DK201670873A1

DK201670873A1 - Apparatus for forming a uniform strand of a food compound

Info

Publication number: DK201670873A1
Application number: DKPA201670873A
Authority: DK
Inventors: Marc Horna
Original assignee: BüHLER GMBH
Priority date: 2014-05-07
Filing date: 2016-11-07
Publication date: 2016-11-28
Also published as: DE102014006658A1; WO2015169503A1; DK179241B1

Abstract

The present invention relates to an apparatus (10) for forming a uniform strand of a food compound, in particular a confectionery compound. Said apparatus comprises at least a conveyor device (12) for conveying the strand of food compound, and at least one calibration device (16) for the strand, arranged on the conveyor device (12), said calibration device (16) setting a predetermined distance (AS) to the at least one conveyor device (12) and being movable along the at least one conveyor device (12).

Description

Apparatus for Forming a Uniform Strand of a Food Compound

The present invention relates to an apparatus for forming a uniform strand or a uniform flat surface of a food compound, in particular of a confectionery compound.

In the production of foods, in particular in the production of confectionery products, it is often necessary to convert a strand and/or sheet of a food compound to a certain form, i.e., to a predetermined target cross section, or to create a smooth surface. A product strand and/or product sheet with a predetermined target cross section and/or a smooth surface is needed for the next production steps, such as, for example, coating the food compound with a coating compound such as chocolate or cutting the product strand into individual products. Furthermore, depending on the product, it may be necessary to then cool the product strand and/or the food compound for a long period of time. Cooling channels, for example, are used, for this purpose, the food compound being conveyed through a cooling zone in the cooling channel and being cooled along its conveyor path in doing so.

Calibration devices in the form of rollers are frequently used to bring the strand of food compound to a predetermined target cross section with the desired compound thickness and/or to create a smooth surface. Such calibration devices for processing the strand of the food compound are disposed fixedly on a conveyor device at a predetermined distance from the other components of the production line. Calibration devices often have their own machine frame, by means of which the calibration device can be supported on the floor of a production building. The calibration devices can be installed, for example, between a strand molding unit and a cooling channel along a conveyor device, wherein the calibration devices are each disposed a fixed distance away from the strand molding unit and the cooling channel with respect to the direction of conveyance. For certain products, however, it is necessary to provide additional units in the production line. Furthermore, because of the product to be produced and/or because of the food compound lo be processed, it may be necessary to have them remain unprocessed for a longer period of time after forming the strand, for example, before bringing the food compound in contact with a calibration device.

Because of the rigid division of the spacings of the calibration device from the other units of the production iine, in the state of the art it is possible to change the position of the calibration device oniy with a great expenditure of time and personnel, if at all, in order to produce a different food product with different product-specific requirements or to mount additional units on the production iine.

One object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus for forming a uniform strand of a food compound with which a production iine can be adapted in a flexible manner to product-specific requirements of various food products to be produced.

This object is achieved with an apparatus according to the independent patent claim 1.

Additional embodiments of the invention are derived from the accompanying dependent claims.

The apparatus according to the invention for forming a uniform strand of a food compound, in particular a confectionery compound, has at least one conveyor device for conveying the strand and at least one calibration device for the strand disposed on the conveyor device. The at least one calibration device establishes a predetermined distance from the at least one conveyor device. The at least calibration device can be shifted along the at least one conveyor device.

The food compound strand can be brought to its predetermined target cross section and/or a predetermined target height by means of the calibration device and a smooth surface can be created on the strand of the food compound.

Due to the displaceability of the at least one calibration device along the at least one conveyor device, the production line may be adapted to various food products and/or confectionery products. The calibration device may thus be positioned fiexibly on the at least one conveyor device accordingly, so that additional units can be mounted on the production iine, depending on the product to be produced. Furthermore, due to the displaceability of the calibration device and/or the flexible positionability of the calibration device, this achieves the resuit that the production iine can be adapted quickly and easily to various product-specific requirements. Therefore, the changeover times for a production line for switching from one product to another product having completely different compound properties and also the personnel effort required for the changeover can be greatly reduced. For example, parameters that can be mentioned here as production-specific requirements include the cooling times or drying times, which may vary from one product to the next, and these parameters must be maintained for the products after leaving a unit and until coming in contact with the at least one calibration device.

The at least one conveyor device has a predetermined direction of conveyance to be able to send the product to the next unit. The at least one calibration device can be shifted along the at least one conveyor device in the direction of conveyance and opposite the predetermined direction of conveyance.

