CUTTING MACHINE FOR TRIANGLE CUTTING SHEETS OF PASTRY AND FOR SUBSEQUENTLY SEIZING, ROTATING AND SPACING SAID TRIANGLES, FOR FORMING CROISSANTS, BRIOCHES AND THE LIKE

摘要

The present invention provides a machine for forming croissants, brioches and the like which comprises a pastry flattening stage operable to receive pastry dough and to flatten the dough into a pastry sheet delivered along a given conveyance path and a cutting stage having moveable cutter blades arranged to cut the pastry sheet into a sequence of pastry triangles positioned at respective locations across the conveyance path. The pastry triangles upon being cut from the pastry sheet are oriented with a reference side of each pastry triangle in a first group thereof facing in one given direction with respect to the conveyance path, and with a similar reference side of each pastry triangle in a second group thereof facing in another given direction with respect to the conveyance path. A spacing and orienting stage has a carriage reciprocatably moveable along the conveyance path and beares a plurality of catching elements spaced across the conveyance path in correspondance with the spacing of the pastry triangles. It is moveable into engagement with corresponding pastry triangles to move same and moveable out of engagement with the pastry triangles to release same after moving them. The catching elements are rotatably moveable to orient the pastry triangles so that they engage with their reference sides facing a common selected direction with respect to the conveyance path. The catching elements are also translatably moveable to position the pastry triangles they engage in a given spacing relation to one another prior to releasing the pastry triangles. A forming stage is disposed along the conveyance path to receive the pastry triangles released by the catching elements and operable to wrap the pastry triangles into respective coiled configurations. The carriage is reciprocatably moveable between a position on the conveyance path where the catching elements engage, and thereby receive the pastry triangles from the cutting stage, to a position on the conveyance path where the catching elements release and therby deliver the oriented and spaced pastry triangles to the forming stage.