Dual Drum Continuous Coating System for Confectionery
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Solution Overview
Problem
Batch-type coating processes for confectionary products are labor-intensive and inefficient, particularly when applying multiple layers with compositional differences, as they can be damaging to delicate cores like chewy candy, which require a soft pre-coating before a hard outer coating.
Innovation Solution
A continuous coating system with a dual drum arrangement, where a first rotating drum applies a liquid material and a second rotating drum with a longer residence time applies a dry powder material, allowing for variation in drum interaction and ensuring sufficient binding time for the powder material.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If batch-type coating processes are used to apply multiple layers with compositional differences, then coating complexity and labor requirements increase, but processing efficiency decreases and delicate cores may be damaged
Solution Approach 1:
The coating system is segmented into multiple rotating drums, each configured for specific coating functions (liquid coating, powder coating, drying). This segmentation allows different coating layers to be applied simultaneously in different drums rather than sequentially in batch processes, improving efficiency while protecting delicate cores through gentle continuous handling.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements continuous coating action where confectionary cores move continuously through multiple rotating drums that apply liquid coating, powder coating, and drying simultaneously. This eliminates the stop-start nature of batch processes, maintaining continuous productive action while reducing processing time and labor requirements.
2Strength
If a hard outer coating is applied directly to delicate chewy candy cores, then coating strength increases, but core integrity deteriorates due to crushing or collapse
Solution Approach 1:
A soft liquid coating is applied first in the first rotating drum to create a protective pre-coating layer on delicate cores. This preliminary soft coating acts as a cushion that prevents core crushing during subsequent powder coating and tumbling operations, allowing the hard outer coating to be applied safely in later drums.
Solution Approach 2:
Different coating properties are applied at different stages: a soft liquid coating is applied first to protect delicate cores, followed by a hard powder coating for outer strength. Each drum provides locally optimized coating conditions, with the first drum providing gentle liquid coating and subsequent drums providing progressively harder coatings.
3Productivity
If powder material is applied in a drum with short residence time, then processing speed increases, but powder binding to liquid material is insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The system uses dynamically adjustable drum rotation speeds to control residence time in each coating drum. The second drum, which applies powder material, is configured with slower rotation to provide extended residence time (several seconds to minutes) allowing thorough powder binding to liquid coating, while maintaining continuous production flow.
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
This system enables efficient and stable coating of confectionary products by providing a soft pre-coating followed by a hard outer coating, improving product stability and reducing the risk of damage to delicate cores, while minimizing labor and processing time.
Implementation Method 1
a first rotating drum rotatable about a first drum axis and a second rotating drum rotatable about a second drum axis... wherein said first rotating drum is configured to apply a liquid material to the individual pieces of confectionery product
Implementation Method 2
wherein said second rotating drum is configured to apply a dry powder material to the individual pieces of confectionery product... so that the powder material has sufficient time to bind to the liquid material
Implementation Method 3
A continuous flow of heated air is circulated through the drums and dries the coating solution on the gum cores
Data Source
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AI summary
Disclosed is a system for continuously coating individual pieces of confectionary product, the system including a product feed device, at least one drum coating arrangement configured to continuously receive the individual pieces of confectionary product from the product feed device, the drum coating arrangement including a first rotating drum rotatable about a first drum axis and a second rotating drum rotatable about a second drum axis, a first drum volume defined by the first rotating drum, and a second drum volume defined by the second rotating drum, the first drum volume being communicable with the second drum volume, wherein the drum coating arrangement is configured such that the confectionary product has a longer residence time in the second drum volume than the first drum volume.