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EP-4736652-A1 - SYSTEM FOR FORMING SANDWICH PRODUCTS FROM FLAT BAKED GOODS WITH AN INTERMEDIATE LAYER OF VISCOUS EDIBLE MATERIAL

EP4736652A1EP 4736652 A1EP4736652 A1EP 4736652A1EP-4736652-A1

Abstract

A system for forming sandwich products from two or more flat baked goods, wherein between the flat baked goods a layer of viscous edible material is deposited, the system comprising a first conveyor for supplying a plurality of flat baked goods, wherein the plurality of flat baked goods is divided into a first group with the flat baked goods oriented with one of their two main surfaces facing downwards, and a second group with the flat baked goods oriented facing upwards; a second conveyor for supplying the viscous edible material; temperature control means disposed onto the second conveyor and arranged to achieve a predefined viscosity level of the viscous edible material by controlling its temperature; a first robotic manipulator configured to pick up the viscous edible material from the second conveyor after its viscosity has been adjusted to the predefined level, and to deposit the viscous edible material onto flat baked goods of the first group; a second robotic manipulator configured to pick up and place flat baked goods of the second group onto the viscous edible material deposited on the flat baked goods of the first group, thereby forming the sandwich products.

Inventors

  • HOUDIJK, Bart

Assignees

  • Royal Houdijk B.V.

Dates

Publication Date
20260506
Application Date
20251030

Claims (15)

