Abstract:
An assembly line technique is described in which food items with a sticky deposited layer of smear prior to baking can be cut and segregated into small pieces. In an embodiment of the invention, an ultrasonically driven knife is used to cut strips of dough having sticky smear deposited on top into square portions. An ultrasonic knife prevents the smear from sticking to the knife blade resulting in clean cut edges of the food pieces and efficient mass production. The food pieces are deposited randomly into a serving container in such a way as to minimize contact between the sticky smear surfaces of the food pieces. This results in a “pull-apart” food product that can be rapidly microwave heated without drying or overheating the areas of the overall food product.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION  
       [0001]     The present patent application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/763,857, filed Jan. 31, 2006, and entitled “Assembly Line Technique for Pull-Apart Food Production,” the entire disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein. 
     
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002]     1. Field of Invention  
         [0003]     The present invention relates generally to the field of food production and more specifically, to an assembly line technique for the cutting and segregation of sticky food.  
         [0004]     2. Description of Related Art  
         [0005]     There are many food items on the market which have inherent bulk stickiness or a sticky coating or layer. Food items with inherent bulk stickiness include, but are not restricted to, cheeses, cheesecakes, pies, and brownies. Food items with sticky coatings or layers include, but are not restricted to, cakes, cookies, donuts, and cinnamon rolls. Many of these food items are sold to the consumer in whole form requiring that the consumer cut and segregate individual servings of the food with a kitchen utensil such as a knife. Nowadays, these food items tend to be pre-sliced before they reach the customer.  
         [0006]     In the case of a food item having a sticky component, the bakery or supplier typically utilizes a knife dipped in hot water or a wire under tension to cut, i.e., slice, whole food items into separate portions for individual consumption. The use of a thin narrow bladed knife or wire under tension is advantageous because a reduction in the contact area between the knife and the sticky material provides a relatively cleaner cut than in the case of a thicker, broader knife blade. Nevertheless, if the same knife or tensioned wire utensil is used repeatedly to cut or slice multiple same or similar food items, the sticky component of the food item accumulates on the utensil over time, thereby requiring the utensil to be cleaned in order to facilitate continued usage. Repeated cleaning of the utensil presents a problem in bakeries or food preparation settings where high output and/or high efficiency food production is desired.  
         [0007]     In an attempt to circumvent such a problem, bakeries sandwich a sticky layer or component between two relative non-sticky layers such as dough. For example, a cinnamon roll is essentially a sticky cinnamon paste sandwiched between dough, which is then rolled over onto itself. When slicing a cinnamon roll, the cutting utensil enters and leaves the roll touching dough and not the cinnamon paste. The dough on the outside of the roll helps prevent the sticky paste inside from adhering to the cutting utensil, thereby increasing production efficiency. However, such a benefit is usually gained by sacrificing convenience when baking or reheating the end food product. For example, cinnamon rolls are not microwave friendly as the roll and the filling typically heat at very different rates resulting in an undesirable product for consumption.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0008]     The present invention overcomes these and other deficiencies of the prior art by providing an automated assembly line technique that efficiently cuts and segregates, for example, dough having a sticky food substance on the top or outside. The cut and segregated pieces of dough with a sticky layer on top are assembled into a container as a “pull-apart” food item. The pull-apart food item may then be microwave heated relatively quickly and thoroughly without the areas of the item becoming dry or overheated.  
         [0009]     In an embodiment of the invention, a food production assembly line system comprises: a divider for separating a food sheet into multiple longitudinal strips, and a non-stick cutter for cutting said multiple longitudinal strips into individual pieces, wherein said non-stick cutter cuts said multiple longitudinal strips substantially perpendicular to a longitudinal axis of said multiple longitudinal strips. A hopper may be included for applying a smear to a surface of said multiple longitudinal strips. The food sheet may be dough. The non-stick cutter may be an ultrasonic knife. The individual pieces with smear may be rectangular shaped. The assembly line system may further include a means for arranging a number of said individual pieces into a serving container such that contact between sticky smear on the top surfaces of said pieces is randomized.  
