Abstract:
A filling depositor for ravioli producing machines particularly with thick or chunky fillings comprises a rotary valve assembly connected to the filling tubes, which are fed by a positive displacement gear pump. The rotary valve assembly includes a rotary valve which is driven and synchronized with a gearing of the ravioli machine and includes machined openings in a shaft which match the shape of the ravioli forming die. The shaft is rotated into alignment with the ravioli die to provide the desired filling thorough slots in a housing and appropriate cut-off of the filling operating at a high speed.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     None 
     STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT 
     Research and development of the present invention and application have not been federally sponsored, and no rights are given under any Federal program. 
     REFERENCE TO A MICROFICHE APPENDIX 
     Not applicable. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     This invention relates to apparatus for producing ravioli and particularly to an apparatus for providing reliable mechanical cut-off between filler deposits, improved sealing of product and the capability to use different types of fillings such as thicker and chunkier types. 
     2. Description of the Related Art Including Information Disclosed Under 37 CFR §§ 1.97-1.98 
     The prior art includes machines for automatically forming pastry such as U.S. Pat. No. 3,930,441 and pie or ravioli filling apparatus such as U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,844,142, 2,001,792 and 2,774,313 to Lombi which disclose a somewhat more relevant apparatus for ravioli manufacturing. Applicant&#39;s U.S. Pat. No. 4,848,218 discloses a machine for making ravioli and an improved fill mechanism which is basically the standard for the industry. Another relevant prior art patent is applicant&#39;s U.S. Pat. No. 5,590,589 which discloses apparatus for producing specialty ravioli configurations. 
     The original design of filling tube assembly was to remain stationary at a very close distance from the ravioli forming die. This created “drag” of filling product across the sealing area. Later an improved version of that design was developed that allowed the nozzle to “rock” back and forth. This would create a break between deposits as the nozzle came in alignment with the ravioli die filling pockets. This design can be seen in U.S. Pat. No. 4,848,281 issued Jul. 18, 1989 entitled Machine Ravioli Having an Improved Fill Mechanism. However, this design works well at slower speeds. Once you increase the speed of the machine there is loss of control at higher limits. 
     This application represents a new and improved ravioli making apparatus wherein a rotary valve assembly is connected to the filling tubes. The assembly includes a stainless steel shaft with pockets which match the pockets in the ravioli die. The rotary valve is driven and synchronized with the gearing shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,848,218 providing unique advantages over the prior art apparatus. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     This invention relates to an apparatus for producing ravioli and particularly to a filling depositor for producing ravioli with thick or chunky fillings. The subject depositor is also advantageous for conventional fillings since it provides a true positive break between indexed deposits from a filler pump and can operate at high speeds. 
     The filling depositor comprises a rotary valve assembly connected to the filling tubes, which are fed by a positive displacement gear pump. The rotary valve assembly includes a rotary valve which is driven and synchronized with the gearing of the ravioli machine. Thus it can be offered as an upgrade on existing machines from different manufacturers. 
     The rotary valve has openings machined into it to match the shape of the ravioli forming die. In the case of a square shaped ravioli die, which has ten (10) square pockets across the die face or ten (10) columns and five (5) rows about the circumference, the rotary valve shaft would have two (2) rows of ten (10) square pockets along the length of the shaft at 180° apart. The stainless steel shaft rides in a plastic housing that has openings on two (2) sides. One side has ten (10) simple round openings which allow the filling fed by the pump to enter the ten (10) shaft cavities. The opposite side of the plastic housing includes ten (10) simple slots corresponding to the filling deposit inside of the filled ravioli. The shaft is rotated into alignment with the ravioli die to provide the desired filling and appropriate cut-off at a high speed. 
     Accordingly, an object of this invention is to provide a new and improved depositor assembly for ravioli machines. 
     Another object of this invention is to provide a new and improved high speed depositor for ravioli machines which can provide thick and chunk fillings. 
