Patent Application
20190367280
The disclosure is generally directed to a conveyor belt for conveying food items. More specifically, the disclosure is directed to conveyor belt slats or plates that interlock with one another by staked-ends of the plates.
In the food service industry food items are often prepared, at least partially, by placing the food items on a conveyor belt that transports the food items into a food preparation or cooking device, such as a toaster or oven. Such toasters and ovens may include a heating device, such as a heated platen, and a slowly rotating conveyor belt. The conveyor belt holds the food item in close proximity to the platen while the conveyor belt simultaneously transports the food item through the preparation or cooking device. The length of time the food item is exposed to the heated platen may vary based on the length of the platen and the speed of the conveyor belt. Such toasters may process food items continuously as opposed to household toasters that process food items in batch mode, such as two or four pieces of bread at a time. Conveyor toasters are ill-suited for consumer use because of their size, manufacturing cost, power requirements, and the time required to pre-heat the platen to operating temperature. However, conveyor toasters are preferred by restaurants and food services that require high-volume through-put and consistent heating/toasting.
Conveyor toasters generally include a wire conveyor belt. Wire conveyor belts are ideal for handling, cooking, icing, slicing, breading, cooling, filling, inspecting, and packing of products like breads, rolls, buns, donuts, confections, cakes, pies, pastries, meat, seafood, poultry, and other processed foods. The simple, open design of wire conveyor belts provides efficient operation with minimum maintenance and easy cleanup to meet sanitation requirements. One such known wire conveyor belt is illustrated in
One known conveyor belt, for example, is the wire conveyor belt disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,987,972, which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety. The wire conveyor belt provides a flat support surface, but is relatively expensive to produce and cumbersome to assemble. Further, the belt disclosed in the '972 patent is relatively difficult to repair or replace in the field. Still further, the plates of the '972 patent tend to slide laterally along the wire rods of the belt. Still further, the plates of the '972 patent are attached to the wire conveyor at leading and trailing edges of the plates, which can cause binding and/or allow the plates to slide relative to one another.
According to some aspects, a conveyor belt system includes a conveyor belt, the conveyor belt including a plurality of slat connection elements, such as spaced rods or rivets, and a plurality of slats. At least one of the slats in the plurality of slats includes a flat body portion having a top surface and a belt connection element, such as a rod or rivet connection element, extending from one end of the flat body portion.
According to another aspect, a food preparation or cooking device includes a housing, a heating element located within the housing, and a conveyor belt system. The conveyor belt system includes a conveyor belt having a plurality of slat connection elements, such as spaced rods or rivets, and a plurality of slats. At least one of the slats in the plurality of slats includes a flat body portion having a top surface and a belt connection element, such as a rod or rivet connection element, extending from one end of the flat body portion.
According to yet another aspect, a slat for a conveyor belt system includes a belt connection element, such as a rod or rivet connection element, extending from one end of the flat body portion. The belt connection connection element extends downward from a flat body portion of the slat in direction that is substantially perpendicular to a top surface of the slat and substantially perpendicular to a leading edge of the slat.
In accordance with the teachings of the disclosure, any one or more of the foregoing aspects of a conveyor belt system, a food preparation or cooking device, and/or a slat may further include any one or more of the following optional forms.
In some optional forms, the belt connection element includes a first planar portion and a second planar portion, the first planar portion being offset from, but substantially parallel to, the second planar portion.
In other optional forms, the first planar portion includes a first opening for receiving a portion of a rod or a rivet.
In other optional forms, the second planar portion includes a second opening for receiving a portion of a rod or a rivet.
In other optional forms, the first planar portion is connected to the second planar portion by a S-shaped connector.
In other optional forms, the S-shaped connector comprises an S-shaped cross section that includes two approximately 90 degree turns.
In other optional forms, the second planar portion forms a lateral stop, thereby preventing lateral movement of adjacent slats beyond the point at which the first planar portion of a second slat contacts the second planar portion of a first slat.
In other optional forms, a leading tab extends away from the top surface in a substantially perpendicular orientation.
In other optional forms, the leading tab is substantially perpendicular to the first and second planar portions.
In other optional forms, a trailing tab extends away from the top surface in a substantially perpendicular orientation.
In other optional forms, the trailing tab is substantially perpendicular to the first and second planar portions.
In other optional forms, at least one of the rods or rivets is shorter than a width of the at least one slat.
A conveyor belt system includes a plurality of slats that supports a food product and moves the food product through a food preparation or cooking device, such as a toaster or oven, without substantially marking or pinching the food product. Additionally, the conveyor belt system with slats eases assembly of the conveyor belt system while also providing the ability to replace or repair individual slats in the field without the need for specialized tools. Individual slats may be made of any material that is durable enough to withstand temperatures within the food preparation device. Examples of slat materials include metals, such as copper, iron, aluminum, and nickel, and/or metal alloys such as steel, brass, and bronze. Stainless steel, for example AISI T-304, is one preferred material for manufacturing the slats.
