ES2671293T3 - A device and method for preparing extrudable food products - Google Patents

Abstract

A method for extruding extrudable food products by an electronic device (1) having a rotation shaft (32) and an extrusion die (120), comprising: extruding the extrudable food products by means of the rotation axis (32) of the extrusion die; characterized in that said method further comprises: separating the extrusion in at least a period of time during which the rotation axis (32) rotates in a first direction that is opposite a second direction in which the axis (32) rotates from rotation to extrude food products.

Description

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DESCRIPTION

A device and method for preparing extrudable food products Field of the invention

In general, the invention relates to home appliances for making pasta, cakes, noodles and other extrudable food products.

Background of the invention

Domestic automatic food mixing and extrusion devices have been in common use for many years. Automatic noodle making machines, which both mix dough and automatically extrude dough through a die, have been disclosed and have been in use since the 1970s. In general, such an apparatus includes a working chamber in which the flour and water are mixed, then the mixed materials (for example, in the form of dough) are fed to an extrusion spiral that drives the mixed materials through an extrusion die to obtain noodles / pastes.

US Patent 6,743,007B2 discloses a pasta maker, cakes, cookies and hors d'oeuvres.

In such a device, a rotation shaft is used which is connected to a drive system that includes, for example, a motor and gears for mixing the material (eg flour and water), stirring and kneading the dough. and extrusion of noodles / pasta. The operation process of the device is illustrated in Figure 1. Before activating the device, the user normally needs to add / pour flour, water and / or other ingredients, for example, eggs, vegetable juice in a working chamber, in the one that the materials will mix until giving a mass. However, during extrusion, adherent dough portions tend to adhere to the inner walls and corners of the working chamber and, therefore, would not be extruded through the die as noodles or pastes.

Summary of the invention

Therefore, it would be advantageous to provide a method and a device for preparing extrudable food products capable of extruding the greatest possible amount of mixed materials into the working chamber through the extrusion die, in order to minimize food waste.

According to an embodiment of the invention, there is provided a method for extruding extrudable food products by an electronic device according to claim 1.

According to an embodiment of the invention, a device for preparing extrudable food products according to claim 2 is provided.

By separating the extrusion stage, which is usually a unique process, it is possible to use the ingredients that remain in the working chamber, in the extrusion die or in the spiral of the rotation axis as a tool, which are driven by the stir bar, to remove the ingredients that adhere to the inner wall of the working chamber and the corners in the working chamber, by hitting and / or its adhesion. Therefore, those removed ingredients can additionally adhere to the ingredients in the working chamber and then be propelled against the extrusion die by the spiral in the next extrusion. Therefore, food waste is reduced or even minimized.

According to an embodiment of the invention, in which the axis of rotation is provided with a first section having at least one stir bar extending away from the axis of rotation and a second section having a spiral, the at least A stir bar agitates the ingredients when the axis rotates in a first direction, the second section extrudes the ingredients through the extrusion die by the spiral when the axis rotates in a second direction.

According to an embodiment of the invention, wherein each of said at least one period of time is 15 seconds.

According to an embodiment of the invention, in the at least one period of time, the at least one stir bar hits at least a portion of the ingredient to remove the accumulations in the working chamber.

According to an embodiment of the invention, in which in the at least one period of time, the ingredients in the extrusion die and the ingredients in the spiral are again driven into the working chamber, the at least a portion of ingredient includes those newly driven ingredients.

According to an embodiment of the invention, in which the extrusion die is provided with a plurality of through holes, at least some of the through holes each comprise, in an extrusion direction, an inlet section, a forming section and an output section, in that order, in which the

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diameter of the forming section is uniform in the direction of the extrusion to crush burrs on a surface of the ingredients formed in the inlet section and / or in a joint of the inlet section and the forming section.

According to an embodiment of the invention, the device further comprises a load detector coupled to the drive system and a controller configured to shut down the drive system when the detected load is below a first predetermined load value.

