Coating food product with particulate coating material

Abstract

An in-line coating machine (1) adapted to coat a food product with a particulate coating material, the in-line coating machine (1) having a food product conveyor assembly, a coating device (30) arranged between an inlet (3) and an outlet (4) of the machine, and an overcoated material separation station, the overcoating material separation station is configured to separate the overcoating material from the coated food product in order to recover the overcoating material for reuse. The overcoating material recovery conveyor has a bed support and a recovery conveyor extending above the bed support. A particulate coating material lifter (40) device receives a portion of the excess coating material from the recovery conveyor and supplies the excess coating material to the coating device for reuse. A lifter device filling assembly along the recovery conveyor is configured to fill the lifter device with the recovered excess coating material. Herein, the coating material supply unit comprises a sliding plate (110, 111), and the sliding plate (110, 111) is installed in an inclined manner.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a coating machine, which is suitable for coating food products with a granular coating material, and to a coating method. The device comprises a food product conveyor assembly, which is suitable for receiving food products to be coated at the inlet of the machine in the direction of conveyance of the food products and for discharging the coated food products at the outlet of the machine. The coating device is arranged between the inlet and the outlet of the machine, and the coating device is suitable for being supplied with granular coating material and for subjecting the food products to a coating process, wherein some of the granular coating material is attached to the food products. An upper granular coating material supply unit is mounted above the food product conveyor, wherein the upper granular coating material supply unit comprises an upper filling opening for filling the upper granular coating material supply unit with granular coating material and a lower granular coating material supply opening for supplying the granular coating material onto the food product conveyor. An excess coating material separation station is configured to separate excess coating material from the coated food products so as to recover the excess coating material for reuse.

[0002] The machine has an excess coating material recovery conveyor, which includes:

[0003] - a recovered excess coating material bed support adapted to receive said recovered excess coating material from said separation station on said recovered excess coating material bed support at a receiving position to form a recovered excess coating material bed of said separated excess coating material on said recovered excess coating material bed support,

[0004] - a recovery conveyor extending above the recovered excess coating material bed support and movable relative to the bed support and configured to convey the excess coating material bed above the recovered excess coating material bed support.

[0005] The machine has a particulate coating material elevator arrangement comprising a plurality of receptacles adapted to receive a portion of said excess coating material from said recovery conveyor and to supply said excess coating material to an upper particulate coating material supply unit for reuse of the particulate coating material.

[0006] In particular, the present invention relates to an in-line coating machine designed for use in industrial scale food processing systems. Background Art

[0007] In the prior art, food product coating machines for applying particulate coating materials are well known and widely used in the field. When processing particulate coating materials, it is inevitable that there will be a distribution of particle sizes in the coating material, including relatively coarse particles and relatively fine particles. Generally, in this type of device, it is desirable to have a uniform particle size distribution so that the food product is uniformly coated. However, operators of these devices may also desire other particle size distributions, such as a different distribution between the top and bottom of the food product, or a different distribution between the bottom and top of the food product.

[0008] For example, a coating device for a particulate coating material as described above is described in European patent application EP 3727041. The device focuses on the control of the particle size distribution, in particular the control of the particle size between a lower coating supply and an upper coating supply.

[0009] Another example of such an apparatus is described in EP1591023, which describes a known in-line coating machine including a lifter wheel filling assembly arranged along a lower recovery conveyor run downstream of a receiving position and configured to fill a receptacle of a rotating particulate coating material lifter wheel with recovered excess coating material.

[0010] This type of coating machine employs a particulate coating material lifter device, such as a lifter wheel, which includes a receptacle for collecting reused particulate coating material and lifting those reused particulate coating materials toward an upper particulate coating material supply unit mounted above the food product conveyor. Since the lifter device is typically in continuous motion during operation, and since this lifting motion also typically means that there is a horizontal velocity component at the location where the coating material of the lifter device is deposited into the upper particulate coating material supply unit, the particulate coating material may be dehomogenized during its deposition into the upper particulate coating material supply unit due to momentum differences and / or friction effects of particulate coating materials of different size fractions. This dehomogenization effect of the size distribution of the particulate coating material in the upper particulate coating material supply unit is more pronounced for larger machine widths / processing widths, for larger lifter device speeds, and for larger differences between small and larger particles, such as is typically the case in coating applications where very coarse and / or large particles, such as corn flakes crumbs, are applied to food products.

[0011] It is therefore an object of the present invention to mitigate the de-homogenization of the particle size of the above particle coatings. Summary of the invention

[0012] In a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a coating machine according to claim 1, the coating machine being suitable for coating a food product with a particulate coating material.

[0013] The first sliding plate and the second sliding plate are installed in an inclined manner, wherein the inclination direction of the first sliding plate is opposite to the inclination direction of the second sliding plate, so that the particle coating material falling onto the first sliding plate at the first lateral side of the upper particle coating material supply unit slides downward toward the opposite second lateral side of the far end, and the particle coating material falling onto the second sliding plate at the second lateral side of the upper particle coating material supply unit slides downward toward the opposite first lateral side of the far end.

[0014] By providing such a sliding plate inside the upper particulate coating material supply unit, de-homogenization or segregation of the size particles inside the upper particulate coating material supply unit is alleviated or at least reduced. For example, due to momentum differences and / or air friction effects, the particle coating material of one size particle size that has fallen further than the particle coating material of another size particle size moves back to the opposite lateral side of the upper particulate coating material supply unit, where it mixes with the particle size particles that were deposited directly on that side of the upper particulate coating material supply unit from the elevator device.

