Abstract:
A drum-type coating apparatus for applying breading material to food product is configured to eliminate, in most circumstances, a hard cylindrical drum, to be replaced by a U-hanging belt, the belly of which provides all the operative utility of a cylindrical hard drum, but better than that, provides more clearance for cleaning operations, since the upper hemi-cylinder of a hard cylindrical drum provides no utility for tumbling purposes and only, to make matters worse, obstructs cleaning operations. Also, the overall coating apparatus for supporting the U-hanging belt, flexible drum is provided with provisions for the exchangeable substitution or elimination of accessories of the tumbling and/or flipping nature, including the U-hanging belt, flexible drum itself. In the elimination configuration, food product is not routed through any tumbling and/or flipping accessory but is instead run through a flat bed configuration. That way, delicate food product is protected from disintegration.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION(S) 
     This application is a division of U.S. application Ser. No. 13/374,782, filed Jan. 12, 2012, now U.S. Pat. No. 8,960,119, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/705,551, filed Feb. 12, 2007, now U.S. Pat. No. 8,096,259, which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/853,579, filed May 24, 2004, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,231,885, which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/488,777, filed Jul. 21, 2003, and U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/473,066, filed May 23, 2003, the disclosures of all which are incorporated herein by this reference. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The invention relates to a coating apparatus for applying a coating to a stream of product passing continuously through it, and more particularly to a coating apparatus that handles food products fit for human consumption including without limitation chicken, fish, seafood, pork, beef and so on. The coating material is commonly a breading material which might range in composition from a flour mixture to a coarse bread-crumb mixture. The various kinds of breading material allow inclusion of spices or flavorings within the mixture. 
     The coating apparatus has an intake system which is where the main coating activity takes place. Additionally, the coating apparatus has belts in substitution of functions normally provided by a rotating drum—see, eg., U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,937,744 and/or 6,158,332—a substitute belt system, it being more conveniently referred to herein as a “flexible drum.” The flexible drum tumbles the coated product to knock off excess breading material as well as to ensure more even application of the coating material. The food product can be routed at the option of the operator(s) of the coating apparatus to bypass the drum. Bypassing the drum is desirable when processing “formed” food products such as beef patties or fish cakes and the like, which would disintegrate in the drum. 
     Further inventive aspects of this coating apparatus include improvements in the way that the flexible drum discharges coated product onto an outflow conveyor in order that the outflowing product be automatically spread more evenly distributed across the width of the outflow conveyor. 
     A number of additional features and objects will be apparent in connection with the following discussion of the preferred embodiments and examples with reference to the drawings. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       There are shown in the drawings certain exemplary embodiments of the invention as presently preferred. It should be understood that the invention is not limited to the embodiments disclosed as examples, and is capable of variation within the scope of the skills of a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the invention pertains. In the drawings, 
         FIG. 1  is a side elevational view of, partly in section through a vertical axis of symmetry therefor, a coating apparatus in accordance with the invention which incorporates a flexible drum accessory in accordance with the invention; 
         FIG. 2  is a discharge-end end elevational view of  FIG. 1  (ie., as taken in the direction of viewing the discharge end), in which portions are broken away including removal of the outflow conveyor from the view; 
         FIG. 3  is a side elevational view that is partly in section and comparable to  FIG. 1 , except showing an “in-line triple flip” accessory in accordance with the invention, for exchangeable substitution with the flexible drum accessory of  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 4  is a perspective view of a “flexible drum triple flip” accessory in accordance with the invention, for exchangeable substitution in the coating apparatus with either the flexible drum accessory of  FIG. 1  or the in-line triple flip accessory of  FIG. 3 ; 
         FIG. 5  is a side elevational view that is partly in section and comparable to  FIG. 1 , except showing conversion of the coating apparatus for linear running of the product therethrough; 
         FIG. 6  is a perspective view of the vertex of the three astride infeed conveyors, and taken in the direction of arrows VI-VI in  FIG. 5 ; 
