The invention relates to a method and device for greasing shaped, essentially elongated dough pieces, whereby a dough piece is delivered on a conveyor belt, is greased on its surface with the aid of one or more grease-carrying parts which cooperate with the surface, and is subsequently removed.

Such a dough piece is, for example, intended to be baked as a loaf of bread, and, to that end, is removed to a baking tin or baking tray in which or on which the dough piece is baked in an oven. Before the dough piece is placed in the tin or on the tray, whether or not by the intervention of a further conveyor belt, it should be greased so as to prevent it from sticking to the tin or tray. Greasing can be performed by hand, by rubbing (vegetable) fat or oil into the dough. However, it often occurs with the aid of a machine, which performs the process at least partially automatically. In addition, deposition of the dough piece in a baking tin, on a baking tray or on a belt can be performed manually or automatically.

Such a machine is described, for example, in laid-open German patent application No. 1041841. The dough pieces delivered on a conveyor belt are greased on their surface by virtue of the fact that they are in rolling contact with the carrying surface of a conveyor belt which has been greased and to which new greasing material is continuously applied. So as to additionally grease the butt ends of the dough piece, the machine is provided at opposite sides of the conveyor belt with two essentially cylindrical brushes which can be swung in a plane parallel to the surface of the belt, can be rotated about an axis which subtends an angle with the direction of motion, and are provided with grease, whereby, with the aid of a spring, the brushes contact the butt ends of the dough piece during motion of the dough piece on the belt and remain in contact therewith during passage of the dough piece, so that the butt ends are also greased.

A disadvantage of such a manner of greasing is that the entire surface of the dough piece is greased, including therefore that portion which does not come into contact with, for example, the baking tin during the baking process. Whenever a dough piece which has been greased in this manner is baked in the tin, the greased upper surface will appear less

appetizing after baking. A further disadvantage is, of course, that an unnecessarily excessive quantity of greasing substance is used.

The present invention aims to provide a method and device of the type cited in the opening paragraph with which the aforementioned problems are not associated, or at least are so to a lesser degree, while use can nevertheless be made of a machine with the aid of which the dough pieces can be greased.

To this end, a method of the type cited in the opening paragraph is characterised according to the invention in that the dough piece is brought from the conveyor belt into a space which tapers downwards in an essentially wedge-shaped form and is delimited by greased surfaces of elongated bodies, which surfaces rest against each other at the top of the wedge, each body being rotatable about an axis pa allel to the top of the wedge, that the bodies are thereafter rotated so as to move them with their surfaces directed towards the dough piece over the portion of the surface of the dough piece which is to be greased, and thereby to clamp the dough piece between them, and that the bodies are subsequently moved apart so as to release the greased dough piece and allow it to be further removed.

Greasing of the dough pieces therefore does not occur via a surface of a conveyor belt which has been provided with a greasing substance, but via the surfaces of elongated bodies which are provided with such a substance and which "roll" along the dough piece with those surfaces, thereby clamping the dough piece between those surfaces so that it cannot fall downwards between the bodies. The surfaces of the bodies roll over the surface of the dough piece up to the point where the portion thereof which makes contact with the walls of the baking tin has been greased. The rotational motion then stops and the bodies move apart, so that the dough piece can fall down between them into a baking tin situated beneath.

So as to further automate the method according to the invention, and thereby increase the speed of production, the method is preferably enacted in such a way that the speed at which the dough pieces are delivered, the successive movements of the elongated bodies and the

delivery and removal of baking tins or baking trays are mutually matched in such a way that the method can be enacted in a fully continuous process.

If it is desired that dough pieces of various dimensions and shape should be greased, the greasing and dough-piece-holding surfaces of the bodies have to be continually adapted to the dough piece concerned. To this end, a further embodiment of the method according to the invention is characterised in that the bodies which grease and clamp the dough piece are embodied in such a way that, during rotation and clamping, they deform so as to optimally engage the surfaces of the dough piece which are to be greased.

The invention also relates to a device with the aid of which the above-described method can be enacted. Such a device comprises a conveyor belt for the delivery of shaped dough pieces, means for greasing the surface of the dough piece, and means to remove the greased dough piece to, for example, a baking tin or a baking tray, and is characterised according to the invention in that two elongated bodies are mounted near an extremity of the conveyor belt, which bodies extend substantially horizontally and perpendicular to the direction of motion of the conveyor belt and, in a starting position, delimit a space which tapers downwards and has a substantially wedge-shaped form, in a top point of which the bodies at least substantially rest against each other, that both bodies are rotatable about their central axis and can be displaced relative to one another in a direction transverse to their central axis, that the bodies are provided with means to keep the surface thereof continually greased, and that the bodies are capable of receiving a dough piece and are provided with means for greasing the desired portion of the surface of the dough piece with a rotational movement and to separate both bodies so as to release the dough piece.

The delivery speed of the dough pieces, the speed and duration of a rotational session of the bodies and the subsequent displacement of the bodies are preferably mutually matched to such an extent that the delivery of dough pieces, the greasing thereof and the removal thereof can occur in a fully continuous process.