[0015] The first sliding plate and the second sliding plate are installed inside the upper particle coating material supply unit, and the first sliding plate and the second sliding plate are arranged below the deposition area, at which the elevator device deposits the particle coating material. The first sliding plate and the second sliding plate are installed in an inclined manner. The inclination is an inclination relative to the horizon, or more precisely, an inclination such that gravity pulls the particle coating material downward to the other lateral side of the upper particle coating material supply unit by means of the inclination. The inclination direction of the first sliding plate is opposite to the inclination direction of the second sliding plate, so that the particle coating material falling on the first sliding plate at the first lateral side of the upper particle coating material supply unit slides downward toward the opposite second lateral side of the distal end, and conversely, the particle coating material falling on the second sliding plate at the second lateral side of the upper particle coating material supply unit slides downward toward the opposite first lateral side of the distal end. As a result, the coarser particles falling on the first sliding plate, for example, move to the left, while the finer particles falling on the second sliding plate move to the right, and conversely, the coarser particles falling on the first sliding plate, for example, move to the right, while the finer particles falling on the second sliding plate move to the left, depending on the configuration. This results in a more uniform distribution of the particle-coated particles.

[0016] In a practical embodiment, the first sliding plate and the second sliding plate are each perpendicular to the food conveying direction of the machine.

[0017] In an embodiment according to the present invention, multiple receptacles of the lifter device are configured as multiple receptacle structures, wherein the receptacle structures are defined at least by the angle and / or shape of the receptacle relative to the lifter device, wherein each of the multiple receptacle structures initiates the release of the particle coating material at a different lateral position above the upper filling opening so as to fill the upper particle coating material supply unit.

[0018] The receiving portion is mounted to the lifter device, or the receiving portion may be an integral part of the lifter device.

[0019] It will be appreciated that the angle of the open end where the particle coating material enters the receptacle at a lower position of the lifter device and where the particle coating material leaves the receptacle at a higher position of the receptacle above the upper filling opening to fill the upper particle coating material supply unit is one of the determining factors for when the particle coating material slides out of the receptacle into the supply unit. The angle may be configured by the angle at which the entire receptacle is mounted to the lifter device and / or the angle may be defined by the angle of the end plate at the opening of the receptacle. A steeper angle may retain the coating material longer than a shallower angle, and a small curved edge may, for example, slightly delay the deposition of the coating material compared to a completely flat end plate.

[0020] By changing the angle and / or shape of the subsequent receiving portion, the time of deposition of the particle coating material changes in the subsequent receiving portion, and therefore the (angular) position of deposition of the particle coating material changes in the subsequent receiving portion, and therefore the amount and size distribution of the coating material on the sliding plate also changes with each change in the receiving portion construction, thereby contributing to the lateral homogenization of the interior of the upper particle coating material supply unit.

[0021] In an embodiment according to the invention, the particulate coating material elevator device comprises an elevator wheel which is rotatably mounted at least partially around the food product conveyor belt so that the elevator wheel can collect reused particulate material at a lower angular position of the elevator wheel and release the contents of the elevator wheel at a higher angular position of the elevator wheel above an upper particulate coating material supply unit.

[0022] In an embodiment according to the invention, the particulate coating material lifter device comprises at least three different receptacle configurations. By releasing the contents of the receptacle at three separate drop locations above the upper particulate coating material supply unit, the variation in the size of the receptacle falling on the slide plate can even out the size distribution of the resulting mount of coating material. The receptacle configuration is defined by any particular angle and / or shape or other properties that affect the release time and / or the release location above the upper particulate coating material supply unit.

[0023] In a further embodiment according to the invention, the particle coating material lifter device comprises at least two groups of alternating unique receptacle configurations, wherein each group of receptacle configurations comprises at least five receptacle configurations, preferably each group of receptacle configurations comprises eight receptacle configurations. It has been found that providing at least two groups of unique receptacle configurations is advantageous for the distribution of the coating particle size over the width of the upper supply unit, the at least two groups of unique receptacle configurations alternating around the lifter device, in particular, in the case of a lifter wheel, the at least two groups of unique receptacle configurations alternating around the lifter wheel. Taking a group of five receptacle configurations consisting of three unique receptacle configurations as an example, a group may be described as AB CBA or AA CB B, etc., wherein each letter (A, B, C) will represent a receptacle configuration having a unique release point above the upper supply unit. Taking a group of eight receptacle configurations formed by five unique receptacle configurations (A, B, C, D, E) as an example, a group may be described as D BAD C AE B.

[0024] In an embodiment according to the invention, the receptacle structure defined by at least the shape and / or angle varies in the width of the receptacle, so that the time for the particle coating material to be deposited into the upper particle coating material supply unit in the direction of conveyance of the food product varies. The shape and / or angle of each receptacle can vary in the length of the receptacle, i.e., in the width of the lifter device. Therefore, a single receptacle can release the contents of the single receptacle at different (angular) positions above the upper particle coating material supply unit. By this arrangement, the variation of the distribution onto the sliding plate increases, which helps to achieve a more uniform end distribution. The receptacle structure can vary in discrete steps or in continuous fluctuations in the length and width of the receptacle. The variation can be adjusted synchronously with the position of the sliding plate.

[0025] In a further embodiment according to the invention, the configuration of the receiving portion defined by at least the shape and / or the angle varies over the width of the receiving portion, in at least two discrete lateral zones of the receiving portion, preferably in three discrete lateral zones of the receiving portion, wherein each subsequent lateral portion of the receiving portion is configured such that the particle coating material is deposited into the upper filling opening for filling the upper particle coating material supply unit at a different time compared to an adjacent lateral zone. The variation may be adjusted in synchronization or alignment with the position of the sliding plate.

[0026] In another further embodiment according to the invention, the receptacle defined by at least shape and / or angle is configured to change in a continuously fluctuating shape, allowing the particle coating material to enter the upper filling opening with fluctuating deposition times to fill the upper particle coating material supply unit.

