Patent Description:
The term "spreading" is to be understood as the operation (generally performed manually by an operator) by means of which the dough undergoes a transverse stretching, i.e. a widening (understood as an increase in the dimension of its contour), with a consequent thinning thereof (due to the phenomenon of necking).

This operation is generally performed on focaccias, pinsas, spianatas, pizzas, flatbreads, baked products with a substantially laminar shape and other similar food products, in order to give the right thickness and dimension to the dough before baking it.

As these are generally highly hydrated doughs (i.e., doughs in which the water content is more than <NUM>% by weight on the flour content), it is always preferable to resort to manual spreading by an operator to avoid tearing the dough.

Industrial rolling units of the known type instead can operate easily only on doughs that are not very hydrated (percentage by weight of water with respect to the flour lower than <NUM>%) and in any case allow to provide products that are very different (in terms of appearance and organoleptic properties) from handcrafted products. For this reason, the use of industrial rolling units is not widespread and is relegated to products with lower quality standards with respect to handcrafted ones.

<CIT> discloses a device for spreading doughs.

The aim of the present invention is to solve the problems described above by providing a device for spreading doughs which allows the automated forming of focaccias, pinsas, spianatas, pizzas, flatbreads, baked products with a substantially laminar shape and other similar food products with characteristics that are similar to handcrafted ones.

Within this aim, an object of the invention is to provide a device for spreading doughs that can operate on high-hydration doughs.

Another object of the invention is to provide a device for spreading doughs which is suitable for imprinting on the dough, after its spreading, impressions similar to those left by the fingers of a manual operator.

Another object of the invention is to provide a device for spreading doughs with high productivity.

Another object of the invention is to provide a device for spreading doughs that is structurally simple.

Another object of the invention is to provide a device for spreading doughs constituted by materials that are suitable for the food industry and can be washed and sanitized easily.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a device for spreading doughs that has low costs, is relatively simple to provide in practice and of safe application.

This aim and these and other objects that will become more apparent hereinafter are achieved by a device for spreading doughs of the type comprising at least one supporting surface on which a predefined quantity of dough can be accommodated, characterized in that it comprises movement means for a frame which accommodates a plurality of sliding blocks which protrude toward said supporting surface, said movement means being configured for at least one displacement of said frame from a first configuration of maximum distance of said blocks from said surface to a second configuration of minimum distance of said blocks from said surface, said sliding blocks being controlled by a respective actuator configured for their translation according to a predefined stroke on their plane of arrangement, when said frame is in said second configuration the translation of said blocks from a first arrangement, in which they are mutually close, to a second arrangement, in which they are mutually spaced, producing the transverse stretching of said predefined quantity of dough with consequent widening thereof and reduction of its thickness.

Further characteristics and advantages of the invention will become better apparent from the description of a preferred but not exclusive embodiment of the device for spreading doughs, illustrated by way of non-limiting example in the accompanying drawings, wherein:.

With particular reference to the figures, a device for spreading doughs is generally designated by the reference numeral <NUM>.

The device <NUM> for spreading doughs A comprises at least one supporting surface <NUM> on which a predefined amount of dough A can be accommodated.

The device <NUM> advantageously comprises movement means for a frame <NUM> which accommodates a plurality of sliding blocks <NUM> which protrude towards the supporting surface <NUM>.

The movement means are configured to generate at least one displacement of the frame <NUM> from a first configuration of maximum distance of said sliding blocks <NUM> from the surface <NUM> (illustrated by way of non-limiting example in the accompanying <FIG>) to a second configuration of minimum distance of said sliding blocks <NUM> from the surface <NUM> (illustrated by way of non-limiting example in the accompanying <FIG>, <FIG> and <FIG>).

The sliding blocks <NUM> are conveniently served by a respective actuator configured for their translation along a predefined stroke on their plane of arrangement. When the frame <NUM> is in the second configuration (i.e., arranging the blocks <NUM> at the minimum distance from the surface <NUM>), the translation of the blocks <NUM> (by the respective actuator) occurs from a first arrangement, in which they are mutually close (illustrated by way of non-limiting example in the accompanying <FIG>, <FIG>, <FIG>, <FIG> and <FIG>), to a second arrangement, in which they are mutually spaced (illustrated by way of non-limiting example in the accompanying <FIG>), causing the transverse stretching of the predefined amount of dough A, with consequent widening thereof and reduction of its thickness.