Summarising briefly: a dough piece falls from the conveyor belt into the wedge-shaped space between the elongated bodies; those bodies start rotating and thereby transfer grease

to the dough piece, which they hold between them; and, finally, they let the greased dough piece fall, upon which it is caught in a baking tin.

In a preferential embodiment of the device, the device is provided with elongated rotational bodies which demonstrate the form of a polygon in perpendicular cross-section. In particular, a triangular form satisfies this requirement. When, for example, the triangular "rod" rotates through 120°, it should just engage the underneath and side surface of the dough product with the surface corresponding to one side of the triangle.

So as to guarantee good introduction of a dough product, and so as to additionally ensure that it remains clamped during the greasing process, it is a further characteristic of the device according to the invention that the surfaces of the elongated bodies corresponding to the sides of the polygon are pre-shaped so as to correspond to the shape of the dough product.

Instead of a fixed pre-shaping of those surfaces, it is preferable to opt for an adaptation of the surface which occurs automatically when the surface comes into contact with the dough product. This is possible if the surface is flexible. This is, for example, the case when the elongated body is principally comprised of foam rubber which is provided with a greasing substance.

In a preferential embodiment of the device according to the invention, the desired flexibility is achieved by employing hollow bodies as the elongated bodies, which hollow bodies are internally divided into compartments extending in the longitudinal direction, of which one wall portion is formed by a skin portion of the body corresponding to a side of the polygon.

When, during use, the dough piece is clamped between the surfaces, the compartment located behind that area of the flexible surface against which the dough piece presses will be pushed inwards. The air located therein will be displaced to areas where no inward pushing occurs; such areas generally correspond to compartment portions located behind the surface portion situated at the top of the dough piece. Air flowing thereto shall cause the surface to locally "bulge" in the radial direction. This means that the surface there will

better correspond to the top side of the dough product. The form of the surfaces concerned is thus self-regulatory.

Adaptation of the surfaces can be further optimised if the pressure in the compartments can be regulated. This can, for example, be achieved by means of air admission via a valve.

The aspect of the invention associated with the rotatability of the bodies can manifest itself in two ways. The bodies can rotate in steps, as is prescribed in the case of bodies having, for example, a triangular cross-section: when one surface portion is in contact with the dough piece, the two other portions are provided with grease so as to be able to perform the greasing operation in subsequent greasing steps. In practice, this means that, for one body, the rotations corresponding to consecutively occurring rotational steps always occur in one direction. However, this is not necessary. The rotations corresponding to consecutively occurring rotational steps of one body can also be performed in opposite senses. This means that, instead of turning around, the bodies then make a flipping movement.

In particular, a device with such flipping bodies is applied in the case of bodies whose surface consists of a sleeve-like, flexible skin which is stretched around two rollers extending in the longitudinal direction, one of which is driven and the other of which is located at the top of the wedge-shaped space in the starting position, the body being rotatable in a flipping manner about a rotational axis extending in the longitudinal direction.

The flexible skin is, as it were, an endless belt which is continually provided with fresh greasing substance.

The dough products are normally formed from a dough piece and, consequently, demonstrate a seam over their entire length. In general, it is desirable that the dough product be baked with the seam directed downwards. In that case, the oppositely situated portion of the dough product therefore does not have to be greased. Before the dough products leave the conveyor belt and come into contact with the bodies, it is thus desirable to direct the dough products in terms of seam orientation in such a way that the seam eventually ends up on the underside. This can be done by hand, but is preferably enacted automatically. To this

end, a preferential embodiment of the device according to the invention is characterised in that, near a motional plane of the conveyor belt, detection means are established for detecting a seam in a dough product, and in that the device is provided with switchable release means for stalling a delivered dough piece and then releasing it after a seam thereof has assumed a certain orientation.

A particular embodiment of this preferential embodiment of the device according to the invention is characterised in that the detection means comprise a light source and a photo¬ sensitive cell which are respectively capable of directing a light beam at a dough product and determining the position of the seam on the basis of a reflection of the beam. Such an electronic embodiment of the detection means is relatively simple to realise, costs little, and has been shown to function adequately in practice. The light-sensitive cell passes an electrical signal to the release means which, to that end, are embodied at least partially electronically. More particularly, in a further refinement of the device, the release means comprise an bounce roll which is mounted on a hinged arm and which extends near the motional plane in a direction transverse to the direction of transport, and additionally comprise an electromagnet which is capable of cooperating with a fixed portion of the hinged arm and which, under the influence of a signal from the detection means, either holds or releases the arm.

The invention will be further elucidated on the basis of an embodiment and an accompanying drawing in which:

Fig. 1 schematically depicts a vertical cross-section of a device according to the invention; Fig. 2 shows an embodiment of a peφendicular transverse cross-section of two elongated bodies with pre-shaped surfaces; Fig. 3 shows a second embodiment of a peφendicular transverse cross-section of the elongated bodies, provided with compartments behind the surface; Fig. 4 shows a peφendicular transverse cross-section of two elongated bodies which are embodied as flippers; and

Fig. 5 shows a further embodiment of a device according to the invention.

