US3593676A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Dough sheeting apparatus
Assignee: Pillsbury Co
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Filing: 1969-04-04
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Granted: 1971-07-20
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Expires: 1989-04-04
Abstract
Abstract A dough sheeting apparatus composed of a series of adjacent roll stands each including several pairs of vertically spaced rolls. Each successive pair of rolls is spaced slightly closer together than the one next to it for the purpose of reducing the thickness of the sheet. A depending loop of dough is maintained between each pair of rolls. A sensing arm contacts each depending loop and maintains the speed of the next downstream pair of rolls at an appropriate speed to prevent the dough from stretching or accumulating between the adjacent pairs of rolls.
Inventors
- 👤 Francis R Reid
- 👤 Selwyn Jones
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-31 18:31
CPC Classifications
A; A21; A21C; A21C3/00; A21C3/02
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 17
Claim 1
Independent Claim
186 words
An apparatus for forming a dough sheet comprising at least two pairs of spaced apart compression elements, each pair of compression elements comprising first and second compression rolls separated by a space of a predetermined size for compressing said dough that is introduced therebetween to reduce the thickness of the sheet of dough traveling at each pair of compression rolls, said thickness reduction inducing stresses into the dough, said dough sheet having a depending dough loop hanging between the first and second pairs of compression rolls, a sensor means operatively associated with the hanging part of the dough loop, said sensor means being operatively connected to the downstream pair of compressing rolls to control the speed of the dough passing therethrough such as to maintain the depending loop of dough present at all times whereby stretching of the dough will be prevented and the internal stresses induced by compression at the rolls is relieved without an uncontrolled accumulation of dough between the first and second pairs of compression rolls and the thickness of the dough sheet being regulated solely by the pressure applied by the rolls.
Claim 2
Independent Claim
186 words
An apparatus for forming a dough sheet comprising at least two pairs of spaced apart compression elements, each pair of compression elements comprising first and second compression rolls separated by a space of a predetermined size for compressing said dough that is introduced therebetween to reduce the thickness of the sheet of dough traveling at each pair of compression rolls, said thickness reduction inducing stresses into the dough, said dough sheet having a depending dough loop hanging between the first and second pairs of compression rolls, a sensor means operatively associated with the hanging part of the dough loop, said sensor means being operatively connected to the downstream pair of compressing rolls to control the speed of the dough passing therethrough such as to maintain the depending loop of dough present at all times whereby stretching of the dough will be prevented and the internal stresses induced by compression at the rolls is relieved without an uncontrolled accumulation of dough between the first and second pairs of compression rolls and the thickness of the dough sheet being regulated solely by the pressure applied by the rolls.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
38 words
The apparatus from claim 1 wherein the downstream pair of compression rolls is set at a closer spaciNg than the upstream pair whereby the dough passing between the downstream pair is compressed further than by the upstream pair.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
109 words
The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the sensor means comprises an element adapted to engage the depending dough loop, signal establishing means is operatively connected between the member engaging the dough loop for establishing a voltage of a predetermined strength as a function of the position of the sensor, drive motors for the downstream pair of rolls and means wired between the voltage establishing means and the drive motor for the downstream compression members of said pair to increase the speed of the members if the depending loop becomes too large or to decrease the speed of the downstream compression members when the size of the loop is reduced.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
110 words
The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the compression members comprise rolls and a plurality of said pair of rolls are provided in spaced longitudinal alignment whereby the dough sheet travels successively between each pair of rolls, drive motors are connected to each pair of rolls for driving the rolls in a given feed direction and one such sensor is connected between the adjacent sets of rolls, each sensor being operatively connected to the drive motor of the next downstream set of rolls so as to reduce the speed of the rolls to which it is connected in the event the depending loop engaged therewith is diminished below a predetermined size.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
92 words
The apparatus according to claim 3 wherein voltage regulator means is wired to the drive motors, summing circuit means is wired to the voltage regulator to supply current thereto, said sensor means is operatively associated with the summing circuit, means for establishing a master line speed reference current is connected to the summing circuit, means connecting the output of the summing circuit to the voltage regulator whereby the current supplied to the voltage regulator varies as the algebraic sum of the signal from the sensor and the master line speed reference current.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
78 words
The apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said compression elements include a plurality of roll stands each having a plurality of said pairs of spaced compression members comprising rolls, means rotating the first pair of rolls of the first roll stand at a fixed speed, the downstream pairs of rolls are connected to said sensors and are rotated at a speed controlled by the sensor so as to maintain a depending loop of dough between adjacent roll pairs.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
