Method and apparatus
AssigneeKraft Foods Schweiz Holding GmbH
InventorsEmma McLeod, Anna Osborne
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A method of predicting a temper level and/or a viscosity of a tempered mass, provided by tempering of a fat-containing, crystallisable mass, for example a chocolate mass, by flowing the mass successively through a temperer comprising an inlet, a crystallization stage to form crystals therein and a reheat stage to melt unstable crystals formed therein, is described. The method is implemented, at least in part, by a computer including a processor and a memory. The method comprises predicting the temper level and/or the viscosity of the tempered mass using a model, wherein the model relates the temper level and/or the viscosity of the tempered mass to one or more temperer process parameters. A method of controlling tempering and a temperer are also described.
Claims20
A method of predicting a temper level and/or a viscosity of a tempered mass provided by tempering of a fat-containing, crystallisable mass by flowing the mass successively through a temperer comprising an inlet, a crystallization stage to form crystals therein and a reheat stage to melt unstable crystals formed therein, the method implemented, at least in part, by a computer including a processor and a memory, the method comprising:
- predicting the temper level and/or the viscosity of the tempered mass using a model, wherein the model relates the temper level and/or the viscosity of the tempered mass to one or more temperer process parameters.
A temperer for tempering of a fat-containing, crystallisable mass, for example a chocolate mass, the temperer comprising:
- an inlet, a crystallization stage and a reheat stage defining a flowpath therethrough for the mass;
- a set of sensors for sensing one or more temperer process parameters;
- and
- a computer, including a processor and a memory, configured to:
- predict a temper level and/or a viscosity of the tempered mass using a model, wherein the model relates the temper level and/or the viscosity of the tempered mass to the sensed one or more temperer process parameters;
- compare the predicted temper level with a target temper level range and/or compare the predicted viscosity with a target viscosity range;
- and
- control one or more set points of the temperer process parameters of the inlet, the crystallization stage and/or the reheat stage, based on a result of the comparing.
A method of controlling tempering of a fat-containing, crystallisable mass, the method implemented, at least in part, by a computer including a processor and a memory, the method comprising:
- flowing the mass successively through a temperer comprising an inlet, a crystallization stage to form crystals therein and a reheat stage to melt unstable crystals formed therein and sensing one or more temperer process parameters;
- optimising a temper level and/or a viscosity of the tempered mass by controlling one or more set points of the temperer process parameters using a model of response dynamics of the tempering.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.