Invention Grant
- Patent Title: Quantitative texture measurement apparatus and method
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Application No.: US15711592Application Date: 2017-09-21
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Publication No.: US10598648B2Publication Date: 2020-03-24
- Inventor: Ou Bai , Wilfred Marcellien Bourg, Jr. , Scott Fagan , Enrique Michel-Sanchez , Shahmeer Ali Mirza , Scott G. Richardson , Chen C. Shao
- Applicant: Frito-Lay North America, Inc.
- Applicant Address: US TX Plano
- Assignee: Frito-Lay North America, Inc.
- Current Assignee: Frito-Lay North America, Inc.
- Current Assignee Address: US TX Plano
- Agency: Barnes & Thornburg LLP
- Agent G. Peter Nichols
- Main IPC: G01N29/24
- IPC: G01N29/24 ; G01N33/10 ; G01B11/30 ; G01B17/08 ; G01N29/12 ; G01H9/00

Abstract:
A non-destructive measurement apparatus and method for quantitatively measuring texture of a food snack is disclosed. The apparatus includes a laser generating tool, an ultrasound excitation device, an acoustic capturing device, an ultrasound capturing device and a data processing unit. The laser generating tool and the ultrasound excitation tool direct energy towards a food snack placed on a surface and produce an acoustic signal and an ultrasound signal. The data processing unit further comprises a digital signal processing module that processes the received acoustic signal and ultrasound signal. A statistical processing module further filters the acoustic signal from the data processing unit and generates a quantitative acoustic model for texture attributes such as hardness and fracturability. The quantitative model is correlated with a qualitative texture measurement from a descriptive expert panel. Texture of food snacks are quantitatively measured with the quantitative acoustic model.
Public/Granted literature
- US20180011069A1 Quantitative Texture Measurement Apparatus and Method Public/Granted day:2018-01-11
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