초록 ▼

An apparatus and method for making uniformly shaped snack food chips which can be stacked for packaging, e.g., in a cylindrical canister or a canister which conforms to the contour or perimeter of the snack food chips. The apparatus features two-part mold cavities in which chip preforms are restrain

An apparatus and method for making uniformly shaped snack food chips which can be stacked for packaging, e.g., in a cylindrical canister or a canister which conforms to the contour or perimeter of the snack food chips. The apparatus features two-part mold cavities in which chip preforms are restrained and transported through hot oil to be cooked. Preferably, the mold cavities are defined between a pair of rotating belts, one lower belt and one upper belt, which together "encase" or "sandwich" and thereby restrain the chips. According to the method, a continuous sheet of dough is toasted and then proofed before being cut into individual chip preforms. The preforms are then placed into the mold cavities and transported through hot oil to be cooked. Vacuum transfer rollers are used to facilitate placement of the chip preforms into the mold cavities and extraction of the cooked chips from the mold cavities..COPYRGT.

대표청구항 ▼

1. An assembly for making snack food pieces, said assembly comprising:a toasting oven configured to receive and convey therethrough a continuous sheet of snack food dough material; a proofing oven located downstream of said toasting oven and configured to receive said sheet of snack food dough mater

1. An assembly for making snack food pieces, said assembly comprising:a toasting oven configured to receive and convey therethrough a continuous sheet of snack food dough material; a proofing oven located downstream of said toasting oven and configured to receive said sheet of snack food dough material from said toasting oven and to convey said snack food dough material therethrough; a frying apparatus located downstream of said proofing oven, said frying apparatus comprising an oil pan assembly and molds configured to immerse snack food piece preforms in oil contained within said oil pan assembly; a die-cutting transfer roller assembly located intermediate said proofing oven and said frying apparatus, said die-cutting transfer roller assembly configured to cut the snack food piece preforms from the continuous sheet of masa and transfer the preforms to said frying apparatus; and a take-away transfer roller assembly located downstream of said flying apparatus, said take-away transfer roller assembly configured and disposed to remove cooked snack food pieces from said flying apparatus and to transfer the cooked snack food pieces to take-away apparatus for subsequent processing of the cooked snack food pieces.