Dough handling apparatus

1. A dough handling apparatus comprising a dough cutting apparatus including a plurality of dough cutting members, each dough cutting member being adapted to be brought into contact with a travelling strip of dough for cutting a desired shape out of the strip of dough, each dough cutting member being spaced apart by a predetermined distance from an adjacent cutting member in a plane across the dough cutting apparatus which is transverse to the direction of travel of the strip of dough so that when each cutting member cuts a dough cut-out from the strip of dough, a relatively narrow web of waste dough is produced in the region between adjacent dough cutting members, and a waste dough web removing apparatus for separating the waste dough web from the dough cut-outs, the web removing apparatus including at least one finger for urging the waste dough web upwardly for removal from the dough cut-outs while enabling the dough cut-outs to remain in situ.

2. A dough handling apparatus as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the dough cutting members are arranged linearly transversely across the dough cutting apparatus so that, in use, a single stroke of the cutting apparatus produces a line of dough cut-outs from the strip of dough with a waste dough web separating adjacent dough cut-outs in the transverse plane.

3. A dough handling apparatus as claimed in claim 1 , in which each cutting member is adapted to make sequential cutting strokes in a travelling longitudinal strip of dough passing beneath the cutting apparatus on a moving conveyor, the cutting strokes being timed and spaced so that the distance between adjacent dough cut-outs in the longitudinal plane which is perpendicular to the transverse plane of the apparatus is zero and the dough cut-outs produced by a given cutting member are arranged in a column parallel to the direction of travel with a longitudinally extending web of waste dough being produced between adjacent columns.

4. A dough handling apparatus as claimed in claim 1 , wherein each dough cutting member is fixedly mounted on a stamping apparatus so that in use, on a downward stroke of the stamping apparatus, the dough cutting member is brought into contact with the strip of dough, thereby cutting the desired shape in the dough.

5. A dough handling apparatus as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the cutting profile of each dough cutting member is generally oval so that each dough cutout produced from the dough strip is generally oval in shape.

6. A dough handling apparatus as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the dough cutting apparatus comprises a pre-determined number of dough cutting members so that with a single downward stroke of the dough cutting apparatus, the corresponding number of dough cut-outs are produced.

7. A dough handling apparatus as claimed in claim 1 , wherein in use, the dough cutting members are brought into contact with the strip of dough which is moving on a conveyor belt underneath the cutting apparatus.

8. A dough handling apparatus as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the at least one finger comprises a sprocket wheel having a plurality of teeth arranged around the rim of said sprocket wheel.

9. A dough handling apparatus as claimed in claim 8 , wherein the at least one finger also includes at least one roller rotatably connected to the sprocket wheel.

10. A dough handling apparatus as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the web removing apparatus includes a plurality of said fingers arranged at pre-determined separations along the length of a rotatable shaft whereby in use, the dough cut-outs produced by the cutting apparatus pass between adjacent fingers while the waste dough web is urged upwardly.

11. A dough handling apparatus as claimed in claim 10 , wherein the waste dough web is urged upwardly by a rotating conveyor.