Cooling assembly for roasted plant-based bulk material, roasting assembly and method for operating a roasting assembly
Patent Information
- Application Number
- EP2023736660
- Authority / Receiving Office
- EP · EP
- Patent Type
- Applications
- Current Assignee / Owner
- Priority Date
- 2022-06-29
- Filing Date
- 2023-06-29
- Publication Date
- 2025-05-07
AI Technical Summary
The roasting process of vegetable bulk materials often results in the formation of embers that can impair the quality of the roasted batch and pose a fire risk in cooling arrangements, as existing cooling systems do not effectively detect or mitigate local overheating.
A cooling arrangement equipped with a temperature sensor, preferably a thermography camera, to monitor the bulk material surface for overheating, allowing for early detection and initiation of countermeasures, along with a control device to manage the roasting process and ensure quality, and a hood arrangement to facilitate air extraction and sensor placement.
The solution enables early detection of local overheating, preventing quality degradation and potential fires by allowing for targeted intervention, ensuring consistent product quality and safety through continuous monitoring and alarm systems.
Smart Images
Figure 1.1
Abstract
Description
[0001] DESCRIPTION
[0002] Cooling arrangement for roasted bulk vegetable material, roaster arrangement and method for operating the roaster arrangement
[0003] The invention relates to a cooling arrangement for roasted bulk vegetable material, comprising a cooling chamber for cooling the roasted bulk vegetable material, wherein a bulk material surface is formed in the cooling chamber. Furthermore, the invention relates to a roaster arrangement and a method for operating the roaster arrangement.
[0004] Cooling systems, as well as roaster systems with such cooling systems, are well known in the art. For example, German utility model DE 297 17 010 U1 describes a cooling system for hot-roasted coffee beans, cocoa, or nuts. Air is passed through a circular, rotatably mounted cooling screen on which the bulk material is stored, in order to cool the bulk material. The cooling chamber is provided in the area of a roasting device and, in the present embodiment, is drawn from the roasting device into the cooling chamber by centrifugal force after the roasting process is complete.
[0005] It is known that the roasting process creates embers in the roasted bulk vegetable material, which enter the cooling chamber of the cooling system after the roasting process is completed. In the least critical case, such embers impair the quality of the respective batch of the just-roasted bulk vegetable material. In the worst case, such embers can lead to a fire in the cooling system or a downstream unit. The object of the present invention is therefore to avoid the above-mentioned disadvantages in a simple and cost-effective manner.
[0006] This object is achieved by a cooling arrangement according to the invention in that a sensor arrangement with at least one temperature sensor is provided for monitoring the temperature of the roasted bulk vegetable material in the cooling chamber. This allows for particularly simple detection of local overheating that has a temperature above a predetermined threshold temperature. By detecting such local overheating at an early stage, appropriate countermeasures can then be initiated depending on the degree of overheating. It is also possible to separate the entire roasted batch of a roasted bulk vegetable material or just a portion of it in order to ensure a consistently high quality of the roasting process for a customer.
[0007] Particularly advantageously, the at least one temperature sensor is a thermographic camera, which makes it possible to take video recordings of the roasted vegetable bulk material in the cooling room and, if necessary, to archive them. In order to ensure flawless and, if possible, maintenance-free monitoring of the bulk material surface, the thermographic camera can advantageously have a purge air device. The purge air is guided laterally over the camera lens and acts like an air curtain. In this case, it can be advantageous if a spacer protective sleeve is provided in front of a camera lens of the thermographic camera in order to generate a piston purge air flow that is as cylindrical as possible. Particularly advantageously, a hood arrangement is provided above the bulk material surface, in which the at least one temperature sensor is integrated.The hood assembly defines the cooling chamber and allows for the targeted extraction of the cooling air, including any contaminants. It also offers a particularly simple mounting option for at least one temperature sensor. If the temperature sensor is designed as a thermographic camera, this should be located essentially on the side of the hood assembly facing away from the cooling device, with the spacer sleeve extending into the cooling chamber.
[0008] Particularly advantageously, a control device is provided for monitoring the cooling process. Such a control device serves to emit alarm signals or, if necessary, to abort a roasting process that has already begun. In this case, it may be advantageous for the control device of the cooling arrangement to be integrated into a control device of a cooperating roaster arrangement.
[0009] Particularly advantageously, the cooling chamber has a cooling screen for receiving the roasted bulk vegetable material and for passing cold air through it. The cooling screen allows for a sufficiently large bulk material surface, which is particularly easy to monitor using at least one temperature sensor.
[0010] The cooling arrangement advantageously comprises a circulation device with a tangential basic direction for the roasted bulk vegetable material. Such a circulation device can be designed in various ways. If a cooling sieve is present, the roasted bulk vegetable material can be circulated by a cooling sieve rotated by a drive device. It is also conceivable that a paddle device for circulating the roasted bulk vegetable material is provided as part of the circulation device. Due to the continuous circulation of the bulk material in a tangential basic direction, the temperature sensor can be designed such that only a partial area of the bulk material surface is detected. Due to the circulation, the entire bulk material is guided through this partial area during a cooling process.However, it is also conceivable that the bulk material is not actively moved and only lies on the cooling screen and is flowed through by cooling air.
