GB2469108A

GB2469108A - Apparatus for applying particulate material to the surface of food products

Info

Publication number: GB2469108A
Application number: GB0905730A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Peter Dawson
Original assignee: TURKINGTON EUROP Ltd
Current assignee: TURKINGTON EUROP Ltd
Priority date: 2009-04-03
Filing date: 2009-04-03
Publication date: 2010-10-06
Also published as: GB0905730D0

Abstract

An apparatus 2 applies a particulate material to the surface of at least two food products 24 arranged on a tray 22 and moving on a conveyor 20. The apparatus comprises a guide 10 positioned above the tray for guiding the material onto the food products. A drive means moves the guide 10 in the direction of the conveyor 20. The drive means is configured to move the guide at the same speed as the conveyor. A further invention relates to a guide 10 having an upper surface 12 and a lower surface 14, wherein at least two passageways extend through the guide from the upper surface to the lower surface. The entrances 16 of the passageways on the upper surface extend over a greater area than the exits 18 on the lower surface. The apparatus may be used for applying sesame seeds to the surface of hamburger buns. The guide moves with and is aligned with the food products ensuring the particulate material falls only on the surface of the food products, thus reducing waste.

Description

APPARATUS, GUIDE AND METHOD The present invention relates to an apparatus for applying a particulate material to the surface of food products. It also relates to a guide for use in the apparatus and a method of applying particulate material to the surface of food products.

There are many food products to which a particulate material is applied during manufacture. An example are hamburger buns, which often have sesame seed applied to their upper surface.

Bakery production lines typically oup food products together in trays. It is known to use rotary seeder or topper to spread particulate material on the surface of food products arranged in a tray. These typically use a rotating mandrel at the bottom of a hopper to dispense particulate material. The mandrel has spaced splined teeth formed on its outer surface. Rotating the mandrel produces a curtain of particulate material to be dispensed, which then lands on the surface of food products passing underneath. The rotation of the mandrel can be controlled to determine the rate at which the particulate material is dispensed and also to allow the dispensing to pause when there are no food products under the mandrel. These systems are well suited to mass production and can apply particulate material to the top of food products reliably on production lines. However, they have the disadvantage that any particulate material that lands on the tray in the gaps between food products is wasted and cannot be reused. It can also cause significant hygiene problems within factories.

US-4,61 1,555 (Burford) discusses a spreader for particulate material, such as sesame seeds, which goes some way towards reducing the waste. It dispenses the sesame seeds in rectangular areas arranged in rows and colunms corresponding to the upper surfaces of buns in a pan. A hopper holds the sesame seeds and they are dispensed by a rotating mandrel at the bottom of the hopper. The mandrel has blocking collars along its length.

The blocking collars define areas where no seeds are distributed, marking the spaces between columns of buns. As a pan passes under the mandrel it rotates intermittently so that seeds are dispensed when a bun is generally under the mandrel and not in the gaps in between rows of buns.

Although the apparatus of Burford is effective in reducing the waste there is inevitably still some waste remaining because the food products are very rarely rectangular in shape. For example, consider the case of a circular hamburger bun. Major hamburger chains and supermarkets impose strict requirements on the density and distribution of seeds on the buns they purchase. Assuming that it is possible to align the square area over which the seeds are dispensed exactly with the bun, almost 22% of the seeds are in fact dispensed over the tray and not the bun. This is a significant amount of wastage.

The apparatus of Burford also has some other disadvantages, it must be reprogrammed for each different arrangement of food products on trays. Unless the columns of each arrangement align exactly the mandrel will usually also need to be changed for each different arrangement so that the blocking collars are correctly placed. It can be difficult to change the mandrel for a different arrangement of food products because the hopper must be completely emptied to avoid jamming.

The present invention aims to reduce the amount of wastage when applying a particulate material to the surface of a food product. Accordingly, the present invention provides a guide that is positioned over food products in a tray and travels with them as they pass under a dispenser of particulate material. The guide channels the particulate material so that it falls only on the surface of the food products, reducing waste.

