Production flow-rate measurement options for food process lines

[0001] This application is a continuation U.S. patent application Ser. No. 17/724,799, filed Apr. 20, 2022; which is a continuation U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/910,568, filed Jun. 24, 2020; which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/866,121, filed Jun. 25, 2019.

[0002] U.S. patent application Ser. No. 17/724,799, filed Apr. 20, 2022, is also a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/940,003, filed Mar. 29, 2018, now U.S. Pat. No. 10,889,444; which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/478,822, filed Mar. 30, 2017; U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/545,634, filed Aug. 15, 2017; U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/560,392, filed Sep. 19, 2017; U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/577,375, filed Oct. 26, 2017; and U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/648,613, filed Mar. 27, 2018.

[0003] The foregoing patent disclosure(s) is (are) incorporated herein by this reference thereto.

[0004] The invention generally relates to mechanized food-process line equipment for industrial food process plants and, more particularly, to production flow-rate measurement options for industrial food process plants.

[0005] It is an object of the invention to provide to production flow-rate measurement options for industrial food process plants other than doing so manually.

[0006] For example, a production instruction may come down to some responsible party, who will be generically referred to here as the supervisory attendant (eg., superintendent). In some small plants, this could actually be the owner.

[0007] A representative example of food process line machines (stations) 107-112 configured in a non-limiting example of a working food process line 100 might comprise the following sequence (note that the last four machines add coatings 101, 102, 103 and/or weight to the raw chicken tenders 104):

• • [0008] a food-product 104 (raw chicken tenders) load station 107 (see, eg., FIG. 12);
  • [0009] a food-product 104 spreading station 108 (see, eg., FIG. 12);
  • [0010] a pre-dust coating 102 coating machine 109 (now see, eg., FIG. 8);
  • [0011] a batter 103 batter-coating station 110 (see, eg., FIG. 8);
  • [0012] a bread-coating 102 coating machine 111 (see, eg., FIG. 8);
  • [0013] a fryer 112 providing a bath of hot oil 101 (see, eg., FIG. 8);
    and so on. The fryer 112 might be set/limited to fry (par-fry) for a twenty-thirty second dwell time, which ‘sets’ the coatings 102,103 for finished cooking later and elsewhere.

[0014] Assume the production instruction is to produce 100,000 ‘finished’ pounds of coated/fried chicken tender product 101-104 over two consecutive 8-hour shifts (eg., start at 6:00 a.m. and run through the evening). The instruction further states that the percent of pick-up of the various coatings 101, 102, 103 is to be 30%. Hence the superintendent will need to have transferred out of refrigerated storage 114 (see FIG. 10) a total of 70,000 pounds of raw chicken tenders 104 (see FIG. 10), but over time and not all at once.

[0015] The production instruction is likely to be a lot more specific about the coatings pick-up. For example, the production instruction might specify:

• • [0016] 3% pick-up of pre-dust 102 (eg., a dry coating);
  • [0017] 10% pick-up of batter 103 (eg., a wet coating);
  • [0018] 12% pick-up of final breading 102 (eg., again a dry coating); and
  • [0019] 5% pick-up of oil 101.

[0020] The fryer 112 represents two distinct things that distinguish it from the other operations. First, the fryer 112 is usually the bottleneck for the production run. The throughput rate through the fryer 112 sets the flowrate value for the rest of the food process line 100. Second, the fryer 112 doesn't always add weight. The fryer 112 drives off moisture content and replaces that with oil 101 content. There might be a net-zero gain in weight pick-up, or else some net gain like up to about 10%.

[0021] Regardless, the foregoing represents an example production instruction.

[0022] A basic manner in which the superintendent monitors (or has monitored) whether the pick-up values are within specification is to do so manually. That is, a timed sample of flowing food product 104 is removed from the food process line 100 and weighed. Samples are obtained preferably before and after each coating machine 109-112. The samples are weighed on scales. The weight difference between the before and after samples allows calculation of pick-up percent. Each coating machine 109-112 (each coating process) affords various techniques for adjusting the percent up or down (several of the these techniques will be mentioned below). It might take about ten minutes to complete a round of manually sampling, weighing and adjusting. But for at least one snapshot in time, the set values should fairly well agree with the specified values in the production instruction.

