Flowable food heating with burning prevention

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10813501-B2
Application number	US-201616060230-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 12, 2016
Priority date	Dec 11, 2015
Publication date	Oct 27, 2020
Grant date	Oct 27, 2020

Abstract

The method prevents or inhibits, during a heating process, burning in a food heating device (20) of a flowable food substance against a heating surface (6) delimiting or contained in a device's cavity (21) that contains the food substance. The heating device comprises an agitator (4) movable in the cavity (21). The method includes the steps of: introducing the flowable food substance into the cavity (21); heating the heating surface (6) and moving the agitator (4) at an agitator speed (41,42) to generate in the cavity (21) a flow of the food substance over the heating surface (6) and in contact therewith; and disturbing the flow of the food substance to break and/or causing asymmetric flow of the food substance in the cavity (21). At a first agitator speed (41) during the heating process, the food substance is caused to flow at different first relative local speeds over the heating surface (6) that includes a first minimum speed location (61) over which the food substance flows at a first minimum speed of the different first relative local speeds. The speed of the agitator (4) is changed during the heating process to a second speed (42), the food substance being caused to flow at different second relative local speeds over the heating surface (6) that includes a second minimum speed location (62) over which the food flows at a second minimum speed of the different second relative local speeds. The second minimum speed location (62) is different to the first minimum speed location (61).

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A method for preventing or inhibiting during a heating process, with or without frothing, burning in a food heating device of a milk or a milk-based liquid as a flowable food substance, against a heating surface delimiting or contained in a cavity of the food heating device that contains the flowable food substance, the food heating device comprising an agitator movable in the cavity, the method comprising:
introducing the flowable food substance into the cavity;
heating the heating surface and moving the agitator at an agitator speed to generate in the cavity a flow of the food substance over the heated surface and in contact therewith, optionally the agitator being driven by a motor; and
preventing or inhibiting burning in the food heating device of the food substance by disturbing the flow of the food substance to break and/or cause asymmetric flow of the flowable food substance in the cavity, and the disturbing the flow of the food substance comprises:
moving the agitator at a first agitator speed during the heating process such that the food substance is caused to flow at different first relative local speeds over the heating surface that includes a first minimum speed location over which the food substance flows at a first minimum speed of the different first relative local speeds; and
changing the speed of the agitator during the heating process to a second speed to prevent or inhibit burning in the food heating device of the flowable food substance, the food substance being caused to flow at different second relative local speeds over the heating surface that includes a second minimum speed location over which the food flows at a second minimum speed of the different second relative local speeds,
the second minimum speed location being at a different location along the heating surface than the first minimum speed location.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein during the heating process the agitator is moved at a third agitator speed associated with third different relative local speeds of the food substance over the heating surface which includes a third minimum speed location that is different to the first and the second minimum speed locations.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the cavity extends generally about:
a generally upright axis of revolution, the cavity being a generally cylindrical or conical or spherical or elliptoidical cavity; and/or
a generally upright central axis, the cavity being generally pyramidal or prismatic.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the cavity:
contains at least one obstacle that is located or protruding into the cavity and that interferes with the flow of the food substance; and/or
extends generally about a generally upright axis of revolution or central axis, the agitator moving off the axis, the agitator being rotated about an axis that is distant from the central axis or from the axis of revolution of the cavity.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the agitator rotates about an axis of rotation, the agitator comprising at least one impeller member extending radially relative to the axis of rotation.

6. The method of claim 1 , comprising measuring a temperature of the food substance or of the heating surface, and changing the speed of the agitator between the speeds when reaching a corresponding predetermined temperature threshold.

7. The method of claim 1 , comprising changing the speed of the agitator between the speeds at a pace increasing during the heating process with an increasing measured temperature of the food substance or of the heating surface or with an increasing duration of time during the heating process.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first and second speeds of the agitator are rotational speeds within a range of 750 RPM to 2500 RPM.

9. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first and second speeds of the agitator are within a range of speeds having a lowest speed and a highest speed, the highest speed at least equal to 1.35 times of the lowest speed of the first and second speeds.

10. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first and second speeds of the agitator are within a range of 850 RPM to 1400 RPM.

11. The method of claim 1 , wherein at least two different speeds of the agitator are provided and wherein the agitator speeds are carried out in the following order:
the first speed that is a lowest speed; and
the second speed that is a highest speed.

12. The method of claim 1 , wherein at least four different speeds of the agitator are provided and wherein the agitator speeds are carried out in the following order:
the first speed that is a highest speed;
the second speed that is a lowest speed;
the third speed that is an intermediate lower speed; and
the fourth speed that is an intermediate higher speed or is equivalent to the first speed.

13. The method of claim 1 , wherein the second speed of the agitator is repeated during the heating process, the repetition of the second speed being spaced apart in time.

14. The method of claim 1 , wherein the agitator is moved:
during the heating process, without intermittent interruption; and/or
prior to the heating of the heating surface.

15. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first minimum speed location is spaced apart along the heating surface from the second minimum speed location by a distance within a range of 2 mm to 3 mm.

16. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first minimum speed location is spaced apart along the heating surface from the second minimum speed location by a distance within a range of 7 mm to 8 mm.

17. The method of claim 1 , wherein the changing the speed of the agitator comprises a step selected from the group consisting of:
(i) moving the agitator at the first speed until a temperature of at least one of the food substance or the heating surface is within a first predetermined range; and
moving the agitator at the second speed, which is higher than the first speed, until the temperature of the at least one of the food substance or the heating surface is within a second predetermined range that is higher than the first predetermined range; and
(ii) moving the agitator at the first speed until a temperature of at least one of the food substance or the heating surface is within a first predetermined range;
moving the agitator at the second speed, which is lower than the first speed, until the temperature of the at least one of the food substance or the heating surface is within a second predetermined range that is higher than the first predetermined range;
moving the agitator at a third speed, which is between the first and second speeds, until the temperature of the at least one of the food substance or the heating surface is within a third predetermined range that is higher than the second predetermined range; and
moving the agitator at a fourth speed, which is higher than the third speed and no greater than the first speed, until the temperature of the at least one of the food substance or the heating surface is within a fourth predetermined range that is higher than the third predetermined range.

18. The method of claim 17 , wherein the first speed of the first group is within a range of 930 RPM to 1000 RPM, the first predetermined range of the first group is within a range of 35° C. to 42° C., the second speed of the first group is within a range of 1060 RPM to 1160 RPM, and the second predetermined range of the first group is within a range of 62° C. to 75° C.

19. A device for heating a milk or a milk-based liquid as a flowable food substance, th

Assignees

• Nestec Sa
• Nestle Sa

Inventors

• Helf Gerd
• Klotzbach Harald
• Molinaro Alessandro
• Su Bo

Classifications

• A47J27/004

  with integral electrical heating means (drinking cups with integral heating means A47J36/2466) · CPC title

• A47J43/0465 Primary

  with magnetic drive · CPC title

• A47J43/0722

  Mixing, whipping or cutting tools · CPC title

• A47J43/046

  with tools driven from the bottom side · CPC title