         FIG. 7  is a discharge-end end elevational view comparable to  FIG. 2  except showing a hard-drum accessory in accordance with the invention, for exchangeable substitution in the coating apparatus with either the flexible drum accessory of  FIG. 1 , the in-line triple flip accessory of  FIG. 3 , or the flexible drum triple flip accessory of  FIGS. 4 ; 
         FIG. 8  is a discharge-end end elevational view comparable to  FIG. 7  except showing a “made by hand” accessory in accordance with the invention, for exchangeable substitution in the coating apparatus with either the flexible drum accessory of  FIG. 1 , the in-line triple flip accessory of  FIG. 3 , the flexible drum triple flip accessory of  FIG. 4 , or the hard-drum accessory of  FIG. 7 ; 
         FIG. 9  is a perspective view comparable to  FIG. 6  except showing an alternate embodiment of plows, wherein one or both of the plows comprises telescopic legs and telescopic arms hinged together for multiple adjustability; 
         FIG. 10  is a perspective view comparable to  FIGS. 6 and 9  except showing a further embodiment in arrangement of plows, wherein this arrangement comprises a single slanted plow which is hinged at its base end and is otherwise telescopic; 
         FIG. 11  is a side elevational view of a flexible belt drum breader or coating apparatus in accordance with the invention, the discharge end being oriented to the right, and which a flexible belt drum breader or coating apparatus comprises a flexible belt drum ( 20 ), a crumb conveyor ( 34 ), a belt press ( 26 ), a flatbed bypass position shown in dashed lines ( 28 ) (other position, as inclined outflow conveyor, shown in dashed lines), a dust cover in a raised position ( 12 ); 
         FIG. 12  is a side elevational view comparable to  FIG. 11  except showing product-to-be coated being received upline from an inflow conveyor that discharges into the coating apparatus in accordance with the invention as shown, wherein the product flows under the press conveyor and is conveyed next to the flexible belt drum in accordance with the invention, which tumbled product is ultimately spread evenly by the flexible belt “sweep arms” at the instance of discharge from the flexible belt drum, as spread more evenly across the whole width of the inclined outflow conveyor; 
         FIG. 13  is a side elevational view comparable to  FIG. 12  except showing variously shallower angles of inclination of the outflow conveyor, including optionally a level position (not shown), for usages of the coating apparatus when the flexible belt drum is to be bypassed (eg., for delicate product), wherein one machine converts to an inline machine by moving or removing the flexible belt drum; 
         FIGS. 14 through 17  comprise a series of views showing convertible aspects in accordance with the invention for converting the above-described apparatus into changed apparatus for changed functionality, according to the following, wherein:— 
         FIG. 14  is a side elevation view comparable to  FIG. 12  except showing temporary replacement of the drum in  FIG. 12  (and indicated by reference numeral ( 20 ) in  FIG. 12 ) with an interchangeable inclined outflow conveyor wherein  FIG. 14  shows a series of three inclined outflow conveyors, informally denominated as a “triple flip” attachment, so that flat product including without limitation hamburger patties or breaded pork chops and so on flip once, twice, three times across the span between the intake end and discharge end of the apparatus in accordance with the invention, 
         FIG. 15  is a side elevation view comparable to  FIG. 11  (and/or  FIG. 13  as well), except showing temporary replacement of the flexible belt drum indicated by reference numeral ( 20 ) with a flat bed or bypass configuration of the outflow conveyor (which flat bed configuration, in  FIG. 11 , is indicated in dashed lines by the upper instance of reference numeral ( 28 )), wherein such a flat bed or bypass configuration is especially desirable for handling/transiting delicate product perhaps such as and without limitation fish patties which, regardless what is deemed a “delicate” product, are deemed too delicate to withstand tumbling or flipping (ie., are likely to disintegrate by such treatment), 
         FIG. 16  is a side elevation view comparable to  FIG. 11  except showing temporary replacement of the flexible belt drum that is indicated by reference numeral ( 20 ) in  FIG. 11  with an interchangeable hard drum ( 80 ), wherein the interchangeable hard drum is a (preferably stainless steel) cylinder with internal flights and comparably incorporates aspects of the hard drum structure disclosed by the aforementioned U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,937,744 and/or 6,158,332—Nothum et al., and 
         FIG. 17  is a side elevation view comparable to  FIG. 11  except showing reconfiguration of the U-shaped flexible belt drum that is indicated by reference numeral ( 20 ) in  FIG. 1  with an interchangeable double-U shaped configuration and as better shown in  FIG. 8 , wherein the double-U shaped configuration is serviced by a series of counter-rotating paddles (and also better shown by  FIG. 8 ) to promote product flipping/tumbling according to a different stoke for a fine differentiation in end-product results in order to obtain a classic result formerly most easily obtained by manual processes in an inventive way by apparatus. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
