Dough feeding assembly

#1. Field of the Invention

#This invention relates to a dough divider or delivery assembly of the type specifically designed to remove individual dough portions in predetermined quantities from a common supply of dough and the delivery of such dough portions to a delivery site such as a conveyor belt wherein further processing is accomplished.

#2. Description of the Prior Art

#For a fuller understanding of the nature of the present invention, reference should be had to the following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings in which:

#FIG. 1 is a schematic representation of the assembly of the present invention used in cooperation with a delivery site preferably in the form a conveyor belt to convey or carry formed dough portions to other processing steps not specifically associated with the present invention.

#FIG. 2 is a detailed respective view of a pressurizing assembly associated with the structure of the present invention and having a mountin gbracket or like structure used therewith.

#As shown in FIG. 1 the assembly of the present invention is generally indicated as 10 and comprises a dispensing means in the form of a dispensing cylinder 12 mounted to rotate in accordance with the directional arrow 13 in a continuous fashion during operation of the assembly 10. The cylinder 12 includes an outer cylindrical operative surface 14 having a plurality of ports formed therein and extending radially inward from the outer surface 14 inwardly toward the center of the cylinder. With reference to FIGS. 1 and 3 each of the ports 16 and accordingly their opened ends 18, due to the rotation of the cylinder 12 successively passes into exposure and registry with a pressurizing means generally indicated as 20 to be described in greater detail hereinafter and a supply of dough maintained within the supply hopper or retainer generally indicated as 22. Next, and again due to the rotation of the cylinder 12 the outer surface 14 and the ports 16 are passed from the supply hopper 22 to a delivery site generally indicated as 24 and schematically represented in FIG. 1 as a conveyor assembly in the form of a conveyor belt 26 driven by one or more drive rollers 28. The conveyor belt 26 delivers the preformed volumetric portions of dough to additional processing steps not specifically associated with the present invention.

#From a review of FIGS. 4 and 5 it is noted that each of the ports 16 have reciprocally mounted therein a piston head 30 such that the piston head moves in between an open and closed position relative specifically to the opened end 18 of each of the ports. The reciprocal movement of the piston head 30 within its respective port is accomplished by mechanical linkage which may be of conventional design and manufacture and depended upon the rotation of the dispensing cylinder 12 (see FIG. 4). The piston head moves between its open and closed position based on its disposition relative to the dispensing means 20, the supply hopper 22 (and exposure to dough therein) and the delivery site 24. Further, the aforementioned open position of the piston head within its respective cylinder may be defined by an inward recessed disposition of the piston head 30 away from the open end thereby forming a pocket in each of the ports 16 for the reception of a portion of dough therein from the supply maintained within the supply hopper 22. The closed position of the piston head (see FIG. 4), as set forth above, is defined by the outer positioning or extension of the piston head into substantially flush or contiguous relation to the outer surface 14 of the dispensing cylinder 12 such that any dough portion contained within the pocket of the respective ports is dispensed therefrom as the piston head moves to its closed position as set forth above. Therefore, dispensing of any dough from the pocket within the respective ports is accomplished by the automatic positioning of the piston head from its open position to its closed position. This forces the dough portion onto the conveyor belt which, in the preferred embodiment described, defines a portion of the delivery site 24.

#With reference to FIGS. 1, 2 and 3 the pressurizing means 20 comprises a cap structure 34 having an opened face (see FIG. 2) generally indicated as 36 which preferably has a concave configuration corresponding to the configuration of the outer cylindrical surface 14 of the dispensing cylinder 12.