KR20140106662A - Cleaning Material - Google Patents

Abstract

A method of forming a cleaning material for cleaning a pulverizer is disclosed. The process comprises the steps of forming pellets varying in size from a pelletizable material such that the size range of the pellets formed is arranged to provide a scrubbing action to the mill during the course of the pellets being milled by the mill. In one aspect, the pellets are arranged to clean the coffee grinder and do not contain gluten.

Description

Cleaning Material

The present invention relates to a method for cleaning a mill. In certain aspects, the invention relates to a method for cleaning a food pulverizer, for example, a method for cleaning a coffee bean pulverizer.

By-products resulting from food milling, such as pepper, spices and coffee beans, may have residual amounts of the comminuted food remaining on the milling surface. This effect may be exacerbated if the food contains an oil portion obtained from a resinous material deposited on the grinding surface. This residue, if not removed from the grinding surface, will burn or smell and will affect the taste of any food that will be crushed in the future. Even if the food may not be impaired, the presence of this residue will contaminate the grinding of other foods.

For example, if a spice grinder that initially crushed a spice is used to crush other spices without being cleaned, it will often result in contamination of the second spice with the remaining amount of the first spice. If the proportion of oil and fat is high, as in the case of roasted coffee beans containing about 13-15% by weight oil / fat, these oils can be directly attached to the grinding surface, which in turn can attach the particulate material to the surface, Can be reduced.

One way to clean the grinding surface is to break down the grinder and brush and scrub the surface directly. This is obviously a time-consuming task. Taking a coffee bean grinder as an example, this would require almost complete decomposition of the grinder. In the case of super-automatic coffee machines, the grinder is difficult to access. In addition, most grinders, including coffee grinders, are electrically driven, and liquids can not be introduced into the grinder as cleaning aids. In some cases, there is the difficulty of drying the mill components even though the liquid may be introduced there.

One attempt to address this problem was to introduce into the grinder a substance that functions to clean the grinding surface when grinding before exiting the grinder. Some examples of materials used in such methods include naturally occurring organic materials such as rice or bulgur wheat, which are typically based on organic materials but are products that are artificially produced again in the form of a powder or tablet. However, these cleaning materials each have their own disadvantages. Referring to Figures 1 to 5, a series of diagrams relating to grinding coffee beans through a grinder are shown, which will aid in discussing such disadvantages.

Figure 1 shows a top view of a top round burr 100 including a grinding surface 110 and a central circular hole 120. In this example, the grinding surface 110 includes three separation areas that move outwardly from the central circular aperture 120, which includes a first rough grinding area 111 located around the bur 100, A region 112, and a third fine grinding region 113. Figures 2 and 3 show the top round bar 100A of the form shown in Figure 1 and the bottom bar 100A of the crusher 200 formed with only the top round bar 100A and the other bottom round bar 100B, Fig.

As can be seen from this cross sectional view, the grinding surfaces 110A and 110B of the respective round burrs 100A and 100B leave a peripheral gap 220 between the burrs 110A and 110B when they face each other, Forms a concave and tapered region, which forms a shredding chamber 210 that shrinks as it approaches the edge of the substrate 200. 3, the gap 220 can be changed by changing the height of the upper burr 100A with respect to the lower burr 100B. In this example, the lower burr 100B is configured to rotate at a high speed as indicated by an arrow while the upper bur 100A is fixed.

4 and 5, the coffee beans 300 are introduced into the pulverizing chamber 210 of the pulverizer 200 through the central hole 120 of the upper burr 100A, and the lower burr 100B move outward along the peripheral edges of the upper and lower burrs 100A, 100B by the centrifugal force generated by the rotation of the upper and lower burrs 100A, 100B. As the coffee beans 300 move outward from the grinding zone they are moved to the first opposed coarse grinding zone 111 of the upper burr 110A and lower burr 110B, And then gradually crushed to obtain a micronized coffee 320 by the intermediate grinding region 112 and the finer grinding region 113 in order. The final roughness of the ground coffee is determined by the size of the crevice 220, and the coffee beans are finer or more completely crushed due to the size of the reduced crevice. In this way, the grinder 200 can be configured to provide a variety of coarseness of ground coffee by changing the clearance 220.

As mentioned previously, a number of cleaning materials have been used as an attempt to clean the grinder, especially the grinding surfaces of the coffee grinder 200 as described herein. In the case of materials in the form of powders or crystals they have been found to simply pass through the grinding chamber 210 without involving the entire grinding surface 110 in the course of producing dust with the product by the product. Similarly, the introduction of unprocessed organic material such as rice or bulgur wheat did not clean the entire milling surface due to its small size. In addition, uncooked rice and partially cooked rice are very hard, which can cause the mill to stop during the cleaning process.

