DK151924B - PROCEDURE FOR REFORMING THE ISPINDE AND THE MACHINE FOR EXERCISING THE PROCEDURE - Google Patents

Description

DK 151924B

in

The invention relates to a method for reshaping at least molded ice pods, which are first frozen and shaped as a basic mass of individual size and having a protruding stick in an axially removable freezer mold in an ice stick machine.

The final shape of the reshaped ice stick can be of almost any desired type, whether the upper part of the ice stick is wider than the lower one or whether there are undercut parts in the reshaped ice stick. The present invention can be used in connection with frozen ice sticks made from water ice, cream ice cream, whipped cream ice cream, milk ice cream, chocolate ice cream, pudding ice cream, sorbet, frozen yougourt and the like.

In the method and apparatus according to the invention, the freezing of a basic form (which may be common to several products) of the ice mass takes place in a conventional lightning freezer. The frozen ice mass is then reshaped by a split mold which defines a cavity substantially enclosing the ice mass and causes the frozen material to flow and assume the shape of the cavity in the closed mold. By careful control of the size and shape of the ice mass relative to the mold cavity and of the temperature of the ice mass, the finished ice stick can be made substantially as a result of the flow of the frozen ice mass without substantial melting or re-freezing.

In particular, the present invention is intended to be used in conjunction with a conventional ice cream machine which is modified to include in the final section of the machine a conversion station which converts the frozen ground ice mass. Conventional ice cream sticks are well known in the industry and are sold under the trademarks "VITALINE" and "GRAM".

The Vitaline machine has a first freezing section in which a first group of side-by-side freezing molds is filled with a liquid or semi-solid ice mass and the freezing forms are fed through a tank with a saline solution which freezes the ice mass.

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During the freezing process, a stick is inserted into the ice mass, and at the end of the first section of the machine, the frozen ice mass is pulled up from the freezing molds by their respective sticks. In the second section of the machine, the ice pegs are advanced to subsequent 5 stations, where one or more surface coatings are applied if desired, and the finished ice pegs are finally individually packed and ready to be removed from the machine in its own pack.

A Gram machine works similarly to the Vitaline machine except that the first section has a circular leather instead of an elongated tank of saline solution and the freezer forms are carried in a circular path.

Since the frozen ice stick in both the Vitaline and Gram machines is removed from the mold by simply pulling the stick upwards, the molds must be designed so that the frozen ice stick is axially removable. Such requirements greatly limit the forms in which the finished product can be made on such machines, as there may be no cut surfaces that would impede the extraction of the frozen ice stick.

A method for increasing the number of different types of frozen ice pegs made on machines of the kind in question is described in British Patent Specification No. 2,005,125 and in the corresponding Danish application No. 77/4439 entitled "Method for decorating ice pegs and apparatus for use in the practice of the method ". The appliance is shown built into a Gram ice stick machine. The aforementioned patent discloses that the mold in which a frozen ice stick can be formed on such a machine is limited by the requirement that the shaped ice stick be axially removable, and a method is provided by which 30 cut decorations are applied to the surface of an ice stick. , after being removed from the mold. The decoration is applied by marking or stamping the frozen ice stick by heated plunger tools placed opposite each other. Contrary to the present invention, it highlights

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3, it is not possible to use unheated piston tools without crushing the ice sticks. This is in accordance with the long-standing attitude of those skilled in the art, namely that ice sticks and especially ice that is frozen stagnant cannot be compressed to take a given shape.

British Patent No. 2,005,124 discloses a method for the clean transfer of decorations to the surface of an ice stick and apparatus for practicing such a method. The apparatus 10 is similar to the apparatus disclosed in British Patent No. 2,005,125, but instead of the use of heated piston tools, high pressure nozzles which are spaced from the surface of the ice stick are used and used to spray a predetermined pattern of a contrasting colored liquid against the ice pin 15. its surface to form a pattern on the ice stick. The surface of it and the outer shape of the axially removable frozen ice stick are neither cut nor changed, only a transfer of the decoration material occurs.

An early attempt to make frozen ice sticks in molds 20 with undercut surfaces is disclosed in U.S. Pat.

1891230. This patent relates to a method of pressing ice cream molds from a continuous strip of frozen ice, and no axially removable mold is used. The process of this patent further requires that the ice cream strip 25 be heat treated in a complicated manner to form a brittle or slightly cured outer surface which allows the ice cream strip to be fed to a cooperating matrix pair. The ice cream strip temperature must also be carefully controlled to ensure that the pressing process is functioning properly. The requirement for precise temperature treatment means that this process is neither commercially nor economically suitable.

U.S. Patent No. 4,104,411 discloses another method for forming shaped frozen ice pegs. The progress of this patent

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4 way uses a removable rubber mold. A liquid ice mass mixture is poured into the rubber mold, a stick is inserted and the ice mass is frozen in a bath. The mold must then be manually removed from the molded frozen ice mass. Such a method cannot be used at a high production rate. Furthermore, it can only be used to produce ice sticks of one particular shape at a time, because differently shaped ice sticks will have different freezing times in the freezing bath.

Another way to make frozen ice sticks in more interesting forms in an axially removable form is disclosed in US Patent No. 3,996,760. This patent discloses a method and apparatus for producing a frozen ice stick in a tapered helical mold * in a helical channel, the ice stick being unscrewed from the mold. The apparatus utilizes a modified pull-out member which both lifts and rotates the ice stick while removing it from the mold. Necessarily, such an apparatus is complicated and yet can produce only one ice stick with a spiral in a special spiral shape with a predetermined pitch corresponding to the pitch of the extraction tool. The apparatus cannot satisfactorily reshape an ice stick with undercut surfaces or with a disparate three-dimensional shape, e.g. can look like an animal.

Another known method for forming ice sticks is a drawing process. In such a method, the ice stick 25 is forced in a semi-solid state through a shaped nozzle under pressure on a conveyor belt or similar conveying means. The freezing process is completed using high-speed cold air directed at the semi-solid ice stick. Such a process produces an ice stick of uniform cross-section and no ice chips can be produced which have cut parts or three-dimensional shapes that resemble animals.

