# US 11,076,627 B2 · Coating of food products with a particulate coating material

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- Number: US 11,076,627 B2
- Document ID: US11076627B2
- Status: Granted
- Kind: B2
- Application number: 16/772,624
- Filed: 2018-12-21
- Published: 2020-12-03
- Granted: 2021-08-03
- Earliest claimed: 2017-12-22
- Assignees: Marel Further Processing B.V.
- Applicants: Marel Further Processing B.V.
- Inventors: Johannes Martinus Meulendijks; Wilhelmus Johannes Jacobus Maria Van Der Straaten; Martinus Johannes Willebrordus Van Zoelen; Mathias Marcellus Kuijpers
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US11076627B2

## CPC

- A23P 20/12: Apparatus or processes for applying powders or particles to foodstuffs, e.g. for breading; Such apparatus combined with means for pre-moistening or battering
- A23P 20/13: involving agitation of the foodstuff inside a rotating apparatus, e.g. a drum
- B05C 5/007: {Slide-hopper coaters, i.e. apparatus in which the liquid or other fluent material flows freely on an inclined surface before contacting the work}
- B05C 19/04: the particulate material being projected, poured or allowed to flow onto the surface of the work (B05C19/02 takes precedence; involving spraying or electrostatic projection B05B ){(B05C19/005 takes precedence)}
- B05C 19/06: Storage, supply or control of the application of particulate material; Recovery of excess particulate material
- B05D 1/30: performed by gravity only, i.e. flow coating
- A23P: SHAPING OR WORKING OF FOODSTUFFS, NOT FULLY COVERED BY A SINGLE OTHER SUBCLASS
- B05C: APPARATUS FOR APPLYING FLUENT MATERIALS TO SURFACES, IN GENERAL (spraying apparatus, atomising apparatus, nozzles B05B; plant for applying liquids or other fluent materials to objects by electrostatic spraying B05B5/08)
- B05D: PROCESSES FOR APPLYING FLUENT MATERIALS TO SURFACES, IN GENERAL (conveying articles or workpieces through baths of liquid B65G, e.g. B65G49/02)

## Abstract

An in-line coating machine adapted to coat food products with a particulate coating material has a food products conveyor; a coating device; an excess coating material separation station; an excess coating material recovery conveyor; and a particulate coating material elevator device. An elevator device fill assembly along the recovery conveyor is configured to fill the elevator device with recovered excess coating material. An adjustable discharge opening device controls a discharge opening in the recovered excess coating material bed support. An adjustable upper layer diverter device engages an upper layer of the recovered excess coating material bed passing over the recovered excess coating material bed support and diverts at least a portion of the upper layer at an adjustable rate into the particulate coating material elevator device.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A coating machine adapted to coat food products with a particulate coating material, the coating machine comprising:
a food products conveyor moved by a drive and adapted to receive food products to be coated at an inlet of the coating machine and to discharge coated food products at an outlet of the coating machine;
a coating device arranged between the inlet and the outlet of the coating machine and arranged to supply with particulate coating material and to subject the food products to a coating treatment wherein some of the particulate coating material adheres to the food products;
a separation station for excess coating material and configured to separate excess coating material from said coated food products to recover the excess coating material for reuse;
an excess coating material recovery conveyor including:
a recovered excess coating material bed support adapted to receive thereon at a reception location the recovered excess coating material from said separation station to form a recovered excess coating material bed of separated excess coating material on the recovered excess coating material bed support;
a recovery conveyor run above said recovered excess coating material bed support and movable relative to said excess coating material bed support and configured to convey said excess coating material bed over said recovered excess coating material bed support;
a particulate coating material elevator device driven by a motor drive and adapted to receive a portion of the excess coating material from said recovery conveyor and to supply the excess coating material to the coating device for reuse;
wherein the coating machine comprises an elevator device fill assembly arranged along the recovery conveyor downstream of the reception location and configured to fill the elevator device with recovered excess coating material;
wherein said elevator device fill assembly includes:
at least one adjustable discharge opening device adapted to control at least one discharge opening in the recovered excess coating material bed support arranged to discharge at a first adjustable-rate a portion of the recovered excess coating material bed passing over the at least one discharge opening into the particulate coating material elevator device;
an upper layer diverter device configured to engage an upper layer of the recovered excess coating material bed passing over the recovered excess coating material bed support, with a lower layer passing underneath the upper layer diverter device, and to divert at least a portion of said upper layer at a second adjustable rate into the elevator device.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The coating machine according to claim 1, further comprising a particles segregation enhancing assembly adapted to subject the recovered excess coating material bed passing over the recovered excess coating material bed support, upstream of the elevator device fill assembly, to a segregation enhancing action to engage the upper layer by the upper layer diverter device to be composed of a coarse fraction of the particulate coating material and to compose a lower layer of the excess coating material bed of a fine fraction relative to the coarse fraction of the particulate coating material.