According to an embodiment of the invention, the device further comprises an indicator configured to indicate to a user that an operation of the device has been completed.

According to an embodiment of the invention, the drive system is coupled to one end of the rotation axis by means of a connector, a resistance of the connector is configured such that the connector is broken when the load of the drive system is greater than a second predetermined load value to protect the drive system and / or the axis of rotation.

According to an embodiment of the invention, in which a front end of a lower part of the working chamber is lower than its rear end, such design facilitating the movement of the mass towards the front end of the device, for example, towards The extrusion die.

According to an embodiment of the invention, the device further comprises a container below the working chamber, which is configured to receive dies that are not in use.

According to an embodiment of the invention, the device further comprises a detachable front panel mounted on the device by at least one connector, in which the at least one connector is configured to separate the front panel from the device without removing from the panel. Forward.

Next, detailed explanations and other aspects of the invention will be provided.

Brief description of the drawings

Next, particular aspects of the invention will be explained with reference to the embodiments described below in this document and will be considered in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which the identical parts or sub-stages are referred to in the same way:

Figures 1-8 depict a noodle making machine 10 according to an embodiment of the invention; Figure 9 describes a process whereby a noodle maker makes noodles according to a conventional method;

Figures 10a-10b represent a process whereby a noodle maker, according to the present invention, makes noodles;

Figures 11a-11b represent a typical extrusion die on a noodle maker;

Figures 12a-12b represent an extrusion die on a noodle making machine according to the

present invention;

Figures 13-14 represent a drive system in a noodle making machine according to an embodiment of the invention;

Figures 15a-15b represent a front panel and a connector configured to connect the front panel to the device according to an embodiment of the invention.

Detailed description of the invention

Figures 1-8 represent a noodle making machine 1 according to an embodiment of the invention. With reference to Figure 1, the noodle maker 1 comprises a lid 11 that can be articulated with a cover 14. By opening the lid 11, the user can add flour to a working chamber (not shown and described with reference to Figure 3), in which the flour is mixed with the water, which can be added gradually by pouring water into a water dispenser 13, which has several holes on a lower part thereof. In one embodiment, the noodle maker 1 begins operating at the same time that water is added to the working chamber through the holes. In a further embodiment, the water dispenser 13 is provided with scales (not shown), therefore, the user is aware of the amount of water added. In one embodiment, the lid is at least partially transparent to allow the user to monitor the work status in the work chamber and also to make the user perceive that what he observes is what is obtained.

A front panel 152 is detachably mounted on the cover 14 by means of two connectors 151. The front panel 152 is configured to mainly attach an extrusion die 120 to the noodle maker 10, which is subjected to great pressure by the ingredients driven by a rotation axis (not shown) during the operation of the noodle maker 10. To facilitate cleaning and replacement of the extrusion die 120, the connectors 151 can be loosened to remove the front panel 152 from the cover to allow for the user to remove

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the extrusion die 120 to replace it with another extrusion die that is used, for example, to make another type of extrudable food product or to clean the extrusion die 120. As will be described hereinafter, the connectors 151 could remain on the front panel 152 which is already separated from the cover 14.

As will be more evident by reading the following description, the noodle maker 1 has a free space that is not occupied by those elements that work during stirring and / or extrusion of the ingredients or a drive system. In an embodiment illustrated in Figures 1-8, the clearance is, therefore, taken by a container 12 below the working chamber, which is configured to receive dies that are not in use. For example, when an extrusion die for making pasta is installed in the cover 14 by the front panel 152, other extrusion dies with through holes of different size / shape that are not in use can be held in the container 12 so that the Kitchen look more in order. In one embodiment, the container 12 can be easily removed by hand in an x direction or pushed back in an opposite direction.

