GB1574280A - Dough-kneading machine having a mechanism for extracting dough from the kneading vessel - Google Patents

Description

(54) A DOUGH-KNEADING MACHINE HAVING A MECHANISM FOR EXTRACTING DOUGH FROM THE KNEADING VESSEL (71) We, OFFICINE MECCANICHE S. CASSIANO DI DROCCO A. & C.

S.a.S., an Italian Company, of Strada Castel Gherlone No.32, Alba (Cuneo) Italy do hereby declare the invention for which we pray that a patent may be granted to us, and the method by which it is to be performed, to be particularly described in and by the following statement: The present invention relates to a machine for kneading dough in the preparation of food products, especially bread, and particularly to a machine of the type including a fixed support structure which carries a rotatable kneading vessel in which the dough is kneaded by a rotary kneading element.

A problem associated with kneading machines of this type is the removal of the dough when kneading is finished. Until now this operation has been carried out either by hand, in machines in which the kneading vessel is fixed to the support structure, or alternatively, the vessel is carried by a tipping elevator which conveys the vessel to a position in which it is tipped to remove the dough upon completion of the kneading operation. The first method requires considerable expenditure of energy by the operator, while the second method involves considerable loss of operating time of the machine and requires cumbersome apparatus.

The object of the present invention is to provide a kneading machine which does not have these disadvantages.

According to the present invention there is provided a machine for kneading dough in the preparation of food products, having a support structure which supports a rotatable kneading vessel in which a rotary kneading element is rotated in use of the machine to knead the dough, and including a grab carried by the support structure and movable between a first position within the vessel and a second position above and displaced laterally of the vessel, and control means for controlling a sequence of movements of the grab whereby the grab picks up dough from the vessel in the first position, is moved upwardly above the level of the vessel and then laterally to the second position where it discharges the dough outside the vessel.

A machine according to the invention may thus be made much smaller than previous machines in which unloading is carried out mechanically and unloading can also be carried out much more quickly than in such known machines.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention the grab is supported from a free end of a support beam which projects from an upright carried by the support structure, the free end of the beam being displaceable vertically and horizontally to effect the movements of the grab and drive means being provided for driving the movements thereof. The beam may, for example, be pivotally mounted on the upright for pivotal movement in a vertical plane and/or about an upright axis relative to the upright but preferably the upright is itself rotatable about its upright axis to effect the lateral displacement of the grab and the support beam is preferably supported by the upright for movement therealong to effect the vertical displacement of the grab. In a preferred embodiment the support beam is fixed at one end to a carriage slidingly mounted on the upright.

The grab preferably comprises a pair of cooperating scoops, suitable control means being provided for controlling the opening and closing of the scoops.

The drive means for effecting the movement of the carriage along the upright, the rotation of the upright and the opening and closing of the scoops preferably include electric motors which are preferably sup plied through an electrical control circuit so as to effect automatically the sequence of operations necessary for unloading the kneaded product from the kneading vessel in use of the machine.

The present invention further provides a machine for kneading dough in the preparation of food products, having a support structure which supports a rotatable kneading vessel in which a rotary kneading element is rotated in use of the machine for kneading dough, and including a mechanism for unloading the kneaded product from the kneading vessel, which comprises:: - an upright carried by the support structure for rotation about an upright axis; - a support arm projecting from the upright and mounted for displacement in a vertical plane with respect to the upright; - a grab supported by the free end of the support arm and movable under the action of the combined movements of rotation of the upright and vertical displacement of the support arm between a first position within the kneading vessel and a second position above and displaced laterally of the vessel, the said grab being operable to pick up kneaded product from the kneading vessel in the first position, and to discharge it outside the vessel in the second position; - respective drive means for driving the rotation of the upright, the vertical displacement of the arm and the working movements of the grab; and - control means for controlling the operation of the respective drive means to cause a sequence of movements of the grab whereby the grab picks up dough from the vessel in the first position, is moved upwardly above the level of the vessel and then laterally to the second position where it discharges the dough outside the vessel.

One embodiment of the invention will now be more particularly described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a perspective view of a kneading machine according to the invention; Figure 2 is a front elevational view of the machine; Figure 3 is a side elevational view of the machine, and Figure 4 is a top plan view of the machine.

A machine according to the invention for kneading dough in the preparation of food products is shown generally indicated 10.

The general structure of the machine is known per se, and comprises a support frame 12 consisting of a base 14, a lateral upright 16 and an upper support 18.