[0027] In an embodiment according to the invention, the upper particulate coating material supply unit comprises an additional third sliding plate which is shaped or configured to receive the particulate coating material substantially from the entire lateral width of the upper particulate coating material supply unit and to flow the received particulate coating material towards the center of the upper particulate coating material supply unit. By the cooperation between the position of the sliding plate and the release position of the receiving portion, the control of the size distribution can be influenced so as to make the end mount of the particulate coating material inside the supply unit more uniform, so that the coating material can be provided in a uniform manner towards the food product to be coated, both at the top and bottom and in the lateral direction.

[0028] In an embodiment according to the invention, the receiving portion is configured so that the granular coating material is deposited onto all sliding plates in the upper granular coating material supply unit. By the cooperation between the position of the sliding plate and the release position of the receiving portion, the control of the size distribution can be influenced so that the end pile of granular coating material inside the supply unit is made more uniform, so that the coating material can be provided in a uniform manner towards the food product to be coated, both at the top and bottom and in the lateral direction.

[0029] In an embodiment according to the invention, the upper particulate coating material supply unit comprises a ramp, such as an inclined bottom of a hopper of the unit, which is used to guide the particulate coating material toward the lower particulate coating material supply opening. In an embodiment, an agitator is installed adjacent to the ramp so that the particulate coating material guided toward the supply opening is stirred during operation. In the case where the particulate coating material of different size distribution slides down the ramp toward the lower supply opening, toward the food product, additional dehomogenization may occur because smaller particles are easier to slide down from the pile than larger samples. By applying an agitator in the sliding path of the coating material pile, the coating material pile is stirred and therefore more optimally homogenized before reaching the food product conveyor, wherein the agitator is for example implemented as one or more rods, which are installed on both sides of the frame in the sliding path.

[0030] In an embodiment according to the present invention, a perforated screen plate is installed at a lower particle coating material supply opening, for example, wherein the screen plate includes holes arranged in rows transversely, and wherein the aperture of the holes increases from the minimum aperture at the supply opening to the larger aperture at the distal end of the screen plate. In particular, in applications where food products need to be coated with a variety of coating sizes, such as corn flakes crumbs and smaller crumbs, it is important that larger crumbs are first attached to the product, and then smaller crumbs fill the remaining holes. In the case where smaller crumbs are first attached to the product, the possibility that larger fragments or crumbs will not be attached to the food product increases, which may result in loose coating, which may result in less desirable final products, and / or in the case where the product is, for example, fried, may result in larger coating materials being released in the frying oil, which results in oil filtration problems, and may result in health problems due to the reduction in the quality of the oil. Therefore, the screen plate retains the coating material of larger particle size on the screen plate, while smaller particles pass through the plate. Since the food products are conveyed from the distal end (with the largest holes) towards the supply exit side (with the smallest holes), larger pieces or coarse crumbs will adhere first before the vacancies are filled with smaller crumbs.

[0031] In an embodiment according to the invention, the housing is configured so that the housing transitions to the particle coating material lifter device in a substantially vertical manner. In the food product industry, it is of the utmost importance that the construction elements, such as metal plates, forming the housing inside the lifter device do not include sharp corners, because these sharp corners may absorb the coating material, which will not be easily released when cleaning the machine. This may cause food safety problems for the user. In the case of a lifter wheel, the risk of these sharp corners is real because the angle of the housing varies on the perimeter of the lifter device. Therefore, the housing is mounted to the lifter device by means of a construction element, such as a bend of a plate defining the bottom plate of the housing, and the bend makes the connection between the housing and the lifter device do not include sharp corners that can capture food particles, and preferably, the connection between the housing and the lifter device does not include flat corners, and the connection between the housing and the lifter device is such as a vertical connection between the housing and the lifter device.

[0032] In an embodiment according to the invention, the distances between the inflow openings of the lifter wheel receptacles are distributed in a substantially equidistant manner. Although the angles and shapes of the receptacles may vary, the distances between the end plates of the receptacles, i.e. the edges at which the coating material enters the receptacles and is released again, are distributed substantially equidistantly, i.e. the distances between subsequent receptacles are equal, so that for a given supply of coating material, the filling of the receptacles at the lower (angular) position of the lifter device fills each receptacle with a substantially equal amount.

[0033] In an embodiment according to the invention, the supply direction of the granular coating material at the lower granular coating material supply opening is opposite to the food product conveying direction. In the case where the supply direction is the same as the food product conveying direction, the dynamics of the flow of the granular coating material where the coating is applied to the food product may be different. When the direction is opposite to the food conveying direction, a uniform distribution can be better maintained.

[0034] In an embodiment according to the invention, the apparatus further comprises a filling chute for supplying fresh particulate coating material which is combined with recovered excess coating material from the upper particulate coating material supply unit before supplying the coating material to the food products.

[0035] The invention also relates to a method for coating a food product, wherein a coating machine as described herein is used.

[0036] Here, reference is made to the details and advantages in the description of the corresponding elements and functions of the food processing line in the above description. Further scope of applicability of the present invention will become apparent from the detailed description given below. However, it should be understood that the detailed description and specific examples, although indicating embodiments of the present invention, are given by way of illustration only, since various changes and modifications within the scope of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the detailed description. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0037] The invention will be explained in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, which show practical embodiments of the invention but which should not be considered limiting, and in which:

[0038] Figure 1 An example of an in-line coating machine according to the invention is schematically shown in side view and in cross section;

[0039] Figure 2 Shown on a larger scale Figure 1 a part of a machine;

[0040] Figure 3 Shows the direction Figure 1 A perspective view of a lifter device filling assembly and a separation enhancement assembly of a machine;

[0041] Figure 4 Shows the direction Figure 1 A perspective view of a top coating device of a machine;

[0042] Figure 5 Shows Figure 1 an alternative embodiment of the machine having a separation enhancement assembly acting on the excess coating bed support;

[0043] Figure 6 Shows Figure 1 An alternative embodiment of the machine having an adjustable bypass opening device;

[0044] Figure 7 shows a schematic perspective view of an upper particulate coating material supply unit and a lifter device according to the present invention;

