US 11,950,728 B2
Flume, and method, for supplying vegetable pieces
Barbara Warburg, Leicestershire (GB); and Simon Lawton, Leicestershire (GB)
Assigned to Frito-Lay Trading Company GmbH, Bern (CH)
Appl. No. 17/416,827
Filed by Frito-Lay Trading Company GmbH, Bern (CH)
PCT Filed Jan. 21, 2020, PCT No. PCT/EP2020/051403
§ 371(c)(1), (2) Date Jun. 21, 2021,
PCT Pub. No. WO2020/152159, PCT Pub. Date Jul. 30, 2020.
Claims priority of application No. 1901058 (GB), filed on Jan. 25, 2019.
Prior Publication US 2022/0079384 A1, Mar. 17, 2022
Int. Cl. A47J 37/12 (2006.01); A23L 5/10 (2016.01); A23L 19/18 (2016.01); B65G 11/02 (2006.01); B65G 11/20 (2006.01); B65G 51/01 (2006.01); B65G 69/04 (2006.01)
CPC A47J 37/1271 (2013.01) [A23L 5/10 (2016.08); A23L 19/18 (2016.08); B65G 11/026 (2013.01); B65G 11/206 (2013.01); B65G 51/01 (2013.01); B65G 69/0441 (2013.01); B65G 2201/0211 (2013.01)] 20 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A flume for supplying vegetable pieces in a supply of liquid, the flume extending between a flume inlet and a flume outlet, the flume comprising:
a gulley section having an upstream inlet end at the flume inlet and a downstream outlet end, the gulley section having opposed sidewalls and a gulley floor therebetween, and
a spreader section having opposed first and second lateral walls and a spreader floor therebetween, the spreader section having an upstream end connected to the downstream outlet end of the gulley section, the spreader section progressively increasing in width between the opposed first and second lateral walls in a downstream direction from the upstream end to a downstream end of the spreader section, wherein the opposed first and second lateral walls are each outwardly inclined away from a central longitudinal axis of the flume by a respective angle α° for the first lateral wall and β° for the second lateral wall, in respective opposite directions, which extends from the upstream end of the spreader section to the downstream end of the spreader section,
wherein, at the downstream outlet end, the gulley section has a width of the gulley floor (W1), the spreader section between the upstream and downstream ends of the spreader section has a length (N), and a dimensionless ratio N/W1 is within a range of 6 to 13, and
wherein a sum of α° and β° is from 10 to 25°.