GB2130866A - Process for the continuous production of filled pastry products - Google Patents

Abstract

In a process for producing filled pastry products 36 that comprise at least two superimposed layers of cake and an intermediate layer of filling, a continuously advancing stream of cake 22 is subdivided by means of vertical longitudinal cuts 25 spaced from each other by a distance equal to the thickness of each cake layer of the finished filled product. The vertical strips 24 thus obtained are spaced transversely from each other and laid horizontal. The resultant horizontal strips 29 are then passed through a filling station 30 where a layer of filling is deposited on some of the strips 31. Thereafter the strips 31, 33 are superimposed upon each other so as to obtain continuous filled strips 35 which are then subdivided by means of transverse vertical cuts so as to obtain a series of finished filled products. In another embodiment (Fig. 6, 7) cake streams (22) are advanced on three conveyor belts (19, 20) located one above another. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Process for the continuous production of filled pastry products The present invention relates to a process for the continuous production of filled pastry products that comprise at least two superimposed layers of cake and a layer of filling between adjacent cake layers; more particularly, the invention relates to a process of the type including the steps of longitudinally advancing a continuous stream of cake, subdividing the cake stream during its advance by means of longitudinal vertical cuts to obtain a series of continuous strips, depositing a layer of filling on at least one said continuous strip, superimposing the continuous strips both with and without a filling layer upon each other so as to obtain at least one continuous filled strip, and subdividing said at least one continuous filled strip during its advance by means of transverse vertical cuts so as to obtain a series of finished filled products.

A process of the type specified above is already used by the Applicant for the continuous production of filled pastry products that comprise two superimposed layers of cake and an intermediate layer of filling. In this known process, the said longitudinal vertical cuts to which the stream of cake is subjected are spaced from each other by a distance equal to the width of the filled product which it is desired to obtain. Moreover, the number of the longitudinal vertical cuts is such as to enable approximately the same number of continuous strips to be obtained.A layer of filling is then deposited on one of the two strips of each pair of adjacent continuous strips thus obtained, after which the adjacent strip without filling is superimposed, in some cases in a turned over condition, upon the strip carrying the layer of filling, so as to obtain a continuous filled strip which is thereafter subdivided by means of the said vertical transverse cuts into a series of finished filled products. Each of the products obtained by means of this known process has a browned, hardened skin on the upper surface and/or the lower surface and/or a horizontal intermediate surface, this being due to the fact that the stream of cake leaving the oven has its bottom surface and often also its upper surface covered by such a skin.The presence of the skin does not facilitate consumption of the product and makes it impossible to use the known process for manufacturing filled products with more than two superimposed layers of cake inasmuch as it is desired to avoid the finished filled product having several horizontal skins.

The object of the present invention is to provide a process for the continuous production of filled pastry products which is free from these disadvantages.

In order to achieve this object, the invention provides a process of the type specified above, in which the vertical longitudinal cuts to which the stream of cake is subjected are spaced from each other by a distance equal to the thickness of each layer of cake in the finished filled product, the continuous vertical strips obtained by means of the said vertical longitudinal cuts being spaced transversely from each other during their advance and laid horizontal before reaching the zone of deposition of the filling layer.

In the process according to the invention, the continuous strips produced as a result of the said vertical longitudinal cuts and the subsequent laying down of the vertical slices thus obtained, have a width equal to the height of the stream of cake leaving the oven. By virtue of the manner in which they are obtained, thses continuous strips have a browned, hardened skin only on their vertical side surfaces. The process according to the invention can thus be used to advantage for the manufacture of filled products even with more than two superimposed layers of cake, since the finished filled product does not possess the said skin either on its upper surface, on its bottom surface or in any intermediate zone between the two superimposed layers.This characteristic makes the product easier to eat and enables a coating of chocolate, icing and the like to be keyed to the upper surface of the product. Moreover, the process according to the invention differs from the known process in that in the latter the ratio between the surface area covered by the cake leaving the oven and the surface area covered by the finished product, is always two to one but in the process of the invention this ratio depends on the ratio between the width and the height of the finished filled product and may thus be considerably smaller, allowing a greater productivity of the production line.

Further characteristics and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the description which follows with reference to the appended drawings, provided purely by way of non-limiting example, in which: Figure 1 is a schematic plan view of a plant for the continuous production of filled pastry product in accordance with a prior art process, Figure 2 is a partial perspective view of a filled pastry product obtainable by means of the plant of Figure 1, Figure 3 is a plan view of a plant for carrying out a first embodiment of the process according to the invention, Figure 4 is a schematic elevational view of the plant of Figure 3, Figure 5 is a partial perspective view of a filled product obtainable by means of the plant of Figures 3-4, Figure 6 is a schematic plan view of a plant usable for carrying out a second embodiment of the process according to the invention, Figure 7 is a schematic elevational view of the plant of Figure 6.

