GB2533761A

GB2533761A - Oven apparatus and method of baking

Info

Publication number: GB2533761A
Application number: GB1417925.3A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Duong Sam; Minh Duong Van
Original assignee: MING FOODS Ltd
Current assignee: MING FOODS Ltd
Priority date: 2014-10-10
Filing date: 2014-10-10
Publication date: 2016-07-06
Anticipated expiration: 2034-10-10
Also published as: GB201417925D0; GB2533761B

Abstract

An oven apparatus (1) comprises a belt (2) for conveying product to be baked, particularly Chinese pancakes, the belt formed of fibre-glass and driven through a baking area. The belt (2) may be formed of belt sections joined together and may have a non-stick coating of silicon rubber. Steel conduction plates (13) may heat the belt and be in direct contact with the bottom of the belt. The conduction plates may be 5-25 mm thick and are preferably 10 mm thick. A floating roller (11), free to rotate with the belt and move up and down, may be upstream to keep the pastry entering the oven flat. The oven may be heated to 280-350°C and the belt (2) may run at 10-20 m/minute. Also disclosed is (i) an oven comprising a driven belt where one or more conduction plates are provided directly below the belt; and (ii) an oven comprising a driven belt comprising a floating roller upstream of the baking area.

Description

OVEN APPARATUS AND METHOD OF BAKING

The present invention concerns oven apparatus and a method of baking, in particular but not exclusively for baking Chinese pancakes.

In this regard, Chinese pancakes are a well-known constituent in dishes such as crispy duck pancakes. Traditionally, such pancakes are cooked manually on a static hot plate, which relates to restrictions in the quantity that can be produced.

The applicants have sought to develop a means of replicating traditional hand-made Chinese pancakes on an automated production line.

According to a first aspect of the present invention there is provided oven apparatus comprising:-a belt for carrying product to be baked, the belt being driven through a baking area, wherein the belt is formed of fiberglass. In this regard, such a belt has been found to afford a reliable means of transporting the product through the oven apparatus without compromising its baking characteristics.

Preferably, the belt is provided with a non-stick coating. This allows the product to be readily transported along with the belt and then removed therefrom.

The belt may be formed of a plurality of sections joined together. This provides for an expedient manner in constructing the belt.

Conveniently, the belt has a fiberglass substrate with a non-stick silicon rubber coating.

Preferably, the one or more conduction plates are provided below the belt in the baking area. The one or more conduction plates may be 5-25 mm thick, 8-12 mm thick, or more preferably 10 mm thick. Such conduction plates afford a consistency of heat transfer to the product to be baked.

Conveniently, the one or more conduction plates are formed of steel.

The oven apparatus may further comprise a roller provided across the belt upstream of the baking area. The roller may rotate freely about its axis and be able to move at least in a vertical direction. The roller ensures that the product to be baked is flat as it enters the oven.

Preferably, the oven is heated to a temperature in the range 280-350 M. Conveniently, the belt runs at between 10-20 m/minute.

According to a further aspect of the present invention there is provided oven apparatus comprising a belt for carrying product to be baked; the oven apparatus having a baking area through which the belt is driven, wherein one or more conduction plates are provided directly below the belt in the baking area.

Preferably, the one or more conduction plates are 8-12 mm thick, or more preferably 10 mm thick. The one or more conduction plates may be formed of steel.

According to a further aspect of the present invention there is provided oven apparatus comprising a belt for carrying product to be baked; the oven apparatus having a baking area through which the belt is driven, wherein a floating roller is provided upstream of the baking area across the belt, the roller being free to rotate with the belt and to move in a vertical direction.

The floating roller preferably has a length in the range of 640mm to 900mm and a diameter from 30mm to 80mm. More preferably, the floating roller has a length of substantially 850mm and a diameter substantially of 50 mm, or a length of substantially 670mm and diameter of substantially 40mm.

Preferably, the roller is formed of stainless steel.

According to a further aspect of the present invention there is provided a method of baking comprising:- - providing a product to be baked on a belt that passes through a baking area, the belt being formed of joined belt sections each having a fiberglass substrate and a non-sticking coating; - engaging the product to be baked upstream of the baking area by means of a floating roller; and -baking the product to be baked within the baking area, with one or more conduction plates being provided underneath the belt for transferring heat to the product to be baked. Such a method ensures a consistency of bake in an automated process without the problems associated with prior techniques.

Preferably, the belt is driven at 10-20 m/minute.

Conveniently, the baking area is heated to 280-350°C.

An example of the present invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, of which:-Figure 1 shows a perspective view of a travelling oven in accordance with the present invention; Figure 2 shows a close-up view of the oven of Figure 1; Figure 3 shows a plan view from above of the oven of Figures 1 and 2 with a top panel removed; and Figures 4A, 4B and 4C show end and side views of the oven of Figures 1 to 3.

Referring to the Figures, there is shown a travelling oven 1, having a belt 2 run between rollers 3 and 4, driven by motor 5, (shown in Figure 4B). The belt 2 is, in the present embodiment, 7-10m long with a width of 640mm. It is driven at 15.6 m/minute, it being considered that the speed should be 10-20 m/minute.

The oven has top, bottom and side insulated panels 6, 7 and 8 that may be hinged for removable attachment. The panels are insulated using Rockwool. A control console 9 allows for control of the operation of the oven. The oven includes pneumatic belt tensioners 10 for accurately controlling the tension at which the belt is kept as it is driven through the oven.