According to the present invention, the frame <NUM> comprises a perimetric border <NUM> which supports a plurality of transversely distributed parallel crossmembers <NUM>, with respect to which the blocks <NUM> can slide.

In greater detail, the frame <NUM> according to the present invention comprises a plurality of bands <NUM> which are perpendicular to the crossmembers <NUM> and are slidingly engaged thereon.

Each band <NUM> is intended to support at least one block <NUM>.

According to the present invention the sliding of the bands <NUM> on the crossmembers <NUM> causes the mutual displacement of the blocks <NUM> from the first arrangement (in which they are mutually close) to the second arrangement (in which they are mutually further apart).

It should be specified that advantageously the at least one actuator configured to produce the translation of the blocks <NUM> is specifically configured to move mutually apart the outermost perpendicular bands <NUM>.

In general terms, it should be noted that the blocks <NUM> arranged at the centerline of the frame <NUM> are positively fixed.

Sliding connecting elements <NUM>, <NUM> are installed between the other blocks <NUM> (arranged externally with respect to those located at the centerline of the frame <NUM>) and are provided with shoulders (respectively, the shoulders 8a, 8b and 8c on the connecting element <NUM> and the shoulders 9a and 9b on the shoulder element <NUM>) designed to constitute stroke limits for the mutual entrainment of the blocks <NUM>.

According to the present invention, by applying traction only to the outermost blocks <NUM>, these, by virtue of the connecting elements, also entrain the other innermost blocks <NUM> until a position of maximum mutual spacing is reached which corresponds to the second arrangement of said blocks <NUM>.

According to the present invention, the central band <NUM> is usefully fixed and sliding connecting rods (constituting a possible embodiment of the connecting elements <NUM> and <NUM>) are efficiently arranged between the other bands <NUM> that are external to the central one (which are mutually contiguous) and are provided with stroke limit shoulders (8a, 8b and 8c and 9a and 9b, respectively) for the mutual entrainment of the bands <NUM>.

In particular, it can be easily understood by observing the accompanying figures that by applying traction only to the outermost bands <NUM> said bands also entrain the ones interposed between them and the fixed central band <NUM> (by virtue of the presence of the sliding connecting rods <NUM> and <NUM> provided with the respective stroke limit shoulders 8a, 8b, 8c, 9a, 9b) until a position of maximum mutual spacing of said bands <NUM> is reached (illustrated by way of non-limiting example in the accompanying <FIG>) which corresponds to the second arrangement of the blocks <NUM>.

It is necessary to point out that each block <NUM> may advantageously have a shape chosen from a polyhedron with rounded edges, a cylinder, a frustum, at least one portion of a sphere, a barrel, a solid having a base that resembles a predefined contour, and the like. On the frame <NUM>, each block <NUM> may have any orientation, on the common plane of arrangement, with respect to the others that are present in said frame.

The specific shape and orientation, which can optionally be random, of the blocks <NUM> on frame <NUM> is intended to produce an action on the dough A that is as similar as possible to the action that would be exerted by the fingers of a manual worker who wishes to spread the dough by stretching it transversally.

The shape of the blocks <NUM>, therefore, can conveniently resemble that of phalanges of human fingers, so that the impressions left in the dough A spread and stretched by the blocks <NUM> are as similar as possible to the impressions that can be observed on a dough flattened by hand (i.e., by an operator with his hands).

It is specified that the movement means that are associated with the frame <NUM> to install it in a food production plant are usefully of a type chosen from a Cartesian mover, a robotic arm and the like.

The at least one supporting surface <NUM>, in this case, is advantageously of the type of a conveyor belt for conveying the predefined quantity of dough A from a doughing station, arranged upstream, to a station for processing the spread dough A (e.g. for its filling, freezing, baking, and the like).

