VIBRATORY BATTER APPLICATION

Abstract

Batter is applied to food products by depositing the products atop a coating pan which vibrates such that the products are transported along the pan. As this occurs, batter is supplied atop the coating pan and the products. The coating pan is preferably configured such that the products tumble across the pan, thereby better ensuring that the products are coated on all sides with batter. The products are then received on a vibrating drainage pan having a perforated drainage pan surface, whereby excess batter drains from the batter-coated products through the perforations as the products are transported across the drainage pan. Batter-coated products leaving the drainage pan can then be received by a fryer, oven, conveyor, or other food processing equipment.

Claims

1. A batter applicator for applying batter to food products, the batter applicator including: a. a coating pan having a coating pan surface extending between a coating pan input end to a coating pan output end; b. a batter supply assembly: (1) situated above the coating pan surface, and (2) having one or more apertures through which batter flows toward the coating pan surface; c. a drainage pan: (1) situated: (a) to receive food products from the coating pan output end, and (b) lower than the coating pan input end, and (3) being perforated, whereby batter flows through the perforations; d. a vibrator coupled to the coating pan and drainage pan such that vibrations from the vibrator move food products along a product travel path from the coating pan to the drainage pan.

2. The batter applicator of claim 1 wherein the coating pan input end is higher than the coating pan output end.

3. The batter applicator of claim 2 wherein the coating pan surface is nonplanar, whereby food products tumble while traveling from the coating pan input end to the coating pan output end along the product travel path.

4. The batter applicator of claim 1 wherein the coating pan has a series of steps descending from the coating pan input end to the coating pan output end.

5. The batter applicator of claim 4 wherein each step has a greater length along the product travel path than a height with respect to any adjacent step.

6. The batter applicator of claim 1 wherein each perforation is situated at the bottom of a respective concave depression formed in the drainage pan surface.

7. The batter applicator of claim 1 wherein: a. the coating pan and drainage pan are affixed to a frame, and b. the vibrator is coupled to the frame by springs.

8. The batter applicator of claim 7 wherein: a. the vibrator is attached to a chassis, and b. the frame is coupled to the chassis by the springs.

9. The batter applicator of claim 8 wherein at least a portion of the drainage pan is situated beneath the chassis, with at least some of the springs descending from the chassis to the frame.

10. A batter applicator for applying batter to food products, the batter applicator including: a. a coating pan having a coating pan surface extending between a coating pan input end to a coating pan output end, wherein: (1) the coating pan input end is higher than the coating pan output end, and (2) the coating pan surface is nonplanar, whereby food products tumble while traveling from the coating pan input end to the coating pan output end along a product travel path through the batter applicator; b. a drainage pan having a drainage pan surface extending between a drainage pan input end to a drainage pan output end, wherein: (1) the drainage pan input end follows the coating pan output end along the product travel path, and (2) the drainage pan surface is perforated; c. a batter supply assembly adjacent the coating pan input end, the batter supply assembly being configured to supply batter atop the coating pan; d. a vibrator configured to oscillate the coating pan and drainage pan so that food products move along the product travel path.

11. The batter applicator of claim 10 wherein the batter supply assembly: a. is situated above the coating pan surface, and b. has one or more apertures through which batter flows toward the coating pan surface.

12. The batter applicator of claim 10 wherein the coating pan has a series of steps descending from the coating pan input end to the coating pan output end.

13. The batter applicator of claim 12 wherein each step has a greater length along the product travel path than a height measured with respect to any adjacent step.

14. The batter applicator of claim 10 wherein the drainage pan includes concave depressions defined therein, with each perforation in the drainage pan being at the bottom of one of the depressions.

15. The batter applicator of claim 10 further including: a. a frame to which the coating pan and the drainage pan are affixed, and b. springs coupling the frame to the vibrator.

16. The batter applicator of claim 10 further including: a. a chassis bearing the vibrator thereon, and b. a frame coupled to the coating pan and drainage pan, and c. springs coupling the frame to the chassis.

17. The batter applicator of claim 16 wherein: a. at least a portion of the drainage pan is situated beneath the chassis, and b. at least some of the springs descend from the chassis to the frame.