126 words
A process for forming and compressing a dough sheet comprising, running the dough sheet between pairs of spaced apart driven rolls, reducing the thickness of the dough sheet by reducing the clearance between each successive pair of rolls and thereby temporarily stressing the dough, allowing the dough to accumulate in depending loops hanging between adjacent pair of rolls, sensing the loop condition and controlling the speed of the pair of rolls downstream from the sensed condition of the depending loops to maintain the depending loops present and thereby relieve the temporary stresses and prevent the stretching of the dough or the accumulation of excess amounts of dough between adjacent pairs of rolls and regulating the thickness of the sheet solely by the pressure of the rolls.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
126 words
A process for forming and compressing a dough sheet comprising, running the dough sheet between pairs of spaced apart driven rolls, reducing the thickness of the dough sheet by reducing the clearance between each successive pair of rolls and thereby temporarily stressing the dough, allowing the dough to accumulate in depending loops hanging between adjacent pair of rolls, sensing the loop condition and controlling the speed of the pair of rolls downstream from the sensed condition of the depending loops to maintain the depending loops present and thereby relieve the temporary stresses and prevent the stretching of the dough or the accumulation of excess amounts of dough between adjacent pairs of rolls and regulating the thickness of the sheet solely by the pressure of the rolls.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
123 words
A process for preparing a dough product composed of at least flour water and shorting comprising admixing the components of the dough until a developed dough is formed having a Brabender value of at least 600, running the dough sheet between pairs of spaced apart driven rolls, reducing the thickness of the dough sheet by reducing the clearance between each successive pair of rolls, allowing the dough to accumulate in depending loops hanging between adjacent pair of rolls, sensing the loop condition and controlling the speed of the pair of rolls downstream from the depending loops thus sensed to maintain the depending loops present and thereby prevent the stretching of the dough or the accumulation of dough between adjacent pairs of rolls. Pg,19
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
123 words
A process for preparing a dough product composed of at least flour water and shorting comprising admixing the components of the dough until a developed dough is formed having a Brabender value of at least 600, running the dough sheet between pairs of spaced apart driven rolls, reducing the thickness of the dough sheet by reducing the clearance between each successive pair of rolls, allowing the dough to accumulate in depending loops hanging between adjacent pair of rolls, sensing the loop condition and controlling the speed of the pair of rolls downstream from the depending loops thus sensed to maintain the depending loops present and thereby prevent the stretching of the dough or the accumulation of dough between adjacent pairs of rolls. Pg,19
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
109 words
The process according to claim 1 wherein a plurality of pairs of rolls is provided and each successive pair has a clearance therebetween of a smaller size than the next upstream pair whereby the thickness of the dough sheet traveling between the adjacent pairs of rolls is reduced by a predetermined value, each pair of rolls is driven in a given feed direction to advance the sheet between the rolls and the speed of at least some of the rolls is controlled by the condition of the loop immediately upstream from the pair of controlled rolls to maintain the dough loop present adjacent to the controlled pair of rolls.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
39 words
The process according to claim 9 wherein the dough is lapped upon itself in shingled fashion to form multilaminated dough sheet, said multilaminated dough sheet is subsequently run through additional pairs of spaced rolls to further reduce its thickness.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
19 words
The process according to claim 7 wherein the rolls are run continuously to form an endless sheet of dough.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
22 words
The process according to claim 7 wherein the dough is cut into biscuits after it has been reduced to the desired thickness.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
103 words
The process according to claim 7 wherein the dough is first formed into a continuous sheet and is advanced at a predetermined rate between a plurality of said pairs of adjacent rolls and is compressed to a slightly reduced thickness as it passes through each succeeding pair of rolls, said dough sheet being folded back and forth upon itself to provide a laminated structure and is again advanced between spaced pairs of said rolls to reduce the thickness of the dough sheet as the dough sheet passes between each succeeding spaced pair and the sheet is thereafter divided into a plurality of pieces.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
73 words
The process according to claim 7 wherein a master line speed reference signal is established, said sensed position of said depending loop of dough being used to provide a second signal which varies in accordance with the position of the loop and the algebraic sum of said first and second signals is used to control the speed of the pair of rolls immediately adjacent to a downstream from the depending loop being sensed.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 1974-07-19 | 1975-01-18 | 1975-07-20 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 1978-07-19 | 1979-01-18 | 1979-07-20 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 1982-07-19 | 1983-01-18 | 1983-07-20 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |