Unit for preparing, cooking and serving food such as Pizzas and the like

Abstract

 The tins are moved, once the layer of dough has been deposited, by being pushed manually along two adjacent longitudinal guide means (1, 5), installed along the first (1) of which are a fixed dough-rolling machine (3) (that deposits the layer of dough) and a preparation station (B), while located along the second (5) of said guide means is the oven (7); a transverse guide means (9, 9A) is used to transfer the tins from the preparation station (B) to the second longitudinal guide means (5) so that they can be inserted in the oven and taken out of the oven (7), arriving in a final cutting station (E) from which the pizzas can also be served and, optionally, sold.

Description

[0001] The invention relates to a simplified unit - and in particular one which is also suited to manual operation - for preparing, cooking and serving food such as pizzas and the like, in which the pizza tins, on which the product undergoes the various operations, once the layer of dough has been deposited, can be moved manually.

[0002] The unit in question basically comprises two adjacent longitudinal guide means, installed along the first of which is a fixed dough-rolling machine that deposits the layer of dough onto the pizza tin which is then passed to a preparation station; located along the second of said guide means is the oven; a transverse guide means enables the tins to be transferred from the preparation station to the second longitudinal guide means so that they can be inserted in the oven. Additional guide means are provided between the oven and a final cutting station from which the pizzas can also be served and, optionally, sold.

[0003] In practice, the preparation station can be located along the first longitudinal guide means.

[0004] Each of the tins is fitted with supports which allow it to roll or slide along said longitudinal and transverse guide means, which are coplanar; said supports can move in various directions and can, in practice, be of the roller-ball, caster or similar type.

[0005] So that the tin can reach said final station, said transverse guide means can be extended beyond the second longitudinal guide means so that it can receive the tin once the latter has been taken out of the entrance mouth of the oven. Alternatively, said second longitudinal guide means can be extended on the opposite side to the entrance side of the oven so that it can receive the tin as the latter comes out of an exit mouth of the oven which, in this case, is located opposite the entrance mouth.

[0006] A better understanding of the invention will be gained by following the description and appended drawing which shows a practical non-limiting example of said invention. In the drawing:

Fig. 1 shows a diagrammatic plan view of a first embodiment of the unit of the invention;

Figs 2 and 3 show two side views viewed from II-II and III-III in Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 shows a highly enlarged detail of the roller-ball system of a carriage type tin, in section on IV-IV of Fig. 1; and

Fig. 5 shows a variant embodiment in a diagrammatic plan view.

[0007] According to the illustrations in the appended drawing, the reference 1 indicates a first longitudinal guide means, in an intermediate position of which is located the machine 3 which rolls out the dough and deposits it onto the tins; said first longitudinal guide means 1 extends into a station A for positioning the tin which is to receive the rolled out dough as it travels along said first longitudinal guide means 1, passing from the station A into a preparation station B in which the toppings are arranged on the layer of dough which has been deposited on the tin. The reference 5 denotes a second longitudinal guide means which is parallel to the longitudinal guide means 1 and adjacent to the latter; an oven, given the general reference 7, is installed along said guide means 5. Once in the station B, the tin can reach.the second longitudinal guide means 5 via a transverse guide means 9 which extends perpendicularly to the two longitudinal guide means 1 and 5 and can also extend into an additional section 9A for the purposes indicated below. The longitudinal guide means 5 extends between a switching station C and a station D inside the oven. The reference E denotes a final cutting station from which the pizzas can also be served and, optionally, sold, and which is reached via the extension 9A of the transverse guide means 9.

[0008] The guide means 1, 5, 9, 9A are in the form of rails capable of guiding, with switching where necessary, at least two carriage type tins. A tin 10, such as the one visible in station A in Fig. 1, is fitted with four rolling supports 12 which can consist - for example as shown in Fig. 4 - of small roller-balls held in housings 12A which are fixed onto the tin 10; Fig. 4 illustrates one of the longitudinal guides 5 and part 14A of a support 14 whose function overall is to support the guides 1, 5 and 9, the doughrolling machine 3 and the oven 7, among other things.

[0009] In this embodiment the oven 7, which has suitably insulated walls and is fitted with heating means for cooking, only has one door 7A which faces the switching station C, while the opposite end of the oven is closed. The longitudinal guides 5 on which the tins run continue into the closed oven.

