JP2814373B2 - Food surface coating method and apparatus - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method and an apparatus for coating a surface of a food for coating a surface of the food with a coating material such as a powder, a granule or a liquid.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Tempura ingredients form a batter by adhering powdered flour and liquid batter to the surface. Also, for confectionery and other foods, powdered sugar,
Some powders and granules such as salt and sesame are attached (glazed).

[0003]

In order to adhere the flour and liquid batter to the surface of the tempura ingredients, it is necessary to apply a uniform coating. However, this is difficult, and the flour and the batter are excessively adhered or insufficient. Or In addition, in order to attach powder (granules) to the surface of confectionery and other foods, put confectionery and other foods and powdered sugar, salt, sesame, etc. into a rotating drum and rotate the drum. Confectionery and other foods that roll in the rotating drum, but confectionery and other foods collide with each other, or the shape of the confectionery or other food itself collapses and becomes defective . In particular, potato chips for attaching salts and spices to the surface are apt to be lost, and sugar beet carrots are easily broken, which lowers the yield.

An object of the present invention is to make it possible to uniformly apply a powder, granule, or liquid coating material on the surface of a food without breaking the form of the food due to breakage or the like, thereby making it possible to use the coating material economically. An object of the present invention is to provide a food surface coating method and apparatus.

[0005]

The method of the present invention for achieving the above object is to provide a food in a container and a coating material such as a powder, a granule or a liquid for coating the surface of the food. Is supplied, air is supplied into the container by closing the opening of the container with a lid provided with an exhaust port, and the food and the coating material are agitated by air pressure in the container, thereby coating the coating material. Is adhered to the surface of the food.

[0006] Further, an apparatus of the present invention for achieving the above object comprises a container for charging a food and a coating material such as powder, granules, and liquid for coating the surface of the food. A lid that has an air nozzle for supplying air for agitating the food and the coating material introduced into the container by air pressure and an exhaust port for discharging the air supplied to the container, and covers an opening of the container. And an actuator that opens and closes the lid with respect to the opening of the container.

Further, in the food surface coating apparatus, the excess coating material is discharged and collected together with the exhaust of the air supplied into the container from an exhaust port for discharging air.

[0008]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes a container for containing a food and a coating material such as a powder, a granule, or a liquid for coating the surface of the food. The shape of the container 1 is hemispherical in the drawing, but is not limited to the hemispherical shape.

Reference numeral 2 denotes a lid for opening and closing the opening of the container 1. The lid 2 is provided with an air nozzle 3 for supplying air into the container 1 and an exhaust port 4 for discharging the air supplied into the container 1. As shown in FIG. 2, the air nozzles 3 are provided at the center of the lid 2 and at a plurality of locations on a peripheral line around the center, and one exhaust port 4 is provided at an appropriate position on the lid 2.

The lid 2 is connected to an actuator 7 such as a cylinder by an operating shaft 8 so as to open and close with respect to the opening of the container 1, and is moved up and down.

The air nozzle 3 is connected to an unillustrated air source via an air supply pipe 5, and the air supply pipe 5 is provided with an unillustrated control valve for controlling an air supply amount.

The exhaust port 4 is connected to a not-shown collection tank or the like via a discharge pipe 6, and an unillustrated cyclone separator is arranged upstream of the collection tank.

In the above configuration, in order to coat the surface of the food, the food and a coating material such as a powder, a granule, and a liquid which coat the surface of the food are put into the container 1.

The amount of the coating material to be charged is an appropriate amount with respect to the amount of the food to be charged into the container 1. This condition 1
When the food and the coating material are put into the inside, the lid 2 is raised by the actuator 7, and the opening of the container 1 is opened.

After the food and the coating material are put into the container 1, the lid 2 is lowered to close the opening of the container 1,
Air is supplied from the air nozzle 3 into the sealed container 1. As a result, the food and the coating material in the container 1 are agitated by air pressure, and the coating material adheres to the surface of the food and is uniformly coated without breaking the form of the food.

When air is supplied only from the air nozzle 3 located at the center of the lid 2, the food and the coating material in the container 1 are agitated from the center of the container 1 to the side. The air nozzle 3 at the center of the lid 2
When air is supplied from the air nozzles 3 provided at a plurality of locations on the peripheral line around the center, the food in the container 1 and the coating material are agitated from the side of the container 1 toward the center.

Further, all the air nozzles 3 of the air nozzle 3 located at the center of the lid 2 and the air nozzles 3 provided at a plurality of locations on the peripheral line around the air nozzle 3 at the center of the lid 2 When the air is supplied, the food and the coating material in the container 1 can be agitated at random in both directions from the center of the container 1 to the side and from the side of the container 1 to the center. And condition 1
However, in the case of a spherical bottom as shown in the figure, the swirling flow by the curved surface further promotes the air stirring action.

The pressure of the air supplied into the container 1 is appropriately adjusted by a control valve depending on the amounts or types of the food and the coating material to be put into the container 1. That is, when the amount of the food and the coating material to be put into the container 1 is large and the liquid is relatively heavy (for example, batter of a tempura garment), the air pressure is adjusted to a value corresponding to the liquid. Further, when the food to be put into the container 1 is made of a material that is easily damaged such as potato chips or a relatively lightweight coating material (for example, flour, powdered sugar, salt, etc.), it is desirable to reduce the air pressure.

The air supplied into the container 1 is an exhaust port 4
From the container 1. With the discharge of the air, the surplus coating material that is not coated on the surface of the food is discharged from the exhaust port 4 to the collection tank via the discharge pipe 6. At this time, if a cyclone separation device is arranged upstream of the recovery tank, the discharged coating material and the discharged air can be separated to effectively recover the coating material.

[0020]

As described above, according to the present invention, air is supplied into a sealable container into which food and a coating material are charged, and the air is exhausted to agitate the food and coating material in the container. Therefore, the coating material can be uniformly coated on the surface of the food without breaking the form of the food, thereby improving the quality and the yield of the product.

Further, since the excess coating material charged into the container is discharged and collected simultaneously with the exhaust of the air supplied into the container, the recovered discharged coating material can be reused, and the discharged coating material can be reused. There is an economic effect of using wood effectively.

Further, the structure of the device is simple and can be easily realized.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of the apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a view taken in the direction of arrows AA in FIG. 1;

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Container 2 Lid 3 Air nozzle 4 Exhaust port 5 Air supply pipe 6 Discharge pipe 7 Actuator 8 Operating shaft

Claims (3)

(57) [Claims] 1. A food and a coating material such as a powder, a granule, or a liquid for coating the surface of the food are charged into a container, and an opening of the container is closed by a lid provided with an exhaust port. A food surface coating method comprising: closing and supplying air into a container; and agitating the food and the coating material by air pressure in the container so that the coating material adheres to the surface of the food. 2. A container for charging a food and a coating material such as powder, granules, and liquid for coating the surface of the food, and an air pressure between the food and the coating material charged in the container. A lid for closing the opening of the container, provided with an air nozzle for supplying air for agitating air and an exhaust port for discharging air supplied to the container, and opening and closing the lid with respect to the opening of the container; A food surface coating apparatus, comprising: an actuator. 3. The surface coating apparatus for food according to claim 2, wherein the excess coating material is discharged and collected together with the exhaust of the air supplied into the container from an exhaust port for discharging air. Surface coating equipment for food.