[0011] Alternatively or additionally, it can be provided that the temperature sensor is movably mounted and can be driven by a drive device in such a way that different partial areas of the bulk material surface can be detected.
[0012] The object is also achieved by a roasting arrangement for bulk plant material with such a cooling arrangement, wherein a housing arrangement is provided which has at least one roasting device, a heating device for heating an interior of the roasting device, an exhaust gas cleaning device for discharging exhaust gases from the roasting device and a control device for monitoring a cooling process, wherein the cooling arrangement is provided in the region of at least one outlet opening of the roasting device.
[0013] The object is also achieved by a method for operating such a roasting arrangement, wherein, after completion of the roasting process, the roasted bulk vegetable material is fed into the cooling arrangement in such a way that a bulk material surface of the roasted bulk vegetable material is formed. This bulk material surface is monitored by at least one temperature sensor, and a signal is output by the control device in the event of local overheating. To avoid misinterpretation, different limit temperatures can be set for different cooling process durations.It is particularly advantageous here if a thermographic camera is provided, whereby after each completion of the roasting process by the control device, a cooling process is created in a data storage device or a database and a video from the thermographic camera is assigned to the cooling process. If a preset limit temperature is exceeded, the video is saved and the cooling process is marked. In particular with regard to quality monitoring, this allows for particularly simple detection of batches that may not meet the desired quality standard due to overheating. The marking can advantageously be carried out using different priorities, with at least a first and a second priority level being provided.In this way, for example, if the limit temperature is exceeded for a longer period, an alarm can be triggered, requiring a check of the roaster and cooling systems. If the limit temperature is exceeded for a very short time, this message can be stored merely as information, as it could be due, for example, to contamination of the cooling screen.
[0014] The invention is explained in more detail with reference to a drawing, which shows:
[0015] Figure 1 is a schematic representation of a roaster arrangement according to the invention,
[0016] Figure 2 is a detailed view of a hood arrangement of a cooling arrangement according to the invention, and
[0017] Figure 3 shows a detailed view of a sensor arrangement arranged in the hood arrangement from Figure 2. Figure 1 shows a schematic representation of a roaster arrangement 2 according to the invention, which is well known per se from the prior art. Such a roaster arrangement 2 has a housing arrangement 4, which has at least one roasting device 6, a heating device 8 for heating an interior space 10 of the roasting device 6, an exhaust gas purification device 12 for removing exhaust gases from the interior space 10 of the roasting device 6, and, in the present exemplary embodiment, a cooling arrangement 14 for cooling a bulk vegetable material to be roasted, here coffee beans 16. The unroasted coffee beans 16 are fed into the interior space 10 of the roasting device 6 via a hopper inlet 18. In addition, a control device 19 is provided, which controls and regulates a roasting process and a cooling process.
[0018] In the present exemplary embodiment, the cooling arrangement 14 according to the invention consists of a cooling device 20 with a cooling sieve 22 which is rotatable via a drive device (not shown in detail), onto which the bulk material 16, here the coffee beans, are poured via an outlet opening 24 of the roasting device 6, thus forming a bulk material surface 26. The cooling sieve 22, together with a hood arrangement 28, encloses a cooling chamber 30 into which cooling air is blown by a cold air device 31. The hood arrangement 28 consists of a first housing part 32, which is designed as a dome part, and a second housing part 34, which adjoins the cooling device 20 and thus delimits the cooling chamber 30. A bulk material outlet arrangement 36 is connected to the cooling device 20 in a known manner, and air discharge devices 38 are connected to the dome part 32.The cooling air is sucked in, drawn through the cooling sieve 22 and the coffee beans 16 in a known manner, and released via the air discharge device 38. In order to easily detect unwanted embers in the bulk material 16 and thus ensure a consistently high quality of the roasted bulk material 16 and also prevent damage to the roaster assembly or adjacent units, the present exemplary embodiment provides a sensor assembly 40 with a thermographic camera 42 as a temperature sensor in the dome section 32 of the hood assembly 28, which is connected to the control device 19 for control purposes. The thermographic camera 42 monitors the temperature of the roasted coffee beans by detecting the entire bulk material surface 26. Alternatively, several temperature sensors 42 can of course also be provided, each detecting only a partial area of the bulk material surface 26.The detected partial area of the bulk material surface 26 can also be selected such that, when the bulk material surface is circulated by a circulation device with a tangential basic direction, the entire bulk material surface 26 is guided past the temperature sensor 42. It is also conceivable that the temperature sensor 42 is movably mounted and can be driven by a drive device such that different partial areas of the bulk material surface 26 can be detected in each case.
