Method for upstream corrections of ice cream items along a production line

Abstract

Disclosed is a method for positioning ice cream items comprising a providing and positioning of a first ice cream item at a measuring location along a production line for producing ice cream products. Measuring a position of the first ice cream item at the measuring location along the production line for producing ice cream products and conveying the first ice cream item along said production line away from the measuring location. Then providing and positioning a second ice cream item at the measuring location along the production line for producing ice cream products, wherein the positioning of the second ice cream item is based on the measured position of the first ice cream item. Further disclosed is a system for using the method.

Description

METHOD FOR UPSTREAM CORRECTIONS OF ICE CREAM ITEMS ALONG A PRODUCTION LINEField of the invention

[0001] The present invention relates to a method and a system for upstream corrections of ice cream items along a production line.Background of the invention

[0002] In the production industry of ice cream products, it is critical to optimize the quality of the ice cream products to be able to deliver ice cream products with the correct amount of coating or the right amount of weight. It is also critically to optimize the yield of the ice cream products produced in production line to avoid too much waste of ice cream during the production and prevent breakdowns in the production line. Traditionally a lot of ice cream products are being discarded because of not being conveyed correctly along the production line. Another problem would be that the ice cream products would also not be suitable for sale due to an incorrect weight compared to the saying on the packaging. Thus, an adjustment of the production line of ice cream products which allows for effective production of ice cream products are highly desirable.Summary of the invention

[0003] The inventors have identified the above-mentioned problems and challenges related to producing ice cream products, and subsequently made the below-described invention which may increase the quality and yield of ice cream products.

[0004] The invention relates to a method for positioning ice cream items comprising; providing and positioning a first ice cream item at a measuring location along a production line for producing ice cream products, measuring a position of said first ice cream item at said measuring location along said production line for producing ice cream products,conveying said first ice cream item along said production line away from said measuring location, and then, providing and positioning a second ice cream item at said measuring location along said production line for producing ice cream products, wherein said positioning of said second ice cream item is based on said measured position of said first ice cream item.

[0005] In a preferred embodiment, the step of positioning a second ice cream item upstream to said measuring location along said production line for producing ice cream products, wherein said positioning of said second ice cream item is based on said measured position of said first ice cream item.

[0006] Thereby is provided an advantageous method of positioning ice cream items. The present method is advantageous for a number of reasons which will be described here below.

[0007] The term ice cream former is to be understood as a device for bringing a mass of ice cream from a freezer to a former outlet, where the ice cream is guided out of the former outlet. Between the freezer and the ice cream former outlet there may be additional machines and devices e.g., an ingredients feeder where nuts or other edible things may be added to the ice cream in the process. The ice cream former is both shaping and dividing the mass of ice cream into ice cream items. The ice cream former may be an ice cream extruder with a continuously flow of ice cream, where the mass of ice cream is being cutted outside of the ice cream former outlet to create the ice cream item. The ice cream former may be an ice cream filler where the flow of the mass of ice cream is being divided by a valve before the ice cream former outlet and the ice cream item is made before leaving the ice cream former outlet. The mass of ice cream may be multiple ice cream according to both colours and flavours which may be mixed, shaped and individual divided into ice cream items. The mass of ice cream may be a single flavour or a multiple mix of different flavours and / or colours. The mass of ice cream may also be with chocolate, caramel, fruit or other additional toppings or sauces, where the toppings or sauces may both be in the ice cream itemsor on the outside of the ice cream items. The ice cream former may typically comprise a long pipe for guiding the mass of ice cream from the freezer to the ice cream former outlet. There may be more than one freezer from which masses of ice cream is guided to the ice cream former. More than one freezer is used when an ice cream product with more than one type of ice cream is being made. A container with e.g., sauces may also be guided to the ice cream former, when the ice cream product is being made with sauces. There could also be a combination of multiple freezers and / or multiple containers with sauces to be added together in the ice cream former. It could be any combination of masses of ice cream and sauces that may be mixed in the ice cream former. The ice cream former may typically be placed above a conveyor or transportation surface when the ice cream former is shaping and individual dividing the mass of ice cream to ice cream items. The ice cream former may also move along the conveyor when ice cream items is an ice cream item bar type. The ice cream former outlet may also be horizontal or with an angle according to the horizontal plane. The ice cream former may also be used to fit a stick into either the mass of ice cream before being divided or an ice cream item which has been divided by e.g., a valve or cutter.

[0008] The ice cream former outlet may be a nozzle, where the nozzle is changeable according to what kind of ice cream item are to be shaped through the nozzle or is being made in the production of ice cream products. The ice cream former outlet may comprise more than one nozzle when more than one type of ice cream is being used. One of the nozzles in the ice cream former outlet may also be used for sauces. The ice cream former outlet may typically comprise more than one nozzle when the ice cream product is being made with more than one colour e.g., more than one type of ice cream, a sauce combined with ice cream or any combination of sauces and ice cream types. The multiple nozzles may also be capable of rotating around an axis to e.g., swirl the masses of ice cream in an ice cream container. The term ice cream former outlet is to be understood as the part of the ice cream former where the mass of ice cream is being shaped before leaving the ice cream former. The mass of ice cream may be divided before the ice cream former outlet when the ice cream former is a filler, or the mass of ice cream may be divided after the ice cream former outlet when a cutter is used to divide the mass of ice cream. The ice cream former outlet is shaped according to aspecific shape of an ice cream item which is to be made, e.g., an oval shaped ice cream item.

[0009] The term forming an ice cream item may be understood as the process where a mass of ice cream is flowing from a freezer to an ice cream former, where the mass of ice cream at the ice cream former is being shaped and divided into ice cream items at the ice cream former outlet when a divider is being used. The mass of ice cream may be divided both inside and outside of the ice cream former outlet and the mass of ice cream may be divided by using a valve or a cutter. The ice cream former outlet may comprise any shape or form depending on the specific ice cream item type which is to be formed. The ice cream item may also be formed from a nozzle outlet where a valve determines the amount of ice cream for the ice cream item instead of being cutted. The process of forming may typically start by shaping the mass of the ice cream and afterwards divide the mass of ice cream into ice cream items.

[0010] The term ice cream item may be understood as an ice cream item anywhere along the way of the production line until the end of the production line. The ice cream item is to be understood as the same ice cream item along the production line where the ice cream item may be refined and enhanced along the production line until an ice cream product is made. The first ice cream item may be defined as an ice cream item, e.g., when a cone is placed on the transportation surface, when a mass of ice cream is shaped and divided from the ice cream former, when a coating has been added, when a wrapping is added or anywhere along the production line.

[0011] The term ice cream item may be a container for a mass of ice cream, such as e.g., a cone, an ice boat, a biscuit, a cookie or anything other edible for receiving ice cream. The ice cream item may be defined as when the first part of the ice cream product is being placed on a transportation surface. This may be when e.g., a cone or a biscuit is placed in e.g., a hole or on a tray of a transportation surface before being filled with ice cream. The first part of the ice cream item may also be when a mass of ice cream is being shaped and individual divided and positioned on a transportation surface or in a non-edible up. The term ice cream item may be used until the final icecream product is made, which may typically be when an ice cream product may be at the end of the production line or ready for sale.

[0012] The term forming an ice cream item may also be understood as the process where e.g., a cone, an ice boat, a biscuit, a cookie or anything other edible for receiving ice cream is being placed at e.g., a transportation surface. The positioning of an ice cream item may therefore also be understood as positioning e.g., a cone or a cookie before ice cream may be added to the ice cream item. The positioning of a second ice cream item based on a first ice cream item may therefore be e.g., positioning of a container for a mass of ice cream, such as an ice boat, cone or a cookie.

[0013] The terms providing and position is to be understood as a sum of actions done before measuring a position of an ice cream item. Providing and positioning the ice cream item may be understood as providing an ice cream item from a first measuring location on the transportation surface to a second measuring location on the transportation surface downstream the production line. The providing and positioning may be understood as providing an ice cream item from an ice cream former to a transportation surface or from a gripping device to a wrapping foil location. The providing and positioning may also be understood as conveying from a first measuring location to a second measuring location along the transportation surface, where the ice cream item is being provided and positioned along the transportation surface to specific measuring locations. The providing and positioning for ice cream items may be anywhere along the production line.

[0014] The term measuring a position is to be understood as a position measured for the ice cream item at a place along the process line for making ice cream products. The measuring may be done after the ice cream items has been placed on the transportations surface, before entering a hardening tunnel, in the hardening tunnel, after leaving a hardening tunnel, at the coating location, at the wrapping foil, or any location along the process line for manufacturing ice cream products. The measuring of the position of an ice cream item may be done as an absolute measurement. The measuring of the position of an ice cream item may be done according to the position of the transportation surface, e.g., the edges of the transportation surface. The measuring ofthe position of an ice cream item may be done according to the position of one or more ice cream items placed on the transportation surface, where the one or more ice cream items may be from the same manufacturing lane or any of the other manufacturing lanes. The manufacturing lanes may have ice cream from different freezers, when producing the same type of ice cream items. The positioning of an ice cream item on a manufacturing lane may be used to upstream adjust the position of ice cream items on the same manufacturing and / or additional manufacturing lanes when producing the same type of ice cream items. The adjustment upstream of the position of ice cream items on additional manufacturing lanes may also be adjusting the position of ice cream items of a different type of ice cream items. The measuring of the position may also be according to a chain or pull system which conveys the transportation surface e.g., freezing plates for ice cream items which are locked according to the chain.

[0015] The measuring a position of an ice cream item is to be understood as the position in a three-dimension space according to x, y and z dimensions. The measuring a position of an ice cream item is also to be understood as the position according to roll around the first axis (e.g., x), pitch around the second axis (e.g., y) and yaw around the third axis (e.g., z). Roll, pitch and yaw may be referred to as a rotation of the ice cream item in any of the directions.

[0016] The term transportation surface may thus refer to whatever surface the ice cream items are positioned on, be it the conveyor as such; e.g. a conveyor belt or it may refer the surface of “loose” carriers such as plates, trays, wrapper foils or bowls. A conveyor may be understood as a conveyor where the ice cream items may be positioned on. The conveyor may be a band or belt for conveying the ice cream items. The conveyor may also comprise rollers with space between each roller. The conveyor may also include plates, trays, wrapping foil or bowls which are placed on a conveyer and conveyed, where the plates, trays, wrapping foil or bowls may form the surface upon which the ice cream items are conveyed. Carriers may e.g. include plates, trays, etc. upon which ice cream items are carried and the transportation surface is then regarded as the surface of the carriers carrying the ice cream items. The transportation surface may be driven by a chain or a pull system to e.g., convey plates, trays or bowls.The transportation surface may be the wrapping foil before the wrapping foil is divided and welded to fit for the one ice cream item. The wrapping foil may be in constant movement while the ice cream items are being positioned in the wrapping foil and when the wrapping foil is being welded and cut later in the process. The wrapping foil may also be in an indexing movement, where ice cream items are being positioned and then conveyed a distance before being welded and cutted, where the welding and cutting is also done while the transportation surface may not be moving.

[0017] The term ice cream item could be understood as a mass of ice cream manufactured prior to the ice cream former. The ice cream item type could be any of the following: ice cream, lemonade ice, water ice, popsicle, ice cream-sandwich, ice cream-cone, a lolly, gelato, frozen yogurt, granita, sorbet, kulfi, dondurma or any combination thereof. The ice cream item type could be in the size of a popsicle stick, a sandwich, a cone, an ice cream boat or an ice cream cake. The ice cream item type could further comprise other eatable parts like caramel, chocolate, fruit juice, eatable decoration, jam or any combination thereof. The ice cream item type could further be a vegan produced ice cream item. The ice cream could also be several different flavors of ice cream item and / or colours.

[0018] Furthermore, the ice cream item could comprise a stick, a container, a cone, or any other related part for holding the ice cream item when eaten. The parts related for holding the ice cream item when eaten could be of an eatable material like e.g., a waffle or cookie. The part related for holding the ice cream items could also be a noneatable like a stick or a cup of plastic or wood.

[0019] The ice cream item type could be an ice cream item type without any holding means which is only wrapped in paper or a box. The ice cream item types without any means for holding the ice cream item could be like a sandwich, a boat, a bar, or bites which would typically be eating by hand. The ice cream item type without any means for holding the ice cream item could also be in the size of a cake which would typically be eaten by flatware.

