Device for perforating bakery goods such as English muffins

A device for perforating the edges of individual bakery products to facilitate the separation of the products into portions comprising:

• a rigid frame, means mounted on said frame having a generally planar portion adapted to support products in sequence for movement along a path of movement in a first direction;
• first and second sets of perforating blades, each set comprising a plurality of individual blades mounted for movement in a closed path;
• each of said blades having sharpened outer ends, means to mount said sets of blades for sequential movement of the blades in separate blade paths on opposite sides of and adjacent to and parallel to the planar portion, the blades in said separate path portions moving in said first direction;
• said means mounting said blades guiding the blades in each set from a first position to a second position in direction transverse to the first direction whereby the outer ends of the blades of the sets converge and thereby move toward and engage products supported on the planar portion as the products and the blades of each set move in said first direction and the blades are in said separate path portions;
• said blades moving into and piercing the side portions of products on the planar portion as the blades move from the first to the second portions,;
• means to withdraw the blades from the pierced products upon further movement of the products and blades in the first direction beyond the second position of the blades;
• and
• means to oscillate both sets of blades in direction transverse to said first direction as said blades move from said first to said second positions.

A device for perforating individual pieces of bakery goods such as English muffins to facilitate the separation of the pieces of bakery goods into portions comprising:

• a rigid frame;
• a bakery goods conveyor means movably mounted on said frame and having a generally horizontal section for transporting the bakery goods in a first direction;
• a first set of perforating blades with sharpened ends pointing towards the conveyor means and situated above and alongside the horizontal section of the conveyor means;
• said first set of perforating blades being movably mounted on the frame with a portion of the perforating blades moving in the first direction adjacent the horizontal section of the conveyor means;
• a second set of perforating blades with sharpened ends pointing towards the conveyor means and situated above and alongside the horizontal section of the conveyor means on an opposite side of the conveyor means from the first set of perforating blades;
• said second set of perforating blades being movably mounted on the frame with a portion of the perforating blades moving in the first direction adjacent the horizontal section of the conveyor means at a greater speed than the conveyor means, the first and second sets of perforating blades converging as they move in the first direction from a first position wherein the sharpened ends of the blades are spaced laterally from bakery goods being carried on the horizontal section of the conveyor means to a second position where the blades pierce and enter the sides of the bakery goods as the blades and conveyor means move in the first direction;
• the differences in speed between the first set of perforating blades, the second set of perforating blades and the conveyor means, causing the bakery goods to be rotated about a generally vertical axis as the bakery goods are moved along the horizontal section of the conveyor means, and said first and second sets of perforating blades moving laterally away from bakery goods on the conveyor means subsequent to movement of the blades to their second position.