It is specified that in such a case the movement means associated with the frame <NUM> are validly of the type configured to maintain the second configuration of the frame <NUM>, following the conveyor belt that constitutes the surface <NUM>, for a predefined time necessary for the movement of the blocks <NUM> from the first arrangement (in which they are mutually closer) to the second arrangement (in which they are separated and therefore have stretched the dough A transversely, spreading it).

It is specified that since the food dough A remains constantly resting on the surface <NUM>, it does not need to have a high consistency and tensile strength (characteristics which would be necessary if the dough A were to be suspended temporarily), and therefore it is specified that the device <NUM> according to the invention is particularly suitable for operating on doughs with high hydration (i.e., in which the percentage by weight of water with respect to the flour is greater than <NUM>%). This is particularly useful since at present it is only possible to operate in a manual (artisanal) manner on high-hydration doughs A.

Advantageously, the present invention solves the above mentioned problems by providing a device <NUM> for spreading doughs A that allows the automated forming of focaccias, pinsas, spianatas, pizzas, flatbreads, baked goods having a substantially laminar shape and other similar food products with characteristics that are similar to those of handcrafted ones.

Conveniently, the device <NUM> according to the invention can operate on high hydration doughs.

Favorably, the device <NUM> according to the invention is suitable to imprint impressions in the dough, after it has been spread, which are similar to those left by the fingers of a manual worker.

Positively, the device <NUM> according to the invention has high productivity.

Usefully, the device <NUM> according to the invention is structurally simple.

Advantageously, the device <NUM> according to the invention is constituted by materials which are suitable for the food industry and can be washed and sanitized easily.

Validly, the device <NUM> according to the invention is relatively simple to provide in practice and low in cost: these characteristics make the device <NUM> according to the invention an innovation of assured application.

The invention thus conceived is susceptible of numerous modifications and variations, all of which are within the scope of the appended claims; all the details may furthermore be replaced with other technically equivalent elements.

In the illustrated examplary embodiments, individual characteristics, shown in relation to specific examples, may in fact be interchanged with other different characteristics that exist in other examplary embodiments.

In practice, the materials used, as well as the dimensions, may be any according to the requirements and the state of the art.

Claim 1:
A device for spreading doughs of the type comprising at least one supporting surface (<NUM>) on which a predefined quantity of dough (A) can be accommodated, further comprising movement means for a frame (<NUM>) which accommodates a plurality of sliding blocks (<NUM>) which protrude toward said supporting surface (<NUM>), said movement means being configured for at least one displacement of said frame (<NUM>) from a first configuration of maximum distance of said blocks (<NUM>) from said surface (<NUM>) to a second configuration of minimum distance of said blocks (<NUM>) from said surface (<NUM>), said sliding blocks (<NUM>) being controlled by a respective actuator configured for their translation according to a predefined stroke on their plane of arrangement, when said frame (<NUM>) is in said second configuration the translation of said blocks (<NUM>) from a first arrangement, in which they are mutually close, to a second arrangement, in which they are mutually spaced, producing the transverse stretching of said predefined quantity of dough (A) with consequent widening thereof and reduction of its thickness, wherein said frame (<NUM>) comprises a perimetric border (<NUM>) which supports a plurality of transversely distributed parallel crossmembers (<NUM>), with respect to which said blocks (<NUM>) can slide, characterized in that it comprises a plurality of bands (<NUM>) which are perpendicular to said crossmembers (<NUM>) and are engaged slidingly thereon, each band (<NUM>) being designed to support at least one block (<NUM>), the sliding of said bands (<NUM>) on said crossmembers (<NUM>) producing the mutual displacement of said blocks (<NUM>) from said first arrangement to said second arrangement and in that said at least one actuator configured for the translation of said blocks (<NUM>) is configured for the mutual spacing of said outermost perpendicular bands (<NUM>) and in that said central band (<NUM>) is fixed and sliding connecting rods (<NUM>, <NUM>) are arranged between the contiguous other bands (<NUM>) which are external to the central one, and are provided with stroke limit shoulders (8a, 8b, 8c, 9a, 9b) for the mutual entrainment of said bands (<NUM>) by applying a traction only to the outermost ones, until a position of maximum mutual spacing is reached which corresponds to said second arrangement of said blocks (<NUM>).