For shifting the at least one calibration device along the at least one conveyor device, the at least one calibration device may have at least one displacement means. The displacement means may preferably include at least one roller. However, two or four rollers may also be provided on the calibration device. It is also conceivable for the at least one calibration device to be displaceable along the at least one conveyor device by means of linear guides or rail systems.

According to one embodiment of the invention, the at ieast one calibration device can be lockable in a predetermined position on the at least one conveyor device. In this context, the at least one conveyor device may have been lockable in a predetermined position on the at least one conveyor device by means of at least one clamping device.

According to one refinement of the invention, the at least one calibration device may be positionable freely along the at least one conveyor device. In other words, the calibration device may be shifted and positioned continuously along the one conveyor device. In the case of a calibration device that is freely positionable along the at least one conveyor device, the positions of the at ieast one calibration device may be selected completely freely, and the production line can be adapted to various products or other units, independently of predefinabie positions.

Alternatively, the at least one calibration device and/or the at least one conveyor device may be designed so that the at least one calibration device assumes predetermined positions on the at least one conveyor device. In this case, for example, a plurality of predetermined positions, which the calibration device may assume, may be established on the at least one conveyor device. For example, catches, with which the calibration device may engage after being displaced along the at least one conveyor device may be provided at predetermined positions on the conveyor device.

The catches may optionally also be used for locking the at least one calibration device in one of the predetermined positions. The predetermined positions may be established, for example, on the basis of the product-specific requirements of the products, which are to be produced on the production line. On the other hand, the predetermined positions may also be determined on the basis of the additional units, which are to be coupled to the production line and/or to the at least one conveyor device.

According to one specific embodiment, the height of the at least one calibration device is adjustable relative to the at least conveyor device. The distance between the at least one calibration device and the at least one conveyor device can be adjusted by means of the height of the at least one calibration device relative to the at least one conveyor device. This distance determines the target cross section of the strand of the food compound. Since the food compound strand is conveyed from the at least one conveyor device between the at least one calibration device and the at least one conveyor device, as mentioned above, the target height and/or the target cross section of the product strand can be adjusted by means of the height of the calibration device relative to the conveyor device. In this context, the at least one calibration device may have at least one roller according to one embodiment. The at least one calibration device may adjust a predetermined distance from the at least one conveyor device by means of the at least roller and can also determine the target cross section of the strand because the at least one roller comes in contact with the strand of the food compound.

The at least one calibration device can be manually displaceable along the at least one conveyor device. However, the at least one calibration device may also have at least one motor. The at least one motor may be provided for displacement of the calibration device along the conveyor device. Furthermore, the at least one motor may be used for adjusting the height of the at least one calibration device relative to the at least one conveyor device. Furthermore, another motor may be disposed for adjusting the height of the at least one calibration device relative to the at least conveyor device.

According to one embodiment, the at least one calibration device may be displaceable along the at least one conveyor device relative to at least one additional unit. As already mentioned above, the at least one calibration device can be positioned in a flexible manner along the at least one conveyor device and thus, depending on the product to be produced, the distances between the at least one calibration device and the additional units of the production line, such as a strand molding unit, a sprinkling unit, a cooling channel or the like can be adjusted. In this context, the at least one conveyor device may also have a cooling channel. The at least one cooling channel may also be connected to the at least one conveyor device and may even have an additional conveyor device. The at least one calibration device may thus also be displaceable accordingly relative to the at least one cooling channel along the at least one conveyor device, i.e., the distance between the at least one calibration device and the at least one cooling channel can be varied relative to the at least one cooling channel.

The at least one conveyor device may include a conveyor belt for conveying the strand of the food compound. Furthermore, the conveyor device may have a machine frame to which the at least one calibration device is coupled displaceably.

The at least one motor can be provided directly on the calibration unit. The at least one motor can be coupled to a drive unit in order to be able to displace the at least one calibration device along the at least one conveyor device.

An exemplary embodiment of the present invention is described below. In the drawings:

Figure 1 shows a perspective view of the apparatus according to the inven tion;

Figures 2 and 3 show additional views of the apparatus according to the invention;

Figure 4 shows a side view of the apparatus according to the invention;

Figure 5 shows a front view of a calibration device according to the invention and

Figure 6 shows a sectional view along the sectional line A-A- in Figure 4.

Figure 1 shows an apparatus for shaping a uniform strand of a food compound, which is labeled with 10 in general.