According to a first aspect of the invention, there is provided an apparatus for applying a particulate material to the surface of at least two food products arranged on a tray moving on a conveying means, the apparatus comprising: dispensing means for dispensing the particulate material; guide means for guiding the bulk particulate material onto the at least two food products; and drive means for moving the guide means in the direction of the conveying means; wherein the dispensing means is positioned above the guide means, the guide means is positioned above the tray and the drive means is configured to move the guide means at the same speed as the conveying means.

The dispensing means can have any suitable construction. In one embodiment the dispensing means is a rotating mandrel, in an alternative embodiment it may simply be a door or other closure that be opened to dispense the particulate material. The drive means can be any suitable drive. In one embodiment the drive means is a belt drive which may be reversible, in alternate embodiments it may be a direct drive system. Alternative drive means that can be used include ball screw drives and electric drives. The particulate material may be any topping applied to food products, such as seeds (including sesame seeds and poppy seeds), bran, oats, semolina and flour.

The guide means travels at the same speed as the conveying means and so remains stationary relative to conveying means and the tray carried by it as it passes under the dispenser. The guide means acts as a template, funnelling the particulate material so that it falls onto the upper surface of the food products and not onto the tray, reducing waste. As an advantage, this allows the dispensing means to be simplified -there is no need to intermittently rotate a mandrel or provide blocking collars as in Burford because the guide means directs the particulate material onto the surface of the food products. The apparatus can be adapted to different arrangements of food products simply by changing the guide means.

Various arrangements of the drive means and guide means can be used. If space is a premium or the apparatus is for retro-fitting to an existing production line a single guide means can be used. A reversible drive will allow the guide means to travel under the dispenser with a tray of food products before reversing and returning for the next tray.

Alternatively, if the space between trays is small such that there is insufficient time to return the guide for the next tray, a carousel of guide means can be provided so that a guide can be returning at the same time as another guide is travelling under the dispensing means.

It will be appreciated that the apparatus need not include the conveying means, allowing it to be retro-fitted into existing production lines. However, in one embodiment, the apparatus further comprises conveying means for moving the tray through the apparatus.

The conveying means may be a belt or roller conveyor.

The apparatus may further comprise means for adjusting the height of the guide means and/or the conveying means. This allows the tray and the guide to be closer together, reducing the likelihood of particulate material missing the surface of the food products as it leaves the guide, while allowing a higher clearance before the guide means and the tray of food products are aligned.

The guide means may have various configurations. In one embodiment, the guide means has an upper surface and a lower surface and defines at least two passageways extending through the guide means from the upper surface to the lower surface. The at least two passageways each define an entrance in the upper surface and an exit in the lower surface.

The entrances extend over a greater area of the upper surface than the area the exits extend over the lower surface. The exits are positioned to correspond to the arrangement of the at least two food products on the tray.

This configuration allows the guide means to function similar to a funnel, funnelling the particulate material onto the surface of the food products.

The exits may occupy substantially the same position and area on the lower surface of the guide as the position and area the at least two food products occupy on the tray. This is useful when coverage of the entire upper surface of the food product is desired.

Substantially all of the upper surface may be occupied by the entrances, so that virtually the whole upper surface of the guide can be used to collect the particulate material. The upper surface between each of the entrances may be angled towards the entrances, so that particulate material is directed towards the entrances. In some embodiments the upper surface may comprise a ridge between each of the entrances so that there are no areas where the particulate material might settle on the guide.

The action of the guide means may give unpredictable paths to the particulate material as it bounces from the walls of the passageways. This may mean that after leaving the exit the path of the particulate is such that it does not land on the surface of a food product. One way to alleviate this is have as minimal clearance as possible between the guide means and the surface of the food products.

In some embodiments at least one passageway may comprise means for aligning the paths of particulates passing through the passageway in the same direction. For example, a plurality of straight channels formed within the passageway, such as a honeycomb arrangement aligned vertically may be provided.

The guide means may have substantially the same dimensions as the tray in plan view, allowing it to be aligned easily with the fray and also more easily fitted to existing production lines.

The apparatus may further comprising sensing means connected to the drive means for sensing when a tray on the conveyor is positioned directly under the guide means. The sensing means may be a photo-sensor.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a guide for guiding particulate matter, wherein the guide has an upper surface and a lower surface and defines at least two passageways extending through the guide from the upper surface to the lower surface; each of the at least two passageways defines an entrance in the upper surface and an exit in the lower surface; and the entrances extend over a greater area of the upper surface than the area the exits extend over the lower surface.

