Patents Assigned to Buehler AG
  • Patent number: 9074697
    Abstract: The invention relates to a valve flap (1) for producing a casting machine valve (100), in particular for installing into a casting machine for casting a flowable substance, in particular a liquid substance with suspended solid particles, such as chocolate for example, in which cocoa particles and sugar particles are typically suspended in a molten fatty substance that has cocoa butter and milk fat to a greater or lesser extent. The valve flap is designed such that a valve can be produced with at least one other valve element, said valve consisting in particular of at least two valve flaps (1) that are preferably identical.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 25, 2012
    Date of Patent: July 7, 2015
    Assignee: Buehler AG
    Inventors: Bernhard Bauer, Leo Bühler
  • Patent number: 9060534
    Abstract: The invention relates to a method for drying rice, in which, during the drying process, the grains of rice pass through surface states which have various pairs of values of temperature (T) of the surface and moisture (U) of the surface, the surface of the grains of rice remaining in a viscoelastic state during the drying process, and in which, in a diagram comprising temperature (T) of the surface of the grains of rice and moisture (U) of the surface, a) the temperature (Tv) of the surface of the grains of rice lies no more than 40° C. above the temperature (Tg) on the glass transition curve of the rice at the point of the same moisture of the surface and/or b) the moisture (Uv) of the surface of the grains of rice lies no more than 20% above the moisture on the glass transition curve of the rice at the point of the same temperature of the surface.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 26, 2010
    Date of Patent: June 23, 2015
    Assignee: Bühler AG
    Inventors: Eliana Zamprogna, Urs Keller
  • Patent number: 8991301
    Abstract: A device for steeping barley having a container for containing the barley to be steeped. The container has a floor and the floor has passageways for flowing at least one of steeping water and gases through the passageways. The device further includes a water line system under the floor directly connected to the passageways.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 1, 2005
    Date of Patent: March 31, 2015
    Assignee: Buehler AG
    Inventors: Bernardus Van Dieren, Gerardus Toonen
  • Patent number: 8974202
    Abstract: The invention relates to a device for processing an edible product in the form of a viscous to pasty mass, in particular, an edible product based on a fatty mass, such as chocolate, or based on water, such as ice cream. Said device comprises dosing units (D1, D2) for the dosed supply of a specific volume of the mass to a bearing surface. Said dosing units (D1, D2) comprise, respectively, a dosing piston (4) which is mounted in a piston chamber, whereby the dosing piston (4) moves at least in a rotational manner about the piston axis thereof (A1). A first plurality of dosing units (D1) are arranged on a first plane, and a second plurality of dosing units (D2) are arranged on a second plane. The dosing piston (4) of the dosing units (D1), which are arranged on the first plane (D1), are rotationally driven by means of a first drive element (7; 16), and the dosing piston (4) of the dosing units (D2), which are arranged on the second plane, are rotationally driven by means of a second drive element (8; 16).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 6, 2006
    Date of Patent: March 10, 2015
    Assignee: Bühler AG
    Inventors: Heinz Gasser, Günter Schenk, Michael Paul
  • Publication number: 20140299519
    Abstract: The method for fractionating bulk material comprises the step of feeding the bulk material to at least one screen in a device (1) comprising at least one housing (10) with an inner space for receiving the screen. The housing (10) has at least one inlet (13) for feeding the bulk material and at least one outlet for discharging at least one fraction of the bulk material. The housing (10) has a roof (15) and a floor (16), with at least a gyrating mass (17) respectively arranged on the roof and the floor. The device (1) also has at least one mechanical coupling means, wherein the gyrating masses are coupled to one another by the mechanical coupling means (21) arranged outside the inner space and can be driven. The device (1) has a drive means for driving the mechanical coupling means. The method also comprises the step of setting the housing (10) in an oscillating motion by means of driving the gyrating masses. In a further method step, the fractionating of the bulk material is performed by means of the screen.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 2, 2012
    Publication date: October 9, 2014
    Applicant: Bühler AG
    Inventors: Jurgen Moosmann, Bruno Fassler
  • Patent number: 8842267
    Abstract: A method for measuring particle size distributions of bulk materials such as cereals, cereal milling products, cereal products and the like, which is intended to enable the measurement of particle size distributions which vary by orders of magnitude. A sample of isolated particles is optically detected in an arrangement by at least two measurement methods. Preferably, detection of the contours of the particles and laser diffraction take place at the same time.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 11, 2010