18. A method for applying batter to food products using the batter applicator of claim 10, the method including the steps of: a. depositing food products atop the coating pan near the coating pan input end, b. supplying batter atop the coating pan adjacent the coating pan input end via the batter supply assembly, c. oscillating the coating pan and drainage pan to move food products along the product travel path.

19. A method for applying batter to food products, the method including the steps of: a. depositing food products atop a coating pan near a coating pan input end, wherein the food products: (1) tumble downwardly along the coating pan to a coating pan output end, and (2) are subsequently received atop a drainage pan extending from a drainage pan input end to a drainage pan output end, with a perforated drainage pan surface therebetween; b. supplying batter atop the coating pan and the food products thereon; c. oscillating the coating pan and drainage pan to move the food products along a product travel path extending across the coating pan and the drainage pan.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0012] FIG. 1 depicts an exemplary batter applicator machine 100 with its drainage pan 104 in the foreground.

[0013] FIG. 2 depicts the batter applicator machine 100 of FIG. 1 from a vantage nearly opposite that used in FIG. 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY VERSIONS OF THE INVENTION

[0014] Expanding on the discussion above, the coating pan 102 and drainage pan 104 are each typically formed as one or more sheets of material which may be bent, perforated, adorned (for example, with fins or wedges), or otherwise constructed to have surface features which have desired effects on the travel of the food products in question along the pan. To illustrate, the coating pan 102 of the depicted batter applicator machine 100, when used to apply batter to chicken cutlets, has steps 126 which each have a length along the product travel path which approximates the average horizontal/lateral dimensions of a chicken cutlet, and a height which is approximately equal to the thickness of a chicken cutlet. These dimensions have been found to promote tumbling of the batter-coated cutlet along the batter-coated coating pan 102 (at least when using the type of batter desired for the cutlets, and when the depicted vibratory arrangement is used at its default oscillation frequency). However, food products having different dimensions (e.g., vegetables, cheese sticks, etc.) might benefit from different coating pan 102 configurations. The coating pan 102 might also or alternatively have an extended planar or slightly depressed region immediately adjacent its coating pan input end 122 in which batter collects to help ensure that the bottoms of incoming food products are thoroughly coated with batter prior to reaching the depicted drainage pan 104. To assist this function, the coating pan surface 120 might bear one or more perforations 134 from which batter is pumped (e.g., from a slot adjacent the coating pan input end 122), providing a puddle of batter onto which incoming food products are deposited (and with the flow of batter usefully helping to carry food products forwardly along the product travel path).

[0015] Similarly, the drainage pan 104 can be differently configured to better suit the food products being coated and the characteristics of the batter (its viscosity, its input/flow rate, etc.). Some or all perforations 134 might be shaped as other than circular holes (e.g., as elongated slots, as triangular holes or chevron-shaped slots, etc.), and the sizes of the perforations 134 can vary across the drainage pan surface 128 (as by having larger perforations 134 near the drainage pan input end 130, and smaller perforations 134 near the drainage pan output end 132, such that batter depth is maintained relatively constant across the drainage pan surface 128). The drainage pan surface 128 might be at least partially defined by a mesh sheet, as an array of parallel bars/rods, and/or by a louvered/corrugated sheet (wherein perforations 134 might be provided in at least the valleys in the sheet).

[0016] Additional pans could be provided prior to, following, and/or between the coating pan 102 and drainage pan 104, and/or one or both of the coating pan 102 and drainage pan 104 can be formed in separate sections (as with the depicted drainage pan 104, which is actually formed in two separate sections, or as two separate drainage pans, in the illustrated batter applicator machine 100). As an example, an unadorned planar pan might be included somewhere downstream the coating pan 102, and might be cooled or heated to adapt the viscosity of the batter on the coated food products riding on the pan, and/or to partially cook the batter.