         [0010]     In another embodiment of the invention, a food item assembly method comprises the steps of: separating a sheet of dough into multiple strips, applying a smear to a surface of said multiple strips, and cutting said multiple strips with applied smear into individual pieces. The method may further comprise the step of accumulating a number of said individual pieces into a container, wherein said step of accumulation is randomly performed such that contact between the smear surfaces of said individual pieces is minimized.  
         [0011]     In yet another embodiment of the invention, a pull-apart food item comprises: multiple individual pieces of dough, and smear applied to a surface of each of said multiple individual pieces of dough. The multiple individual pieces of dough with applied smear are randomly arranged to minimize contact between smear surfaces and are pre-baked and frozen.  
         [0012]     In yet another embodiment of the invention, a method for serving a pull-apart food item comprises the steps of: receiving a pull-apart food item, wherein said pull-apart food item comprises multiple individual pieces of dough and smear applied to a surface of each of said multiple individual pieces of dough, and heating said pull-apart food item to a serving temperature. The pull-apart food item is contained within a microwaveable serving cup.  
         [0013]     An advantage of the present invention is realized in the use of an ultrasonic guillotine knife blade which prevents the unbaked dough pieces with added sticky layer from sticking to the knife resulting in clean cut ends of the pieces without an affinity for self adhesion until a second faster running conveyor belt can segregate the items. The technique is particularly advantageous when cutting and segregating small pieces.  
         [0014]     An advantage also results from the random placement of small pieces into a container prior to baking. Random placement ensures that the majority of the small pieces will not touch one another fully at their sticky interfaces. The result after baking and reheating is the removal of the food from the container almost assuredly as individual small pieces for eating and not a large cluster of pieces stuck together.  
         [0015]     The foregoing, and other features and advantages of the invention, will be apparent from the following, more particular description of the preferred embodiments of the invention, the accompanying figures, and the claims. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES  
       [0016]     For a more complete understanding of the present invention, the objects and advantages thereof, reference is now made to the ensuing descriptions taken in connection with the accompanying figures briefly described as follows:  
         [0017]      FIG. 1  illustrates an assembly line system for preparing a pull-apart food item according to an embodiment of the invention;  
         [0018]      FIG. 2  illustrates pull-apart food items in a heatable serving cup resulting from the assembly line system according to an embodiment of the invention;  
         [0019]      FIG. 3  illustrates an automated system for randomly placing the food pieces in a heatable cup;  
         [0020]      FIG. 4  illustrates an alternative strip cutting system as implemented for the assembly production of small pieces of food having a bulk stickiness. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS  
       [0021]     Embodiments of the present invention and their advantages may be understood by referring to  FIGS. 1-4 , wherein like reference numerals refer to like elements and are described in the context of preparing a “pull-apart” food item. Nonetheless, the improvements described herein are applicable to the preparation of any type of food item having a component which tends to stick or accumulate on conventional cutting, segregating, or slicing utensils.  
         [0022]     The present invention is particularly well suited for preparing a pull-apart food item. A “Pull-apart” food as used herein refers to a food item comprising a number of individual food pieces that although presented together as a whole may be easily separated from one another, i.e., pulled apart by hand or by a utensil such a fork after heating. For example, a pull-apart food may comprise a number of dough pieces covered with a cinnamon paste or smear on one side, e.g., the top surface, thereby forming a “cinnamon pull apart.” By only applying the cinnamon smear to the top surface of each piece, the overall food product can be pre-baked, frozen, and then re-heated again more evenly in a microwave oven.  
         [0023]      FIG. 1  illustrates an assembly line  100  for preparing a pull-apart food item according to an embodiment of the invention. The assembly line  100  comprises: conveyor belts  102  and  112 , a strip cutting system  103 , a hopper  105 , a plurality of dispensing tubes  107 , an ultrasonic knife  108 , and an ultrasonic transducer  111 . In operation, a slab of dough  101  is moved on the conveyor belt  102 , which is shown as moving clockwise in the figure. The strip cutting system  103  comprises multiple knives, preferably circular in shape in order to roll and cut the slab of dough  101  along the conveyor  102  into multiple parallel longitudinal strips  104  with enough space  113  between adjacent dough strips  104  to maintain separation once cut and moved past the knives  103 . In an exemplary embodiment of the invention, the dough is cut into twelve strips  104  (although only nine are shown) of equal width by eleven knives  103  appropriately spaced apart.  
