Cooling apparatus, roasting apparatus, and method of operating the roasting apparatus for roasted plant-based bulk materials.

Abstract

The present invention relates to a cooling device, a roasting device, and an operating method of the roasting device, which are provided with a cooling chamber for cooling a roasted plant-based bulk material. 【Solution means】The present invention is a cooling device for a roasted plant-based bulk material (16), which is provided with a cooling chamber (30) for cooling the roasted plant-based bulk material (16). A bulk material receiving surface (26) is provided in the cooling chamber (30), and a sensor device (40) having at least one temperature sensor (42) for monitoring the temperature of the roasted plant-based bulk material (16) is provided in the cooling chamber (30). The present invention further relates to a roasting device (2) and an operating method of the roasting device (2).

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a cooling device for a roasted vegetable bulk material, comprising a cooling chamber for cooling the roasted vegetable bulk material, and a bulk material receiving surface is configured inside the cooling chamber. The present invention also relates to a roasting device and an operating method of the roasting device.

Background Art

[0002] Cooling devices and roasting devices equipped with such cooling devices are well-known from the prior art. For example, Patent Document 1 describes a cooling device for roasted coffee beans, cocoa or nuts, and air is passed through a rotatably mounted circular cooling sieve holding the bulk material in order to cool the bulk material. In this case, the cooling chamber is provided in the region of the roasting mechanism and, in the present embodiment, moves from the roasting mechanism to the cooling chamber by the action of centrifugal force after the completion of the roasting process.

[0003] After the completion of the roasting process, the roasted vegetable bulk material is introduced into the interior of the cooling chamber of the cooling device, and it is known that hot spots are generated in the roasted vegetable bulk material during this roasting process. In minor cases, such glowing hot spots affect the quality of each roasting batch of the vegetable bulk material. In the worst case, such glowing hot spots may cause ignition in the cooling system or downstream equipment.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0004]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0005] The object of the present invention is to avoid the aforementioned drawbacks in a simple and cost-effective manner. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] This objective is addressed by the cooling device according to the present invention, which includes a sensor device having at least one temperature sensor that monitors the temperature of roasted vegetable bulk material in a cooling chamber. This makes it possible to detect localized overheating, where the temperature exceeds a preset temperature limit, in a particularly simple manner. Early detection of localized overheating in this way allows for the application of appropriate countermeasures depending on the degree of overheating. Furthermore, by separating all or part of the roasted batch of roasted vegetable bulk material, it is possible to guarantee uniform and high quality in the roasting process to customers.

[0007] At least one temperature sensor captures a video of the roasted plant-based bulk material inside the cooling chamber. The sensor is preferably a thermographic camera capable of saving the video as needed. To ensure proper, preferably maintenance-free, monitoring of the bulk material receiving surface, the thermographic camera is preferably equipped with a purge air device. The flushing air is introduced laterally to the camera lens, where it acts as an air curtain. To generate a cylindrical piston flow of flushing air, it is advantageous to provide a protective spacer sleeve in front of the camera lens of the thermographic camera.

[0008] Preferably, a hood is provided above the bulk material receiving surface, and at least one temperature sensor is incorporated into this hood. In this embodiment, the hood defines a cooling space, allowing for controlled exhaust of the cooling air along with any contaminants. Furthermore, a particularly simple mounting means for at least one temperature sensor is provided. In an embodiment where the temperature sensor is a thermographic camera, the sensor is basically located on the side of the hood away from the cooling mechanism, and a protective spacer sleeve extends into the interior of the cooling chamber.

[0009] It is more preferable to provide a control device for monitoring the cooling process. This type of control device functions to send an alarm signal or, if necessary, to stop the roasting process that has already started. In this configuration, it is highly advantageous to integrate the control device of the cooling device with the control device of the cooperating roasting device.

[0010] The cooling chamber preferably includes a cooling sieve for receiving roasted vegetable bulk material and passing cold air through it. The cooling sieve is easily monitorable by at least one temperature sensor and is capable of providing a sufficiently large bulk material receiving surface.

[0011] The cooling device preferably includes a rotating device whose primary direction is tangential to the roasted vegetable bulk material. Such a rotating device can be configured in various ways. In a configuration with a cooling sieve, the roasted vegetable bulk material can be circulated through a cooling sieve set to rotate by a drive device. Alternatively, a shovel device may be included as part of the rotating device to circulate the roasted vegetable bulk material. Since the bulk material circulates continuously in the tangential direction, the temperature sensor can be configured to detect only a portion of the bulk material receiving surface. By circulating, the entire bulk material passes through this portion during the cooling process. However, a configuration is also conceivable in which the bulk material is not actively moved, but simply placed on the cooling sieve and cooling air is circulated over it.

[0012] Alternatively, or as an addition, temperature sensors can be movably supported and driven by a drive mechanism to detect different sub-regions of the bulk material receiving surface.

