Installation for producing sandwich cookies and the like

Abstract

The invention relates to a system for the production of sandwich cookies, having a suction belt conveyor ( 2 ) disposed along a sandwiching path, the sandwich cookies being created on the suction belt ( 11 ) of said sandwiching path. Successively disposed over the suction band conveyor ( 2 ) are: a cookie depositing head ( 17 ) for depositing the lower cookies onto the suction belt ( 11 ), a first cookie feeding device ( 3 ), a first inspection device ( 4 ) for the lower cookies positioned on the suction belt ( 11 ), an application head ( 23 ) of an application device ( 5 ) for applying a filling mass onto the lower cookies, a cookie depositing head ( 31 ) of a second cookie feeding device ( 6 ) for depositing the upper cookies onto the filling mass applications of the lower cookies, a second inspection device ( 7 ) for the cookie sandwiches disposed on the suction belt ( 11 ), and a calibrating device ( 9 ); for the sandwich cookies.

1 . An installation for producing sandwich cookies, the installation comprising:
 an elongate machine frame defining a sandwiching section;   an output device disposed at an end of the installation;   a first cookie feeding device having a first cookie hopper for providing lower cookies disposed in said sandwiching section of said elongate machine frame, said first cookie feeding device having a first cookie discharging head;   a coating device having a cylindrical coating head disposed in said elongate machine frame downstream from said first cookie feeding device, said coating device for providing a top side of the lower cookies with filling;   a second cookie feeding device having a second cookie hopper for providing upper cookies disposed in said elongate machine frame downstream from said coating device, said second cookie feeding device having a second cookie discharging head;   a calibration device for the sandwich cookies disposed in said elongate machine frame downstream from said second cookie feeding device, said calibration device being disposed in said output device;   an elongate cookie conveying device disposed in said elongate machine frame, said elongate cookie conveying device having an initial portion upstream of said first cookie feeding device and extending along said sandwiching section as far as said calibration device for the sandwich cookies, said elongate cookie conveying device having a suction belt conveyor with negative-pressure chamber and a suction belt with an upper strand on which the sandwich cookies are created, said negative-pressure chamber having a planar panel covering a top thereof;   said output device having an endless transporting chain disposed above said suction belt and carrying finger-shaped drivers protruding downwardly from said transporting chain, said finger-shaped drivers for grasping a rear end of the sandwich cookies lying on said suction belt;   said calibration device having a calibration rail disposed at a predetermined distance above the suction belt conveyor and extending in a longitudinal direction of the installation, said calibration device having a run-in slope, and within said calibration device the upper cookies are pushed downward and pressed against the filling on the top side of the lower cookies so that the sandwich cookies are pressed together to a predetermined thickness.   
     
     
         2 . The installation according to  claim 1 , wherein said finger-shaped drivers are disposed next to one another in pairs, and said calibration rail is disposed in an intermediate space remaining between the two finger-shaped drivers, disposed next to one another, each pair of said drivers conveys, by way of its finger-shaped drivers, a finished cookie sandwich, lying on the suction belt, under the calibration rail. 
     
     
         3 . The installation according to  claim 1 , further comprising a first inspection device disposed downstream of said first cookie discharging head and disposed above said suction belt conveyor for inspecting the lower cookies deposited on said suction belt. 
     
     
         4 . The installation according to  claim 3 , wherein said first inspection device has an image processing sensor and inspects the lower cookies deposited on said suction belt by the said first cookie discharging head. 
     
     
         5 . The installation according to  claim 3 , wherein said coating device has a filling metering device which can be adjusted depending on inspection result from said first inspection device. 
     
     
         6 . The installation according to  claim 3 , wherein said coating device has, for said cylindrical coating head, an individually activatable drive motor which, depending on an inspection result from said first inspection device, can be temporarily stopped in order to briefly interrupt an application of filling. 
     
     
         7 . The installation according to  claim 1 , wherein said cylindrical coating head of said coating device is disposed downstream of said first inspection device, and is disposed above said suction belt conveyor. 
     
     
         8 . The installation according to  claim 3 , further comprising a second inspection device, disposed downstream of said second cookie discharging head, and disposed above said suction belt conveyor for inspecting the cookie sandwiches formed by said second cookie discharging head and disposed on said suction belt. 
     
     
         9 . The installation according to  claim 8 , wherein said second inspection device has an image processing sensor and inspects the cookie sandwiches formed on said suction belt by said second cookie discharging head. 
     
     
         10 . The installation according to  claim 1 , wherein each of said first and second cookie discharging heads have a continuously moveable transfer mechanism disposed at a lower end of said cookie hopper to separate the sandwich cookies emerging from a bottom of said cookie hopper and pass the sandwich cookies individually to said suction belt. 
     
