Dough Portioning Cylinder with Pivotable Piston Drive
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing multiple-row dough portioning apparatuses face challenges in achieving high portioning accuracy between rows and often experience jamming issues due to limited displacement stroke of metering pistons.
Innovation Solution
A multiple-row dough portioning apparatus with vertically displaceable metering pistons, where a control component connected to all pistons transmits a tensile force from a control roller to ensure uniform positioning, and a pivotable portioning cylinder with a significant displacement stroke greater than half the diameter of the cylinder, along with a compact guide surface arrangement, prevents jamming and ensures high accuracy.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If a control component connected to all metering pistons transmits tensile force uniformly, then portioning accuracy between rows is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
Multiple independent metering piston control mechanisms are merged into a single control component that simultaneously controls all metering pistons. This unified control structure ensures uniform tensile force transmission to all pistons, achieving high portioning accuracy (relative deviation < 0.5%) while avoiding the complexity of multiple separate control systems.
2Reliability
If the displacement stroke of metering piston is increased to prevent jamming, then reliability is improved, but the size of portioning cylinder must increase
Solution Approach 1:
The metering piston displacement stroke is dynamically optimized to be greater than half the diameter of the portioning cylinder. This dynamic dimensioning ensures sufficient stroke to prevent jamming during operation while maintaining a compact cylinder size, achieving reliability without excessive volume increase.
3Device complexity
If a compact guide surface arrangement is used, then device complexity is reduced, but manufacturing precision may be compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The guide surface arrangement is segmented into multiple smaller guide surfaces distributed around the metering piston. This segmentation provides sufficient guidance and positioning precision while keeping each individual guide surface compact, reducing overall device complexity without compromising manufacturing precision.
Data Source
AI summary
A multiple-row dough portioning apparatus includes at least one portioning chamber to define a portioned dough quantity, at least one metering piston, which is displaceable in the portioning chamber between a retracted metering position and an extended ejection position. The dough portioning apparatus comprises a drive unit having a control component. The drive unit is configured to displace the metering piston from the metering position into the ejection position. The dough portioning apparatus is configured such that a displacement of the metering pistons takes place exclusively on account of a pressure exerted on the metering pistons by the dough. The control component is connected to all metering pistons to transmit a tensile force from the control roller to the metering pistons. The portioning chamber is accommodated in a portioning cylinder, which is pivotable between a metering pivot position and a pivoted ejection pivot position.