Mold with optimized heat transfer properties

Abstract

A mold (1) for the production of confectionery products, comprising a top surface (2) having cavities (2a) and an opposite bottom surface (3), comprising at least one protruding element (5) at the bottom surface (3) of the mold (1) for increasing the heat transfer rate between the mold (1) and a fluid flowing along the bottom surface (3).

Claims

1. A mold for the production of confectionery products, comprising a top surface having cavities and an opposite bottom surface, comprising a plurality of protruding elements at the bottom surface of the mold, and opposite at least one of the cavities, for increasing the heat transfer rate between the mold and a fluid flowing along the bottom surface, wherein at least some of the protruding elements are at non-parallel angles relative to others of the protruding elements; wherein at least some protruding elements are arranged in blocks, extending from one side face having openings to the other side face having openings, and separated by strengthening ribs, in a direction parallel to the fluid flow.

2. The mold according to claim 1, further comprising at least one side face in which at least one opening is provided for supplying a fluid to the bottom surface, at least one opening preferably being provided in each of two opposing side faces of the mold.

3. The mold according to claim 1, further comprising at least one opening in the top surface of the mold.

4. The mold according to claim 1, wherein the protruding elements are configured to generate vortices in the fluid flowing along the bottom surface and preferably to change the fluid flow characteristics along the mold by effecting a more turbulent flow of the fluid.

5. The mold according to claim 1, wherein one or more of the protruding elements are arranged to provide angularly offset portions relative to a direction parallel to the fluid flow between the side faces.

6. The mold according to claim 5, wherein the offset portions are oriented according to either one of the two offset angles relative to a direction parallel to the fluid flow.

7. The mold according to claim 5, wherein at least some protruding elements are arranged in alternating diverging and converging opposing pairs extending from one side face having openings to the other side face having openings, the alternating divergence and convergence being along a direction parallel to the fluid flow.

8. The mold according to claim 1, wherein at least some protruding elements are arranged in blocks and the offset portions are oriented according to either one of two offset angles relative to a direction parallel to the fluid flow.

9. The mold according to claim 1, wherein one or more protruding elements are configured to guide the fluid flow along the bottom surface of said mold.

10. The mold according to claim 1, wherein the fluid is cooling air or heating air.

11. The mold according to claim 1, wherein the mold is at least partially made of polycarbonate.

12. The mold according to claim 1, further comprising at least one temperature sensor and a logger.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) FIG. 1: Schematic diagram illustrating the generation of dead zones and stationary vortices in the current flow field which inhibit the heat transfer.

(2) FIG. 2: Schematic diagram illustrating a top-side view of an energy optimized mold (1) according to the present invention.

(3) FIGS. 3-4: Schematic diagrams illustrating various examples of bottom-side views of an energy optimized mold (1) according to the present invention.

(4) FIG. 5: Schematic diagram illustrating vortex generating elements (5) arranged such that they are angularly offset relative to a direction parallel to the fluid flow between the side faces of the mold (1) according to the present invention, guiding the fluid flow and generating heat flux.

(5) FIGS. 6-7: Schematic diagrams illustrating various molds (1), wherein the vortex generating elements (5) are arranged in alternating diverging and converging opposing pairs extending from one side face having openings (4) to the other side face having openings (4), the alternating divergence and convergence being along a direction parallel to the fluid flow, the diagrams also depicting influence of the arrangement of said vortex generating elements on the resulting fluid flow.

(6) FIG. 8: Schematic diagram illustrating measurements of online processing parameters and line performances with the help of temperature sensors and loggers attached to the mold (1) according to the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

(7) Preferred embodiments of the mold (1) for the production of confectionery products according to the present invention are described below in more detail.

(8) In one embodiment, the mold (1) according to the present invention (see FIGS. 2 and 3) comprises a top surface (2) having cavities (2a) and an opposite bottom surface (3), comprising (i) at least one opening (4) in at least one of the side faces of the mold (1) for supplying a fluid to the bottom surface (3), and (ii) at least one vortex generating element (5) at the bottom surface (3) of the mold (1) for increasing the heat transfer rate between the mold (1) and the fluid. It is to be noted, however, that the provision of openings (4) is not mandatory, and that flow fluid may flow along the mold via various routes.

(9) The shape of the mold (1) according to the present invention is not particularly limited, and the mold can have, for instance, a rectangular, longitudinally extending top surface (2) or a quadratic extending top surface (2).

(10) The top surface of the mold (1) according to the present embodiment has cavities for the liquid confectionery mass/final confectionery product. The shape of said cavities (2a) is not particularly limited; the cavities can, for instance, be in the form of a block or tablet (with or without breakable portions), a thin sheet or slice, an individual portion or a bar.

(11) The side faces form the rim of the mold (1). In the present embodiment, at least one of the side faces of the mold (1) has at least one opening (4) for supplying a fluid to the bottom surface (3) of the mold (1). The shape of the opening (4) is not particularly limited and can be, for instance, circular or rectangular. Preferably, openings (4) are provided in two opposing side faces of the mold (1) so that a flow path can be provided between the opposing side faces to supply a flow of fluid along the bottom surface (3) the mold (1). The provision of more openings (4) in the opposite side faces of the mold (1) can improve the cooling/heating of the mold (1) during the production process.

