This application claims priority to Italian Patent Application MI2011A001313 filed Jul. 14, 2011, the entirety of which is incorporated by reference herein.
The subject of the present invention is an ice-cream machine.
Machines or processing plants for foodstuffs (e.g. machines for ice-cream, granita etc.) known in the current state of the art require adjustments and settings depending on the characteristics of the mix to be treated; currently, the adjustments are decided and effected manually by technical personnel.
This brings about an inevitable slowing in the production cycle, as well as potential risks of configuration errors.
One consequence can be unsuitable mixing of the liquid, which results in preparation of a product of non-optimal quality.
The general object of the present invention is to provide an ice-cream machine capable of resolving the problems described.
An object of the present invention is to provide an ice-cream machine capable of reducing preparation times by comparison with the known art.
Another object is to provide an ice-cream machine capable of correctly recognizing the mix to be treated.
An additional object is to provide an ice-cream machine capable of rapidly recognizing the mix to be treated, before the mix is introduced into the machine.
A further additional object is to provide an ice-cream machine capable of rapidly recognizing the mix to be treated, after the mix is introduced into the machine.
A particular object is to provide an ice-cream machine capable of rapidly recognizing the mix to be treated.
A further object is to provide an ice-cream machine capable of consistently recognizing errors in programming the machine once the mix to be treated has been recognized.
These and other objects are achieved by an ice-cream making machine according to the description given in the attached claims.
The machine according to the invention achieves the following principal technical effects:
These and other technical effects of the invention will appear in more detail from the description which follows, of examples of embodiment, given by way of indication with reference to the attached drawings.
The groups of
The groups of
The group of
The group of
An ice-cream machine according to the invention comprises a holding tank and a cooling and/or heating circuit for a liquid or semi-liquid foodstuff to be treated, a detection apparatus capable of detecting a characteristic parameter of this product, and a control unit capable of recognizing the product starting from this parameter, and for setting operating parameters for the machine on the basis of the product recognized.
With reference to
Machine 1 also comprises a cooling and/or heating circuit 6 for the liquid or semi-liquid foodstuff 2.
The circuit 6 comprises, in its turn, a compressor 7 capable of varying the thermal power of said machine 1,1b.
Hereinafter, the expressions “liquid or semi-liquid foodstuff” and “mix” will be used interchangeably, meaning thereby the basic product which the machine 1, 1b is capable of treating to produce ice-cream.
The mix can have various compositions and/or densities.
In general the mixes for ice-cream can be classified into two broad categories:
The two categories are identified with fairly definite pH values; fruit-based mixes generally have pH values<5, while cream-based mixes generally have pH values>5.8.
As is well-known to persons skilled in the art, fruit-based mixes comprise ingredients which distinguish them from those with a cream base and which, consequently, give rise to their different pH values.
For completeness, a table is shown below of the characteristics of various mixes of liquid or semi-liquid products, in particular ice-cream mixes.
The table shows information relating to type of mix, composition of mix, method of preparation, characteristic notes and pH value.
Fruit-based mixes are shown in italics, while cream-based mixes are shown in standard type.
The left-hand column shows an identifying value for the mix described, which will be used below to briefly indicate this mix.
The ice-cream machine 1 is configured on the basis of the composition of the mix and, in the first instance, of belonging to one of two macro-categories, fruit base or cream base.
To this end, the ice-cream machine 1, according to a first embodiment of the invention (
In particular, the first detection apparatus 10 comprises a sensor 11 capable of detecting a variation (ΔP1) of the characteristic electrical parameter P1. Alternatively, in a second embodiment of the invention (
According to this embodiment, the second detection apparatus 110 comprises an RFID reader 120 and said parameter P1 comprises an RFID tag 121.
According to the invention the RFID tag 121 is associated with a storage container 122 for the liquid or semi-liquid foodstuff 2.
In other words, the mix is identified before it is introduced into the ice-cream machine, when it is still in the holding container 122.
Preferably, the holding containers are containers of the bag-in-box type, or rigid containers specially made for the containment of liquid or semi-liquid foodstuffs.
In both embodiments of the invention, determining a value for the parameter P1 makes it possible to categorise the mix into one of two macro-categories, fruit base or cream base, and/or to determine further organoleptic categories of the mix.
In accordance with the first embodiment of the invention, as shown in
In a variant of this embodiment of the invention, the sensor 11 comprises a pair of electrodes 21,22.
