Apparatus and method for preparing spherical shaped products

An apparatus for producing and discharging spherically-shaped products from a pasty material, the apparatus comprising:

• a feed device configured to move the pasty material along a conveyor path;
• a portioning device connected downstream of the feed device, the portioning device configured to shape the pasty material into the spherically-shaped products, the portioning device having an outlet opening with a plurality of outlets for the spherically-shaped products, and the outlets are arranged in mutually juxtaposed relationship so that the spherically-shaped products touch each other or are arranged in a mutually-juxtaposed relationship in a row substantially transversely relative to a transport direction;
• and
• a transport device, arranged downstream in a conveyor direction from the portioning device, for discharging the spherically-shaped products produced by the portioning device, the transport device including a delivery region configured to move the spherically-shaped products in the transport direction, and the transport device including a deflection region positioned between the delivery region and the portioning device along the transport direction, wherein the outlet opening is directly associated with the deflection region of the transport device,
• wherein the portioning device and the transport device are so arranged relative to each other to define a gap oriented horizontally in the transport direction between the deflection region of the transport device and the outlet opening of the portioning device, with the gap and the deflection region of the transport device causing an abutment function in the transport direction for the spherically-shaped products, the abutment function is configured to include a temporary hold of each row of the spherically-shaped products at the gap to align each row of the spherically-shaped products before further movement is prompted along the transport direction onto the delivery region of the transport device, wherein the gap is of a dimension smaller than a diameter of a respective one of the spherically-shaped products.