Noodle Cutting Rollers with Comb Plates to Reduce Strand Adhesion

The patent introduces a new spatial dimension by positioning the comb plate laterally adjacent to the cutting rollers, perpendicular to the noodle strand travel direction. The comb teeth extend in the width direction of the noodle strands and apply lateral forces to rotate the strands around their longitudinal axes. This dimensional approach transforms the problem from a two-dimensional contact area issue to a three-dimensional orientation control problem, enabling wide noodles to be produced without adhesion by controlling their spatial arrangement.

The comb plate features asymmetric tooth arrangement where teeth are positioned at different lateral distances from the centerline of the cutting rollers. This asymmetric configuration creates differential forces on different portions of the noodle strands, inducing rotational motion that orients the strands to reduce contact area. The asymmetric design breaks the symmetry of the cutting roller-groove-noodle system, enabling controlled strand orientation that prevents adhesion while maintaining wide noodle production.

The comb plate performs preliminary action by rotating and orienting the noodle strands immediately after they are cut from the rollers, before they enter the guide for crimping. This preliminary orientation step ensures that strands are positioned with reduced contact areas from the outset, so that subsequent vertical crimping in the guide creates effective gaps between strands. The comb plate's lateral forcing action prepares the strands in advance, making the guide crimping more effective at preventing adhesion.

The comb plate acts as an intermediary element between the cutting rollers and the guide structure. It receives the freshly cut noodle strands from the rollers and applies lateral forces to rotate and orient them, then passes the oriented strands to the guide for crimping. This intermediary action transforms the strands' orientation state, enabling the guide to create effective gaps without requiring complex structural modifications. The comb plate mediates the transition from unoriented to oriented strands, simplifying the overall system.