       FIG. 1  shows a coating apparatus  10  in accordance with the invention incorporating a flexible drum accessory  20  in accordance with the invention (a dust cover  12  is shown in an elevated position). Food product  14  is introduced on the upper carrying run of an intake conveyor  22 , which transits the product  14  underneath a “shower curtain” of breading material  16  rained down from above by a sprinkling (or sifting) conveyor  24 . Preferred conveyor constructions include what are known as a drag-link construction and as shown by, for example, the FIG. 4 of U.S. Pat. No. 5,937,744—Nothum et al., or else an open wire mesh construction and as shown by, for example, the FIG. 6 of U.S. Pat. No. 6,305,274 (B1) Nothum et al.  FIG. 2  hereof presents an illustrative depiction of such a “shower curtain” of coating material  16 . Returning to where  FIG. 1  hereof shows the product  18  progressing past the station of the sprinkling conveyor  24 , the food product  18  is further advanced on the intake conveyor  22  to be squeezed beneath a low gap defined by an overhead conveyor-belt compressor  26 . It is an aspect of the invention that the inventive overhead conveyor-belt compressor  26  replaces and solves the shortcomings associated with what the prior art has relied on to date, namely, an overhead compression roller. A shortcoming with overhead compression rollers is that they apply compression only in the form of a cylindrical surface, and not as according to the invention by a conveyor-belt compressor  26  which can be arranged to provide a defined gap height over an indefinite length of longitudinal (eg., the direction between upline and downline) extent. 
     The conveyor-belt compressor  26  is especially advantageous for pressing in the breading material and/or providing an additional squeeze for shape to flat product such as patties or nuggets (eg., chicken nuggets) and the like. 
     Not only does  FIG. 1  provide a sectional side view of the flexible drum accessory  20 , to be described more particularly below, but it also shows an outflow conveyor  28  for discharging the coated food product  18  to succeeding downline processes, and an excess-breading material recirculation system  30 , as well as a flexible belt product-spreading system in accordance with the invention, to be described more particularly below (ie., indicated by reference numeral  60  in  FIG. 4 ). 
     Briefly, product  18  discharged from the flexible drum  20  pours onto the product-carrying (eg., upper) run of the inclined outflow conveyor  28 , which optionally might have a drag-link construction. The outflow conveyor  28 &#39;s return (eg., lower) run scrapes on top of a tray or pan  32 . Excess breading material poured out of the flexible drum  20  sifts through the outflow conveyor  28 &#39;s upper (eg., product-carrying) and lower (eg., return) runs, to alight upon the tray or pan  32 . If the outflow conveyor  28  has a drag-link construction, the drag flights of the return run scrape across the tray or pan  32  and motivate the excess coating material to a drop zone, directly above a filtering conveyor  34 . The filtering conveyor  34  preferably has a comparable drag-link construction and is preferably undergirded by a screen (not shown) scaled for passing fines but transiting coarse material, which is ejected overboard out one side or the other of the coating apparatus  10 . The filtering conveyor  34  is arranged to run laterally, in a loop to the left and right direction, or in other words, transverse to the product-flow direction of upline to downline. 
     What excess breading material that manages to filter through the filtering conveyor system  34  winds up pouring down onto the pick-up zone of the recirculation system  30 . The recirculation system  30  comprises a set of three astride conveyors or, that is, in consideration first of a central one of these three is an intake conveyor  22 . Flanking this intake conveyor  22 &#39;s left and right sides are breading elevators (not shown in  FIG. 1  but indicated as  38  in  FIGS. 5 and 6 ). 
       FIGS. 1 and 2  together better show the inventive flexible drum breader  20  in accordance with the invention. The flexible drum  20  more accurately comprises a belt  40 , for example a wire mesh belt, slung to provide a U-shaped product-carrying run (more accurately that is, if unsupported, a catenary-shaped product carrying run). The belt  40  of said flexible drum  20  preferably includes flighting  42  to progressively advance material  18  poured into the upline end to its downline (or discharge end), from which the tumbled coated product  18  is discharged upon the outflow conveyor  28  as shown by  FIGS. 1 . 
     Various inventive aspects of this configuration include affording the functionality of a hard drum except, instead of being a complete cylinder, the flexible drum  20  has an open top half. For considerations of wash down, this affords considerable advantages, including less prerequisite disassembly of parts for wash down (and then consequent reassembly for productive, cost-justifying run time). 
