Method and apparatus for portioning food
First Claim
1. An apparatus for the high speed, automatic creation of portions of material and the deposition of those portions on a substrate comprising:
- means for conveying said substrate in continuous motion in a first path in a progression;
a hopper to hold said material, the hopper being continuously moveable in a second path, which path spatially coincides over a segment of said first path;
portioning means for removing portions of said material held in said hopper; and
control means coupled to said conveying means and said hopper for synchronizing the relative position and speed of said substrate on said first path and said hopper on said second path whereby said removed portions of material are deposited on said substrate.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A high speed, automatic apparatus for accurately and consistently portioning solid or liquid food material, such as sausages or sauces, onto receivers, or substrates, such as pizza crusts, is disclosed. A conveyor moves the substrates, in a first path while a hopper moves in a second, preferably circular path, that partially overlies the first path. The hopper further includes a plurality of hoppers in a carousel where the hoppers hold the material to be portioned. A blade underneath the hopper removes portions of the food material as the hopper moves in its circular path. Controls are provided to synchronize the movement of the hopper relative to the conveyor where the conveyor and hopper are continuously moving together. As the portions of the food material are cut by the blade, the portions are propelled and directed onto the substrates.
89 Citations
36 Claims
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1. An apparatus for the high speed, automatic creation of portions of material and the deposition of those portions on a substrate comprising:
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means for conveying said substrate in continuous motion in a first path in a progression; a hopper to hold said material, the hopper being continuously moveable in a second path, which path spatially coincides over a segment of said first path; portioning means for removing portions of said material held in said hopper; and control means coupled to said conveying means and said hopper for synchronizing the relative position and speed of said substrate on said first path and said hopper on said second path whereby said removed portions of material are deposited on said substrate. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28)
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29. An apparatus for the high speed, automatic creation of portions of material and deposition of said portions on a plurality of sequential substrates comprising:
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means for conveying said substrates in continuous motion in a first path; a hopper that holds food material and continuously rotates about an axis in a second path, a segment of said second path coinciding with a segment of said first path; means coupled to said means for conveying and said hopper for controlling movement of said means for conveying and said hopper with respect to each other; and means positioned adjacent the hopper for portioning the food material onto the substrates at a position where said segments of said first and second paths coincide. - View Dependent Claims (30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35)
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36. An apparatus for the high speed, automatic dispensing of portions of food material onto substrates comprising:
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means for conveying said substrates continuously in a first path; a hopper that holds said food material and continuously rotates about an axis in a second path, a segment of said second path coinciding with a segment of said first path; means positioned adjacent said hopper for sequentially dispensing portions of said food material onto said substrates; means coupled to said conveying means and said hopper for synchronizing movement of said conveying means with movement of said hopper so said substrates are adjacent the means for sequentially dispensing when portions of the food material are dispensed.
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Specification