WO2006103244A1

WO2006103244A1 - Device and method for coating food products

Info

Publication number: WO2006103244A1
Application number: PCT/EP2006/061114
Authority: WO
Inventors: Nick William Boeijen; Jacobus Johannes Maria Van Der Laak
Original assignee: Cfs Bakel B. V.
Priority date: 2005-03-29
Filing date: 2006-03-28
Publication date: 2006-10-05
Also published as: NL1028645C2

Abstract

A device for coating food products, such as meat, fish, poultry, vegetables and the like with a coating substance which has a relatively high viscosity, such as batter, tempura and the like, comprising a container in which a coating substance can be accommodated up to a nominal level, an endless conveyor belt which is permeable to the coating substance and which extends through the container between an inlet side and an outlet side and whose top side crosses the nominal level in order dip the food products into the coating substance, which conveyor belt is deflected near the inlet side for conducting the conveyor belt from a position below the nominal level to a position above the nominal level. A covering element which is impermeable to the coating substance extends from the deflection.

Description

Device and method for coating food products

The invention relates to a method for coating food products, such as meat, fish, poultry, vegetables and the like with a coating substance which has a relatively high viscosity, such as batter, tempura and the like, comprising a container in which a coating substance can be accommodated up to a nominal level, an endless conveyor belt which is permeable to the coating substance and which extends through the container between an inlet side and an outlet side and whose top side crosses the nominal level in order to dip the food products into the coating substance, which conveyor belt is deflected near the inlet side for conducting the conveyor belt from a position below the nominal level to a position above the nominal level.

A device of this type is known from NL-C-1018404. With this known device, the food products can be gradually conveyed into the coating substance. To this end, the food products are first received on the top side of the conveyor belt situated above the coating substance surface, which top side is located on the inlet side. Usually, the food products are to this end supplied by a separate supply belt and transferred to the inlet side of the conveyor belt. Subsequently, the slightly inclined top side of the conveyor belt moves towards the surface of the coating substance and thus dips the products situated on that top side completely into the coating substance. In order to bring these effects about, it is necessary for the conveyor belt to be permeable to the coating substance.

Therefore, it is an object of a device of this type to coat the food products entirely on all sides. To this end, the food product has to be accessible on all sides and in this connection, the placement of the food products on the conveyor belt is important. With some products, the problem arises that the areas which are placed on the conveyor belt and are in contact with the latter are less well coated. This is caused by the fact that the inlet side of the conveyor belt is situated above the nominal level. At that location, the coating substance has drained away as a consequence of the permeable nature of the conveyor belt, so that the food products initially end up directly on the conveyor belt. When the products are then dipped into the coating substance, the problem may arise that the parts of the food products which are in contact with the conveyor belt cannot readily be reached by the coating substance. As a consequence, erratically coated or even entirely uncoated areas may occur, which results in an unacceptable end product. It is therefore an object of the invention to provide a device of the above- described type which is more satisfactory in this respect. This object is achieved by a covering element being provided downstream of the deflection which is impermeable to the coating substance.

The covering element which extends below the first part of the top side of the conveyor belt offers the possibility of applying the coating substance on top thereof, for example by deflecting it together with the conveyor belt and entraining it when the latter is deflected. In that case, the food products no longer come into direct contact with the conveyor belt, but instead come to lie on a layer of coating substance which has formed on the covering element when they are supplied. Despite the fact that the conveyor belt is permeable to the coating substance, the latter cannot drain away, as this is prevented by the covering element. A layer of coating substance is formed which is sufficiently thick to coat the entire underside of the food products. When the food products which have thus been coated on the underside are dipped into the volume of coating substance, the remainder is coated.

In a known manner, a rotation-symmetrical deflecting element may be situated near the inlet side. The covering element then preferably extends over the deflecting element in such a manner that, in a first step, the conveyor belt is deflected over the deflecting element and subsequently, in a second step, over the covering element. In this manner, a gap is formed between the deflecting element and the covering element, which gap determines a passage for the coating substance which is entrained by the deflecting element and/or the conveyor belt, which passage can be adjusted in order to influence the amount of coating substance which emerges from the passage and moves over the covering element.

