Abstract: An apparatus for encrusting bean jam is provided wherein patterns for opening and closing movements and up and down movements of shutter members of a cutting apparatus can be readily changed. The encrusting apparatus includes a cutting apparatus (13) having a plurality of shutter members (11) to cut a bar-like food material that is supplied from a combining nozzle (9), a food-receiving apparatus (17) to receive a food material that is encrusted and that is cut by the cutting apparatus (13), a first control motor M1 to open and close the plurality of the shutter members, and a second control motor M2 to move the food-receiving apparatus (17) up and down. The reference position for the first control motor M1 is determined on the position of the shaft of it when the shutter members (11) are closed to have their front ends meet at the center, or when the position is shifted 180 degrees in phase.

Abstract: An apparatus for encrusting a filling material is provided. The apparatus includes a screw-transferring apparatus to transfer a filling material and encrusting material, and vane pumps to transfer the respective filling and encrusting materials to a combining nozzle. The combining nozzle combines the crust that is supplied by the vane pump for crusts out of the filling material that is supplied by the vane pump for filling materials. Each screw-transferring apparatus includes horizontal screws. Each vane pump has a vertical rotating shaft. The end of each screw is free and is positioned at the inlet of each vane pump. At the inlet of each vane pump a food-guide plane is formed. That plane is tangent to a trajectory of the outer edge of the vane of the vane pump. The trajectory forms a circle that has the biggest diameter among all of the trajectories defined by the outer edges of the vanes when the vanes rotate.

Abstract: A method and apparatus are provided for continuously and quantitatively supplying bread dough. The apparatus comprises a pressing structure that includes two movable members, one of which includes at least one roller or one belt conveyor, and the other of which includes at least one belt conveyor, the roller being adapted to rotate about its own axis to apply a force to pull bread dough downward and the belt conveyor being adapted such that a portion of its conveying surface contacting the dough moves downward to pull the bread dough downward.

Abstract: An apparatus including oppositely positioned rollers located at the bottom of a hopper containing dough. A gap between the rollers is periodically increased and decreased to avoid any concentrated stress in the dough and to facilitate the production of a continuous uniform sheet of dough. Alternatively, a plurality of pairs of oppositely and horizontally positioned rollers are mounted on pivoting or swinging arms located at the bottom of a dough-feeding hopper.

Abstract: A method and apparatus are provided for continuously and quantitatively supplying bread dough. The apparatus comprises a pressing structure that includes two movable members, one of which includes at least one roller or one belt conveyor, and the other of which includes at least one belt conveyor, the roller being adapted to rotate about its own axis to apply a force to pull bread dough downward and the belt conveyor being adapted such that a portion of its conveying surface contacting the dough moves downward to pull the bread dough downward.

Abstract: A method for continuously producing a sheet of dough from a dough mass stored in a hopper comprises supplying the dough mass vertically downward toward a pair of opposing rollers located at the bottom of a dough-feeding hopper, rotating the rollers in opposite directions, and repeatedly increasing and decreasing a gap between the rollers to repeatedly alter the pressure applied to the dough passing therebetween.

Abstract: A bread-dough stretching apparatus and method including a rotating member having a plurality of planetary rollers that revolve along a circular path, and a conveying device which is positioned below the rotating member and is spaced apart from the rotating member to allow passage of the bread dough between the rotating member and the conveying device. Each of the planetary rollers is rotatably supported by a shaft, and the conveying device includes a plurality of rollers positioned opposite the planetary rollers. The space separating the rollers of the conveying device and the rotating member gradually decreases from the inlet to the outlet of the conveying device. The rollers of the conveying device are rotated at speeds which gradually increase from a upstream roller to a downstream roller of the conveying device.

Abstract: A bread-dough stretching apparatus includes a rotating member having a plurality of planetary rollers that revolve along a circular path, and a conveying device which is positioned below the rotating member and is spaced apart from the rotating member to allow passage of the bread dough between the rotating member and the conveying device. Each of the planetary rollers is rotatably supported by a shaft, and the conveying device includes a plurality of rollers positioned opposite the planetary rollers. The space separating the rollers of the conveying device and the rotating member gradually decreases from the inlet to the outlet of the conveying device. The rollers of the conveying device are rotated at speeds which gradually increase from an upstream roller to a downstream roller of the conveying device.

Abstract: An apparatus for closing the seam of a wound bar-shaped dough body being conveyed on a conveyor, comprising a pair of standing conical rolls mounted over and across the conveyor, between which rolls the dough body is made to travel. This simple mechanism makes it much easier to automatically provide high-quality bar-shaped products.

Abstract: A device (24) for aligning with a feeding line (8) of a moving transfer conveyor (3) and for bending a round elongated dough piece (13) randomly placed on the moving transfer conveyor for transfer, including a pair of stoppers (26, 26) symmetrically arranged in a funnel-shape above the moving transfer conveyor (3) so that the dough piece (13) can be moved to a central position between the stoppers (26) and (26). The stoppers are rotatable to bend the dough piece (13) and movable to release it on the moving transfer conveyor.

