Abstract:
In a method for manufacturing a food product, a closed dough preform is formed having an arcuate portion that is at least partially hollow. The dough preform is cooked to form a comestible item having an internal chamber in the arcuate portion. The preform has an internal space that is closed off from communication with the ambient atmosphere so that the preform has no openings or holes in an external surface that communicate with the internal space or hollow interior of the preform. An apparatus for carrying out the method includes a transport mechanism moving the dough preforms from an assembly line to a heating device.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    This invention relates to an apparatus and to an associated method for preparing a finished food product. More particularly, this invention relates to an apparatus and to an associated method for cooking discrete food articles such as bagels. 
         [0002]    The tastiest parts of certain baked food products such as muffins and bagels are those that are browned owing to exposure to an oven&#39;s convection currents. In eating muffins, people frequently separate the crowns from the bodies of the muffins in order to savor the enhanced flavor of the crowns. Likewise, in eating bagels, some people characteristically remove the inner, doughy parts of the bagel and eat only the shell, either alone or with filling such as a cream cheese and scallion spread or a salmon spread. Where a bagel is used to make a sandwich type food item, the hollowing out of the bagel provides the additional advantage of reducing the amount of filling that is squeezed out from between the bagel halves when the consumer bites into the bagel. Concomitantly, a hollow bagel is able to accommodate a greater amount of filling material. 
         [0003]    A problem with the conventional manual method of removing dough from the interior of a bagel is inconvenience to the consumer. Another problem is waste that occurs when the removed interior dough is discarded rather than eaten. 
         [0004]    Although certain food products such as doughnuts are frequently made with hollow interiors, into which a cream or fruit filling may be deposited, the method by which that hollow interior is formed is not applicable to bagels. Doughnuts can be made from dough that separates during deep-frying to produce an interior chamber. Bagels are cooked by an initial boiling step and a subsequent baking step. Bagels with hollow interiors will not naturally form during the two-step cooking process. 
         [0005]    U.S. Pat. No. 5,807,599 describes a method for making a food product that utilizes an aliquot of dough disposed in a predetermined shape about a cooking member made of a material which has a chemical composition essentially impervious to cooking temperatures. The dough is cooked, e.g., boiled or baked, at a predetermined temperature for a predetermined period. The cooking member is maintained in the dough during the cooking thereof. After the cooking of the dough at the predetermined temperature for the predetermined period, the cooking member is removed from the cooked dough, thereby creating a chamber in the cooked dough. 
         [0006]    Generally, as described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,807,599, the dough is molded about the cooking member to form the predetermined dough shape about the cooking member. Alternatively, the cooking member may be inserted or pressed into a lump of the dough. 
         [0007]    According to U.S. Pat. No. 5,807,599, the cooking member is an elongate member made of a flexible material such as silicone. In that case, the elongate member may be bent to assume a desired form such as a circle. The dough generally conforms to the bent cooking member. The dough has a toroidal shape when the cooking member is bent into a circle. 
         [0008]    As disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,807,599, an end of the elongate member is left protruding from the uncooked dough form. After the dough is cooked, the elongate member is removed from the dough by grasping the protruding end of the elongate member and pulling the elongate member from the cooked dough. An edible filling may be injected or otherwise deposited into the chamber of the hollow dough cooked product after the pulling of the elongate member from the cooked dough. 
         [0009]    U.S. Pat. No. 6,165,527 describes a machine for manufacturing hollow toroidal food products such as bagels utilizing cooking members or inserts as described more generally in U.S. Pat. No. 5,807,599. While the machine U.S. Pat. No. 6,165,527 is operative, it require optimization for commercial purposes. 
       OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION 
       [0010]    An object of the present invention is to provide a method for producing a cooked food product having an internal chamber for receiving an edible composition. 
         [0011]    Another object of the present invention is to provide a machine or apparatus for cooking or baking a food product so that the food product has a hollow interior for receiving an edible composition. 
         [0012]    It is an additional object of the present invention to provide such a machine or apparatus that is suitable for producing a hollow bagel. 
         [0013]    A further object of the present invention is to provide such a machine or apparatus that produces a food product which is provided with a filling. 
         [0014]    It is a related object of the present invention to provide a method for shaping a dough preform and for cooking or baking the preform to generate a food product having a hollow interior. 
