US3252806A - Method for continuously producing dough-lumps for bakeries - Google Patents

Description

May 24, 1966 OOMS 3,252,806

METHOD FOR CONTINUOUSLY PRODUCING DOUGH-LUMPS FOR BAKERIES Filed May 9, 1961 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 I NVEN TOR.

May 24, 1966 H. ooMs 3,252,806

METHOD FOR CONTINUOUSLY PRODUCING DOUGH-LUMPS FOR BAKERIES Filed May 9. 1961 s SheetsSheet 2 INVENTOR. H 051 0 0077 Y May 24, 1966 H. OOMS 3,252,806

METHOD FOR CONTINUOUSLY PRODUCING DOUGH-LUMPS FOR BAKERIES Filed May 9. 1961 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 INVENTOR.

United States Patent 3 252,806 METHQD FUR CONTHNUOUSLY PRODUCING DOUGH-LUMPS FOR BAKERIES Hugo Ooms, Antwerp, Belgium, assignor to Ateliers dc This invention relates to the special problem of automatic production, in large quantities and at a very fast rate, of dough-lumps and suchlike in bakeries.

Certain means have already been suggested in order to attempt solving this problem.

Most of the time, the means which have been suggested are based on the continuous kneading method of a comparatively large quantity of the ingredients of which the dough-lumps are made, whereby the properly kneaded product is discharged in continuous bands and subsequently divided into dough-lumps.

The main drawback of this system is due to the fact that it requires continuous and permanent weighing and/ or measuring of the ingredients, which implies the use of delicate, costly and bulky installations.

The comparatively large quantity of kneaded substances limits speeds to a considerable extent, and the subsequent division into dough-lumps constitutes a further handicap.

On the other hand, it has also been suggested to knead the ingredients of which the dough-lumps are made, at a high speed and during a comparatively short time. All the same, the means which have been suggested are either incomplete or such that the production proceeds at a fairly slow rate. a

In a general way in fact, all methods which have been suggested require the dough to be kneaded at low temperatures, i.e. below 35 C., and in numerous cases it has been been suggested to include some systems of cooling.

The method conforming to the present invention is however based on the fact that the whole operating cycle carried out at high temperature, maintained practically constant between 38 and 45 C., beginning with the raw material and going right through to the rolling device of the dough-lumps after the latter have been made. If the exothermic reactions which take place during the operating cycle should prove insufficient for ensuring aforesaid high temperature, this would require, according to the present invention, and contrary to the accepted notions, that adequate heating means be properly applied at those parts where the temperature might drop while the production of the dough-lumps is a continuous method, the weighing and measuring of the raw materials taking place as a discontinuous method. By continuous production, contrary to the traditional notion of a continuous method, is to be understood that, in the present invention the dough-lumps while being produced one by one, are discharged from the machine at a comparatively fast rate, so that the time elasping between the production of two consecutive dough-lumps is comparatively short, and constant.

Concerning the weighing and measuring, these are discontinuous. The fact is, that the reserve of flour on the one hand, and of ferment at high temperature on the other hand, are weighed and dispensed independently of the continuous operation of the machine, provided that the amounts be sufiicient for enabling a periodic transfer toward individual kneading troughs of the amounts of substances needed for producing dough-lumps one by one.

Other conditions and features characteristic of the method and of the machine which are objects of the present invention are to be found in the fact that the amount 3,252,8tlt Patented May 24, 1%66 'ice of water which evaporates during the baking method, as well as the losses by fermentation are reduced to the strictest minimum so that the operating cycle has an extremely high yield. Moreover, the machines, which are a constituent part of the present invention, can be built in a very compact way, are considerably less costly than the machines which produce dough-lumps by continuous weighing and manufacturing methods, and that such a machine can be run continuously, being correctly timed by comparately very simple means.

In order to fulfill all these requirements, the method according to the present invention is essentially characterized by the fact that it consists, starting from a reserve of finely divided solid matter which in the present instance is flour, and a reserve of liquid formed by an aqueous mixture consisting of a suspension in water of the known substances which constitute a high temperature ferment, salt included, is taken continuously from both these reserves, the measured amounts which, together, make up the mass of a dough-lump, is kneading individually each one of these masses at high speed and at a high temperature, which latter is maintained practically constant between 38 and 45 C., and finally in discharging the doughlumps one by one.

The lumps can be discharged either directly into the funnel of a winding device, or onto a conveyor belt on which the dough-lump can be left standing one or two minutes before being introduced into aforesaid winding device.