[0013] This objective can also be achieved by a roasting apparatus for plant-based bulk materials equipped with such a cooling device, which comprises a housing structure having at least one roasting mechanism, a heating device for heating the internal space of the roasting mechanism, an exhaust gas purification device for discharging exhaust gas from the roasting mechanism, and a control device for monitoring the cooling process, wherein the cooling device is installed in the area of ​​at least one outlet opening of the roasting mechanism.

[0014] This objective can also be achieved by the operation method of such a roasting apparatus, which comprises the steps of introducing the roasted vegetable bulk material into a cooling device after the roasting process is complete to form a bulk material receiving surface for the roasted vegetable bulk material, and monitoring this bulk material receiving surface with at least one temperature sensor, and outputting a signal by the control device when localized overheating occurs. To avoid malfunctions, different temperature limits can be set for different cooling periods. In this embodiment, it is particularly advantageous to provide a thermographic camera, and each time the roasting process is completed, the control device sets the cooling process in a data storage device or database, associates the video from the thermographic camera with the cooling process, and saves the video to mark the cooling process when a preset temperature limit is exceeded. In this method, batches that may not meet the desired quality standards due to overheating can be recorded very easily, particularly with respect to quality control. Here, it is preferable that the marking is performed according to different priorities. At least a first priority and a second priority are set. Thus, for example, when the temperature exceeds the temperature limit for a longer period of time, an alarm is triggered to request a check of the roasting and cooling equipment. However, if the temperature limit is exceeded only for a very short time, this message can simply be stored as information, as it may be due to, for example, contamination of the cooling sieve.

[0015] The present invention will be described in more detail with reference to the following drawings. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0016] [Figure 1] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of the roasting apparatus of the present invention. [Figure 2] Figure 2 is a detailed view of the hood portion of the cooling device of the present invention. [Figure 3] Figure 3 is a detailed view of the sensor device located in the hood section of Figure 2. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0017] Figure 1 shows a schematic diagram of the roasting apparatus 2 of the present invention. Roasting apparatuses themselves are well known from the prior art. As shown, the roasting apparatus 2 is equipped with a housing structure 4, which includes at least a roasting mechanism 6, a heating device 8 for heating the internal space 10 of the roasting mechanism 6, and an exhaust gas purification device 12 for discharging exhaust gas from the internal space 10 of the roasting mechanism 6. In this embodiment, it also includes a cooling device 14 for cooling the plant bulk material to be roasted, such as coffee beans.

[0018] The unroasted coffee beans 16 are supplied from the hopper inlet 18 into the internal space 10 of the roasting mechanism 6. Furthermore, a control device 19 is provided to control or adjust the roasting process and the cooling process.

[0019] In this embodiment, the cooling device 14 according to the present invention consists of a cooling mechanism 20, which has a cooling sieve 22 rotatable by a drive mechanism not described in detail here. Here, bulk material 16, which is coffee beans, is introduced onto the cooling sieve 22 from the outlet opening 24 of the roasting mechanism 6 to form a bulk material receiving surface 26. The cooling sieve 22, together with a hood 28, surrounds a cooling chamber 30 into which cooling air is blown by a cooling device 31. The hood 28 consists of a first housing portion 32 designed as a dome and a second housing portion 34 connected to the cooling mechanism 20 and defining the cooling chamber 30. The bulk material outlet 36 is adjacent to the cooling mechanism 20 in a known manner, and the air discharge portion 38 is adjacent to the dome portion 32. Cooling air is drawn in in a known manner, passes through the cooling sieve 22 and the coffee beans 16, and is discharged through the air discharge portion 38.

[0020] Since unwanted emission hot spots in the bulk material 16 can be detected by a simple method, a uniform high quality of the roasted bulk material 16 can be guaranteed. Also, in the present embodiment, a sensor device 40 having a thermographic camera 42 as a temperature sensor is installed in the dome portion 32 of the hood portion 28 so as to prevent damage to the roasting device or an adjacent unit, and the sensor device 40 is connected to the control device 19 by control technology. The thermographic camera 4 detects the temperature of the roasted coffee beans by detecting the entire bulk material receiving surface 26.

[0021] Alternatively, it is also possible to install a plurality of temperature sensors 42 each of which detects only a partial region of the bulk material receiving surface 26. The detected partial region of the bulk material receiving surface 26 can be selected such that when the bulk material receiving surface rotates with the tangential direction as the basic direction by the rotating device, the entire bulk material receiving surface 26 passes through the temperature sensor 42 and is conveyed. Conceptually, it is also possible to support the temperature sensor 42 movably and drive it by a driving device so as to detect different partial regions of the bulk material receiving surface 26 respectively.

[0022] FIG. 2 shows a detailed view of the hood portion 28 to which the sensor device 40 is attached. Here, a temperature sensor 42 designed as a thermographic camera is disposed obliquely in the opening 46 of the dome portion 32 via a mounting plate 44 (see particularly FIG. 3). The mounting plate 44 enables easy alignment between the thermographic camera 42 and the bulk material receiving surface 26 which is the monitoring target.

