초록 ▼

A tray assembly for use in feeding liquid composition to a freezing chamber is disclosed. The tray has a plurality of projections that are designed to provide regulated discharge of the liquid composition from the tray and to feed the liquid composition into the freezing chamber in uniformly sized d

A tray assembly for use in feeding liquid composition to a freezing chamber is disclosed. The tray has a plurality of projections that are designed to provide regulated discharge of the liquid composition from the tray and to feed the liquid composition into the freezing chamber in uniformly sized drops. The projections area each downwardly disposed in relation to the tray. The tray has a bottom wall with a plurality of orifices, where each orifice is associated with a corresponding projection. These projections are uniform in size and can be formed using computerized welding techniques. An alternate embodiment in which the tray is pressurized is also disclosed.

대표청구항 ▼

What is claimed is: 1. A dropper assembly for feeding liquid composition to a freezing chamber, comprising: at least one tray overlying a freezing chamber and disposed to receive liquid composition from a delivery source, said tray having a bottom wall with a plurality of orifices through which the

What is claimed is: 1. A dropper assembly for feeding liquid composition to a freezing chamber, comprising: at least one tray overlying a freezing chamber and disposed to receive liquid composition from a delivery source, said tray having a bottom wall with a plurality of orifices through which the received liquid composition is directed wherein the tray is enclosed and is responsive to a pulse pump operated using a piston; a plurality of projections extending perpendicular from a lower surface of said tray and disposed for regulated discharge of said liquid composition from said tray and for feeding said liquid composition to said freezing chamber in uniformly sized droplets, each of said plurality of projections being aligned in fluid communication with one of said plurality of orifices in said bottom wall of said tray; and a programmable logic controller configured to account for a number of trays being used and to calculate the volume of liquid composition to apply to each tray; wherein said projections are affixed to said orifices and said tray using a precision welding process. 2. The dropper assembly as in claim 1, wherein each of said projections is downwardly disposed in relation to said tray. 3. The dropper assembly as in claim 1, wherein each of said projections has a first end associated with said corresponding orifice and a second end spaced from said first end. 4. The dropper assembly as in claim 3, wherein each of said projections has an inlet opening associated with said first end and an outlet opening associated with said second end. 5. The dropper assembly as in claim 4, wherein each of said projections has a uniformly tapered flow channel extending from said inlet opening to said outlet opening. 6. The dropper assembly as in claim 4, wherein each of said projections has a cylindrical flow channel extending from said inlet opening to said outlet opening. 7. The dropper assembly of claim 1, wherein all surfaces conform to USDA 3A sanitary requirements for food surfaces. 8. The dropper assembly of claim 1, wherein said tray is a large tray constructed to cover the freezing chamber. 9. The dropper assembly of claim 8, wherein said tray has side walls attached to said bottom surface, wherein said side walls form an enclosure for receiving the liquid composition from an external source. 10. The dropper assembly of claim 1, wherein said projections are fabricated to be at least 0.75 inches long. 11. The dropper assembly of claim 1, wherein said dropper assembly is used to produce millions of beads or other commercial food products per day. 12. The dropper assembly of claim 5, wherein all projections and corresponding flow channels are exactly the same size. 13. The dropper assembly of claim 1, wherein each of said projections is welded to the tray by computerized welding techniques using a low temperature, high precision fusion welding process. 14. The dropper assembly of claim 13, wherein said welding process is an electron beam weld performed in a vacuum chamber. 15. The dropper assembly of claim 13, wherein said fusion welding process is a laser weld using shielded gas. 16. The dropper assembly of claim 13, wherein said fusion welding process further comprises gas tungsten arc welding. 17. The dropper assembly of claim 13, wherein the projections are attached to the tray using manual welds. 18. The dropper assembly of claim 1 wherein each time the piston strokes, exactly one drop of liquid composition comes out each of the array of projections. 19. The dropper assembly of claim 18, wherein size of the orifice within each of said projections is significantly small that gravity may not pull a droplet therethrough, without also applying a predetermined amount of pressure. 20. The dropper assembly of claim 18, wherein the enclosed tray is used in the preparation of chocolate, and or candy food products. 21. The dropper assembly of claim 1, wherein said tray comprises a plurality of smaller trays which combine to cover the freezing chamber. 22. The dropper assembly of claim 21, wherein a pressure sensing unit and transmitter within each of the plurality of trays relays information back to the programmable logic controller to alter the signal to the pump as needed. 23. The dropper assembly of claim 22, wherein said pressure sensing unit is located flush with the top of the tray, is inserted through the top of a tray covering, and extends upward out of a processor lid. 24. The dropper assembly of claim 22, wherein a pump feed line is attached to the pressure transmitter. 25. The dropper assembly of claim 24, wherein the tray is cleaned by attaching the pump feed line to a clean in place system, which floods the tray with cleaning liquid and creates pressure to stream the cleaning solution through the projections. 26. The dropper assembly of claim 25, wherein said clean in place system operates at a velocity of 5 feet per second.