Any kind of flour which is normally being used in bakeries, can be used.

The liquid reserve, consists of a mixture of yeast, sugar, salt and water in predetermined proportions which depend on the kind of flour which is being used, these substances being thoroughly stirred-up whilst being maintained at aforesaid high temperature which is kept practically constant between 38 and 45 C., this aqueous medium being pumped toward a volumetric liquid dispenser which latter is synchronized wit-h the flour dispenser, whereby this flour dispenser may be of any known type. By way of example, for a certain kind of flour, aforesaid high temperature ferment can be made-up of 8.5% of yeast, 5% of sugar, 3.5% of salt and 83% of water, these proportions being variable according to the kind of flour which is being used, but the stirring-up and the storage, up to and including the introduction of the ferment into the individual kneading troughs must be maintained at aforesaid temperature of at least 38 C.

The individual kneading of the amounts of dough required for each dough-lump is effected at a high speed of rotation of the mobile elements of the kneading troughs, this speed ranging for instance between 200 and 750 revs. per minute, whereby the kneading method extends over a limited time, for instance between 45 and seconds; the mass is also maintained at a practically con stant temperature, ranging between 38 and 45 C.

The machine by means of which this manufacturing method can be applied comprises, in combination, and preferably under a compact form, at least one container for the reserve of flour; a container for the reserve of ferment at high temperature; a plurality of individual kneading troughs of which the capacity corresponds to the amount of dough needed for a dough-lump; the means for conveying each time toward aforesaid kneading troughs separate amounts of flour measured corresponding to a doughlump; means for conveying toward aforesaid individual kneading troughs aforesaid ferment at high temperature in separate amounts of which each corresponds to the amount required for a dough-lump; means for driving the stirring and kneading elements of aforesaid individual kneading troughs at a high speed which is generally between 200 and 750 revs. per minute; means for ensuring the discharge of the dough-lumps from aforesaid individual kneading trough, and treating devices in order to maintain the constituent material of the dough-lumps, in-

' side the machine, as well as the dough-lumps themselves,

at a minimum temperature of 38 (3., this temperature ranging generally between 38 and 45 C.

As a subsidiary, aforesaid machine will be provided with a dough-lump roller or with the combination of a conveyor belt and a roller.

In one preferred form of embodiment, aforesaid machine will consist of at least one ring of such small individual kneading troughs, whereby this ring rotates so that, on account of the relative displacement between aforesaid ring and the outer jacket in which it rotates, aforesaid kneading troughs are opened in succession, first for filling them with ingredients required for the formation of a dough-lump, and then for discharging a finished dough-lump.

Aforesaid essential elements are supplemented by all accessories or complementary devices and elements required for providing a fully automatic and highly efiicient machine which applies the method of the present invention.

This method as such, as well as the machine designed for a preferred application of the latter, will be more clearly understood from the detailed description given below, without implying any limitations, with reference to the appended drawings, of which:

FIGURE 1 is a diagrammatic and simplified representation of the essential elements of a machine designed for applying the method of the present invention;

FIGURE 2 is a top view of a machine provided with a drum conforming to the present invention, whereby the parts belonging to the superstructure have been removed;

FIGURE 3 is a longitudinal vertical section on a plane along line III-III of FIGURE 2, in which the elements of the superstructure have been represented diagrammatically;

FIGURE 4 is a diagrammatic perspective view of the part marked A in FIGURE 3;

FIGURE 5 is a side view in the direction of arrow F5 of FIGURE 3;

FIGURE 6 is a longitudinal vertical section on a plane through line VIVI of FIGURE 7;

FIGURE 7 is one half of a cross-section along line VIIVII of FIGURE 6;

FIGURE 8 is one half of a cross-section of the drum and the individual kneading troughs;

FIGURE 9 is similar to FIGURE 8, but with this difference that the ring is represented thereby in a position which it occupies when a kneading trough is being loaded whilst another kneading trough is being loaded and another kneading trough is being emptied.

As represented diagrammatically and in the simplest possible way in FIGURE 1, machine for applying the method of the present invention comprises at least a certain number of individual kneading troughs 1 of which the mobile elements are driven either by an individual motor, or by one or several joined motors.