[0045] Figure 8 shows a schematic side view of an upper particulate coating material supply unit according to the present invention;

[0046] Fig. 9 shows a schematic perspective view of an upper particulate coating material supply unit;

[0047] Fig.10 a schematic perspective view, partially cut away, showing a first alternative embodiment of a lifter device according to the invention;

[0048] Fig.11 Shows Fig.10 A schematic cross-sectional view of a lifter device;

[0049] Fig.12 a schematic perspective view, partially cut away, showing a second alternative embodiment of a lifter device according to the invention;

[0050] Figures 13a-13f show Fig.12 The receiving portion structure of the lifter device;

[0051] Fig.14 a schematic perspective view, partially cut away, showing a third alternative embodiment of a lifter device according to the invention;

[0052] Figures 15a-15f show Fig.14 The receiving portion structure of the lifter device;

[0053] Fig.16 shows a schematic perspective view of a perforated screen plate according to the present invention;

[0054] Fig.17 A partially cut-away schematic perspective view of an upper particulate coating material supply unit is shown. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0055] The present invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference numerals have been used to identify the same or similar elements throughout the several views.

[0056] It should be noted that the drawings are schematic and not necessarily drawn to scale, and that details not necessary for understanding the present invention may have been omitted. Unless otherwise indicated, the terms "upwardly", "downwardly", "below", "above", etc. relate to the embodiments as oriented in the drawings. Furthermore, elements that are at least substantially the same or that perform at least substantially the same function are represented by the same reference numerals, with letter suffixes being used to facilitate differentiation.

[0057] Reference Figures 1 to 4 , an exemplary embodiment of an in-line coating machine according to the invention will be discussed. The machine 1 is suitable for coating a food product 2 with a particulate coating material, such as a breading material.

[0058] The coating machine 1 generally has a food product conveyor assembly adapted to receive food products 2 to be coated at an inlet 3 of the machine and to discharge the coated food products at an outlet 4 of the machine. For example, the food products have passed through a batter machine and / or a pre-dusting machine. Here, the products 2 are fed to the inlet 3 by a conveyor 5, for example a conveyor 5 of another such machine.

[0059] In the depicted embodiment, the machine has a single belt or main belt conveyor 8 having a single endless belt 9, preferably a mesh belt, such as a (stainless steel) wire mesh belt as is quite common in the art. A motor drive 8a, such as a variable speed motor drive 8a, is provided to move the belt 9.

[0060] Here, the upper run of belt 9 forms the food product conveyor assembly of the machine 1 and also forms the machine's bottom coating material bed advancing conveyor run 10. Under a portion of the long conveyor run 10, the machine has an associated bottom coating material bed support 11.

[0061] In operation of the machine, the bottom coating material bed support 11 supports a bottom coating material bed 15 thereon.

[0062] The advancing conveyor run 10 conveys the bottom coating material bed 15 over a bottom coating material bed support 11. As shown here, the bottom coating material bed 15 receives the food product to be coated near the inlet 3 of the machine 1 .

[0063] The machine also has a top coating device 30 which supplies the particulate coating material and discharges it from above onto the food product 2 which is received by the bottom coating material bed 15 and conveyed by the bottom coating material bed advancing conveyor run 10 .

[0064] like Figure 4 As shown, the top coating device may include an upper granular coating material supply unit 30, the upper granular coating material supply unit 30 having a front wall 31, an inclined bottom wall 32, and lateral upper granular coating material supply unit walls 34a, 34b, the front wall 31 facing the direction opposite to the conveying direction of the food product, the inclined bottom wall 32 forming a slope, and the inclined bottom wall 32 adjoining the front wall at a lower corner portion 33 of the upper granular coating material supply unit, and the inclined bottom wall 32 is inclined upward from the lower corner portion in the conveying direction of the food product, and the lateral upper granular coating material supply unit walls 34a, 34b delimit the upper granular coating material supply unit with the front wall and the inclined bottom wall. The upper granular coating material supply unit is open at its top 36 so as to receive the granular coating material fed by gravity from the excess coating material lifter device 40 in the upper granular coating material supply unit, where the granular coating material falls directly from the device 40 into the upper granular coating material supply unit.

[0065] The upper particulate coating material supply unit 30 has an outlet opening 37 in the lower corner region 33 , from which the coating material is discharged, where the outlet opening 37 is controlled by an outlet gate 38 .

[0066] Operation of the in-line coating machine 1 causes some of the particulate coating material to adhere to the food product 2 , as is common in the art.

[0067] Downstream of the coating device or devices, here downstream of the bed support 11, an excess coating material separation station 25 is provided, which is configured to separate excess coating material from the coated food product so as to recover the excess coating material for reuse. In the very simple and practical embodiment depicted, the station 25 is merely the rear end of the support bed 11, which causes excess material to fall through the mesh belt 9, while the coated products 2 remain on the belt. In another embodiment, for example in addition to the rear end of the bed 11, one or more blowers, air knives, etc. may be provided to cause or enhance the removal of excess coating particles, for example, by blowing them downwards through the mesh belt 9. In an embodiment, by having a belt agitator device at the station 25, the separation of excess material is enhanced so that excess material is removed from the belt and / or food product.

[0068] As depicted, here the belt 9 also forms an excess coating material recovery conveyor 20 of the machine.

[0069] Here, the conveyor 20 comprises a recovered excess coating material bed support 21 adapted to receive recovered excess coating material from a separation station 25 on the recovered excess coating material bed support 21 at a receiving position 22, here vertically below the station 25, so as to form a recovered excess coating material bed 24 of separated excess coating material on said recovered excess coating material bed support 21. A recovery conveyor run 23 of the belt 9, in fact the lower run of the belt 9, extends and moves above and relative to the recovered excess coating material bed support 21. In operation, the run 23 conveys the excess coating material bed above the recovered excess coating material bed support 21.

