Food or edible material: processes – compositions – and products – Applying diverse edible particulate solid to coat or...
Reexamination Certificate
1999-04-19
2001-06-12
Cano, Milton (Department: 1761)
Food or edible material: processes, compositions, and products
Applying diverse edible particulate solid to coat or...
C426S292000, C426S293000, C426S296000, C426S503000, C426S505000, C426S512000, C426S516000, C426S518000, C426S496000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06245370
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method and the corresponding apparatus for the mechanized and automatic production of ready-to-eat pizza, flat cakes, and the like, starting from fresh ingredients by individual production based on individual single orders.
Methods and apparatuses are known for the automatic industrial production-line and mass-produced production of pizzas and flat cakes, which essentially comprise the following work phases: preparation of the dough including rising of the dough, extruding the dough for the purpose of forming a connected mass, cutting a dough strand into the dough portions, processing the dough portions to flat round cakes, adding seasonings and toppings, baking, packaging for a consumption within the expiration date or, respectively, for deep freezing. The apparatuses for performing this method are voluminous and require much space, furthermore, several conveyor belts are required in order to transport the product from one device to the next. In order to accelerate the production of the dough, some methods employ a pre-treated, dried granulate, the seasoning, topping, and/or stuffing is carried out on a minimum number of pizzas of the same kind and in fact during the passage of the pizzas, which are disposed at small distances relative to each other on the conveyor belt and are subsequently baked in a tunnel oven; some methods bake the pizza in its own baking tins in order to allow the placement and sliding into the baking oven.
The technical features of these known devices do not allow individual production of pizzas according to individual single orders based on a selection from a list.
In addition, installations are known, wherein the pancakes are present in a pre-produced and possibly pre-cooked kind and are taken from the freezer garnished and baked or, respectively, heated up.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
1. Purposes of the Invention
It is an object of the present invention to furnish a method and a corresponding device for mechanical and automatic production of pizzas, ordered individually based on an individual selection from a list, and in fact starting from non-pre-cooked and/or non-deep-frozen ingredients for the dough, which pizzas are individually seasoned, spiced, garnished, stuffed and baked and are available ready for consumption within a short time.
It is another object of the invention to furnish the method and the apparatus such that the production process is performed hygienically and without human intervention and where periodic and automated washing and sterilization cycles are provided for the purpose of maintaining the plant and in particular with reference to the hygiene and the cleanliness of the plant.
It is yet a further object of the invention to furnish periodically and in a simple fashion exchangeable parts, where these parts are coming in contact with foodstuffs and where these parts are not already subjected to the germicidal effect of an elevated temperature.
It is still a further object according to the present invention to construct such an installation for the perishable food components of the pizza and for the emptied packaging material as to allow for a stockkeeping which is appropriate for foodstuffs.
These and other objects and advantages of the present invention will become evident from the description which follows.
2. Brief Description of the Invention
The present invention provides a linear or circular production line for achieving these objects, comprising the following devices:
a conventional mixer including a charge device for the flour mixture or, respectively, a metering device which empties already pre-mixed and pre-proportioned amounts or partial amounts of the dough ingredients into the kneading device;
a conventional metering and weighing device;
a novel kneading and extrusion device;
a novel shaping and molding device for the flat cake;
a novel device for metering tomato pulp with a tomato pulp distributor;
several novel metering and distribution devices;
a novel insertion device for the baking oven;
a novel baking oven;
a novel discharge and removal device for the baked pizza and
a transport device for the flat cake from its shaping stage to the baking oven.
The invention does not exclude that one or several of the above-recited novel devices are replaced by one or several corresponding conventional devices. The kneading and extrusion device is an essential component of the method. Two transport and kneading worms, operating perpendicular to each other, allow the kneading and extrusion device to realize an effective mixing of the dough components (flour, salt, sugar, yeast, water, etc.), a homogenization, an interspersing, a densification, and finally the extrusion with the discharge of the portion amount based on an independently controllable rotational speed of the two worms relative to each other. The core piece of this kneading and extrusion device is the transition region from the first worm to the second worm, wherein the second worm disposed perpendicular to the first worm. The dough mass is subjected in this region to a torsion motion with repeated shearing by the worm wall, which effects an intensive interspersing under formation of air bubbles and homogenization, which equals an intensive and continuous kneading through of the mass and is decisive for a uniform shaping and baking through of the flat cake or pizza. The arrangement according to the present invention of the worms, their construction form and the tuning of the worm casing allow in a short time to extrude a professionally prepared portion of dough. The apparatus is cleanly flushed and sterilized with hot air according to a pre-programmed washing and sterilization cycle through an increase of the rotation speed and change of the rotation direction of the worms. A compact dough portion is extruded in case of a proper metering of the ingredients of the dough mixture and upon an exact tuning of the rotation speeds of the two worms. The dough portion is separated at the discharge of the casing, possibly by way of a cutting device, and falls onto the transport plate readied under the casing discharge. A closure plate at the input of the casing and the possible cutting device at the discharge of the casing or at the extrusion nozzle close the kneading device during the standstill of the worms. The transport plate according to the present invention can be produced of different materials and is preferably heated or preheated by electrical thermal resistors so that the dough, or, respectively, the flat cake does not stick to the transport plate and becomes pre-heated during the following work phases in order to obtain thereby the required rigidity in order to not to deform during placement into the baking oven and in order to shorten the baking time.
According to the present invention, the transport plate simultaneously serves as a dough support during the shaping of the flat cake or flat dough base and as a support at the oven entrance during the sliding and placement of the flat cake into the baking oven. It is, however, not excluded that the transport plate is a relatively thin metal sheet, which metal sheet rests on a transport support and is placed together with the flat cake into the baking oven.
The shaping of the flat cake according to the present invention is performed under a press which flattens the dough portion to a predetermined thickness by lowering a horizontal disk against the transport plate disposed below the horizontal disk. The lowerable heated disk is furnished with a ring which is supported horizontally shiftable at a distance to the circular disk's outer edge when subjected to a spring interaction. This ring furnishes a circular form to the outer edge of the flat cake by forming a bead in the intermediate space between the extruder's outer edge and the inner side of the ring during the stamping procedure from the dough squeezed out laterally from between the transport plate and the extruder plate. Initially, the ring rests at the surface of the
Malfatti Pierluigi
Pilati Marco
Torghele Claudio
Cano Milton
Carpos, S.A.
Ewing LLP Saul
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