Patent ID: 6217311
Filing Date: 2001-04-17
Classification: A23L,A23P

Abstract:
Apparatus for portioning cooked rice, the apparatus comprising a chamber for holding a supply of the cooked rice, a mould having a mould cavity with an open top and an open bottom, filling means for filling the cavity with cooked rice from the chamber, an ejector member of a cross-sectional shape complementary to that of the cavity, the mould being shiftable horizontally between a charging position in which the mould cavity is aligned with an opening in the chamber to enable the filling means to fill the cavity with a portion of the rice and a discharge position in which the mould cavity is aligned with the ejector member, the mould when in the discharge position also being shiftable vertically between a raised position, and a lowered position, an over-centre mechanism releasable when the mould is in the lowered position in order to apply a step-function force to the mould to move the mould to its raised position with a sudden impulsive movement, to cause the ejector member to penetrate the cavity and effect release of the rice portion from the cavity.