WO2021214532A1

WO2021214532A1 - A system for transporting and aligning layers of a baked confectionery

Info

Publication number: WO2021214532A1
Application number: PCT/IB2020/055213
Authority: WO
Inventors: Avinash Kumar Singh; Sanjay Sahebrao Patil
Original assignee: Caraway Development Centre (India) Private Limited
Priority date: 2020-04-20
Filing date: 2020-06-03
Publication date: 2021-10-28

Abstract

A system (100) for transporting and aligning layers (L) of a baked confectionery (1) is disclosed. The system (100) includes a conveyor assembly (200) which includes a conveyor belt (300) which is configured to receive a plurality of stacks (1a) of the baked confectionery (1). The confectionery is baked in baking station (BS) and transported to the packaging station (PS). Further, an alignment mechanism (400) is positioned on the conveyor assembly (200) wherein the alignment mechanism (400) comprises a stopper member (2). The stopper member (2) is movable between the first position (FP) and the second position (SP). The alignment mechanism also includes an adjustment member (3) which is mounted adjacent to the stopper member (2) wherein the adjustment member (3) is operable between the rest position (RP) and the alignment position (AP).

Description

TITLE: “A SYSTEM FOR TRANSPORTING AND ALIGNING LAYERS OF A

BAKED CONFECTIONERY”

TECHNICAL FIELD

Present disclosure generally relates to the field of mechanics. Particularly, but not exclusively, the present disclosure relates to a system for transporting and aligning layers of a baked confectionery. Further, embodiments of the present disclosure disclose the system which includes a conveyor assembly and an alignment mechanism for aligning layers of the baked confectionery such as baked wafers or biscuits.

BACKGROUND OF THE DISCLOSURE

Food industry is one of the prominent business sectors and is growing by the day. Large amounts of food products are prepared everyday to the hundreds and millions of people worldwide. Large food manufacturing factories and industries receive tons of fresh produce, cereals and other raw materials for production of food products. Confectionaries such as biscuits, wafers, cakes, candies and the like are widely produced. Since these confectionaries are mass produced, the manufacturing units or set-ups are automated. Some of these set-ups may be fully automated or semi-automated depending upon the type of product or confectionery being produced/manufactured.

Automation of such manufacturing units involve installation of conveyor units, robotic actuators and arms, pick and place robots, automated guided vehicles (AGV’s) and the like. More specifically, in the baked confectionery industry such as wafers or cream wafers, these automated devices play an important role. In case of wafer or cream wafer production, the layers of cream wafers that are stacked on one another move over conveyor belts from different sections. Conventionally, these layered wafers or cream wafers are subjected to jerky movement over the conveyor belts which may lead to mis-alignment of the stacked layers. Also, during transportation from a baking station to a cutting or packaging station the layers tend to shift over each other causing haphazard arrangement or stacking.

In some conventional automation systems, in order to control this misalignment, a trimming station is installed. The trimming station is equipped with a cutter mechanism and is configured to chop-off or trim the misaligned layers. However, this process is not as efficient due to the reason that wastage of wafers occurs in large volumes. The trimmed wafer is discarded, and the trimmer trims the wafer to an acceptable shape and configuration in conformity to the packaging requirements. In some cases, the stacked layers are so mis-aligned that further trimming of the edges may not be position and the entire wafer stack need to be discarded leading to increased wastage of the product. Moreover, an additional station such as the trimming station needs to be installed which leads to additional costs and energy consumption.

In non-automated systems and manufacturing units, additional manpower or personnel need to be employed in order to align the stacked layer of the wafer or cream wafer. This involves personnel to manually align the stacked layers of wafers or cream wafers. Since this is manually aligned, the tendency of errors may be high. Moreover, manually aligning the stacked wafer layers is cumbersome and monotonous in nature. Also, in order to align the stacked layers of the wafer or the cream wafer, the conveyor belt needed to be halted in order for the personnel to align the stacked layers of the wafer or cream wafer. This leads to additional downtime and stoppage of the conveyor system in order to make the necessary alignments.

The present disclosure is directed to overcome one or more limitations stated above or other such limitations associated with the prior art.

SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE

One or more shortcomings of conventional systems are overcome, and additional advantages are provided through the system as claimed in the present disclosure. Additional features and advantages are realized through the techniques of the present disclosure. Other embodiments and aspects of the disclosure are described in detail herein and are considered as a part of the claimed disclosure.

In one non-limiting embodiment of the disclosure, a system for transporting and aligning layers of a baked confectionery is disclosed. The system comprises a conveyor assembly comprising a conveyor belt configured to convey a plurality of stacks of the baked confectionery from a baking station to a packaging station. An alignment mechanism is positioned in the conveyor assembly, the alignment mechanism comprises a stopper member movably supported on the conveyor belt. The stopper member is configured to move between a first position and a second position. An adjustment member mounted adjacent and offset by a distance to the stopper member, and the adjustment member is operable between a rest position and an alignment position. The stopper member in the second position, stops and supports the plurality of stacks of baked confectionery from one side and the adjustment member aligns the plurality of stacks of baked confectionery while moving from the rest position to the aligning position.

In an embodiment of the disclosure, the conveyor assembly comprises a plurality of rollers connected to the conveyor belt to displace the plurality of stacks of baked confectionery.

In an embodiment of the disclosure, a plurality of flaps are connected to the adjustment member which contacts the plurality of stacks of the baked confectionery during alignment without stopping movement of the conveyor belt to a common vertical plane.

In an embodiment of the disclosure, the alignment member aligns the plurality of stacks of baked confectionery on the fly without stopping movement of the conveyor belt.

In an embodiment of the disclosure, the adjustment member is mounted on one or more support beams.

In an embodiment of the disclosure, the one or more support beams are fixed to at least one roller of the plurality of rollers.

In an embodiment of the disclosure, a sensor positioned proximal to the alignment mechanism to determine position of the baked confectionery and stop movement of the conveyor belt assembly.

In an embodiment of the disclosure, the sensor is communicatively coupled to a control unit, which generates a signal to arrest movement of the conveyor belt assembly upon detection of the baked confectionery.

In an embodiment of the disclosure, an actuator connected to the adjustment member, wherein the actuator actuates the adjustment member between the rest position and the alignment position.

In an embodiment of the disclosure, the adjustment member extends across the breath of the conveyor belt assembly to contact the baked confectionery by the pivoting action of the plurality of flaps. In an embodiment of the disclosure, the alignment mechanism comprises an image capturing unit configured to capture images of the baked confectionery to visually detect mis -alignment of the layers of the baked confectionery.

In an embodiment of the disclosure, the plurality of layers of baked confectionery is comprises a creamy layer and an alternating biscuit layer.

The foregoing summary is illustrative only and is not intended to be in any way limiting. In addition to the illustrative aspects, embodiments, and features described above, further aspects, embodiments, and features will become apparent by reference to the drawings and the following detailed description.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF ACCOMPANYING DRAWINGS

The novel features and characteristic of the disclosure are set forth in the appended claims. The disclosure itself, however, as well as a mode of use, further objectives and advantages thereof, will best be understood by reference to the following detailed description of an embodiment when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. One or more embodiments are now described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings wherein like reference numerals represent like elements and in which:

Figure. 1 illustrates a schematic view of a system for transporting and aligning layers of a baked confectionery, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Figure. 2 illustrates a schematic view of an alignment mechanism configured in the system of Figure 1, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.

The figures depict embodiments of the disclosure for purposes of illustration only. One skilled in the art will readily recognize from the following description that alternative embodiments of the structures and methods illustrated herein may be employed without departing from the principles of the disclosure described herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

While the embodiments in the disclosure are subject to various modifications and alternative forms, specific embodiments thereof have been shown by way of example in the figures and will be described below. It should be understood, however, that it is not intended to limit the disclosure to the particular forms disclosed, but on the contrary, the disclosure is to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternative falling within the scope of the disclosure.

It is to be noted that a person skilled in the art would be motivated from the present disclosure and modify various features of the system, without departing from the scope of the disclosure. Therefore, such modifications are considered to be part of the disclosure. Accordingly, drawings show only those specific details that are pertinent to understand the embodiments of the present disclosure, so as not to obscure the disclosure with details that will be readily apparent to those of ordinary skilled in the art having benefit of the description herein.

