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Moulding food products from a pumpable foodstuff mass

  • US 10,638,764 B2
  • Filed: 07/23/2014
  • Issued: 05/05/2020
  • Est. Priority Date: 07/25/2013
  • Status: Active Grant
First Claim
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1. An installation for moulding of three dimensional products from a mass of pumpable foodstuff material, wherein the installation comprises:

  • a pump having at least one pump chamber, an inlet, and an outlet for the foodstuff mass;

    a pump drive; and

    a moulding device, the moulding device comprising;

    a frame;

    a mould drum having an outer circumferential drum surface with a curvature and a longitudinal drum rotation axis, the drum being rotatably supported by the frame to revolve relative to the frame about the drum rotation axis, wherein the mould drum has in the outer circumferential drum surface a pattern of multiple mould cavities, and the pattern includes multiple arrays of mould cavities at distinct positions along the longitudinal drum rotation axis, and wherein, in each array, multiple mould cavities are arranged at spaced locations in a circumferential direction of the outer circumferential drum surface, each mould cavity having a filling opening in the outer circumferential drum surface for transfer of mass of pumpable foodstuff material into the mould cavity and for later removal of a moulded product from the mould cavity;

    a mould member drive for moving the mould drum relative to the frame along a circular path about the longitudinal drum rotation axis, said path including a fill position for each mould cavity of said multiple mould cavities where foodstuff mass is filled into the mould cavity and a product release position for each mould cavity of said multiple mould cavities where a moulded product is released from the mould cavity; and

    a mass feed member having a chamber with an inlet for foodstuff mass and said mass feed member being arranged at the fill position along the circular path of the mould drum, said inlet of the mass feed member being connected or adapted to be connected to the outlet of the pump, the mass feed member being adapted to transfer the foodstuff mass into the multiple mould cavities of the mould drum,wherein the mass feed member is provided with an orificed mouth body having an outlet face facing the mould drum at the fill position, said orificed mouth body comprising plastic and having multiple outlet orifices so that foodstuff mass flows from said chamber into a mould cavity of said multiple mould cavities via multiple outlet orifices,wherein a metal or ceramic orificed grinder body is mounted in the chamber of the mass feed member, is stationary relative to the orificed mouth body, and is arranged over the orificed mouth body opposite said outlet face, which orificed grinder body has multiple orifices that connect to said multiple outlet orifices, and wherein said orificed grinder body has a grinding face opposite said orificed mouth body,wherein the mass feed member is provided with multiple mobile grinder members, each being arranged at one of said distinct positions of the mould cavities along the longitudinal drum rotation axis, each mobile grinder member cooperating with the grinding face of the metal or ceramic orificed grinder body, andwherein the installation comprises a grinder drive and associated grinder drive controller adapted to drive the mobile grinder members.

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