AU638777B2

AU638777B2 - Process and device for cutting cakes, particularly frozen cakes

Info

Publication number: AU638777B2
Application number: AU67611/90A
Authority: AU
Inventors: Fritz Bisping; Rolf-Dieter Rimmelspacher
Original assignee: SCHWARZWALDKONDITOREI DR AUGUST OETKER GmbH
Current assignee: SCHWARZWALDKONDITOREI DR AUGUST OETKER GmbH
Priority date: 1989-12-15
Filing date: 1990-11-29
Publication date: 1993-07-08
Anticipated expiration: 2010-11-29
Also published as: FR2655902A1; GB2239166B; GB9027144D0; IT9068006A1; DE3941415A1; GB2239166A; DD299625A5; DK294690A; IT9068006A0; ZA908572B; IT1241355B; NL9002292A; AU6761190A; DK294690D0; LU87852A1; BE1004532A3

Description

t 387 7 COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA PATENTS ACT 1952 Form COMPLETE SPECIFICATION FOR OFFICE USE Short Title: Int. Cl: Application Number: Lodged: 0SR**@ 0 *5

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TO BE COMPLETED BY APPLICANT Name of Applicant: SCHWARZWALDKONDITOREI DR. AUGUST OETKER GmbH Address of Applicant: Zeppelinstr. 6, 7505 Ettlingen, GERMANY Actual Inventor: Address for Service: GRIFFITH HACK CO 71 YORK STREET SYDNEY NSW 2000 Complete Specification for the invention entitled: PROCESS AND DEVICE FOR CUTTING CAKES, PARTICULARLY FROZEN CAKES The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to us:- 21546-A:DJH:RK 8959A:rk -2- PROCESS AND DEVICE FOR CUTTING CAKES, PARTICULARLY FROZEN CAKES The present invention relates to a dev-ice and a process for cutting cake-s (and similar cake and pastry products), in particular frozen ones, whereby the process and device can also be used when the frozen cake has only been passed through a relatively short freezing tunnel and consequently the temperature of the cake varies throughout its interior.

Various attempts have been made to tackle the problem of cutting such types of cakes but have not been successful thus far. For example, Offenlegungsschrift 34 22 984 describes a cake cutter with a U-shaped bow, between the legs of which a cutting wire is spanned, characterised by the cutting wire being provided with a number of elevations and depressions. These elevations and depressions have a particularly unfavourable effect in the case of frozen cakes since it is ultimately

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impossible to achieve a smooth cut. Rather, the effect S 20 is similar to that of a saw and there is therefore also a se relatively high sawing loss.

OS 36 23 165 proposes a manoeuvrable knife which can be heated for cutting and separating cakes. The disadvantage here when used to cut frozen cakes is that 25 thawing or melting of the cut edges cannot be prevented "and this causes untidy cut edges.

Gebrauchsmuster (utility model) 81 34 686 describes a cutting machine to cut a frozen cake into several sees slices. However, this clearly leads to the cake being divided by pressure rather than being cut. However, with cakes which have only undergone initial freezing, i.e.

have varying temperatures particularly towards the centre, this leads to crumbling and untidy cut edges.

A similar result is achieved with Gebrauchsmuster 76 22 956 and 85 26 642 where the cake is merely punched through rather than cut, The present invention provides a device for the Scutting of cakes (and similar pastry and cake products), -3characterised in that it comprises: a) a cutter, in the form of an endless band driven by two disk flywheels with a predetermined speed of rotation; b) at least one cutter guide, positioned in relation to the cutter and level with the disk flywheels, in order to achieve a straight cut, and prevent the cutter from veering sideways; c) a cake-aligner which aligns the cake for cutting, by means of electronic sensing, and d) a cake-lifter with sensors, which moves vertically up and down, serving as a base for the cutting of the cake and with slots in it into which a cakelift-off device can be inserted, whereby the slots and the cake lift-off device mate with each other.

The present invention further provides a process for cutting cakes, utilising the device as discussed above, 000000 characterised in that a cake is first raised :automatically onto the cake aligner and aligned by means S 20 of electronic sensing so that it is correctly positioned S"for cutting, and then raised automatically onto the cake e lifter in order to be positioned correctly by the sensors on the cake lifter; then the cake lifter is raised so that the cake is cut through by the cutter; then the cake lifter is lowered again and the cake is turned to a new position and again lifted by the cake lifter with this process being continued until the cake has been cut into the desired number of pieces, whereupon the cake is lifted off the cake lifter by the cake lift-off device, which is inserted into the slots in the cake-lifter and lifts the cake off, depositing it onto a conveyor belt, which conveys it away for packing.

The device and process of the present invention in at least a preferred embodiment enable the cutting of cakes which have undergone initial freezing, both cleanly and without cracking, wit,,. the least possible cutting wastage.

Features and advantages of the present invention -4will become apparent from the following description of an embodiment thereof, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawing, which is a schematic plan view of a device for the cutting of cakes in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

When producing frozen cakes on an industrial scale, the production process, roughly speaking, runs so that the cake is first finished and then decorated. The cake is then passed through what is referred to as a freezing tunnel, in which it is lightly frozen, the extent of which is relative to the length of the tunnel. This is dependent on both the length of the tunnel and the speed of passage of the cake. However, for reasons of time and space, the speed of passage will not be set too low and the length of tunnel will be restricted to a minimum.

This means that the cake will not be quite frozen through when it leaves the tunnel. Therefore the problem arises :that the temperature of the cake is higher towards the

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S 20 centre than at its edges. These differences in Soo temperature pose considerable problems when the cake is to be cut, which it has not been possible to overcome

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hitherto.

