Milk-based protein food production system

Abstract

Provided is a milk-based protein food production system for producing protein food, which comprises a filling device, a conveying part, a plurality of mold modules, a baking device, an air cooling device, and a demolding structure. The conveying part is used to convey the mold modules through the filling device, the baking device, the air cooling device, and the demolding structure in sequence. The mold modules form cavities for containing food material, and each mold module comprises a movable bottom plate arranged at the bottom of the cavity and capable of moving in the vertical direction, and a limiting part. At least part of the demolding structure is arranged inside the conveying part, and the demolding structure comprises a demolding wheel arranged at the upper part of the demolding structure and capable of moving in the vertical direction. In the demolding operation, the demolding wheel at least partially enters the inside of the mold module to move the movable bottom plate vertically upward so that the shaped food is demolded from the mold module.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This application relates to the field of food production technology, and in particular to a milk-based protein food production system. Background Technology

[0002] Protein bars, as a convenient high-protein food, are experiencing rapid growth in market demand, especially in niche markets such as nutritional foods, fitness foods, senior citizen foods, and maternal and infant foods.

[0003] Existing protein bar production methods mainly involve mixing protein powder with syrup, nuts, dried fruit and other materials to form a viscous filling, and then making the filling into protein bars through processes such as extrusion, cooling, cutting and coating.

[0004] However, existing protein bar production processes have many shortcomings, such as: a high rate of abnormal demolding during unmolding; protein denaturation and vitamin loss due to high-temperature processing; insufficient uniformity of food ingredient mixing; low total protein content and excessively high fiber content leading to excessive satiety and indigestion; and homogeneous product formulas that fail to meet the consumption needs of specific groups. There is an urgent need to improve the protein bar production system to address at least one of these problems. Summary of the Invention

[0005] This application is made in view of the aforementioned state of the prior art. The purpose of this application is to provide a milk-based protein food production system with a low demolding abnormality rate.

[0006] This application provides a milk-based protein food production system for producing protein foods, comprising: a filling device, a conveying unit, multiple mold modules, a baking device, an air-cooling device, and a demolding structure.

[0007] The conveying unit is used to transport the mold module sequentially through the pouring equipment, baking equipment, air cooling equipment, and demolding structure.

[0008] The mold module forms a cavity for containing food materials. The mold module includes a movable base plate and a limiting part. The movable base plate is located at the bottom of the cavity and is movable in the vertical direction. The limiting part is formed at the lower part of the mold module to prevent the movable base plate from detaching from the lower side.

[0009] At least a portion of the demolding structure is disposed inside the conveying section. The demolding structure includes a demolding wheel disposed on the upper part of the demolding structure, and the demolding wheel is capable of moving in a vertical direction.

[0010] In its natural state, the top of the demolding wheel is higher than the bottom surface of the movable base plate of the mold module containing food material; during demolding, the demolding wheel enters at least partially into the mold module to push the movable base plate vertically upward so that the molded food is demolded from the mold module.

[0011] In at least one possible implementation, the mold module further includes two demolding guides disposed at its bottom.

[0012] The two demolding guide rails are spaced apart and opposite to each other along the width direction of the mold module, and extend along the length direction of the mold module.

[0013] The demolding guide rail forms a smooth curved surface that is high at both ends and low in the middle in the width direction of the mold module.

[0014] Furthermore, the end of the demolding guide rail closest to the center of the mold module width is not higher than the bottom surface of the movable base plate in its natural state.

[0015] In at least one possible implementation, the demolding guide rail is provided with a guide wheel on the outer side of the mold module in the width direction, the axial direction of the guide wheel is parallel to the length direction of the mold module, the axial length of the demolding wheel is less than the axial length of the mold module, and the guide wheel can contact the demolding wheel.

[0016] In at least one possible implementation, the demolding structure includes a demolding wheel and at least two telescopic support rods, each telescopic support rod being fitted with a spring, and the two ends of the spring being connected to the telescopic support rod.

[0017] One end of the telescopic support rod is connected to the demolding wheel to provide an upward ejection force for the demolding wheel.