The drawings are purely schematic, and are not drawn to scale. In particular, some depicted dimensions are strongly exaggerated, for puφoses of clarity. In as far as this is possible, corresponding portions are denoted in the figures by the same reference numeral.

Fig. 1 shows how shaped dough pieces 1 are delivered on a conveyor belt 2, which moves in the direction 3. From belt 3, a dough piece falls downwards in the direction 4. It then ends up in the wedge-shaped space 5, which is closed in by the surfaces 6 and 7 of the two elongated bodies - respectively 8 and 9. The example chosen in the drawing is of an elongated body whose cross-section peφendicular to the longitudinal axis is an equilateral triangle. The bodies are rotatable about their axes 10 and 11 , respectively, in the directions 12 and 13, respectively. After the dough piece 1 has fallen into the wedge-shaped space 5, the bodies 8 and 9 rotate through 120° in the indicated directions 12 and 13, respectively. During such rotation, the dough piece 1 remains clamped between the surfaces 6 and 7, respectively, so that it cannot fall downwards from between them. The surfaces 6 and 7 of the bodies are covered with a layer of greasing substance, with which the dough piece 1 is greased during rotation. Such greasing only occurs on a portion of the surface. That portion is denoted as 16. After the rotation through 120°, the bodies 8 and 9 are moved away from one another in horizontal directions 14 and 15, respectively, until the dough piece 1 can fall down from between them in the direction 17. It then ends up in a baking tin 18, which is delivered on a conveyor belt 19. The speed at which dough pieces 1 are delivered, at which they are greased (the rotational speed of the bodies 8 and 9) and at which they are then released is matched to the speed at which the baking tins 18 are delivered and removed.

In the cross-sections in Fig. 2, it is indicated how the surfaces 6, 6', 6" and 7, 7, 7", respectively, can be pre-shaped so as to be better able to grease a dough piece and to hold that dough piece during greasing.

The cross-sections according to Fig. 3 show an embodiment in which the elongated bodies are hollow. The surfaces 6, 6', 6" and 7, 7', 7", respectively, consist of a flexible material, such as latex, for example. Internally, the bodies are sub-divided into compartments 20, 20',

20" and 21, 21', 21", respectively. One wall of each of the compartments is formed by a surface of the bodies 8 and 9. When the surfaces 6 and 7 come into contact with the dough

product, the surface will be pressed inwards anywhere where such contact occurs. As a result, the pressure in the compartment will increase and, elsewhere in the compartment, the pressure on the surface will increase, as a result of which this will "bulge" outwards. When viewed in the longitudinal direction of the dough product, this "bulging" shall occur before and after the dough product. As a result, the dough product will also be well greased on its front and rear surface. The surfaces are self-forming, as it were: they deform themselves to the form of the dough product.

Fig. 4 depicts the situation in which the bodies 8 and 9 also rotate about their axes 10 and 11, respectively, but, instead of doing so in the same direction for each step, they now go back and forth in the direction 22 and 23. The bodies are formed by the flipping parts 8 and 9, each of which is provided with a roll 24 and 25, respectively, around which, in cooperation with the rolls 26 and 27, respectively, runs an endless belt 28, 29, respectively, which belt is continually provided on its outer surface with greasing substance and which greases the dough piece when in contact therewith. These endless belts 28 and 29 are driven continuously.

Fig. 5 shows means which are mounted near the motional plane 52 of the conveyor belt 2, with which the orientation of a seam 51 in a dough product 1 is monitored so that the dough piece 1 will eventually be greased and baked in the desired orientation. As indicated in the figure, the dough pieces 1 are delivered with a relatively random orientation, where the orientation of the seam 51 is concerned.

The aforementioned means comprise detection means in the form of a light source, which in this case is a laser, and a photo-sensitive cell 53, with which a light beam 54 is directed onto a dough product 1 and, on the basis of a reflection 55 therefrom, the seam can be detected. The detector 53 is mounted on an arm 56 of the assembly 57 on which, furthermore, switchable release means are provided in the form of a hinged arm 58 with an bounce roll 59 in combination with an electromagnet 60 which is electrically coupled to the detection means 53. Once in contact with the bounce roll 59, a dough product 1 will rotate in a clockwise direction about its longitudinal axis under the influence of the moving conveyor belt 52. The bounce roll 59 stalls the dough product 1 until the seam 51 thereof is

directed upwards and is detected as so being by the detector 53. The detector 53 thereupon passes a signal to the electromagnet 60, which then releases the swinging arm 58, so that the swinging arm 58 is pushed up by the dough product 1, thereby releasing the dough product 1. If so desired, it is possible to apply a load using a counterweight, elastic means or an active load, which then renders an electromagnet unnecessary and can be controlled directly by the detector. In this manner, one ensures that all the dough pieces have assumed the same orientation, where the orientation of the seam 51 is concerned, when they find their way to the greasing bodies and, eventually, the baking tin or the baking tray, as indicated in the figure.