         [0015]    Another associated object of the present invention is to provide such a method that is applicable to a bagel. 
         [0016]    A supplemental object of the present invention is to provide a method of manufacturing a food product that is provided with a filling. 
         [0017]    These and other objects of the present invention will be apparent from the descriptions and illustrations herein. While it is true that each object of the invention is attained in at least one embodiment of the invention, there is not necessarily any one embodiment that achieves all of the objects. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0018]    A method for manufacturing a food product comprises, in accordance with the present invention, forming a closed dough preform having an arcuate portion that is at least partially hollow and cooking the dough preform to form a cooked comestible item having an internal chamber in the arcuate portion. The word “closed” is intended to signify that the preform has an internal space that is closed off from communication with the ambient atmosphere. Thus, the preform has no openings or holes in an external surface that communicate with the internal space or hollow interior of the preform. 
         [0019]    In a preferable utilization of the invention, the dough preform is substantially toroidal and has a circumferential extent. The preform is hollow along at least a portion of the circumferential extent. More preferably, the dough preform is hollow substantially throughout the circumferential extent. The comestible item may be a hollow bagel. 
         [0020]    Pursuant to further features of the present invention, the forming of the dough preform includes providing a flat sheet of dough, cutting the sheet into strips, rolling the strips into cylindrical configurations, sealing the cylindrical configurations along joints and ends thereof to form a plurality of elongate dough rods each being at least partially hollow, and bending the dough rods to generate the arcuate portions. Where the dough preforms are toroidal as in the case of bagel manufacture, the dough rods are bent into generally circular shapes, and opposite ends of each of the dough rods are joined to one another to form the dough preforms. 
         [0021]    Where any given dough preform has an internal space that is transformed into the chamber of the respective comestible item during the cooking of the dough preform, the method further comprises maintaining the internal space intact, i.e., in an uncollapsed configuration, prior to and during cooking of the dough preform. The maintaining of the internal space may be accomplished by injecting a gaseous composition (such as air) into the internal space of the given preform prior to the cooking thereof. The injecting of the gaseous composition may in turn be implemented by inserting a distal end portion of a hollow needle through the dough of the preform and forcing the gaseous composition through the needle. 
         [0022]    Where the manufacturing process is to produce items such as bagels, the cooking of the preforms includes baking the preforms. Optionally, the process may include boiling the preforms prior to the baking process. 
         [0023]    The manufacturing method may additionally comprise the steps of puncturing the cooked comestible items and injecting an edible filling into the internal chambers thereof. 
         [0024]    An apparatus for manufacturing a food product comprises an assembly line including dough shaping tools for forming closed dough preforms each having an arcuate portion that is at least partially hollow. The apparatus additionally comprises at least one heating device for cooking the dough preforms to form cooked comestible items each having an internal chamber in the respective arcuate portion. The apparatus further comprises a transport mechanism such as a conveyor for moving the dough preforms from the assembly line to the heating device. 
         [0025]    Pursuant to another feature of the present invention, the shaping tools include at least one press or roller for generating a flat sheet of dough, at least one cutter for severing the sheet into strips, shaping members for curving the strips into cylindrical configurations, at least one first closure device for sealing the cylindrical configurations along joints and ends thereof to form a plurality of elongate dough rods each being at least partially hollow, and bending elements engageable with the dough rods for deforming the dough rods to generate the arcuate portions. 
         [0026]    Where the food items produced by the apparatus are toroidal such as bagels, the bending elements are engageable with the dough rods for forming the dough rods into generally circular shapes. In addition, the apparatus includes at least one second closure device for joining the opposite ends of each of the dough rods to one another to form the dough preforms. 
         [0027]    Where the dough preforms have internal spaces that are transformed into the internal chambers during the cooking of the dough preforms, the apparatus further comprising means such as a gas injector for maintaining the internal spaces intact or uncollapsed prior to and during cooking of the dough preforms. The injector may include a hollow needle insertable through the dough of the preforms and a pressurization component (such as a pump or a pressurized air tank with an air-flow control valve) connected to the needle for forcing the gaseous composition through the needle. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING 
         [0028]      FIG. 1  is a diagram of an assembly-line apparatus or system for manufacturing hollow food items such as bagels. 