When the cleaning material is in the form of a tablet, it is pulverized into substantially powder at a point equal to the size of the tablet between the grinding surfaces 110. As a result, the debris of the tablet moves along the outer edge of the grinding surface without properly cleaning the middle portion between the crushed position and the edge region for the first time. When wheat is used as the main component as an organic material for purification, it can lead to contamination of the pulverization chamber 210 or generation of gluten dust by introducing gluten into the cleaning process. This can pose a risk to users with severe gluten hypersensitivity reactions, such as those suffering from celiac disease.

Thus, there is a need for a cleaning material that will clean the grinding surface of a mill, which is food safe and easy to use, and / or that provides the consumer with a commercial alternative to commercially available products.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a pulverizer cleaning material and a method of forming the same.

The present invention provides a method of forming a pellet comprising the steps of forming a size-varying pellet from a pellet-forming material in a first aspect, wherein the size of the pellet formed by the pellet is pulverized by the pulverizer so that the pellet is arranged And a method of forming a cleaning material for a pulverizer.

In another form, the pelletable material is a food safety material.

In another aspect, the food safety material is an organic material.

In another form, the organic material is a gluten-free material.

In another aspect, the method comprises evaluating the fat or oil content of the pelletizable material.

In another aspect, if the fat or oil content of the pelletizable material or formed pellet is greater than 10%, the method further comprises extracting the oil / fat from the pelletizable material and / or the formed pellet.

In another form, the final fat or oil content of the formed pellets is reduced to between 10% and 5%.

In another form, the final fat or oil content of the formed pellets is reduced to less than 5%.

In another aspect, when the moisture content of the formed pellet is greater than 10%, the method further comprises reducing the moisture content of the formed pellet.

In another form, the final moisture content of the pellets is reduced to between 10% and 5%.

In another form, the final moisture content of the pellets is reduced to less than 5%.

In another form, the material not comprising gluten is a combination of rice germ or bran.

In another form, the material not comprising gluten is one of rice flour or bran.

In another form, the gluten-free material comprises rice hulls or husks.

In another embodiment, the gluten-free material comprises rice stalks.

In another form, the pellet is a substantially cylindrical shape having a substantially constant diameter and varying length.

In another form, the pellets have a constant diameter of substantially 5 mm.

In another form, the pellets vary in length between 2 mm and 15 mm.

In another form, the pellet is a substantially cylindrical shape that varies in diameter and is substantially constant in length.

In another form, the pellet is substantially cylindrical and varies in both diameter and length.

In another aspect, the grinder is a coffee bean grinder.

Accordingly, the present invention provides a cleaning material in the form of pellets prepared by the first aspect from the second aspect.

Accordingly, the present invention provides in a third aspect, a method for manufacturing a pellet, comprising: injecting a predetermined amount of pellets formed by the method according to the first aspect; And grinding the predetermined amount of pellets.

In another form, the grinder is a coffee grinder, and the predetermined amount is 50 ml to 100 ml.

Exemplary aspects of the present invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings,
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Figure 1 is a plan view of a round burr for grinding coffee beans illustrating the grinding surface.
2 is an illustrative cross-sectional view of a mill for grinding coffee beans, including the round burr described in Fig.
Figure 3 is an illustrative cross-sectional view of the mill illustrated in Figure 2 with a reduced gap between the top and bottom burls to reduce the size of the ground coffee beans.
Figure 4 is an illustrative cross-sectional view of the grinder illustrated in Figure 2 showing the introduction of coffee beans into the grinding chamber.
Figure 5 is an illustrative cross-sectional view of the mill illustrated in Figure 3 showing that as coffee beans migrate to the periphery of the mill, they are gradually milled to a smaller size.
Figure 6 is a flowchart of a method of forming a scrubbing material for a mill according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.
In the following description, the same reference numerals denote the same or corresponding parts throughout the several views.

The following description includes specific information regarding the practice of the present invention. Those skilled in the art will recognize that the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically described herein.

Referring to FIG. 6, there is shown a flowchart 600 of a method of forming a cleaning material in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. In this exemplary embodiment, the grinder to be cleaned is a coffee grinder for grinding coffee beans, but as will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, the present invention can be applied to other types of grinder in accordance with the principles described herein.

