APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR CONTINUOUSLY PRODUCING AT A SUBSTANTIALLY CONSTANT FLOW RATE A STRIP OF DOUGH OF SUBSTANTIALLY UNIFORM DIMENSIONS

摘要

An apparatus for continuously producing a dough strip of substantially uniform dimensions is provided. The apparatus (2) comprises a hopper (4) having a divider (8) at its bottom, a conveyor (10) with a weighing device (12), a transfer conveyor (13), a thickness defining device (24) mounted on the transfer conveyor (13) and the width defining members (26) between the transfer conveyor (13) and the thickness defining device (24). In this apparatus, the dough portions supplied from the hopper (4) are weighed and supplied onto the transfer conveyor (13) one after another. By regulating the width and thickness of the dough, the length of the dough is made to be proportional to its weight. Thus the dough portion is supplied onto the transfer conveyor when it has conveyed the preceding dough portion a distance proportional to the weight thereof. The dough portions are connected to each other to make a dough strip when they pass through the thickness defining device (24) and the width defining member (26).