The present invention relates to apparatus and methods for feeding dough onto an assembly line. More specifically, the present invention relates to systems and methods for feeding lengths of dough cut from a dough ribbon onto an assembly line for making egg rolls or other food products.
It is known in the art to provide systems and methods for feeding dough onto an assembly line for making egg rolls. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,912,433 (the “Ma '433 Patent”) discloses an egg roll making machine that includes a dough feeding device for cutting portions of dough from a roll thereof. The egg roll making machine of the Ma '433 Patent includes a roll of dough dispensed onto a specially-configured plate by a plurality of rollers, and a knife device is provided to cut the dough in a plurality of directions to form irregularly-shaped portions of dough. What are needed in the art, however, are improved dough feeding systems and methods that provide enhanced cutting mechanisms and/or synchronized dispensing.
The present invention overcomes the disadvantages and shortcomings of the prior art by providing a dough feeding system comprising a cutting subsystem, and, in some embodiments, an alignment subsystem. In some aspects, the cutting subsystem can provide for synchronized dispensing.
The cutting subsystem can receive a continuous ribbon of dough and cut the dough ribbon into desired lengths of dough, which can be further processed by an assembly line, such as a food processing line for making egg rolls. The cutting subsystem preferably includes a frame, a motor, a drive roller driven by the motor, a plurality of idle rollers biased against the drive roller, and a knife blade driven by a pneumatic solenoid-actuated cylinder, for example. In some aspects, the idle rollers retain the dough against the drive roller, which moves the dough through the compact frame, and the knife blade is preferably mounted to the frame parallel with the drive roller when the knife blade is idle. An electronic controller times actuation of the knife blade with rotation of the drive roller, such that the knife blade preferably cuts the dough transversely against the drive roller at a time when rotation of the roller has been momentarily stopped. The cut length of dough falls from the drive roller of the cutting subsystem onto a flat-belt. In some aspects, it is contemplated that the flat-belt will drop the cut lengths of dough onto a receiving device at an end distal the cutting subsystem for further processing.
In some embodiments of the invention, the receiving device comprises a conveyor having a plurality of folding platforms, each having articulable components. The folding platforms and conveyor therefore can be similar to those described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,912,035 and/or 7,487,718, for example, with each folding platform having a plurality of “movable parts” for folding dough received by the folding platform. The flat-belt can have a first velocity and the conveyor can have a second velocity about the same as the first velocity, while the cutting subsystem at the drive roller can have a (third) velocity greater than the first and second velocities. At least one proximity sensor is provided in electrical communication with the electronic controller for sensing the presence of a folding platform proximal a dough-receiving area at an end of the flat-belt. In this regard, the electronic controller can time-release a cut length of dough onto the flat-belt, which safely receives the cut length onto its flat surface, and which maintains the integrity of the cut dough while passing same to the folding platform of the conveyor.
In some aspects, the continuous ribbon of dough can be aligned with and fed into the cutting subsystem by any suitable means known in the art.
In some aspects, embodiments of the present invention can provide for an alignment subsystem to be provided alone and/or in combination with another structure. For example, an alignment subsystem of the present invention can be provided to align the dough ribbon for feeding into the cutting subsystem disclosed herein. The alignment subsystem can be provided with a movable platform, a plurality of sensors, and a second electronic controller (and/or the same controller as that described for the cutting subsystem). The continuous dough ribbon lies atop the movable platform and, during set-up, for example, an end of the dough ribbon can be manually or otherwise fed into the cutting subsystem in straight alignment therewith onto the drive roller. One of the plurality of sensors is positioned on either side of the dough ribbon at a position prior to that point at which the ribbon enters the cutting subsystem. As the cutting subsystem pulls the dough therethrough, the sensors identify whether the ribbon has drifted from a center position and by how much. The sensors are in electrical communication with the second controller, for example, and, if the ribbon moves out of alignment, the second controller sends an electrical signal to the movable platform, triggering the movable platform to move transversely to the left or right to align the ribbon.
Additional features, functions and benefits of the disclosed dough feeding system will be apparent from the detailed description which follows, particularly when read in conjunction with the accompanying figures.
For a more complete understanding of the present invention, reference is made to the following detailed description of exemplary embodiment(s) considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:
Referring to
Referring to
A plurality of mounts 24a-c are provided for releasably securing the frame 20 off to the side of the flat-belt 18 at the support assembly therefor. For example, the mount 24c can be secured to the frame members 22a, 22b, and 22d. Continuing with the example, the mounts 24a and 24b can extend downwardly from right and left sides of the mount 24c, respectively for being releasably secured off to the sides of the flat-belt 18 of the assembly line at the support assembly for the flat-belt 18. Mount 24b, which is directly “behind” mount 24a (and flat-belt 18) can be identical to mount 24a and provided as a mirror image thereof, so as to secure the frame 20 off to both sides of the flat-belt 18 at the support assembly therefor allowing dough 16b to drop from the cutting subsystem 12 onto the flat-belt 18.
It is contemplated that, in some embodiments of the invention, a receiving device can be positioned below an end of the flat-belt 18 distal the cutting subsystem 12 for receiving a cut dough length 16b for further processing. Such receiving device can be any device. As discussed below with reference to
Continuing with reference to
It is contemplated that the idle rollers 28a-d can be provided as motive elements with or without an independent driving force, though such is not required.