Referring to the single Figure, the embodiment shown comprises the following components; a) A cutting band 1.

*o S o b) Flywheel disks 2, which mount the cutting band 1, so that the cutting band 1 extends around the flywheel disks 2 as a continuous band. In the Figure, the flywheel units 2 and cutting band 1 are only .Lially shown. The band 1 in fact extends around :to the other side of the flywheel units 2 to form a complete endless band 1.

c) Cutter guide means 3. Guide means are shown on only one side of the drawing. Guide means are also provided (now shown) on the other side of the drawing to guide the cutting band 1 on the other 051P side of the flywheel units 2.

d) A cake alignment unit 6.

e) A cake lifting device 4.

f) Cake lift-off unit (not shown).

Cake alignment unit 6, cake lifting device 4 and cake lift-off unit are reproduced on either side of the cutting assembly 1, 2 so that two cakes may be cut at the same time.

Each cake lifting device 4 is provided with a number of slots 7 therein (only shown in the drawing on one of the cake lifting devices 4 but actually being included in both). These slots 7 are engaged by the cake lift-off unit (riot shown) to lift a cake off the cake lifting device 4.

The cutter consists of a revolving band, recommended to be of stainless steel, of predetermined width, of about 0.2-5 mm, but at least 0.2 mm. This cutter 1 is :guided around two flywheel disks 2, the revolving speed of which is predetermined. To ensure a straight cut, See* i.e. to prevent the cutter 1 from deflecting to the side, 6S@S 20 a cutter guide means 2 is located at any point on the 04o cutting unit 2, preferably on the level of the flywheel 66 disks 2. A cake lifting device 4 which moves vertically oe up and down is used as base for the cake while the cake is being cut. This cake lifting device 4 has slots 7 25 which are arranged so that the cake lift-off unit (not shown) can engage into them. Slots 7 and cake lift-off s unit are aligned to one another. The cake lifting device 4 has sensors which allow the cake which is to be cut to be aligned by electronic/optical means.

In the process according to the invention, the cake is first moved into the horizontal cutting direction as follows: the cake is automatically raised from the conveyor 8 onto the cake aligner 6 and aligned for cutting by means of electronic sensors; than it is automatically lifted onto the cake-lifter 4, which could also be termed the cutting support plate. The cake is aligned (by means of said sensors) in such a way that the cutter 1, which preferably runs continuously, will cut S:21546A.30/3/93 6 the flan between the garnishing points. The cake-lifter 4 is then raised and the cake is cut right through by the running cutter 1. Then the cake-lifter 4 is lowered again, and the cake is turned by means of the sensors.

The cake-lifter is then raised again and the cutter makes another cut, and so on, until the cake has been cut into the required number of pieces. Then the cake is lifted off by means of the cake lift-off device 5 the latter is inserted into the slots 7 in the cake-lifter 4 and lifts the cake off, setting it down on the roller conveyor 8.

In an alternative form of the process described above, the cutter is stopped when it has cut about 10 mm into the cake, and started up again when it is directly over the pastry layer. This has proved particularly beneficial for the cutting of cakes whose filling is not frozen right through, because the wastage from cutting is reduced to a minimum in comparison with other processes; also, crumbling of the pastry part, particularly with short pastry, can thereby be prevented.

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Claims

1. A device for the cutting of cakes (and similar pastry and cake products), characterised in that it comprises: a) a cutter, in the form of an endless band driven by two disk flywheels with a predetermined speed of rotation; b) at least one cutter guide, positioned in relation to the cutter and level with the disk flywheels, in order to achieve a straight cut, and prevent the cutter from veering sideways; c) a cake-aligner which aligns the cake for cutting, by means of electronic sensing, and d) a cake-lifter with sensors, which moves vertically up and down, serving as a base for the cutting of the cake and with slots in it into which a cake- .lift-off device can be inserted, whereby the slots and the cake lift-off device mate with each other. S.

2. A device for cutting cakes as claimed in oooo 20 claim 1, wherein the cutter is made of stainless steel.

So3. A device for cutting cakes as claimed in either S. one of the above claims, wherein the dimension of the .555 cutting edge is from 0.2 5 mm.

4. A process for cutting cakes, utilising a device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterised in that a cake is first raised automatically onto the cake aligner and aligned by means of electronic sensing so .othat it is correctly positioned for cutting, and then raised automatically onto the cake lifter in order to be positioned correctly by the sensors on the cake lifter; then the cake lifter is raised so that the cake is cut through by the cutter; then the cake lifter is lowered again and the cake is turned to a new position and again lifted by the cake lifter with this process being continued until the cake has been cut into the desired number of pieces, whereupon the cake is lifted off the cake lifter by the cake lift-off device, which is inserted into the slots in the cake-lifter and lifts the 8 cake off, depositing it onto a conveyor belt, which conveys it away for packing.

A process as claimed in claim 6, for cakes having a pastry layer of a consistency different from a layer above the pastry layer, wherein the cutter is stopped when it has cut partially into the cake and is started up again when it is directly above the pastry layer.

6. A device substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

7. A process substantially as herein described with reference to any embodiment disclosed with reference to the accompanying drawing. S *r S S s S 56 C. S S 0OSS DATED this 30th day of March 1993 SCHWARZWALDKONDITOREI DR. AUGUST OETKER GmbH By their Patent Attorney GRIFFITH HACK CO S. B S 0 00S0 S Cj S~ oL 0505 6.3/39