Patent Application
20120095595
This disclosure relates generally to a method and a process to make an admixture, using a cereal batter, a pulse and a lentil batter in a specific proportion, having an optimal consistency for efficient processing to a product.
Cereal and lentil batter is used in producing pancake like edibles and steamed cake edibles in Southern India. Custom production of combination of different cereal and lentil are done to produce a batter that can be used for at least three or four days. The vagaries of temperature fluctuation, grinding duration, differences in types of cereal and lentil variety create a challenge to produce uniform batter. In the summer heat the fermentation process is very quick and it leads to sourness of the batter and pungent tasting batter. In colder months there is insufficient fermentation and leads to flat batter with no taste.
The consistency of the batter also varies from batch to batch. There are no means to maintain uniform consistency of the batter. Uniform consistency of the batter would enable the supplier to produce predictable batter quality batch after batch and allow the end user to use the batter without modification. The nutritional values may be stabilized and optimal per unit consumption may be predicted for the user.
Furthermore, the apparatus is currently available in the market to make cereal and lentil batter. They are bulky and rotate at a constant speed. The users have to monitor the consistency and then remove the batter to mix them together. In addition, some batter making apparatus require manual tilting during its operation, adding to the complexity for bulk production. The method is laborious and time consuming. Furthermore, the apparatus size used for higher quantity renders the apparatus to be disparate, bulky for use and difficult to clean and transfer one batter and mix it with another batter to make an admixture.
The invention discloses a method, a process and an apparatus for making admixture using at least two ingredients in combination of batters such as a cereal and a lentil, a cereal and a cereal, and a lentil and a lentil.
In one embodiment, a semi-automated method of making the admixture is disclosed. Network controlled raw material processing, prepared material processing and packaging and shipping are performed.
In one embodiment, optimal proportion of raw materials such as a cereal and a lentil to be used are shown. In another embodiment, automatic optimal grinding speed, time and batter consistency measurement is described.
In another embodiment, optimal soaking conditions for cereal and lentil are shown. Once the soaking period is over it may be transferred to grinding station for individually grinding till optimal consistency is achieved. In another embodiment, once the optimal consistency is reached for cereal batter and lentil batter are combined and appropriate spices are added.
In another embodiment, the consistency measurement is exceeding the given time one may monitor the raise in temperature for the batter and cooling procedure may be adopted to prevent premature fermentation of the cereal and lentil admixture.
In another embodiment, the spiced mixed batter is fermented at a constant temperature and the end point is measured by ascertaining the batter level raise. Once the fermentation is completed, the batter is stirred to remove the excess air, stored in the cold chamber till they are ready to be packed. In another embodiment, packing is done using labeled containers and a little hole is made on the sealing material to let any further gas build up during transportation.
In one embodiment, the apparatus may be configured to dispense ingredients, soak the ingredients, mix the ingredients, ferment the mixture based on the input obtained from internal monitoring sensors and/or inputs given by the user. The apparatus may be capable of processing either a single component at a time or simultaneously processing one component while other is being processed. The apparatus may not require continuous monitoring by the user as the apparatus is configured to generate alert for the user if intervention is required.
The apparatus in one embodiment may be controlled by a computer. In another embodiment, sensors may be used to measure several parameters such as temperature, consistency of the admixture, pressure and weight. In another embodiment, several modules may be used using the computer to control the entire assembly process including but not limited to dispensing, weighing, movement of the container from one location to another and consistency control module.
The methods, systems, and apparatuses disclosed herein may be implemented in any means for achieving various aspects, and may be executed in a form of a machine-readable medium embodying a set of instructions. Other features will be apparent from the accompanying drawings and from the detailed description that follows.
Example embodiments are illustrated by way of example and not limitation in the figures of the accompanying drawings, in which like references indicate similar elements and in which:
Other features of the present embodiments will be apparent from the accompanying drawings and from the detailed description that follows.