The terms “comprises”, “comprising”, or any other variations thereof used in the disclosure, are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion, such that of a system that comprises a list of components does not include only those components but may include other components not expressly listed or inherent to such system, method, or assembly, or device. In other words, one or more elements in a system or device proceeded by “comprises... a” does not, without more constraints, preclude the existence of other elements or additional elements in the system or device.

Embodiments of the present disclosure discloses a system for transporting and aligning layers of a baked confectionery. The system includes a conveyor assembly which includes a conveyor belt. The conveyor belt is configured to receive a plurality of stacks of the baked confectionery. In an embodiment, baked confectionery may be wafer, produced by mixing the ingredients in appropriate portions which is formed as a batter. Later, this batter may be poured into moulds in order to form predefined wafers. Shape and configuration of the wafers depends on the type of mould being used for baking. The baked layers or the baked confectionery may be transported from the baking station to the packaging station. Further, an alignment mechanism may be employed on the conveyor assembly wherein the alignment mechanism comprises a stopper member. The stopper member is movable between the first position and the second position. Further, an adjustment member is also mounted adjacent to the stopper member wherein the adjustment member is operable between the rest position and the alignment position. In an embodiment, in order to align the plurality of stacks of the baked confectionery, the stopper member is moved to the second position, wherein the plurality of stacks of the baked confectionery is stopped for alignment by the alignment member. However, the conveyor belt continues to operate without having to stop the entire system.

The following paragraphs describe the present disclosure with reference to Figures. 1 to 2. In the figures, the same element or elements which have similar functions are indicated by the same reference signs.

Figure. 1 illustrates a schematic view of a system (100) for transporting and aligning layers (L) of baked confectionery (1). The system (100) is installed in-between a portion of a baking station (BS) and a packaging station (BS) in a food industry. However, the same cannot be considered as a limitation, since the baked confectionery (1) and the system may be configured to be received from any station and not only limiting to the baking station (BS) and the packaging station (PS). The baking station (BS) may include an owen or a baker in order to bake the confectionery such as but not limiting to wafers, biscuits and the like. The baked confectionery (1) may be transported from the baking station (BS) towards the packaging station (PS). The packaging station (PS) may include a plurality of lifts or pick and place machine or robots [not shown in figures] in order to lift and transport the plurality of stacks of the baked confectionery (1) into packaging covers for further processing and packaging. In an embodiment, a conveyor assembly (200) may be provided between the baking station (BS) towards the packaging station (PS). The conveyor assembly (200) includes a conveyor belt (300). The conveyor belt (300) may be configured to receive the plurality of stacks of the baked confectionery (1) from a baking station and transport to the packing station (PA). In an embodiment, the conveyor assembly (200) may include a belt provided around plurality of rollers (7). The conveyor belt (300) may be supported by the plurality of rollers (7) and may be powered by a prime mover [not shown in figure] for operation of the conveyor belt (300). Further, an alignment mechanism (400) is positioned on the conveyor assembly (200) and in turn on the conveyor belt (300). The alignment mechanism (400) includes a stopper member (2) which is fixed above the conveyor belt (200). The stopper member (2) may be fixed to one or more support beams (5). The one or more support beams (5) may be connected or fixed to one of a plurality of rollers (7) of the conveyor assembly (200). In an embodiment, the one or more support beams (5) may be configured over the breadth of the conveyor belt (300) such that, the stopper member (2) fixed to the one or more support beams (7) is configured to pivot between a first position (FP) and a second position (SP).

In an embodiment, as the baked confectionery (1) is transported from the baking station (BS) towards the packaging station (PS), the stopper member (2) may be operated from the first position (FP) towards the second position (SP). The stopper member (2) pivotally moves to the second position (SP) in order to block the movement of the plurality of stacks of the baked confectionery (1).