As can be seen from the foregoing disclosure of the prior art, hitherto, professionals have not considered the possibility that ice sticks could be made to flow without significant melting or

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5 clay re-freeze to form a desired shape, and this has so far resulted in a number of complicated processes and a large selection of equipment to produce shaped frozen ice pegs.

The object of the present invention is to provide a method and apparatus for converting an ice mass having a basic shape into a finished three-dimensional ice stick which may have any desired shape including figures of variable cross-section and intersected portions and processes. The method and apparatus are particularly suitable for reshaping ice sticks from an axially removable, smoothly formed frozen ice mass. By "calm" frozen ice masses are meant herein sweetened and flavored products which have not been treated or mixed prior to freezing in such a way that a physical expansion of the ice mass exceeding 10% is developed.

Such an ice mass is then frozen without being stirred or affected. The final product does not contain less than 17% by weight of the total nutrient content of normal US practice, but may contain a smaller total amount of solid nutrients. 20 As previously noted, it has been hitherto assumed that a calm frozen ice mass could not be reshaped due to low flow properties of such products and the difficulty of applying and controlling the considerable force needed to reshape the ice mass while retained in the ice mass. frozen state.

Further, it has been assumed that it was not economically feasible to use multi-part molds to form frozen ice mass of liquid ice mixtures as such liquids would run out of the split mold, with less complicated and costly molds used to keep it liquid. ice mass within 30 for the mold and the cooling saline solution outside the mold.

The method of the invention comprises adjusting the freezing temperature of the frozen ice mass prior to the transformation and adapting the size and shape of the ice mass to size 6.

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and the shape of a reshaping cavity such that the ice mass is substantially reshaped by cold flow of the ice mass in the frozen state. Fracture formation in the ice mass is avoided by a combination of proper core temperature in the ice mass and forming the opening in the mold cavity to substantially enclose the exterior of the ice mass. The molding step is carried out without significant loss of material and without significant melting and re-freezing of the frozen ice mass. At the end of the reshaping step, the reshaped ice mass has substantially the same weight and volume as the base mass, substantially fills the reshaping cavity and assumes the shape of this cavity.

An important feature of the invention is the temperature of the first formed frozen ice mass. It has been found that the temperature of the core of the frozen mass must be kept in the range of -23FS ° C to -12.2 ° C to avoid ejection or crushing of the stick. The core temperature is referred to because it follows from a freezing process that uses a cooling saline solution that the frozen ice mass is cooled from the outside and inward, thereby creating a temperature gradient through the pulp so that the outer surface of the pulp has a lower temperature. In one embodiment of the invention, the reshaping cavity may also be provided with a depression or clearance in the region of the stick to allow a staggered frozen ice mass to move upward without increasing the risk of an extension of the stick.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a method for converting frozen ice chopsticks to a three-dimensional frozen ice chop of non-uniform cross-section and to provide an apparatus for carrying out such a method, which apparatus is particularly well suited for producing such frozen ice sticks in a fast, economical process.

The spindles should be capable of being manufactured in a wide variety of three-dimensional shapes by reshaping a common basic shape of 7

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frozen ice mass so that one can use a common set of freezing molds for freezing the ice mass and a single set of more complicated reshaping molds. Quiet frozen ice mass should be able to be transformed into three-dimensional shapes in the main, without the frozen ice mass melting.

According to the present invention, there is disclosed a method of reshaping at least one molded ice stick, which is first frozen and shaped as an elementary mass of individual size and with a protruding stick in an axially removable freezer mold in an ice-cream machine, which method is characterized by: that the matrix mass is compressed between opposing halves of a two-part mold, where the compression takes place at a pressure sufficiently large to cause the ice mass to take the form of the cavity bounded by the halves of the mold without appreciable melting or freezing of the ice mass, and the temperature of the core of the reshaped ice mass is in the range of -23.3 ° C to -12.2 ° C, and the median cross-section of the ice mass is such that it is substantially enclosed by the aperture in each of the mold halves, and 20 wherein the volume of the ice mass is substantially the same as the volume of the cavity.

Furthermore, according to the invention there is provided a machine for making at least one ice stick, which machine has a first section with a basic mass freezing means on a first conveyor belt for freezing at least one frozen base mass with one projecting stick and a second machine section with at least one processing station and a second conveying means for conveying the ice mass together with the stick to the processing station, the machine being characterized in that the converting means for the ice mass are arranged at one processing station, which converting means has a pair of cooperating mold halves which can be moved from an open position to a closed position, and is arranged to enclose the base mass in the closed position, and that cooperating mold cavities in the mold mold halves have an aperture which

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the casing encloses the average cross-section of the ice mass and has a volume substantially the same as that of the ice mass and activating means for moving the reshaping half to the closed position where the base mass is below a pressure sufficiently large to cause the base mass to take shape of the reshaping cavity.

The invention will now be explained in more detail with reference to the drawing, in which 1 shows a known Vitaline-type ice-spinning machine with a transducer according to the present invention; 2 shows a typical basic form of an ice stick; FIG. Figure 3 is an ice stick according to the invention which has been transformed into a three-dimensional shape with undercut areas and a varying cross-section; 4 is a plan view of a transformation station according to the invention; FIG. Fig. 5 shows the conversion station built into a conventional Vitaline ice-spinning machine, where a part of the machine is removed to show the transformers in the open position; 6 is the same with the molds in the closed position; FIG. 7 is a sectional view taken along line 7-7 of FIG. 5, FIG. 8 is a fragmentary sectional view of the transport means of the second part of the machine, taken in section along line 8-8 of FIG. 7, FIG. 9 shows one of the transformers along line 9-9 of FIG. 7, 25 FIG. 10 a heat exchanger used in the conversion station with certain parts removed; 9

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FIG. 11 is a section through the heat exchanger along line 11-11 of FIG. 10, FIG. Fig. 12 is a section through the center plane of a single mold cavity formed by a pair of cooperating mold halves in the ear molding station; 13 is a sectional half similar to a section along line 13-13 of FIG. 12 in the direction of the arrows; FIG. 14 is a cross-sectional view of the conversion halves; FIG. 15 is a sectional view along the dividing line between the conversion halves 10; along line 15-15 of FIG. 14 and in the direction of the arrows; and FIG. 16 is a sectional view taken along line 16-16 of FIG. 15 in the direction of the arrows.