The drive roller 26 is provided with a shaft, which is referenced herein as a roller shaft 32, and which extends through the frame member 22a and out of a side thereof distal the frame member 22b. A servomotor 34 is mounted to the frame 20 and provided with a drive shaft 36. The servomotor 34 can be positioned atop the frame members 22a, 22b with additional frame members provided for structural reinforcement, vibration reduction, etc. The roller shaft 32 and the drive shaft 36 are provided with first and second pulleys 38a, 38b, respectively, along a common plane, and a timing belt 40 engages the pulleys 38a, 38b. In this regard, operation of the servomotor 34 drives the drive roller 26. Although a servomotor 34 is preferable, it is understood that additional and/or alternative driving means can be provided, such as a step motor, for example.
The servomotor 34 and/or other drive means is provided with electrical communication lines 42 for communications between the servomotor 34 and a first electronic controller (not shown in
A knife blade assembly 44 includes a cutting element, such as a knife blade 58, and is provided for cutting the dough ribbon 16a into dough lengths 16b. As shown, the knife blade assembly 44 is secured to the frame 20, extends parallel with the drive roller 26, and is positioned about the drive roller 26 between the idle roller 28c and the idle roller 28d. In this regard, the dough ribbon 16a engages the idle rollers 26a-c and is cut by the knife blade assembly 44 into dough lengths 16b, which engage the idle roller 26d. The knife blade assembly 44 is preferably positioned along a cutting plane CP, which extends radially from the central longitudinal axis of the drive roller 26, and, along the cutting plane CP, the knife blade 58 cuts the dough ribbon 16a transversely against the curved surface of the drive roller 26.
Referring to
Continuing with reference to
The first electronic controller is thus in electrical communication with both the servomotor 34 and the solenoid valve 64 for synchronous control thereof. The first electronic controller is provided with hardwired and/or software-based logic for controlling actuation of the servomotor 34 (and hence the drive roller 26) and actuation of the solenoid valve 64 (and hence the knife blade 58). In preferred embodiments, the first electronic controller is programmable with at least two states including a first state and a second state. In the first state of the electronic controller, the servomotor 34 is engaged to drive rotation of the drive roller 26 (hence moving the dough ribbon 16a) and the solenoid valve 64 is disengaged to pressurize the piston 46 to extend the movable end 50 of the piston 46 (hence distancing the knife blade 58 from the drive roller 26). In the second state of the electronic controller, the servomotor 34 is disengaged to cease rotation of the drive roller 26 (hence ceasing motion of the dough ribbon 16a) and the solenoid valve 64 is actuated to pressure the piston 46 to distend the movable end 50 of the piston 46 (hence forcing the knife blade 58 against the still drive roller 26 to cut a dough length 16b from the dough ribbon 16a).
It is contemplated that the first electronic controller can be configured to alternate between the first and second states thereof at predetermined and/or user-specified intervals of time, for example. In this regard, a dough ribbon 16a, having been fed into the cutting subsystem 12 between the drive roller 26 and the idle roller 28a, is pulled through the cavity between the frame members 22a, 22b and cut into dough lengths 16b which fall onto the flat-belt 18 of the assembly line. The first electronic controller is preferably configured to control parameters of the servomotor 34 (and/or other means), and can control velocity of the servomotor 34 and/or other drive means at predetermined and/or user-specified velocities and times. It is contemplated that the first electronic controller can be mounted to the frame member 22b and/or another suitable element of the frame 20, for example. The cut dough 16b travels along the flat-belt 18 for further processing, such as for further processing to become egg rolls. For example, the dough 16b can be filled, rolled, and/or further cut, and fried and frozen.
Referring to
The at least one proximity sensor S is secured at any suitable location for targeting the dough-receiving area DRA. The sensor S is configured to sense the presence of the folding platform P at the dough-receiving area DRA, and the first electronic controller alternates between the first and second states thereof in synchronization with signals from the sensor S and in accordance with known parameters such as the spacing between the dough lengths 16b, the time between cuts, the radial or linear displacement between cuts, the velocity of the roller 26, the velocity of the flat-belt 18, the length of the flat-belt 18, the speed or frequency at which the machine platform P alternates between being present and absent at the dough-receiving area DRA, and/or other known parameters.
In preferred embodiments, the flat-belt 18 is synchronized with the conveyor 19, and, with the aid of the sensor S, the first electronic controller is directly synchronized with the conveyor 19 and hence indirectly synchronized with the flat-belt 18. When a folding platform P is sensed, the first electronic controller initiates a first state thereof in which the roller 26 is driven to advance the hanging dough length 16b3 from the idle roller 28d towards the flat-belt 18 and advance the dough ribbon 16a across the cutting plane CP, and the flat-belt 18 advances the dough length 16b1 to the dough-receiving area DRA at a folding platform P of the conveyor 19. After a predetermined or programmed time, for example, the first electronic controller transiently initiates a second state thereof, in which the drive roller 26 momentarily stops to allow for cutting by the knife blade 58, while holding the next cut length at the idle roller 28d, thereby spacing out the cut lengths on the flat-belt 18 in coordination with the spacing of platforms on the conveyor 19.
As stated above, the dough ribbon 16a can be aligned into the cutting subsystem 12 by any suitable means known in the art. For example, the dough ribbon can be positioned upon a surface, and an end of the dough ribbon can be inserted into the cutting subsystem manually. As another example, a suitable alignment device known in the art can be provided for automatically aligning the dough ribbon end into the cutting subsystem.
Referring to
It will be understood that the embodiments of the present invention described herein are merely exemplary and that a person skilled in the art may make many variations and modifications without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. All such variations and modifications, including those discussed above, are intended to be included within the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.
The present application claims the benefit under 35 U.S.C. §119(e) of U.S. Provisional App. No. 61/330,512, filed May 3, 2010, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety for all purposes.
Number | Date | Country | |
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61330512 | May 2010 | US |