Patent GB-1253863-A (GB)
Title: Torroid forming machine
Inventor: THOMPSON MEYER
IPC: A21C11/00
Filed: 1969-01-01
Abstract: 1,253,863. Moulding dough toroids. THOMPSON BAGEL MACHINE MFG CORP. 1 Jan., 1969, No. 156/69. Heading B5A. Machine operation.-Dough pieces 41 are fed along a conveyer 51 and intermittently rolled, in a forming zone 80, into a uniform flat strip by rollers 81, and 85, 86 at either end of a guide plate 90; transverse strips 43, which are successively cut from the dough strip in a cutting zone 100 by an intermittently reciprocated blade 101, fall into an intermittently arcuately reciprocated carrier 130, wherein they are retained by a stationary curved guide 146, whereby they are delivered to a second forming zone 150 wherein they are received in forming assemblies 160 carried by a continuously moving endless chain 152. The assemblies 160 each comprise side plates 170, 171 which are inwardly pivoted by stationary guide rails 178, 179 whereby, in combination with an element 182 which is arcuately reciprocated into engagement with successive dough pieces, the strips 43 are deformed into a semicircular configuration (44), Fig. 14 (not shown), which is then formed to a toroid as the side plates 170, 171 enclose the dough strip around and move it along a stationary mandrel (200), Fig. 12 (not shown), provided with a tapering initial portion 201. The mandrel (200) is provided with a curved vane (207) on an upper portion thereof, whereby one of the overlapping ends of the dough toroid is urged into engagement with the other to form an integral mass. The side plates 170, 171 are opened by stationary guides (210, 211), Fig. 17 (not shown), on the return run of the chain 151, whereby the dough toroids (47) are deposited on a conveyer 221. Operating mechanisms.-The intermittently actuated parts of the apparatus are synchronously operated from cam means on a shaft 21, driven from a continuously rotating shaft 36 carrying the endless chain 151. The dough rollers 85 and 86 are inter-connected by gearing and are intermittently driven, Fig. 3 (not shown), by a ratchet (67) and pawl (74) drive to a shaft 63, via a cam (24) actuated bell-crank lever arrangement (68, 76), the conveyer 51 being driven by a chain-and-sprocket drive from shaft 63 to shaft 53, and the roller 81 being geared to shaft 53. The dough is retained on roller 86 by a small guide roller 91, geared to shaft 63, and a strip 43 is cut therefrom against the roller 86 by blade 101 when the rollers in the forming zone 80 are stationary. The blade 101 comprises part of a cutting assembly arcuately displaceable about pivots, e.g. 104, by the action of cam 25 on a roller 108. Sticking of dough piece 43 to the blade 101 or roller 86 is prevented by a separator blade 121 which is pivotally attached to the cutting assembly by a shaft 122 whereby it moves in contact with blade 101 during the cutting action thereof and is then downwardly pivoted away therefrom by the action of a cam roller 126, carried by cam 25, against a separator blade cam roller 126. The carrier 130 which comprises a plurality of fingers 132 is pivotable about a shaft 135, and is urged upwardly by the action of a cam 27 on a follower 42 to collect the dough piece 43 which is then delivered to the second forming zone 150 as the carrier 130 is urged downwardly by a counterweight 141. The element 182 is arcuately reciprocated on a shaft 183 into engagement with a dough piece 43 carried by an assembly 160, by the engagement of a cam 26 against a follower 197 on a lever 194 connected by a link 191 and lever 188 to a counterweighted shaft 183.