Locking assembly and apparatus for making compressed food product with moment resistant frame
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing food processing technologies face challenges in producing puffed snacks economically while ensuring batch uniformity and consistency, particularly in compressing, cooking, and expanding food products to maintain nutritional value and taste.
Innovation Solution
A compression head assembly with movable platen assemblies and interlocking mechanisms, including a moving frame actuator unit and locking assembly, allows for controlled compressive forces and accessibility during the production process, ensuring parallel alignment of punch assemblies and minimizing deflection.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a fixed compression head assembly is used, then structural simplicity is maintained, but accessibility for cleaning and maintenance is poor
Solution Approach 1:
The compression head assembly incorporates a movable platen that can be positioned in multiple locations (raised, lowered, intermediate) along the compression axis. This dynamic positioning capability allows the platen to be raised for improved accessibility during cleaning and maintenance operations, while still providing stable compression when in the lowered position, thus resolving the contradiction between accessibility and structural simplicity.
2Ease of operation
If the moving frame is allowed to move freely, then accessibility is improved, but frame stability and alignment during compression deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The locking assembly applies preliminary constraining action on the moving frame by engaging with the frame and platen to prevent relative movement during compression. This locking mechanism ensures that when the platen is in the lowered position, the frame and platen are held in a fixed, stable relationship that maintains parallel alignment of the punch assemblies, counteracting any tendency for misalignment that would otherwise occur with a movable frame.
3Manufacturing precision
If the locking assembly constrains the moving frame completely, then alignment precision is improved, but accessibility for maintenance deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The locking assembly is designed to be selectively engageable and disengageable, creating a dynamic constraint system. During compression operations, the locking assembly engages to provide precise alignment and stability. During maintenance and cleaning operations, the locking assembly can be disengaged or positioned in an intermediate state, allowing the platen to be raised and providing accessibility, thus resolving the contradiction between precision and accessibility.
4Manufacturing precision
If the platen is kept in the lowered position for stability, then compression precision is improved, but accessibility for cleaning deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The platen is designed to move dynamically between multiple positions along the compression axis. It can be positioned in the lowered position during compression operations to ensure precision and stability, then raised to an elevated position during cleaning and maintenance operations to provide accessibility. This multi-position capability allows the system to optimize for the required function at different times, resolving the contradiction between compression precision and cleaning accessibility.
Data Source
AI summary
A compression head assembly comprises a first platen assembly and a second platen assembly. The first platen assembly includes a compression head frame and a first punch assembly coupled with the compression head frame. The second platen assembly includes a moving frame coupled with the compression head frame and a second punch assembly coupled with the moving frame. At least one of the punch assemblies is movable relative to the compression head frame or the moving frame to apply a compressive force between the two punch assemblies. The moving frame is movable relative to the compression head frame between a lowered position a raised position. The compression head frame and the moving frame are interlocked in the lowered position to block movement of the compression head frame relative to the moving frame in response to a compressive force applied by the punch assemblies acting on compression head frame.