Figure 2 illustrates a front view of the noodle maker 10 in Figure 1. In addition, Figure 3 illustrates a sectional view taken on the basis of Figure 2. As shown in Figure 3, with reference to the Figures 1-2, the noodle maker 1 further comprises a working chamber 31 capable of accommodating ingredients and an actuator housing 36 in which a drive system (not shown) is maintained. A rotation shaft 32 extends in the working chamber 31 to the extrusion die 120. In one embodiment, the rotation axis 32 is provided with a first section (on the left side in Figure 3), which has at least one stir bar 321 extending away from the rotation axis 32, and a second section ( on the right side in Figure 3), which has a spiral 322 and 323, the at least one stir bar 321 agitates the ingredients (not shown) when the axis 32 rotates in a first direction, the second section extrudes, by means of the spiral 322, the ingredients through the extrusion die 120 when the shaft 32 rotates in a second direction. In one embodiment, the first direction and the second direction are opposite each other. For example, the first direction is counterclockwise, when you see the noodle maker 1 from the front (see Figure 2) of the noodle maker 1, and the second direction is in the clockwise. Normally, by rotating the shaft 32 in the first direction, the ingredients in the working chamber 31 tend not to be propelled towards the extrusion die 120 due, at least in part, to the structure of a rear part of the spiral, 323 A front part of the spiral, 322, also extends into an extrusion channel 35, for example, by a part of the cover 14. In one embodiment, a wall 351 of the extrusion channel 35 extends into the working chamber 31 Thus, in the extrusion process, for example, when the axis 32 rotates in the second direction, the ingredients are thrown / lifted on the extended wall and driven into the extrusion channel 35 by means of the rotation spiral 322.

In one embodiment, the orientations and positions of the at least one stir bar are specifically designed, for example, as illustrated in Figure 6, separated from each other along the length of the axis 32 and further displaced. to apply a force to the ingredients in the working chamber 31 when rotating. In one embodiment, as illustrated, there are 4 stir bars on the axis of rotation. All stir bars, except the one that is closest to the drive system (ie 3 in total), have the same cross section and are at the same angle to the axis of rotation. The 3 stir bars are configured to push the ingredients / dough portions forward, that is, into the extrusion channel / extrusion die. The last stir bar, which is deposited closest to the drive system, has the shape of a triangle, which pushes the ingredients / dough portions forward, regardless of whether the axis of rotation rotates in a first or second address. The last stir bar is designed in such a way that it prevents, to some extent, that the dough ingredients / portions adhere to it.

The shaft is subjected to a torque applied by the drive system and the ingredients that are extruded in an extrusion process. Therefore, the strength of the shaft 32 is considered and, in one embodiment, the shaft 32 is made of an aluminum alloy. Those skilled in the art can appreciate that other materials with acceptable strength are also applicable in this case.

Figures 4 and 7 are top views of the noodle maker 1 in Figure 1. As illustrated, a user interface (UI) 4 could be on an upper face of the noodle maker 1, which may include one or more buttons and / or other user manipulators through which the user can start, stop or otherwise change the state / modes of operation of the noodle maker 1. A printed circuit board (not shown) could be located below or near the UI 4 and also be coupled to the drive system (not shown) below.

With reference to Figure 5, in which a perspective view of the noodle maker 1 is shown in Figure 1. As illustrated in this way, a lower part 311 of the working chamber 31 is curved to facilitate stirring and mixing of water, flour and kneading of mixed materials. Referring further to Figures 3 and 5, a front end of the lower part 311 is less than, in a vertical direction, a rear end of the lower part 311, the rear end is closer to the actuator housing 36 and the front end is closer to the front panel 152.

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Figure 6 is an exploded view of a drive system 64 and a rotation shaft 32, which are coupled together by a connector 62. In one embodiment, an external surface of the connector 62 is formed as a wheel that engages with a first mounting hole 641 in the drive system 64. When inserted into the first mounting hole 641, the connector 62 is fixed thereto by friction. As those skilled in the art would appreciate, additional / alternative ways of fixing may also be used. The inside of the connector 62 is formed as a second mounting hole 621. The hole 621 has the shape and size to keep a rear end of the shaft 32 stable therein and prevents the shaft 32 from rotating with respect to the connector 62.

