Shrimp Moulding Apparatus With Cavity Venting And Inlet Closure
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for forming plant-based shrimp alternatives often result in air bubbles and shape alteration due to expansion of minced fish during heating, which affects texture and appearance.
Innovation Solution
A food moulding apparatus with a closure arrangement and injector system that includes an inlet for receiving food stuff, an outlet for venting gas, and a mechanism to control pressure, ensuring the food stuff remains contained within the mould, using separate nozzles for colored and white food stuffs to replicate the appearance and texture of real shrimp.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Volume of moving object
If minced fish is added to a mould and heated to expand, then the product volume increases, but air bubbles are formed in the product and part of the fish expands out of the mould
Solution Approach 1:
The cavity is pre-filled with liquid food stuff before the expansion process begins. This preliminary action ensures that when heating causes expansion, the food stuff is already in position and contained within the mould, preventing both air bubble formation and material overflow while still achieving volume increase
Solution Approach 2:
The patent controls the physical state parameters of the food stuff by maintaining it in liquid form at controlled temperature and pressure conditions. By carefully managing these parameters during heating, the food stuff expands uniformly within the mould boundaries, achieving volume increase without compromising shape precision or creating air bubbles
2Stability of the object's composition
If the mould is heated to expand the food stuff, then the product texture improves, but air bubbles are formed which alter the texture
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates an environment free of air pockets by completely filling the cavity with liquid food stuff before heating. This eliminates air bubbles that would otherwise form during expansion, allowing the heating process to improve texture uniformly throughout the product without creating harmful air pockets
Solution Approach 2:
By pre-filling the cavity with liquid food stuff before heating, the system eliminates air pockets in advance. This preliminary action prevents air bubble formation during the heating process, allowing texture improvement to occur uniformly without disruption from trapped air
3Volume of moving object
If the food stuff is allowed to expand freely, then the product volume increases, but part of the fish expands out of the mould which alters appearance
Solution Approach 1:
The cavity is completely pre-filled with liquid food stuff before heating begins. This preliminary action ensures that during thermal expansion, the food stuff has no empty space to expand into and remains confined within the mould boundaries, achieving volume increase while maintaining precise shape and appearance
Solution Approach 2:
By controlling temperature and pressure parameters during heating, the patent achieves uniform expansion of the food stuff within the constrained mould space. The parameter control ensures volume increase occurs isotropically within the mould boundaries, preventing material ejection and maintaining appearance integrity
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
Prevents air bubbles and maintains the desired shape of the moulded product, achieving a high-quality replication of shrimp appearance and texture through controlled pressure and sequential injection of food components.
Implementation Method 1
an outlet configured in use to allow gas out of the cavity
Implementation Method 2
The mould is then heated which causes the minced fish to expand
Implementation Method 3
a closure arrangement, wherein the closure arrangement is configured to selectively close the inlet
Data Source
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AI summary
There is provided a food moulding apparatus. The moulding apparatus comprises at least one mould comprising at least one cavity for receiving a food stuff to be moulded, an injector arrangement comprising at least one injection nozzle or at least one array of injection nozzles. Each cavity comprises an inlet configured in use to receive the food stuff from the injector arrangement and an outlet configured in use to allow gas out of the cavity. The apparatus additionally comprises a closure arrangement, wherein the closure arrangement is configured to selectively close the inlet.