High-Amplitude Corrugated Snack Structure for Uniform Dehydration
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing corrugated food products face challenges in achieving uniform moisture after dehydration, requiring perforations that increase waste and processing time, and struggle to maintain strength and texture for use as dip carriers.
Innovation Solution
A high-amplitude corrugated food product with in-phase corrugated patterns on opposing sides, featuring a normalized area moment of inertia between 20 x 10^-8 m^3 and 160 x 10^-8 m^3, a dehydration factor of less than 1.7, and a 90°-to-0° hardness ratio and crispiness ratio of at least 2.6 and 2.75 respectively, allowing for uniform dehydration and enhanced textural characteristics without perforations.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If corrugated food products are made with varying thickness to enable dehydration, then cooking uniformity is improved, but product strength and structural integrity deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by creating corrugations with varying local thicknesses (peaks and valleys) within an overall uniform thickness product. The corrugations provide localized thinning for improved dehydration and cooking uniformity, while the overall uniform thickness and reinforced peak structures maintain product strength and structural integrity.
2Manufacturing precision
If perforations are added to corrugated food products to enable proper cooking, then dehydration uniformity is improved, but product complexity and processing time increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the dehydration function from separate perforations and integrates it directly into the corrugation structure itself. The corrugations create inherent pathways for moisture escape and heat penetration, eliminating the need for additional perforations and reducing product complexity while maintaining dehydration uniformity.
3Ease of manufacture
If high-amplitude corrugations are created to enhance texture, then consumer appeal is improved, but dehydration time increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies dimensionality change by creating three-dimensional high-amplitude corrugations that extend vertically from the product surface. These corrugations increase surface area and create multiple dehydration pathways, enhancing consumer appeal through unique texture while actually reducing dehydration time by providing more escape routes for moisture.
4Ease of manufacture
If uniform thickness is maintained in corrugated products, then manufacturing simplicity is improved, but cooking uniformity deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies segmentation by dividing the product thickness into distinct regions (peaks, valleys, and intermediate zones) within the corrugation structure. This segmentation creates varying local thicknesses that promote uniform cooking and dehydration, while the overall uniform thickness is maintained for manufacturing simplicity.
Data Source
AI summary
A high-amplitude corrugated food product and method of making same. The corrugated food product comprises a corrugated surface on opposing surfaces, each surface having a plurality of peaks with substantially equal amplitude values of at least about 2.54 mm. The corrugated food product further comprises a high area moment of inertia of between about 20 x lCT8 m3 to about 160 x 10-8 m3 with a dehydration factor of less than about 1.7, which provides for less breakage and more texture. The corrugated food product has a 90°- to-0° hardness ratio of at least about 2.78 and a 90°-to-0° and a crispiness ratio of at least about 3.14.