In case of misuse or accident, some ingredients may block the rotation of the rotation axis 32 or apply a very high force on it. For example, if there is very little water mixed with the flour, the mixed materials could be quite hard and extrusion could be very difficult and even impossible. If so, the rotation shaft 32 and the drive system 64 are blocked or almost locked, which is very dangerous for the drive system 64, because the gear and motor cannot withstand the high torque ( counterforce) in the blocking situation. Overheating or engine damage may occur. Since the drive system is quite expensive, such accidents can also be quite expensive. In one embodiment, the resistance of the connector 62 is specifically designed such that: (a) during normal working conditions, no breakage of the connector 662 occurs; and (b) when blocking occurs, connector 62 must be broken before drive system 64 fails. This is achieved by configuring the resistance of the connector 62 so that it is broken when a load of the drive system 64 is greater than a second predetermined load value. In one embodiment, the resistance of the connector 62 will be weaker than the axis of rotation 32 to also protect the axis 32. When the connector 62 breaks, the user must replace the broken one with a new one at a very limited cost because the Connector 26 can only be a small plastic piece.

In accordance with the embodiments of the invention, the connector 62 may be used alone, but other protective means may be used simultaneously. For example, an overcurrent protection in the motor power supply can be removed before the connector 62 breaks.

Figure 9 illustrates a flow chart of a process whereby a noodle maker normally makes noodles, pasta or other extrudable food products. In one embodiment, the noodle maker 1 in Figure 1 is provided with compatibility such that the noodle maker 1 can also track the process 9. As shown in Figure 9, the process 9 includes the following stages:

Stage 91: Start of the operation. Normally, after the user has added flour and water, the drive system 64 turns on and starts to rotate the axis 32 of rotation.

Stage 92: Stirring stage. The drive system 64 drives the rotation shaft 32 for, for example, a counterclockwise rotation (an embodiment of the first direction) to stir and mix the water with the flour or other ingredients, in its case, to obtain mixed materials (also called ingredients), for example, a dough. This stage normally takes 3-5 minutes.

Stage 93: Extrusion. The drive system 64 drives the rotation axis 32 for a clockwise rotation (an embodiment of the second direction) to extrude the dough through the extrusion die 120 to obtain noodles or pastes, that is, The final extruded food products. Normally, this stage takes 5-15 minutes.

Stage 94: Stopping the operation. The noodle maker uses a timer to count the time, when a predetermined length of time ends, the rotation of the noodle maker stops.

This work process 9 can make noodles / pasta, but this has the following disadvantages:

(1) during Extrusion Stage 93, the shaft rotates only in one direction, which may cause part of the mass to adhere to the axis of rotation, the front panel and / or the walls / corners within the chamber of job. Therefore, the dough cannot be completely extruded, which increases the residue that remains after the noodle / pasta making process.

(2) The normal work process is controlled by timers, so that it would work for a certain time, regardless of whether the extrusion is already finished (that is, no more mass is left inside the work chamber) or not, what a waste of energy and useful life of the device. The user also needs to wait longer than he really has.

To overcome the disadvantages, a new work process 10 has been developed, as illustrated in Figure 10. In one embodiment of the invention, the work process 10 according to which the drive system 64 drives the shaft 10 of rotation in which the drive system is configured to separate the extrusion in at least a period of time during which the axis of rotation 32 rotates in a first direction in the opposite direction to a second direction in which the axis of rotation rotates to extrude the mixed dough. In one embodiment, the first direction is the direction in which the rotation axis 32 rotates to stir and mix the ingredients. In addition, in an alternative of process 10, more such periods of time are added to further separate the extrusion stage. This means that an original 15 minute extrusion stage can be segmented into, for example, 3 or 5 sub-stages of equal or different duration. By doing so, the residue can be reduced and better performance is achieved.