       FIG. 2  is an end elevational view of  FIG. 1 . More particularly,  FIG. 2  provides an end-on view of the discharge end, except the outflow conveyor  28  and other intervening portions obstructing the view of the flexible drum  20  are removed for clarity&#39;s sake. The flexible drum  20  provides a radially rotating product-carrying surface equipped with longitudinally-motivating diagonal flights  42  so that product  18  is comparably tumbled rotationally as well as longitudinally motivated as a hard drum, an example of a hard drum implementation of drum breading include at least the above-referenced eg., U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,937,744 and/or 6,158,332 of Nothum et al. 
       FIGS. 1 and 2  further show a counter-rotating spreading system  44  which is both counterpart to the spreading paddles shown also by the above-referenced eg., U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,937,744 and/or 6,158,332 of Nothum et al., except implemented by a soft design or, that is, implemented by more particularly a counter-rotating spreading belt.  FIGS. 1 and 2  show that both the counter-rotating soft spreading system  44  is aligned coaxial with the flexible drum  20  as well as is spaced to operate in a coaxial gap above the main product-carrying run thereof. The counter-rotating spreading system  44 &#39;s belt is arranged to act on merely a fractional portion of the downline end of the flexible drum  20 . The counter-rotating spreading system  44 &#39;s belt is provided with just a few (three in the drawings) diagonal flights  46  which are spaced angularly about 120° apart in the lower U-shaped portion. 
     Both the main flexible drum  20  as well as the counter-rotating spreading system  44 &#39;s belt have respective return runs  47  and  49 .  FIG. 2  shows alternative ways of routing the return runs  47  and  49  of such flexible belt operatives. For the main flexible-drum belt, the return run  47  thereof loops underneath the product-carrying run in a generally-parallel U-shaped loop. That is one illustrative way of routing a return run for a soft operative in accordance with the invention. Alternatively, as shown for the counter-rotating spreading system  44 , the return run  49  is routed horizontally over the end rollers therefor.  FIG. 2  depicts product  18 , such as and without limitation drumsticks, being poured onto the upline portions of the flexible drum  20  from the discharge end of the intake conveyor  22 , and thereafter being tumbled in longitudinal transit thereacross, ultimately to be counter-rotationally acted upon by the overhead soft spreading system  44 . The advantage of the desirability of a spreading system  44  is more particularly described in connection with  FIGS. 10 a  and 10 b    as well as FIG. 4 of U.S. Pat. No. 5,937,744—Nothum et al. (including the accompanying written disclosure therefor). The present inventive implementation of the same strategy in a soft belt design is only disclosed and proceeded upon in accordance with the present inventive implementation. 
       FIG. 3  is comparable to  FIG. 1  except it shows an “in-line triple flip” accessory  50  in accordance with the invention, for exchangeable substitution with the flexible drum accessory  20  of  FIG. 1 . Product is “flipped” over every successive drop from the intake conveyor  22 &#39;s discharge onto an upper outflow conveyor  52 , and then successively onto an middle outflow conveyor  54 , and so on, onto ultimately (in this exemplary illustration) and a final outflow conveyor  56 . 
       FIG. 4  shows a soft rendition of the foregoing, implemented by a “flexible drum triple flip” accessory  60  in accordance with the invention. It affords exchangeable substitution in the coating apparatus  10  with either the flexible drum accessory  20  of  FIG. 1  or the in-line triple flip accessory  50  of  FIG. 3 . Notably, each successive U-belted outflow conveyer  64  or  66  in  FIG. 4  is of a progressively larger diameter than the preceding implementation  62  or  64  thereof. 
       FIG. 5  shows several things. One, it shows conversion  67  of the coating apparatus  10  of  FIG. 1  for linear running of the product therethrough. In this respect,  FIG. 5  additionally shows a thumping eccentric roller  69  for inducing the shaking or knocking off of excess breading material, so that such ultimately drops off and down into the recirculation system  30  of the invention. The predominant purpose for the linear-running conversion  67  is for handling delicate product which ought not to be neither tumbled nor flipped. 
     Additionally,  FIG. 5  shows aspects of the invention pertaining to the elevator system  38  which circulates/recirculates coating material  16  from the recirculation system  30  ultimately for feeding the sprinkling (or sifting) conveyor  24 . As better shown by  FIG. 6 , the elevator system  38  comprises a pair of flanking elevator conveyors  38  which, although substantially thinner in lateral width than the central main intake conveyor  22 , are appointed with the duty of elevating the predominant heft of the sprinkling downpour of the coating material  16  by the sprinkling (or sifting) conveyor  24 . 
