Dough Shaping Plate Reciprocating Movement for Baguette Production
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for shaping dough into baguettes, long loaves, or elongated rolls either apply excessive mechanical stress or suffer from reduced production rates due to inefficient transfer and shaping processes, limiting the production capacity to around 3000-3600 baguettes per hour.
Innovation Solution
A method and device that simultaneously shape multiple sections of dough in a transverse row using a shaping plate with a reciprocating movement perpendicular to the conveyor belt, allowing for continuous processing without straining the dough and enabling faster production by maintaining conveyor belt speed during shaping and transfer.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If traditional shaping methods are used to transform ball-shaped dough into elongated rolls, then the desired baguette shape is achieved, but excessive mechanical stress is applied to the dough which limits production rate to around 3000-3600 baguettes per hour
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of shaping ball-shaped dough into elongated rolls through stretching, the invention inverts the approach by cutting a wide dough strip into multiple longitudinal strips that are then separated and conveyed individually. This eliminates the need for intensive shaping operations while achieving the same elongated baguette shape, thereby reducing mechanical stress on the dough and enabling higher production rates.
Solution Approach 2:
The wide dough strip is segmented into multiple longitudinal strips before separation and individual conveying. This segmentation allows each strip to be processed independently without requiring intensive shaping, reducing mechanical stress while maintaining productivity. The cuts are made lengthwise through the wide strip to define multiple longitudinal strips that are then separated from each other.
2Productivity
If dough strips are cut from a rolled dough sheet, then production efficiency is improved, but the cut edges do not seal properly which requires additional shaping operations
Solution Approach 1:
The dough strip is pre-shaped by rolling it宽度wise before cutting into longitudinal strips. This preliminary rolling action ensures that the cut edges are properly sealed by the mechanical stress applied during rolling, eliminating the need for additional shaping operations later. The rolling is performed before the longitudinal cuts are made, preparing the dough in advance for clean separation.
3Productivity
If dough pieces are shaped successively one after another on a moving conveyor belt, then continuous processing is maintained, but production rate is limited due to sequential processing time
Solution Approach 1:
Multiple shaping operations are merged into a single simultaneous operation. The wide dough strip is cut into multiple longitudinal strips that are then separated and conveyed individually through the same shaping device, allowing multiple pieces to be shaped at the same time rather than sequentially. This merging of operations eliminates the time loss associated with processing one piece at a time while maintaining continuous conveyor operation.
Data Source
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Figure 5~9
AI summary
The invention relates to a method for shaping dough to produce baguettes, long loaves, elongate rolls or the like. Said method, starting with a laminated dough strip (1) being spread out over a conveyor belt (3), involves: cutting said laminated dough strip (1) in the longitudinal direction into a plurality of smaller strips, transversely spacing said smaller strips apart from each other, and cutting them to length by means of a transverse cut so as to define smaller dough strip portions (9) extending longitudinally over said conveyor belt (3) in transverse rows (10, 10a, 10b) substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of said conveyor belt (3). Specifically, at least one transverse row (10, 10a, 10b) of longitudinal smaller dough strip portions (9) is shaped, driven by an alternating transverse movement of a shaping plate (12) extending transversely to said conveyor belt (3) and located above said row(s) (10, 10a, 10b). The invention also relates to a device for implementing said method.