The base 14 supports a kneading vessel 20 for the dough, which is driven to rotate about a vertical axis by an electric motor (not illustrated) in use. The vessel is provided with a vertical pin 22 fixed centrally of the base and projecting up into the vessel, while a rotary kneading member, consisting of a helically-wound metal rod 24 is supported from the upper support 18 of the support frame 12 and extends downwardly into the vessel 20.

A support bracket 26 is fixed to one side of the upright 16 and supports, by means of a thrust bearing 29, a substantially vertical upright 28 of rectangular cross-section. The upright 28 carries at its lower end a gear wheel 34 which is driven by an electric motor 30 through a reduction gear 32 supported from the bracket 26, for the purpose of rotating the upright 28 about its longitudinal axis.

The upright 28 carries for vertical, sliding movement therealong, a carriage 36 which supports a twin-beam member 38 consisting of two, vertically-spaced-apart arms 40 which project substantially horizontally from the carriage 36.

The movement of the carriage 36 along the upright 28 is effected by a geared motor 42 fixed to the said carriage, which drives the rotation of a pinion 44 geared with a rack 46 fixed to a vertical face of the upright 28.

The lower arm 40 of the twin-beam member 38 carries at its free end a horizontal cross-piece 48 which in turn supports two cranked levers 50, pivotally mounted intermediate their ends for pivotal movement about substantially horizontal, parallel axes by means of respective pivot pins 49. To the lower end of each lever is fixed one of a cooperating pair of scoops 52 which, as shown in Figure 2, are movable on pivoting of the levers 50 between an open position, shown by a dashed line, and a closed position, shown by an unbroken line.

The upper arms 50a of the levers 50 cross each other and are provided at their upper ends with respective pivot pins 54 on each of which a respective roller 55 is mounted for rotation about a horizontal axis.

The lower arm 40 of the twin-beam member 38 also supports at its free end the lower end of a vertical screw 56. connected at its upper end to a geared motor 58 supported by the upper arm 40 to be rotated thereby. Engaged with the screw 56 is a cooperating screw-threaded bore formed in the rear portion 60 of a block 62. the front face of which is provided with a horizontal guide channel 64, in which the two rollers 55 which rotate on the pivot pins 54 of the levers 50, are engaged for rotational and translational movement. Alternatively, suitable pins 54 may engaged in a cooperating guide channel, no rollers being provided.

The kneading machine 10 described above is provided with a suitable electrical circuit (not illustrated) for controlling the electric motors 30, 42 and 58 to drive the respective parts of the machine 10 so as to effect, automatically, a sequence of operations of the scoops 52 required for unloading the kneaded product from the vessel 20. For this purpose the electrical control circuit includes end-of-stroke limit switches which are controlled by the rotation of the upright 28, the movement of the carriage 36 and by the movement of the block 62. The said sequence of operation is as follows: The arm 38 is lowered by means of the geared motor 42 so as to bring the lower edges of the scoops 52 close to the bottom of the vessel 20.The geared motor 58 next causes an upward movement of the block 62 which induces a mutual approach of the rollers 55 and of the pivot pins 54 of the cranked levers 50. The levers 50 are thus pivoted about their respective pins 49 until the scoops 52 are brought into the closed position, any dough lying between the scoops being picked up.

The twin-beam member 38 is then raised by means of the geared motor 42 until the lower edges of the scoops 52 are above the level of the upper lip of the vessel 20 and the upright 28 is rotated by means of the motor 30 to move the scoops to one side of the vessel, into a discharge zone. Here the block 62 is lowered to cause the rollers 55 and the pivot pins 54 to move apart to open the scoops 52 and allow the dough to be discharged.

The motor 30 subsequently causes the upright 28 to rotate so as to carry the member 38 back into the position of Figure 1. During this rotation, the electrical control circuit activates the motor driving the rotation of the vessel 20 so as to cause the vessel to effect an angular displacement corresponding to the distance between the two lower edges of the scoops 52 in their open position. The above sequence of operations is then repeated so as to pick up a further portion of the kneaded dough from the part of the vessel now beneath the scoops 52.

Normally 4 to 6 such work cycles are required to empty the vessel completely.

The drive means illustrated and described above for driving the respective movements of the upright 28, the member 38 and the scoops 52 are given purely by way of example, and may be replaced in practice by equivalent means, for example, of oleodynamic or pneumatic type. Similarly the scoops 52 may be operated by any suitable means. For example, the upper ends of the cranked levers 50 could be articulated about a common pin fixed to a block which is movable vertically in a similar manner to the block 62. In this case the upper arms 50a of the said levers would not cross each other.