           [0029]      FIG. 2  is a top plan view of a bagel with an internal chamber, produced by the apparatus or system of  FIG. 1 . 
           [0030]      FIG. 3  is a schematic side elevational view of a portion of a bagel manufacturing assembly line in accordance with the present invention. 
           [0031]      FIGS. 4-11  are schematic diagrams showing successive steps in a bagel manufacturing assembly-line process related to that shown in  FIG. 1 . 
           [0032]      FIG. 12  is a schematic broken-away perspective view of an extruder used in a modified bagel-manufacturing apparatus or system. 
           [0033]      FIG. 13  is a schematic cross-sectional view of a modified form of the extruder shown in  FIG. 12 . 
           [0034]      FIG. 14  is a schematic top view of a dough support and bagel-preform shaping device utilizable in association with the extruders of  FIGS. 12 and 13 . 
           [0035]      FIG. 15  is a schematic cross-sectional view taken along line XV-XV in  FIG. 14 . 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0036]    As illustrated in  FIG. 1 , an apparatus for manufacturing a toroidal food product such as a bagel comprises an assembly line  12  including dough shaping tools  14 ,  16 ,  18 , and  20  for forming closed toroidal dough preforms  22 . Preforms  22  are hollow and annular or, alternatively worded, arcuate along their entire circumferential extents. Each preform  22  includes an internal space that preferably extends substantially through the entire circumferential extent of the preform. 
         [0037]    The apparatus of  FIG. 1  additionally comprises at least one heating device  24  exemplarily in the form of a baking oven for cooking the dough preforms  22  to form cooked comestible items  26  each having at least one internal chamber  28  ( FIG. 2 ) in an arcuate portion of the respective item. The apparatus further comprises a transport mechanism such as a belt conveyor  29  for moving the dough preforms  22  from the assembly line  12  to the heating device  24 . 
         [0038]    The shaping tools of the assembly line  12  may include at least one roller or press  30  such as an extrusion or leveling plate for generating a flat dough sheet  32  from a lump of dough  34 . The shaping tools may additionally at least one cutter  36  for severing the dough sheet  32  into strips  38 . 
         [0039]    Shaping members or tools  14  serve to curve or roll the dough strips  38  into cylindrical configurations  40 . Dough shaping tools  16  include at least one closure or joint sealing device for sealing the dough cylinders  40  along longitudinal joints and optionally for closing the ends  42  of the dough cylinders to form a plurality of elongate dough rods  44  each being at least partially hollow, preferably along their entire longitudinal extent. Shaping tools  18  are bending elements engageable with the dough rods  44  for deforming the dough rods into arcuate configurations  46 . Where the food items produced by the apparatus of  FIG. 1  are toroidal such as bagels, the bending elements  18  are engageable with the dough rods  44  for forming the dough rods into generally circular shapes  46 . Shaping tools  20  include at least one closure or dough sealing device for joining the opposite ends  42  of the annularly configured dough rods  46  to one another to form the dough preforms  22 . 
         [0040]    As shown in  FIG. 1 , the cooked comestible items  26  may be packaged as indicated at  48  or transported via a conveyor  50  to a filling station where one or more injectors  52  are disposed for introducing a preselected filling composition from a pressurizable reservoir  54  into the internal spaces or chambers  28  ( FIG. 2 ) of the food items  26 . Injectors  52  may take the form of nozzles or hollow needles with sharp free ends for facilitating penetration through the cooked farinaceous material of items  26 . Alternatively, additional piercing or drilling tools (not shown) may be provided upstream of the injectors  52  for forming holes  56  in the cooked food items  26 . Appropriate machinery, well known in the art, exemplarily including a reciprocating drive  58 , is provided for enabling the synchronized engagement of the piercing or drilling tools and the injectors  52  with the cooked food items  26 . Downstream of injectors  52 , the filled food items  26  are loaded into cartons  60  for transport and delivery. 