In FIG. 1 shows an ice stick machine 10, which has been converted in accordance with the present invention for the manufacture of three-dimensional reshaped ice sticks C, as shown in FIG.

3 from a base form or a generally shaped ice mass PS on a stick S. The rebuilt ice stick machine 10 comprises a first section 12 in which standard shaped freezer molds are filled, the base mass FS is partially frozen and sticks S are introduced. After insertion of the sticks, the ice mass is completely frozen and the frozen matrix · FS is removed from the first section 12 and transferred to the second section 14, where the frozen ice pegs C are transformed from the original base form FS, as shown in FIG.

25 to any variant of three-dimensional designs as shown in FIG. 3, and then further treated (for example, coated, coated with a crispy crust or crumble or the like and finally packed.

The first section 12 of the machine 10 is substantially conventional.

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10 nel and can be purchased from several manufacturers, it is therefore only shown schematically. The first section 12 comprises an endless conveyor belt 26 having an upper lane and a lower lane and mounted on conventional end pulley so that it can be advanced stepwise in a counterclockwise direction, as shown in FIG. First

On the first conveyor belt 26 are mounted the usual freezer molds 28 with a common support for several side-by-side freezer cavities. Typically, 6, 8, 12 or more freezing cavities may form part of a freezing mold 28 thus forming a similar number of ice-forming cavities extending across the conveyor belt 26. As the conveyor belt 26 moves incrementally, the freezing molds will similarly advance incrementally. through the first section 12. At a first conventional station, a hopper 30, 15 supplying a suitable number of nozzles 32 delivers a predetermined amount of a suitable mixture to the desired ice, in the corresponding freezer molds located just below. The mix can be varied in many ways, so that a wide range of products can be created including soda ice cream, semi-frozen ice cream, sorbet, pudding, cream ice cream, milk ice cream, yougourt mixes, chocolate mixes and more.

After filling a special strip of freezer molds 28, it is passed through the elongated saline tank 36 which contains the usual saline solution BS kept at a sufficiently low temperature to cause the masses of the freezer strips to freeze completely before corresponding freeze mold strip 28 is lifted out of the salt solution tank 36 at the outlet end of the conveyor 26, keeping the temperature of the core or center of the frozen ice mass FS approximately in the range 30 -23.3 ° C -12.2 ° C. It is to be understood that the rate of migration of the freezing strips through the saline tank 36 or residence time in conjunction with an appropriate temperature of the saline solution FS should provide the necessary freezing of; the base masses FS and keep the temperature of the core in the desired range.

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11 As the strips of freeze molds 28 move incrementally through the salt water tank, they pass under a conventional stick insertion means 38, then insert the pins S into the frozen ice masses during a standstill period for the first conveyor belt 26.

The stick insertion means 38 is positioned at such a location along the salt water tank that the stick S is introduced into the frozen ice mass fs when the temperature of the core of the frozen ice mass corresponds to a partially frozen ice mass (i.e., about -1.1 ° C to 0 ° C. Thus, the stick S can be immediately introduced into the frozen mass of ice FS, and when the freeze strip 28 reaches the outlet end of the salt water tank 36, the frozen ice mass FS will retain the stick S in the ice mass.

In order to avoid subsequent ejection of the pin S during the reshaping process, it has been found that the insertion depth of the pin is critical. With conventional sticks with a length of 11.4 cm, the minimum allowable insertion depth is in the range of 6.3 cm to 7.0 cm for conventional ice masses with a length of approx. 10 cm or a volume of approx.

74 ml. Previously, it was common practice to insert the 20 11.4 cm long stick into approx. 50% of its length. However, the present invention is best practiced when the stick is introduced more than 50%, of course, provided that a sufficient length of the stick protrudes from the frozen ice mass FS, so that the stick with the ice mass can be removed from the freezing mold by the pull-out rod. The maximum permissible insertion depth for the stick depends on the level of the ice mass FS below the upper part of the freezing cavities in the freezing strip 28. Further, the temperature in the core of the frozen mass FS must not be below -23 ° C, as otherwise the deformation or crushing of the stick S 30 occur during the remodeling treatment. Core temperatures above -12.2 ° C tend to form reshaped products with an uncertain boundary and tendency to slip off the stick during the final treatments following the reshaping (e.g., surface treatment, packing, etc.).

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At the outlet end of the first conveyor belt 26, the freezer strips 28 are moved upward and out of the saline solution BS and held over a thawing tank 40 with hot water. The thawing tank 40 is displaced upwardly during a standstill period for the first conveyor belt 26 to facilitate the removal of the frozen ice masses 22 from the freezing mold cavities. j j i

The second section 14 of the machine 10 contains a second conveyor belt 42 which is advanced in stages with a first one. conveyor belt 26. The second conveyor belt 42 propels a plurality of pull-out bars 44 in a clockwise direction as shown in FIG. 1. Each pull-out rod 44 includes a locking member 46 for each frozen ice mass FS in the freeze strip 28. When a pull-out rod 44 is located directly above the freeze-mold strip 28 in the thawing tank 40, the pull-out rod 15 44 is forced downwardly during a standstill period for the second conveyor belt 42 so that each sticking member 42 46 (see Fig. 7) grabs a stick S which protrudes from each frozen ice mass FS in the freeze strip 28. The pull bar 44 then moves upward rapidly while both the first conveyor belt 26 and the second conveyor belt 42 are still in their synchronized position. standstill periods such that the frozen ice masses FS are extracted from each freezing cavity in the freezing strip 28.

As in a conventional Vitaline machine, the first conveyor belt 26 continues to move in a counterclockwise direction, as shown in FIG. 1, whereby freezing strips 28 are turned and moved past washing and rinsing stations 50, where freezing strips 28 are sterilized, and then appear under hopper 30 where they are again filled with an ice mix as the workflow of the first section 12 of machine 10 continues.