[0018] In at least one possible implementation, the movable base plate is a perforated base plate with multiple holes, the holes being circular holes with a diameter of 1 to 3 mm and / or square holes with a side length of 1 to 3 mm.

[0019] In at least one possible implementation, at least one side plate of the cavity of the mold module is a side-hole plate, and the side-hole plate is formed with a plurality of side-hole portions.

[0020] The side plate holes are elliptical, and the major axes of two adjacent side plate holes in the vertical direction form an angle of 120° to 138°.

[0021] In at least one possible embodiment, the upper part of the side plate hole is formed into a side plate hole recess, and the lower part is formed into a side plate hole protrusion, with a gap formed between the side plate hole recess and the side plate hole protrusion.

[0022] In at least one possible implementation, the air-cooled device is an air-cooled cleaning device, which includes a plurality of airflow nozzles disposed on its upper layer and a plurality of liquid nozzles disposed on its lower layer.

[0023] The conveying unit is a belt conveyor, and the mold module passes sequentially through the upper and lower layers of the air-cooling equipment along with the conveyor.

[0024] The plurality of airflow nozzles are disposed on the upper layer of the air-cooling equipment and are used to spray compressed air to cool the material inside the mold module.

[0025] The plurality of liquid nozzles are located on the lower layer of the air-cooling equipment and are used to spray high-pressure water to clean the mold module that is left empty after demolding.

[0026] In at least one possible implementation, multiple sets of the demolding structures are arranged sequentially at intervals along the transport direction of the conveying section, and the number of sets of the demolding structures is 2 to 8.

[0027] In at least one possible implementation, the material used in the infusion device includes fibrous imitation meat products made from milk-based proteins.

[0028] The milk-based protein food production system provided in this application can produce protein bars using milk-based protein imitation meat products as the main raw material. This food production system features a specially designed mold module and demolding structure for easy demolding, which can control the demolding abnormality rate of the food production system to a low level, reducing the probability of defective products due to demolding abnormalities. Attached Figure Description

[0029] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of a milk-based protein food production system according to one embodiment of this application.

[0030] Figure 2 According to Figure 1 A partial structural diagram of a food production system.

[0031] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the layout of a mold module according to one embodiment of this application.

[0032] Figure 4 This is another layout schematic diagram of a mold module according to one embodiment of this application.

[0033] Figure 5 According to Figure 1 A schematic diagram of the second part of the food production system.

[0034] Figure 6 According to Figure 1 A schematic diagram of the third part of the food production system.

[0035] Figure 7 According to Figure 1 A schematic diagram of the fourth part of the food production system.

[0036] Figure 8 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of a mold module according to one embodiment of this application.

[0037] Figure 9 This is a schematic diagram of a demolding process according to one embodiment of this application.

[0038] Figure 10 This is a schematic diagram of a demolding structure according to one embodiment of the present application.

[0039] Figure 11 This is another structural schematic diagram of a mold module according to one embodiment of this application.

[0040] Figure 12 This is a schematic diagram of the side plate hole portion according to one embodiment of this application.

[0041] Figure 13 This is a cross-sectional view of the side plate hole portion according to one embodiment of this application.

[0042] Explanation of reference numerals in the attached figures

[0043] 10. Injection Equipment

[0044] 11 Feeding Department

[0045] 12 Mixing Section

[0046] 121 Feed port

[0047] 122 Liquid injection port

[0048] 20 Conveying Department

[0049] 30 Mold Modules

[0050] 31 Conveying Connection Part

[0051] 32 Movable base plate

[0052] 33 Side Hole Plate

[0053] 331 Side plate hole section

[0054] 3311 Side plate hole recess

[0055] 3312 Side plate hole protrusion

[0056] 34 Demolding guide rails

[0057] 341 Guide wheel

[0058] 35 Limiting section

[0059] 40 Baking equipment

[0060] 50 Air-cooled equipment

[0061] 51 Airflow Nozzle

[0062] 52 Liquid Nozzle

[0063] 60 Demolding Structure

[0064] 61 Demolding rollers

[0065] 62 Telescopic support rod

[0066] 621 Spring

[0067] 70 Packaging Equipment

[0068] 80 Sterilization Equipment Detailed Implementation

[0069] Exemplary embodiments of this application are described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. It should be understood that these specific descriptions are for teaching those skilled in the art how to implement this application only, and are not intended to exhaustively describe all possible methods of this application, nor to limit the scope of this application.