     As mentioned above, it is an aspect of the invention to non-exclusively prefer conveyor constructions that are known as a drag-link construction and as shown by, for example, the FIG. 4 of U.S. Pat. No. 5,937,744—Nothum et al., and as shown as well in  FIGS. 6, 9 and 10  hereof. Alternatively suitable other conveyor constructions include without limitation open wire mesh construction such as shown by, for example, the FIG. 6 of U.S. Pat. No. 6,305,274 (B1) Nothum et al. 
     The vantage point of the views of  FIG. 6 or 9-10  hereof as can be reckoned as the view taken in the direction of arrows VI-VI in  FIG. 5 . As shown by  FIG. 6 or 9-10 , the laterally-wider main intake conveyor  22  is flanked by the laterally-thinner elevator conveyors  38  and  38 . Referencing  FIG. 5  briefly, it shows the circuit coursed by the elevator conveyors  38  is the circuit indicated by the reference arrow  71  therein (ie., in  FIG. 5 .) 
       FIG. 6  more particularly shows that the overhead space of the up-return run of the main intake conveyor  22  is partitioned, in its lower stretches, by flaring plows  72  (eg., fences). These plows  72  push breading material (eg., indicated by reference numeral  16  in  FIG. 2 ) laterally around in the overhead space towards the lateral elevators  38 . The main intake conveyor  22  scrapes across an up-sloping bottom panel  73  for the up-return run thereof, which affords the possibility for the open-drag link construction of conveyor  22  to motivate (slide) excess breading material up the up-slope of the bottom panel  73 . 
     To accommodate the responsibility for a carrying-capacity heavier than in proportion to their lateral width (and relative the light-load responsibility of the main intake conveyor  22 ), it is an aspect of the invention that the elevator conveyors  38  operate within gutters  74 . The gutters  74  give each of the opposite elevator conveyors  38  an increased carrying capacity over the main central intake conveyor  22  by virtue of the depth of the gutters  74  (and relative the plane of conveyor  22 &#39;s bottom scrape panel  73 ). All that is wanted from the main central intake conveyor  22  is a relatively light-load comprising a full bed  76  of coating material for introduced-product  14  on the intake end to ride upon. Experience suggests, however, it is more desirable for substantial streams  78  of the circulated/recirculated breading material to be shunted aside to the flanking elevators  38 , because much more of it is required by the sprinkling (or sifting) conveyor  24  than is needed to make a bed of such with the main intake conveyor  22 . Therefore, in order to obtain the desired distribution of relative breading-material mass-flow up the respective conveyor sections  22  as well as  38  and  38 , it is an aspect of the invention to deepen the troughs of the laterally-flanking elevators  38  with by the gutters  74  and  74  astride the central conveyor  22 &#39;s bottom panel  73 , and as shown by  FIG. 6 . 
     In general, the carrying capacity of any one of the laterally-flanking elevators  38  or  38  or the main intake conveyor  22  is proportionate to the cross-sectional area of each (eg., the product of width times depth of the subject conveyor). The main central intake conveyor  22  is broader but shallower, in contrast to the laterally-flanking elevator conveyors  38  and  38  which are thinner but deeper. 
     Ordinarily skilled designers would routinely appreciate given the foregoing inventive insights into the invention that the relative carrying capacity among the conveyor  22  and elevators  38  and  38  can be varied by changing constructional factors such as, in order of preference, the depth of the elevators  38  and  38 , the shallowness of the main central intake conveyor  22 , the width of the elevators  38  and  38 , and then the width of the main central intake conveyor  22 . It should be appreciated that there is no requirement for symmetry between elevators  38  and  38 . In consequence, elevators  38  and  38  have been shown symmetric to each other in the drawings for convenience&#39;s sake only in this disclosure. 
       FIG. 9  is comparable to  FIG. 6  and showing an intake conveyor  22  carrying a central stream of coating material  76 . The conveyor  22  is flanked by left and right coating elevators  38  coursing through gutters  74  and receiving diverted streams  78  of coating material by way of plows  172 . Unlike  FIG. 6 , plows  172  represent an alternate embodiment of the invention and comprise telescopic legs  175  and telescopic arms coupled together by a stiff hinge  179  and hinged together for multiple adjustability. Whereas the breadth and depth of the conveyor  22  or elevators  38  and  38  are built-in to the design of the apparatus  10  at the time of construction, during the use-life of said apparatus  10  and between successive uses thereof the diversion of the central re-circulation stream  76  into diverted streams  78  can be adjusted at will by the adjustability of adjustable plows  172 . 