The guide may be used in an apparatus according to the above described first aspect of the invention. Preferably the guide is for guiding particulate matter onto the surface of food products arranged on a tray, wherein the exits are positioned to correspond to the arrangement of food products on the tray.

The guide may share the features of the guide means in the above described first aspect.

The exits may occupy substantially the same position and area on the lower surface of the guide as the position and area the food products occupy on the tray. The guide may have substantially the same dimensions as the tray in plan view. Substantially all of the upper surface may be occupied by the entrances. The upper surface between each of the entrances may be angled towards the entrances. The upper surface may comprise a ridge between each of the entrances. At least one passageway may comprise means for aligning particulates passing through the passageway in a vertical direction. The means for aligning may be a plurality of straight channels formed within the passageway.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for applying particulate material to the surface of at least two food products arranged in a tray using a guide. The method comprises: positioning the tray under the guide; moving the tray and guide together at the same speed under a dispenser of particulate material; dispensing particulate material above the guide while the tray and guide are under the dispenser such that the guide guides the particulate material onto the surface of the at least two food products.

This method reduces wasted particulate material because the guide guides the particulate material onto the surface of the food products and therefore away from the parts of the tray not occupied by food products.

The method may further comprise sensing when the tray is under the guide before moving the guide. This ensures that the guide and tray are correctly aligned with each other.

The method may further comprise adjusting the height between the guide and the tray before moving the guide. The height is preferably adjusted so that the guide is as close as possible to the food products without touching the food products, for example within 5mm of the food products. This allows the tray and the guide to be closer together, reducing the likelihood of particulate material missing the surface of the food products as it leaves the guide.

Embodiments of the invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a diagrammatic representation of a cross section of an apparatus according to the present invention; Figure 2 is a diagrammatic representation of a plan view of a guide according to the present invention; and Figure 3 depicts a perspective view of an apparatus according to the present invention.

Figure 1 depicts a diagrammatic cross-sectional view of an apparatus 2 according to the present invention. The apparatus comprises a hopper 4 in which particulate material, such as sesame seeds, can be stored. The lower end of the hopper comprises an opening in which a rotatable mandrel 6 with splined teeth 8 is mounted. The rotatable mandrel 6 is connected to a drive which can rotate at varying speeds. Particulate material is dispensed from the hopper 4 at a rate generally proportional to the speed of rotation of the mandrel and falls under its own weight.

Positioned beneath the hopper is a guide 10. The guide 10 has an upper surface 12 and a lower surface 14. Several passageways pass from the upper surface to the lower surface.

Each passageway has an entrance 16 and an exit 18. As can be seen from the cross-section in Figure 1, the passageways are generally configured similar to funnels so that the area of the entrances 16 is greater than the area of the exits 18.

Positioned below the guide 10 is an optional conveyer 20, which is a belt conveyer in this embodiment. The conveyer 20 supports a tray 22 on which a number of food products 24 are arranged. In this embodiment the food products are circular hamburger buns. Figure 1 depicts the guide 10 aligned above the tray 22 just before it passes under the rotating mandrel 6. The guide 10 and tray 22 move together at the same speed in the same direction 26. As they move at the same speed in the same direction there is no relative movement between the guide 10 and the tray 22. The guide 10 therefore accurately guides particulate material dispensed by the rotating mandrel onto the surface of the food products 24.

Figure 2 depicts a plan view of the guide 10. In order to maximise the surface area used to gather the particulate material the openings 16 in the upper surface are as large as possible.

In this embodiment because the guide 10 is rectangular the openings 16 are also rectangular (square shaped in this embodiment) so that they fit together as closely as possible. The plan view clearly shows how the exits 22 occupy a smaller area than the entrances. In this embodiment the exits 22 are circular. in plan view corresponding to the circular shape of hamburger buns.

The upper surface of the guide 10 between the entrances 16 is not planar in this embodiment. Instead the upper surface is rounded to form ridges 28 between the openings.