[0023] However, the shortcomings (as distinct from the challenges) are numerous, and both the shortcomings and challenges jeopardize the chances of a successful run. The risks of an unsuccessful run is that the whole batch 101-104 will be downgraded, and bring a lower price (perhaps a much lower price) than if the whole batch 101-104 were deemed to have met the specification. So that's a loss of potential yield, a loss of potential profitability. It might even represent a plain stark net loss.

[0024] So again, it might take about ten minutes to complete a round of manually sampling, weighing and adjusting: which provides for, in at least one snapshot in time, an idea of the set values. The machines 109-112 may go out of specification as soon as the attendants walk away. The attendants might only take measurements once an hour to once a shift. Hence the food process line 100 could run outside of specification for a long time before anybody knew any different.

[0025] The superintendent is challenged right from the start to know the initial flowrate. FIG. 10 shows that the food processing plant is likely to have an on-site refrigerated storage 114 capable of storing the 70,000 pounds of raw chicken tenders 104 until called for. The raw chicken tenders 104 are stored in these bulk open-topped cubic vats 120 measuring four foot on a side with about 4,000-4,500 pounds capacity. The vats 120 are typically weighed and the weight thereof is labeled on each vat 120.

[0026] However, the weight of chicken tenders 104 is not the labeled weight minus the tare of the vat 120. The chicken tenders 104 in the vat 120 are originally covered in ice 106, which melts over time. Hence as FIG. 11 shows, the vats 120 are a slurry 104-106 of chicken tenders 104, ice 106 and meltwater 105. A vat labeled at 4,000 pounds might only actually contain just 3,200 pounds of chicken tenders 104.

[0027] Workers will typically shovel off the ice 106, but keep the meltwater 105. The vats 120 will be emptied into perhaps a first holding tank 122 (the vats 120 are typically plastic, but the holding tanks 122 are typically stainless steel). The chicken tender slurry 104-105 might then be moved to (pumped by a pump 124 into) a marinade tumbler 126, the goal being to drive in as much marinade 128 as possible. The marinade 128 can be liquid but is more likely to be powder, so retention of the meltwater 105 is useful. And the marinaded product is pumped by pumps 124 into perhaps one or more further downstream holding tanks 132 until a last one functions as a hopper 134.

[0028] The manual way of determining initial start flowrate of raw chicken tenders 104 is to monitor the drop in the hopper 134. If the level drops six inches in a half hour, this might roughly correspond to 1,000 pounds. So that value corresponds to 2,000 pounds of raw tenders 104 input per hour, or perhaps 32,000 pounds over two shifts. The superintendent should order for a second food process line (not shown) to be run in tandem with this first food process line 100, and the values project that the two food process lines 100 together still will not achieve the target of 100,000 finished pounds of product 101-104 with 30% pick-up, per the production instruction.

[0029] Given the foregoing, it is an object of the invention to provide improvements and/or options to overcome some of the shortcoming and challenges of the prior art that were briefly sketched above.

[0030] A number of additional features and objects will be apparent in connection with the following discussion of preferred embodiments and examples.

[0050] FIGS. 1 through 4 show a first embodiment of mechanized food-process line equipment arranged in a working food process line 100 and furnished with production flow-rate measurement options 150 in accordance with the invention. FIG. 5 is comparable to FIG. 4 except showing an alternate embodiment of a production flow-rate measurement option 150 in accordance with the invention.

[0051] To turn to FIG. 9, it shows in block diagram format a series of food process line machines 107-113 configured in a non-limiting example of a working food process line 100.