[0020] The term ice cream item cutter is to be understood as the device which individually separates the ice cream item from the mass of ice cream in, or out of, the ice cream former. It may typically by a wire which cuts through the mass of the ice cream and thereby makes the ice cream item. The ice cream cutter may also be a blade. The ice cream cutter may also be a valve when the ice cream is being filled into e.g., cones or boats.

[0021] The producing of the ice cream items may be understood as having a mass of ice cream inside a freezer, where the mass of ice cream is being guided to an ice cream former with an ice cream former outlet. The mass of ice cream could be one mass of ice cream or a mix of flavours and / or colours. In the ice cream former the mass of ice cream is being shaped and individually divided through the ice cream former outlet. The dividing may be by cutting the mass of ice cream and thereby an ice cream item is formed. When forming the ice cream item, the ice cream item may also be placed on a transportation surface, e.g., a conveyor. The ice cream item may be conveyed along an ice cream process line where the ice cream item may be e.g., cooled, covered in chocolate, wrapped in paper, a biscuit may be added or anything other related for processing ice cream items. At the end of the process line the ice cream item is fully manufactured and the ice cream item would therefore be labelled as an ice cream product.

[0022] It is advantageous to have a process for forming and positioning ice cream items correct on a conveyor or transportation surface in order to have a greater output of ice cream products.

[0023] It is advantageous to adjust the ice cream item upstream according to any location along the production line of ice cream items. The adjustment of ice cream items upstream may be advantageous to avoid ice cream items being placed out of position on a transportation surface. When the ice cream items may be out of position it could have the consequence that the ice cream items may e.g., slide of the transportation surface in the hardening tunnel or the ice cream items may not be gripped for coating later in the processing. By having the ice cream items in the correct position the outcome of number of ice cream products will increase. The ice creamitems may also be positioned correctly in the wrapping foil in order for the wrapping foil station to close the wrapping foil around the ice cream item. A measuring location may be understood as a location anywhere along the production line. The measuring location may simply be referred to as a location.

[0024] It is also advantageous to have upstream corrections of ice cream items in order to not make the same position-errors more than once. The upstream correction is more efficient than having a station for correcting e.g., misplaced ice cream items along a production line in order to secure the ice cream items e.g., being picked by the gripping tool for coating. The upstream correction may also prevent ice cream items from sticking to the conveyor before entering the hardening tunnel, which would make a downstream correction impossible.

[0025] The upstream correction of the position of ice cream items is also advantageous to get indication if the production may be drifting in a direction. The drifting could be that the ice cream items may drift a little bit closer to the edge of the transportation surface at a location along the production line. The correction at the specific measuring location could be adjusted or the position could be adjusted prior to that location by e.g., moving the ice cream former in a specific direction or rotating the ice cream former.

[0026] It is advantageous to adjust the position of ice cream items upstream to keep the production line for ice cream products running. The production could be kept running while the next ice cream item is being positioned based on the first ice cream item in order to have the correct position on the transportation surface.

[0027] It is advantageous to measure the position of ice cream item at a specific location and to correct the positioning before the specific location to keep the production running. It could prevent unintended stops or breakdowns for the production line and the production of ice cream products could provide a greater yield.

[0028] The measurements at different locations could also be advantageous in order to detect failures or defects upstream the production line. The measurement could then indicate if ice cream items are getting out of position at a specific location. The icecream items could take the defect into account prior to the specific location and thereby be conveyed further on in the correct position.

[0029] It is advantageous to adjust the position of ice cream item upstream in a production line for producing ice cream products in order to get higher quality of the ice cream products and a higher yield in the production. The benefits from adjusting upstream may start from preventing bad quality of the ice cream products to avoiding breakdowns in both shorter and longer time periods of the production line. The quality of the ice cream products may be better by adjusting the position of ice cream items upstream e.g., when placing an ice cream item in an AHS tongue for coating the ice cream item with chocolate. The positioning in the AHS tongue may optimize the coating of the ice cream item in order to coat the entire mass of ice cream and not too much of the stick of the ice cream item. The positioning of ice cream items in a wrapping foil may lead to a greater yield of the ice cream product e.g., when the cutter does not cut in the ice cream or the stick in the ice cream or may cut the wrapping foil open.

[0030] It is also advantageous to adjust the positioning of ice cream items upstream since a downstream adjustment may be impossible. The positioning of an ice cream item may e.g., be adjusted upstream which may prevent the ice cream item from freeze to the transportation surface and prevent the ice cream item to crack or be damaged when be lifted away from the transportation surface. The ice cream item may also be impossible to lift away from the transportation surface and an upstream adjustment may be made for the next ice cream items to come to ensure the ice cream items may be lifted from the transportation surface.

[0031] In a preferred embodiment, the said step of positioning said second ice crem item based on said first ice cream item position on a transportation surface is done by adjusting the position of an ice cream former.

[0032] The term adjusting the position of the ice cream former may be understood as displacing the ice cream former in a lateral direction or rotating the ice cream former. The lateral direction may be along the conveyor, perpendicular to the conveyor or anycombination thereof for the ice cream former. The term adjusting the position of the ice cream former may also be understood as turning or rotating the ice cream former around any of the three degrees of freedom axis (e.g,, yaw, pitch or roll). The ice cream may be rotated around a vertical axis or any of the two-horizontal axis. The term adjusting the position of the ice cream former may also be understood as changing the distance between the ice cream former and the transportation surface.

[0033] The positioning of ice cream items on the transportation surface may be understood as an absolute position along the production line for ice cream products. The positioning of ice cream items may also be understood as relative positioning according to a phase of the ice cream former, where e.g., a valve or a cutter shapes and individual divides the ice cream items. The relative positioning may keep the same position for ice cream items in relation to each other but at the same time moved the ice cream items e.g., a distance according to the phase along the transportation surface.

[0034] In a preferred embodiment, the said step of measuring a position of said first ice cream item on said transportation surface is done automatically.

[0035] In a preferred embodiment, the adjusting the position of said ice cream item is done automatically.

[0036] It is advantageous to have an automatically measuring and adjusting of the position of ice cream items on the transportation surface because the production of ice cream items may be kept running while the adjustment is being affected. The automatically adjustment is advantageous in that upstream adjustments can be made according to locations which may be out of sight for the workers along the production line. The errors according to positioning may be at a totally different location in the production line. An ice cream item which may be positioned incorrectly in the wrapping foil may be out of sight for the working standing next to the ice cream former. The worker may not know that ice cream items is being positioned incorrectly and would therefore not be able to make the adjustment. The automatically adjustment is also advantageous in adjusting upstream for something affecting the positioning of e.g., the positioning of the ice cream item in the wrapping foil. The upstreamadjustment may be done e.g., 40-60 minutes earlier in the process of making ice cream products. The adjusting of the positioning may e.g., be done on the other side of the hardening tunnel where the workers are unable to see and known what is going on in the production of ice cream products.

[0037] The automatically adjustment may also be advantageous in reducing the number of workers along the production line to make ice cream products. The automatically adjusting of the position of ice cream items may also be advantageous in the workers along the production line does not have to be as skilled in the art of producing ice cream items, when the adjusting of ice cream items is done automatically. The workers along the production line may position ice cream items or adjust parameters for the production line based on the information about ice cream items down the production line. The ice cream items down the production line may be out of sight for the workers and therefore the automatically adjustment is advantageous to help the workers, when the positioning of ice cream items is out of their knowledge.

[0038] In a preferred embodiment, the adjusting said position of said ice cream former is done automatically.

[0039] In a preferred embodiment, the adjusting said position of said ice cream former is done manually.

[0040] In a preferred embodiment, the adjusting the position of said ice cream former is done manually based on said automatically measuring of said position of said first ice cream item .

[0041] Advantageous to adjust the position of the ice cream former according to the measurement of the position and to positioning the ice cream items at the correct position. The automatic adjustment of the ice cream former is advantageous in keeping the correct position for the next ice cream items without having a person to displacing the ice cream former. The automatically adjustment could also be a phase change in e.g., the cutter or valve to displace all ice cream items along the transportation surface in the conveying direction.

[0042] In a preferred embodiment, the step of measuring a position of said first ice cream item triggers an alarm when said ice cream item is out of position.

[0043] It is advantageous to have an alarm indicating if an ice cream item may be out of position to know if the next ice cream item must be adjusted. The alarm may also indicate that any piece of hardware prior in the production line may be malfunctioning which provided the ice cream items out of position.

[0044] The alarm may also be triggered when e.g., the chain driving the long conveyor causing the chain to be elongated or stretched and thereby the chain may shift the position of transportation surface and thereby ice cream items out of position. The chain may typically be 500m and it may be difficult to adjust positioning according to the chain. The adjustment of positioning may typically be done according to e.g., edge of the trays in a more local adjustment compared to a global adjustment of the conveyor or chain.

[0045] In a preferred embodiment, the alarm is triggered when a manual upstream adjustment is to be made.

[0046] The adjustment may be on a specific hardware prior to a location on the production line or at a specific location along the production line for ice cream products. The manual adjustment is advantageous when e.g., a nozzle, valve or cutter may be broken at the ice cream former outlet and must be replaced with a new one. Wear and tear on the chain driving the long conveyor may cause the chain to be elongated and hence the timing of positioning the ice cream item may change.

[0047] In a preferred embodiment, a visual interface is indicating if an adjustment is to be made.

[0048] In a preferred embodiment, a visual interface is indicating how an adjustment is to be made.

[0049] In a preferred embodiment, a visual interface is indicating how much adjusting is to be made.

[0050] It is advantageous to have a visual interface to tell if an adjustment is to be made, how an adjustment must be made and by how much the adjustment must be made. The adjustment may be according to a positioning which is out of sight or at a location downstream the production line. The adjustment is for positioning the upstream ice cream items correctly on a transportation surface, where the adjustment may be of the ice cream item itself or any kind of hardware along the production line for ice cream products.

[0051] The term a visual interface may be understood as a tablet, computer or any kind of monitoring device for monitoring the production of ice cream products. The visual interface may be configured for telling if the position of the ice cream items are out of position and if any adjustments must be made to adjust the position for upstream ice cream items.

[0052] The term a visual interface may also be understood as a visual line, e.g., a laser and a scanner for the horizontal plane, which could show and indication the optimal position at a specific location based. The optimal position at the location may both be defined according to measurement of the position of ice cream items directly at the location and / or measurements of the position of ice cream items downstream the location. The visual line may be either static or dynamic, where the visual line may be adjusted according to measurements of the position of ice cream items downstream.

[0053] Repositioning of ice cream items and hardware are advantageous when positioning the upstream ice cream items to optimize the number of ice cream product produced. The repositioning of hardware may be understood as adjusting the position of e.g., an ice cream former by either displacing and / or rotating the ice cream former for correctly positioning the ice cream items. It may also be any other kind of hardware along the production line for ice cream products e.g., parts in the hardening tunnel, the coating device, the gripping device at coating location, the wrapping machine or any other device or machine which may affect the position of ice cream items.

[0054] In a preferred embodiment, the adjusting positioning of said second ice cream item by automatic repositioning of relevant hardware based on automatic measurements.

[0055] Relevant hardware may be machine for positioning trays, trays for placing ice cream containers, ice cream former, hardening tunnel, transportation surface, hardware for dosage of topping or sauces, hardware for placing a lid, stick inserter or any other hardware for production ice cream products.

[0056] It is advantageous to repositioning the hardware based on measurements in order to keep the ice cream items correctly placed on a transportation surface along the production line.

[0057] In a preferred embodiment, the adjusting positioning of said second ice cream item by automatic adjusting of control circuity of said ice cream former by repositioning of relevant hardware based on automatic measurements.

[0058] It is advantageous to automatic reposition the ice cream former when the ice cream items are starting to get out of position. The repositioning of the ice cream former may be if the nozzle has been changed to shape the ice cream items into another ice cream item type.

[0059] In a preferred embodiment, an ice cream divider is placed next to an ice cream former outlet of said ice cream former.

[0060] It is advantageous to have an ice cream divider placed next to an ice cream former outlet to individually divide the ice cream items. The ice cream divider may be placed both inside the ice cream former outlet or just outside of the ice cream former outlet. The ice cream divider may be a cutter in form of a blade, string, knife or any kind of tool for dividing ice cream. The ice cream divider may be a valve, where the valve is capable of dividing a mass of ice cream by closing the valve and thereby stopping the stream of ice cream and only let the divided ice cream item pass. The ice cream divider may also be placed next to the ice cream former outlet in anapproximately horizontal direction when e.g., the ice cream items may be an ice cream bar.

[0061] In a preferred embodiment, the adjusting said ice cream former outlet is done simultaneously and / or synchronized with said ice cream divider.

