Patent Application
20140110437
1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates generally to equipment for handling bulk food products and other fragile bulk products. More specifically, the present disclosure relates to a bulk feeding system that is adapted to handle bulk cooked food products and the like.
2. Background
In food packaging operations, bulk products such as cooked noodles, rice, etc. are frequently transported from the cooking facilities to the packaging facilities via a large container (e.g. a 300 liter “bucket”) and dumped into the inlet of a portioning and packaging machine. This machine divides the bulk product into individual portions and places the portions into packages. This sort of operation is widely used for packaging frozen entrés and the like.
Many mechanical bulk product portioning and packaging machines cannot receive large quantities of the product all at once, especially where the product is sticky or fragile. This is because of the nature of the products and of bulk product transporting machines. Bulk product transport machines generally include a large hopper into which the product is dumped, with a transport mechanism such as a conveyor or auger at the bottom, to which all product is directed, and which draws the product at some desired rate out of the hopper.
Unfortunately, sticky products can bridge across the narrow neck of a hopper, causing the auger or conveyor to “tunnel” through the bottom of the product, thus stopping the flow. This sort of condition requires constant worker attention, which increases the cost of packaging and handling the product. Augers and similar devices can also be damaging to fragile products, and can be dangerous to operators.
Additionally, some product feeding systems can create pressure on the product during operation, and may require frequent adjustment of discharge openings and the like to keep the product flowing, especially in view of changes in the product during a normal batch process and changes in the product from batch to batch. It can also be difficult to control the pressure on the product.
The present disclosure is directed toward addressing one or more of the aforementioned issues.
It has been recognized that it would be advantageous to develop a product dispensing system that can receive product in relatively large quantities at spaced apart intervals, and dispense the product at a much lower controlled rate.
It has also been recognized that it would be advantageous to have a product dispensing system that is resistant to bridging and clogging of product within a product hopper.
It has also been recognized that it would be advantageous to have a product dispensing system that is gentle to fragile products, such as food products, and avoids compressing the product.
In accordance with one embodiment thereof, this disclosure provides a bulk product feeding system, including a product hopper, having a sloped bottom, a front side, and an outlet located at a lowermost confluence of the sloped bottom and the front side, the hopper being configured to receive and hold a bulk quantity of sticky or fragile product. A first sloped ram is reciprocally disposed in the bottom of the hopper, and configured to reciprocate toward and away from the outlet. A second, substantially vertical ram is reciprocally disposed on the front side of the hopper, and configured to reciprocate toward and away from the outlet and the first ram. Motion of the first and second rams is coordinated to controllably discharge the product through the outlet.
In one particular embodiment, the bottom of the hopper can be sloped at an angle of from about 35° to about 45°. In another particular embodiment, the first ram can comprise a pair of rams, configured to independently reciprocate in the bottom of the hopper. In yet another more specific embodiment, a controller is coupled to the first and second rams, and is configured to coordinate reciprocal motion of the first and second rams to dynamically control a size of the outlet and a rate of discharge of the product therethrough. Another specific embodiment includes a sensor, configured to measure a discharge rate of product dispensed from the outlet, the controller being configured to adjust at least one of a position, speed, frequency and stroke length of motion of at least one of the first and second rams in response to the discharge rate in order to attain a desired discharge rate.
In accordance with another embodiment thereof, the disclosure provides a bulk product feeding system having a product hopper, having a sloped bottom and a front wall, a pair of sloped rams, positioned in the bottom of the hopper, a substantially vertical ram, disposed on the front wall, and a controller, coupled to the sloped rams and the vertical ram. The hopper is configured to receive and hold a bulk quantity of sticky or fragile product and includes an outlet located at a lower confluence of the sloped bottom and the front wall. The pair of sloped rams and the substantially vertical ram are configured to independently reciprocate toward and away from the outlet, the sloped rams and the vertical ram having an extended position of mutual contact which blocks the outlet. The controller is configured to selectively retract and extend the sloped rams and the vertical ram to selectively block or unblock the outlet.
In accordance with another embodiment thereof, the disclosure provides a method for controllably dispensing a bulk product. The method includes the steps of placing a bulk quantity of sticky or fragile product into a hopper having a front wall, a sloped bottom, and an outlet located at a lower confluence of the front wall and the sloped bottom, and reciprocating a first sloped ram disposed in the bottom of the hopper, and a second substantially vertical ram disposed on the front wall, to selectively open or close the outlet opening, to control a size of the outlet and a rate of discharge of the product therethrough.
The invention will now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings, which are intended to be read in conjunction with both this summary, the detailed description, and any preferred or particular embodiments specifically discussed or otherwise disclosed. This disclosure may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein; rather, these embodiments are provided by way of illustration only so that this disclosure will be thorough, and fully convey the full scope of the invention to those skilled in the art.
Additional features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the detailed description which follows, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, which together illustrate, by way of example, features of the invention, and wherein:
Reference will now be made to exemplary embodiments illustrated in the drawings, and specific language will be used herein to describe the same. It will nevertheless be understood that no limitation of the scope of the invention is thereby intended. Alterations and further modifications of the inventive features illustrated herein, and additional applications of the principles of the inventions as illustrated herein, which would occur to one skilled in the relevant art and having possession of this disclosure, are to be considered within the scope of the invention.
As noted above, some product feeding systems can create pressure on the product during operation, which can be difficult to control, and can present difficulty keeping the product flowing in given changes in the characteristics of the product, such as changes in temperature, moisture content, viscosity, etc. These changes can occur during a given batch or from batch to batch. Because of these and other issues, some systems involve significant maintenance and oversight during operation.