The apparatus 10 comprises a conveyor device 12 with a conveyor belt 14, a calibration device 16 and a cooling channel 18. The conveyor device 12 also has a machine frame 20. The machine frame 20 comprises longitudinal side pieces 22 and supports 24. The supports 24 have pedesta! feet 26, which, together with the supports 24, support the apparatus 10 on a substrate U. The height of the apparatus 10 and/or of the machine frame 20 can be adjusted by means of the pedesta! feet 26, i.e., the pedestal feet 26 are accommodated adjustably in the supports 24.

The cooling channel 18 has a housing 28 with two flaps 30 and 32. The conveyor belt 14 extends through the cavity formed by the housing 28 of the cooling channel 18, so that the food strand, which lies on the conveyor belt 14 and is to be cooled, can be brought to a predetermined and adjusted temperature during its passage through the cooling channel 18.

The calibration device 16 has a roller 34, which comes in contact with the sheet of food compound on the conveyor belt 14 and brings this strand to a predetermined target cross section and/or creates a smooth surface on the strand. To hold the calibration roller 34, the calibration device 16 has a frame 36 with side parts 38 and cross struts 40, which extend between the side parts 38. A drive unit 42 is provided on one of the side parts 38 and can be used to drive the roller 34 and also to adjust the distance between the conveyor beit 14 and the roller 34. Rollers 44 are provided on the machine frame 36 and/or the side parts 38 and are in contact with the longitudinal side pieces 22 of the machine frame 20. The calibration device 16 can be displaced along the conveyor device 12 in the direction of conveyance F or opposite the direction of conveyance F by means of the rollers 44. In this way, the distance between the calibration device 16 and the cooling channel 18 can also be altered.

Figure 1 shows the calibration device 16 in two positions, which are labeled as position 1 and position 2. The calibration device 16 was displaced out of position 1 along the conveyor device 12 and/or the conveyor belt 14 opposite the direction of conveyance F into position 2, which is shown with dash-dot lines. Therefore, the distance between the cooling channel 18 and the calibration device 16 was also enlarged along the conveyor device 12.

Figure 2 shows a side view of the apparatus 10.

The calibration device 16 is again shown in its positions 1 and 2 on the conveyor device 12 and/or on the machine frame 20. The calibration device 16 can be displaced freely along the conveyor device 12 in the direction of the arrow P. Figure 2 shows the calibration device 16 displaced out of position 1 and into position 2. Due to the displacement of the calibration device 16 out of position 1 and into position 2, the distance of the calibration device 16 relative to the cooling channel 18 also changes. The apparatus 10 may have additional units for producing food, for example, a strand molding unit and/or a sprinkling unit, in addition to a cooling channel 18 or as an alternative to the cooling channel 18. Because of product-specific requirements, it may be necessary for the distance between a calibration device 16 and the cooling channel 18 or additional units to be altered to be able to maintain predetermined cooling or drying times of the product. Due to the displacement of the calibration device 16 out of position 1 and into position 2, the distance between the calibration device 16 and the cooling channel 18 has been increased from distance A1 to distance A2.

Figure 3 shows a top view of the apparatus 10 with the calibration device 16 displaced out of position 1 and into position 2.

Figure 3 shows the longitudinal side pieces 22 of the machine frames 12, on which the calibration device 16 is supported via its rollers 44 (see Figure 1) on the machine frame 20. The drive unit 42 serves to drive the calibration roller 34.

Figure 4 shows a front view of the apparatus 10.

Figure 4 shows the machine frame 20 with the conveyor device 12 and the calibration device 16. The calibration device 16 has a frame 36, which is assembled from side parts 38 and cross struts 40. The frame 36 carries the roller 34, which is driven by the drive unit 42. The calibration device 16 is supported on longitudinal side pieces 22 of the machine frame 20 via rollers 44.

Figure 5 shows a side view of the calibration device 16.

The calibration device 16 has the machine frame 36 with the side part 38. The rollers 44, by means of which the calibration device 16 is supported on the longitudinal side pieces 22 of the machine frame 12, are provided on the side part 38. The calibration device 16 also has a control unit 46, by means of which a motor 48 for displacement of the calibration device 16 along the machine frame 12 can be controlled. Furthermore, clamping devices 50 for securing the calibration device 16 on the machine frame 12 and/or the longitudinal side pieces 22 can be seen on the side part 38. The clamping devices 50 have levers 52, which serve to lock the calibration device 16 in a predetermined position on the conveyor device 12.

