Apparatus for coating a food product with a batter

A coating apparatus for coating food products with a batter, comprising:

• a frame supporting a conveyor belt and having a transport run to advance food products from an entry section towards a discharge section thereof in a transport direction, the conveyor belt further having a return run, the conveyor belt extending between a front roller at a front end of the entry section and a rear roller at a rear end of the discharge section;
• an upper batter applicator, wherein said upper batter applicator is positioned over the conveyor belt downstream of the entry section and configured to form, in operation, one or more curtains of batter flow from the upper batter applicator to the transport run of the conveyor belt in order to provide batter to an upper surface of the food products;
• a batter pump adapted to feed batter from a batter container to at least the upper batter applicator;
• a wall structure provided at the front end adjacent the conveyor belt and in proximity of the front roller configured to cause, in operation, batter to be dragged with the conveyor belt and/or the front roller upwards towards the entry section;
• wherein a batter overflow device below the entry section of the conveyor belt, the batter overflow device comprising a perforated surface having one or more perforations below at least a part of the entry section of the conveyor belt and a batter reservoir below said perforated surface;
• wherein the batter pump is further adapted to feed batter to the batter overflow device so that in operation batter flows through the perforated surface and forms a lower batter layer on top of said perforated surface;
• and
• wherein the entry section passes through said lower batter layer.

A method for coating food products with a batter in an apparatus comprising a frame supporting a conveyor belt having a transport run on which food products are received and advanced from an entry section towards a discharge section thereof in a transport direction;

• batter is applied on the food products from an upper batter applicator, wherein said upper batter applicator is positioned over the conveyor belt downstream of the entry section and configured forming one or more curtains of batter flow from the upper batter applicator to the transport run of the conveyor belt providing batter to an upper surface of the food products, wherein the batter is from a batter container by a batter pump;
• a wall structure, provided at a front end adjacent the conveyor belt and in proximity of the front roller, aids in batter to be dragged with the conveyor belt and/or the front roller upwards towards the entry section;
• a batter overflow device below the entry section of the conveyor belt, the batter overflow device comprising a perforated surface having one or more perforations below at least a part of the entry section of the conveyor belt and a batter reservoir below said perforated surface;
• feeding batter to the batter overflow device such that in operation batter overflows through the perforated surface and forms a lower batter layer on top of said perforated surface.

A food processing line, comprising a conveyor system for advancing a stream of subsequent food products from a food product supply apparatus and a dry coating apparatus for applying a layer of substantially dry coating material to a stream of subsequent food products and/or a heat treatment device for applying a heat treatment to the stream of food products and/or a packaging machine for packaging individual food products and/or a set of food products,

• wherein it further comprises a coating apparatus for coating a food product with a batter including:
• a frame supporting a conveyor belt having a transport run to advance food products from an entry section towards a discharge section thereof in a transport direction, the conveyor belt further having a return run, the conveyor belt extending between a front roller at a front end of the entry section and a rear roller at a rear end of the discharge section;
• an upper batter applicator, wherein said upper batter applicator is positioned over the conveyor belt downstream of the entry section and configured to form, in operation, one or more curtains of batter flow from the upper batter applicator to the transport run of the conveyor belt in order to provide batter to an upper surface of the food products;
• a batter pump adapted to feed batter from a batter container to at least the upper batter applicator;
• a wall structure provided at the front end adjacent the conveyor belt and in proximity of the front roller configured to cause, in operation, batter to be dragged with the conveyor belt and/or the front roller upwards towards the entry section;
• wherein a batter overflow device below the entry section of the conveyor belt, the batter overflow device comprising a perforated surface having one or more perforations below at least a part of the entry section of the conveyor belt and a batter reservoir below said perforated surface;
• wherein the batter pump is further adapted to feed batter to the batter overflow device so that in operation batter flows through the perforated surface and forms a lower batter layer on top of said surface;
• and
• wherein the entry section passes through said lower batter layer;
• wherein the apparatus for coating a food product with a batter is positioned upstream the dry coating apparatus.