In the example which has been diagrammatically illustrated, the case of one common motor has been represented, this diagrammatic representation comprising the common shaft 2, the pulley 3, the belt 4, the pulley 5 and the motor 6; each individual kneading trough 1 faces or is brought face to face with a flour dispenser 7 and a high temperature ferment dispenser 8. The flour dispensers 7 are connected with a distributor 9 fed by a storage hopper 10 the rate of outflow of which is regulated by an appropriate valve 11.

The high temperature ferment dispensersS are connected with a distributor 12 fed from a storage container 13 by means of a pump 14, whereby the rate of outflow of aforesaid container 13 is regulated by an appropriate valve 15.

Under the individual kneading troughs, a conveyor 16 onto which the dough-lumps P are deposited has been illustrated in a diagrammatic way. Since the rate of flow of' the distributors 9 and 12, as well as the loading and emptying operations of the individual kneading troughs 1 must be strictly synchronized, a program selector has been represented diagrammatically in FIGURE 1 by a block-diagram 17, this program selector containing the various switching devices which control the electrical equipment of the machine.

It is most essential that the temperature be maintained practically constant from the beginning right to the end of the method, includuing the actual formation of the dough-lumps; this temperature, which is comparatively high and at least 38 C., can be maintained either throughout the whole machine, or locally. In the diagrammatic representation of FIGURE 1, the whole machine is mounted in an air-conditioned enclosure B.

In any case, in a machine designed in this way, it will the possible, by discrete weighings on the one hand of the flour periodically introduced into the hopper 10, and on the other hand of the ingredients, including salt, of which the high temperature ferment is made, periodically introduced into the container 13 to ensure at a fast rate the periodic filling of the individual kneading troughs 1 whilst the dough-lumps prepared therein will be discharged therefrom at the same rate.

Aforesaid kneading-troughs 1 can be grouped, aligned or disposed in any convenient way, more especially in order to promote continuous production, to reduce the bulk of the machine, to save driving power and to facilitate the loading and the unloading of a plurality of individual kneading troughs by means of the same mechanism or parts.

Such a practical embodiment is represented in FIG- URES 2 to 9.

In this machine, at least one group of individual kneading troughs 1in the present instance twoare used, the center lines 2 of which are parallel and disposed along a circle which is concentric to the axis of rotation 18 of the drum 19 in which aforesaid kneading troughs are recessed. Aforesaid drum 19 is hollow and therefore consists of a chamber 20 of annular cross-section and extending over the whole length of aforesaid drum. By means of this chamber, it is possible to design a heating system in order to ensure the comparatively high temperature which is required for applying the method conforming to the present invention. Aforesaid chamber can be inserted in a circuit in which a heating fluid circulates, so as to form a kind of water-bath; or use can be made of resistive electric heating elements, as shown diagrammatically by the circles marked 21, such resistances being conveniently disposed inside the chamber.

All kneading troughs are identical and equally spaced around the axis 18. Their shape is quite special and it consists of a cylindrical part 22 which is tangent to a plane part 23 which is nearly at right angles to the periphery of aforesaid drum 19. This straight part forms one of the sides of the inlet of the kneading trough, whereas the other side is formed by a small plane part 24 which is parallel to the first. The shaft 18 of the drum rotates in bearings 25-26 fastened on brackets to the general framework 27. Onto the said shaft 18, a ring gear 28 is keyed which engages a pinion 29 driven by a motor 30.

Each individual kneading trough shaft 2 carries a pinion 31 on one of its ends, whereby the pinion carrying ends are all disposed on the same side. Between each pair of pinions 31, there is a pinion 32 keyed to the shaft of an electric motor 33, so that two kneading trough or two series of aligned kneading troughs can be driven by the same electric motor.

Separate motors could also be used for each kneading trough or group of aligned kneading troughs, while on the other hand one common drive could be provided for all kneading troughs, for instance by engaging all pinions 31 with a common ring gear driven by a single motor.

The drum 19 rotates inside a fixed cylindrical jacket 34 which rests on the frame 27 of the machine. This jacket is provided with an inlet opening 35 extending into a lead-in 36, and with a lower opening 37 through which the dough-lumps are discharged. The lead-in 36 through which the constituents of each dough-lump are fed is headed by a hopper 38 divided into two compartments 39, 40 by a partition 41. The bottom of this hopper is formed by a slider 42 which can be subjected to an alternating rectilinear motion, for instance under the action and the control of a pneumatic and hydraulic device which has been shown in FIGURE 4 and marked 43. The lower part 44 of aforesaid hopper can be fitted onto or made to face aforesaid lead-in 36.

