Pivotable Knife Dough Portioning Device
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing dough portioning devices, such as star roller portioners, produce uneven dough portions in shape and weight due to varying dough qualities and fill levels, and fail to optimize the cross-sectional shape of separated dough, leading to suboptimal further processing and potential dough degassing.
Innovation Solution
The device employs pivotably mounted knife elements that can be inserted into the dough separating area like a guillotine, allowing adjustable pressure control and a clean, pressureless cut, enabling uniform dough portions with a largely rectangular cross-section suitable for further treatment, and accommodating soft or proofed dough with minimal pressure to prevent degassing.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If star roller portioners with rotating knife elements are used, then dough can be continuously portioned, but the dough portions become uneven in shape and weight due to different flow behavior caused by different dough qualities and fill levels
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs pivotably mounted knife elements that can be adjusted to different positions and angles, allowing the system to adapt dynamically to varying dough qualities and fill levels. This dynamic adjustment capability enables continuous operation while maintaining uniform portioning, resolving the contradiction between productivity and manufacturing precision.
Solution Approach 2:
The knife elements can be positioned at different locations within the dough separating area and pivoted to different angles, changing the geometric parameters of the cutting action. This allows optimization of the portioning process for different dough types and fill levels, achieving uniform portions while maintaining continuous operation.
2Ease of manufacture
If rotating star roller knives are used, then dough portioning can be performed, but the cross section of the separated dough portions is not optimally formed and is inevitably determined by the rotating star roller knives
Solution Approach 1:
The pivotable mounting allows the knife elements to be positioned and angled optimally for creating rectangular cross-sections, improving the shape quality of dough portions while maintaining the ease of manufacture through continuous portioning capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent allows different knife elements to be positioned at different locations and angles within the dough separating area, optimizing the local cutting action to produce uniformly rectangular cross-sections across the entire portioning process.
3Stress or pressure
If pressure is applied during dough separation, then dough compression can be controlled, but soft and partially proofed dough may be subjected to excessive pressure causing degassing
Solution Approach 1:
The pivotable knife elements allow adjustment of the cutting angle and position, enabling control of compression levels during separation. This parameter adjustment capability permits gentle handling of soft and proofed dough to prevent degassing while maintaining compression control for other dough types.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution ensures consistent dough portions in shape and weight, allows for targeted compression and gentle handling, reducing dough degassing and optimizing the cross-sectional shape for better processing, while accommodating different dough qualities and states.
Implementation Method 1
The pivoting movement leads to a controllable pressure load on the separated dough area, with a dough degassing process being able to be controlled in a targeted manner
Implementation Method 2
the blade element is pushed into the dough separating area like the blade of a 'guillotine' and thus leads to a clean, pressureless cut
Data Source
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AI summary
The invention relates to a device for portioning dough, comprising a housing for receiving the dough to be portioned; a dough feed and dough separation area arranged in this housing, wherein at least one movable dough separation element is provided in or on the dough separation area, which is designed as a knife element that can be inserted into the dough separation area, and a dough discharge area is arranged below the dough separation area, through which portions of dough separated from the dough can be fed to further dough processing stations, wherein the at least one dough separation element is pivotably mounted.