In addition, in another variant, the sensor 11 further comprises a second pair of electrodes 23,24.
In one example of embodiment (
Preferably, the electrodes are in stainless steel, of rounded form, and have a diameter of 5 mm.
The electrodes are preferably placed in direct contact with the liquid or semi-liquid foodstuff to be analysed. The electrical field generated by the sensor 11 has a non-null gradient (i.e. there is a region of minimum potential in the central zone of the sensor).
In this way the measured value of the electrical parameter P1 depends not only on the ions present in the sample, but also on the non-electrically charged particles.
The first detection apparatus 10 comprises electric generators 20 capable of generating an electrical test signal S suitable for being applied to the liquid or semi-liquid foodstuff 2.
The electrical test signal S is suitable for being applied to the foodstuff 2 by means of at least one of the pairs of electrodes 21,22 and 23,24.
The application of the electrical test signal S, according to the invention, makes it possible to determine a variation ΔP1 (
According to the invention, the electrical parameter P1, characteristic of the liquid or semi-liquid foodstuff 2 to be recognized, comprises an electrical impedance Z.
In other words, according to the invention, the electrical parameter P1 is representative of an electrical conductivity of the liquid or semi-liquid foodstuff.
The variation ΔP1 of the electrical parameter P1 corresponds to a variation in modulus and/or phase of the electrical impedance Z.
According to the invention, the electrical test signal S generated by the electric generators 20 is a sinusoidal electrical test signal S1,S2.
Preferably the first sinusoidal electrical test signal S1 has a constant amplitude A0 and variable frequency f1. In particular, the constant amplitude A0 applicable to the signal can be comprised between 80 and 120 mV.
Even more particularly, in a preferred embodiment of the invention, the value of A0 is 100 mV.
Preferably, the variable frequency f1 is such that 20 Hz<=f1<=10 KHz.
Preferably the second sinusoidal electrical test signal S2 is a signal with constant frequency f0 and variable Amplitude A1.
In particular, the constant frequency f0 applicable to the signal can be comprised between 10 and 20 Hz.
Even more particularly, in a preferred embodiment of the invention, the value of f0 is 20 Hz;
Preferably, the variable amplitude A1 is such that 10 mV<=A1<=2V.
According to the invention, in an operation of recognizing a mix, the electric generators 20 can generate, exclusively, only one of the electrical test signals S1, S2.
In this case recognition occurs on the basis of the response of the system to only one of the test signals S1, S2.
Alternatively, the electric generators 20 can generate the signals S1, S2 in succession so that recognition occurs by combining the results obtained for the individual signals S1, S2.
The first detection apparatus 10, according to the first embodiment of the invention, comprises measuring devices 30 capable of calculating a value of the electrical parameter P1 starting from the variation ΔP1 determined by the application of the electrical test signal S.
In other words the measuring devices 30 are capable of calculating the value of the electrical parameter P1 starting from the variation ΔP1 determined by the application of at least one of the electrical test signals S1, S2 taken individually.
Alternatively, the value of the electrical parameter P1 is determined by the combined application of the electrical test signals S1 and S2.
According to both the embodiments of the invention, the ice-cream machine 1 comprises a control unit 50.
In accordance with the first embodiment of the invention, the control unit 50 is associated with the first detection apparatus 10.
In accordance with the second embodiment of the invention, the control unit 50 is associated with the second detection apparatus 110.
In general it should be noted that in the present context and in the claims which follow, the control unit 50 will be presented as divided into distinct functional modules (storage modules or operating modules), for the sole purpose of describing its functionalities clearly and completely.
In reality this control unit 50 can consist of a single electronic device, suitably programmed to perform the functions described, and the various modules can correspond to items of hardware and/or software routines forming part of the programmed device.
Alternatively or in addition, these functionalities can be performed by a plurality of electronic devices over which the above functional modules can be distributed.
The control unit can also make use of one or more μP processors (
The above functional modules can, furthermore, be distributed over a plurality of local or remote calculators on the basis of the architecture of the network in which they reside.
According to the invention, the control unit 50 comprises a primary storage module 51, 151 (
Preferably, in the first embodiment of the invention, the first primary storage module 51 comprises furthermore identifying values of the electrical test signal S1, S2 such as for example voltage and frequency.
More specifically, in the first embodiment of the invention, the first primary storage module 51 comprises identifiers Ii of the liquid or semi-liquid foodstuffs 2 associated with corresponding predefined values of the electrical parameter P1.