Example embodiments, as described below, may be used to provide a method and a process to make an admixture, using a cereal batter and a lentil batter in a specific proportion, having an optimal consistency for efficient processing to a product. Although the present embodiments have been described with reference to specific example embodiments, it will be evident that various modifications and changes may be made to these embodiments without departing from the broader spirit and scope of the various embodiments.
The computing devices such as a computer 130A and/or the computer 130B may be the computing devices for implementing an automated admixture process 100 according to one example embodiment. The manufacturing unit may be coupled to the computing device (e.g., the computer 130A and the computer 130B) through a network 120. The network 120 may be a wired network or a wireless network. The computing devices may be coupled to the network through the wired communication or through wireless communication 140. The manufacturing unit includes edible material processing unit, the prepped material processing unit and packaging and shipping unit. The edible material processing unit may include equipments required for processing the edible material. The edible material processing 102 may include a soaking process 110, grinding process 112 and the mixing process 113 according to one embodiment. A database 150 may be used for storing all the information such as weights, names, quantities and inventory. The edible material processing 102 is further explained in
The prepped material processing unit includes specific equipments for preparing a final product. The prepped material processing 103 may include fermentation process 114, storing process 115 according to one embodiment. The prepped material processing 103 is explained in
In one embodiment, the grinding 112 process is as described below. In step 210, the liquid (water) used for soaking the edible materials may be drained. In step 212, the edible material may be added to a mechanical grinder. In step 214, an appropriate volume of water based on weight and type of soaked edible material may be added into the mechanical grinder. In one embodiment, each of the edible material may be added into a separate grinder for grinding operation. In addition, each of the grinders may be set for grinding process. In step 216, the edible materials may be grinded for a predetermined time in the mechanical grinder to generate a batter of an optimal viscosity and granularity. In step 220 the grinder may be stopped and viscosity and granularity of the batter may be checked. The batter for first edible ingredient such as a cereal and the second edible ingredient such a pulse or a lentil or combination of both may be in the ratio of 2:1, 3:1 or 4:2:2. Many permutation and combination of cereal and pulses and/or lentils may done. Spices may be at least one of salt, chili, coriander, black pepper, fenugreek seed or powder and not limited to only these examples. One such example may be 100 grams (gms) of Rice, 50 grams of Black gram dhal, 5 mgms of salt, and 5 mgms of black pepper, 1 mgm of fenugreek seed or powder. In one embodiment, if the viscosity of the batter and the granularity is below a threshold then the step 216 is performed for additional amount of time. Insufficient granularity and viscosity 218 leads back to step 216 of grinding for a predetermined time. Once grinding process 112 is completed, the mixing process 113 is initiated. In one embodiment, the mixing process 113 is described in step 222. The generated batter may be mixed into one container to generate an admixture 226. Further, in step 224 the grounded spices may be added into the admixture. In the admixture 226, the batters are thoroughly mixed to ensure an optimal mixture for consumption. Once the admixture is generated, the admixture may be further processed in prepped material processing 103 step such as fermenting 114 as described in
The stamped containers may be stored in a cold storage till the stamped containers are shipped 414. In step 416, the shipped containers may be locally stored or delivered in cold vans. Alternatively, in step 418, the shipped containers may be delivered to customers by storing in a dry ice.
The temperature control module 501 may be configured to control temperature at various manufacturing units. The temperature control module 501 may include one or more temperature sensors being placed in different units of manufacturing unit. In one embodiment, the temperature control module 501 may control temperatures at fermentation unit for ensuring fermentation of the admixture. In addition, the temperature control module 501 will control the temperature at the storage of the sealed containers storage. The feedback to the temperature control module 501 may be provided through the temperature sensors. Based on the feedback and the preprogram programmed into the computing devices controlling the manufacturing unit, the temperature control module 501 switches on heater or cooler to maintain the temperature programmed into the computing devices controlling the manufacturing units. The solid control module 502 may be configured to dispense a measured quantity of solid edible material into the container.