[0070] Embodiments of this application provide a milk-based protein food production system (hereinafter, sometimes simply referred to as a "food production system") for producing milk-based protein foods, particularly for producing protein bars. Figure 1 As shown, the food production system may include a filling device 10, a conveying unit 20, multiple mold modules 30, a baking device 40, an air-cooling device 50, a demolding structure 60, a packaging device 70, and a sterilization device 80.

[0071] Specifically, such as Figure 1 and Figure 2 As shown, the filling device 10 may include a feeding section 11, a mixing section 12, a filling head, and a weighing section. Figure 2As shown, the upper part of the filling device 10 may be provided with a feeding section 11, which can be used to add powdered materials. In this embodiment, the powdered material can be milk-based protein powder, which may include whey protein powder, casein powder, etc. The lower part of the feeding section 11 can be connected to a mixing section 12 so that the powdered material enters the mixing section 12. The mixing section 12 may include a feeding port 121 (the feeding port 121 is not an inlet connected to the feeding section 11 for entering the powdered material, but a separate feeding opening) and a liquid injection port 122, wherein the feeding port 121 can be used to add solid materials, and the liquid injection port 122 can be used to add liquid materials. In particular, the solid material used in this embodiment can be imitation meat (or its products) based on milk-based protein, and the liquid material can be water, etc.

[0072] For example, imitation meat based on whey protein can be a fibrous imitation meat product made from casein and whey protein through steps such as extrusion, shaping, and cooling. It is understood that proteases, spices, and other excipients can also be added to the aforementioned powdered, solid, and liquid materials.

[0073] Preferably, the feeding port 121 can be located at the upper part of the mixing section 12, and the liquid injection port 122 can be located at the lower part of the mixing section 12, that is, the liquid material inlet is below the solid material inlet. This structure helps to keep the feeding port 121 dry and avoid material agglomeration. At the same time, the bottom-up wetting method can maximize the contact area between the liquid material and the solid material, thereby improving mixing efficiency and shortening mixing time.

[0074] Preferably, to increase production efficiency, the filling equipment 10 may be provided with multiple sets of corresponding feeding sections 11 and mixing sections 12. For example, such as... Figure 2 As shown, this embodiment includes two sets of feeding sections 11 and mixing sections 12.

[0075] The filling head can be located at the lower part of the mixing section 12, and is used to fill the uniformly mixed material in the mixing section 12 into the mold module 30. The main body of the mold module 30 can be a cavity structure with an open top. Preferably, in order to improve the efficiency of the filling operation, the filling device 10 can be provided with multiple filling heads. Preferably, the multiple filling heads can be arranged linearly or in a grid pattern, and the horizontal height of the multiple filling heads can be the same. The weighing section can be used to weigh and provide feedback on the weight of the material output from the filling head, and the filling device 10 can adjust the material output of each filling head to keep it consistent (basically consistent).

[0076] Preferably, the width of the upper opening of the mold module 30 ranges from 25 to 105 mm, and the length ranges from 55 to 255 mm.

[0077] Preferably, each injection head can be provided with a corresponding weighing part. The weighing part can be located below the mold module 30 and contact the bottom surface of the mold module 30.

[0078] Furthermore, such as Figure 1 As shown, the conveying unit 20 can be used to transport the mold module 30 to the lower part of the filling head. After the filling head fills the mold module 30 with material, it is then transported to downstream equipment in sequence. After the food is demolded, the conveying unit 20 can transport the empty mold module 30 to the lower part of the filling head (other transport platforms can be added for transporting food after demolding), forming a production cycle.