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Specifically, with reference to Figure 10a, in Step 101, the operation of the noodle maker begins 1. In Step 102, the drive system 64 rotates the axis of rotation in, for example, a first direction for stirring and mix the ingredients in the working chamber 31 to form a dough for the next extrusion. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that this is also within the scope of the present invention, when users do not use the noodle maker 1 to make dough, but manually buy / process the dough that is added directly to the chamber 31 of work, which means that Stage 102 is optional.

After this, in Step 103, extrusion begins by rotating the rotation axis 32 in a second direction. With reference to Figure 3, a first part 323 of the spiral helps to collect the dough in the working chamber 31, which is then pressed forward by the second part 322 of the spiral. With the pressure of the second part of the spiral 322, the noodles / pastes are extruded through the extrusion die 120.

However, as already mentioned, in the previous stirring / mixing process (Step 102 or 92), and perhaps also in the extrusion process, a part of the dough adheres, however, to the inner wall of the working chamber 31 or some corners inside the working chamber. That part of the dough, also called accumulation, cannot be extruded as noodles / pasta, even if the extrusion stage continues for another 10 hours.

Therefore, in Step 104, after extruding the dough into the working chamber for a while, for example, 5 minutes, the rotation of the axis 32 is reversed, which creates possibilities for those dough portions that have been adhered to, for example, the inner walls of the working chamber 31, the bottom surface of the cover 11, return again to the useful mass. Therefore, according to the tests, process 10 requires a similar or even shorter time to produce more noodles / pastes than process 9.

Specifically, those dough / flour portions are removed from the inner wall of the working chamber, from the corners or from the bottom surface of the lid 11 by the following: by reversing the rotation of the rotation axis 32, the dough in the holes 121, in the extrusion channel 35, which surrounds the second part 322 of the spiral, the working chamber 31 is again driven by virtue of the structure of the spiral. This allows the stir bar 321 to strike or raise the newly driven mass to various points within the working chamber 31, including the surface of the rotation shaft 32, for example, the first section in which a mass can also adhere adherent. This inverse rotation of the axis of rotation 32 makes use of the adhesion of the dough, which is usually a pure disadvantage (that is the reason why the dough portions adhere anyway within the working chamber 31), to minimize waste In one embodiment, the mass hit / raised by the stir bar 321 in Step 103 may include the mass that is not yet extruded or loaded into the extrusion channel, but that remained in the working chamber 31. The reverse rotation in Step 103 may take, for example, 15 seconds.

Then, in Step 105, extrusion continues, in which the dough portions, including those removed from the corners and walls, are fed to the extrusion channel for extrusion. This stage could take, for example, another 5 minutes or more or less time.

When Step 105 is finished, in Step 107, the drive system 64 can stop the drive of the rotation shaft 32 and the noodle maker 1 can indicate to the user, by means of an indicator (on the UI 4), that the process is finished or that the noodles / pasta have been prepared.

Figure 10b illustrates an alternative embodiment in Figure 10a. According to Figure 10b, when the extrusion is finished, an additional rotation inversion occurs. In this, the masses that remain in the spiral, in the extrusion channel (most of these will have already been extruded) and in the holes 121 are again driven to the working chamber 31. This is done in order to clean the noodle maker 31, since those dough portions may not be easily removed by hand.

Without departing from the invention, those skilled in the art could easily be able to, by reading the above descriptions, apply different programs to the noodle maker 1 by further separating the extrusion with more such durations of time. In one example, a complete operation may include the following, 1) under the control of the controller (not shown), for example, the PCB, axis 32, first, rotates for 3 minutes for stirring to form portions of dough ; 2) 6 minutes of extrusion; 3) 15 seconds of investment; 4) 3.5 minutes of extrusion; 5) 15 seconds of investment; 6) 1.5 minutes of extrusion; 7) 10 seconds of investment.

In one embodiment of the invention, the noodle maker 1 is enabled for programming by a user. For example, this is provided with means of entry to the UI 4. Through the means of entry, the user can adjust or change the way in which extrusion will frequently be separated by those investments and the time it will take for each investment. Each investment can be adjusted individually and are not necessarily equal in length. High-end noodle machines can be equipped with a more advanced UI, such as a USB connector, etc., to accomplish programming.

