fig3 is a perspective view of a horn or blade of the scraper device of the invention . the horn 332 is typically constructed of a single piece of titanium and is shaped to provide a specific resonant frequency . the horn 332 comprises a pointed edge or tip 334 that , as will be explained in farther detail below , is placed in close proximity to a sheeter roller . the horn 332 is attached at a butt end 336 to a device for producing ultrasonic vibration . a suitable horn 332 is a ten inch , half wave titanium guillotine horn manufactured to increased precision dimensional tolerances by dukane corporation of st . charles , ill . fig4 a and 4 b are schematic side views of the horn 442 in a relative position to the sheeter roller 440 . fig4 b is a magnified view of the portion of fig4 a identified by a dashed circle . the long axis of the horn 432 must be placed at an optimal angle 443 to the horizontal plane in order to insure an optimal scraping angle near the surface of the sheeter roller 440 . in one embodiment , it has been determined that an angle 443 of approximately 12 ° to 16 ° results in the best scraping angle for the apparatus . it should also be noted that the blade tip 434 is placed in close proximity , but not in contact with , the sheeter roller 440 . this placement is critical , as allowing the blade tip 434 to contact the sheeter roller 440 dampens the horn vibration . with the horn 432 vibration dampened , masa can quickly build - up on the underside 438 of the horn 432 . conversely , if the blade tip 434 is placed too far away from the sheeter roller 440 , the device will not efficiently strip the dough product from the surface of the sheeter roller 440 . it has been determined in one embodiment of the invention that an ideal distance 445 ( not shown to scale ) between the blade tip 434 and the surface of the sheeter roller 440 is approximately 0 . 004 to 0 . 011 inches . fig5 is a side view of a single scraper device 552 in close proximity to a sheeter roller 540 . the sheeter scraper device 552 comprises the horn or blade 532 which is attached to a booster 554 . the booster tunes vibrations produced by a probe 556 . the probe 556 and booster 554 are in turn connected to a bracket assembly 558 . the probe 556 is electrically connected to a power supply by a cord 590 . a suitable probe 556 and booster 554 assembly is a 41530 sealed probe stack manufactured by dukane corporation of st . charles , ill . fig6 is an overhead view of several of the single scraper devices 652 mounted in series to a stationery bar 667 , thereby forming a scraper assembly 663 . the assembly 663 requires a small separation 646 ( not shown to scale ) between each individual horn 632 . the individual horns 632 cannot be allowed to contact each other , as such contact would result in dampening the beneficial vibration of the horns 632 . however , the gap 646 between adjacent horns 632 should be as small as possible to accomplish this separation in order to avoid any noticeable effect , such as a seam , on the sheeted dough . an acceptable distance 646 between adjacent horns 632 has been found to be approximately 0 . 004 to 0 . 011 inches . this separation issue is eliminated in an alternative embodiment that comprises a single horn that is sufficiently wide to span the sheeting length required . also , gap 646 tolerances might be less crucial and could be widened if full width sheeting is not required . fig7 is a perspective view of an embodiment of the invention showing a scraper assembly 763 producing a fall - width , continuous sheet of masa 721 . it should be noted that the sheeter 710 does not require bands or a sheeter wire . consequently , practically all of the dough fed into the sheeter 710 is actually sheeted and placed on the conveyor 730 . it is preferable , however , to leave a thin circulating ribbon of masa 765 on either end of the sheeter roller 740 such that the edges of the sheeted masa 721 are clean and uniform . this is accomplished by keeping the aggregate blade content width of the scraper assembly slightly narrower than the width of the sheeter roller 740 . clean and uniform edges on the masa sheet 721 allow for the use of a die cutting device that can take advantage of the linear geometry of the edge of the sheeted masa 721 in cutting shapes out of said sheet 721 . the full - width sheeting capability of the invention can be used to produce a full - width sheet 721 of dough . this may be preferable when it is desired to cook or partially cook the dough in its sheeted form prior to cutting or further processing . alternatively , the invention can also be utilized to scrape cut dough off of the sheeter roller 740 , using a cutter roller such as the one shown in fig2 . as previously noted , the scraper assembly 763 comprises a series of scraper devices 752 , all attached from their respective brackets 758 to a stationary bar 767 . this bar 767 is mounted to two side brackets 791 , 792 in order to precisely hold the entire assembly 763 in relative position to the sheeter roller 760 such that the angles 443 illustrated in fig4 a and distance 445 illustrated in fig4 b can be precisely maintained . the key to the invention is the use of scrapers or horns that are allowed to constantly vibrate in the ultrasonic or other suitable range . in one embodiment of the invention , the ultrasonic vibration produced was in the frequency range of 10 khz to 40 khz and amplitude of 0 . 001 inches to 0 . 004 inches . the preferred frequency range for the ultrasonic vibration is from 20 khz to 40 khz . one preferred embodiment of the invention operates at 20 khz . the amplitude of the ultrasonic vibration embodiment is preferably at least 0 . 001 inches . the preferred embodiment that operates at a frequency of 20 khz operates at an amplitude of 0 . 003 inches . with the distances and angles previously described , this frequency and amplitude promotes the clean and uniform stripping of the dough product 721 off of the sheeter roller 740 without any residual buildup of the dough on the horns 732 . in one preferred embodiment , the sheeter roller 740 is sandblasted . a sandblasted surface promotes the desired scrapping of the invention . since the sheeter device 710 of the invention requires no bands or sheeter wire , the sheeter 710 can be operated continuously . this continuous operation in combination with the fact that little masa is returned to the sheeter results in an individual sheeter device 710 producing a substantially higher amount of sheeted product 721 over a given time period . further , component wear is minimal , since the horns are never in contact with the sheeter roller 740 . while the invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to a preferred embodiment , it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and detail may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention .
a sheeter device capable of producing a full - width continuous sheet of masa . a series of ultrasonic horns are placed in close proximity to a sheeter roller , thereby scraping the sheeted dough from the roller . the ultrasonic vibration precludes the buildup of dough on the horns . the invention eliminates the need for sheeter wires and their accompanying plastic bands while increasing the dough throughput of the sheeter .