Apparatus for molding meat patties
First Claim
1. In an apparatus for forming patties from a mass of agglomerable edible material such as meat;
- said apparatus comprisinga turret mounted for rotation on a vertical axis and having a plurality of cavities, each cavity having a piston reciprocably mounted therein and each piston having a bottom surface cooperating with the cavity to define a patty-forming mold with a bottom opening;
feeding means cooperating with said turret for moving said edible material from a supply source upwardly into each mold successively during rotation of said turret relative to said feeding means;
control means regulating the reciprocation of each piston in its cavity in timed relation to the rotation of said turret, whereby said piston moves upwardly for filling the mold with said edible material when the bottom opening of the mold is in communication with said feeding means in one rotary position of said turret and whereby said piston moves downwardly for discharging a formed patty from the cavity in another rotary position of said turret which is remote from said one rotary position; and
means for separating a formed patty from the bottom surface of said piston;
the improvement which comprises;
vertically movable support means for supporting said feeding means below said turret;
said feeding means including a feed spout assembly having a seal plate, a feed opening in said seal plate, and inlet means communicating with said feed opening for supplying said edible material under pressure; and
retractable fluid pressure applying means coacting with said support means for urging said seal plate upwardly in sealing engagement against the bottom surface of said turret.
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0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
An improved molding apparatus is provided for forming patties from an agglomerable edible material, particularly meat in frozen flake cut form. The apparatus includes a rotating turret with a plurality of mold cavities and reciprocable pistons. The turret rotates between a feed station where the edible material is fed upwardly under pressure into the mold cavities and a discharge station where the formed patties are ejected and separated by a continuous cut-off band. An improved cut-off band is also provided in which the band is disposed at a slight angle to facilitate its entry into the interfaces between the bottom surfaces of the pistons and the formed patties. The leading corners of the pistons are chamfered to receive the blade. The band is looped between a pair of pulleys on adjustable supports for providing the desired inclination of the band. Scrapers and spray nozzles are provided to maintain the cleanliness of the band and the pulley grooves.
55 Citations
29 Claims
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1. In an apparatus for forming patties from a mass of agglomerable edible material such as meat;
- said apparatus comprising
a turret mounted for rotation on a vertical axis and having a plurality of cavities, each cavity having a piston reciprocably mounted therein and each piston having a bottom surface cooperating with the cavity to define a patty-forming mold with a bottom opening; feeding means cooperating with said turret for moving said edible material from a supply source upwardly into each mold successively during rotation of said turret relative to said feeding means; control means regulating the reciprocation of each piston in its cavity in timed relation to the rotation of said turret, whereby said piston moves upwardly for filling the mold with said edible material when the bottom opening of the mold is in communication with said feeding means in one rotary position of said turret and whereby said piston moves downwardly for discharging a formed patty from the cavity in another rotary position of said turret which is remote from said one rotary position; and means for separating a formed patty from the bottom surface of said piston; the improvement which comprises; vertically movable support means for supporting said feeding means below said turret; said feeding means including a feed spout assembly having a seal plate, a feed opening in said seal plate, and inlet means communicating with said feed opening for supplying said edible material under pressure; and retractable fluid pressure applying means coacting with said support means for urging said seal plate upwardly in sealing engagement against the bottom surface of said turret. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21)
- said apparatus comprising
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22. In an apparatus for forming patties from a mass of agglomerable edible material such as meat, including traveling mold means, feeding means for introducing said edible material into said mold means, and patty separating means for separating formed patties from said mold means;
the improvement wherein said patty separating means comprises a continuous moving cut-off band positioned in the path of travel of said mold means so that an operating portion of the band is interposed between a formed patty and a surface of said mold means during travel of said mold means past said patty separating means, said band portion being disposed at a slight inclination across its width so that the leading edge of said band portion is closer to said surface of said mold means than the trailing edge thereof. - View Dependent Claims (23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29)
Specification