[0023] FIG. 3 shows a detailed view of the sensor device 40 disposed in the opening 46 of the dome portion 32. The thermographic camera 42 is provided with a purge air device 48 shown particularly for protecting the camera lens 50. The flushing air extending perpendicular to the camera lens 50 is indicated here by an arrow 52 and functions as a curtain of flushing air.

[0024] Regarding the cooling process of the present invention, the method of operating the roasting apparatus 2 is as described below. After the completion of the roasting process, the roasted vegetable bulk material 16 is introduced into the cooling apparatus 14, specifically into the cooling chamber 30. In this example, the bulk material receiving surface 26 is configured for coffee beans 16, and this bulk material receiving surface 26 is continuously monitored by a thermographic camera 42. The control device 19 has different temperature limits set for different cooling times. Thus, the temperature limit for the first 30 seconds of the cooling process is 200°C, and the temperature limit thereafter is 150°C. If any of these temperature limits are exceeded for at least 3 seconds during each cooling period, presumably due to an emitted heat spot, a signal is issued in the form of an alarm indicating localized overheating. Videos captured by the thermographic camera 42 during the cooling process are saved and assigned to the cooling process of each roasting batch so that individual quality checks of this batch can be performed again. If the cooling process is performed without alarms, the captured video is overwritten. The control device 19 can mark the cooling process in different ways based, for example, on the duration that each temperature limit is exceeded. Different priorities are assigned to these markings, and the alarm function is activated only in the case of the first priority, and subsequently, for example, directly to the roasting device 2. In the case of the second priority, this alarm is not activated, and the operator is only notified to perform a quality check of the roasting batch.

Claims

1. A cooling device for roasted plant-based bulk material (16), comprising a cooling chamber (30) for cooling the roasted plant-based bulk material (16), the cooling chamber (30) being provided with a bulk material receiving surface (26), and the cooling chamber (30) being provided with a sensor device (40) having at least one temperature sensor (42) for monitoring the temperature of the roasted plant-based bulk material (16), and detecting at least a portion of the area of ​​the bulk material receiving surface (26).

2. The cooling device according to claim 1, wherein the at least one temperature sensor (42) is a thermographic camera.

3. The cooling device according to claim 2, wherein the thermographic camera is equipped with a purge air device (52).

4. The cooling device according to claim 2, wherein a protective spacer sleeve (48) is provided in front of the camera lens (50) of the thermographic camera (42).

5. The cooling device according to claim 2, wherein a hood portion (28) is provided above the bulk material receiving surface (26), and the at least one temperature sensor (42) is incorporated into the hood portion (28).

6. The cooling device according to claim 5, wherein the thermographic camera is provided on the side of the hood portion (28) away from the cooling mechanism (20), and the protective spacer sleeve (48) extends into the interior of the cooling chamber (30).

7. The cooling apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a control device (19) for monitoring the cooling process.

8. The cooling apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the cooling chamber (30) is equipped with a cooling sieve (22) as a receiving means for passing the roasted plant bulk material (16) and cold air through.

9. The cooling device according to claim 1, comprising a rotating device whose basic direction is tangential to the roasted plant-based bulk material.

10. The cooling device according to claim 9, wherein the temperature sensor (42) is configured to detect only a portion of the bulk material receiving surface (26).

11. The cooling device according to claim 1, wherein the temperature sensor (42) is movably supported and drivable by a drive device so as to be able to detect different subregions of the bulk material receiving surface (26).

12. A roasting apparatus (2) for plant bulk material (16) comprising a cooling device (14) according to any one of claims 1 to 11, At least a roasting mechanism (6) and A heating device (8) that heats the internal space (10) of the roasting mechanism (6), An exhaust gas purification device (12) discharges exhaust gas from the roasting mechanism (6), A roasting apparatus (2) is provided with a housing structure (4) having a control device (19) for monitoring the cooling process, and the cooling device (14) is provided in the area of ​​at least one outlet opening (24) of the roasting mechanism (6).

13. A method for operating the roasting apparatus (2) described in claim 12, A method comprising the steps of: introducing the roasted plant bulk material (16) into the cooling device (14) after the roasting process is completed to form a bulk material receiving surface (26) of the roasted plant bulk material (16); and monitoring the bulk material receiving surface (26) with at least one temperature sensor (42), wherein a signal is output by the control device (19) when localized overheating occurs.

14. The method according to claim 13, wherein different temperature limits are set for different cooling periods.

15. The method according to claim 13, wherein a thermographic camera (42) is provided, and each time the roasting process is completed, the control device (19) sets a cooling process in a data storage device or database, associates the video from the thermographic camera (42) with the cooling process, and stores the video to mark the cooling process when a preset temperature limit is exceeded.

16. The method according to claim 15, wherein the marking is performed according to different priorities, and at least a first priority and a second priority are set.

17. The method according to claim 16, wherein the alarm function is activated in the first priority order.

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