[0019] Figure 2 shows a detailed view of the hood arrangement 28 with the mounted sensor arrangement 40. The temperature sensor 42, designed as a thermographic camera, is arranged at an angle in an opening 46 of the dome part 32 via a mounting plate 44 (see in particular Figure 3). The mounting plate 44 allows the thermographic camera 42 to be easily aligned with respect to the bulk material surface 26 to be monitored. Figure 3 shows a detailed view of the sensor arrangement 40, arranged in the opening 46 of the dome part 32. To protect the thermographic camera 42 and in particular a camera lens 50, a schematically illustrated purge air device 48 is provided. The purge air running perpendicular to the camera lens 50 is represented here by an arrow 52 and acts as a purge air curtain.
[0020] A method according to the invention for operating a roaster assembly 2 with respect to the cooling process now takes place as described below. After completion of the roasting process, the roasted bulk vegetable material 16 is fed into the cooling assembly 14, and in particular into the cooling chamber 30. A bulk material surface 22 of the coffee beans 16 is formed, which bulk material surface 22 is continuously monitored by the thermographic camera 42. Different limit temperatures are defined in the control device 19 for different cooling process durations. Thus, the limit temperature is 200°C for the first 30 seconds of the cooling process. Thereafter, the limit temperature is 150°C. If one of these limit temperatures is exceeded for at least 3 seconds during the respective cooling process durations, an alarm signal is issued, indicating local overheating, possibly caused by a hot spot.The video recorded by the thermographic camera 42 during the cooling process is saved and assigned to the cooling process of the respective roasting batch so that a separate quality inspection of this batch can be carried out again. If the cooling process runs without an alarm, the recorded video is overwritten. The control device 19 can, for example, also mark the cooling processes differently based on the duration for which the respective limit temperature is exceeded. These markings are then assigned different priorities, and only the first priority level triggers an alarm function, which then, for example, also directly triggers the roaster assembly 2. At a second priority level, this alarm is not triggered, and the operator is merely advised to perform a quality inspection of the roasting batch.
Claims
PRO BAT- Works of Gimborn Maschinenfabrik GmbH PATENT CLAIMS 1. Cooling arrangement for roasted bulk vegetable material (16) with a cooling chamber (30) for cooling the roasted bulk vegetable material (16), wherein a bulk material surface (26) is formed in the cooling chamber (30), characterized in that a sensor arrangement (40) with at least one temperature sensor (42) for monitoring the temperature of the roasted bulk vegetable material (16) in the cooling chamber (30) is provided.
2. Cooling arrangement according to claim 1, characterized in that the at least one temperature sensor (42) is a thermographic camera.
3. Cooling arrangement according to claim 2, characterized in that the thermographic camera has a purge air device (52).
4. Cooling arrangement according to claim 2, characterized in that a spacer protective sleeve (48) is provided in front of a camera lens (50) of the thermographic camera (42).
5. Cooling arrangement according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that a hood arrangement (28) is provided above the bulk material surface (26), in which the at least one temperature sensor (42) is integrated. Cooling arrangement according to claim 5 in conjunction with claim 4, characterized in that the thermographic camera is provided essentially on the side of the hood arrangement (28) facing away from the cooling device (20), wherein the spacer protective sleeve (48) extends into the cooling chamber (30). Cooling arrangement according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that a control device (19) is provided for monitoring the cooling process. Cooling arrangement according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the cooling chamber (30) has a cooling sieve (22) for receiving the roasted bulk vegetable material (16) and for passing cold air through it. Cooling arrangement according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it has a circulation device with a tangential basic direction for the roasted bulk vegetable material.Cooling arrangement according to claim 9, characterized in that the temperature sensor (42) is designed such that only a partial area of the bulk material surface (26) is to be detected. Cooling arrangement according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that. the temperature sensor (42) is movably mounted and can be driven by a drive device such that different partial areas of the bulk material surface (26) can be detected. A roaster arrangement for bulk plant material (16) with a cooling arrangement (14) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that a housing arrangement (4) is provided which has at least one roasting device (6), a heating device (8) for heating an interior space (10) of the roasting device (6), an exhaust gas cleaning device (12) for removing exhaust gases from the roasting device (6), and a control device (19) for monitoring a cooling process, wherein the cooling arrangement (14) is provided in the region of at least one outlet opening (24) of the roasting device (6).Method for operating a roasting arrangement (2) according to claim 12, characterized in that, after completion of the roasting process, the roasted bulk vegetable material (16) is fed into the cooling arrangement (14) in such a way that a bulk material surface (22) of the roasted bulk vegetable material (16) is formed, wherein this bulk material surface (22) is monitored by at least one temperature sensor (42), and in the event of local overheating, a signal is output by the control device (19). Method according to claim 13, characterized in that. Different limit temperatures are set for different cooling process durations. Method according to claim 13 or 14, characterized in that a thermographic camera (42) is provided, wherein after each completion of the roasting process by the control device (19), a cooling process is created in a data storage device or a database and a video from the thermographic camera (42) is associated with the cooling process, wherein if a preset limit temperature is exceeded, the video is saved and the cooling process is marked. Method according to claim 14, characterized in that the marking is carried out using different priorities, wherein at least a first and a second priority level are provided. Method according to claim 15, characterized in that the first priority level triggers an alarm function.