[0079] Preferably, the conveying unit 20 can operate in an intermittent manner, with each movement causing one or more mold modules 30 (with filled material) to move forward. The movement distance can be matched with the number of mold modules 30 filled by the filling equipment in one operation (taking into account the width of the mold modules and the distance between them). Alternatively, the conveying unit 20 can also operate at a constant speed, with its speed matched with the time required for one filling operation of the filling equipment 10 and the interval between two filling operations (the filling operation is performed during the time the mold module passes the filling head).

[0080] The conveying unit 20 can be a belt conveyor. For example, the conveying unit 20 can be a belt drive, that is, the conveying unit 20 can include a driver, a drive wheel, and a drive belt. The driver can be driven to the drive wheel to drive the drive wheel to rotate. The radial outer edge of the drive wheel is formed with teeth, and the inner side of the drive belt (i.e. the side near the drive wheel) is formed with teeth that can mesh with the drive wheel. Then, the drive wheel drives the drive belt to move through the tooth meshing.

[0081] Preferred, such as Figure 1 and Figure 3 As shown, the mold module 30 can be connected to the conveyor section 20. The conveyor section 20 may include two drive belts spaced apart along the width direction, and both ends of the mold module 30 (in the length direction) can be connected to the two drive belts respectively. Optionally, as... Figure 4 As shown, the conveyor section 20 can be provided with more drive belts spaced apart along its width direction. Each pair of adjacent drive belts can be connected with a mold module 30, and multiple mold modules 30 form a grid structure (which can include 1 to 20 columns along the width direction), thereby further improving production efficiency. More preferably, the mold module 30 can be rotatably connected to the drive belt, so that the mold module 30 can smoothly pass through the corners at both ends of the length direction of the conveyor section 20.

[0082] Furthermore, such as Figure 1 and Figure 5As shown, the conveying unit 20 can transport the mold module 30, which has been filled with material, into the baking equipment 40 to reduce the moisture content of the material. Preferably, the baking equipment 40 can be a tunnel-type baking oven to ensure that the material inside the mold module 30 is heated evenly during transportation. Figure 1 and Figure 6 As shown, the baked mold module 30 can be transported by the conveyor 20 to the air-cooling device 50 to cool the material (surface) inside the mold module 30.

[0083] Preferred, such as Figure 6 As shown, the air-cooling device 50 can be an air-cooled cleaning device, which may include multiple airflow nozzles 51 disposed in the upper part of the device and multiple liquid nozzles 52 disposed in the lower part of the device. The airflow nozzles 51 can spray compressed air, which can be used to cool the material in the mold module 30 in the upper layer of the conveying section 20. The liquid nozzles 52 can spray high-pressure water, which can be used to clean the empty mold module 30 in the lower layer of the conveying section 20 after demolding.

[0084] Preferred, such as Figure 3 , Figure 8 and Figure 9 As shown, the mold module 30 may include a conveying connection 31, a movable base plate 32, a side perforated plate 33, and a demolding guide rail 34. The main body of the mold module 30 is a cavity for containing food materials, and the specific structure of the cavity can be flexibly adjusted according to the appearance of the food to be produced. The two ends of the cavity (e.g., the two ends in the length direction) can be connected to the conveying section 20 via the conveying connection 31. The conveying connection 31 can be a rotating connection, that is, it allows the angle of the mold module 30 relative to the transmission belt to change within a certain range, so that the mold module 30 can pass through the turning points at both ends of the conveying section 20.

[0085] like Figure 6 and Figure 8 As shown, the mold module 30 can be demolded after being cooled by the air-cooling device 50, allowing the formed food (protein bar) to be ejected from the mold module 30. The demolding operation can be completed by the mold module 30 and the demolding structure 60 working together. At least a part of the demolding structure 60 can be disposed inside the conveying part 20, and its top surface can contact the mold module.