WHAT WE CLAIM IS: 1. A machine for kneading dough in the preparation of food products having a support structure which supports a rotatable kneading vessel in which a rotary kneading element is rotated in use of the machine to knead the dough, including a grab carried by the support structure and movable between a first position within the vessel and a second position above and displaced laterally of the vessel, and control means for controlling a sequence of movements of the grab whereby the grab picks up dough from the vessel in the first position, is moved upwardly above the level of the vessel and then laterally to the second position where it discharges the dough outside the vessel.

2. A machine according to Claim 1, in which the grab is supported from a free end of a support beam which projects from an upright carried by the support structure, the said free end being displaceable vertically to raise or lower the grab and the upright being rotatable about its axis to displace the grab laterally, respective drive means being provided for driving the movements of the beam and the upright.

3. A machine according to Claim 2, in which the support beam is supported by the upright for movement therealong.

4. A machine according to Claim 3, in which the support beam is fixed at one end to a carriage slidingly mounted on the upright.

5. A machine as claimed in Claim 4, in which the carriage has a pinion engaged with a rack fixed to the upright, the pinion being connected to a motor to be driven to rotate thereby, in use, to effect movement of the carriage along the upright.

6. A machine as claimed in any preceding Claim, in which the grab comprises a pair of cooperating scoops and drive means are provided for driving the opening and closing of the scoops.

7. A machine as claimed in Claim 6, as dependent on Claim 3, Claim 4 or Claim 5, in which each scoop is supported at a lower end of a respective cranked lever which is pivotally mounted intermediate its ends on the free end of the support beam for pivotal movement about a substantially horizontal axis, the drive means operating on the upper end of each lever to pivot the levers between an open and a closed position of the scoops.

8. A machine as claimed in Claim 7, in which a block is carried by the support beam for vertical translational movement relative thereto and in which the upper ends of the cranked levers cross each other and each have a respective projection engaged in a horizontal guide channel in said block for movement therealong, a drive being connected to the block for causing vertical movement thereof and hence movement of the projections engaged in the guide channel towards or away from each other to

**WARNING** end of DESC field may overlap start of CLMS **.

Claims (16)

**WARNING** start of CLMS field may overlap end of DESC **. electric motors 30, 42 and 58 to drive the respective parts of the machine 10 so as to effect, automatically, a sequence of operations of the scoops 52 required for unloading the kneaded product from the vessel 20. For this purpose the electrical control circuit includes end-of-stroke limit switches which are controlled by the rotation of the upright 28, the movement of the carriage 36 and by the movement of the block 62. The said sequence of operation is as follows: The arm 38 is lowered by means of the geared motor 42 so as to bring the lower edges of the scoops 52 close to the bottom of the vessel 20. The geared motor 58 next causes an upward movement of the block 62 which induces a mutual approach of the rollers 55 and of the pivot pins 54 of the cranked levers 50.The levers 50 are thus pivoted about their respective pins 49 until the scoops 52 are brought into the closed position, any dough lying between the scoops being picked up. The twin-beam member 38 is then raised by means of the geared motor 42 until the lower edges of the scoops 52 are above the level of the upper lip of the vessel 20 and the upright 28 is rotated by means of the motor 30 to move the scoops to one side of the vessel, into a discharge zone. Here the block 62 is lowered to cause the rollers 55 and the pivot pins 54 to move apart to open the scoops 52 and allow the dough to be discharged. The motor 30 subsequently causes the upright 28 to rotate so as to carry the member 38 back into the position of Figure 1. During this rotation, the electrical control circuit activates the motor driving the rotation of the vessel 20 so as to cause the vessel to effect an angular displacement corresponding to the distance between the two lower edges of the scoops 52 in their open position. The above sequence of operations is then repeated so as to pick up a further portion of the kneaded dough from the part of the vessel now beneath the scoops 52. Normally 4 to 6 such work cycles are required to empty the vessel completely. The drive means illustrated and described above for driving the respective movements of the upright 28, the member 38 and the scoops 52 are given purely by way of example, and may be replaced in practice by equivalent means, for example, of oleodynamic or pneumatic type. Similarly the scoops 52 may be operated by any suitable means. For example, the upper ends of the cranked levers 50 could be articulated about a common pin fixed to a block which is movable vertically in a similar manner to the block 62. In this case the upper arms 50a of the said levers would not cross each other. WHAT WE CLAIM IS:

1. A machine for kneading dough in the preparation of food products having a support structure which supports a rotatable kneading vessel in which a rotary kneading element is rotated in use of the machine to knead the dough, including a grab carried by the support structure and movable between a first position within the vessel and a second position above and displaced laterally of the vessel, and control means for controlling a sequence of movements of the grab whereby the grab picks up dough from the vessel in the first position, is moved upwardly above the level of the vessel and then laterally to the second position where it discharges the dough outside the vessel.