     A further object of this invention is to provide a new and improved depositor which provides a true positive break between indexed deposits from the filler pump. 
     A still further object of this invention is to provide a new and improved depositor which may be driven and synchronized with existing ravioli machines. 
     A more specific object of this invention is to provide a new and improved ravioli depositor which comprises a rotary valve assembly having a shaft with openings matching the pockets of the ravioli die which is then rotated in synchronization with the ravioli die to fill the pockets therein and provide a positive cut-off. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     The above and other objects of the invention may be more readily seen when viewing in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein: 
     FIG. 1 shows the prior art ravioli making machine with the existing filler system; 
     FIG. 2 shows the ravioli making machine of FIG. 1 with the unique filler depositor of this invention; 
     FIG. 3 shows the depositor shaft of the present invention; 
     FIG. 3 a  shows the various open and closed positions of the shaft in an end view; 
     FIG. 4 shows a front view of the plastic housing showing slotted openings; 
     FIG. 5 is a top view of the plastic housing; 
     FIG. 6 is a rear view of the plastic housing showing round openings; 
     FIG. 7 is a side view of FIG. 4; 
     FIG. 8 is an exploded view of the filler depositor; and, 
     FIG. 9 is an assembled view of FIG.  8 . 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     Referring now to the drawings, FIG. 1 discloses the prior art ravioli machine shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,848,218 that is manufactured by MBC Food Machinery Corporation of Hackensack, N.J. and is the industry standard. FIG. 2 discloses the unique filling depositor for use with this machine. However, only the filling depositor is shown in detail and reference must be made to FIG. 1 for further details. 
     The ravioli machine of FIG. 1 comprises two dough hoppers  1  and  2  with a filler mateial hopper  3  located therebetween. Chunks of unformed dough are fed through kneader bars  4   a  and  4   b,  then through a pair of primary forming rolls  5  and  6  which rough form the dough into sheets  7   a  and  7   b.  The sheets  7   a,    7   b  proceed through secondary forming rolls  8  and  9  which size the sheets  7   a,    7   b  to the proper thickness. The dough sheet  7   a  from hopper  1  is fed around a tension idler  10  over the top of the female die roll  11  and around the die roll  11  downwardly to a nip  12  formed by this female die roll  11  and a drum roll  13  which cooperates therewith. The dough sheet  7   b  from dough hopper  2  is simultaneously fed through the secondary forming rolls  9 , around tension idler  4  and into the nip  12  where the dough sheet  7   b  is combined with the filler material  49  and the upper sheet  7   a.  The cutter  25  segments the sheets into individual ravioli  47 . 
     A gear pump  15  is located at the outlet of the filler material hopper  3  to intermittently feed filler material to a plurality of feed tubes  26 . The feed tubes  26 , are rotatably mounted on a journal  27 . The journal  27  can be turned by means of pivot rod  28 . However, since the motion of the pivot rods  28  is limited by cam follower rod  29 , the motion in the journal  27  is limited to a back and forth oscillating motion. 
     The follower rod  29  rides on cam  32 , which causes an oscillating motion of the follower rod  29  which is transmitted to the journal  27 , through the pivot rod  28 . Since, both cam  32  and cam  33  are mounted on the same shaft  52 , the cams  32 ,  33  can be adjusted with respect to one another so as to coordinate the positioning of the feed tubes  26 , and the activation of the gear pump  15 . The gear pump  15  is actuated by means of an air motor (not shown). The motor being energized by the tripping of switch  39  by cam  33 . The gear pump  15  is driven by means of push rod  40  which is connected to an air motor. 
     The unique filling depositor of the present invention as shown in FIG. 2 comprises a stainless steel shaft  64  which is mounted in a plastic housing  61  adjacent the female ravioli die  11 . The housing  61  is held in position within the machine by mounting bracket  62 . 
