Device for treating starch-based products

Foods and beverages: apparatus – Subjecting food to an enclosed modified atmosphere – With sequential heating and cooling

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Details

99443C, 994504, 99476, 99477, 99485, 99517, 432141, 432230, A23L 100, A21C 1300, A21C 1500, F25D 1304, F25D 1306

Patent

active

060822503

DESCRIPTION:

BRIEF SUMMARY
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This is a National Stage of PCT/AT 97/00241 filed Nov. 6, 1997 and based, in turn, upon Austrian National Application A 1931/96 of Nov. 6, 1996 under the International Convention.
1. Technical Field
The invention relates to a device for treating starch-based products, such as edible wafer products or biodegradable packaging material, with air for setting a certain humidity content or for cooling the products. This device comprises a machine frame having an outer lining, containing at least one transport device which transports the products through a transport channel outwardly bordered by the outer lining, from a charging station in one or several product tracks through one or more zones to a discharge station. Each zone contains at least two air ducts running at least partially parallel to a product track, each having a duct wall provided with air passage openings facing the product track. In each zone air flows from an air duct transversely with respect to the transport direction of the products, through the product track and into the other air duct.
2. State of the Art
The treatment of starch-based products with air for setting a certain humidity content of the products makes it possible to target the product characteristics for a certain purpose or a certain variant for further processing of the treated products. The treatment air which is used can be heated and humidified inside or outside of the treatment, or heated, humidified and filtered. The treatment is mainly applied to starch-based products. These are for instance thin-walled shaped bodies produced of grain flours and/or starch-containing masses. These shaped bodies can be produced by injection molding or extrusion, or by baking between two mold halves. Examples of such products are edible wafers, such as deep bowls, flat plates, flat shells, trays, flat sheets, etc. such as are known from the baked-goods, wafer-baking and sweets-producing industry. Other examples of such products are biodegradable packaging materials, such as deep cups, flat plates, flat shells, shallow cups, fast-food packaging, trays, flat sheets, etc.
The treatment of starch-based products with air, for cooling of the products makes it possible to transform products composed of thin-walled shaped bodies and of spreading masses made spreadable through heating into rigid blocks by the hardening of the spread, which subsequently can be handled or, further processed as massive blocks. Examples of such products are cream-filled wafer blocks, which are used as intermediate products in the baked-goods, wafer-baking and sweets-producing industry for the particular production line and for further processing.
In the production of biodegradable packaging products made of masses containing grain flours and/or starch. it is known to use air treatment for setting a humidity content of the thin-walled shaped bodies of 6% by weight up to 22% by weight, in order to obtain products which are tough, strong and have a high mechanical stability.
In the sweets-producing industry continuously operating production lines for the production of small cream-filled and chocolate-covered wafers are known. In these production lines, in automatic baking machines large, flat, rectangular wafer sheets are produced, which are baked in the baking molds of the continuously revolving baking tongs of the wafer-baking machines from a flowable wafer dough consisting mainly of water and flour. These wafer sheets leave the respective baking machine in a crunchy, brittle and easily breakable state with a humidity content of 1% by weight to 2% by weight. These wafer sheets represent an intermediate products of the production line, whose humidity content is increased in a controlled manner to 4% by weight up to 6% by weight in a device for treating the wafer sheets with air, which is integrated in the production line. This increased humidity content should prevent the detachment of the chocolate coating in chocolate-coated wafers during a long storage period.
A known device for

REFERENCES:
patent: 3670132 (1972-06-01), Kaufman, Jr. et al.
patent: 3804583 (1974-04-01), Parkes
patent: 5795607 (1998-08-01), Haas et al.
patent: 5955129 (1999-09-01), Haas, Sr. et al.

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