Mixing chamber
AssigneesBakery Concepts International, LLC., Stratton Sales and Service, Inc.
InventorsBrigham Hatch, Bryan Stratton
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A mixing chamber for mixing a variety of dry ingredients with a liquid is disclosed. The mixing chamber has an accumulation chamber that evenly distributes ingredients as they pass a liquid spray nozzle, resulting in uniform hydration. The liquid may be sprayed at a variety of pressures to achieve varying levels of granule hydration to permit the manufacture of dough, batter, or other compositions. Even dry ingredients which are generally slow to absorb moisture may be rapidly and evenly hydrated without an excess of liquid. Process parameters, such as volume flow rate of the dry ingredients, can also be varied.
Claims20
A mixing chamber for hydrating ingredients, the mixing chamber comprising:
- an ingredients inlet configured to deliver the ingredients to an accumulation chamber, the ingredients inlet includes an orifice, an outer sleeve, and an inner sleeve, and a size of the orifice is variable by sliding of the outer sleeve with respect to the inner sleeve;
- a diverter in the accumulation chamber configured to direct the ingredients toward a wall of the accumulation chamber, wherein the wall of the accumulation chamber is tapered inwardly to redirect the ingredients back towards a center of the mixing chamber;
- a mixing tube configured to receive the ingredients from the accumulation chamber;
- and
- a discharge nozzle that is located beneath the diverter and is configured to discharge a liquid so that the liquid uniformly contacts the ingredients after the ingredients pass the diverter.
A hydration chamber for dry ingredients, the hydration chamber comprising:
- a dry ingredients inlet that directs the ingredients to an accumulation chamber, the dry ingredients inlet including an orifice, an outer sleeve, and an inner sleeve, and a size of the orifice is variable by sliding the outer sleeve with respect to the inner sleeve;
- a deflector in the accumulation chamber that directs the ingredients toward a wall of the accumulation chamber;
- and,
- a hydration dispenser, positioned in the accumulation chamber beneath the deflector, that discharges a hydration liquid against the ingredients as they pass through the accumulation chamber,
- wherein the hydration dispenser generates a vacuum that draws the ingredients into the hydration liquid,
- wherein the dry ingredients inlet is adjustable to control a volume flow rate of the ingredients, and
- the hydration dispenser is adjustable to vary a pressure at which the hydration liquid is discharged.
An accumulation chamber for receiving ingredients from an ingredients inlet, hydrating the ingredients, and directing the ingredients to a mixing tube, the accumulation chamber comprising:
- an inlet opening for receiving the ingredients, the inlet opening including an orifice, an outer sleeve, and an inner sleeve, and a size of the orifice is variable by sliding the outer sleeve with respect to the inner sleeve;
- a first flange surrounding the inlet opening and configured to connect the accumulation chamber to the ingredients inlet;
- an inwardly-tapered wall configured to redirect the ingredients towards a center of the accumulation chamber;
- a diverter in the accumulation chamber and configured to direct the ingredients toward the inwardly-tapered wall;
- a discharge nozzle that is located beneath the diverter and is configured to discharge a liquid so that the liquid contacts the ingredients after the ingredients pass the diverter.
A mixing chamber for hydrating ingredients, the mixing chamber comprising:
- an ingredients inlet that includes an orifice, an outer sleeve, and an inner sleeve that slides relative to the inner sleeve and varies the orifice to deliver the ingredients to an accumulation chamber;
- a diverter in the accumulation chamber that directs the ingredients toward an accumulation chamber wall that is tapered inwardly to redirect the ingredients towards a center of the mixing chamber;
- a mixing tube that receives the ingredients from the accumulation chamber;
- and
- a liquid discharge nozzle that is located beneath the diverter and discharges a liquid uniformly against the ingredients after the ingredients pass the diverter.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.