Sam Stein Associates, Inc.

Stein, Inc.

Stein Associates, Inc.

Michael E Miller

Raymond E Booth

Douglas O Deal

Fred Fetzer

Richard J Hummel

This invention provides a cost effective, simple and sanitary breading machine suitable for coating a variety of food products, such as poultry, with different types of breading materials. After coating of upper and lower surfaces of food products introduced into the breading machine, a significant dwell time within the breading machine is achieved in the construction to allow breading material to more effectively set up on the coated food products. The coating machine further includes structure to enable the food products introduced therein to be flipped a plurality of times, wherein additional coating material is continuously applied to alternate sides of the food products and desirable coating characteristics are achieved. The coating machine and process for coating food products as set forth herein provide a food processor with a means to more effectively and efficiently coat large volumes of food products with breading material without sacrificing desirable characteristics which yield a high quality and more appealing breaded food product.

Coating and breading apparatus

A deep fat fryer having an elongated housing for holding a bath of hot fat through which an endless main conveyor carries a food product through the bath from the infeed end to a discharge end of the housing. Above the main conveyor is a submerger conveyor having a run moving from the infeed end to the discharge end of the housing and adapted in operative position to line close to the food portions on the main conveyor and hold them submerged in the hot fat bath. In operative cooking position of the conveyor apparatus, the submerger conveyor nests into the side rails of the main conveyor and an elongated hood encloses the hot bath housing at a zone above the submerger covneyor from one end of the housing to the other. For clearing occasional food product blockage from the conveyor means during operation or for cleaning and maintenance, power means is provided to lift the hood, the submerger conveyor and the main conveyor out of the hot bath and to move then to an inoperative position of separated horizontal levels so as to provide access space between the hood and the submerger conveyor, and between the two conveyors, and between the main conveyor and the housing holding the hot bath.

Deep fat fryer with upwardly and downwardly movable conveyor and heating

A breading machine incorporating the present invention for use with fresh or green bread crumbs for continuously coating a battered food product having a frame supporting an endless conveyor on which food product is disposed defining a food product conveyance path, and a rotatable drum type conveyor disposed adjacent to the path and operable to receive fresh bread crumbs and to convey the bread crumbs into a hopper for distribution to the food product conveyor for coating the food product carried thereon.

Breader for coating edible food products with fresh bread crumbs

An oil circulation system for use in a deep fat fryer which has a heated bath of cooking oil carried in a reservoir through which food products are carried on a conveyor means for cooking or frying said products; the oil circulation system generating a flow of cooking oil that moves through the oil bath in a direction transverse to the movement of the food product and which provides substantially equal temperature throughout the oil bath.

Deep fat fryer

A breading machine for selectively dispensing flour breading or free flowing breading and wherein the machine has a frame and conveyor apparatus supported in the frame defining a conveyance path having a product inlet end and a product outlet end, and a hopper pivotally attached to the frame at the inlet end and movable between a breading dispensing position and a hopper cleaning position, frame support apparatus pivotally attached to the frame at the outlet end and selectively adjustable to provide for flour breading of a food product wherein the said product is flipped over at the outlet end of the conveyor apparatus or for free flowing breading to be applied to the food product wherein the said product exits from the conveyor apparatus in the same manner in which it is initially introduced to the conveyor apparatus, and wherein the frame support apparatus is also adjustable between a conveyor apparatus supporting position and a cleaning position above the conveyor apparatus, and breading pumping slot apparatus pivotally attached to the frame for providing breading to the input end of the conveyor apparatus and adjustable between a breading dispensing position and a cleaning position.

Breading machine

A breading machine for selectively dispensing flour breading or free flowing breading onto a food product, and wherein the machine has a frame and conveyor structure supported on the frame defining a conveyance path having a product inlet end and a product outlet end, and a breading hopper attached to the frame adjacent the inlet end for applying a coating of breading to the food product, and breading pumping slot structure attached to the frame for providing breading to the input end of the conveyor, with a fluffer mechanism mounted on the pumping slot structure for breaking up any caking or lumping of the breading on the conveyor prior to the point of introduction of the food product to the conveyor.

Fluffer mechanism for breading machine

A batter mixer for mixing a dry powder batter mix with a predetermined quantity of liquid which comprises an upright open top housing having a mixing chamber therein, means connecting the mixing chamber to a source of fluid, fluid control means in circuit with the connecting means being responsive to the flow of fluid therethrough to accurately measure and control a selected quantity of fluid flowing into the chamber, said chamber having openable cover means for providing ready access to the interior thereof for deposition of dry powder batter mix therein, and mixing means in the chamber for thoroughly mixing said selected quantity of fluid and batter mix.

