Patents by Inventor Daniel J. Heidel

Daniel J. Heidel has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Patent number: 4741916
    Abstract: A method of and apparatus for making individual dough pieces that are of substantially constant size and shape. The method includes the steps of forming a continuous dough rope and laying it on a horizontally-moving conveyor belt. The rope then passes between a pair of horizontally-reciprocating cutting elements which, when closed, cut a dough piece form the rope's end portion. The closed pair of cutting elements also forms a mold having an open top. While the dough piece is momentarily within the mold, a tamping plate is brought vertically downward into contact with the piece, thereby giving it a preselected size and shape. In another particularly preferred embodiment, a channel is formed in the continuous rope's top surface that is subsequently filled with discrete morsels. When the tamping plate is brought into contact with the dough piece, the plate presses the morsels firmly into the dough piece's outer surface.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 28, 1987
    Date of Patent: May 3, 1988
    Assignee: The Procter & Gamble Company
    Inventors: Daniel J. Heidel, Corey J. Kenneally