[0052] In series, from right to left, the machines in FIG. 9 comprise:

• • [0053] a food-product 104 load station 107;
  • [0054] a food-product 104 spreading station 108;
  • [0055] a weighing transfer conveyor 150;
  • [0056] a pre-dust coating 102 coating machine 109;
  • [0057] a weighing transfer conveyor 150;
  • [0058] a batter 103 batter-coating station 110;
  • [0059] a weighing transfer conveyor 150;
  • [0060] a seasoning 102 applying/coating machine 111;
  • [0061] a weighing transfer conveyor 150;
  • [0062] a batter 103 batter-coating station 110;
  • [0063] a weighing transfer conveyor 150;
  • [0064] a Panko-crumb 102 coating machine 142;
  • [0065] a weighing transfer conveyor 150;
  • [0066] a fryer 112 providing a bath of hot oil 101;
    and so on. The fryer 112 might be set/limited to fry for a twenty-thirty second dwell time, which corresponds to a par-fry.

[0067] FIGS. 6-9 provide several non-limiting examples of food process line 100 configurations in accordance with the invention and show a like the series of stations/machines as outlined above.

[0068] It is an object of the invention to provide the supervisory attendant (superintendent) with weight-flow (˜ mass-flow) of product across any weighing transfer conveyor 150 in accordance with the invention for real-time feedback of weight-flow values.

[0069] FIG. 4 shows a weighing transfer conveyor 150 in accordance with the invention. The weighing transfer conveyor 150 has scales 152 and 156 at both the intake end 154 (eg., to the right in the view) and outflow end 158 (to the left in the view). For example, the intake scale 152 might indicate that past one or another coating machine 109-113, there was a 5% pick-up of coating material 101-103. However, the outflow scale 156 might indicate that some coating material 101-103 shook off across the transit of the weighing transfer conveyor 150, showing that there was only a 4.8% pick-up of coating material remaining. This issue is not just limited to dry coating material 102, albeit it is more typical with dry coating material 102.

[0070] Preferably, several such weighing transfer conveyors 150 are used to space the various process machines 107-113 apart.

[0071] FIG. 5 is a side view comparable to FIG. 4 except showing an option with flip or agitation sections 160 so this could possibly remove some coating material (eg., 102) and then, when the proper weight pick-up is reached as specified in the production instruction, the food product 102,104 conveyance is returned to a flat transit mode.

[0072] Hence the weighing conveyor 150 not only provides weight-flowrate measurements at both the intake and outflow nose end 154 and 158, the weighing conveyor 150 might be equipped with various provisions 160-163 to increase or decrease the pick-up percent.

[0073] The following techniques can be employed to adjust the pick-up percent. For dry particulate coatings 102, techniques which would increase pick-up percent include:

• • [0074] add more breading material 102 into the coating machine (eg., 111);
  • [0075] add finer breading material 102 into the coating machine (eg., 111);
  • [0076] use a compression roller 161 at the outflow;
  • [0077] increase the pressure of the compression roller 161;
  • [0078] turn down the flowrate of air knives 162 at the outflow;
  • [0079] add moisture 163′ to the food product 104 at the inflow;
  • [0080] reduce/eliminate shaking/thumping/agitation 160 of the outflow; and so on.
    For dry particulate coatings 102, techniques which would decrease pick-up percent include:
  • [0081] eliminate addition of moisture 163′ to the food product 104 at the inflow;
  • [0082] decrease the pressure of the compression roller 161;
  • [0083] increase shaking/thumping/agitation 160 of the outflow to knock-off excess;
  • [0084] increase the blast from the air knifes 162 to blow-off excess; and so on.
    For batter, a further technique for adjusting increase or decrease of pick-up percent includes thickening or thinning the batter 103. The batter 103 is readily made thicker by adding more powder. In the other direction, the batter 103 is readily made thinner by adding more water.