Advantageously, a bulk feeding system has been developed that allows sticky or fragile products, such as food products, to be loaded in bulk into a feed hopper for a product packaging system, and which avoids or reduces some problems, such as tunneling and damage to the product, pressure increases and flow issues, etc., that are common with some bulk product transport devices. One embodiment of a bulk feeding system 10 is shown in
More detailed views of one embodiment of the hopper 12 are provided in
The system 10 includes at least one reciprocal ram 22 in the bottom of the hopper 12. As best viewed in
Another, substantially vertical ram 32 is reciprocally disposed on the front side 16 of the hopper 12, and is powered by a pneumatic cylinder 52. Like the rams 22 in the bottom of the hopper 12, this vertical ram 32 is configured to reciprocate toward and away from the outlet opening 18, as indicated by arrow 54. The sloped rams 22 and vertical ram 32 have front ends 36, 38, respectively, that can draw together to substantially completely block the outlet opening 18, or open it any desired amount. The vertical ram 32 can be used to close the outlet opening 18 completely, and thereby prevent flowable product from flowing out. The outlet opening 18 is thus created by the position of the bottom rams and the vertical ram. The gate opening can be from 0″ to 5″ depending on product requirements. Where food products are to be dispensed, the bulk feeder 10 (e.g. the hopper, rams, etc.) can be made of food grade acceptable stainless steels and plastics.
Motion of the rams 22, 32 is shown most clearly in
A product discharge sensor 58 can be positioned adjacent to the outlet 18 to sense the rate of discharge from the hopper 12. This can be an optical sensor that provides to the controller a signal indicating that product is or is not flowing from the outlet 18. When low or no product output is detected, the controller can be programmed to retract one or more of the rams 22, 32 to increase the outlet opening, or take other action. If too much product is being discharged, one or more of the rams 22, 32 can be extend to restrict the outlet opening 18, for example.
The system shown in
In typical use, a relatively large quantity of product 30 is dumped into the inlet of the hopper 12 from some sort of conveyance container. The conveyance container can be part of a bin hoist, for example. Bin hoists are frequently used in the food packaging industry for transporting batches of food product from a kitchen to the product packaging area. One type of bin hoist 34 is shown in
Referring to
The size, shape and configuration of the rams 22, 32 can vary. In one embodiment, the top surfaces of the rams are flat and smooth so that the rams can slide beneath the product in the hopper when it moves. It is possible that some products may tend to stick to the top of the rams 22 as they reciprocate. Accordingly, the hopper 12 can be configured so that the rams 22 retract into a pocket having a top edge 86, so that fixed structure of the hopper provides a scraping function during refraction of a given ram, pushing any sticking product forward. If desired, the surfaces of the rams 22 and 32 can be provided with a non-stick surface or coating (e.g. PTFE or Teflon®) to help reduce sticking of product. The rams can be configured in a variety of ways. For example, the front end 38 of the bottom rams 22 can be stepped or rounded or sloped, or configured in other ways to assist in product discharge. The rams 22can vary in size from about 1″ high to about 6″ high, for example, depending upon the product flow and desired feed rate. Other ram sizes can also be used. The rams can move full strokes or 1″ combinations at the front or back end of the stroke, for example. Other stroke motion patterns or combinations can also be used. Different stroke patterns can be referred to as “gears.” The controller can be programmed to adjust the opening and stroke pattern based on feedback from the product discharge sensor 58 until the correct flow is obtained. For very flowable products the outlet opening can be small, and small ram strokes can be used. For relatively non-flowable products, the outlet opening can be large, and large ram strokes can be used.
A given bulk feeding system can be provided with multiple rams of different sizes, allowing a user to interchange the rams at will to use a different ram for a different product. The size of the outlet opening and how much clearance is provided around the forward face of the ram at maximum extension are factors that can vary depending upon the nature of the product being discharged.
The size and shape and configuration of the hopper 12, and other components of the bulk feeding system 10 can also vary. In one embodiment, the hopper 12 holds a volume of about 90 gallons (i.e. about 340 liters). As shown in
As shown in
Another exemplary installation of a bulk feeding system 10 is shown in
The invention thus provides a system that dispenses bulk products that may be sticky and/or fragile (e.g. not suitable for auger or direct conveyor withdraw), and also allows the input of large quantities, while dispensing small quantities at a controlled rate. In various embodiments, the feeder can deliver product at a rate of more than 4,000 lbs. per hour, depending upon the nature of the product. The configuration of the hopper and ram prevents or reduces compression and damage to the product, and prevents bridging and sticking of the product, thus allowing large quantities to be placed into the hopper while not requiring worker attention to prevent clogs, etc. Additionally, the system can automatically control the motion of the rams to control the rate of dispensing of the product. Advantageously, this bulk feeding system can be used in a wide variety of applications where it is desired to take a bulk amount of product and feed it out at a controlled or reduced rate. It can be used with a wide variety of filling machines and production lines, for example, and is particularly suited to fragile or sticky food products, such as cooked pasta and the like.
It is to be understood that the various elements of the bulk feeding system disclosed herein can be mixed and matched in many combinations not specifically shown in the figures, and the present disclosure is intended to cover such. Although the present disclosure is described in terms of certain embodiments, other embodiments will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art, given the benefit of this disclosure, including embodiments that do not provide all elements and features set forth herein, which are also within the scope of this disclosure. It is to be understood that other embodiments may be utilized, without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.
