Icing Machine and Icing Method

Abstract

A system for the automated coating of baked good with a water based icing is provided. In particular, a system for the automated movement of icing and controls of variables such as temperature, moisture, and/or flow rate of the icing is provided to maintain the characteristics of the icing for extended periods of operation of an associated coating system.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . An icing coating system comprising:
 a temperature regulated icing return hopper including walls defining a reservoir for containing an icing and a heat exchanger in thermal communication with the reservoir wall;   a belt for conveying a food product to be coated with icing, the belt including openings through which icing can flow;   a belt sprocket assembly and a belt support arrangement for moveably supporting the belt such that a top portion of the belt moves between the belt sprocket assembly and the belt support arrangement in a direction and a bottom portion of the belt moves between the belt sprocket assembly and the belt support arrangement in a direction opposite to the top portion, the top portion of the belt including a top surface and a bottom surface;   a variable speed drive coupled to the belt sprocket assembly to move the belt at a selectable speed;   a pan located between the top portion of the belt and the bottom portion of the belt;   a variable-flow rate icing pump in fluid communication between the reservoir and the pan to pump icing from the reservoir to the pan;   a structure which supports the belt sprocket assembly and the belt support arrangement and the pan such that the pan is located between the top and bottom portions of the belt and the bottom surface of the top portion of the belt is further supported by the pan, wherein the flow rate of the icing pump is controlled to force icing into the pan through the openings of the belt and above the top surface of a belt such that at least a portion of food items located on the belt are resting within and coated with icing; and   a catch basin below the belt for receiving excess icing from the pan.   
     
     
         2 . The system of  claim 1  wherein the hopper includes a fluid jacket through which a fluid at a predefined temperature flows to regulate the temperature of the icing to reduce evaporation of moisture from the icing. 
     
     
         3 . The system of  claim 2 , wherein the fluid is water, and the system includes a controller and temperature sensor associated with icing in the system to maintain the temperature of the icing in the hopper between 120° and 130° degrees Fahrenheit. 
     
     
         4 . The system of  claim 3  including an in-feed conveyor which moves food items onto the belt and an out-feed conveyor for conveying food items coated with icing. 
     
     
         5 . The system of  claim 2 , further including a water induction system for controlling the moisture content of the icing, the water induction system including a moisture sensor for sensing the water content of icing in the system, a controllable water injector for adding water to icing in the system, and a controller coupled to the moisture sensor and the water injector to cause water to be added to icing to maintain the icing within the moisture content required to maintain selected properties of icing flowing within the system. 
     
     
         6 . The system of  claim 3 , wherein the fluid flowing in the fluid jacket of the hopper is in the form of steam. 
     
     
         7 . The system of  claim 3 , wherein the fluid flowing in the fluid jacket of the hopper is in the form of mist. 
     
     
         8 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the belt is fabricated from stainless steel wire to form a mesh which defines the openings and is engaged with the belt sprocket assembly. 
     
     
         9 . The system of  claim 8 , wherein the belt support arrangement includes stainless steel cylinders supported by the structure substantially perpendicular to the direction of travel of the belt. 
     
     
         10 . The system of  claim 9 , further comprising a roller assembly supported above the top portion of the belt to force food items into icing located above the top surface of the belt. 
     
     
         11 . A coating system useable for coating bakery such as donuts and cookies, the system comprising:
 a temperature regulated icing return hopper including walls defining a reservoir for containing the icing and a heat exchanger in thermal communication with the reservoir walls, wherein the hopper includes a fluid jacket through which fluid at a predefined temperature flows to regulate the temperature of the icing to reduce evaporation of moisture from the icing;   a belt for conveying bakery to be coated with icing, the belt including openings through which icing can flow;   a belt sprocket assembly and a belt support arrangement for moveably supporting the belt such that a top portion of the belt moves between the belt sprocket assembly and the belt support arrangement in a direction and a bottom portion of the belt moves between the belt sprocket assembly and the belt support arrangement in a direction opposite to the top portion, the top portion of the belt including a top surface and a bottom surface;   a variable speed drive coupled to the belt sprocket assembly to move the belt at a selectable speed;   a pan located between the top portion of the belt and the bottom portion of the belt;   a variable-flow rate icing pump in fluid communication between a catch basin and the pan to pump icing from the reservoir to the pan;   a structure which supports the belt sprocket assembly and the belt support arrangement and the pan such that the pan is located between the top and bottom portions of the belt and the bottom surface of the top portion of the belt is further supported by the pan, and   a water induction system for controlling the moisture content of the icing, the water induction system including a moisture sensor for sensing the water content of icing in the system, a controllable water injector for adding water to icing in the system, and a controller coupled to the moisture sensor and the water injector to cause water to be added to maintain icing within the moisture content required to maintain selected properties of icing flowing within the system, wherein the flow rate of the icing pump is controlled to force icing into the pan through the openings of the belt and above the top surface of the belt such that at least a portion of the surfaces of bakery located on the belt are resting within and coated with icing.   
     
     
         12 . The system of  claim 11  further comprising a fluid control system which includes a temperature sensor, variable flow fluid pump, controllable heat source and a controller coupled to the sensor pump and heat source to control the flow of the pump and the heat source based upon a signal generated by the temperature sensor representative of the temperature of icing in the system. 
     
