Dough cutting apparatus

Dough cutting apparatus including a plurality of spaced apart blades the lower edges of which are uniformly curved from one end of said blades to the other and a plurality of intersecting spaced apart blades the lower edges of which are straight. The blades cooperate to form multiple uniformly sized cavities therebetween. A handle is attached to the blades for engagement by the user of the apparatus for rocking the apparatus along the lower edges of the curved blades to separate a layer of dough into separate multiple dough products.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
 1. Field of the Invention
 The present invention pertains to dough cutting apparatus. More
 specifically, the present invention pertains to improved dough cutting
 apparatus for manually cutting, in one step operation, multiple products
 of yeast dough.
 2. Description of the Prior Art
 In the typical procedure for baking of dough products the dough ingredients
 are mixed, kneaded, dusted with flour and then rolled out on a work table
 to a thickness of between 1/2" and 3/4". Each dough product is then
 individually cut and placed on a greased sheet pan. The remaining dough
 scraps are gathered and reworked, using more flour, lessening the desired
 moisture content and altering the texture and quality of the baked
 product. Several pans of products may be baked, sometimes requiring three
 or more dough scrap reworkings to utilize all the dough. Each reworking of
 the dough increases the product making and baking time. As can be easily
 understood, this process is very cumbersome, labor intensive and time
 consuming and frequently does not provide a uniform quality product.
 Many breakfast type restaurants, motels, hotels, cafeterias, schools,
 colleges, military installations, prisons, etc. may bake and serve
 thousands of individual baked products a day. Most are still cutting dough
 the old fashioned way with hand held individual unit cutters. Certainly
 improvements are needed.
 SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT INVENTION
 The present invention provides manual dough cutting apparatus for cutting a
 layer of dough into multiple uniformly sized separate dough products in a
 one step operation for immediate baking and without leftover cuttings or
 scraps. The apparatus comprises multiple uniform size cavities formed by a
 plurality of longitudinally disposed spaced apart blades and transversely
 disposed spaced apart blades. The lower edges of all the blades taper
 upwardly from a fine edge to a width sufficient to displace and separate a
 layer of dough into separate dough products. Lower edges of the
 longitudinally disposed blades are uniformly curved from one end to the
 other as the rockers on a rocking chair. The lower edges of the
 transversely disposed blades are straight and even with adjacent lower
 edges of the longitudinally disposed blades. A handle may be attached to
 the upper part of the apparatus for engagement by the user, when the
 apparatus is placed on a layer of dough, for rocking the apparatus on the
 curved lower edges of the longitudinally disposed blades to separate the
 layer of dough into separate uniformly sized products corresponding with
 the multiple cavities formed by the blades.
 With the dough cutter of the present apparatus, the dough ingredients are
 mixed, kneaded, dusted with flour and rolled out. The dough goes
 immediately into a baking pan. This eliminates rolling out on a work
 table. Then the dough is cut in one step by rocking the improved dough
 cutter of the present invention directly on the dough layer in the baking
 pan. This eliminates labor intensive individual cutting. There are no
 dough scraps to be reworked, eliminating waste and preserving quality of
 the product. The baking pan is then placed in the oven. At the end of the
 baking time the product is separated into individual uniformly sized
 product of uniform quality. Other objects and advantages of the invention
 will be seen in the description which follows in conjunction with the
 accompanying drawings.

DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION
 Referring to all of the drawings, the dough cutting apparatus A of the
 present invention comprises a plurality, three in the exemplary
 embodiment, of longitudinally disposed spaced apart blades 1, 2, 3 having
 upper and lower edges. The lower edges of the blades 1, 2 and 3 are
 uniformly curved from one end to the other resembling the rocker of a
 rocking chair as best seen in FIG.'s 1, 3 and 4.
 There are also a plurality, five in the exemplary embodiment, of
 transversely disposed spaced apart blades 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 having upper and
 lower edges. The lower edges of the transverse blades 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8
 are straight and even with adjacent lower edges of the longitudinally
 disposed blades 1, 2 and 3. The longitudinal and transversely disposed
 blades 1-8 cooperate to form multiple uniformly sized cavities,
 twenty-four in the exemplary embodiment, therebetween. The lower edges of
 all the blades 1-8 taper upwardly from a fine edge to a width sufficient
 to displace and separate a layer of dough into separate dough products.
 It will be noted that although the lower edges of the longitudinal blades
 1, 2 and 3 are curved, and the lower edges of the transverse blades 4-8
 are straight but at different elevations, the upper edges of all the
 blades 1-8 lie in a single plane. Although it is not required, a
 rectangular frame 16 may be provided around the periphery of the apparatus
 A for attachment to the ends of both the longitudinal and transverse
 blades 1-3 and 4-8, respectively. Handles 17 and 18 are attached on the
 upper side of the apparatus A for engagement by the hands 19 and 20 of the
 user. The apparatus can be formed of any number of suitable materials
 metal, plastic, etc.
 For completing a description of the cutting apparatus A of the present
 invention, reference is specifically made to the baking pan 10 in FIG. 1.
 As illustrated the baking pan 10 is a 1/2sheet pan having surrounding
 sides 11, 12, 13 and 14. A layer of dough 15 is shown placed in the pan
 10.
 Once the dough is kneaded and preworked it is placed in a teflon coated or
 non-stick pan such as the dough 15 in pan 10 of FIG. 1. The handles 17 and
 18 are grasped by the hands 19 and 20 of the user and pressed into the pan
 of dough. The apparatus A is rocked once or twice along the curved lower
 edges of the blades 1, 2 and 3 and removed. The longitudinal blades 1-3,
 the transverse blades 4-8 and the sides 11-14 of the pan 10 all cooperate
 to form multiple (twenty-four in the exemplary embodiment) dough products
 ready to place in the oven. There are no leftover scraps. When the dough
 is finished baking, the biscuits or other baked items are removed from the
 pan for individual presentation of uniform size and quality.
 Thus, the improved dough cutting apparatus of the present invention
 provides a dough cutter which eliminates rolling the dough on a work
 table, eliminates labor intensive individual cutting, eliminates waste and
 preserves quality. It is especially suitable for restaurants, cafeterias
 and large institutions which serve numerous baked products every day.
 A single embodiment of the invention has been described herein. However,
 many variations may be made by those skilled in the art without departing
 from the spirit of the invention. For example, the blades may be
 positioned so that the products formed will be square, rectangular,
 diamond shaped, triangular, circular or many other shapes. Accordingly, it
 is intended that the scope of the invention be limited only by the claims
 which follow.