         [0041]    As depicted in  FIG. 3 , a bagel manufacturing assembly line includes a hopper  62  continuously dispensing a load of dough  64  onto a conveyor belt  66 . Belt  66  transports the deposited dough  64  to a pair of rollers  68  and  70  that press the dough into a flattened sheet  72 . At least one of the rollers  68  is rotated by a rotary drive  74 . The dough sheet  72  is cut into strips  76  by a plurality of cutting blades  78  operated by a reciprocating drive  80 . Downstream of the cutting blades  78 , dough strips  76  are sprayed at least along their upper surfaces with a comestible lubricant composition such as vegetable oil. To that end, a plurality of spray nozzles  82  is disposed along conveyor belt  66  and supplied with lubricant from a reservoir  84 . Downstream (or upstream) of nozzles  82 , the lubricated dough strips  76  are positioned on flexible mats  86 , as shown in  FIG. 4 . After the deposition of a dough strip  76  onto a respective mat  86  and after the lubricating of the strip by nozzles  82 , a cylindrical shaping mandrel  88  is placed into contact with the lubricated upper surface of the dough strip, as shown in  FIG. 4 . As shown in  FIGS. 4 and 5 , one or more entrainment hooks  90  catch a forward end of the mat  86  and, under the operation of a wrapping mechanism  93 , loop the mat together with the respective dough strip  76  around a half of the shaping mandrel  88  ( FIG. 5 ). Another set of entrainment hooks  92  ( FIGS. 5 and 6 ) may be used to wrap the trailing end portion of the mat  86  and the dough strip  76  about the other half of the shaping mandrel  88 . 
         [0042]    Subsequently, as illustrated in  FIG. 7 , ancillary holding members  94  such as plates or rollers maintain the mat  86  and dough strip  76  in a wrapped configuration about the respective mandrel  88 , while a longitudinal seam or joint in the curled dough strip  76  is exposed. A sealing tool  96  in the form of an arcuate plate is placed into engagement with the curled dough strip and supplied with one or more forms of energy, for instance, mechanical vibratory energy from a vibration source  98 , and possibly heat or electrical energy, for purposes of sealing the dough along the longitudinal seam of joint to form a cylindrical dough preform  100 . 
         [0043]    After the sealing of the longitudinal joint, the mandrel  88  is partially withdrawn from the dough preform  100  by a translatory drive  101 , as illustrated in  FIG. 8 . Then one or more end closure elements  102  are moved by a reciprocating drive  104  into engagement with one end  108  of the cylindrical dough preform  100  to close off that end of the preform. Mechanical vibratory energy from a vibration source  106 , and optionally other forms of energy, is supplied to the closed dough end  108  via the closure elements  102  to seal the dough. 
         [0044]    After the sealing of the end  108  of dough preform  100 , the cylindrical mandrel  88  may be sealed or plugged, for instance by an end plate  110 , while a fine-gauge hypodermic needle  112  is inserted into the preform so as to communicate with an internal cavity or space  114  therein, as illustrated in  FIG. 9 . During continued withdrawal of the sealed mandrel  88  from the dough preform  100  under the action of translatory drive  101 , air from a pressurizable but low-pressure source  116  is injected into the internal cavity  114  of the preform  100  via needle  112 . As shown in  FIG. 10 , the needle  112  is preferably inserted at a lower side of the dough preform  100  to facilitate the natural closing, upon a subsequent withdrawal of the needle, of the perforation made by the needle. The pressure of the air delivered to the internal cavity  112  of the preform  100  is generally at atmospheric pressure or slightly greater than atmospheric pressure in order to prevent the dough preform from collapsing and thereby maintain the internal cavity intact in an uncollapsed or expanded configuration. 
         [0045]    As depicted in  FIG. 10 , immediately upon a withdrawal of the mandrel  88 , two closure members  118  and  120  move to close the open end  122  of dough preform  100  under the action of a reciprocating drive  124 . Vibratory energy from a vibration source  126  is applied to the end  122  of the dough preform via the closure members  118  and  120 . During the withdrawal of mandrel  88  from dough preform  100 , a conical insert (not shown) may be introduced into mandrel for purposes of sealing the mandrel and cooperating with closure members  118  and  120  during a closure stroke thereof to ensure a practically effective continued seal at dough end  122  during the closure and sealing thereof. The conical member is retracted through mandrel  188  while the closure members  118  and  120  approach one another. 