     
         13 . The system of  claim 12 , wherein the belt is fabricated from stainless steel wire to form a mesh which defines the openings and is engaged with the belt sprocket assembly. 
     
     
         14 . The system of  claim 13 , wherein the belt support arrangement includes stainless steel cylinders supported by the structure substantially perpendicular to the direction of travel of the continuous belt. 
     
     
         15 . The system of  claim 14 , further comprising a roller assembly supported above the top portion of the belt to force food items into icing located above the top surface of the belt. 
     
     
         16 . A method of preparing bakery such as donuts and cookies, the method comprising the steps of:
 containing icing in a temperature controlled vessel;   sensing the temperature and moisture of icing contained within the vessel;   heating the vessel and adding water to the icing to maintain the temperature and moisture of the icing within a predetermined range;   continuously moving icing from the vessel to a belt with a top surface which supports the bakery; and   moving the belt while the bakery is in contact with the belt and icing for a predetermined distance.   
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 16 , further comprising the step of forcing the bakery into the icing at the top surface of the belt. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 17 , further comprising the steps of conveying un-iced bakery to the belt and conveying iced bakery away from the belt. 
     
     
         19 . A combination comprising:
 a donut;   a vessel of temperature and moisture controlled water-based icing;   a belt including a top surface which supports the donut;   a pump for pumping icing from the vessel through the belt onto the surface of the donut; and   a support structure for movably supporting the belt relative to the vessel such that excess icing flows from the belt back into the vessel.   
     
     
         20 . The combination of  claim 19 , wherein the donut is toroidal shaped. 
     
     
         21 . The combination of  claim 20 , wherein the icing is chocolate flavored. 
     
     
         22 . The combination of  claim 19 , wherein the donut is filled with a filling. 
     
     
         23 . A coating system for coating items with a liquid coating such as glaze, icing or frosting, the system comprising:
 a return hopper defining a reservoir for containing a coating;   a belt for conveying an item to be coated with the coating, the belt including openings through which the coating can flow;   a belt sprocket assembly and a belt support arrangement for moveably supporting the belt such that a top portion of the belt moves between the belt sprocket assembly and the belt support arrangement in a direction and a bottom portion of the belt moves between the belt sprocket assembly and the belt support arrangement in a direction opposite to the top portion, the top portion of the belt including a top surface and a bottom surface;   a variable speed drive coupled to the belt sprocket assembly to move the belt at a selectable speed;   a pan located between the top portion of the belt and the bottom portion of the belt;   a first pump in fluid communication between the reservoir and the pan to move the coating from the reservoir to the pan at a first controllable flow rate;   a catch basin below the belt for receiving excess coating from the pan;   a proportional valve having an input port, a first output port in fluid communication with the pan and a second output port in fluid communication with the return hopper, wherein the proportional valve is controllable to vary a ratio of the relative flow of the coating from the first and second output ports;   a second pump in fluid communication between the catch basin and the input port of the proportional valve to move the coating from the catch basin to the input port at a second controllable flow rate, the second pump generating a first thickness signal representative of the thickness of the coating; and   a structure which supports the belt sprocket assembly and the belt support arrangement and the pan such that the pan is located between the top and bottom portions of the belt and a bottom surface of the top portion of the belt is further supported by the pan,   wherein the controllable flow rates of the first and second pumps and the ratio are controlled to selectively move the coating from the return hopper and the catch basin into the pan based at least upon the thickness signal.   
     
     
         24 . The system of  claim 23 , further comprising a coating level sensor which generates a level signal representative of the level of the coating within the catch basin and the flowrates of the pumps and the ratio are further controlled based upon the level signal. 
     
     
         25 . The system of  claim 24 , wherein the ratio may vary from between 1 to 0 where a ratio of 1 represents that all of the flow into the input port is exiting the first output port and a ratio of 0 represents that all of the flow into the input port is exiting the second output port. 
     
     
         26 . The system of  claim 23 , wherein the coating is moved from the return hopper and the catch basin into the pan and through the belt to a coating level above the top surface of the belt such that at least a portion of items located on the belt are resting within, and coated with, the coating, the system further comprising a coating signal generator which generates a coating signal related to the desired level of the coating, and the flowrates of the pumps and the ratio are further controlled based upon the coating signal. 
     
     
         27 . The system of  claim 25 , wherein the first pump generates a second thickness signal, and the flowrates of the pumps and the ratio are further controlled based upon the second thickness signal such that the ratio is increased when the first thickness signal is greater than the second thickness signal. 
     
     
         28 . A method for coating cooked items with a coating such as glaze, icing or frosting, the method comprising:
 moving cooked items on a belt over a pan, the belt including openings through which the coating flows to a level above the belt and into contact with the items;   moving the coating from a return hopper to the pan at a first flow rate;   moving the coating from a catch basin to the pan at a second flow rate and to the return hopper at a third flow rate, the catch basin being located below the pan to catch excess coating; and   controlling the first, second and third flow rates based upon the thickness of the coating from the catch basin.   
     
     
         29 . The method of  claim 28  further controlling the first, second and third flow rates based upon the level of coating in the catch basin. 
     
     
         30 . The method of  claim 28  further controlling the first, second and third flow rates based upon the level to which the coating flows above the belt. 
     
     
         31 . The method of  claim 28 , further controlling the first, second and third flow rates based upon the thickness of the coating from the return hopper.