         [0024]     Once past the strip cutting system  103  the strips pass under a hopper  105  containing a smear  106 , which generally is sticky in nature, such as a cinnamon smear. The flow controlled dispensing tubes  107  attached to the bottom portion of the hopper  105  deposit the smear  106  on the top surface of each dough strip  104 . The flow of the smear  106  and the linear speed of the conveyor  102  are maintained at predetermined values, the determination of which is apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art, to assure an evenly dispensed amount of the smear  106  on the top of each strip by the time the strips  104  arrive at the ultrasonic knife  108 . The ultrasonic knife  108  is moved up and down, as indicated by the double headed arrows  109 . The up and down cycle of the knife  108  is chosen such that a desired length of the resulting pieces of dough with their top sticky material  110  results. In an exemplary embodiment, the resulting pieces  110  are approximately one inch in length, one inch wide, and one inch thick.  
         [0025]     The use of an ultrasonic knife alleviates the problem of the sticky smear  106  sticking to and accumulating on the blade of knife  108 . Without the top laden sticky material on each strip the normal cutting action of the knife blade by itself would be sufficient to isolate each end portion of the pieces as properly floured dough generally does not stick to a metal knife blade. Likewise, if the smear  106  was not sticky it would not likely accumulate on the knife  108  when placed on top of the strips  104 . However, because of the presence of a sticky smear  106  on top of the strips  104 , repeated clean cuts of the pieces are foiled by eventual deposits of the sticky smear on the surface of the knife blade. This problem is alleviated by the incorporation of the ultrasonic transducer  111  attached to the blade of the knife  108 . The ultrasonic vibration of the knife  108  effectively prevents the deposit of the sticky smear  106  on the knife, thereby resulting in clean straight end cuts as well as the elimination of any need to stop the assembly line  100  and clean the knife  108 . Thus, fast and efficient production of the pull-apart constituents  110  is achieved. The use of the ultrasonic knife  108  also eliminates the existence of stringy filaments of sticky material between the food pieces and the knife and between the food pieces themselves.  
         [0026]     In order to effect longitudinal separation between the cut pieces  110 , the knife  108  is placed over a second conveyor belt  112  butted end-to-end with the first conveyor belt  102  according to an embodiment of the invention. The conveyor belt  112  is operated at a linear speed faster than that of the conveyor belt  102  resulting in a pulling apart of the pieces assuring no possible end-to-end self adhesion of neighboring food pieces  110 . For example, the conveyor belt  112  may operate at a speed which is  20 % faster than the speed of the conveyor belt  102 .  
         [0027]     The cut food pieces  110  resulting from the described assembly line  100  are either manually and/or automatically placed into containers.  FIG. 2  illustrates a container configuration  200  according to an embodiment of the invention. Particularly, the container configuration  200  comprises an individual serving cup  201  with a number of randomly placed pull-apart food items  110 , each comprising dough  101  with a topside smear  106  resulting from the assembly line system  100 .  
         [0028]     The manual placement of the pieces  110  into the cup  201  involves the use of one or more persons removing the pieces  110  from the conveyor belt  112  and randomly placing them into the cup  201 . In an exemplary embodiment of the invention, twelve pieces  110  are randomly placed into a cup to minimize contact between the sticky smear surfaces  106  of the pieces  110 . It has been unexpectedly found through experiment that randomly minimized contact between the sticky smear surfaces  106  results in more efficient microwave heating of the overall food item.  
