Device for Twisting Dough Pieces

2:

• Device according to claim 1, comprising a fourth conveyor belt, positioned upstream in the transport direction with respect to the pair of conveyor belts, for delivering, in the transport direction, a piece of dough to be twisted around its longitudinal axis to the pair of conveyor belts.

3:

• Device according to claim 1, wherein the pair of conveyor belts is suspended in a frame that is rotatable with respect to the third conveyor belt.

4:

• Device according to claim 3, wherein the frame is provided on an outwardly facing side with a first force or torque transmission system, such as a gear ring or a pulley for a belt, for transmitting a driving force or torque for the rotation of the frame from an external drive located outside the frame, to the frame.

5:

• Device according to claim 3, wherein the frame is provided on an outwardly projecting with a second force or torque transmission system, such as a gear ring or a pulley for a belt, for transmitting a driving force or torque for the movement of the pair of conveyor belts for transporting the dough piece in the conveying direction.

6:

• Device according to 4, provided with an independently controllable first and a second external drive, each engaging one of the transmission systems.

7:

• Device according to claim 1, comprising a control system, arranged for controlling the first and second external drive, in particular arranged for discounting the mutual influence of a driving force or torque for the rotation of the frame and a driving force or torque for the movement of the pair of conveyor belts.

8:

• Device according to claim 2, wherein the fourth conveyor belt is arranged to move continuously, and/or to continuously supply dough pieces to the conveyor belt.

9:

• Device according to claim 2, comprising a portioning device for supplying dough pieces to the fourth conveyor, designed for supplying dough pieces to the pair of conveyor belts with a mutual distance in the transport direction that is at least equal to the length of a dough piece.

10:

• Device according to claim 9, wherein the portioning device is adapted for supplying dough pieces with such a mutual distance that a number of N dough pieces together with N−1 mutual distances has a maximum length of the distance of the transport surfaces of the pair of conveyor belts facing each other.

11:

• Device according to claim 1, comprising a clamp for fixing the position of a downstream end of a dough piece with respect to the fourth conveyor, to prevent the dough piece from rotating during twisting.

12:

• Device according to claim 1, wherein the clamp is designed to move with the dough piece during twisting, and after twisting the dough piece to move back to a position for clamping a next dough piece.

13:

• Device according to claim 1, comprising a sensor for detecting the arrival of a dough piece or a leading end thereof, and for providing a signal indicating such arrival to a control system for rotating the pair of conveyor belts around the rotation axis.

14:

• Device according to claim 1, comprising multiple pairs of conveyor belts, arranged in parallel preceding a common third and/or following a common fourth conveyor belt.