[0086] The movable base plate 32 of the mold module 30 can be located at the bottom of the cavity of the mold module 30. The movable base plate 32 does not need to be fixedly connected to other structures of the mold module, but can move in the height direction of the mold module 30. Figure 9As shown, a limiting part 35 can be formed at the lower part of the mold module 30 to prevent the movable base plate 32 from detaching from the mold module 30. Specifically, the limiting part 35 may include a vertical plate and a horizontal plate. The vertical plate can fit against the edge of the movable base plate 32 to restrict the horizontal degree of freedom of the movable base plate 32. The horizontal plate can extend from the bottom edge of the mold module 30 towards the center to prevent the movable base plate 32 from detaching from the bottom of the mold module 30.

[0087] like Figure 9 and Figure 10 As shown, the demolding structure 60 may include a demolding wheel 61 disposed on its upper part, the demolding wheel 61 being movable in the vertical direction within a certain range. Furthermore, the demolding wheel 61 may have an upward tendency to move in the vertical direction (powered by other structures). The demolding structure 60 may also include at least two telescopic support rods 62 for supporting the demolding wheel 61. Two or more telescopic support rods 62 may form a support for the demolding wheel 61. For example, as... Figure 10 As shown, the demolding wheel 61 can be a roller, and two telescopic support rods 62 can be respectively provided at both ends of the roller, forming an included angle between the two telescopic support rods 62 to form a triangular support for the demolding wheel 61. Springs 621 can be sleeved on the telescopic support rods 62, and the two ends of the springs 621 can be connected to the two ends of the telescopic support rods 62. The springs 621 can be in a pre-compressed state, that is, the springs 621 and the telescopic support rods 62 can have a relative tendency to extend. In the natural state (when the demolding structure is not in contact with the mold module), the apex height of the demolding wheel 61 can be higher than the bottom surface of the movable base plate 32. The axial length of the demolding wheel 61 can be less than the axial length of the mold module 30, so that when the demolding wheel 61 contacts the movable base plate 32, the two ends of the demolding wheel 61 in the axial direction are not limited by the two side plates in the length direction of the mold module 30.

[0088] Preferably, the diameter of the demolding wheel 61 can be 12 to 52 mm.

[0089] The telescopic support rod 62 can be rotatably connected to the demolding wheel 61 and the base of the demolding structure 60. It can be understood that the structure of the demolding structure 60 allows the demolding wheel 61 to move vertically within a certain range. After the demolding wheel 61 moves downwards vertically, due to the compression of the spring 621, it tends to move upwards vertically. When the mold module 30 moves above the demolding wheel 61, the demolding wheel 61 can push the movable base plate 32 upwards (separating the movable base plate 32 from the transverse plate of the limiting part 35), thereby separating the molded food (protein bar) inside the cavity of the mold module 30 from the inner wall of the cavity, thus achieving food demolding.

[0090] In another possible embodiment, the telescopic support rod 62 can also be vertically arranged on both sides of the demolding wheel 61 without rotational connection.

[0091] Preferred, such as Figure 8 and Figure 9 As shown, the bottom of the mold module 30 may be provided with two demolding guide rails 34, so that the demolding wheel 61 can roll to the center position of the bottom of the mold module 30 and push the movable base plate 32 upward at this position. The two demolding guide rails 34 can be arranged at intervals relative to each other in the width direction (movement direction of the mold module) of the mold module 30, and the extension direction of the demolding guide rails 34 can be the length direction of the mold module 30.

[0092] Specifically, the cross-section of the demolding guide rail 34 in the width direction of the mold module 30 (i.e., the direction of movement of the mold module in the conveying section) is a curved surface (the thickness of the guide rail is ignored in the figure and simplified as a curve). The gap between the two demolding guide rails 34 can be formed near the center in the width direction of the mold module 30. The size of this gap is related to the diameter of the demolding wheel 61 so that when the demolding wheel 61 pushes the movable base plate 32 upward, the moving distance of the movable base plate 32 is appropriate (i.e., it can effectively separate the molded food from the inner wall of the cavity of the mold module without it coming out of the mold module or causing the food to flip or deform).

