Patent Application
20050244545
The present invention relates generally to the art of food manufacturing, and more particularly to pumps used in depositor machines, also commonly known as mogul machines, for manufacturing starch molded products.
Mogul machines have been used for many years in the manufacture of starch molded products such as pectin, galantine, agar, agar-based jellies, gummies, liquorice, fondant, cream, marshmallow foam, and other similar materials. Many of these products are commonly referred to as candy. Mogul machines may also be used for depositing liqueur inside of candy shells.
The typical process for making these forms of candy or other starch molded products includes dumping starch into trays, stamping cavities in the starch, pumping a liquefied candy mixture into the cavities, curing of the candy to allow it to sufficiently harden (e.g. drying), and then separating the candy from the starch.
A depositor pump is used for pumping the liquefied candy mixture into the cavities in the starch.
The pump 16 typically includes more than 100 pistons 26 mounted in cylinder bores 28 of cylinders 29 that are in turn attached to the pump body 18. The lower leg 30 of the L-shaped valve guide section 20 of the pump housing 16 defines a large number of outlet orifices 31, for delivering measured portions of the liquefied candy mixture, through nozzles 32 in a nozzle plate 33 attached to the lower leg 30, into cavities 34 in the starch filled trays 36, which are positioned under the pump 16, manually, or by a transport device such as a conveyor belt (not shown).
The valve bar 24 includes a large number of internal passageways, which are arranged in longitudinally offset arrays, as shown in
With the valve bar 24 in the first position, the valve bar 24 cuts off any fluid communication between the cylinder bores 28 and the outlet orifices 31. Once the desired amount of liquefied candy has been drawn into the cylinder bores 28, the valve bar 24 is shuttled to the second position.
In the second position, the valve bar 24 cuts off fluid communication between the inlet 12 and the cylinder bores 28, so that no further liquefied candy mixture can enter the cylinder bores 28 from the inlet 12, and so that the liquefied candy mixture in the cylinder bores 28 cannot flow back out through the inlet 12. The second set of internal passageways 40 in the valve bar 24, provides fluid communication between the cylinder bores 28 and the outlet orifices 31. With the valve bar 24 in the second position, the pistons 26 are moved downward in the cylinder bores 28 to force the measured amounts of liquefied candy in the cylinder bores 28 out through the outlet orifices 31, nozzle plate 33 and nozzles 32, into the cavities 34 in the starch mixture in the tray 36 positioned under the pump 10.
In order for the valve bar 24 to properly perform its function, it must fit snuggly into the longitudinally extending slot 22 in the housing 16. It will be appreciated that in large volume production of candy, the valve bar 24 is shuttled many thousands of times, and that over time, the mating surfaces of the valve bar 24 and the slot 22 become worn to the point that the valve bar 24 cannot properly perform its function of directing and cutting off a flow of the liquefied candy mixture, and the pump 10 must be refurbished to restore the proper fit between the mating surfaces of the valve bar 24 and the slot 22.
In the past, the construction of the pump housing 16 has made initial construction and refurbishing a worn pump 10 difficult. The pump body 18 has typically been made from a single casting. Pump bodies 18 tend to be rather large and heavy, for example two to three feet in length, to accommodate the several hundred pistons 26 required to achieve high volume production rates required for making candy.
The size and shape of the pump body 18 and L-shaped valve guide 20 make it difficult to achieve the tight tolerances required on the dimensions of the longitudinally extending slot 22 in a housing 16 formed by bolting together the pump body 18 and L-shaped valve guide 20. In the past, this has required that the valve bar 24 for each pump 10 be essentially custom fitted to operate properly in the slot 22, during both initial construction and refurbishment of the pump 10.
It is desirable to provide an improved pump, for a depositor machine, that can be more readily manufactured and refurbished.
The invention provides an improved pump for a depositor machine, through the use of a modular valve apparatus that is adapted for attachment to a pump body of a depositor pump.
One form of the modular valve apparatus includes, a valve guide apparatus adapted for attachment to the pump body and defining a slot therein for receiving a valve bar; and a valve bar adapted for sliding operation within the slot. The modular valve apparatus may also define a pump inlet in fluid communication with the slot of the valve guide apparatus.
One form of the valve guide apparatus includes an upper guide plate and an inlet manifold attached to the pump body, a side rail attached to the upper guide plate, and a lower guide plate attached to the inlet manifold and the side rail, with the upper and lower guide plates, the side rail, and the inlet manifold, in combination, defining the slot for receiving a valve bar.
The modular valve apparatus may also include one or more cylinders having a lower end configured for engaging the upper guide plate, and a removable cylinder support plate for attaching the upper end of the cylinder to the pump body, so that all of the components of the pump which are exposed to the pumped medium can be readily fabricated and installed during initial manufacture of the pump, and replaced during refurbishment.
