AN AUTOMATIC ROASTING MACHINE FOR FOOD PRODUCTS TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention is related to machines used for roasting the food products such as coffee beans, dried nuts and etc.

The present invention enables the products to be roasted at equal standards and with high quality by monitoring the differences in the moisture levels of food products such as coffee beans, dried nuts and etc., which have been picked from different regions and altitudes without requiring operator experience and skill thanks to the moisture meter mounted to the present flame controlled roasting machine, in which coffee beans, dried nuts and food products are roasted.

STATE OF ART

Today, the present roasting process performed in the roasting machines with flame control technology is totally based on the knowledge and experience of the operator.

However, moisture-controlled roasting method enables standard and high-quality roasting process without requiring the knowledge and experience of the operator.

In the prior art, when another operator takes the machine for roasting process, the same quality cannot be achieved in the product.

In the state of art, the firm is dependent on a knowledgeable and experienced operator for roasting process. Therefore, the production costs increase as the firm needs at least one staff member having knowledge and experience. However, in moisture-controlled roasting method, the roasting process is performed with high quality and standard by means of a non-skilled staff member.

In the state of art, the knowledge and experience of the operator are required in order to obtain a product with desired standard. Thanks to moisture meter adapted to the machine, the desired roasting quality and standard are achieved without requiring the knowledge and experience of the operator.

One of the negative outcomes of constantly controlling the roasting process in the state of art is that the quality percent of the products produced is low.

As the roasting process is performed manually under the control of the operator in the state of art, the products are roasted excessively in the case that roasting period is exceeded slightly. As the products roasted in this manner cannot be sold, additional costs arise.

In the state of art, opening and closing the machine in order to observe the roasting process, lead to excessive energy consumption.

In the state of art, the risk of breakdown in the roasting machines is extremely high due to the reasons such as opening and closing constantly. Therefore, said machines need auxiliary parts. Moreover, the mounting and demounting processes of said machines are performed in a difficult manner.

Several embodiments relating to said roasting machines have been found in the researches made in the literature. One of them is the utility model titled "Electric roasting machine for dried nut" and numbered 2012/02169. The statement "The present invention is especially related to electric roasting machine for dried nut that fixes the temperature degree within the drum by means of thermostat, powers the resistor if the temperature, which is measured with a temperature measurement element, thermocouple, within the drum is below the adjusted temperature degree, cuts the energy of the resistor if said temperature degree is above the adjusted agree and thus, can roast dried nut at standard degree" is included in the abstract of the invention.

Another example relating to said embodiment is the utility model titled "Nuts roasting machine" and numbered 2012/10491 . In the abstract of the invention, the statement "The present invention is related to a machine which enables the nuts to be ready for consumption by being roasted and coated with food additives in the food sector, and comprises a body; a mobile boiler positioned on the body; a heater positioned within the body and under the boiler; a transfer mechanism transferring the motion; a lever transferring the motion as connected with the transfer mechanism; a mixing lever connected with the lever, moving in a rotating manner with the motion it receives from the lever, positioned within said boiler, and mixing the nut that will be placed into the boiler; reducer providing motion for the boiler, enabling the mixing lever and boiler to rotate in a reverse manner, and positioned within the body and under the boiler; and a locking member that locks the boiler. Figure 2" is included.

The roasting process is controlled manually and a mechanism that measures the moisture amount is not provided in the abovementioned applications. Therefore, said applications can be given as examples for the disadvantages mentioned above.

As a result, improvements are made in the machines roasting coffee beans, dried nuts and the like in parallel with the developing technology; therefore, new embodiments that will eliminate the abovementioned disadvantages and will offer new solutions for the present systems are needed.

OBJECT OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is related to roasting machines meeting the abovementioned needs, eliminating all the disadvantages and offering some additional advantages. The object of the present invention is to get the roasting process out of the operator control thanks to moisture measurement device integrated to the machine and to measure the moisture level in the machine automatically during the production process.

Another object of the present invention is to increase production quality and quality percent by performing the roasting process automatically. Moreover, an improvement is observed in the production period.

Another object of the present invention is to prevent unintentional excessive roasting observed during manual roasting process. When the moisture in the food evaporates completely, the machine gives an alarm thanks to automatic warning and thus, it is understood that roasting process is over. Therefore, any batch of roasted product is not wasted and the same quality is achieved in every roasting process.

Another object of the present invention is to minimize the energy consumption, because opening and closing the machine constantly are not required as it is understood on the indicators that the machine completes the roasting process. Another object of the present invention is to decrease the risk of breakdown and thereby, the need for auxiliary part. Moreover, mounting processes have also been facilitated.

