GB2129270A

GB2129270A - Process and apparatus for applying granulate on all sides of the surface of a body

Info

Publication number: GB2129270A
Application number: GB08328069A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Gunter Muller; Luigi Rosso
Original assignee: Ferrero OHG
Current assignee: Ferrero OHG
Priority date: 1982-10-26
Filing date: 1983-10-20
Publication date: 1984-05-16
Also published as: SE458495B; EP0109535B1; NL8303011A; DE3239598C1; DK158764B; GB8328069D0; DK489483D0; NL191772B; NL191772C; DK158764C; EP0109535A3; EP0109535A2; GB2129270B; SE8305372L; DK489483A; SE8305372D0

Description

SPECIFICATION Process and apparatus for applying granulate on all sides of the surface of a body The invention relates to a process and an apparatus for applying granulate on all sides of the surface of a three-dimensional body, especially a chocolate in spherical form.

It is generally difficult to apply a granulate, such as, for example, nut splinters, as uniformly as possible particularly on all sides of a spherical chocolate so that the spherical form is maintained even after the granulate has been applied. When, for example, the granulate is scattered on the chocolate vertically in free fall, as is conventionally also done by hand, this results in relatively large accumulations on the upper dome of the spherical chocolate so that after the granulate has been applied the spherical chocolate assumes an egg shape. Moreover, there are large gaps between the granulate splinters in other regions of the surface, with the result that these gaps have to be filled.

An object on which the invention is based is, therefore, to provide a process and an apparatus for applying granulate uniformly on the surface of a three-dimensional body, especially a ball.

This object is achieved, according to the invention, when the granulate is first scattered counter to the delivered body and is subsequently scattered after it, so that the granulate settles on the upper surface half of the body, and the body is subsequently rotated 1 800 and the same operation is then carried out for the other surface half.

Thus, the granulate is applied successively from four sides, so that no substantial accumulation occurs and the granulate is applied distributed uniformly over the surface, especially when there is a base with good adhesion, such as, for example, a chocolate covering over a wafer ball, the granulate splinters being injected into the chocolate covering. This means that according to the prescribed process the granulate is scattered onto the body obliquely from above.

The apparatus used to carry out the process mentioned above is characterised in that located above a conveyor delivering the bodies to be coated by scattering is a double chute for feeding the granulate, the outlets of which are directed in opposite directions obliquely from above onto the arriving body, on the one hand, and onto the departing body, on the other hand.

By means of these chutes, the material can trickle down in the desired direction in controlled quantities as the result of gravity and can then fall onto the body to be coated by scattering.

According to an advantageous development, the conveyor is a mesh belt with meshed receiving troughs for the bodies. As a result, the body is freely accessible to a substantial extent for scattering with granulate.

Advantageously, two conveyors with a double chute are connected in series so that the bodies are transferred, rotated 1 800, from one conveyor to the following conveyor. As a result, the entire surface of the body can be scattered with granulate in four steps in an especially simple way, without there being, on the one hand, accumulations and, on the other hand, surface regions which are scattered with granulate only to a slight extent.

In an advantageous development of the invention, there is underneath the conveyor for the bodies a self-contained conveyor belt for eliminating the granulate not applied to the bodies. This conveyor belt preferably moves in the same direction and at the same speed as the conveyor for the bodies, so that between the conveyor and the conveyor belt there arises no grinding effect by means of which oil could escape when, for example, nut splinters are used.

This escaping oil would lead to the chocolate becoming prematurely rancid.

The conveyor is preferably an endless conveyor and the conveyor belt is preferably an endless conveyor belt, these being nested in one another.

At the same time, the path of rotation of the conveyor is greater than the path of rotation of the conveyor belt.

Further details, features and advantages of the invention emerge from the following description of exemplary embodiments illustrated purely diagrammatically in the drawings. The single Figure shows in a diagrammatic view an apparatus for applying a granulate to the surface of a spherical chocolate.

The apparatus shown diagrammatically in the single drawing consists of two identical units A and B, so that there is no need to describe more than one station. The same reference symbols are used for identical parts in the two stations.

This apparatus processes, for example, chocolates which have a spherical form and are composed as follows. A hazel nut together with a nougat material is preferably located in a basic body composed of two spherical wafer halves.