Into the compartment 40, which is generally the smaller, plunges a tube 45 issuing from a feeding and dispensing device which, in the present instance, is represented by a mixer 46 and a pump 47 combined with a volumetric liquid dispensing and measuring device.

In the larger compartment 39 plunges the tube 48 of a volumetric dispensing and measuring device 49 which is itself directly connected to a hopper 50 which contains the reserve of flour. Preferably, the machine will comprise as many reserves and volumetric dispensing devices for the flour as there are separate rings of individual kneading troughs, although there may be an advantage in using one single reserve with volumetric dispenser 46-47 for feeding the machine, considering that in this case it will be enough to provide as many feeding tubes 45 or branches of aforesaid feeding tube 45 as the machine comprises separate rings of individual kneading troughs. v

Concering the discharge of the dough-lumps one by one, use can be made, as represented diagrammatically in FIGURES 2 and 3, of a roller" 51 of known design, which has however been adapted for satisfying the requirements of the method conforming to the present invention, and for which purpose a heating device, for instance by means of electrical resistances 52 and/or 53 have been dulyprovided and divided along the path of the dough-lumps. Between aforesaid roller and the discharge end 37 of the machine, a funnel 54 has been provided over a pair of rollers 55-56.

The machine as described above must evidently be supplemented by the required electrical circuits and the whole electrical equipment comprising various elements known as such, for instance the micro-switches needed for ensuring the continuous and automatic operation of the machine.

Provision could also be made for combining the rotating drum 19 with at least one micro-switch for keeping each individual kneading trough at a short stand-still over the inlet 35, although in most cases such a standstill will not be required. In a similar way, the mechanism which controls the rotation of the rollers 55-56 could be controlled by at least one micro-switch in order to stop aforesaid rollers for a moment each time that a kneading trough comes in front of the opening 37 through which the dough-lumps are discharged.

This halting device will generally only be required on machines which rotate at a fairly high speed, in order to provide the necessary time for assembling the various ments of the program selector are left to the choice of those conversant with the art, the various apparatus being selected from those available on the market, according to the peculiar requirements of the machine.

It will be observed that, despite its comparatively high rate of production and its very satisfactory thermal efficiency, this machine can be constructed into a very compact form taking up a minimum of space.

These advantages confer to the means for the automatic production of dough-lumps, entirely novel characteristics.

In order to fully appreciate the extent of the progress which has been made, one can easily realise how, with such machines, it is possible to design mobile bakeries, this machine being easily mounted on an appropriate vehicle or truck together with the reserves of water and ingredients, so that dough-lumps can be manufactured practically anywhere in large numbers and under optimum conditions of quality and hygiene.

As the construction of a baking oven on the spot offers no particular difficulty, or as on the other hand, an oven fragments of dough-lumps before these are brought onto the roller.

The design of the electrical circuit, as well as the elecan be mounted on a sparate vehicle, it will be easy to fathom the extent of the progress which has been made, and namely on account of the possibility which this installation affords of being swiftly transferred to any place where an emergency or a catastrophy arises, in order to fulfill the immediate needs of the civilian population or of the troops.

The characteristic features disclosed by the present invention can be applied to the construction of small machines with a limited number of individual kneading troughs, as well as to the construction of very large machines of almost unlimited output by increasing the numbers of individual kneading troughs comprised in each bank in any adequate manner, but generally by disposing them so as to form rings or drums, considering that this characteristic addition offers many advantages for a practical and compact design.

The present invention concerns all and sundry machines of this type as well as any characteristic features contained therein.

What I claim is:

A method for the continuous automatic production at a very fast rate of dough-lumps for bakeries, comprising combining measured amounts of ingredients which together make up the mass of a single dough-lump of a size to produce a loaf of bread, kneading individually each of these masses at a high speed and at a high tem perature maintained substantially constant between 38 C. and 45 C., and finally discharging the prepared doughlump masses one by one, the kneading operation of each of said masses being performed by means of mobile elements rotating at a speed between 200 and 750 r.p.m. and during a time interval between 45 and seconds.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,099,937 1l/ 1937 Lauterbur 107-4 2,226,084 12/ 1940 Turner 1074 2,920,964 1/ 1960 Oakes 99-99 2,931,320 4/1960 Bandel 99--90 X 2,953,460 9/1960 Baker 9990 3,006,765 10/ 1961 Ferrari 99-99 A. LOUIS MONACELL, Primary Examiner. ABRAHAM H. WINKELSTEIN, Examiner.

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