GB2099276A - Method of and apparatus for coating articles of confectionery with particulate material - Google Patents

Abstract

A method of coating articles of confectionery with a strewable, powdery, granulate-like or lumpy material, for example sugar crystals, confectionery crumbs, nuts, raisins, linseed fragments or mixtures thereof, comprises the steps of initially forming an adhesive surface on each article (1) of confectionery by heating or by, application of a binding agent. A moving bed is formed from the strewable material (3) on grid conveyor (2) and metal plate (8) and the adhesive articles of confectionery are placed on the bed. The articles are then coated from above via outlet (26) and optionally also from the side, with further strewable material. Any such material which has not adhered to the surface of the articles (1) is subsequently removed through the conveyor before drying or cooling of the articles and is returned for use in the formation of the bed via metal plate (11), grid conveyor 14 and metal plate (15). Adjustment of metal slides (9, 12) controls thickness of bed. Surplus material exits via outlet (22) and is fed to outlet (26). <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Method of and apparatus for coating articles of confectionery with particulate material The present invention relates to a method of and apparatus for coating articles of confectionery with a strewable, powdery, granulate-like or lumpy material, for example sugar crystals, confectionery crumbs, nuts, raisins, linseed or the like or fragments and mixtures of such materials.

It was previously usual to distribute such material overthe articles of confectionery by machine only from above and the sides, or to roll the articles to and fro by hand in the material concerned, which is not only unhygienic, but also time-consuming and awkward.

There is accordingly a need for a method of coating different kinds of articles of confectionery with diverse types of strewable material in an automatic process.

According to a first aspect of the present invention there is provided a method of coating articles of confectionery with particulate material, comprising the steps of providing an adhesive surface on each article, placing each article on a travelling bed of particulate material, distributing a further quantity of the particulate material over each article from above, collecting particulate material not adhering to the articles, and feeding at least a portion of the collected material for use in forming the bed.

In an example of the method an adhesive surface is initially formed on each article of confectionery by heating, application of a binding agent orthe like, and a moving carpet or bed of strewable material is formed, onto which bed the adhesive articles of confectionery are laid. The articles are then coated from above, and optionally also from the side, with further strewable material and any of the material which has not adhered to the surface of the articles is subsequently removed before drying or cooling of the articles and fed in circulation for use in the formation of the bed.

Advantageously, the material to be fed back is sub-divided into a quantity intended for the distribution over the articles and a quantity to be fed to the bed.

According to a second aspect ofthe invention there is provided apparatus for carrying out the method of the first aspect of the invention, the apparatus comprising a base element, conveying means movable over the base element to convey a bed of particulate material and articles of confectionery placed on the bed, distributing means arranged above the conveying means to distribute a further quantity of the particulate material over articles on the bed, collecting means associated with a sieve zone downstream of the base element to collect particulate material not adhering to the articles and sieved from the conveying means, and return transport means for transporting at least a portion of the collected material to an upstream end of the base element for use in forming the bed.

In a preferred embodiment of the apparatus, the conveyor belt receives the articles of confectionery to be coated and conducts them below a distributing device and then through a drying or cooling chamber. The conveyor belt is a grid belt which, for the formation of the bed of particulate material, is conducted to run freely over a metal slide plate and subsequently through a sieve zone. A collecting device for collecting material not adhering to the articles and a return transport belt for conveying collected material back to the start of the metal slide plate are provided below or behind the end of the metal slide plate.

Preferably, the return transport belt is also a grid belt, which runs over a metal slide plate and which is driven in accordance with the direction of circulation of the first-mentioned belt at the same speed as this.

A further collecting device for slaved material and a further return transport means, for example a bucket conveyor for conveying this material to an outlet arranged above the conveyor belt for the bed, are provided in the sieve zone below the bed conveyor belt An example of the method and embodiment of the apparatus according to the present invention will now be more particularly described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Fig. 1 is a side elevation of apparatus according to the said embodiment; Fig. 2 is a rear view of the apparatus; and Fig. 3 is a schematic illustration of the operation of the apparatus.

