Method for manufacturing a food product, a food product produced by a food product manufacturing system, and food product manufacturing system

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11596155-B2
Application number	US-201615380538-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 15, 2016
Priority date	Dec 18, 2015
Publication date	Mar 7, 2023
Grant date	Mar 7, 2023

Abstract

A method for manufacturing a food product includes depositing a first foodstuff; transporting the first foodstuff in a first driven direction; depositing a second foodstuff upon a portion of an upper surface of the first foodstuff; transporting the first foodstuff with the second foodstuff deposited thereupon in the first driven direction; separating the first foodstuff with the second foodstuff metered thereupon into a plurality of sheet segments; serially transporting each sheet segment of the plurality of sheet segments from the first driven direction to a second driven direction that is transverse to the first driven direction; compressing the serially transported sheet segments for forming a plurality of thickness segments including the first foodstuff and the second foodstuff that define an elongated, food product body; separating the elongated, food product body into a plurality of food product body units; and finishing the plurality of food product body units.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method for manufacturing a food product, comprising:
transporting a first elongated sheet of a first foodstuff in a first driven direction along a first conveyor, the first elongated sheet having a first width extending from a first edge extending in a direction parallel to the first driven direction to a second edge formed on an opposite side of the first elongated sheet from the first edge;
while transporting the first elongated sheet in the first direction:
forming, using a foodstuff channel-forming member, a second-foodstuff-deposit-receiving channel in an upper surface of the first elongated sheet, wherein:
the foodstuff channel-forming member is statically arranged at a height above the first conveyor that is less than a thickness of the first elongated sheet;
while forming the second-foodstuff-deposit-receiving channel and with the foodstuff channel-forming member statically arranged at the height above the first conveyor, movement of the first elongated sheet relative to the foodstuff channel-forming member consists of movement in the first direction; and
a channel edge of the second-foodstuff-deposit-receiving channel nearest to the first edge of the first elongated sheet is spaced from the first edge of the first elongated sheet;

depositing a strip of a second foodstuff upon a portion of the upper surface of the first elongated sheet in a direction parallel to the first driven direction, wherein depositing the strip of the second foodstuff upon the portion of the upper surface includes depositing the second foodstuff into the second-foodstuff-deposit-receiving channel, the strip having a second width (i) extending from a third edge extending in a direction parallel to the first drive direction to a fourth edge formed on an opposite side of the strip from the third edge, and (ii) less than or equal to approximately one-third of the first width, wherein the third edge of the strip is spaced apart from the first edge of the first elongated sheet by a first distance equal to approximately one-fourth of the first width; and
separating the first elongated sheet into a series of sheet segments each including the first foodstuff and the strip of the second foodstuff;

serially transporting each of the sheet segments from the first conveyor moving in the first driven direction to a second conveyor moving in a second driven direction that is transverse to the first driven direction, whereby each subsequent sheet segment is stacked upon an immediately preceding sheet segment and the strip of the second foodstuff of the immediately preceding sheet segment encapsulated between the first foodstuff of the immediately preceding sheet segment and the first foodstuff of the subsequent sheet segment; and
compressing the subsequent and immediately preceding sheet segments to form a second elongated sheet including a layer of the second foodstuff encapsulated between a first layer of the first foodstuff and a second layer of the first foodstuff; and
separating the second elongated sheet into a plurality of food product body units.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein forming the second elongated sheet includes:
forming a first thickness segment defined by approximately one layer of the first foodstuff;
forming a second thickness segment defined by approximately one uninterrupted layer of the second foodstuff; and
forming a third thickness segment defined by approximately two layers of the first foodstuff.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein forming the second elongated sheet includes:
forming a first thickness segment defined by approximately one layer of the first foodstuff;
forming a second thickness segment defined by, in part, approximately one interrupted layer of the second foodstuff; and
forming a third thickness segment defined by approximately two layers of the first foodstuff, wherein the second foodstuff defining the second thickness segment is interrupted with portions of the first foodstuff extending into the second thickness segment from one or both of the first thickness segment and the third thickness segment.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein forming the second elongated sheet includes:
forming a first thickness segment defined by approximately one layer of the second foodstuff;
forming a second thickness segment defined by approximately one layer of the first foodstuff;
forming a third thickness segment defined by approximately one layer of the second foodstuff; and
forming a fourth thickness segment defined by approximately two layers of the first foodstuff.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein forming the second elongated sheet includes:
forming a first thickness segment defined by approximately one layer of the first foodstuff;
forming a second thickness segment defined by, in part, by approximately one interrupted layer of the second foodstuff;
forming a third thickness segment defined by approximately two layers of the first foodstuff;
forming a fourth thickness segment defined by, in part, approximately one interrupted layer of the second foodstuff; and
forming a fifth thickness segment defined by approximately one layer of the first foodstuff.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein prior to depositing the strip of the second foodstuff upon the portion of the upper surface of the first elongated sheet, the method further comprises:
selectively arranging a second foodstuff dispenser over a portion of the first width of the first elongated sheet for depositing the second foodstuff upon the portion of the upper surface of the first elongated sheet in a form of the strip.

7. The method of claim 2 , wherein the first thickness segment is an uppermost segment of the second elongated sheet, and wherein the third thickness segment is a lowermost segment of the second elongated sheet, wherein the second thickness segment is disposed between the first thickness segment and the third thickness segment.

8. The method of claim 3 , wherein the first thickness segment is an uppermost segment of the second elongated sheet, and wherein the third thickness segment is a lowermost segment of second elongated sheet, wherein the second thickness segment is disposed between the first thickness segment and the third thickness segment.

9. The method of claim 4 , wherein the first thickness segment is an uppermost segment of the second elongated sheet, and wherein the fourth thickness segment is a lowermost segment of the second elongated sheet, wherein the second thickness segment is disposed between the first thickness segment and the third thickness segment, wherein the third thickness segment is disposed between the second thickness segment and the fourth thickness segment.

10. The method of claim 5 , wherein the second foodstuff defining the second thickness segment is interrupted with portions of the first foodstuff extending into the second thickness segment from one or both of the first thickness segment and the third thickness segment, wherein the second foodstuff defining the fourth thickness segment is interrupted with portions of the first foodstuff extending into the fourth thickness segment from one or both of the third thickness segment and the fifth thickness segment, wherein the first thickness segment is an uppermost segment of the second elongated sheet and wherein the fifth thickness segment is a lowermost segment of the second elongated sheet, wherein the second thickness segment is disposed between the first thickness segment and the third thickness segment, wherein the third thickness segment is disposed between the second thickness segment and the fourth thickness segment, wherein the fourth thickness segment is disposed between the third thickness segment and t

Assignees

• Kellog Co

Inventors

• Almeida Dominguez Helbert David
• Vanos Stephen

Classifications

• A23P20/20

  Making of laminated, multi-layered, stuffed or hollow foodstuffs, e.g. by wrapping in preformed edible dough sheets or in edible food containers · CPC title

• A21C3/024 Primary

  using one or more rollers with an axis of rotation substantially parallel or oblique to the direction of dough transport (A21C3/065 takes precedence) · CPC title

• A21D13/22

  coated before baking · CPC title

• A21C9/08

  Depositing, arranging and conveying apparatus for handling pieces, e.g. sheets of dough {(for handling liquid or semi-liquid dough, e.g. batter A21C5/006)} · CPC title

• A21C9/04

  Apparatus for spreading granular material on, or sweeping or coating the surfaces of, pieces or sheets of dough {(coating baked articles A21C15/002)} · CPC title