In one embodiment, the noodle maker 1 is provided with a function called intelligent shutdown.

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Generally, noodle making machines are fully controlled based on a timer, in addition to safety protection, where appropriate, such as overheating, overloading, etc. Due to the variation in the type of flour, the water / flour ratio, the properties of water and the environmental conditions (such as temperature / humidity), it is often very difficult to predict the time that the noodle maker 1 needs to produce noodles / pasta, that is, until they can no longer make noodles / pasta. In general, the duration of extrusion is designed for the worst cases, which is quite long and unnecessarily long for most cases. In one embodiment, the noodle maker 1 fulfills this function by having a load detector (not shown) and a controller (for example, the PCB). The load detector is configured to detect a load of the drive system and the controller is configured to advance the stop of the operation of the drive system when the detected load meets a predetermined condition. In one embodiment, the advance of the stop of the operation of the drive system is carried out by shutting down the drive system before the original program, for example, according to the original program at a time T0, there are 5 minutes left for the extrusion, the operation of the drive system can be stopped before that, for example, after 1 minute from t0, at T1 = T0 + 1 min. Alternatively, the drive system can be stopped immediately once the predetermined condition is met. In one embodiment, the predetermined condition may be any one of the following: a) a sharp decrease in load of the drive system (eg, percentages of 60%, 70% and 80% in 2 seconds); B) an instantaneous load of the drive system is below a predetermined threshold. Those skilled in the art can adopt other conditions for the same purpose, without departing from the invention, that is, the scope of the claims appended thereto.

According to an embodiment of the invention, the controller monitors the input current / energy for the drive system 64 during extrusion and when in some extrusion sub-stage (not the inverting) the input energy for the drive system 64 It is consistently low and almost inactive, this is an indication that the extrusion is almost complete and, thus, the noodle maker 1 can stop the extrusion stage before.

This is because, in the extrusion stages, the energy consumed / emitted by the drive system 64 is normally quite high and when it is lowered to an empty load level, this means that the mass is hardly needed anymore, so, if the control unit detects that during a certain period of time (i.e. 20%) the input energy for the drive system is consistently low (i.e. <120% of the energy consumption charged), The apparatus can stop the extrusion stage and access the final inversion stage (for cleaning purposes, usually 5 ~ 10 s) and then complete the complete noodle / pasta making process. If this intelligent shutdown condition is never detected during the process, then the diagram can be executed normally, otherwise it can be terminated beforehand. With the intelligent shutdown, the work cycle to make noodles / pasta can be reduced in most cases and, thus, saves energy and extends the life of the device (since it works less time on average for each cycle of work). Of course, this also saves the user time. The intelligent shutdown can also be applied to the normal extrusion process (without investment sub-stages), as well as applied in the new extrusion process (with several sub-stages and investments).

As mentioned above, in a noodle making machine of the type of any of Figures 18, the noodles are extruded by pressing the dough through an extrusion die. A typical extrusion die is illustrated in Figures 11a-11b. However, there may be some burrs on the surface of the noodles, although burrs may disappear normally after cooking, which is not quite pleasant before cooking.

The blots are formed mainly in the extrusion die 110, especially when removed from the holes 111, whose sectional view is shown in Figure 11b. With reference to Figure 11b, the internal structure of the holes is like a circular truncated cone, whose cross section is like a trapezoid.

For this type of extrusion dies, it is difficult to make the corners (on the right side if seen from Figure 11b) of the outlet side perfectly smooth during manufacturing. All smears on these corners would consequently cause smears on the noodles / pasta, since the outlet is also the narrowest part of all the extrusion holes and, therefore, the noodles / pasta have the greatest counterforce there.

The counterforce within the dough is due to the pressure to compress the dough during extrusion and a nature of the dough to expand when the pressure is released and, thus, all the smears in the corners would 'damage' the surface of the noodles / pasta and, during expansion, the 'damage' will also expand, which, later, would become the smears on the noodles / pasta.