     A positive displacement gear pump (not shown) feeds filling material through filling tubes  63  to the rotary valve  60  comprising the shaft  64  with apertures  65 . The rotary valve  60  is driven and synchronized with the machine gearing. Thus the filling depositor can be used with existing machines as an upgrade. The rotary valve assembly can also be used with a variety of pumps such as after market vacuum stuffer machines that are capable of moving thicker, chunky fillings. 
     In the original prior art ravioli making machine, the filling tube assembly was to remain stationary at a very close distance from the ravioli forming die  11 . This created a “drag” of filling material across the sealing area. The machine of U.S. Pat. No. 4,848,212 described above was designed to overcome this problem. The nozzle was allowed to rock back and forth to create a break between the deposits of filler material as the nozzle of feed tube  26  came into alignment with the ravioli die filling pockets. While this improved machine works well at lower speeds, there is a loss of control at higher speeds. Hence, the need for the present invention. 
     As shown in FIG. 3, the rotary valve  60  comprises a stainless steel shaft  64  that has openings  65  machined into it to match the shape of the ravioli forming die  11 . For example, a square die  11  has ten (10) square pockets across the face of the die  11  or ten (10) columns and five (5) rows around the circumference. The corresponding shaft  64  of the rotary valve  60  has two (2) rows of ten (10) square pockets along the length of the shaft  64  at 180° apart. The shaft  64  rides in a plastic housing  61  that has openings  65  on both sides  66 ,  67 . One side  66  may have ten (10) simple round openings  68  which allow filling from the pump to enter the shaft&#39;s ten (10) cavities. The opposite side  67  may have ten (10) simple slots  69  wherein the slot dimensions would resemble the filling deposit shape inside the filled ravioli. 
     Since the ten (10) pockets in the stainless steel shaft  64  match the pockets of the ravioli die  11 , the stainless steel shaft  64  can be rotated 180° (one row of pockets) and it will equal the 72° rotation (one row of pockets) required to align the ravioli die  11  that has five (5) rows around its circumference. This synchronization is achieved by using spur gears of specific ratios. No additional apparatus such as air cylinders, solenoid valves or additional electrical wiring is required and the operation remains simple. The plastic housing  61  and internal shaft  64  are secured to a stainless steel plate  70  that is mounted in front of the ravioli die&#39;s  11  ten (10) pockets. The filling tubes  63  are secured to a block  71  with openings  72  corresponding to the housing  61  and secured thereto with mounting means through apertures  73   a  and  73   b.  All of these items can be easily removed for normal daily cleaning. 
     In operation, the filler material would be fed through the round openings  68  to the shaft pockets  65 . The shaft  64  rotates with gearing  70  forcing filling material from pockets  65  through slots  69  into corresponding pockets on the ravioli die  11 . The sequence with a closed dwell and an open dwell is shown in FIG. 3 a.  The rapid positive rotation of the shaft  64  feeding the die pockets of the female die  11  is distinctly unique and advantageous. 
     Another major advantage to this rotary style valve is that one can machine in a matched image of the ravioli die filling pockets. The embodiment described herein uses “square” shapes as an example. This is the easiest of the ravioli shapes to fill because the filling path is “straight”. This makes it easy to control filling front to back and side to side. The more difficult shape is round. If you machine a circle on a ravioli die and use a square opening in the stainless steel filling shaft, the end result is a round pasta dough shape with a straight filling portion inside (empty areas remain on both sides of the filling portion). This is usually not accepted or not preferred. A round shape may be machined on the stainless steel shaft  64  to match the round ravioli die  11 ; therefore, one can fill the ravioli covering the entire perimeter and leave a clean gap between deposits. 
     In an alternative embodiment, a servomotor may be employed instead of synchronized gearing (spur gears)  60 . The servomotor may be programmed to rotate the shaft at predetermined speeds and angles to provide the desired ravioli filling deposit. 
     While the invention has been explained by a detailed description of certain specific embodiments, it is understood that various modifications and substitutions can be made in any of them within the scope of the appended claims, which are intended also to include equivalents of such embodiments.