Compact in-line breading machine

Abstract

A machine is presented which includes a liquid-coating or battering unit associated with a dry-coating or breading unit, the units being useful separately or when combined as described. The battering unit includes a batter reservoir in which an open mesh wire belt under tension travels beneath a submerger wheel so as to gently nip the product and drag it below the surface of the batter. In the breading application unit, the loose breading material is stored in a hopper above which is a flat slider plate over which passes an open mesh wire conveyor belt in its product-advancing run. This belt then passes downwardly after discharging the coated product, to a lower point in the hopper where the belt is inclined upwardly toward the opposite end of the unit at the inlet end of the slider plate. This portion of the conveyor belt is the breading material elevating run and it travels close to an inclined bottom wall of the hopper. During the latter part of this run, the conveyor passes through a slot of limited dimensions which causes the conveyor belt to pump the breading material upwardly toward the product-advancing run where the dry material is pumped up from the elevating run to the product-advancing run through the wire mesh of the belt. In three embodiments a V-shape splitter then splits the upper portion of the breading material flow while providing a bed of this material of predetermined thickness on a central product path while diverting parts of the breading material flow laterally to both sides of the central path portion. The liquid-coated food product is placed on the central path portion downstream from the splitter and, as the product advances along the run above the flat slider plate two side plows, one each side of the product path, converge the breading material on each side of the path toward the center over the traveling product. In a first embodiment, the battering unit is placed directly above the breading unit with reverse flow in the two units. In a second and third embodiment, the battering unit is placed ahead of, and generally nearly in horizontal alignment with the product-advancing run of the breading application unit. Preferably, a tamper plate is provided to bear down on the breading material above the product to flatten out the breading material on top of and around the food product. A take-away conveyor may be used for discharging the coated product outside of the machine, in the first and second embodiments, while the third embodiment does not require this conveyor.