In the second section 14 of the machine 10, each frozen ice mass FS is suspended in a pin locking means 46 in the pull-out rod 44 with the frozen ice mass FS hanging downward from the pin S and forward.

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13 passed thereafter by the second conveyor belt 42.

The pull-out rod 44 is advanced to a position directly above the lateral medial plane of the reforming station 20 of the present invention. During one standstill period for the second conveyor belt 42, the pull-out rod 44 is forced downwardly, thereby placing the frozen ice mass FS exactly between first and second mold halves 52, 54. As will be described in the following, the mold halves 52, 54 are moved toward each other by hydraulic cylinders 56 so that they enclose each of the frozen ice masses FS which hangs down from the pull-out rod 44, each frozen ice mass FS transforms into a font-shaped ice stick C (Fig. 3) on a stick S in any shape among the many possibilities for three-dimensional shapes. The reshaping process is completed and the pull-out rod 44 and the suspended shaped ice pegs C are moved upward and backward until they again align with the other pull-out rods 44 carried by the second conveyor belt 42. As will be described in the following, the entire reshaping process is carried out during a downtime for the second conveyor belt 42.

Following the reshaping process, the shaped ice pegs C are conveyed to one or more dipping and / or surface treatment stations 62, where the pull-out rod 44 is again moved through the downward and upward cycle back in line with the other 25 pull-out rods 44 during a subsequent standstill period for the second conveyor belt 42.

Finally, the second conveyor belt 42 drives the pull-out rod 44 to a bag station 64 where the reshaped ice pegs C are packaged and a finished ice peg product P is delivered at the end of the second section 14 of the machine 10. The second conveyor belt 42 continues to feed in a clockwise until it reaches a section directly above the thaw tank 40 and the operation of the second section 14 of the machine 10 is repeated.

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The present invention can be used in an otherwise conventional ice-spinning machine 10, e.g. a Vitaline type machine merely extends the second section 14 of the machine 10 so as to make room for the apparatus of the conversion station 20. The schematic representation of a Vitaline machine of FIG. 1 shows the relative orientation of the transformation station relative to the other parts in all other respects conventional machine. The transformation station 20 operates synchronously with the movement of the first and second conveyor belts 26, 42 and the reshaping process occurs during the short periods of standstill in the movement of the conveyor belts 26, 42.

During this standstill period, the apparatus described below, together with the second conveyor belt 42, must also lower and raise the pull-out rod 44. At the same time, the respective pull-out rods 44 located directly above the other processing stations, such as the baptizing and / or drawing station 62, are also lowered and raised.

The apparatus of the present invention uses the existing mechanisms in the second section 14 of the machine to lower the pull-out rod 44 to place the frozen ice masses FS in treatment ratio to the transformer station 20 during the downtime of the second conveyor belt 42 operation. As best seen in FIG. 5 and 6, the second conveyor belt 42 is formed by a plurality of individual joints 82, 83 25 (see Fig. 8) connected to pins 111. Rollers 110 are pivotally mounted to joints 82, 83 of pins 111. Each joint 82 , 83 contains a pair of pins 84 which engage a rod and extend laterally inwardly of the joints 82, 83 and engage the upright portion 86 of the pull-out rod 30 44. The outermost portion of each pull-out rod 44 has a water straight portion 88 and an upright portion 86 extending from the horizontal portion 88 so as to form an L-shaped cross-section at a short distance from the outer ends of each extension rod 44.

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The second conveyor belt 42 advances the pull-out rods 44 by contact between the engagement pin 84 and an upright portion 86 of the pull-out rod 44 (see Fig. 8). The bottom portion of the pull-out rod slides along an L-shaped support 90 mounted on the inner surface of the housing 92 in the second section 14 of the machine.

A conventional Vitaline machine has a main air cylinder 94 which is mounted for horizontal movement and causes the horizontal rack 96 to move back and forth once in each rest period of the second conveyor belt 42. The horizontal movement of the horizontal rack 96 is transmitted. for a reciprocating vertical movement of the vertical rack 98 through the pinion gears 100, 102 mounted on the shaft 104. Using a single horizontal rack 96 in conjunction with a suitable number of pinion gears 100, 102 and associated vertical gears 108 it is possible to precisely synchronize the vertical movement of the respective vertical tooth rods located at each machining station.

The support 90 extends the full length of the second section 14 of the machine 10 along each side of the housing 92, 92 and forms a path along which rollers 110 move through the second section 14. A side rail 91 is spaced directly below the support 90 along with each side of the housing 92, 92. At each machining station and especially just above the lateral median plane through the forming station 20, each side rail 91 has a cut-out 106 having a width substantially equal to the width of the horizontal portion 88 of the pull-out rod 44.

A support block 108 for each pull-out rod is secured to the lower portion of the vertical rack 98. The support block 108 extends from the vertical rack 98 through a vertical slot formed in the housing 92 and engages the horizontal portion 88 of the rack. the pull-out rod 44 when the pull-out rod is advanced to a position directly above the transducer station 20. protruding pin 84 on the other

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16 conveyor belt 42 engages the upright portion 86 of pull-out rod 44 and causes the pull-up rod to slide along side rail 91 in a groove 112 formed in support block 108. When the second conveyor belt 42 arrives for a rest period, ', the horizontal portion 88 of the pull-out rod 44 is stationary in the groove 112 of the support block 108. As the vertical tooth rack 98 and the support block 108 associated with it move downwardly, the pull-out rod 44 will be forced to follow the support block 108.

FIG. 5 shows part of a single pull-out bar with a hanging ice mass FS in the position of the ice mass at the beginning of the rest period of the second conveyor belt 42.

In FIG. 6, the position of the pull-out rod 44 carried by the carrier block 108 at the bottom of its vertical migration is shown approximately in the middle of the rest period of the second conveyor belt 42. X

this position, the first and second mold halves 42, 54 enclose the frozen mass FS which hangs from the pin S, thus forming the frozen ice stick C.