         [0046]    During a subsequent curving of dough preform  100  to form an annular configuration as indicated at  46  and  22  in  FIG. 1 , needle  112  may remain embedded in the preform to enable injection of a higher pressure into the dough for purposes of maintaining the cylindrical cross-section of the internal cavity during the shaping of the dough into the annular form. 
         [0047]    The bender tool  18  of  FIG. 1  may include a sling that may be formed into an annular shape. 
         [0048]    It is possible to form the dough rods  44  of  FIG. 1  by means of an extruder similar to the extruder  128  shown in  FIG. 12 . Extruder  128  includes a casing  130  provided at one end with a hopper  132  and a pressurization member  134  such as a screw or plunger and at an opposite end with a mandrel  136  extending generally parallel to an extrusion axis. Mandrel  136  has an elongate main section  138  that is secured to an inner surface of casing  130  via a leg section  140 . As illustrated in  FIG. 12 , mandrel  136  may be provided along one side with a groove  142  that causes a cylinder of extruded dough  44  to curl into an arcuate configuration  146  like that of configurations  46  in  FIG. 1 . The extruded dough  144  is deposited on a conveyor belt  148 . 
         [0049]    As further depicted in  FIG. 12 , mandrel  136  may be provided with a lumen  150  for the conduction of a flammable gas mixture from a supply, tank, or reservoir  152 . The gas may be ignited at a free end of mandrel  136  during an extrusion operation for purposes of hardening an inner surface of the extruded dough, thereby provided the extrusion with internal support. Alternatively or additionally, the gas from supply  152  may be used to provide an internal pressure to the extruded dough forms, as discussed above. 
         [0050]    Hardening of the inner surface of the extruded dough  144  may be alternatively or additionally accomplished by heating mandrel  136 , for instance, by means of an electrical current conducted from a source  154 . Alternatively, section  138  of mandrel  136  may be heated via a hot liquid circulated from a heat exchanger (not shown) or a magnetic field. 
         [0051]      FIG. 13  shows an extruder mandrel  156  that is longitudinally traversed by an elongate member  158  having a flexible free end  160  that is preformed to assume a curled configuration. Elongate member  158  is reciprocated with respect to mandrel  156  by a drive  162  so that free end  160  is alternately extended from and retracted into the mandrel. Elongate member  158  is moved to extend end section  160  during dough extrusion by the extruder  128 . Upon the completion of extrusion of a single bagel preform  164 , drive  162  moves the elongate member so as to retract the end section  160  into mandrel  156 . One or more gates  166  shiftable in a programmed sequence by a reciprocating drive  168  may be provided at the extruder mouth  168  for severing the dough optionally closing off the trailing end of the extruded dough perform  164 , simultaneously formed a closed leading end of the next dough perform to be extruded. 
         [0052]    Elongate member  158  may be provided with a channel or duct (not shown) for conveying a gas from a supply, tank or reservoir  170 . The gas may be a flammable composition ignited at a free end of elongate member  158  during a withdrawal of the elongate member from the extruded dough preform  164  for purposes of hardening an inner surface of the extruded dough, thereby provided the extrusion with internal support. Alternatively or additionally, the gas from supply  170  may be used to provide an internal pressure to the extruded dough preform  164 , as discussed above. Hardening of the inner surface of the extruded dough  164  may be alternatively or additionally accomplished by heating member  158 , for instance, by means of an electrical current conducted from a source  172  to heating elements  174  mounted to or embedded in member  158 . 
         [0053]    As depicted in  FIGS. 14 and 15 , a dough preform bending mechanism  176  disposable, for instance, at the mouth of extruder  128  and immediately above a conveyor belt  180  a includes a series of overlapping or telescoping half-shells  178  that are constrained to assume a circular configuration as shown in  FIG. 14  upon an extension stroke of the bending mechanism. The alternating extension and retraction strokes may be effectuated in any known manner, by gearing, camming mechanisms, an extensible member similar to member  158  with an arcuate rest configuration, etc. 
         [0054]    Although the invention has been described in terms of particular embodiments and applications, one of ordinary skill in the art, in light of this teaching, can generate additional embodiments and modifications without departing from the spirit of or exceeding the scope of the claimed invention. Accordingly, it is to be understood that the drawings and descriptions herein are proffered by way of example to facilitate comprehension of the invention and should not be construed to limit the scope thereof.