Victor John Dervin
Engineers in Cupertino, CA

4145820, Mar 27, 1979

Aug 10, 1977

5/823393

Gustav J. Fehlhaber - Burlingame CA
Victor J. Dervin - Cupertino CA

NPI Corporation - Burlingame CA

F26B 2106

34 75

A moisture remover for produce is preferably installed in an enclosure within which a produce support such as a foraminous conveyor is installed. A fan takes heated air from a heater and discharges the heated air upwardly through the conveyor and then through the produce itself. Air leaving the produce returns to the air heater for reheating and recirculation by the fan. Moisture from the produce rises and travels to a cooler within the enclosure and condenses on the cooler. There is no air circulation through the cooler. Moisture condensed on the cooler is drained from the cooler and preferably is discharged outside the enclosure and is not reevaporated into the recirculating heated air.

4028774, Jun 14, 1977

Jul 2, 1976

5/702353

John H. Allan - Stockton CA
Jerrold L. Ball - Stockton CA
Charles B. Dull - Stockton CA
Leo A. Gabriel - Stockton CA
Richard E. Curtis - Foster City CA
Victor J. Dervin - Cupertino CA

James Allan & Sons, Inc. - Stockton CA
NPI Corporation - Burlingame CA

A22B 500

17 24

An enclosure is divided by partitions to define a narrow sinuous passageway for the passage of carcasses from an inlet to an outlet. The sinuous passageway defines adjacent aisle portions and a blower directs refrigerated air downwardly over the carcasses in one of the aisle portions. The air passes under the dividing partition into the adjacent aisle portion and the blower draws it upwardly over the carcasses in that adjacent aisle portion to rapidly freeze a crust on the carcasses during their passage from the inlet to the outlet. The method of the invention is the blowing of cold air over a carcass in one vertical direction then over the same carcass in the opposite vertical direction.

4123917, Nov 7, 1978

Aug 10, 1977

5/823394

Richard E. Curtis - Pleasanton CA
Robert H. Dench - Monte Sereno CA
Victor J. Dervin - Cupertino CA

NPI Corporation - Burlingame CA

F25D 1704, F26B 700

62309

A produce cooler is for use with produce disposed in an enclosure. A vertically extending cooling compartment is located adjacent the enclosure. Within the cooling compartment is a horizontally extending heat exchanger substantially above the bottom of the compartment and well below the top thereof. A demister also extends across the cooling compartment below the top of it and sufficiently above the heat exchanger to leave an intervening chamber. There is a plenum between the produce enclosure and the cooling compartment in communication with produce in the compartment and in communication with the cooling compartment. A fan circulates air from the produce in the compartment through the plenum and into the bottom of the cooling compartment so that the air is made to rise upwardly therethrough and return from the top thereof to the produce in the cooling compartment. The heat exchanger comprises a series of superposed, generally horizontal plates of expanded metal held apart by spacers and subject to a cold water spray from spray nozzles. The spray falls through the heat exchanger and onto the floor of the cooling compartment, from which the water discharges into a sump and flows over a cooling coil, thus having its temperature reduced.

4044078, Aug 23, 1977

Feb 9, 1976

5/656121

Richard E. Curtis - Pleasanton CA
Robert H. Dench - Monte Sereno CA
Victor J. Dervin - Cupertino CA

N.P.I. Corporation - Burlingame CA

B01F 304

261 30

An air handler especially for use with a produce storage room has a housing with an air inlet near the bottom and an air outlet near the top. A fan or blower supplies air above atmospheric pressure to the inlet for flow through the housing and discharge from the top thereof and through a duct leading to the storage room. Adjacent the housing there is a water cooler, usually operated in a refrigerator circuit, into which water is introduced from a collector near the bottom of the housing and from which the cooled water is discharged into a distributor in the housing near the top thereof. The distributor, preferably a number of sprays, discharges the cooled water to fall over and through a water and air baffle unit within the housing between the inlet and the outlet thereof and into the collector. The water and air baffle unit has a plurality of expanded metal plates, conveniently of aluminum, extending substantially horizontally across the interior of the housing between the distributor and the collector, with the metal plates vertically separated and supported to provide intervening, cross spaces for air and water flow.

4042017, Aug 16, 1977

Oct 29, 1975

5/626663

Robert H. Dench - Monte Sereno CA
Victor J. Dervin - Cupertino CA

Mobile Product Services, Inc. - Burlingame CA

F25B 2900

165 63

A produce warmer for raising the temperature of cold produce taken from a cold environment and about to be processed includes a refrigerant circuit in which an evaporative cooler and a heat exchanger are arranged in series for circulation of a refrigerant between them. The direction is such that heat is taken from the heat exchanger and is transferred to the evaporative cooler. There is a first housing for warm produce to be cooled, and this housing is included in a secondary water circuit also inclusive of the heat exchanger. The water in the secondary circuit is circulated in a direction to pick up heat from the produce and to transfer such heat to the heat exchanger. Following this the returning cool water is sprayed over the warm produce in the first housing and is recirculated. Should there be no warm produce for the first housing, an alternative supply of heat is afforded by a fan introducing warm air to the first housing. A tertiary water circuit includes a second housing for produce to be warmed and also includes the evaporative cooler.