US 4,054,967 AGranted

Food patty molding machine

AssigneeFormax, Inc.

InventorsGlenn A. Sandberg, Louis R. Richards, James W. Stoub

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Abstract

A method and apparatus for molding food patties, utilizing a pump with a tall, narrow, elongated pump chamber, an outlet port extending along one edge of the chamber, and a wide access port at one side of the chamber. A supply of hamburger or other poor-flowing food product is maintained in a position completely blocking the pump access chamber and can be drawn into the chamber by rapidly withdrawing a plunger from the chamber past the access port. A hydraulic drive powers the plunger, in synchronism with a mold plate cyclically moving into and out of a fill position beneath the outlet port; the hydraulic drive causes the plunger to pump food out of the pump chamber and into mold cavities in the mold plate under a constant pressure, with the hydraulic pumps of the drive cut off immediately following filling of the molds.

Claims16

Dependent claims

A food patty molding machine comprising:

a pump housing enclosing a tall, narrow, elongated pump chamber having an outlet port extending longitudinally of one edge of the chamber and an access port extending longitudinally of one side of the chamber, the access port having a height greater than the width of the pump chamber;
a mold plate including a plurality of mold cavities;
a mold plate drive for cyclically moving the mold plate between a fill position, in which the mold cavities are aligned with the outlet port, and a discharge position, in which the mold cavities are displaced from the outlet port, with a dwell interval at each position;
supply means for continuously maintaining a supply of food product completely covering the access port;
a plunger projecting into the pump chamber through the edge opposite the outlet port and movable between an intake position, in which the plunger is displaced from the outlet port to a point clear of the access port, and a range of pressure positions, in which the plunger extends past and completely closes the access port;
plunger drive means driving the plunger to maintain food product under essentially uniform pressure when the plunger is in its pressure position range, the plunger drive means comprising a reversible fluid pressure motor connected to the plunger and fluid pressure means for supplying fluid, under pressure, to the motor;
and control means for actuating the plunger drive means through an operating cycle synchronized with the mold plate cycle, moving the plunger from its pressure position range to its intake position and back into its pressure position range during a period in which the mold plate is displaced from its fill position, the plunger moving toward its intake position at a speed sufficient to develop a partial vacuum in the chamber and thereby draw food product from the supply means a short distance through the access port with no appreciable external impetus.

4 more elements

The method of molding food patties comprising the following steps performed in a repeating full cycle:

continuously maintaining a supply of food product in a position completely blocking a large-area access port leading directly into a narrow pump chamber;
rapidly withdrawing a plunger from the chamber, past the access port, at a speed of at least 150 feet per minute, from a pressure position range within the chamber in which the plunger completely closes the access port, to an intake position in which te access port is open into the chamber, producing a partial vacuum in the chamber and drawing a quantity of food product a short distance from the supply through the access port into the chamber;
moving the plunger back into the chamber past the access port into its pressure position range, completely closing the access port and placing the food product under uniform pressure within a subportion of the chamber at the opposite edge of the chamber from the plunger intake position;
bringing a mold cavity into a fill position in communication with an outlet port for the chamber, with the plunger in its pressure position range, to fill the mold cavity with the food product and form a food patty while maintaining essentially uniform pressure on the food product;
and moving the mold cavity away from its fill position and out of communication with the outlet port to a discharge position at which the food patty is discharged from the mold cavity.

2 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.