[0093] To facilitate the relative movement between the demolding roller 61 and the mold module 30, the demolding guide rail 34 can be formed into a smooth curved surface (curve) with higher ends and a lower middle in the width direction of the mold module 30. The end of the demolding guide rail 34 near the center of the width of the mold module 30 is not higher than the bottom surface of the movable base plate 32 in its natural state (not lifted). It can be understood that the structure of this demolding guide rail 34 is beneficial for guiding the movement of the demolding roller 61 and for creating appropriate compression of the telescopic support rod 62, thereby generating appropriate thrust on the movable base plate 32 at the bottom of the mold module 30. Furthermore, the demolding roller 61 is less likely to jam with the mold module 30.

[0094] Preferred, such as Figure 8 , Figure 9 and Figure 11 As shown, a guide wheel 341 may be provided on the outer side of the demolding guide rail 34 in the width direction of the mold module 30. The axial direction of the guide wheel 341 is parallel to the length direction of the mold module 30 to further facilitate the entry of the demolding wheel 61 into the demolding guide rail 34. The diameter of the guide wheel 341 can be 6 to 24 mm. In the length direction of the mold module 30, the guide wheel 341 can be positioned near the center relative to the two side plates in the length direction of the mold module 30. For example, as... Figure 8 As shown, a pair of guide wheels 341 can be provided on each side of the mold module 30 in the width direction. The distance between the pair of guide wheels 341 can be less than the length of the mold module 30 (to avoid the side plate of the mold module) so that the guide wheels (341) can contact the demolding wheel 61.

[0095] Preferably, the movable base plate 32 can be a perforated base plate, which can form a porous structure, especially a relatively dense porous structure, so that when the food material is heated by the baking equipment 40, the liquid seeping out of the food material can be discharged through the holes. Figure 8 and Figure 11 As shown, at least one side plate of the cavity constituting the mold module 30 can be a side perforated plate 33 (exemplarily, in this embodiment, the side plates at both ends of the mold module 30 in the longitudinal direction can be side perforated plates 33). Multiple side plate holes 331 can be formed on the side plate 33, and these holes 331 can also be used to drain liquid seeping from the food material. Simultaneously, the side plate holes 331 facilitate heat transfer during the air-cooling process of the air-cooling device 50, and reduce the contact area between the material and the food during demolding, facilitating air entry into the cavity of the mold module 30 and reducing demolding resistance. It is understood that the food material used in this embodiment includes fibrous imitation meat products made from milk-based proteins. Compared to powdered materials, fibrous materials are less likely to overflow from the aforementioned holes.

[0096] Preferably, the height of the two sides of the side plate 33 can be from 10.9 to 69.8 mm.

[0097] Preferably, the width of the movable base plate 32 can be in the range of 20 to 100 mm, and the length can be in the range of 50 to 250 mm. The holes formed by the movable base plate 32 can be circular holes with a diameter of 1 to 3 mm and / or square holes with a side length of 1 to 3 mm.

[0098] More preferably, such as Figure 12 As shown, the side plate hole 331 can be elliptical. The major axes of two adjacent elliptical side plate holes 331 arranged in the vertical direction of the side plate 33 can form an included angle α. The preferred range of the included angle α is 120° to 138°.

[0099] More preferably, such as Figure 13 As shown, a side plate hole recess 3311 can be formed in the upper part of the side plate hole portion 331, and a side plate hole protrusion 3312 can be formed in the lower part of the side plate hole portion 331 (here, "recess" and "protrusion" are defined from the outer side of the side plate 33). A gap for the passage of gas or liquid can be formed between the side plate hole recess 3311 and the side plate hole protrusion 3312. The size of this gap in the thickness direction of the side plate 33 can be 2 to 5 millimeters. It can be understood that in a side plate hole portion 331, the side plate hole recess 3311 located at the upper part is closer to the inner side of the mold module 30 than the side plate hole protrusion 3312 located at the lower part. This structure can prevent material entering the mold module 30 from overflowing.

[0100] Preferably, multiple sets (preferably 2 to 8 sets) of demolding structures 60 can be sequentially and spaced apart along the transport direction of the conveying section 20 to form a demolding system. This allows the mold module 30 to pass through multiple demolding structures 60, effectively reducing the probability of demolding failure. It can be understood that when the mold module 30 forms a grid-like distribution, multiple sets of parallel demolding structures can also be set accordingly.

