ALEXANDRIA, Va., July 16 -- United States Patent no. 12,357,014, issued on July 15.
"Screw blancher" was invented by David R. Zittel (Columbus, Wis.), Daniel D. Maupin (Corvallis, Ore.) and James R. Meyer (Beaver Dam, Wis.).
According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "A blancher includes a tank and auger. The tank has a wall defining an interior space at least partially cylindrical with end walls. The auger is in the interior space and has flights Each flight has a circumferential edge in close proximity to the wall. The flights move food product from one end to the other as the augur is turned. The auger is preferably supported by a trunnion ring extending through the end wall and as the trunnion ring turn...