    Date of Patent: September 23, 2014
    Assignee: Bühler AG
    Inventors: Martin Heine, Stefan Manz
  • Publication number: 20140252141
    Abstract: To produce flour and/or semolina, raw material is fed into a feed opening of a roller press. The milling gap of the roller press is fixed, or damping of at least one of the rollers with respect to the lateral deflection is set, such that a first subset of the fill containing finer milling material forms a packed particle fill in the milling gap. In addition, the setting is carried out in such a way that individual particles of a second subset of the fill containing coarser milling material are in contact with the first roller and the second roller of the roller press. Subsequently, the bulk material is milled into milled product in the roller press (9) and the milled product is discharged through a discharge opening.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 2, 2012
    Publication date: September 11, 2014
    Applicant: Bühler AG
    Inventors: Stephen Weinmann, Daniel Rickenbach, Marcos Luquin
  • Patent number: 8800897
    Abstract: Whole grain flour is produced from a cereal grain such as wheat by removing an outer layer of the grain, and also some of the endosperm. The removed outer layer comprises 5% to 40% of the original weight of the grain. The removed parts of the grain are comminuted during the removal of the outer layer. Both the grain and the comminuted removed outer layer are then conveyed into a milling device and are milled to form whole grain flour.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 14, 2011
    Date of Patent: August 12, 2014
    Assignee: Bühler AG
    Inventors: Walter Eugster, Stephen Weinmann
  • Publication number: 20140217212
    Abstract: The invention relates to a roll (1), more particularly a rotatable roll for a five-roll structure for making chocolate, having a device for controlling the temperature of the roll body by means of a temperature control medium (4). The temperature control medium (4) is sprayed against the inner wall (8) of the roll body (2) through nozzles (7) in at least one spray lance (6). The at least one temperature control medium drain is connected to a spout (9) which protrudes into the cylindrical roll body (2).
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 7, 2012
    Publication date: August 7, 2014
    Applicant: Bühler AG
    Inventors: Heinz Dornbierer, David Kehrli
  • Patent number: 8632025
    Abstract: A stream of ground particles is characterized by irradiating it with electromagnetic radiation and detecting electromagnetic radiation emitted from the irradiated particles. The detecting system includes an imaging system and a color image sensor for imaging the particles by way of the electromagnetic radiation emitted by the particles. The color image sensor has sensor image elements for spectrally selective detection of the electromagnetic radiation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 14, 2009
    Date of Patent: January 21, 2014
    Assignee: Bühler AG
    Inventors: Dario Pierri, Martin Heine, Urs Dübendorfer
  • Patent number: 8622607
    Abstract: A shearing/mixing tool (20) is one of several tools that is preferably mounted on a shaft (2). On both sides, the shaft (2) is rotatably mounted on the end walls of a horizontal drum. The tool (20) has at least one opening (25). Preferably, the shearing/mixing tools (1) are shearing/throwing blades (23) which are formed in a sickle-shaped manner at the end of stirring arms and rotate in the drum at an angle from the transverse axis of the shaft axis in such a way that the tip of the sickle or the spoon-shaped end of the blade (23) is the leading part. The shearing/throwing blade is arranged on an arm (22) made from a web plate that is bent in a Y-shaped manner.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 22, 2010
    Date of Patent: January 7, 2014
    Assignee: Bühler AG
    Inventors: Willy Bräker, Martin Hartsieker, Danijel Dolic, Peter Braum
  • Patent number: 8608099
    Abstract: A hammer mill has a lockable milling chamber and a rotor disposed in the milling chamber. The rotor has a shaft supporting plural rotor discs and plural hammer pins for receiving hammers or hammer assemblies. The hammer pins do not extend over all the segments defined by the discs.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 7, 2011
    Date of Patent: December 17, 2013
    Assignee: Bühler AG
    Inventors: Marco Tobler, Walter Hablützel
  • Patent number: 8607988
    Abstract: The invention relates to a screen for a screening machine for screening a product into two fractions. To avoid detrimental effects to the quality of the product due to damage at the screen mesh of a screen (9), the screen is provided with a metal layer, in particular in the manner of a conduction path, wherein the electrical resistance of said layer is measured and wherein changes in the resistance indicate damages.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 16, 2009
    Date of Patent: December 17, 2013
    Assignee: Bühler AG
    Inventors: Andreas Meile, Christof Kaufmann
  • Patent number: 8585393