In step 620, the pelletable material 610 is formed of pellets of various sizes 630, and the pellets formed in the size range provide a cleaning action against the mill during pelletization by the pelletizer. In one exemplary embodiment, the pellable material is a food safety material, and in yet another embodiment, the food safety material is an organic material that does not contain gluten, which is in the form of unpurified rice or by-products. In another embodiment, the unpurified rice is a blend of rice bran and rice bran. As a non-limiting example thereof, rice bran and rice bran are obtained by processing unprocessed rice. In another embodiment, rice husks and rice bran can be further processed into rice pellets and rice bran components and a pelletizable material based on either.

In one exemplary embodiment, pellet formation includes the following steps.

- if necessary, processing the pelletable material into smaller pieces that can be more easily processed;

Sterilizing the pellable material by heating the pellable material in one embodiment to kill the microorganisms (e.g. 120 ° C for one hour in the blending of rice bran and rice bran);

Milling the pelletable material to a particle size range such that it is partly determined by the size of the pellets obtained (for example 4 to 8 mm);

Conditioning the pelletable material using steam to soften the pelletable material to obtain improved quality in the form of pellets;

Pelletizing with a pellet machine;

Cooling the plasticized warm pellets formed in the pellet machine; And

- sieving the pellets to remove pellets and fine particles that are too small or too large.

As is known to those of ordinary skill in the art, not all of the above steps are necessary and are dependent on the original pelletable material to be processed into the cleaning material.

As shown in optional step 650, the evaluation is performed by the oil / fat content of the pellets or pelletable material, wherein the pelletable material is a blend of rice and rice bran and the oil / fat content is 10% If so, an oil / fat extraction step may additionally be performed. An example of an oil extraction process that is applicable to the blending of rice bran and rice bran is to use n-hexane or other suitable solvent, which is mixed with the pellable material and then separated through a filter or centrifuge to contain a blend of defatted rice bran and rice bran. The oil extraction process may also be performed wholly or in part after the pelletization has occurred. In one embodiment, the extraction process is performed such that the final oil / fat content of the pellets is reduced to between 10% and 5%, and in other embodiments, is reduced to less than 5%. Depending on the type of oil extraction process, additional drying of the pelletable material and pellets may be necessary to separate excess solvents after the degreasing process.

In another embodiment, and as shown in optional step 640, the evaluation is performed on the moisture content of the pellets formed and, if the moisture content is greater than 10%, the drying processes reduce the final moisture content of the pellets to 10% and To 5%, and in other embodiments, to less than 5%.

The pellet 630 is formed by a pellet machine. In one embodiment, the pellet machine is based on an internal blending chamber in an annular outer chamber to which steam is supplied as described above to enable a pelletizing process. The pelletable material is extracted through the die by the action of rollers that compress the pelletable material through an annular die that lies between the blending chamber and the outer chamber. Located on the outer side of the annular die are a number of pellet cutting knives that cut the material extracted through the die into individual pellets.

The die may optionally be arranged to extract pellets of constant diameter or diameter. An example of this type of pellet machine is manufactured by the California Pellet Mill Company of Indiana, USA. This is just one example of a pellet machine, and other arrangements exist such as those based on an augur arrangement that forces the pelletable material into the die, where the guillotine arrangement cuts or cuts the pellets extracted from the die.

As a result of these processes, the pellets obtained are arranged to have a moisture content of about 9% and an oil content of about 6%. In this exemplary embodiment based on rice bran, the size range obtained to effectively clean the coffee grinder includes cylindrical pellets varying in length between about 5 mm in diameter and 2 mm to 15 mm. This arrangement is known to provide a cleaning material that can effectively clean the entire grinder surface when used in coffee bean grinders.

In still other embodiments, the cylindrical pellets have a diameter of about 4 mm or 6 mm, and the cleaning material is cylindrical pellets of similar diameter but of different lengths, cylindrical pellets of the same length with different diameters, All include various cylindrical pellets. As is known to those of ordinary skill in the art, the cleaning material may comprise pellets of different cross-sectional shapes.

In another exemplary embodiment, the pellable material is based on rice stalks. Unlike rice bran, this material is inherently low in oil / fat content (eg less than 2%) and does not require any oil extraction process as a separation step. Likewise, cylindrical pellets having a diameter of about 5 mm and various lengths between 2 mm and 15 mm are known to provide a cleaning material that effectively cleans the entire grinder surface when used in a coffee bean grinder.

To clean the coffee grinder, a predetermined amount of pellets are introduced and then ground. Although the amount depends on size and cleaning frequency, the Applicant has found that a predetermined amount of pellets of 50 ml to 100 ml is sufficient.