[0101] Furthermore, such as Figure 1 and Figure 7 As shown, the demolded food (protein bars) can detach from the conveyor section 20 at its downstream end and be transported (via another conveyor platform) to the packaging equipment 70 for packaging. The packaged food can then enter the sterilization equipment 80 (e.g., a sterilizing autoclave) for sterilization, thus completing the food production process of this embodiment.

[0102] Below are three embodiments of specific device parameters of this application.

[0103] Example 1

[0104] The movable base plate is 20mm wide and 50mm long, with holes that are either round holes with a diameter of 1mm or square holes with a side length of 1.2mm; the upper opening of the mold module is 25mm wide and 55mm long; the guide wheel 341 has a diameter of 6mm; the demolding wheel 61 has a diameter of 12mm; the included angle α is 120°; the side wall of the side hole plate 33 is 10.9mm long; a total of 8 sets of demolding wheels 61 are provided; the conveying section 20 is provided with 20 rows of mold modules.

[0105] Example 2

[0106] The movable base plate is 100mm wide and 250mm long, with holes that are either round holes with a diameter of 3mm or square holes with a side length of 3mm; the upper opening of the mold module is 105mm wide and 255mm long; the guide wheel 341 has a diameter of 24mm; the demolding wheel 61 has a diameter of 52mm; the included angle α is 138°; the side wall of the side hole plate 33 is 69.8mm long; a total of 2 sets of demolding wheels 61 are provided; the conveying section 20 is provided with 1 row of mold modules.

[0107] Example 3

[0108] The movable base plate is 30mm wide and 100mm long, with holes that are either round holes with a diameter of 2mm or square holes with a side length of 1.8mm; the upper opening of the mold module is 35mm wide and 105mm long; the guide wheel 341 has a diameter of 12mm; the demolding wheel 61 has a diameter of 24mm; the included angle α is 129°; the side wall of the side hole plate 33 is 16.4mm long; a total of 4 sets of demolding wheels 61 are provided; the conveying section 20 is provided with 8 rows of mold modules.

[0109] Demolding tests were conducted based on the three embodiments described above, and the test results are as follows.

[0110]

[0111] Demolding anomaly rate calculation method: For more than 1,000 food samples produced continuously, select abnormal food products that are broken, fractured or not properly demolded during the demolding process. Demolding anomaly rate = (number of abnormal products / total number of samples) × 100%.

[0112] The test results show that the technical solution provided by the embodiments of this application has an extremely low demolding abnormality rate, that is, it has good performance in production applications.

[0113] The following is a brief description of some of the beneficial effects of the above-described embodiments of this application.

[0114] The milk-based protein food production system provided by the embodiments of this application is particularly suitable for producing protein bars made from milk-based protein imitation meat products. The food production system is specially designed with an easy-to-demold mold module and a demolding structure, which can control the demolding abnormality rate of the food production system to a low level (less than 0.5%).

[0115] It is understood that, in this application, when the number of parts or components is not specifically limited, the number can be one or more, where multiple refers to two or more. For cases where the number of parts or components shown in the drawings and / or described in the specification is, for example, two, three, four, etc., this specific number is generally exemplary and not restrictive, and can be understood as multiple, i.e., two or more; however, this does not mean that this application excludes the case of one.

[0116] It should be understood that the above embodiments are merely exemplary and are not intended to limit this application. Those skilled in the art can make various modifications and changes to the above embodiments under the teachings of this application without departing from the scope of this application.