2. A machine according to Claim 1, in which the grab is supported from a free end of a support beam which projects from an upright carried by the support structure, the said free end being displaceable vertically to raise or lower the grab and the upright being rotatable about its axis to displace the grab laterally, respective drive means being provided for driving the movements of the beam and the upright.

3. A machine according to Claim 2, in which the support beam is supported by the upright for movement therealong.

4. A machine according to Claim 3, in which the support beam is fixed at one end to a carriage slidingly mounted on the upright.

5. A machine as claimed in Claim 4, in which the carriage has a pinion engaged with a rack fixed to the upright, the pinion being connected to a motor to be driven to rotate thereby, in use, to effect movement of the carriage along the upright.

6. A machine as claimed in any preceding Claim, in which the grab comprises a pair of cooperating scoops and drive means are provided for driving the opening and closing of the scoops.

7. A machine as claimed in Claim 6, as dependent on Claim 3, Claim 4 or Claim 5, in which each scoop is supported at a lower end of a respective cranked lever which is pivotally mounted intermediate its ends on the free end of the support beam for pivotal movement about a substantially horizontal axis, the drive means operating on the upper end of each lever to pivot the levers between an open and a closed position of the scoops.

8. A machine as claimed in Claim 7, in which a block is carried by the support beam for vertical translational movement relative thereto and in which the upper ends of the cranked levers cross each other and each have a respective projection engaged in a horizontal guide channel in said block for movement therealong, a drive being connected to the block for causing vertical movement thereof and hence movement of the projections engaged in the guide channel towards or away from each other to

pivot the levers about their pivots and open or close the scoops respectively.

9. A machine according to Claim 8, in which each said projection comprises a pivot pin on which a roller is rotatably mounted for rotational and translational movement in said guide channel.

10. A machine according to Claim 8 or Claim 9, in which the drive for driving the movement of the block includes a screwthreaded aperture in the block engaged with a substantially vertical-axis screw carried by the support beam and connected to a geared motor, also supported by the beam, to be driven to rotate thereby.

11. A machine according to any of Claims 2 to 10, in which the drive means for driving the rotation of the upright, the vertical movement of the support beam and the opening and closing movements of the scoops include respective electric motors.

12. A machine according to Claim 11, in which the electric motors are supplied through an electrical control circuit so as to effect automatically the sequence of the operations necessary for discharging the kneaded product from the vessel, in use of the machine.

13. A machine according to Claim 12, in which the electrical control circuit includes end-of-stroke devices which are controlled by the rotation of the upright, by the movement of the carriage and by movement of the block.

14. A machine according to Claim 12 or Claim 13, in which the electrical control circuit also acts on an electric motor which controls the rotation of the kneading vessel so as to effect at the end of one discharge cycle in which a portion of the dough is removed from the vessel, a predetermined angular displacement of the vessel.

15. A machine for kneading dough, in the preparation of food products, having a support structure which supports a rotatable kneading vessel in which a rotary kneading element is rotated in use of the machine for kneading dough, and including a mechanism for unloading the kneaded product from the kneading vessel, which comprises:: - an upright carried by the support structure for rotation about an upright axis; - a support arm projecting from the upright and mounted for displacement in a vertical plane with respect to the upright; - a grab supported by the free end of the support arm and movable under the action of the combined movements of rotation of the upright and vertical displacement of the support arm between a first position within the kneading vessel and a second position above and displaced laterally of the vessel, the said grab being operable to pick up kneaded product from the kneading vessel in the first position, and to discharge it outside the vessel in the second position; - drive means for driving the rotation of the upright, the vertical displacement of the arm and the working movements of the grab; and - control means for controlling the operation of the drive means to cause a sequence of movements of the grab whereby the grap picks up dough from the vessel in the first position, is moved upwardly above the level of the vessel and then laterally to the second position where it discharges the dough outside the vessel.

16. A machine for kneading dough in the preparation of food products having a support structure which supports a rotatable kneading vessel in which a rotary kneading element is rotated in use of the machine to knead the dough, including a mechanism for unloading dough from the vessel substantially as herein described with reference to, and as shown in, the accompanying draw ings.