In this embodiment the oven has been adapted to bake Chinese style pancakes.

The belt 2 comprises a number of sections hingedly joined together, each formed of a fiberglass substrate with a non-stick coating, for example a Rilon Elast coating.

In this connection, a wire belt was found to be unsuitable because at high temperatures the belt's pattern was transferred onto the pancakes. A teflon belt was also tested but the coefficient of friction of this material was too low, causing the pancakes to slip across the belt in the direction of travel. The transfer of pancakes between conveyor belts was also problematic.

The use of our fiberglass belt with a non-stick coating alleviated the above two problems, and contributed towards achieving a consistent pastry bake.

Referring now to Figure 2, there is shown a close-up view of the upstream end of the oven. In this view roller 11 is shown in place. The roller is a floating roller in the sense that it free to rotate with the belt and to move up and down with any rises and falls of the pancakes.

Using such a floating roller arrangement was found to improve the baking consistency, which ensured that the pastry stayed flat whilst entering the oven, and therefore whilst in the oven. In the preferred embodiment, the roller is formed from stainless steel, though alternative suitable materials could be used.

Figures 3, 4A, 4B and 4C show plan, end and side views of the oven.

In Figure 3 one of the top panels 6 is removed to reveal heating elements 12, twenty one of such elements being provided in a baking area above and below the belt 2. In this embodiment, the heating elements heat the oven to a temperature of 280-350°C, (350°C in the centre of the oven and 280°C at the ends). As such the contact temperature of the pastry will be in the range 220° C to 240°C.

The baking area, i.e. the cooking chamber, is in the present embodiment at least 3.5 m long.

In this connection, it was found in trials that the pastry line cooked in strips, with thin strips uncooked. It was determined that this was caused by the types of heat transfer -infrared radiation and convection.

As a result and as shown in the cutaway section of Figure 4B, thin steel plates 13 were installed directly underneath the belt. The steel plates transfer heat by conduction (direct contact) onto the belt, and in turn, onto the pancakes. Again, this achieved an improved consistency of bake. Whilst the plates can be in the range of 5-25mm thick, they are preferably 10mm thick.

The oven can produce 25,000 pancakes of 145mm diameter per hour with a typical line speed of 15.6 meters per minute.

It will be understood that the above described embodiment illustrates an example of the present invention and that certain features may be varied within the scope of invention as determined by the appended claims.

Claims

Claims:- 1. Oven apparatus comprising:-a belt for carrying product to be baked, the belt being driven through a baking area, wherein the belt is formed of fiberglass.
2. Oven apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the belt is provided with a nonstick coating.
3. Oven apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the belt is formed of a plurality of sections joined together.
4. Oven apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the belt has a fiberglass substrate with a non-stick silicon rubber coating.
5. Oven apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein one or more conduction plates are provided directly below the belt in the baking area.
6. Oven apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the one or more conduction plates are 5-25 mm thick.
7. Oven apparatus according to claim 5 or 6, wherein the one or more conduction plates are 8-12 mm thick.
8. Oven apparatus according to claim 5, 6 or 7, wherein the one or more conduction plates are 10 mm thick.
9. Oven apparatus according to any one of claims 5 to 8, wherein the one or more conduction plates are formed of steel.
10. Oven apparatus according to any preceding claim, further comprising a roller provided across the belt upstream of the baking area.
11. Oven apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the roller is able to rotate freely about its axis and to move at least in a vertical direction.
12. Oven apparatus according to any preceding claim, wherein the oven is heated to a temperature in the range 280-350°C.
13. Oven apparatus according to any preceding claim, wherein the belt runs at between 10-20 m/minute.
14. Oven apparatus comprising a belt for carrying product to be baked; the oven apparatus having a baking area through which the belt is driven, wherein one or more conduction plates are provided directly below the belt in the baking area.
15. Oven apparatus according to claim 14, wherein the one or more conduction plates are 8-12 mm thick.
16. Oven apparatus according to claim 14 or 15, wherein the one or more conduction plates are 10 mm thick.
17. Oven apparatus according to any one of claims 14 to 16, wherein the one or more conduction plates are formed of steel.
18. Oven apparatus comprising a belt for carrying product to be baked; the oven apparatus having a baking area through which the belt is driven, wherein a floating roller is provided upstream of the baking area across the belt, the roller being free to rotate with the belt and to move in a vertical direction.
19. Oven apparatus according to claim 18, wherein the floating roller is formed of stainless steel.
20. Oven apparatus according to claim 18 or 19, and wherein the floating roller has a length in the range of 640mm to 900mm and a diameter from 30mm to 80mm.
21. Oven apparatus according to any one of claims 18 to 20, wherein:-a) the floating roller has a length of substantially 850mm and a diameter substantially of 50 mm; or b) the floating roller has a length of substantially 670mm and diameter substantially of 40mm.
22. A method of baking comprising:- - providing a product to be baked on a belt that passes through a baking area, the belt being formed of joined belt sections each having a fiberglass substrate and a non-sticking coating; - engaging the product to be baked upstream of the baking area by means of a floating roller; and baking the product to be baked within the baking area, with one or more conduction plates being provided underneath the belt for transferring heat to the product to be baked.
23. A method according to claim 22, wherein the belt is driven at 10-20 m/minute.
24. A method according to claim 22 or 23, wherein the baking area is heated to 280-350°C.
25. An oven apparatus substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
26. A method of baking substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.