Dough Portioning Roller Assembly With Scrapers for Residue Control

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing portioning devices struggle with the efficient removal of dough residue and release agent accumulation on portioning rollers, leading to inefficiencies and potential dough tearing during the portioning process.

Innovation Solution

A portioning roller assembly with scrapers and a scraper drive to remove dough residue, combined with a release agent application system that applies release agent to recesses on the rollers, ensuring complete residue removal and regeneration of the release agent film.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If a release agent supply system with nozzles is used to reduce dough residue accumulation, then dough residue removal is improved, but release agent accumulation on the rollers increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvedough residue removalVSAvoidrelease agent accumulation
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSQuantity of substance

Solution Approach 1:

The patent extracts the harmful accumulation of release agent from the system by introducing a scraper device that actively removes excess release agent from the portioning rollers. This complements the release agent supply system by taking out the unwanted accumulation, thereby resolving the contradiction between reducing dough residue and preventing release agent buildup.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

Solution Approach 2:

The scraper device acts as an intermediary element between the release agent supply system and the portioning rollers. It mediates the contradiction by selectively removing excess release agent while allowing the necessary release agent film to remain, thus balancing dough residue removal with release agent management.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

2Reliability

If multiple scrapers are used to completely remove dough residue from portioning rollers, then dough residue removal is improved, but device complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvedough residue removal completenessVSAvoidscraper device structure
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The scraper device is segmented into multiple scrapers, each responsible for a specific zone or function on the portioning roller. This segmentation allows for effective and complete dough residue removal while keeping each individual scraper relatively simple in structure, thus managing overall device complexity.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The scrapers are designed with multi-functionality, serving both to remove dough residue and to manage release agent distribution. This universal approach reduces the need for additional specialized components, thereby controlling device complexity while achieving complete residue removal.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #6Universality (Multi-functionality)

3Reliability

If the scraper is moved beyond the end faces of portioning rollers, then dough residue removal is improved, but the displacement range requirement increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvedough residue removal efficiencyVSAvoidscraper displacement range
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSLength of moving object

Solution Approach 1:

The scraper is positioned and moved in advance beyond the end faces of the portioning rollers to preemptively remove dough residue before it can accumulate or cause problems during the portioning cycle. This preliminary action ensures complete residue removal while the displacement mechanism is designed to accommodate this extended range efficiently.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

Data Source

PatentEP4285727B1Portioning roller assembly for producing dough portions
Publication Date: 2025.11.05 FRITSCH BAKERY TECHNOLOGIES GMBH & CO KG
  • EP4285727B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP4285727B1 patent drawingFigure 2
  • EP4285727B1 patent drawingFigure 3

AI summary

A portioning roller arrangement (4) configured to produce portions of dough (5) from a dough mass (3) comprises a first portioning roller (6) having multiple separating edges (12, 13) and being rotatably mounted about a first axis of rotation (8), and a second portioning roller (7) having multiple separating edges (15, 16) and being rotatably mounted about a second axis of rotation (9), wherein the first and/or the second portioning roller (6, 7) each has a plurality of recesses (14, 18) provided between each pair of separating edges (12, 13, 15, 16). The portioning roller arrangement (4) further comprises a stripping device (29) which includes a stripper (30, 30a) and a stripping drive (31, 31a), wherein the stripping drive (31, 31a) is configured to move the stripper (30, 30a) along the first portioning roller (6) and/or the second portioning roller (7).