Three-Dimensional Gummy Snacks Shaping Device
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional methods for producing gummy snacks fail to create three-dimensional snacks with detailed, controlled configurations on all sides due to limitations in mold materials and processes, leading to imperfect shapes and costly polycarbonate molds.
Innovation Solution
The use of novel shaping devices made from materials like silicones, rubbers, plastics, and metal alloys, which allow for detailed three-dimensional shaping and easy demolding, eliminating the need for starch beds and the associated cleaning process.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If starch beds are used as molds, then the manufacturing cost is low, but the manufacturing precision is poor because the material does not allow any detail in the formation of the cavities
Solution Approach 1:
The mold is divided into two separate parts: a starch bed that forms the cavity and a separate stamping element that provides the detailed shape. This segmentation allows each component to fulfill its specific function - the starch bed provides easy manufacture while the stamping element provides manufacturing precision.
Solution Approach 2:
A stamping element acts as an intermediary between the starch bed cavity and the final product. The stamping element transfers the detailed shape onto the syrup while the starch bed simply provides the cavity space, mediating between the low-cost starch bed and the high-precision requirement.
2Manufacturing precision
If polycarbonate molds are used, then the manufacturing precision is high, but the device complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses a disposable starch bed instead of expensive, complex polycarbonate molds. The starch bed is inexpensive and can be discarded after use, eliminating the need for costly, complex mold structures while still achieving the desired manufacturing precision through the stamping element.
Solution Approach 2:
The complex shape-defining function is extracted from the mold structure itself and transferred to a separate stamping element. This allows the mold (starch bed) to remain simple and inexpensive while the stamping element provides the necessary three-dimensional shape control.
3Ease of manufacture
If starch beds are used as molds, then the ease of manufacture is high, but loss of substance occurs due to starch adhering to the gummy snacks requiring cleaning
Solution Approach 1:
The patent converts the harmful effect of starch adhesion into a beneficial release mechanism. By stamping the syrup into a raised relief shape that protrudes from the starch bed, the syrup solidifies with a flat bottom that does not adhere to the starch, turning the potential adhesion problem into a clean release solution.
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
Enables the production of gummy snacks with high detail and perfect three-dimensional shapes, reduced costs, and innovative transparency and crystallinity, while avoiding defects and the need for starch removal.
Implementation Method 1
After filling, the beds are placed in refrigeration chambers or freezers to harden
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention relates to an innovative procedure for producing three-dimensional candies, preferably of the type known in the food industry as gummy snacks, which eliminates the stamping of starch beds and the cleaning process of the chilled product, furthermore having control of detail on all sides of the product, as well as a transparency and crystallinity never before achieved with the procedures known and traditionally used in the food industry. Likewise, the invention incorporates a completely novel shaping device consisting of two plates connected by a male-female system and with a plurality of product-shaping cavities that are in contact with all sides of the product to be formed.