By providing the gap between the deflecting element and the covering element with an adjustment element, it is moreover possible according to the invention, to adjust the thickness of the layer of coating substance ending up on the covering element as desired. In that case, it is also possible to correctly coat the underside of food products in their entirety, as these are simply received on the layer of coating substance already formed, as described above.

The adjustment element can be designed in many different ways, for example in the form of a rotationally symmetrical rod which extends entirely along the deflecting element. Preferably, the contour of the adjustment element is the negative of the contour of the deflecting element, in such a manner that as good a seal as possible can be achieved between the deflecting element and the adjustment element.

The displaceability of the adjustment element can be achieved in various ways. According to a simple embodiment, the adjustment element can be displaced according to a curved path, the centre of which substantially coincides with the centre axis of the deflecting element.

In a known manner, a guide belt may be located above the top side of the conveyor belt. The bottom side of this guide belt lies opposite the top side of the conveyor belt and is located below the nominal level, in such a manner that the food products can be conveyed through the coating substance in a reliable manner.

The invention also relates to a method for completely coating food products on all sides. This method comprises the steps of:

- taking up the food products on the top side of the endless conveyor belt, which conveyor belt is permeable to this substance;

- dipping the food products situated on the top side of the conveyor belt into this amount of substance;

- deflecting the conveyor belt at the location of a deflecting element between a bottom side and a top side;

- entraining the substance using the deflecting element and/or the conveyor belt to the top side;

- running the conveyor belt with the entrained substance over an impermeable covering element which encloses a gap with the deflecting element, which gap forms a passage for the entrained substance.

If the gap is not dimensioned excessively large, some of the entrained substance can collect on the covering element in such a manner that the undersides of the food products can also readily be coated. The formation of the layer of coating substance on the covering element for coating the underside of the food products can be improved further by the step of dividing the substance into a portion which is conveyed through the passage and a portion which is conveyed over the covering element.

In this connection, the size of the passage can be varied by a suitable adjustment element for influencing the portion of the substance which is conveyed through the passage and the portion of the substance which is conveyed over the covering element. The invention will be explained in more detail below with reference to an exemplary embodiment illustrated in the figures, in which:

Fig. 1 shows a longitudinal side view of a device according to the invention;

Figs. 2-5 show different states of the device, in particular of the section denoted by A in Fig. 1 ;

Fig. 6 shows a partial top view of section A;

Fig. 7 shows details of the guide of the adjustment element in the cross section on line VII-VII of Fig. 6.

The device illustrated in Fig. 1 comprises a frame assembly which is denoted overall by reference numeral 1 , which is supported by the legs 2. This frame assembly 1 supports a container 3, as well as the frame 4 over which the endless conveyor belt denoted overall by reference numeral 5 is conveyed. In a known manner, this conveyor belt 5 comprises a top side 6 and a bottom side 7. The conveyor belt, namely the top side 6 thereof, moves in the direction of the arrow from an inlet side 8 to an outlet side 9.

Furthermore, the guide belt 10 is arranged above the conveyor belt 5 in a known manner. The bottom side 1 1 of this guide belt is at a certain distance from the top side 6 of the conveyor belt 5, as a result of which a gap is formed. The guide belt 10 is suspended in an auxiliary frame 13 which can be moved up and down by means of setting means 14 known per se, whereby the size of the gap 12 can be set. The aim of the guide belt 10 will be explained below.

Food products 16 to be coated are supplied to the device according to the invention by means of an inlet conveyor belt 15. These food products 16 enter the device on the inlet side, and are then conveyed through the container 3 on the top side 6 of the conveyor belt 5. This container 3 contains an amount of a substance 17 with a relatively high viscosity, such as batter, tempura and the like. This amount of substance 17 is at or close to the nominal level 18.