Referring now to the drawings, in particular Fig. 3, there is shown coating apparatus which receives articles 1 of confectionery from, for example, a coating plant (not shown), in the direction of arrow A.

The articles are received by conveying equipment 2 and, after being coated by strewable material 3, are delivered in the direction of arrow B into a cooling or drying chamber (not shown). The conveying equipment 2 can be a grid belt, an endless belt of plastics material or a shaker channel (vibrator). It can also consist of several sections, for which it is important that the superfluous material 3 can at one place pass downwardly through the conveying equipment 2.

The conveying equipment 2, when constructed as grid belt, for example a belt of perforated plastics material, runs in the arrow direction over guide and drive rollers 4, 5, 6 and 7. A metal slide plate 8, which is alterable in its length by an adjustable tongue 9 at its end, is provided below the grid belt in about the first half of the belt run. In the region adjoining the metal slide plate 8 or the tongue 9, the grid belt 2 runs freely through a sieve zone and is here supported only by shaking devices 10, vibratory shakers or the like.

Provided underneath the return run of the grid belt is a further metal slide plate 11, which is extendable by means of a tongue 12 and an individual drive 13.

Finally, a return transport belt 14, which runs over a metal slide plate 15 and is guided on driving and deflecting rollers 16, 17, 18 and 19, is provided underneath the return run of the grid belt of the conveying equipment 2. The return transport belt 14 can be in the form of a grid belt used in conjunction with the metal slide plate 15, or it can be a plastics material belt of closed surface. On the side facing the con veying equipment 2, the belt arrangement 14 to 19 is alterable in its spacing from the return run of the conveying equipment 2. Moreover, a deflecting channel 20 is provided, in which material 3 arriving on the return transport belt 14 is accumulated and applied to the upper side of the conveying equip ment 2 as a carpet or bed.The entire arrangement is supported by a funnel-shaped collecting device 21 with an outlet 22, which leads to a bucket conveyor 23 and 24 (Figs. 1 and 2) through which material 3 not adhering to the articles of confectionery is conveyed towards a funnel 25. The funnel 25 has an outlet 26 from which the material can be strewn over the upper side of the articles of confectionery 1.

Provided above the different belts are sensors 27 or 28, by which depth of the bed is monitored and the length of the metal slide plates 8 or 11 is altered automatically in case of need. Blowers 29, which blow superfluous material off the articles, are provided at the end of the sieve zone orthe conveying equipment 2.

In use, articles 1 of confectionery are delivered from the usual coating device, care being taken that the coating mass is still liquid, i.e. adhesive, to a certain degree. In some cases, an adhesive binding agent can be applied to the articles. The metal slide plate 8 already carries an appropriately thick bed of the material 3, in which the articles of confectionery 1 are embedded. With the movement of the conveying equipment 2, the entire bed is carried along on the metal slide plate 8. It is therefore to be augmented with a replenishing quantity ofthe material at the start of the metal slide plate in a manner yet to be described. During the passage below the outlet 26, further material 3 is applied from above onto the articles of confectionery so that the articles are now completely coated by the material.In the further run of the conveying equipment 2, this passes overthe end of the metal slide plate 8 orthe tongue 9 thereat. As a result, sieving of material 3 not adhering to the articles 1 takes place in the sieve zone. The sieved material drops onto the return run of the conveying equipment 2 and is collected by the collecting device 11 and 12 thereunder and entrained by the return run of the grid belt of the conveying equipment 2. At the end of the plate 1 1,the material 3 drops onto the return transport belt 14 or onto the metal slide plate 15 thereof. By adjustment of the tongue 12 by means of the drive 13, the quantity of material collected by the collecting device 11 and 12 can be varied.A bed of the material is formed on the return transport belt 14 and passes through the deflecting channel 20 onto the upper side ofthe conveying equipment 2.

The layer thickness of the material is monitored by sensors 28 and the setting of the tongue 9 or 12 is so altered by these as to always provide the correct depth of material on the plate 8.

