CUTTING MACHINE FOR TRIANGLE CUTTING SHEETS OF PASTRY AND FOR SUBSEQUENTLY SEIZING, ROTATING AND SPACING SAID TRIANGLES, FOR FORMING CROISSANTS, BRIOCHES AND THE LIKE

摘要

ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSUREThe present invention provides a machine for formingcroissants, brioches and the like which comprises a pastry flatteningstage operable to receive pastry dough and to flatten the dough intoa pastry sheet delivered along a given conveyance path and a cuttingstage having moveable cutter blades arranged to cut the pastry sheetinto a sequence of pastry triangles positioned at respectivelocations across the conveyance path. The pastry triangles uponbeing cut from the pastry sheet are oriented with a reference sideof each pastry triangle in a first group thereof facing in one givendirection with respect to the conveyance path, and with a similarreference side of each pastry triangle in a second group thereoffacing in another given direction with respect to the conveyancepath. A spacing and orienting stage has a carriage reciprocatablymoveable along the conveyance path and beares a plurality ofcatching elements spaced across the conveyance path in correspon-dance with the spacing of the pastry triangles. It is moveableinto engagement with corresponding pastry triangles to move sameand moveable out of engagement with the pastry triangles to releasesame after moving them. The catching elements are rotatably move-able to orient the pastry triangles so that they engage with theirreference sides facing a common selected direction with respectto the conveyance path. The catching elements are also tran-slatably moveable to position the pastry triangles they engage ina given spacing relation to one another prior to releasing thepastry triangles. A forming stage is disposed along the conveyancepath to receive the pastry triangles released by the catchingelements and operable to wrap the pastry triangles into respec-tive coiled configurations. The carriage is reciprocatably moveablebetween a position on the conveyance path where the catching ele-ments engage, and thereby receive the pastry triangles from thecutting stage, to a position on the conveyance path where the cat-ching elements release and therby deliver the oriented and spacedpastry triangles to the forming stage.