[0070] As preferred, the belt 9 extends just above the beds 11, 21, or, as preferred, the belt 9 rests against each of the beds and slides over them. This achieves a good transport of the coating material bed.

[0071] As depicted, the machine 1 includes a particulate coating material elevator wheel 40 adapted to supply a portion of excess coating material to the top coating device 30 for reuse.

[0072] The machine also includes a lifter wheel filling assembly 50, which is arranged downstream of the receiving position 22 and along the lower recovery conveyor run 23, and the lifter wheel filling assembly 50 is configured to fill the receptacle of the rotating particulate coating material lifter wheel with recovered excess coating material.

[0073] As can be seen, the exemplary machine 1 is implemented to transfer recovered excess coating material remaining in the excess coating material bed 15 downstream of the lifter wheel filling assembly to the bottom coating material bed forward conveyor run 11. In this embodiment, the front roller 13 of the guide belt 9 is partially surrounded by a curved deflector 14, which forms an extension of the bed 21, so that the excess coating material moves around the roller 13 onto the inclined rising portion of the bed support 11, which is adjacent to the substantially horizontal portion of the bed support 11.

[0074] The lifter wheel 40 comprises:

[0075] - an annular wheel body 41 adapted to rotate about an axis of rotation and having a central opening;

[0076] - Circumferentially arranged housings 45 in the annular wheel body, which housings are open towards the central opening of the lifter wheel.

[0077] The wheel 40 is rotatably supported in the frame of the machine 1, here on rollers 46, for rotation about a substantially horizontal axis of rotation. A motor drive 47, for example a variable speed motor drive, is provided to drive the wheel 40, in this example the wheel having a circular rack and the drive 47 having a matching pinion.

[0078] As depicted, the bottom coating material bed advancing conveyor run 10 and the lower recovery conveyor run 23 each extend through the central opening of the annular wheel body, with the lower recovery conveyor run 23 being located below the bottom coating material bed advancing conveyor run 10 .

[0079] Also depicted is the elevator wheel 40 passing over the top coating apparatus 30 such that the particulate coating material is gravity fed from the receptacle 45 into the top coating apparatus 30 .

[0080] The lifter wheel filling assembly 50 includes:

[0081] - One or more adjustable discharge opening devices 51, which are suitable for controlling one or more discharge openings 52 in the recovered excess coating material bed support, which one or more discharge openings 52 are here a single elongated slot across the bed support 21, thereby allowing a portion of the recovered excess coating material bed passing over the one or more discharge openings to be discharged at an adjustable rate into the receiving portion 45 of the particle coating material elevator wheel 40.

[0082] Here, the gap or actual passage for the coating material through the slot 51 is controlled by a slidable door 52, which is located along the underside of the bed support 21. There may be a manual or electric operating control to move the door 52 to the desired position. In lieu of such a simple embodiment, more complex designs are also envisioned, for example, including straight-through rotary metering valves, etc.

[0083] The lifter wheel filler assembly also includes:

[0084] - An adjustable upper layer diverter device 60, which is configured to engage an upper layer 61 of a recovered excess coating material bed passing above a recovered excess coating material bed support 21, wherein a lower layer 62 passes under the diverter device 60, and the upper layer diverter device 60 is configured to divert at least a portion of the upper layer into a receiving portion 45 of a particle coating material elevator wheel 40 at an adjustable rate.

[0085] The machine is also provided with a particle separation enhancement component 70, which is suitable for subjecting the recovered excess coating material bed passing over the recovered excess coating material bed support 21 to a separation enhancement effect upstream of the lift device filling component 50, so that the upper layer 61 engaged by the upper layer diverter device 60 includes relatively coarse-grained particle coating material, and so that the lower layer 62 of the excess coating material bed includes relatively fine-grained particle coating material.

[0086] exist Figures 1 to 4 In the depicted embodiment, the assembly 70 includes one or more passive members, here rods, extending above the recovery conveyor run 23. As shown here, the one or more rods 70 can extend across at least a portion of the width of the excess material bed so that the excess material is agitated by the passive members, thereby enhancing separation. Here, one or more rods, which may be linear rods, are shown extending horizontally parallel to the conveyor run, across the width of the excess material coating bed.

[0087] like Figure 3As can be seen in the figure, the recovered excess coating material bed support 21 has a first lateral side 21a and a second lateral side 21b opposite to each other. The upper layer diverter device 60 is suitable for diverting a first flow of the upper layer excess coating material to the first lateral side 21a and to the particle coating material lifter device 40, and is suitable for diverting a second flow of the upper layer excess coating material to the second lateral side 21b and to the particle coating material lifter device 40.

[0088] Here, the upper layer diverter device 60 includes at least one diverter blade 65a, 65b, which engages the upper layer and diverts at least a portion of the upper layer to one of the lateral sides 21a, 21b and to the particle coating material elevator device 40.

[0089] Here, when viewed from a top view, the two blades 65a, 65b are arranged in a V, wherein the tips are opposite to the conveying direction of the recovered excess coating material bed. The blades 65a, 65b may intersect at the tips, or, as shown here, the blades 65a, 65b may have spaced ends to leave a gap between the ends. For example, each of the blades is attached to a raised side housing wall 29a, 29b at each side of the bed 21, for example, movably in height and / or angular orientation.

[0090] In the depicted embodiment, the upper layer diverter device 60 has a first set of one or more diverter blades 65a, 65b at a first position along the path of the lower recovery run 23, and a second set of one or more diverter blades 66a, 66b at a second position, the second position being downstream of the first position. Here, the first set includes two blades 65a, 65b arranged in a V when viewed from a top view, wherein the tip is opposite to the conveying direction of the recovered excess coating material bed, and wherein the ends are spaced apart to leave a gap between the ends, and the second set of two blades 66a, 66b is arranged in a V when viewed from a top view, wherein the tip is opposite to the conveying direction of the recovered excess coating material bed, and wherein the ends are joined at the tip.