Figure 8 shows a sectional view along the sectional line A-A in Figure 4.

Figure 6 shows the calibration device 16 with its roller 34. The roller 34 is held by the frame 36, which has side parts 38 and cross struts 40. The rollers 44 are provided on the side part 38. The rollers 44 have two sections 54 and 56 with different diameters. The section 54 with the smaller diameter sits on a horizontal surface of the longitudinal side pieces 22, whereas the section 56 with the larger diameter runs parallel to a vertical surface of the longitudinal side pieces 22 and can also rest on this vertical surface, as shown by a combined view of Figures 5 and 6. The rollers 44 are mounted on the side parts 38 by means of axle pins 58. In other words, the rollers 44 are provided with the section 54, which has a smaller diameter, for supporting the calibration device 16 on the machine frame 20 and/or the conveyor device 12. Section 56, which has a larger diameter, is used to guide the calibration device 16 along the conveyor device 12 and ensures that the calibration device 16 cannot slip or fall from the conveyor device 12 in its displacement along the conveyor device 12.

The target cross section of a product strand (not shown) lying on the conveyor device 12 can be adjusted by means of the calibration device 16. To do so, a distance AS, which corresponds to the target cross section of the food strand, is set between the roller 34 and the surface of the conveyor device 12 and/or the conveyor belt 14 (see Figures 1 and 3). The distance AS between the surface of the conveyor device 12 and the outside circumferential surface of the roller 34 is adjusted so that the food strand can be brought to a predetermined target cross section and/or to a predetermined target height and can be provided with a smooth surface.

Furthermore, Figure 6 again shows the motor 48 for driving the calibration device 16 in displacement of the calibration device 16 aiong the conveyor device 12. Once the calibration device 16 has reached its predetermined position, the calibration device 16 is secured in this position by means of the clamping devices 50, and production can be started.

Claims

Patent Oaims

1. An apparatus (10) for forming a uniform strand or a uniform planar surface of a food compound, in particular a confectionery compound, comprising: - at least one conveyor device (12) for conveying the strand of the food compound and - at least one calibration device (16) for the strand disposed on a conveyor device (12), adjusting a predetermined distance (AS) from the at least one conveyor device (12), wherein the at least one calibration device (16) is displaceable along the at least one conveyor device (12).
2. The apparatus (10) according to claim 1, characterized in that the at least one calibration device (16) has at least one displacement means (44) for displacement of the calibration device (16) along the at least one conveyor device (12).
3. The apparatus (10) according to claim 2, characterized in that the displacement means comprise at least one roller (44).
4. The apparatus (10) according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the at least calibration device (16) can be locked in a predetermined position on the at least one conveyor device (12).
5. The apparatus (10) according to claim 4, characterized in that the caiibration device (16) can be secured by means of at least one clamping device (50) in a predetermined position on the at least one conveyor device (12).
6. The apparatus (10) according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the at least one calibration device (16) can be positioned freely along the at least one conveyor device (12).
7. The apparatus (10) according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the at least one calibration device (16) and/or the at least one conveyor device (12) is/are designed so that the at least one calibration device (16) assumes predetermined positions on the at least one conveyor device (12).
8. The apparatus (10) according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that the height of the at least one calibration device (16) is adjustable relative to the at least one conveyor device (12),
9. The apparatus (10) according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that the calibration device (16) has at least one roller (34), by means of which the at least one calibration device (16) sets a predetermined distance (AS) from the at least one conveyor device (12) and comes in contact with the strand of the food compound.
10. The apparatus (10) according to any one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that the at least one calibration device (16) has at least one motor (48, 42).
11. The apparatus (10) according to claim 10, characterized in that the at least one motor (48, 42) is provided for displacement of the calibration device (16) along the conveyor device (12) and/or for adjusting the height (AS) of the at least one calibration device (16) relative to the at least one conveyor device (12).
12. The apparatus (10) according to any one of claims 1 to 11, characterized in that the at least one calibration device (16) is displaceable along the at least one conveyor device (12) relative to at least one additional unit.
13. The apparatus (10) according to any one of claims 1 to 12, characterized in that the at least one conveyor device (12) has at least one cooling channel (18), the at least one calibration device (16) being displaceable relative to the at least one cooling channel (18) along the at least conveyor device (12).
14. The apparatus (10) according to any one of claims 1 to 13, characterized in that the at least one conveyor device (12) has a machine frame (20), to which the at least one calibration device (16) is displaceably coupled.