The electricity usage reading module 503 may obtained electricity usage in grinding operations to determine requirement of water while performing grinding. Based on the feed back from the resistance due to increased electrical consumption and resistance measurement module 505 reading speed of the motor may be increased or decreased to achieve optimal consistency for the batter. The time control module 504 may maintain timing information in at least one of the soaking process 110, the grinding process 112 and the fermentation process 114. The time control module 504 may include timers to manage the aforementioned processes. The resistance measurement module 505 may measure the resistance measured at the grinding process 112. The resistance measurement is performed to determine the additional requirement of water and/or the motor speed needs to be adjusted. The microprocessor module 506 may control each micro controller of the manufacturing units.
The microprocessor module 506 may communicate commands to each of the micro controllers of the manufacturing unit to perform specific tasks. For example, the microprocessor module 506 may communicate a command to a mixer in the mixing unit to enable the mixer in the mixing unit to perform thorough mixing of admixture. The microprocessor module 506 also monitors coordinates and controls the functions of other modules in the automation module 500. The motor control module 508 may be configured to control the speed of motor in the grinder in the grinding process. The motor control module 508 many receive inputs from electricity usage reading module 503, the resistance measurement module 505 and the micro processor module 506 to increase or decrease the speed of motor in the grinder of the grinding module. The pressure control module 510 may be used for proving a specific pressure in the closed environment for fermentation process.
The pump control module 511 may be configured to pump sufficient amount of water into the soaking and the grinding processes. The seal control module 513 may be configured to seal the packed container such that there is no leakage of admixture from the container. The user interface module 514 may be configured for providing at least one of status update, stock update, production update, requirement update, shipping update, quality update, order, target etc. The user interface module 514 also enables an administrator of the manufacturing unit to administer various problems, such as capacity of the manufacturing unit. In addition, the user interface module 514 also enables the administrator to update the software, add software patches, change configuration, speed etc of the manufacturing unit through the automation module 500. The dispensing of the batters of the different edible materials into the mixing container may be controlled through the vertical control module 515. Vertical control module 515 may also assist in storing the containers.
The robotic arm control module 525 may be configured to control the robotic arm to perform specific tasks such as lifting and placing the containers, transferring the contents of the containers etc. The alert module 516 may be configured to generate alerts to at least one of the following situation; at least one of a machinery malfunctions, process failures, edible material stock depletion, leakage and temperature variation during fermentation, storage etc. The horizontal control module 517 is configured to control the movement of the conveyor belt to enable proper placement of containers for at least one of addition of water, mixing, packing, stacking etc. The cleaning cycle module 518 is configured to clean he edible material by washing of edible material using water before the soaking process 110. The blade rotation control module 519 is configured to control grinding blades in the grinder while performing grinding operation 112. The liquid control module 524 is configured to control the flow of water in grinding process. The movement control module 520 is configured to control the packing process by monitoring the movement of packed sealed containers in the premises of the manufacturing unit.
The consistency module 522 is configured to control the viscosity and granularity of the batter being prepared in the grinding process. The consistency module 522 may include sensors that measure viscosity and granularity of the batter in the grinding process. Based on the feedback obtained from the viscosity and granularity sensors, the consistency module 522 may enable the grinder to perform grinding for additional duration of time for generating an optimal quality of batter. The bar code module 526 is configured to generate a unique bar code for each one of the sealed containers. A sensing module 530 to weigh the storage bins to communicate a weight of the storage bins to the data processing system to determine quantity of the sealed packing container in the storage bins. An inventory module 528 to convey requirement information to the data processing device for material inventory, product inventory etc.
The mixing container may be placed at a location to enable dispensing of batters of different edible materials into a mixing container. The movement of the conveyor carrying the mixing container may be controlled through horizontal control module 517. The dispensing of the batters of the different edible materials and grounded spices may be controlled through the vertical control module 515. The admixture generated therein the mixing process 113 may be sent for fermentation process in step C 609. The fermented batter may be stored in a closed environment, wherein the temperature may be controlled through the temperature control module 501 and the pressure may be controlled through the pressure controlled module 510. The admixture may be stored for a predetermined duration of time, wherein the time being monitored through the time control module 504. The stored admixture may be sent to packaging 116 processes and distributing process 118. The premeasured quantity of admixture may be put in standard containers for packing. The bar code module 526 may be used for placing a unique bar code on each of the packing container. The alert module 515 may be used to detect a sealed container with weight beyond the standard weight. The pressure control module 510 may be used for monitoring the pressure for lid closure. The packed and sealed containers may be placed in a cold storage for distribution.