[0091] Depicted here is that the machine also includes an angle adjustment mechanism, which is integrated with the mechanism 67a and is suitable for adjusting the angular orientation of the upper layer diverter device 60, here the blades 65a, 65b, relative to the conveying direction of the recovered excess coating material bed when viewed from a top view. Here, each diverter blade 65a, 65b can be pivoted around a vertical rotation axis. For example, the mechanism allows the angular orientation to be set, thereby covering the adjustable width of the lower recovery run by means of the upper layer diverter device or a portion of the upper layer diverter device.

[0092] As shown in the figure, the machine has a shell having a pair of side shell walls 29a, 29b, and the lower recovery conveyor running part 23 travels between the pair of shell walls 29a, 29b, and the pair of shell walls 29a, 29b are raised to extend above the conveyor running part 23 and the coating material bed 24.

[0093] One or both of the lateral housing walls 29a, 29b has an opening 29c, 29d in one or both of the lateral housing walls 29a, 29b, through which the diverted coating material passes.

[0094] As shown here, preferably, these one or more lateral housing wall openings are located vertically above a lower section of the lifter device 40, for example above a lower section of the lifter device including a movably arranged receptacle 45 adapted to receive the particulate coating material therein. For example, the lifter device has a rotating lifter wheel arranged so that the diverted coating material falls directly into the receptacle of the wheel.

[0095] exist Figure 5 In order to enhance separation of the excess material bed 24 into layers, the particle separation enhancement assembly 70 includes a vibration device 80 that acts on the recovered excess coating material bed support 21, for example, on a portion of the recovered excess coating material bed support 21, thereby inducing or enhancing particle separation prior to the assembly 50. For example, the device 80 is adjustable to achieve adjustable intensity of vibrations to which the bed is subjected, for example, an excenter mass may be rotated at an adjustable speed to induce vibrations in (a portion of) the bed 21.

[0096] Figure 6 Depicted Figure 1 An alternative embodiment of the machine has an adjustable bypass opening arrangement 90 adapted to control one or more bypass openings 91 in the bottom coating material bed support 11. This allows an adjustable portion of the bottom coating material bed 15 passing over the one or more bypass openings 91 to be discharged onto the recovered excess coating material bed 24 downstream of the lifter device filling assembly 50 so as to bypass said lifter device filling assembly 50 and be transferred to the bottom coating material bed forward conveyor run 23. Providing this arrangement further increases the control functionality of the machine over the coating composition delivered to one or more coating devices of the machine.

[0097] Figure 7A schematic perspective view of an upper particulate coating material supply unit 30 and a lifter device 40 is shown. The lifter device is a lifter wheel comprising a plurality of receptacles. The wheel has an annular wheel body adapted to rotate about an axis of rotation and having a central opening. Circumferentially arranged receptacles are mounted in the annular wheel body, the receptacles being open towards the central opening of the wheel.

[0098] The figure shows that both the food product conveyor assembly and the recovery conveyor each extend through the central opening of the annular wheel body of the elevator wheel, and the recovery conveyor running part is located below the food product conveyor assembly. The elevator wheel passes under the elevator device filling assembly, thereby allowing excess material to be gravity fed into the receiving portion.

[0099] A portion of the upper particle coating material supply unit 30 is installed below the release position of the lifter wheel 40 .

[0100] A screen plate 116 has been installed at the outlet of the upper particulate coating material supply unit in order to control the larger and finer particle sizes of the particulate coating material leaving the upper particulate coating material supply unit.

[0101] Figure 8 , Fig. 9 and Fig.17 A schematic diagram of the upper particle coating material supply unit 30 is shown.

[0102] In order to supply the unit 30 with fresh, unused particle coating material, the unit comprises a filling chute 120 extending to the outside of the elevator wheel 40 .

[0103] In order to deposit the recovered particulate coating material to the unit 30, the unit 30 has an upper filling opening 36 for filling the upper particulate coating material supply unit with the particulate coating material.

[0104] In order to supply the particulate coating material onto the food product conveyor, the unit 30 has a lower particulate coating material supply opening 115 .

[0105] The particulate coating material collected in the unit 30, here typically implemented as a hopper, slides downwardly along the inclined bottom wall or ramp 32. In order to assist the flow of the coating material, e.g., to avoid bridging, and / or to prevent segregation of particle sizes, one or more agitator members, such as rods 101, may be mounted in the unit, e.g., along the inclined bottom wall.

[0106] As preferred and as shown, a dividing wall in unit 30 generally separates the unit into a portion receiving fresh coating material and a portion receiving recycled coating material. The two coating material flows merge just upstream of opening 115.

[0107] The upper particle coating material supply unit 30 is provided with two laterally inclined sliding plates 110, 111, and a third sliding plate 112. These sliding plates 110, 11, 112 are installed in a deposition area where the recovered particle coating material released from the receiving portion of the rotating wheel 40 is deposited and falls onto these sliding plates 110, 11, 112.

[0108] The diagram shows that at least the first sliding plate 110 and the second sliding plate 111, and here also the third sliding plate 112, are offset from each other when viewed in the food product conveying direction of the machine. It can also be defined that the sliding plates 110, 111 are offset from each other when viewed in the width direction of the receiving portion of the lifter wheel 40.

[0109] The first sliding plate 110 and the second sliding plate 111 are each mounted in an inclined manner. It is also illustrated that the inclination direction of the first sliding plate 110 is opposite to the inclination direction of the second sliding plate 111, so that the particle coating material deposited by the lifter device and falling onto the first sliding plate 110 at the first lateral side of the unit 30 slides downward over the plate 110 toward the opposite second lateral side, and the particle coating material falling onto the second sliding plate 111 at the second lateral side of the unit 30 slides downward toward the opposite first lateral side.

[0110] It is shown that the first sliding plate 110 and the second sliding plate 111 are each installed perpendicular to the food conveying direction.

