Pizza pie forming machine

A machine for shaping dough pieces into pies suitable for pizzas, said machine comprising:

• A. upper and lower platens in spaced, parallel relation for supporting a pie-shaping die and a dough-piece pan, respectively,
• B. a crank mechanism for reciprocating both platens concurrently to effect engagement between the die and pan and to effect disengagement therebetween, said crank mechanism including crank rods which stroke up and down and are coupled to the platens to effect the reciprocating motion thereof;
• and
• C. a hydraulic system for subjecting said dough piece to uniform fluidic pressure in the course of engagement, said system including cylinders mounted on at least one of said platens and movable therewith, each cylinder having a piston slidable therein, which piston is connected to a respective crank rod and acts to divide the associated cylinder into a front-side and a rear-side compartment whereby the cylinders are provided with a set of front-side compartments and a set of rear-side compartments, a compressible pressure chamber, means coupling the set of front-side compartments of the cylinders which compartments are subjected to pressure when the platens approach each other to said compressible pressure chamber, said set of front-side compartments being filled with oil whereby in the course of engagement, oil from the set of front-side compartments is forced into the chamber and is returned to the set of front-side compartments in the course of disengagement, and means connecting the set of rear-side compartments to the atmosphere whereby the set of rear-side compartments is filled with air.