Abstract: A device (24) for aligning with a feeding line (8) of a moving transfer conveyor (3) and for bending a round elongated dough piece (13) randomly placed on the moving transfer conveyor for transfer, comprising a pair of stoppers (26, 26) symmetrically arranged in a funnel-shape above the moving transfer conveyor (3) so that the dough piece (13) can be moved to a central position between the stoppers (26) and (26). The stoppers are rotatable to bend the dough piece (13) and movable to release it on the moving transfer conveyor.

Abstract: A device (24) for aligning with a feeding line (8) of a moving transfer conveyor (3) and for bending a round elongated dough piece (13) randomly placed on the moving transfer conveyor for transfer, comprising a pair of stoppers (26, 26) symmetrically arranged in a funnel-shape above the moving transfer conveyor (3) so that the dough piece (13) can be moved to a central position between the stoppers (26) and (26). The stoppers are rotatable to bend the dough piece (13) and movable to release it on the moving transfer conveyor.

Abstract: A method of manufacturing various shapes of bread that comprises the steps of forming a continuous sheet of bread dough, winding up the sheet of bread dough traveling on a horizontal conveyor from one of its sides into a bar of bread dough, causing the bar to fall from the downstream end of the conveyor, and cutting the falling dough body into dough pieces by means of squeezing it with the flat surfaces of a cutter, according to its preset weight or length.

Abstract: An apparatus for manufacturing various shapes of bread that includes a device for forming a continuous sheet of bread dough, a roller for winding up the sheet of bread dough traveling on a horizontal conveyor from one of its sides into a bar of bread dough, the conveyor causing the bar to fall from its downstream end, and a cutter for cutting the falling dough body into dough pieces by squeezing it with flat surfaces of the cutter, according to its preset weight or length.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for stretching dough is provided, by which bread dough or confectionery dough is continuously and smoothly stretched by linearly reciprocating a roller over the surface of the part of the dough that is continuously conveyed by a downstream conveyor of a pair of conveyors, one a downstream conveyor and other an upstream conveyor, while the roller rolls on the dough, without destroying the gluten tissue of the dough, and while determining the conveying speed of the upstream conveyor in response to the change of the thickness of the dough to be stretched, thereby obtaining, in one operation, a desired and uniform dough thickness from the continuously supplied dough material.

Abstract: An apparatus is disclosed for stretching and thinning dough. This apparatus consists of a plurality of conveyors 2,3, which are disposed in series so that the traveling speed of the downstream conveyor 3 is higher than that of the upstream conveyor 2, a roller 5 that reciprocates over a given distance 1.sub.2 transverse to the traveling direction of the dough, while reciprocating over a given distance 1.sub.1 in the traveling direction, and a roller 4 that reciprocates over a given distance 1.sub.1 in the traveling direction in synchronism with the transverse roller. The number of reciprocating strokes and the speed of both rollers are regulated to obtain a sheet of high quality dough with a uniform texture.

Abstract: An apparatus is disclosed for continuously dividing bread dough. The apparatus consists of a dough hopper, vertical conveyors mounted on the side walls of the hopper, a dough outlet provided at the bottom of the hopper located under the vertical conveyors, a divider having cutting knives for dividing the dough, a weighing conveyor provided under the divider for weighing the dough discharged through the weighing conveyor, and a control means for controlling the timing in the discharging operation of the weighing conveyor according to the weight of the dough. The weight of the divided dough is instantly and successively weighed, while the period to keep the outlet open is controlled so that a belt-like sheet of dough, with sections of a uniform weight, is continuously produced.

Abstract: A dough-stretching roller apparatus is provided to produce a continuous web of dough in a process to manufacture confectionery and bread. The apparatus includes a pair of upper rollers and a pair of lower rollers, a sensor that measures the width of the dough that contacts the lower rollers, and a controller that controls a motor driving the upper rollers in response to a signal from the sensor. The controller increases the rotational speed of the upper rollers when the sensors detect that the width of dough is less than a preset width while the controller decreases the rotational speed of the upper rollers when the sensors detect that the width of the dough is greater than the preset width. Thus, even if the quantity of dough supplied from a hopper is unstable, the stable production of a stretched web of dough having a constant volume over its length can be continued.

Abstract: An apparatus is disclosed for producing a continuous belt-like sheet of bread dough. The apparatus includes a dough hopper, vertical conveyors mounted on the facing side walls of the hopper, a dough outlet provided at the bottom of the hopper, and a pair of discharging rolls constituting part of the dough outlet, facing each other, and which are rotated so as to downwardly pass the bread dough passing therebetween. The width of the outlet and the peripheral speed of the discharging rolls are controllable so that a high-quality sheet of bread dough is continuously produced, while the gel structure of the dough is maintained uninjured.

Abstract: An apparatus is provided for quantitatively dividing bread dough. The apparatus includes a hopper having vertical side walls. The internal space surrounded by the walls has the same horizontal sectional area at any position along the vertical walls. The apparatus also includes a pair of vertical conveyors extending along the side walls. A dough outlet is formed in the bottom wall of the hopper. A dividing device is located in close proximity to the dough outlet. When the dough is continuously and quantitatively divided by the dividing device into small pieces, the vertical conveyors are driven at a speed of X m/min. in line with the speed of the dough flowing downward on its same level. Each of the dough pieces is then conveyed toward the shaping station. Thus the dough can be quantitatively divided so that a high quality dough is obtained without the gel structure of the gluten being destroyed.