Referring now to the construction of the remanufacturing station 20 shown in FIG. 4. The conversion station 20 has a mounting plate 68 to which four hydraulic cylinders 56 are attached. When the ice mass FS is lowered by the pull-out rod 44 to the correct position relative to the first and second mold halves 52, 54, all four hydraulic cylinders 25 56 will be simultaneously actuated, causing the first and second backplate 70, 72 to sit at the rear each shape half, moving against each other. The backplates 70, 72 move along rods 74, 74. Each ridge is supported by a pair of ridge blocks 75, 75. As the backplates 70, 72 move toward each other, circular bores 76, 76 of the backplates 70, 72 slide the rods 74,74 for preventing lateral movement of the first and second backplates 70, 72 relative to the mounting plate 68. The hydraulic cylinders 56 are double-acting cylinders which allow

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17, the compression and release of the first and second backplates 70, 72 and the first and second mold halves 52, 54, respectively, are fastened so that the reshaping process can be completed during the rest period of the movement of the second conveyor belt 5.

Each mold half 52, 54 has a plurality of mold cavities 78 corresponding to the number and gaps of the ice masses FS which hang down side by side from the locking device 46 in the pull-out rod 44. As the vertical tooth rods 98, 98 which carry a pull-out rod move downwards and the frozen ice mass FS comes into machining relationship with the first and second mold halves 52, each frozen ice mass FS will align with its respective mold cavity 78.

FIG. 7 shows a section through the center plane of the transformation station 20 as viewed against the current at the second section of the machine 14. The upper part of FIG. 7 is offset slightly with the flow to show a view of a portion of the pull-out rod 44 and the associated construction for raising and lowering the pull-out rod. The fully drawn lines of FIG. 7 shows the pull-out rod 44 in the same position as in FIG. 5, and the dotted lines show the pull-out rod 44 in the same position as in FIG. 6 at the lower position in its vertical migration.

During the transformation process at the conversion station 20, some of the frozen ice mass may exceed the capacity or out of the corresponding mold cavity 78, 78. This residual mass, also called flashing, falls on the bottom of the conversion station 20. A conveyor belt 80 carries away the excess evenly. below the first and second mold half portions 52, 54 and over to a collection area adjacent to the mounting plate 68, from which the excess is returned and reinserted through the hopper 30 in the first section 12 of the machine 10.

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As shown in the lower part of FIG. 7, the conveyor belt 80 rotates clockwise relative to the mounting plate 68 over a pair of transport rollers 114, 114 (only one of which is shown). A section of the second mold half 54 with three mold cavities 78 is shown.

5 To avoid confining profits, ie. and to facilitate the removal of the excess, which would otherwise prevent the complete closure of the first and second mold halves 52, 54, the surfaces of the mold half may be provided with surplus drains or retracted portions. Such drains allow the excess to be directly re-absorbed in the process without affecting the function of the mold halves. The surfaces of the mold halves are kept at sufficiently high temperatures relative to the product by means of a heat exchanger to facilitate the removal and reuse of the excess.

As shown in FIG. 9, the second mold half 54 is not directly attached to the second backplate 72, but is instead placed in contact with a heat exchanger 116 which is separated from the second backplate 72 by a thermal insulator 118.

20 The partial section of FIG. 10 shows a typical construction of a heat exchanger 116. The heat exchanger is constructed of a first and a second heat exchanger part 120, 122 with smooth outer surfaces 124, 126. The inner surfaces of the first and second heat exchanger parts 120, 122 each have a plurality of 25, half-cylindrical recesses receiving a corresponding number of hollow pipes 128. The heat conduction between the pipes 128 and the heat exchanger portions 120, 122 is increased by using a heat conductive binder 123, e.g. of the type sold under the trademark "THERMON". The thermally conductive binder 123 may also be used between the associated surfaces of the first and second heat exchanger portions 120, 122 (Fig. 11). One end of the heat exchanger 116 has an input pipe assembly box 130 and the other end an outlet pipe assembly box 132. The entire heat exchanger is manufactured

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19 by soldering, zinc brazing or other conventional assembly method.

Heat exchanger liquid 134 enters the heat exchanger 116 through the input conduit 136 which leads to the input socket 140 5 and exits the heat exchanger 116 through the output conduit 138 and the output socket 142. The temperature of the heat exchanger liquid 134 is controlled and adjusted by a conventional heat exchanger system 144 as shown in the diagram. . 1. The purpose of the heat exchanger 116 is to ensure that the surfaces 146 of the mold cavities 78 in the first and second mold halves 52, 54 are maintained at a correct temperature so that the reshaped ice sticks C can be released from the mold without unintentionally melting the surface of the ice stick 60th

It has been found that immediately before the conversion step, the average core temperature of the frozen ice mass FS

lie in the range of -23.3 ° C to -12.2 ° C.

The temperature of the mold cavity 78 should be high enough to form a thin layer of the liquid mixture along the surface 146 of the mold cavity 78 to accelerate the release of the reshaped frozen ice stick from the mold cavity 78. However, it is critical that this thin liquid layer be prevented from re-freeze before opening the mold halves 52, 54.

The temperature of the surface of the cavity 78 is kept in the correct range by the heat exchanger liquid 134 which supplies sufficient heat to the first and second mold halves 52, 54 to replace the amount of heat removed from the mold of the frozen ice mass and to maintain the surface of the cavity 78 at a temperature high enough to prevent re-freezing of the thin layer of molten ice mass during the transformation, 30 An example of a useful structure of a heat exchanger 116 is shown in FIG. 10 and 11. The dimensions of such were the exchanger 116 and the operating parameters of the equipment using

