Solid Belt Coating System for Food Products
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing food product coating systems, particularly enrobers with open mesh conveyor belts, are expensive, complex, and require extensive downtime for cleaning, especially when coating the bottom and sides of products like chewy grain bars with liquid coatings.
Innovation Solution
A system utilizing a solid conveyor belt with a dispenser head for applying a thick, viscous coating material directly onto the belt, which coats the bottom and sides of food products, and includes a detailer assembly for even coating and excess removal, allowing for efficient recycling of the coating material.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If an open mesh conveyor belt is used in an enrober system to enable coating of multiple surfaces, then the coating capability is improved, but the cleaning time and complexity increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the physical state of the conveyor belt from open mesh to solid, and changes the coating material from liquid to thick/viscous. This parameter change eliminates the need for complex cleaning of mesh links while still achieving multi-surface coating through the viscosity properties of the thick coating material that prevents it from flowing through or off the solid belt.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent inverts the traditional approach by using a non-porous solid belt instead of a porous mesh belt. This reversal eliminates the cleaning complexity associated with porous materials while maintaining coating effectiveness through the thick coating material's ability to adhere to the solid surface and coat multiple surfaces of the food product.
2Ease of operation
If a solid conveyor belt is used to simplify cleaning, then the ease of operation is improved, but the ability to allow excess coating to fall through for reuse is lost
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the viscosity parameter of the coating material from liquid to thick, which fundamentally alters its behavior. The thick coating material does not flow through or off the solid belt, instead remaining on the belt surface where it can coat the food product. Excess coating is removed by the detailer assembly and recovered, enabling reuse without requiring the belt to be porous or open mesh.
3Productivity
If liquid coating material is used with an open mesh belt, then the coating can be applied efficiently, but the cleaning complexity and downtime increase to 20-35 hours
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the viscosity parameter of the coating material from liquid to thick, which fundamentally alters its behavior. The thick coating material does not flow through or off the solid belt, instead remaining on the belt surface where it can coat the food product. Excess coating is removed by the detailer assembly and recovered, enabling reuse without requiring the belt to be porous or open mesh.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent inverts the traditional approach by using a non-porous solid belt instead of a porous mesh belt. This reversal eliminates the cleaning complexity associated with porous materials while maintaining coating effectiveness through the thick coating material's ability to adhere to the solid surface and coat multiple surfaces of the food product.
4Manufacturing precision
If the coating material is made thick to prevent flowing off the belt, then the coating uniformity is improved, but the ability to coat only the bottom surface is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the viscosity parameter of the coating material from liquid to thick, which fundamentally alters its behavior. The thick coating material does not flow through or off the solid belt, instead remaining on the belt surface where it can coat the food product. Excess coating is removed by the detailer assembly and recovered, enabling reuse without requiring the belt to be porous or open mesh.
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 solution reduces cleaning time from 20-35 hours to 4 hours, enhances production line efficiency, and applies a uniform coating to food products without the need for lateral containment structures, making the process more cost-effective and efficient.
Implementation Method 1
the coating material is thick so as to not ready flow off the belt
Implementation Method 2
excess coating is removed from the food product to establish an even bottom coating, particularly by directing each coated food product over a detailer assembly
Data Source
AI summary
A product conveying and coating system includes at least first and second, sequentially arranged conveyor belts, with at least the second conveyor belt being a solid belt. Interposed in a gap between the first and second belts is a dispenser head of a coating manifold. The dispenser head spans the gap between upper surface portions of the first and second conveyor belts, with an elongated side wall outlet portion of the dispenser head being exposed, in a downstream direction of the overall conveyor unit, to the upper surface of the second conveyor belt. The system provides for dispensing of coating material directly onto the second, solid conveyor belt and enrobing at least bottom and partial side portions of food products upon the solid belt. Provisions are made for scraping from the solid belt, removing from the coated food products and recycling excess coating material.