Dough sheeter

Claim 1

A machine for producing continuous sheets of pie dough of selected thickness comprising: a. two counter-rotating drums with axes parallel and in a horizontal plane, the spacing between the axes adjustable to form a gap between the two drums, the circumferential surface of the drums comprising alternate lands and shallow grooves, said drums synchronized to turn at the same speed with the lands of one drum opposite the grooves of the other, and the motion of both surfaces downward in the region of said gap; b. a rectangular dough hopper with open bottom positioned over said drums whereby the dough in said hopper rests on the mutually approaching surfaces of said drums and is drawn into the gap between said drums and dropped as a continuous sheet of dough; c. a horizontally travelling continuous belt adapted to accept the dropping sheet of dough and carry it horizontally; d. a pair of spaced, smooth-surfaced cylindrical rollers, with axes parallel and in the same vertical plane, the spacing between said axes adjustable, the gap between said rollers positioned substantially in the same plane as said belt; and e. a dough stripper comprising a smooth-surfaced roller positioned below said drums and having a surface speed greater than the speed of said sheet and positioned such as to assist the sheet in turning from a vertical to a horizontal direction of motion; whereby said drums carry dough into the gap to form a sheet of dough, which sheet stripped by said stripper, is carried to said rollers by said belt and rolled to a selected thickness by said rollers.