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Such a heat exchanger is listed below. The inner diameter of each tube 128 is 0.70 cmf and each heat exchanger part is made of an aluminum plate 0.95 cm thick and the correct temperature of the surface cavity surface 146 of the mold cavity 78 is obtained by flowing the heat exchanger fluid 134 with a speed of from 53 liters per min to 75.7 per mine. The supply temperature of the heat exchanger liquid 134 depends on the type of frozen ice mass to be converted. For ice types with a high content of solids, such as ice-cream, the temperature of the heat exchanger 134 must be adjusted so that when leaving the heat exchanger 116 through conduit 138, its temperature is approximately in the range of 10 ° C to 15 ° C. With calm frozen ice, the best results are obtained by allowing the heat exchanger liquid 134 to enter the heat exchanger 15 116 at a temperature which causes the heat exchanger liquid 134 to leave the heat exchanger 116 at a temperature in the range of 32.2 ° C to 37.8 ° C. The temperature which will cause the optimal production of reshaped frozen ice pegs C will also depend on other variable parameters such as e.g. the surface film resistance between the surface 146 of the mold cavities 78 and the frozen ice mass C, heat loss or supply through the thermal insulator 118, or heat loss or supply through the tubes connecting the heat exchanger system 144 to the heat exchanger 116. In some cases, the heat exchanger is required. The exchanger system 144 is intended to cool the heat exchanger liquid 134 if, e.g. the heat supply from the ambient air is greater than the heat ^ which is removed by the frozen ice mass. Also, it may be necessary to decrease the temperature of the heat exchanger fluid 134 at the start of a production to lower the surface temperature of the mold cavities 78.

An alternative embodiment of the mold halves 52, 54 is shown in FIG. 4. In this construction, the heat exchanger is built into the mold halves 52, 54. In such a design, the tubes are disposed within the fixed portion of the mold halves 52, 54.

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The heat exchanger liquid 134 must have a sufficient flow rate to ensure that there is a uniform temperature or only a very small temperature gradient along the heat exchanger 116 from the input tube 136 to the output tube 138.

It is important to avoid a marked temperature gradient to ensure that all reshaped ice sticks are substantially uniform in the surface details and to facilitate the removal of the ice sticks from the mold cavities 78 throughout the length of the first and second mold halves 52, 54.

The heat exchanger liquid 134 may be a water solution containing 10% propylene glycol or another conventional solution. The heat exchanger liquid is pumped through the heat exchanger 116 by a pump having a flow rate and a pump pressure corresponding to the shape of the heat exchanger used to ensure that the temperature change of the heat exchanger 134 from the input to the output of the heat exchanger 116 is sufficiently small to avoid differences in the effect of the reforming process. from the outermost left to the outermost right cavities of the first and second mold halves 52, 54. A large temperature difference 20 would result in a far-reaching melting of the ice mass in the mold half portions 52, 54 at the entrance end of the heat exchanger and similarly a re-freeze and a freeze. of the reshaped ice mass in the mold halves off the heat exchanger outlet end.

25 In order to achieve an efficient function of the conversion station 20, the frozen ice mass FS, the shape of which is shown with a dashed line in FIG. 12, a vertical dimension smaller than the vertical dimension of the mold cavity 78 in the first and second mold halves 52, 54 (shown in full line in FIG.

30 12). Similarly, the circumference of the mold cavity 78 encloses in each mold half 54, as shown by the fully drawn line of FIG. 13 is generally the cross section in the transverse median plane of the basic shape of the frozen ice mass FS, the extent of which is shown by a dashed line in FIG. 13. Being the first and the

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22 second mold half 52, 54 closes around the frozen ice mass FS during the conversion process, therefore, only a minimal amount of frozen ice mass will be out of options 78, 78, thereby minimizing the amount of excess formed during conversion.

To the extent that excess or ice residue is nevertheless formed, the excess will enter a drain area from the mold surface and then fall between the facing faces of the first and second mold halves 52, 54 and down 10 on the conveyor belt 80 which removes the excess . As best shown in FIG. 4, the surplus conveyor belt 80 transfers the surplus to a surplus resume receiver 148 where it is collected and fed directly back to the hopper 30 for recycling in the first section 15 of machine 10 12.

To ensure that the reshaped frozen ice mass C appears with a smooth surface with a minimum of irregularities such as voids, the total volume of the mold cavity 78, 78 in the first and second mold halves 52, 54 must be approximately 20 the same as the volume of the frozen base form or isamsse FS prior to the transformation. However, it has been found that due to the presence of air or foam in certain ice masses such as ice cream or sorbet, the weight of the ice mass in the frozen matrix (FS) prior to the transformation is substantially equal to the weight of the converted ice mass C , although there may be differences in the respective volumes. If the volume of frozen ice mass in the basic mold FS is far too large than the volume of the mold cavity 28, 28, an excess will form which in some cases can prevent the complete closure of the mold halves 52, 54. Conversely, if the volume of the frozen ice mass in If the frozen base mold FS is substantially smaller than the volume of the mold cavities 78, 78, the reshaped frozen ice stick 60 will have some undesirable cavities or airspace.

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23

In order to produce the nicest reshaped frozen ice cream products, it is desirable to control the total thickness or depth of the mold cavities 78 relative to the shape of the frozen matrix FS. In particular, it has been found that the most sought after product is produced by ensuring that the thickness of the forming mold cavities 78 is generally less than the thickness of the frozen basic mold FS. It has been found that the ejection of FS can also be avoided by inserting a recess area into the upper part of each mold cavity 78. As best seen in Figures 14 and 15, the pin recess 160 is formed in both the first and second mold halves 52, 54. The pin recess 160 may be elliptical in cross-section, so that when the first and second mold halves 52, 54 are closed together, a cylinder having a substantially elliptical cross-section will be formed between the upper side of the first and second mold halves 52, 54 and the inside of the mold cavity 78. The depth or circumference of the pin recess 160 is less than the depth or circumference of the upper portion of the mold cavity 78, adjacent to the pin recess 160, such that an annular upper cavity shoulder 162 20 forms the upper boundary of each mold cavity 78 ( see Fig. 16).

During the reshaping process, the upper cavity shoulder 162 causes the frozen ice mass FS to be retained in the mold cavity 78 and only a small portion of the excess mass is allowed to be displaced or reshaped around the pin S in the clearance region 160. It has been found that the use of a such stick recess 160 causes the ejection of the stick S during the reshaping process to occur only infrequently and at the same time causes a foot piece P to be formed at the foot of the reshaped ice stick, which gives an attractive appearance.