       FIG. 10  is comparable to  FIGS. 6 and 9  except showing a further embodiment of a plow  272  in accordance with the invention, comprising the single slanted plow  272  which is coupled to a pivot  279  at its base end and is otherwise telescopic. Preferably the structure to which the pivot  279  is mounted is either laterally-movable left and right in the overhead space above the central conveyor  22  and flanking elevators  38  and  38  or else is mountable at discretely different positions in the left-to-right direction. Whereas the foregoing is not shown in  FIG. 10 , it is indicated by adjustable direction arrows in connection with the bases of plows  172  in  FIG. 9 . 
     By way of background, some coating recirculation systems (eg.,  30 ) dump all the coating on one side of the conveyor  22 . Hence the adjustability of plows  172  or plow  272  in accordance with the invention affords users opportunity to tune the performance of the plow  272  in performing its work of diverting a central re-circulation stream (eg.,  76 ) into one or more diversion streams (eg.,  78 ). 
       FIG. 7  is an end elevational view of the discharge end of the coating apparatus  10  in accordance with the invention, and comparable to  FIG. 2 , except showing a hard-drum accessory  80  in accordance with the invention, which is provided for exchangeable substitution in the coating apparatus  10  with either the flexible drum accessory  20  of  FIG. 1 , or the in-line triple flip accessory  50  of  FIG. 3 , or else the flexible drum triple flip accessory  60  of  FIG. 4 . This hard-drum accessory  80  is shown driven by rubber tires  82  engaging its outside wall as shown. 
       FIG. 8  is an end elevational view of the discharge end of the coating apparatus  10  in accordance with the invention, and comparable to  FIG. 2 or 7 , except showing a “made by hand” accessory  85  in accordance with the invention, for exchangeable substitution in the coating apparatus  10  with either the flexible drum accessory  20  of  FIG. 1 , or the in-line triple flip  50  accessory of  FIG. 3 , or else the flexible drum triple flip  60  accessory of  FIG. 4 , or otherwise the hard-drum accessory  80  of  FIG. 7 , and so on, there being an indefinite number of other accessories to substitute therein. In  FIG. 8 , the pan or tray of the accessory is shaped in a-shaped contour (eg., not just determinable as an “omega” shape or double u-shape but perhaps alternatively as having dual, rounded troughs  87 ). Other inventive aspects of the  FIG. 8  embodiment include the paddles  89  depicted therein which, in combination the double u-shaped troughs  87 , promote product flipping/tumbling according to a different stroke for a fine differentiation in end-product results in order to obtain a classic result formerly most easily obtained by manual processes (eg., “made by hand”) in an inventive way by said coating apparatus  10  in accordance with the invention. 
       FIG. 11  is a side elevational view of a flexible belt drum breader or coating apparatus  10  in accordance with the invention, the discharge end being oriented to the right, and which a flexible belt drum breader or coating apparatus comprises a flexible belt drum  20 , a crumb conveyor  34 , a belt press  26 , a conveyor  28  arranged in a flatbed bypass position shown in dashed lines  28  (another position, as an inclined outflow conveyor  28 , is shown in dashed lines too and indicated by the lower instance of reference numeral  28 ). There is also a dust cover in a raised position ( 12 ) and removable panels ( 7 ). 
     Moreover, the apparatus  10  further includes an intake conveyor  22  which has an extensible, upper food-product carrying run that courses underneath the belt press  26 . The food-product carrying run of the intake conveyor  22  has a discharge end that can be reciprocated between extremes of a retracted extreme (ie., the intake conveyor  22  configured as indicated by the relatively-to-the left instance of numeral  22 ) and an extended extreme (ie., the intake conveyor  22  configured as indicated by the relatively-to-the right instance of numeral  22 ). In the retracted extreme, the discharge end the food-product carrying run of the intake conveyor  22  is situated to discharge food product into the flexible drum accessory, as shown. In the extended extreme, the discharge end the food-product carrying run of the intake conveyor  22  is situated to transfer food product onto the outflow conveyor  28  when it is arranged in its flatbed or bypass configuration (which is indicated by the upper instance of reference numeral  28 ):—wherein the flexible drum accessory  20  would have been earlier removed out of the way (although this is not shown in  FIG. 11 , see  15  which shows this better). 
