Food processing apparatus

Claim 1

In apparatus for processing heat and pressure reactive particulate food material, said apparatus including an elongated cylinder, inlet feeding means adjacent a first end of said cylinder for feeding said particulate material to said cylinder, outlet means adjacent the other end of said cylinder, said outlet means defining a restrictive orifice; and a gaseous fluid source interconnected to said inlet feeding means; the improvement wherein said inlet feeding means comprises a rotary valve including means for continuously supplying gaseous fluid from said fluid source to said cylinder, said rotary valve including a rotatable plug and a valve housing for rotatably supporting said plug, said valve housing including a gaseous fluid inlet adjacent a first side of said housing and a gaseous fluid outlet adjacent the opposite side of said housing, said continuous fluid supply passing through said rotatable plug, said plug including a plurality of feeding sets, each of said sets including a passageway extending radially through said plug and a pair of pockets, one of said pockets being disposed at the radially outer ends of said passageway.