In particular, according to the invention, the primary storage module 51 comprises a list of the liquid or semi-liquid foodstuffs that can be used by the machine to produce ice-cream and the corresponding impedance values Z calculated to correspond to predefined identifying values of the test signal S1,S2.
Preferably, the identifiers Ii consist of numerical values assigned to the various ice-cream mixes listed in the table above.
Alternatively, in the second embodiment of the invention, the second primary storage module 151 comprises identifiers Ii of the liquid or semi-liquid foodstuffs 2 associated with corresponding predefined values of RFID tags for the parameter P1.
According to the invention, the control unit 50 is configured to recognise the liquid or semi-liquid foodstuff 2, through a comparison between the detected value of the parameter P1, and predefined values of the electrical parameter P1 contained in the primary storage module 51,151.
In other words, in the first embodiment of the invention, the control unit 50 is configured to recognise the liquid or semi-liquid foodstuff 2, detected by the sensor 11, through a comparison between the detected value of the electrical parameter P1, in particular the value of the impedance Z, and the predefined values of the electrical parameter P1 contained in the first primary storage module 51.
The technical effect of recognition of an ice-cream mix through its impedance value is that the configurations for the subsequent operation of the machine can be established, without human margins of error.
In the case of ice-cream mixes, for example, it can be established whether the mix is fruit-based or milk-based; this distinction constitutes the first fundamental division for the configuration of the machine.
The two categories can then be further subdivided on the basis of the percentage of fats and the added ingredients.
In the second embodiment of the invention, the control unit 50 is configured to recognise the liquid or semi-liquid foodstuff 2, detected by the second detection apparatus 110, through a comparison between the detected value of the parameter P1, in particular an RFID tag reader, and the predefined values of RFID tags contained in the second primary storage module 151.
In both embodiments of the invention, the control unit 50 is configured, consequently, to set operating parameters P2 (
Preferably, the operating parameters P2 comprise a mixing temperature for the liquid or semi-liquid foodstuff 2 recognized.
Preferably, the operating parameters P2 comprise a speed of mixing for the liquid or semi-liquid foodstuff 2 recognized.
Preferably, the operating parameters P2 comprise a duration of mixing for the liquid or semi-liquid foodstuff 2 recognized.
In other words, the operating parameters P2 comprise one or more of temperature, speed and mixing duration for the treatment of said liquid or semi-liquid foodstuff 2 recognized.
According to the invention, the control unit 50 comprises a secondary storage module 52, 152 comprising in its turn identifiers Ii of said liquid or semi-liquid foodstuffs 2 and predefined values of the operating parameters P2 corresponding to said identifiers Ii (
Preferably, in the first embodiment of the invention, the first secondary storage module 52 (
On the basis of the values of the operating parameters P2 corresponding to the mix recognized, the ice-cream machine 1, 1b can vary the thermal power delivered by said compressor 7 and/or the rotation speed of a stirrer for the liquid or semi-liquid foodstuff 2.
In other words, the control unit 50 is configured for setting the operating parameters P2 of the machine 1, 1b depending on the liquid or semi-liquid foodstuff 2 recognized, so as to vary one or more among the thermal power delivered by the compressor 7 and the rotation speed of a stirrer, suitable for operating in the holding tank 3, for mixing the liquid or semi-liquid foodstuff 2.
From the description given, the general operation of ice-cream machine of the invention may be deduced.
The liquid or semi-liquid foodstuff may be recognized before or after loading into the churning cylinder.
In the event that it must be recognized before, the control unit activates the RFID tag reading apparatus which carries out detection of the product.
In the event that it must be recognized after, i.e. once the liquid or semi-liquid foodstuff is “loaded” into the machine, for example into a processing tank or into the churning cylinder, the control unit activates the sensor which carries out detection of the product.
In both cases, when recognition is completed, the control unit compares the data detected with predefined data and identifies the product.
On the basis of the product identified, the control unit configures a table for programming the operating parameters of the machine necessary for the subsequent stages of processing the specific mix recognized.
There now follows a description of experiments carried out on the ice-cream machine of the first embodiment of the invention.
The analysis of the type of mix, as previously described, can be performed by various methods.
The results of the analysis, although substantially similar, present variations due both to the instruments used (number of electrodes used), and to the temperature of detection (4° C. or 35° C.), and to the electrical characteristics of the test signals (constant or variable power factors).