Simultaneously, an adjustment member (3) which is configured adjacent and at a distance from the stopper member (2) may be actuated. The adjustment member (3) is operable between a rest position (RP) and an alignment position (AP). As an example, when the plurality of stacks of the baked confectionery (1) are transported on the conveyor belt (300), each layer (L) of the baked confectionery (1) tend to slip over each other. Since, a semi liquid medium by way of a cream layer is provided in between two baked layers [biscuit layers], the layers (L) tend to slip over each other leading to misalignment. In such as scenario, the alignment mechanism (400) more specifically the stopper member (2) and the alignment member (3) pivots from the rest position (RP) in such a manner that, a plurality of flaps (4) connected to the alignment mechanism (400) contacts the misaligned plurality of layers (L) of the baked confectionery (1). As the plurality of flaps (4) contact the plurality of layers (L) of the baked confectionery (1), a predetermined force is applied to the plurality of flaps (4) in order to align the plurality of layers (L) of the baked confectionery (1). In an embodiment, the adjustment member (3) is mounted on the one or more support beams (7), where in the one or more support beams (5) may be fixed to one of the plurality of rollers (7) of the conveyor assembly (200).

Referring now to Figure 2, as the plurality of stacks (la) of the baked confectionery (1) provided on the conveyor belt (300) are transported from the baking station (BS) to the packaging station (PS), the plurality of layers (L) tend to get mis-aligned. In other words, the plurality of layers (L) of the baked confectionery (1) may be slip over each other as there will be a series of jerks and/or stop and go movements. In an embodiment, a sensor (6) is positioned proximal to the alignment mechanism (400). The sensor (6) determines the position of the baked confectionery (1) being transported on the conveyor belt (300). As the baked confectionery (1) nears the alignment mechanism (400), the sensor (6) detects the baked confectionery (1) and generates a signal. The sensor (6) is communicatively coupled to a control unit (9), and the signal generated by the sensor (6) is received by the control unit (9). The control unit (9) then generates a signal to actuate the stopper member (2). The signal generated by the control unit (9) is received by an actuator (10) in order to operate the stopper member (2), wherein the actuator (10) which is connected to the stopper member (2) and the adjustment member (3).

In an embodiment, the actuator (10) may be connected to a gearing arrangement (11) which may be configured below the conveyor assembly (200). The gearing arrangement (11) may be configured to each of the one or more support beams (5) such that, upon operation of the actuator (10), torque from the actuator (10) is transferred through either of a chain drive or belt drive to pivotally displace the stopper member (2) and the adjustment member (3). In an embodiment, the gearing arrangement (11) may be connectable to a motor or a rotary actuator [not shown in figures] in order to provide power to the gearing arrangement (11).

In an embodiment, individual actuators (10) may be configured on each of the one or more support beams (5) to operate the stopper member (2) and the adjustment member (3) pivotally in order to stop and align the plurality of layers (L) of the baked confectionery (1). In an embodiment, other means of transportation apart from conveyor assembly (200) may be utilized such as, pallet transportation system, wherein, plurality of pallets carry the baked confectionery from one station to another station.

In an embodiment, the plurality of flaps (4) provided on the adjustment member (3) may be fixed in a space apart distance on the one or more support beams (5). Each flap of the plurality of flaps (4) may be designed to have surface area large enough to come in contact with the baked confectionery (1) and thereby to push the mis-aligned layers (L) of the baked confectionery (1) with respect to a common vertical plane in order to achieve a defined or required shape. In an embodiment, since the shape of the baked confectionery (1) is required to be in a predetermined shape, the stopper member (2) and the adjustment member (3) may be calibrated to pivot accordingly to particular angles for aligning the plurality of layers (L) of the baked confectionery (1).

In an embodiment, the pivoting action of the adjustment member (3) may resemble an articulation of hand movement of a human. In other words, in manual adjustment processes, an operator or human uses his hands to align the layers (L) of the baked confectionery (1) by bringing the hands in alignment over the baked confectionery (1) and applying required force to adjust the mis-aligned layers (L). The adjustment member (3) with the plurality of flaps (4) in operation, resembles movement of the arm of the operator or human in order to align the baked confectionery (1).