  1. A system (100) for forming sandwich products (10) from two or more flat baked goods (20), wherein between the flat baked goods a layer of viscous edible material (30) is deposited, the system comprising: a first conveyor (110) for supplying a plurality of flat baked goods (20), wherein the plurality of flat baked goods is divided into a first group (20A), with the flat baked goods oriented with one of their two main surfaces facing downwards, and a second group (20B), with the flat baked goods oriented facing upwards; a second conveyor (120) for supplying the viscous edible material (30); temperature control means (130) disposed onto the second conveyor (120) and arranged to achieve a predefined viscosity level of the viscous edible material by controlling its temperature; a first robotic manipulator (141) configured to pick up the viscous edible material (30) from the second conveyor (120) after its viscosity has been adjusted to the predefined level, and to deposit the viscous edible material (30) onto flat baked goods of the first group (20A); a second robotic manipulator (142) configured to pick up and place flat baked goods of the second group (20B) onto the viscous edible material (30) deposited on the flat baked goods of the first group (20A), thereby forming the sandwich products (10).
  2. The system of claim 1, wherein the predefined viscosity of the viscous edible material (30) is controlled such that it can be picked up and deposited by the first robotic manipulator (141) without deforming, while also allowing the viscous edible material (30) to melt together with the flat baked good of the first (20A) and second group (20B) during the sandwich formation process.
  3. The system of any one of claims 1 to 2, wherein the second conveyor, for supplying the viscous edible material, operates in a counter-flow direction (B), opposite to the direction of movement (A) of the first conveyor, for supplying the flat baked goods.
  4. The system of any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the first and second conveyors (110, 120) are disposed in parallel, with the second conveyor (120) positioned alongside the first conveyor (110), allowing for integrated and synchronized operation of both conveyors in the sandwich forming process.
  5. The system of any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the viscous edible material (30) is selected from the group consisting of cream, chocolate, jam, and other soft-set edible materials that solidify at a controlled low temperature.
  6. The system of any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the viscous edible material (3) is shaped into discrete portions before being picked up by the robotic manipulator.
  7. The system of claim 6, wherein the temperature control means (130) comprises a cooling unit integrated into or adjacent to the second conveyor (120), and wherein the cooling unit comprises multiple cooling zones to gradually reduce the temperature of the viscous edible material.
  8. The system of any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the first (141) and/or second (142) robotic manipulator) comprises a vacuum gripper or a mechanical gripping device.
  9. The system of any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the second robotic manipulator (142) is configured to align the second flat baked good (20B) with the first flat baked good (20A) prior to placement.
  10. The system of any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the predefined viscosity of the viscous edible material (30) is adjusted based on the type of flat baked good (20) to ensure proper adherence during the sandwich formation process.
  11. The system of claim 10, wherein the temperature control means (130) is further configured to adjust the viscosity of the viscous edible material (30) based on ambient environmental conditions.
  12. The system of any one of claims 1 to 11, wherein the system further comprises a control unit configured to synchronize the operation of the first and second robotic manipulators (141, 42) with the movement of the first and second conveyors (110, 120).
  13. The system of any one of claims 1 to 12, wherein the viscous edible material (30) is deposited in a pattern corresponding to the shape of the flat baked good (20).
  14. A method of forming sandwich products (10) from two or more flat baked goods (20), the method comprising the steps of: - supplying a plurality of flat baked goods (20) on a first conveyor (110), wherein the plurality of flat baked goods (20) is divided into a first group (20A), with the flat baked goods oriented with one of their two main surfaces facing downwards, and a second group (20B), with the flat baked goods oriented facing upwards; - supplying a layer of viscous edible material (30) on a second conveyor (120); - controlling the temperature of the viscous edible material (30) using temperature control means (130) disposed onto the second conveyor (120) to achieve a predefined viscosity level suitable for handling; - picking up the viscous edible material (30) from the second conveyor (120) using a first robotic manipulator (141) after the viscosity has been adjusted to the predefined level; - depositing the viscous edible material (30) onto flat baked goods of the first group (20A); - picking up flat baked goods from the second group (20B) using a second robotic manipulator (142) and placing them onto the viscous edible material deposited (30) on the flat baked goods of the first group (20A) to form the sandwich products (10), and wherein the predefined viscosity of the viscous edible material (30) is controlled such that discrete portions of the viscous edible material can be picked up and deposited by the robotic manipulator without deforming, while also allowing the viscous edible material to melt together with the flat baked good of the first and second group (20A, 20B) during the sandwich formation process.
  15. A method for depositing a layer of viscous edible material (30) onto flat baked goods (20), the method comprising: - supplying a plurality of flat baked goods (20) on a first conveyor (110); - supplying a viscous edible material (30) on a second conveyor (120); - controlling the temperature of the viscous edible material (30) using temperature control means (130) disposed onto the second conveyor (120) to achieve a predefined viscosity level suitable for handling; - picking up the viscous edible material (30) from the second conveyor (120) using a first robotic manipulator (141) after the viscosity has been adjusted to the predefined level; - depositing the viscous edible material (30) onto the flat baked goods (20), and, wherein the predefined viscosity of the viscous edible material (30) is controlled such that discrete portions of the viscous edible material (30) can be picked up and deposited by the robotic manipulator without deforming, while also allowing the viscous edible material to melt together with the flat baked good of the first and second group (20A, 20B) during the sandwich formation process.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention generally relates to the field of food processing systems, and more particularly to the field of automated systems for forming sandwich products from flat baked goods with an intermediate layer of viscous edible material. BACKGROUND Nowadays, automated systems for forming sandwich products from flat baked goods, such as cookies or biscuits, often involve the use of a gripper or manipulator that flips a portion of the baked goods to ensure proper alignment before applying a layer of cream or other edible material. These systems typically rely on rotating or flipping a portion of the incoming cookies so that one group is oriented with the top side facing downwards, while the remaining cookies retain their original orientation with the top side upwards. The next step in conventional systems involves depositing cream onto the flipped cookies, after which the unflipped cookies are placed on top to form the sandwich product. A notable disadvantage of these conventional systems is the inherent complexity and limitations in handling viscous edible materials, such as cream or chocolate. To ensure the edible material can be deposited without clogging the deposition nozzles, it must maintain a sufficiently low viscosity. However, this presents a further challenge, as once deposited, the material still needs to adhere effectively to the cookie layers. Achieving this requires the edible material to cool down after deposition, allowing it to solidify and bond with the cookies. As a result, current systems often employ long processing lines, sometimes extending 10 or more meters, to allow for sufficient cooling time before the sandwiches can be further handled or packaged. These lengthy processing lines are undesirable for several reasons. First, they occupy significant floor space, making production facilities less efficient in terms of layout. Moreover, while additional freezing units can be used to accelerate cooling, these solutions are also inefficient. The reason for this inefficiency lies in the insulating properties of the cookies, which retain heat and slow down the cooling process. Since the cookies act as insulators, cooling the edible material, such as cream or chocolate, becomes less effective, requiring additional time and energy to bring the product to a stable temperature. This process slows down production and increases operational costs. It is therefore a goal of the present invention to provide an improved system for forming sandwich products that addresses these inefficiencies. The invention seeks to reduce the length of the processing lines and address the inefficiency of current solutions, thereby overcoming the above-mentioned disadvantages of the prior art at least in part. SUMMARY One aspect of the present invention relates to a system for forming sandwich products from two or more flat baked goods, wherein between the flat baked goods a layer of viscous edible material is deposited, the system comprising: a first conveyor for supplying a plurality of flat baked goods, wherein the plurality of flat baked goods is divided into a first group, with the flat baked goods oriented with one of their two main surfaces facing downwards, and a second group, with the flat baked goods oriented facing upwards;a second conveyor for supplying the viscous edible material;temperature control means disposed onto the second conveyor and arranged to achieve a predefined viscosity level of the viscous edible material by controlling its temperature;a robotic manipulator configured to pick up the viscous edible material from the second conveyor after its viscosity has been adjusted to the predefined level, and to deposit the viscous edible material onto a flat baked good of the first group;a robotic manipulator configured to pick up and place a flat baked good of the second group onto the viscous edible material deposited on the flat baked good of the first group, thereby forming a sandwich product;wherein preferably the predefined viscosity of the viscous edible material is tuned to such an extent that it can be picked up and deposited by the robotic manipulator without deforming, while also allowing the viscous edible material to melt together with the flat baked good of the first and second group during the sandwich formation process. Another aspect of the present invention relates to a method of forming sandwich products from two or more flat baked goods, the method comprising the steps of: supplying a plurality of flat baked goods on a first conveyor, wherein the plurality of flat baked goods is divided into a first group, with the flat baked goods oriented with one of their two main surfaces facing downwards, and a second group, with the flat baked goods oriented facing upwards;supplying a layer of viscous edible material on a second conveyor;controlling the temperature of the viscous edible material using temperature control means disposed onto the second conveyor to achieve