[0111] In the case of clockwise rotation of the lifter wheel 40, when viewed in the food product conveying direction, the coating material with larger particle sizes has a larger momentum when released from the lifter wheel. Therefore, the larger particle sizes will fly farther and fall more on the right lateral side of the supply unit 30, i.e., the first sliding plate 110 (see FIG. Fig. 9 ) and the lower side of the second sliding plate 111. Similarly, smaller particle sizes will fall more on the left-hand side of the supply unit, i.e., the higher side of the second sliding plate 111 and the lower side of the first sliding plate 110. Under the influence of gravity, the particles will slide downward from the higher side of each of the sliding plates toward the lower side of the sliding plate.

[0112] As shown here, the sliding plates 110, 111 can have a planar top surface. Also as shown here, the planar top surface can have an inclination only in the transverse direction. Other sliding plate designs are also envisioned, for example, the planar top surface is also inclined, for example slightly, in the conveying direction of the machine and / or the top surface is non-planar, for example, the top surface has a curvature, etc.

[0113] An optional third sliding plate 112 of the unit is arranged behind the first sliding plate 110 and the second sliding plate 111 when seen in the conveying direction of the machine, which third sliding plate 112 will receive particles both from the left and from the right and guide the received particles downwards towards the centre line of the supply unit.

[0114] Fig.10 and Fig.11 A schematic diagram of a first alternative of a lifter device is shown. In this example, the lifter wheel 40 comprises a plurality of housings. These housings are arranged circumferentially in the wheel 40. The housings are defined by bent plates which are welded in the structure of the lifter wheel.

[0115] like Fig.10 As shown in the cutaway portion of the illustration of , for food safety and hygiene reasons, the connecting edge 131 at which the housing is welded to the annular wheel body of the lifter wheel 40 is bent so that no sharp corners appear after welding. The plate is further bent in the load-bearing portion in the middle and in the release portion at the free end of the plate, where the particle coating material enters and leaves the housing. The example includes five different housing configurations, divided into two groups of four configurations each, which alternate with each other on the circumference of the lifter wheel 40. The distances between the end plate edges are distributed in an equidistant manner, while the mounting positions are not equidistant due to the variations in the angles and shapes of the housings.

[0116] Fig.12 A schematic perspective view, partially cut away, of a second alternative embodiment of the lifter arrangement is shown. This alternative embodiment is similar to Fig.10 and Fig.11 , but each plate defining the housing and determining the housing configuration is now formed as a plurality of, here three, discrete transition portions 141, 141', 141", as shown in Figures 13a-13f. As is preferred, these transition portions of each housing are positioned to be synchronized or aligned with the sliding plates 110, 111, 112, i.e. each area of ​​the housing plate is aligned with one of the sliding plates 110, 111, 112 in the upper supply unit 30. Due to the different angles of the discrete shapes, there are different release times when the lifter wheel is in a higher angular position of the lifter wheel.

[0117] Fig.14 A schematic perspective view, partially cut away, of a second alternative embodiment of the lifter arrangement is shown. This alternative embodiment is similar to Fig.10 and Fig.11, but each plate defining the housing and determining the housing configuration is now formed so that the shape and / or angle varies in a continuously fluctuating shape, allowing the particle coating material to enter the upper filling opening with fluctuating deposition times to fill the upper particle coating material supply unit, as shown in Figures 15a-15f. Due to the different angles of the shape, this results in different release times across the width of the housing when the lifter wheel is in a higher angular position of the lifter wheel.

[0118] Fig.16 A schematic perspective view of a perforated screen plate is shown. A perforated screen plate 116 is mounted at a lower particle coating material supply opening, wherein the screen plate comprises holes arranged in rows transversely, and wherein the aperture of the holes increases from a minimum aperture 161 at the supply opening to a larger aperture 161' at the distal end of the screen plate. In particular, in applications where food products need to be coated with a variety of coating sizes, such as corn flake crumbs and smaller crumbs, it is important that larger crumbs are first attached to the product, and then smaller crumbs fill the remaining holes. In the case where smaller crumbs are first attached to the product, the likelihood that larger fragments or crumbs will not be attached to the food product increases, which may result in loose coating, which may result in less desirable final products, and / or in the case where the product is, for example, fried, may result in larger coating materials being released in the frying oil, which results in oil filtration problems, and may result in health problems due to a reduction in the quality of the oil. Therefore, the screen plate retains the coating material of larger particle size on the screen plate, while smaller particles pass through the plate. Since the food products are conveyed from the distal end (with the largest holes) towards the supply exit side (with the smallest holes), larger pieces or coarse crumbs will adhere first before the vacancies are filled with smaller crumbs.

[0119] Detailed embodiments of the present invention are disclosed herein; however, it is understood that the disclosed embodiments are merely examples of the present invention, and the present invention can be implemented in various forms. Therefore, the specific structural and functional details disclosed herein should not be interpreted as limiting, but only as the basis for the claims, and as a representative basis for teaching those skilled in the art to adopt the present invention differently with almost any appropriately detailed structure. In particular, the features presented and described in separate dependent claims can be applied in combination, and any advantageous combination of such claims is disclosed herein.

[0120] In addition, the terms and phrases used herein are not intended to be limiting; rather, they provide an understandable description of the present invention. As used herein, the term "a" or "an" is defined as one or more. As used herein, the term "plurality" is defined as two or more. "Plurality" can also indicate two or more subsets of a larger number of items. As used herein, the term "another" is defined as at least a second or more. As used herein, the terms "including" and / or "having" are defined as comprising (comprising) (i.e., open language). As used herein, the term "connection" is defined as connection, although not necessarily direct connection.