Figure 1 illustrates schematically a plant 1 capable of being used for the continuous production of filled pastry products of the type indicated 2 in Figure 2. Each product 2 comprises two superimposed layers of cake and an intermediate layer of filling 4. The plant 1 comprises a conveyor belt 5 by means of which a stream of cake 6 of rectanguiar section leaving an oven is advanced longitudinally. The stream of cake 6 is subdivided during its advance into a series of continuous adjacent strips 7 by longitudinal vertical cuts effected by means of blades 8.

The blades 8 are located in a fixed position and the cuts are effected as the stream of cake passes gradually through the zone in which these blades are located. The number of blades 8 is such as to enable an equal number of continuous strips to be obtained. Moreover, these blades are spaced from each other by a distance equal to the width of the finished product 2 which it is desired to obtain. At a filling station 9 one of the two strips of each pair of adjacent continuous strips 7 is covered with a layer of filling 10. In Figure 1, reference 11 indicates the strips on which the layer of filling is deposited while reference 12 indicates the strips without a filling layer.The strips 11, 12 are then caused to pass through an overturning zone 1 3 where defiector elements 14 (illustrated schematically) located therein set the strips 12 down gently, in some cases in a turned-over condition, on the strips 11. In this manner, a series of mutually-spaced continuous filled strips 1 5 is obtained, these strips being thereafter caused to pass through a cutting station 1 6 in which they are subdivided into a series of finished filled products 17 by means of transverse vertical cuts.

The stream of cake 6 leaving the oven has a browned, hardened skin on its lower surface and often also on its upper surface. As a result the finished filled products 1 7, because of the manner in which they are made, have the said browned skin on their upper surfaces and/or their lower surfaces and/or on horizontal immediate surfaces between the two layers of cake. This skin is indicated by reference 1 8 in Figure 2. The presence of the skin 1 8 makes the product iess easy to eat and means that the process described above cannot be used for producing filled products with more than two superimposed layers of cake as it is desirable to avoid the finished filled product having several horizontal skins.As a result the ratio between the surface area covered by the stream of cake 6 and the surface area covered by the finished products 1 7 is always two to one.

These disadvantages are avoided by the process according to the present invention.

A first embodiment of this process is illustrated with reference to Figures 3, 4. These Figures illustrate a plant comprising a main conveyor belt 1 9 adjacent two auxiliary conveyors 20. The main conveyor belt 1 9 causes the longitudinal advance of a stream of cake 21 leaving an oven. In the example illustrated, the stream 21 is first of all divided into three adjacent streams 22 by means of a series of blades 23 which effect cuts in longitudinal vertical planes. The two lateral streams 22 are then spaced transversely from the central stream and conveyed on the two auxiliary conveyors 20. Each stream 22 is then subdivided into a series of vertical slices 24 by means of a series of longitudinal vertical cuts effected by blades 25.The blades 25 are spaced from each other by a distance equal to the thickness of each layer of cake in the finished filled product which it is desired to obtain. The example illustrated in Figures 3, 4 relates to a process for obtaining filled products of the type indicated 26 in Figure 5. The product 26 comprises three superimposed layers of cake 27 and two layers of filling 28 interposed between each layer of cake 27 and the adjacent layer. The vertical slices 24 which form downstream of the blades 25 are opened like a fan so as to be spaced apart transversely during their advance and are laid down horizontally on the conveyor 20 so as to give rise to a series of continuous strips 29 each having a width corresponding to the height of the cake stream 21.

Each series of continuous strips 29 is passed through a filling station 30 which deposits a layer of filling on some of the said strips. The number of vertical slices 24 into which each stream of cake is subdivided must be a multiple of the number of superimposed layers of cake which make up each finished product. In the case of the example illustrated, in which the finished product has three superimposed layers of cake, the number of vertical slices 24 (and hence of the strips 29) must thus be a multiple of three. For each group of adjacent strips 29 of a number equal to the number of layers of cake making up the finished filled product, a layer of filling is deposited only on a number of strips equal to the number of layers of filling in the finished product.In the example illustrated, therefore, for each trio of adjacent strips 29, a layer of filling is deposited only on two strips. In Figures 3, 4, reference 31 indicates the layer of filling, reference 32 indicates the strips on which a layer of filling is deposited and reference 33 indicates the strips on which no filling is deposited.

Downstream of the filling station 30, the continuous strips 32, 33 are passed through a superposition and/or overturning zone provided with deflector elements 34 that cause the superposition and/or turning over of the three continuous strips 32, 33 of each trio so as to form a continuous filled strip 35 having three superimposed layers of cake with two intermediate layers of filling. The continuous filled strips 35 thus obtained are subdivided into a series of filled finished products 36 of the type illustrated in Figure 5 by means of transverse vertical cuts effected with a blade 37.

The continuous strips 29 obtained by means of the laying down of the vertical slices 34, have the skins of the bottom and of the upper surface of the cake stream 21 only on their side edges. This allows the process according to the invention to be used for making filled products even with more than two superimposed layers of cake. Indeed the finished filled product does not have a said skin either on its upper surface, or on its lower surface, or in an intermediate zone between the two superimposed layers. This also ensures that the product is easy to eat inasmuch as the browned skin covers only the sides of the finished filled product. Moreover, this skin is already divided into strips 38 (see Figure 5) which further facilitates consumption.

