Sheeter Roller with Intersecting Helical Slots for Pasta Surface Texture
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Solution Overview
Problem
The surface pattern of fresh pasta sheets formed by existing machines results in micro-channels that cause a significant portion of sauce to drain off instead of being retained, making it unsuitable for dressing.
Innovation Solution
A dough sheeter machine with a sheeter roller featuring multiple intersecting cylindrical helical slots that create an irregularly rough surface pattern, combining first and second patterns of slots with different arrangements to enhance sauce retention.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If a continuous and regular surface pattern of linear slots is used on the sheeter roller, then the pasta sheet surface is formed with uniform micro-channels, but the sauce drains off instead of being retained
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies asymmetry by introducing a second pattern of linear slots with different orientation and/or pitch compared to the first pattern. This creates an irregular surface pattern where the alternating troughs and crests are not uniformly aligned, preventing sauce from draining along continuous channels while maintaining manufacturing precision through the systematic formation of multiple slot patterns
Solution Approach 2:
The patent adds another dimension to the surface pattern by incorporating slots at different orientations or pitches. Instead of a single-plane regular pattern, the second pattern introduces variability in the slot arrangement, creating a three-dimensional surface topology that enhances sauce retention while preserving the structured formation process
2Reliability
If multiple intersecting cylindrical helical slots are used on the sheeter roller, then the surface pattern becomes irregularly rough to retain sauce, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges multiple cylindrical helical slots onto a single sheeter roller, combining the first pattern with the second pattern. This integration creates an irregularly rough surface that retains sauce effectively while avoiding the need for separate processing stages or multiple rollers, thus managing device complexity through consolidation
Solution Approach 2:
The sheeter roller is designed with multi-functionality by incorporating both the first and second patterns of linear slots on a single component. This universal roller performs both the sheeting and the creation of the irregular surface pattern in one operation, reducing overall device complexity despite the increased structural detail of the roller itself
Data Source
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AI summary
Machine (10) for forming a sheet of fresh pasta, comprising: - a supporting structure (10.1), supporting at least two cylindrical sheeter rollers (121; 12), configured to form, from a shapable food dough, a sheet (S) of fresh pasta, - wherein at least one roller (121) of said at least two sheeter rollers (121; 12) comprises a first cylindrical helical slot (11.3) shaped so as to provide, in at least one part of the outer lateral surface (11.1) of said at least one roller (121), a plurality of contiguous grooves, and - wherein, during forming of the sheet of pasta (S), said at least one roller (121) cuts, in said corresponding part of a surface of the sheet of pasta (S), a plurality of linear slots according to a continuous and regular surface pattern. According to the invention, said at least one roller (121) comprises, in said at least one part of the outer lateral surface (11.1), a second cylindrical helical slot (120.1) and a third cylindrical helical slot (121.1), - wherein said second cylindrical helical slot (120.1) and said third cylindrical helical slot (121.1) are configured to cut - during forming of the sheet of pasta (5) -, in a corresponding part of a surface of the sheet of pasta (5) having said continuous and regular surface pattern, respective slots having different arrangement and course with respect to the slots of said pattern, and to produce, in combination with this pattern, an uneven arrangement of troughs and crests, making said corresponding part of a surface of the sheet of pasta (5) irregularly rough on the whole of its extension. The Invention also refers to said sheeter roller (121).