According to an embodiment of the invention, an hourglass type design of the holes in the extrusion die can greatly reduce the smears on the surface of the noodles / pastes, illustrated in Figures 12a-12b. 6. The device according to claim 1, wherein the extrusion die is provided with a plurality of through holes, at least some of the through holes 121 each comprise

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an extrusion direction, an inlet section 1210, a forming section 1211 and an outlet section 1212, in that order, in which the diameter of the forming section 1211 is uniform in the direction of the extrusion to crush burrs on a surface of the noodles / pastes formed in the inlet section 1210 and / or in a joint of the inlet section 1210 and the forming section 1211.

For the hourglass type of the holes 121 of the extrusion die, when the mass enters, it will first enter the large opening of the inlet section 1210 and, gradually, will condense until it reaches the narrowest part, the gasket the inlet section 1210 and the forming section 1211. In that joint and in the forming section 1211, the noodles are already formed, with a desired size. In addition, the smears formed in the seal or in the inlet section are thus effectively crushed.

The noodles, then, are propelled towards the exit section 1012, whose diameter gradually increases in the direction of extrusion and, thus, provides space for the noodles to stretch a little and the 'counterforce' inside the noodle / la Pasta could also be released gradually, and when the noodles finally come out of extrusion die 121, the noodles / pastes would no longer have to expand in size (for example, in any radial direction), thus, greatly reduced measure the possibility of forming smears on the surface of the noodle / pasta.

In most noodle / pasta machines, the drive system consists of a motor and several gears. However, noodle / pasta machines usually require a fairly high torque, but a relatively low speed, typically 10 ~ 30 RPM. Normally, an engine provides fairly high RPM, for example, 3,000-10,000 RPM, so gears are used to reduce RPM and increase torque.

The use of the above combination in a drive system for noodle / pasta machines has the following disadvantages: 1) noisy; 2) The gearbox is very expensive, without a gearbox, the noise is even higher; the precision requirement for assembly is high; the reliability is low; the size is big; The cost is high.

In view of the foregoing, according to an embodiment of the invention, a drive system 64 is provided based on a worm wheel 643 and a worm 642, as illustrated in Figures 13-14. The drive system 64 can be fixed to the cover 14 of the noodle maker 1 at points 644.

In one embodiment, a beveled wheel is used to replace a typical worm wheel that is useful for cost savings. In doing so, it is possible to use plastic to mold the wheel. Compared to the normal multi-gear solution, the drive system 64 based on the worm wheel has the following advantages: 1) much less noise; 2) the gearbox is much smaller and, thus, more economical; 3) the precision requirement for assembly is lower (simpler assembly); 4) reliability is superior; 5) the size is small; 6) The cost is lower.

In some noodle / pasta making machines, a front panel like the one shown in Figure 1 is not only for decoration, but is also required for function needs. As initially mentioned above, the front panel 152 is for fixing parts (including extrusion die 120) with each other and withstanding the large pressure during extrusion. As an effective way, the front panel 152 is fixed to the cover 14 by means of connectors, for example, 2 screws.

Then, when the user needs to assemble the noodle maker 1, he needs to assemble the front panel 152 together with 2 screws, in total 3 pieces. This would cause many problems when keeping all the parts without losing any, especially when the screws are quite small.

In addition, this causes problems in assembly / disassembly, since the user must keep a hand to hold the panel and only one hand is left to rotate the screw, so it is easy to lose 1 or more screws or it cannot be assembled / disassemble without problems.

According to an embodiment illustrated in Figures 15a-15b, the front panel 152 is provided with screws integrated therein and, therefore, provides much more comfort to the users. The screws 151 are connected to a spring 154 and a grip 153. The grip 153 prevents the screw 151 from being further separated from the front panel 152. With the help of the spring 154, the screws 151 can remain movable along their length, which actually allows to loosen or tighten the screws 151, but the screws 151 may not be removed from the panel 152 due to the grip 153. Therefore , the user has no possibility of losing the screws and, during assembly / disassembly, the operation of one hand is also much more convenient.