[0017] The depicted batter supply assembly 114 is of the waterfall enrober type, wherein batter within a reservoir flows through one or more slot-like apertures extending over and across the coating pan 102, such that one or more continuous thin curtains of batter fall from the apertures toward the coating pan 102. In the depicted batter supply assembly 114, batter is pumped through a batter inlet 138 (FIG. 2) into an upper receiving compartment 140, which has descending front and rear walls 142 (FIG. 1) and 144 (FIG. 2) which extend above and across the width of the coating pan 102, and which extend downwardly into the interior of a lower reservoir 146 to stop slightly above the floor of the lower reservoir 146, defining an open bottom in the upper receiving compartment 140. The upper receiving compartment 140 is typically provided with a cover which extends across its open top to prevent batter from overflowing from the upper receiving compartment 140, but such a cover is not mandatory, and is not shown. The lower reservoir's front and rear walls 148 (FIG. 1) and 150 (FIG. 2) then rise adjacent the upper receiving compartment's front and rear walls 142 and 144 to stop slightly below the batter inlet 138. As a result of this arrangement, batter supplied into the batter inlet 138 collects within and fills the (covered) upper receiving compartment 140 to drain from its open bottom into the lower reservoir 146, and is pushed therefrom by the pressure of the batter flowing from the upper receiving compartment 140 to flow from the slots 152 defined between the top edges of the front and rear reservoir walls 148 and 150 and the opposing front and rear walls 142 and 144 of the upper receiving compartment 140. The batter therefore flows over the rear wall 150 of the lower reservoir 146 as a first curtain of batter encountered by product on the coating pan 102, and similarly flows over the front wall 148 of the lower reservoir 146 as a second curtain.

[0018] Other types of enrober batter supply assemblies could be used instead, including ones which dispense only a single curtain of batter, or more than two curtains (such as a series of curtains spaced at intervals across all or part of the length of the coating pan 102). The batter supply assembly 114 could alternatively be a shower-type or spray-type batter applicator, where a reservoir or conduit (which may contain pressurized or unpressurized batter) supplies batter through apertures to shower, spray or otherwise deposit the batter onto the coating pan 102 (and onto any product thereon). A spreader-type batter applicator, wherein a spray of batter is generated by applying batter to a spinning disc, spinning blades, or other spinning structures, could instead or also be used. The batter supply assembly 114 could also or alternatively be provided by the aforementioned pumping of batter through a slot or other perforation(s) provided in the coating pan 102, or provided slightly off of the coating pan 102 and adjacent to the coating pan input end 122.

[0019] While not depicted in the drawings, the batter supply assembly 114 might include a means for adjusting the temperature of the batter, such as conduits which circulate cooling fluid about any batter reservoirs or conduits, and/or thermoelectric coolers. Cooling the batter can increase its viscosity (and thus its adhesion to product), as well as inhibiting bacterial growth.

[0020] The exemplary batter applicator machine 100 might also include a batter removal assembly (apart from the drainage pan 104) to assist with the removal of excess batter from food products. As an example, one or more air knivesthat is, a supply of pressurized air, typically providing a curtain of pressurized airmight be situated above the drainage pan 104 and/or coating pan 102, helping to blow excess batter downwardly off of coated food products.

[0021] The frame 106 supporting the coating pan 102 and drainage pan 104 preferably supports at least the outer sides/edges of the pans 102 and 104, but does not directly support the pan surfaces 120 and 128, or at least leaves a major part of the perforated drainage pan surface 128 unsupported/unobstructed so that batter freely drains from the drainage pan surface 128. In the exemplary batter applicator machine 100, the coating pan 102 and drainage pan 104 have upward bends 154 at their side edges, with these bends 154 then being removably attached to the frame 106 via hand-operable latches 156 so that the pans 102 and 104 can be easily removed from the frame 106 for cleaning and subsequent replacement. The upward bends 154which, if desired, can rise substantially above the frame 106help isolate the frame 106 from batter flowing on (and splashing from) the pans 102 and 104. A collection pan 158, only a portion of which is visible in FIGS. 1 and 2, is affixed to the frame 106 below the drainage pan 104, and has floors which slope downwardly to a drain, such that batter falling from the drainage pan 104 collects in the collection pan 158, and ultimately in the drain. A suitable pump and conduit can then pump the collected batter to the batter supply assembly 114 for reuse, supplementing any supply of fresh batter (that is, batter which has not yet been collected from the drainage pan 104 for reuse/recycling). Valves and/or other components for adjusting flow, and screens/filters and/or other components which promote batter quality, can be included along the conduit as needed.