Batter mixer with water meter

A breading machine for selectively dispensing flour breading or free flowing breading and wherein the machine has a frame and conveyor means supported in the frame defining a conveyance path having a product inlet end and a product outlet end, and a hopper pivotally attached to the frame at the inlet end and movable between a breading dispensing position and a hopper cleaning position, frame support means pivotally attached to the frame at the outlet end and selectively adjustable to provide for flour breading of a food product wherein the said product is flipped over at the outlet end of the conveyor means or for free flowing breading to be applied to the food product wherein the said product exits from the conveyor means in the same manner in which it is initially introduced to the conveyor means, and wherein the frame support means is also adjustable between a conveyor means supporting position and a cleaning position above said conveyor means, and breading pumping slot means pivotally attached to the frame for providing breading to the input end of the conveyor means and adjustable between a breading dispensing position and a cleaning position.

In a typical breading machine for automatically coating the exterior surfaces of edible products such as for example seafoods, poultry, red meats and vegetables, a method and apparatus for distributing and sifting what is defined in the art as Japanese style bread crumbs which display a wide variation in crumb sizes. The typical breading machine provides for the conveyance of the product to be coated along a conveyance or coating path on a bed of breading placed on the conveyance means at a first location whereby the surfaces of said product which engage said bed are coated with breading. A separate quantity of breading is subsequently presented to the product being conveyed at a second location along the conveyance path whereby the remaining surfaces of the product are coated with breading. The method of this invention and apparatus for producing said method provides for the distribution and then sifting of a single recycled homogenous flow of Japanese style bread crumbs into two separate flows, a first flow having a preponderance of finer particles of said crumbs and a second flow having a preponderance of larger particles of said crumbs, said first flow being directed to the said first location on the conveyance path and said second flow being directed to the said second location on the conveyance path, whereby the individual surfaces of the product may each be engaged with the composition of crumbs best suited to produce an identical coating on all surfaces of the product.

Apparatus for distributing and sifting Japanese style bread crumbs in a

Apparatus is disclosed for providing a very light pre-dusting coating on a food piece intended for batter-coating. The apparatus includes a movable belt on which is provided a preliminary coating of breading material on which the product pieces are placed. A series of drag plates are then provided across the belt supported from above in a position to engage the breading material on the belt and to provide a standing wave of breading material pushed up by contact with the drag plates. These plates then distribute the standing wave of breading material over the top of the product while the plate lower edges remove a majority of the top coating. After this the product goes along the belt and is then subject to a second pre-dusting treatment by a plurality of parallel linear curtain assemblies mounted above the belt with each of the curtain assemblies divided vertically into segments which are fully swingable independent of each other and arranged to engage the product pieces on the belt lightly so as to leave a final top coating on the product pieces that is only two or three dust particles thick.

Apparatus for pre-dusting food products

The apparatus of this invention provides a mixing pot, open at the top, into which are simultaneously discharged a measured amount of water and a measured amount of a finely divided dry mix of leavened batter forming material, herein called a batch. This introduction of a batch takes place quickly in about thirty to sixty seconds. At the same time a specially designed mixer cage is suspended in the mixing pot and rotated and orbited around the pot in a manner to agitate thoroughly all the contents. The completed batter is then quickly propelled mechanically to batter applicator apparatus.

Automatic tempura batter mixer

A filter is provided for removing particles entrained in a liquid, this filter comprising an endless fine mesh filter belt which is relatively short and which moves slowly over a supporting plurality of generally cylindrical rolls. This belt is a single layer of generally delicate woven metallic mesh and is provided with special means for moving and tracking the belt. This moving and tracking structure includes a link belt endless chain outside of each longitudinal side edge of the belt, these chains being rigidly attached over the adjacent edge of the belt. The belt can be held to its desired path around all of the supporting rolls and, preferably, over a suction box and past a cleaning point and returning to a starting point with no sensing devices, no special tracking rolls or tenter rolls, without powered devices, and with a minimum of close tolerance machining.

Filter belt construction

Apparatus is disclosed for coating the under side of a food product with a batter material of intermediate viscosity so as to eliminate substantially all bare spots.

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Bellevue, OH, United States of America

Michael E Miller