GB541018A - Improvements in and relating to the dividing and weighing of bread dough - Google Patents

Abstract

541,018. Dividing and weighing plastic material. BAKER, B. D., HARBER, L. S., POINTON, J. E. and BAKER, PERKINS, Ltd. May 7, 1940, No. 8206. [Class 143] In apparatus for dividing and weighing out dough for the production of loaves of bread, under-weight dough pieces are placed on a weighing scale and the weight is made up by the automatic addition of dough in an amount equal to the deficiency as determined by the scale, the additional dough being separated from a supply other than by cutting. As shown, underweight pieces of dough are delivered by a rotary dividing drum 2 of known form to the pan 4 of a weighing scale 5 which is then unlocked by the rise of a camoperated locking lever 7. The move-' ment of the locking lever closes a switch 27 thereby energizing a solenoid 24 to disengage a pawl 18 from a ratchet wheel 17 forming part of a friction clutch. The ratchet wheel is now driven by the friction clutch and rotates a pocketed drum 8 to feed a succession of small pieces of dough from a hopper 13 to the scale pan the pieces being extracted from the pockets of the drum by a fluted wheel 15 os a brush. When the correct weight of dough has been reached, a contact 26 in the solenoid circuit is broken by the tipping of the scale, and the pawl 18 re-engages the ratchet wheel 17 to stop the further feed of dough. The locking lever 7 again locks the scale pan, and a cam 38 having an abrupt drop gives s sharp movement to a pivoted flicken bar 33 to remove the dough from the scale pan. The dough may be lifted from the scale pan by a pivoted forked member operating through slots in the pan.