Rotating Chocolate Mould Cooling for Uniform Hollow Wall Thickness
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods struggle to produce hollow food products, particularly chocolate, with complex shapes, as the distribution of chocolate over the mould surface is often non-homogeneous, leading to thin areas that are prone to breaking and require excess chocolate, increasing costs.
Innovation Solution
A method involving a mould rotation with selected portions of the mould surface subjected to heat exchange with a cooling fluid, such as air or water, to control the thickness of chocolate distribution, ensuring uniformity and preventing thin areas by accelerating solidification on critical portions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If a pre-set amount of foodstuff material is dispensed into the mould cavity and the mould is subjected to rotation, then the material is distributed over the mould surface, but the distribution is non-homogeneous creating thin areas prone to breaking
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by subjecting selected portions of the mould surface to heat exchange with a thermal-conditioning fluid (cooling or heating) while other portions remain at the base temperature. This creates different thermal conditions in different locations, causing the foodstuff material to solidify at different rates and achieve more uniform thickness distribution across the mould surface, preventing thin areas prone to breaking
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the temperature parameter of selected mould surface portions by introducing a thermal-conditioning fluid. This parameter change (temperature variation) affects the solidification rate of the foodstuff material locally, enabling control over wall thickness distribution and resolving the non-homogeneous distribution problem
2Strength
If excess chocolate is used to compensate for thin areas, then wall thickness is increased, but production costs increase
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of uniformly increasing chocolate amount across the entire mould, the patent applies local quality control through selective thermal conditioning of specific mould portions. This allows precise control of wall thickness only where needed, avoiding the waste of using excess chocolate throughout and thereby reducing material costs while maintaining structural integrity
3Manufacturing precision
If the mould is subjected to heat exchange with thermal-conditioning fluid during rotation, then selected portions are at different temperature, but the system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the mould surface into selected portions that require thermal conditioning and other portions that do not. By applying thermal treatment only to specific segments rather than the entire mould, the system achieves the desired uniformity control with reduced complexity compared to a full-system thermal control approach
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The method ensures thicker, more uniform chocolate walls, preventing breakage and reducing material waste while maintaining production quality and cost-effectiveness.
Implementation Method 1
selected portions of the mould surface are set in a condition of heat exchange with a thermal-conditioning fluid, preferably a cooling fluid
Implementation Method 2
setting the selected portions of the mould surface in a condition of heat exchange with a cooling fluid so that said selected portions of the mould surface are at a temperature different from, preferably lower than, the remaining portions of the surface itself
Data Source
AI summary
A method for producing hollow products made of a foodstuff material that can be formed in a mould, preferably chocolate, comprising the steps of:providing a mould (40) comprising a mould cavity (44) delimited by a mould surface (42);dispensing into said mould cavity (44) a pre-set amount of said foodstuff material;subjecting said mould (40), in the mould cavity (44) of which said pre-set amount of material is contained, to at least one movement of rotation about an axis of rotation (I1, I2) for distributing said foodstuff material over the entire mould surface (42); andduring the step where said mould (40) is subjected to the movement of rotation, setting selected portions (43) of said mould surface (42) in a condition of heat exchange with a thermal-conditioning fluid so as to maintain said selected portions (43) of said mould surface (42) at a temperature different from, preferably lower than, that of the other portions of said mould surface (42).