30 To prevent the surplus - ie. the residual ice upon conversion - being seated on the mold, alternatively both the first and second mold halves 52, 54 may be constructed as shown in Figs. 14 and 16 with large drain areas 164 on the outermost or opposite surfaces of the former. stone and the second mold half 52, 54. During the manufacture of the first and second mold halves 52, 54, it is possible 24

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to remove approx. half of the thickness of both the first and second mold halves 52, 54. When a heat exchanger 116 is used in conjunction with the first and second mold halves 52, 54, and the heat exchanger 134 has the typical elevated temperature, the thin portion of the material in both: the first and second mold halves 52, 54 assume a slightly elevated surface temperature thereby accelerating the removal of ice residue from the region of the first and second mold halves 52, 54.

It has been found that the mold cavities 78 retain a sufficiently rigid stiffness, provided that the mold cavity wall 166 is at least approx. 0.32 cm thick measured along the circumference of the mold cavity 78.

For the sake of clarity, the outer right mold cavity 78 of FIG. 15 and 16 are only partially filled with ice, 15 The machine of the present invention is particularly useful because only a single set of complicated molds is required. The freezing strips 28 in the first section 12 of the machine are of conventional design. There is no requirement that special freeze forms be used for the formation of the frozen 20 basic forms FS. Instead, the volume of the mold cavity 78 in the first and second mold halves 52, 54 is formed in accordance with the guidelines set forth above to ensure that they fit with the dimensions of the frozen basic molds FS formed in the freezer molds .25 28, to reshape frozen ice sticks with a minimum of surface irregularities and excess ice.

It may be desirable to produce different reshaped models in the same machine, and this is possible by providing the first and second mold halves 52, 54 with a plurality of 30 differently shaped mold cavities 78. By contrast, essentially identical ice pegs, the first and second mold halves 52, 54 are provided with mold cavities 78 of the same shape.

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In all cases, the same freezing strips 28 are used in the first section 12 of the machine 10 to produce uniform frozen base forms FS.

In the following, the process of the present invention will be described in more detail.

First, a number of side-by-side frozen frozen molds FS are formed in the first section 12 of a conventional ice-cream machine in the freezer strips 28. The freezer strips 28 are passed through a saline solution BS, and prior to the freezing of the ice mass FS, the sticks S are inserted into the ice cream. , so that frozen ice sticks are formed. The frozen ice pegs FS complete their movement through the first section 12 of the machine 10 and become completely frozen. A pull-out rod 44 having a plurality of stick-locking devices 46 is advanced by another conveyor belt 42 and therefore engages the pins S, which protrude from the side-by-side frozen ice pegs FS, and remove the ice pegs FS from the freeze strips 28 upon retraction. Thereby, the ice pegs are transferred from the first section 12 of the machine 10 to the second section 14. The side-by-side frozen ice pegs FS, which hang from each of the pegs S, are advanced to a position just above the lateral median plane of the conversion station 20 During the rest period of the second conveyor belt 42, the vertical tooth rods 98, 98 and the support blocks 108, 108 will cause the pull-out rod 44 carrying the side-by-side ice pegs FS to move downward until the frozen ice mass hanging down from the each pin S is directly between the first and second mold halves 52, 54. While the vertical tooth rods 98, 98 rest in the lower position, the hydraulic cylinders 56 cause the first and second mold halves 52, 54 to move toward each other. and that each pair of mold cavities 78, 78 in the first and second mold halves 52, 54 encloses a separate frozen ice mass FS and converts the frozen mass to the reshaped frozen ice stick C.

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H

Next, the first and second mold halves 52, 54 are moved apart by retraction of the hydraulic cylinders 56, and the vertical tooth rods 98, 98 lift the reshaped ice masses FS which hang down from each of the pins S of the pull-out rod 44. the pull-out rod 44 is back in its position in the second conveyor belt 42 and its rest period ends, the conveyor belt 42 advances the pull-out rod 44 to a new position, and the side-by-side ice masses FS which hang down from the next adjacent pull-out rod is then placed directly above the conversion station 20. Then the reshaping process is repeated.

When the ice stick machine 10 operates at its normal speed of 14-20 operations per second. per minute, the propulsion and rest period for each pull-out rod 44 takes approx. 3 sec. Since the second conveyor belt is advancing rapidly, each pull-out rod 44 will hold its position above the lateral median plane of the transformer station 20 for a rest period of just under 3 seconds. During this rest period, the frozen ice stick -FS must be lowered and the mold halves 52, 54 closed and opened, and the pull-out rod 44 with the reformed frozen ice mass must return to its normal position to advance to the next position at the end of the rest period.

Using the equipment of the present invention, it has been found that certain requirements must be set for the time frames 25 for the different operating sequences depending on the ingredients of the ice cream.

The time required to close the mold halves depends on the ingredients in the ice mass and the hydraulic pressure provided by the hydraulic cylinder 56. It has been found that 30 ice creams containing more solids, such as butterfat, sugar solids, etc., require less time for reshaping than an ice mass containing only small amounts of solids, such as calm frozen water ice. Similarly, products will

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27 foams require less time to reshape than non-whipped or quietly frozen products. Typical times required for the various processes of ice cream, chocolate ice cream and calm frozen water ice are shown in the following table.

Soft. Funny frozen

Step Ts C pure chocolate cake water ice cream_

Total available time for one complete cycle 4.00 seconds 4.25 seconds 4.50 seconds Lowering the frozen ice mass 0.80 second 0.80 second 0.80 second ^ Closure and rest period of the mold halves' 0.90 second 1.15 second 1.40 second Opening of the mold halves 0.50 second 0.50 second 0.50 second Lifting the transformed ice 0.80 second 0.80 second 0.80 second

Feed rate 1.00 second 1.00 second 1.00 second

In order to ensure that the reshaping occurs within the preferred rest period, the hydraulic pressure delivered to the hydraulic cylinders is varied. In order to compress a frozen ice mass consisting of ice cream with a normal foam content of 2Q a machine having eight side-by-side mold cavities, it has been found that a total compressive force of 106,904 Newton or 13,608 Newton per ice mass provides an acceptable product. For example, when calm frozen water ice is transformed with equipment of the same shape, a higher working pressure is used to provide a compressive force in the range of 13,608 Newton to 22,680 Newton per ice. Such additional force is required to meet the high resistance of calm frozen water ice to the transformation.