Turning now to
As illustrated in
Each rod connection element 145 forms a downturned bracket 151 that extends downward, away from the top surface 141. The downturned bracket 151 includes a first planar portion 153a and a second planar portion 153b. The second planar portion 153b is offset, but generally parallel to, the first planar portion 153a, in a width direction of the slat 140. The second planar portion 153b is connected to the first planar portion 153a by an S-shaped connector 155. The S-shaped connector comprises an S-shaped cross section that includes two approximately 90 degree turns that results in the second planar portion 153b being offset from, but substantially parallel to, the first planar portion 153a. This offset orientation allows the second opening 149b of the rod connection element 145 of a first slat 140a to overlap with a first opening 149a of the rod connection element 145 of the second slat 140b, as described above. Thus, the metal rod 116 is advantageously connected to the first slat 140a and the second slat 140b simultaneously, while still allowing the first slat 140a to at least partially rotate about the metal rod 116 relative to the second slat 140b. Furthermore, the second planar portion 153b advantageously forms a lateral stop for the second slat 140b, which prevents the second slat 140b from moving laterally relative to the first slat 140a beyond the point at which the first planar portion 153a of the second slat 140b contacts the second planar portion 153b of the first slat 140a. Additionally, the rod connection elements 145, when connected to metal rods 116 of the conveyor belt, form a side edge chain, which further strengthens the conveyor belt system 110.
In another embodiment, the metal rods 116 need not extend the full width of the conveyor belt, but may comprise only metal posts or rivets that extend through the first and second openings 149a, 149b.
In any embodiment, the slats 140 may include leading tabs 161 and/or trailing tabs 163, which strengthen the slats 140 in a lateral (width-wise) bending direction. The leading and/or trailing tabs 161, 163 extend away from the top surface 141 in a substantially perpendicular orientation. The leading and/or trailing tabs 161, 163 are also substantially perpendicular to the first and second planar portions 153a, 153b.
In some embodiments, the conveyor belt comprises a plurality of spaced metal rods 116 disposed in succession and transversely with respect to a direction of conveyance. The plurality of spaced rods 116 form the wire conveyor belt which serves, in part, as a scaffolding for the plurality of removable slats 140. The wire conveyor belt also interacts with the drive mechanism, to move the rods 116 and the removable slats 140 through the food preparation or cooking device. Other scaffoldings capable of receiving removable slats 140 may also be used.
The slats 140 form a top side, or support side, and a bottom side. The top side forms a substantially flat support surface for conveying the food product, and the bottom side forms a platform that is at least partially supported by the rods 116. In some embodiments, the slats 140 may be welded to the rods 116 after installation.
The support surface is formed by the plurality of slats 140 which are coupled to selected rods 116 of the plurality of spaced metal rods 116. The slats 140 are secured at least partially to a first spaced rod 116 of the plurality of spaced rods 116 and to a second spaced rod 116, the second spaced rod 116 being separated from the first spaced rod 116. The first and second spaced rods 116 support the slat 140 so that the leading edge 142 and the trailing edge 143 extend beyond the first and second spaced rods 116, respectively, and the leading edge 142 and the trailing edge 143 are unsecured and free of any attachment, but supported along the bottom, thereby providing a joint that allows adjacent slats 140 to partially rotate relative to one another at the leading edge of each slat 140 and at the trailing edge of each slat 140.
The removable slats 140 are preferably formed from a metal material, such as stainless steel, or any other suitable material. In other embodiments, the removable slats 140 may be formed from extrudable materials including, but not limited to, polymers and ceramics. Exemplary metals include, but are not limited to, aluminum, brass, copper, magnesium, and steel. Aluminum alloys such as hard coated anodized aluminum, for example AA 6063-T6, are preferred. Exemplary plastics include, but are not limited to, polyvinylchlorides, polyethylenes, polypropylenes, acetals, acrylics, nylons (polyamides), polystyrene, acrylonitrile butadiene styrenes, and polycarbonates.
In the conveyor belt systems 110 of
The conveyor belt system 110 may be used in a horizontal toaster 700 as illustrated in
Existing conveyor toasters usually include a product feed where the product is inserted into an opening of the toaster. For example, in the angled toaster 800 in
The disclosed conveyor belt systems 110 may be used in a vertical toaster 901, as illustrated in
In accordance with a preferred embodiment of the conveyor belt system, the compression gap can be adjusted according to varying sizes of food product. In one embodiment, the conveyor belt can be adjusted with respect to the reactive surface as illustrated and explained in U.S. Patent Publication No. 2010/0275789.
While the present invention has been described with respect to a particular embodiment of the present invention, this is by way of illustration for purposes of disclosure rather than to confine the invention to any specific arrangement as there are various alterations, changes, deviations, eliminations, substitutions, omissions and departures which may be made in the particular embodiment shown and described without departing from the scope of the claims.
