Abstract:
A drum-type coating apparatus for applying breading material to food products 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.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO PROVISIONAL APPLICATION(S) 
   This application 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 both of 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. 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  FIG. 4 ; and 
       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 . 
   

   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 (eg., an “in-line triple flip” accessory indicated by reference numeral  50  in  FIG. 3 ), 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  FIG. 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 flights  44  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) 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 particulary 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 . To this end, the circuit by which the elevator conveyors  38  course is indicated by the reference arrow  71 .  FIG. 6  more particularly shows that up-return run of the main intake conveyor  22  is partitioned, in its lower stretches as can be reckoned by the view arrows VI—VI in  FIG. 5 , by flaring plows  72  (eg., fences). These plows  72  push breading material  16  laterally towards the lateral elevators  38 . To accommodate the heavier carrying-capacity relative their lateral width, it is an aspect of the invention 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 . All that is wanted from the main central intake conveyor  22  is 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 ro 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 the gutters  38  as better shown by  FIG. 6 . 
     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 show 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 ω-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. 
   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.