All residual material 3 dropping down in the sieve zone, thus behind the plate 8 with tongue 9 and the collecting device 11 and 12, is collected in the collecting device 21 and is transferred through the outlet 22 thereof and the bucket conveyor 23 and 24 to the funnel 25 in order to be distributed from above over the articles 1 of confectionery. Of course, the consumed quantity of material 3 must be continuously replaced through an additional charging of the bucket conveyor. The sieving process is enhanced through the blowers 29 at the end of the conveying equipment 2 or by the shaking devices 10, which can be provided at different points of the conveying equipment 2.

Claims (23)

1. A method of coating articles of confectionery with particulate material, comprising the steps of providing an adhesive surface on each article, placing each article on a travelling bed of particulate material, distributing a further quantity of the particulate material over each article from above, collecting particulate material not adhering to the articles, and feeding at least a portion of the collected material for use in forming the bed.

2. A method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the step of providing an adhesive surface comprises heating each article.

3. A method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the step of providing an adhesive surface comprises applying an adhesive substance to each article.

4. A method as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the further quantity of particulate material is additionally applied to each article from a lateral direction.

5. A method as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, comprising the further step of conducting each article through a cooling zone after the collecting step.

6. A method as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 4, comprising the further step of conducting each article through a drying zone after the collecting step.

7. A method as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, comprising the further step of feeding a portion of the collected material for use in forming said further quantity of material.

8. A method substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

9. Apparatus for use in carrying out the method claimed in claim 1, comprising a base element, conveying means movable over the base element to convey a bed of particulate material and articles of confectionery placed on the bed, distributing means arranged above the conveying means to distribute a further quantity of the particulate material over articles on the bed, collecting means associated with a sieve zone downstream of the base element to collect particulate material not adhering to the articles and sieved from the conveying means, and return transport means for transporting at least a portion of the collected material to an upstream end of the base element for use in forming the bed.

10. Apparatus as claimed in claim 9, comprising a cooling chamber downstream of the distributing means to cool the conveyed articles.

11. Apparatus as claimed in claim 9, comprising a drying chamber downstream of the distributing means to dry the conveyed articles.

12. Apparatus as claimed in any one of claims 9 to 11, wherein the collecting means and return transport means are arranged to extend below the downstream end portion of the base element.

13. Apparatus as claimed in any one of claims 9 to 11,wherein the collecting means and return transport means are arranged to extend downstream of the downstream end portion of the base element.

14. Apparatus as claimed in any one of claims 9 to 13, the conveying means comprising a perforate conveyor belt.

15. Apparatus as claimed in claim 14, wherein the base element comprises a metal slide plate.

16. Apparatus as claimed in claim 15, the return transport means comprising a respective metal slide plate and a respective perforate conveyor belt movable overthe plate.

17. Apparatus as claimed in claim 16, comprising drive means to drive the conveyor belts at the same speed but in opposite directions of circulation.

18. Apparatus as claimed in either claim 16 or claim 17, wherein each of the slide plates is adjustable to vary the amount by which it extends along the conveying path of the associated one of the conveyor belts.

19. Apparatus as claimed in any one of claims 16 to 18, wherein each of the slide plates is adjustable to vary a spacing thereof from the associated one of the conveyor belts in dependence on a desired depth of the material conveyed thereon.

20. Apparatus as claimed in any one of claims 16 to 19, wherein at least one of the conveyor belts comprises a belt of plastics material provided with a plurality of perforations.

21. Apparatus as claimed in any one of claims 16 to 20, wherein the conveyor belt ofthe return transport means is arranged below the conveyor belt of the conveying means, the collecting means comprising a collecting device so arranged between the former belt and a return run of the latter belt as to collect and deliver to the return transport means only a portion ofthe particulate material sieved from the conveying means.

22. Apparatus as claimed in any one of claims 9 to 20, comprising bucket conveyor means extending from below the sieve zone up to the distributing means to convey a portion of the collected material for use in forming said further quantity of particulate material.

23. Apparatus substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.