METHOD OF SUPPLYING A RAW MATERIAL QUANTITY TO A PRODUCTION MACHINE, AND DEVICE AND METHOD FOR PRODUCING A FOOD PRODUCT

Abstract

A raw material quantity is supplied by a supply unit along a trajectory through a supply opening into the production machine. The trajectory of the raw material quantity is changeable. A supply unit for supplying a raw material quantity into a production machine comprises a supply channel portion having an exit opening and a feed hopper. The supply unit has at least one actuating unit, by which an actuating movement of the supply channel portion and/or of the feed hopper can be generated, so that the supply channel portion can be displaced relative to the feed hopper. A raw material mixture is supplied to the extrusion machine by the moved supply unit. In this way it is possible to supply the raw material mixture into the extrusion machine in a particularly uniform manner so that the raw material mixture can be processed by means of the extrusion machine.

Claims

1-21. (canceled)

22. A supply unit (1) for supplying a raw material quantity into a production machine (2), comprising: a supply channel portion (3) having an exit opening (4) and a feed hopper (5), wherein the raw material quantity can be conveyed through the exit opening (4) of the supply channel portion (3) into a feed opening (6) of the feed hopper (5) and supplied through the feed hopper (5) to the production machine (2), and wherein the supply unit (1) has at least one actuating unit (7), by which an actuating movement of the supply channel portion (3) and/or of the feed hopper (5) can be generated, so that the supply channel portion (3) can be caused to displace relative to the feed hopper (5).

23. The supply unit (1) according to claim 22, wherein an actuating movement that can be generated by the at least one actuating unit (7) causes a displacement of the supply channel portion (3) or of the feed hopper (5), so that a distance between a longitudinal axis (8) of a supply tube and a longitudinal axis (8) of the feed hopper (5) is adjustable.

24. The supply unit (1) according to claim 22, wherein an actuating movement that can be generated by the at least one actuating unit (7) causes a displacement and/or a tilting of the supply channel portion (3) or of the feed hopper (5), so that an inclination angle between a longitudinal axis (8) of the supply channel portion (3) and a longitudinal axis (8) of the feed hopper (5) is adjustable.

25. The supply unit (1) according to claim 24, wherein a lateral distance and/or an inclination angle between a longitudinal axis (8) of the supply channel portion (3) and the longitudinal axis (8) of the feed hopper (5) is adjustable by the displacement and/or the tilting of the supply channel portion (3) and of the feed hopper (5).

26. The supply unit (1) according to claim 22, wherein the actuating movement that can be generated by the at least one actuating unit (7) can be executed in an alternating direction.

27. The supply unit (1) according to claim 22, wherein a travel path of the actuating movement that can be generated by the at least one actuating unit (7) is adjustable.

28. The supply unit (1) according to claim 27, wherein a speed of the actuating movement that can be generated by the at least one actuating unit (7) is changeable within the travel path.

29. The supply unit (1) according to claim 27, wherein an acceleration of the actuating movement that can be generated by the at least one actuating unit (7) is changeable within the travel path.

30. The supply unit (1) according to claim 22, wherein a diameter of the feed opening (6) of the feed hopper (5) is larger than a diameter of the exit opening (4) of the supply channel portion (3).

31. A method for processing a raw material mixture in an extrusion machine for manufacturing a food product, comprising: supplying the raw material mixture to the extrusion machine by a moved supply unit (1) as in claim 22, wherein the raw material mixture is adjustable at different feed positions within the supply opening by an actuating movement of a supply channel portion (3) and/or a feed hopper (5) of the supply unit (1), which enables a particularly uniform supply of a raw material quantity into the extrusion machine, so that the raw material mixture can be processed by the extrusion machine, wherein the raw material mixture has a fiber raw material and a carrier raw material, wherein the fiber raw material has a process by-product of a food manufacturing process, and wherein the carrier raw material has whole-grain components.

32. The method according to claim 31, wherein the raw material mixture has 5 wt.% to 80 wt.% fiber raw material and 1 wt.% to 95 wt.% carrier raw material.

33. The method according to claim 31, wherein a proportion of the process by-product in the fiber raw material is 1 wt.% to 100 wt.%.

