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US 9,156,197 B2Granted
Apparatus and methods for processing doses of flowable material
AssigneeSacmi Cooperativa Meccanici Imola Societa' Cooperativa
InventorsAlessandro Balboni, Fiorenzo Parrinello
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Abstract
An apparatus comprises an extruding device having a dispensing opening for extruding a flowable material along an exit direction through the dispensing opening, and a cutting arrangement for separating a dose from the flowable material, the cutting arrangement being movable with a motion component that is parallel to the exit direction.
Claims15
Method comprising:
- extruding a flowable material along an exit direction through a dispensing opening of an extruding device,
- separating a dose from said flowable material by using a rotating cutting arrangement that rotates along a path around a longitudinal axis that is oblique to said exit direction, wherein during said rotation a cutting edge of said cutting arrangement passes periodically in front of said dispensing opening to cut said dose, and
- transferring said dose to a rotating forming arrangement by using a rotating transferring arrangement that rotates around an axis that is different from said longitudinal axis and from a rotation axis around which said forming arrangement rotates,
- wherein during said separating said cutting edge passes between said extruding device and said transferring arrangement with a motion component that is parallel to said exit direction and a further motion component that is perpendicular to said exit direction, said motion component being directed in such a way that, whilst said dose is being cut, said cutting edge moves away from said dispensing opening, and
- wherein said cutting arrangement rotates along said path at a non-constant rotation speed so that a speed of said cutting edge whilst it is cutting said dose is greater than at least one speed of said cutting edge whilst it is not cutting said dose.
2 more elements
Method comprising:
- extruding a flowable material along an exit direction through a dispensing opening of an extruding device, and
- separating a dose from said flowable material by using a rotatable cutting arrangement that rotates along a path around an axis that is oblique to said exit direction, said cutting arrangement having a cutting edge that periodically passes in front of said dispensing opening to separate said dose with a motion direction that is oblique to said exit direction, said motion direction having, the entire time whilst said dose is being cut from an initial cutting step when said cutting edge reaches the flowable material and starts to separate the dose to a final cutting step when said cutting edge ends to separate said dose, a motion component that is parallel to said exit direction and a further motion component that is perpendicular to said exit direction, said motion component being directed in such a way that said cutting edge moves away from said dispensing opening, said cutting arrangement rotating along said path at a non-constant rotation speed so that a speed of said cutting edge whilst it is cutting said dose is greater than at least one speed of said cutting edge whilst it is not cutting said dose.
Method comprising:
- extruding a flowable material along an exit direction through a dispensing opening of an extruding device at a substantially constant exit speed, and
- separating a dose from said flowable material by using a movable cutting arrangement, during said separating a cutting edge of said cutting arrangement passing in front of said dispensing opening to cut said dose with a motion direction that is oblique with respect to said exit direction, said motion direction being directed in such a way that, whilst said dose is being cut, said cutting edge moves away from said dispensing opening so that the distance between the cutting edge and the portion of the dispensing opening that is immediately above the cutting edge in the exit direction is increasing whilst said dose is being cut, said motion direction and said exit direction forming a tilt angle that is kept constant the entire time from an initial cutting step when said cutting edge reaches the flowable material and starts to separate the dose to a final cutting step when said cutting edge ends to separate said dose.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.