Inventors:
James P. Charles - Sturgeon Bay WI
Dennis A. Dolski - Green Bay WI
Joseph A. Lasee - DePere WI
Assignee:
DOC Machines Works, Inc. - Green Bay WI
International Classification:
A21C 900
A21C 1100
A47J 3700
Abstract:
A self-contained pizza crust factory for creating a docked, formed pizza crust from a raw dough ball and positioning the crust on a crust container. The pizza crust factory includes an infeed conveyor belt that transports the ball of raw dough from an infeed end of the apparatus to a press assembly. The press assembly includes an upper platen and a lower platen positioned on opposite sides of the infeed conveyor belt. The upper platen of the press assembly is heated and in close contact with a crust die plate that is removably secured within a die holder assembly. The die holder assembly includes a pair of side supports that are pivotally movable between a locking position and a release position, such that the crust die plate can be easily removed and replaced from within the die holder assembly. A docking station is positioned downstream from the press assembly and receives the formed crust from the press assembly. The docking station includes a rotatable docker pin roll that perforates the crust as the crust moves through the docking station.