[0062] It is advantageous to simultaneously and / or synchronize the ice cream former outlet with the ice cream divider to keep dividing the ice cream items at the correct position. The synchronization of the ice cream former outlet and the ice cream divider is advantageous to control and adjust the position of ice cream items according to the phase along the transportation surface. The phase may be understood as a relative position on the transportation surface according to the position of the ice cream or in relation to the next ice cream in both upstream and downstream direction. The phase may be shifted a bit because of downstream ice cream items that may be drifting in a certain direction.

[0063] Adjusting ice cream former outlet may be understood as cleaning the outlet from ice cream residues or frost. When forming, shaping and dividing ice cream items in a ice cream former some of the ice cream may be left in the ice cream former, which may affect the positioning of ice cream items. The measuring of the position of ice cream item may indicate that the positioning of the next ice cream item has to be adjusted, which may be done by cleaning the ice cream former or removing leftovers from previous ice cream.

[0064] Adjusting ice cream former outlet may be understood as adjusting the temperature of the ice cream former outlet. The temperature of the ice cream former may affect the friction between the ice cream former and the mass of ice cream, which may affect the positioning of the ice cream item. It is advantageous to control the temperature of the ice cream former based on the positioning of the ice cream items in order for adjusting the positioning of the next ice cream items.

[0065] The speed of the transportation surface may also be adjusted at the ice cream former outlet location where the adjustment may be based on the positioning of ice cream items at e.g., the location at the end of the production line where ice cream itemsmay be packed in boxes. The workers packaging the ice cream items in boxes may be challenged in following the speed of the transportation surface, which therefore slow down the speed for the entire production line including the location at the ice cream former outlet location. The speed of the transportation surface may also be too slow and the speed of the transportation surface may be speeded up in order to adjust the positioning of the ice cream items upstream.

[0066] The temperature of the ice cream at the ice cream former outlet may be adjusted based on the positioning of ice cream items at the ice cream former outlet location or at any location downstream the ice cream former outlet location. It is advantageous to adjust the temperature of the ice cream when positioning the ice cream items on the transportation surface for getting a better quality and a higher yield of ice cream products. Further the ageing time of the mix used for ice cream items may be adjusted based on the positioning of the first ice cream item.

[0067] It is advantageous to control short and long term process tolerances in order to get a better quality and a higher yield of the ice cream products. The adjustment of the upstream ice cream item based on the position of a first ice cream item may be a deliberative process where multiple adjustments can be made, and where one or more adjustment is made but not necessarily all. All adjustment can be automatically compensated by automatic adjustments of the positioning of ice cream items.

[0068] In a preferred embodiment, the adjusting said ice cream former outlet is done simultaneously / synchronized with a stick inserter.

[0069] It is advantageous to adjust the ice cream former outlet with respect to a stick inserter to have the stick placed correctly in the ice cream item. The position measured on ice cream items may have drifted and the ice cream former outlet may have to be adjusted in order to place the next ice cream item correctly. When adjusting the ice cream former outlet it is advantageous to do that simultaneously and synchronized with the stick inserter in order to make the best ice cream product at the end of the production line.

[0070] In a preferred embodiment, the method comprises a step of dividing said ice cream item after being shaped in said ice cream former.

[0071] It is advantageous to shape the ice cream item and afterwards divide the mass of ice cream into individual ice cream items. The positioning of the ice cream item would not be affected by the shaping and thereby optimizing the positioning of the ice cream items.

[0072] In a preferred embodiment, the method comprises a step of dividing ice cream item after said ice cream item gets in contact with said transportation surface.

[0073] It is advantageous to divide the ice cream items after the ice cream items gets in contact with the transportation surface to place the ice cream item at the correct position on the transportation surface. It may also be advantageous when longer pieces of ice cream items are being formed to positioning by contact, shaping and dividing at the same time to control the position of the ice cream item.

[0074] In a preferred embodiment, the measuring a position of said second ice cream item and positioning a third ice cream item based on both first ice cream item and second ice cream item positions.

[0075] It is advantageous to base the position of upstream ice cream items on the position of more than one ice cream item. When basing the position on more than one ice cream item it may optimize the positioning according to e.g., drifting of the upstream ice cream items.

[0076] In a preferred embodiment, the measuring positions of a plurality of ice cream items and positioning an additional ice cream item based on the positions of said plurality of ice cream items.

[0077] In a preferred embodiment, the measuring the position of said first ice cream item is done according to a neighboring ice cream item.

[0078] Neighboring ice cream items may be ice cream items from the same manufacturing lane of ice cream items. The neighboring ice cream items may also icecream items placed on the same transportation surface and in an additional manufacturing lane of ice cream items.

[0079] In a preferred embodiment, the positioning of said second ice cream item is based on said measured position of a first ice cream item in an additional manufacturing lane.

[0080] In a preferred embodiment, the measurement of said plurality of ice cream item is measured in one or more additional manufacturing lanes and positioning said second ice cream item is based on the positions in said one or more additional manufacturing lanes.

[0081] In a preferred embodiment, the ice cream former is adjusted based on a measuring of said first ice cream item in an additional manufacturing lane.

[0082] In a preferred embodiment, the ice cream divider adjustment is based on measurements of an additional manufacturing lanes.

[0083] It is advantageous to measure the ice cream items in one manufacturing lane and provide and position ice cream items in additional lanes according to the ice cream item in the first lane to spare equipment for measuring. The equipment for measuring may be damaged due to the freezing environment and therefore it is advantageous to only measure the position of ice cream items in one manufacturing lane. The ice cream divider may also base e.g., the phase for dividing the ice cream items from the mass of ice cream from measurements of ice cream items in an additional lane.

[0084] In a preferred embodiment, the step of measuring said position of said first ice cream item is done in a horizontal plane.

[0085] The term horizontal plane may be understood as an absolute horizontal plane according to cartesian coordinates. The term horizontal plane may also be with respect to the transportation surface where the ice cream item is placed on. The horizontal plane may then be defined with a transportation surface point of view compared with the absolute horizontal plane.

[0086] It is advantageous to measure the position of the ice cream item in a horizontal plane to ensure the correct positioning of the upstream ice cream items.

[0087] In a preferred embodiment, the step of measuring said position of said first ice cream item is done according to rotation.

[0088] It is advantageous to measure the position according to rotation to upstream adjust the positioning of the next ice cream items. The first ice cream item may be rotated around a axis which is advantageous to adjust for the next ice cream item to ensure that e.g., the gripping arrangement may grip the ice cream item at that location along the production line.

[0089] In a preferred embodiment, the method comprises a step of measuring an amount of ice cream in a predetermined area to determine said position of said first ice cream item.

[0090] In a preferred embodiment, the step of measuring said position of said first ice cream item is used to determine other parameters from the production line of ice cream products.

[0091] Other parameters along the production line may be the temperature in or outside the hardening tunnel. The other parameters may also be the speed of the conveyor or the phase of the transportation surface, e.g., the edge of the tray. The other parameters may also be the temperature or weight of the ice cream items at different location along the production line, e.g., before / after hardening tunnel, before / after being dipped in chocolate, before / after being wrapped in foil or any other locations along the production line of ice cream products. The height of the tray or transportations surface may be a parameter which may be determined according to the position of the ice cream items. The height may e.g., change due to a bended transportation surface or tray, or the transportation surface may include frost or residues of ice cream which would affect the height.

[0092] It is advantageous to derive performance parameters from measuring the position of the ice cream items along the production line. Deriving the performanceparameters may include surface temperatures, temperatures at different measuring locations, air humidity, pressure, volume of frost / leftovers or any other related performance parameters to an ice cream production line.

[0093] In a preferred embodiment, the step of measuring said position of said first ice cream item is done simultaneously as said first ice cream item gets in contact with said transportation surface.

[0094] It is advantageous to measure the position of the ice cream items at the same time the ice cream item gets in contact with the transportation surface for a faster correction of the positioning for the next ice cream item.

[0095] In a preferred embodiment, the step of measuring said position of said first ice cream item is done prior to said first ice cream item gets in contact with said transportation surface.

[0096] It is advantageous to measure the position of the ice cream items at the same time the ice cream item gets in contact with the transportation surface for a faster correction of the positioning for the next ice cream item.

[0097] In a preferred embodiment, the step of measuring said position of said first ice cream item is done upstream a hardening tunnel.

[0098] In a preferred embodiment, the step of measuring said position of said first ice cream item is located downstream a hardening tunnel.

[0099] In a preferred embodiment, the step op measuring said position of said first ice cream item is located inside a hardening tunnel.

[0100] In a preferred embodiment, the step of measuring said position of said first ice cream item is located upstream and downstream a hardening tunnel.

[0101] The hardening tunnel is to be understood as a freezing tunnel where ice cream items are frozen. The hardening tunnel may also prepare the ice cream items for the coating process.

[0102] In a preferred embodiment, the step of measuring said position of said first ice cream item is done at AHS tongues location.

[0103] AHS tongues are to be understood as gripping devices holding the ice cream items in the ice cream item, e.g., in the stick of the ice cream item during e.g., a dipping process or a coating process. An AHS tongue is be arranged along a slat, where typically 24 tongues are aligned to grab 24 ice cream items at the same time. The positioning in the AHS tongue is important for the quality of the ice cream product e.g., when the ice cream items are being coated with chocolate or dry matter the position may define the amount of chocolate or dry matter used for the ice cream item. An ice cream item being positioned incorrectly in the AHS tongue may either not coat the entire mass of ice cream in the ice cream item or may coat to much of the ice cream stick of the ice cream item. The AHS tongue may further position the ice cream items in the wrapping foil where it is advantageous to have the correct position in the AHS tongue of the ice cream item. The AHS tongue may be gripping devices or suction heads for stick, cones, boats, biscuits, or any other related part for holding an ice cream item or the ice cream item itself.

[0104] In a preferred embodiment, the step of measuring said position of said first ice cream item is measured according to the position of said first ice cream item in a wrapping foil location.

[0105] It is advantageous to adjust the positioning of ice cream items in a wrapping foil to correctly positioning the ice cream items in a wrapping foil and to prevent the ice cream items from being positioned to close to e.g., a welding in the wrapping foil. When positioning the ice cream items in the wrapping foil correctly the amount of wrapping foil for the specific ice cream item may be optimized and therefore the total amount of wrapping foil is minimized. The correctly positioning of the ice cream items in the wrapping foil is also advantageous for when the wrapping foil is being welded to enclose the ice cream item without damaging the ice cream item.

[0106] In a preferred embodiment, the step of measuring said position of said first ice cream item is measured before the end of the production line.

[0107] It is advantageous to measure the position of the ice cream items in the packaging machine to adjust the positioning of the next ice cream item and thereby get a higher yield in the production of ice cream products. The adjusting of the position of the next ice cream item may also be advantageous in a higher quality of the ice cream product, where e.g., broken ice cream stick can be avoided.

[0108] The end of production line EOL may be understood as the part of the production line, where an ice cream item becomes an ice cream product ready for sale. Ready for sale may be individually ice cream products or a box with multiple ice cream products in the box and the box would be the ice cream product.

[0109] In a preferred embodiment, the step of measuring said position of said first ice cream item is measured at more than one different measuring location along the conveyor.

[0110] In a preferred embodiment, the forming and placing said second ice cream item is based on said plurality of measurements from said plurality of measuring locations along the conveyor.

[0111] In a preferred embodiment, the step of measuring said position of said first ice cream item is measured by more than one sensor when measuring said position of said first ice cream item at a measuring location along the conveyor.

[0112] It is advantageous to measure the position of the ice cream item at different locations along the production line for ice cream products to follow the position of ice cream item in the process. The positioning of ice cream item may be affected different at different locations and the positioning of ice cream items may be different according to location.

[0113] In a preferred embodiment, the measuring said position of said first ice cream item prior to said ice cream former.

[0114] It is advantageous to measure the position of ice cream item prior to the ice cream former because ice cream container e.g., cookies or cones, may need to be adjusted for the upstream ice cream items e.g., ice cream containers.

[0115] In a preferred embodiment, the measured position of said first ice cream item are automatically applied for at least partly adjustment of said positioning of said second ice cream item by means artificial intelligence, the adjustment being established by means of supervised machine learning.

[0116] In a preferred embodiment, the measured position of said first ice cream item are automatically applied for at least partly adjustment of said positioning of said second ice cream item by means artificial intelligence, the adjustment being established by means of non-supervised machine learning.