In order to achieve the abovementioned objects, roasting machine for coffee, dried nuts and the like, which comprises a loading chamber through which the products such as coffee and dried nut that will be subjected to roasting process, will be loaded into the machine; roasting chamber/drum where roasting process is performed; cooling pan where the roasted products are cooled; a hopper where the husks of roasted products are stored; an exhaust discharging the hot air occurring during the roasting process from the system; indicator box having exhaust heat indicator showing the temperature of said exhaust and drum heat indicator showing the temperature of said drum; moisture meter measuring the level of moisture occurring within said roasting chamber; and moisture meter indicator showing the degree measured by said moisture meter and provided within the indicator box, has been developed.

The structural and characteristic features and all the advantages of the present invention will be more clearly understood thanks to the figures below and the detailed description written with reference to those figures. Therefore, the evaluation needs to be done by taking said figures and the detailed description into consideration.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES FOR UNDERSTANDING THE PRESENT INVENTION

Figure 1 is the two-dimensional side view of the roasting machine for food products such as coffee, dried nut and etc. according to the present invention. Figure 2 is the two-dimensional front view of the roasting machine for food products such as coffee, dried nut and etc. according to the present invention.

REFERENCE NUMERALS

10. Loading chamber

20. Moisture meter

21. Moisture meter cable

30. Indicator box

31. Exhaust heat indicator

32. Drum heat indicator

33. Moisture meter indicator

34. Light and sound alarm

40. Hopper

50. Roasting chamber/Drum

60. Exhaust

70. Cooling pan

80. Roasting machine

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF AN EXAMPLE OF THE PRESENT INVENTION In this detailed description, the preferred embodiments of the roasting machines (80) for food products such as coffee, dried nut and etc. according to the present invention are described only for the subject to be understood better without any limiting effects.

The present invention is roasting machine (80) for food products such as coffee, dried nuts and the like, which comprises a loading chamber (10) through which the food products such as coffee and dried nut that will be subjected to roasting process, will be loaded into the machine; roasting chamber/drum (50) where roasting process is performed; cooling pan (70) where the roasted products are cooled; a hopper (40) where the pulps of the products roasted in said cooling pan (70) are stored; an exhaust (60) discharging the hot air occurring during the roasting process from the system; indicator box (30) having exhaust heat indicator (31 ) showing the temperature of said exhaust (60) and drum heat indicator (32) showing the temperature of said roasting chamber/drum (50), characterized in comprising moisture meter (20) measuring the level of moisture occurring within said roasting chamber/drum (50); and moisture meter indicator (33) showing the degree measured by said moisture meter (20) and provided within the indicator box (30).

Figure 1 is the two-dimensional side view of the roasting machine (80) for food products such as coffee, dried nut and etc. according to the present invention.

The coffee, dried nut and similar food products that will be roasted are filled into the system through the loading chamber (10). They enter into the roasting chamber/drum (50) through loading chamber (10). Here, roasting process is performed. The pulps of the product are gathered in the hopper (40) during the roasting process. Then, they are cooled in the cooling pan (70) and discharged.

Roasting process; The roasting chamber/drum (50) is heated up to a certain degree before the roasting process is started. When the desired temperature is achieved in the roasting chamber/drum (50), the raw product is poured into the roasting chamber/drum (50) by means of loading chamber (10).

A decrease is observed in the drum heat indicator (32) and exhaust heat indicator (31 ) after the raw product is poured into the roasting chamber/drum (50). At the same time, an increase is observed in the moisture meter indicator (33). The reason is that the product releases the moisture in said raw product.

The husks separated from the product during the roasting process are gathered in the hopper (40). Thus, the product is enabled to be roasted without its husks. Therefore, the husks transferred to the hopper (40) without burning due to high temperature in the roasting chamber/drum (50) are removed from the product without affecting the roasting quality in a negative manner.

When the roasting process is continued, the moisture in the product is continued to be released and thus, an increase is experienced in the moisture meter indicator (33). When the moisture reaches the highest level, the increase stops in the moisture meter indicator (33) and a decrease begins, therefore; the product is roasted. In said period, the operator is warned thanks to the light and sound alarm (34) in the control panel and the roasted coffees are poured into the cooling pan (70) for being cooled. Operating principle;

The roasting machine (80) according to the present invention enables the food products such as any type of coffee, dried nut and the like to be roasted without manual follow-up. Food products such as coffee, dried nut and the like may be different in accordance with their moisture levels and types. In this system, roasting process is performed at desired high standard irrespective of the differences of the products.

Said process is performed as follows;

Said moisture meter (20) operates with 24 w - 220 w electric current. It is mounted to the drum (50) of the machine. The moisture amount can be measured by mounting the moisture meter (20) both to roasting chamber/drum (50) and all of the areas where hot air passes such as exhaust (60), cooling pan (70), hopper (40) and etc.

In brief, the operating principle of the product is as follows; the moisture of the product is measured during roasting process and said moisture increases as being released with the temperature and standard is achieved after the moisture reaches the highest level and begins to decrease; after moisture decreases 1 -2 degrees, the machine alerts and warns the operator and thus, the product is made ready in a standardized manner.