A further advantage of the process according to the invention lies in the fact that it allows a greater production-line productivity to be achieved.

Indeed in the process according to the known art (which may be used only for the production of two-iayer products), the ratio between the surface area covered by the cake stream leaving the oven and the surface area covered by the finished products is always equal to two, while in the -process according to the invention this ratio may be considerably reduced for example to 1:1.5 or 1:2 in dependence on the ratio between the width and the height of each layer of finished filled product.

A further advantage of the process according to the invention lies in the fact that, since the finished filled product does not have a browned, hardened skin on its upper surface, but rather an open cellular structure of the cut cake, it is possible to coat the top with a layer of chocolate, icing or similar substances, the finished filled product ensuring that the layer of top coat remains attached to the product.

The possibility mentioned above of using the process according to the invention for producing filled products with several layers is particularly advantageous in view of the fact that for the same height, the consumption of a product with several layers is easier as the cake has a smaller resistance to tearing.

In the example illustrated in Figures 3, 4, the number of streams 22 into which the stream 21 is divided at the output from the oven may be any number whatever.

Figures 6, 7 relate to a second embodiment of the process according to the invention in which the cake stream 21 leaving the oven is divided into a series of adjacent streams 22 by means of longitudinal vertical cuts effected with blades 23.

In this case, however, the number of streams 22 must be equal to the number of layers of cake 27 in the finished filled product which it is desired to obtain. In this case, moreover, the conveyor belt 1 9 and the conveyor belts 20 are located one above another. Each stream 22 is divided into a series of vertical slices 24 by means of a series of longitudinal vertical cuts effected by blades 25.

Again in this case the blades 25 are spaced from each other by a distance equal to the height of each layer of cake 27 in the finished filled product.

The vertical slices 24 are then fanned apart so as to be spaced transversely from each other to form a series of continuous adjacent strips 29 each having a width corresponding to the height of the cake stream 21. The continuous strips 29 which are located on the two lower planes are then passed through filling stations 30 in correspondence with which they are both covered with a layer of filling 31. The three series of continuous strips coming from the three superimposed conveyors 1 9, 20 are then placed upon each other downstream of the filling stations 30 so as to constitute a series of continuous filled strips 35 which are then subdivided into a series of finished filled products 36 by means of transverse vertical cuts effected with a blade 37.

The embodiment illustrated in Figures 6, 7 as well as having the advantages mentioned above, has the further advantage of making it possible to obtain a filled product with more than two layers of cake with layers of different types of fillings.

Naturally, the principle of the invention remaining the same, the constructional details and the embodiments may be varied widely with respect to that described and illustrated purely by way of example without thereby departing from the scope of the present invention.

Claims (6)

1. A process for the continuous production of filled pastry products that comprise at least two superimposed layers of cake and a layer of filling between adjacent cake layers, said process including the steps of longitudinally advancing a continuous stream of cake, subdividing the cake stream during its advance by means of longitudinal vertical cuts to obtain a series of continuous strips, depositing a layer of filling on at least one said continuous strip, placing the continuous strips both with and without a filling layer upon each other so as to obtain at least one continuous filled strip, and sub-dividing said at least one continuous filled strip during its advance by means of transverse vertical cuts so as to obtain a series of finished filled products; the said vertical longitudinal cuts to which the cake stream is subjected being spaced from each other by a distance equal to the thickness of each layer of cake in the finished filled product, and the continuous vertical strips obtained by means of the said vertical longitudinal cuts being spaced transversely from each other during their advance and laid horizontal before reaching the zone of deposition of the filling layer.

2. A process according to Claim 1, wherein the number of continuous strips obtained from the cake stream by the said vertical longitudinal cuts is equal to an integer multiple of the number of superimposed layers of cake in the finished filled product.

3. A process according to Claim 2, wherein before the said vertical longitudinal cuts are made, the cake stream is subdivided into a series of adjacent sub-streams which are then spaced from each other and each subjected to the said steps of the process.

4. A process according to Claim 3, wherein the said sub-streams are spaced transversely in the same plane, and the number of continuous strips obtained from each sub-stream is made equal to an integer multiple of the number of superimposed layers of cake in the finished filled product, the step of depositing a layer of filling being effected such that for each group of continuous strips of a number equal to the number of layers of cake in the finished product, a layer of filling is deposited on a number of strips equal to the number of layers of filling in the finished product.

5. A process according to Claim 3, wherein the number of sub-streams is the same as the number of layers of cake in the finished product, the substreams being moved into planes over-lying each other and the continuous strips obtained from the sub-streams, except for those in the highest plane, being covered with a layer of filling after which the sub-streams coming from the various planes are superimposed upon each other.

6. A process for the continuous production of filled pastry products, said process being substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to Figures 3 to 5 or Figures 5 to 7 of the accompanying drawing.