[0117] In a preferred embodiment, the measured data and said measured adjustable parameters are applied as training data for a machine learning model of said artificial intelligence.

[0118] In a preferred embodiment, the measured data, such as measured position and / or measured location data and / or said measured adjustable parameters, such as measured adjustable ice cream former parameters are applied as training data for a machine learning model of said artificial intelligence.

[0119] In a preferred embodiment, the measured data and said measured adjustable parameters are applied as training data for a machine learning model in combination with data defining ice cream item type of said artificial intelligence.

[0120] In a preferred embodiment, the measured data, such as measured ice cream item positions and / or measured locations and / or said measured adjustable parameters, such as measured adjustable ice cream former parameters are applied as training data for a machine learning model in combination with data defining ice cream item type of said artificial intelligence.

[0121] In a preferred embodiment, the measuring said position of said first extruded ice cream item is done by vision or camera.

[0122] In a preferred embodiment, the measuring said position of said first extruded ice cream item is done by infrared.

[0123] It is advantageous to use infrared for measuring the position of ice cream items when the measuring is done in a dark environment or where it may be hard to visual measure the position of the ice cream items.

[0124] In a preferred embodiment, the measuring said position of said first extruded ice cream item is done by ultrasound.

[0125] It is advantageous to use ultrasound for measuring the position of ice cream items when the measuring is done in a dark environment or where it may be hard to visual measure the position of the ice cream items.

[0126] In a preferred embodiment, the measuring said position of said first extruded ice cream item is done by MR (magnetic resonant)

[0127] It is advantageous to use magnetic resonant for measuring the position of ice cream items when the measuring is done in a dark environment or where it may be hard to visual measure the position of the ice cream items.

[0128] In a preferred embodiment, the measuring said position of said first ice cream item is done by micro waves.

[0129] It is advantageous to use microwaves for measuring the position of ice cream items when the measuring is done in a dark environment or where it may be hard to visual measure the position of the ice cream items.

[0130] It is advantageous to measure the position of the ice cream items with microwaves because of the possibility to change the wavelength of the microwaves. The wavelength may be change according to the environment or the location where the measuring of the position of the ice cream items may be done.

[0131] In a preferred embodiment, the measuring said position of said first ice cream item is done by a fiber-optic sensor.

[0132] It is advantageous to use fiber-optic sensors for measuring the position of ice cream items in a production line because of the small size of the fiber-optic sensor.The fiber-optic sensor may also be advantageous to use because of many sensors can be multiplexed along the length of a fiber. Moreover, optical fibres may very often be robust to environmental influence, both in terms of the optical fibre as a transmitter coupled e.g. to one or more controllers, but also when the sensor is coupled for “reading” optical inputs at one location (e.g. at relevant locations along the production line) and then using the optical fibre to transmits relevant optical inputs for interpretation at another location, e.g. where at the location of a one or more controllers. The use of optical fibres may thus serve the purpose of connecting more fragile circuitry, e.g. a controller, positioned in a more tempered and humidity controlled environment to a location where the environment is not so controlled, e.g. with respect to temperature and humidity.

[0133] In a preferred embodiment, the measuring said position of said first ice cream item is done by capacitive sensor.

[0134] In a preferred embodiment, the measuring said position of said first ice cream item is done by potentiometric positions sensor.

[0135] It is advantageous to measure the position of ice cream items with a camera or by vision to detect the position of the ice cream items either as an absolute value or in comparison with e.g., an edge of a tray, in relations to the edge of the transportation surface or relative to the chain or motor encoders.

[0136] In a preferred embodiment, the measuring said position of said first ice cream item is done by electromagnetic radiation.

[0137] The electromagnetic radiation may be in any kind of spectrum e.g., radio (radar), microwaves or infrared. The radiation may be advantageous to measure the position of ice cream items in cold environments like a production line for producing ice cream products.

[0138] In a preferred embodiment, the measuring said position of said first ice cream item is done by an inductive sensor.

[0139] It is advantageous to use an inductive sensor for measuring the position of an ice cream item along the production line to adjust e.g., the timing of the ice cream former.

[0140] Inductive sensors may e.g. be advantageously applied when a position of trays, cavities on trays, etc. is to be measured in a robust way as inductive sensors may be relatively insensitive to hoar frost which may easily occur in relation to most of the initial processing steps of an ice cream production line.

[0141] In a preferred embodiment, the method comprises a step of measuring a temperature of said transportation surface at said measuring location of said first ice cream item.

[0142] In a preferred embodiment, the method comprises a step of measuring a temperature of said first ice cream item.

[0143] In a preferred embodiment, the measuring of said temperature of said first ice cream item is done simultaneously with measuring said position of said first ice cream item.

[0144] In a preferred embodiment, the positioning of said second ice cream item is based on said measured position of said first ice cream item and said temperature of said first ice cream item.

[0145] It is advantageous to measure the temperature of the transportation surface and / or the ice cream item for optimizing the positioning of the next ice cream item. The temperature may be advantageous to measure and to control or adjust to ensure that ice cream item may be better suited for keeping the position along the production line. The ice cream item may change according to temperature and how good the ice cream items are for keeping the position along the production line. The amount of frost may be measured along with the temperature since it may affect the positioning of the ice cream items. The frost on the transportation surface may affect the positioning of the ice cream items due to the ice cream items may be sliding on the transportation surface.

[0146] In a preferred embodiment, the method comprises a step of measuring the weight of said first ice cream item with measuring said position of said first ice cream item.

[0147] In a preferred embodiment, the method comprises a step of measuring the density of said first ice cream item with measuring said position of said first ice cream item.

[0148] In a preferred embodiment, the method comprises a step of measuring the dimensions of said first ice cream item with measuring said position of said first ice cream item.

[0149] In a preferred embodiment, the method comprises a step of measuring one or more of the following parameters of said first ice cream item: weight, density, volume, temperature or any combination thereof, simultaneously with measuring said position of said first extruded ice cream item.

[0150] In a preferred embodiment, the step of positioning said second ice cream item is also based on said first ice cream item temperature, weight, volume, density or any combination thereof.

[0151] It is advantageous to measure more parameters than the position in order to control or adjust the position of the next ice cream items on the production line. The ice cream items may be depending on temperature, dimensions, weight, density, pressure or any other physical parameters in order to determine and adjust the position of upstream ice cream items. The position of the ice cream items may be depending on more than one parameter and therefore it is advantageous to measure and adjust according to other parameters to optimize the number of ice cream products in a production line.

[0152] It is also advantageous to measure the temperature of the ice cream former outlet since it affects the positioning of the ice cream item when the ice cream item is being provided by an ice cream former. The friction between the ice cream former outlet and the ice cream is affected by the temperature of the ice cream former outlet,which therefore may be advantageous to measure to adjust the positioning of ice cream items.

[0153] Another aspect of the invention relates to an ice cream production line comprising; an ice cream former for forming ice cream items, a conveyor for conveying ice cream items comprising a transportation surface, a sensor for sensing ice cream item position related data at a measuring location for measuring a position of an ice cream item on said transportation surface, said ice cream former being adjustable with respect to positioning of ice cream items on said transportation surface, a controller communicatively coupled with said sensor configured for automatic evaluation of measured ice cream items positions, the result of the automatic evaluation being automatically communicated to a user interface and / or a control of said ice cream former.

[0154] The adjustment of the position of ice cream items may be done automatically based on the automatic evaluation from the controller.

[0155] Such adjustment of the position of ice cream items may thus include how the ice cream products are formed by shaping and dividing into trays on a conveyor, both with respect to the geometric positioning of a relevant ice cream former relative to a transportation surface of a conveyor, items carried by the conveyor (e.g. trays), etc. The relative geometrical adjustment may thus be performed e.g. by means of actuators controlled by respective controller(s) on the basis of input received by the sensors.

[0156] Other automatic adjustment may be an automatic adjustment of the timing (may also be referred to as phase) of an ice cream cutter separating and providing individual ice creams items from the ice cream mass fed though an extruder. Thetiming may be controlled to ensure that the desired positioning of the ice cream items with respect to the longitudinal direction of the conveyor / the direction of movement of the transportation surface, e.g. in the form of ice cream items. In other words, if the position of the ice cream items needs to be corrected in the longitudinal direction on e.g. a tray, this may e.g. be done by automatically adjusting one or more cuts performed by the ice cream cutter, where a delayed cut / or a number of delayed cuts will result in one or more slightly thicker ice items and then fixing the cutting frequency again to the cut frequency setpoint. Such a slight automatic delaying and then a re-fixation of the cutting frequency will have the effect of automatically providing a slight offset in the opposite direction of the transportation surface of the conveyor, whereas the opposite is of course obtained by increasing the cutting frequency of one of more cuts if a slight offset in the direction of the transportation surface is desired.

[0157] Such automatic adjustment may also be performed e.g. if the result of the automatic evaluation is that the ice cream items are angled slightly with respect to the longitudinal direction of the transportation surface and an automatic adjustment may be obtained by automatically rotating the cutting arrangement in the Z-direction.

[0158] Other types of adjustment may include automatic adjustment of the freezing temperature of a freezer feeding an ice cream former, e.g. an extruder.

[0159] The above exemplified adjustment may e.g. be performed on the basis of input from a sensor located in the vicinity of the location where ice cream items are positioned on the transportation surface of the conveyor. It is however also possible to measure the ice cream item position at numerous other locations along the ice cream production line and other parameters / devices than the ice cream extruder / cutter may be adjusted.

[0160] One of several examples may include a measuring location at the output of a hardening tunnel, where the result of a measured dislocation of the ice cream items or e.g. the trays with respect to the conveyor may be compensated slightly by adjustment of the freezing temperature of the hardening tunnel. It should also be noted that such measured dislocation may be compared with other obtained sensor data from othermeasuring location and the resulting automatic adjustment may be the regulation of several parameters of one or several devices along the ice cream production line. Another of several examples may include a measuring location at the wrapping foil, where the positioning of a first ice cream items is measured, and a second ice cream item may be adjusted in the positioning based on the position of the first ice cream item.

[0161] In a preferred embodiment, the ice cream production line above using the method disclosed in any of the above paragraphs.

[0162] In a preferred embodiment, the ice cream production line comprises one or more sensor.

[0163] In a preferred embodiment, the ice cream production line comprises user interface.The drawings

[0164] Various embodiments of the invention will in the following be described with reference to the drawings where:Fig. la-lb Ice cream item positioning,Fig. 2 Ice cream production line,Fig. 3a-3b Production line comprising ice cream former, sensor and controller,Fig. 4 Manufacturing lanes and sensors,Fig. 5 Ice cream filler,Fig. 6 Wrapping foil,Fig. 7 Production line with ice cream items made before hardening tunnel,Fig. 8-10 Al-systemFig. 11 shows a block diagram of the process of making ice cream products according to an embodiment of the invention, and whereFig 12a-b illustrates a freezer / Ice cream former according to an embodiment of the invention.Detailed description

[0165] Fig. la illustrates the principle of a manual upstream adjustment UMA of the positioning of ice cream items ICI facilitated by an automatic measuring of a position of a first ice cream item FICI at a first measuring location LOC.

[0166] Fig. la thus illustrates a measuring location LOC of a production line PL. The production line may include further measuring location (not shown).

[0167] At the measuring location LOC, the position of a first ice cream item FICI is measured by means of one or more sensors. The at least one sensor is communicatively coupled to an associated controller configured for evaluation of whether the positioning of the first ice cream item is as desired. This may be automatically evaluated in numerous different ways by different types of algorithm s / and settings by the associated controller CCS, and the result of the evaluation may be communicated to an operator via a user interface UI, e.g. including warning signs, displays, visual and / or audio guidance, etc, thereby facilitating an operator may adjust the production line upstream to the measuring location, thereby facilitating that the positioning of the ice cream items may be adjusted upstream to the measuring location by assisted manual adjustment. An operator may thus e.g. be warned that the ice cream positioning has to be adjusted upstream or the operator may in some embodiments also automatically receive more specific guidance as to how the production line may be adjusted. In further embodiments, the user interface UI may simply just continuously output deviation of ice cream items, thereby leaving it to the discretion of the operator to decide when and if adjustment is needed upstream and to what degree. The conveying direction COND is indicated by an arrow.

[0168] Fig. lb illustrates the principle of an automatic upstream adjustment of the positioning of ice cream items ICI facilitated by an automatic measuring of a position of a first ice cream item at first a measuring location.

[0169] Fig. lb thus illustrates two measuring locations LOC of a production line PL.The production line may include further measuring location (not shown).