[0022] The chassis 108 extends adjacent the opposing sides of the frame 106, with springs 112 (here leaf springs) bridging the chassis 108 and frame 106. The chassis 108 is preferably configured such that it rests above the frame 106 at the batter applicator 100's output end 118, with the springs 112 descending to connect to the frame 106. This allows the batter applicator 100 to be unobstructed beneath its output end 118, whereby its output end 118 can rest above, and deposit battered food products on or into, a subsequent food processing machine. In contrast, the chassis 108 preferably rests below the frame 106 at the batter applicator 100's input end 116, allowing ready access to and maintenance of the batter supply assembly 114. Bars 160 extend between the opposing sides of the chassis 108 above the drainage pan 104, and below the coating pan 102, to provide stiffness.

[0023] One or more vibrators 110 on the chassis 108 then transmit vibration to the frame 106 (and the pans 102 and 104 thereon) via the leaf springs 112. In the exemplary batter applicator 100, each vibrator 110 takes the form of a rotary motor carrying a rotating imbalance, which spins about an axis oriented at an acute angle with respect to the horizontal. The vibrations caused by the rotating imbalances cause the ends of the leaf springs 112 coupled to the frame 106 to sway in vertical planes coincident with the springs 112 (that is, in vertical planes extending alongside and between the chassis 108 and frame 106), thereby oscillating the frame 106 in directions oriented parallel to the product travel path. The force vectors imparted on the food products traveling on the pans 102 and 104 are in a forward (input end 116 to output end 118) and upward direction, driving the food products forwardly from the input end 116 to the output end 118.

[0024] The vibrator(s) 110 may take other forms, and may use any of the vibrating/oscillating arrangements used in known vibratory conveyors (also known as reciprocating conveyors, shaking conveyors, shuffle conveyors, and differential impulse conveyors, among other names). Exemplary arrangements can be found in conveyors and other equipment made by Vibratory Solutions, LLC of Lodi, Wis. (USA) (with examples being seen in U.S. Pat. Nos. 10,011,426; 9,635,880; 9,463,935; 9,370,197; 9,277,754; 8,359,995; 8,181,592; 7,757,836; and 7,703,411); and in conveyors and other equipment made by Key Technology Inc. of Walla Walla, Wash. (USA) (with examples being seen in U.S. Pat. Nos. 9,776,805; 9,481,526; 9,481,525; 9,415,941; 9,408,283; 9,254,965; 9,181,037; 9,132,966; 9,126,765; 8,733,540; 8,714,362; 8,708,153; 8,517,168; 8,283,589; 7,874,081; 7,842,896; 7,775,343; 7,475,767; 6,868,960; 6,655,523; 6,460,680; 6,308,822; 6,286,658; 6,276,518; 5,555,967; 5,314,056; and 5,037,536). The technical content of all of the foregoing patents should be regarded as incorporated within this document, such that this technical content forms a portion of this document's content.

[0025] A wheeled carriage 162 then rests below the chassis 108, and supports the chassis 108 on shock absorbers so that no or little vibration is transmitted to the carriage 162. The carriage 162 may be raised and lowered on its wheels 164, whereby the batter applicator 100 can be wheeled to a desired location along a food processing line, and may have its height appropriately adapted to receive food products from an upstream food processing machine for batter-coating, and to dispatch the coated products to a downstream food processing machine.

[0026] An exemplary version of the invention is shown in the drawings and described above merely to illustrate possible features, and a possible configuration, of the invention. The invention may be modified in numerous respects, as by adopting or substituting features shown in the patents listed above. The invention is therefore not intended to be limited to the exemplary version of the invention described above, but rather is intended to be limited only by the claims set out below. Thus, the invention encompasses all different versions that fall literally or equivalently within the scope of these claims.