The products 16 on the inlet side 8 are moved into this amount of substance 17 by the conveyor belt 5. The top side 6 of the conveyor belt crosses the nominal level 18 of the amount of substance 17 in such a manner that the products 16 are gradually submerged in the substance 17. In this connection, the guide belt 10 is relevant. By setting the latter correctly, the products can be forced under the nominal level 18 by the bottom side 1 1 of this guide belt 10, so that they are completely coated. For most products, it is very important that they are completely covered with coating substance, that is to say that the latter is sufficiently thick on all surfaces of the food products 16. In this connection, the problem arises in practice, that the underside which rests on the top side 6 of the conveyor belt 5 is not readily accessible. On the inlet side 8, the products 16, which are then after all still uncoated, are placed on the top side 6 of the conveyor belt 5, which means that when they are then submerged, the spot where the food products 16 and the top side 6 contact one another is covered by the coating substance. This results in parts which are not coated in the finished product, which is highly undesirable.

According to the invention, this is overcome by providing a covering element in the shape of a panel 19 which is impermeable to the substance near the inlet side 8. This panel 19 extends somewhat above the deflecting element denoted overall by reference numeral 20, which comprises a drum 21 with toothed wheels 22 which engage in the conveyor belt 5; see Fig. 2. When the deflecting element 20 and thus the conveyor belt 5 rotate, the substance is carried along upwards due to the relatively high viscosity, in such a manner that the portion denoted by 25 thereof enters the gap 24 between the deflecting element 20 and the panel 19, as illustrated in Fig. 3.

According to the invention, this effect can be utilized in order to apply the coating substance on the top surface of the panel 19. To this end, the rod-shaped adjustment element 26 is provided, which can be moved up and down by means of the lever device denoted overall by 27 and located at both ends of the adjustment element 26.

In the state illustrated in Fig. 3, the adjustment element 26 is in a bottom position, in such a manner that the passage in the gap 24 is clear for the portion 25 of the substance. In this state, the portion 25 of the substance cannot reach the top side of the panel 19.

Fig. 4 shows the situation where the adjustment element 26 is placed in a slightly higher position by the lever system 27. The passage through the gap 24 is thus somewhat reduced, in such a manner that not all substances 25 can pass through it. A portion is forced to flow above the panel 19, which portion is denoted by reference numeral 37.

Thus, an in this case relatively thin layer of coating substance 37 is formed on the top side of the panel 19. As the top side 6 of the conveyor belt is clamped tightly onto the panel 19, a substantial part of the coating substance 37 is above that top side 6, in such a manner that the products 16 land on the coating substance 37 and can thus be completely coated on the underside. The rest of the product 16 is then coated during the subsequent submerging in the amount of substance 17 in the container 3.

In the state illustrated in Fig. 5, the adjustment element 26 is moved upwards completely, as a result of which the gap 24 is therefore almost entirely closed and nearly all deflected substance 25 has to flow over the top surface of the panel 19. Thus a relatively thick layer of substance 37 is formed on top of the panel.

The top view in Fig. 6 shows the frame 4 comprising two longitudinal panels 35, which are interconnected by means of the transverse beam 36, inter alia. The deflecting element 20 is suspended in this frame 4, which deflecting element 20 has a number of toothed wheels 22 on the drum 21. In addition, the rod assemblies 27 suspended on both sides of the longitudinal panels 35 are illustrated. It can also be seen that the adjustment element 26 has a contour 28 on the side facing the deflecting element 20 which matches the contour 34 of the deflecting element 20, that is to say the contour 34 of the drum 21 with the toothed wheels 22 which protrude slightly relative thereto. The advantage of this similarity between the contours 28, 34 is that the gap 24 between the deflecting element 20 and the adjustment element 26 can be sealed better. The top surface of the panel 19 has grooves 40 through which the nodes of the belt 5 consisting of wire material run.

Fig. 7 shows slots 30 in the longitudinal panels 35 of the frame 4 through which pins 31 of the mounting panel 32 extend to which the adjustment element 26 is attached. This embodiment ensures that the adjustment element 26 can describe a circular path which is centred relative to the centre axis of the deflecting element 20. Furthermore, the panel 19 is provided with lips 39, which grip around the transverse beam 36. On the other side, the panel 19 is supported on the inwardly pointing pins 38 fastened to the longitudinal panels 35.

