Gingerbread

RFID Frequency 134.2 kHz (LF)

The times when cookies were formed by the hands of busy Christmas helpers came to an end long ago. Nowadays mass production is a reality in the baking industry.

Problem Definition
As for the Schmidt cookie manufacture in Nuernberg, containers with the cookie mixture are pushed to filling stations where the individual ingredients are added to the mixture.
It is the workers’ task to move the appropriate containers towards the individual filling stations and to measure the ingredients according to recipe. Equally, various kinds of cookies are produced in parallel cycles.
Given that individual ingredients were measured inaccurately or added several times failures do occur as particularly in the food industry recipes have to be strictly observed in order to maintain a continuous high quality standard of all products.

Solution to the Problem
An identification system based on Transponders minimizes the number of failures without completely automating the production process. Existing machinery does not have to be replaced by new equipment.
Transponder technology is an optimal appliance for the food sector as filthy conditions do not have any effect on its performance.

At the start of the production cycle the transponder fixed on the container obtains detailed information on the charge of the container. As before, the worker accompanies the container all the way through the individual production stages where the data stored on the transponder will be read via fixed transponder reader or via portable manual terminals. The data are processed by the central workstation where all reading stations and terminals are connected to. Information for the operating personnel is transmitted on a display at the filling stations providing the information required for the particular charge to make sure that always the required ingredients will be chosen.
Scales have been mounted beneath some filling devices where the container is moved to by the workers in order to obtain the specific ingredient quantities. Therefore, the control panel can automatically handle the tricky measurement of the individual ingredient quantities. As a result, wrong fillings and containers with faulty material belong to the past.