In an embodiment, as the plurality of layers (L) of baked confectionery (1) traverses on the conveyor belt (300), the conveyor assembly (200) is not halted or stopped. In other words, the stopper member (2) stops the mis-aligned plurality of layers (L) of baked confectionery (1) and the adjustment member (3) pivots from the rest position (RP) to the aligning position (AP) for aligning the plurality of layers (L) of baked confectionery (1). In an embodiment, an image capturing unit [not shown in figures] such as a camera maybe provided in the alignment mechanism (400). The image capturing unit may be configured to detect shape and configuration of the baked confectionery in an embodiment, the image capturing unit may capture live images of the baked confectionery (1) to detect any mis -alignment of the layers (L) of the baked confectionery (1). The image capturing unit may be configured to transmit the live images such that, the control unit processes the shape and configuration of the baked confectionery as and when the mis-alignment is detected, the control unit (9) may actuate the stopper member (2) and the adjustment member (3) to align the plurality of layers (L). The image capturing unit, visually aids in aligning the mis-aligned layers (L) of the baked confectionery (1).

In an embodiment, the system (100) automatically without an intervention from an operator or user, detects and aligns the mis-aligned layers (L) of the baked confectionery (1).

In an embodiment, the system (100) mitigates an additional process of trimming or cutting the mis-aligned layers (L) of the baked confectionery, thereby preventing wastage.

In an embodiment of the disclosure, the control unit (9) may be a centralized control unit or a dedicated control unit associated with the alignment mechanism and the conveyor assembly. The control unit may be implemented by any computing systems that is utilized to implement the features of the present disclosure. The control unit may be comprised of a processing unit. The processing unit may comprise at least one data processor for executing program components for executing user- or system-generated requests. The processing unit may be a specialized processing unit such as integrated system (bus) controllers, memory management control units, floating point units, graphics processing units, digital signal processing units, etc. The processing unit may include a microprocessor, such as AMD Athlon, Duron or Opteron, ARM’s application, embedded or secure processors, IBM PowerPC, Intel’s Core, Itanium, Xeon, Celeron or other line of processors, etc. The processing unit may be implemented using a mainframe, distributed processor, multi-core, parallel, grid, or other architectures. Some embodiments may utilize embedded technologies like application- specific integrated circuits (ASICs), digital signal processors (DSPs), Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs), etc.

In some embodiments, the ECU may be disposed in communication with one or more memory devices (e.g., RAM, ROM etc.) via a storage interface. The storage interface may connect to memory devices including, without limitation, memory drives, removable disc drives, etc., employing connection protocols such as serial advanced technology attachment (SATA), integrated drive electronics (IDE), IEEE-1394, universal serial bus (USB), fiber channel, small computing system (100) interface (SCSI), etc. The memory drives may further include a drum, magnetic disc drive, magneto-optical drive, optical drive, redundant array of independent discs (RAID), solid-state memory devices, solid-state drives, etc.

It is to be understood that a person of ordinary skill in the art may develop a mechanism and a system of similar configuration without deviating from the scope of the present disclosure. Such modifications and variations may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention. Therefore, it is intended that the present disclosure covers such modifications and variations provided they come within the ambit of the appended claims and their equivalents.

Equivalents:

With respect to the use of substantially any plural and/or singular terms herein, those having skill in the art can translate from the plural to the singular and/or from the singular to the plural as is appropriate to the context and/or application. The various singular/plural permutations may be expressly set forth herein for sake of clarity.

