Coating apparatus – Edible base or coating type
Reexamination Certificate
2002-05-17
2004-12-14
Edwards, Laura (Department: 1734)
Coating apparatus
Edible base or coating type
C118S023000, C118S024000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06830006
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The invention in general relates to an apparatus for producing particles of a foodstuff. Specifically, it relates to foodstuffs having a fat content of at least 50%, a sugar content of not more than 20% and a water content of not more than 10%, with the foodstuff which is present in liquid form being applicable by means of a dosing device in the form of a film or in the form of a strip onto the moved surface of a cooling device with which the foodstuff is at least partly hardenable.
It is generally known in apparatuses for producing chocolate particles to apply the liquid chocolate at a temperature of approximately 30° C. to 35° C. onto a cooled surface at first in the form of a cooling roller. The application generally occurs in the form of a continuous film with the thickness remaining as even as possible, which thickness can be set with a calibrating roller. The outside jacket of the cooling roller and the outside jacket of the calibrating roller enclose a gap in the thickness of the chocolate film. The passage of a thicker film is prevented by the calibrating roller, which is why it is possible to produce a back-up of the liquid foodstuff, i.e. a bath with a larger depth than the thickness of the later film.
The surface temperature of the cooling roller is at the moment of contact with the liquid chocolate approximately 5° C. to 10° C. After the first contact of the cooling roller with the chocolate, a crystallization in form of a thin layer occurs at first in the zone of the contact surface. Furthermore, starting from the surface of the chocolate film which is averted from the cooling roller there is also a commencing crystallization after the passage of the calibrating roller as a result of the convective heat transmission to the ambient gaseous medium which occurs there, with the temperature of the gaseous medium being at approximately 10° C. to approximately 20° C. From the center of the still liquid chocolate film there is a thermal conduction in the direction towards both surfaces, i.e. in the direction towards the cooling roller jacket as well as in the direction towards the gaseous medium encompassing the cooling roller.
The chocolate film leaves the cooling roller in the known method in a state which is crystallized only from the edges, i.e. only in a partial manner, and is therefore placed on the surface of a cooling belt which is led through a cooling tunnel which has a length of approximately 10 to 30 meters. Cold air is guided through the cooling tunnel in a counter-flow, which air has a temperature of approximately 10° C. to 15° C. The reason for such a complex cooling process is caused by the reasons arising from the special properties that are demanded by high-quality chocolate. A specially desirable crystal structure can only be obtained by cooling with a very low temperature gradient, in which the hardened chocolate shows for the longest possible period the desired gloss and the desired resistance against fat bloom formation.
In the recent past the demand has increasingly arisen in the users of such chocolate particles to also use such particles in aqueous non-frozen media such as yogurts or sweet desserts. In order to avoid problems with microbiology even after a certain storage period of the end product containing the chocolate particles, it is necessary to strive towards the lowest possible number of germs in the chocolate. Since raw cocoa naturally has a relatively high germ infestation, which is harmless per se in the processing into chocolate outside of aqueous non-frozen media, the reduction of germs of the liquid chocolate by pasteurization or sterilization is necessary. The goal of chocolate particles with low germ infestation can only be achieved when a subsequent new infestation with germs can be prevented after the formation of the particles subsequently to a preparational pasteurization or sterilization of the chocolate. In the methods according to the state of the art and the pertinent apparatuses with their considerable constructional sizes, it is hardly possible to ensure low germ infestation or even freedom from germ infestation with economically viable measures. Thus it is not cost effective to perform the entire formation of particles, which also includes the hardening on a cooling roller and a downstream cooling belt, under clean room conditions as is conventionally applied in the pharmaceutical business.
The disadvantage in known particle formation in the forming of a continuous film and its subsequent comminution in the hardened state for achieving the desired particle size is that an exact geometrical shape of the particles cannot be ensured. Particles of a certain size distribution but not precisely one specific size can be achieved for example with the help of a crusher device depending on the chosen crusher tools. Moreover, the efforts relating to design and equipment for successively performed steps in forming a continuous film and in comminuting the hardened film are relatively high.
An alternative method for producing particles of a foodstuff is known from EP 0 976 333 A2 hereby incorporated by reference. Here there is a dripping of liquid foodstuff in a stock of nozzles, whereupon the drops cover a drop path within a drop tower of a height of approximately 10 to 15 m. A cooling gas is guided in a counter-flow to the falling foodstuff particles through the drop tower, with which the hot drops are in a convective heat exchange. At the end of the drop path the foodstuff particles are hardened at least to such an extent that they are no longer plastically deformable when hitting the surface after the occurring acceleration. Depending on the setting of the process parameters (temperature at the stock of nozzles, aperture cross section of nozzles, temperature and speed of cooling gas), it is possible to produce both very evenly formed spherical particles as well as thread-like and ribbon-like particles of irregular length as well as intermediate shapes of the aforementioned types. If the foodstuff is supplied in a sterilized or pasteurized form during the dripping, it is possible to produce sterile or pasteurized particles if the drop tower was also sterilized or pasteurized prior to commencement of the production. The disadvantageous aspect of the known method is on the one hand the relatively low production capacity and on the other hand the high constructional complexity, especially the mandatory large extension in the vertical direction in order to achieve the required cooling periods. Moreover, it is not possible to achieve all the desired particle shapes in the prior art method.
SUMMARY AND OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION
The present invention is based on the object of improving an apparatus of the kind as described above in such a way that the production of foodstuff particles is possible in a cost-effective manner, whereby the change between different particle sizes is to be enabled without any major efforts. Furthermore, the proposed apparatus should allow the production of pasteurized or sterilized particles, which is why the chosen dosing devices must meet the conditions necessary for a reliable and simple pasteurization or sterilization.
Based on an apparatus of the kind mentioned above, this object is achieved in accordance with the invention in such a way that the dosing device comprises an elastically deformable membrane which is in contact with one surface having present the liquid, sterilized or pasteurized foodstuff and which can be deflected in a direction approximately perpendicular to its plane, as a result of which the volume of a conveying chamber for the foodstuff can be changed. Further, the dosing device and the cooling device are disposed in an encapsulated way within an enclosed vessel preferably having a sterilized or pasteurized interior.
Due to the change in volume of the conveying chamber for the foodstuff with the help of the deflection of an elastically deformable membrane, a simple possibility is created to a) precisely dose the quantity of foodstuff passing through the pass-
Baumer Johannes
Becker Jürgen
Otte Dietmar
Stauber Dieter
Boyle Fredrickson Newholm Stein & Gratz S.C.
Edwards Laura
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