         [0029]      FIG. 3  illustrates an automated system  300  for randomly placing the food pieces in the cup  201  according to an embodiment of the invention.  FIG. 3   a  illustrates a cross sectional side view of this system and  FIG. 3   b  illustrates a top down view of the same system. The automated system  300  comprises a conveyor  301  wherein multiple cups  201  are placed and moved along such. Referring to  FIG. 3   a , one linear row of pull apart food pieces  110  are shown conveyed along on the conveyor  112 . In reality there are more rows as shown in  FIG. 3   b , where twelve rows are shown for an exemplary case. The pieces  110  are allowed to fall under gravity off the conveyor  112  at its terminus and tumble randomly into the containers  201 . Containers  201  are transported left to right by the conveyer  301  below conveyor  112  and the containers  201  are moved at a linear speed such that the food pieces fall into it from the right to left position thereby distributing stacked food pieces  110  over the inside volume of the container  201 . One cut-away container  201  is shown in the process of being filled, but in reality a row of containers  201  perpendicular to the plane of the figure are simultaneously being filled as shown in the top down view of  FIG. 3   b . In the example shown, each container  201  in a row can except up to  3  rows of food pieces  110  at a time and in this exemplary configuration be made to accept twelve pieces of randomly placed food items  110  in each container  201 .  FIG. 3   a  also shows that empty containers  201  are placed in a row along the conveyor belt  301 . The filled containers  201  are either removed manually from the conveyor  301  or by automatic means such as, but not limited to a robotic arm.  
         [0030]     In another embodiment, the automation may be accomplished through the use of a “pick and place” method. In this embodiment a replaceable pick much like a toothpick is mounted onto a robotic arm. The pick is stuck into the food piece  110 , the food piece  110  then moved over the container  201 , shaken loose, and allowed to randomly fall into the container. An electromechanical actuator or a similar system connected to the robotic arm causes this shaking action. Several robotic arms with such picks in place can be used to load several containers  201  simultaneously.  
         [0031]     In an embodiment of the invention, the dough is prepared from a commercially available dough mix, cinnamon roll mix, or the like.  
         [0032]     In an embodiment of the invention, the smear is prepared from a commercially available smear mix such as a cinnamon smear. One of ordinary skill in the art recognizes that a cinnamon smear is exemplary only. Other exemplary smears include, but are not limited to chocolate, grape, strawberry, orange, sugar, cream cheese, or even a combination thereof. In an alternative embodiment of the invention, a topping could be substituted for the smear. The topping may comprise one or more layers such as cheese, pepperoni, etc. as for the case of bite size pizza pieces.  
         [0033]     In another embodiment of the invention, the container configuration  200  with pull-apart food items  110  contained therein is baked and then cooled in a blast freezer, and then shipped to a food establishment or restaurant. The food establishment or restaurant reheats the pull-apart food item to a serving temperature, preferably using a microwave oven. Experimental results have shown that 12 pieces  110  within an individual serving cup  201  can be reheated to an adequate serving temperature within 14 seconds for an approximately 1000 Watt microwave oven.  
         [0034]     In an embodiment of the invention, baking occurs for ten to fourteen minutes in an oven heated to 325-375 degrees Fahrenheit. Icing may be applied after baking and before blast freezing.  
         [0035]      FIG. 4  illustrates an alternative strip cutting system  400  as implemented for the assembly production of small pieces of food having bulk stickiness. For food with bulk stickiness the sticking of the food to the strip cutting system blades becomes an added problem to the assembly production to that described for the food with a sticky film. To alleviate this problem the strip cutting system  103  is outfitted with ultrasonic transducers  401  in a similar fashion to the previously described guillotine knife. In the case of the strip cutting system  103 , the ultrasonic transducers  401  would be attached to system support members  402  at the ends and in between the blades if needed. The ultrasonically driven strip cutting system would also assist in the cutting of bulk sticky food in which the inherent surface tension of the uncooked dough is inoperative and a space  113  between strips  104  still needs to be enacted.  
         [0036]     The size of the food pieces resulting from any of the embodiments described include, but are not limited to, small bite size pieces, sizes in proportion to the eating habits of individual humans, and any number of larger dimensions.  
         [0037]     The present embodiments do not preclude the described method from being used in any situation in which there is the need for cutting and segregating pieces of bulk sticky materials or materials with a sticky layer. The use of such materials includes, but is not limited to, home appliance, automotive, and marine applications.  
         [0038]     It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made in the present invention without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention. Thus, it is intended that the present invention covers the modifications and variations of this invention provided they come within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalence.