Manufacture of non-dairy frozen dessert
OwnerDave Feldpauschinventor
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An apparatus is especially suitable for high volume manufacture of a non-dairy frozen dessert. Pre-frozen blocks of ingredient mixture are masticated in a first stage of the apparatus and aerated in a second stage of the apparatus. Compressed air is injected into a masticated slurry produced by the first stage and mixed into the slurry in the second stage. A continuous process transforms the pre-frozen blocks into a masticated, aerated slurry suitable for immediate consumption, storage for later consumption, or processing into bars or other forms. This apparatus and process is suitable for some ingredient mixtures for which a scrape surface heat exchanger apparatus and process are not suitable.
Claims19
A method of making a frozen dessert, comprising:
- providing a grinder having an elongate auger tube with a circular bore, a rotatable spiral auger coaxially within the bore, a raw material inlet tube attached to the auger tube in communication with the bore adjacent the spiral auger, and a rotary blade adjacent to a perforated grinding plate within the auger tube downstream of the spiral auger;
- feeding frozen blocks of pre-frozen ingredient mixture into the raw material inlet tube;
- driving the spiral auger to push the pre-frozen ingredient mixture through the auger tube and through a perforated grinding plate to masticate the pre-frozen ingredient mixture into a slurry;
- passing the slurry through a frusto-conical section at an end of auger tube to consolidate the slurry;
- passing the consolidated slurry through an elongated mixing tube having a first end connected downstream of the frusto-conical section and an open spaced apart second end;
- placing a motor driven mixing drive shaft projecting into the second end of the mixing tube, one or more mixing blades affixed to the mixing drive shaft and configured to allow the masticated slurry to mix and pass thereby;
- introducing pressurized air into the masticated slurry prior to the mixing blades to aerate the slurry reducing its density;
- obstructing a flow of aerated slurry in the mixing tube in a region downstream of the mixing blades;
- and
- discharging the aerated slurry through a discharge port formed in the mixing tube between the mixing blades and the obstruction.
A method of making a frozen dessert, comprising:
- providing a grinder having an elongate auger tube with a circular bore, a rotatable spiral auger coaxially within the bore, a raw material inlet tube attached to the auger tube in communication with the bore adjacent the spiral auger, and a rotary blade adjacent to a perforated grinding plate within the auger tube downstream of the spiral auger;
- feeding frozen blocks of pre-frozen ingredient mixture into the raw material inlet tube;
- driving the spiral auger to push the pre-frozen ingredient mixture through the auger tube and through a perforated grinding plate to masticate the pre-frozen ingredient mixture into a slurry;
- passing the masticated slurry through an elongated mixing tube having a first end connected downstream of the auger tube and an open spaced apart second end;
- rotating a mixing drive shaft in the mixing tube, one or more mixing blades affixed to the mixing drive shaft and configured to allow the masticated slurry to mix and pass thereby;
- introducing pressurized air into the masticated slurry prior to the mixing blades to aerate the slurry reducing its density;
- obstructing a flow of aerated slurry in the mixing tube in a region downstream of the mixing blades;
- and
- discharging the aerated slurry through a discharge port formed in the mixing tube between the mixing blades and the obstruction.
A method of making a frozen dessert, comprising:
- feeding frozen blocks of pre-frozen ingredient mixture into an auger tube;
- driving a spiral auger within the auger tube to push the pre-frozen ingredient mixture through a perforated grinding plate to masticate the pre-frozen ingredient mixture into a slurry;
- introducing pressurized air into the masticated slurry to aerate the slurry reducing its density;
- passing the aerated slurry past one or more rotating mixing blades;
- and
- discharging the aerated slurry through a discharge port downstream of the mixing blades.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.