Filled Confectionary Product Injection Method
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional methods for manufacturing filled confectionary products, such as candy canes, face difficulties in creating a large batch with uniform thickness and consistency, particularly when incorporating a soft candy interior within a hard candy exterior, as the soft candy tends to shift or seep out during the rolling process, leading to product loss and inconsistent final products.
Innovation Solution
A method involving the use of an elongate cannula in combination with a batch roller to inject a soft interior candy into a hard exterior candy, ensuring a consistent distribution and formation of the soft candy within the hard candy structure, with the hard candy forming 70% or more of the product and the soft candy forming 30% or less, allowing for the creation of candy canes with a crook along the axial portion.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If conventional hand-rolling methods are used to form filled confectionary products, then the soft candy can be placed within the hard candy log, but the soft candy shifts or seeps out during rolling, causing product loss and inconsistency
Solution Approach 1:
The soft candy is injected into the hard candy log before the rolling process begins. The injection system inserts a cannula into the hard candy log and deposits the soft candy filling in advance, so that when rolling occurs, the filling is already secured within the hard candy matrix, preventing shifting or seeping during the subsequent rolling operation
Solution Approach 2:
An injection system with a cannula acts as an intermediary device between the soft candy filling and the hard candy log. This intermediary mechanism enables precise deposition of the soft candy into the hard candy log without direct manual handling, ensuring controlled placement and preventing contamination or loss during the filling process
2Productivity
If conventional batch rolling methods are used for large batches, then production volume can be increased, but the soft candy seeps out during rolling, resulting in loss of the large batch
Solution Approach 1:
The injection system performs preliminary action by injecting the soft candy filling into the hard candy log before the rolling process begins. This advance injection ensures that the filling is securely positioned within the hard candy matrix, preventing seepage during the rolling operation and eliminating the need to discard entire batches due to filling loss
Solution Approach 2:
The manual hand-rolling method is replaced with a mechanical injection system that uses a cannula to deposit the soft candy filling. This mechanical substitution provides more precise and controlled filling compared to manual methods, reducing variability and preventing overfilling that could lead to seepage during rolling
3Ease of operation
If manual hand-rolling methods are used, then flexibility in shaping is maintained, but it is difficult to achieve consistent or uniform thickness throughout the product
Solution Approach 1:
The injection system performs preliminary action by injecting the soft candy filling into the hard candy log before rolling. This advance injection, combined with the subsequent rolling process, ensures that the filling is evenly distributed and the final product achieves uniform thickness throughout, eliminating the thickness variations that occur with manual hand-rolling methods
Data Source
AI summary
A filled candy cane formed by injecting a soft candy into a hardening, elongate candy. A method and means for same.