[0170] At the measuring location LOC, the position of a first ice cream item FICI is measured by means of one or more sensors. The at least one sensor is communicatively coupled to an associated controller CCS configured for evaluation of whether the positioning of the first ice cream item is as desired. This may be automatically evaluated in numerous different ways by different types of algorithms / and settings by the associated controller, and the result of the evaluation may be communicated to a controller, where the controller may adjust the production line upstream to the measuring location, thereby facilitating that the positioning of the ice cream items may be adjusted upstream to the measuring location by an automatic adjustment. In further embodiments, the controller may simply just continuously receive measured positions of ice cream items at the measuring location LOC to continuously adjust the position of upstream ice cream items in the production line in a loop-cycle where a position is measured and maybe an adjustment to the ice cream position is made. The measured deviation of ice cream item positions, thereby leaving it to the discretion of the controller to decide when and if adjustment is needed upstream and to what degree. The positions of ice cream items may be measured at multiple measuring locations as illustrated with two measuring location LOC, but not limited too two locations, and the adjustment of the upstream ice cream item positioning may be based on one or more of the measured ice cream items positions.

[0171] The controller CCS is communicatively coupled with an ice cream processing unit ICPU to make the upstream adjustments of the ice cream item properties. The ice cream processing unit ICPU may be any kind of units for processing ice cream e.g., freezer, ice cream former or mixer.

[0172] Fig. 2 system illustrates the principles of an optional layout of a production line for ice cream products having an ice cream hardening tunnel HT applied according to an embodiment within the scope of the invention. An illustrated production line PL comprising a transportation surface TSU extending from four freezers F and four ice cream formers ICF through the hardening tunnel HT to gripping arrangement GRA where the ice cream items can be coated and further to a wrapping foil station (notshown). Each ice cream former ICF makes a manufacturing lane (not shown) of ice cream items and therefore production line PL is illustrated in the figure comprises four manufacturing lanes of ice cream items (not shown) but may not by limited to four manufacturing lanes. The transportation surface being movable in a direction indicated by associated arrows by an automatic adjustable drive system (not shown) under the control of a cooling control system CCS. Along the transportation surface a plurality of measuring locations LOC is provided for measuring the position of ice cream items and communicatively send the measured positions to the cooling control system CCS. The measuring locations LOC along the production line PL are not limited to these locations but may be placed at any location along the production line.

[0173] One or more of the individual measuring location LOC may establish the relevant measurements and then the measured data may be applied as a basis for an upstream correction. In other words, a controller of the production line controlling the adjustment of ice cream item positions may be fed with measurement data from one or more measuring locations and thereby be configured for the adjustment of ice cream positioning based on data from one or more measuring locations.

[0174] Moreover, data from one measuring location may be fed to not only one location, e.g. an ice cream former, but also to controllers relevant for other adjustment locations (i.e. devices to be controlled) of the process.

[0175] The cooling control system CCS may also be referred to as a controller or control system.

[0176] Moreover, the ice cream hardening tunnel HT includes an adjustable cooling arrangement (not shown) also controlled by the cooling control system CCS controlling cooling temperature and optionally also adjustably controlling air flow within the hardening tunnel HT.

[0177] It should be noted that the cooling control system CCS may be a singular arrangement or a number of co-functioning controllers. The illustrated cooling control system CCS is communicatively coupled with an user interface UI by means of which an operator has access to modify positions of ice cream items ICI along the productionline PL or any devices related to positioning ice cream items ICI at the production line for ice cream products on the basis of the position of ice cream items. It is thus noted that many state of the art production line for ice cream products may be controlled according to the invention only with an addon measuring position of the ice cream item along the production line, upstream, thereby making it possible for an operator, or the control system, making timely adjustment of the positioning of ice cream items by modifying the production line parameters.

[0178] Upstream US the hardening tunnel HT ice cream items may be positioned on the transportation surface TSU by an ice cream item former, here in the form of four individual stations connected to a mixer MIX, a freezers F, an ingredients feeder typically between a freezer and ice cream former, ice cream formers, stick inserters and / or a cutter, thereby facilitating a continuous and automatic placement of ice cream items (not shown) on the transportation surface TSU prior to being transported along the production line. One freezer may be connected to four ice cream formers (not shown) when producing a ice cream product with one type of ice cream. Two or more freezers may also be connected to one ice cream former (not shown) for making an ice cream product comprising two or more different types of ice cream, e.g., when making an ice cream product with vanilla and strawberry ice cream.

[0179] The mixer MIX mixes ingredients relevant for the recipe of the ice cream items to be produced and the freezers F provides the desired extruding temperature for the applied ice cream formers ICF of the ice cream item ICI positioning system IIP.

[0180] Inside the ice cream hardening tunnel HT the transportation surface TSU extends through the hardening tunnel HT so as to facilitate a cooling of the ice cream items ICI from a temperature the ice creams items may have upstream the tunnel, to a temperature of the ice cream items which is lower when the ice cream items leaves the ice cream hardening tunnel HT downstream DS the hardening tunnel HT.

[0181] The length of the transportation surface TSU, the cooling applied by the cooling system (not shown) including optional internal ventilation, movement of cool air within the hardening tunnel HT, the speed of the transportation surface TSU, etcwill determine the resulting cooling from one temperature, e.g. minus 5 degrees Celsius to e.g. minus 18 degrees Celsius, measured as core temperature.

[0182] Some of these parameters are referred to as adjustable tunnel parameter, and these adjustable tunnel parameters may be adjusted manually and / or automatically.

[0183] Fig. 2 illustrates a downstream output of a hardening tunnel controlled within the scope of the invention. An ice cream hardening tunnel HT has an exit of the hardening tunnel HT through which a transportation surface TSU extends towards an ice cream item transferring system via an optional ice cream loosener LOS. In the present embodiments, the transportation surface TSU is implemented to transport ice cream items ICI on conveyor plates or trays. The transportations surface is moving in the direction of the arrows during operation. If a reference to a transportation surface TSU is made, the reference will be made with respect to a / the surface of the conveyor plates or trays if such plates are applied. If, the conveyor transports the ice cream items ICI directly on the conveyor elements, a transportation surface TSU is to be understood as the surface upon which the ice cream items are conveyed. Other implementations of the conveyor may thus of course be applicable within the scope of the invention, with or without “loose” plates or trays positioned on the top of the underlying conveyor, although easy removal plates / trays / etc are advantageous as these may easily be positioned and removed on the conveyor and easy to clean in a run-time environment. Furthermore, it will be easier to make format changes, if for instance the removal plates / trays / are specifically designed / formed to carry or keep specific ice cream item types (e.g. if ice cream items are carried in “pockets”). The illustrated embodiment includes a core temperature measuring system CMS, here placed just outside the hardening tunnel HT.

[0184] Fig. 3a illustrates a first embodiment of the invention.

[0185] A part of a production line PL for ice cream products is shown in fig 3a with three lanes of ice cream items ICI. The three lanes of ice cream items ICI are placed on a transportation surface TSU, where the transportation surface TSU in this embodiment is illustrated as trays. It should be noted that transportation surface TSUmay be any kind of surface for conveying ice cream items ICI along a production line PL. The transportation surface TSU is being conveyed by a conveyor in this embodiment of the invention, but the transportation surface TSU may in another embodiment of the invention be the conveyor itself.

[0186] The first two lanes of ice cream items ICI are being shaped and divided by ice cream formers (not shown) at an earlier stage of the production line PL. The third lane of ice cream items ICI are being shaped and divided in an ice cream former ICFI placed above a transportation surface TSU as shown in fig. 3a. The ice cream former ICF illustrated in the figure is an ice cream extruder but in another embodiment of the invention it may be an ice cream valve with a nozzle for forming ice cream items. The ice cream former ICF comprises an ice cream former outlet (not shown) and an ice cream former inlet ICFI. The ice cream former inlet ICFI is connected to a freezer (not shown) and the mass of ice cream enters the ice cream former ICF through the ice cream former inlet ICFI. The mass of ice cream may be shaped and divided through the ice cream former ICF and processed through the ice cream former outlet (not shown) to the transportation surface TSU. The ice cream former ICF may be any kind of device where a mass of ice cream is being shaped and divided into ice cream items ICI. The ice cream former ICF comprises a stick inserter STI and is connected to a freezer (not shown) by an ice cream former inlet ICFI. The freezer (not shown) provides a mass of ice cream to the ice cream former in order to shape and divide the ice cream items. The mass of ice cream is being shaped inside the ice cream former and divided by a cutter (not shown). The cutter (not shown) is placed below the ice cream former and below the ice cream former outlet (not shown) outside of the ice cream former ICF. The mass of ice cream leaves the ice cream former ICF by the ice cream former outlet (not shown), where the cutter (not shown) divides the mass of ice cream into ice cream items ICI. The ice cream former ICF provides and positions ice cream items ICI to the third lane along the production line PL. In another embodiment a valve (not shown) is used to divide the mass of ice cream, where the valve is typically placed inside the ice cream former ICF.

[0187] The fig. 3a also illustrates the transportation surface TSU providing and positioning ice cream items ICI along the production line PL. The transportation surface TSU may provide and position ice cream items ICI to specific measuring locations LOC along the production line. The measuring locations LOC is depictured here as the same locations as the sensors SENS, where the position of ice cream items ICI is measured. The measuring locations LOC may be any location along the production line PL and is not limited to the transportation surface TSU, as the location could be in a gripping device (not shown), wrapping foil (not shown) or any other location along the production line PL.

[0188] The production line PL comprises two sensors SENS illustrated in fig. 3a is measuring the position of the ice cream items ICI. The position may be measured as an absolute position or as a relative position to e.g., the edge of the transportation surface TSU or an encoder on the drive system, the neighboring ice cream item ICI in the same manufacturing lane MAL, the neighboring ice cream item in the additional manufacturing lane AMAL or a predetermined area of the transportation surface TSU. The two sensors SENS illustrated in fig. 3a may both measure the position of ice cream items ICI, where one of the sensors may measure the position of the ice cream items ICI in a plane according to the transportation surface TSU and the other sensor may measure a rotation, angle, or any other kind of positioning of the ice cream items ICI. The production line PL is not limited to two sensors but may have any number of sensor along the production line PL for measuring the position of ice cream items ICI. The sensors are not limited to a specific type of measuring the position of ice cream items.

[0189] The production line PL further comprises a controller CCS which comprises buttons and a visual interface UI placed on top of the controller CCS. The visual interface UI may in another embodiment of the invention be a screen or monitor for showing the status of the production line. The visual interface UI may also be understood as a user interface UI. The visual interface UI may be used to indicate the processing of the ice cream items ICI and if the positioning of the ice cream items ICI is correct or need to be adjusted. The visual interface UI could be showing a greenlight if the positioning of the ice cream items ICI located at the sensor SENS is good. The visual interface UI could be showing a yellow or red light if adjustments are to be made for the positioning of the ice cream items ICI in order to get the correct position of ice cream items ICI at the sensor SENS and / or measuring location LOC. The adjustment could be made for the ice cream former ICF by the controller CCS automatically or the adjustment may be done by a worker by adjusting the ice cream former ICF with the controller CCS. The visual interface UI may indicate if adjustment is to be made on the positioning of ice cream items ICI based on measurements from a plurality of locations LOC downstream the production line PL.

[0190] Fig. 3b illustrates the same ice cream former ICF as shown in fig. 3a placed above a transportation surface TSU with two additional manufacturing lanes AMAL and the ice cream former ICF providing and positioning ice cream items ICI on the transportation surface TSU and making the manufacturing lane MAL. One lane of ice cream items ICI is referred to as a manufacturing lane MAL and the other two lanes are referred to as additional manufacturing lanes AMAL. When referring to the manufacturing lane and / or additional manufacturing lanes the referring is made to the manufacturing lane MAL where the measuring of a specific ice cream item ICI is being made. The manufacturing lane MAL is from the perspective of the ice cream item ICI where the position of the ice cream item ICI is measured. Three ice cream item positions could be measured at the same time where the lanes would be referred to according to the ice cream items ICI.

[0191] Fig. 4 illustrates a part of the same production line for ice cream products as in fig. 3a. The production line PL comprises a transportation surface TSU where three manufacturing lanes of ice cream items ICI are being conveyed. The transportation surface TSU are conveying the ice cream items ICI into a hardening tunnel HT. The transportation surface TSU is configured for providing and positioning the ice cream items ICI along the production line PL to different measuring locations LOC. The production line PL further comprises two sensors SENS for measuring the position of the ice cream items ICI. The location of the two sensor SENS is illustrated as the same place as two measuring locations LOC in the figure, but the measuring locations LOCmay be anywhere along production line PL. Fig. 4 further illustrates that the transportation surface TSU is a plurality of trays placed on a chain (not shown) but the transportation surface TSU is not limited to trays. The conveying direction COND is indicated by an arrow in the figure.