The wafer ball filled in this way is covered with a chocolate material and a granulate, for example in the form of hazelnut splinters, is then applied to this chocolate layer which is still soft. This last operation involving applying the hazelnut splinters to the surface of the spherical chocolate is carried out by means of the apparatus to be described below.

The apparatus consists of a material chute 10 into which the hazelnut splinters are fed from above according to the arrows 12. The chute 10 is designed as a double chute, specifically with two branches 14 and 1 6 respectively, each of which has its mouth orifice 1 8 directed obliquely downwards. An endless mesh belt 20 running round deflecting rollers 22 is located underneath the double chute. The working side 24 is located immediately underneath the double chute. By means of projecting wire bows 26, the mesh belt forms troughs 28, in each of which a spherical chocolate 30 is located. Several spherical chocolates 30 can be arranged next to one another transversely to the direction of run indicated by the arrow 32.Located underneath the mesh belt 20 in the region of the chutes 14, 1 6 is a self-contained endless conveyor belt 34 which moves according to the arrow 36 in the same direction as the mesh belt 20. This endless conveyor belt is positioned closely underneath the mesh belt and receives the hazelnut splinters 38 which do not remain adhering to the chocolate and which fall through the mesh belt. These hazelnut splinters are discharged into a container 40 at the end of the endless conveyor belt 34.

Because the mesh belt 20 and the endless conveyor belt 34 move in the same direction and atthe same speed, grinding of the hazelnut splinters between the belts is avoided, thus preventing oil from escaping, which could lead to the chocolate becoming prematurely rancid. The endless conveyor belt 34 runs over feed rollers 42.

The process for coating a spherical chocolate by scattering, as described previously, is explained below. The spherical chocolates 31 not yet scattered with granulate fall from a chute 33 into the troughs 28 of the conveyor designed as a mesh belt 20. As soon as the chocolates pass into the scattering region of the first branch 1 6 of the chute, the granulate 35 is scattered counter to the moving chocolate, so that the upper front half of the ball is provided with nut splinters without any local accumulations. As soon as this chocolate passes into the scattering region of the following branch 14, the rear upper half is scattered with hazelnut splinters. The chocolate scattered in this way with hazelnut splinters on the upper half falls, - rotated 1800, at the end of the station A into the troughs of the mesh belt 20 of the station B, where the same operation is then carried out for the second half so that at the end of the station B the spherical chocolates scattered completely with hazelnut splinters are discharged for further processing. The scattered surface can, for example, be smoothed in a further processing step.

Claims

1. Process for applying granulate on all sides of the surface of a three-dimensional body, especially a chocolate in spherical form, wherein granulate is first scattered counter to the delivered body and is subsequently scattered after it, so that the granulate settles on the upper surface half of the body, and the body is subsequently rotated 1 800 and the same operation is then carried out for the other surface half of the body.

2. Process according to Claim 1, wherein the granulate is scattered onto the body obliquely from above.

3. Process according to Claims 1 and 2, wherein the body is a wafer ball with a chocolate coating, onto which the granulate is scattered.

4. Apparatus for carrying out the process according to Claims 1 to 3, wherein located above a conveyor delivering the bodies to be coated by scattering is a double chute for feeding the granulate the outlets of which are directed in opposite directions obliquely from above onto the arriving body, on the one hand, and onto the departing body, on the other hand.

5. Apparatus according to Claim 4, wherein the conveyor is a mesh belt with meshed receiving troughs for the bodies.

6. Apparatus according to Claim 4, wherein two conveyors with a double chute are connected in series so that the bodies are transferred, rotated 1800 from one conveyor to the following conveyor. rotated 1800, from one conveyor to the following conveyor.

7. Apparatus according to at least one of Claims 4 to 6, wherein located underneath the conveyor for the bodies is a self-contained conveyor belt for eliminating the granulate not applied to the bodies.

8. Apparatus according to Claim 7, wherein the conveyor belt moves in the same direction and at the same speed as the conveyor for the bodies.

9. Apparatus according to Claims 4 to 8, wherein the convyeor is an endless conveyor and the conveyor belt is an endless conveyor belt.

10. A process for applying granulate on all sides of the surface of a three-dimensional body substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying drawing.

11. An apparatus for applying granulate on all sides of the surface of a three-dimensional body substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying drawing.