[0121] Unless otherwise clearly stated, the elements and aspects discussed for or about a particular embodiment may be suitably combined with the elements and aspects of other embodiments. The present invention has been described in this way, and it is obvious that the present invention can be changed in many ways. These variants should not be considered as departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention, and all such modifications that are obvious to those skilled in the art are intended to be included in the scope of the following claims.

Claims

1. A coating machine, suitable for coating a food product with a particulate coating material, the machine comprising: a food product conveyor assembly adapted to receive food products to be coated at an inlet of the machine in a food product conveying direction and to discharge coated food products at an outlet of the machine, a coating device arranged between the inlet and the outlet of the machine and adapted to be supplied with a particulate coating material and to subject the food product to a coating process, wherein some of the particulate coating material adheres to the food product, wherein the coating device comprises: - an upper particle coating material supply unit (30), the upper particle coating material supply unit (30) being mounted above the food product conveyor assembly, wherein the upper particle coating material supply unit comprises an upper filling opening for filling the upper particle coating material supply unit with particle coating material and a lower particle coating material supply opening for supplying the particle coating material onto the food product conveyor assembly, an excess coating material separation station configured to separate excess coating material from the coated food product in order to recover the excess coating material for reuse, - an excess coating material recovery conveyor, the excess coating material recovery conveyor comprising: - a recovered excess coating material bed support adapted to receive the recovered excess coating material from the separation station on the recovered excess coating material bed at a receiving position to form a recovered excess coating material bed of the separated excess coating material on the recovered excess coating material bed support, a recovery conveyor extending above the recovered excess coating material bed support and movable relative to the bed support and configured to convey the excess coating material bed above the recovered excess coating material bed support, a particulate coating material elevator device (40) comprising a plurality of receptacles adapted to receive a portion of the excess coating material from the recovery conveyor and to supply the excess coating material to the upper particulate coating material supply unit for reuse of the particulate coating material, It is characterized in that The upper particle coating material supply unit includes a first sliding plate (110) and a second sliding plate (111), wherein the first sliding plate and the second sliding plate are each installed in an inclined manner, and wherein the inclination direction of the first sliding plate is opposite to the inclination direction of the second sliding plate, so that the particle coating material deposited on the first sliding plate at the first lateral side of the upper particle coating material supply unit by the lifter device (40) slides downward toward the opposite second lateral side, and the particle coating material that falls onto the second sliding plate at the second lateral side of the upper particle coating material supply unit slides downward toward the opposite first lateral side, for example, wherein, viewed in the direction of conveying the food product, the first sliding plate (110) and the second sliding plate (111) are arranged to be offset from each other.

2. The coating machine according to claim 1, wherein: The plurality of receptacles of the lifter device are configured into a plurality of receptacle configurations defined at least by an angle and / or a shape of the receptacle relative to the lifter device, wherein each of the plurality of receptacle configurations initiates release of the particle coating material at a different lateral position above the first sliding plate and the second sliding plate.

3. The coating machine according to claim 2, wherein: The particulate coating material lifter apparatus includes at least three different receptacle configurations.

4. The coating machine according to claim 3, wherein: The particulate coating material lifter device comprises at least two alternating sets of unique receptacle configurations, wherein each set of receptacle configurations comprises at least five receptacle configurations, preferably each set of receptacle configurations comprises eight receptacle configurations.

5. A coating machine according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein: The receptacle configuration defined by at least the shape and / or angle varies across the width of the receptacle such that the time at which the particulate coating material is deposited into the upper particulate coating material supply unit in the food article conveying direction varies.

6. The coating machine according to claim 5, wherein: The receptacle defined by at least the shape and / or angle is constructed to vary over the width of the receptacle, in at least two discrete lateral zones of the receptacle, and preferably in three discrete lateral zones of the receptacle, wherein each subsequent lateral portion of the receptacle is configured so that the particle coating material is deposited into the upper particle coating material supply unit at a different time compared to an adjacent lateral zone.

7. The coating machine according to claim 5, wherein: The receptacle defined by at least the shape and / or angle is configured to change in a continuously fluctuating shape, allowing the particle coating material to enter the upper filling opening with a fluctuating deposition time to fill the upper particle coating material supply unit.

8. A coating machine according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein: The upper particle coating material supply unit includes an additional third sliding plate, which is configured to receive the particle coating material from substantially the entire lateral width of the upper particle coating material supply unit and is configured to slide the received particle coating material toward the center of the upper particle coating material supply unit.

9. A coating machine according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein: The receiving portion is configured to allow the particle coating material to be deposited onto all sliding plates of the upper particle coating material supply unit.

10. A coating machine according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein: The upper particulate coating material supply unit comprises a ramp for directing the particulate coating material towards the lower particulate coating material supply opening, and wherein an agitator is mounted adjacent to the ramp such that in operation the particulate coating material directed towards the supply opening is agitated.

11. A coating machine according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein: A perforated screen is mounted at the lower particulate coating material supply opening, wherein the screen includes transverse rows of holes, and wherein the holes increase in size from a minimum size at the supply opening to a larger size at a distal end of the screen.

12. A coating machine according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein: The receiving portion is arranged in a substantially vertical manner in the particulate coating material elevator device.

13. A coating machine according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein: The distances between the inflow openings of the receiving portions are distributed in a substantially equidistant manner.

14. A coating machine according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein: A supply direction of the particle coating material at the lower particle coating material supply opening is opposite to a conveying direction of the food product.

15. A coating machine according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein: The upper particulate coating material supply unit further comprises a filling chute for supplying fresh particulate coating material which is combined with the recovered excess coating material before supplying the coating material to the food product.

16. Method for coating a food product in a coating machine according to any one of claims 1 to 15, characterized in that The reused particulate coating material is partially collected in the lifter device, which lifts the reused particulate coating material toward the upper filling opening so as to fill the upper particulate coating material supply unit, and wherein the receptacle is configured such that the particulate coating material is deposited onto the sliding plate and subsequently supplied to the food product on the food product conveyor assembly.

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