[0192] Fig. 5 illustrates a part of the production line PL with an ice cream filler FILL and a transportation surface TSU configured for holding ice cream items ICI, e.g., a cone ICI. The ice cream filler FILL is illustrated with 8 tubes from which a mass of ice cream (not shown) is being conveyed through the ice cream former outlet ICFO to the transportation surface TSU, where the transportation surface is illustrated with 8 pockets holes for ice cream items ICI. The ice cream filler FILL and the transportation surface TSU are not limited to 8 tubes / ice cream former outlets ICFO and pockets, but may have any number of tubes / ice cream former outlets ICFO and pockets according to production line PL. The number of tubes / ice cream former outlets ICFO and pockets will typically correspond to the number of manufacturing lanes MAL in the production line PL. One of the tubes of the ice cream filler FILL is illustrated with an ice cream former outlet ICFO which is placed inside an ice cream item ICI, here illustrated as an ice cream cone ICI. The ice cream former outlet ICFO may also be used for e.g., biscuits, boats, or any other ice cream item ICI, where a mass of ice cream is to be added. The positioning of the ice cream items ICI may be measured at a measuring location LOC, where the measuring location LOC is located at the same place as the ice cream filler FILL. The position of the ice cream items ICI may also be measured both upstream and downstream at measuring location LOC placed on either side of the ice cream filler ICFI in a conveying direction COND. The conveying direction COND is indicated by an arrow in the figure.

[0193] Fig. 6 illustrates the device on the production line PL where the ice cream items ICI are being wrapped in a wrapping foil WRF. The ice cream items ICI are being provided and positioned by a gripping device (not shown) or an AHS tongue (not shown) to the wrapping foil WRF. The figure illustrates 8 manufacturing lanes MAL, where the ice cream items ICI are being provided and positioned in individually wrapping foils WRF. The position of the ice cream items ICI in the wrapping foil WRFis measured by a sensor SENS, where the location for measuring the position of the ice cream items ICI is a measuring location LOC. The wrapping foil WRF is being shaped around the ice cream item ICI to enclose the ice cream item ICI. The conveying direction COND is indicated by an arrow in the figure.

[0194] Fig. 7 “Premade ice cream items before Hardening tunnel” illustrates an embodiment of the invention where a production line PL comprising a hardening tunnel HT. The production line PL comprises a transportation surface TSU where the transportation surface TSU is illustrated from upstream the ice cream formers ICF and continues along the production line PL through the hardening tunnel HT to a working table WT. The production line PL is illustrated as seen from above, where the ice cream item typically is almost a complete ice cream product before entering the hardening tunnel HT. A packaging station PACK is illustrated at the end of the production line PL, where individually ice cream products may be packed for another type of ice cream product, e.g., a box with multiple of individually ice cream products. The different devices and measuring locations along the production line PL may not be limited to the illustrated embodiment of the invention but may be placed in numerous ways to get a better quality of the ice cream products or a higher yield.

[0195] It should be stressed that the control based on measured ice cream item positions may be performed analytically, e.g. based on desired ice cream item positions upstream, but other control algorithms may also be applied within the scope of the invention, in particular by reacting to development of ice cream item e.g. by means of P control, PID control loops, I control loops, etc.

[0196] An advantageous control may also be applied by means of artificial intelligence, e.g. by use of supervised or non-supervised machine learning, where the control is based on measured ice cream item positions as an input.

[0197] Artificial intelligence may also be applied for actively providing an alarm or issuing guidance to an operator in order to facilitate an improved handling of the upstream positioning of ice cream items based on a first ice cream item position.

[0198] Various advantageous ways of control have been described, including, e.g., control based on PID control loops. However, control based on artificial intelligence may also be applied. Notice that various types of machine learning control may be applied. E.g., machine learning control may be applied to approximate a nonlinear mapping from measured sensor data (sensor signals) to control signals or actuation commands. In this case, various types of neural network models may, e.g., be applied. The control may also be handled as a regression problem, wherein machine learning control may provide control of the adjustable production line parameters based on minimization of a cost function, e.g., a measured control performance. Furthermore, the control may advantageously be implemented based on reinforcement learning. Advantageously, reinforcement learning may enable the performance of the control to be optimized over time based on feedback from the measured data and rewards. Moreover, reinforcement learning may be highly adaptable to changes in the conditions of a system, which is advantageous. Altogether, non-limiting examples of algorithms that may be employed for control includes neural network, genetic algorithm based control, genetic programming control, reinforcement learning, regression trees, linear regression and non-linear regression models etc.

[0199] Advantageously, the machine learning models may be able to adapt to conditions to achieve optimal control, while other classical non-machine learning based control methods require preset parameters, and so these may be less adaptable to, e.g., changing conditions.

[0200] In an advantageous embodiment of the invention, control is based on a recurrent neural network model. This is advantageous in that the recurrent neural network model may learn dependencies between time steps of data. Hence, the model is able to apply control not only based on current knowledge of measured data, but based on sequential dependencies between adjustable production line parameters and actual measured data. This may provide more accurate and robust control.

[0201] Fig. 8 illustrates a schematical example of a control system CSY which may be part of an ice cream production line controller or a part of one of several controllers of an ice cream production line, such as a cooling control system described in fig. 2.The control system CCS is based on machine learning according to an embodiment of the invention. The system comprises a machine learning control model MLCM configured to output adjustable production line parameters, e.g., as disclosed in any of the figures and text included in this application. The sensor(s) SENS may be configured to measure measuring data MD (notably here including the position of ice cream items), and a comparator unit CU. The comparator unit CU is configured to compare one or more received set point(s) SP, with measuring data MD e.g., the position of ice cream items received from the sensor(s) SENS. The set point SP may e.g., be a desired ice cream item position. The comparator unit CU compares the set point(s) with the received measuring data MD to provide a measure of error between the two, to the machine learning control algorithm. The setpoint may, e.g., be an ice cream item position, and the error may, e.g., be any measure of difference, including ratio etc.

[0202] The machine learning control model MLCM is configured to determine adjustable production line parameters and provide these to control adjustable production line parameters for a cooling control system CCS associated there to (not shown). The cooling control system CCS (not shown) receives the adjustable production line parameter from the machine learning control model MLCM and control the production line accordingly. The effect of the adjustment of the adjusted production line parameters is measured by one or more sensors that measures measurement data, which may, e.g., be a position of an ice cream item. The measurement data MD (which may include several other types of measurements performed along the production line, in relation to the production line or in relation to other ice cream manufacturing lanes) is received by the comparator unit CU, which compares the measured data MD with the setpoint to calculate an error between the two. In this example, the error is a difference between the measured data and the setpoint, and the set point is an ice cream item position value, while the measured data is also an ice cream item position value. The difference is received by the machine learning control model MLCM, which may then adjust the adjustable production line parameters to minimize the error between the measured data MD and the setpoint.

[0203] Optionally, more than one setpoint may be applied. Thereby, the machine learning control model may provide control according to more than one setpoint. The setpoint may include, e.g., ice cream item positions at various measurement locations along the production line, core temperature of ice cream items, adhesion, transportation surface speed, tunnel temperature, humidity in the tunnel, wind speed, transportation surface temperature, etc.

[0204] In an optional exemplified embodiment of the invention, the machine learning control model MLCM is a long short-term memory network. This type of neural network is capable of accessing and utilizing long-term dependencies in the sequential data provided to the model. This may advantageously improve the accuracy of the model, e.g., provide control that results in the measured data MD being very close to the desired setpoint. Especially, when compared to models not capable of exploiting long-term dependencies.

[0205] The machine learning control model, including the exemplified long shortterm memory network model, of the present embodiment may be a supervised model, and hence, the model is trained on training data. The training data may e.g., comprise sets of historical data comprising measured data MD and corresponding adjustable production line parameter signals. Advantageously, this may enable the model to learn relations between how the adjustable production line parameters and the measured data. Optionally, one or more setpoint(s) may also be included in the training data.

[0206] In another optional exemplified embodiment of the invention, the machine learning control model may be a reinforcement learning mode. In this case the model is given a reward, e.g., when the action taken by a model (the determined adjustable production line parameter(s)) results in the model optimizing a reward, and / or minimizes an error between the measured data and the setpoint. E.g., corresponding to the model optimizing the rewards given or the accumulated rewards given based on the action taken by the reinforcement learning model. In other words, the model receives information of the state of the system that the model affects with the action it determines (the adjustable production line parameters). Information of the state of the system may be given, e.g., by measurements, e.g., sensor measurements, e.g.measurements of measuring data. A reward system provides feedback to the agent in terms of the rewards. The reward is based on the outcomes of the models determined actions and guides the rewards can be understood as providing guiding to improve the decision-making strategy of the model, e.g., determining the adjustable production line parameters that optimizes the reward. Over time, the reinforcement learning model learns which actions that optimizes the rewards and thereby learns the best control strategy.

[0207] Machine learning based control models are advantageous, e.g., because the models may learn the system behavior based on data, and hence, the models may be optimized over time by retraining the models as more and more data are collected. The models are also adaptive because the models may be adapted by training the model based on different training data. Hence the model may be adapted to, e.g., provide control in production of various types of ice cream and adapted to various production line locations that may be characterized by differing in external operating parameters or conditions such as different ambience conditions, which may affect the production.

[0208] Different types of machine learning models may be utilized for the machine learning control model, including e.g., various types of reinforcement learning models, including deep reinforcement learning, and Q-leaming, etc. Further models that may be utilized as the machine learning control model includes one or more of the following reinforcement learning control models: deep deterministic policy gradient (DDPG) algorithm, Proximal Policy Optimization (PPO), actor critic algorithms including soft actor critic (SAC), deep Q-network (DQN). We note that also genetic programming may be utilized according to an embodiment of the invention.

[0209] The deep deterministic policy gradient (DDPG) algorithm is a model-free, off-policy reinforcement learning method, which may advantageously be implemented as a machine learning control model, according to an embodiment of the invention. A DDPG agent is an actor-critic reinforcement learning agent that searches for an optimal policy that maximizes the expected cumulative long-term reward. Concurrently learns a Q-function and a policy. The algorithm uses off-policy data and the Bellman equation to learn the Q-function and uses the Q-function to learn the policy.

[0210] Proximal policy optimization (PPO) may be utilized as a machine learning control model according to an embodiment of the invention. The PPO may be classified as a policy gradient method for training an agent’s policy network. The policy network is the function that the agent uses to make decisions. To train the right policy network, PPO takes a small policy update (step size), so that the agent may reliably reach the optimal solution. A too-big step may direct policy in the false direction, thus having little possibility of recovery; a too-small step lowers overall efficiency. Consequently, PPO implements a clip function that constrains the policy update of an agent from being too large or too small. Advantageously, PPO strikes a balance between performance and comprehension.

[0211] The Deep Q-network (DQN) algorithm is a model -free, off-policy reinforcement learning method, which may advantageously be implemented as a machine learning control model, according to an embodiment of the invention. Deep q-network agent is a value-based reinforcement learning agent that trains a critic to estimate the expected discounted cumulative long-term reward when following the optimal policy. DQN may be considered a variant of Q-learning that features a target critic and an experience buffer. DQN may be considered a relatively simple and effective model. Moreover, DQN may mitigate data correlation. In essence and advantageously, DQN combines principles of deep neural networks with Q-learning, enabling agents to learn optimal policies in the complex control of the freezer. DQN may utilize experience replay, which may advantageously help in decorrelating the sequential experiences by storing them in a replay memory buffer. This memory buffer is randomly sampled during the network update to break the temporal dependencies and stabilize learning.

[0212] Soft Actor Critic (SAC) is an algorithm that optimizes a stochastic policy in an off-policy way, forming a bridge between stochastic policy optimization and DDPG-style approaches. While the SAC algorithm may be best suited for continuous action spaces, it may be implemented as a machine learning control model according to an embodiment of the invention.

[0213] A machine learning control model, e.g., based on reinforcement learning may take long time to train or correspondingly take many iterations, in turn, potentially resulting in lots of products, such as ice cream product being wasted, as the reinforcement learning model trains by testing different parameters such as the adjustable production line parameter(s), and learning from the corresponding feedback (rewards) given in response to these actions, e.g. the changes in measuring data resulting from the determined adjustable production line parameters, as described elsewhere in this disclosure.