(12) In addition, the mold (1) can further comprise at least one opening (4) in the top surface (2) of the mold (1) for a more homogenous and more rapid cooling/heating of the mold during the manufacturing.

(13) The bottom surface has at least one protruding element (5) at the bottom surface (3) of the mold (1) for increasing the heat transfer rate between the mold (1) and the fluid by changing the fluid flow characteristics. The protruding elements (5) change the fluid flow characteristics by producing a more intense and turbulent flow along the mold (1) so that the cooling/heating of the mold (1) is accelerated.

(14) Preferably, the at least some protruding elements are shaped as vortex generating elements (5) that generate vortices in the fluid which increase the heat transfer rate between the warm/cold mold (1) and the fluid by virtue of higher convection. Due to these vortices the fluid will be mixed more intensely which results in having a more homogeneous temperature distribution across the mold, i.e. avoidance of stationary vortices and/or cold/hot spots in, for instance, dead corners. The vortices, which are generated at the bottom surface of the mold (1), will have, depending on the design of these elements, the above mentioned effects on the bottom surface of the mold (1) as well as on the top surface of the mold (1).

(15) The shape of the vortex generating elements (5) is not particularly limited, as long as the elements produce a more intense and/or turbulent flow along the mold (1) and generate a flow field which gives a higher heat transfer rate in total.

(16) When using the mold for the production of confectionery products, a confectionery material is introduced into at least one cavity of the mold. Subsequently, the confectionary material is processed in at least one cycle of supplying one of a cooling fluid and a heating fluid to the mold such that the fluid flows along the bottom surface of the mold. During the cycle(s), the fluid flows along at least one protruding element so as to increase the heat transfer rate between the mold and the fluid.

(17) The protruding elements (5) may each be independently attached to the bottom surface of the mold (1) according to the present invention and do not necessarily form parts of the cavities (2a).

(18) In a further embodiment, at least some protruding elements (5) may be arranged to provide angularly offset portions relative to a direction parallel to the fluid flow between the side faces of the mold. In particular, the offset portions may be oriented according to either one of two offset angles relative to a direction parallel to the fluid flow.

(19) In an alternative embodiment, at least some protruding elements (5) may be arranged in alternatively diverging and converging opposing pairs extending from one side face having openings (4) to the other side face having openings (4), the alternating divergence and convergence being along a direction parallel to the fluid flow. Molds (1) which have vortex generating elements (5) according to the embodiment described above are illustrated in FIGS. 3, 6, and 7.

(20) In another embodiment, at least some protruding elements (5) are arranged in blocks, extending from one side face having openings (4) to the other side face having openings (4), and are separated by strengthening ribs (6), in a direction parallel to the fluid flow. A mold (1) according to the embodiment described above is shown in FIG. 4. The fluid flow and generated heat flux as result of the vortices generated by the protruding (vortex generating) elements (5) is further shown in FIG. 5.

(21) The use of blocks of protruding elements (5) facilitates greater control over the heat transfer distribution between the mold (1) and fluid.

(22) In an alternative embodiment, at least some protruding elements (5) are arranged in blocks and further arranged to provide angularly offset portions relative to a direction parallel to the fluid flow between the side faces of the mold. The offset portions may be oriented according to either one of two offset angles relative to a direction parallel to the fluid flow.

(23) Where the protruding elements (5) are arranged in blocks and in either one of two offset angles as described above, any one block may contain elements arranged in only one of the two orientations or, alternatively, any one block may contain elements arranged in both orientations. In the former configuration, adjacent blocks may contain elements configured in alternating orientations, e.g. with a given block in one orientation being positioned in between two blocks with the alternative orientation.

(24) As already described above, the fluid is not particularly limited; said fluid can be, for instance, cooling air or heating air. Alternatively, the fluid can be water or another medium for cooling/heating the mold/product system during the manufacturing process.

(25) The material of mold (1) is not particularly limited; the material can, for instance, be a polycarbonate (e.g. Makrolon, Lexan or Tarflon), preferably a material with higher heat conductivity and preferably a material with higher rigidity against physical tension or both.

(26) In a further embodiment, the mold (1) according to present invention further comprises at least one temperature sensor and/or at least one logger for controlling of the temperature distribution during the manufacturing process. FIG. 8 illustrates a mold employing temperature sensors and a logger for the measurement of online processing parameters and line performances.

(27) The use of a mold (1) according to any one of the preceding embodiments for the production of confectionery products is advantageous in that it has optimized heat transfer properties, thereby generally reducing the overall energy consumption of the manufacturing process.

(28) The confectionery product is sugar (or sugar-substitute) and fat based. Examples include chocolate, caramel, toffee and confectionery emulsions. Preferably, the confectionery product is chocolate, i.e. the confectionery mass comprises, or consists of, tempered chocolate, meaning that the chocolate has undergone controlled heating and cooling.

(29) The shape of the confectionery product produced with the mold (1) according to the present invention is not particularly limited; the confectionery product can, for instance, be a block or tablet (with or without breakable portions), a thin sheet or slice, an individual portion or a bar.

(30) The process for the production of confectionery products, wherein the confectionery product is contained in the mold (1) according to the present invention is advantageous, since the energy optimized mold (1) ensures a more homogenous solidifying during the manufacturing process and further reduces the energy consumption of the production line.