In another embodiment, the pellable material is based on rice pods or scabs. In another exemplary embodiment, a mixture of rice bran, rice bran, rice pod and scab may be used.

As is known to those of ordinary skill in the art, the use of rice-based organic materials provides a gluten-free cleaning material in situations where gluten intolerance may be a problem. In another exemplary embodiment, psyllium husks can be used as a pelletizable cleaning material that does not contain gluten. Another material that does not contain gluten that can be used is alfalfa. The presence of gluten is not a problem and other organic based products including, but not limited to, oats, wheat, barley, corn or corn may be used as the basis for pelletable materials.

The Applicant has also found that the use of a pelletizing process results in a cleaning material which is significantly harder than the base material of the tablet. This is believed to be due to the essentially higher pressure used in the pelletization which can be further utilized by the introduction of steam during the formation of the pellets compared to standard purification processes. This added hardness increases the efficiency of the cleaning material, such as in a situation where a mill is to crush harder materials for longer durations. In addition, pelletization requires individual molds for each tablet and the preparation of large quantities of small grain based tablets can be more easily resized compared to a refining process that must be performed on a high-speed machine, accompanied by a low purification pressure to produce a very smooth tablet .

As used herein, " comprises " and its derivatives (e.g., 'comprising') are intended to encompass the inclusion of the features that it implies and, unless otherwise indicated or implied, It does not mean that.

No prior art document in this specification should be taken as recognizing or recognizing any form of implication that such prior art forms part of common general knowledge.

Throughout the specification and claims, unless expressly stated to the contrary, the word "comprise," "include," and variations thereof, such as "comprising" or "comprising" And does not imply excluding any other integer or group of other integers.

It will be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art that the invention is not limited to use with the particular field described. Further, the present invention is not limited to the preferred embodiments with respect to the specific elements and / or characteristics described or illustrated herein. It is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the described aspects, but that various rearrangements, modifications, and substitutions are possible without departing from the scope of the invention as defined and defined in the following claims.

Claims (24)

Forming pellets of varying size from the pelletizable material, wherein the pellets are arranged to provide the pellet with a scrubbing action in the course of crushing the size range of the pellets formed by the crusher A method for forming a cleaning material for a substrate.
The method of claim 1, wherein the pelletable material is a food safety material.
3. The method of claim 2, wherein the food safety material is an organic material.
4. The method of claim 3, wherein the organic material is a gluten-free material.
5. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the method comprises evaluating the fat or oil content of the pelletizable material.
6. The method of claim 5, wherein the fat or oil content of the pelletizable material or formed pellet is greater than 10%, the method comprises extracting oil / fat from the pelletizable material and / ≪ / RTI >
6. The method of claim 5, wherein the final fat or oil content of the formed pellets is reduced to between 10% and 5%.
7. The method of claim 6, wherein the final fat or oil content of the formed pellets is reduced to less than 5%.
9. A process according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that if the moisture content of the formed pellets exceeds 10%, the process further comprises the step of reducing the moisture content of the formed pellets How to.
10. The method of claim 9, wherein the final moisture content of the pellets is reduced to between 10% and 5%.
11. The method of claim 10, wherein the final moisture content of the pellets is reduced to less than 5%.
12. The method according to any one of claims 4 to 11, wherein the gluten-free material is a combination of rice germ or bran.
12. The method according to any one of claims 4 to 11, wherein the gluten-free material is one of rice flour or rice bran.
12. The method according to any one of claims 4 to 11, wherein the gluten-free material comprises rice hulls or husks.
12. The method according to any one of claims 4 to 11, wherein the gluten-free material comprises rice stalks.
16. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 15, characterized in that the pellets are substantially cylindrical with a substantially constant diameter and varying length.
17. The method of claim 16, wherein the pellet has a constant diameter of substantially 5 mm.
18. Method according to claim 16 or 17, characterized in that the pellets vary in length between 2 mm and 15 mm.
6. A method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the pellets are substantially cylinders of varying diameter and of substantially constant length.
6. A method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the pellet is substantially cylindrical and varies in both diameter and length.
21. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 20, wherein the grinder is a coffee bean grinder.
A cleaning substance in the form of pellets produced by the process of any one of claims 1 to 21.
22. A method for manufacturing a pellet comprising: injecting a predetermined amount of pellets formed by any one of claims 1 to 21; And grinding the predetermined amount of pellets.
24. The method of claim 23, wherein the grinder is a coffee grinder and the predetermined amount is from 50 ml to 100 ml.

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