[0214] Optionally, reward shaping and / or imitation learning may be utilized to train the reinforcement learning control model. Advantageously, in imitation learning, an expert in ice cream making is determining the adjustable production line parameters to achieve a given desired quality, e.g., given desired measuring data including, e.g., position, and furthermore, the expert is evaluating the quality (measuring data including, e.g. position etc.) of the produced product, as described elsewhere in this disclosure, given the determined adjustable production line parameters, and giving feedback as to whether the quality (position etc.) matches the desired quality (measuring data including, e.g., position) etc. The expert may during production adjust the production line parameters and when adjusting the parameters continuing to evaluate the quality including measures data, incl. e.g., the position etc. The reinforcement learning control model is then capable of learning from the expert, which parameters that maximizes the reward. Advantageously, imitation learning may vastly minimize the amount of training iterations it takes before the reinforcement learning control model becomes capable of performing at a level that provides the desired product quality incl. measuring data, including, e.g., position. Optionally, the training of the reinforcement learning control model may be continued without the imitation learning, to improve the performance of the reinforcement learning model.

[0215] Notice that the concept of imitating the adjustable production line parameters determined by a human expert may be implemented using various types of machine learning, including different types of supervised learning and thereby not only reinforcement learning. However, while reinforcement learning may sometimes betime consuming to train, reinforcement learning control models may typically outperform traditional supervised learning algorithms and unsupervised algorithms.

[0216] The reinforcement learning models may be trained and operated on various data related to, e.g., the production line and produced product, including, e.g., measuring data, and e.g., including external operational parameters such as, e.g., including parameters related to ambience conditions. The type of data, including, e.g., external operational parameters, that may be used to train machine learning control models, have already been described elsewhere, and we note that these data may also be applied to train other machine learning models according to the invention, including reinforcement learning models such as those described above.

[0217] Optionally, the training of machine learning control models according to the invention may include using a model of the production line and specific stations or machines of the production line and of the ice it produces and the position of the ice etc., as a starting point and use that as a first best guess of the system. E.g., an analytical model or an empirically determined model. Optimally, the machine learning model may first be trained to copy or approximate an Al model to become a copy of the mathematical model of the system and then the machine learning control model having approximated the model may be trained based on training data. This may advantageously minimize the iterations required to train the machine learning control model from this initial guess.In an optional embodiment of the invention, the control may be based on a genetic algorithm. A genetic algorithm approach may further advantageously be combined with machine learning control approaches, including those already described in this disclosure. Advantageously, genetic algorithms may be said to breed the solution to the control problem using an interactive process involving probabilistic selection of the fittest solutions by means of a set of genetic operators.

[0218] Fig. 9 illustrates a schematical example of a cooling control system CCS that may be implemented to perform automatic control based on a machine learning control model (not illustrated). The cooling control system may be implemented to use varioustypes of machine learning models, including, e.g., the model(s) described in relation to fig. 8. This particular example illustrates the use of the controller for training a machine learning control model based on measured data and measured adjustable control parameters. Notice that machine learning control models of the invention may be trained using other types of hardware. E.g., utilizing one or more processors PU, memory unit MUT, including GPUs, CPUs etc as illustrated in fig. 10. Further notice that the machine learning control model may optionally be optimized using various types of hyper parameter optimization techniques.

[0219] The controller receives measured data MD and measured adjustable parameters. The data pairs of measured data and corresponding measured adjustable production line parameters are used as training data, where the measured data is input data while the measured adjustable production line parameters are the output, also sometimes referred to as the target. The measured adjustable production line parameters may be obtained from manual control of the adjustable production line parameters by one or more experienced person(s). E.g., one or more experienced person(s) adjust the adjustable production line parameters to achieve a specific setpoint such as, e.g. a specific position of an ice cream item and these data may then be stored to be utilized for training data alongside the measured data. This may enable the machine learning control model to model the relation between measured data and the measured adjustable production line parameters. By training the machine learning control model utilizing this type of training data, the machine learning control model may enable the machine learning model to mimic the control provided by the one or more experienced person(s). These training data may be utilized for training various kinds of machine learning models, including artificial neural networks, recurrent neural networks, probability based machine learning models, etc.

[0220] Optionally, setpoint and / or error between the setpoint and measured data may also be utilized for training data.

[0221] It should be appreciated that irrespective of which training data is utilized, when a neural network type algorithm is utilized as machine learning control model, the model may vary in architecture, e.g., in depth, in number of nodes per layer, intypes of nodes used in the layers etc. Also notice that training may be performed using various numbers of epoch. Furthermore, the performance of the machine learning control models may be evaluated using many types of performance test methods and measures.

[0222] It should be noted that the above examples of control algorithms whether it is based on artificially intelligence or not are advantageously and preferably related to specific ice cream item types.

[0223] Fig. I la illustrates a block diagram of the process along the production line of producing ice cream products. The production line PL comprises a plurality of working stations according to the location along the production line PL. At first, different ice cream ingredients are fed o a mixer MIX (technically optional) where ingredients (a mixture of ice cream compounds) are being mixed. The substance from the mixer MIX is then transferred to a freezer SF where the substance is being processed into an ice cream composition. The mix is being added to the freezer SF and at the same end of the freezer air is added. Air may also be understood as an ice cream ingredient typically fed into the freezer through a separate dedicated inlet. In the step in the freezer SF the input ice cream ingredients (mixture and air) is processed while being cooled and partly frozen, and thereby crystallizing parts of the ice cream composition and / or changing the ice cream composition. The ice cream composition is cooled to a temperature below zero degrees Celsius through the freezer SF to get the desired ice cream quality with the right size and shape of the ice cream foam-structure. At the input end of the freezer SF air is continuously fed into the freezer SF. Within the freezer, the ice cream composition is subject to shear e.g. by a dasher in a freezing cylinder to make the ice cream composition more soft and less cold to eat.In the next step of the process the ice cream composition is guided to an ice cream former ICF where the ice cream composition is being shaped and divided into ice cream items. The ice cream former ICF may be an ice cream cutter, where a flow of the ice cream composition is being guided to an outlet shaped as the desired ice cream product. A stick inserter may typically be placed at the end of the outlet of the ice cream former ICF when the ice cream item type is an ice cream on a stick. At the endof the ice cream cutter a metal wire is placed to divide the ice cream composition into ice cream items and let the ice cream items drop to a conveyor. The ice cream former ICF may also be an ice cream filler, where a valve divides the stream of the ice cream composition. After the ice cream composition has been divided by the valve the ice cream may be push by a piston into an ice cream container like e.g., a waffle, biscuit or non-edible container.The ice cream items are being conveyed from the ice cream former ICF to a hardening tunnel HT where the ice cream items are cooled down through the hardening tunnel HT. The hardening tunnel may vary in type from each production line according to what type of ice cream item types are being made. An example of a hardening tunnel is illustrated in fig. 2 where ice cream items are being conveyed on a transportation surface. This type of hardening tunnel HT typically comprises air ventilation, vaporisers, heat exchanger and other things (not shown) related to controlling the temperature in a uniform way within the hardening tunnel HT. Other types of hardening tunnels may be hardening tunnels where the conveyor comprises a casting form. The hardening tunnels with conveyors with casting forms may be circular and rotating in an approximately horizontal plan around a centre. Ice cream items are shaped and divided into the casting forms of the conveyor and after that conveyed in a rotational motion. At the bottom side of the casting form a cooling liquid is applied to hardening the ice cream items in the casting forms. Another type of hardening tunnel with casting forms may also be used. The casting form are conveyed in a linear direction and the casting forms are connected as slits in a belt. The slits with the casting forms are filled with ice cream items in one end and conveyed in a linear direction with the casting form on top. After releasing the ice cream items from the casting forms the casting forms turns 180 degrees at the end of the belt and is being conveyed back to the ice cream former. At the ice cream former the casting forms may once again be filled with ice cream items. The number of casting forms perpendicular to the conveying direction may vary from e.g., 2-12 or even more according to the specific production of ice cream products. For both hardening tunnels with casting forms cooling fluid may be applied from below to cool the ice cream items by spraying it on the top and let the cooling fluid run down along the outside of the casting forms as ina so-called cascade system. More often, the system is a bath, where the cold liquid is coming in from below and the slightly heated fluid is flowing over the outsides of the casting forms. All three types of hardening tunnels is used for hardening and cooling ice cream items after the ice cream former. The ice cream items may be conveyed through the hardening tunnel HT in multiple minutes or even hours to ensure a uniform frozen temperature through the ice cream item. Through the hardening tunnel HT an adhesion between the ice cream items and the surface where the ice cream items are being conveyed on may be established. The adhesion may also evolve through the hardening tunnel due to the cooled conditions. In some production lines PL a hardening tunnel is optional and the ice cream items are cooled prior to the ice cream former in the freezer. This is typically a very expensive process to cool the freezer enough and further very complicated to process the ice cream composition through the ice cream former due to a stiffer ice cream composition.The next step along the production line of the ice cream product is a packing station PACK, where the ice cream items are being wrapped in typically a foil. The ice cream items may be placed in a longitudinal foil which are being welded together to enclose typically one ice cream item. Afterwards the foil is being cutted and divided so one ice cream item is packed and enclosed in a foil. The packing station PACK may also be a packing station PACK where ice cream items are being packed directly in boxes of cardboard or paper without any foil. The packing station PACK may also comprise a secondary packing station PACK where the individually foil-enclosed ice cream items are being packed into boxes. The ice cream items may be packed in the boxes or containers by hand or by a robot.Along the entire production line PL one or more sensor (not shown) may be placed at different locations to measure different properties, parameters and / or characteristics of the ice cream composition, ice cream characteristics and / or different stations (ice cream former, hardening tunnel, freezer, mixer, coating station, packing station, ingredients feeder, etc.). The sensor may further be connected to one or more controllers (not shown) with a wire or wireless to send the observed or measured properties, parameters and / or characteristics to the one or more controllers. The oneand more controllers may further be connected to the different stations along the production line PL to adjust the different working stations based on measurements and / or observations. The location of the one or more sensors SENS may be used for any upstream adjustments of the ice cream composition, ice cream item or any parameters related to upstream working stations by the controller.The one or more sensors may be a weight sensor, vision, camera, flow sensor, pressure sensor, temperature sensor, distance sensor or any other sensor for observing any kind of ice cream characteristics, parameters or properties. The sensors may also be used to measure the parameters of any of the working stations.Through the different steps along the production line PL illustrated in fig. 11 an ice cream composition ICO is made in the freezer SF from ingredients ICN in the mixer MIX. The ice cream composition ICO is being shaped and divided into an ice cream item ICI at the ice cream former ICF. The ice cream item ICI are being processed through the production line PL where the hardening tunnel and packaging station refines the ice cream item. At the end of the production line PL a ice cream product is made which is ready for sale. This may be an individually ice cream product in a foil which typically is bought in small shop. The ice cream product may also be a box with multiple foiled ice cream products which may be bought in a super market.

[0224] Fig. 1 lb illustrates the same embodiment as illustrated in fig. 1 la with one or more optionally parts added to the production line PL of ice cream products. Before the ice cream former ICF an optional ingredients feeder INF may be placed to mix the ice cream composition from the freezer SF with small pieces of chocolate, berries, cake, caramel or any other edible things.Fig. 1 lb further illustrates that after the ice cream items have left the hardening tunnel HT one or more optional coating stations COA is placed along the production line PL. The coating station COA may typically be a station where the ice cream item is being dipped into a bath of warm chocolate. The ice cream items are then being lifted with the coated chocolate dripping off the ice cream items, but with a new layer added to the ice cream item. The ice cream item may also be coated with other edible things ordifferent types of chocolate. After the first dip of coating an additional coating may be provided in form of another layer of chocolate or solid small pieces of chocolate, berries or any other edible solid stuff.

[0225] Additional optional working stations along the production line PL which is not shown may be any of the following: Smart Cutter, Coating check station, serialization, packaging check station, a manual station, a cleaning station, or any other working station related to the production of ice cream products.