This ensures that when particulate material falls on the upper surface of the guide it does not settle on the portions of the guide between the entrances 16 and is instead directed towards the entrances 16.

A perspective view of an apparatus according to the present invention is depicted in Figure 3. The hopper 4 and rotating mandrel 6 can clearly be seen positioned above the guide 10.

A tray 22 is positioned beneath the guide. As shown in Figure 3 the tray 22 has not yet reached alignment with the guide to pass under the mandrel. In order to determine when the tray 22 is aligned correctly with the guide 10 a photosensor 30 is provided. This is positioned at the position of the leading edge of the guide 10. When the leading edge of the tray 22 is sensed by the photosensor the tray 22 can be assumed to be aligned with the guide 10.

Also visible in Figure 3 is a belt drive 32 provided to move the guide 10 in both forward and reverse directions.

In use, the apparatus according to the invention is positioned in a production line in a bakery, Trays of bakery products, for example hamburger buns, exit the production line.

They are then wetted, for example using a mist of water to make the surface of the bakery products tacky so that the particulate material adheres more easily to their upper surface.

Wetting apparatus is well known in the art and is not depicted. Any suitable wetting apparatus may be used. Of course, if the surface of the bakery products is naturally sticky or tacky, no wetting apparatus need be provided.

When the tray is sensed to be aligned with the guide 10 by photosensor 30 the belt drive 32 is operated to move the guide under the mandrel 6 at the same speed as the tray 22 is carried by the conveyor 20. Thus the guide 10 functions as a template funnelling particulate material released by the rotating mandrel onto the surface of the bakery products.

Preferably the guide 10 is releasably retained in the apparatus, for example by a movable frame. This enables the guide 10 to be easily swapped when the configuration of food products on tray 20 alters. Different guides may be configured with different configurations of entrances and exits depending on the arrangement of the products on the tray. It will be appreciated that the apparatus can be used with numerous different guides depending on the configuration of products on a tray. The guides may be supplied separately from the apparatus.

In this embodiment the belt drive 32 is reversible. After the tray 22 has passed under the mandrel 6 it reverses and moves back into the position indicated in Figure 3 to await the arrival of the next tray of bakery products. In a typical production line the time between trays passing under the rotating mandrel may be as short as 0.3 seconds, with the tray itself taking 1.4 seconds to pass under the dispenser. The return path of the guide therefore requires significantly higher speed than when it travels under the dispenser over a tray of bakery products. To allow this high return speed the guide is made as light as possible and is preferably manufactured from a plastics material. Alternatively, it may be manufactured from any alternative, relatively lightweight material, such as aluminium. The apparatus is preferably fitted with a cover to prevent injury due to contact with the guide on its return motion.

In an alternate embodiment, in order to avoid the need for a high speed return a carousel of guides may be provided. This allows more than one guide to be used. More time is then available for a guide to return back at the same time as another guide travels under the dispenser with the next tray of products.

An apparatus according to the present invention allows a method of dispensing particulate material in which a guide travels between a dispenser and a tray of food products in order to direct material onto the surface of food products arranged in the tray.

In an alternate embodiment, the guide may include some means to avoid the effects of the particulate material bouncing off the edges of the passageways and possibly missing the surface of the food products when it leaves the exit of the passageway. This could be provided by an open honeycomb material installed in the passageway (not illustrated).

In another alternate embodiment the guide and conveyer may be arranged to move vertically relative to each other, i.e. in a direction perpendicular to the direction of travel of the conveyer. This allows the guide be adjusted as close to the tray of food products on the conveyer as possible, minimising the possibility of particulate material missing the surface of the food products when it leaves the exit of the passageway.

The relative movement could be provided by making either or both of the guide and the conveyer adjustable in height. It may be advantageous for the height adjustment to be carried out by adjusting the conveyer because this allows the weight of the guide to be kept as low as possible, enabling a quick return after the particulate material has been applied.

The height adjustment preferably takes place after the guide and tray of food products are aligned and may be anything up to 75 mm, more preferably up to 50 mm, for example around 30 mm. The height of food products is usually consistent for a given production run, so that once the optimum amount of movement is determined it can for used for subsequent trays of food products in that production run. The ideal height will be preferably less than 5 mm above the top of the food products without being low enough such that the guide contacts the top of the food products.