The results are further evaluated both in relation to the individual test (test with single temperature and/or single variable power factor and/or single configuration of the electrodes) and in relation to a combination of tests (tests with variable temperatures and/or with different variable power factors and/or different configurations of the electrodes).
In the groups of
The fruit-based mixes are represented by empty bars, while cream-based mixes are represented by solid bars.
The numerical identifiers in the associated panel below the charts identify the ice-cream mixes with the numerical values Ii in the table shown previously.
The values of the modulus of the impedance |Z| relate to measurements taken at frequencies of 20 Hz (
From the test we deduce that, in general, cream-based mixes are characterised by a value for the modulus of the impedance |Z| and for the phase of the impedance arg(Z) substantially lower than the corresponding values for fruit-based mixes.
For the set of mixes considered, the following parameters were monitored:
(
(
The tests were carried out at temperatures of 4° C. (
From the tests we deduce that, in general, at both temperatures fruit-based mixes are substantially distinguishable from cream-based mixes and the impedance values (modulus and phase) make it substantially possible to recognise the mix treated.
In the groups of
In other words, as an alternative to the measurements of impedance discussed earlier, it is possible to carry out another type of measurement in which the frequency of the applied sinusoidal signal is kept fixed while the amplitude of this signal is varied.
The principle on which these measurements are based is that the relationship between voltage and current in a system composed of a pair of electrodes immersed in a sample liquid may be considered linear only as long as the applied signal is kept sufficiently small (in practice the non-linear voltage-current relationship can be approximated with only the linear term in the expanded Taylor series).
As the amplitude of the applied signal increases, the impedance Z begins to deviate from the behaviour for small signals, and by evaluating the size of this variation we can deduce information on the nature of the sample under examination.
The behaviours of the modulus of the impedance |Z| are evaluated for the frequency 20 Hz and amplitude of the sinusoidal signal comprised between 10 mV and 2 V for both the sensors and for both the temperatures 4° C. and 35° C.
The measurements were carried out on a subset of the bases described in the above table comprising the most conductive fruit bases (banana, Ii=26; kibana, Ii=29) and the full-fat soft mix of which samples were monitored of mix 20 in the case of pasteurisation at 65° C. and mix 32 in the case of pasteurisation at 85° C.
The results obtained indicate the possibility of distinguishing the fruit bases from the cream bases in particular in the case of use of the 4-electrode sensor at a temperature of 35° C.
To obtain more significant results, the measurement at fixed frequency and variable amplitude preferably uses signals at low frequency (20 Hz) and high amplitude (2V).
Since this induces instability at the electrode-mix interface which entails a reduction in the modulus of the impedance |Z| measured immediately after a measurement of this type, the measurement must therefore be made very quickly and with an adequate lapse of time between successive measurements.
Other parameters to be evaluated, both in the case of variable-frequency measurements (as described in relation to the groups of
In order to evaluate the repeatability of the measurements first described, various samples of low-fat soft mixes (indicated in the table with Ii=1 and Ii=31) and full-fat soft mixes (indicated in the table with Ii=2, Ii=20 and Ii=32) were analysed in successive tests, with intervals of at least a day between two consecutive tests.
In order to assess whether the procedure for preparing the mixes has an influence on the data obtained, each of the two mixes was prepared in two versions (with a low pasteurisation at 65° C. and a high pasteurisation at 85° C.). Successive measurements on the same batch of mixes are indicated by adding a suffix letter (B, C, etc.) to the number characterising the mix.
Below is an account of the behaviour of |Z| for frequencies comprised between 20 Hz and 10 KHz, and amplitude of signal of 100 mV for the mix “Fat soft”, for the temperatures 4° C. (
The fat soft mix (Ii=2) was prepared with a high pasteurisation cycle at 85° C., the full-fat soft mix (Ii=20) with a pasteurisation cycle at 65° C. and the full-fat soft mix (Ii=32) with a pasteurisation cycle at 85° C. obtained by switching the heater on and off, so as not to exceed too greatly the temperature of 85° C.
The mix pasteurised at 85° C. is distinguishable to the naked eye from the one pasteurised at 65° C. by being much more dense.
The similar graphs are reproduced below for the cases of “Low-fat soft” mix at 4° C. (
The low-fat soft mix (Ii=1) was obtained with a high pasteurisation cycle at 85° C. and a maturation time of 13 hours while the Low-fat soft mix (Ii=31) underwent a low pasteurisation cycle at 65° C.