### Claim 3 (depends on 1)

The coating machine according to claim 1, wherein the upper layer diverter device is arranged in proximity and upstream, seen in a direction of conveyance of the bed, of the at least one discharge opening in the recovered excess coating material bed support.

### Claim 4 (depends on 1)

The coating machine according to claim 1, wherein the upper layer diverter device is adjustable in at least one of:
height relative to the recovered excess coating material bed support arranged to control a thickness of the upper layer engaged by the upper layer diverter device;
width relative to the recovered excess coating material bed support arranged to control a width of the portion of the upper layer engaged by the upper layer diverter device;
angular orientation of the upper layer diverter device relative to a direction of conveyance of the recovered excess coating material bed when seen in top view.

### Claim 5 (depends on 1)

The coating machine according to claim 1, wherein the recovered excess coating material bed support has opposed first and second lateral sides; and
wherein the upper layer diverter device is adapted to divert a first stream of upper layer excess coating material over the first lateral side and into the particulate coating material elevator device and to divert a second stream of upper layer excess coating material over the second lateral side and into the particulate coating material elevator device.

### Claim 6 (depends on 1)

The coating machine according to claim 1, wherein the recovered excess coating material bed support has opposed first and second lateral sides; and
wherein the upper layer diverter device comprises first and second diverter blades engaging the upper layer and diverting at least a portion of the upper layer over one of said first and second lateral sides and into the particulate coating material elevator device, wherein the first and second diverter blades are each adapted to divert a respective stream of the upper layer excess coating material over a respective lateral side and into the particulate coating material elevator device.

### Claim 7 (depends on 1)

The coating machine according to claim 1, wherein the coating device comprises a top coating device arranged to supply with particulate coating material by said particulate coating material elevator device and to discharge said particulate coating material from above onto the food products conveyed by the food products conveyor in a direction of conveyance.

### Claim 8 (depends on 1)

The coating machine according to claim 1, wherein the particulate coating material elevator device comprises a movable array of pockets adapted to receive therein particulate coating material, said particulate coating material elevator device being arranged to move said movable array of pockets along an endless path that passes said elevator device fill assembly to fill excess particulate coating material into said movable array of pockets and that passes said coating device to discharge said particulate coating material from said movable array of pockets and supply said particulate coating material discharged to said coating device.

### Claim 9 (depends on 1)

The coating machine according to claim 1, wherein the particulate coating material elevator device comprises an elevator wheel including:
an annular wheel body adapted to revolve about an axis of rotation and having a central opening;
a circumferential array of pockets in said annular wheel body, the circumferential array of pockets being open towards the central opening of the annular wheel body;
wherein the food products conveyor and the recovery conveyor each extend through the central opening of the annular wheel body of the elevator wheel, the recovery conveyor run below the food products conveyor;
wherein the elevator wheel passes below the elevator device fill assembly allowing excess material to be gravity fed into the pockets.

### Claim 10 (depends on 1)

The coating machine according to claim 1, wherein the coating device is a top coating device arranged to be supplied with particulate coating material by said elevator device and to discharge said particulate coating material from above onto the food products conveyed by a food products conveyor in a direction of conveyance.

### Claim 11 (depends on 8)

The coating machine according to claim 8, wherein the coating device is a top coating device arranged to be supplied with the particulate coating material by said elevator device and to discharge said particulate coating material from above onto the food products conveyed by the food products conveyor in a direction of conveyance; and
wherein the pockets of the particulate coating material elevator device passes over the top coating device such that particulate coating material is gravity fed from a pocket into the top coating device.