[0085] FIG. 11 shows an exemplary series of processes and operations that move batch-stored food product in the vats 120 shown in FIG. 10 onto a loading zone 107 and/or 108 of a food process line 100. Ice 106 is preferably scooped/shoveled off the surface of the slurry 104-106 in the vats 120. The meltwater 105 is left behind with the chicken tenders 104. The vat 120 is poured/emptied likely into a holding tank 132 of some sorts at the start. The contents of the holding tank 132 are pumped (by a pump 124) into a marinade tumbler 126. The meltwater 105 is put to good use to dissolve the powdered marinade 128. The outflow of the marinade tumbler 126 is pumped/poured onto a landing conveyor 107 and/or 108 of some sort. The landing conveyor 107 and/or 108 will be of an open construction 172 like a chain link belt, or drag link belt and so on. The excess water 105 at this point is allowed to flow through the belt 172 and into an underlying drain 174. Food product 104 has hence landed onto the initial inflow end of the food process line 100.

[0086] FIG. 12 shows one version of what can functionally transpire in detail XII/XIII-XII/XIII in FIG. 11. A food product loader 107 in accordance with the prior art is loading food product (which food product is not visible in the view) onto a landing conveyor 107 and/or 108 also in accordance the prior art. The landing conveyor 107 and/or 108 affords a longitudinal run of conveyor transit which allows some implementation of some form of product spreading technology. This can be manual. Typically two to three workers would stand on each side of the conveyor 107 and/or 108 and move product 104 apart so that single pieces are not touching each other. There are other options to accomplish this which are not manual.

[0087] Here in FIG. 12, the landing conveyor 107 and/or 108 discharges to a weighing transfer conveyor 150 in accordance with the invention, and the weight-flowrate measured here is the inflow flowrate of raw chicken tenders 104. The flowrate can be adjusted practically immediately at start-up to the max flowrate of the ‘bottleneck’ of the food process line 100. This was mentioned above to be nearly always the maximum throughput flowrate through the fryer 112.

[0088] FIG. 13 shows an alternate option to FIG. 12. FIG. 13 is a side elevational view comparable to FIG. 4 and providing an alternate functional representation of detail XII/XIII-XII/XIII in FIG. 11.

[0089] Here in FIG. 13, the loading of raw food product is poured/pumped directly onto a weighing transfer conveyor 150 in accordance with the invention. Wherein the weighing transfer conveyor 150 likewise has a mid-span which affords implementation of some form of product spreading technology, whether it be manual or otherwise.

[0090] For weighing conveyors 150 situated before or after coating apparatus 109-113, the mid-span can accommodate the mounting of some technology like thumpers/shakers/agitators 160 for knocking off excess coating material (eg., 102), or air knives 162 for blowing off excess coating material (eg., 102), or else compression rollers 161 for driving in the particulate to increase retention, misters 163 to moisten the product 104 and so on.

[0091] FIGS. 14 and 15 are schematic side elevation views of a further embodiment of a weighing transfer conveyor 180 in accordance with the invention. FIG. 14 shows this weighing transfer conveyor 180 in an expanded position. FIG. 15 shows this weighing transfer conveyor 180 in a contracted position.

[0092] FIG. 16 shows that this further embodiment of a weighing transfer conveyor 180 allows pivoting about a vertical axis in addition to being reversibly expanding-contracting.

[0093] FIG. 17 is a top plan view, partly in section, taken in the direction of arrows XVII-XVII in FIG. 16, showing aspect of the pivot hardware 182 and turntable 184. FIG. 18 is a perspective view comparable to FIG. 16 except showing the transfer conveyor 180 situated between two machines which do not pivot (any of 107-113) and showing the transfer conveyor 180 pivoted obliquely away from the main axis 190 of the food process line 100.

[0094] The role for pivoting is not during production run time, but during down time. The advantages of pivoting enable cleaning and/or maintenance operations without breaking apart the food process line 100 as a whole.

[0095] The invention having been disclosed in connection with the foregoing variations and examples, additional variations will now be apparent to persons skilled in the art. The invention is not intended to be limited to the variations specifically mentioned, and accordingly reference should be made to the appended claims rather than the foregoing discussion of preferred examples, to assess the scope of the invention in which exclusive rights are claimed.