To the naked eye there are no substantial differences between the two types of mix in terms of colour, density etc.
The measurements carried out on the same mix in general showed a relative percentage error lower at high frequency than at low frequencies: this is probably due to the phenomenon of polarisation of the electrode which occurs at low frequencies.
Even in the case of measurements made at constant frequency and variable amplitude, however, the relative error does not seem to prejudice the reliability of distinguishing between full-fat soft base and more conductive fruit bases.
For a given mix examined, the frequency measurement of the sample is found to be dependent on the process of preparation and in particular on the temperature and time of pasteurisation.
With the 4-electrode sensor it is possible to distinguish the type of pasteurisation carried out, both for the full-fat soft mix and for the low-fat soft mix with a degree of accuracy superior to that of the 2-electrode sensor.
This shows the possibility of investigating the organoleptic characteristics of the mixes from an electrical point of view, and in particular how the pasteurisation process alters the characteristics of the medium and therefore up to what point it is possible to pasteurise the mix without consistently altering it.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
MI2011A1313 | Jul 2011 | IT | national |
Number | Name | Date | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
1449458 | Sutermeister | Mar 1923 | A |
3811494 | Menzel | May 1974 | A |
RE29837 | Moore | Nov 1978 | E |
4219776 | Arulanandan | Aug 1980 | A |
4417671 | Kawasaki et al. | Nov 1983 | A |
4881025 | Gregory | Nov 1989 | A |
5095710 | Black et al. | Mar 1992 | A |
5103181 | Gaisford et al. | Apr 1992 | A |
5158506 | Kusano et al. | Oct 1992 | A |
5189366 | Mayo | Feb 1993 | A |
5493922 | Ramey et al. | Feb 1996 | A |
5749986 | Wyatt | May 1998 | A |
6274850 | Mercer | Aug 2001 | B1 |
6507662 | Brooks | Jan 2003 | B1 |
6653842 | Mosley et al. | Nov 2003 | B2 |
6705106 | Cunha et al. | Mar 2004 | B1 |
7275863 | Akers et al. | Oct 2007 | B1 |
7350403 | Yakhno et al. | Apr 2008 | B2 |
7493802 | Kawanishi et al. | Feb 2009 | B2 |
7933733 | Ashrafzadeh et al. | Apr 2011 | B2 |
8758678 | Cocchi et al. | Jun 2014 | B2 |
20020043071 | Frank et al. | Apr 2002 | A1 |
20030132755 | Feng et al. | Jul 2003 | A1 |
20030206021 | Laletin | Nov 2003 | A1 |
20060174775 | Yitzchak et al. | Aug 2006 | A1 |
20070098857 | Kohlstrung | May 2007 | A1 |
20070100387 | Gerber | May 2007 | A1 |
20070214872 | Ammann et al. | Sep 2007 | A1 |
20080029541 | Wallace et al. | Feb 2008 | A1 |
20080226779 | Cocchi et al. | Sep 2008 | A1 |
20080302818 | Minard et al. | Dec 2008 | A1 |
20090132174 | Burke | May 2009 | A1 |
20090191318 | Cocchi et al. | Jul 2009 | A1 |
20090193828 | Cocchi et al. | Aug 2009 | A1 |
20090236335 | Ben-Shmuel et al. | Sep 2009 | A1 |
20090295659 | Blumberg, Jr. | Dec 2009 | A1 |
20100031825 | Kemp | Feb 2010 | A1 |
20100086655 | Singer | Apr 2010 | A1 |
20100182021 | Singer | Jul 2010 | A1 |
20110020508 | Santoiemmo | Jan 2011 | A1 |
20120169354 | Erbe et al. | Jul 2012 | A1 |
20120169468 | Butler et al. | Jul 2012 | A1 |
20120237644 | Luckhardt | Sep 2012 | A1 |
Number | Date | Country |
---|---|---|
1618794 | Jan 2006 | EP |
2500724 | Sep 2012 | EP |
WO 2011032623 | Mar 2011 | WO |
Entry |
---|
Italian Search Report dated Feb. 27, 2012 from counterpart application. |
European Search Report dated Apr. 23, 2014 from counterpart App No. 12176173.8. |
Number | Date | Country | |
---|---|---|---|
20130014650 A1 | Jan 2013 | US |