[0226] Figure 12a illustrates an embodiment of the invention where a mass of ice cream is being lead from a freezer F to an ice cream former ICF. An additional pipe is leading towards the ice cream former ICF where caramel is being pushed towards the mass of ice cream. The caramel is being swirled into the mass of ice cream before the mass of ice cream with the caramel is finally formed at the ice cream former outlet ICFO. The ice cream is divided into ice cream items by a cutter CUT placed just below the ice cream former outlet ICFO. The ice cream item ICI is formed by shaping and dividing the mass of ice cream in the ice cream former ICF. One or more of the ice cream item properties of the ice cream item ICI is being measured by a sensor SENS when the ice cream item ICI gets in contact with the transportation surface TSU. The sensor SENS is communicatively coupled with a controller (not shown) wherein the controller may indicate if an adjustment of one or more ice cream item properties of the ice cream is required. The adjustment may be done automatically or by an operator.

[0227] Fig. 12b illustrates an embodiment of the invention where three freezers F are cooling three different types of ice cream. The three different types of ice cream could be according to color, flavors, density, or any other relevant ice cream type. The three different ice cream types is guided to the ice cream former ICF where the ice creams are being shaped into the respective form for an ice cream item being processed. The three types of ice cream may be formed like, e.g., a traffic cone with different types of ice cream for the button, middle and top. The ice cream may also be formed as a happy face with different types of ice cream for face, mouth and eyes. When the ice cream has been formed the mass of ice cream is guided towards the ice cream former outlet ICFO where a cutter CUT is placed just outside of the ice cream former outlet ICFO.The cutter CUT is used to divide the mass of ice cream into ice cream items ICI. The ice cream items ICI may fall to a transportation surface TSU where a sensor SENS is placed to measure one or more ice cream item properties ICIP. The sensor SENS is communicatively coupled with a controller (not shown) wherein the controller is configured for notifying an operator if any adjustments is to be made to adjust the one or more ice cream item properties. The controller may also be configured for automatically adjusting the one or more ice cream item properties by adjusting any kind of processing units along the production line e.g., freezer, ice cream former, hardening tunnel, mixer or any other relevant processing unit along the production line.

[0229] List of reference signs:ICI Ice cream item,FICI First ice cream item,SICI Second ice cream item,TICI Third ice cream item,NICI Neighboring ice cream item,LOC Location,PL Production line,ICP Ice cream product,ICF Ice cream former,ICFO Ice cream former outlet,ICFI Ice cream former inlet,ICD Ice cream divider,TSU Transportation surface,ALA Alarm,UMA Manual upstream adjustment,VI Visual interface,STI Stick inserter,MAL Manufacturing Lane,AMAL Additional manufacturing lane,HT Hardening tunnel,WRF Wrapping foil,SENS Sensor,FILL Ice cream filler,COND Conveying direction,UI User interface,GRA Gripping arrangement,WT Working table,CCS Cooling Control system,PACK Packaging station.

Claims

Claims1. A method for positioning ice cream items (ICI) comprising; providing and positioning a first ice cream item (FICI) at a measuring location (LOC) along a production line (PL) for producing ice cream products (ICP), measuring a position of said first ice cream item (FICI) at said measuring location (LOC) along said production line (PL) for producing ice cream products (ICP), conveying said first ice cream item (FICI) along said production line (PL) away from said measuring location (LOC), and then, providing and positioning a second ice cream item (SICI) at said measuring location (LOC) along said production line (PL) for producing ice cream products (ICP), wherein said positioning of said second ice cream item (SICI) is based on said measured position of said first ice cream item (FICI).

2. A method according to claim 1, wherein said positioning a second ice cream item (SICI) upstream to said measuring location (LOC) along said production line (PL) for producing ice cream products (ICP), wherein said positioning of said second ice cream item (SICI) is based on said measured position of said first ice cream item (FICI).

3. A method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein said step of positioning said second ice crem item (SICI) based on said first ice cream item (FICI) position on a transportation surface (TSU) is done by adjusting the position of an ice cream former (ICF).

4. A method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein said step of measuring a position of said first ice cream item (FICI) on said transportation surface (TSU) is done automatically.

5. A method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein said adjusting the position of said ice cream item is done automatically.

6. A method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein said adjusting said position of said ice cream former (ICF) is done automatically.

7. A method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein said adjusting said position of said ice cream former (ICF) is done manually.

8. A method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein said adjusting the position of said ice cream former (ICF) is done manually based on said automatically measuring of said position of said first ice cream item (FICI).

9. A method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein said step of measuring a position of said first ice cream item (FICI) triggers an alarm (ALA) when said ice cream item is out of position.

10. A method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein said alarm (ALA) is triggered when a manual upstream adjustment (UMA) is to be made.I L A method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein a visual interface (VI) is indicating if an adjustment is to be made.

12. A method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein a visual interface (VI) is indicating how an adjustment is to be made.

13. A method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein a visual interface (VI) is indicating how much adjusting is to be made.

14. A method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein adjusting positioning of said second ice cream item (SICI) by automatic repositioning of relevant hardware based on automatic measurements.

15. A method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein adjusting positioning of said second ice cream item (SICI) by automatic adjusting of control circuity of said ice cream former (ICF) by repositioning of relevant hardware based on automatic measurements.

16. A method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein an ice cream divider (ICD) is placed next to an ice cream former outlet (ICFO) of said ice cream former (ICF).

17. A method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein adjusting said ice cream former outlet (ICFO) is done simultaneously and / or synchronized with said ice cream divider (ICD).

18. A method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein adjusting said ice cream former outlet (ICFO) is done simultaneously / synchronized with a stick inserter (STI).

19. A method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein said method comprises a step of dividing said ice cream item after being shaped in said ice cream former (ICF).

20. A method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein said method comprises a step of dividing ice cream item after said ice cream item gets in contact with said transportation surface (TSU).

21. A method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein measuring a position of said second ice cream item (SICI) and positioning a third ice cream item (TICI) based on both first ice cream item (FICI) and second ice cream item (SICI) positions.

22. A method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein measuring positions of a plurality of ice cream items and positioning an additional ice cream item based on the positions of said plurality of ice cream items.

23. A method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein said measuring the position of said first ice cream item (FICI) is done according to a neighboring ice cream item (NICI).

24. A method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein said positioning of said second ice cream item (SICI) is based on said measured position of a first ice cream item (FICI) in an additional manufacturing lane (AMAL).

25. A method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein said measurement of said plurality of ice cream item is measured in one or more additional manufacturing lanes (AMAL) and positioning said second ice cream item (SICI) is based on the positions in said one or more additional manufacturing lanes (AMAL).

26. A method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein said ice cream former (ICF) is adjusted based on a measuring of said first ice cream item (FICI) in an additional manufacturing lane (AMAL).

27. A method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein said ice cream divider (ICD) adjustment is based on measurements of an additional manufacturing lanes (AMAL).

28. A method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein said step of measuring said position of said first ice cream item (FICI) is done in a horizontal plane.

29. A method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein said step of measuring said position of said first ice cream item (FICI) is done according to rotation.

30. A method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the method comprises a step of measuring an amount of ice cream in a predetermined area to determine said position of said first ice cream item (FICI).

31. A method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein said step of measuring said position of said first ice cream item (FICI) is used to determine other parameters from the production line (PL) of ice cream products (ICP).

32. A method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein said step of measuring said position of said first ice cream item (FICI) is done simultaneously as said first ice cream item (FICI) gets in contact with said transportation surface (TSU).

33. A method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein said step of measuring said position of said first ice cream item (FICI) is done prior to said first ice cream item (FICI) gets in contact with said transportation surface (TSU).

34. A method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein said step of measuring said position of said first ice cream item (FICI) is done upstream a hardening tunnel (HT).

35. A method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein said step of measuring said position of said first ice cream item (FICI) is located downstream a hardening tunnel (HT).

36. A method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein said step op measuring said position of said first ice cream item (FICI) is located inside a hardening tunnel (HT).

37. A method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein said step of measuring said position of said first ice cream item (FICI) is located upstream and downstream a hardening tunnel (HT).

38. A method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein said step of measuring said position of said first ice cream item (FICI) is done at AHS tongues location.

39. A method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein said step of measuring said position of said first ice cream item (FICI) is measured according to the position of said first ice cream item (FICI) in a wrapping foil (WRF) location.

40. A method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein said step of measuring said position of said first ice cream item (FICI) is measured before the end of the production line (EOL).

41. A method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein said step of measuring said position of said first ice cream item (FICI) is measured at more than one different measuring location (LOC) along the conveyor.

42. A method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein said forming and placing said second ice cream item (SICI) is based on said plurality of measurements from said plurality of measuring locations (LOC) along the conveyor.

43. A method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein said step of measuring said position of said first ice cream item (FICI) is measured by more than one sensor (SENS) when measuring said position of said first ice cream item (FICI) at a measuring location (LOC) along the conveyor.

44. A method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein measuring said position of said first ice cream item (FICI) prior to said ice cream former (ICF).

45. A method according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein said measured position of said first ice cream item are automatically applied for at least partly adjustment of said positioning of said second ice cream item by means artificial intelligence, the adjustment being established by means of supervised machine learning.

46. A method according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein said measured position of said first ice cream item are automatically applied for at least partly adjustment of said positioning of said second ice cream item by means artificial intelligence, the adjustment being established by means of non-supervised machine learning.

47. A method according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein said measured data and said measured adjustable parameters are applied as training data for a machine learning model of said artificial intelligence.

48. A method according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein said measured data, such as measured position and / or measured location data and / or said measured adjustable parameters, such as measured adjustable ice cream former parameters are applied as training data for a machine learning model of said artificial intelligence.

49. A method according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein said measured data and said measured adjustable parameters are applied as training data for a machine learning model in combination with data defining ice cream item type of said artificial intelligence.

50. A method according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein said measured data, such as measured ice cream item positions and / or measured locations and / or said measured adjustable parameters, such as measured adjustable ice cream former parameters are applied as training data for a machine learning model in combination with data defining ice cream item type of said artificial intelligence.

51. A method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein said measuring said position of said first extruded ice cream item is done by vision or camera.

52. A method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein said measuring said position of said first extruded ice cream item is done by infrared.

53. A method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein said measuring said position of said first extruded ice cream item is done by ultrasound.

54. A method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein said measuring said position of said first extruded ice cream item is done by MR (magnetic resonant)55. A method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein said measuring said position of said first ice cream item is done by microwaves.

56. A method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein said measuring said position of said first ice cream item (FICI) is done by a fiber-optic sensor.

57. A method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein said measuring said position of said first ice cream item (FICI) is done by capacitive sensor.

58. A method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein said measuring said position of said first ice cream item (FICI) is done by potentiometric positions sensor.

59. A method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein said measuring said position of said first ice cream item (FICI) is done by electromagnetic radiation.

60. A method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein said measuring said position of said first ice cream item (FICI) is done by an inductive sensor.

61. A method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein said method comprises a step of measuring a temperature of said transportation surface (TSU) at said measuring location of said first ice cream item (FICI).

62. A method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein said method comprises a step of measuring a temperature of said first ice cream item (FICI).

63. A method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein said measuring of said temperature of said first ice cream item is done simultaneously with measuring said position of said first ice cream item.

64. A method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein said positioning of said second ice cream item is based on said measured position of said first ice cream item and said temperature of said first ice cream item.

65. A method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein said method comprises a step of measuring the weight of said first ice cream item with measuring said position of said first ice cream item.

66. A method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein said method comprises a step of measuring the density of said first ice cream item with measuring said position of said first ice cream item.

67. A method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein said method comprises a step of measuring the dimensions of said first ice cream item with measuring said position of said first ice cream item.

68. A method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein said method comprises a step of measuring one or more of the following parameters of said first ice cream item: weight, density, volume, temperature or any combination thereof, simultaneously with measuring said position of said first extruded ice cream item.

69. A method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein said step of positioning said second ice cream item is also based on said first ice cream item temperature, weight, volume, density or any combination thereof.

70. An ice cream production line comprising; an ice cream former for forming ice cream items, a conveyor for conveying ice cream items comprising a transportation surface, a sensor for sensing ice cream item position related data at a measuring location (LOC) for measuring a position of an ice cream item on said transportation surface, said ice cream former being adjustable with respect to positioning of ice cream items on said transportation surface, a controller communicatively coupled with said sensor configured for automatic evaluation of measured ice cream items positions, the result of the automatic evaluation being automatically communicated to a user interface and / or a control of said ice cream former.

71. An ice cream production line according to claim 70 using the method in claims 1 to 69.

72. An ice cream production line according to claim 70-71, wherein said ice cream production line comprises one or more sensor.

73. An ice cream production line according to claim 70-72, wherein said ice cream production line comprises user interface.

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