In a variation of this embodiment, the apparatus may further comprise a photo cell positioned above the normal height of food products on the tray to detect the presence of "doubles". Doubles sometimes occur and have a much higher height, if one is present on a tray the guide should not be moved closer to the food products to avoid contact with the double.

The features of the various embodiments may be combined. The present invention may be supplied for retro-fitting or for use with new production lines.

Claims

CLAIMS1. An apparatus for applying a particulate material to the surface of at least two food products arranged on a tray moving on a conveying means, the apparatus comprising: dispensing means for dispensing the bulk particulate material; guide means for guiding the bulk particulate material onto the at least two food products; and drive means for moving the guide means in the direction of the conveying means; wherein the dispensing means is positioned above the guide means, the guide means is positioned above the tray and the drive means is configured to move the guide means at the same speed as the conveying means.
2. An apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising conveying means for moving the tray through the apparatus.
3. An apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising means for adjusting the height of the guide means or the conveying means.
4. An apparatus according to claim 1, 2 or 3, wherein the guide means has an upper surface and a lower surface and defines at least two passageways extending through the guide means from the upper surface to the lower surface; the at least two passageways each define an entrance in the upper surface and an exit in the lower surface; the entrances extend over a greater area of the upper surface than the area the exits extend over the lower surface; and the exits are positioned to correspond to the arrangement of the at least two food products on the tray.
5. An apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the exits occupy substantially the same position and area on the lower surface of the guide as the position and area the at least two food products occupy on the tray
6. An apparatus according to claim 4 or 5, wherein substantially all of the upper surface is occupied by the entrances.
7. An apparatus according to any one of claim 4, 5 or 6, wherein the upper surface between each of the entrances is angled towards the entrances.
8. An apparatus according to any one of claims 4 to 7, wherein the upper surface comprises a ridge between each of the entrances.
9. An apparatus according to any one of claims 4 to 8, wherein at least one passageway comprises means for aligning the paths of particulates passing through the channel in the same direction.
10. An apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the means for aligning is a plurality of straight channels formed within the passageway.
11. An apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the guide means has substantially the same dimensions as the tray in plan view.
12. An apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims, further comprising sensing means connected to the drive means for sensing when a tray on the conveyor is positioned directly under the guide means.
13. A guide for guiding particulate matter, wherein the guide has an upper surface and a lower surface and defines at least two passageways extending through the guide from the upper surface to the lower surface; each of the at least two passageways defines an entrance in the upper surface and an exit in the lower surface; and the entrances extend over a greater area of the upper surface than the area the exits extend over the lower surface.
14. A guide according to claim 13 for guiding particulate matter onto the surface of food products arranged on a tray, wherein the exits are positioned to correspond to the arrangement of food products on the tray.
15. A guide according to claim 14, wherein the exits occupy substantially the same position and area on the lower surface of the guide as the position and area the food products occupy on the tray
16. A guide according to claim 14 or 15, wherein the guide has substantially the same dimensions as the tray in plan view.
17. A guide according to any one of claims 13 to 16, wherein substantially all of the upper surface is occupied by the entrances.
18. A guide according to any one of claims 13 to 17, wherein the upper surface between each of the entrances is angled towards the entrances.
19. A guide according to any one of claims 13 to 18, wherein the upper surface comprises a ridge between each of the entrances.
20. A guide according to any one of claims 13 to 19, wherein at least one passageway comprises means for aligning particulates passing through the channel in a vertical direction.
21. A guide according to claim 20, wherein the means for aligning is a plurality of straight channels formed within the passageway.
22. A method for applying particulate material to the surface of at least two food products arranged in a tray using a guide, the method comprising: positioning the tray under the guide; moving the tray and guide together at the same speed under a dispenser of particulate material; dispensing particulate material above the guide while the tray and guide are under the dispenser such that the guide guides the particulate material onto the surface of the at least two food products.
23. A method according to claim 22, further comprising sensing when the tray is under the guide before moving the guide.
24. A method according to claim 23, further comprising adjusting the height between the guide and the tray before moving the guide.