Claims

1. A milk-based protein food production system for producing protein foods, characterized in that, include: The equipment includes a pouring device (10), a conveying unit (20), multiple mold modules (30), a baking device (40), an air-cooling device (50), and a demolding structure (60). The conveying unit (20) is used to convey the mold module (30) through the pouring equipment (10), baking equipment (40), air cooling equipment (50) and demolding structure (60) in sequence. The mold module (30) forms a cavity for containing food materials. The mold module (30) includes a movable base plate (32) and a limiting part (35). The movable base plate (32) is disposed at the bottom of the cavity and is movable in the vertical direction. The limiting part (35) is formed at the lower part of the mold module (30) to prevent the movable base plate (32) from coming off from the lower side. At least a portion of the demolding structure (60) is disposed inside the conveying section (20). The demolding structure (60) includes a demolding wheel (61) disposed on the upper part of the demolding structure (60), and the demolding wheel (61) is capable of moving in the vertical direction. In its natural state, the top of the demolding wheel (61) is higher than the bottom surface of the movable base plate (32) of the mold module (30) containing food material; during the demolding operation, the demolding wheel (61) enters at least partially into the mold module (30) to push the movable base plate (32) vertically upward so that the molded food is demolded from the mold module (30); The mold module (30) also includes two demolding guide rails (34) disposed at its bottom. The two demolding guide rails (34) are spaced apart and opposite to each other along the width direction of the mold module (30), and extend along the length direction of the mold module (30). The demolding guide rail (34) forms a smooth curved surface with high ends and low middle in the width direction of the mold module (30). Furthermore, the end of the demolding guide rail (34) near the center of the width of the mold module (30) is not higher than the bottom surface of the movable base plate (32) in its natural state; The conveying unit (20) includes two drive belts spaced apart along the width direction, and the two ends of the mold module (30) along the length direction are respectively connected to the two drive belts; The demolding structure (60) includes at least two telescopic support rods (62), each telescopic support rod (62) is fitted with a spring (621), and both ends of the spring (621) are connected to the telescopic support rod (62). One end of the telescopic support rod (62) is connected to the demolding wheel (61) to provide an upward ejection force for the demolding wheel (61); The telescopic support rod (62) is rotatably connected to the demolding wheel (61) and the base of the demolding structure (60).

2. The milk-based protein food production system according to claim 1, characterized in that, The demolding guide rail (34) is provided with guide wheels (341) on the outer side of the mold module (30) in the width direction. The axial direction of the guide wheels (341) is parallel to the length direction of the mold module (30). The axial length of the demolding wheel (61) is less than the axial length of the mold module (30). The guide wheel (341) can contact the demolding wheel (61).

3. The milk-based protein food production system according to claim 1, characterized in that, The movable base plate (32) is a perforated base plate with multiple holes, the holes being circular holes with a diameter of 1 to 3 mm and / or square holes with a side length of 1 to 3 mm.

4. The milk-based protein food production system according to claim 1, characterized in that, At least one side plate of the cavity of the mold module (30) is a side hole plate (33), and the side hole plate (33) is formed with a plurality of side plate holes (331). The side plate hole (331) is elliptical, and the major axes of two adjacent side plate holes (331) in the vertical direction form an angle of 120° to 138°.

5. The milk-based protein food production system according to claim 4, characterized in that, The upper part of the side plate hole (331) forms a side plate hole recess (3311), and the lower part forms a side plate hole protrusion (3312), and a gap is formed between the side plate hole recess (3311) and the side plate hole protrusion (3312).

6. The milk-based protein food production system according to claim 5, characterized in that, The air-cooled device (50) is an air-cooled cleaning device, which includes multiple airflow nozzles (51) disposed on its upper layer and multiple liquid nozzles (52) disposed on its lower layer. The conveying section (20) is a belt conveyor, and the mold module (30) passes sequentially through the upper and lower layers of the air-cooling equipment (50) along with the conveying section (20). The plurality of airflow nozzles (51) are disposed on the upper layer of the air-cooling device (50) for spraying compressed air to cool the material inside the mold module (30); The plurality of liquid nozzles (52) are disposed on the lower layer of the air-cooling device (50) for spraying high-pressure water to clean the mold module (30) after demolding.

7. The milk-based protein food production system according to claim 1, characterized in that, Multiple sets of the demolding structures (60) are arranged at intervals along the transport direction of the conveying section (20), and the number of sets of the demolding structures (60) is 2 to 8.

8. The milk-based protein food production system according to claim 1, characterized in that, The materials used in the filling equipment (10) include fibrous imitation meat products made from milk-based proteins.

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