[0010] An empty tin 10 is loaded onto the first longitudinal guide means 1 in the station A and is then moved in the direction of the arrow fB underneath the rolling machine 3 which deposits on said tin the layer of dough which has been rolled out by said machine 3 and which is to form the base onto which the toppings are arranged; arranging the toppings so as to prepare the product for cooking takes place in the station B. Once the product to be cooked has been prepared (in particular in the station B), the tin is moved along the transverse guide means 9 from the station B into the station C in the direction of the arrow fC. The tin is then pushed in the direction of the arrow fD from the station C into the station D inside the oven 7 for cooking. As soon as cooking is complete, the tin containing the cooked product is transferred from the station D into the station C, in the opposite direction to that indicated by the arrow fD, and is then transferred in the direction of the arrow fE along the extension 9A of the guide means 9 in order to arrive in the station E where the product can be cut and from which it can subsequently be removed, for example by selling the freshly-cooked product directly. The tin containing the cooked product is transferred from the station D into the station C and then into the station E before the next tin, to which the toppings have been added, is passed from the station B into the station C to be inserted into the oven which is, at this point, empty and ready to receive the next tin.

[0011] Suitable abutment and positioning means could be provided along the guide means in order to ensure that the carriage type tin is conveniently and accurately positioned for the various maneuvers detailed above; the abutment and support means could be withdrawn at appropriate moments in order to carry out the various subsequent maneuvers.

[0012] The empty tin left in the station E can be conveyed into the station A, passing through the stations C and B, while another tin is cooking in the oven 7. Transferring the tin manually directly from the station E to the station A without using the guide means 9 and 1 is also a possibility.

[0013] Fig. 5 shows a variant embodiment in which the stations A, B, C and D, together with the longitudinal 1 and 5 and transverse 9 guide means, are the same as those provided in the first embodiment. The extensions 9A, however, have been omitted. The oven 7 is fitted with a second door 7B, at the opposite end to the door 7A, which means that the tin containing the cooked product can be taken out of the oven by moving it in the direction shown by the arrow fG so that it arrives - after cooking - in a final station G, equivalent to the station E, in which the product can be cut and from which it can be served and, optionally, sold. In this case an extension 5A of the second longitudinal guide means 5 is provided so that this station G can be reached from the station D inside the oven. In order to transfer the empty tin from the station G to the station A, an additional transverse guide 18 and an extension 1A of the first longitudinal guide means 1 can be provided; in this way the tin can be transferred from the station G into the station A in the direction of the arrow fH, passing through an intermediate station H and on, in the direction of the arrow fB until it arrives in the position A.

[0014] It should be understood that the drawing shows only one example, given solely as a practical demonstration, of the invention and that the forms and arrangements of the latter may be varied without thereby departing from the scope of the guiding concept of said invention. Any reference numerals in the appended claims have the function of facilitating the reading of the claims with reference to the description and to the drawing and do not limit the scope of protection represented by the claims.

Claims

1. Unit for preparing, cooking and serving food such as pizzas and the like, in which the tins, on which the product undergoes the various operations, once the layer of dough has been deposited, are moved, characterized in that it comprises: two adjacent longitudinal guide means (1, 5), installed along the first (1) of which is a fixed dough-rolling machine (3) that deposits the layer of dough onto the tin which is then passed to a preparation station, and located along the second (5) of which is the oven (7); a transverse guide means (9) for transferring the tins from the preparation station (B) to the second longitudinal guide means (5) so that they can be inserted in the oven; and additional guide means (9A; 5A) between the oven (7) and a final cutting station (E; G) from which the pizzas can also be served and, optionally, sold.

2. Unit according to Claim 1, characterized in that the station (B) is located along the first longitudinal guide means (1).

3. Unit according to Claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the tins (10) are fitted with supports (12) which allow them to roll or slide along said first (1), second (5) and transverse (9) guide means, which are coplanar; and in that said supports can move in various directions and can be of the roller-ball or equivalent type.

4. Unit according to Claim 3, characterized in that said tins are moved by being pushed manually.

5. Unit according to the previous claims, characterized in that said transverse guide means (9) comprises an extension (9A) beyond the second longitudinal guide means (5) so that it can receive the tin once the latter has been taken out of the entrance mouth (7A) of the oven (7).

6. Unit according to Claims 1 to 4, characterized in that said second longitudinal guide means (5) comprises an extension (5A) on the opposite side to the entrance (7A) side of the oven (7) so that it can receive the tin as the latter comes out of the oven via an exit mouth (7B) located opposite the entrance mouth (7A).

7. Unit according to Claim 6, characterized in that an additional transverse guide means (18; 1A) is provided to return the tin to the first longitudinal guide means (1).

8. Unit for preparing, cooking and serving food such as pizza and the like; the whole as described above and as illustrated by way of example in the appended drawing.

Drawing