The bread baking industry utilizes metal baking pans to put bread dough into for baking the bread in. The baking process typically consists of using automated conveyor systems to move the pans through the baking process. The bread pans are required to undergo severe handling during this process, under high heat conditions (the pans are moved through baking ovens at over 300.degree. F. in temperature). The break baking process results in dented, deformed bottoms being inflicted on the bottom and bottom edges of such baking pans (herein after referred to simply as pans). With such pans being dented and deformed on the bottom, the bread scrap rate is higher than normal, undented bottoms in pans.
The offset bottom process provides the following advantages in addition to the improved useful life expectancy of such pans:
(1) The offset bottom creates a less sharply defined bottom edge of bread, which will reduce the problem of said bread edges slicing through the plastic bags when attempting to insert the bread into the bags after the baking process.
(2) Offset bottom produces a more rounded edge of bottom portion of bread, which will require less lubricant to be supplied to the pan to allow automated equipment to more easily dump the bread after the baking process.
(3) The offset bottom is more flexible than conventional bottoms of pans, thus can absorb shock better with less further damage to bottoms of pans.
(4) The offset bottom will allow the four corners of the pans to avoid being the primary wear-points on typical pans by elevating such four corners slightly above the conveyor belt system.
(5) Nesting and stacking of pans will be made easier as the four edges that normally incur the damage typically inflict damage to a pan it is placed within during the post bake pan-stacking process.
The Gaddy Offset Bottom process will insure significantly improved life time expectancies of such pans. Also, scrap rates of deformed bread will be improved and thus, higher yield of bread out-put per pan used in the baking process. Heretofore, the pan renovation process consisted of using a top die and a rigid, static bottom die that had only fixed guide rails on the sides and the ends of such bottom die. Also, the top die had a surface area along the bottom portion of such die that conformed with the inside dimensions of the baking pan being straightened. With such rigid die surfaces, many pans could not be straightened because of the severity of the deformity along the bottom and bottom edges of such baking pans.
Accordingly, several objects of my invention are to allow the use of dynamic, moveable guide rails on the bottom dies that allow a pan to be guided down into the surface contact area of the bottom die. Whence, a convex ridge mating with a concave cut out on a male die, forces a stretching of the bottom of the pan and an offset, raised, reformed bottom to be formed on the bottom pan surface area. Further objects and advantages of my invention will become apparent from a consideration of the drawings thereof.