Although the invention has been illustrated and described in detail in the drawings and the above description, such illustration should be considered illustrative or exemplary and not restrictive; The invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments. Those skilled in the art can understand and effect other variations of the embodiments disclosed in the practice of the claimed invention, from a study of the drawings, the disclosure and the appended claims.

In the claims, the term "comprising" does not exclude other elements or stages and the indefinite article "a / one" or "a" does not exclude a plurality. A single unit can satisfy the functions of several elements mentioned in the claims. The simple fact that certain measures are listed in the different dependent claims does not indicate that a combination of these 5 measures cannot be used as an advantage. Any reference number in the claims should not be construed as limiting the scope.

Claims (13)

5 10 fifteen twenty 25 30 35 40 Four. Five fifty 55 60 65 A method for extruding extrudable food products by an electronic device (1) having a rotation shaft (32) and an extrusion die (120), comprising: extrude the extrudable food products by means of the axis (32) of rotation through the extrusion die; characterized in that said method further comprises: separating the extrusion in at least a period of time during which the rotation axis (32) rotates in a first direction that is opposite a second direction in which the rotation axis (32) rotates to extrude food products. 2. A device (1) for preparing extrudable food products, comprising: a working chamber (31) capable of accommodating ingredients in the operation of the device (1); an extrusion die (120); a rotation shaft (32) configured to stir the ingredients and extrude the dough through the extrusion die (120); Y a drive system (64) by which the rotation shaft (32) is operated; wherein the device is programmed to make the drive system (64) perform the method of claim 1. The device (1) according to claim 2, wherein the axis of rotation (32) is provided with a first section, which has at least one stir bar (321) extending away from the axis (32 ) of rotation, and a second section, which has a spiral (322), the at least one stir bar (321) agitates the ingredients when the shaft (32) rotates in a first direction, the second section extrudes the food products to through the extrusion die (120) by the spiral (322) when the shaft (32) rotates in a second direction. The device (1) according to claim 2, wherein the extrusion die (120) is provided with a plurality of through holes (121), at least some of the through holes (121) each comprise , in an extrusion direction, an inlet section (1210), a forming section (1211) and an outlet section (1212), in that order, in which the diameter of the forming section (1211) is uniform in the direction of the extrusion to crush burrs on a surface of the ingredients formed in the inlet section (1210) and / or in a joint of the inlet section (1210) and the forming section (1211). The device (1) according to claim 2, further comprising a load detector coupled to the drive system (64) and a controller configured to, when the detected load meets a predetermined condition, advance the stopping of the operation of the drive system (64). 6. The device (1) according to claim 5, further comprising an indicator configured to indicate to a user that an operation of the device (1) is terminated. 7. The device (1) according to claim 2, wherein the drive system (64) is coupled to one end of the rotation shaft (32) by means of a connector (62), a resistance of the connector (62) it is configured in such a way that the connector (62) breaks when the load of the drive system (64) is greater than a second predetermined load value to protect the drive system (64) and / or the shaft (32) of rotation. The device (1) according to claim 2, wherein a front end of a lower part of the working chamber (31) is smaller than its rear end. The device (1) according to claim 2, further comprising a container (12) under the working chamber (31), which is configured to receive punches (33) that are not in use. The device (1) according to claim 2, further comprising a detachable front panel (152) mounted on the device (1) by at least one connector (151), wherein the at least one connector (151) is configured to separate the front panel (152) from the device (1) without withdrawing from the front panel (152). 11. The device (1) according to claim 2, further comprising an interface through which a user can reprogram the device (1). 12. The device (1) according to claim 2, further comprising an interface through which a user can adjust or change the way in which the extrusion is frequently separated by an inverse rotation of the shaft (32) of rotation 13. The device (1) according to claim 2, further comprising an interface through which a user can adjust or change the time it will take for each inverse rotation of the rotation axis (32).