     
         11 . The installation according to  claim 10 , wherein said continuously moveable transfer mechanism has a rotor which rotates about a horizontal axis and has an outer circumference with at least one cookie holder on said outer circumference. 
     
     
         12 . The installation according to  claim 11 , wherein said rotor of said continuously moveable transfer mechanism is in a form of a wheel having cookie holders distributed around said outer circumference. 
     
     
         13 . The installation according to  claim 1 , further comprising a cookie ejecting device assigned to said suction belt of said suction belt conveyor and disposed upstream of said calibration device. 
     
     
         14 . The installation according to  claim 13 , wherein said cookie ejecting device has an individually activatable actuating device. 
     
     
         15 . The installation according to  claim 8 , further comprising:
 a second coating device having a second cylindrical coating head.   
     
     
         16 . The installation according to  claim 15 , wherein:
 said suction belt conveyor has an individually activatable drive motor for driving said suction belt;   each said coating device has an individually activatable drive motor for said cylindrical coating head;   each of said first and second cookie discharging heads has an individually activatable drive motor for said continuously moveable transfer mechanism;   further including an electronic control device individually activating and synchronizing said individually activatable drive motors and is connected to said first and second inspection devices; and   wherein said cookie ejecting device has an individually activatable actuating device.   
     
     
         17 . The installation according to  claim 16 , wherein each of said cylindrical coating heads has an individually activatable filling metering device, and said activatable filling metering device is connected to said electronic control device. 
     
     
         18 . The installation according to  claim 1 , further comprising a first inspection device disposed downstream of said first cookie discharging head, the first inspection device having an illumination device disposed in the negative-pressure chamber, which illuminates the upper strand of the suction belt from below. 
     
     
         19 . The installation according to  claim 18 , wherein the planar panel is disposed on the top side of the negative-pressure chamber and is provided with a cutout in a region of the first inspection device, through which light projected from a light source of said illumination device onto the underside of the suction belt, falls onto a light-permeable suction belt, so that an outline of the cookie lying on the suction belt and any cracks contained in the cookie are readily identifiable to said image processing sensor. 
     
     
         20 . An installation for producing sandwich cookies, the installation comprising:
 an elongate machine frame defining a sandwiching section;   a first cookie feeding device having a first cookie hopper for providing lower cookies disposed in said sandwiching section of said elongate machine frame;   a coating device having a cylindrical coating head disposed in said elongate machine frame downstream from said first cookie feeding device;   a second cookie feeding device having a second cookie hopper for providing upper cookies disposed in said elongate machine frame downstream from said coating device;   a calibration device for the sandwich cookies disposed in said elongate machine frame downstream from said second cookie feeding device;   an elongate cookie conveying device disposed in said elongate machine frame, said elongate cookie conveying device having an initial portion upstream of said first cookie feeding device and extending along said sandwiching section as far as said calibration device for the sandwich cookies, said elongate cookie conveying device being a suction belt conveyor with a suction belt on which the sandwich cookies are created, said first cookie feeding device having an output portion disposed above the suction belt conveyor, said output portion having a first cookie discharging head individually discharging the lower cookies;   a first inspection device for the lower cookies deposited on the suction belt, said first inspection device disposed downstream of the first cookie discharging head and above the suction belt conveyor, said cylindrical coating head being disposed above the suction belt conveyor and downstream of said first inspection device, said second cookie feeding device having a second output portion disposed downstream of said cylindrical coating head and above the suction belt conveyor, said second output device having a second cookie discharging head discharging the upper cookies individually;   a second inspection device for the cookie sandwiches formed by the second cookie discharging head and transported on the suction belt, said second inspection device being disposed downstream of the second cookie discharging head and above the suction belt conveyor.   
     
     
         21 . The installation according to  claim 20 , further comprising:
 a second coating device having a second cylindrical coating head;   a third cookie feeding device having a third cookie discharging head for producing the sandwich cookies with an additional cookie layer; and   a third inspection device for inspecting the cookie sandwiches disposed on said suction belt, said second coating device, said third cookie feeding device and said third inspection device disposed in succession above said suction belt conveyor downstream of said second inspection device.   
     
     
         22 . The installation according to  claim 21 , wherein said second coating device has a filling metering device which can be adjusted depending on an inspection result from one of said inspection devices. 
     
     
         23 . The installation according to  claim 21 , wherein said second coating device has, for said second cylindrical coating head, an individually activatable drive motor which, depending on an inspection result from said second inspection device, can be temporarily stopped in order to briefly interrupt an application of a filling. 
     
     
         24 . The installation according to  claim 21 , wherein said third inspection device has an image processing sensor and inspects the cookie sandwiches formed on the suction belt by said third cookie discharging head.