It will be understood by those within the art that, in general, terms used herein, and especially in the appended claims (e.g., bodies of the appended claims) are generally intended as “open” terms (e.g., the term “including” should be interpreted as “including but not limited to,” the term “having” should be interpreted as “having at least,” the term “includes” should be interpreted as “includes but is not limited to,” etc.). It will be further understood by those within the art that if a specific number of an introduced claim recitation is intended, such an intent will be explicitly recited in the claim, and in the absence of such recitation no such intent is present. For example, as an aid to understanding, the following appended claims may contain usage of the introductory phrases “at least one” and “one or more” to introduce claim recitations. However, the use of such phrases should not be construed to imply that the introduction of a claim recitation by the indefinite articles “a” or “an” limits any particular claim containing such introduced claim recitation to inventions containing only one such recitation, even when the same claim includes the introductory phrases “one or more” or “at least one” and indefinite articles such as “a” or “an” (e.g., “a” and/or “an” should typically be interpreted to mean “at least one” or “one or more”); the same holds true for the use of definite articles used to introduce claim recitations. In addition, even if a specific number of an introduced claim recitation is explicitly recited, those skilled in the art will recognize that such recitation should typically be interpreted to mean at least the recited number (e.g., the bare recitation of “two recitations,” without other modifiers, typically means at least two recitations, or two or more recitations). Furthermore, in those instances where a convention analogous to “at least one of A, B, and C, etc.” is used, in general such a construction is intended in the sense one having skill in the art would understand the convention (e.g., “a system (108) having at least one of A, B, and C” would include but not be limited to systems that have A alone, B alone, C alone, A and B together, A and C together, B and C together, and/or A, B, and C together, etc.). In those instances, where a convention analogous to “at least one of A, B, or C, etc.” is used, in general such a construction is intended in the sense one having skill in the art would understand the convention (e.g., “a system (108) having at least one of A, B, or C” would include but not be limited to systems that have A alone, B alone, C alone, A and B together, A and C together, B and C together, and/or A, B, and C together, etc.). It will be further understood by those within the art that virtually any disjunctive word and/or phrase presenting two or more alternative terms, whether in the description, claims, or drawings, should be understood to contemplate the possibilities of including one of the terms, either of the terms, or both terms. For example, the phrase “A or B” will be understood to include the possibilities of “A” or “B” or “A and B.” While various aspects and embodiments have been disclosed herein, other aspects and embodiments will be apparent to those skilled in the art. The various aspects and embodiments disclosed herein are for purposes of illustration and are not intended to be limiting, with the true scope and spirit being indicated by the following claims.

Referral Numerals:

Claims

CLAIMS:

1. A system (100) for transporting and aligning layers (L) of a baked confectionery (1), the system (100) comprising: a conveyor assembly (200) comprising a conveyor belt (300) configured to convey a plurality of stacks (la) of the baked confectionery (1) from a baking station (BS) to a packaging station (PS); an alignment mechanism (400) positioned in the conveyor assembly (200), the alignment mechanism (400) comprising: a stopper member (2) movably supported on the conveyor belt (300), wherein the stopper member (2) is movable between a first position (FP) and a second position (SP), and an adjustment member (3) mounted adjacent and offset by a distance to the stopper member (2), the adjustment member (3) is operable between a rest position (IP) and an alignment position (AP); wherein, the stopper member (2) in the second position (SP) stops and supports the plurality of stacks (la) of baked confectionery (1) from one side and the adjustment member (3) aligns the plurality of stacks (la) of baked confectionery (1) while moving from the rest position (RP) to the aligning position (AP).

2. The system (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the conveyor assembly (200) comprises a plurality of rollers (7) connected to the conveyor belt (300) to displace the plurality of stacks (la) of baked confectionery (1).

3. The system (100) as claimed in claim 1 comprises a plurality of elongated flaps (4) connected to the adjustment member (3), wherein the plurality of elongated flaps (4) are configured to align each of the plurality of stacks (la) of baked confectionery (1) to a common vertical plane.

4. The system (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the alignment member (3) aligns the plurality of stacks (la) of baked confectionery (1) on-the-fly without stopping the conveyor belt (300).

5. The system (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the adjustment member (3) is mounted on one or more support beams (5).

6. The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the one or more support beams (5) are fixed to at least one roller of the plurality of rollers (7).

7. The system (100) as claimed in claim 1 comprises a sensor (9) positioned proximal to the alignment mechanism (400) to determine position of the baked confectionery (1).

8. The system (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the sensor (6) is communicatively coupled to a control unit (10), which generates a signal to actuate the stopper member (2) upon detection of the baked confectionery (1) in vicinity of the alignment mechanism (400).

9. The system (100) as claimed in claim 1 comprises an actuator (10) connected to the adjustment member (3), wherein the actuator (10) actuates the adjustment member (3) between the rest position (RP) and the alignment position (AP).

10. The system (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the adjustment member (3) extends across breath of the conveyor belt assembly (200) to contact the baked confectionery (1) by the pivoting action of the plurality of flaps (4).

11. The System (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the alignment mechanism (400) comprises an image capturing unit configured to capture images of the baked confectionery (1) to visually detect mis -alignment of the layers (L) of the baked confectionery (1).

12. The system (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the plurality of layers (la) of baked confectionery (1) comprises a creamy layer and an alternating biscuit layer.