### Claim 12 (depends on 1)

The coating machine according to claim 1, wherein the coating machine comprises a bottom coating device comprising:
a bottom coating material bed support;
wherein the bottom coating material bed support is adapted to support thereon a bottom coating material bed of particulate coating material;
wherein the coating machine is configured so that the food products to be coated are received on said bottom coating material bed;
a bottom coating material bed advancing conveyor run above said bottom coating material bed support and configured to convey said bottom coating material bed over said bottom coating material bed support;
wherein the coating machine is embodied to transfer recovered excess coating material remaining in said excess coating material bed downstream of said elevator device fill assembly to the bottom coating material bed advancing conveyor run.

### Claim 13 (depends on 12)

The coating machine according to claim 12, further comprising an adjustable bypass opening device arranged to control at least one bypass opening in the bottom coating material bed support allowing to discharge an adjustable portion of the bottom coating material bed passing over said at least one bypass opening onto the recovered excess coating material bed, downstream of the elevator device fill assembly, to bypass said elevator device fill assembly and be transferred to the bottom coating material bed advancing conveyor run.

### Claim 14 (depends on 13)

The coating machine according to claim 13, wherein the recovery conveyor run is a mesh belt conveyor; and
wherein the bottom coating material bed advancing conveyor run is a mesh belt conveyor, wherein the recovery conveyor run and the bottom coating material bed advancing conveyor run are formed by one and the same belt conveyor.

### Claim 15 (depends on 1)

The coating machine according to claim 1, wherein the coating device is a top coating device arranged to supply with particulate coating material by said elevator device and to discharge said particulate coating material from above onto the food products conveyed by the food products conveyor in a direction of conveyance,
wherein the top coating device comprises a hopper having a front wall facing counter to said direction of conveyance of food products, a sloping bottom wall adjoining the front wall at a lower corner portion of the hopper and sloping upwards from said lower corner portion in the direction of conveyance of food products, as well as lateral hopper walls that delimit with said front wall and sloping bottom wall the hopper;
wherein the hopper is open at a top thereof to receive therein particulate coating material gravity fed from the excess coating material elevator device.

### Claim 16 (depends on 1)

A method for coating of food products, comprising the steps of providing the coating machine according to claim 1, including:
providing the food products conveyor with food products to be coasted at the inlet of the coating machine;
supplying the coating device with particulate coating material;
subjecting the food products to particulate coating material;
recovering excess coating material by separating excess coating material from the coated food products by the separation station;
transporting excess coating material along an excess coating material recovery conveyor;
filling an elevator fill device assembly with recovered excess coating material from the excess coating material recovery conveyor.

### Claim 17 (depends on 16)

The method according to claim 16, and wherein the particulate coating material is used which comprises a fine fraction and a coarse fraction relative to the fine fraction of particulate coating material; and
wherein the excess coating material bed segregates into an upper layer composed of a relative coarse fraction of the particulate coating material and a lower layer of a relative fine fraction of the particulate coating material;
wherein the elevator device fill assembly is arranged to discharge a desired rate of the fine fraction excess coating material from the lower layer by control of the at least one adjustable discharge opening device and associated at least one discharge opening in the recovered excess coating material bed support and to be received in the elevator device; and
wherein the elevator device fill assembly is arranged to divert a desired rate of the coarse fraction excess coating material in the upper layer by the adjustable upper layer diverter device engaging said upper layer the elevator device.

### Claim 18 (depends on 17)

The method according to claim 17, wherein use is made of an in-line coating machine having a particles segregation enhancing assembly subjecting the recovered excess coating material bed passing over the recovered excess coating material bed support, upstream of the elevator device fill assembly, to a segregation enhancing action to compose the upper layer engaged by the upper layer diverter device of a relative coarse fraction of the particulate coating material and to compose the lower layer of the excess coating material bed of a relative fine fraction of the particulate coating material.

### Claim 19 (depends on 16)

The method according to claim 16, wherein an adjustable bypass opening device controls at least one bypass opening in a bottom coating material bed support allowing to discharge an adjustable portion of the bottom coating material bed passing over said at least one bypass opening onto the recovered excess coating material bed, downstream of the elevator device fill assembly, to bypass said elevator device fill assembly and be transferred to a bottom coating material bed advancing conveyor run.