       FIG. 12  is a side elevational view comparable to  FIG. 11  except showing product-to-be coated  14  being received upline from an inflow conveyor that discharges onto the intake conveyor  22  of the coating apparatus  10  in accordance with the invention as shown, wherein the product flows under the press conveyor  26  and is conveyed next to the flexible belt drum accessory  20  in accordance with the invention, which tumbled product  18  is ultimately spread evenly by the flexible belt “sweep arms” at the instance of discharge from the flexible belt drum accessory (or as better shown by  FIGS. 1 and 2 ), as spread more evenly across the whole width of the inclined outflow conveyor  28  (ie., the outflow conveyor  28  configured in the inclined configuration as shown). 
       FIG. 13  is a side elevational view comparable to  FIG. 12  except showing variously shallower angles of inclination of the outflow conveyor  28 , including optionally a level position (not shown, but see  FIG. 15 ), for usages of the coating apparatus  10  when the flexible belt drum accessory  20  is to be bypassed (eg., for delicate product), wherein one machine (eg.,  FIG. 12 ) converts to an inline machine (eg.,  FIG. 15 ) by moving or removing the flexible belt drum accessory  20 . 
       FIGS. 14 through 17  comprise a series of views showing convertible aspects in accordance with the invention for converting the above-described apparatus  10  into a changed apparatus for changed functionality, according to the following. 
       FIG. 14  is a side elevation view comparable to  FIG. 12  except showing temporary replacement of the drum accessory  20  in FIGURE with an interchangeable inclined outflow conveyor series ( 52  and  54  in combination with  28 ) wherein  FIG. 14  shows a series of three inclined outflow conveyors, informally denominated as a “triple flip” attachment  50  (and as better shown in  FIG. 3 ), so that flat product including without limitation hamburger patties or breaded pork chops and so on flip once, twice, three times across the span between the intake end and discharge end of the apparatus  10  in accordance with the invention. 
       FIG. 15  is a side elevation view comparable to  FIG. 11  (and/or  FIG. 13  as well), except showing temporary replacement of the flexible belt drum accessory  20  with a flat bed or bypass configuration of the outflow conveyor  28  (which flat bed configuration, in  FIG. 11 , is indicated in dashed lines by the upper instance of reference numeral ( 28 )), wherein such a flat bed or bypass configuration is especially desirable for handling/transiting delicate product perhaps such as and without limitation fish patties which, regardless what is deemed a “delicate” product, are deemed too delicate to withstand tumbling or flipping (ie., are likely to disintegrate by such treatment). 
       FIG. 16  is a side elevation view comparable to  FIG. 11  except showing temporary replacement of the flexible belt drum accessory  20  in  FIG. 11  with an interchangeable hard drum  80 , wherein the interchangeable hard drum is a (preferably stainless steel) cylinder with internal flights and comparably incorporates aspects of the hard drum structure disclosed by the aforementioned U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,937,744 and/or 6,158,332—Nothum et al. 
     It can be noticed in this  FIG. 16  that the configuration of the outflow conveyor  28  is changed back from the flat bed configuration (as shown in  FIG. 15  or as indicated in this  FIG. 16  by the upper instance of reference numeral  28 ) to the inclined configuration (and as indicated in this  FIG. 16  by the lower instance of reference numeral  28 ). 
       FIG. 17  is a side elevation view comparable to  FIG. 11  except showing reconfiguration of the U-shaped flexible belt drum accessory  20  in  FIG. 1  with an interchangeable double-U shaped configuration  85  and as better shown in  FIG. 8 , wherein the double-U shaped configuration  85  is serviced by a series of counter-rotating paddles (and also better shown by  FIG. 8 ) to promote product flipping/tumbling according to a different stoke for a fine differentiation in end-product results in order to obtain a classic result formerly most easily obtained by manual processes in an inventive way by apparatus. 
     The above-referenced U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,937,744 and/or 6,158,332—Nothum et al. are incorporated by reference. 
     The invention having been disclosed in connection with the foregoing variations and examples, additional variations will now be apparent to persons skilled in the art. The invention is not intended to be limited to the variations specifically mentioned, and accordingly reference should be made to the appended claims rather than the foregoing discussion of preferred examples, to assess the scope of the invention in which exclusive rights are claimed.