Claims

1. Device for coating food products (16), such as meat, fish, poultry, vegetables and the like with a coating substance (17) which has a relatively high viscosity, such as batter, tempura and the like, comprising a container (3) in which a coating substance (17) can be accommodated up to a nominal level, an endless conveyor belt (5) which is permeable to the coating substance (17) and which extends through the container between an inlet side (8) and an outlet side (9) and whose top side (6) crosses the nominal level (18) in order to dip the food products (16) into the coating substance (17), which conveyor belt (5) is deflected near the inlet side (8) for conducting the conveyor belt (5) from a position below the nominal level (18) to a position above the nominal level (18), characterized in that a covering element (19) which is impermeable to the coating substance extends from the deflection.

2. Device according to Claim 1 , in which the covering element (19) is entirely above the nominal level (18).

3. Device according to Claim 1 or 2, in which a rotation-symmetrical deflecting element (20) may be situated near the inlet side (8), and the covering element (19) extends over the deflecting element (20) in such a manner that, in a first step, the conveyor belt (5) is deflected over the deflecting element (20) and subsequently, in a second step, over the covering element (19).

4. Device according to one of the preceding claims, in which there is a gap (24) between the deflecting element (20) and the covering element (19), which gap (24) determines a passage for coating substance (25) which is entrained by the deflecting element (20) and/or the conveyor belt (5), which passage can be adjusted in order to influence the amount of coating substance (25) which emerges from the passage and/or moves over the covering element (19).

5. Device according to Claim 4, in which a adjustment element (26) is provided which can be transferred between a position at a distance from the passage in order to leave the latter clear and a position near or in the passage in order to virtually block the latter.

6. Device according to Claim 5, in which the adjustment element (26) is rod- shaped and extends parallel to the deflecting element (20).

7. Device according to Claim 5 or 6, in which the adjustment element (26) comprises a substantially round rod.

8. Device according to Claim 4, 5, 6 or 7, in which the contour (34) of the adjustment element (26) on the side facing the deflecting element (20) is the negative of the contour (28) of the deflecting element (20).

9. Device according to one of the Claims 5-8, in which the adjustment element (26) can be displaced according to a curved path, the centre of which substantially coincides with the centre axis of the deflecting element (20).

10. Device according to one of Claims 5-9, in which a rod assembly (27) is provided on both sides of the adjustment element (26) for displacing the adjustment element (26).

1 1. Device according to one of the preceding Claims, in which a guide belt (10) is situated above the top side (6) of the conveyor belt (5), the bottom side (1 1 ) of which guide belt (10) lies opposite the top side (6) of the conveyor belt (5) and is below the nominal level (18).

12. Method for coating food products (16), such as meat, fish, poultry, vegetables and the like with a coating substance (17) with a relatively high viscosity, such as batter or tempura and the like, comprising the steps of:

- taking up the food products (16) on the top side (6) of an endless conveyor belt (5), which conveyor belt (5) is permeable to this coating substance (17);

- dipping the food products (16) situated on the top side (6) of the conveyor belt (5) into this amount of coating substance (17); - deflecting the conveyor belt (5) at the location of a deflecting element (20) between a bottom side (7) and a top side (6);

- entraining the coating substance (17) using the deflecting element (20) and/or the conveyor belt (5) to the top side (6);

- running the conveyor belt (5) with the entrained coating substance (25) over an impermeable covering element (19) which encloses a gap (24) with the deflecting element (20), which gap forms a passage for the entrained coating substance (25).

13. Method according to Claim 12, comprising the step of dividing the coating substance (25) into a portion which is conveyed through the passage and a portion (37) which is conveyed over the covering element (19).

14. Method according to Claim 13, comprising varying the size of the passage in order to influence the divison of the portion of the coating substance (25) which is conveyed through the passage and the portion (37) of the coating substance (25) which moves over the covering element (19).