Interchangeable Pull-Down Coating Devices
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional coating machines require significant time and effort to change between coating compositions, leading to production downtime, contamination risks, and material loss, due to the need for extensive cleaning and movement of coating masses.
Innovation Solution
A system with interchangeable pull-down devices that can be quickly swapped into a production position, eliminating the need for cleaning and material transfer, allowing for rapid composition changes without contamination risks.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the coating machine is completely emptied and cleaned to change coating composition, then contamination is avoided, but the time required for changing increases to six hours or more
Solution Approach 1:
The coating machine is divided into separable components: a stationary housing and removable pull-down devices. Each pull-down device can be independently removed and replaced, allowing the coating composition to be changed by simply swapping devices rather than cleaning the entire machine. This segmentation enables rapid composition changes while maintaining contamination avoidance through complete device replacement.
Solution Approach 2:
The pull-down devices are designed as disposable or easily replaceable components. When changing coating composition, the used pull-down device is discarded (removed from the machine) and replaced with a fresh or pre-prepared device containing the new coating composition. This approach eliminates the need for time-consuming cleaning while ensuring no contamination of the new coating material.
2Reliability
If the coating device is thoroughly cleaned and dried to prevent contamination, then product quality is maintained, but the complexity of the cleaning process increases and additional time is required
Solution Approach 1:
The pull-down device is extracted as a separate, removable component from the stationary housing. By taking out the part that comes into contact with the coating composition, the system eliminates the need to clean the complex stationary housing. The extracted pull-down device can be simply replaced rather than cleaned, significantly reducing process complexity while maintaining product quality through complete isolation of the coating material.
3Productivity
If the coating mass is moved between mass pans to change composition, then the coating machine can be reused, but material loss occurs due to spilling during movement
Solution Approach 1:
The coating system is segmented into the stationary housing and removable pull-down devices, each containing their own coating mass. This eliminates the need to transfer coating material between pans. Each pull-down device is self-contained with its coating composition, so when changing composition, the entire device with its coating mass is replaced as one unit, preventing any material loss from spilling during transfer.
4Reliability
If the coating device is cleaned with cleaning liquid, then residues are removed, but the risk of contamination with germs from cleaning liquid and drying process increases
Solution Approach 1:
The pull-down device is designed to be discarded or replaced rather than cleaned. By removing the component that contacts the coating material and replacing it with a fresh device, the system eliminates the entire cleaning process including the use of cleaning liquids and drying. This completely removes the risk of germ contamination from cleaning agents while ensuring the new coating material is not contaminated, as the new device has never contacted previous materials.
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 coating composition changes in under an hour, reducing downtime by at least five hours compared to conventional methods and preventing material loss and contamination.
Implementation Method 1
The coating mass can be kept at the correct temperature by means of a temperature control device on the mass pan
Data Source
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AI summary
The invention relates to a system (10; 310) for covering products, in particular food products, with different flowable covering masses, comprising: at least one first covering device (18; 3181) having an accommodating means for accommodating a first covering mass, at least one second covering device (18; 3182) having an accommodating means for accommodating a second covering mass, and a roof assembly (20; 320), which defines a production position (PP). The at least one first covering device (18; 3181) and the at least one second covering device (18; 3182) are associated with the roof assembly (20; 320). The at least one first covering device (18; 3181) and the at least one second covering device (18; 3182) can be alternately moved into a production position (PP) and can each be coupled to the roof assembly (20; 320) in the production position (PP).