The invention may also take the form of a depositor pump, including a pump body, and a modular valve apparatus operatively attached to the pump body, with the modular valve apparatus including a valve guide apparatus attached to the pump body, and defining a slot therein for receiving a valve bar.
Other objectives and advantages of the invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description and accompanying drawings.
While the invention will be described in reference to certain preferred embodiments, there is no intent to limit it to those embodiments. On the contrary, the intent is to cover all alternatives, modifications and equivalents as included within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.
As shown in
The modular valve apparatus 44 includes a valve bar 50 and a valve guide apparatus 46 that is adapted for attachment to the pump body 42, and defines a slot 48 therein for receiving the valve bar 50. The modular valve apparatus 44 of the exemplary embodiment also includes a plurality of cylinders 60 each having an internal bore 62 for receiving a piston 64, and a removable cylinder support plate 66.
The valve guide apparatus 46 includes, an upper guide plate 52 and an inlet manifold 54 attached to the pump body 42, a side rail 56 attached to the upper guide plate 52, and a lower guide plate 58 attached to the inlet manifold 54 and the side rail 56. The upper and lower guide plates 52, 58, the side rail 56, and the inlet manifold 54, in combination, define the slot 48 for receiving a valve bar 50, and are attached to one another, and to the pump body 42, by bolts 68, 70, 72 and pins 74, 75, 77. The inlet manifold 54 also defines an inlet 76 that is adapted for attachment thereto of hopper 78, having an opening 80 for receiving a liquefied candy mixture.
As shown in
As shown in
The upper guide plate 52 also defines a plurality of outlet orifices 93 for providing fluid communication between the cylinder bore 62 of each of the cylinders 60, and the slot 48 in the valve guide apparatus 46. The lower end 96 of each cylinder 60 is threaded to engage a mating thread in a respective through-hole 94, for attaching the cylinders 60 to the upper guide plate 52 in a manner that forms a sealed flow path from the slot 48 into each of the cylinder bores 62, for the measured volumes of liquefied candy mixture that are pulled up into the cylinder bores 62 during operation of the depositor pump 40.
The lower guide plate 58 of the valve guide apparatus 46 defines a plurality of outlet orifices 93, for directing the measured volume of liquefied candy mixture, through nozzles 97 of a nozzle plate 95 attached to the lower guide plate 58, into cavities 34 in a starch filled tray 36, positioned beneath the depositor pump 40.
The upper end 98 of each of the cylinders 60 is attached to the removable cylinder support plate 66, with a joint sealed by an O-ring (not shown) disposed in an annular groove 100 of the cylinder. The removable support plate 66 is attached to the valve body 42 with several screws, as shown at 102.
With the removable support plate 66 and upper guide plate 52 attachment to the pump body in the manner described above, a common closed plenum 104 is created within the interstitial spaces between the cylinders 60 in the valve body 42, bounded by radially outer surfaces of the cylinders 60, an inner wall surface 106 of the pump body 42, a lower surface of the removable cylinder support plate 66 and an upper surface of the upper guide plate 52. Inlet and outlet ports are provided, as indicated at 108, for providing a flow of hot or cold water through the plenum 104 and around the cylinders 60, for providing heating or cooling during operation of the depositor pump 40.
The internal construction of the valve bar 50 is essentially identical to the valve bar 24 of the prior depositor pump 10 described above with reference to
The valve bar 50 is shuttled between the first and second positions, and the pistons 64 are reciprocated in unison in the cylinder bores 62, in a timed relationship, such that when the valve bar 50 is in the first position, as shown in
Once the desired amount of liquefied candy mixture has been drawn into the cylinder bores 62, the valve bar 50 is shuttled to the second position. As shown in
From the foregoing description of exemplary embodiments, those having skill in the art will recognize that the invention provides significant advantages in both initial fabrication of a depositor pump and its components, and in refurbishment of such a pump and components. The invention eliminates the need for difficult machining operations that were required in the past to produce the L-shaped sealing surfaces on the pump body and L-shaped valve guide of the housing. The modularity of the components of a valve guide apparatus and/or a depositor pump, according to the invention, allow the parts to be pre-machined and inventoried, so that when a pump needs to be refurbished some or all of the parts that touch the liquefied candy can be readily replaced on the pump body, without machining of the pump body, thereby allowing the refurbished pump to be quickly put back into service. The invention also allows the pump body to be readily manufactured from bar stock, rather than from a large and expensive casting of the type typically used in prior pumps with L-shaped sealing surfaces.
The foregoing description of exemplary embodiments of the invention has been presented for purposes of illustration and description. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise embodiments disclosed. Numerous modifications or variations are possible in light of the above teachings. For example, a modular valve apparatus, according to the invention, may include some or all of the components shown in
