This invention relates to a device for transporting and positioning dough triangles in crescent shaped dough rolls forming machines.
The technique for preparing crescents, also called "croissants", consists in preparing a strip of dough which is rolled on a roller machine.
After some dough strip calibration operations, the strip is transferred into a machine which cuts out triangles.
In order to waste no materials and reduce costs, the triangles are arranged, after the cutting thereof, in parallel rows with opposing orientations, as shown in FIG. 1.
After cutting, the triangles or at least one half of them must be orientated such that they are all presented to the rolling machine with their bases onwards.
On commercially available machines, these orientation operations are carried out by simply turning upside down alternately one half of the triangles, as shown diagramatically in FIG. 2.
The triangles will then enter the rolling machine which comprises essentially a main roller A which carries the dough triangle 2, an upper roller B which guides the dough triangle 1, and two roll-up belts C and D which perform the rolling operation with the aid of the roller A (FIG. 3).
The problem encountered with this processing originates from the fact that the dough, upstream of the cutting station, is located on a continuous conveyor belt, thereby the top face, being exposed to air, is drier than the bottom face which bears onto the belt and is thus prevented from losing moisture.
This position is also satisfactory on the roll-up machine, because the wetter face will adhere on the roller A which transfers it onto the roll-up belts C and D without problems, since a weak adhesion engagement is established between the dough and roller B.
However, when the triangles 1 which have been upturned arrive, the higher adhesion due to higher moisture will occur on the roller B, so that the dough triangle 1 readily separates from the roller A and is not inserted in between the roll-up belts C and D and is instead ejected, as shown in dotted lines in FIG. 3.
This situation produces considerable inconvenience, accompanied by a reduced output, and requires constant attention by an operator for recovering the high number of dough triangles which are not processed.