Since the time required to close the transform mold halves,

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28 is a function of several factors - such as the any hydraulic pressure, the temperatures of the ice, the nature of the ice, the mutual relationship between the basic mold FS and the mold cavities, etc., and this may vary from one conversion layer to the next, -5 are two mechanisms. arranged to start the opening of the molding halves well in advance to ensure that the shaped ice can be conveyed at the end of the second conveyor belt rest period. First, a boundary switch is applied which is activated by the complete closure of the molding mold halves to cause the mold halves to open again as soon as they are completely closed. Further, a time-dependent control means is arranged to reverse the movement of the mold halves in the event that the mold halves have not completely closed and thus have influenced the limit switch, approx. 0.25 seconds before the end of the rest period.

Typical data for liquid ice mixtures which can be used in conjunction with the equipment and method of the present invention to produce the new reshaped ice sticks are shown below. Where nothing else is indicated, the given data denotes weight percent of the liquid mixture.

Funny frozen ice cream.

3

Density of mixture 1.06 grams per cm

Total Solids 17.94%

Sugar solids 11.94%

Corn syrup solid 5.11%

Citric acid solid 0.32%

Overflow 0 - 10%

Flavors natural

Color natural

Volume of final product not less than 79 ml

Claims (16)

A method of reshaping at least one molded ice stick, which is first frozen and shaped as an individual size base mass and with a protruding stick in an axially removable freeze mold in an ice stick machine, characterized in that the base mass is compressed between opposite halves of an two-part mold, where the compression takes place at DK 151924 B a pressure sufficiently large to cause the ice mass to take the form of the cavity bounded by the halves of the mold, without appreciable melting or re-freezing of the ice mass, and where the temperature in the core of it reshaped ice mass 5 is in the range of -23.3 ° C to -12.2 ° C and the medial cross-section of the ice mass is of such size that it is substantially enclosed by the aperture in each of the mold halves and the volume of the ice mass in the main is the same as the volume of the cavity. 10 Method according to claim 1, characterized in that the stick is inserted at least 6.25 cm into the mass during freezing. 15 Method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the ice mass has less than 10% overflow and is frozen slowly. Method according to one or more of claims 1-3, 20, characterized in that the surface temperature of the bipartite form is maintained at a level which prevents the reshaped ice mass from freezing to the surface, but which is not sufficient to cause melting of the ice mass. during the transformation. 25 Method according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that a predetermined amount of ice, which in weight substantially corresponds to the weight of the finished shaped ice stick, is first filled in the freezing mold. 5 Corn syrup solid 3.35% Non-fat milk powder 10.44% Wheat powder 3.48% Overflow 0 - 10% Flavors Natural Process according to claim 5, characterized in that the excess ice residue obtained by compressing the base mass is removed and the residues are returned to filling in a subsequent freezing form during filling of the mold. Method according to claim 2, characterized in that several side-by-side reshaped three-dimensional ice sticks with cut surfaces are produced in an ice-cream machine of the type where several side-by-side ice sticks are frozen with upright , projecting sticks, and where the frozen ice sticks are axially removed from the respective freezing molds and advanced to the compression step. 5 8. Machine for making at least one ice stick, said machine having a first section with a matrix freezing means on a first conveyor belt for freezing at least one frozen base mass with a protruding stick and a second LQ machine section with at least one processing station and a second conveying means for conveying the ice mass together with the stick to the processing station, characterized in that the converting means (20) for the ice mass are arranged at one processing station (14), which converting means has a pair of associated mold halves (52,54) which can be moved from a open position to a closed position and arranged to enclose the base mass (FS) in the closed position, and that cooperating mold cavities (78) in the forming mold halves have an aperture which substantially encloses the medial cross-section of the ice mass and has a volume which substantially the same ice is the mass and actuating means (56) for moving the conformational mold halves (52,54) toward the closing the position where the matrix is under a pressure sufficiently large to cause the matrix to take the form of the transformation cavity. 25 Machine according to claim 8, characterized in that the depth of each transformation cavity in the transformation mold halves (52,54) is less than the distance from a point on the medial cross-section of the ice stick to the outer surface thereof. 30 Machine according to claim 8 or 9, characterized in that a temperature control means (116) is connected to the mold halves (52,54) to maintain the temperature of the mold cavity at a level sufficient to prevent the transformed ice mass from freezing to cavity, but insufficient to create significant melting during the transformation. DK 151924B 10 Volume of final product 74 ml Vanilla ice cream * 3 Density of frozen ice cream 0.54 grams per cm 2 cm (approx. 100% overflow) Butter fat content 10% minimum Non-fat milk solids 10% minimum (Wheat substitute for the total amount of non-fat milk solids must not exceed 25% by weight). Machine according to one or more of Claims 8 to 10, characterized in that a number of side-by-side and substantially equal pairs of related half-molds (52,54) are arranged for converting a number of sides-around -page 5 lying base masses (FS) with stick (S). Machine according to one or more of claims 8 to 11, characterized in that each mold cavity (78) in each part-mold half (52,54) has a shape different from an adjacent conversion cavity. Machine according to one or more of Claims 8 to 12, characterized in that one processing station (14) has moving means (80) for allowing residues of the frozen ice mass, which residues were left during the transformation of the basic mass, to pass through the processing station ( 14). Machine according to one or more of claims 8-13, characterized in that each mold half (52,54) has 20 a pin recess (160) formed at one end of the reshaping cavity (78) closest to the pin, and wherein the depth of the stick recess is less than the depth of the reshaping cavity and greater than the thickness of the stick. Machine according to one or more of claims 8 to 14, characterized in that the surface of each mold half (52,54) has separating portions (164) which are spaced apart from the mold cavities. 15 Flavors Pure 3-Double. vanilla Volume of final product Not less than 74 ml It is possible to use the equipment and practice the method of the present invention without using temperature control means associated with the mold halves. 20 Machine according to claim 15, characterized in that each mold cavity (78) is defined by a protruding circumferential wall (166) around each mold cavity and that the surface of both the first and second mold halves have separating portions (164) between the circumferential walls.