34. The method according to claim 31, wherein the process by-product has plant-based raw materials consisting of press cakes, filter cakes, husks and/or spent grains.

35. The method according to claim 31, wherein the process by-product has 5 wt.% to 20 wt.% water.

36. The method according to claim 31, wherein the whole-grain components are selected from the group consisting of maize, rice, wheat, barley, rye, oats, spelt, another cereal, and a combination thereof.

37. The method according to claim 31, wherein the raw material mixture has a further component.

38. The method according to claim 37, wherein the further component is selected from the group consisting of water, sweetening agents, table salt, fats and oils, functional ingredients, flavors, and combinations thereof.

39. The method according to claim 31, wherein the raw material mixture supplied to the extrusion machine is extruded with a single-screw extrusion device.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0044] FIG. 1 shows a schematic representation of a supply unit for supplying a raw material quantity into a production machine.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0045] FIG. 1 is a schematic representation of a supply unit 1 according to the invention for supplying a raw material quantity not shown in FIG. 1 into a production machine 2. The supply unit 1 consists of a supply channel portion 3 having an exit opening 4 and a feed hopper 5 with a feed opening 6. The raw material quantity exits the supply channel portion 3 and is supplied to the production machine 1 via the feed opening 6 of the feed hopper 5. In this case, the supply channel portion 3 in the supply unit 1 shown as configured according to the invention is oriented perpendicularly and arranged above the supply hopper 5. Due to the perpendicular arrangement, gravity-assisted conveying can be achieved. In the configuration of the supply unit 1 shown in FIG. 1, two actuating units 7 are arranged in the region of the exit opening 6 on the supply channel portion 3. By arranging the two actuating units 7 in this way, actuating movements can be carried out in different directions perpendicular to the orientation of the supply channel portion 3, whereby a displacement of the exit opening 4 of the supply channel portion 3 can be generated. This allows, for example, a relative distance to be created between a longitudinal axis 8 of the supply channel portion 3 and a longitudinal axis 8 of the feed hopper 5. The feed hopper 5 is fixed to the production machine 2. The diameter of the feed opening 6 of the feed hopper 5 is larger than the diameter of the exit opening 4 of the supply channel portion 3, which determines the maximum permissible travel path for the relative displacement of the supply channel portion 3 from the feed hopper 5 in order to be able to supply the raw material quantity exiting the exit opening 4 of the supply channel portion 3 into the feed opening 6 of the feed hopper 5.

[0046] A raw material mixture is processed in a raw material mixer into a free-flowing raw material mixture. The raw material mixture consists of a fiber raw material and a carrier raw material. The fiber raw material consists of the press cake, which was created as a process by-product of a juice manufacturing process. The press cake contains the skin, pulp, seeds and the residual juice of berries. The carrier raw material consists of maize and has the components of the whole maize grain, such that the bran, the germ and the endosperm are contained in the carrier raw material. The raw material mixture consists of 80 wt.% fiber raw material and 20 wt.% carrier raw material. Due to the water content of the fiber raw material, the raw material mixture contains 20 wt.% water, which makes the raw material mixture suitable for further processing in the extrusion machine. Adding water or drying the raw material mixture is not necessary. Because of the poor flowability of the raw material mixture due to the fibers and the associated high risk of bridging, it is supplied to the extrusion machine via the moving supply unit. In this case, the raw material mixture is conveyed into the extrusion machine through a supply unit moved in an oscillating manner, whereby bridging during the supply of the raw material mixture is avoided. The extrusion process is carried out with a single-screw extruder. Due to the high proportion of raw material and at the same time high proportion of fat and protein within the raw material mixture, extrudate is generated that barely expands after leaving the nozzle, so that hard and fine-pored extrudate is generated. The nozzle is configured in such a way that ring-shaped extrudate is produced. Following the extrusion process, the extrudate is refined with further components. The extrudate is wetted with oil and finally seasoned with table salt. By this refinement of the extrudate, a tasty and appealing food product is manufactured.

LIST OF REFERENCE NUMERALS

[0047] 1. Supply unit [0048] 2. Production machine [0049] 3. Supply channel portion [0050] 4. Exit opening [0051] 5. Feed hopper [0052] 6. Feed opening [0053] 7. Actuating unit [0054] 8. Longitudinal axis