new database session to rebuild the state on the new database session. The process masks the outage from the application. | 03-14-2013 |
20130066948 | IDEMPOTENCE FOR DATABASE TRANSACTIONS - A method, machine, and computer-readable medium is provided for managing transactional sets of commands sent from a client to a server for execution. A first server reports logical identifiers that identify transactional sets of commands to a client. The first server commits information about a set of commands to indicate that the set has committed. A second server receives, from the client, a request that identifies the set based on the logical identifier that the client had received. The second server determines whether the request identified the latest set received for execution in a corresponding session and whether any transactions in the set have not committed. If any transaction has not committed, the second server enforces uncommitted state of the identified set by blocking completion of the identified set issued in the first session. The identified set may then be executed in the second session without risk of duplication. | 03-14-2013 |
20130066949 | IDEMPOTENCE FOR DATABASE TRANSACTIONS - A method, machine, and computer-readable medium is provided for managing transactional sets of commands sent from a client to a server for execution. A first server reports logical identifiers that identify transactional sets of commands to a client. The first server commits information about a set of commands to indicate that the set has committed. A second server receives, from the client, a request that identifies the set based on the logical identifier that the client had received. The second server determines whether the request identified the latest set received for execution in a corresponding session and whether any transactions in the set have not committed. If any transaction has not committed, the second server enforces uncommitted state of the identified set by blocking completion of the identified set issued in the first session. The identified set may then be executed in the second session without risk of duplication. | 03-14-2013 |
20130066952 | PRESERVING SERVER-CLIENT SESSION CONTEXT - Methods, devices, and storage media are provided for preserving the context of a server-client session. A server generates an initial context and a context for each user command executed in a first session and sends context to a client with the return for each command. The context describes software, session state, returned data, and/or hardware characteristics of a server-side environment for the first session. The client receives and stores the context with each user command. Upon determining that the database session should be rebuilt in the second session, the client sends initial context. A server for the second session receives the initial context and determines whether commands should be replayed in the second session. If commands are replayed, the server validates that server environment and client-visible results for each command in the second session match that from execution in the first session using the context for that command. | 03-14-2013 |
20130066955 | MASKING DATABASE OUTAGES FROM CLIENTS AND APPLICATIONS - Methods, devices, and computer-readable media are provided for restoring state that was built up on a first session between a first server instance and a client to a second session between a second server instance and the client. Non-transactional session state that existed for the first session is preserved by repeating non-transactional commands in the second session. Transactions are executed in the second session when the transactions did not complete in the first session. The first server instance sends, to the client in the first session, information to maintain for a possible replay of commands that were sent in a request to the first server instance for execution in the first session. If the first session becomes unavailable, the maintained information may be used by the second server instance to restore the database session, masking the outage from users, applications, and clients. | 03-14-2013 |
20130297566 | RECOVERING STATEFUL READ-ONLY DATABASE SESSIONS - A process, apparatus, and computer-readable medium are provided for rebuilding a database session when a previous database session becomes unavailable and the commands previously sent for execution on the previous database session satisfy certain criteria. The process includes determining whether or not a set of commands sent by a client for execution on the previous database session is acceptable to replay based at least in part on whether or not the set of commands satisfies one or more criteria. The process further includes determining that the previous database session is unavailable due to a planned or unplanned recoverable error. In response to determining that the previous database session is unavailable, if the set of commands is acceptable for replay, the set of commands is sent for execution on a new database session to rebuild the state, which was exposed to the client from the previous database session, on the new database session. The process masks the outage from the application. | 11-07-2013 |
20140101100 | PROVIDING SERVICES ACROSS SYSTEMS THAT MANAGE DISTRIBUTED REPLICAS - Techniques are provided to allow users to define a global service that is offered across multiple replicated databases. Database clients connect to and use a global service just as they do with regular services on a single database today. Upon receiving a connection request, a collection of components, referred to collectively as the Global Data Service framework (GDS framework), automatically chooses the best database server instances to which to connect a client. Once those connections have been established, the clients determine which database server instance, of those database server instances to which they are connected, to send requests to based, at least in part, on advisory messages sent to the clients by the GDS framework. | 04-10-2014 |
20150058290 | PROVIDING SERVICES ACROSS SYSTEMS THAT MANAGE DISTRIBUTED REPLICAS - Techniques are provided to allow users to define a global service that is offered across multiple replicated databases. Database clients connect to and use a global service just as they do with regular services on a single database today. Upon receiving a connection request, a collection of components, referred to collectively as the Global Data Service framework (GDS framework), automatically chooses the best database server instances to which to connect a client. Once those connections have been established, the clients determine which database server instance, of those database server instances to which they are connected, to send requests to based, at least in part, on advisory messages sent to the clients by the GDS framework. | 02-26-2015 |
20150326673 | TRANSACTIONAL AND NON-TRANSACTIONAL DATA FOR MAINTAINING SESSION STATE - Transactional and non-transactional data for maintaining session state is described. In a session, a server instance receives, from a client, a request to execute transactional commands and non-transactional commands. The server instance sends at least one first directive executable at the client to store, in a first set of information, one or more first items representing one or more particular transactional commands that are open but not yet committed. The first set of information is maintained separately from a second set of information including one or more second items representing one or more particular non-transactional commands that have been processed. Based on committing one or more particular transactional commands, the server instance sends at least one second directive executable at the client to purge, from the first set of information, the one or more first items without purging, from the second set of information, the one or more second items. | 11-12-2015 |