    Abstract: An edible product is made from a castable mass such as chocolate in a casting device that includes a container for receiving the castable mass and a metering unit. The metering unit has a nozzle block having nozzles facing away from the container and a valve block facing the container. The volume of a metering chamber between the nozzle block and the valve block can be changed by moving the nozzle block relative to the valve block. The casting method comprises steps of a) filling the mass container with the castable mass; b) drawing the mass into the metering chamber by enlarging the metering chamber volume by a first relative motion between the nozzle block and the valve block, and c) discharging the mass from the metering chamber by reducing the metering chamber volume by a second relative motion between the nozzle block and valve block.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 3, 2008
    Date of Patent: November 19, 2013
    Assignee: Bühler AG
    Inventors: Boris Ouriev, Ralf Bömmels
  • Patent number: 8568130
    Abstract: The invention relates to a casting machine (1) for casting a flowable mass (M), in particular a flowable mass with suspended solid particles. Said casting machine comprises a mass container (2) for receiving the flowable mass and at least one valve (32, 42; 50; 60; 70; 80; 90; 100; 110; 120) that is fluidically connected to the inner area of the mass container. When the pressure changes in the direction of the valve along the valve passage, said valve is in the open state and in the absence of a pressure change in the direction of the valve passage, said valve is in the closed state. The casting machine also comprises pressure generating means (3, 4, 5, 6, 32, 42) for generating a change in the pressure in the direction of the valve passage.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 20, 2009
    Date of Patent: October 29, 2013
    Assignee: Bühler AG
    Inventor: Boris Ouviev
  • Patent number: 8562882
    Abstract: The invention relates to a method for the continuous production of semicrystalline polycondensate pellets. Said method comprises the following steps: producing a polycondensate material; shaping polycondensate pellets and solidifying the polycondensate melt in a liquid cooling medium, wherein the shaping of the pellets can be carried out prior to or after solidification; separating the pellets from the liquid cooling medium once the polycondensate pellets have cooled down to an average temperature that lies within the crystallization temperature range of the polycondensate; and crystallizing the pellets in a treatment chamber, the treatment gas being led in said treatment chamber in a countercurrent to the polycondensate pellets, the flow rate of the treatment gas being above the incipient fluidization point of the polycondensate pellets and the polycondensate pellets having a narrow dwell time spectrum in the treatment chamber.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 5, 2007
    Date of Patent: October 22, 2013
    Assignee: Bühler AG
    Inventors: Fernando Eusebio, Brent Allan Culbert, Andreas Christel, Peter Locker
  • Publication number: 20130256929
    Abstract: The invention relates to a method and a device for producing and treating plastic pellets. According to said method, a melt of the plastic material is granulated to give pellets, the pellets are cooled in a cooling fluid, the pellets are separated from the cooling fluid and the pellets are crystallized. The device according to the invention is characterized by comprising a control unit which monitors the crystallization step and controls the method in such a manner that, in case of a disturbance of crystallization, the pellets are supplied to an intermediate storage alter separation of the pellets from the cooling fluid and, as soon as the disturbance is removed, the pellets temporarily stored in the intermediate storage are supplied to crystallization and are crystallized.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 11, 2013
    Publication date: October 3, 2013
    Applicants: BÜHLER AG, RIETER AUTOMATIK GMBH
    Inventors: Frank Glöckner, Fernando Eusebio, Brent Allen Culbert, Franziska Morganti
  • Publication number: 20130209626
    Abstract: A device for processing roasted coffee beans, including a unit for grinding the beans, and a method for processing coffee beans, wherein the coffee beans are ground and the temperature of the coffee to be ground, at least at the start of the grinding operation, is between 30° C. and 150° C., in particular between 35° C. and 100° C., preferably between 40° C. and 90° C., and more preferably between 40° C. and 60° C. For this purpose, the device includes a thermal unit.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 25, 2011
    Publication date: August 15, 2013
    Applicant: BUEHLER AG
    Inventors: Marco Keller, Peter Braun
  • Patent number: 8502119
    Abstract: A travel drive for a traversable or rotatable device. The drive includes at least one pin wheel engaging teeth of a gear ring. This abstract is not intended to define the invention disclosed in the specification, nor intended to limit the scope of the invention in any way.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 4, 2005
    Date of Patent: August 6, 2013
    Assignee: Buehler AG
    Inventor: Kai Silbermann
  • Patent number: D735257
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 25, 2011
    Date of Patent: July 28, 2015
    Assignee: Bühler AG
    Inventors: Paolo Fancelli, Bruno Fässler, Jürgen Moosmann