Claims
- 1. A cleaning apparatus for cleaning a portion of at least one container, the apparatus comprising
- 2. The cleaning apparatus of claim 1 further including a conveyor operable for moving the at least one container into a position in which the container can be contacted by the engaging mechanism.
- 3. A food packaging apparatus including:
- 4. The food packaging apparatus, as set forth in claim 3, wherein the drive is operable to automatically advance the wiping material to the engaging mechanism.
- 5. The food packaging apparatus, as set forth in claim 4, wherein the engaging mechanism includes a resiliently deformable member that engages the wiping material to urge the wiping material into contact with the food receptacles passing under the deformable member.
- 6. The food packaging apparatus, as set forth in claim 5, wherein the deformable member includes a substantially cylindrical polymeric foam element with a longitudinal axis extending substantially across the conveyor.
- 7. The food packaging apparatus, as set forth in claim 4, including a controller operably associated with the drive to effect selective movement of the wiping material from the supply mechanism to the take-up mechanism.
- 8. The food packaging apparatus, as set forth in claim 7, wherein the controller and drive are operable to advance the wiping material after a predetermined amount of advancement of a portion of the conveyor.
- 9. The food packaging apparatus, as set forth in claim 3, wherein the supply includes a roll of the wiping material mounted on a first carrier for rotation, a portion of the wiping material passing under and around a portion of the cleaning mechanism.
- 10. The food packaging apparatus, as set forth in claim 9, including a brake mechanism cooperating with the wiping material on a feed side of the cleaning mechanism to maintain tension in at least a portion of the wiping material on the feed side of the cleaning mechanism.
- 11. The food packaging apparatus, as set forth in claim 10, wherein the brake mechanism acts on said roll of the wiping material.
- 12. The food packaging apparatus as set forth in claim 9 wherein the take-up mechanism includes a second carrier and removable take-up spool mounted thereon, and a drive cooperating with a portion of the second carrier and operable to drive the take-up spool to advance the wiping material from the first carrier to a presser for take up on the take-up spool.
- 13. A food packaging machine, including:
- 14. The food packaging machine, as set forth in claim 13, wherein said brake is operable to resist movement of towel material from the roll to the presser.
- 15. The food packaging machine, as set forth in claim 13, wherein the controller and drive are operable to effect incremental movement of towel material from the roll to the take-up mechanism.
- 16. The food packaging machine, as set forth in claim 13, wherein the controller and drive are operable to effect the incremental movement of towel material after a predetermined number of receptacles advance under the presser from the filling station toward the sealing station.
- 17. A food packaging machine including:
- 18. A method of filling and sealing food containers, the method including:
- 19. The method as set forth in claim 18 wherein the wiping material is advanced incrementally.
- 20. The method as set forth in claim 18 wherein the cover is adhered to the receptacle by heat sealing.
- 21. The method as set forth in claim 18 wherein the food product placed in the receptacle includes meat.
- 22. The method as set forth in claim 21 wherein the meat placed in the receptacle includes a plurality of pieces of meat in each receptacle.
- 23. The method as set forth in claim 21 wherein the meat is manually placed in the receptacle.
Cross Reference to Related Applications
[0001] This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/351,722, filed January 24, 2002, pending.
Provisional Applications (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
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60/351,722 |
Jan 2002 |
US |