The diagrammatic system view 900 may illustrate a physical machine, the mass migration desktop virtualization server 402, in which one or more operations disclosed herein are performed. The processor 902 may be a microprocessor, a state machine, an application specific integrated circuit, a field programmable gate array, etc. The main memory 904 may be a dynamic random access memory and/or a primary memory of a computer system.
The static memory 906 may be a hard drive, a flash drive, and/or other memory information associated with the data processing system. The bus 908 may be an interconnection between various circuits and/or structures of the data processing system. The video display 910 may provide graphical representation of information on the data processing system. The alpha-numeric input device 912 may be a keypad, a keyboard and/or any other input device of text (e.g., a special device to aid the physically handicapped).
The cursor control device 914 may be a pointing device such as a mouse. The drive unit 916 may be the hard drive, a storage system, and/or other longer term storage subsystem. The signal generation device 918 may be a bios and/or a functional operating system of the data processing system. The network interface device 920 may be a device that performs interface functions such as code conversion, protocol conversion and/or buffering required for communication to and from the network 926. The machine readable medium 922 may provide instructions 924 on which any of the methods disclosed herein may be performed. The instructions 924 may provide source code and/or data code to the processor 902 to enable any one or more operations disclosed herein.
In one embodiment, the dispensing valve may also be controlled through the microprocessor module 506. The edible material dispensers 1002-1004 and liquid dispenser may be fixed in a location. The containers may be brought to the location of the edible materials dispensers and liquid dispensers by placing the containers on a horizontal platen. The sensors on the horizontal platen may sense the location of the containers to be displaced. The location information of the containers may be communicated to the microprocessor module 506. The microprocessor module 506 may communicate a command to the horizontal platen to move the container to the location of the dispensers, such that the edible material and the liquid may be dispensed into the containers. Further, the container comprising the edible materials and the liquid may be picked by the robotic arm and placed it in a location for soaking.
The edible material may be soaked for a predetermined duration of time. Further, the container containing the soaked edible material may be picked by the robotic arms to transfer 1017 the soaked edible materials into grinders' 1013A-1013B. In one embodiment, the soaked edible material 1002 may be dispensed into a grinder 1013Ausing a edible material dispenser 1020A and B. Similarly, the soaked edible material 1004 may be dispensed into the grinder 1013B. The grinders 1013A-1013B are machines that are designed for edible materials. Each of the grinders may include a blade designed for the purpose of grinding the edible materials. The blades 1015A-1015B of the grinder 1013A and 1013B may be controlled through a motor 1019A and 1019B respectively. The motors 1019A AND 1019B may be controlled through the motor control module 508.
Furthermore, the grounded spices many be dispensed into the mixing container. The spices may be salt, sugar, chili powder, asafetida, fenugreek seed powder, coriander leaves, curry leaves etc. Further, the mixing container may be transported to fermentation chamber. Furthermore, the mixing container may be placed in an environment at a controlled temperature and pressure for a predetermined duration of time. A measured volume of admixture may be transferred to each of the packing containers 1117. Further, a robotic arm 1115 may be used for packing, sealing and applying barcode to each of the sealed containers. The sealed containers 1122 may be placed in storage bins 1119. Weight sensors 1120 may be used to determine the total weight of the sealed containers in the storage bins 1119. In addition, radio frequency (RF) id tags may be coupled to a set of storage bins 1119 to determine the location of the storage bins being stored in the manufacturing unit.
Although the present embodiments have been described with reference to specific example embodiments, it will be evident that various modifications and changes may be made to these embodiments without departing from the broader spirit and scope of the various embodiments. Accordingly, the specification and drawings are to be regarded in an illustrative rather than a restrictive sense.
